Read Online Beautiful Bandit (Lone Star Legends) by Loree Lough - Free Book Online

she’d been out. Not long enough, she prayed, for the Rangers to study her face, because surely the one who’d thought he recognized her would have put two and two together.
    “Well, sir,” Stretch said, “if I had me a cigar, I’d light it up in your honor.” He slapped Josh’s shoulder. “My wife swooned, too, purty near ever’ time she was expectin’. Don’t rightly know why carryin’ a young’un makes women keel over thataway, but….” He chuckled and gave Josh’s back a friendly slap. “So tell us, boy, when’s the baby due?”
    Josh looked every bit as confused as Kate felt. His gaze fused to hers, as if he hoped she’d send him a suitable response by way of the invisible thread that locked their eyes together. If the lawmen believed she and Josh were married—and why else would a self-respecting man and woman be out here in the middle of nowhere together?—maybe they hadn’t figured out who she was.
    At least, not yet.
    “Thank you,” Kate said, trying to change the subject. “But I’m fine. Really.” She sat up, then tried to get onto her feet. “I don’t know what came over me. I’ve never fainted, not once in my entire life!”
    And it was true. That’s why, when the unfamiliar, woozy sensation had tickled the edges of her consciousness, she hadn’t recognized it for what it was. And why, when the room had started spinning and everything had turned a muddy yellow, she hadn’t tried doing anything to avert the episode.
    “Well, y’ain’t never been pregnant before, that’s why,” Shorty pointed out.
    She couldn’t afford to dally. The quicker she set about the business of stoking the fire, making coffee, and rustling up something for the men to eat, the better. Performing mundane chores would give her a good excuse to keep her back to the Rangers and give them less of an opportunity to match her face to the crude drawing on the wanted poster.
    The instant she stood up, a second wave of dizziness overwhelmed her and nearly put her right back on the floor.
    She ended up in Josh’s arms again, instead.
    “You scared me half out of my wits,” he said, tucking several stray wisps of hair behind her ears before setting her down gently but keeping his arms around her.
    The heat of a blush warmed her cheeks. Did she feel hot and clammy because so many men had crowded into the small, damp space? Because the woodstove was radiating heat? It certainly couldn’t be because Josh held her so tenderly—could it?
    She pressed both palms to his chest and stood at arm’s length from him. Frank had held her this way, and look where that had gotten her!
    Then, she remembered what Josh had said just moments before the first Ranger had burst through the door: “Follow my lead.” Later, when they were alone, she’d confess how much she admired his acting skills. If his performance had nearly convinced her of his genuine concern for her, surely the Rangers had fallen for his act, too.
    Well, two could play that game. “The next time you tell me not to skip a meal,” she said, touching a fingertip to the end of Josh’s nose, “I promise to listen,” and, just for good measure, she tacked on, “dear.”
    A corner of his mouth lifted as brawny fingers closed around her wrist. Pulling her closer, Josh said, “See that you do, love.”
    The word reverberated in her head and echoed in her heart. The way he’d said it—accented by the caring glow that emanated from his blue eyes—made her wonder if love would ever be part of her future. What man in his right mind would want her after what Frank had done to her? “I’m fine,” she said, wriggling free of his grasp. “I think the fire’s hot enough to get a pot of coffee brewing. I’m sure the Rangers could use a cup.”
    His eyebrows shot up so fast that Kate half expected to hear the impact as they slammed into his hairline. But any amusement roused by his expression was quickly forgotten as she stepped away from his protective