Page 55 of Wyoming Tough

“It will be worth it if your dad sells enough bulls,” Daryl observed.

She thought of something. “Daryl, you have oil holdings. Do you do fracking?”

He glared at her. “No. We do offshore drilling, and we have a few rigs set up in Oklahoma, but we’re very careful where we drill and we have safeguards in place. We have a wonderful record for safety.”

“I didn’t mean to offend,” she said quickly. “But I wondered if you knew any companies that do fracking up in Wyoming.”

“I know one that’s trying to,” he said. “A man named Cardman owns it. He’s been sued in two states for lax safety procedures—if it isn’t done properly, it contaminates the local water table. See, you inject water, and chemicals, at high pressure into the ground to fracture the shale rock and release oil and gas. It’s not popular at the moment. There was even a documentary made about the dangers. That’s one reason we don’t invest in it.”

“Cardman,” she mused.

“He’s a shady character,” he affirmed. “He’s known for buying up scrubland from unsuspecting landowners and then putting up operations on it. Several people have sued him. He just moves to another state and keeps going.”

“Shame.”

“Really.”

SHE MENTIONED ITto her mother when they were loading the last silver tray with hors d’oeuvres that evening, just before the guests congregated in the ballroom.

“Fracking,” her mother mused. “What a nasty sort of operation it sounds.”

“I know we need oil. Nobody wants to live in grass huts and walk fifty miles to a city,” Morie stated. “But there are safe ways to extract oil, and then there’s this high-speed injection fracturing. That woman I told you about kept trying to get Mallory to sell her friend some scrubland on his property. She didn’t say why, but now I’m curious.”

“You should mention it to your uncle Danny. He knows the Kirks.”

“I might do that.”

Shelby touched her daughter’s cheek. The scratch had healed, and the skin was soft and velvety and blemishless, just like her own. “Sweetheart, are you really going to marry Daryl?”

“Dad wants me to.”

“What do you want to do, Morena?”

Her dark eyes were sad. “I want to marry for love,” she replied. “But when it isn’t returned, maybe it’s best to settle for someone honest and kind that you really like. Daryl is a wonderful person.”

“He truly is. But if you don’t love him, and he doesn’t love you, the two of you are cheating each other.” Her face was solemn. “I married for love. I’ve never regretted it. Not once.”

“You were lucky,” Morie said with a smile.

“Eventually.” Shelby chuckled. “Oh, if you’d known your father as he used to be!” She rolled her eyes. “It was like domesticating a wolf!”

“It was?” Morie laughed.

“Worse! A grizzly bear.” She pursed her perfect lips. “Your Mallory Kirk sounds just like your father. They’d butt heads at first, but then they’d be friends.”

“Chance would be a fine thing.” Morie sighed.

“I don’t know. Life is funny,” Shelby replied. “You never know what surprises are in store for you.”

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, Morie had reason to remember that odd statement. Mallory Kirk walked in the door with Gelly Bruner.

Morie, standing beside Daryl, watched them come in with cold eyes. Her heart was cutting circles in her chest, but she was trying to act normally. In her exquisite white couture gown, with its thin strip of gold trim, and her long hair in an elegant upswept hairdo, dripping diamonds, she was the epitome of the wealthy debutante. Gelly was dressed in last year’s fashion, again, a black dress that was passable but nothing to stir comment. Mallory, in evening dress, was impressive even if he didn’t have movie-star looks. His tall, fit body was made for evening clothes. He looked elegant, if somber.

Morie saw her father moving toward Mallory with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“You must be Kingston Brannt,” Mallory said, extending a hand. “I’m Mallory Kirk. My brothers and I have a ranch in Wyoming. I came to get one of those seed bulls I’ve read so much about in cattle journals.”

King didn’t extend his own hand. He looked at the other man with black eyes that could have cut diamond. “I know who you are.”

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