The Invitation Read Online Free PDF Page B

where she was. Blinking against the bright light of day, she squinted at the woman sitting on the rock across from her.
    â€œWould you like some coffee?”
    Rubbing her eyes, covering a yawn, Jackie took the tin mug that was held out to her. “Who are you?”
    â€œWilliam’s sister.”
    â€œOh,” she said, still too groggy to ask any questions, but she looked around. William’s car was gone, and in its place was a pickup truck.
    The woman—pretty, dark haired, about thirty—smiled. “You must be confused. Here’s what happened. Last night my mother had one of her spells, as the family calls them. She often gets the idea that one of her children is hurt, is going to be hurt, or is in some danger. Since most of these hunches of hers are correct, my father listened when she said that her son William was lost. That was at about three this morning. I happened to be up, so I said I’d go. It wasn’t difficult to find William; he’d left a map showing where he’d be.” She raised her eyebrows in sisterly mockery. “William is a very responsible person.” She said this last in a sarcastic voice, accompanied by some eye-rolling, as though she also thought William was a bit of a stick-in-the-mud.
    Jackie opened her mouth to defend him, but she closed it. “So you found us.”
    â€œYes. I guess my mother sensed the danger you’d been in.” She nodded toward Jackie’s airplane, still smashed against the boulder.
    â€œWhere is he?”
    â€œWilliam? Oh, he had to leave. He said he had to get to Denver as soon as possible, that he had to buy something very important. He wouldn’t tell Dad or me what it was.” She looked down at her coffee cup. “Do you have any idea what he’s after?”
    Jackie pulled her knees into her chest and didn’t answer. William was very responsible, she thought, feeling a little bit of a thrill run through her. A man who knew what responsibility was would be nice to be around. Charley had been a lot of fun; people loved Charley—but they didn’t have to live with him. Charley never remembered where he put anything; Jackie used to say that she’d spent half of her life looking for whatever Charley had lost that hour. When Charley agreed to go to two different houses for dinner on the same evening, it was Jackie who had to play the villain and get him out of one engagement. There was never a question of how much money Charley brought home; he never got that far with whatever money he received. One time they had spent a grueling week with an air show, flying through a burning barn for the edification and delight of a few hundred farmers and their families. The owner of the show made the mistake of giving Charley their pay while he was in a bar. Charley was brought home the next day, too drunk to stand up, and he hadn’t a penny left; he’d bought everyone round after round of drinks. No, responsibility in a man was not something Jackie was used to.
    â€œWhenever you’re ready, Dad and I will take you back to Chandler, and we’ll send someone for the plane.”
    â€œThanks, that would be great.” Drinking the last of her coffee, she stood and stretched. Looking about her, she couldn’t help smiling. Last night William had said he would take care of everything and he’d already started. He was not only a man of responsibility but a man of his word as well.
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    Many years ago Eternity was a thriving little town, close to the big city of Denver, on the way to San Francisco. The discovery of silver was the reason for the town’s existence, and for years the inhabitants thrived. They built rather quickly, but thanks to a Rumanian carpenter, who had grown wealthy, the buildings were sturdy and well constructed. They weren’t the usual flimsy fire traps that were the mainstay of so many towns that sprang up and died within a decade.
    After the