After the Rain (The Callahans) Read Online Free

handle it.”
    “You can’t base your opinion of all men on that loser. I never liked him. He was a selfish bastard.”
    “I realize that.” Kylie stared out at the sparkling blue water of the large, kidney shaped swimming pool. She had to admit, it did look enticing.
    “I can’t wait for you to meet everyone.” Faye hopped up, apparently deciding to let the subject drop for now. “And I have a surprise for you!”
    Kylie couldn’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “How could you have a surprise for me, you didn’t even know I was coming?”
    “I tried reaching you by phone but you were missing,” Faye said, ignoring the roll of Kylie’s eyes at the mention of her missing status. “I’m pregnant, Kyle. Dusty and I are getting married. I want you to be my maid of honor.”
    Kylie’s eyes grew wide. Shocked, she looked her friend up and down. So that was where the extra few pounds had come from. She always had remembered Faye being rail thin. Standing up, she hugged her friend tightly. “Congratulations!”
    “Thanks!” Faye said, happily, then pulled back and studied Kylie closely. “So will you do it? Will you stay until August and be my maid of honor? We wanted to get the wedding handled sooner than that but I can’t get it planned any faster.”
    “Of course I’ll be there,” Kylie said, without preamble. “I can’t believe it! A baby!”
    Faye blushed nervously, setting a proprietary hand over her only slightly rounded tummy. “I know. This is a big step for me.”
    “I’m so happy for you!” Kylie hugged her again. “So when’s the big day? And when is the baby due?”
    “Baby’s not due until February. We’re getting married on the twenty-third of August.”
    “I wondered why Joe was giving you the evil eye for handling my bags.”
    Faye rolled her eyes. “They’re over-protective mother hens—all of them. Ever since they found out about the baby, they’ve all been breathing down my neck when Dusty can’t.”
    “They obviously care about you.”
    Faye smiled at that. “I care about them too. Now we should hurry. Dusty hates when we’re late for dinner.”
    Kylie grabbed her friend’s arm to slow her down. “Hey, can I ask you something?”
    “Sure,” Faye said, squeezing Kylie’s hand.
    “Did you tell them all? I mean about…” Her voice broke off and she sighed. “You know.”
    “Dusty knows. He couldn’t figure out why your mother and I were in such a panic when we couldn’t find you. He didn’t realize we’d both been through this before.”
    Kylie wanted to be angry with her friend but she couldn’t. “Just don’t tell anyone else, okay?”
    “I won’t. Now come on! I’m starved!”

3
    Trey Callahan whipped his police issued Blazer into the parking lot in front of Callahan’s Bar and Grill. He wasn’t parked legally, but he didn’t really give a rip. He was the sheriff and he always parked any damn place he wanted. It wasn’t like his own deputies were going to tow him or give him a ticket.
    He was late for dinner—again. This made three weeks in a row that he’d managed to get to the restaurant over an hour late. This would get him wrath from Dusty, who was as punctual as Christmas Day. Time wasn’t something Trey managed to pay a lot of attention to. He worked pretty much every day—all day and all night—being on call. He took one day off a week, which was Sunday, at the insistence of his grandmother, who still believed in the day of rest. Sunday was the Sabbath.
    Friday nights were the worst for him. People headed in and out of town. That meant he watched things more closely.
    Climbing out of his truck, he swiped a hand through his unruly locks. He needed a haircut, he reminded himself, for the second time that day. The first time—which had actually come as a surprise to him—had been out on the highway earlier in the day, when he’d helped a rather attractive damsel in distress. For some reason, she’d made him conscious of the fact