Diane R. Jewkes Read Free Page A

chuckle caused her to jerk up her head. Face flaming with embarrassment; she realized the man had caught her looking him up and down and behaving like some common strumpet. Muttering an apology, she stood and hurried from her seat, exiting to the next car.
    • • •
    “Well, Hawke,” laughed the man next to him. “It looks like ye’ve done it again. Set another wee lassie’s heart to pittering. I’d think you would tire of the long looks and breathy sighs that have accompanied us on this interminably long journey.”
    “You’ve had more looks and propositions than me, my friend,” Hawke smiled. “In fact, I seem to remember twin sisters on the boat over here … . ”
    “Enough … enough,” laughed Alec MacCairn. “You win. I guess we’ve both had our share of attention from the ladies. But you, my friend, didn’t seem too interested in partaking of any offers. Not your usual style.”
    No, the ladies loved them both, and they both enjoyed pleasing the ladies. Hawke knew his reserve seemed to attract and intrigue women, not scare them off, just as much as Alec’s roguish charm drew them like bees to honey.
    “Well, I figured you were spreading your attentions around enough for both of us, Alec.”
    The two had been boyhood friends, growing up on adjoining estates in Scotland. They had gone through university together and spent their military service in India in the same regiment. Now his friend had agreed to accompany him to the American West for no other reason than the chance at a possible adventure.
    “You know,” said Alec seriously, the smile gone from his lips. “I still don’t understand what buying a partnership in a farm in this godforsaken wilderness has to do with your reason for coming out here.”
    “I believe they call them ranches out here. And it has nothing to do with my other business. Buying into the Jonston ranch … the Ladder J is purely a business decision. Coming out here to track down that worthless jackal is purely personal.”
    Hawke’s anger flared at the memory. Controlling the urge to put his fist through something, he felt the muscle in his jaw jump. When he had returned from service in India, he had learned Geoffrey Tompkins, a neighbor, had somehow hurt his younger sister, Bethany, causing her to go into a deep depression. When he went to confront Geoffrey, he found that Geoffrey’s father — the coward — had sent his son away to avoid scandal. Geoffrey’s brother, in an attempt to protect him from Hawke’s wrath, had concocted some absurd story about Bethany and Tompkins being in love, saying when his brother had asked her to run away with him, she had gone crazy. It was too outlandish to believe.
    It had broken his heart to see his once-vibrant sister lock herself in her room and refuse to leave the house. She never smiled anymore. She seemed caught in the grip of a black demon slowly draining her life away.
    “Just a coincidence,” he said, pushing the painful memories back. “The detectives tracking Tompkins found out he headed toward the same area this ranch is in. I wouldn’t care if he’s hundreds of miles from the ranch … he’s in this part of the world, and I’m going to find him.”
    He’d spent almost a year and a small fortune finding Tompkins’ whereabouts. It had been during this time the investment opportunity in the New Mexico Territory had appeared.
    “So, this ranch will be just a place for you to stay while you search … am I right?” Alec had also been shocked by what had happened to Bethany. “This venture of yours will give you someplace to search from, and a way to expend energy while you wait. It begins to make sense to me.”
    Taking a deep breath, Hawke forced himself back in control. He had always been the calm one, the logical one. He wasn’t about to change now.
    “In a way, but I am serious about my interest in the American agricultural systems. I see an opportunity to not only make changes in England and