Texas Rich

by Fern Michaels

  It was agreed that Otami and Riley would journey to Texas as soon as the school semester ended in a month’s time.

  The entire Hasegawa family saw Thad and Billie off at the airport. Minutes before boarding, on Thad’s advice, Mr. Hasegawa pressed an envelope into Billie’s hand. “For the dream,” the old man whispered as he kissed her lightly on the cheek and then bowed low. Billie swallowed hard and nodded, unsure of what he meant. One last, long look at her daughter-in-law and grandson and she was ushered through the turnstile.

  “What do you suppose Mr. Hasegawa meant when he said this envelope was for the dream?” Billie asked Thad as she buckled her seat belt.

  A smug look settled on Thad’s face. “Why don’t you open it and see?”

  Billie slit the envelope with her nail and pulled out the contents. Her face drained of all color as she looked at the oblong pieces of paper. All checks drawn on the Tokyo bank. Blank except for a signature. A square of crackly, cream-colored paper was enclosed and Billie unfolded it with trembling hands. Dabbing at her eyes, she thrust the paper at Thad. “Please, read it to me.”

  My dear Mrs. Coleman:

  It is unbearable to me that your husband’s dream be shattered for lack of financing. You and your family will honor my family if you will accept our help in this endeavor. My only request is that you allow our grandson to share in the fulfillment of his grandfather’s dream.

  May good fortune smile upon you always.

  With much affection and understanding, I remain,

  Shadaharu Hasegawa

  Billie blew her nose lustily. “I can’t believe this. Thad, I didn’t want you to ask him, to even discuss it. What must the man think?”

  “What he thinks is obvious if you read this letter. I’ve known the man for years, Billie. I knew he would want to help. If you’ll notice, there are no legal papers, no strings, no terms. He trusts you. He wants to do this. Accept it, Billie, in the spirit it’s meant. He would die of shame, and I mean that literally, if you refuse.”

  “But Thad, blank checks? What does that mean? How are we to know what is too much? How can I just fill in amounts?”

  “As much as it takes. It’s that simple. Or, if you prefer it another way, unlimited funds.”

  “What if things go wrong again and the money goes down the drain like the last time?”

  “It won’t happen, Billie. But if it should, there will be another batch of checks. It’s done.”

  “The man never laid eyes on me until five days ago and he’s giving me carte blanche with his money. Thad, it isn’t done.”

  “I beg to differ. And the man knows you better than you think. I told you we’ve been friends for years. Allow him the honor of helping you. He wants to do it.”

  “I’ll never get over this. I didn’t know there were people like that in this world.”

  “If the situation were reversed, what would you do?”

  Billie laughed, a delightful sound that sent shivers up Thad’s spine. “I’d do the same, I guess. Thank you, Thad. I think I’m glad that you didn’t listen to me. I have a lot of thinking to do. What do you think of young Riley? He’s such a marvelous young man. So like Riley in many ways and yet he has the Eastern culture that makes him what he is. My Amerasian grandson. So much has happened to me in these last days.”

  “Why don’t we both try to get some sleep? You’re going to be one busy lady when you get back to Texas, and I have to get back to the navy before they send out a search party for me.”

  “That’s one of your better ideas. I’m still waiting for your best one yet.”

  “It’s coming. Count on it.”

  “I will.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  The months flew by with Sawyer and Billie at the helm of Moss’s dream.

  Otami and young Riley settled into Sunbridge as though they’d been born to the place. There wasn’t a nook or cranny that Otami didn’t explore. Her dark eyes took on life and she smiled constantly. Her husband’s home. She was finally seeing what he had spoken of so often. She was feeling what he felt, loving what he loved. The sadness was gone and was replaced with optimism.

  Eight months after Otami and Riley’s arrival, the project hit one snag after another. Money seemed to evaporate into thin air. When the phone shrilled at Billie’s elbow, she had a feeling it was going to be more bad news. She wasn’t disappointed.

  “I could tell you this at home,” Sawyer said tightly, “but I didn’t want to upset Otami. I know you’ll take it all in stride, Grand. We blew it. We were so damn close and we blew it. We’re ninety-one million dollars down.”

