The Texan's Secret by Linda Warren

with her.”
    A change came over Cadde’s face, but in an instant it was gone. He tapped the map again. “The green dots are where we’re drilling now, the red dots leases that have been signed and are ready for drilling. The blue ones are leases we’re trying to sign, but for some reason or another they haven’t been.” He glanced at Kid.
    “Okay, okay,” their brother said and headed for the door. “Glad to have you aboard, Chance.”
    “And get a damn haircut,” Cadde yelled after him.
    Before Kid could retaliate, Chance jumped in. “I need a place to stay until I can find an apartment. Can I bunk with one of you?”
    Kid frowned. “I have a date tonight and she might want to stay over.”
    Cadde groaned. “Those leases had better be signed by tomorrow.”
    “Come on, Cadde.”
    Cadde pointed a finger at Kid. “Tomorrow.” He walked to his desk. “With Jessie around it’s about thirty degrees at my house.”
    “I wonder why,” Kid murmured under his breath.
    Cadde ignored him. “But you can stay at the Shilah Oil apartment.” He threw Chance a pair of keys. “It’s at the other end of the hall. Roscoe stayed in it, especially if he had a woman over.”
    “Thanks.”
    “So you’re staying at the house tonight?” Kid couldn’t leave well enough alone. “Don’t you usually stay at the apartment?”
    “Go to work, Kid.”
    Kid winked at Chance. “Must be a board meeting coming up. Cadde always tries to sweet-talk Jessie into voting his way. It never works. He can’t sweet-talk a two-year-old.”
    “Go to work, Kid, or I am going to break your neck,” Cadde responded.
    Kid saluted and walked out.
    Chance removed his hat and took a seat in one of the leather chairs in front of Cadde’s desk. “What’s my job?”
    “Drilling operations. We have too many roustabouts who are fooling around and causing accidents. Last month two wells came in late because of silly incidents. I want those wells in on time.” Cadde pointed upward. “There’s a Shilah helicopter on the roof. “We try to keep our two rigs going at all times, but sometimes they break down. That costs us time, and when the rigs are idle that costs Shilah money. I would like for you to visit each well every day and make sure things are on schedule, and they’re following safety regulations. I want every worker to know that a boss is watching them.”
    “I can handle that,” Chance said. “I was going to tell you that I’m not sitting at a desk all day. I like the outdoors.”
    “Well, brother, you’ll be outdoors—a lot. Not on a horse, but in a helicopter. God bless Dane Belle. Who else would give teenage boys flying lessons? And God bless Aunt Etta and Uncle Ru for allowing Dane to indulge us.” Cadde paused. “God, I miss him.” There was a moment of silence, and then Cadde looked at him. “Have you kept your license up to date?”
    Chance shifted in his seat. “Yeah. I fly once a month at the Giddings airport. I just never knew when I was going to use it for real.” They seldom had a conversation that didn’t include their father or Dane, and sometimes both. One was worthy, the other not, but Chance was the only one who knew that. Telling his brothers the truth was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he’d made up his mind.
    Cadde pulled a piece of paper forward and wrote on it. “Shilah’s warehouse where the rigs are worked on is out on US 290. Trucks and supplies are kept there, too. I’ll give you a key.”
    “Okay.” Chance leaned forward. “Let’s talk about salary.”
    Cadde scribbled a number by the address. “You’ll receive a monthly salary, a seat on the board and a percent of the profits at the end of each quarter. Sometimes there’s a profit, sometimes not. Roscoe, not being in good health, made a lot of bad decisions in his last year. I’m trying to get everything back on track.”
    Chance reached for the paper and stared at the number. “This is higher than I