Fated An Alpha Male Romance - K. Alex Walker Page 0,81
sure that my mother looked markedly different from my six-year old image of her, but I had nothing else to go on.
“Um, well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen her, but she had the same color hair as I do. Brown eyes. Around your height.”
Her forehead wrinkled even more as she squinted at me. She and the lab continued with their game of tug-of-war until it eventually gave in and rested on its haunches. A pink freckled tongue hung out the side of its mouth and I couldn’t tell if it was panting from the struggle or the overbearing heat.
“You a doctor?” she suddenly asked.
“I am,” I replied, cautious. “Why?”
“Oh, then you must be Annie’s son.”
I stepped close to the fence. “You knew her?”
“Yeah. She used to live here with a fella named Carl. He owns the repair shop that fixed up my husband’s old truck so it runs like new.”
“Do you know where she moved to?”
She nodded. “Yeah. She and Carl ended up hitting it off and he bought her a house out in Plant City. Nice guy. I ran into her at the Sam’s Club a few weeks back and we talked for a bit.”
“How did you know I was a doctor?” I asked.
“Son, that woman talks about you all the time.” For the first time, a smile broke out on her face. “Did you just give some kind of presentation in California?”
A strong urge to grin tugged at my face. “Yes.”
“She told me all about you,” she went on. “Now, I don’t know her exact address, but I have her number. You want it?”
I didn’t hesitate. “Yes ma’am.”
She reached into a pocket on the front of her dress and handed me her phone. “I don’t know how to use this thing that good, but if you look under my phone numbers, she’s in there as Annie Stewart.”
I scrolled through the list and jotted down the number. “She still goes by Stewart?”
“Far as I know.”
I handed the phone back to her. “Thank you for all your help. I’m Ethan, by the way.”
“Sandra. Tell Annie I said hi and that her boy grew up to be hot stuff.”
I laughed, waved, and practically jogged back to the rental to call the number. I’d barely put the car into gear before the phone was ringing through the Bluetooth system. A gruff male voice picked up.
“Hi, is this Carl?” I greeted.
“That’s me,” he answered. “You got a car you need tunin’ up?”
“Oh, no sir. I’m looking for Annie. My name is Ethan Stewart.”
Silence crackled between the connection as I turned down the street and headed back towards the main road.
“You said Ethan?” he asked.
“Yes sir. Sandra gave me this number? Sandra with the black Labrador retriever? She said that you fixed her husband’s car up like new.”
“Yeah, I know Sandra.” He cleared his throat. “But, you said your name is Ethan? Like, Annie’s son, Ethan?”
“Yes sir. My grandfather recently gave me a letter she sent so I went to the address she gave me in the letter. I’m assuming that’s the old house you two shared?”
“Yes…yes it is.” He paused. “Son, where are you now? Come straight here, okay? If you’re looking for Annie, you come straight here.”
He gave me the address and I plugged it into the GPS. With a tight grip on the steering wheel, I pulled in a deep breath and followed the commands.
The house it led me to was situated on a beautiful, expansive piece of land that looked as though it spawned several acres. It had always been a dream of my mother’s to live on a farm, which was one of the only pieces of my grandfather that had rubbed off on her. She would always say that she could envision me running around the yard until I got tired, and then we would go inside where she “hoped” a good man would be waiting for her.
The wrought-iron gated entrance stood open and I drove down a dirt path up to the side of the house. The house itself wasn’t massive, but it was made of red brick and filled with charm. Potted flowers decorated the front porch and palm trees loomed over the roof.
I stopped the car and slowly got out. My knees wavered slightly. My arms suddenly felt too large for my shirt and the breakfast in my stomach became extremely noticeable. The front door opened and Carl, I assumed, stepped out. He motioned inside the house and then turned towards the person