  “Ninety-one million down! Does that mean . . .” Billie’s voice was full of awe and fear.

  “That’s exactly what it means. This plane doesn’t just eat money; it gobbles it up. I spoke to Grandpap’s advisers, and if you’re agreeable, we want to take this project to Japan. Mr. Hasegawa insists he can find financial backing for us over there. It’s the only way, Grand.”

  “What went wrong?” Billie asked grimly. “Give me a reason, something to chew on.”

  “We didn’t trim enough weight. We’re not meeting specifications for fuel consumption. I knew it. I’m losing control, Grand. We have to go on the road with this. Otherwise we lose everything, and I, for one, don’t want that to happen. Give me a yes or a no.”

  Billie felt light-headed as her granddaughter waited for her answer. Otami’s puzzled face was staring at her. “Go for it, Sawyer. You have my approval. Just give Otami and me enough time to get packed.”

  The laughter in the background made Billie raise her eyebrows. “Grand, Riley just told me his grandfather has things under control. The hangar will be ready, the engineers and crew ready for work. All we have to do is pack our duffel bags and blow this place.”

  “Are you taking the entire project team?” Billie asked hesitantly.

  “Only those who don’t fight me every step of the way I’ve been right all the way down the line, Grand. I’m not being cocky. You have to believe that.” The desperate tone in Sawyer’s voice made Billie’s thoughts race back in time to hear Moss’s hoarse whisper: Give Sawyer her head, Billie. Stand behind her and give her all your encouragement. She can do it. If she makes a mistake, and she will, she won’t make it a second time. Promise me.

  “Darling, I do believe you,” Billie replied warmly. “Do what you have to do. If at all possible, we want to keep this in the family. The Hasegawas are family. If it isn’t possible, have Riley’s grandfather bring in whoever he thinks can help us.”

  The relief in Sawyer’s voice made Billie feel faint. “You are the grand in grandmother,” Sawyer cried exuberantly.

  After she’d hung up, Billie quickly explained the situation to Otami, who listened, nodding. “Riley spoke to me of this just last week,” she said. “He wanted to talk to you about it and so did I, but I know nothing of airplanes. . . . It is only money, Mother Coleman. My father will see to it that the plane stays in the family, our family.”

  “But to start over! So much money, so much time. I didn’t know . . . I had no idea . . .”

  “Dreams don’t just happen, Mother Coleman; they are created. Your God’s creation took six days. This will take just a little longer. When are we leaving?” she asked.

  “Day after tomorrow. Is that too soon?”

  “I am already packed.”

  “I have to call Thad and tell him.”

  “He knows. I think he and my father have had their heads together. Neither man wanted to suggest... what I’m saying is . . .”

  “It had to come from Sawyer. She had to admit she needed help, the kind of help the men aren’t giving her. I suppose it’s natural that they resent her. I have so much faith in that girl. Moss would never have turned this over to her if he didn’t think she was more than capable.”

  “We’re a shoo-in.” Otami giggled.

  Billie hugged her daughter-in-law. “My world is right-side up now. Do you feel it, Otami?”

/>   “Yes, I do. This is right.”

  “I know. I feel it here. Did they say anything about a deadline?” Billie asked anxiously. “Investors and governments always talk of deadlines. You can . . . you can lose everything on a deadline. They’re going to start from square one and . . . is there going to be some kind of deadline?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “If there is, we aren’t going to worry about it. Sawyer will handle it. She’s so young, Otami.”

  “Only in numbered years. In here,” Otami said, pointing to her heart, “she is ageless. Her grandfather would not have entrusted his dream to a child.”

  Eleven months after moving into the Hasegawa household Billie felt more at home than she had ever felt at Sunbridge. She was glad now that she would soon be able to turn Sunbridge over to Maggie. Any monies she might have realized from the sale of the valuable property would have gone unnoticed in this war of megadollars. It would be better for Maggie, better for everyone.

  It was late and for some reason she couldn’t sleep. No doubt Thad’s impending arrival had something to do with it. Billie decided that a stroll in the Hasegawa garden would settle her nerves.

