I Do Solemnly Swear Read Online Free PDF

tirelessly, plowing the earth, preparing the fertile soil for a bountiful summer.
    She stopped in front of the main gate and pushed the floor shift lever into park. Thirty years ago, Kate had helped her father construct this front gate, digging holes with the post-hole digger, hand-mixing concrete for the four-by-four supports, nailing the crossbeams. She looked at the scar on her pinky and recalled how terrified she’d been when she cut her finger on the rusty nail. Kate had other scars, though. Deep scars etched into her heart. Time hadn’t healed all her wounds.
    Above the gate was the ranch logo. Two white stallions stood on their hind legs facing one another; above their heads in an oval circle were the letters
WSR
, painted black.
    Familiar memories flooded her mind.
    This was where she’d spent her childhood, where her appreciation of nature and love of animals began. It was a haven unmolested by the frenzy of big-city life. Free of politics and people in a hurry, there was no obsession with status here; people living in Linwood, Kansas, were just plain folks.
    Of all the picturesque places on earth, the White Stallion Ranch was Kate’s favorite.
    She pulled up to the main house, a two-story log cabin her father had built. She parked the Mustang next to the brokendown tractor. When she got out of the car, she stretched towardthe sky, trying to get the kink out of her upper back. She removed her luggage from the trunk and stood silent for a moment. Kate could hear a choir of birds, a dog howling, a rooster crowing. The sounds of midwestern America.
    That her father was not on the front porch waiting to greet her did not surprise Kate. How many times had other priorities taken precedence over his only child? She carried her luggage up the steps and dropped it in front of the door. The hinges squeaked, and the front door swung open. Plump as ever, four-foot-eleven Maria Martinez greeted her with a warm smile. Her ebony-colored eyes glistened. Kate’s father was lucky to have found such a nurturing housekeeper and cook who kept his domestic life in order. Kate stepped inside, and Maria embraced her.
    “Miss Kate.” Maria’s Latino accent seemed more pronounced than Kate remembered. “Your father tell me you come today. I have missed you.”
    “You’re looking well,” Kate said. “Is Daddy still working you like a
burro
?”
    “Oh, since your father retire, he no the same man. I do my business, and he stay out of way.”
    Kate could smell cilantro and garlic. “Are you preparing my favorite dish?”
    “Burritos de pollo con salsa verde.”
    “Wonderful!”
    Kate’s eyes surveyed the expansive main living area. Her father always had a flair for southwestern decor. The room emulated authentic American Indian culture, complete with a life-size wooden sculpture of an Indian chief guarding the entrance to her father’s private study.
    “Where is Daddy?”
    “He go to town. Promise to be back before you come.” Maria lifted a shoulder, her face apologetic. “He always
el embajador
. I make coffee? Hazelnut?”
    “You’re a sweetheart.”
    After pouring herself a mug full of coffee, Kate went outside and stood on the front porch. In the distance, she could see her father’s Chevy Blazer kicking up a cloud of dust as it raced toward the house. As his face came into clear view, Kate felt a knot twist into her stomach. He’d always made her nervous, expected so much of her. He’d talked her out of entering veterinary school, a childhood ambition, and convinced her to get a law degree from Cornell. He had said, “It will yield greater opportunities in the ‘real world.’” Kate wasn’t yet sure what the real world was. It seemed to be a place that continued to outdistance her.
    Trevor Williams parked the Blazer next to Kate’s Mustang. She’d intended to buy a BMW convertible, but her father, a diehard domestic loyalist, had given her his classic lecture on the trade deficit and how foreign products