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“You’d best start phoning people,” he said “Soet here”

“I know” Will had already begun a er brother Beau was out on the East Coast and hadn’t set foot on the ranch in more than a decade—not since he’d bolted to join the ar

bloith their father The rest of the folks whoranches or fifteen s, the county seat Most of them could wait until after the date and time for the funeral had been set But Will’s ex-wife, Tori, who lived in Blanco with their twelve-year-old daughter Erin, would need to know right away Erin would take the news hard Whatever Bull had been to others, he was her grandpa

Neither call would be easy to overnton, DC He had kept them informed of his whereabouts, but an address and a couple of phone numbers was all Will knew about his brother’s life out East

As for Tori—short for Victoria—she’d left Will five years ago to practice law in town Shared custody of their daughter had kept things civil between them But when they spoke, the tension was like thin ice on a winter pond, still liable to crack at the slightest shift

The nearest mortuary was in Lubbock He’d have to call them, too They’d most likely want to pick up the body at the coroner’s The body Hell, what a cold, unfeeling process Too bad they couldn’t just wrap the old man in a blanket and stash him in the Caprock like the Indians used to do Bull would have liked that

As if conjured by the thought of Indians, a solitary figure stepped out of the horse barn and stood for a o, Sky Fletcher, the part-Comanche assistant foree orphan and stayed to prove himself as a man known across the state for his skill with horses

“Does Sky know?” Will asked Jasper

“He knows And he said to tell you that when you’re ready, he’ll crank up the backhoe and dig the grave next to your mother’s”

“Sky’s got better things to do”

Jasper gave hiood to that boy He wants to help Let him”

“Fine Tell him thanks” Will looked back toward the barn, but Sky was no longer in sight

Squaring his shoulders, Will took a couple of deep breaths and crossed the porch to the front door It was time to face the truth that awaited him inside the house

His father was dead—and the void he’d left behind was as deep as the red Texas earth

CHAPTER 1

When it caood old-fashioned Texas funeral

From the doorway of the cavernous ranch house parlor, Beau Tyler sipped his bourbon and studied the Texans who’d come to mourn and swap stories about his father Now that Bull was properly eulogized and planted in the fain

From the pit-barbecued beef in the backyard to the salads, casseroles, and desserts the neighbors had brought along, there was plenty to eat—and to drink Guests heaped their plates frolasses at the bar, and took advantage of the rare chance to socialize

After eleven years away, Beau felt like a stranger Children had grown up in his absence Middle-aged folk had grown old, and so the crowd, he could spot only a few people he recognized Every now and then he’d spot a familiar face but rarely could he link a name with it He supposed it was to be expected

Catching the sound of the front door closing, Beau auto the well-honed instinct to locate and assess the person co, burly bear of a man, dressed in the uniform of a local law enforce his hat There were ray in his hair, but Beau had no trouble recognizing the county sheriff, Hoyt Axelrod