That wasn’t possible-at least right now, Hank thought pensively. He did his best to stall. “Sixty days is the usual notice given for vacating a property.”

Brushing past him, Ally hurried out the front door. He followed her lazily as she crossed the porch and headed toward her shiny red sports car. “If we had a written contract instead of an oral agreement, that would be correct. May I remind you we don’t?”

Hank watched her punch the electronic keypad twice and open up the trunk.

“In case you’ve forgotten, in these parts, a man or a woman’s word is good enough for any business deal.”

Ally hefted two suitcases over the rim and set them on the ground. With a grimace, she slammed the lid shut. Her honey-blond hair swirled about her pretty face as she pivoted to face him again. “If you remember, I said you and your cattle could stay here until I put the property up for sale.”

And he’d agreed, not getting into details, because he had known she hadn’t been ready to make a decision of that magnitude last June. And in his estimation, she wasn’t ready now. Not during the holidays, when she was still clearly grieving the loss of her family.

“The general rule of thumb is not to do anything major until at least a year has passed. Your dad died just six months ago, your mom eight months before that,” he reminded her gently.

In hindsight, if Hank had known Ally intended to act this soon, he would have had his business plan all ready to go.

She sighed dramatically. “And it’s Christmas again, or it will be in two weeks, and I don’t want to be here for the holiday.”

Hank wrested the suitcases from her hands and, ignoring her frown of disapproval, carried them to the porch for her. “Then why not wait until spring to put the property on the market?” he pressed.

She shrugged. “I have vacation days that need to be taken before the end of the year.”