Free Miranda And The Ranch Hand (Domestic Discipline Romance) by Coleen Singer Page B

don’t stop to think about consequences, especially to yourself. You just plunge in headfirst without ever checking how deep the water is. If I went into every Ranger investigation with the same recklessness, I’d have been killed a hundred times by now.”
    “And brat, I hate to say it, but ever since you were a kid, there has only been one way to get your attention. No amount of lecturing, scolding or threatening has ever gotten through that thick hide of yours. Only the direct approach across my knee seems to make an impression!”
    Even Mandy couldn’t argue with that—she knew it was true. “Actually, it’s that huge, hard left hand of yours that makes the impression—usually several of them! All right, I get the message—I swear, I’ll be more careful and think before I act. But really, Marcus, don’t you think getting shot and being cooped up here is punishment enough?” she asked hopefully.
    “No!” Marcus, David and Dylan all said at the same time.
    Mandy sighed heavily. “Just my luck, to be loved by three overbearing, dominant cowboys who live by the law of the hand—against my poor bottom!”
    It was another two weeks before the doctor pronounced Miranda’s wounds healed enough that there was no more danger of reopening, bleeding or infection. Her pain was pretty much gone, and she was getting her strength back, even though true to her brother’s word, she wasn’t allowed out of her bedroom for the entire two weeks. And this time she didn’t have Dylan to constantly keep her company.
    Dylan spent just about every day in Austin helping to set-up the new headquarters for the Rangers Frontier Battalion branch. All the calls for assistance from local sheriffs would now come through the Austin office. And while border security was not the duty of their office, all the Rangers talked about the tug of war between those who wanted Texas to break away again as an independent republic and those who supported the reinstatement in the United States after secession to the Confederacy during the war. Dylan knew most of the ranchers like the Rollins favored reinstatement. But there were strong political forces in Austin pushing for independence.
    One of the things the independence proponents preached all the time was security—and that put the Rangers right in the middle of the debate because they were the only real statewide law enforcement in Texas. Dylan wondered, not for the first time, if the independence supporters could have been behind the animal slaughter at the ranches outside Austin. It would make a strong point in the legislature if the Rangers couldn’t even keep the ranches right around the capitol city safe.
    There hadn’t been any more attacks since Dylan and his partners stopped the renegades at the Double-R, but Dylan just had a feeling things weren’t over yet. Unfortunately his instincts were usually right. Dylan headed back to the Double-R that night thinking about the upcoming fall cattle drive to market. Many of the ranches went together on that drive—leaving some wide-open targets. Finally Dylan decided to put his grim thoughts aside and concentrate on Miranda—she was freed from her bedroom confinement tonight and he knew she’d be ready to celebrate.
    The day Miranda was released from what she referred to as her ruffles and roses jail cell, she couldn’t wait to get back outside and spent the whole day walking around the house and sitting on the porch. She helped Jenna with dinner and was delighted to join her brothers and Dylan at the dinner table.
    But after dinner Marcus ended the celebratory mood when he addressed Miranda in his quiet but uncompromising voice. “Mandy, I want you to go to your room, get ready for bed and wait for me. We have some unfinished business.”
    Miranda’s face fell—her bright smile disintegrated but threatened tears made her eyes appear overly bright, giving her the look of a vulnerable child. In a near whisper she pleaded, “Please Marcus,