by Diana Palmer
His hands were jammed deep in his trouser pockets. He was wearing a beige shirt with tan slacks, and he looked, as usual, out of sorts.
He glared at her from pale glittering gray eyes, assessing her, finding her wanting. His opinion of her long brown checked cotton dress with its white T-shirt underneath was less than flattering.
“Well, we can’t all afford Saks,” she said defensively.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Some of us can’t even afford a decent thrift shop, either, judging by appearances,” he returned.
She stood on the narrow path through the woods that led to the lake. “I wasn’t trespassing,” she blurted out, reddening. “Mamie owns up to that colored ribbon on the stake, there.” She pointed to the property line.
He cocked his head and stared at her. He hated her youth, her freshness, her lack of artifice. He hated her very innocence, because it was so obvious that it was unmistakable. His whole life had been one endless parade of perfumed, perfectly coifed women endlessly trying to get whatever they could out of him. Here was a stiff, upright little Puritan with a raised fist..
“You’re always alone,” he said absently.
“So are you,” she blurted out, and then bit her tongue at her own forwardness.
Broad shoulders lifted and fell. “I got tired of bouncing soufflés, so I sent her home,” he said coolly.
She frowned, searching his face. He showed his age in a way that many older men didn’t. He pushed himself too hard. She knew without asking that he never took vacations, never celebrated holidays, that he carried work home every night and stayed on the phone until he was finally weary enough to sleep. Business was his whole life. He might have women in his life, but their influence ended at the bedroom door. And nobody got close, ever.
“Can you cook?” he asked suddenly.
“Of course.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“My father has a little cattle ranch in Texas,” she said hesitantly. “My mother died when I was only eight. I had to learn to cook.”
“At the age of eight?” he asked, surprised.
She nodded. Suddenly she felt cold and wrapped her arms around her body. “I was taught that hard work drives out frivolous thoughts.”
He scowled. “Any brothers, sisters?”
She shook her head.
“Just you and the rancher.”
She nodded. “He wanted a boy,” she blurted out. “He said girls were useless.”
His hands, stuffed in his pockets, clenched. He was getting a picture he didn’t like of her life. He didn’t want to know anything about her. He found her distasteful, irritating. He should turn around and go back to his lake house.
“You had a little girl with you a few days ago,” he said, startling her. “She was lost.”
She smiled slowly, and it changed her. Those soft brown eyes almost glowed. “She belongs to a friend of Mamie’s, a young woman from Provence who’s over here with her husband on a business trip. They’re staying at a friend’s cabin. The little girl wandered over here, looking for Mamie.”
“Provence? France?”
“Yes.”
“And do you speak French, cowgirl?” he asked.
“Je ne parle pas trés bien, mais, oui,” she replied.
He cocked his head, and for a few seconds, his pale eyes were less hostile. “You studied it in high school, I suppose?”
“Yes. We had to take a foreign language. I already spoke Spanish, so French was something new.”
“Spanish?”
“My father had several cowboys who were from Mexico."Immigrants," he began, planning to mention that his grandfather was one. Their families were here before the first settlers made it to Texas,” she said, absently defending them.
His pale eyes narrowed. “I didn’t mean it that way. I was going to say that my grandfather was an immigrant." He cocked his head. “You don’t like even the intimation of prejudice, do you?”
She shifted on her feet. “They were like family to me,” she said. “My father was hard as nails. He wouldn’t even give a man time off to go to a funeral.” She shifted again. “He said work came first, family second.”
“Charming,” he said and it was pure sarcasm..
“So all the affection I ever had was from people who worked for him.” She smiled, reminiscing. “Dolores cooked for the bunkhouse crew. She taught me to cook and sew, and she bought me the first dress I ever owned.” Her face hardened. “My father threw it away. He said it was trashy, like Dolores. I said she was the least trashy person I knew and he…” She swallowed. “The next day, she was gone. Just like that.”
He moved a step closer. “You hesitated. What did your father do?”
She bit her lower lip. “He said I deserved it…”
“What did he do?”
“He drew back his fist and knocked me down,” she said, lowering her face in shame. “Dolores’s husband saw it through the window. He came in to protect me. He knocked my father down. So my father fired Dolores and him. Because of me.”
He didn’t move closer, but she felt the anger emanating from him. “He would have found another reason for doing it,” he said after a minute.
“He didn’t like them being friendly to me.” She sighed. “I felt so bad. They had kids who were in school with me, and the kids had to go to another school where Pablo found work. Dolores tried to write to me, but my father tore up the letter and burned it, so I couldn’t even see the return address.”
“You should have gone with them,” he said flatly.
She smiled sadly. “I tried to. He locked me in my room.” She looked up with soft, sad eyes. “Mamie reminds me of Dolores. She has a kind heart, too.”
There was an odd vibrating sound. She frowned, looking around.
