Texas Tender Read Free Page A

Webb.”
    â€œYou sure as hell acted like it until he took up with Junie Mae Winslow.”
    Webb had taken pride in being able to ride the toughest horses anyone could find. A fall from a rogue horse had ended up being fatal when his head hit a rock and he was knocked unconscious. He died a week later without ever waking up. His father hadn’t been the same since.
    â€œTry sweetening that temper of yours so you won’t run Mr. Haskins off before I can get back,” Carl said. “You don’t have to tell me again how hard things have been since Mom and Dad died. I know all that. I also know you took it real hard when Webb turned his back on you. I know you’re worried about the ranch, and you’re worried about me falling in love with a girl who may never marry me. But,” he added after taking a big breath, “you’re never going to get a man to look at you twice if you don’t stop treating them all like they’re out to steal our last nickel.” His frown eased and he smiled. “You’re a great gal, Idalou. You’d make some man a wonderful wife if you’d give yourself a chance.”
    Carl took advantage of Idalou’s momentary silenceto leave the house before she could launch her rebuttal. Jordan McGloughlin’s cows had been straying onto their land, eating their grass, mating with their bull, drinking their water. Everybody knew longhorns were wild creatures that didn’t understand the concept of ranch boundaries. However, Idalou was certain Jordan had instructed his hands to
encourage
his cows to wander onto Double-L land. It was all part of his campaign to force her to sell.
    Idalou walked to the doorway of their small house and watched as her brother mounted up and rode off on his favorite pinto mare. He had the height and strength of a man, but she supposed she’d never stop thinking of him as a younger brother she needed to take care of. She didn’t want to do anything to discourage him from growing into a confident adult, but he was too emotional, too willing to see good in others without noticing the bad as well. He worked as hard as she did to hold things together, but they both knew it would be a tough fight even with the money they’d get for the bull.
    Their father had been a dreamer, and having his own ranch had always been his ambition. He’d gambled with the future of the family when he’d mortgaged the ranch to buy that bull. Idalou had thought it was too much of a gamble and had tried to talk him out of it, but her mother had sided with her husband.
    â€œIt’s been his dream since before we got married,” she’d told her daughter. “How could I possibly ask him to set it aside?”
    Now Carl was gambling with his own future by falling in love with Mara McGloughlin. Everybody knew her father would never allow them to marry. Jordan McGloughlin had made it plain he wanted Mara to marry Van Sonnenberg. Combining the twospreads would create one of the biggest ranches in Texas. The Double-L ranch stood in the way of that ambition, just as Carl stood in the way of Mara’s marriage to Van.
    Idalou turned back inside, the enforced idleness irritating her. If she hadn’t had to wait for Will Haskins, she would have been out searching for the bull herself. She’d already straightened up their small sitting room and made her preparations for supper. Her bedroom was always neat, and she didn’t bother with Carl’s room regardless of the chaos. The washing was done, the chickens fed, and the eggs gathered. She’d have to milk the cow and pen the chickens before nightfall, but she would do that after Mr. Haskins left.
    She couldn’t help wondering what he was like. It was rumored the Maxwell family owned half the Hill Country. She hoped it was true. She wanted them to be rich enough to pay a lot for the bull. The decision to sell had been agonizing. The calves the animal fathered