Read Online A Heart So Wild by Johanna Lindsey - Free Book Online
Authors: Johanna Lindsey
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people still saw them as mother and daughter. Sarah was only thirty-four, and that assumption was intolerable.
What had started Sarah nagging constantly about Courtney getting married was that sheâd talked Harry into moving to fast-growingWichita. Their new hotel was already under construction. That was the place to make money, according to Reed, who was also making the move. His new Wichita saloon and gambling hall would be finished before the â73 droving season began.
Sarah didnât care whether Courtney moved to Wichita, just so long as she was no longer living with Sarah and Harry.
Courtney looked on the move with trepidation. Wichita would be ten times worse than Rockley for attracting unsavory elements. She didnât want to make the move with Sarah, and she certainly wouldnât marry Reed. She had, therefore, no options worth consideringâuntil todayâs plan began forming.
She had always wanted to return East, and now she didnât want to stay in Rockley anymore and was afraid of living in Wichita under the careless protection of Harry.
Courtney tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally she lit the candle beside her bed and fetched the newspaper she had hidden in her bureau. Sheâd been looking forward to it all day. To her disappointment, it wasnât an Eastern paper, just a weekly out of Fort Worth, Texas, and eight months old at that. Still, it was a newspaper, even if it was worn and faded.
She spread the paper out on her bed and read the first few articles but skipped the one about a shoot-out. That reminded her too much of Mr. Chandos and dead Jim Ward.
Her mind shied away from Ward but stayed with Chandos, no matter how hard she tried not to think about him. She had to admit he appealed to her and had from the moment shelaid eyes on him. He wasnât the first man ever to attract her, but no one had ever disturbed her so thoroughly. Reed Taylor attracted her when he first came to town, but not after she got to know him.
With Chandos, the difference was that she knew who he was, what he was, yet she still found his appeal overwhelming.
He was lean and hard from head to foot, from his face to his flat, tapering waist to the tightly compact muscles of those long legs. The span of his shoulders would be too wide on a shorter man but was perfect for his tall frame. His face was deeply tanned, the skin unmarred except for a tiny scar high on his left cheek. But it was his mouth and eyes that combined to make his face so disturbingly handsome. The lips were straight, with just enough fullness to make them incredibly sensual. And the eyes, his most striking feature because they were so light next to his dark skin, were truly beautiful, with thick black lashes to frame them. Yet he was undeniably masculine.
Being near him, Courtney had been more aware of her femininity than ever beforeâwhich explained why sheâd acted like such a ninny.
Courtney sighed. Her eyes gradually focused again on the newspaper, and the picture she had been staring at without seeing. And then her heart accelerated as she stared, disbelieving, at the picture. Was it possible? Noâyes!
Quickly, she read the article that accompanied the fuzzy photograph, the first photograph sheâd ever seen in a newspaper. The article was about the apprehension of oneHenry McGinnis, known cattle rustler in McLennan County, Texas, whoâd been caught red-handed by rancher Fletcher Straton. Stratonâs men had brought McGinnis into the nearest town, Waco. There were no other names mentioned except the name of the marshal and the cowboys who had turned the prisoner over to him. The picture showed the rustler being led down the main street of Waco, and the townspeople gathered to watch. The photographer had focused on. McGinnis, and the onlookers behind him were not clear. But one of the men in the crowd looked exactly like Edward Harte.
Courtney threw her robe around her and grabbed the
What had started Sarah nagging constantly about Courtney getting married was that sheâd talked Harry into moving to fast-growingWichita. Their new hotel was already under construction. That was the place to make money, according to Reed, who was also making the move. His new Wichita saloon and gambling hall would be finished before the â73 droving season began.
Sarah didnât care whether Courtney moved to Wichita, just so long as she was no longer living with Sarah and Harry.
Courtney looked on the move with trepidation. Wichita would be ten times worse than Rockley for attracting unsavory elements. She didnât want to make the move with Sarah, and she certainly wouldnât marry Reed. She had, therefore, no options worth consideringâuntil todayâs plan began forming.
She had always wanted to return East, and now she didnât want to stay in Rockley anymore and was afraid of living in Wichita under the careless protection of Harry.
Courtney tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally she lit the candle beside her bed and fetched the newspaper she had hidden in her bureau. Sheâd been looking forward to it all day. To her disappointment, it wasnât an Eastern paper, just a weekly out of Fort Worth, Texas, and eight months old at that. Still, it was a newspaper, even if it was worn and faded.
She spread the paper out on her bed and read the first few articles but skipped the one about a shoot-out. That reminded her too much of Mr. Chandos and dead Jim Ward.
Her mind shied away from Ward but stayed with Chandos, no matter how hard she tried not to think about him. She had to admit he appealed to her and had from the moment shelaid eyes on him. He wasnât the first man ever to attract her, but no one had ever disturbed her so thoroughly. Reed Taylor attracted her when he first came to town, but not after she got to know him.
With Chandos, the difference was that she knew who he was, what he was, yet she still found his appeal overwhelming.
He was lean and hard from head to foot, from his face to his flat, tapering waist to the tightly compact muscles of those long legs. The span of his shoulders would be too wide on a shorter man but was perfect for his tall frame. His face was deeply tanned, the skin unmarred except for a tiny scar high on his left cheek. But it was his mouth and eyes that combined to make his face so disturbingly handsome. The lips were straight, with just enough fullness to make them incredibly sensual. And the eyes, his most striking feature because they were so light next to his dark skin, were truly beautiful, with thick black lashes to frame them. Yet he was undeniably masculine.
Being near him, Courtney had been more aware of her femininity than ever beforeâwhich explained why sheâd acted like such a ninny.
Courtney sighed. Her eyes gradually focused again on the newspaper, and the picture she had been staring at without seeing. And then her heart accelerated as she stared, disbelieving, at the picture. Was it possible? Noâyes!
Quickly, she read the article that accompanied the fuzzy photograph, the first photograph sheâd ever seen in a newspaper. The article was about the apprehension of oneHenry McGinnis, known cattle rustler in McLennan County, Texas, whoâd been caught red-handed by rancher Fletcher Straton. Stratonâs men had brought McGinnis into the nearest town, Waco. There were no other names mentioned except the name of the marshal and the cowboys who had turned the prisoner over to him. The picture showed the rustler being led down the main street of Waco, and the townspeople gathered to watch. The photographer had focused on. McGinnis, and the onlookers behind him were not clear. But one of the men in the crowd looked exactly like Edward Harte.
Courtney threw her robe around her and grabbed the
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