Read Online The Reluctant Hero by Lorraine Heath - Free Book Online

The founders promised not to say anything if I would pay the money back. My fiancé—”
    â€œYou’re getting married?”
    He sounded horrified, and she wondered if it was because of the times when she’d spotted him staring at her with undisguised longing. She slowly shook her head.
    â€œNo.” She felt the dang tears sting her eyes. “I lived in a fancy house and had pretty clothes and nice things, but when he realized that I came with a financial burden that would take me most of my life to pay back.... I suspect that it wasn’t me that he loved, but rather everything I represented: wealth and prestige. We were quite the social family. It will kill my mother if she finds out what my father did.”
    â€œIt doesn’t bother you?”
    â€œOh, God, of course it does. I’m furious with him. I don’t know what he was thinking.”
    â€œMaybe he was thinking he’d do anything to save the woman he loved.”
    She stared at him. “You don’t strike me as a man who would put a lot of stock in love.”
    â€œI don’t.” He shrugged. “So that’s the reason you need to write a whole bunch of books.”
    She nodded, looked away, looked back at him. “Yeah.”
    She got up and moved to the porch steps, sitting down beside him. He had so much strength, seemed so confident of his path. She wanted to simply lean against him and absorb the power that radiated from him.
    As though reading her need in her eyes, he leaned forward and trailed his fingers over her cheek. “You shouldn’t have to pay for your father’s sins.”
    â€œWhat he did was wrong. I won’t excuse it. And I’ll make it right.”
    â€œNot everything is that simple.”
    â€œHe broke the law. That’s unforgivable. Surely you understand that, being a lawman.”
    â€œI think sometimes a man loses his way.”
    â€œAnd you think that’s what happened with my father?”
    â€œCan’t say for sure. I didn’t know the man. Should you have left your mother alone?”
    â€œTrying to guilt me into going home?”
    He had the good graces to blush.
    â€œI’m figuring you out, Sheriff.”
    â€œDon’t be so sure. What about your mother? How will she manage?”
    â€œI hired a nurse to take care of her. It gets expensive, and my only means of support is my writing, which brings us back to you.”
    His hand stilled; she was as grateful as she was disappointed. His touch was a distraction she could ill afford.
    â€œWhere is your mother?” she asked.
    â€œNever knew her. And before you ask, I don’t recall much about my father or my life when I was younger. Besides, my youth wouldn’t make for interesting reading.”
    She scoffed. “I’m not sure you’re exactly an unbiased judge of what’s interesting and what’s not.”
    â€œI’m a fair judge of what’s interesting—when it’s not related to me. Interesting is the color of your eyes and the way they darken when something excites you.”
    Andrea felt the heat rush to her face, and before she could tell him he wasn’t going to distract her into changing the subject—
    â€œInteresting is the way you can step off a stagecoach and capture a man’s attention. Since I’ve been in this town, I must have seen two dozen folks arrive on that stage, and you’re the first one I couldn’t look away from.”
    She angled her chin. “And now to distract me, you’re going to tell me that I’m beautiful.”
    He shook his head. “Nah, I’ve seen beautiful women before. The surface might get my attention, but it’s not gonna hold it.”
    She wasn’t sure if she should be insulted.
    â€œIt’s not your surface that holds a man. It’s something deep inside you that shines through. Something more than goodness. Kindness, maybe. The way you