The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

primitive landscape. It was a landscape that had always appealed strongly to something deep within him. They had never talked about it, but he'd always sensed the land had affected his father and his grandfather in the same way.

    They rode in companionable silence until they came to the point where a wide sweep of the ranch could be seen. Only a handful of cattle were visible. Here in the desert livestock needed vast stretches on which to graze. The cattle tended to scatter widely.

    Rafe halted the chestnut and waited for Margaret to bring her mare alongside. She did so, surveying the rolling foothills spread out in front of her.

    "How much of this is Cassidy land?" she asked.

    "Just about all of what you can see," Rafe admitted. "It goes up into the mountains. My great-grandfather acquired most of it. My grandfather and father added to it. They all ran cattle on it and did some mining in the hills. The land's been good to the Cassidys."

    "But now you're thinking of selling it?"

    Rafe nodded. "Some of it. It would be the smart thing to do. The truth is, the cattle business isn't what it used to be and probably won't ever be again. The mines are all played out. If I had any sense I would have gotten rid of the stock five years ago and sold the acreage to a developer who wants to put in a golf course and a subdivision."

    "Why didn't you?"

    "I don't know," he admitted. "Lord knows I don't need several thousand acres of desert. I've made my money buying and selling businesses, not in running cattle. Compared to my other investments, running livestock is more of a hobby than anything else. But for some reason I haven't been able to bring myself to put the land on the market."

    "Maybe that's because part of you doesn't really think it's yours to sell. You inherited it so maybe you think deep down that you're supposed to hold it in trust for the next generation of Cassidys."

    Rafe was startled by that observation. She was right, he thought. Absolutely right. "Sounds kind of feudal, doesn't it?"

    "A bit old-fashioned in some ways," Margaret agreed. "But I can see the pull of that kind of philosophy. When you look at land like this you tend to start thinking in more fundamental terms, don't you?"

    "Yeah. When I was younger I used to ride out here and do a lot of that kind of thinking. Then I got away from it for a while. I got back in the habit this past year."

    "Because of me?"

    "Yeah."

    Margaret looked down at the reins running through her fingers. "I did a lot of thinking, too. It nearly drove me crazy for a while."

    "I know what you mean." Rafe was silent for a moment, satisfied that they had both suffered during the past year. "You know, I really should sell this chunk of desert. There are plenty of developers who would pay me a fortune for it."

    "Do you need another fortune?"

    Rafe shrugged. "No. Not really."

    "Then don't sell. At least not now." Maggie smiled her glowing smile, the one that always made him want to grab her and kiss her breathless. "Who knows, maybe the next generation of Cassidys won't be as good at wheeling and dealing in the business world as this generation is. Your descendents might need the land far more than you need more money. No one can predict the future and land is the one certain long-term investment. Hold on to it and let the next batch of Cassidys sell it if they need to do so."

    "You mean, tell myself I really am holding it in trust for the family?"

    "Yes."

    Rafe looked out over the vastness in front of him. Maggie's simple logic suddenly made great sense. It was a relief somehow to be able to tell himself that there was no overwhelming need to sell for business reasons. "I think that's exactly what I'll do. I wonder why I didn't think of it that way before now."

    "You've been thinking in terms of good business, as usual. But there are other things just as important. A family's heritage is one of them. My father sold his land because he had no choice. He turned out to be a much better engineer and businessman than he was a rancher. But a part of him has always regretted giving up the land. You're not forced to make the choice, so why do it?"

    Rafe reached across the short distance between them and wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck. He leaned forward and kissed her soundly. He had to release her abruptly as the chestnut tossed his head and pranced to one side. Quickly Rafe brought the stallion back under control and then he grinned at Maggie.

    "Remind