He held up the cell phone he’d kept in his pocket. He glared at it, turned the vibrate function off and put it back in his pocket. “If I answer it, there’s a crisis I have to solve. If I don’t answer it, there will be two crises that cost me a small fortune because I didn’t answer it.”
“I don’t even own a cell phone,” she said absently. It was true - Mamie paid for hers.
How would she pay for one, he almost said out loud. But he didn’t want to hurt her. Life had done a good job of that, from what he’d heard.
He nodded toward the sky. “It will be dark soon,” he said. “You shouldn’t be out alone at night.”
She managed a smile. “That’s what Mamie says. I’m going in.”
She turned, a little reluctantly, because he wasn’t quite the ogre she thought he was.
All the way down the path, she felt his eyes on her. But he didn’t say another word.
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“Don’t make me draw my gun,” he warned, and took hold of her wrist in case she was about to try to get out the door.
But she didn’t try to escape.
A hoarse sob tore from her mouth, and Hailey eased away from him. Just in case she had another weapon back there, Lucas leaned over the seat and did a quick check around her. He frisked her, too. Since she was wearing a pair of loose green scrubs, a thin sweater and flip-flops, there weren’t many places she could conceal a weapon.
Still, after what’d happened three months ago, Lucas looked.
His hand brushed against the side of her breast, and she made a soft sound. Not the groan she’d made earlier. This one caused him to feel that tug deep within his body. But Lucas told
that tug to take a hike.
Their gazes connected. Not for long. Lucas finished the search and found nothing.
“Now keep talking,” he insisted. “Tell me what happened to you. Why did you go on the run, and why didn’t you tell anyone before now that you were out of the coma?”
She opened her mouth and got that deer-in-the headlights look. What she didn’t do was answer him.
“Enough of this,” he mumbled.
He took out his phone to call Mason and then the sheriff, but as he’d done with her earlier, Hailey took hold of his hand. “Please don’t tell your cousins. Not yet.”
Since most of his Ryland cousins were cops, that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. “Did you break the law? Is that why you were on the run?”
“No.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. Her head wasn’t the only thing shaking, though. She started to shiver, the cold and maybe the fear fi nally getting to her. “But I’m in trouble. God, Lucas, I’m in so much trouble.”
He was about to curse at her for stating the obvious, but something else went through her eyes.
Fear.
“It won’t take long for word to get out that I’m awake,” Hailey said, speaking barely louder than a whisper. “And he’ll find out.”
“He?” Lucas snapped.
Hailey’s voice cracked. “There’s a killer after me.”
Don’t miss
LUCAS by Delores Fossen,
available May 2017 wherever
Harlequin® Intrigue books and ebooks are sold.
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Copyright © 2017 by Delores Fossen
Sparks fly as opposites attract in bestselling phenomenon Diana Palmer’s most emotionally compelling romance to date!
Undaunted
The only man she wants is the one who’ll never forgive her…
Falling in love with her boss’s handsome millionaire neighbor was easy for young Kate Martin. Despite the vast differences between them, and a past that’s left Garrett Carlton reclusive and wary, Kate gambles her heart on a desire that rocks them both. But there’s something Garrett doesn’t know: Kate is responsible for an accident that changed his life forever.
Garrett lives by rules intended to protect both him and his vast wealth. Kate’s innocence is the only thing that’s ever broken through his cold reserve, but now his trust is shattered. By the time he realizes how much he stands to lose, it might take a miracle to win her back. But it’s a challenge he’ll gladly face for the woman and the family he needs more than his next breath…
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For sensual tales filled with romance and charm, don’t miss any of the titles in Diana Palmer’s breathtaking Long, Tall Texans series!
Defender
Untamed
Invincible
Protector
Courageous
Merciless
Dangerous
Heartless
Fearless
Available now!
“Palmer knows how to make the sparks fly!”
—Publishers Weekly
The Wyoming men are back!
In their quest for true love on the range, are these ranchers bold enough to open their hearts to the women under their protection? Don’t miss any of the stories in the captivating Wyoming Men series by New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Diana Palmer.
Wyoming Brave
Wyoming Rugged
Wyoming Strong
Wyoming Bold
Wyoming Fierce
Wyoming Tough
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And look out for the newest Wyoming Men tale:
Wyoming Winter
Available November 2017!
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If you enjoyed this story by New York Times bestselling author
DIANA PALMER
be sure to check out USA TODAY bestselling author
DELORES FOSSEN
and her fan-favorite The Lawman of Silver Creek mini-series sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!
GRAYSON
NATE
KADE
GAGE
MASON
JOSH
SAWYER
LANDON
HOLDEN
DRURY
LUCAS
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ISBN-13: 978-1-488-03217-2
Long, Tall Texans: Christopher
Copyright © 1999 by Diana Palmer
First published as Christopher by Silhouette Books in 1999
This edition published 2017
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