Read Online THE RENEGADE RANCHER by Angi Morgan - Free Book Online Page B

wrapped his arms tighter and raised her to his height. Her fingers had been itching to play with that hair growing at the back of his neck. His cowboy hat toppled to the ground.
    Go for it. Encouraged by her body, she shifted and wrapped her legs securely around Brian’s waist. He did some shifting of his own, including a move with his hands cupping her bottom.
    “Uncle Brian?”
    Lindsey’s feet hit the hard dirt faster than she could blink her eyes open. Lauren stood holding Brian’s hat, smiling and looking as though she knew something they didn’t.
    “Whatcha need, baby girl?”
    Even though her heart was surfing faster than she’d ever surfed before, the little girl’s cute giggle brought another type of smile to Lindsey’s lips.
    “Pawpaw said to give you back your hat ’cause...’cause your head was getting too hot.”
    “Thanks.” He kissed his niece’s cheek, shoved his hat on his head. “Now skedaddle back to your pawpaw.”
    Brian grabbed Lindsey’s hand, forcing the rest of her to follow him back into the darkness of the barn, shutting the door behind them.
    Desire skirted her like champagne bubbles popping up the side of a glass. More kisses? No. They couldn’t. Brian dropped her hand and headed straight to the pile of leather, turned his back and untangled more rope.
    “I think it was a very wise decision for your dad to send Lauren outside. Don’t you? I mean, your family’s here and I’ve got a nut job trying to kill me.”
    “You’re right. We’re too different for this to work out.”
    “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. My old self would be all over you for a beach romance.” But they weren’t at the beach. They were on a ranch. And someone wanted her dead.
    “Old self? Beach romance?” He quirked one of those wing-tipped eyebrows.
    He didn’t need any more information about her. She was the one in the dark when it came to him and his reasons for helping her. She shimmied onto the bale of hay, just so no little creatures would crawl across her shoes. “Forget about me. Spill it. Where do we start looking for this monster who’s been killing my family?”
    “I’ve explained before that I’m a paramedic, not a bodyguard. Do I really have to tell you how I am not trained or skilled enough to investigate twenty-year-old murders?”
    “You keep denying you’re capable of looking for this guy. Yet you’ve discovered more than anyone else. I knew about my immediate family, but twenty years...? I don’t understand how he hasn’t been caught.” She brushed aside a piece of hay that poked her backside and pulled her legs back tightly against her chest, keeping them far from the barn floor. “And by the way, I can hold my own.”
    “Right. That’s why your feet have barely touched the ground since we’ve been inside.” He waved toward her sitting position.
    “Don’t deviate from the question.”
    “Deviate? Son of a biscuit eater.” He yanked a bridle or something to the dirt and the rest tumbled after. The tall man shifted his hat, blocking his eyes from her view. He wasn’t pleased. He mumbled a couple more disguised expletives, scooped up the tangled mess and started over.
    “I can explain something I bet you don’t even know.”
    “Is that right?” He looped a rope, finally free from the rest, into a coil and hung it on a post.
    “I know all those ‘sons of biscuit eaters’ and ‘Hoover Dams’ are your attempt at not cursing in front of a five-year-old.”
    He acknowledged her with a hmph and a finger pushing the brim of his hat a little higher on his forehead.
    “And I know why you brought me here.”
    “Why’s that?” He looped a second rope over one palm, making it all nice and tidy.
    “You hoped that if I met your family, I’d trust you and your information.”
    “Or it could have been I was tired, my head hurt and you were asleep in my truck.”
    “I don’t think so. You wanted me to trust you and I think it worked.” She could see the truth of