Page 21 of Cowboy's Last Stand
“What about your folks?”
“I was raised by my grandparents,” she said.“My grandma is still alive.She lives in a nursing home on the other side of town.”
“What happened to your parents?”
She squinted into the distance.“My mom was eighteen when she had me.She was Miss Texas, if you can believe that.”
He gave her an appreciative glance.“I can.”
“The same year I was born, she was offered a modeling contract.It was too big of an opportunity to pass up.”Her lips twisted into a weak smile.“She got a lot of international work, jet-setting from one location to another.She didn’t come home often.She ended up marrying a photographer and moving to New York.”
“Are you still in contact with her?”
“Yes.She sends gifts on Marcus’s birthday.”
“What about your father?Was he around?”
“He might have been,” she said ruefully, “if my mother had known his last name.He was a soldier she had a fling with.She wasn’t sure how to locate him.I tracked him down on my own when I was a teenager.”
“How did he react to the news?”
“Pretty well, under the circumstances.He was happy to meet me.”
“Where does he live?”
“Chicago.We visit him every Christmas.”
“You haven’t thought about moving there?”
“No.I like it here.”
“Is your husband’s family here?”
Natalie nodded.“His aunt and uncle, and some cousins.His parents are in Mexico.”
Jason watched as Marcus found a friend on the slide.
“What about you?”she asked.
“What about me?”
“What’s the story with your family?”
“I’m an only child,” he said after a pause.“My dad still lives in Missoula with my stepmother.”
“Where is your mother?”
He touched the tattoo on his triceps.Now she could see the lettering: In Loving Memory.“She died ten years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
He didn’t say anything more, so she didn’t press.She knew from experience how difficult it was to speak about the death of a loved one, especially if the loss was sudden or untimely.His mother had died young.
“Is your stepmother nice?”she asked.
“She is.”
“But?”
