Forever and Always Read Online Free PDF Page B

others accompanied only by their calves. It was a peaceful scene, yet one that thrummed with a vitality whose power to impart life lay in quiet strength rather than raucous noise. He’d never seen that before. Would he have time to learn to understand it?
    The dog had followed Logan at a safe distance until something caused him to turn and run back into the surrounding forest. A moment later, Logan heard the sound of a horse’s hooves. He turned to see a young man riding toward him. It was pointless to attempt to hide. Maybe he could convince the young man to keep his presence secret. He wanted to preserve his solitude. He wanted no witnesses to his bouts of weakness and nausea. Pulling himself up to his full height, he prepared to meet the stranger.

Three
    As he drew closer, Logan realized the man was no more than a teenager. He appeared determined to discover the reason this interloper was camping on his grazing range, but he was cautious about approaching a stranger alone. Logan decided to make it easy for the boy. “Get down and have a cup of coffee. I just made it, so it’s still hot. I’m sure you want to know who I am, what I’m doing here, and how long I plan to stay.”
    The boy looked uncertain. “I didn’t know anybody was up here until I saw your smoke.”
    â€œIt looked like a nice place to set up camp for a bit. Water and graze for the horse, and plenty of game for me. Don’t worry about your cows. I’d never shoot one of them.”
    â€œMy uncle paid a lot of money for them,” the boy said. “We take looking after them very serious.”
    â€œAnd you should. The coffee’s good. You really ought to try it.” Logan was careful to make it clear he wasn’t carrying a weapon and didn’t plan to approach his tent.
    â€œI appreciate the offer, but my uncle would knock me upside the head if I did anything so stupid without knowing something about you.”
    â€œWell, let me try to set your mind at rest. My name is Logan. I come from Chicago.”
    â€œYou mean the Chicago in Illinois?” The boy was obviously impressed.
    â€œIt’s the only Chicago I know. Anyway, I was tired of working in an office all the time, so I decided to come west. This seemed like a nice place to settle for a bit, so I did. While I expect you’ll tell your uncle about me being here, I hope you won’t go spreading it around. I’ll go into town maybe every week or so, but I like to spend most of my time alone. I won’t bother you for long. Now tell me your name and what you’re doing here.”
    â€œI’m Steve Smith. My uncle and I own the Green Valley Ranch.”
    â€œYou’re mighty young to be a ranch owner.”
    â€œI’m old enough.” The boy seemed defensive. “We sold our ranch in Texas and came out here. Uncle Jared says it’s like changing one desert for another.”
    Jared! That was the name of one of his brothers. Was it possible this was the Jared Smith he’d read about? It wasn’t likely that a Jared Smith from Texas could be his lost brother, but he couldn’t ignore the possibility. Wanting to see his brothers before he died was the whole reason for coming west, but he didn’t plan to reveal his identity because he didn’t want to leave them mourning. Just seeing them and getting to know a little about them would be enough.
    â€œI understand the rainy season will start soon,” Logan said. “It is a little dry.”
    â€œThe rain won’t last long. It’s usually just enough to keep everything from drying up and blowing away. I appreciate the offer for coffee, but I’ve got to be going. You might want to be careful. Some gang tried to rob the bank yesterday. Some guy showed up and shot every one of them dead, but there might be more robbers hanging around. They’d be mighty desperate.”
    â€œI’ll make sure to keep a careful watch.