Cooper's Woman Read Free

you deal with on a weekly basis have no idea what I think of them.”
    Harold’s brows shot up so quickly that they nearly rocketed off his forehead. “My God, who are you? And what have you done with my daughter?”
    Alexa sat up a little straighter on the couch. She batted her blue eyes and smiled sweetly. “Why, Papa, whatever do you mean? I am the same devoted daughter who knows her place and happily remains within the narrow confines men have established for women.”
    She was very much afraid her father’s eyes were about to pop from their sockets. She had altered her persona so quickly that he couldn’t keep up. Well, too bad. It was high time Harold Quinn accepted that she had a mind of her own and ached to use it. It was also time that he realized she didn’t intend to live in his shadow, performing mundane social duties when her heart cried out for the chance to pursue a worthwhile cause.
    Harold slumped against the sofa and sighed audibly. “I can’t let you do this. I promised myself the day your mother left with Bethany that I would care for, and protect you better than she ever did. I also swore to see you well schooled and properly married. You don’t have to work a day in your life or struggle to attain envied social status. Furthermore, I will not purposely plant you in harm’s way and allow you to deal with investigators of questionable background and few scruples. Bounty hunters and detectives tend to bend the law to suit their purposes.”
    â€œPapa, I regret to inform you that the life you envision for me is in direct contrast to the one I crave for myself.” She stared intently at him as she took both of his hands in hers. “I want to do this for you. I need to do this for you. Who better to guard your back than the one who loves you most? The one who will be loyal and true-blue to the end.”
    Harold grimaced. “It better not come to that. I couldn’t live with myself.”
    â€œPlease, Papa. Let me prove to you that I am your daughter, not Mama’s. When the going got tough, she packed up and left. I’m still here and I’m strong and capable. I can hire an agent to contact an investigator, who will monitor Elliot’s activities, if that will relieve your concerns.”
    She could hire an agent if she were inclined, which she wasn’t. But she wasn’t about to tell her father that. She intended to be actively involved to prove her worth.
    â€œPretending an interest in Elliot will explain my extended visit to Kate Hampton’s family ranch,” she insisted.
    Harold stared at her for so long that she squirmed impatiently. She knew he was struggling to equate his previous expectations of her with the woman who was bearing down on him. When he started to pull his hands away, Alexa clamped on to his fingers and refused to let go.
    â€œI’ll be just fine,” she reassured him. “I can take care of myself. I certainly managed while I was away at school in Albuquerque. Why can’t you see that I’m grown up and champing at the bit to accept this challenge? You accept every challenge that comes your way. And I am the proverbial chip off the block that Mother left behind because I acted too much like you.”
    Finally Harold grinned and nodded his head. “I’m glad I don’t have to debate you at board meetings. You’d plow over me.”
    Alexa beamed at the rare compliment. Indeed, she lived for moments like this one.
    He shook his finger in her face. “But you must promise me that you’ll hire a go-between to meet with the detective. Most of them are glorified gunslingers, paladins and guns-for-hire. Not the sort of scoundrels a lady should associate with. I don’t want you endangered in any way so I’ll send Miguel Santos along as your chaperone and bodyguard.”
    Alexa didn’t want her childhood friend and playmate—not to mention her walking