This Calder Sky (Calder Saga 3)

“This is it, kid,” he announced.

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sp; Ty stared at the loose collection of buildings. The sky was deepening to a plum twilight that cast the town in shadows, giving the impression that someone had put it here, then forgotten it. It was miles from anywhere, yet everything seemed to be miles from anywhere. He’d never seen so much emptiness in his life. He continued to stare, finding it hard to believe that these few buildings comprised a town.

“You did say you wanted to get out at Blue Moon, didn’t you, kid?” The driver frowned impatiently.

“Yeah.” Ty noticed the sign painted on the building with the gasoline pumps out front, identifying the place as Blue Moon and giving the zip code. This was it. He grabbed his backpack from the seat beside him and pushed the door open, telling the driver, “Thanks,” as he swung down from the cab.

The revving of the diesel motor sent blue smoke into the darkening night. Ty had to close his eyes to shut out the dust churned up by the eighteen wheels as they rolled the huge semi onto the highway once more. When it settled, he blinked the particles from his eyes, wiping them with his hand, and looked around again.

There were pickups parked in front of the next building. The lights were on inside and a sign on the porch overhang that said SALLY’S RESTAURANT. He brushed the dust from his crisp blue jeans and reached inside his pocket to check how much money he had left. He hadn’t dreamed it would take almost a week to get here, hitching rides. It had been easy in California, but then he’d hit those empty stretches in Nevada and Utah. Then he’d walked about as much as he’d ridden. In the beginning he hadn’t paid attention to how much he was spending, eating three big meals a day and snacking in between, until now he was almost broke.

An uneasy feeling crept over him. What if his mother was right? What if he’d come all this way and his father didn’t want to see him? He shook away the thought. After coming this far, he couldn’t quit. He had enough money for a hamburger. If no one knew where Chase Calder lived, then he could find his uncle. He’d gotten his address from his mother’s address book. If all else failed, he could call her collect and ask her to send him some money so he could come home.

Taking a deep breath, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and hitched it into position, then started for the restaurant. Two cowboys were coming out, so he stood to one side until they were through the door, then entered. His stomach rolled hungrily at the smell of food. There was a sign next to the staircase that said REST ROOMS, and Ty walked straight to it.

Chase had hooked his hat over the spindled back of a chair and was smoking a cheroot while waiting for his meal. He noticed the youth walk in—the thick brown hair waving almost to his collar, the yellow wind-breaker, the backpack, the running shoes, and the blue jeans that were stiff and new and made noise when he walked. Mentally, he dismissed him as one of those hippie types or whatever the latest terminology for them was.

Lew, from the dry-goods store across the street, left the counter and brought his coffee cup over to sit with Chase. His wife was visiting their daughter, and Lew was playing bachelor for a few days. When the boy came out from the rest room and sat at a table near Chase, he paid scant attention to him.

With his backpack pushed under the table, Ty scooted his chair up. A red-haired woman in a blue dress and white apron stopped to fill his waterglass. She had a pleasant face that reminded him of one of his grade-school teachers.

“Would you like a menu?”

“Yes, please.” For once, his voice didn’t crack.

The menu she brought was one of those black vinyl things with the word MENU on front and clear plastic pockets inside so restaurants could insert their own typed fare. He started to look down the list, then realized here was his chance to ask if she knew Chase Calder. Why wait?

“Ma’am?” He called her back to the table and glanced quickly at the price of a hamburger to be sure he could afford it. “I’ll have a hamburger with everything on it and a glass of milk.” He waited until she had it written on her little pad, then nervously licked his lips. “Ma’am, do you happen to know a man named Chase Calder?”

He saw a flicker of surprise in her eyes; then the corners of her mouth were tilted upward in a faint smile. “Yes.”

The first person he asked! He couldn’t believe his luck. “Do you know where I could find him?”

She studied him closely for a second, then replied, “He’s sitting at the next table—he’s the one with the suede suit jacket.” She nodded to indicate which table.

Ty looked over his shoulder, a shiver of apprehension running down his back. He was suddenly and unexpectedly nervous and scared. He could feel his palms start to sweat. “Thanks,” he added quickly to the waitress and stared at the man long after she left the table.

That was his father, the man he had come to find, the one with the carved and rugged features that the sun had tanned to the color of finely grained leather. He had wide shoulders, and brown hair and eyes. Ty had tried to envision him before, but there he was in the flesh!

The waitress brought a plate with a huge steak covering it and a side of fries to the table where his father was sitting. “One charred steak and fries,” she announced as she set them in front of him.

“Looks good, Sally.”

Ty heard the rich timbre of Chase’s voice and saw the smile he flashed the redhead. It changed him. He didn’t look quite so hard and aloof; he could be fun. Then the waitress lifted her gaze, curiously glancing his way before she went back to the kitchen.

What was he waiting for? Ty asked himself. Had he come all this way just to look at him? Why didn’t he go over and meet him?

His knees felt shaky when he pushed his chair away from the table, and his heart was pounding when he stood up, but he managed to walk the few steps to the table. His father was cutting his steak and didn’t notice him standing there. Ty nervously cleared his throat and he looked up.

“Excuse me.” Suddenly Ty couldn’t think what he wanted to say. He had rehearsed it all so carefully, and now he couldn’t think of the words. He watched his father rest the knife and fork against the plate and study him with cool brown eyes.

“Did you want something?” he prompted.

“I’m Ty Gordon.” The name wouldn’t mean anything to him, but maybe he would notice a resemblance. Ty could see it. Oh, it wasn’t real obvious, but … the coloring was the same, and they were both tall.

“Yes?” Chase’s expression didn’t change.