Texas True Read online

  Don’t miss any of Janet Dailey’s bestsellers:

  Christmas in Cowboy Country

  Merry Christmas, Cowboy

  A Cowboy Under My

  Christmas Tree

  Always with Love

  Bannon Brothers: Honor

  Bannon Brothers: Trust

  American Destiny

  American Dreams

  Because of You

  Calder Storm

  Can’t Say Goodbye

  Close to You

  Crazy in Love

  Dance with Me

  Everything

  Forever

  Green Calder Grass

  Lone Calder Star

  Lover Man

  Masquerade

  Mistletoe and Molly

  Santa in a Stetson

  Something More

  Stealing Kisses

  Tangled Vines

  Texas Kiss

  That Loving Feeling

  To Santa with Love

  When You Kiss Me

  Yes, I Do

  You’re Still the One

  Heiress

  Rivals

  Let’s Be Jolly

  Maybe This Christmas

  Happy Holidays

  Scrooge Wore Spurs

  Eve’s Christmas

  Searching for Santa

  Santa in Montana

  Calder Promise

  Shifting Calder Wind

  Going My Way

  It Takes Two

  Happily Ever After

  Try to Resist Me

  Bring the Ring

  Ranch Dressing

  With This Kiss

  Wearing White

  Man of Mine

  TEXAS TRUE

  JANET DAILEY

  KENSINGTON BOOKS www.kensingtonbooks.com

  All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.

  Table of Contents

  Don’t miss any of Janet Dailey’s bestsellers:

  Title Page

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  EPILOGUE

  Copyright Page

  PROLOGUE

  When Virgil “Bull” Tyler left this life, it was said that his departing spirit roared like a norther across the yellowed spring pastureland, shrilled upward among the buttes and hoodoos of the Caprock Escarpment, and lost itself in the cry of a red-tailed hawk circling above the high Texas plain.

  Later on, folks would claim they’d felt Bull’s passing like a sudden chill on the March wind. But his son Will Tyler had felt nothing. Busy with morning chores, Will was unaware of his father’s death until he heard the shouts of the husky male nurse who came in every morning to get the old man out of bed and into his wheelchair.

  Will knew at once what had happened. By the time his long strides carried him to the rambling stone ranch house, he’d managed to brace for what he would find. All the same, the sight of that once-powerful body lying rigid under the patchwork quilt, the lifeless blue eyes staring up at the ceiling, hit him like a kick in the gut. He’d lived his whole thirty-nine years in his father’s shadow. Now the old man was gone. But the shadow remained.

  “Do you want me to call nine-one-one?” The young man was new to the ranch. Bull had gone through a parade of hired caregivers in the six years since a riding accident had shattered his spine, paralyzing his hips and legs.

  “What for?” Will pulled the sheet over his father’s face. In the movies, somebody would’ve closed those eyes. In real life, Will knew for a fact that it didn’t work.

  “We’ll need to call somebody,” the nurse said. “The county coroner, maybe? They’ll want to know what killed him.”

  Alcohol and pain pills, Will surmised. But what the hell, there were protocols to be followed. “Fine, go ahead and call,” he said. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

  Bernice Crawford, the plump, graying widow who’d been the Tylers’ cook and housekeeper since Will’s boyhood, met him in the hall. Tears were streaming down her apple-cheeked face. “Oh, Will! I’m so sorry!”

  “I know.” Will searched for words of comfort for her. “Dad thought the world of you, Bernice.”

  “He was a miserable old man,” she said. “You know that as well as I do. But he carried the burden God gave him, and now he’s free of it.”

  Will gave her shoulder an awkward squeeze before he turned away and strode toward the front door. He needed fresh air. And he needed time to gather his thoughts.

  He made it to the wide, covered porch before the raw reality slammed home. Setting his jaw, he gripped the rail and forced himself to breathe. His father was dead. He felt the void left by Bull’s passing—and the weight of responsibility for this ranch and everyone on it that was now his to shoulder alone.

  The morning breeze carried the smells of spring—thawing manure, sprouting grass, and restless animals. Hammer blows rang from the hollow beyond the barn, where the hands were shoring up the calving pens for the pregnant heifers that had been bred a week ahead of the older cows. The rest of the cattle that had wintered in the canyon would soon need rounding up for the drive to spring pasture above the escarpment on the Llano Estacado, the Staked Plain, given that name by early Spaniards because the land was so flat and desolate that they had to drive stakes in the ground to keep from losing their way.

  Looking down from the low rise where the house stood, Will let his gaze sweep over the heart of the sprawling Rimrock Ranch—the vast complex of sheds, corrals, and barns, the hotel-like bunkhouse for unmarried hands, the adjoining cookhouse and commissary, and the line of neat brick bungalows for workers with families. To the east, a shallow playa lake glittered pale aquamarine in the sunlight. It made a pretty sight, but the water was no good to drink. With the summer heat it would evaporate, leaving behind an ugly white patch of alkali where nothing would grow.

  Will scowled up at the cloudless sky. Last summer’s drought had been a nightmare. If no rain fell, the coming summer could be even worse, with the grass turning to dust and the cattle having to be sold off early, at a pittance on the plummeting beef market.

