The Serpent's Bite Read Online Free

nostalgic loving memory, and forever a conversational focal point. For her and Scott, the experience was far more explosive than mere bonding. Their parents hadn’t a clue to what had been unfolding right under their noses.
    Apparently her father still believed strongly in the bonding power of the old memory, and Courtney clung to her speculation that this new trek was designed as an unabashed attempt by him to bring the broken family back together and undo the corrosion that had set in since. For her it was strictly business. Show me the money, Daddy. For that, she would act the part of a loving, caring, devoted daughter, contrite over past offenses and eager to repair any misunderstanding. She was convinced that Scott would play his own assigned role in this little drama for less contrived reasons.
    In pursuit of comfort and authenticity, she had come well prepared, with padded bicycle pants to cushion her crotch and butt, a straw cowboy hat with a stampede string, cowboyboots, long underwear, a miner-type flashlight that fitted over her forehead for tent reading, mosquito spray, extra supplies of sunblock, and plenty of ibuprofen and vodka.
    Her father had called her out of the blue, catching her on her cell. At first, as she had done on his previous attempts to contact her, she was tempted to hang up. But years had passed, and she had always held out hope of a change in his attitude and generosity. Perhaps, as had been her prediction and her wish, he was obviously resurfacing for an important reason. She hadn’t heard his voice in four years but its tone had lost none of its authority.
    â€œDon’t hang up, Courtney,” he said. “Hear me out.”
    He quickly sketched out his proposal.
    â€œToo weird for words, Dad,” she told him initially. He persisted, selling hard.
    â€œIt’ll be fun…like last time.”
    He had made more-than-two decades sound like yesterday.
    â€œAlmost, but not quite. Just six days instead of ten and only one camp instead of two like last time. Surely you remember.” He was purring with good will and excitement. “I’ve lucked out and gotten a tentative booking with the same outfitter, Harry McGrath. He’s still in business and apparently in great demand. He had a cancellation. He gave us a great time then. Remember? Maybe it will give us a chance to get to know each other again.”
    â€œRenew auld acquaintance,” she said, with a touch of sarcasm.
    If he caught the implication, he tactfully ignored it.
    She turned it over in her mind. Perhaps it was the moment she had been waiting for.
    â€œMaybe we can be a family again,” he said.
    She knew he believed it implicitly. This had always been his perception of what family meant, handed down from his own parents who had brought him up, an only child, in what was apparently a cocoon of smothering love. In his mind, it was all about Mom and Dad and the children, devoted, caring, one for all, all for one, an impregnable family fortress. Had she once believed that as well?
    Somehow it had all gotten diluted by false expectations, by disappointment and disillusion, by passion gone awry, by dreams gone haywire, by bad luck, and by economic necessity. She prided herself on her insight into her father’s psyche but had miscalculated her own ability to manipulate his generosity. Was this an opportunity for a second chance to play the loving daughter and invade his pockets?
    â€œI’m not sure, Dad.”
    She decided to play hesitant and uncertain. Not too fast. Show restraint.
    â€œI haven’t been on a horse since that time,” she said, stalling, searching her mind for further options, seeking just the right word and truthful gesture to react to this sudden reentry of her father into her life after four years. His attitude seemed enthusiastic with no sign of either hostility or remorse, as if nothing had occurred to break the old fatherly bond. Her sense of time