In the Key of Family
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Makenna Lee
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Chapter One
Alexandra Roth stumbled back when the Acorn Café door fired open, and a tall cowboy rushed out with a large bag of ice over one shoulder and a twelve-pack of beer under the other. He sidestepped just in time to avoid sending her sprawling onto the hot sidewalk, and his obsidian eyes sprang wide.
“Pardon me, ma’am. So sorry.”
“It’s...okay.” She barely managed to squeak the words out past her surprise and a flare of attraction.
Were all the Oak Hollow residents this polite? And this smoking hot? She adjusted the guitar case over one shoulder, pulled out her cell phone and snapped a photo of him walking away. The historic town square created the perfect backdrop to frame his powerful form. Tight maroon T-shirt over bulging muscles, worn jeans, hat, boots and enough swagger to get a girl’s motor revving. A genuine cowboy in the flesh. Not something she often saw back home in Manhattan.
He paused, and she thought she’d been caught taking his picture, but after a few beats he continued across the street to a black truck. Attempting to look nonchalant, she leaned her large rolling suitcase against a post and sat on top. Her movie-star sunglasses were the perfect concealment for stealthy observation. The cowboy handled his purchases like they weighed nothing, but his flexing muscles told a different story as he put them on the tailgate and leaned in to drag over a cooler. Ice cascaded and chimed like musical notes over the glass bottles.
Alex didn’t want to take her eyes off him long enough to dig out her sketch pad, so she’d have to use her memory and the one photo to paint his image. A hot breeze fluttered her billowy sleeves, and she wished for some of his ice to cool her heated skin. Beer wasn’t her drink of choice, but putting a cold amber bottle to her lips sounded pretty good about now. Maybe she’d run into him again, and they could share a drink, or a meal, or...
The star of her developing fantasy slammed his tailgate. His eyes were hidden in the shade of his cowboy hat, but the wide grin he shot her way was as clear as Waterford Crystal, and she knew she’d been caught staring. Rather than looking away in embarrassment, she returned his smile. He gripped the brim of his hat in a sort of cowboy salute, then climbed into the cab and started the engine. It wasn’t the first time she’d been caught observing someone whose likeness she wished to capture with paint.
Once he’d driven down Main Street, Alex studied the covert photo on her phone, only feeling a smidge guilty about taking it without permission. But you couldn’t see his face, which was unfortunate because it had been a really nice face—all angles and strong lines, tan skin and a bit of dark, sexy stubble. It would be the first watercolor painting she’d work on once she got settled. If she didn’t melt in this oppressive Texas summer heat. She gathered her long mass of auburn hair, twisted it into a messy bun and secured it with two paintbrushes from the front pocket of her guitar case.
If her few minutes in town were an accurate depiction, it was no wonder her mother had spun romantic tales about her summer in Oak Hollow. The place she’d met the love of her life. The place Alex had been conceived twenty-five years ago. She pulled out the envelope of her mom’s photos and held them up for comparison to the real thing. The oak trees were bigger now, but the location was unmistakable. In the photo, her mother, Kate, stood in a white gazebo with her arms around a handsome, blond-haired young man, both of them smiling at one another like they’d hung the moon and lit the stars. She’d caught her mother looking at her that way over the years, but there was an underlying sadness hidden in her smile.
After tucking the pictures safely away, she typed the address of the room she’d rented for the month into her phone and set it to walking directions. Alexandra continued her trek from the Oak Hollow bus stop with her guitar bouncing rhythmically against one hip and the wheels of her rolling bag clacking along the sidewalk behind her. The town square, with its historic buildings and white stone courthouse, gave way to homes ranging from Victorian and Craftsman to midcentury modern. Children rode bikes down the quiet streets and the air smelled of freshly mown grass.
Was it possible any of her unknown relatives lived in one of these houses? Maybe aunts, uncles or cousins? Possibly her grandparents? Although, her mom hadn’t painted a very kind picture of her dad’s parents, who had not accepted her. She’d been an out-of-towner and hadn’t been deemed appropriate for their son. Someone they feared would lure him away to the far-off big city. Even so, her mom had never forgotten about or stopped yearning for the man she loved.
