Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 04 - Saddle Up Read Online Free PDF Page A

from a six-hour flight and then an hour-long drive from the airport?
    “Hi, Sis,” she said.
    “Good morning, Jordan,” I said and pulled the covers back over my head.
    She laughed. “Sorry I’m so early. The only flight I could get on the one-day notice Dad gave me was at one o’clock this morning out of JFK.”
    Did she just apologize to me?
    She pulled the covers away and said, “Dad is fixing breakfast.”
    “Oh, yummy.” I rolled my eyes.
    Jordan laughed. “I know. I haven’t enjoyed egg substitute or imitation bacon in years. It will be wonderful, Dad’s a great cook. Come on.”
    I sat up, rubbed my eyes and said, “Where’s my dog?”
    “She’s outside reacquainting herself with Fifi.”
    “She knows Fifi, remember? They spent a lovely day together several years ago.”
    Jordan laughed again. “Well, I will be here a couple of days and Fifi can’t spend the entire time under your back deck.”
    “She might,” I told her.
    She tugged at hand. “Come on, Dad’s already put his concoction into the oven.”
    Jordan pulled me down the hallway and into the kitchen. She was right; the counter was clear which meant that Dad had placed the frying pan into the oven to let the ingredients cook together. I had to admit, it smelled heavenly.
    “Have some juice, Liza,” he said as he handed me a glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice.
    I really prefer apple juice, but took the glass and sat down at the dining room table. Jordan joined me with her own glass.
    She leaned forward and whispered, “I’d rather have a cup of coffee, but Dad insisted upon the juice.”
    “I’m an apple juice or tea fan, myself,” I told her.
    We both laughed quietly and drank our orange juice. A few minutes later, Shelby came into the room and sat down next to me.
    “Where’s Fifi?” I asked.
    Shelby barked.
    “Under the porch?” I asked.
    Shelby barked again.
    “Oh, she’ll come out eventually,” Jordan replied, as dad came over with the frying pan and three plates.
    “Let’s eat,” he said.
    The aroma of eggs, vegetables, and spices was only half as good as the taste. I wolfed down three helpings and didn’t even miss my morning bacon.
    “What should we do today?” Dad asked.
    “Disneyland is only an hour away by plane?” I suggested. As a family, we used to love amusement parks.
    “I’d rather not, if that’s okay,” Jordan said. “I just got off a six hour flight and I don’t think I can sit in those cramped seats again.”
    Was she just polite? Where was my sister? What had this person done with her? Maybe she was an alien in my sister’s skin like in the movie, Men in Black .
    “Maybe we can plan a trip to Disneyland next time?” my dad suggested. “We’d have to drive, since I don’t like to put my face out in airports.”
    Jordan and I looked at each other. Both of us had forgotten that Dad was a wanted man.
    “That’s okay,” I said. “I’d want to spend more than a day or two in Disneyland. It’s a five-day place, at least.”
    Jordan agreed and we dropped the subject.
    Jordan and I cleaned up the breakfast dishes while Dad used my computer. I didn’t ask what he was doing.
    “So, I hear that Sam’s back in your life,” I said as an opener.
    “Yes, and you were right.”
    “Right about what?” I asked.
    “He finally went to see a doctor. He’s bipolar and on three different medications. He’s stable and works at a pharmaceutical company in New York. He’s the head of their research and development department that specializes in diabetes drugs.”
    “He never lacked for brains,” I muttered under my breath.
    “And I was an enabler,” she said.
    “Enabler?”
    “Yes, I’ve been to a counselor myself.” She put her arm around my shoulder. “If I had listened to you, it could have saved me thousands of dollars in therapy, Sis.”
    “I am the older and wiser sister,” I told her.
    She dipped her hand into the dishwater and blew a bubble of soap at me. It missed me by