Read Online Roping Ryan (The West Series Book 6) by Jill Sanders - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jill Sanders
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take forever, but finally she smiled and nodded. When he reached over and took her hand, she sighed and started walking next to him.
“I hope it’s okay, but I agreed to dinner with my brother and Melissa this Friday.”
She nodded. “They’re a cute couple. When they came to Houston, I enjoyed my time with them.”
He helped her up onto her horse and quickly mounted his own. As they started to walk the horses back towards the big barn a few miles away, he realized he wanted to know more about her.
“Tell me how you got into the PI business.” He glanced at her. “I mean. I know your dad is one, but how did you become one?”
She turned and looked straight ahead. “My father had a lot to do with it, of course, but really it was all David’s fault.”
“David?” He tried to look relaxed about the question.
She glanced at him and nodded. “I dated him for a while after college.” She looked forward again and sighed. “I was young and naive.”
He thought about telling her she still was but decided to keep his mouth shut.
“It all started small.” She kept her eyes forward. “He’d get jealous of the way his friends looked at me. Or he’d think I was spending too much time talking to someone. Then one day, instead of yelling, he started hitting.”
His hands tightened on the reins, and his horse instantly felt his reaction and started prancing. He tried to relax himself, but too many memories popped into his head: his father’s fist flying towards his face, his brother lying in the bed next to him, crying after a beating. The thought of something like that happening to Nikki just plain pissed him off.
“One day I just decided I’d had enough. I called Daddy and told him what was going on.” She glanced at him and paused. He imagined that she saw the murderousness in his eyes, and he blinked and glanced away quickly.
After a moment of silence he asked, “What happened next?”
She avoided looking at him. “My father came and helped me move into an apartment. He started to put me through his PI self-defense training.”
He could tell she was leaving something out. “And?”
She looked at him again, and he could see the concern in her eyes.
“A few months later, I ran into David. He followed me outside the restaurant and decided that it was his place to continue the abusive behavior.”
“What happened?”
She smiled at him. “I broke his nose.”
He laughed. “Good girl.”
“I told you, I can take care of myself.”
He didn’t feel like telling her there was a big difference between a sleazeball that liked to hit women and a group of men responsible for over a thousand, possibly even more, deaths.
“What about you?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“You’ve already heard my story.”
She shook her head. “I know what happened to you, but not why you chose to become a narcotics officer.”
“I suppose it was because of Brock Olson, the man who arrested me that first night. After they had cleared me and my dad refused to get me or send money, I was sitting out in the lobby of the station not knowing what to do. Here I was in a large city by myself for the first time. I think I had a twenty on me.” He shook his head. “I didn’t have any real skills since I’d just graduated high school a few weeks earlier. Reece and I had a stash of money we’d been saving, but that was back at the house almost fifty miles away. Sargent Olson, Big Brock as everyone called him, saw me sitting there and took pity. Since he felt responsible, he let me crash at his place for a few weeks. I must have walked everywhere within a couple miles of his apartment trying to find work. Then one day, he suggested I enroll in a special undercover program.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought, why not?”
“That’s it?” She sounded shocked.
He chuckled. “Yeah. Since I didn’t have any other options, the academy was looking pretty good. I had free room and board, and I actually
“I hope it’s okay, but I agreed to dinner with my brother and Melissa this Friday.”
She nodded. “They’re a cute couple. When they came to Houston, I enjoyed my time with them.”
He helped her up onto her horse and quickly mounted his own. As they started to walk the horses back towards the big barn a few miles away, he realized he wanted to know more about her.
“Tell me how you got into the PI business.” He glanced at her. “I mean. I know your dad is one, but how did you become one?”
She turned and looked straight ahead. “My father had a lot to do with it, of course, but really it was all David’s fault.”
“David?” He tried to look relaxed about the question.
She glanced at him and nodded. “I dated him for a while after college.” She looked forward again and sighed. “I was young and naive.”
He thought about telling her she still was but decided to keep his mouth shut.
“It all started small.” She kept her eyes forward. “He’d get jealous of the way his friends looked at me. Or he’d think I was spending too much time talking to someone. Then one day, instead of yelling, he started hitting.”
His hands tightened on the reins, and his horse instantly felt his reaction and started prancing. He tried to relax himself, but too many memories popped into his head: his father’s fist flying towards his face, his brother lying in the bed next to him, crying after a beating. The thought of something like that happening to Nikki just plain pissed him off.
“One day I just decided I’d had enough. I called Daddy and told him what was going on.” She glanced at him and paused. He imagined that she saw the murderousness in his eyes, and he blinked and glanced away quickly.
After a moment of silence he asked, “What happened next?”
She avoided looking at him. “My father came and helped me move into an apartment. He started to put me through his PI self-defense training.”
He could tell she was leaving something out. “And?”
She looked at him again, and he could see the concern in her eyes.
“A few months later, I ran into David. He followed me outside the restaurant and decided that it was his place to continue the abusive behavior.”
“What happened?”
She smiled at him. “I broke his nose.”
He laughed. “Good girl.”
“I told you, I can take care of myself.”
He didn’t feel like telling her there was a big difference between a sleazeball that liked to hit women and a group of men responsible for over a thousand, possibly even more, deaths.
“What about you?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“You’ve already heard my story.”
She shook her head. “I know what happened to you, but not why you chose to become a narcotics officer.”
“I suppose it was because of Brock Olson, the man who arrested me that first night. After they had cleared me and my dad refused to get me or send money, I was sitting out in the lobby of the station not knowing what to do. Here I was in a large city by myself for the first time. I think I had a twenty on me.” He shook his head. “I didn’t have any real skills since I’d just graduated high school a few weeks earlier. Reece and I had a stash of money we’d been saving, but that was back at the house almost fifty miles away. Sargent Olson, Big Brock as everyone called him, saw me sitting there and took pity. Since he felt responsible, he let me crash at his place for a few weeks. I must have walked everywhere within a couple miles of his apartment trying to find work. Then one day, he suggested I enroll in a special undercover program.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I thought, why not?”
“That’s it?” She sounded shocked.
He chuckled. “Yeah. Since I didn’t have any other options, the academy was looking pretty good. I had free room and board, and I actually
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