The Mistaken Heiress by Shelba Shelton Nivens

Author:Shelba Shelton Nivens [Nivens, Shelba Shelton]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin Australia
Published: 2014-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Kate held her breath as Paul Jr. walked to the free-throw line.

Placing the toes of his sneakers at the line, he glanced over his shoulder at the bleachers.

Kate held up a thumb and forefinger, forming the letter O. She mouthed, Okay.

Paul Jr. nodded. A smile spread across his face. He turned and aimed.

Kate held her breath again as the ball ran around the rim. Then she jumped to her feet. “It went in! It went in! Way to go, Pauley.”

She clapped and cheered with the crowd as they gave Paul Jr.’s winning shot a standing ovation.

Boys in gym shorts swarmed the court. The crowd roared as two players hoisted Paul Jr. onto their shoulders. Smiling, he waved proudly while his teammates carried him around the court.

Afterward, he insisted Kate go with him, his coach, team members and team parents to celebrate with burgers and cokes. He introduced her as “my good friend Kate.”

She sat crammed into a booth with several of the boys while they ate burgers.

“You oughta taste the chocolate cakes Kate bakes.” Pauley’s cheeks puffed out full of burger as he spoke.

The boy called Skeeter rubbed his stomach. “Yum, my favorite.”

“Maybe she’ll make one and let me bring a piece to school to share sometime.” Pauley slanted a look at Kate. “Reckon you could, Kate?”

Kate smiled. “I’ll sure try.” She would love adding a little more joy to the boy’s life. Of course, she would have to get his father’s okay first.

Kate left the group in the McDonald’s parking lot with boys and parents calling goodbye and inviting her back for their next game. She hummed a peppy little tune as she drove toward the old house, sun shining through her windshield.

Then her cell phone rang.

* * *

Steve hurried to stay in step with Kate as she kicked her way through fallen leaves.

“I don’t know what made Mother decide to come take me shopping. She knows we never agree on what I wear. She always picks something skimpy or slinky that would never look good on someone as big as me.”

Steve stopped walking, cocked his head to one side, grinning at her.

She stopped, too. “What?”

“You’re not so big.”

“Next to you, I’m not. But beside my sister and cousins, even my mother, I am.” She started walking again.

He switched the ax from his right shoulder to his left and grabbed her arm. “Slow down, Kate. We have plenty of time. If your mom was just leaving Huntsville when she called, we don’t have to be in a rush to get the tree. We can trim it later.”

She stopped walking and looked at him. Their warm breath came out like little puffs of smoke in the frigid air.

“Look around you. What do you see?”

She glanced around them and shrugged. “Trees.”

“Remember how you love trees? Remember how you love listening to the birds? And watching squirrels play?” He dropped her arm to gesture around them. “And look at this glorious sunshine. It came out today just for us. So we could go searching for a Christmas tree.

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