Free Queen by Sharon Sala Page A

swung back the covers and stomped toward the bath with resolve in every step. Let them come. He would be prepared.
    "I'm going into Snow Gap to stock up on groceries," he told the boys when he found them in the kitchen. "I don't want to be caught short when your grandparents arrive."
    The boys stared into their cereal. Their only response was to chew.
    "Anyone want to go with me?" Cody asked.
    All three shrugged, none willing to be a participant in preparing for the arrival of the unwelcome guests.
    "No big deal," he said quietly, understanding their reticence yet unsure how to cope with it. "Queen, make me a list. The trip won't take long."
    She walked to the cabinet and tore a sheet from the pad by the phone. "It's already done," she said. "I've been expecting you to think of this… any day now."
    He grinned. "Starting to read my mind?"
    She shuddered and turned away. Not if I can help it, she thought.
    He sighed. It was no use. Every time he tried to be friendly, she refused the gesture in no uncertain terms. He wondered why the hell he kept trying.
    "Like I said, I won't be long."
    Queen heard him leave as she busied herself with cleaning up the breakfast dishes and the boys went to make their beds and clean their room. It was obviously a long and steadfast rule that needed no reminders from her. Reluctant as she was to admit any kind of admiration for Cody Bonner, she was impressed by a man who made rules and stuck to them.
    A loud thump overhead told her that the boys were getting out of hand. She took a deep breath and made for the stairs, once again taking charge before the situation escalated out of control.
    "Hey!" she yelled as she burst into the room, surprising the three boys, who were in the midst of a free-for-all scuffle on the bedroom floor. "Let's play ball instead of staying cooped up in here."
    Her announcement stopped the wrestling match but brought renewed grumbles from Donny as he unwound himself from the clutches of his two younger brothers.
    "Don't have enough players," he muttered. "We're out here in the middle of nowhere. No malls, no movies, no nothing." He sat in the middle of the floor, his chin resting on bent knees, the picture of abject abandonment.
    Queen grinned. "Oh, but we do," she said. "Ever played one-eyed cat?"
    Three pairs of blue eyes looked up at her in interest.
    "What kind of game is that?" Will asked, curious in spite of himself. He'd been all ready to follow Donny's lead and complain.
    "If you're through cleaning your room, I'll show you," Queen said. "'Course…
you've got to face the fact that I'll probably beat all three of you at once.
After all, I'm a whole lot older and taller. You guys can't expect to keep up
with—"
    "Shoot! Come on, guys. Let's show her. No girl is gonna whip a Bonner, right?"
    Her taunt and Donny's cheer had the effect that she'd hoped for. For the moment, boredom, fighting, and unwelcome visitors were forgotten.
    They filed out of the house like goslings behind Mother Goose. In no time the game had been mapped out on the front lawn, with a pitcher, a catcher, and a player waiting to bat.
    Learning that the entire purpose of the game consisted of hitting the ball and then having to run to only one base before heading back home made it seem easy—too easy, until they tried outrunning Queen Houston's long legs. They hadn't taken into account her lean body or her speed… or her willingness to get as dirty as hell.
    Whatever it took, she went all out to beat them back to home base. She ate, wore, and spit dirt in an effort to retrieve the ball, then she would spin on a dime and break into a sprint in a heartbeat, determined to outrun the runner back to home base and tag him out, thereby earning Donny's undying admiration as a woman of merit.
    But what won their hearts forever was when Will and J.J. ran headlong into each other. Blood spurted from two different outlets—Will's nose and J.J.'s lip—and she didn't even flinch when she doctored their