Free The Rancher And The RunawayBride: Part 2 by Susan Mallery

Tex wouldn’t answer that kind
     of question. He was too loyal a friend.
    “These mistakes,” she said cautiously. “They can make a man not believe anymore.”
    “True. Sometimes it’s hard to get back in the saddle…so to speak.” He took another
     sip of beer. “There was a cowboy Brady knew on the circuit. Donny was a hell of a
     bull rider. Made it to the finals every year, but he never won. One day he started
     drinking. Turns out he had a family history of alcoholism and the liquor got a hold
     of him. Within a year he deteriorated to the point where he was rarely sober. He rode
     drunk once and nearly killed himself.”
    A group of teenagers walked by. The young people nodded respectfully at Tex, then
     at her. She smiled in return.
    “What happened to Donny?”
    “When he’d recovered from his injuries, Brady hired him. There was only one rule.
     No liquor. Donny agreed. Then one day the craving got too strong. He went out into
     the herd drunk and started a stampede. He lost control of his horse, fell and died.”
     Tex frowned as if the memories crowded him. “He had no one. No family to mourn him.
     Just Brady. So Donny was buried in the Jones family plot, and Brady took care of his
     debts and his things. That’s what he does for people.”
    “If he’s busy taking care of everyone, he doesn’t have time to worry about being alone,”
     she said slowly. “Being the caretaker also allows him to keep his distance. He’s always
     the father figure.”
    Tex raised his eyebrows. “Could be.”
    Is that what Brady was doing to her? Always talking about their age difference as
     a way of separating himself from her? Then, what about their kiss? Somehow that night
     he hadn’t been able to hold the barriers in place. She’d gotten through. Yet as soon
     as he could, he put the relationship back on very specific terms, with him acting
     as mentor.
    “Why this interest in Brady?” Tex asked.
    “I don’t know,” she said. “I mean that. I just—” She shrugged. “I think he’s a great
     guy. And I’m not going to use him,” she added hastily. “Don’t worry about that.”
    “I don’t anymore.”
    She smiled. “Thank you. I’ve never met anyone like him before. Sometimes I think he’s
     too good to be true.”
    “He’s just a man, with faults like everyone else.”
    “And all of us to take care of. Who takes care of him?”
    “Good question,” Tex said. “Maybe you’d like to apply for the job.”

Chapter Ten
    For the first couple of hours of the dance Brady had managed to avoid torturing himself,
     but after the musicians’ second break, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He stood
     behind the lodge, supposedly enjoying the cool evening breeze, but in reality he stared
     in the open windows and watched Rita dance with other men.
    He told himself it didn’t matter who she danced with; it wasn’t his business. He ran
     through the “she’s just an employee” lecture, followed by a stern talk on how much
     younger she was. He even spent a couple of minutes telling himself he didn’t like
     dark curly hair and blue eyes. Then he stopped. He knew he had it bad if he was reduced
     to lying to himself about the fact that he found Rita attractive.
    She was, he acknowledged, very special. And not just her looks. He liked that she
     wasn’t afraid to work hard and that she was endlessly patient with Ziggy when his
     stuttering made it nearly impossible to complete a sentence. He enjoyed watching her
     with the cats, playing with them, talking to them, naming them when she thought he
     didn’t know. She’d made a place for herself at the ranch. Despite being the only female,
     she’d managed to defuse any potential trouble by acting like everyone’s sister. Even
     Tex had taken a shine to her.
    But there was no point in letting his hormones race into overdrive. No matter how
     well she fit in, she wasn’t staying. He’d always known that, and their conversation
     tonight