Dakota Born Read Online Free

didn’t exactly have money to spare, either. “Okay, where do you suggest?”
    â€œHow about a driving vacation? There’s so many places in this country I’ve never seen.”
    That sounded good to Lindsay. Away was away, wherever they ventured. Their destination mattered little to her. Maddy had recently bought a new car and they could share expenses.
    â€œI’ve always wanted to see Yellowstone Park,” Maddy said.
    â€œIt’s fabulous,” Lindsay told her.
    â€œYou’ve been?”
    â€œAs a kid. You know my dad’s from North Dakota—he was born and raised there. We drove out to see the old homestead a couple of times while I was growing up. Yellowstone Park isn’t that far—at least I don’t think it is. I must have been about ten the last time we went.”
    â€œI liked your grandfather,” Maddie said quietly.
    Three years ago, soon after the death of Lindsay’s grandmother, Grandpa Snyder had grown disoriented and it was no longer safe for him to live alone. There was no longer any family left in the area, either Colbys—Gina’s people—or Snyders. So Lindsay’s parents had moved her grandfather from Buffalo Valley to a retirement center in Savannah, where he’d remained until his death the previous year. Lindsay had treasured that time with him, brief though it was. Because North Dakota was so far from Georgia and their visits infrequent, she’d barely known her Grandma and Grandpa Snyder.
    At first her grandfather had painfully missed the Red River Valley. He’d spoken endlessly of his life there. Lindsay remembered that he’d called the land blessed, but then said living in North Dakota was like wrestling with an angel. You had to fight it before you found the blessing. He described seeing double rainbows after a fierce rainfall, and wild winter snowstorms that turned the sky as gray as gunmetal. He’d talked about the incredible sunsets, the heavens glowing orange and pink and red as far as the eye could see.
    â€œI’d like to stop in Buffalo Valley,” Lindsay said.
    â€œBuffalo Valley?”
    â€œIn North Dakota. It’s where my dad was raised.”
    â€œSure. Let’s do that.”
    â€œMy grandparents’ house is still there. It’s never sold.”
    â€œThe ol’ homestead?”
    â€œNo,” Lindsay said. “My grandparents sold the farm back in the early seventies and moved into town.” Lindsay wasn’t sure why their house hadn’t sold. “From what I understand, the place has been listed with a reputable real estate company all this time.” There had been talk of an estate sale, but Lindsay didn’t know what had come of it.
    â€œThen it’s probably a good idea if we check it out,” Maddy said.
    Lindsay knew her uncle wouldn’t mind her taking a vacation, and her family would be pleased when she told them her plans. Despite herself, she wondered what Monte would think.
    She didn’t have long to wait.
    After four days, during which they’d pretended to ignore each other, Monte showed up at her office. Lindsay had known that eventually he would, and she’d been dreading the conversation all week. Again, her dread was mixed with an odd sense of longing.
    â€œYou’re going where?” Monte demanded, obviously annoyed that he’d heard of her plans from someone else.
    By now Lindsay was nearly starved for the sight of him and focused her attention on a roguish curl that fell across his forehead.
    â€œOn vacation,” she told him as she moved about the compact room. It would be impossible to sit at her desk and not give herself away. She wanted him to react to her news, and at the same time recognized that she shouldn’t.
    He closed the door and leaned against it. “Isn’t this a little extreme?”
    â€œWhat?” She glanced over her shoulder as she slid a file into the four-drawer