To Love a Stranger Read Free

welcome, for it would make tracking him difficult.
    Dragging himself into a sitting position, Pierce took a moment to gather his strength and get his bearings. There were bound to be ranches in the area. And if he wasn’t mistaken, the town of Rolling Prairie was not too far away.
    Realizing time was running out, Pierce staggered to his feet. He swayed dangerously, then moved one foot in front of the other by sheer dint of will. Blood soaked his clothing and he wondered how much blood a man could lose before dying from it.
    Pierce made slow progress through the canyon, remaining conscious by listing in his head all hisreasons why women couldn’t be trusted. He began with his own mother, who had abandoned her family for a traveling salesman when they lived in Illinois. Embittered by his wife’s desertion, their father had eventually sold their farm and home-steaded to Montana, reminding his sons repeatedly that trusting females could lead to trouble, and more often than not he’d been correct.
    Chad had learned his lesson the hard way. He’d courted Loretta Casey, the town beauty, and had even become engaged. But the fickle miss had backed out after Chad had lost his heart to her. Loretta dumped him for an eastern dandy who offered her a chance to live in a big city, which Chad had steadfastly refused to consider. As for Ryan, he found women too demanding for his liking. The one girl Ryan had taken an interest in had insisted that he work in her father’s mercantile and stop his wild carousing. Ryan might have been wild, but he loved ranching.
    Pierce thought back over his own mistakes, beginning with the day he’d married Polly Summers. He’d been just twenty-one and in love, or so he’d thought. He’d assumed he was getting a shy virgin and discovered he’d married an experienced woman who quickly found other lovers to fill her empty hours. When he’d found her in bed with Riley Reed, her former lover, he’d kicked her out. Trey Delaney, Pierce’s father, had wielded his substantial influence to obtain an annulment. His mother and Polly had both left their marks on Pierce. He’d vowed he’d not become a three-time loser.
    Stumbling through the dark canyon, Pierce remainedconscious by recalling his mother and reliving the anguish her leaving had caused the family. As he’d grown older and wiser, Pierce had never forgotten his lesson. Women could ruin a man’s life. He enjoyed sex, and applied himself with zeal each time he went to town, but it was strictly lust-driven. He had his favorites among the women plying their trade above Stumpy’s saloon, but none of them meant more to him than a good lay.
    Pierce had reached the end of his endurance. It had begun to rain by the time he climbed out of the canyon, and his mind was no longer lucid. Was he hallucinating or did he actually see the dim outline of a ranch house in the distance? He was so parched his throat felt as if it were on fire, and his mouth was drier than a desert. Though lightheaded from loss of blood, he forced himself to continue, knowing that once he stopped he was a goner. If wild animals didn’t get him, the vigilantes would.
    Pierce stumbled to his knees. Pain exploded through him. He wanted to lie down, to shut his eyes to lose his pain in unconsciousness. He fought the urge to give up as the ranch house took form in the darkness. He blinked. It was no mirage, the structure was real, rising not one hundred yards in front of him.
    Light spilled from the downstairs windows, drawing Pierce like a beacon. In a final burst of energy, he staggered forward, halting when he reached the front porch. He wasn’t thinking clearly, he realized as he paused to catch his breath. He couldn’t just barge in on people he didn’t knowand wasn’t sure he could trust. He needed water and rest before his mind could work clearly enough to assess the situation.
    He spied a pump in the yard and approached it with measured steps. No one was around, which seemed