Playing for Keeps (Texas Scoundrels) Read Online Free

is.”
    She crossed the room to sit beside him on the sofa. Almost afraid that he’d pull away from her, she reached for his hands. They were strong, even for a boy so young, but she squeezed them between her own anyway. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “How will knowing who my father is hurt me?” he asked, his voice a hoarse whisper as he fought back more tears.
    He didn’t know what he was asking. He didn’t understand that his knowing the truth scared the life out of her. “Austin, leave it alone. Please.”  
    He jerked away and stood. “No.” He stepped around the square table and stopped in the center of the large family room. “Who is he?” he demanded. “Do you know him? Have you met him?”
    “No, I haven’t.”
    “Tell me. Please, Mom.”
    “Austin, I can’t do that.”
    He glared at her, and she felt his anger as if it were a tangible thing. Gone was the sweet boy she loved. He’d been replaced by a young man who could end up hating her if she didn’t make the right decision.
    “You can. You just won’t,” he said. “I’m not a baby.”
    She stood and came to stand in front of him, taking hold of his shoulders. “And you’re not all grown up yet, either. I don’t think—”
    He shrugged away from her. “You don’t want to tell me cuz you’re afraid I’ll want to leave you and go with him.”
    She sucked in a sharp breath at his accusation, at the direct hit to her heart. He was only thirteen. How could he know losing him was her greatest fear? What if Maitland wasn’t really the creep the press made him out to be, but the gentle caring man her sister had loved? What if he wanted to take Austin away from her? She had adoption papers, she had a birth certificate that said “father unknown,” but she also had a letter from her sister that told her the truth. And she had a son who could hate her if she kept that truth from him.
    Austin took a tentative step toward her. “I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t mean it.”
    She held up a hand to stop him. “No, you’re right. That is something that I’m afraid of. But that’s not why I don’t want to tell you.”
    “Then why?”
    “He’s not a very nice person.”
    “But you said you don’t know him.”
    “I know of him.”
    Confusion filled his dark eyes. “I don’t understand.”  
    She pushed a lock of thick, dark hair off his forehead and kissed his cheek. “I love you, Austin. Very much.”
    “I know, Mom. I’m sorry.”
    “It’s okay, honey.” They’d been through so much together. They would weather this dust storm, as well. She hoped.
    She took his hand and led him upstairs, stopping outside his bedroom door. “You really want to know who he is?”
    He was quiet for a moment, as if weighing the consequences to the knowledge she was so reluctant to impart. “Yeah, I want to know.”
    She opened the door and stepped inside. A twin bed he’d just about outgrown was covered with a black and red Texas Wranglers comforter, school books and a sweatshirt were scattered over the top. On the wall above his bookcase was a poster of Jed Maitland in full gear, arm drawn back, ready to send the ball sailing across the field into the hands of a waiting receiver. The caption read Maitland the Maniac, Four Thousand Yards to Glory . Resting atop the bookcase was a series of framed sports magazine covers. Austin’s prized Jed Maitland collection.  
    “Look around you, Austin.”
    His dark brows pulled together in a frown as he glanced around his room. “I don’t get it.”
    She drew in a deep breath, then lifted one of the frames from the bookcase and handed it to him. “ This is your father.”
    Austin stared at the Sports Illustrated cover. Disbelief danced across his features, chased by awe as he traced his finger over the protective glass.
    “No way,” he said. “Jed Maitland is my dad?”
    “I’m afraid so.” She moved to the bed, dodging his basketball uniform and a pair of grungy sneakers with dirty socks