Married In Montana. Lynnette Kent

than anybody else, maybe not even as good as most.”

      Thea saw her dad’s fingers tighten around the bowl of his pipe, recognized his impulse to physical expression of his anger. He’d administered her last spanking when she was twelve—the point at which her mother had forbidden him raise his hand to her children ever again.

      But then their mother died. The girls had been too old for corporal punishment at that point, but Bobby had received his share, and then some. Would he be in better shape if their dad had abided by his wife’s decree even after her death?

      “Look, Dad.” She closed the distance between them and put a hand on his rigid arm. “Think about this. Ask yourself if Bobby is really in control of his drinking, of his life in general. Maybe there’s something we can do to help him settle down. That’s what you want, isn’t it? For Bobby to take up his part of the ranch work and love it the way you do?”

      He shut his eyes for a second, then looked at her again. “I want your brother to be a part of the team that runs this place. Bobby and Herman and I should be working together, keeping Walking Stones strong.” Still puffing on his pipe, he stepped out from underneath her palm and went to stare out the window. “If I see Bobby’s having trouble with that…I’ll figure out what to do about it.”