Read A Home in Hill Country (Harlequin Heartwarming) for Free Online

arm of her dryer chair. “I do need to talk to you,though. I’ve tried and tried to reach Aunt Nora, but she doesn’t answer her phone, and I’m just afraid…” She glanced down at Cody. “Well, I just need to talk to her before she does anything…big.”
    RaeJean nodded decisively, snagged Kristin’s arm and hauled her forward. “Family first, I always say. You two sit here for just a minute. I need to do a fast comb-out, turn off that dryer, and I’ll be back.” She smiled at the newcomer. “Ruth, just set yourself down and have a cup of coffee. You’re a mite early, anyway.”
    RaeJean bustled away, checked each head of hair under a dryer, and scurried back to the woman sitting in one of the styling chairs.
    Kristin hovered at the entryway for a moment.
    “C’mon, Mom. Let’s go. ” Cody begged. “The first football practice starts in an hour!”
    “And it’s just on the edge of town. This won’t take long, I promise.” She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, then smothered a sigh as she sank into one of the pink plastic chairs in the tiny waiting area. Cody stubbornly stood at the door, his lower lip jutting out and his hands jammed in his pockets.
    The diminutive woman at the door strolled to the back of the shop and returned with two cups of coffee, handed one to Kristin and settled her thin frame into a chair in the corner. She tipped her head toward the ledge under the window facingthe street. “There’s cream and sugar packets over there in the pink basket.”
    “Thanks. Black is fine.”
    The woman chuckled. “You might change your mind. RaeJeans’s coffee could eat rust off a truck, but leastways it’s hot.”
    Kristin took in her pale skin and faded, silver-streaked blond hair. There was a sharp, observant glint in her eyes as she curved a bony hand around her coffee cup for a quick sip and studied Kristin over the rim. She seemed vaguely familiar, though Kristin couldn’t place her.
    The woman cocked her head, as if she, too, were trying to remember, then she sat back in her chair with a satisfied smile. “I’m Ruth Holden. My husband is the rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal.” She pursed her lips. “I’ll bet you’ve come here for the land giveaway.”
    Kristin laughed. “Good guess.”
    “I’ve been on the Home Free Committee since last fall, and we’ve already had some nice young families move into the area. I think I must’ve seen your photo in that first batch of applications. In fact, I’ll bet you’re—” she pursed her lips for a moment, apparently searching her memory “—Kristin and Cody Peters?”
    She leaned forward and offered her hand. “My husband had a light stroke last spring and washospitalized in Austin for several weeks, so I wasn’t at your interview.”
    “I hope he’s doing well.”
    “He’s a strong man, determined as can be. He was back in the pulpit within three weeks after coming home.” Ruth’s voice filled with pride. “For over forty years, nothing has mattered to him more than the moral welfare of his flock.”
    Settling back into her chair, Ruth took another sip of her coffee. “I want you to know how pleased the Committee is to see all of you young folks moving into town. Just this month, we brought in a husband and wife who are teachers, a young fellow with a new degree in nursing, and a family planning to raise goats and sheep on fifty acres west of town. You must be the physician’s assistant who’ll be running the local health clinic.”
    Despite occasional visits to Homestead to see her father over the years, the easy familiarity of the small town still caught Kristin unawares. In Dallas and Austin, she’d barely known her neighbors, and people had rarely stopped to chat.
    She nodded. “The land deal is a wonderful opportunity. We’re not actually both the Peters, though. Cody kept his father’s last name after my divorce, but last summer I finally decided to go back to my maiden name.