The Cowboy's Lullaby
Jake Braddock was nursing a Monday–morning hangover and brewing a pot of coffee when the call came in, telling him that his stepmother, Desiree, had passed away.
"What do you mean she passed away?" he asked the hospital spokeswoman. Desiree hadn't even reached her fortieth birthday. "What happened?"
"Officially the cause of death was pneumonia. But it was cancer related."
Cancer?
Jake pulled out the black–and–chrome bar stool nearest to the phone line and took a seat, raking a hand through his hair. He cursed the throbbing in his head, which was now pounding like a son of a gun. "I didn't know she was sick," he muttered. Not really. Well, not that sick.
A week or so ago, when she'd returned from San Diego for the last time, Jake had taken a good hard look at her and noticed dark circles under her eyes and a wan compl ... read full excerpt from The Cowboy's Lullaby ebook