The Comeback Cowboy. Cathy McDavid

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СКАЧАТЬ is it?” Pop asked, hobbling out the office door. He, too, drew up short. But unlike Adele, he wasn’t at a loss for words. “What the hell are you doing here?”

      Adele wanted to know the same thing.

      “Oh, Pop,” Lani Donnelly chirped. “Is that anything to say to your daughter-in-law?” She turned to Adele, a too-sunny-to-be-real smile on her face. “Don’t just stand there, baby girl, come give your mom a hug.”

      Chapter Four

      Adele didn’t move right away. She couldn’t. Waves of hurt, anger and resentment hit her all at once and kept her rooted in place. She was vaguely aware of a guest coming out of the business center and leaving through the lobby entrance. She was acutely aware of her grandfather standing beside her. For a man with debilitating arthritis, his spine had snapped as straight and rigid as an iron bar.

      “Please, baby girl.” The pleading in her mother’s voice penetrated the haze surrounding Adele.

      She shored up her defenses, only to discover they weren’t as impenetrable as she’d hoped. The sad and neglected little girl inside her still longed for the comfort of her mother’s arms and the reassurance that she was loved.

      “You okay, Dellie?”

      At Pop’s question, Adele glanced down, to see that her hands were shaking.

      “I’m fine.” And she was fine. Pulling herself together, she wrung the tremors from her fingers and raised her chin. No matter what, her mother wasn’t going to hurt her again. Not after Adele had worked so hard to create a good life for herself.

      “Hello, Mom.”

      They each took a step, then two, and met in the middle. The hug Adele offered was reserved. Not so for her mother, who clung to her, then burst into great racking sobs.

      Adele wanted to remained unaffected, but couldn’t. Years of mistrust and disappointment, however, enabled her to extract herself from her mom’s desperate grasp.

      “What’s wrong?” she asked.

      “Nothing.” Lani dabbed at her eyes. “I’m just so happy to see you. It’s been months.”

      Almost two years, but Adele didn’t bother correcting her.

      They were about the same height and had once possessed similar figures. A weight loss during the last two years had left Lani painfully thin. Combined with her rough-around-the-edges appearance, she looked years older than her actual age. Her green eyes, highlighted with too much makeup, darted around the lobby with the desperation of a starving animal seeking its next meal.

      “You should have called to let us know you were coming.” Adele struggled to keep bitterness from creeping into her voice. Her mother may have hit rock bottom—the only reason Adele could think of to explain the unexpected visit—but that didn’t erase all the bad memories.

      “The battery died on my cell phone, and I haven’t had a chance to replace it.”

      She was lying. Adele could feel it in her gut. Her mother had probably been unable to pay her bill without the help of a man.

      Was else was she covering up?

      “You look good, Pop.” Lani smiled at Adele’s grandfather, though her eyes were still filled with tears.

      “You don’t.” Leave it to Pop to cut to the chase.

      “This last year’s been pretty hard on me.” She swallowed.

      He hobbled closer. “Is that why you just showed up out of the blue?”

      “I, ah…”

      One of the housekeeping staff entered the lobby pushing a cart laden with cleaning supplies, fresh linens and a vacuum. After a hesitant glance at them, she changed direction and went into the TV lounge to begin her work.

      Lani rolled her suitcase from one side to the other. Uncertainty clouded her features, and she blurted, “I need a place to stay for a few days. Maybe a few weeks. I know it’s a lot to ask, and Lord knows you have every reason turn me away, but I’ve got nowhere else to go. I’m willing to work off my room and board.”

      Adele took a step back, stunned by her mother’s request. She didn’t know what shocked her more—that her mother had the gall to show up unexpectedly and ask for a favor, a big one, or that she was actually willing to work. Lani hadn’t voluntarily sought employment that Adele could recall.

      “I don’t know, Mom,” she hedged. “We’re kind of full right now.”

      “I can always sleep on your couch.” The offhand remark came across as desperate. “You’ll hardly know I’m there. I swear.”

      Adele almost choked. Her mother sleeping on her couch? Not in this lifetime. “Mom—”

      “She can stay in room nine.” Pop stepped around Adele.

      She started to protest, not wanting her mother anywhere near Seven Cedars, only to shut her mouth when Pop took hold of her mother’s suitcase.

      “Come on, we’ll take you there now. Dellie, grab the key and bring the golf cart around.”

      Though they ran the ranch together, it technically belonged to Pop. Adele might disagree with his decision, and would tell him later when they were in private, but the choice to let Lani stay was his to make.

      She promptly spun on her heels and fled to her office without glancing back.

      In addition to eighteen fully equipped cabins, they had a building with nine hotel-like rooms behind the main lodge. Number nine was on the end, the smallest of the rooms, and contained only a twin bed. For that reason, it was usually vacant. The room had been reserved for the upcoming weekend, but the guest had canceled.

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