Once a Cowboy Read Online Free PDF

“Are you saying that I’m old?”
    “You’re seventy-eight. What do you think?”
    “I think I can do what I want.”
    “Naddy…”
    “Ethel’s seventy-six and she doesn’t drive too bad, except she has trouble staying awake.”
    “Okay. Okay.” Alex threw up her hands, knowing her grandmother was working her. “I’ll pay for your plane ticket.”
    “What about Ethel? I don’t want to go alone.”
    Alex gritted her teeth. “Okay. I’ll pay for Ethel, too.”
    “You’re such a sucker.” Naddy laughed.
    “I knew you were playing me from the start. You wouldn’t do laundry unless you were after something. And you’d better not crow too much or I’ll rescind the offer.” She paused. “Does Buck know you’re going?”
    “No. You can tell him after I’m gone.”
    Alex shook her head. “Oh, no. You tell him before you leave.”
    “Honeychild.” Naddy put an arm around her shoulder and Alex caught a whiff of Ben-Gay. “Why do you always want that family connection to be there? It isn’t. I was a bad mother, a terrible mother. I admit that. Bucky has a right to hate me. I was young, stupid and had no idea how to raise a kid. He grew up the hard way, by himself with a string of step-daddies.”
    Alex had heard this a million times and Naddy wasn’t getting around her by using that bad-mother routine. “All the same, you’ll tell him.”
    “Did I say you were a sucker? Crafty is more like it.”
    “I’ll be upstairs,” she said, walking away.
    “Want to help with my laundry?”
    “No, thanks,” Alex called, running up the stairs.
    She laid the plastic bag with the comb on her dresser. In the morning she’d call a lab they used to run the test.She’d also call Helen so she could give a sample to see if Brodie was her son. One little test, but it could change a lot of lives.
    That night she went to sleep seeing the bluest eyes in Texas.
     
    T HE NEXT MORNING she awoke to loud voices, which was reminiscent of her childhood. Evidently Naddy had told Buck she was going to Vegas. She didn’t bother going down. They’d yell and scream until one of them was out of breath.
    She changed into jeans and a knit top. She brushed her hair and clipped it behind her head. After applying the barest of makeup, she headed downstairs.
    “Don’t think I’m paying for this crazy trip!”
    “I never asked you for a dime.”
    “Yeah, right.”
    Alex walked between Buck and Naddy. “Good morning, all. Think I’ll get my coffee on the way to work.” With her hand on the doorknob, she looked at her father. “Is the air fixed?”
    “I had to work on the damn thing myself and I got it going for now. Bert’ll fix it this morning.”
    “Really? The old push method didn’t work?”
    Buck glared at her. “Don’t start with me. I’ve already had it with Naddy. Going to Vegas. That’s insane.” He pointed a finger at his mother. “Don’t come back to this house with a man in tow. That’s all I got to say.”
    “Bucky, you take all the fun out of life.”
    “Don’t call me Bucky.”
    “I had those teeth fixed, didn’t I?”
    Buck slammed out the door and Alex stared at her grandmother. “This certainly isn’t the Cleaver household.”
    Naddy chuckled. Alex used to sit for hours watching reruns of Leave It To Beaver, wishing she had a mother like June and a father like Ward. How unrealistic was that? Not to mention outdated.
    “More like a soap opera,” Naddy muttered.
    Alex only grinned. “When are you leaving?”
    “Ethel’s daughter is dropping her off and we’re taking a cab to the airport.”
    “Be careful.” Alex hugged her.
    “If I was careful, I wouldn’t have any fun.”
    Alex smiled on her way out the door.
    Buck wasn’t in the office so she didn’t know where he was, but at least the air was working. She called the lab to set up the DNA test. She dropped the comb off and called Helen, who was eager to help by giving her DNA. Now they waited.
    As Alex worked on other cases,