Train From Marietta Read Online Free PDF

Emily from the day she was born.
    As Jorge turned the truck down the road toward the ranch, Tate feasted his eyes on his home; the sturdy frame house looked as if it had been there forever. A stone chimney rose up from each end, and a long porch spanned the front. The homestead was set amid a grove of mesquite trees, with the occasional yucca scattered amongst them. In the network of corrals behind the house, horses grazed. He and Jorge had worked most of the winter with the horses, breaking them to halter. Home. He loved it and never wanted to live any place else. However, as much as he loved this place, he’d move to a city quicker than scat for Emily to receive the care she needed. He’d do it without a backward glance.
    As soon as Tate stepped out of the truck, Old Bob, his eight-year-old dog, came to meet him, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. Tate reached down and scratched the mutt’s shaggy head. “Hey there, Bob. Have you been looking after things while I was away?” Yelena stood on the porch holding Emily. Dressed in a blue, light cotton dress, the child was all smiles and waved both hands. Her curly dark head bobbed with excitement. Tate hurried onto the porch, dropped his bag and paper sack, and reached for her.
    “Hello, little sweetheart.”
    “Daddy, Daddy!” Emily fell into her father’s grasp and wrapped her arms around his neck, then patted his right cheek with one small hand and bestowed wet kisses on the other. “Daddy, I’m glad you’re back! Did you bring me a present?”
    Tate kissed her forehead.
Has it been only three weeks?
It seemed like forever since he last held his little girl. “I’ve missed you, Emily. Have you been good for Yelena?”
    Emily hesitated before answering, “Sometimes.”
    “Now, what does that mean?” Tate chuckled.
    “I hit Yelena.”
    Tate pulled his daughter away from him and looked down into her blue eyes. “Why did you do a naughty thing like that?”
    “She said that I couldn’t wear my pretty dress with the pink ribbon.”
    “Your Sunday dress? Were you going somewhere?”
    “No. I wanted to play outside in the sand, and she wouldn’t let me.”
    “Yelena was right to say no.”
    “I don’t like her.”
    “Now, I don’t want to hear you saying things like that. Yelena cares a great deal for you. If she tells you not to wear your nice dress, you do what she says.”
    “Are you mad at me, Daddy?”
    “Of course not, sweetheart, but I want you to be a nice girl. I think you should tell her you’re sorry.”
    Emily turned in her father’s arms. A look of rebellion came over the child’s face and then her eyes went down to the paper sack lying on the porch. “Sorry, Yelena,” she murmured. “Now can I have my present?”
    Tate sighed. “You can have it, but I don’t want to learn that you hit Yelena again. Promise me.” Emily quickly nodded her head, her eyes never leaving the paper sack. Tate leaned down and picked up the bag.
    “What is it?” Emily asked excitedly.
    “Let’s go in the house and find out.”
    Tate carried his daughter into the kitchen and set her on the edge of the table. Her thin legs hung down limply. She walked, but her uneven gait made her hips so tired she could only go short distances. Damn Hazel, the girl’s mother, for going off and leaving her!
    The shoe had slipped off the foot of Emily’s shorter leg. Tate reached for the shoe and lifted his daughter’s short leg up onto his knee. He cradled her tiny foot in his hand.
    “I got on my new shoes, Daddy.”
    He had bought the shoes the last time he went to Alpine. Emily had loved the bright red color at first sight. “I see you have, little sugar bun.”
    “I can walk in them when Jorge holds me.”
    “You can?” He slipped the shoe gently back on Emily’s foot and buttoned the strap. “You’ll have to show me after you open your present.” Emily reached her hand into the sack. “What is it?” she said again.
    “Pull it out and