That Summer Read Online Free PDF Page A

you think you might help out? You have your father's gift with horses.”
    I replied immediately. “Of course I'll help out, Liam.”
    He gave me the smile that I found far more devastating than Kevin's. “Thanks, Annie.”
    I cleared my throat. “So tell me about Someday Soon.”
    “God, Annie. I'm so scared. He looks so good and I'm afraid to hope.”
    “I saw the Florida Derby on TV.”
    “I was there and my heart was in my throat. Did you see the finish he put on?”
    “Yes, he was magnificent. What was he, nine horses back?”
    “He was ten back and twenty lengths off the pace. He put in a stupendous finish. He made the other horses look like they were standing still.”
    I had brought out a carafe filled with coffee and he poured himself another cup. “John is going to run him in the Wood Memorial in New York next week. That will be his prep race for the Derby.”
    “Who are his chief competitors?”
    “Bob Baffert has a horse in the Wood, Honor Bright. He's owned by the Dubai sheikhs and I think he'll be our main competition.”
    “Are you going to New York for the Wood?”
    “No. I went to Florida for the Derby, but there's too much going on here right now. I have mares booked to Thunderhead almost every day from now through the beginning of May.”
    “Wow. That's great.”
    “Yeah. We got a rush of bookings after Someday Soon won the Florida Derby. People are trying to get in early on his daddy before the price goes up.”
    We sat for another half an hour, talking about the farm, about my practice, about my experiences in vet school. It had always been easy to talk to Liam. He really listened.
    When he got to his feet to go, I stood up as well. He said suddenly, “My mother is coming home.”
    “That's nice,” I said neutrally. Liam had been his mother's champion against his father his entire life.
    “She's been at that rehab center in New Canaan.”
    So I hadn't been too far wrong.
    “I hope to God Dad gets rid of his latest bimbo,” Liam said savagely. “That's what drives her to drink like she does—his constant infidelities.”
    I thought that the senator's infidelities were certainly a part of the drinking, but there had to be something more. I mean, Mrs. Wellington always had the option to leave him if his infidelities were so destructive to her psyche.
    Prudently, I did not share my thoughts with Liam.
    We talked for a little bit longer and then Liam pushed his chair into the table. “It was great talking to you again,” he said. “I've missed my Annie.” He bent and kissed my cheek. “Thanks for the lunch, brat.” And he was on his way.
    After I had washed and put away the lunch dishes, I decided to take a drive over to the cemetery to visit Daddy's grave. No tombstone had been put in place as yet; it was just a hole in the ground filled in with dirt.
    I cried and when I had pulled myself together I drove into town to get an ice cream. There was a line and I noticed Justin Summers standing in front of me. He got his ice cream and went to sit at a picnic bench under the trees. When I got my ice cream, I joined him.
    “Where'd you get your law degree?” I asked him as we licked our cones.
    “Same place where I went to college: UVA. I got a partial scholarship and took a loan out for the rest of it. I didn't have any loans from college thanks to my football scholarship.”
    Justin had been the star quarterback of Midville's state-winning team ten years ago.
    “Did you have any offers to go pro?”
    “I have a bum knee, Anne. I wouldn't last a week in the NFL.”
    “You're better off as a lawyer. I read an article that said football players have abbreviated life spans.”
    “I've never regretted my career choice. When I got out of law school, Mr. Benson took me into his practice. He said he'd make me a partner when I turn thirty.”
    “That's great.”
    “I think so. I'm happy.”
    “Did you know that Kevin is home?”
    “No. Kevin and I don't exactly correspond.”
    “Do