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“Hey, sis.” Viv, bright eyed and beaming with suppressed excitement, eased around Beau, hopped off the boat, and threw her arms around Kit. “Mmm. There’s not a hug in the world as good as one from your sister.”
Kit laughed and squeezed her back. “I’m so glad you’re here. It’s been so long since your last visit that I began to think we wouldn’t see you again until Christmas.”
“Oh, no.” She stepped back and took Kit’s hand in hers. “I’m thinking about sticking around awhile. Permanently, in fact.”
Kit examined her face, looking for a hint of teasing. “Are you serious? You’re moving back?”
“I’m giving it serious thought.” She leaned close and whispered, “And I didn’t come alone, either.”
Kit craned her neck and peeked over Viv’s shoulder at the six-foot-tall man exchanging pleasantries with Beau. “I see you’ve brought company.” She grinned. “Rather handsome company, in fact.”
Smiling, Viv whispered, “He’s perfect. You’re going to love him—and so will Dad, as soon as he gets to know him.”
“There’s my girl,” Royal bellowed, standing and walking over to Viv.
She sprang into his arms and hugged him tightly. “Oh, I’ve missed you, Dad.” She pulled back a little and raised an eyebrow. “You got the wood fire going and the sheet metal in position? Kit told me y’all planned on celebrating Cal’s graduation with a roast-off.”
“A roast-off we’re gonna win,” Royal said, pumping a fist in the air. He paused, glancing at the man stepping off the boat with Beau. “Who you brung with you?”
“A good friend”—Viv motioned the man over—“and then some.” She waited until Will joined them, then said, “Dad, meet Will Jackson.”
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Will, a clean-cut, respectable-looking man, held out his hand.
Royal grudgingly shook it. “Well, I expect we’ll get to know each other better over a beer and some oysters.” He gestured toward the backyard, where Cal was helping Mackey build a fire for the roast and Nate was lining up pots and strainers for steaming. “Head on up there, and tell Cal I sent you. The rest of us are right behind you.”
Will thanked him, and Beau led him toward the backyard, pausing to brush a kiss across Kit’s cheek.
Viv stopped to hug the twins and playfully tugged one of Daisy’s braids. “This one’s shooting up there,” she said, smiling. She bent and kissed Ashley’s cheek. “And this one’s not far behind. I tell you what, you two are beauts!” She laughed. “But then again, you’d have to be, seeing as how you’re related to me and your mama.”
The girls laughed, and Daisy bounced in place. “Watch me skip this stone, Aunt Viv.” She reared back, tilted her hand, and flung the stone in her hand, and it skipped across the water.
Ashley squealed. “That was perfect! Wasn’t it perfect, Papa?”
“Sure was.” Royal handed the girls one more stone each. “One more throw and then we need to head on up to the yard. We got oysters to roast.”
Kit pressed her fingertips to her mouth as Royal squatted between the girls again, then helped guide their hands as they skipped more stones.
“Feels familiar, doesn’t it?” Viv whispered, slipping an arm around Kit’s waist.
Kit blinked back bittersweet tears, recalling all the times Royal had taught her one task or another on the shrimping boat or guided her during their wild oyster harvests on the creek. “Yeah. Very much so.”
They stood there arm in arm for a few more minutes, the salt breeze blowing through their hair and the setting sun warm on their backs, watching Royal teach the girls how to skip stones, treasuring every moment and looking forward to so many more. Then they headed toward the house, their hearts filling up with bittersweet warmth as Royal, who trailed behind them with the girls, answered their questions in low, contented tones.
“It’s called Hope Creek, ain’t it, Papa?” Daisy asked.
“That it is,” Royal said.
“I bet there’s tons of fish in it.” Ashley’s skipping steps echoed along the dock. “How deep does the creek go, Papa?”
Royal, a smile in his voice, said, “Oh, Hope runs deep. Deeper than the lowest you could ever go.”
Please read on for an excerpt from CALDER GRIT by Janet Dailey!
During the summer of 1909, a battle rages in Blue Moon, Montana, between immigrant homesteaders and cattlemen determined to keep the range free. In a fierce struggle that echoes the challenges of today, history is made.
As the countryside explodes in violence, the Calder patriarch has the power to stop the destruction, though some believe Benteen Calder is only stoking the flames for his own gain. One man courageously straddles the divide . . .
That man is Blake Dollarhide, the ambitious young owner of Blue Moon’s lumber mill. When Blake’s spoiled half-brother takes advantage of the innocent daughter of a homesteading family, Blake steps in as Hanna Anderson’s bridegroom to restore her honor and give her unborn child his name. But Blake doesn’t count on the storm of feelings he develops for sweet Hanna. When the war between the factions rages anew, everyone wonders if Blake will stand by the close-knit community he serves, or the wife he took in name only . . .
