An Unlikely Lady Read Free Page A

makin’s of a true Lothario.”
    Warmth flooded Honesty’s cheeks. “If your tastes run toward the scrawny desperado type.”
    â€œYou just ain’t looking at all the possibilities.” Rose opened the door to the cast iron stove and started shoving chunks of pine into its mouth.
    Possibilities? Honesty caught sight of him through the window, leading a muscled brown horse across the back yard. Good gravy, he looked as if he’d been dragged through a riverbed and hung out to dry. It wouldn’t surprise her if his face was plastered on wanted posters from here to Mexico. All those whiskers,that long, matted hair . . . hadn’t she heard somewhere that long hair often hid the cropped upper ear marking a horse thief?
    Yet despite his scruffy appearance, Honesty couldn’t deny that there was something about the man that sent her heart racing. Maybe it was the way he walked, with the straight-shouldered confidence of one at ease with himself and the rest of the world. Or maybe it was the aura of unleashed power and mystery he exuded.
    Who in God’s green pastures was he? And what was he doing in Last Hope?
    â€œFetch me a kettle out of the pantry, will ya, hon?”
    Once again snapped to the present, Honesty did as Rose bade and brought a large copper cooking kettle from the pantry, as well as a pair of banded wooden buckets to haul bath water. Thanks to Rose’s Uncle Joe, they weren’t forced to heat water over the stove the way they used to. He’d rigged up a cistern out back that sat upon a constant flame, so when visitors like Mr. Jones showed up, they wouldn’t have long to wait.
    After filling the buckets she returned to the kitchen, where Rose was chopping a slab of beef into pieces. “So what does he want?” Honesty asked, hoping the woman read nothing more into the question than idle curiosity. Shewished she could have heard the conversation between the two of them, but the stranger’s voice had been too low pitched to make eavesdropping possible.
    â€œSame thing as every other man.” Rose shrugged. “Good whiskey, a hot bath, a soft bed, and a willing woman to share it with.”
    She should have guessed, Honesty thought with a grimace. Why should he be different from nearly every other man she’d encountered? “He didn’t have to make a trip all the way out here for that.”
    â€œHe didn’t. Apparently his horse went lame.”
    â€œDo you believe him?”
    â€œDon’t see why I shouldn’t. No one comes to Last Hope willingly anymore.”
    That was an understatement. Even she wouldn’t be here if fate hadn’t struck such a cruel blow. But when a girl found herself dodging predators left and right, the best place to hide was the last place anyone would look. A nearly deserted town in the Rocky Mountain foothills worked quite nicely.
    â€œThat water should be plenty hot, hon,” Rose remarked, steering Honesty’s thoughts back to the subject at hand. “So go on and take him his bath while I throw a stew on for supper.”
    A sudden flurry of panic erupted in Honesty’s middle at the idea of being in the sameroom with the stranger. “How about if I cook the stew and you take him his bath?”
    Rose’s brows dipped into a V; her face softened in concern. “Honesty, are you afraid of him?”
    â€œOf course not!” She wasn’t afraid of any man. Cautious, yes. And why not? Her father had been a master swindler, and in the three months since his death, she’d found herself pursued relentlessly by every mark he’d ever swindled. Who wouldn’t be wary after that? “I just can’t shake the feeling that his showing up here isn’t as innocent as he wants us to believe.”
    â€œThat may be true, but his reasons aren’t any of our concern. He’s the first customer to walk through that door in weeks, and as long as