Alex hoped her time here would be long enough to make a few discoveries about her ancestry, and the father who died before he knew his summer love was pregnant with their child. But she’d have to be careful about her inquiries and respect her mom’s wishes not to give away her identity. Being a twenty-five-year-old secret baby was no fun.
The GPS led her down a shady street that curved around a huge oak tree, which must have started growing a hundred years before the road was constructed. At home in Manhattan, only a few small trees grew in the teeny, tiny outdoor space below their balcony. To see nature this grand required a trip to Central Park. Alex inhaled the spicy sweetness of a cluster of roses hanging over a white picket fence and released a long, cleansing breath. Fingers crossed, this trip would be the last hurrah she needed before taming her wanderlust and settling down to use her music-therapy degree.
Her phone rang, and she stopped to answer. “Hey, Mom.”
“Hi, honey. I just wanted to make sure you made it there safely.”
“I did, but I think I’ve gone back in time and landed in Mayberry.” Her mother’s laugh held a note of unmistakable sadness that tugged on Alex’s heart.
“Sounds like the place hasn’t changed.”
“It’s just like you described. Are you sure you won’t join me here?”
“I’m far too—” Loud, high-pitched grinding drowned out her mother’s voice.
Alex pulled the phone away from her ear and waited for the noise to die down. “What’s going on? Aren’t you at work?”
“Yes. I’m in my office between patient appointments. That sound is proof that I’m far too busy to leave the medical practice. We’re having some of the plumbing repaired.”
“Sounds like the perfect time for you to get out of town. It could be the closure you never got.”
“I’m fine. Don’t spend your vacation worrying about your mother.”
“I know you’d tell your patients to do exactly what I’m saying. Heal so you can love again. You should take your own advice once in a while.”
“Alex, I’m not broken, and I don’t need a man to be happy with my life.”
Her mother’s standard answer sounded like a rote response that held no real meaning. “Fine. But I can’t promise I’ll give up trying.”
“Tell me about what you’ve done so far.”
Alex adjusted her bags and continued walking. “The bus ride through the Hill Country was beautiful. The wide-open landscape is dotted with sunflowers, and the crests of the hills gives way to domed blue heavens. Not a skyscraper in sight to obstruct the sweep of nature. I did some sketches on the ride.”
“I knew you’d see it with your artistic eye.”
“Right now, I’m walking to the house on Cherry Tree Lane where I’ll be staying.”
“Please, be careful. Remember everything you learned in self-defense class and always be aware of your surroundings. And if anyone asks about why you’re there—”
“Mom, I remember everything we talked about.” She took a breath and made a concerted effort to keep exasperation from her voice. “I won’t embarrass you.”
“I’m not worried about that. I just don’t want you to be disappointed or get hurt by anything. Or anyone.”
“My father’s family might not even live here anymore.”
“I’m sure they do. The Hargrove family was a long-standing and integral part of Oak Hollow.”
“Then I shouldn’t have any trouble gathering information without bringing attention to myself.”
“Honey, I’m sorry I’ve put you in this position. It’s not fair, but I don’t know how else to handle a delicate situation.”
“I get it. I’ll be fine.”
“Have fun. I love you.”
“Love you, too. Talk soon.” Alex hung up, excitement and nerves jangling in her belly.
She might not be able to join in at a Hargrove family dinner, but she could at least learn something about them and get a feel for the town where her father grew up. And put the polished rock she’d brought on his gravestone.
Luke Walker seriously considered kicking his own ass for driving away from the intriguing woman outside the Acorn Café. He’d almost gone back to talk to her after icing down the beer, but he’d promised himself he’d be responsible and focus solely on his new parental role. He glanced in the rearview, guilty that he hadn’t at least offered her a ride. The suitcase made it obvious she was a visitor, and as one of Oak Hollow’s peace officers, he should’ve been more welcoming, but controlling his natural tendency to flirt was proving difficult.
Women, especially redheads like the beauty he’d almost flattened against the sidewalk, had a history of causing him heartache. And she’d looked to be exactly the type that had gotten him into trouble of one sort or another. Stranger or not, the old Luke Walker would’ve stopped and invited her to the party, but that guy only had himself to consider.
