An Accidental Hero Read Online Free PDF

his gazewas drawn again to the gilded script on the Bible’s spine, he stubbornly turned away, closed his eyes.
    As he drifted off to sleep, it was Cammi’s smiling face he focused on.
     
    A few hours earlier…
     
    “Wow, lady,” the cabbie said. “This is some place you’ve got here.”
    “Isn’t mine,” Cammi corrected. “River Valley is my dad’s.”
    He nodded. “Still, mighty impressive all the same.”
    She couldn’t deny it. Anyone who’d ever seen the ranch had been impressed, if not by the three-story stone house, then by the two-lane wooden bridge leading to the circular drive, or the waterfall, hissing and gurgling beneath it. Everything had been the result of her father’s design…and his own hardworking hands.
    The tall double doors swung wide even before Cammi stepped out of the cab. Bright golden light spilled from the enormous foyer, painting the wraparound porch and curved flagstone walkway with a butter-yellow glow and casting her father’s burly form in silhouette. A booming “Camelia, you’re home!” floated to her on the damp Texas breeze. Then, his deep voice suddenly laced with concern, Lamont added, “What’s with the taxi? Did you have car trouble?”
    Cammi grinned at the understatement. “You could say that.”
    “You should’ve called,” he said. “I’d have come for you.”
    Could have, should have, would have. How many times had she heard that before leaving home?
    Lamont held out his arms and Cammi melted into them. Plenty of time to tell him about the accident—and everything else—later. For the moment, wrapped in the warmth of his embrace, she put aside the reasons she’d left home. Forgot his “you’ll be sorry” speech. Forgot how determined she’d been to prove him wrong, for no reason other than that for once in her life, she’d wanted to make him proud.
    Proud? So much for that! Cammi thought.
    “Good to have you home, sweetie.”
    My, but that sounded good. Sounded right. This was where she wanted…no, where she needed to be. And if the length or strength of Lamont’s embrace was any indicator, her father felt the same way. At least, for now. “Good to be home,” Cammi admitted.
    He released her and went for his wallet.
    “Dad,” she started, “I can pay the—”
    But Lamont had already peeled off a fifty. “That’ll cover it, right, son?” he asked, shoving the bill into the driver’s hand.
    “Yessir, it sure will!” Eyes wide, he waited for permission to pocket the bill.
    “Keep the change,” Lamont said, grabbing Cammi’s bag.
    The man beamed. “Sayin’ ‘thanks’ seems lame after a tip like this!”
    Grinning, Lamont saluted, then slung his arm over Cammi’s shoulder. “Drive safely, m’boy,” he said, guiding her toward the house. He hadn’t closed thefront door behind them before asking, “Where’s the rest of your gear?”
    “I shipped some boxes a couple of days ago. They’ll be delivered tomorrow, Monday at the latest.” She tugged the strap of her oversized purse, now resting firmly against his rock-hard shoulder. “Meanwhile, I have the essentials right here.”
    “Meanwhile,” he echoed, frowning as he assessed her rain-dampened hair and still-wet clothes, “you’re soaked to the skin.” He nudged her closer to the wide, mahogany staircase. “Get on upstairs and take a hot shower. After you’ve changed into something warm and dry, meet me in the kitchen. Meantime, I’ll put on a pot of decaf.”
    In other words, Cammi deducted, despite the late hour, he expected her to fill in the blanks—some of them, anyway—left by her long absence; she hadn’t been particularly communicative by phone or letter while she’d been gone, with good reason, and she was thankful Lamont hadn’t pressed her for details. Now the time had come to pay the proverbial piper. “Warm and dry sounds wonderful,” she said, more because it was true than to erase the past two years from her mind.
    “Everything is exactly