Rumour Has It. Maureen Child

subject, Chance,” he muttered and let his gaze slide around the main room of the TCC.

      While his friend talked about what was happening at the ranch, Nathan’s mind wandered. Over the years, it seemed like inside the TCC, time stood still. Even the fact that women were now officially members of the long-standing, males-only club hadn’t affected the decor. Paneled walls, dark brown leather furniture—sofas and club chairs—hunting prints on the walls and a big-screen TV so you didn’t miss a bit of any Texas sporting event.

      The air smelled of lemon polish and the wood floors and tables gleamed in the lamplight. The TV was on now, but muted so that members could sit and brood behind newspapers or chat without having to shout to be heard. The soft clinking of crystal against gleaming wood tables underlined the hushed conversations surrounding them.

      A woman’s laugh pealed out just then, shattering the quiet and Nathan grinned as he noted that Beau Hacket actually cringed at the sound. At nearly sixty, Beau was short, thick around the middle and with a lot more gray in what was left of his dark red hair. He had a big laugh and a narrow mind—he believed women belonged in the kitchen and didn’t care who knew it.

      Now, Beau fired a hard look around the room as if to silently say, Did you all hear that? That’s just wrong. Women don’t belong here.

      No one said anything, but Nathan read the tension in the room and noted more gritted jaws than usual. Women were members, but they still weren’t really welcome. Everyone was gathered for the weekly TCC meeting and none of the old guard were happy about having women included.

      “Sounds like Abigail’s enjoying herself,” Chance muttered into the stillness.

      “Abby always enjoys herself,” Nathan mused.

      Abigail Langley Price, married to Brad Price, had been the first female member of the club. And, of course, she was having a good time now, since she had women to talk to in here. But it hadn’t been easy on her, gaining acceptance at the TCC. Even with the support of Nathan, Chance and several of the other members, she’d had to fight her way in—and Nathan admired that about her.

      “Does it feel weird to you,” Chance asked, “to have women in the club now?”

      “Nope.” Nathan finished off his scotch and set the empty glass down on the table in front of him. “Felt weirder when they weren’t allowed in here.”

      “Yeah,” his friend said. “I know what you mean.” Leaning forward, he braced his elbows on his knees. “But men like Beau over there aren’t happy about it.”

      Nathan shrugged. “Men like Beau are always complaining about something. Besides, he and the others are just gonna have to get used to it.” Then he added what he’d been thinking a few minutes ago. “Times change.”

      “They really do,” Chance agreed. “Like, for example, the vote we’re taking tonight.”

      Relieved to be off the subject of Amanda, Nathan turned his thoughts to the upcoming vote. It had been the talk of the town for days. Once Abigail and the other women became members of the TCC they’d had some ideas of their own to put forth and tonight marked the vote for one of the biggest items.

      “The child-care center?” Nathan asked and Chance nodded.

      “It’s a big deal and only going to make the hard-line members more irritated than ever.”

      “True,” Nathan agreed, imagining the fireworks that would soon take place over the vote. “Only makes sense if you think about it, though. A safe place for the kids while their parents are here. Probably should have done it years ago.”

      “Right there with ya,” Chance told him with a shake of his head. “But I’m not sure Beau’s going to agree with that.”

      “Beau doesn’t agree with anything,” Nathan said with a chuckle. As town sheriff, Nathan had to deal with Beau Hacket on a regular basis. The man had a complaint about everything and everyone, and didn’t mind taking up the sheriff’s time with them. “A more contrary man has never lived.”

      “True.”

      The clock over the river-stone fireplace began to chime the hour and both of them stood up.

      “Guess it’s time to get the meeting started.”

      “This should be good,” Chance told Nathan and followed him down the hallway to the official meeting room.

      An hour later, the arguments were still being shouted out. Beau Hacket had some support for his Neanderthal opinions. Sam and Josh Gordon, the twins who owned and operated Gordon Construction, were getting to be just as hardheaded as Beau.

      “Is it just me,” Nate whispered to his friend Alex Santiago, “or is Sam Gordon starting to become more and more like Beau Hacket?”

      Alex shifted a look at the twin who was spouting all the reasons why children didn’t belong in the TCC.

      “It’s not just you,” he answered quietly. “Even his twin looks surprised at Sam’s arguments.”

      Alex hadn’t lived in Royal very long, but he’d made lots of friends in town and seemed to already have a handle on the town and its citizens. A venture capitalist and investor, Alex was wealthy and had become, in his short time in Royal, very influential. Sometimes Nate wondered why a man as rich as Alex would choose to settle down in Royal. But at the same time, he told himself with a smile, people probably wondered why Nathan Battle chose to be the town sheriff. Since he owned half of the Battlelands Ranch, Nate was rich enough to not have to work at all.

      But then what the hell would he do?

      Shaking his head, Nate gave a quick look around the long table at the members gathered. Not all of them were present, of course, but there were more than enough for the voting. Ryan Grant, former rodeo star, was attending his first official meeting and Nate saw the bemusement in the other man’s eyes. Dave Firestone, whose ranch ran alongside Nathan’s family spread, was lounging in a chair, watching the goings-on as if he were at a tennis match. Beau was nearly purple in the face, shouting down anyone who argued with him. Chance was sitting beside Shannon Morrison, who looked as if she wanted to stand up and tell Beau Hacket exactly what he could do with his outdated opinions.

      And then there was Gil Addison, the TCC president, standing at the head of the table. His dark eyes flashed and Nate knew that his friend had about reached the limits of his patience.

      Almost at once, Gil slammed his gavel onto its pedestal until he had quiet. The echoes of arguments and recriminations were hanging in the still air like battle flags when Gil said, “Enough talking. Time for a vote. All in favor of the child-care center being added to the TCC, say ‘aye.’”

      All of the women, including Missy Reynolds and Vanessa Woodrow, spoke up, but Nathan, Alex, Chance and several of the others were quick to contribute their votes.

      “All opposed,” Gil added, “say ‘no.’”

      A few loud voices were heard.

      The gavel slammed down again sharply. Gil nodded at the group and smiled. “Motion’s passed. A child-care center will be added to the Texas Cattlemen’s Club.”

      Beau and a few of the other members, still bristling over the fact that women were now included in their group, were practically apoplectic. But, there was nothing they could do about it.

      As Beau stormed out of the meeting, Nathan watched him go and almost felt a flicker of sympathy. He could see the other side of the situation, but you couldn’t stay locked in the past. The world moved every damn day and you moved with it or you got steamrolled. Tradition was one thing, being stuck in the mud was another.

      Change happened whether you liked it or not, so the best way to handle it was to hop on board the train as opposed to stretching your body across the tracks and being run over. Which was, he told himself, a good way to think about how to deal with Amanda.

      “This is great,” Abigail