Texas Forever. Janet Dailey

      

      Don’t miss any of Janet Dailey’s bestsellers

      The New Americana Series

      Sunrise Canyon

      Refuge Cove

      Letters from Peaceful Lane

      Hart’s Hollow Farm

      The Tylers of Texas

      Texas Forever

      Texas Free

      Texas Fierce

      Texas Tall

      Texas Tough

      Texas True

      Bannon Brothers: Triumph

      Bannon Brothers: Honor

      Bannon Brothers: Trust

      Calder Storm

      Green Calder Grass

      Lone Calder Star

      Calder Promise

      Shifting Calder Wind

      American Destiny

      American Dreams

      Masquerade

      Tangled Vines

      Heiress

      Rivals

      Table of Contents

      Also by Title Page Copyright Page Dedication CHAPTER ONE CHAPTER TWO CHAPTER THREE CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER FIVE CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER SEVEN CHAPTER EIGHT CHAPTER NINE CHAPTER TEN CHAPTER ELEVEN CHAPTER TWELVE CHAPTER THIRTEEN CHAPTER FOURTEEN CHAPTER FIFTEEN CHAPTER SIXTEEN CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CHAPTER EIGHTEEN CHAPTER NINETEEN CHAPTER TWENTY EPILOGUE I EPILOGUE II About the Author

      ZEBRA BOOKS are published by

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

      119 West 40th Street

      New York, NY 10018

      Copyright © 2019 by Revocable Trust Created by Jimmy Dean Dailey and Mary Sue Dailey Dated December 22, 2016

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales, or persons living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

      To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

      If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the Publisher and neither the Author nor the Publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”

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      Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write or phone the office of the Kensington Sales Manager: Attn.: Sales Department. Kensington Publishing Corp., 119 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018. Phone: [phone].

      Zebra and the Z logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

      First Kensington Books Hardcover Printing: September 2019

      First Zebra Books Mass-Market Paperback Printing: July 2020

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4370-6

      ISBN-10: 1-4201-4370-0

      ISBN-13: 978-1-4201-4373-7 (eBook)

      ISBN-10: 1-4201-4373-5 (eBook)

      10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

      Printed in the United States of America

      With special thanks to Elizabeth Lane.

      CHAPTER ONE

      August, the present

      THE BRUTAL AUGUST SUN SANK BEHIND THE CAPROCK ESCARPMENT, streaking the cliffs with hues of gold, bronze, and deep blood red. Like silken draperies set afire, the tattered clouds blazed, then slowly melted into twilight. Shadows deepened, flowing down the narrow canyons to flood the parched foothills with the black of a moonless night.

      A gray fox slipped out of its den, ears alert for the sound of a scurrying mouse or lizard. Bats darted on silent wings, catching insects in flight. A golden eagle glided to the rocky edge of a high precipice, folded its powerful wings, and settled for the night.

      On the dust-swept plain below the escarpment, the sprawling heart of the Rimrock Ranch lay shrouded in unaccustomed silence. Cigarettes, dots of red in the darkness, glowed outside the bunkhouse, but the usual banter of the cowhands was absent. Even the horses and cattle seemed subdued.

      The windows were dark in the imposing stone and timber house that Bull Tyler had finished for his bride fifty years ago. On the broad front porch, two figures sat in rustic log chairs, placed close together.

      Will Tyler, the ranch boss and head of the family, was nursing a can of cheap Mexican beer. He stared into the darkness beyond the porch rail, saying nothing.

      His daughter Erin, now nineteen, sat watching him. Her father was far from old—not yet fifty. But time and grief had aged him beyond his years. Already mourning his wife, he’d been crushed today by the sudden loss of his oldest friend. Not that he’d shown it. Even after the sheriff and his deputy had driven off, he’d expressed no flicker of emotion nor shed