Lonestar Homecoming by Colleen Coble Read Free Book Online Page A

off for her daughter. Laziness had never been Gracie’s failing. Instead, she failed Hope by consistently making the wrong choices.
    With ferocious energy, she scrubbed at the spots on the counter. Every time she thought they’d found a place to settle, something went wrong. This last episode with Cid was just the latest of many. Hope deserved better than this vagabond life, and Gracie clung to a desperate hope that this time things would change.
    The spot refused to budge, and she attacked it with renewed force. Though this kitchen was grungy and old, it could be a home for her, for Hope. They could make fond memories here. In Gracie’s mind’s eye, she could see a white picket fence in the backyard, and Hope walking to the podium to accept her high-school diploma. Michael might have given them the key to a decent future.
    Michael entered the kitchen again. “They love you. The day-care director couldn’t stop singing your praises. So you’re hired. The kids go back to school in a couple of weeks. I don’t need to report to work until Monday, so I can help you here with the hard stuff.”
    She put down the sponge and scouring powder. “I thought you didn’t want to know what I was doing,” she said.
    He studied her. “You’re doing it again.The minute we start talking about the house, you change.Your eyes are sparkling again, and your voice is even louder.You must love it.”
    â€œI do.” But more than that, when she worked with color, she could lose herself in it and forget all she’d done.
    B Y FOUR O’CLOCK THE NEXT DAY, THE HOUSE REEKED OF PAINT, AND Michael’s muscles ached.Work on Monday would be a reprieve.Who would have guessed painting could wear a guy out? The color Gracie picked out for the living room was a gray-green that calmed him. She’d painted his bedroom the same color. The girls’ rooms were a pale lavender he liked as well, and Evan’s room was a dark blue that matched his Dallas Cowboys memorabilia.
    Michael watched Gracie from the doorway to Jordan’s room. Kate would never have let the kids help paint, but Gracie put down plastic and showed the kids how to use a paintbrush. Jordan and Evan were working on the headboard of the bed, and not doing a bad job.
    Gracie glanced up, and their gazes locked. A pink ponytail holder corralled her blond hair, though an escaped lock brushed her right cheek. “You like the color?” she asked.
    â€œYeah. But more important, Jordan does.”
    â€œI love it, Daddy,” Jordan proclaimed. She wiped white paint on her jeans.
    â€œI might have to buy her new clothes,” he said, grinning.
    â€œIt’s worth it. Learning these things now will give her confidence.”
    He couldn’t argue with that. “I thought I might check out the attic and see if there’s anything worth using up there.You want to join me?”
    â€œSure.” She wrapped her roller in a bread sack and laid it on the plastic. “Kids, keep working on the bed. I’ll be back to help you touch it up in a few minutes.”
    â€œOkay, Miss Gracie,” Evan said. “We’re good painters, right?”
    â€œYou certainly are,” she agreed with a smile. She stepped past the three children to join Michael in the doorway. “Do you know how to get up there?”
    â€œI found the stairway. It’s at the other end of the hall.” He led her to a door. “Right here.” He’d left the light on, and the glow from the third floor illuminated the stairs. “I’ll go first. Just in case the exterminator didn’t get all the spiders.”
    She shuddered. “Be my guest.”
    â€œI want to keep Jordan out of here until I know for sure. She’ll be catching them.”
    The stairs were steeper and narrower than normal stairs. They rose quickly to the attic. His head poked into the space, and he glanced around before emerging