Chapter 16 - THE DAUGHTER COMES HOMESix months later, autumn arrived in Texas.
The heat softened.
The skies became impossibly blue.
The pastures turned green.
Avery moved back into the main house.
She enrolled in agricultural business management at Texas A&M.
She learned the numbers.
The cattle.
The land.
The markets.
She modernized the ranch's grazing system.
Started direct-to-consumer beef sales.
Improved the organic certification program.
Clifford watched quietly.
One evening, he stood at the fence line as Avery drove past on a ranch truck.
She stopped.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You've been staring at me."
Clifford smiled.
"I'm watching my little girl become a rancher."
Avery laughed.
"I'm still your little girl."
"Always."
She looked across the pasture.
"Mom would be proud."
Clifford nodded.
"She would."
The wind moved through the grass.
May you like
And for the first time, the future didn't feel frightening.
It felt open.
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