High Country Holiday by Kaye Glynna

Author:Kaye, Glynna [Kaye, Glynna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Itzy, Kickass.so
ISBN: 9781460342374
Amazon: B00K9ZWJGE
Publisher: Love Inspired
Published: 2014-11-01T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

With a sense of relief, Cody flipped the light switch. Then he stepped farther into the shed, cautiously looking in the direction where Ma kept pinecones sealed in thirty-nine-gallon garbage bags. There, atop overstuffed plastic bags where he must have fallen, a boy defensively clutched a weathered backpack to his chest.

Cody’s breath caught as he looked down into a mirror image of who he’d been as a five-year-old. The same shape of face, raven-dark hair and black-brown eyes filled with suspicion.

“Hey, there, young fella,” Cody said softly, not wanting to further frighten the boy. “Who are you? And what are you doing here?”

For a long moment, their eyes locked and Cody got the distinct impression this kid had seen more than his share of the less-than-pleasant side of life, that he had every reason to be leery of Cody’s sudden appearance in the doorway.

Oblivious of the pinecones being crushed under his weight, the boy clambered to his feet and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Then his chin jutted defiantly, his words tinged with a Texas accent. “I’m Deron Hawk. D-E-R-O-N. Who are you and what are you doing here?”

A Hawk.

Cody glanced to where Paris had joined him, reading immediately from her shocked expression that she’d seen the resemblance, too. The kid could be Cody’s...

The boy stared unflinchingly from Cody to Paris and back again, but with a sinking feeling Cody recognized a too-familiar bravado that sent him hurtling back in time to his own childhood. He dismissed the boy’s challenge for what it was. The kid was scared.

But from the looks of him, he was without a doubt a Hawk. Likely one of his brother’s kids.

“I’m Cody. Cody Hawk. And this is Paris Perslow.” He squatted to the same level as the boy and held out his hand for an introductory shake—which the glaring child didn’t take him up on.

Cody glanced up at Paris, then back at the boy. “Well, Deron, can you tell us your dad’s name?”

For a moment he thought the youngster wouldn’t respond and he could almost sense Paris holding her breath. Did she really think the kid might be his? But apparently Deron was digesting Cody’s words for, after a long pause, he thrust out an ice-cold hand for a man-to-man shake.

Where were the kid’s gloves? His hat? The too-large jacket didn’t look to be more than a layer of denim with a flannel lining and his sockless feet were thrust into well-worn tennis shoes.

“My dad is Carson Hawk and I’m here to see my granddad.” The boy’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t look like a granddad.”

Cody sensed Paris’s smile.

“No, I’m not your granddad. I’m your dad’s brother. Your uncle.”

A flicker of uncertainty broke through the facade of the boy’s bluster. “I’m supposed to stay with my granddad.”

Stay? Did Ma know about this? In the midst of Dad’s illness, had she forgotten to tell him of the anticipated arrival of her step-grandson, Cody’s nephew?

Doubtful.

“Your grandfather...isn’t here right now.” No need to tell about the hospitalization.

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