Heart of a Texan Read Free Page A

father had been shot. I heard someone ride up. I didn’t know who it was. I was crying so hard I could hardly see, but I do remember a blue shirt.”
    “Don’t say anything,” Boone advised. “Since he was one of the attackers, no one will care who shot him.”
    But Roberta did. As much as she hated what the ranchers had done, she couldn’t accept that she might have killed a man. She wasn’t a murderer. She didn’t believe in violence. “I need to talk to the doctor. I have to know what to do.”
    “Let me stay here with you.”
    “You know that’s impossible. Think of the gossip.”
    “You’re already staying alone with a man.”
    “One who’s unconscious. I don’t think people will start any rumors over that.” She noticed the sky was getting lighter. “It’ll soon be time to open your restaurant. People must have their breakfast.” Boone was a nice man who owned the most successful restaurant and most popular saloon in town. No woman in her right mind would have turned him down, yet Roberta had. She couldn’t marry a Texan when she intended to return to Virginia as soon as possible.
    “I’ll check on you tonight.”
    “That’s not necessary.” She turned away before he could attempt to convince her she was necessary to his happiness. Unfortunately, he wasn’t necessary for hers.
    She was reluctant to enter the house, but she had never been one to avoid bad news or difficult decisions. She was stuck with Nate Dolan, so she wanted to know how to make him well as quickly as she could. No one Boone could hire would look after him as conscientiously as she because she wanted him out of her house as soon as possible.
    She thought everyone had gone until she heard the doctor talking to someone. When she reached the bedroom, the doctor was bending over Nate’s body. He looked up when she stepped into the room.
    “Glad you’re back. Mrs. Pender gets queasy at the sight of blood. I need you to help me extract the bullet.”
    “What do you want me to do?” She hadn’t thought the sight of blood bothered her, but seeing it smeared over Nate’s chest made her stomach queasy. She resolutely fought the feeling. She expected she’d see more blood before she saw the last of Nate Dolan.
    She took the pan of water Mrs. Pender had been holding, dipped a cloth in it, and started to clean the blood from Nate’s chest. A little oozed out of the wound, but it didn’t take long before he was clean.
    Much against her will, she became aware of him in a way that was unsettling. Nate’s chest was completely smooth except for a little hair around his nipples, and a trail that disappeared at his waist. His broad shoulders tapered down to slim hips. Even in repose, it was easy to see the muscles that enabled him to wrestle full-grown steers to the ground. Like every Texas cowman, his face and neck were deeply tanned, but his chest was practically white. Nate wasn’t wearing any long underwear. In fact, he wasn’t wearing anything. The doctor had undressed him while she was gone.
    Knowing she was in the room with a naked man was something of a shock. It didn’t matter that he was unconscious. He was naked, he was a man, and he was in her house. He wasn’t her father, her husband, her brother, or a relative. He was a stranger, a man she knew mostly by reputation. She doubted the doctor would dress him before he left.
    “Pay attention.”
    The doctor’s probing had caused Nate’s wound to start bleeding again.
    “That’s better,” the doctor said when she’d wiped away the blood. “You’re not going to faint on me, are you?”
    “No.”
    “Then why are you looking so strange?”
    “She’s been through a terrible experience.” Roberta had forgotten Mrs. Pender was still in the room. “I’m surprised she’s still on her feet.”
    “I’m not. She’s stronger than she looks. Ah! I think I found it.” Seconds later the doctor extracted a bullet that he held up. He squinted at the blood-covered bit