Redheaded Stranger: A Cowboy Love Story (Bluebonnet, Texas) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hit me, sending a shiver up my spine. This was not the time to linger. I slammed the door and ran around to get Darrach out of his seat, then darted for the front porch. I debated for all of three seconds before another stiff wind hit us, forcing me to ring the bell.
    Darrach grabbed the collar of my sweater and babbled, a smile on his face announcing he was just as happy as I to be out of the Tahoe's confines. Until now, I’d deliberately given little thought to our actual reception. I kissed my son's soft baby neck and hugged him tight as I shivered. Either from cold or nerves or the cloud cover moving in, there was no telling for sure. Who was I kidding? My sweaty hand clenched into a fist, I knocked and waited, listening to the sound of booted feet coming closer and closer until the door swung open.
    "Well, Keilana—"
    "Hi." I smiled hesitantly up at my father-in-law as the crinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out and his mouth turned downward at the sight of Darrach in my arms. "I couldn't tell you the day we met. I’m sorry. Not after hearing about Betti."
    He nodded thoughtfully. "I can imagine."
    "I’m sorry," I said again. "This is Darrach, your grandson."
    "I see." In thirty years, Alex would look like this—except for the hair color. "Other than Maggie, I didn't tell anyone about you," he sighed.
    After living in Atlanta for so many years, I was well aware that some people had huge issues with accepting the more colorful branches of their family trees, not to mention interracial marriages. I’d been raised in an interracial home, but in Hawaii few people thought twice about it. And it wasn’t often that people commented on Alex and I within our hearing, but when they did, it stung. I wasn't sure if this was the case with Jerrod, but I'd handle it and him just as I'd handled his son.
    "I’m sorry for just showing up, but I believe it's time things got settled and the air got cleared—once and for all."
    "Why am I not surprised to see you?" He smiled again, a gentler smile as he held open the screen door, and my heart ached for Alex, who I already missed. Deep down inside, I wished we could have done this together.
    "Zander?" he asked.
    "For now, it’s just us." I slipped past him, glad to be out of the wind, my eyes glued to a huge Christmas tree and the wall of family photographs across from me. Alex and his three brothers at various ages stared back at me. I clutched Darrach tighter and swallowed the tears that threatened. I wanted my son to be a part of this. "I left him," I rasped out, my throat thick with emotion.
    "It’s okay." He shut the front door and gently nudged me further into the room. "Maggie! We have company."
    A woman appeared at the kitchen doorway, an apron wrapped around her waist, her faded auburn hair pulled away from her face. "Who’s this?"
    I glanced up at Jerrod, then turned back to my mother-in-law, feeling the teeniest bit intimidated despite her friendly smile. "I’m Alex’s wife."
    Her red eyebrows slowly rose and drew together as I began to sniffle, unable to contain myself any longer. Pure adrenaline had pushed me all morning, and there was no stopping the crash.
    "Zander?" she asked with a frown as she looked us over.
    "Not here." Swallowing the lump that threatened to choke me, I bit my lip, refusing to give in. "But hopefully not too far behind, if he knows what's good for him."
    She gave a slight nod and looked me up and down. I doubt she’d find fault with my broken-in jeans and the oversized, cream-colored sweater stolen from Alex’s closet.
    "I’m...Kei." I took a deep breath and tried again, "Keilana. And this is your grandson."
    "Darrach," Jerrod said from behind me. He rested a comforting hand on my shoulder.
    I didn’t dare turn around, but my shoulder’s unconsciously straightened, and underneath my coat I could feel sweat begining to form.
    "Did he send you?" She solemnly waved a hand toward my son. "Is this Alexander's attempt to make up for