before the car. Instinct told him exactly who it would be.
He finished watering what remained of his struggling tomato plants, then coiled up the hose. By the time heâd finished, sure enough, Daisy and Kolt had pulled into his drive.
After drying his palms on the thighs of his jeans, Luke moseyed over, not especially in a hurry to see the woman whoâd turned his life upside down. Heâd had a tough enough time relating to her before learning about what sheâd been through with Henry. Now, Luke was even less sure of what to do or say.
She was wearing a T-shirt and pink flip-flops that made her look all of fifteen. Her messy pigtail didnât help. She looked as pretty as she had the spring day heâd asked her to the prom. But that didnât change the fact that as sorry as he felt for what Henry had put her through, she didnât have a free pass for Luke missing the first ten years of his sonâs life.
When Kolt exited the car, stepping onto his land, Luke wasnât sure what to say. Kolt was handsome. Tall for his age and stick thin. A smattering of freckles dotted his nose and his dark hair had been neatly trimmed.
âWhen I was your age,â Luke said to his boy, hands shoved in his pockets, âI hated getting my hair cut. One day my mom let me cut it myself. Kids at school teased that it looked so bad I mustâve got caught in barbed wire.Just looking at your head tells me youâre a damned sight smarter than me.â
âYou cussed,â his son scolded.
Chuckling, Luke said, âAbout time you learned thatâs what cowboys do. Sometimes thereâs just no way around it.â
âDonât listen to him,â Daisy said.
âDo listen to me,â Luke insisted with what he hoped came across as a welcoming, friendly smile. âHereâs what you need to do. Letâs say youâre on your horse and see a snake. Whatâre you going to say?â
Nose wrinkled, Kolt shook his head. âI dunno.â
âWrong. How about, damn, thatâs a big snake.â
Wearing a cautious grin, Kolt mimicked, âDamn, thatâs a big snake.â
âExcellent.â Luke held out his hand for a high five and was pleasantly surprised when Kolt didnât leave him hanging. âAll right, now itâs time forââ
âThatâs enough.â Arms crossed, Daisy didnât look amused by the eveningâs cursing lesson. âCould we please go inside? Itâs hot.â
âHelp yourself,â Luke said. âFront doorâs open. If Kolt doesnât mind, we need to feed the horses before we head in for the night.â
âKolt?â she asked, worry lacing her tone. âIs that all right with you?â
âJust go, Mom. I want to talk to my dad.â
Luke couldnât help but beam with pride when his boy asked, âCan I brush your horses, too? Uncle Cash taught me how and he says I do a really good job.â
âAbsolutely,â Luke said, ignoring the fact that Daisystill stood in front of the porch. âAnd hey, while Iâve got you here, can you tell me why the farmerâs horse went over the mountain?â
âNope.â
âHe couldnât go under it.â
Though Kolt didnât crack a smile, he couldnât quite hide the light in his eyes.
Luke knew he had a long way to go before his son fully accepted him, but, Lord willing, with enough bad jokes and kid-friendly animal chores, the two of them might work their way into each otherâs hearts.
As for his childâs mother? Good thing Daisy had finally chosen to hide out in the house or Luke just mightâve put her on manure duty.
Chapter Eight
A week had passed since Daisyâs last secret had gotten out. Funny how time had a way of elongating or shortening in direct proportion to oneâs discomfort level. The past seven days had felt excruciatingly long. Kolt was still giving her the silent
Steven Konkoly
Holley Trent
Ally Sherrick
Cha'Bella Don
Daniel Klieve
Ross Thomas
Madeleine Henry
Tim Curran, Cody Goodfellow, Gary McMahon, C.J. Henderson, William Meikle, T.E. Grau, Laurel Halbany, Christine Morgan, Edward Morris
Rachel Rittenhouse
Ellen Hart