“He’s trying to finish something our fathers started,” Liam said.
“We should be helping him,” Tory said.
“That’s not how Steel operates,” Stella put in. When everyone turned to her, she lifted her hands wide. “Well, it’s not. He’s always slinking around on his own doing who knows what.”
“She’s right,” Lance admitted. “I sure as hell hope it doesn’t get him killed.”
No one said anything for a long time. “Maybe we should have kept our announcement to ourselves,” Tory said softly to Liam.
“No,” Enid said from across the room where she was sharing a settee with Mary. “You had good news, and we need some of that. Stella is right—your brother has made his choice. I wish to God he’d make a different one, and I plan to tell the sheriff exactly what I know. I can’t see how it can hurt.”
“I agree,” Noah said.
Olivia exchanged a look with Tory. “I’m not sure I do. Steel must have a reason for what he’s doing.”
“What he’s doing is being stubborn. And seeing as how he hasn’t told us a damn thing, I can’t see what harm we can do,” Lance said.
“Is he still here in town?” Tory asked him.
“I don’t know.” He handed her the note, which had only a line or two of Steel’s scrawl on it. “But I doubt he’s gone far if he plans to catch the man who set the fire.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We keep our eyes and ears open,” Noah said firmly. “We look for anything out of the ordinary. Anyone skulking around who doesn’t belong. I’ll keep an eye on the investigation.”
“Me, too,” Stella said. When Noah raised an eyebrow, she added, “I hear everything that happens at the station.”
“Meanwhile, we’ll plan your wedding,” Enid said to Tory. “Your brother would hate it if you put anything off on his account.”
Tory knew she was right, but she didn’t know how she could do anything knowing Steel was out there alone.
“Think of it this way,” Olivia said. “Steel’s doing the same thing he’s been doing for years. In his mind, nothing’s changed.”
“Olivia’s right,” Lance said. “He’s been at this ever since we got home, hasn’t he?”
“Maybe longer,” Tory said softly. “I wish he was here so we could ask him.”
“He’ll come back,” Stella said. “Steel always comes back,” she explained when everyone turned to her again. “What?” she demanded.
“You seem to have given Steel a lot of thought,” Lance said.
“He’s a Cooper, isn’t he? And you Coopers keep marrying my siblings!”
“You afraid Steel’s going to marry you?” Olivia teased her.
“No.” Stella stood up. “I’m getting seconds.”
“Now that’s a very good idea,” Enid said.
As conversations sprang up around the room, Tory leaned closer to Liam. “Do you think Steel will be back?”
“Wild horses couldn’t keep him away from Thorn Hill. You know that,” Liam said.
Tory supposed she did.
Chapter Fourteen
It was time to steal Tory away again, but before he could, there were a few things Liam needed to do. He decided to kill two birds with one stone and ask his mother to drive to town with him.
“I could use your help,” he told her, but really he hoped the drive would be a chance to finally mend the rift between them—the rift that had opened during a similar drive thirteen years earlier.
“When Tory and I get married,” he announced boldly, “I want us to settle down on the Flying W.” He cast a glance at Mary, wondering if she would pick up on his unspoken question.
“Oh, relax. I’m not going to try and sell the ranch out from under you, if that’s what you’re asking.” She was as indignant as if she hadn’t been trying to do that ever since she came back to town.
“Even if we don’t win the Ridley property? Not that that spread will be worth as much now.”
Mary nodded. “That fire really put things in perspective.”
“In what way?”
“I’ve been trying much too hard to get everything settled at once. When Frank was arrested, it took all the stuffing out of me. I’d prided myself on being a better judge of character than that. Turns out I messed up not once but twice. I think I’ve been using financial worries as a distraction from facing what’s really getting to me. This is my second failed marriage. I can barely stand to admit that.”
“You’re doing your best, like everyone else.”
“My best doesn’t seem to be good enough. It’s a lot easier focusing on how to support my stepkids than thinking about why Frank would do something so foolhardy. He embezzled money, can you believe that? Stole from his employer. Just thinking about it makes me sick. Maybe if I’d spent more time thinking about what happened with William way back when, I wouldn’t have picked someone else who needed to play with fire.”
“You’re doing a good thing taking charge of those kids.”
“Like I said before—they’re my children as much as his. More,” she asserted. “I’m not going to let them down.”
“I believe it.” Liam chuckled.
“When I saw that fire raging and knew it could spread to the Flying W, my heart was in my mouth. The whole time I’ve been away, I’ve been able to convince myself I didn’t miss it—or Chance Creek, either, but since I’ve been home, that’s all changed. Reconnecting with you and the others, spending time with old friends—Enid and Leslie—has made me see the truth. I want to come home, Liam. I want to stay for good.”
Liam swallowed. “I think the fire woke up all of us. I don’t know what we would have done if it wasn’t stopped. So many generations of Turners have put their heart and soul and sweat into this land.” He felt a little dizzy just thinking about losing the ranch. His mother’s admission left him off-balance, too. His life was changing.
He was getting married.
He felt his mother’s hand on his shoulder. “You kids would have figured it out,” Mary said with conviction. “You’re all fighters.”
“I think you’re
