“You weren’t exaggerating about your back, were you?”
“Nope. I’ve got a bunch of fused vertebrae and a doctor’s warning to never get on another horse for the rest of my life.”
“But you’re still riding?” Giving him a hard look, she shook her head. “That’s crazy.”
“Maybe, but Clyde’s as safe as one of those carousel horses kids ride on at the fair. Besides, life’s too short to be afraid of things that might happen. When you’ve had the misfortunes I have, you learn to appreciate what’s left.”
That got him a nod, which he took as a tacit sign of acceptance, if not understanding. They sat for a while, trading small talk while they admired the gradually sinking sun as it began its nightly descent over the mountains. He recognized that she had children to get home to, and he moved on to the subject he’d insisted they discuss.
“Morgan.” When he had her attention, he summoned his courage and forged ahead. “I want to help out with Allie and Hannah. You’ve carried all the weight for long enough, and I’m ready to take on my share.”
That got him a derisive snort. “I doubt it.”
Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a folded paper and handed it to her. “I’m serious. Maybe this’ll convince you I mean what I’m saying.”
She carefully took the certified check from him as if it was a rattlesnake coiled to strike and opened it with a wary expression. When she saw the amount, her mouth fell into a shocked O, and those gorgeous blue eyes met his in astonishment. “This is a lot of money.”
“Delivered my truck to the new owner the other day,” he explained, feeling proud of himself for the first time in ages. “I found a used one cheaper than I expected, so the rest is for you and the girls. I talked to a lawyer buddy of mine and found out that six years of child support for two kids adds up to a lot. This is a down payment. Once I get myself sorted out, he’ll help us come up with a permanent arrangement so you won’t have to worry about money anymore.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, clearly stunned by the offer. “I never would’ve expected this, Ty. It’s very generous of you.”
It was, which was what he’d been counting on when he devised a plan for approaching this very independent woman about their daughters. Having offered his help, he now moved on to what he considered to be the more important element of his proposal.
“It’s my responsibility, as their father,” he ventured cautiously, watching her for any sign of disagreement. When she didn’t show one, he decided it was safe for him to continue. “It’s also my responsibility to be a part of their lives. If they want me there.”
“So this is a bribe?” she demanded, jamming the check into his chest with enough force to nearly knock him off the log. Shoving away from him, she jumped to her feet and scowled down at him. “Keep your money and your fake concern, Tyler Wilkins. My daughters and I have done just fine without you all these years, and we’ll keep going that way long after you’re gone.”
This woman could still spike his temper into boiling range with a single look, but he summoned a calm tone as he got to his feet and matched her frosty look with one of his own. “I’m not going anywhere, MJ. First off, I’ve got nowhere else to go. And second—and more important—I intend to stick around so my daughters and I can get to know each other. I’ve missed the first six years of their lives, and I’m not gonna miss any more.”
With that, he wheeled around and mounted Clyde as gracefully as he could. Reaching over, he tucked the check under the corner of Sadie’s saddle blanket and headed toward home without a look back.
Let her stew over that one, he thought with a grin as he rode away. She wasn’t the only one with a stubborn streak.
“Now, remember, Morgan,” Dad cautioned her as he pulled into the parking lot at the high school. “This is our first meeting with this energy company rep, and it’s bound to be a little nutsy. This is an important issue for everyone around here, not just us. You’re gonna have to be patient with folks when they’re trying to talk.”
Morgan gave him the irritated look she reserved for people who had the gall to tell her how she was supposed to behave. “I know that, Dad. Please don’t speak to me like I’m ten years old.”
“You’re real passionate about this, and I love that about you. But let’s be honest—you’ve got a knack for taking over a situation, convinced you’ve got the answer to the problem. This is bigger than one or two families, and it’s gonna take all of us to hammer out a solution everyone can live with.”
“You know some of our neighbors are on the verge of selling out to that greedy shark, right?” He nodded, and she turned to face him squarely. “If they accept his offer, we might as well do the same thing, because in a couple years the Calico River will be liquid poison and our place will be downstream from an industrial complex that’ll be churning out pollutants and noise twenty-four/seven.”
“We’re not gonna let that happen,” he assured her, patting her shoulder in a calming gesture. “But we won’t get anywhere by pressuring folks into seeing things our way. They’ve gotta come to the right decision on their own.”
“I just can’t believe anyone who’s got half a brain would want to ruin all that,” she grumbled, staring out the dusty windshield of his truck at the expanse of the oddly named Crazy Mountains to the north. “That’s some of God’s best handiwork out there, and it’s up to us to keep it that way.”
“Preaching to the choir.”
“I know. I’m just more frustrated than usual, I guess.” She blew out an exasperated breath to cool her temper. It helped, but not enough. She recognized that was because she now had a new problem to contend with—namely Ty Wilkins—and she didn’t know what she was going to do about it.
Heaving a sigh of his own, Dad got out and circled the old SUV to open her door for her the way he’d done since she was a child. “Stick with comments about God’s handiwork in there, and you’ll get a lot further than if you get into a shouting match with people who’re on the fence about land development.”
“Okay,” she agreed grudgingly. “You make a good point.”
“Flies and honey, sweetheart.”
Diplomacy wasn’t exactly her strong point, Morgan groused silently as they went up the wide front steps into the school. But the Mustang Ridge Conservancy was fighting for the very existence that generations of Whittakers had worked so hard to create. She wanted Allie and Hannah to grow up surrounded by the same view she’d loved from the time she could appreciate it. If the only way to make that happen was muting her characteristic drive, she’d just have to figure out a way to do it.
Inside, the auditorium was packed. Up on the stage that normally hosted student concerts and plays, there was a long table and several chairs. A man she didn’t recognize was talking with Kevin Carmichael, the town’s only dentist and their newly elected mayor. He was the developer everyone had been buzzing about the past few weeks, judging by his tailored suit and polished appearance.
Her father had artfully intercepted the man when he visited their ranch, respectfully hearing him out before sending him on his way. Mostly because he knew perfectly well that if the stranger had found Morgan first, she would have blown a gasket before throwing him off the property. Her beloved mustangs had nowhere else to go, and if the Whittakers lost their right to use the open rangeland where the wild ponies roamed, they’d be rounded up and sent to some random place where she wouldn’t be able to help them. The only way to save them was to get that land legally protected as wilderness forever. It was a tall order, even for a woman who’d never run from a challenge