Night's Surrender Read Online Free PDF Page A

Pacific time. Her mother was still resting.
    Abbey glanced around. The room was just as she remembered it. The walls were still white, the carpet a light blue plush, the curtains—heavily lined to block the sun—were a darker shade of blue. A pair of high-backed sofas covered in a flowered print flanked the fireplace; a pair of easy chairs covered in the same shade of blue as the drapes faced the hearth.
    Rane dropped her second suitcase beside the first. “I’ll take these up to your room later.”
    â€œThanks, Dad, but I can do it.”
    â€œYou always were an independent kid.”
    â€œWell, I guess I learned that from you.”
    â€œIs that right? I always thought you got it from your mother’s side of the family. Oh, you might want to go pick up some groceries,” Rane suggested, handing her the keys to his car.
    Abbey glanced at the keys, then grinned at him. “Really, Dad? Another new car?”
    â€œShe’s fast. Take it easy on the curves. Maybe we’ll try out that new mare when you get back,” he said with a wink. “She’s fast, too.”
    â€œSounds great. I won’t be gone long.”
    Thinking how good it was to be home again, Abbey tucked the keys into her purse and went out to the garage. She whistled softly when she saw her dad’s new car. Like his father and his brother, Rane Cordova loved fast cars. This one was as black as sin, with black leather upholstery and every extra imaginable.
    When she slid behind the wheel, the dashboard lit up as the onboard computer sparked to life, and asked for her destination.
    â€œHoward’s Market, no faster than the speed limit.”
    â€œYes, miss.”
    Abbey buckled her seat belt, then sat back, and let the car do the driving.
    She had a lot to think about. She knew she was welcome to stay with her parents for as long as she wished. A visit was one thing, but she was too old to live at home and sponge off Mom and Dad. Not that they would mind, but she needed to do something with her life, make her mark on the world before she was too old....
    Abbey shook her head. Why was she so obsessed with aging all of a sudden? She was still young; she had a good long life ahead of her. Places she wanted to go. Things she wanted to do.
    The car pulled up in front of the grocery store a short time later. Inside, she selected a shopping cart and strolled through the market. She loved shopping, whether it was for clothes, shoes, gifts. Or food. As she filled her cart, she couldn’t help wondering, as she had so many times before, if her parents ever missed the pleasure of sitting down to a good meal.
    Savanah had made sure they celebrated all the holidays while Abbey was growing up. Turkey and all the fixings at Thanksgiving and Christmas, ham at Easter. Her father had joined them at the table, sipping wine while Abbey and her mother ate until they couldn’t hold another bite.
    Savanah never mentioned those bygone holiday feasts, but sometimes, when Abbey was eating something her mother had once loved, Abbey glimpsed a hint of longing in her mother’s eyes.
    An hour later, Abbey was back home and putting her groceries away. She found a note from her father on the fridge. It read: I’m at the barn, waiting for you.
    After quickly stowing the last of the canned goods in the cupboard, Abbey hurried up to her room and changed into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, pulled on her favorite riding boots, and ran out the back door, heading for the stable.
    As she passed the corrals, she noted there were three yearlings in one, and a couple of black-and-white heifers in the other. A large yellow cat dozed in the shade beside the barn.
    Abbey found her father outside the barn, currying a lovely Appaloosa mare. His favorite mount, a long-legged bay gelding, whinnied softly as Abbey approached.
    â€œWhat do you think of her?” Rane asked, resting one arm on the mare’s back.
    â€œShe’s