Sins of Summer (46 page)

“It won’t be fer a week or two. Howie be takin’ him to Coeur d’Alene in the buggy.”

Jeanmarie’s cheerful shout was answered by a chorus from the McHenry brood.

The buggy carrying James and Odette was out of sight by the time the wagon left town. The plodding team pulling the wagon
wound its way through the knee-deep grass in the valley before starting the upward grade. The sun was warm. Birds, disturbed
by their passing, flew up from the tall grasses. White clouds billowed in a blue sky.

It was a perfect day.

Dory moved over and tucked her hand in her husband’s arm.

“Ben, I never imagined when we left home the other day that things would turn out the way they have.”

“Fate stepped in and lent a hand, honey.”

“Are you as happy as I am?”

“I’m as happy as a drunk hoot owl.” He grinned at her. “As soon as we get to that big tree up there on the hill, I’m going
to kiss you.”

“You don’t have to wait till then,” she whispered, her eyes shining with love.

He glanced over his shoulder at Jeanmarie and Wiley lounging on the hay. When he looked back at her, his eyes shone like polished
silver.

“I’m hoping by then they’ll be asleep.”

“For shame!” Her hand slid from the crook of his arm down to pinch the inside of his thigh. “You’ve got only one thing on
your mind.”

“Yeah.” He captured her hand and held it tightly against him.

“This is no way for a prospective grandfather to act,” Dory said primly, and tried to withdraw her hand.

“Good Lord! I never thought of that. If I had, I’d never have let her marry that—”

“—Hot young buck with only one thing on his mind.”

Their joined laughter reached the old man in the back of the wagon. He smiled and yawned and shifted the head of the sleeping
child to his knee.

Sins of Summer

Amid the lonesome pines of an Idaho logging camp, young Dory Callahan was like a burst of bright sunshine—even when she had to tolerate the scorn of her wealthy, mean-spirited half brothers each day of her life. Dory was proud, not ashamed of her toddler, even though the child’s father was the son of a rival mill owner and had died before Dory could marry him. Now, big, rangy Benton Waller rode into her life. He was a man with secrets, a face that showed too much sorrow, and a shy, silent daughter, who clung like a shadow to his side. But even as he offered his love, Dory felt fierce emotions gathering like a summer storm. For soon there would be gunfire set off by hatred, greed, and fear—and passion’s fire between her and the one man who could help her fight for her dreams.

DOROTHY GARLOCK

“A gifted storyteller.”
—
Chicago Sun-Times

“There is a word for a Dorothy Garlock novel and the word is
irresistible
.”—“
Ann’s World,”Hearst Cablevision

“Dorothy Garlock writes about love in such a way one could almost believe she coined the word.”—
Affaire de Coeur

National bestselling and award-winning author of thirty-one romances that often feature the exciting backdrop of the Old West, Dorothy Garlock is one of America’s—and the world’s—favorite novelists. Her books, all enthusiastically reviewed, now total almost seven million copies in print with translations in fifteen languages.