Chapter 46

It was a beautiful day as they sat on the front porch of Taylor Turner’s ranch house. He had invited them up for a weekend to celebrate the wildly successful campaign they had put together for him last year. They were watching Taylor’s sister, Alexandria, work in the nearby tea roses. She was wearing a cowboy hat, which Claire found a little unusual, but it was hot, so perhaps she was just keeping the sun off her face.

“So, Alexandria is staying? She isn’t going back to Texas now that her divorce is final?” Claire asked Taylor, who sat in a nearby chair, as they continued to watch her whistling happily among the roses.

“Yes, she is going to stay. I told her that there was plenty of room in the main house and that I liked having her around, but she wanted a bit more privacy. We’re going to build her a smaller house on the south point next spring. In the meantime, she’s moved into the guest house. She seems to think that I’m not bright enough to realize it is because my ranch foreman, Ross, sneaks in there every night to be with her.” He laughed a little as he spoke.

“Oh, wow. She hasn’t said anything. Does that bother you that she’s sneaking around with him?”

Claire could certainly see what Alexandria saw in Ross. He was gorgeous and incredibly smart. Claire had been surprised during her first visit to the ranch to realize just how intelligent he was, but it seemed that he lacked motivation. He would rather work with his hands than get a degree and do a number of things he could probably make much more money at. His only dream was to one day own a ranch of his own.

“No, not at all. It bothers me more that they feel they need to hide it. They’ll come clean when they are ready to, I’m sure. I just hope it doesn’t go south, leaving her to deal with that tension. I don’t really expect that, though. They seem to make a fine couple, so it might just work out.”

He smiled at this last thought. It was always obvious that Taylor loved his sister very much. Claire knew that her happiness meant a lot to him.

“That’s sweet. I’m glad she has found someone,” Claire commented, watching as several of the farm hands made their way onto the lawn to tend to various chores.

“Why are so many working in the yard?” she asked Harper as she smiled up into the sun at Harper as he returned from a shower and sat beside her on the porch.

“Oh, all of the rain recently has just wreaked havoc on the grounds. They are just trying to tend to some things while it is dry since the service isn’t due again until next weekend. It seemed to all spring up overnight. They’re just trying to maintain a little control,” Taylor replied.

The three of them sat just watching them all move around for a while, none of them really seeming to do anything that she could tell. It made it just that much more obvious that they were up to something that obviously Taylor and maybe Harper were in on, but from which she had been excluded.

Claire decided to not make a big deal out of it. It was probably unimportant and it only bothered her that she wasn’t in on whatever the joke might be. She noticed two more of the ranch hands dwelling near the garage as if talking, but she couldn’t hear what they were saying.

“I could get used to this place. I think I will buy a ranch when I retire.”

Claire looked toward Harper as he spoke and noted that he, too, was wearing a cowboy hat. Everyone was wearing a hat but her, for some reason. she was beginning to feel like she had stepped into the twilight zone. It was seeming more bizarre by the moment.

“Why aren’t these guys out having fun somewhere? Aren’t they all off this weekend?” She realized that it was not a very subtle transition of the conversation but her curiosity had gotten the best of her.

“Some of them are off having fun. These are just the ones that didn’t have anything to do and wanted to hang out here,” Taylor told her, obviously missing the point.

“Okay, but shouldn’t they at least be kicking back and relaxing instead of working on the front lawn? Why are they all wearing their Stetsons?”

Claire looked over at him, catching a fleeting look of something on his face that she couldn’t quite make out.

“You know these guys, anything for an extra buck here and there. Some of them always wear their Stetsons. I guess it just keeps the sun off their face and neck a little better.” He shrugged it off.

“Maybe. Just seems weird.”

Claire decided to let it go. Perhaps it was just her who was being weird. Harper steered the conversation to something that she knew was more important to him.

“I’m really amazed how well the feeding system is taking off. Those ads really made all the difference in the world. Taylor is looking at the plans for a full-time production unit to create and sell them now,” he told her.

“That’s fantastic! You’re going to have to come up with some innovative ideas for him soon. You know, you are only as good as your next ad,” she told him with a smile.

“That’s true, I’m sure. I don’t know though. I love the work you did, but I’m thinking that I need to bring someone in full time. You know, some in-house representation for sales and marketing. I’d like to have someone that is dedicated just to me to run the show for these things. You’ve taken them to a level that I never even considered with the first ad campaign, but I need to get even more aggressive with marketing these to larger ranches. I’m working on the prototype for a model designed for industrial use rather than just farms and ranches this size or smaller,” Taylor said. He seemed proud of his newest idea.

“Oh. I see,” she replied.

Claire was a little caught off-guard by the suggestion and not sure how to respond. It would have never occurred to her that he would pull his advertising from Harper after he had been so successful in the first pitch.

“And you don’t think that the same thing could be accomplished by a quality ad in the right trade journals?” she asked.

Claire hated to see him take such a prime account from Harper’s firm, plus a part of her considered it her baby, having been the first big account he and she had worked together when she had begun working for him.

“I’m sure I could. I just thought that you might be interested in a change of pace. I can pay you at least what you are used to earning and you would be your own boss. No more chasing clients or worrying about getting manhandled by your boss.” His words sank in slowly as she realized that he was talking about her coming to work for him.

“How would I be my own boss if I’m working for you, silly? I’m not sure that I’d make much of a country girl again, anyway. You forget that I’m city folk now. Besides, I’m hardly going to leave Harper behind in the city and move up to the countryside alone.”

Claire secretly felt thrilled that he would want her to do this, but there was something about it that didn’t feel right and she couldn’t put her finger on it.

“Well, I thought that you would be equal partners. I fully expected that you would bring him with you since he plans to start a new business, on a smaller scale. You know, a man can only work himself to the bone for so long before he realizes the importance of other things. Isn’t that right, Harper?”

“Absolutely. I’ve dedicated my entire life to that company and its time to do my own thing for a while. I was thinking of becoming more of a two-person mom and pop sort of agency. Between the two of us, Claire and I have all the skills we need to be a success. I have plenty of capital and the best partner a man could ask for already.”

“What are you talking about? This is the first I’ve heard of all this. Perhaps we should discuss it in private.”

“Absolutely, we will. We should always reach decisions together. I mean, isn’t that what marriage is about?” He said it so casually that she almost thought she had misunderstood.

“Wait, what?” Her eyes were wide as she looked at him, confused. Her heart was pounding against her chest as she contemplated where he was really going with all of this.

Claire could see Taylor smiling as she turned toward Harper with a puzzled look.

“Claire, will you marry me? Will you come here and be my partner and her wife?” he asked.

As he said the words, he pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it up to display the most beautiful canary yellow diamond engagement ring she had ever laid eyes on.

“It’s different, I know. I told the man at the jeweler that I wanted something as unique as my future wife.”

“It’s beautiful…and yes, yes I will,” Claire told him as tears fell down her face.

He slipped the ring on her finger and leaned in to kiss her. Suddenly, applause erupted from people all over the front lawn. It was now obvious they had merely been hanging around in nearby places for just the right moment to join in on the celebration, but she hardly expected what came next.

Claire burst out in laughter as they all simultaneously threw their hats in the air and let out a loud, “Yee Haw!”