Read Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 04 - Saddle Up for Free Online

very good.
    “This won’t take long,” Jordan said. “I’ll go get us all another drink.”
    She went into the kitchen and I used a few of the moves I learned.
    When Jordan came back with her Dr. Pepper, my Diet Coke and Dad’s Coke, she sat down and said, “Liza, you still have some pieces?”
    I nodded and got my first king. A few moves later and I had another.
    “Get his king. Trap it, Liza,” Jordan prompted.
    In the end, Dad and I each had three kings that chased each other all over the board. I took the first king, so it was three to two. Dad took the next two. Then I trapped one of his kings and took it. It was one to one and I used a move I saw a second-grader teach my student, Glen. I backed off and let Dad chase me right into a trap. He only had two moves and I would take his king, no matter where he went.
    Jordan squealed in delight. “You’ve got him, Liza!”
    Dad did the noble thing – he moved his king and let me take it.
    Jordan and I jumped up, danced around the table and high fived each other.
    “Okay,” Dad said. “That’s enough celebrating. Let’s eat lunch.”
    He fixed grilled Portobello sandwiches that were delicious. After lunch Dad cut the vegetables to make his sauce and Jordan and I went outside and sat on the back porch. For November, the weather was unusually warm. It was seventy-five degrees in my backyard according to my outdoor thermometer. There was a slight breeze and not a single cloud in the sky. Shelby and Fifi lay next to each other on the deck. I guess they settled their differences.
    Jordan leaned back in one of my cushioned Adirondack chairs, I took the other and we shared the footstool.
    “How is Sam really doing?” I asked.
    “Actually, very well,” Jordan sighed, then continued, “as long as he takes his medication and goes to counseling he stays very stable.”
    “Are you sure that you want to get involved with him again?”
    “I love him, Liza.” Jordan leaned back in the chair.
    “Our minds don’t choose the men we fall in love with, our hearts do,” I repeated one of my mom’s sayings.
    “She was right.”
    “Mom always was.” I leaned back in my chair.
    “She wouldn’t have liked Tom,” Jordan said.
    “I know. Her opinion of all law enforcement agents is burned into my brain.”
    Jordan laughed. “What did she used to say?”
    “Wear a badge, follow a rulebook and forget your common sense.”
    Jordan lifted my left hand. “And still you fell in love with a cop.”
    “And said yes to his marriage proposal.”
    “I guess I got my wish.”
    “What?”
    “You’re not perfect. You finally did something Mom would have considered wrong”.

 
     
    CHAPTER 4
     
     
    Later that evening we enjoyed a scrumptious meal. Jordan and I cleaned up without starting another water fight, then she scooped up Fifi and went into her bedroom to call Sam. Dad and I sat out on the back deck together. The night was cool, but the sky was clear and speckled with stars.
    I took a blanket from a container on the deck.
    “You want one, Dad?” I asked.
    “Nope, I’m fine. Wrap yourself up tight, Liza. It’s getting cooler by the minute out here.”
    “Don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ve got three more in this chest.”
    “You and your sister seem to be getting along. I haven’t had to be a referee once.”
    “She’s not as bad as she used to be.”
    “I’d say you’ve both grown up a bit,” Dad insisted, taking a sip from his Coke.
    Jordan came out and handed me my cell phone. Shelby trotted behind her, since Fifi was in her hand but came and sat down next to me when I took the phone.
    “It’s Tom.”
    Dad linked his arm around Jordan’s shoulder and they walked into the house together. Those two were the only ones left of my family. My family – those words meant so much to me, especially after four years without my dad. And I would never give them up, not for anything or anyone in the world.
    I glanced at the phone and my heart felt like a