Davey Taber stood on two fine straight legs in the Parker living room looking out the window over a silent, subdued Sage Bend. He turned and said, "Dad will have to be very careful from now on. He will be in bed for a long time and then in a wheelchair, so I'm taking over the Circle-7."
"I'm sorry about your father," Jane said. "I'm sorry for the people, for—" she glanced at Dan Parker seated beside her and no more words would come.
"I want you to stay on, Mr. Parker. In fact I want you to take more responsibility. I'll need a wise experienced head and I'm afraid I'd be lost without you."
"Wait a minute," Dan said quietly. "There are some things I have to tell you—some things you've got to know so you'll understand why I can't stay at the Circle-7."
And while Davey listened in silence, Dan told the whole story of his fears and actions and weaknesses. He did not spare himself and the telling took quite a while. When he finished there was silence. And something more. Jane's hand had crept toward his and now she held it tight and smiled proudly as she looked into his eyes.
Davey regarded them in silence for a few moments, then spoke quietly but without smiling. "That's all you have to say?"
"That's all."
"I asked because I want it over and done with—and forgotten here and now. I'll expect you at the ranch in the morning. I have other plans, too. We'll build you a house out there so you won't have to run back and forth. Dad should have done that long ago."
Dan said, "But—"
"But nothing." Davey smiled now—at Biddy. "I've got an ulterior motive. I want Biddy around all the time because we've got a lot of talking to do."