Page 3 of The Fugitive Cowboy's Baby
She awoke to her phone ringing after what felt like only minutes of sleep—ringing, as in a phone call, not a text. There was only one person who actually called her. She leapt out of bed and scrambled to answer her phone. “Mom?”
Her mother sighed on the other end of the line. “Hi, honey. How have things been for you?”
“Oh, fine, fine.” Kat glanced down at the time. Eight in the morning. This was unusual. “Why are you calling so early?”
Her mother sighed. “Unfortunately, I have bad news about your Uncle Roy.”
Uncle Roy. Kat hadn’t seen him in years, but she remembered liking him well enough. “What happened?”
“He passed the day before yesterday.”
It took Kat a second to process what she was hearing. “He passed?”
“His heart. I know you weren’t close, but we would love it if you could make it up here for the funeral.” Kat could almost hear the smile in her mom’s voice as she said, “Come home, honey. We miss you.”
There was a double meaning in her mom’s request. Kat understood that. But she couldn’t make that kind of promise. She couldn’t come home to stay, and her mom already knew that. Either way, her mom had to try to talk her into it. It was tradition, Kat supposed, so she played along like always. “Just assoon as I get the perfect opportunity, I’ll be there.” She laughed quietly. “Of course I’ll come back for the funeral. When is it?”
Her mom cleared her throat. “Tomorrow evening.”
Kat nearly dropped her phone. “Tomorrow? Mom, I don’t think I can make it. I have this work thing.”
“Just tell your boss you’ve had a loss in your family,” her mom said. “He’ll understand.” Her voice was so hopeful, Kat couldn’t bear to let her down.
She sighed. “OK. I’ll figure it out.”
“You’ll be there?” There was that hope again. “Promise?”
“I promise. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As soon as she had gotten off the phone with her mom, Kat texted her boss.I need to leave town for a funeral this weekend, so I won’t be available to work. I’ll need Monday off, too.
He replied,Absolutely not. You know the tight spot we’re in. Now is not the time for a family reunion.
Did the wordfuneralescape him somehow?There was a death in my family, and the funeral is Sunday. I’ll be attending. To be clear, I’m not asking permission. I’m letting you know.
The three little dots that meant he was typing appeared and disappeared several times before he finally settled on a response. She was curious what it would be. This was the first time she’d ever defied him quite so blatantly.
Finally, he responded.All right. I’ll give you Monday off, but only if you agree to follow up with any refusals from our influencers over the weekend. Don’t take no for an answer.
So he was going to ignore the part about how she wasn’t asking for permission. She sighed. Whatever made him happy. She texted back:I’ll follow up.She did not promise to not take no for an answer.
CHAPTER 2
KAT
The drive from Houston to her hometown was four hours, and Kat used the time to think. It was peaceful, driving alone in the dark. She had rented a car since owning one in the city never made sense. It was a newer model, a quiet ride. After a couple hours, she turned the radio off and listened to the sound of the road. She’d gotten so used to being crowded in, rushed, assaulted on all sides by the sounds of the city. It was ironic when she thought about it. She’d spent so much of her young life dreaming of getting out of her small hometown, and now she couldn’t wait to go back.
It was two in the morning by the time she got to the B&B she’d booked the day before. She’d informed the owner she was going to be arriving late and asked if that was OK. The owner was happy to leave the key to her room somewhere she could easily find it. Small towns were like that, trusting and accommodating. To tell the truth, Kat was surprised she was even able to get a room at the last minute. But she supposed her little town didn’t have much in the way of tourists, so it did make sense the more she thought about it.
Her room was the kind of cozy that triggered all kinds of nostalgia for her. The warm colors, the floral drapes and comforter, the soft lighting—it all felt more like home than any of the places she’d stayed in Houston, which were always modern and monochrome, shades of white and gray. All that white made sense for showcasing cleanliness, but in a small town like this one, you just knew who ran a clean B&B and who didn’t. Word of mouth was as good as bright white bedding in places like these. So she could enjoy the colors and the cozy lamplight, knowing that her mother would never have recommended a place with a bad local reputation.
She laid her suitcase out on the luggage stand at the foot of the bed and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed. Breakfast was at nine in the morning, so she set her alarm for eight. It would have been nice to sleep in, but she knew she was going to be hungry when she woke, so a hearty breakfast sounded like a better deal than another hour of sleep.
The room was so quiet, nothing like her apartment back home, where the sounds of traffic outside acted as a kind of white noise machine that lulled her to sleep every night. But the silence was nice, too, and before long, she was dreaming about being late for a college exam. Some things didn’t change, no matter where you were.
When her alarm went off the next morning, she almost thought she was back in Houston. Her surroundings quickly convinced her otherwise. She got up and showered, allowing herself a little more time under the hot water than usual. When she was finished, she tied her hair up in a messy bun and wore comfortable clothes to breakfast. Dressing up, she would save for after. It was never a good idea to dress up and then eat if you could flip the order, in her opinion. If there was anything Katwas good at, it was strategy, and she applied strategy to almost everything in her life.
It must have been a slow season for the B&B because Kat was the only guest at the breakfast table. The owner brought her a plate of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and eggs. It was a typical hometown breakfast for her, and she loved it. Her diet went straight out the window, and she ate like she’d been starving for weeks.
