"Did I do good?" Sophie whispered. "Calling you my now mother." You did perfect, sweetheart. Clara whispered back, kissing the top of her head. That evening, after Sophie was asleep, Ethan found Clara in the study going through ledgers by lamplight. She'd taken to working there in the evenings, and he no longer felt the sharp pain of seeing someone else in Margaret's space.
"What are you doing?" "Looking for money," she said bluntly. We need $3,000 in 30 days or we need to find legal grounds to stop him. 3,000 might as well be 3 million. Not necessarily. She showed him her calculations.
If we sold off some cattle now, even at reduced prices, that's 800. The horses you've been training could bring 500 if we found the right buyer. There's timber on the eastern section we could sell logging rights to. That would destroy the watershed. Not if we limit it.
Specify which trees. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. I've been corresponding with some contacts in Boston. There might be investors interested in Western Ventures. You've been writing to Boston?
He was surprised she hadn't mentioned it. My father's former partner. He's wealthy, always looking for investments. I thought maybe she trailed off at his expression. You hate the idea.
I hate being in debt to anyone else. Do even to save the ranch? He was quiet for a long moment, then sat down across from her. Tell me about this partner. They worked until past midnight, exploring options, discarding most as impractical or too risky.
Finally, Clara set down her pen. There is one other possibility, she said carefully. My aunt in Boston. She's wealthy, widowed, no children. She never approved of my coming west.
Said I was throwing my life away. But if I wrote to her, explained the situation, asked her to save your failure of a marriage, the bitterness in his voice stung. Is that what this is? A failure? Isn't it?
You're trapped on a failing ranch with a man who can't, he stopped abruptly. Can't what? Can't be the husband you deserve, he finished quietly. Can't love you the way a husband should love his wife. The words hung between them, heavy with implication.