Knight, Kayla - Her Long Hot Surrender [Raw Texas Heat 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Read Online Free PDF

stirred awake as a slight cool breeze disturbed her cheek. She fancied she could hear the words, “I love you, Madison. Follow your dreams. Live life to the full,” whispered by her mother. Had she been dreaming? It took her a while to realize her mother couldn’t speak, and had stopped gasping for air.
    With acceptance, she lifted her mother’s limp wrist and felt for a pulse. A teardrop slipped down her cheek as it slowly dawned on her. Her mother was dead. Annie Allen was no more. Her indomitable spirit had finally succumbed to the ravaging disease eating its way through her body.
    She leaned forward and kissed her mother’s cool forehead, brushing the hair from her eyes. “Rest now. Sleep well, my darling.”

Chapter Five

Eight days later

    With her mother dead, Madison felt like she was functioning in a haze. A mist of unreality hung over everything. She’d coped, of course. Her mother had instilled self-reliance from an early age. She’d dealt with the funeral arrangements on her own, and had contacted any living relatives who wished to see her mother laid to rest. The house had filled to bursting with family and friends she’d not seen since her father had died some five years before.
    Eventually, the day of the funeral passed, and she was finally left on her own. Now she had to decide what she was going to do with the old house. It was a beautiful character property, but it was far too large for a woman on her own, and of course, she had her apartment in Washington to consider.
    Madison scanned the dining room. It looked much more comforting now she’d removed her mother’s bed. Now it felt like the dining room she played in as a small child. She touched her fingers to her cheek, remembering lying next to her mother on the bed. The day her mother had died she’d had the weirdest sensation that she’d whispered something soothing in her ear. So much so that she’d immediately woken up. She shook her head. It had just been a dream, nothing more. She’d thought about those words a lot lately. Surely she had to follow her dreams and live life to the full? She couldn’t keep dwelling on the past and her failed relationship with Carson.
    The heart-to-heart with her mother brought comfort, too. It gave an insight into why her mother had acted so coldly over the years. The revelation that Annie Allen came from humble beginnings was confirmed when she saw her mother’s birth certificate for the first time. It had been hidden amongst a bunch of legal papers in a dresser drawer. Her grandparents on her mother’s side were ranchers from a small community near Lubbock, Texas, and not the high-flying doctors from New York, as she’d always been led to believe. Now she would have to reassess her own origins. Just who was Madison Allen? Maybe she’d take a trip to Lubbock and find out for herself. It came as a shock to find that she was just as ordinary as the people she’d disrespected over the years.
    When the doorbell chimed, she went to answer it. It took all her effort not to let her jaw drop open. Two of the hottest cowboys she’d ever seen stood on the porch. They both wore dark gray suits, and held their hats to their chests. Gabe and Tyler Hayes were certainly a welcome distraction from her inner reflection.
    “Howdy, Madi,” Gabe muttered, using the shortened version of her name. Strangely, it didn’t irritate her as much as it had. “Just thought we’d come ’round and pay our respects. Your mother was a strong woman.”
    “Yeah, we’re real sorry about your ma.” Tyler spoke, holding his hat tightly to his chest. “We didn’t want to intrude earlier. What with your family all coming to visit.”
    “Thank you.” Her gaze wandered over both men. They might be wearing suits, but they still had their cowboy boots on. She guessed no amount of spit and polish would change the fact that they were cowboys through and through. Rough-and-ready came to mind. Just that one thought made her heart