Callahan's Gold (Southwest Desert Series Book 3) by Mary Tate Engels Read Free Book Online

about my father."
    "So now you're out to get what's coming to you," Dodge concluded.
    "Do you blame me?"
    "Nope. Guess not. Look, Tory, I don't excuse what Sharkey did to your mother and you, and I realize it must have been very difficult for her. Sharkey and I had been friends for the past five or six years, and while he was a bit strange—seeking the gold with such a feverish passion—he was serious about some things. Believe it or not, he still cared about his family."
    She knotted one fist on the table. "I find that hard to believe."
    "Occasionally, he talked about the family he left behind. I think he sensed his time was running out and felt an urgency to accomplish his unachieved goals. He wanted to find the gold partly so he could send some of it back to your mother, as a sort of compensation. He felt remorse, I'm sure. He talked about hitting it big, about taking the devil's share. Unfortunately, the devil got him first."
    "It wouldn't have done any good to send money," Tory muttered bitterly. "Even after my mother got sick, I doubt she would have taken a penny from him. But I would. I'm still paying her hospital bills."
    "I knew there was some vindictiveness in your voice," Dodge chided softly. "Strangely enough, Sharkey thought you both were just the way he left you. He talked about how cute you were with your hair in pigtails."
    "If he cared, really cared, why didn't he ever return?"
    "He did, in the beginning. Tried to find you in L.A. a couple of times. But the addresses changed every few months, and he couldn't track your mother."
    Tory's deep blue eyes narrowed. "That's because we were forced to move when we couldn't pay our rent. And my mother became very adept at covering her tracks so creditors couldn't find us."
    "After a few years, Sharkey said he gave up. He figured your mother wouldn't want to see him after all that time."
    "He figured right. She hated him more as the years passed." Tory's face softened. "But I would have liked to see him. Perhaps even to know him. I grew up with a dream of a father. Sometimes he was a devil, sometimes a saint. But never there. And it wasn't fair. As I became an adult, my impression of him was more like my mother's. I grew to hate him."
    "And now?"
    She shrugged and looked at Dodge honestly. "Nothing. No feeling. I didn't know him. I couldn't feel anything for him when I got the letter saying he'd died."
    Dodge nodded solemnly. "That's too bad, but I think I can understand." He scooted out from the table and refilled their coffee mugs. "Care for some breakfast, Tory? I haven't eaten yet, and I'm starving.
    She watched his tall figure move about the kitchen. He seemed to fill the room with his large physical presence as well as an indefinable strength. Tory suddenly decided that Dodge wasn't as forbidding as she originally thought. He even seemed like a reasonable man, and the fact that he was Sharkey's friend wasn't his fault. He had no idea what a rogue Sharkey was. Not until now. "Sure. Breakfast sounds great," she said, smiling.
    "We can discuss details of the trip into the mountains." Dodge slapped some bacon into a cast iron skillet, and it started to sizzle.
    Tory tried not to cringe visibly at the sound of frying meat. Obviously, this was not going to be her usual breakfast of yogurt, fruit, and nuts. "What's to discuss? Can't we go up there today? It's still early."
    "We're leaving Friday. Meeting Rex and Ramona at Yazzie's cabin."
    "Why Friday? Why not now? I want to get this over and done."
    "We need time to get ready. Rex and Ramona have to make arrangements at their jobs. Then we need special supplies and the right clothes. You'll need something more appropriate than"—he motioned toward her—"silk or whatever you have on."
    "Oh?" She looked down at her classy beige skirt and matching blouse. "What's wrong—"
    "Nothing, if you're taking a plane to L.A. But for the mountains, you need some rugged clothes. Jeans, long-sleeved shirts, a jacket, and boots.