Kayla's Cowboy. Callie Endicott

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      “Well, he’s fine, and as hard as it’s been for you, I can’t be completely sorry. It’s wonderful to see you.”

      Her throat choking up, Kayla dashed a hand across her eyes. Lord, she was getting soft. At sixteen she hadn’t given in to weepiness, not even when hopped up on pregnancy hormones.

      “I take it you drove from Seattle, instead of flying and renting a car?” Elizabeth asked.

      Kayla nodded. Her grandmother must have noticed the Washington state license plate and the “My kid is an honor student at...” bumper stickers on the Volvo, showing it wasn’t a rental.

      “I wanted to watch along the roads,” Kayla explained.

      The Volvo door opened and DeeDee tumbled out, looking rumpled and drowsy. “Mom, I’m hungry.”

      “That’s something I can fix,” Elizabeth offered eagerly.

      “First things first,” Kayla said. “DeeDee, this is your great-grandmother, Elizabeth Garrison.”

      DeeDee stared at Elizabeth. “I thought you’d be ancient. I mean, great-grandmothers are old, aren’t they?”

      “Not all of them,” Elizabeth said with a grin, showing no hint of discomfort.

      No, the Garrisons weren’t very old to be great-grandparents of a teenager, not with a daughter and granddaughter who’d gotten pregnant as teens themselves.

      Kayla followed Elizabeth and DeeDee into the house and a wave of memories swept over her. She’d only lived there for a short time, but she had liked the house and her grandparents and even Schuyler itself, no matter how much she’d felt out of place.

      “Where’s the bathroom?” DeeDee asked.

      Elizabeth took her down the hall, then returned. “Kayla, dear, lie down on the couch and get some rest. DeeDee and I will put a meal together.”

      “I should help or...” Kayla’s protest trailed. Now that she’d spoken to Alex, a different tension was asserting itself—the anticipation of facing the consequences of being in Schuyler again. All the same, she felt limp with exhaustion.

      “Let it go for now,” urged her grandmother. “At least for today, someone has your back.”

      Tears stung Kayla’s eyes again. Staying strong for her children was a necessary habit, particularly since the divorce, but she felt safe in her grandparents’ home and knew her son and daughter were just as safe. So she smiled wearily, kissed her grandmother on the cheek and sank onto the comfortable sofa. It wasn’t long before reality drifted away.

      The clock was chiming two when she woke. Standing, she went down the bathroom and glanced into the mirror. Yikes, DeeDee would claim she looked worse than the cryptkeeper’s wife. Fetching her purse, she found a brush to tame her long auburn hair, though there wasn’t anything she could do about the circles under her blue eyes. She blinked. It had never occurred to her before, but she had her grandmother’s eyes. The resemblance pleased her.

      Kayla washed her face and applied lip gloss, wishing makeup was her thing so she could use it to put on a brave face. Instead, she straightened and headed for the kitchen.

      DeeDee looked up from her plate of spaghetti. “Hi, Mom. Grandma said to let you sleep. She told me you call them Grams and Granddad, but that we could say ‘Grandma’ and ‘Grandpa’ instead of saying ‘Great’ all the time.”

      “Where is she?”

      “Bringing in the wash or something.”

      That was right. Elizabeth loved the smell of clothing hung out to dry in the fresh air.

      Kayla served herself spaghetti and salad and began eating, the taste of her grandmother’s food carrying her into the past.

      “I wanna go explore,” DeeDee said as she sucked a last strand of pasta into her mouth. “Can I walk downtown? Grandma says it’s only a couple of blocks.”

      Kayla thought about it. She tried not to be overprotective. Fortunately her kids were growing up in better circumstances than she’d experienced during most of her own childhood, but there were still dangers, even in a town the size of Schuyler. Since the divorce, it had been even more of a challenge to find a workable balance. Nevertheless, DeeDee was very independent at almost ten, and would rebel if kept on too tight of a parental leash.

      “Okay,” she told her daughter, “but you know the drill.”

      DeeDee rolled her eyes. “I got my phone and I won’t let anyone close and will scream my head off if anyone tries to lay a finger on me.”

      “And?” Kayla prompted.

      “And I’ll be back in two hours and call in the middle to say I’m okay.”

      “Then, have fun.”

      “Grandma says there’s an ice cream parlor downtown called the Schuyler Soda Saloon.” DeeDee had a hopeful look in her eyes.

      “You can get three dollars out of my purse to have a cone.”

      “Thanks, Mom.” DeeDee dropped a kiss on her forehead and rushed away.

      “It must be hard letting her out of your sight,” Elizabeth observed as she came through the screen door and put a basket of dry laundry on the chair next to Kayla.

      Kayla picked up a towel and inhaled the scent of the warm Montana day. She glanced at her grandmother. “It’s never easy. I want to keep her safe at all costs, and then I try to let go, only to worry that I’m letting her have too much freedom.”

      “I have a feeling you’re a pretty good mom.”

      “Right. I have a fifteen-year-old son who ran away to Montana.”

      “I know, but he let you know where he was going. Alex is a good kid. That can’t have changed because of one wild act.”

      Wearily, Kayla ate her last bite of spaghetti and stood up. “I realize that. He’s never been rebellious. Art and history are his favorite subjects, and he’s strong enough not to be afraid of being labeled a geek. Not that he enjoys the teasing, but he shrugs it off.”

      “Let’s get your luggage in from the car,” Elizabeth suggested after they’d cleaned the kitchen. “You’re staying for a while, aren’t you? Maybe a week or two?” she added hopefully.

      “I suppose, if it won’t be inconvenient.”

      “You could move in forever and we’d be thrilled.”

      “That’s awfully nice of you.” Kayla had a life and a business in Seattle that she couldn’t abandon, but she could stay for a while and let her grandparents get acquainted with DeeDee and Alex. The milk had already been spilled, so there was nothing to do except mop it up. A wry smile crossed her lips. Funny how often her grandmother’s old sayings still cropped up in her mind.

      “You’ll be in your mother’s old room. I’ve already got Alex in the guest room, but I thought СКАЧАТЬ