melinda ballard fell in love with dripping springs and bought this ranch on 72 acres of land. in 1994, she met ron allison. after dating for less than a year, the couple married. >> he was everything i had ever wanted in a man. very intelligent, a real go-getter. a workaholic, which is what i am, so we seem to match up pretty well in that regard. just a super guy. >> we both had the same interests. we both wanted to have a family. i think that was the key. career-wise, both similar interests. >> melinda had been head of her own public relations business, a firm she sold in 1989, but she still continued her career. >> i sit as a board member of a bank and still represent a number of clients that are, i guess, holdover from my company in new york. >> ron worked in investment banking and was head of corporate finance at his firm. in 1996, melinda gave birth to their son, reece. ron loved being a father and a weekend baseball coach. then in february 1999, 3-year-old reese developed what seemed like a flu. >> he started having some respiratory problems. and he would have a real har