An Heir For The Texan. KRISTI GOLD

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       Two

      Georgie climbed into her truck and headed home to face what would probably prove to be one of the most difficult times of her life. After she pulled into the drive and slid from the cab, Chance rushed out of the door and ran to her as fast as his little legs would let him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and stared up at her, his grin showing the space where he’d just lost his first tooth. “Mama, did you see the rolling house?”

      Georgie glanced to her right to find the massive RV parked on the dirt road leading to the barn. “I see that, baby. It’s huge.”

      Chance let her go and rocked back and forth on his heels, as if he was too excited to stand still. “Aunt Debbie said I could ride up front with Uncle Ben and she could stay in the back and play cards with Grandma.”

      No doubt the wily pair would be engaging in poker. “That sounds like a plan. Are you packed?”

      He nodded vigorously. “Uh-huh. I gotta get some toys.” He grabbed her by the hand and jerked her forward with his usual exuberance. “Come on, Mama.”

      “All right, already. Just hold your horses.”

      Chance released his grasp on her and threw open the front screen door. Georgie followed him inside to find her mother’s sister, Debbie, decked out in a blue floral sundress and an inordinate amount of jewelry, and her Uncle Ben wearing a yellow polo and white shorts that revealed his usual golf tan that ran from the top of his bald head to his beefy legs. Not exactly December attire, but luckily the region had yet to experience any significant cold weather. But that was all about to change in the next two days, according to the forecast.

      “Georgia May!” Debbie said as she crossed the room and drew Georgie into a hug. “You are still as pretty as ever.”

      Georgie stepped back and smiled. “You look great, too, Aunt Debbie. I love the blond hair.”

      Debbie patted her neatly coifed bob. “Glad you like it. I just wish I could say the same for my husband. When I got it done, he didn’t say a word. I don’t think he’s even noticed.”

      “I noticed, woman.” Uncle Ben crossed the room, picked Georgie up off her feet, hugged her hard and then put her back down. “You’re still no bigger than a peanut, Georgie. And don’t listen to Deb. She knows I’m jealous because she still has all her hair.”

      “So how are you enjoying retirement?” Georgie asked.

      “Love it,” Ben said. “We just drove all the way from California.”

      Debbie smiled. “Los Angeles was so wonderful and warm, but the traffic was horrible.”

      Chance tugged on Georgie’s hand to garner her attention. “Can we go now, Mama?”

      Georgie swallowed around an annoying lump in her throat when she thought about watching him leave without her. “Don’t you need to pick out some toys?”

      “Oh, yeah.”

      “Don’t bring too many things, Chance.” Her directive was lost on her child as he sprinted out of the room.

      “Your place is really precious, Georgie,” Debbie said as she surveyed the area. “And it’s been so well done.”

      Quite the change from when Georgie had first seen it—a basic two-bedroom, one-bath rental with outdated everything. But the appeal had been in the ten surrounding acres, complete privacy and the four-stall red barn. “You can thank Mom for the restoration. She had the hardwoods refinished, put new carpet in the bedrooms, remodeled the kitchen, including appliances, and redid the entire bathroom before I moved in. As much as I appreciated the effort, I do think it was overkill for a house I don’t own.”

      Right on cue, Lila Romero breezed into the room, her silver hair pulled back in a low bun, her peach slacks and white blouse heralding her classic taste in clothing. “I couldn’t let you live in squalor, dear daughter.”

      Leave it to Lila to overexaggerate. “It wasn’t that bad, Mom.”

      “It wasn’t that good, either.” Lila turned to her sister and sighed. “Georgie is such a nervous Nellie, I’m surprised she’s actually allowing my grandson to go with us to Florida.”

      Ben turned to Georgie. “He’ll be fine, pumpkin. I used to fly big jets holding hundreds of passengers, so rest assured, I can handle a forty-five-foot motor home.”

      Georgie took some comfort in knowing her son would be on the ground in good hands, not in midair. “I trust you, Uncle Ben. I’m more worried that Chance will drive you insane with all his energy.”

      Aunt Debbie patted her cheek. “Honey, we have eight grandchildren. We’re used to high energy. We’ll be stopping along the way and—”

      “If he acts up, we’ll lock him in the toilet.” Uncle Ben topped off the comment with a teasing grin.

      Chance ran back into the room, his arms full of stuffed animals, miniature trucks and his special blue pillow. “I’m ready. Can we go now?”

      Georgie fought back the surge of panic. “Can I at least have a hug, baby boy?”

      As if she sensed her daughter’s distress, Lila took the toys from her grandson’s grasp. “I’ll put these in the RV while you tell your mama goodbye.”

      In that moment, Georgie appreciated her mother more than СКАЧАТЬ