  Will had managed the ranch for the past six years and done it as competently as his father ever had. But even from his wheelchair, Bull had been the driving spirit behind Rimrock. Now that Bull was gone, Will felt the full burden of his legacy.

  “Looks like we’ll be planning a funeral.” The dry voice startled Will before he noticed the old man seated in one of the rocking chairs with Tag, the ranch Border collie, sprawled at his feet. Jasper Platt, Bernice’s older brother, had been foreman since before Will was born. Now that rheumatism kept him out of the saddle, he was semiretired. But Will still relied on him. No one understood the ranch and everything on it, including the people, the way Jasper did.

  “When did you find out?” Will asked.

  “About the same time you did.” Jasper was whip spare and tough as an old saddle. His hair was an unruly white thatch, his skin burned dark as walnut below the pale line left by his hat. The joints of his fingers were knotted with arthritis.

  “You’d best start phoning people,” he said. “Some of them, like Beau, will need time to get here.”

  “I know.” Will had already begun a mental list. His younger brother Beau was out on the East Coast and hadn’t set foot on the ranch in more than a decade—not since he’d bolted to join the army after a big
blowup with their father. The rest of the folks who mattered enough to call lived on neighboring ranches or fifteen miles down the state highway in Blanco Springs, the county seat. Most of them could wait until after the date and time for the funeral had been set. But Will’s ex-wife, Tori, who lived in Blanco with their twelve-year-old daughter Erin, would need to know right away. Erin would take the news hard. Whatever Bull had been to others, he was her grandpa.

  Neither call would be easy to make. Beau was out of the army now and working for the government in Washington, DC. He had kept them informed of his whereabouts, but an address and a couple of phone numbers was all Will knew about his brother’s life out East.

  As for Tori—short for Victoria—she’d left Will five years ago to practice law in town. Shared custody of their daughter had kept things civil between them. But when they spoke, the tension was like thin ice on a winter pond, still liable to crack at the slightest shift.

  The nearest mortuary was in Lubbock. He’d have to call them, too. They’d most likely want to pick up the body at the coroner’s. The body. Hell, what a cold, unfeeling process. Too bad they couldn’t just wrap the old man in a blanket and stash him in the Caprock like the Indians used to do. Bull would have liked that.

  As if conjured by the thought of Indians, a solitary figure stepped out of the horse barn and stood for a moment, gazing across the muddy yard. Fourteen years ago, Sky Fletcher, the part-Comanche assistant foreman, had wandered onto the ranch as a skinny teenage orphan and stayed to prove himself as a man known across the state for his skill with horses.

  “Does Sky know?” Will asked Jasper.

  “He knows. And he said to tell you that when you’re ready, he’ll crank up the backhoe and dig the grave next to your mother’s.”

  “Sky’s got better things to do.”

  Jasper gave him a sharp glance. “Bull was good to that boy. He wants to help. Let him.”

  “Fine. Tell him thanks.” Will looked back toward the barn, but Sky was no longer in sight.

  Squaring his shoulders, Will took a couple of deep breaths and crossed the porch to the front door. It was time to face the truth that awaited him inside the house.

  His father was dead—and the void he’d left behind was as deep as the red Texas earth.

  CHAPTER 1

  When it came to big gatherings, there was nothing like a good old-fashioned Texas funeral.

  From the doorway of the cavernous ranch house parlor, Beau Tyler sipped his bourbon and studied the Texans who’d come to mourn and swap stories about his father. Now that Bull was properly eulogized and planted in the family cemetery, the real get-together could begin.

  From the pit-barbecued beef in the backyard to the salads, casseroles, and desserts the neighbors had brought along, there was plenty to eat—and to drink. Guests heaped their plates from the groaning buffet table, filled their glasses at the bar, and took advantage of the rare chance to socialize.

  After eleven years away, Beau felt like a stranger. Children had grown up in his absence. Middle-aged folk had grown old, and some of the old ones had passed on. Scanning the crowd, he could spot only a few people he recognized. Every now and then he’d spot a familiar face but rarely could he link a name with it. He supposed it was to be expected.

  Catching the sound of the front door closing, Beau automatically glanced in its direction, obeying the well-honed instinct to locate and assess the person coming up behind him. His gaze landed on a big, burly bear of a man, dressed in the uniform of a local law enforcement officer, in the process of removing his hat. There were more lines in his craggy face and some gray in his hair, but Beau had no trouble recognizing the county sheriff, Hoyt Axelrod.

  At almost the same moment, the sheriff spotted him, briefly narrowed his sharp eyes, then nodded his head in recognition. “Beau Tyler.” He walked straight toward him, a hand outstretched in greeting. “A lot of people around here were wondering if you’d come back for the funeral. Some were even placing bets on it.”

  “Someone got lucky, then.” The handshake was firm but brief.

  “I’m sure your brother appreciates having you here. Sorry I couldn’t make it to the funeral, but I got tied up at the courthouse.”

  “Duty first,” Beau responded. “Comes with the badge.”

  “That’s right. You’d know about that, wouldn’t you? You’re an agent with the DEA now, aren’t you?” Axelrod asked.

