A Cowgirl's Secret by Laura Marie Altom Read Free Book Online

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    Kolt hid behind his favorite, not caring that he was probably sitting in pigeon poop.
    He’d been so excited to come home from camp, but now he wished he could have just stayed there. At least then he wouldn’t have had to move. And he wouldn’t have to see his stupid mom who was making him move. Or his stupid dad who was the stupid reason his stupid mom was making them move.
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    â€œD AISY . Y OU’RE AH , the last person I expected to hear from.” Luke was standing outside a gas station, filling his truck, on the return leg of a job he’d done in Montana. He hadn’t heard from Daisy since their airport goodbye. Truthfully, she and Kolt had been on his mind ever since. “Still moving to my neck of the woods?”
    â€œPlanning on it, but the transition is going rougher than I’d like.”
    â€œAnything I can do to help?” He topped off his tank, then fitted the pump nozzle back on its stand. The heat was intense, shimmering above the blacktop.
    â€œI wish. I’m having a tough time with Kolt. He doesn’t want me to go, and I’ve tried explaining this is for the best, but he just doesn’t understand.” Sighing, she added, “Sorry to trouble you with this, but I figure since we’re now in this parenting thing together… Well, I’m not sure why I called. Guess I wanted to hear someone tell me I’m doing the right thing.”
    Leaning against his truck, Luke crossed his legs atthe ankles. Stomach knotted, he searched for words appropriate for polite company. “As much as I look forward to my son living closer, you called the wrong person. Truth is, I’m scared for the little guy. You’re being too hasty. Not that I know any right or wrong way to handle a kid of his age, but something about this doesn’t feel right. You need to slow down.”
    â€œOf all people, I thought you would understand. I thought you would want him—us—back in Weed Gulch. Sorry I called.”
    Out on the highway a trio of eighteen-wheelers rushed by. The exhaust stung Luke’s nose. “Don’t be like that. You asked my opinion and I gave it.”
    â€œNo, Luke, what I asked for was compassion and you gave me criticism.”
    â€œIt’s crap like this that keeps me single.” Groaning, he shook his head.
    Her sharp laugh bit his ear. “Now not only am I ridiculous for wanting to spend time with my family, but I’m putting moves on you?”
    â€œYou know damn well that’s not what I meant.”
    â€œWhatever. I’ve got to go.”
    â€œDaisy, wait—” She’d already hung up.
    Luke kicked his tire. The woman was maddening. He hadn’t seen her in a decade, yet a few hours spent together and already she was back under his skin. Or, hell, maybe she’d never left.
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    â€œW HY ARE YOU CRYING , M OM ? Especially since moving was what you wanted to do?”
    Two weeks after having decided to move, on the vergeof introducing her son to everyone she held dear, Daisy swiped at tears she’d hoped ten-year-old Kolt hadn’t noticed. Forcing a smile, she ruffled his baby-fine dark hair. “Just allergies, sweetie.”
    â€œUh-huh.” Usually, she was proud of her smarty-pants son, but this was one time when she wished he wasn’t quite so observant.
    â€œWhoa.” Though moments earlier his crossed arms had read angry and defensive, he now leaned forward with his hands on the dash. On the maple-lined approach to Buckhorn Ranch’s main house, he asked, “Is this like a cowboy mansion?”
    The rambling two-story home was large enough for a family of twenty. Until she found a place of her own, no one would even notice she and her son were there.
    â€œSort of,” she answered, pulse racing to an uncomfortable degree. Back in San Francisco, handing over the loft keys to the hip, young artist friend of a friend named Gunter, she’d