Lost and Found - Danielle Steel Page 0,51

I was quite impressed,” as she had been with him. He seemed easygoing and likable. “So what made you drive across the country from New York?” He was curious and she decided to be honest with him. She had no reason not to be, and she’d probably never see him again after she left Big Sur. She’d only been there twice in eighteen years.

“Ghosts,” she answered simply.

“Ghosts? A research project? A book? Are there ghosts in Wyoming?” He was amused and she smiled.

“I was visiting them. Three friends across the country whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.”

He got the drift and was intrigued by it. “Men, I assume.” She nodded. He was beginning to find her a very interesting woman, and certainly a brave, independent one to drive cross-country alone. “Were they good ghosts or bad ghosts?”

She looked amused by the question. “Originally, good ghosts, or at least I thought so. I hadn’t seen them in twenty years or more. One of them had turned to the dark side, and I think is quite a bad ghost now. The second one is kind of a silly ghost. Naughty, but harmless. The third one was a very good ghost, but I didn’t see him. He died two months before I got there.” She was serious when she said it, and he nodded, touched by what she said.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. That must have been a bit of a nasty shock, if you didn’t know before.”

“I didn’t. But I had a very nice visit with his son and daughter-in-law.”

“What made you want to look them up after so long?” Ever the historian and researcher. She could tell he was a writer by the questions he asked. The question was very personal but she answered anyway.

“I’m not sure,” she said, honest with him again. “I found a box full of their old letters, and I thought it was time to lay old ghosts to rest, as they say, and answer some questions I had myself.”

“And did you get the answers?”

“Yes, I did, actually.”

“Do you feel better?”

“I do. Sad about my friend in Wyoming, but things happen as they are meant to.” She had said the same thing to Ben, and she believed it.

William nodded when she said it. “I believe that too, although sometimes that’s hard to swallow, if things don’t go the way we want.”

“It wasn’t a possible situation for either of us. But his life turned out well, so I’m happy for him. He did what he always wanted to do. He built a beautiful horse ranch, which was his dream.”

“You have two children?” he asked, changing the subject. “The daughter who’s a writer and the son in San Francisco?”

“Three. Another daughter in New York. And you?”

“A ten-year-old son in England, in boarding school. I got a late start. He visits me for three weeks in the summer, and a week at Christmas every year. It’s not much, but he’s young and in school. And I see him when I make occasional trips to England, though no more than once or twice a year. He’s a sweet boy. We usually travel when he comes. It’s a bit boring for him here, and the weather is very English. He gets enough of that at home.” Maddie smiled as he said it. “What do your other children do?”

“My son is an entrepreneur, he’s up to his ears in his second start-up. And my daughter in New York is a fashion designer.”

“Very varied,” he commented, impressed. “Do you see much of them? They must be busy.”

“They are. I don’t see them enough, but I’m used to it.”

“And you, Madison? What do you do when you’re not being rescued from beaches and visiting ghosts?”

She smiled at the description. “I’m a photographer.” He frowned for a moment, thinking, and then smiled at her.

“Lord, yes, sorry. I didn’t make the connection. I’ve seen your work. Who hasn’t?” She smiled modestly in response.

“I travel a lot for my work. It keeps me busy.”

“And you drive cross-country. Very impressive. Did you enjoy it?”

“Immensely. It was very relaxing, I like driving and road trips. I never have time to do that. It was a nice change.”

They talked about some of his work then, and their travels. He had lived in Hong Kong and Mumbai, which was called Bombay when he was growing up. His father had done business there. He talked about how odd it had been going back to England after that. He felt