Kate Hoffmann - Paris or Bust!

“I could do it,” Callum said earnestly. “For a while. Then I’d get testy and difficult, and I’d be a total pain in the neck.”

Jody couldn’t deny it, because he was right. The nonstop action of city life, the acclaim of talented people and the thrill of achievement were as essential to Callum as security and close friends were to her. Fate must have laughed when it made them soul mates, because they could never live together.

“I don’t want us to become enemies. That’s what would happen if I stayed here.” Callum swallowed hard. “We have to find a way to stay close and share the boys.”

“You can visit them here until they’re old enough to fly out west by themselves,” she said. “As for staying close, I don’t see how that’s possible.”

“I’m sorry the marriage of convenience idea didn’t work.” His smile was tempered by regret. “Maybe we should have tried harder to keep our hands off each other.”

“It was a lost cause from the start.” Jody didn’t regret making love with Callum yesterday. She would always cherish the memory.

“When’s the boys’ birthday?” he asked.

“August fifteenth.”

“I’ll come back then,” he said. “Sooner, if I can.”

“Fine.”

That was it? Everything smoothed over and an appointment made as if these past three days had been simply an interlude? Jody wanted to rage, except that it would be useless. Callum had to go. And she had to let him.

She found the strength to stand up calmly and say, “I’d better go watch for the boys. Louise will be bringing them home any minute.”

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Callum explained his departure to Ben and Jerry and promised to return for their birthday. Although the boys protested, before long they went out to play with the puppy, which was eager for attention.

She didn’t ask what he was going to do about her being a finalist in the contest, even though she knew that was the reason he’d come to Texas. He didn’t say anything, either. Maybe he needed to consult the rules or talk to his managing editor or figure out some alternative. Jody decided to leave that up to him.

It amazed her how fast he could pack, make a plane reservation, kiss them all and drive away. She knew he was eager to fix the problems at work. She wished she felt the same enthusiasm about vaccinating her calves, but it was simply one more chore to be accomplished.

Despite the distraction of hard labor, the next few days proved difficult emotionally. Jody cried often, and knew her friends worried about her, especially Gladys and Bo, who dropped by to check on her.

Ben and Jerry got excited when their father called to say he’d arrived safely and missed them. The next day, he e-mailed a photo of his office so they could see where he worked, along with shots he’d taken of them at the Wiltons’ ranch. When he spoke to Jody on the phone by herself, he asked how she was doing and she told him “Just great” with hardly any irony.

A few days later, Callum reported that he’d persuaded the advertiser not only to sign a long-term contract but also to sponsor a cable TV series in conjunction with the magazine. The man had one condition: that Callum himself host the show.

“You’ll be fantastic,” Jody said, and meant it.

On Friday, she went into town to do some grocery shopping and collect the boys. As she was about to leave, the preschool director said, “Congratulations.”

“For what?” she asked, but another parent called the woman’s name at the same time and distracted her.

At the grocery store, several more people congratulated Jody. She wondered if the contest winner had been named earlier than expected. Too embarrassed to admit she hadn’t checked the magazine’s Web site, she simply thanked everyone.

Could she possibly have won the trip to Paris? It didn’t seem likely, given Callum’s conflict of interest. Perhaps a winner had been named and the magazine had decided to give the other finalists consolation prizes. A new wardrobe or a smaller trip would be nice, too.

As Jody drove onto the ranch, Gladys waved from horseback and called, “Good for you!”

She waved back, but the forewoman was too far away to engage her in conversation. Besides, she’d be able to access the Web site in a few minutes and get the story herself.

After settling Ben and Jerry for quiet time in their room, Jody logged onto the computer in her office. The Family Voyager site was a collage of enticing headlines and lively photos, including one of Callum shaking hands with the advertiser. His sunny image leaped off the screen.

She couldn’t stay angry with the man. He was like a force of nature. How could she have believed she could capture him any more than she could hold the wind in her hands?

Tearing her attention away, Jody scrolled down to the latest developments in the contest. There was more information about the finalists, but no reference to a winner. If people hadn’t been congratulating her about the contest, what had they meant?

Outside, she found Gladys releasing Elsie and Half-Pint into a grazing area near the house. “They’re getting along just dandy now,” the forewoman said before Jody could question her. “You’re doing a lot better job than your daddy thought you would. He told me once that you were a born town girl.”

“Wait a minute.” Her father hadn’t believed she was suited to being a rancher? “I thought my parents were counting on me running the Wandering I. Dad went on and on in the will about how to handle everything.” Jody had read the document many times for guidance. “If he expected me to sell it, why did he bother?”

“What your father expected and what he wanted, well, I don’t know if they were the same.” Removing her baseball cap, the forewoman wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“Don’t pussyfoot around!” Jody said. “Did Dad want me to run the ranch or not? You were a witness to the will. You must have some idea.”

Gladys leaned against the fence. “You want me to level with you?”

“You bet!”

“Your father told me he figured you’d insist on running the place because you’re so stubborn,” she said. “As best I can remember, his words were, ‘Once she gets an idea in her head, Gladys, she won’t let it go. She’s a schoolteacher, not a rancher, but just you watch.’ He left you those instructions because he figured you’d need the help.”

Jody struggled to absorb the implications. “What did he want to happen to the ranch?”

“He didn’t say.”

It wasn’t like Gladys to act so cagey. “Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Jody demanded.

Her forewoman wedged the cap onto her head. “Because, you see, Louise and I…” She broke off to clear her throat.

“You and Louise what?” Jody prompted.

“We’re both ranchers by nature,” Gladys said. “But she knows how hard it was for me to find anyone that would hire me, so she’s studying transcribing although she doesn’t give a darn about it. As for me, I’d like to buy the place if I could work out the financing, but I doubt any bank would take a chance on me. In any case, it wasn’t my place to tell you what to do.”

In other words, Jody thought, she could have arranged a year ago to sell the ranch to Gladys and carry the financing herself, but her forewoman had been too ethical to take advantage of the situation. “I’m glad you told me this.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Gladys said. “I’m glad you’re running the place. Just as long as you don’t sell it to some male chauvinist, I’m happy. I’m sure Bo and I will get along fine.”

“What’s Bo got to do with it?” she asked.

“You mean you’re not going to let your husband be involved with the ranch?” Gladys asked.