Promise Made (The Callahan Series) Read Free

think. She took a seat in the breakfast nook next to her gram. Yogi, the small terrier Kate had had for years, lay at her feet. Across the room, Heidi gave him annoyed “Are you still alive?” looks. Every so often, Kate would put a hand down to rub Yogi’s back. “I missed you, Yogi.”
    Gram chuckled. “He should be accustomed to your short visits by now, but every time you leave, he mourns.”
    “Don’t tell me that. It makes me feel bad.”
    “Didn’t mean to. I know you can’t have a dog in your condo.” She looked over at Heidi. “Heidi gives you enough company and I’m delighted to have Yogi as a companion.”
    Kate forked up a piece of pie.
    “Not a very nourishing breakfast, Katie-Girl.”
    “I dream of your coconut pie, Gram. Don’t deny me my pleasure.”
    Gram patted her arm.
    Kate took another bite, slid a look at her grandmother. “You’re amazing. No matter how much time has passed since I’ve seen you, you don’t age a day. How do you do it?”
    Gram put her mug of coffee to her lips, took a sip. “You always say that. It’s not true, you know. I’m getting old.”
    “You may be seventy, Gram. But you don’t look or act it.”
    “I certainly hope not,” she huffed and pulled herself up tall and straight.
    Gram had on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt with a long-sleeved jean shirt over her slim form. Her short, white hair was brushed back from her face; her blue eyes twinkled. She looked amazing, even more vibrant since Kate’s last visit. “I hope I look half as good as you when I’m your age.”
    Gram pushed an unruly lock of dark hair from Kate’s face. “You’re a rare beauty, Kaitlin. Now, why don’t you tell me why you’ve come for a visit in the middle of May when you were just here for Easter? Not that I don’t love you being here. It’s just not like you. You’re always so busy.”
    Kate scraped the last bite of pie off the plate, put it in her mouth. She didn’t want to answer Gram’s question just yet. Actually, she didn’t know where to start. They could talk later.
    “You really don’t mind?”
    “Silly girl. I not only don’t mind, I wish you’d stay. This is your home.”
    She had taken an abrupt leave of absence yesterday and walked out on her boss without taking anything but a few clothes with her. All of her law books still sat on the bookshelves in her office. Her condo had dishes in the dishwasher.
    “Are you really happy in Austin, Katie-Girl?” Gram asked with her usual astuteness.
    Kate didn’t answer. Instead, she looked out the window at Gram’s beautiful roses. The scent wafted through the open window. It smelled of home.
    She was happy here. Had come to love the place after Gram took her in thirteen years ago. It was easy to gripe that the town was full of busybodies. But, in a way, it was a comfort. They took care of one another. There wasn’t a person in the county who went hungry or had their utilities cut off for lack of payment. Someone always found out and miraculously fixed the problem.
    Not like the big city.
    Kate didn’t know her next-door neighbor in her high-rise condo complex. On the street, people nodded to one another, but didn’t speak. Not that they were standoffish; they were busy.
    Here in the Hill Country, especially in Oaktree, it was customary to stop and talk. It was rude to do otherwise. Besides, how else would anyone learn what was going on?
    She stood, took her plate to the sink, rinsed it, then helped herself to more coffee. “Refill?” she asked.
    “Sure,” her grandmother said with some reluctance, though she lifted her cup so Kate could pour. “It’s a lovely day. What would you like to do?”
    Kate grimaced. “I don’t have a choice. I have to pay the fine for the speeding ticket I got last night. Then I think I’ll take a walk.”
    “You drive too fast, Katie-Girl. Maybe a ticket will slow you down.”
    Chuckling, Kate sat back down. “I try to watch it. Honestly, I didn’t know I was speeding.