A Cowgirl's Secret(13)
“Kolt will be fine.”
Barb crossed her arms. “Why don’t you take a leave of absence? A year if you need it. But don’t do anything rash. Get a short-term tenant in your loft and don’t officially give up Kolt’s slot at school.”
“I get all of your points, but the one thing you forgot to mention is the not-so-small matter of Kolt’s father. My son deserves to get to know the man.”
Sighing, Barb looked to the ceiling. “You’re being melodramatic—not to mention simplistic. You think just because this Luke character made you a cup of tea with honey that he’s going to magically forgive you for keeping his son from him for the past ten years?”
“I’d be lying if I said Luke’s not upset—understandably so. But I know he’ll forgive me, and—”
Barb smacked her palm on the desk. “Spit on the floor and call me Violet, you’re nuttier than an Okie fruitcake. This man will never again put his trust in you. Wait a minute… Please tell me you’re not harboring a secret reunion fantasy?”
“Of course, not. But I don’t want to think of him as an enemy.” Daisy glanced up to find Barb giving her the same, narrow-eyed glare she was legendary for sporting in courtroom battles. It was the same one that nine times out of ten preceded witnesses spilling their guts. “You can quit with the look, Barb. I’ve already told you everything.”
Her friend’s dubious expression said she wasn’t buying Daisy’s explanation. “Define everything….”
KOLT SMITH, FRESH OFF THE BUS from a week spent at Camp Redwood, couldn’t wait to get to his room. Camp was fun and all, but he’d missed his toys. Some of the guys in his cabin had said they were too old for toys and spent most of their summer chasing girls, but Kolt thought girls were gross—except for his mom. Oh—and Aunt Barb who always gave great birthday and Christmas presents.
“Slow down!” his mother yelled when he raced off the elevator toward their door.
“Can’t, Mom! I’ve gotta pee!”
She not only laughed, but ran alongside him. Very weird when she was usually so serious. Lots of times at night, when she didn’t know he was awake, he’d even heard her crying.
“Beat you,” she said, tagging the door.
“Yeah, but you cheated by shoving me out of the way.”
“I’m a lady,” she teased, “and I never shove.”
“Whatever.” Legs crossed, he hopped. “Just hurry and put in your key.”
“I told you to go at Pier Point.” Holding open the door, she flipped on the lights.
“Whoa.” Their usually cool loft was wrecked. “Did we get robbed?”
“No.” She ruffled his hair, usually a sign she was thinking of him as a little kid instead of an almost grown-up. “But as soon as you get out of the bathroom, I do have a surprise for you.”
“Is it good?” he asked on his way down the hall crowded with skyscraper piles of boxes.
“I think so. I hope you will, too.”
Kolt peed quickly. He was supposed to wash his hands, but since he wanted to know why there were so many boxes, he just brushed his hands on the fancy towels.
“Okay, what?” he asked, back in the living room.
His mom sucked in a lot of air and then blew it all out. “Well…while you were busy at camp, I was busy, too. Remember when you were little, and I bought you that giant stuffed buffalo and a tepee to play in? And we talked about Oklahoma and how it’s an important state?”
“Yeah?” Why did she look as if she was gonna cry? Man, he hated it when she did that. It made his insides feel all twisty.
“There’s a reason Oklahoma means more to us than the other states.” She wiped her hands on her jeans.
“I know my dad’s from there, and those people from the pictures you showed me, but I don’t even really know where Oklahoma is.”
“That’s about to change.” She put on a really spooky, big smile. “Honey, I know this is going to be hard for you, but we’re moving to Oklahoma, and—”
“What?” Kolt jumped up from the sofa, pitching one of his mom’s fancy pillows halfway across the room. “That’s stupid! My friend James moved to Chicago and I’ve never seen him again.”
“Honey, calm down and let me explain.”
“I don’t wanna hear anything. This is because of my stupid dad who I don’t even know, isn’t it? You’re ruining my life! I hate you!” Kolt didn’t really hate her, but on the way to his room, he couldn’t think of anything better to say. Moving was stupid and so was his mom.