But Ty worshipped dark, glamorous Tara, scion of the new “corporate West,” of vast power and big money.  Tara lured Ty on, greedy to be mistress of the Calder kingdom.  Yet when her world rushed in to plunder the fortune beneath the prairies, it was Jessy who fought for Ty, defying death to save a birthright that was Calder Born, Calder Bred.

*            *            *

    “I thought you were a Calder,” Jessy said.  “I thought you had some feeling for the land.  Are willing to destroy the Calder land for the coal underneath it?”

    “Dammit, Jessy!  I don’t have any choice.  I need the money to keep the ranch going.”

    “What ranch?  There won’t be anything left – it’ll be scrub desert in thirty years.”

    “You don’t understand.”  Ty tried to control his temper.

    “No, you don’t understand,” Jessy retorted.  “You are doing it for money – for profit.  It’s business, you say.  It’s progress.  You’ve been given a legacy, Ty.  A tradition that has prided itself on caring for the land and people.  You’re going to lose both because you think money is more important.  People built this ranch.  The only way it could ever be destroyed is from the inside.  And you’re the core of it.  If the heart is no good, the rest of it will slowly die.”

    It was a long moment before Ty offered any response.

    “You’ve made your point,” he said.