Free The Best Bride by Susan Mallery Page B

I didn’t want to move it. Travis, why are you acting like this? Why are you asking all these questions?”
    â€œSo you have no furniture, Mandy has very few toys. In fact, all your possessions can fit in the trunk of your car.” He wasn’t asking a question.
    Her heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to stand up and stare him in the eye, but the tension was making her side ache too much. She could only sit on the edge of the sofa and fight the fear.
    â€œTravis—”
    He cut her off with a wave of his hand. “I want the truth, Elizabeth. Did you kidnap Mandy?”

Chapter Five
    S he couldn’t have looked more stunned if he’d slapped her. All the color left her face and her lips parted, but she couldn’t—or didn’t—speak.
    Travis noted her reactions, the cynical lawman side of him wondering if she was the genuine article or a very good actress. The male part of him, that part of his being that had reacted to her presence in his life, wanted to believe. He wanted her to be just a single mom looking for something better for herself and her kid.
    It shouldn’t matter, he told himself. He wasn’t going to get involved. It would be better for his hormonal state if she was some kind of criminal. After his marriage had collapsed he’d acknowledged the futility of ignoring the truth. As long as he had Haynes blood flowing through his veins he didn’t have a prayer of having a decent long-lasting relationship. So he shouldn’t mind if everything aboutElizabeth Abbott-Proctor, or whatever her name was, turned out to be a lie.
    Except he knew it was too late. He couldn’t get involved with her, but that didn’t stop him from liking her. And Mandy. The kid had him wrapped around her finger. This morning—
    Can it, he ordered himself. He couldn’t afford to think about how great it had been to take Mandy to her first day of school. So what if her trusting smile had given him a lump in his throat? Marriage, a wife and kids weren’t for him. He didn’t have whatever mysterious something it took to be a decent husband and father. He had to focus on Elizabeth and the mystery in her life. He might not be good domestic material, but he was a damn fine sheriff.
    Elizabeth glanced up at him, then turned away. “It’s a very effective technique,” she said, her voice low and strained. “Glaring at people like that. I’m sure most of your prisoners crack under the pressure.”
    Only then did he realize how long he’d been staring at her. But he didn’t look away. “Just tell me the truth. I’d have to be blind not to see there’s some kind of mystery in your life.”
    She stood up slowly. Her mouth twisted, but he sensed it was from the strain on her incision rather than fear. When she was standing, she squared her shoulders and looked up at him. Emotional and physical pain darkened her wide eyes. All the color had faded from her cheeks, leaving her pale and drawn. He could see the beginning of tiny lines around her eyes.
    Her long hair fanned out over her shoulders. He wanted to touch that hair, touch her and pull her close. He wanted to ease her pain and promise it was going to be all right. But he couldn’t. He didn’t know how it was going to be.
    â€œI don’t know whether to be furious or grateful,” she said, and stepped away from him.
    He knew she was too weak from the surgery to run, but instinctively his body tensed as he prepared to grab her if she went too far. He needn’t have worried. She circled behind the sofa and leaned against the back.
    â€œThere’s no mystery, Travis,” she said softly. She studied the leather couch and traced a line of stitching back and forth with her finger. “I’m not and never have been married. Sam Proctor is Mandy’s father. Our relationship—” She hesitated, then drew in a deep breath and looked at him.