Read Online A Cowboy Comes Home by Barbara Dunlop - Free Book Online

feet to give her oldest brother a big hug.
    “You okay?” he whispered gruffly in her ear, ruffling her hair.
    “I’ll let you know in the morning.” Mandy dreaded having him leave the suite, having her sister fall asleep, leaving her alone with her thoughts and fears. She wasn’t going to sleep. Her family had just turned on a dime. She had no idea what would come next.
    Seth shut the door behind him, and Caleb turned to her. “You’re not okay.”
    “I’m not okay,” she agreed, her body turning into one big ache.
    He stepped closer. “Anything I can do to help?”
    “You already have.” She drew a shuddering breath, trying to put the night’s events in some sort of order. “You have a jet?”
    “Active Equipment has a jet.”
    “But you own Active Equipment.”
    “True enough.”
    “Thank you for bringing us all here. I know my mom was terrified…” She swallowed, her throat going raw all over again. “I was so afraid he’d die before—”
    Caleb drew her into his strong arms, cradling her against his body. “Of course you were. But he didn’t. And you’re here now. And there may very well be good news in the morning.”
    Mandy found herself lying her cheek against Caleb’s chest, taking comfort in the steady thud of his heartbeat and the deep, soothing rumble of his voice.
    He leaned in and kissed her gently on the temple, bringing all her earlier feelings rushing back. She felt off balance, out of sync, like she was floating in space without a lifeline.
    “Caleb,” she stuttered. “What we—”
    “Shh. Not now. Nothing matters right now.”
    She closed her eyes. “Are you always this nice?”
    “I’m hardly ever this nice.” He paused. “You need to sleep now.”
    “I know.” She wished she could lie down right there, right then and stay safe in Caleb’s arms for the rest of the night. Deep down inside, she knew she was being foolish. She was emotional and vulnerable, and he seemed strong and safe. It was that simple.
    These feelings would probably go away by morning, but right now, they were powerfully strong.
    The next morning did bring positive news. Caleb was surprised, along with everyone else, by Hugo’s rapid progress. Hugo recognized all the family members. They were each allowed to visit him, and he was able to say Maureen’s name, along with several other rudimentary words, enough to get his general meaning across. His meaning, Caleb noted, was that Seth should continue to plan his campaign for the mayoralty race, Abigail should stay in Denver with Maureen, while Mandy should go home and run the ranch with Travis.
    Caleb had to admire the tough old man. Less than twenty-four hours after the stroke, Hugo was regaining movement in his right arm, and he also had some movement in his right foot and ankle. The doctors were very pleased with his progress and feeling optimistic about his eventual recovery, although they cautioned it would take weeks, possibly months.
    Seth decided to stay in Denver for some political meetings, so Caleb and Mandy returned alone on the Active Equipment jet. Once in Lyndon, they exited down the airplane staircase and onto the tarmac outside a small maintenance building at the private area of the apron. It was late afternoon, and thick clouds were gathering as the sun made its descent and the air cooled down.
    Caleb switched on his cell phone, and Mandy did the same. Hers immediately rang, and they picked up their pace to get away from the sound of the airplane engines.
    She plugged one ear and called “hello” just as Caleb’s phone rang. They made it around the end of the building, blocking the noise.
    Caleb answered his phone with one hand, unlocking and swinging open the chain-link gate with the other. There were few cars in the parking area.
    “It’s Travis,” came the voice at the other end.
    “Just touched down in Lyndon,” Caleb offered. “Did you talk to your mother?”
    “Just got off with her,” said Travis. “Dad’s