Blame It On Texas Read Free Page B

work for Bobby Calhoun, but what would he do with the boy? Growing up in a bunkhouse was no place for a kid, and it was long past time to get started on making some kind of home for the child. And for himself.
    “I thought maybe I should be running more cattle.”
    “You’ve got the grass,” he agreed.
    “Well, see to it, Dustin. Maybe we’ll try to make some money this year.”
    He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. We sure could, though it might take me more than a year. I’ve come up with a plan for the cattle and the grass but it’s not short-term.”
    “A plan is good,” Gert agreed. “Making some changes is good, too. You grew up around here, didn’t you?”
    “Yes, ma’am. Outside of Marysville.”
    “But you know my granddaughter, Kate.”
    “Yes.” Intimately.
    Unfortunately.
    K ATE WAS LATE. And there would be hell to pay, along with the possibility of missing seeing hergrandmother blow out the candles on her birthday cake. Kate could do without the crowds and the fruit punch and the photographer from the Beauville Times, but she hated to disappoint her mother and grandmother, especially when they looked forward to her visits so much. And she looked forward to the peace and quiet of her hometown.
    She hurried through the airport toward the car rental booths. Already hot and uncomfortable, she was ready for the arctic temperatures of her rental car. She’d brought her suitcase to the office, just in case, but there hadn’t been time to change into something less businesslike than a black suit and shell-pink camisole. It had been another hellish week on Loves of Our Lives, which made getting home even more difficult.
    Everyone in town would be at the party. The grange hall would be filled. She wondered for the hundredth time if Dustin would be present or back at the ranch taking care of things there. Odd that Dustin Jones would end up on the Lazy K, along with his son, who must be eight now. Seeing Dustin wouldn’t bother her, she decided, signing the papers to rent the biggest, fastest Lincoln available. She would be polite, of course. She scooped up the keys and the directions to the Alamo lot and hurried toward the wide doors that fronted the sidewalk. She would pretend that nothing had ever happened between them, that he hadn’t broken herheart and made her feel like the biggest fool in Texas.
    “T HERE SHE IS, ” Gert declared, pointing to the door. “You can rest easy now, Martha. Our girl is home.”
    “Thank goodness.” She hadn’t realized she’d been so tense and worried, but she worried when she knew Kate was flying. She always listened to the hourly news reports on the radio just to make sure there hadn’t been a plane crash, even though she knew Kate would call her when she was safe in her apartment or hotel room. There was always that span of time when she didn’t know if Kate was safe, that span of time when she prayed a lot. Maybe that was the trouble with having only one child. You couldn’t spread the worry around. “I wonder what happened.”
    Gert shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, Martha, as long as the child gets here safe and sound.”
    “She’s not a child,” she said, watching her beautiful daughter make her way toward them. Her hair was streaked gold and fell in fashionably tousled lengths to her shoulders, her elegant black pantsuit made her look like a movie star, or like those women in the magazines with perfect lipstick and jewelry and fingernails. “She’s too thin.”
    “You always say that.”
    “It’s always true. She works too hard.”
    “We’ll fatten her up,” Gert promised. “I made cinnamon rolls this morning.”
    Martha frowned at her mother. “In this heat?”
    “I got up early. Couldn’t sleep.”
    “Too much excitement,” Martha declared, leaning down to make sure her mother didn’t look too tired. No, Gert looked pleased, a woman who had reached the age of ninety and lived to tell about it. The blue-flowered dress with the pearl necklace