Read Online Yours Again (River City Series) by Dee Burks - Free Book Online Page A

genuine, of course, and she gifted him
with a smile. Darren would believe anything she said. Taos knew all Darren
remembered was the friend he grew up with. He’d had zero experience in how
manipulative women could be.
    “No,
not exactly.” Samantha said, “He just threatened me and basically told me that
I was going to marry him. But he just wants to get his hands on Mattie’s money
and the second he has me I know he’ll do away with her and probably me too . .
. eventually.” Her words hung in the air a moment.
    Taos
knew exactly what an unscrupulous man would do with Samantha—pretty much what
he wanted to do with her last night. He clamped his teeth together, pushing
that image out of his mind, and observed her closely. She didn’t seem all that
upset, so was this story the truth? A half-truth? A complete lie? Why had she
shown up unannounced, and with this wild story? Why had she kissed him instead
of telling him exactly who she was? It seemed like a little game last night,
and now this morning she was in some kind of mortal danger? Bullshit.
    Charlie
pushed his plate back, angry. “Why would he think you would agree to that?”
    “Maybe
she encouraged his attention.” Taos stared evenly at her.
    “He
threatened me! I have never encouraged anyone!”
    “Now
I know that’s not true.” He pinned her with his stare.
    “Where
did that come from?” Charlie snapped.
    “Most
men don’t like a woman who’s a tease.” Taos continued to stare boldly at
Samantha.
    “I
am not a tease!”
    “Are
too.”
    Samantha
rolled her fork back and forth between two fingers and fumed. She’d never
considered silverware a deadly weapon until this moment.
    “You
could have told me who you were.” Taos sipped his coffee.
    “After
you tied her up and gagged her?” Charlie arched his eyebrows. “You deserve
anything she dishes out and then some as far as I‘m concerned.”
    “So
then what happened, Sammy?” A little voice squeaked. Tommy stared with his big
round eyes in rapt attention. “Did the bad guy chase you?”
    The
adults in the room had almost forgotten he was there. “Not exactly.” She picked
at the buttery flapjacks, reminding herself to leave out some of the more
seemly details that weren’t really fit for the ears of a seven-year-old.
“Mattie thought I needed to get as far away as possible until the fraud could
be investigated and John arrested.”
    “So
you do want something from me?” Taos eyed her suspiciously.
    She
ignored him. “She suggested that I come here for a while. I thought I might
check on things—you know, my ranch and all—while I was here. I really
appreciate you all taking care of it for me.”
    Silence
blanketed the room. Taos’s coffee cup paused in midair, and Charlie and Darren
exchanged a nervous glance.
    “Who
sent for you?” Taos growled.
    The
sharp demand brought Samantha’s head up quickly. “No one. Why would someone
send for me?”
    “You
know why.”
    Samantha’s
anger flashed. “Do you just wake up every morning and decide to be nasty, or is
today special?”
    “It’s
always special when I know someone is lying to me, honey .”
    “Lying
about what? I told you the truth.” She looked at Darren. “What exactly has been
going on here? Why doesn’t he believe me?” Panic seeped into her voice. They
had to believe her, she had nowhere else to go. Charlie and Darren stared at
the table. If they didn’t believe her, what then? She couldn’t go back to
Mattie. And how would her aunt find her if she left? She wasn’t about to stay
at her ranch alone. She’d come here for protection, and now Taos couldn’t wait
to throw her to the wolves.
    She
stared at him. What happened to the hero she remembered? His gaze was
unyielding and hard. She suddenly realized she had no idea who this man was now
and she’d obviously been wrong to think he would help her. He didn’t have an
ounce of empathy in that oversized body of his.
    “There’s
been a drought going