Grady scowled. “Why do you insist on calling her that?”
“To remind you of who she is.”
“Believe me, I grapple with that every minute of every day.”
His grandfather’s gaze narrowed. “But something’s changed, hasn’t it? You’ve finally realized that you’re falling in love with her.”
“Perhaps,” Grady agreed.
“And how does she feel about that?”
“She’s struggling a bit with it.”
“Yes, I imagine she would be. Her loyalty to her husband’s memory is to be admired.”
“It’s damned inconvenient,” Grady retorted, then sighed. “And admirable. Now let’s get back to my original question. Why are you here?”
“I’ve been worried about you. I was afraid you might not recognize what was in front of your face until it was too late.” He smiled, his expression satisfied. “I was wrong, so I’ll be going.”
“You want me to choose Karen over the land, don’t you?” Grady said with some surprise. “That’s what these unexpected little visits have been about.”
“Getting the land always meant more to you than it did to me. And, yes, I think love is always more important than anything else. Your father knew that, even if he was unwise.”
“You knew about him and Caleb’s mother?” Grady asked, surprised by that.
“Only after the fact.”
“How would you have counseled him—since you believe so strongly in love?”
For the first time in Grady’s memory, his grandfather appeared at a loss. “Weighing love against a father’s duty to a child is not a choice I would want to make. It turned out that everyone lost. That’s the real tragedy.”
He reached for Grady and gave him a fierce hug. “But you…you make me proud.”
Grady’s heart filled, his eyes stung. He had always hoped to hear those words, always believed that the way to earn them was by reclaiming the land that had been stolen so long ago. But Thomas Blackhawk had surprised many people in his lifetime. Now Grady was among them.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice husky with emotion.
“Just be happy.”
Grady nodded. “I’m beginning to believe in happiness, Grandfather.”
“And in love?”
“That, too.” He just prayed that Karen would find her way to the same conclusion.
* * *
“How could I do it?” Karen asked, feeling miserable.
Uncomfortable with her own thoughts, she had called the Calamity Janes to come to her rescue. Those of her friends who were available had been at the ranch within the hour. To Karen’s surprise, Lauren had arrived with Gina, claiming that she had a day off from shooting her latest movie and had wanted to check up on everyone back home. Only Cassie was missing, though she’d promised to drop by the second her shift ended at Stella’s.
Now they were all seated around the kitchen table, cups of coffee in front of them, along with warm slices of a coffee cake Gina had whipped up within minutes of walking in the door. It was just like old times, though back then it had been brownies and chocolate chip cookies coming from the oven.
“How could you make love with a man as gorgeous as Grady?” Emma asked, forcing her to spell out what had her in such an emotional tizzy.
“How could I betray my husband is what I meant,” Karen responded, changing the spin but not the reality.
“Caleb is dead,” Gina reminded her gently. “And he wouldn’t want you to be alone.”
“Maybe not,” she agreed. “But he wouldn’t want me with Grady, not in a million years.”
“Sorry, sweetie, but the choice isn’t his to make,” Emma said. “It’s yours. Are you in love with him?”
Karen nodded. If she could tell the truth to anyone, it was these women who’d stood by her for years now. “I didn’t want to be. I shouldn’t be, but I am. There’s no point in denying it anymore.”
“Is he in love with you?” Gina asked.
“How can I know that? This all started over the land. How can I possibly trust him?”
“Sell me the land,” Lauren said, repeating the offer she had made weeks ago. She scowled impatiently at the others. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m serious. Being back here has reminded me of who I really am. Why do you think I keep turning up? I want to come home for good.”
Karen considered what her friend was offering. Despite Lauren’s insistence, Karen didn’t believe for a minute that Lauren really wanted to own a ranch…but Grady didn’t have to know that. She could tell him she planned to sell, see how he reacted. It would be the ultimate test of his feelings for her. She would finally know which mattered more to him—the land or their relationship.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” Gina asked, regarding her worriedly.
“I was just thinking about Lauren’s offer.”
Lauren’s expression brightened. “Are you going to take me up on it?” she asked.
She sounded so eager that for a minute Karen almost believed that’s what her friend really wanted.
“You could finally travel the globe, do all those things you dreamed about doing back in high school. And you’d have a place here anytime you wanted it,” Lauren added.
In her enthusiasm, Lauren didn’t seem to be aware of the shocked gazes of the others, Karen included.
“Okay, Lauren, what’s going on?” Emma demanded. “Why are you really pushing so hard for this? It doesn’t have anything to do with helping Karen out, does it?”
“Of course it does,” Lauren said indignantly.
“And?” Gina prodded. “What else? Why are you so anxious to flee Hollywood? What are you running away from? Is there another broken romance you haven’t told us about?”
“I’m not fleeing anything. And I haven’t been involved with anybody since my last divorce. I’m just thinking of embracing a different lifestyle.”
“Why?” Gina repeated.
“Why not?” Lauren said with a shrug. Because she was such a good actress, she even managed to carry off the air of nonchalance, but none of them were buying it now.
Emma, who knew her best, finally sighed. “I guess we’ll hear the real story when she wants us to know. We might as