His life was different now. It had to be. A child’s future depended on him.
Luke jerked to a stop at a red light, and the full cooler slid across the bed of the truck.
Damn it. I need to pay attention.
He did not need residents seeing one of their off-duty cops running a red light. This was exactly the way his troubles with the opposite sex often began. Something little like an embarrassing traffic slip or forgetting which woman he had a date with on a given night. A distraction of the female variety was the last thing he needed right now.
Making the switch from Uncle Luke to full-time guardian to his five-year-old nephew, Cody, had to be his primary focus. He’d been proud of his role as the fun uncle, but the unexpected position of dad had been thrust upon him, and he was struggling to live up to his own high expectations. Learning to parent a child diagnosed with autism was something he took very seriously.
His sorrow was deep for the older sister who’d become a mother to him after their parents died. The least he could do was to raise the son Libby had loved with her whole heart. Cody was easy to love, but Luke was terrified he would fail at the role entrusted to him. He often woke in the middle of the night, panicked that he’d make a wrong decision. His nephew needed extra attention and a whole lot of understanding and patience.
Luke glanced skyward at the billowy white clouds. “I promise to do my best, sis.”
Someone honked and he realized he was sitting at the green light, doing exactly what he’d feared and embarrassing himself. He pulled forward and continued toward home, and the birthday party his friends had insisted on throwing for his twenty-eighth. They said things like “Have some fun like you used to, Walker. Cody needs you to be happy. You have to keep living...”
But every time he tried to have fun, he’d remember the day he received the devastating phone call that Libby had terminal cancer. Then the day she died. And the day they buried her next to their parents. His heart thundered in a chest that felt three sizes too small. He gripped the Swiss Army knife on the console hard enough to make him curse, but that was better than the panic attack that threatened.
I’m the one in charge. I can’t fall apart.
He pulled into his driveway and parked around back, near the detached garage. He’d used his last excuse to go out for beer and ice, and he couldn’t continue to sit in his truck while his house was filled with friends here to celebrate. But damn he dreaded going back inside. A house full of people reminded him too much of the gathering after Libby’s funeral. Hardest morning of his life. Make that second-hardest. Having to watch Cody say goodbye on the day she died was definitely top of the list.
“How can I be everything he needs?” His only answer was the ticking of his truck engine as it cooled. “I need to get my ass in there. Being a man means doing a whole lot of crap you don’t want to do.”
He slammed his door, hoping the exertion would blow off some of his frustration, then heaved the ice chest from the bed of the truck and pushed his way through the back door. After putting it beside the kitchen table, he went to find Cody.
His boss’s new wife, Tess Curry, pointed behind the sofa. “He’s in his safe spot. I couldn’t get him to eat anything.”
“Damn. I shouldn’t have left.”
“You needed a minute.” Tess squeezed his shoulder. “Anson and Hannah will be here in a few minutes, and my sweet girl will no doubt get him to come out or crawl in there with him.” She glanced at her watch. “I need to get something out of the oven.”
Luke adored Anson’s wife and five-year-old adopted daughter, Hannah. They’d become the family he needed. His boss—and friend—was an example of the kind of parent he wanted to be. Anson had taken to raising a child with Down syndrome like he’d been born to it. Every time he had the errant thought that Tess and Anson would make better parents for his nephew, guilt and shame sliced deep. He desperately wanted to be a good father. He could and would do this thing right. And he was lucky to have people he could ask for help.
Luke kneeled at the end of the sofa and peered into the space behind the furniture where his nephew went to escape the chaos of the world. Cody sat cross-legged, staring out the front windows as he rocked himself back and forth.
Luke’s shoulders wouldn’t fit in the narrow space, but he stuck his head in. “Hey, buddy. Are you hungry?”
The small boy glanced in his direction but didn’t meet his eyes. “Hot dog.”
“Want to help me get it and see what else looks good? There’s lots of food on the table.”
Cody shook his head.
“Okay. I’ll be back with your hot dog in a minute. And your friend Hannah will be here soon.”
Cody didn’t respond. Instead, he drummed his fingers on the windowsill, and stared out as if he was watching for someone.
Luke feared he was waiting for his mother to come up the walk. And it broke his heart.
