The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

Elliott glanced up to see Sean’s butler carrying a piece of paper. “Do ye have a telegram for me?”

“Yes, sir. Mr. MacKlenna said if one arrived, I was to give it to you.”

Elliott accepted the telegram, nodding as he read the news from Kit and Cullen’s son Thomas in California. “There’s no return message right now. Thank ye.” Elliott refolded it, tapped the edge against his palm, and then tucked the telegram in his jacket pocket.

He took one last sip of coffee, allowing himself a brief moment to appreciate the rich, dark flavor, then set the cup on its saucer and thought back to the family’s trip to Montgomery Winery in 1881.

Thomas had blamed Elliott for his mother’s fall and even his father’s heart attack. The fall was unrelated to the heart attack, but Thomas couldn’t separate one from the other. Since he was coming to Kentucky, the visit would be Elliott’s opportunity to mend a few fences when he saw the lad again.

Elliott pushed away from the table and walked out onto the rear porch, where Kit was painting MacKlenna Farm’s morning colors. He waited until she lifted the brush off the canvas before announcing himself, having learned a long time ago never to surprise an artist. A slip of the paintbrush could ruin a masterpiece.

When she lifted the brush and stepped back, he cleared his throat, and a look of surprise came over her face, changing quickly to a delighted smile.

“You look thrilled, and you’re holding what might be a telegram. Is it from Thomas?”

They stared at each other across the walnut porch. The look on her face took him back decades, to when Kit was a teenager and competing in horse shows. He hurried to close the distance between them and pulled her in for a hug.

“Aye, Thomas is coming and bringing Sarah, John, and Frances.”

She stepped back out of his arms. “What about Frances’s husband?”

“He didn’t say, but Clare, Abigail, and Kristen and their husbands are coming from Washington.”

Kit’s eyes lit up. “And the children? Are they coming, too?”

“The telegram doesn’t mention yer grandchildren.”

Kit held out her hand. “Let me read it.”

Elliott cocked his head. “Was there a please in that command?”

“Please,” she said, wiggling her fingers.

“That’s better.” Elliott handed over the telegram.

She read it slowly before hugging the telegram to her chest as tears slid down her cheeks. “It’s really true. They’re all coming to see us.” She glanced to the side while wiping away tears. Then she let out a deep sigh and grimaced slightly.

“What’s wrong? Why the grimace?”

She glanced back at him and managed a smile. “There’s so much to do to prepare for all those people. There’s not enough room in the house for everyone, and all this company is such an imposition on Sean and Lyle Ann.”

“What are ye talking about? Ye’re the daughter of Sean’s twin sister. Yer family is his family.”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing. There’s plenty of room here, at the cottage, and at Sean II’s house. We’ll make do.”

“I just wish I knew when they’ll arrive.”

Elliott looked at the telegram again. “We have to assume they’ll be here in four or five days. That’s plenty of time to get ready.”

“Maybe.” She picked up a cloth to wipe her hands. “Have you told Emily?”

“I came straight to ye.”

“She’ll be so happy to see her mother and grandparents, but I’m worried about her father since they didn’t mention him,” Kit said.

“If he’d already passed, Sean would have mentioned it when Emily asked about her parents. He only said that her father’s law practice—Duffy and Duffy—was expanding to Chicago. From that, I gathered Christopher is alive and well.”

“I hope you’re right. Where’s Emily now?”

“She went with Lyle Ann to visit sick neighbors. They’ll be back by early afternoon.”

Kit packed up her paints and carefully lifted the canvas off the easel. “Would you carry the easel, please?”

He picked it up and followed Kit into the house. “Where do ye want to put this?”

“In the library. It’ll be out of the way there.” They entered the library, and Kit crossed the room to the darkest corner. “Put the easel up here. I want the painting to stay out of the sunlight for now.” Elliott straightened the easel, and Kit draped the canvas on it, then set her paint box on the bottom shelf of one of the bookcases.

“Where’s Cullen?” Elliott asked.

“The last I saw him, he and Sean were riding off to a neighbor’s to look at a filly for sale.”

“I thought ye would have gone with them.”

“They didn’t need me. Cullen and Braham know more about horses than anyone I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of horse people.”

“Maybe, but ye know how to treat them when they’re sick. Cullen can’t do that.”

Meredith entered the room. “Cullen can’t do what?”

“Heal sick horses.”

“Oh,” Meredith said. “So what have you two been doing? I heard you banging doors.”

“Thomas sent a telegram,” Kit said, beaming. “He’s bringing Emily’s mother and grandparents, and the girls are coming from Washington. I’ll have my whole family here.”

“Did he mention the grandchildren?” Meredith asked. “I know you want to see them, too.”

“He didn’t say,” Kit said. “He didn’t mention my father, either. I wish we knew more about his life over the past few years, where he went, what he did.”

“None of my genealogists have found any information about him since he sailed away in the fall of 1881. I doubt Thomas has seen him,” Meredith said.

“It’d be nice to know what happened to him.”

Meredith sat down at the desk and removed a piece of paper out of the top drawer. “We should make lists of how many people we’ll have and how many rooms they’ll need. We’ll probably have to use Sean II’s house as well.”

“If it makes things easier, Sean and I will sleep in the cabin,” Elliott said.

“No, you won’t. You’ll stay right here,” Kit said. “The girls have heard so much about my godfather, and they’ll all want to spend time with you. You