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apologetically. Mrs. Redmond laughed and shook his hand. “No offense meant, Mrs. Redmond.”
    “None taken, Mr. Rawlins. This is my son, Jack,” she said proudly.
    Jed’s eyes lit up. He held out his hand and gave the strong hand a healthy shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, son. Good strong handshake. Now let me show you to your room.”
    Tess and Jack picked up the luggage, Tess leaned into her father. “Good strong handshake?” she whispered with a grin and dragged the luggage down the long hallway.
    “This is the best we can do, sorry,” Jed said as he opened the bedroom door.
    Mrs. Redmond peered in and blinked in amazement. Her son followed suit. The bedroom was enormous. To the right was a huge four-poster bed with a dresser on the opposite wall. Placed in the far corner was the smaller bed with a small dresser next to it. Next to the window was a nice size desk and chair.
    “Mom, look, a fireplace!” Jack exclaimed as he walked into the hardwood-floored bedroom.
    Sure enough, on the outside wall was a small brick fireplace with a cozy-looking chair in front of it.
    “It gets pretty chilly at night in the spring, and it’ll keep you nice and warm,” Tess offered. Father and daughter were shocked to see tears brimming in Mrs. Redmond’s eyes. “Hope it’s okay,” she added, exchanging a worried look with her father.
    “It’s more that okay, Miss Rawlins. It’s more than I expected.” She tried not to cry.
    Jack saw it. He walked up to his mother and took her hand. “Don’t cry, Mom. This is gonna be okay,” he whispered, and she only nodded.
    “We’ll leave you to get settled in. Maria is in town. When she gets back, she’ll familiarize you with the kitchen. Until then, take a rest. You both look tired,” Tess said.
    As they walked down the hall, Tess and Jed sported the same worried look.
    “Did you see how grateful she looked?” Tess asked, and Jed nodded. “Shit, it’s only a bedroom.”
    “I know and watch that foul mouth of yours. There’s a youngster in this house now,” he said fatherly.
    Tess grinned and patted his shoulder. “Well, shit, Dad. You’re right.” She dashed out the kitchen door as Jed reached for her.

    Tess spent the rest of the afternoon on the range with Chuck counting the herd. She sat in the saddle with book in hand while Chuck made the head count. He ticked off the calves as they stayed close to their mothers. “I thought we’d had more than this.”
    Tess glanced around the wide-open pasture. “You got the little ones tagged?”
    “Yep. It wasn’t easy, believe me, but between the four of us, we got ’em. Now they just need the brand.”
    “Maybe we lost more than we thought during the winter. It’s been worse, but still…” she said thoughtfully.
    “Tomorrow we’ll start branding them. Then we’ll fatten ’em up and head them down to Colorado. We’ll get top dollar, look at them already.”
    The herd in this pasture lazily grazed on the grass as the two ranch hands dashed around chasing strays. “Tell them to let ’em roam, Chuck. They’ll be fine. Why are they fussing over them?”  
    Chuck scratched his head. “Stan was in Silverhill and heard Ed yakking about how if he finds any strays he’s keeping ’em.”
    “Damn him. If he sets one foot on Rawlins land,” she threatened.
    “Easy, Tess, he’s looking for you to fly off the handle. That’s why I didn’t tell your dad. He’d be on his horse and at Telford’s doorstep.”
    “I know. That’s what that fat fuck wants,” she hissed. “All these years. He has to know Dad won’t sell this property.”
    Chuck laughed at her colorful language. “Better not talk like that in front of your father.” He tried to sound stern.
      “I know. He nearly caught me earlier.” Tess laughed and closed the ledger, pulling her hat down over her eyes.
    “We’re gonna have to hire more hands.”
    Tess nodded as she watched the only two ranch hands left. “Any