Texas Forever. Janet Dailey

which was how she spent most of her days.

      Stunned, she’d mumbled a reply. “I’m only nineteen, Kyle. I need time to think about this.”

      “Take all the time you need.” His Hollywood smile had flashed in the darkness as he dropped the ring box back into his pocket. “But I hope you won’t keep me waiting too long. I love you, Erin, and I can’t wait to make you mine. Now come here and kiss me.”

      After a few minutes of necking, she’d asked him to take her home. For the rest of the night she’d lain awake, weighing her choices. Maybe she should’ve said yes. Kyle was twenty-two, handsome, respectable, and well-mannered. Her father liked him and had hinted that he wouldn’t mind having a grandchild or two. Why not do what everyone seemed to expect of her?

      Why was she still unsure?

      Was Kyle meant to be her husband, to love and honor and cherish? What if she were to refuse him? Would she live to regret it for the rest of her days?

      And what about her own plans, her own dreams of breeding and training a stable of fine horses? Would she have to put those dreams aside when she became a wife?

      Toward morning, she’d fallen into a fitful sleep—only to be awakened by Will with the news that Jasper was missing. An hour later his body had been found in a desert wash, under his wrecked ATV.

      Kyle’s proposal would have to wait.

      Rising from his chair, Will crushed the cigarette with his boot and kicked it over the rail, onto the gravel below, then glanced at the luminous dial on his watch. He stood for a moment, peering out into the darkness.

      “What is it, Dad?” Erin asked. “Is something wrong?”

      “Can’t say for sure.” Will shook his head. “I was expecting the new man I hired last week. He said he’d be here by tonight, but it’s getting late, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of him.”

      “A new man? And you didn’t tell me?”

      “Sorry. Slipped my mind, I guess.” Will sank wearily back into the chair. “Sky knows he’s coming. The man’s a farrier.”

      “A farrier? Just to shoe horses? That’s going to cost us, Dad. And with the drought on, there’s no money to spare. We’ve been getting by for years with the cowboys shoeing their own horses, and Sky taking care of the rest.”

      “Sky doesn’t have time. And neither do the cowboys, especially with the roundup coming up. Hear me out, Erin. I talked this over with Jasper, and he agrees—” Emotion stopped the words in his throat. He took a deep breath. “He agreed with me. We need a man who can keep our horses decently shod and in top condition. A good farrier’s like a doctor, and he has to know almost as much. He looks at their gait, their alignment, the whole animal. Then he trims the hooves for the best weight distribution and chooses a shoe to fit the horse’s needs.”

      “That’s still going to cost money.”

      “True. But I had a couple of hands quit last month to go on the rodeo circuit, so that’s two less to pay. And I figure that in the long run, having a farrier won’t cost us any more than having the cowboys take time from work to slap shoes on their mounts, then having horses go lame because they didn’t do the job right. We could get by with fewer horses if they were all in good shape. And if we had to sell off part of the remuda, we’d get a better price if they were well shod and in prime condition.”

      “I understand where you’re coming from,” Erin said. “But a farrier would have to be paid a lot more than a common ranch hand. Can we afford a full-time man just to shoe horses?”

      “We’ve got more than sixty horses in the remuda, as well as the brood mares and stallions,” Will said. “When roundup’s on, those cow ponies go through a lot of shoes. There should be plenty of work for him, at least through fall. And we already agreed that if he runs out of work here, he can take outside clients.”

      “As I recall, the last stranger you hired didn’t work out so well,” Erin said. “He stole everything that wasn’t tied down.”

      “Don’t remind me.” Will shook his head. “But it won’t happen again. This man was recommended by a customer. I met him a couple of weeks ago, when I picked up a truckload of hay from that big outfit east of the Prescott place. He said he’d been on the road since spring, going from ranch to ranch. I think he liked the idea of a steady job with a roof over his head. Quiet sort. He struck me as the kind of fellow who’ll do his work and never make trouble.”

      “We’ll see.” Erin had always trusted her father’s business sense. But since his wife’s death, Will’s judgment seemed to be less acute. Was it the shock of grief, a passing distraction, or only her imagination? Whatever the cause, she found herself questioning the decisions he made.

      Like this farrier Will had hired. He could turn out to be just fine. But the fact that he hadn’t shown up as promised wasn’t a good sign.

      “Why don’t you get some rest, Dad?” she suggested. “You’ve had a hellish day, and tomorrow won’t be much better.”

      “At least I can try. What about you?” He stood and turned toward the door, then hesitated, as if reluctant to leave her outside alone.

      “I’ll be along later. If your man shows up, I’ll introduce myself and point the way to the bunkhouse.”

      “You’re sure?”

      “I’m sure. I’m too strung out to sleep.”

      “All right, but don’t stay up too late. His name’s Maddox. He’ll be driving a black Chevy truck with a shell on the back and a two-wheel trailer behind. You can tell him there’s a couple of empty rooms and a bath on the second floor.”

      “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out for him. If he pulls in after I’ve gone to bed, that’ll be his problem.”

      As her father went inside, shutting the front door behind him, Erin settled back in the chair and closed her eyes. After the emotionally draining day, she felt as if the earth had dropped away under her feet. In her growing-up years, three strong people had always been there for her—her mother, her father, and Jasper.

      Tori, her beautiful, golden-haired mother, had slipped away four months ago, just weeks after her cancer diagnosis. Now Jasper was gone, too, and she sensed that her father was sinking into despair. He was putting on a brave face, but she could see the shadows that ringed his eyes and the slump of his once-proud shoulders. Erin knew the signs. It was as if she were losing him, too.

      How could she even think of getting married when Will needed her? Her losses were his losses, perhaps even more deeply felt. This was no time for him to lose his daughter, his only child, to another man.

      She had her answer for Kyle. Any talk of marriage would have to wait.

      Erin greeted the decision with a sigh of relief. Until now, she hadn’t realized how much pressure Kyle’s proposal had put on her, and how unprepared she’d been to say yes and let him put that stunning diamond ring on her finger. Maybe later, she thought. Maybe in a year or so. But not yet.

      As moments passed, she could feel herself relaxing in the chair. The peaceful sounds of night crept around her—the chirr of crickets under the porch, the faint creak of the windmill, the murmur of horses in the paddock, and the far-off wail of a coyote. Little by little, she began to drift....

      * * *

      The security light, mounted with a motion sensor on a leg of the windmill, flashed on, startling Erin awake. She jerked bolt upright in the chair, blinking in the brightness as she struggled to focus her sleep-dulled mind. What time was it?

      A black pickup towing a small trailer was pulling into the ranch yard. That would be the farrier her father had hired, arriving late, without so much as a phone call to let anyone know when he’d be here. What was his name? Matlock? No, Maddox, that was it. Pushing to her feet, she took a deep breath and strode down the steps to