The Cowboy Soldier's Sons. Tina Leonard

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СКАЧАТЬ am. I can’t wait! Of course, I won’t be able to come visit as often, once I have my brother or sister.” She again looked at Tempest with those wise eyes. “I’ll miss you, but I’ll be very busy taking care of the baby, you know.”

      Tempest grinned, delighted with the changes in the once-angsty Cat. “I know. I understand completely. If I had a baby, I would want you to be my chief babysitter.”

      “Maybe you’ll have a baby one day, Tempest,” Cat said. “There’s Dad, so I have to go. He said he’d drop me off for a visit only if I came right out when he was ready to leave. He said it wouldn’t take long for him to pound the stuffing out of Uncle Shaman, and then we had to hit the road. He doesn’t like to be away from Chelsea for long. Thank you again for the cool headband you gave me. I really love it.” She hugged her, a good, strong hug that warmed Tempest, then ran to say goodbye to Shinny and Blanche. “Goodbye! Thank you for the delicious ice cream!”

      They waved at the thin teen as she ran out the door. From the window, Tempest watched as Cat jumped into her father’s truck.

      “She never fails to brighten our day,” Shinny said, coming over to take Cat’s seat. “That is one happy little girl.”

      Tempest nodded. “Yes, she is.”

      “Funny, but I think you had a part in that,” he added.

      Tempest looked at the older gentleman regarding her with smiling eyes. “Cat made all her changes on her own.”

      “Yeah, but you believed in her enough to come back to town. It means a lot to kids when people they admire notice them.”

      Tempest remembered when Cat had been a sadder version of herself. “She has good parents now.”

      Shinny nodded. “She reminds me of you, in a way.”

      “I don’t know.” Tempest swirled the straw in her milkshake, not really feeling like thinking about her own childhood. “Is there anything I can do to help you, before I go?”

      “Nope.” Shinny patted her hand. “You go rest. Blanche and I’ll see you at dinner.”

      Nodding, she got up and gave him a kiss on his almost-bald head, then left the shop. She wondered why Gage would want to pound the stuffing out of his brother, then decided it didn’t have anything to do with her.

      * * *

      IT WAS NOT SHAMAN’S BEST day.

      First, Gage had run by with a full head of steam to rag all over him about the barn contractor—who Gage had fired. Jonas Callahan didn’t like the contractor’s vision—and now it was up to Shaman to figure out what was in Jonas’s head. In spite of that, this job was a great one to oversee, so he had no quibbles. He just wanted it to go more smoothly than it was, given that his boss had just changed his mind about everything.

      Bosses tended to do that, and he’d suffered enough annoyed superior officers to take an occasional ear-bending in stride.

      Still, he could have used a break in the action before the land mine that was his sister drove onto the ranch. From the roof of the farmhouse, Shaman could see Kendall’s car edging up the drive. He knew it was her because she was driving a black Land Rover. It seemed the whole family fleet had been replaced with matching black Land Rovers, if Gage had the information right. Gil Phillips, Inc., was all about uniformity.

      He sat on the roof, watching Kendall as she got out of her car. She wore a ladylike cream-colored skirt and jacket, and turquoise-blue sky-high heels. Some things never changed.

      “Hi,” she called up to him.

      “Howdy.”

      “Get the hell off the roof, please. It’s dangerous.”

      He laughed. “This isn’t dangerous. I know dangerous, and I’ll tell you when I see it.”

      She was annoyed, he could tell. “We need to talk.”

      Obviously, since she’d driven over from Hell’s Colony. “You have a cell phone. Doesn’t it work?” He climbed down the ladder, deciding it was best to obey his little sister when she was in her bossy element.

      “Mom wants you to come home,” Kendall said, following him inside.

      Shaman washed his hands at the sink, his mind on the condition of the farmhouse roof. It had occurred to him that if Jonas was going to hire a contractor who would subcontract out the roofs for the outbuildings, maybe getting this one replaced at the same time would be financially expedient. In his opinion, it was badly needed.

      “I’m sorry. What did you say?” He looked at his sister.

      Kendall sat on the old leather-topped stool in front of the counter. “Mom wants you to come home.”

      “Because?”

      “Because you can do this kind of work there. She says you spent enough years away in the military.” His sister’s face softened as she looked at him. “We miss you.”

      “I miss you, too, but this is my job.”

      “You have a job. It’s called Gil Phillips, Inc.,” she reminded him.

      “This is a paying job, something not all of my friends have been able to find once they got back to the States. Besides, haven’t you heard you can never go home?”

      Kendall gave him a look of disgust. “That’s for other people. Our home represents our livelihood.”

      Shaman smiled at her. “Not mine.”

      “You’re being difficult, Shaman. What is it about this place that has you and Gage so obsessed?” She glanced around the airy kitchen. “Really, it’s kind of a dump.”

      “It’s actually pretty nice.” He thought the farmhouse was quiet and cheerful. Mostly it was quiet, and that he needed.

      “I do not understand.” Kendall shrugged delicately. “This place could use a decorator.”

      “I’ll put your name into the hat for Jonas Callahan.”

      “Don’t you dare.” She slid off the stool, walking around the kitchen. “You need to come home. Xav’s decided to get married.”

      Shaman blinked. “To whom?”

      “To some gold digger. Mom is up in arms.”

      “What does that have to do with me?” He tossed the dish towel he’d used onto the counter. “Xav’s life is his own.”

      “Mom wants you to talk sense into him.”

      Shaman shook his head. “Not me. I leave all the gold digger talks in your capable hands.” If Xav’s sweetie wasn’t appropriate in some way, he figured Kendall would have her wrapped up in so much legal tape she’d barely be able to move.

      “Mom thinks it would be better coming from you. Older, wiser brother.”

      “No, what might have helped СКАЧАТЬ