Free Heart of Texas Volume One by Debbie Macomber

blinked. “Where were you?”
    â€œI stopped off at Cal Patterson’s to make a phone call.”
    â€œYou couldn’t do it here?”
    â€œNo. Cal’s got the names and phone numbers of all the district members in the Cattlemen’s Association.” He waited until the information sank in.
    â€œYou tried to find out about Laredo,” she said, and her voice dropped to a whisper.
    â€œSavannah, listen to me. It gives me no joy to tell you this, but your precious Laredo Smith was fired from his last job.”
    She remained outwardly calm, but Grady noticed her clenched hands in her lap. “I talked to Earl Chesterton myself,” he continued. “Smith was fired and for a damn good reason.” If that didn’t convince her of the truth about this man, nothing would.
    A moment of shocked silence followed, or what he mistook for shock. To his amazement, Savannah slowly smiled. “Oh, Grady, how worried you must have been, but there was no need. I already knew all about that.”

CHAPTER 4
    G RADY WASN’T LOOKING FORWARD to talking to Frank Hennessey, but he’d delayed his visit to the sheriff long enough. His fingers tightened on the steering wheel as he drove toward town, and his thoughts darkened with his fears. It bothered him that his sensible intelligent sister had been taken in by a lowlife like Smith.
    One thing Grady couldn’t tolerate was a thief. As far as he was concerned, stealing what belonged to another was about as low as a man could go. His feelings, no doubt, were influenced by what Richard had done. From the time his younger brother was an infant, he’d been spoiled and coddled by their parents. Savannah was guilty of catering to him, as well— along with everyone else. Even in high school, when Richard should have been maturing and accepting adult responsibilities, he’d made it an art form to pawn off his obligations on others. From early childhood Richard had charmed his way through life. How that boy could talk, Grady recalled cynically. He’d often watched in astonishment as Richard, so glib and smooth, managed to get out of one scrape after another. Nothing had been his fault. Someone else was always to blame. His brother had continually found ways to shift the responsibility for his failures and problems onto other people.
    Richard was a charmer, a ladies’ man and a smooth talker, but Grady had never suspected his brother was a thief. Then he’d learned the truth. After the shock of the theft had worn off, Grady had been left to face the reality of their dire financial circumstances. He’d even blamed himself. He should never have taken Richard to the Brewster bank or let him know where he kept the key to the safe-deposit box. But Grady had trusted him. And learned the hard way that it had been a mistake.
    He wasn’t willing to make a second mistake, especially not where his sister was concerned. Savannah was all the family he had left, and he wasn’t going to lose her.
    In the beginning Grady’s opinion of this outsider had been tainted by Savannah’s attitude. For the first time in more years than he could remember, she’d challenged his judgment. So Grady’s natural inclination was to dislike the man she’d favored against his advice. But he had tolerated Laredo Smith’s presence. He’d even taken some good-natured ribbing from Wiley and Caroline Daniels about being unreasonable. Given time, he might have put the drifter on the payroll himself. As Wiley and Savannah had reminded him often enough, they needed extra help.
    He wouldn’t hire Smith now, though. Not after what he’d learned. No way in hell would he offer a job to a known thief.
    Grady had discovered everything he needed to know about Laredo Smith in his short conversation with Earl Chesterton. He wanted Smith off his land as soon as possible and as far way from Savannah as could be arranged. Frank would