Free Wild Texas Rose by Christina Dodd Page A

suspected he would pull a gun on her. She thought he could kill her.
    My God, what kind of a man did she think he was? He’d been trying to do what was best for her for years, and she thought he’d murder her?
    He didn’t understand women. He didn’t understand them at all.
    Easing his hand away, he said, “My wallet’s in my pocket. You know that’s where I keep it, and you know I didn’t have any little guns hidden on me last night.” He tried out his patented, charm-their-bloomers-off grin. “Only keep my big gun in my pants.”
    Neither the grin nor the joke worked.
    In fact, her cold gaze got colder.
    Sweat broke out on his forehead. In his most soothing tone, he said, “I want to show you what’s in my wallet. If you’ll let me get it out, I’ll toss it to you and you’ll understand everything. I swear I won’t move while you examine it. I know you’re not feeling too kindly toward me right now, but try and remember that you said you trusted me not to hurt you. Not even when you thought I was a horse thief. Not that you don’t probably think I’m a horse thief now, but—”
    “Get the wallet.”
    “Yes, ma’am.” He’d been babbling, he realized, but how could he do anything less when faced with her totally unclothed figure — and that gun? “Right here, ma’am.” He managed to dig his wallet out of the tight pocket and toss it toward her. It landed close and skidded right to her foot, just the way he planned it.
    Thank God his aim hadn’t deserted him, too.
    Tucking the carbine under her arm, keeping a careful eye on him, she scooped up the wallet. She opened it.
    He knew what she saw. Nestled in the worn brown leather was a five-star silver badge, stamped with the imprint of a five-peso Mexican coin — the badge of the Texas Rangers.
    The Texas Rangers. A band of law enforcers unique to Texas and the wild frontier.
    That badge told Rose everything she needed to know about him … although he half expected her to accuse him of stealing it.
    In fact, he saw suspicion swoop over her features, but her mind grasped the facts before she could voice them. “You’re the Ranger I sent for.”
    He almost collapsed with relief. Everything would be all right now. She’d welcome him with open arms now. She’d understand the sacrifices he’d made for her sake now. “Yes, ma’am, and I was going to get on that horse and go do my job. I wasn’t abandoning you. I couldn’t do that.” He lowered his voice into a sexy growl. “Not after last night.”
    But she didn’t even notice. She was still staring at the star. “You’ve been a Ranger for a long time.”
    “Since I got out of prison in ‘74.”
    The carbine drooped. “Are there a lot of shady characters in the Rangers?”
    He didn’t much like the tone of her voice. “A few. If a man is good at rustling, it stands to reason he’d be good at catching rustlers.”
    “Is that why you joined?”
    He didn’t like the way she was staring at the badge, either, or the way she wouldn’t look at him. “Major John B. Jones was my captain. He met me while I was serving my time, and he offered me an early out if I’d throw in with his troop to fight the Indians.”
    Carefully, she shut the wallet. “So you did, of course.”
    Had she been waiting for him? Had she expected him to return after his prison term was over? He’d come back seven years ago — she hadn’t known it, but he had.
    He remembered the way she had looked. Even from a distance, he had seen too much for his battered heart. Her hair had been flying, her face had been lit by a smile. She had looked content, happy.
    He remembered the way he had felt then. Cold, alone, almost … betrayed.
    God knew she hadn’t sent him a message through his mother. According to his mother, Rose could barely look her in the eye when she saw her, and she had made a point of avoiding everyone in the Maxwell family. She’d wanted nothing more than to forget him, and she’d probably tried.