The Texan's Secret Son by Kit Hawthorne

Author:Kit Hawthorne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-04-14T15:21:57+00:00

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IT WAS A WONDERFUL, wacky, sprawling, action-packed, chaotic family meal, with a hundred things going on at the same time. Durango sitting with perfect border collie manners as Dalia balanced treats on his nose, then snapping them up when she gave him the go-ahead. Ignacio laughing his bubbly toddler belly laugh whenever Durango did this. Peri in her bouncy seat, making raspberry noises. Good-natured ribbing among all the siblings. Parents handing each other plates of food, and handing off children to one another as needed. Tony at the grill, expertly cooking. Logan looking up at him while clutching his empty plate, saying, “Ignacio’s dad, please may I have another hot dog?” Tony smiling down at him, saying, “You sure can! And you can call me Uncle Tony if you want.”

Nina watched it all, fascinated by the give-and-take, the sly teasing and affection. The Reyes boys had gone to school with the Ramirez kids, and they had a lot of memories in common.

“I’m all done,” Logan told Nina. “Can I go swing now?”

“May I please,” Nina said.

“May I please go swing now?”

“Yes, you may.”

Logan took off at a run.

“That’s an impressive swing set,” Nina said.

It was built on gigantic proportions, out of oversize lumber that still looked bright and new.

“It’s overbuilt,” Alex said.

“No, it’s not,” Tony said. “I wanted to be able to swing on it myself.”

When Ignacio saw where Logan was going, he wanted to go too. Dalia went with him.

“Aw, look at that,” Tony said. “He wants to play with the big kid.”

“You used to follow Marcos around the same way,” Renée said.

“Yeah, I remember,” Tony said. “I used to think he was so cool.”

“Used to?” said Marcos.

“You know what I mean. I had a real hero-worship thing going on back then. I remember how pumped I was the first time I got invited to one of your pasture parties.”

“Did I invite you?”

“Okay, maybe I just showed up. But you didn’t throw me out! I was so happy to be there.”

“Because you were in love with my sister. You were hoping she would be there.”

“Well, yeah, that was part of it. But she didn’t ever go to your pasture parties, except for that one time our senior year.”

“Which is the only reason I didn’t throw you out.”

Tony slapped Marcos’s shoulder. “Haha! Isn’t he great? Y’all should’ve seen him at our little heart-to-heart right before the wedding. He gave me that death glare of his, and he said, Just remember two things, Tony. I know how to kill a man, and I have access to over a thousand acres of family land. Then he laughed and laughed, and said, Haha! I’m just messing with you, man. And then he stopped laughing and his face went dead serious again, and he said, Except I’m not, and don’t you forget it. And don’t you ever, ever hurt my sister.”

“Still true,” Marcos said through a mouthful of food.

The camaraderie made Nina envious. She wished she’d had a brother who’d threatened her boyfriends, or a sister she could laugh with about it.

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