Never Marry a Cowboy Read Free

customers’ needs.”
    With a huff, she flounced away. Christian grinned with appreciation at her naturally seductive movements. “Ah, Harry, you do have a knack for hiring beautiful serving wenches.”
    â€œJessye hires them, and she expects me to protect them from rakes like you.” Harry opened the bottle and refilled Christian’s glass before filling his own.
    â€œThat’s rather like asking the fox to stand guard at the hen house, isn’t it?”
    â€œNot when the fox’s mate is skilled with a gun and a knife. Besides, she gives me no reason to stray and every reason to remain faithful.”
    â€œDear God, but you are well and truly married, aren’t you?” Although his voice held the expected disgust, Kit took absolute joy in his friend’s good fortune. He held a great deal of respect and admiration for Jessye. She had single-handedly lifted Harry from the depths of hell.
    â€œYes, and I ask that you take care with the girls that work for me. I’ve mended one broken heart in my life. I have no wish to mend others.”
    â€œI was only engaging in a little harmless flirtation.”
    â€œWhich is the way you always begin. Then you conquer, and later abandon. Yet none of the women ever hates you.”
    â€œBecause I leave them feeling as though the victory were theirs instead of mine.”
    Harry grinned. “They say you have the eyes of the devil.”
    â€œMore like his soul.” Kit picked up his glass and downed the whiskey. He’d thought he’d never growaccustomed to these Texans’ strong drink. Tonight, it didn’t seem powerful enough.
    Harry poured more whiskey into the glass. “It’s been a while since you’ve spent the evening here.”
    â€œI was feeling a bit restless.”
    â€œCare to expand?”
    Leaning forward, he crossed his arms on the table. “I don’t know if I can explain it. I watched you and Gray get married, build yourselves homes, have children, and I just thought perhaps I needed to stop my wandering and take root as well.” He sighed and shifted back in his chair. “But I am not content.”
    â€œYou seemed happier when we were herding cattle.”
    â€œI didn’t enjoy working with the beasts, but I welcomed the opportunity to see the country. Still something was lacking, and a man can hardly make a living by simply traveling.”
    Harry shook his head in obvious bewilderment. “I don’t understand, Kit. With the money we made off that initial trail drive—”
    â€œI have very little of it left.”
    Harry’s green eyes widened in disbelief. “What in the bloody hell did you do with it? I know you didn’t gamble it away in here.”
    â€œWhat I did with it is my concern, not yours.”
    â€œThe first year we were here, we picked cotton, and you wouldn’t tell me then what you did with the money you earned. But it wasn’t available when we decided to try our hand at herding cattle, so we were forced to take on an investor—”
    â€œFor which you should be eternally grateful, since you ended up marrying her,” Kit pointed out in hisown defense, although he’d never felt that he needed to justify the disappearance of his money.
    Harry grinned, warmth reflected in his green eyes. “God, Jessye was something on that trail drive, wasn’t she?”
    â€œShe was indeed. You weren’t so bad yourself.”
    Harry’s smile faded. “I would have liked to have seen it through to the end, but broken legs and a smashed hip do not a worthy cowboy make.”
    Kit glanced around the saloon that had over the years, in small ways, begun to take on the appearance of the gentleman’s clubs they’d frequented in London. Nothing extravagant by any means, merely the shadow of their memories preserved here and there. “You’ve done well for yourself with the Texas