No Place Like Home. Debbie Macomber

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СКАЧАТЬ through my website at www.Debbie Macomber.com or Facebook at Debbie Macomber’s World or by letter. Your letters have touched my heart. You can reach me at P.O. 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA.

      Again thank you for your support and encouragement through the years and don’t forget to dream big yourselves for who knows where those dreams will take you.

       Debbie Macomber

      Contents

       Cover

       Back Cover Text

       Title Page

       Dedication

Dear Friends

One

Two

Three

Four

       Five

       Six

       Seven

       Eight

       Nine

       Ten

       Eleven

       Twelve

       Thirteen

       Fourteen

       Fifteen

       Sixteen

       Seventeen

       Eighteen

       Nineteen

       Epilogue

       Copyright

One

      “I don’t know how much longer your grandfather’s going to live.”

      The words hit Molly Cogan with the force of an unexpected blow. Sinking onto a stool beside the kitchen phone, she blocked out the blare of the television and her sons’ ongoing argument over whose turn it was to set the table for dinner.

      Tom and Clay were at each other’s throats, but Molly could only deal with one crisis at a time. “Who is this again, please?”

      “Sam Dakota. Listen, I realize this isn’t the best time, but I felt I should tell you.” He paused, then added, “Walt wouldn’t appreciate me calling you, but like I said, you have a right to know his health isn’t good.”

      The unmistakable sound of shattering glass filtered through the television noise as the boys’ skirmish escalated.

      Placing her hand over the mouthpiece, Molly shouted, “Boys, please! Not now.” Something in her voice must have communicated the importance of the call, because both turned and stared at her. A moment later, Tom reached for the broom.

      Molly’s hand trembled as she lifted the receiver back to her ear. “How do you know my grandfather, Mr. Dakota?”

      “I’m his foreman. Been here about six months.”

      The fact that Gramps had willingly surrendered control of his ranch to a hired hand—a stranger—told her a great deal. For the past few years, he’d sold off portions of the once-huge spread, until all that remained was a couple of thousand acres, small by Montana standards. He’d managed the Broken Arrow Ranch himself as long as she could remember. Hired hands came and went, depending on the size of the herd, but as far as she knew, he’d always maintained tight control of the day-to-day operations. Over the years his letters had been infrequent, but in the last one—which she’d received after Christmas, four and a half months ago—Molly had sensed something wasn’t right with Gramps. She’d put aside the feeling, however, consumed by her own problems.

      “Tell me again what happened,” she said abruptly, struggling to regain her composure. The man’s first words had been such a shock, much of what he’d said afterward had escaped her.

      “Like I told you, spring’s our busy time, and yesterday your grandfather told me he’d be out to help check on the new calves. When he didn’t show, I returned to the house and found him unconscious on the kitchen floor. Heart attack, I figured.”

      Molly pressed her fingers to her lips to hold in a gasp of dismay. Gramps...in pain. Unable to breathe. Losing consciousness. It frightened her to think of it.

      With her mother and half brother living in Australia, Gramps was her only family here. Her only connection with her long-dead father.

      “I got him to the clinic in town and Doc Shaver confirmed what I thought. It is his heart. Walt has a pacemaker, but the walls of his heart are old and brittle, and it isn’t working as well as Doc had hoped.”

      “Gramps has a pacemaker?” Molly cried. “When did this happen?” She raised her hand to the cameo hanging from a gold chain around her neck and clenched it hard. It was the most precious piece of jewelry she owned. Gramps had given it to her the day they buried her grandmother nine years before.

      “More than six months ago. First I’d heard of it, too.”

      “Why didn’t he tell me?” Molly asked, although she realized Sam Dakota couldn’t possibly know. She wished—not for the first time—that San Francisco was closer to Montana. Right now, Sweetgrass seemed a million miles away.

      “I can’t answer that. I thought you should know Walt’s probably not going to live much longer. If you want to see him, I suggest you plan a visit out here soon.”

      “What exactly is wrong with his heart?” It might have sounded as if she was avoiding the real issue, but she needed to understand Gramps’s condition before she could even begin to think about anything else. Like her finances. And how she could possibly afford a trip to Montana now.

      “Do you know anything about pacemakers?”

      “A little.” Just enough to understand that they emit an electronic beep, which assists the heart in beating at a steady pace.

      “Well, as I said earlier, the walls of your grandfather’s heart are brittle and it’s СКАЧАТЬ