  “I am.”

  “I never figured you were the kind to go into law enforcement. Growing up, you always seemed more interested in good times and partying,” the sheriff remarked, while his gaze made a fresh study of him in this new light.

  “People change,” Beau replied, and idly swirled the bourbon in his glass.

  “That they do,” the sheriff agreed. “And Lord knows, there isn’t a part of this country that isn’t plagued by drug problems of some kind. I’m just glad we aren’t any closer to the border than we are. But this isn’t the time or place for shoptalk.” The cell phone hooked to his belt beeped, advising the sheriff of an incoming text message. Axelrod darted an apologetic glance at Beau, checked his phone, then hooked it back on his belt. “If you’re going to be around a few days, maybe you can stop by my office and we can trade some stories.”

  “I’ve got a flight out tomorrow. Maybe another time.”

  “I’ll hold you to that,” the sheriff replied, giving no sign he meant it any more than Beau did. Immediately he shifted his attention to the people milling in the parlor. “You wouldn’t know where I might find your brother so I can offer him my condolences?”

  “Last time I saw him, he was by the bar.”

  “I’ll find him. It’s good to see you again, Beau. I’m just sorry it had to be under these circumstances.”

  Beau nodded in response and watched as the sheriff began making his way through the throng of mourners toward the bar. He knew he should mingle with the guests, but he didn’t feel like making small talk. He was about to turn away from the parlor when he caught sight of a face he recognized at once.

  There was Tori, Will’s ex-wife, in a knee-skimming black lawyer suit. Tall and slim, with sun-streaked hair, she looked classy as hell. Beau had always thought she and Will were meant for a lifetime together. Whatever had driven them apart must’ve been bad. But then Will was capable of being a stubborn, insensitive jackass, especially when it came to women. And Tori had never been one to quietly knuckle under.

  Tori had been cornered by a neighboring rancher, Congressman Garn Prescott. Prescott had given the eulogy at the funeral, which was surprising since Bull and Prescott’s late father had hated each other’s guts. But a lot could change over time, and there was an election coming up this fall.

  Reading Tori’s body language, Beau surmised that the man was invading her personal space and all she wanted was to end their conversation. He was weighing the wisdom of going to her rescue when he felt a touch on his arm and heard a soft voice.

  “Are you my uncle Beau?”

  Beau turned to the young girl by his elbow. She looked about twelve, with intelligent blue eyes and a dark blond ponytail tied with black satin ribbon. For a split second he failed to recognize her. Then he recalled glimpsing her at the service, next to her mother.

  “Erin? Is that really you?”

  The grin that lit her face—a miniature of Tori’s but with Will’s blue eyes—answered his question.

  “I can’t believe it!” Smiling, he shook his head in mock amazement. “The last time I saw you, you were still in diapers!”

  Her laugh was musical. “Not anymore. I’m almost in eighth grade. Someday I want to be a lawyer like my mom, or maybe a vet like Natalie.”

  Natalie. Something like an unhealed scar pulled inside him. He’d heard she was in veterinary school, and later on that she’d finished and married Slade Haskell. But nothing more. Not in years. He’d almost succeeded in forgetting her.

  As if any man could forget his first time—and hers.

/>   “My dad told me you were in a war. He said you got shot.”

  “I was, and I did. But I’m okay now.” And he was okay. The nightmares about the action he’d seen in Iraq still plagued him sometimes, but he’d learned to deal with that. As for the bone-shattering shoulder wound that had gotten him sent stateside, it did no worse than hamper his racquetball game and stiffen up in cold weather. He’d been lucky over there. Damned lucky.

  “And now you catch bad guys that sell drugs. That’s what my dad says.”

  “Well, I used to. Now I get to boss other people who catch them.”

  “Can I get you a sandwich or something?” Erin asked. “I’m helping Bernice today. She said I could be her gofer.”

  “I’ll grab something later. But thanks for the offer.”

  “Time for me to get gofering.” She wrinkled her lightly freckled nose. “I hope we can talk some more while you’re here. When I grow up, I want to see the whole world—just like you.”

  “I’m leaving tomorrow. If there’s anything you want to talk about, we’d better make it soon.”

  “I’ll do my best. But right now Bernice needs me to fetch more napkins.” She flitted off through the crowd. Beau’s gaze followed the path of her bobbing ponytail. A smile edged the corners of his mouth. The kid was a winner straight out of the gate.

  At least Will and Tori had done something right.

  Tori’s hand cramped around her glass of iced tea. Her black stiletto pumps were killing her feet. The tightness at the back of her neck signaled an oncoming headache, and Congressman Garn Prescott, who’d backed her against a leather settee, wouldn’t get out of her face.

  Keep skunks and politicians at a distance. Bull’s words came back to her as she fought the urge to shove the man away.

  “How can I convince you, Tori?” The congressman was fifty-two, a big, handsome, graying man whose breath smelled of the Scotch he’d been drinking. “A woman like you, your talents are being wasted in a backwater town like Blanco Springs. As a member of my Washington staff, your salary would be twice what you’re making here. And the connections—my dear, there’s no limit to where you could go.”