The Rancher And The Runaway Bride: Part 3 Read Free

say to her, but he couldn’t focus on anything
     but his rage. No wonder she hadn’t wanted to tell him her secrets. There was no way
     for her to come off as anything but a lying, cheating bitch.
    He crossed the parking lot and walked quickly to the four-story building. Their rooms
     were on the first floor, in the back. Rooms, he thought with a grimace. He’d given
     her a room of her own. Ever the gentleman. Ever the sucker.
    When he reached her door, he raised his hand, made a fist and pounded loud enough
     to wake the dead. There would be no excuses this time. No matter what, he was going
     to get the truth out of her.
    * * *
    The loud pounding brought Randi off the bed like a shot. She dropped the book she’d
     been trying to read. “Who is it?” she called.
    “Brady.”
    “Oh, you’re back earlier than I thought.”
    She rushed to the door and unlocked it. Before she could turn the handle, Brady did
     it for her and pushed into the room.
    “How was your drink?” she asked.
    He slammed the door shut and stared at her. Instinctively, she backed up a step. The
     anger on his face made her nervous, but what really got her heart rate up was the
     pain and disappointment lurking in his eyes.
    “Brady?”
    “That’s me. Brady Jones. It’s been my name my whole life. But you can’t say that,
     can you? Randi. ”
    She pressed a hand to her throat. Dear God. “You know.” It wasn’t a question.
    He nodded, then walked to the window. “Yup. Me and Travis had quite a little chat.
     Turns out you’re something of a celebrity back home. That would be Grand Springs,
     right? Seems the whole town is talking about the runaway bride. After all, it’s not
     every day a young woman runs off and leaves her intended standing at the altar. But
     it does happen. I’ve had some personal experience with that. But then, you’re already
     familiar with my story, aren’t you.”
    She retreated to the bed and sank down onto the mattress. “I’m sorry,” she whispered,
     covering her face with her hands. “I was always afraid it would come to this. I never
     meant—” She paused, not sure what to say. It was so hard to think. Her entire body
     ached with pain and cold. She’d seen the look in his eyes. He loathed her. The worst
     of it was, she couldn’t blame him.
    “You never meant to what? Lie? But you did. You lied from the moment you showed up
     at the ranch. Leaving out facts about your past is the same as lying. Did you have
     a good laugh when I told you about Alicia? Did you think I was a fool, just like your
     fiancé? What was his name?”
    “Hal,” she said automatically. “And no, I never thought you were a fool. Alicia is
     the stupid one. She should never have left you.”
    “How kind of you. I wonder if Hal has someone offering him comfort right now.”
    “He doesn’t need comforting,” she said. “He never really cared about me.”
    “That’s a convenient way to justify your actions. Unfortunately, there’s no way to
     prove it’s true. His actions suggest otherwise. After all, he was willing to marry
     you.”
    His tone indicated Brady wasn’t sure why any man would want to have anything to do
     with her. She fought tears, knowing that giving into them would only leave her more
     vulnerable. She had to pull herself together, to find a way to convince Brady that
     she—She bit her lower lip. Convince him of what? Her crime was there for everyone
     to see. She’d done exactly what he accused her of—she’d run out on her wedding, exactly
     the way Alicia had run out on him. At least she hadn’t been running off to be with
     another man, but she doubted he would consider that much in her favor.
    “It’s not what you think,” she said dully, and straightened. He still stood at the
     large window. The sliding glass door was open to let in the afternoon breeze. He placed
     one hand against the screen.
    “Why don’t you tell me what it was like?” he asked.
    The silky smoothness of