Page 105 of A Rancher's Heart

Now if one irritatingly stubborn man would get his act together andsaysomething, they could move toward making this a full-time reality.

The perfect afternoon of tobogganing was followed by a quick dinner out at a local diner—quick because both the girls were falling asleep at the table.

She and Caleb continued to work with each other, sharing evenings. His brothers began to drop in a lot more often, though, and she wondered if Caleb had actively encouraged them to show up as chaperones. Most nights she was the one to say good night before the living room was empty.

She tried to tell herself going slow was a positive thing, but she missed him in her bed.

Funny—they’d only had two days to themselves, but she wanted the man desperately. She could only imagine what it was doing to him to know she was just down the hall and yet out of reach.

But while she waited, she worked.

The whole puzzle of how to help Silver Stone became her new quiet obsession. She talked to everyone she could, being careful not to reveal why she was asking.

Ashton gave her a slow nod when she mentioned the feed orders seemed steeper than in the past. “Floods a few years back were rough, but we’ll get back on track. A man’s got to work with the land, not against her. She’ll take care of us. She always does.”

She called Josiah out to do a checkup on Stormy, which was kind of overkill considering how well all the horses were treated at Silver Stone, but gave her a chance to ask him about trends in ranching and what he’d observed recently.

Thankfully, Caleb’s best friend had stopped flirting with her. He was a lot more talkative than Caleb, and before Stormy was checked head to toe, Tamara knew enough to start her own ranch in the area. She also knew enough about the current state of the economy to know she’d be crazy to think about it.

“Things are tight everywhere,” he finished bluntly, patting Stormy on the withers before rejoining Tamara outside of the stall. “All it’ll take, though, is one good break and it’ll all turn around.”

What he didn’t say was one bad break could just as easily be the end, which was what Tamara desperately didn’t want to happen. Silver Stone was Caleb’s home. It was home for Emma and Sasha, and all the others who’d become incredibly important to her.

Karen gave her the first real push towards a seed of an idea. They were texting one morning, Tamara bundled up in her warmest coat, with a toque on her head and a quilt wrapped around her, hiding her phone under the massive pile to keep her fingers from freezing between messages.

Karen:guess what’s arriving today

Tamara:a herd of elephants?

Karen:smaller, and far more woolly

It couldn’t be something as simple as sheep because they already had a number of flocks on the Coleman land.

Tamara:long-haired rabbits?

Karen:you get cookies for being close. Alpacas

Tamara:get out!

Karen: seriously

Tamara:please videotape yourself the first time you ride one, and post it on YouTube

Karen:ha! Don’t tempt me. No, this is Hope’s fault. She convinced the family Alpaca yarn can be a good moneymaker, so we’re going to try

It made sense. The Colemans had enough land and enough workers to add to the operation.

Tamara:maybe I need to get you to send some to Silver Stone

Karen:hell, no. It was bad enough we brought goats to the property. The horses are too valuable to mess up bringing in other animals. The only diversification Silver Stone should try is mineral rights

Did Karen know something she didn’t?Diamonds? Rubies?

Karen:black gold

Sudden disappointment hit:I think they’d know if they had oil on their land

Karen:they’ve never tested. I asked Ashton when I was there, and he said they’d never had the time or inclination to worry about it after Caleb’s parents passed on