Home To Texas

He studied the play of her hair in the wind, wondered what it would feel like if he touched it, then cautioned himself, Slow down, boy.

The look in her eyes grew far off, her expression stoic. “What’s done is done,” she said. “We deal with it.”

She exhaled, burrowing her hands more deeply into her pockets. “So. Let’s pace the outline of the fence. Then I’ll let you get to your job, and I’ll get to mine.”

“Sure.” He fell into step beside her. “What kind of horses have you got coming?”

“An Appaloosa.” She kept her eyes on her boots as she paced. “And a Shetland pony.”

He found this interesting; he always found horses interesting. But there were other things he wanted to know. He jerked his head in the direction of the house. “The painting. You bought all the right stuff in town. You knew what you were doing.”

The unspoken question was you’ve done this before?

He didn’t know if she’d answer, but she did. “We grew up with our folks doing it. Buying one place after another. Fixing it up. Moving on.”

He tried another angle. “Cal? You know him well?”

She gave him the briefest of sideways glances. Her smoky eyes had the strange power to fascinate and shake him at the same time.

“Yes. Well.” She seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then she looked at the sky and said, “I’m sorry I was so unfriendly to you earlier.”

The remark threw him a bit off balance. “I didn’t notice,” he lied.

“Yes, you did. You took me by surprise.”

I could say the same for you. He stole a glance at her profile, the straight nose, the long lashes and the untrammeled hair.

She stared off at the far horizon. “People will ask you what’s going on over here. What’s becoming of this property. Each of the partners has a different vision. But they’re working together. My brother’s going to establish an equestrian community. It’s part of a bigger development. All of it committed to preserving the integrity of the land. I don’t know much more than that.”

He stopped, and she stopped, too. He pulled his hat farther down over his eyes. “An equestrian community? For people who own horses?”

“Own. Or lease. People who want enough space in the country to live and have a horse or two. Or who live in Austin but want to keep horses. To have a weekend getaway and place to ride.”

“And your brother’s put you in charge of start-up?” he asked. It was a big job for a woman, especially for one recovering from a bad marriage, but Tara was not an average woman. She nodded and started walking again. “He’s played with the idea for years. So that’s the story. I oversee reconstruction on the house and lodge. We’ve got to get the stable up and running. In Austin, architects and landscape architects are planning the rest of it.”

He kept pace with her. “Do you want me to keep quiet about it? I mean, folks are bound to be curious. But it’s your business and your brother’s.”

“No. There’s no need for secrecy. People will know soon enough.” She paused, her eyes sweeping the hills, then settling on the house. “I’ve got to go now.”

“Yeah. Well. I’ll move Del’s furniture back in before I head home.”

“Thanks.” She said it without smiling. She turned from him and walked away with long, sure steps. She did not look back.

IT WAS AFTER SIX O’CLOCK, and Del, full of energy after his nap, had decided to shadow Grady. He was an interesting man who did interesting things.

He had put up almost a whole fence where no fence had been before. He could take the light fixture out of the bedroom ceiling, then put it back. He’d turned the dirty walls a clean and comforting blue. He was strong enough to move even a big dresser, and that’s what he was doing now.

“Why’d you put tape on the walls?” Del asked. “Did they have a boo-boo?” He stifled a snicker.

“You don’t fool me.” Grady shoved the bulky steel dresser into place. “That’s a joke. Ha. A pretty good one.”

“It is.” Del laughed and fell on his bed, still giggling at his own wit. “So why’d you tape them?”

“So you don’t smear paint. The brush smears the tape instead.”

Del thought about this. As he thought, he wriggled down to the end of the bed and rolled over on his back, staring upside down at Grady. “Are you going to paint the whole inside of our house?”

“If your mother wants me to.”

Del hung a little lower because he liked the funny feeling it gave him in his head. “Will you paint anything outside?”

“If she wants.”

“Will you do whatever she wants?”

“Just about. I suppose.” Grady pushed the dresser the final inch so that it was even against the walls.

“Will you come with us on a walk tomorrow?” Del was getting dizzy upside down, so he rolled over on his stomach. “Maybe you could help me find a dinosaur tooth.”

“Nope. Your mom pays me to work. Taking a walk is play.”

“It’s kind of work,” Del reasoned. “It is if you walk so far you get tired.”

His mother came into the room. She carried his Buzz Lightyear curtains, hanging on the rods. “Infinity and beyond!” Del intoned Buzz’s motto and stretched out his arms, wriggling his fingers. Grady straightened up and wiped his face on his forearm.

Del looked up at him. “What’s infinity? And what’s beyond it?”

“Mmm,” said Grady. “Good question. Ask your mother.”

His mother gave Grady a funny look. Del sat up on the unmade bed. “Mom, what’s infinity? What’s beyond it?”