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Stepping to the door, she took out her house key and inserted it in the lock. As she pushed the door open, she was greeted by the ring of the telephone. She ignored it long enough to set her bag inside and lock the door behind her, then hurried to pick up the living room extension.
Using both hands, she carried the receiver to her ear, the anticipation of hearing Trey’s voice bringing a smile to her lips. “Hello.”
But the male voice on the other end of the line didn’t belong to Trey. “Sloan. This is a surprise. I expected to talk to that answering machine of yours.”
The hint of a drawl mixed with the gruffness was instantly familiar to Sloan. “Uncle Max. You are lucky. I just this minute walked in.”
“I figured it was something like that.”
“What do you need?” Sloan asked, unable to remember a time when her former guardian had ever phoned merely to chat.
“It’s time to update the proxy you gave me for your stock. A new form’s in the mail. You just need to sign it and send it back, but remember to have a notary witness your signature. That’s assuming, of course, that you still want me to vote your shares?”
“You know I do. I don’t know why you bother to ask.”
The stuffiness of a house that had been closed up for days made its impression on her. Taking the cordless phone with her, Sloan walked over to the double set of French doors that opened onto the lanai and cradled the phone against her neck while she unlocked them and swung them wide. A breeze swept in, bringing with it the soothing rush of the surf as it tumbled onto the rock-and-sand beach beyond the house.
“Did you send that regular mail?” she asked, but never gave him a chance to answer. “What am I saying? You always express everything you send me.”
“You’re damned right. I’m not about to risk it ending up on some freighter. For the life of me, I’ll never understand why you didn’t settle somewhere here in the States instead of out there in middle of the Pacific Ocean.”
“I am living in the States, it just happens to be the state of Hawaii,” she countered smoothly.
“You know damned well what I meant, but that’s old ground,” he said, dismissing the subject. “So, how soon are you leaving again?”
“Probably in a week or two. It depends on how long it takes me to wrap up a few things here.” Sloan wandered onto the lanai and gazed at the blue ocean, amused to find it reminded her of the rolling grassland of the Triple C.
“Where are you off to this time?” he wondered.
“To the wilds of Montana.” Absently, she rubbed her thumb over the underside of her diamond ring. “By the way, congratulations are in order, Uncle Max. I’ve gotten myself engaged.”
“Since when?” came the quick demand
.
“Since yesterday.” She could almost see the scowl on his face.
“To whom? One of your photographer friends? Really, Sloan,” he began, disapproval thick in his voice.
Sloan never gave him a chance to finish. “I’m going to marry Trey Calder. In fact, I just got back from spending a week at his family’s ranch in Montana. So I don’t think you have to worry that I picked someone who’s only interested in getting his hands on my inheritance.” For a long run of seconds there was dead silence on the other end of the line. “Uncle Max, are you still there?” Sloan frowned in uncertainty.
“I’m here—just speechless.” There was a flatness to his tone, as if all emotion had been pressed out of it. “I guess I wasn’t aware you even knew the Calders.”
“I didn’t. At least, not before this past weekend.” Aware that nothing less than a full explanation would satisfy him, Sloan supplied the details. “I had to go to Miles City to photograph their rodeo for the Berringer book. That’s where I met Trey. After that, it was one of those proverbial whirlwind courtships. And here I am, engaged to be married.”
“You sound happy,” he observed.
“I am.” She was definite about that.
“Then I’m happy for you. Have you set a wedding date?”
“Not yet. It will be soon, though, probably the end of next month. But it won’t be anything big and lavish, just a quiet ceremony there at the ranch with a few family and friends. Naturally you’re invited.”
“Unfortunately, I doubt that I can make it. I have a trip scheduled out of the country that I can’t postpone, but I’ll be there in spirit.”
“I understand.” Sloan was neither surprised nor disappointed. Since his wife Barbara had died, Max hadn’t attended a single one of her functions. She hadn’t expected her wedding to be an exception, yet courtesy dictated that she invite him.
“How much have you told him about yourself?”
