LITMIR.BIZ

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been to dude ranches in California. They’re fun, but kinda corny. What I’d really like to do is visit a real working Texas ranch.”

      “I can probably work that out. One of the attorneys in our firm has a spread in the Hill Country and he’s been trying to get me to come up for a long weekend. I’ll give him a call while we’re waiting on the pizza.”

      “No.” The protest flew from her mouth before she could stop it. If she wasn’t careful, this would get out of hand. She didn’t want to go to just any ranch. “Why not visit the Dry Gulch Ranch?” she asked. “It’s only an hour from Dallas.”

      From the look on her dad’s face, you’d think she’d just suggested they visit the devil himself. Her mother had warned her it would be like this.

      “How do you know about the Dry Gulch Ranch?”

      “I got a letter from my grandfather.”

      Her father’s face turned a fierce shade of red. “R.J. wrote to you?”

      “It was just a note, Dad. No big deal.”

      “What did he write?”

      “The basics. He said he was getting old and his health isn’t so good. He’s got a brain tumor. He said you knew about that. Anyway, he wants to meet me before he dies, so he invited me to his ranch.”

      “Oh, he did, did he? Did you show your mother that note?”

      “I did. She said that was between me, you and my grandfather.”

      “It would have been nice if she’d prepared me for this.”

      “R. J. Dalton is my grandfather. I don’t see why you’re getting so freaked out about my wanting to meet him.”

      “I’ll tell you why. R.J. has never been a part of my life. He’s my father by blood only.”

      “Blood is thicker than water, they say.”

      Her dad was clearly not amused. “Did you answer R.J.’s note?”

      “Yes,” she said, seeing no reason to lie about it. “I’ve written him several times. We have a lot in common.”

      “Like what?”

      “He’s into horses. So am I, and I’d really like to visit the Dry Gulch Ranch and meet him and the horses.”

      Her dad looked as if he was ready to throw her back out into the storm. “That explains why you’re here in Dallas.”

      She couldn’t deny that. “I told him I’d spend Thanksgiving with him. I thought we could both go. I mean, if your father’s dying, don’t you want to at least go say goodbye?”

      “We said our goodbyes years ago. His choice.”

      Kind of like he had when he’d moved out of the house and then across the country, ripping her life apart in the process. But she wasn’t there to deal with that, not when she needed him to take her side against her well-meaning mother.

      She crossed her arms. “I didn’t mean to upset you, but I’d really like to meet my grandfather. It’s important to me. Really important, Dad. It doesn’t have to be Thanksgiving Day. We could drive out tomorrow.”

      “R. J. Dalton is not the man you think he is.”

      “Don’t you think I should find that out for myself?”

      “No, I don’t.”

      “Well, I do. I’d like to meet him, and this might be my only chance.”

      Her father raked his fingers through his hair. He looked older than she remembered him, but he was still handsome. And she didn’t just think that because he was her father. Betts thought he was handsome, too.

      Now she just needed him to be reasonable. “Please, Dad,” she pleaded. “Can’t we just drive out to the Dry Gulch Ranch? We don’t have to stay long. If nothing else, I could see the horses.”

      Her dad looked away and then exhaled slowly.

      “Okay,” he said. His agreement took her by surprise. “I’ll drive you out to the ranch tomorrow, but don’t expect too much in the way of R.J.’s becoming a grandfather to you. Family relationships are dispensable to him.”

      A trait her father had obviously inherited.

      But R.J. had a ranch and horses and he wanted to know her better. He could be the answer to all her problems—if her father didn’t ruin her plans and her life yet again.

      Chapter Three

      Joni Griffin leaned over the injured horse, gingerly applying the flexible vet wrap over the pillow wrap. Her hands moved with precision as she made sure the bandaging fit snugly enough to hold it in place but not so tight it caused undue pain.

      R.J. watched the procedure over Joni’s shoulder and muttered reassurances to the beautiful filly. “Poor girl. I should have been watching you more closely. Instead I let you get hurt.”

      “Horses get wounds just like people do,” Joni said. “You can’t prevent all of them. The good thing is you caught this one early and the cut’s not all that deep.”

      “You think Miss Dazzler will be okay then?”

      “I think she’s going to be just fine, but you’ll need to keep applying the hydrotherapy a few times a day until the swelling goes down, and the bandaging will have to be replaced each time. I also recommend one gram of phenylbutazone twice a day to help with the swelling.”

      “I can handle the bute and probably the treatment and bandaging if I have some help from Corky or Adam, but I don’t wanna go trusting Miss Dazzler to anyone who’s not a trained vet.”

      “I’m sure Adam can judge if the wound is healing right,” Joni said. “Your son is amazing with horses. So is his wife, for that matter.”

      “Right on both counts. I notice you and my daughter-in-law have spent a lot of time together of late.”

      “Can’t help but like Hadley. And your granddaughters are adorable.”

      “Yes, they are, but they’re a handful. That’s why I hate to ask Hadley to take on the full responsibility of Miss Dazzler, especially with Thanksgiving just two days away. She and Mattie Mae have been cooking up a storm.”

      “Sounds delicious.”

      “It will be. How about you join us for lunch that day?”

      “I just may do that. Actually, Hadley has already invited me.”

      “Good. I s’pect we’ll have enough food to feed half the citizens of Oak Grove.”

      “Then I’ll definitely come and try to eat my share.”

      “Good. Now back to Miss Dazzler. I want somebody who knows what they’re doing to take a good look at that wound every day, just to be sure it’s healing right.”

      “I could show Adam what to look for.”

      “He’s off at a cattle auction today.”

      “What about Corky?”

      “He’s a good enough cattle wrangler, but I don’t trust him to take care of Miss Dazzler’s injured fetlock. Not that he wouldn’t like helping you do it. I think he’s got a crush on you. Can’t say that I blame him, mind you. If I were younger—”

      “Okay, enough with the flattery. I’ll see Miss Dazzler once a day until the fetlock is completely healed.”

      “I sure would appreciate that.”

      Joni smiled. It was hard to turn R.J. down, even though she already had a full plate this week. But R.J. loved his horses. That was always a plus in her book.

      And she admired the way he

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