Free Ghost Moon by Karen Robards Page A

regardless of what his mother said, he, at least, did not welcome her return to the bosom of her family.
    ‘‘I’m coming, I’m coming,’’ Mallory said with a laugh, and then smiled at Callie and Olivia. ‘‘I’ll see you tomorrow, Callie. It was nice meeting you, Olive.’’
    ‘‘Olivia,’’ Olivia and Seth corrected in practically the same breath. For an instant their gazes locked in surprise, and then Seth looked away.
    ‘‘Go to bed, Mother,’’ he said brusquely over his shoulder as he ushered Mallory toward the door. Ira dropped a quick kiss on Callie’s cheek, and followed. They exited, and Olivia, Callie, and Martha were left alone in the kitchen.
    Callie sighed, then flashed Olivia a quick smile that did nothing to conceal her exhaustion.
    ‘‘Olivia, dear, we should have brought you home years ago,’’ she said, as Martha set a cup of freshly brewed coffee before her. ‘‘I wanted to, but Big John and Seth said that you’d made your choice, and we had to let you live your own life. I let them overrule my better judgment. You haven’t had it easy, though, have you? I can tell just by looking at you that you’ve had some hard times.’’

CHAPTER 10
    ‘‘HARD TIMES ARE PART OF GROWING UP,’’ Olivia said lightly, unwilling to admit even to Callie how salutary were the lessons she had learned since leaving home. Martha set a steaming cup of coffee in front of her, and with a quick smile of thanks Olivia took a sip. The brew was faintly flavored with chicory and strong enough to melt the bowl off a spoon, just to Olivia’s taste. If that didn’t keep her awake, she thought, nothing would.
    ‘‘But we hate for our children to suffer them.’’ Callie’s hands were folded around her own coffee cup as if relishing the warmth. She reached for the sugar bowl, added a spoonful, and then glanced up at Olivia. ‘‘And I have always considered you in some fashion my child, dear. Now more than ever.’’
    ‘‘Aunt Callie . . .’’ Olivia began, then broke off as Callie abruptly rested her head against the back of her chair and closed her eyes. Alarmed, Olivia leaned forward, reaching for Callie’s hand and repeating on a more urgent note: ‘‘Aunt Callie?’’
    Martha came swiftly forward even as Callie’s eyes opened and she focused with apparent difficulty on Olivia. Her eyes had a sunken look about them now, and her face seemed suddenly ashen. Her fingers felt cold to Olivia’s touch.
    ‘‘Aunt Callie, are you all right?’’
    ‘‘Can I fetch you something?’’ Martha asked quietly from beside Callie’s chair.
    ‘‘I’m all right,’’ Callie said, straightening and lifting her head away from the back of the chair. Olivia was still concerned: Callie’s face was even paler than before and her voice was weak. ‘‘I get to feeling bad sometimes now. I just need a second to catch my breath.’’
    The three of them were quiet for a few moments as Callie took a series of deep breaths. Soon some of the color returned to her face.
    ‘‘Martha, would you go get my pain pills, please? They’re in my bathroom in the cabinet. I forgot to take the last one, what with everything, and I’m paying for it now.’’
    Martha glanced from Callie to Olivia and nodded. ‘‘I won’t be a minute.’’ She left the room.
    ‘‘When you wrote to me, you told me you were ill,’’ Olivia said, still clasping Callie’s hand, gripped by a terrible fear that was quickly crystallizing into a near certainty. ‘‘What kind of illness? What’s wrong with you?’’
    Callie’s gaze met hers. Her color was almost back to normal, and the blue-gray eyes, although still sunken-looking, were calm and steady. ‘‘I wish there was some easy way to say this, but there’s not. I have cancer, dear. Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. I was diagnosed two years ago. The doctors said it was slow growing, and recommended that I simply be monitored, so I didn’t think it was anything to get too