  How beautiful this was, so far removed from cactus and sagebrush. Everything was of the dwarf variety, even the statuary. The sparkling ponds and scaled-down bridges were so pleasing to her eye that Billie sat down on an iron bench to look around her. For some reason she suddenly felt Moss’s presence. Nervously, she raised her eyes upward. “She’s doing it,” Billie whispered. “This was the only way. Soon, Moss, your dream will take wing and then it will all be over and you can rest in peace.”

  From his place in eternity he had interfered again. Now she was openly jittery. Things were going well—everyone said so. Six more weeks, two months at the most, and the plane would be ready to test. Sawyer seemed confident. Riley was openly jubilant.

  She should be walking off some of her uneasiness. A stroll through the beautiful garden might ease her jumpy nerves. If Thad were here, she would be fine. Her reason for living . . . Thad.

  Billie’s stroll took her around the garden to the back level of the Hasegawa house. Sawyer’s windows were open and Billie could see her silhouette in the dimness of the room. She looked as though she were talking on the phone. At this hour! Billie walked over slowly, taking the time to smell a bloom or pick a budding flower from the round, manicured beds.

  How easily Sawyer had adapted to this new environment. To the men at the plant she wasn’t an American female with a know-it-all attitude; she was just another worker in a grease-stained coverall and billed cap. She listened to them and they listened to her. There was no fight for control, no manipulating for power, none of the double-dealing so rampant back in the States. This was a joint effort and each man carried his share. At the end of the long work day they bowed to one another and returned to their families. Many returned after the dinner hour to rehash the day’s events one last time and set up for the following morning so things would move along faster. It was dedication of the first order.

  “Rand, I’m telling you, it will work,” Sawyer was saying. “I managed to shave off another two hundred pounds. I feel you’re wrong. This plane has to go with a maximum T-O weight. I’m that close. Stop being so damn pigheaded and listen to me. I know what I’m doing.

  “Let’s talk about something else for a moment. I miss you. I really do. Did you get my last letter? . . . What do you mean I’m a piece of work? That’s American slang. It was a compliment, wasn’t it?”

  Billie tapped on the windowsill. Sawyer motioned her to walk around to the sliding doors. She kept on with her conversation while her grandmother settled herself in the one comfortable chair in the room. She hugged the sound of her granddaughter’s happy Voice to her heart. Sawyer might not know it, but there was that special tone in her voice that only lovers used. The sparkle in her eyes was something Billie recognized from her own youth and could still see in the mirror when Thad was about to make an appearance.

  “I need a test pilot. Do you think I should advertise in the New York Times?” The mock horror on Sawyer’s face made Billie laugh. “You! I never thought of you, Rand. . . . The hell you say. You bloody Englishmen are touchy, aren’t you? Listen, if you want to take a shot at it, the job is yours. How soon can you be here? . . . No good. What about day after tomorrow? . . . Me, set you up! How could you even think such a thing? I’d never trade on our friendship. I’ll take you to dinner.... You’re on. Good night, Rand.”

  “Did you set him up, Sawyer?” Billie asked.

  Sawyer grimaced. “Sort of. Look, Grand, he’s the best in the business. We need the best. He knows this plane’s design as well as I do. Aside from a minor point or two we agree on everything. He trusts me. He wouldn’t agree to test this baby if he didn’t trust me. Right, Grand?”

  “Right.”

  “If I’m so right, why do I feel so . . . so . . . uneasy?”

  “Could it be because you care for him more than you’ll admit? Is it possible that the things you’re arguing about are more important than you think? He’s laying his life on the line to test this plane for you. That’s trust of the first order. You have to be sure, Sawyer.”

  “I am sure, Grand. But so many things could still go wrong. I could go over this six ways to Sunday and some piddly little thing could go wrong and Rand’s life could hang in the balance.”

  “It’s up to you to see that nothing goes wrong.”

