The Cowboys Heart 1 Read Free Page B

on a stool across
from him. “How were things around here?”
    “They were cool. Monica made me the best grilled cheese
sandwich for lunch.” He grinned, and I chuckled.
    “That’s good.” In that moment, I realized something: Maybe
moving away from the city would be good for him. I hated the idea of tearing
him away from his school in the middle of the year and away from his friends
and father, but we’d been here two days and his attitude was a hundred times
better. The people around here were nicer, more accommodating and welcoming.
Maybe this was exactly the change we both needed to be happier.
    “You really have to learn how to make them,” he said.
    “I’ll be sure to do that.” I stood and ruffled his hair like
I used to do when he was a little boy. I was shocked when he didn’t push my
hand away. It felt like he was my boy again, and the love I felt for him
squeezed at my heart. I missed him terribly, missed the closeness we always
had.
    “Did you know Monica had a son?”
    “No, I didn’t. How old is he?”
    “My age. She said he’d be here later, after school. She’s
going to introduce us. His name is Dean.”
    “Cool,” I said, unsure where he was going with this. Then it
hit me. “Let me guess, you want to hang out with him tonight?”
    Jamie laughed. “If he’s not a total dork, yeah.”
    I pretended to be upset with him. “Jamie,” I said with an
exasperated sigh and a shake of my head. “That’s not nice.”
    “Mom,” he groaned and moved out of my reach. “I’m not about
to hang with a nerd.”
    “I doubt he’s a nerd, but if you two hit it off, I don’t mind
if you hang out tonight. It’ll do you good, I think.”
    “Thanks.” He smiled then planted a kiss on my cheek. “I’m
actually having fun here this time.”
    My breath hitched. It was now or never. He was in a good
mood and now was the time to strike. “Jamie, we’re going to move here. To
Texas.”
    He stared at me for a moment as my words registered in his
mind. “What?”
    “Nammy Noreen left me her entire ranch and all the property.
So, I’ve decided we’re going to move to Texas and live there.” I swallowed
hard. Generally, I wasn’t afraid of my son or his reactions. I was the parent
after all, but this entire situation was so big and scary for both of us.
    “Is this some kind of joke?”
    “No, this is no joke, Jamie. Financially, it makes sense.”
    “What about Dad?” He crossed his arms and glared at me.
    I gritted my teeth. There was so much I wanted to say – like
how his father was too busy diddling his secretary to be a dad, or how his
father couldn’t be bothered to visit once in the past three months, or how his
father was a month behind in child support – but I didn’t say any of those
things because I didn’t want Jamie to think poorly of his father simply because
of the hurt feelings I had toward Phillip.
    “The decision has been made. We’ll return to the city on
Monday and spend the week making the necessary arrangements.” My tone was firm,
and I hoped he knew this wasn’t up for discussion.
    “I hate you!” he screamed and ran up the stairs. A second
later, he slammed the guest room door. I cringed.
    “What on God’s green earth is going on out here?” Dad asked,
coming in from the backdoor.
    “Nothing.” I headed upstairs to try and talk some sense into
my only child.

Chapter Three
    T he transition from the city to my grandmother’s
ranch – or rather, my ranch now – didn’t go as smoothly as I’d hoped. Jamie
fought me on everything. He hated it here, and I couldn’t blame him. He’d left
behind all of his friends, everything he’d known, his father – who gave me a
ton of shit about moving back to Texas yet didn’t do a thing to talk me out of
it or make amends with our son. And on top of all that, I was struggling to
learn the ropes around here, to know what to do and when. There were so many
animals that needed my attention, so much land that