Daniel’s focus lifted to the sky.
But Milton Ranch was a long way from those city lights. Damn, he’d never seen so many stars.
“How much land have you got here?” he asked.
“Three thousand acres,” Elizabeth replied, pride evident in her voice as she dug her hands into her coat pockets.
“Must be a challenge.”
“One I’m prepared to face. Although rising costs and lack of trained hands make it difficult,” she admitted.
“But you’re in for the long haul.”
“My parents left money enough to keep the tradition going. Ranching is in my blood.”
A vision of Elizabeth at five years of age wearing an Annie Oakley costume, charging off toward an endless horizon on her very own pony, made him smile.
“So you grew up learning how to rope a steer?” he asked as they crunched farther down the shadowed path.
“I was a cowgirl but only in between attending boarding school.”
“A school close to home?”
“Initially in Houston. In my teens, overseas. Switzerland, France.”
“Where you dined on sautéed mollusks.” Snails.
“Helix pomatia, to be precise,” she said with mock authority.
He lifted an eyebrow. “My, sounds like those boarding schools didn’t waste your parents’ money.”
“I received a great education. Had some wonderful experiences. Made some lifelong friends.” And in her faraway expression he could see she wouldn’t say no to a sojourn to Europe right this minute. He could well imagine her expertly skiing Alpine slopes, wandering around the history and culture of the Louvre.
“Bet you’re on and off jets, visiting all the time.”
Before the moon disappeared behind a cloud, he saw her smile waver but, a moment later, her shoulders in that big coat rolled back.
“There’s a lot to keep me busy here.”
Daniel’s step faltered. Here was a beautiful, obviously intelligent woman with mega funds at her disposal. She’d beamed speaking about that Parisian café, about her experiences overseas and the friends she’d made there. She was young, which translated into plenty of energy and enthusiasm, the kind she showed for this ranch. Had he misinterpreted or had she as good as confessed she didn’t get out much?
Just how much of her time did this ranch take up?
“I guess the responsibility of three thousand acres is a lot,” he prodded as the silhouette of the stables loomed before them.
“I have people to manage matters, although more and more I’d rather handle things myself.”
He shot over a glance. “Really?”
A strand of blond escaped its upsweep and danced in the breeze as she frowned. “Why so surprised?”
“To be honest—” he shrugged “—practically everything about you surprises me.”
She sent him a saucy grin. “Good.”
A moment later, a whinny sounded as they approached the stable’s single side door.
“This building replaced the original stable a decade ago,” she said, shifting the catch. “We had a fire. No horses lost, thank heaven. When Dad upgraded, he made sure it was with the best materials and safety features.”
Stepping inside, she flicked a light switch then pointed out a framed photograph, hanging on the wall, of a grand turn-of-the-previous-century red timber barn.
“This one doesn’t smell the same,” she said, “doesn’t have the same feel, but it’s easier to keep clean and has loads more space.”
As the smell of fresh hay and horse filled his lungs, Daniel concurred. This was a clean wide structure, with two-dozen individual stalls, as well as windows and a skylight that would allow in an ideal amount of natural light during the day. Not the personality of the old post-and-beam barn with its massive hayloft, but far more practical.
Times change.
Elizabeth crossed to the first stall on the left. Hooves pawed at a straw floor, then came a welcoming snort, a sound that made Daniel smile and wish his father had listened to him for once and let him learn how to ride. Hunting was Judge Buck Warren’s passion. Daniel still hadn’t forgiven his father for that.
Elizabeth arrived at the stall gate. A regal-looking horse, with a glossy black coat and mane, greeted her by nudging its muzzle against her shoulder. Elizabeth, so small against this other’s height and might, seemed to come alive as she scrubbed her palm over its cheek and murmured words that had Daniel longing to be on the receiving end.
Her face filled with adoration, she looked over. “This is Ame Sœur.”
“Kindred Spirit.”
For the first time he noticed a delicate dimple either side of her smile. “I’ll have you eating escargot yet.”
He pretended to shudder. “You two seem good friends.”
“The best,” she said, and the horse blew through his lips as if to agree. “We try to saddle up every day.”
“Unless you’re away.”
The motion of her hand stroking his muzzle stopped while she fished into her coat pocket and extracted a huge red apple. Her horse’s head reared back as his lips wobbled, searching out the treat. He was crunching into the fruit when she replied in a somber tone.
“Daniel, did Abby say something to you?”
“Say something? About what?”
Searching his eyes, she seemed to consider his response before she dropped her gaze then refocused on the horse, which was chomping and nudging for more. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”
When he moved closer, she pulled another apple from her pocket. “Want to feed him?”
“Maybe later.”
“We mostly use trucks and bikes these days.” The horse bit into the second apple. “But if I check the stock and fences, I like to do it with Ame.”
“Right now I’m interested in what you think Abigail might have told me.”
He couldn’t believe it was anything sinister. So what was it that had this normally poised woman looking suddenly flustered?
Still, whatever it was didn’t concern him … unless she wanted it to.
He tilted his head. “And if you want me to back off, say the word.”
With those diamond drops sparkling beneath the fluorescents, she looked him square on for a deliberative moment then finally blew out a breath.
“My parents included a caveat in their will,” she said. “I’m obliged to stay here, in Royal, a good deal of any given year.”
He frowned. “What do you mean—a good deal?”
“I get two months to travel outside of Royal.”
He took a moment to digest the ramifications. “And if you’re gone for, say, two months and one day?”
“I forfeit my inheritance.”