A Family Found Read Online Free PDF

east face. The drop from the top of it into the lake below is hundreds of feet.”
    She fixed her gaze on the famous peak. “I’m going to climb it one day.”
    Was there no stopping this woman? For all her slight size, she made up for it in sheer nerve. “I wouldn’t count on it.”
    â€œ
You
wouldn’t, Mr. Lockwood, but I
do
count on it. It’s merely a matter of time.”
    â€œHardly any women have been successful.”
    â€œMay I remind you once again that I am not ‘any woman’? Ask my brothers if you don’t believe me.”
    Once more, he took in the majesty of the peaks, the miles and miles of high meadow, with streams etching silver ribbons across the surface, and felt the tug of home. “Begging your pardon, but I can’t dawdle here gawking all day.”
    â€œJust one more moment, please. It will never again be the first time I take in this scene.”
    He had to give her that—at least she recognized the power and uniqueness in the place. He wondered if Estes Park would grip her the same way it had him. As they rode on, no words passed between them, yet he had the disturbing sense that Sophie Montgomery had gotten under his skin as no woman had in a great long time. Against his better judgment, he found himself admiring her determination while at the same time finding her maddeningly independent, even reckless. The contrast to Ramona couldn’t have been more startling.
    Finally she broke the silence. “I shall look forward to meeting your wife and children, Mr. Lockwood.”
    â€œI have no wife. Only my two boys.”
    She turned to him, eyes wide with pity, and her face reddened with embarrassment. “I’m sorry...I...uh, had no idea. Effie didn’t mention... Oh dear, please accept my condolences.”
    â€œThe Hurlburts, always discreet, probably didn’t regard it as their place to convey my personal information.” In that moment, he had an irrational urge to shock her. Bitterness churned in the back of his throat as he said, “My wife, excuse me, my
former
wife, saw fit not only to abandon me but our two children, as well.”
    He had succeeded. Bald shock registered on her face. “Dear me, I fear I have stumbled into your private concerns.”
    â€œYou would find out sooner or later. She returned to the East. We are divorced.”
    â€œBut...the boys?”
    â€œShe prefers to have nothing to do with them. Frankly, that makes it easier for all three of us.” Easier emotionally, he thought to himself, but difficult in the day-to-day reality.
    â€œI’m sorry. I don’t know quite what to say.”
    â€œThat must be a first for you.” He watched her face crumple and swore at himself for his insensitivity. “Now I’m the one to offer an apology. That was uncalled for. I would take the remark back if I could, Miss Montgomery.”
    â€œWords have a life of their own, don’t they? Sometimes they just slip out when they should stay put. And you aren’t the first to accuse me of garrulousness.” She smiled ruefully, and he could breathe again.
    â€œNor will I be the last, I suspect,” he said with a forced chuckle.
    Then she laughed gaily and relief flooded through him. “Do you know what I think? I have had quite enough of this Miss Montgomery and Mr. Lockwood business. You are my only friend in all of Estes Valley, and I would like you to call me Sophie.” She paused. “And might I call you Tate?”
    His first thought was that this informality moved them into an intimacy he wasn’t sure he was willing to undertake, but his second thought trumped the first. “I would welcome that,” he said.
    â€œAll right, then,
Tate
. Take me home.”
    He knew she meant her cabin, of course. Yet, for an instant, her words shook every nerve in his body. “Home...yes.” He raised an arm and pointed along the northern fringe of