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The rest, as they say, is history .” She smiled, and tiny lines creased the corners of her eyes .“ I was what your granddaddy called the chief bottle washer. I worked here in the big house. I did most of the cooking and supervising of the other employees, other than the cattlemen, of course. We have a foreman for that . ”
    “ So you knew my dad .” She must have if sh e’ d worked for the Walkers since her grandfather took over the ranch when he was thirty. Her father would have been around five by then.
    Tippy smiled fondly.
    “ I did. I changed the bo y’ s diapers. Your grandma and I were friends. He was a good boy. Never gave his parents any trouble. Until he decided to go off to law school that is. Your daddy went to college to learn about business and such, but he came home and decided he did n’ t want to run the family business. He was a hell of a cowboy, but he did n’ t have a passion for it the way his daddy did . ”
    “ Is that why they stopped speaking ?” Finally, a reason for the split. Kesslyn really wanted to understand what had torn her family apart.
    “ Well . . .” Tippy hesitated.
    “I’ d really like to know why I never got to meet my grandparents, Tippy. Please tell me .”
    “ Okay. Yo u’ re right. You deserve to know .” She took a slow breath .“ Your granddaddy did n’ t want your father to go to law school, but he gave in and sent him anyway. Russell figured the boy could use his knowledge of business and law to grow and protect the company. He truly believed your father would get to missing life on the ranch, come to his senses, and settle into life here in Walker Creek. It did n’ t happen that way . ”
    “ Dad really wanted to be a lawyer .”
    “ Yes, he did, but in my opinion, that was n’ t the reason he and your grandfather never spoke again . ”
    Kesslyn waited expectantly. She really wished sh e’ d questionedher dad more adamantly about this part of his life. When she was younger and asked questions about her grandparents, he said h e’ d tell her when she was older. When she got older, he would get very testy if she brought it up. So she stopped asking.
    “ Your father met your mother when he was finishing up his law degree .”
    Kesslyn knew this story. They met on spring break in Daytona Beach. It was love at first sight according to the happy couple. Mom was working a job she loved as a nurse at the University of Maryland. Dad followed her back to Baltimore and asked her to marry him.
    “ Your father was in love, and he wanted to go be with Lara. Your granddaddy got it into his head that this unknown young woman was a gold-digger out to capitalize on his so n’ s soft heart, and he told your father so .” Tippy shook her head .“ He gave your father an ultimatum then. Either he came home and worked for the family, or he would be cut off. No money. No help of any kind. He would be alone in the world . ”
    Kessly n’ s mouth fell open. Her mother was not a gold-digger!
    “ Do n’ t get yourself all worked up, baby. Your granddaddy reacted in the moment and said some unkind things. It was n’ t long before he calmed down and regretted it very much. Your father was n’ t the kind of man who threw the L word around, and we all knew it. He said h e’ d never be alone in the world, because he would always have his Lara by his side. He left that night, and we never saw him again . ”
    “ Never? If Granddad knew he was wrong, why did n’ t he call? Apologize? Something ? ”
    “ Tha t’ s the thing about men, baby. The y’ re stubborn. Russell wanted his son to apologize for walking out on the family, the business, the town. All of it. He knew he was wrong about what h e’ d said about Lara, but the rest of it he would n’ t budge on. He wanted your daddy to come to him first . ”
    “ My dad would never do that .” Kesslyn knew her father.
    “ I ca n’ t say for certain, but I believe the insult to your mother was the reason your father