A Home in Hill Country (Harlequin Heartwarming) Read Online Free PDF Page A

coming from upstairs, where Mom was unpacking more boxes and pushing furniture around, then he went out onto the porch and leaned over to brace his elbows on the railing. Dropping his chin into his hands, he stared out at the hills that seemed to roll on forever, clear over to where the sun was starting to drop lower in the sky.
    There were supposed to be big snakes out here. Big, big rattlesnakes, and coyotes and even armadillos—like the ones in his favorite Jan Brett storybook. Maybe there was even a mama armadillo parading through the low cedar bushes andsagebrush right now, followed by a train of little armadillos.
    Dad called armadillos “speed bumps” because you always saw them flattened along the Texas highways, but the possibility of seeing a live one sent Cody off the porch in two big leaps.
    With a last glance over his shoulder at the house, he hopped over the low stone wall and jogged past Mom’s pickup, stopping to survey the possibilities. Where, exactly, did armadillos like to go?
    To the right of the house he could see the tops of a big stand of trees growing past the next hill. They were probably those huge, shady old live oaks that Mom was always admiring, because she said they could be hundreds of years old.
    Surely, with a hot sun overhead all day—even though it was almost the beginning of September—an armadillo would like a shady place to rest.
    Grinning, he broke into a run.
     
    N OT AGAIN . Kristin frantically raced through the house one more time, checking the closet and even beneath the beds.
    Since the divorce, Cody had been unpredictable—clinging one minute, rebellious the next. He sometimes hid from her when he was upset, apparently finding some sort of satisfaction incrying quietly by himself and ignoring her pleas to come out.
    But this time, she sensed the emptiness of the house. Where could he have gone? The western sky was deepening from lavender into purple and indigo. The sun had set. And already, the chilly night air was settling in.
    “Cody!” she called out, searching around the yard for any sign of him. In exasperation, she widened her search to include the old, empty barn and the small, one-car garage too narrow for her modern vehicle.
    The lane leading out to the highway was empty, the powdery caliche limestone revealing only tire tracks. But Cody could’ve skirted the lane and gone across country on some adventure without regard for the temperature, approach of nightfall or the fact that he had absolutely no knowledge of the area.
    And just within the boundaries of her own twenty acres, he could so easily be lost. Running, now, she shouted his name as she searched farther and farther from the house.
    Only a distant owl returned her calls.
    Her heart pounding, she slowly turned in a full circle, watching for any sort of movement.
    Nothing.
    With a cry of frustration, she ran back to the house to grab her cell phone and call for help. Did 911 even work out here? Surely there’d be local police, or a county sheriff, and maybe even a dog that tracked.
    She lunged up the steps and breathlessly pawed through the packing materials on the kitchen counter until her fingers curled around the familiar shape of her cell phone.
    She flipped it open to punch in the numbers, then stared in disbelief at the faint message blinking on the screen.
    Low battery.
    Her hand at her throat, she slumped against the counter, her lungs raw from the exertion. Then she hunted through the clutter again until she found her truck keys.
    At a sharp knock at the door she froze. She was a woman alone in an unfamiliar, isolated place…though that barely registered.
    I don’t have time for this! I’ve got to find my son.
    She took a deep ragged breath, gripped her keys in one hand and hurried to the front window.
    A big gray horse stood placidly in her yard, tied to the gate. A horse?
    The front door opened with a crash, and Cody’s excited voice echoed through the house like a gift direct from