  “It’s such a terrible responsibility. Sometimes, Grand, I feel as though I’m a hundred years old. I’m glad Rand is coming. I need to know who I am again, for a little while. I do care for him, Grand, maybe too much. We write, you know, and talk every so often. He rings me on the telly. Isn’t that quaint?”

  “About as quaint as talking on the horn. Isn’t that what your generation says?” Sawyer laughed.

  “Thad is coming in a day or so,” Billie volunteered. “Maybe even tomorrow if things go right.”

  “When are you two getting married?”

  “Just as soon as this plane gets airborne. We’re going to Hong Kong, and when it’s right we’ll, as you say, tie the knot.”

  “I’m so happy for you. You’ve been a brick through all this. Grandpap sure picked himself a winner when he picked you.”

  “I always thought so.” Billie laughed. “Time for bed. You have an early day and I need my beauty sleep.”

  The following two months were the happiest Billie had ever known. She was drawn into the Hasegawa family and basked in their loving acceptance of her. Thad drew on his leave and visited for days at a time, making her happiness total and complete.

  Otami and Billie watched the romance between Rand and Sawyer blossom. It was obvious to anyone who cared to observe the young girl that the commitment to her grandfather’s dream came first. Rand appeared to understand . . . for now.

  They were all seated around the Hasegawa dining room table having cake and coffee. The test flight, Sawyer had just said, was scheduled for March 31, the last day of the last month granted them by their investors to come up with a marketable product. Rand was scowling. Sawyer looked gloomy, and Riley sat with his hands propping up his face. The elder Hasegawa let his glance stray to the young people and then to Billie. He clearly wanted to know what the problem was.

  Suddenly Rand spoke. “I’m telling you, Sawyer, a sixty-degree angle on the wing sweep is too steep. Either you bring it back to fifty-five degrees or you get yourself another test pilot. There’re a lot of things I’ll do for you, but killing myself isn’t one of them.”

  “I’m telling you sixty degrees was one of Grandpap’s original specifications,” Sawyer argued heatedly. “I’ve lived with this plane for two solid years. I know what I’m doing. The others agree. You’re the only dissenter.”

  “Maybe I’m the only dissenter because I’m the only one who’s going to fly that bird. I want to come back in one piece. Fifty-five degrees!”

  “No! We’ll lose efficien
cy.”

  “Yes!”

  Sawyer got up and walked around the table till she was facing Rand. “Do you think for one minute that I’d let you fly the dream if I had one iota of doubt? . . . Well, you bloody Englishman? Answer me—but before you do, you should know something else: I love you. Now think long and hard before you give me your answer.”

  Billie’s eyes widened. She’d never seen Sawyer so adamant. Otami was busy picking at her nails and Shadaharu was staring intently at a spot on the immaculate linen tablecloth. Only Riley stared at the couple.

  Rand’s brain clicked, reeling off the plane’s specifications. Twice he frowned. Sawyer’s penetrating, demanding gaze forced him to make an immediate decision. The niggling doubt would have to be shelved. He’d go over it again on the drawing board and then inch by inch in the hangar. Sawyer wasn’t stubborn just for the sake of being stubborn. She’d made a believer of him on more than one occasion. Her gaze was clear and steady, defiant. He nodded. He was rewarded with a bone-crushing hug.

  “You aren’t humoring me, are you? You know I’m right. I haven’t taken a chance or a gamble yet. I would never play with your life, Rand, not for anything. Tell me you trust me, that you trust what I’ve done,” Sawyer demanded passionately.

  Rand nodded again, unable to speak. His tongue was so thick he had trouble swallowing. Neither noticed as the others got up from the table. It was Sawyer who later ran into the hall to call them all back to the dining room.

  Sawyer stood next to Rand, her eyes apologetic. “Mr. Hasegawa, the plane won’t be ready March thirty-first. We need an extra day, possibly two. What will that mean to your people?”

  How like Sawyer not to apologize. They’d all given it their best shot and failed to come in on schedule. One day, two, what difference could it make? A lot, according to the investors. Their contract gave them until the last day in March to prove themselves . . . or lose everything. And a contract was a contract. If April first arrived before the project’s completion the contracts would be in breach.