Heart of Texas Volume One Read Free Page A

don’t want an apology. I want to know where you were all afternoon.” His eyes narrowed on the man beside her. “And I have a feeling I’m not going to like the answer.”
    It mortified her to have her brother yell at her like this in front of Laredo. “Grady,” she said urgently, “perhaps we could discuss this inside.”
    â€œYou did it, didn’t you? Even though I warned you! I told you not to look for Bitter End! Doesn’t anyone listen to me anymore? I thought you were smarter than this! Anything could happen to you up in those hills all by yourself. What’s the matter with you, anyway? You should know better than to risk your fool neck over something as ridiculous as a stupid rosebush.” His face had turned red with anger.
    Disregarding Laredo, her brother advanced toward her. Two steps was as close as he got before her newfound friend moved protectively in front of her, directly in Grady’s path.
    â€œWho the hell are you?”
    â€œGrady, this is Laredo Smith,” Savannah said evenly, praying she sounded calm and in control. “His truck broke down, and, um, I’ve offered him a job.”
    A second of shocked silence followed. “You what? ”
    The anger Grady had shown earlier paled in comparison to the fury that blazed in his eyes now. Savannah didn’t acknowledge his outburst. “Dinner’s in the Crock-Pot. Chili verde, your favorite.”
    Grady stared at her, his mouth hanging open, as if he didn’t recognize her as his sister.
    â€œI’ll have everything ready and on the table in ten minutes. Grady, would you be kind enough to show Laredo to the bunkhouse and ask Wiley to wash up?”
    â€œThis is Wiley’s poker night,” Grady muttered. “But I—”
    â€œSo it is,” she said and headed up the porch steps and into the kitchen. Her heart pounced like a prairie rabbit’s at the approach of a hawk’s shadow. “Then there’ll just be the three of us.”
    It didn’t take her long to set the table for dinner. When she heard the door swing open, she squared her shoulders and turned to greet her brother and Laredo with a wide smile. “I hope you two had a chance to introduce yourselves.”
    â€œWe didn’t get around to exchanging pleasantries,” Grady snarled.
    â€œLaredo, I hope you’ll forgive my brother,” she said, placing the warm tortillas on a plate. “It’s clear he isn’t in one of his more cordial moods.”
    â€œYour brother?” The words slipped from Laredo’s lips in a low whisper of surprise.
    â€œThe two of us are equal partners in the Yellow Rose Ranch,” she said as a subtle way of reminding Grady that she’d had every right to hire Laredo.
    Still grumbling under his breath, Grady pulled out a chair and reached for the blue-checked napkin.
    â€œCan I help you with anything, Savannah?” Laredo asked, looking around for something to do.
    â€œThere’s a cold pitcher of lemonade in the refrigerator,” she said, hoping Grady realized it wouldn’t hurt him any to lend her a hand now and then. She tried not to be judgmental of her brother, but lately he’d grown so cranky and irritable. It was more than their perpetual money problems, she suspected, but whatever plagued him, he kept to himself. Savannah wished he’d be more open with her, share his troubles, but that wasn’t Grady’s way. Like their father he kept everything locked inside, preferring to carry the burden of his problems alone. Once again she wished he’d think about marriage. She had the perfect woman in mind.
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    G RADY W ESTON WAS FURIOUS WITH his sister. He didn’t know what had come over her. It wasn’t like her to openly defy him, nor had he ever known her to pick up a hitchhiker. And never, not once in all these years, had she taken an active role in the management of the ranch. Yet in