The Traveling Kind by Janet Dailey

Author:Janet Dailey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Open Road Media
Published: 1979-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

There were times when Charley wondered if she would survive the next ten days. Shad stayed clear of her and she could never seem to make up her mind whether she was happy or sad about that. He found a lot of reasons to ride away from the ranch during the day to check on the cattle or repair fences. Mealtimes were stilted affairs with no one saying very much. The evenings Shad either spent in his room or cleaning the tack in the barn or overhauling some piece of machinery.

She rarely saw him smile anymore. He remained aloof whenever she was around, always very brisk and businesslike. Yet this constant avoidance of the issue only intensified the strain they were all under.

On Saturday, Shad came to the house, quitting work early. He did no more than nod in Charley’s direction before climbing the stairs to his room. When she heard the shower running in the upstairs bathroom, she went into the kitchen to peel the potatoes for their evening meal.

Twenty minutes later she heard him coming down the stairs—whistling! The happy sound pivoted her around. She was facing the doorway when Shad walked through it. Freshly shaved with his black hair glistening, he was wearing a snow-white shirt and a leather vest. A pair of dark pants snugly fit his slim hips.

“Don’t bother to fix any supper for me tonight. I won’t be here,” he said.

“Where are you going?” She could have bitten off her tongue for asking such a nosy question. It really wasn’t any business of hers what he did with his evenings, but it was too late. It had already been asked.

His mouth twisted into a kind of wry grin. “What does a cowboy usually do on a Saturday night? He has himself a steak dinner, romances the ladies, and gets drunk.” Gary entered the kitchen in time to hear his answer and Shad turned to look at him. “What about it, Gary? Do you want to go with me?”

“You’ll probably need me to carry you home,” he said dryly and shook his head in refusal, “but I think I’ll pass on the invitation and wait until I have two sound legs before going out on the town.”

“Have it your way,” Shad shrugged indifferently. “See you later.”

Charley turned to face the sink as he walked out the back door. From the window above the sink, she could see him cross the yard to the old pickup. There was a lump in her throat as she watched him drive out of the yard.

“Charley.” Her brother spoke her name softly.

“I’m all right,” she insisted, but was careful not to look at him. “It really doesn’t make much difference, does it? When he leaves here, I’ll be imagining him with some other woman so I might as well get used to it now.”

“I wish you wouldn’t be so hard on yourself,” Gary complained.

“It would be worse if I pretended he was going to stay,” she reminded him.

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