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

been positive this wasn’t just the right decision, but the only one. Not even her disastrous call to Luke had brought her down. She’d chosen to drive to Oklahoma with Kolt to give him time to transition—not just to the idea of moving, but to the change of climate and scenery.
    Stuck in neverending traffic on a six-lane Denver highway, she’d been passed by a father and son and something about the pairing consumed her with chills. What if Luke had a change of heart, deciding he had no interest in becoming an instant father? How would she explain the rejection to her son?
    Oklahoma summer sun came as quite a shock to herbody used to San Francisco fog. Though the car’s air-conditioning was on high, it had a hard time competing with the sweltering rays.
    â€œWhoever lives here must be really rich. Is this where my cousins live?” Kolt angled sideways on his seat to get a better look. “Cool! Look at all the cows! And horses—lots of them! Is that an emu?”
    Kolt’s excitement shattered Daisy’s heart all the more.
    She was a horrible mother. The worst. Had she been less of a coward when she’d carried him, he’d have spent every summer and school break on the land where she’d grown up and, in what seemed like another lifetime ago, fallen in love with his father.
    â€œThis place is awesome! How come we’ve never been here on vacation?”
    Parking her Mercedes in the circular drive, she turned off the engine and prayed for courage to leave the car.
    â€œCome on!” Kolt prodded, tugging her hand. “There’re chickens, too.”
    From the home’s front door barreled the twins, Betsy and Bonnie. Behind them came Dallas and Josie. Next, came Daisy’s mom, Georgina, tall and strong, wearing her long white hair in its usual braid—this time neat as a pin.
    â€œAunt Daisy!” the twins cried in unison, bouncing around her when her quivering legs surprised her by actually allowing her to exit the car. “We missed you!”
    â€œI missed you, too,” she said, gathering them for a hug. It warmed her that they even remembered her name.
    Kolt rounded the trunk, shyly standing alongside her, taking her hand.
    â€œWho are you?” Bonnie asked.
    â€œWho are you? ” Kolt retorted.
    â€œBetsy, Bonnie…” Forcing a breath, Daisy looked to her mother and brother. “This is my son, Kolt.” His age combined with Luke Montgomery’s unmistakable robin’s-egg-blue eyes reminded all the adults assembled of everything they needed to know regarding the boy’s parentage. “Honey,” she said to her pride and joy, cupping Kolt’s shoulders, “this is your grandmother and cousins and aunt and uncle.”
    Eyebrows furrowed, Kolt looked up at her. “Oklahoma wasn’t as far as I thought. If they’re our family, how come we’re just now seeing them?”
    Daisy’s mother winced as if she’d been slapped.
    â€œGirls,” Josie said to the twins, “could you please show Kolt your fort?”
    â€œBoys aren’t allowed,” Bonnie informed her with a glare in Kolt’s direction.
    â€œThey are now,” Dallas said with a light swat to the girl’s behind.
    â€œCome on,” Betsy said, sweetly taking her cousin’s hand. “We have lots of way-cool stuff.”
    Kolt looked to Daisy for reassurance—especially about the hand-holding.
    â€œGo on,” she nudged, despite the dread knotting her stomach. Hellish Oklahoma sun bearing down on her, she forced a cheery, “Have fun!”
    â€œOkay…” After a last baleful glance, Kolt took offwith Betsy in the direction of the wooded knoll where Daisy had once played with her brothers.
    â€œHe’s a good-looking boy.” Dallas’s tone lacked the slightest trace of civility. “Might’ve been nice meeting him while he was still in diapers.”
    Their mother