Palomino by Danielle Steel Read Free Book Online Page A

the last turn in the private road, and then suddenly there it was. It looked almost like an old plantation, a beautiful big white housewith dark blue shutters, a brick chimney, a wide front porch, broad front steps, surrounding flower beds, which became a riot of color in the summer, and, behind it all, a veritable wall of gigantic, handsome trees. Just down the slope from the house was a single willow tree and a little pond, which was covered with lillies and filled with frogs. Near at hand were the stables, beyond them the barns, and all around were cottages for the men. In Sam’s mind it always stood out as the way a ranch should look, but whenever she had seen others, she had rapidly discovered that few did. Few other ranches were as impeccably kept, as handsome, as well run … and none of them boasted either Caroline Lord or Bill King.
    “Well, little lady, how does it look to you?” The pickup had stopped, and as he always did, Bill looked around with obvious pride. He had helped to make the Lord Ranch something special, and that was just what it was, most of all to him. “Does it look different?”
    “No.” She smiled as she looked around her in the darkness. But the moon was high, the house was well lit, there were lights on in the men’s cottages and the main hall where they ate and played cards, there was a strong light near the stables, and it was easy to see that not much had changed.
    “There are a few technical improvements, but you can’t see them.”
    “I’m glad. I was afraid it might all have changed.”
    “Nope.” He sounded the horn twice, and as he did so the door to the main house opened and a tall slim white-haired woman stood in the doorway, smiling first at Bill,and then instantly at Sam. There was only a moment’s hesitation as she stood gazing at the young woman, and then with a light step she ran down the stairs, held out her arms, and took Samantha in a tight hug.
    “Welcome home, Samantha. Welcome home.” And then suddenly, as she smelled the dusty rose of Caroline Lord’s perfume, felt her thick white hair brush her cheek, she felt tears in her eyes and a sense of having come home. After a moment the two women parted, and Caroline stood back and looked at her with a smile. “My God, you’re pretty, Sam. Prettier even than last time.”
    “You’re crazy. And good Lord, look at you!” The older woman was as tall and as thin and as ramrod straight as she ever had been, her eyes were bright, and her whole being suggested sparkle and life. She was as pretty as she had been the last time Sam saw her in her fifties, and now at sixty-six, she was still beautiful, and even in jeans and a man’s cotton shirt she had her own undeniable style. There was a bright blue scarf knotted at her neck, she wore an old Indian belt, and her cowboy boots were a deep jade-green. Samantha happened to look down as she followed Caroline up the steps to the ranch house and gasped with a little exclamation of delight. “Oh, God, they’re wonderful, Caroline!”
    “Aren’t they?” Caroline had understood instantly and looked down at them with a girlish smile. “I had them made specially. It’s a final extravagance at my age, but what the hell. It may be my last chance.” Sam was suddenly struck by that kind of reference, and it jolted her just to realize that Caroline thought like that now. Sam was silent as she walked into the familiar house, and Billfollowed her with her bags. The entrance hall that they stood in boasted a handsome Early American table, a brass chandelier, and a big bright-colored hooked rug. In the living room beyond there was a huge fire blazing in the fireplace, surrounded by a cluster of comfortable well-upholstered chairs covered in a deep blue. It was a color picked up again in an antique rug, this one littered with bright flowers woven into the hooked design. The room was entirely done in blues and reds and greens, there was a brightness to it that seemed to perfectly