Read Online CHRISTMAS AT THE CARDWELL RANCH by B.J. Daniels - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: B.J. Daniels
Tags: ROMANCE - - SUSPENSE
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a code. She was glad she hadn’t mentioned her suspicions to Tag, though. He thought she was geeky enough as it was.
* * *
T AG SWUNG BY his uncle’s cabin. Who better to get the truth from than Harlan’s brother? Tag had seen the look pass between them. He had a feeling there were few secrets between the two of them. If his father had a girlfriend, Angus would know.
But when he knocked at the door, there was no answer. He glanced in the curtainless window. The cabin was small, just three rooms, so he could see the bed. Clothes were thrown across it, the closet door open as if he’d packed in a hurry.
At the bar earlier, Angus hadn’t mentioned going anywhere, especially this close to Christmas. Tag thought about the way the two of them had acted as they were leaving the bar. All his suspicions began to mushroom.
He checked the makeshift garage and found Angus’s rig gone. Maybe he’d gone over to his daughter’s. Tag drove on down the canyon to the Cardwell Ranch. This time Marshal Hud Savage was nowhere to be seen.
“I went by your dad’s cabin,” he said after Dana answered the door and ushered him into the kitchen, where she was baking cookies. The babies were napping, she said, and the two older kids, Mary and Hank, were with their aunt Stacy.
“It looks as if Angus is going out of town. I thought you might—”
“He’s been called away on business,” Dana said. “He wasn’t sure when he’d get back, but he promised he would try his best to be here Christmas Eve.”
“He got called away on business?” Tag couldn’t help his skepticism or the suspicion in his tone. He couldn’t imagine what business his uncle might have other than buying new guitar strings. “Just days before Christmas? What kind of business?”
She shot him a questioning look. “He’s never said. Why?”
Tag let out a surprised sound. “So this isn’t unusual?” Dana shook her head. “And you’ve never asked him?” He hadn’t meant for his tone to sound so accusatory, but he couldn’t help it. How could she not know what her father did for this so-called business?
“In case you haven’t noticed, our fathers do their own thing. I’m not sure exactly what they do, but occasionally it takes them out of the canyon for a few days, usually on the spur of the moment.”
This news came as a complete surprise. “Harlan does this, too? I didn’t think either of them ever left. So they’re both involved in this business? ”
She gave him an impatient look, then shrugged.
“Aren’t you suspicious?”
She chuckled. “ Suspicious? Dad could have a whole other family somewhere. Maybe more than one. But if that’s the case, he seems happy, so more power to him.”
Tag couldn’t believe her attitude. “Has either of them ever had girlfriends locally?”
She thought for a moment. “Not really. Maybe a long time ago. Like I said, they seem happy just doing their thing, whatever that is.” She pulled a pan of cookies from the oven and deftly began sliding them onto a rack to cool.
As she did, she said, “Angus and I aren’t that close. I’m busy with the kids and the ranch and Hud, and Dad’s a loner, except for his brother....”
“I always thought that if I lived here, Harlan and I would be closer,” Tag said as he took a seat at the table and watched her. He couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He’d really thought this trip would bring him closer to his father. If anything, it seemed to be pushing them even further apart. “What is it about those two that they aren’t good with their own kids?”
Dana sighed. “Or with their wives. They just aren’t family men and never have been. But don’t let that spoil your Christmas here,” she said, and handed him a warm cookie. “We’re going to have a wonderful time whether they make it Christmas Eve or not.”
“Yes, we are,” Tag said, sounding more upbeat than he felt. Right now, he felt as if the Grinch had already stolen Christmas.
After
* * *
T AG SWUNG BY his uncle’s cabin. Who better to get the truth from than Harlan’s brother? Tag had seen the look pass between them. He had a feeling there were few secrets between the two of them. If his father had a girlfriend, Angus would know.
But when he knocked at the door, there was no answer. He glanced in the curtainless window. The cabin was small, just three rooms, so he could see the bed. Clothes were thrown across it, the closet door open as if he’d packed in a hurry.
At the bar earlier, Angus hadn’t mentioned going anywhere, especially this close to Christmas. Tag thought about the way the two of them had acted as they were leaving the bar. All his suspicions began to mushroom.
He checked the makeshift garage and found Angus’s rig gone. Maybe he’d gone over to his daughter’s. Tag drove on down the canyon to the Cardwell Ranch. This time Marshal Hud Savage was nowhere to be seen.
“I went by your dad’s cabin,” he said after Dana answered the door and ushered him into the kitchen, where she was baking cookies. The babies were napping, she said, and the two older kids, Mary and Hank, were with their aunt Stacy.
“It looks as if Angus is going out of town. I thought you might—”
“He’s been called away on business,” Dana said. “He wasn’t sure when he’d get back, but he promised he would try his best to be here Christmas Eve.”
“He got called away on business?” Tag couldn’t help his skepticism or the suspicion in his tone. He couldn’t imagine what business his uncle might have other than buying new guitar strings. “Just days before Christmas? What kind of business?”
She shot him a questioning look. “He’s never said. Why?”
Tag let out a surprised sound. “So this isn’t unusual?” Dana shook her head. “And you’ve never asked him?” He hadn’t meant for his tone to sound so accusatory, but he couldn’t help it. How could she not know what her father did for this so-called business?
“In case you haven’t noticed, our fathers do their own thing. I’m not sure exactly what they do, but occasionally it takes them out of the canyon for a few days, usually on the spur of the moment.”
This news came as a complete surprise. “Harlan does this, too? I didn’t think either of them ever left. So they’re both involved in this business? ”
She gave him an impatient look, then shrugged.
“Aren’t you suspicious?”
She chuckled. “ Suspicious? Dad could have a whole other family somewhere. Maybe more than one. But if that’s the case, he seems happy, so more power to him.”
Tag couldn’t believe her attitude. “Has either of them ever had girlfriends locally?”
She thought for a moment. “Not really. Maybe a long time ago. Like I said, they seem happy just doing their thing, whatever that is.” She pulled a pan of cookies from the oven and deftly began sliding them onto a rack to cool.
As she did, she said, “Angus and I aren’t that close. I’m busy with the kids and the ranch and Hud, and Dad’s a loner, except for his brother....”
“I always thought that if I lived here, Harlan and I would be closer,” Tag said as he took a seat at the table and watched her. He couldn’t help feeling disappointed. He’d really thought this trip would bring him closer to his father. If anything, it seemed to be pushing them even further apart. “What is it about those two that they aren’t good with their own kids?”
Dana sighed. “Or with their wives. They just aren’t family men and never have been. But don’t let that spoil your Christmas here,” she said, and handed him a warm cookie. “We’re going to have a wonderful time whether they make it Christmas Eve or not.”
“Yes, we are,” Tag said, sounding more upbeat than he felt. Right now, he felt as if the Grinch had already stolen Christmas.
After
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