if the whole thing took twice as long as he’d planned. Brooke Calder looked at him as if he was some kind of hero, instead of just being a busy rancher who’d just gotten lassoed into the strangest social call of the year.
When Audie finally got the “reply” to her final question, Gran pronounced it time for cookies and lemonade on the lawn. He’d clean forgotten about Gran’s social plans, and watched helplessly as another work hour of his afternoon evaporated before his eyes. He envied Billy as the man walked free and clear into the barn. The foreman offered him a smug smile, glad to be escaping the ladies’ tea party Gunner now was forced to endure.
He gave Daisy a long last look as he stepped onto the porch behind the chattering females, and even the bison seemed to enjoy his predicament. “See what I started?” the big brown eyes seemed to say.
Thanks for that, Gunner thought as he tucked his long legs under the picnic table and reached for a cookie.
Jace Markham leaned back in his chair Monday morning, the Austin sunshine pouring through the many windows of his corner office at DelTex’s corporate headquarters. He smiled. “Brooke Calder, I underestimated you.”
Brooke looked up from her agenda notes. “How’s that?”
“I’ve been trying to work my way into Adele Buckton’s good graces for years now, and you did it in four months.”
Brooke felt a little band of annoyance stretch under her stomach. DelTex offices weren’t exactly small, and Austin was a big city—how had word of her visit to Blue Thorn traveled so fast? “It wasn’t a professional visit, Mr. Markham.”
Mr. Markham chuckled as he unbuttoned his suit jacket. “Oh, no, I heard the bit about the book report. Brilliant.”
“Science project. And it really wasn’t anything more than that. I ran into one of their bison on my way back from picking up files at the Ramble Acres site.”
Mr. Markham’s eyes popped. “You ran over one of their herd?”
“No.” Brooke winced at the poor choice of words. “I met Daisy as she blocked my way across the road. Gunner Buckton came by and helped get the bison out of the road so I could get home.”
The big man chuckled. “Well, that’s a bit easier to understand. I couldn’t quite see how you turned roadkill into a social call.” He leaned forward. “I take it you received a chilly reception?”
“At first. And most definitely from Gunner. Gunner Junior, that is. He iced over the minute he worked out who I was. Then Audie decided to do her native Texan animals report on bison, and I didn’t see how I could let an opportunity like that get away.”
Mr. Markham raised an eyebrow. Brooke meant an opportunity for hands-on learning for her daughter, but clearly her boss had other interpretations.
“I had Audie call and ask to see the bison because I was sure he’d refuse me,” she continued. “Only, Audie reached Adele first, and Mrs. Buckton warmed to the idea of a visit right away—maybe because she didn’t yet know where I worked.” Brooke shifted her weight. “They don’t think very highly of DelTex. They think Ramble Acres will eventually spread to take their land.”
The vice president took off his reading glasses. “Oh, that’s no news to me. These ranchers are passionate about their land. Most times that’s a good thing. Only, sometimes the public good clashes with that stubbornness, and forward-thinking developers like ourselves have to make unpopular proposals.”
“I know.” It was one of the reasons Brooke had a job—sometimes the public needed education, or awareness, or just flat-out convincing that a development was good for everyone. Part of what she did at DelTex was to help local folks see past the temporary inconveniences of development and embrace the long-term advantages. Or in cases like Ramble Acres, see why some private land was going to be needed to make way for the infrastructure to support a large-scale project.
“And that’s why we pull in the local leaders to get those proposals green-lighted. You know the song—everybody wants a highway, so long as it doesn’t cross the back forty that’s been in their family for three generations.”
Brooke was indeed familiar with the conflict. She’d spent the past four months fine-tuning presentations for DelTex execs and the involved local politicians. Infrastructure almost always needed land, and that was a surefire recipe for public conflict. “It did end well, if that’s what you’re asking. Audie had a wonderful time, and Adele is just like I imagined her.”
“Adele Buckton is a grand, gracious lady. She and Gunner Senior became fixtures in this part of Texas back when I was younger than you.” Mr. Markham folded his hands on his dark marble desktop. “I’ve always thought Adele would see reason much faster than Gunner Junior. That boy has his daddy’s stubborn streak, that’s for sure.”
Brooke thought of the tall, commanding rancher she’d spent time with and found that boy nowhere near a fitting term. “I know the basics of the project, Mr. Markham, but what exactly is it you want from the Bucktons?”
Mr. Markham stood up and motioned for Brooke to join him in front of the large map that took up most of one office wall. He ran a finger down the highway Brooke had traveled on Friday afternoon, the one where she’d met Daisy. “This is Buckton’s place.” He tapped the finger on the east side of the highway. “Over here is Paul Larkey’s ranch,” he continued, shifting his finger to the west side. “And here is Ramble Acres.” He pointed to the site of Brooke’s meeting, a large, upscale housing venture getting ready to go up northeast of both ranches. It was a multimillion-dollar development, sure to be the jewel in the DelTex crown once completed. Mr. Markham had been working on the project—which hadn’t even broken ground yet—for the better part of four years. Brooke’s presentation had dozens of bullet points about its potential positive impact on property tax revenues, schools and local commerce. In fact, the push to break ground on Ramble Acres was the main reason she’d been hired.
Mr. Markham ran his fingers down a thin blue ribbon running across all three properties. “Here is what all the fuss is about. We need access to this water system as part of the Ramble Acres drainage plan—storm-water runoff, that sort of thing. Nothing chemical or even remotely detrimental to the land, just the ability to utilize the waterway. But it’ll swell that creek with all that water once everything’s up and running, so we need Buckton to sell us the creek and the land around it.”
“And he won’t?” The answer to that question was pretty clear.
“Not yet. He’s not budging, even though he’s got two other water sources on his ranch, and I know he could use the money. His neighbor Larkey has already said he’d sell. Only, because Larkey is downstream of Buckton, his yes doesn’t do us any of good without Buckton’s land.”
“Sounds like a standoff.” She could easily see that happening, given the personalities involved.
Mr. Marhkam pushed out a breath. “When Gunner Senior died, I thought maybe we could get through to Adele. She’s the kind of woman who can grasp the bigger picture, and quite honestly, I wasn’t even sure she’d keep the ranch. It would have been too much for her to run alone, and all her grandkids had scattered.”
Now the pieces were fitting together. “And then Gunner Junior showed up?”
Mr.
