“Which is probably what your grandfather thought about.”
“He did, absolutely. We’ve got forty acres in hay,” she said. “And I’ve got a good twelve acres in agriculture at this point, and I’m looking at putting more in. We’ve got twenty-plus acres in woods, and we’ve another twenty acres protecting a large stream and a small lake,” she murmured. “I get it stocked with trout every once in a while, but I think I’m just feeding the wildlife around there more than actually providing for fishing.”
“Fishing would be fun,” he said. “Nobody told me that you were wealthy, wealthy.”
“Not too many people know. They know about the land, but I don’t think they necessarily equate that with money. I’ve got the house, but it’s not like it’s a multimillion-dollar home, like some places of this size have.”
“No, your value is in the land.”
“Exactly. And, to be honest, Ronnie’s offer was generous,” she said. “It’s just that they don’t like being turned down.”
“And you have no intention of changing that.”
“Nope, I don’t, and they know that. There’s only one way to get it away from me.”
“But it’s only you now,” he said, shaking his head. “That makes me even more leery.”
“Maybe,” she said, “but I think that’s also why they were checking out the new deputy and why they were so quick to run off my other deputies.”
“And what’s happening now? Surely you’re getting new ones.”
“Yep, I’m trying to find somebody who will watch my back. I’ve told the town that more are coming because, of course, there is still crime happening in town, and the people all want to know they’re safe too.” Out of the blue she said, “The pool was something my father added,” more to change the line of conversation than anything. “And then it was redone not too many years before he and my mom passed away,” she murmured.
He looked at her sideways, picking up on a change in her. “When was that?”
Her lips pinched together. “Three years ago,” she said and shrugged. “I expected them to have quite a few more years, but sometimes life isn’t quite so kind.”
“Anything in particular?”
She looked at him in surprise, then shrugged and said, “My mother was a Type 1 diabetic. She died from complications of that, and my father, he ended up with a bad bout of pneumonia and passed away not too long after her. He’d always had a compromised airway.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That must have been really tough.”
“It was tough for me because I was the only one left behind, but the fact that they both passed so close together was better for them in the end because they didn’t have to live without the other. They were really very close.”
“Yeah, death is always harder for those left behind.”
“Well, I hope so,” she said, with a smile. “Otherwise, I’ll have to start rethinking my view of hell.”
He burst out laughing. “Now don’t start doing that,” he said. He looked at the huge yard. “This is a beautiful place to raise a family.”
“It was a great place to grow up. I always planned to have a big family too,” she said. “But here I am, thirty-two and still single. One of my mother’s greatest frustrations. If I could have found somebody before she died, it would have made them both very happy.”
“Life doesn’t happen on demand,” he said. “I’ve got two kids, and, well, it’s not quite the way I expected my life to end up either.”
“Of course not, but we adapt, and we move on, and we hope that life changes in a good way,” she said. “Since we already had that great dinner, I’ll leave you to go for a swim, take a walk, or whatever you want to do. Please, just make yourself at home.”
“I want to check out the property,” he said.
“Levi was actually here a year ago or so. He talked me into some security,” she said, “but he’s been bugging me to do more.”
“Hell, yes, you should be doing more!” he said. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bark at you. But seriously, with all the problems happening right now, you really should beef it up all you can.”
“Yeah, I get that, but then there’s the money issue. I’m land rich and cash poor.”
“Oh, damn. Are you broke?”
“No,” she said, “I’m not broke by any means, but it’s not like I have a ton to spare just now.”
“Right,” he said, “and there is definitely a difference.”
She watched in amazement as he moved about and studied the area, the dogs trailing behind him. He really had that look down pat. As if nothing escaped his gaze. She’d often asked Levi if any single guys were in his corner. It had been a bit of a running joke, but he always said he just hadn’t found the perfect guy for her yet. She could imagine how Levi must have teased poor Bonaparte in advance of him getting here. It’s not that she was desperate by any means because she wasn’t, and she had enjoyed a really good brother-sister-type relationship with Levi that had continued to prosper over the years.
But she had to wonder if he hadn’t been a little serious about Bonaparte. There was just something really appealing about a guy who was bigger than you. Particularly as tall as she was and with the history throughout her life of fending off the various jokes about being on stilts or towering over potential boyfriends. It didn’t help that her mother was quite horrified when she continued to grow to the height she had, but thankfully she had eventually filled out a bit and got a few curves.
Her father on the other hand had always been damn proud of her height, size, and build. He had always wanted a son, and she’d done her best
