Read Online Calder Promise by Janet Dailey - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Janet Dailey
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Contemporary, Suspense fiction, Domestic Fiction, Montana, Western Stories, Ranch life, Women Ranchers - Montana, Calder family (Fictitious characters), Women ranchers
Ads: Link
her.
“I suspected as much,” he murmured and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it to press a warm kiss on her lips. “See you in England,” he said and crossed to the door.
The life seemed to go out of the room when he went, leaving it feeling empty and alien—something Laura had never experienced before. Suddenly she was very, very glad Trey was on the other end of the phone.
“Sorry,” she said into it.
“I guess Tara was there,” Trey guessed. “I should have known she’d hang around to find out why I was calling.”
Laura chose not to correct him. “Phone calls in the middle of the night generally bring bad news. Where’s Mother?”
“She and Laredo went into town for supper. Did I tell you Harry’s is up for sale?” Harry’s was the sole eating and drinking establishment in the small town of Blue Moon, located some fifty miles from the headquarters of the Triple C Ranch.
“I can’t imagine anyone buying that old place.” Laura sank onto a nearby chair and curled her legs under her, oddly eager to hear a bit of local gossip; gossip she wouldn’t have cared a whit about an hour ago.
“Neither can I,” Trey agreed. “Ever since Dy-Corp shut down the coal mine, Blue Moon has practically become a ghost town.” They talked a while longer, with Trey filling her in on the latest happenings in and around the ranch. “When are you coming home, Laura?” he asked at last.
“Not for a while yet. We’re flying to England the end of this week.” Laura smiled, anticipating seeing Sebastian again and launched into an explanation of meeting Sebastian, his acquaintance with the earl of Crawford and subsequent invitation to visit the manor house.
Trey’s only reply to that was, “You will be home in time for the big horse sale the first of June, won’t you? Mom’s counting on you to help with it.”
“I’d forgotten all about it.” The sale marked only the second time horses bred on the ranch had been sold separately from the biennial livestock auction. Just like the livestock auction, the horse sale was as much a large-scale social event as it was an auction. And the lone bright spot in the usual monotony of ranch life, as far as Laura was concerned. “I’ll be home in time for that,” she promised.
After an exchange of good-byes, Trey hung up and rocked back in an oversized swivel chair behind the den’s massive desk, his thoughts still troubled by the news about Quint. His glance drifted idly to the wide sweep of horns mounted above the fireplace’s mantelpiece.
The sound of shuffling footsteps pulled his attention from the old stone fireplace and swung it toward the den’s open door into the hall as his grandfather, Chase Calder, paused outside it. Age had stooped his tall frame and turned his dark hair an iron gray. There was a sagging of the skin across his hard and angular features, the cracked and weathered texture of it resembling old saddle leather. At first glance, his grandfather looked every bit of his eighty-plus years, but there was a vitality burning in his dark eyes that couldn’t be ignored.
“I thought I heard you talking to your mother,” Chase stated as if in explanation for his presence.
“No, I just got off the phone with Laura.” Trey gripped the armrest and pushed out of the chair, driven by a restless feeling that demanded movement. “I called to let her know about Quint.”
“Is she coming home?”
“No. She’s flying to London at the end of the week.” Trey moved out from behind the desk and crossed to the door.
“London,” Chase repeated in disgust. “It’s high time she quit gallivanting all over Europe and came home. This is where she belongs.”
Trey stopped in front of him. In Chase’s younger days, the two men would have stood eye to eye. But Trey was a good inch taller than Chase now. Despite the stark age differences, the family resemblance was strong.
“No, Gramps, she doesn’t. I don’t know where
“I suspected as much,” he murmured and caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting it to press a warm kiss on her lips. “See you in England,” he said and crossed to the door.
The life seemed to go out of the room when he went, leaving it feeling empty and alien—something Laura had never experienced before. Suddenly she was very, very glad Trey was on the other end of the phone.
“Sorry,” she said into it.
“I guess Tara was there,” Trey guessed. “I should have known she’d hang around to find out why I was calling.”
Laura chose not to correct him. “Phone calls in the middle of the night generally bring bad news. Where’s Mother?”
“She and Laredo went into town for supper. Did I tell you Harry’s is up for sale?” Harry’s was the sole eating and drinking establishment in the small town of Blue Moon, located some fifty miles from the headquarters of the Triple C Ranch.
“I can’t imagine anyone buying that old place.” Laura sank onto a nearby chair and curled her legs under her, oddly eager to hear a bit of local gossip; gossip she wouldn’t have cared a whit about an hour ago.
“Neither can I,” Trey agreed. “Ever since Dy-Corp shut down the coal mine, Blue Moon has practically become a ghost town.” They talked a while longer, with Trey filling her in on the latest happenings in and around the ranch. “When are you coming home, Laura?” he asked at last.
“Not for a while yet. We’re flying to England the end of this week.” Laura smiled, anticipating seeing Sebastian again and launched into an explanation of meeting Sebastian, his acquaintance with the earl of Crawford and subsequent invitation to visit the manor house.
Trey’s only reply to that was, “You will be home in time for the big horse sale the first of June, won’t you? Mom’s counting on you to help with it.”
“I’d forgotten all about it.” The sale marked only the second time horses bred on the ranch had been sold separately from the biennial livestock auction. Just like the livestock auction, the horse sale was as much a large-scale social event as it was an auction. And the lone bright spot in the usual monotony of ranch life, as far as Laura was concerned. “I’ll be home in time for that,” she promised.
After an exchange of good-byes, Trey hung up and rocked back in an oversized swivel chair behind the den’s massive desk, his thoughts still troubled by the news about Quint. His glance drifted idly to the wide sweep of horns mounted above the fireplace’s mantelpiece.
The sound of shuffling footsteps pulled his attention from the old stone fireplace and swung it toward the den’s open door into the hall as his grandfather, Chase Calder, paused outside it. Age had stooped his tall frame and turned his dark hair an iron gray. There was a sagging of the skin across his hard and angular features, the cracked and weathered texture of it resembling old saddle leather. At first glance, his grandfather looked every bit of his eighty-plus years, but there was a vitality burning in his dark eyes that couldn’t be ignored.
“I thought I heard you talking to your mother,” Chase stated as if in explanation for his presence.
“No, I just got off the phone with Laura.” Trey gripped the armrest and pushed out of the chair, driven by a restless feeling that demanded movement. “I called to let her know about Quint.”
“Is she coming home?”
“No. She’s flying to London at the end of the week.” Trey moved out from behind the desk and crossed to the door.
“London,” Chase repeated in disgust. “It’s high time she quit gallivanting all over Europe and came home. This is where she belongs.”
Trey stopped in front of him. In Chase’s younger days, the two men would have stood eye to eye. But Trey was a good inch taller than Chase now. Despite the stark age differences, the family resemblance was strong.
“No, Gramps, she doesn’t. I don’t know where
Similar Books
