Bride Protector SEAL Read Online Free Page A

the man? She shook her head. No. Damien might not know how to be a rancher, but that wasn’t why she was marrying him. She cared for him. When she’d had disagreements with her cantankerous father, she’d turned to Damien, who’d been there to just hold her and let her vent. He hadn’t offered advice, presumably because he trusted her judgment on how to handle her family.
    He was an excellent horseman, having ridden in competitive dressage since he was a teenager. His parents had spared no expense in his education, sending him to private schools and then Yale. As a child, he’d traveled all over the world, and then again for the business he’d built for himself in contracting.
    The tension slowly released from her shoulders. Maybe she knew more about him than she thought. So, she didn’t know the particulars about his contracting business, only that he made a lot of money doing it. He had building projects all over the world, with a concentration in the rebuilding efforts going on in Afghanistan. He’d been there twice already that year, and maybe he was headed there now. When he called to check in, she’d ask.
    A pickup pulled in behind the fire truck and emergency vehicles. Will Franklin got out, his eyes rounding. He walked up to where Allie and Swede stood near the sheriff and the fire chief. “What happened?” he asked.
    Allie filled him in on the explosion.
    Will started toward the stables. “The horses?”
    Placing a hand on the man’s arm, Allie answered, “Swede and I got them out.” She turned to her bodyguard. “This is Will Franklin, Damien’s foreman. Will, this is Swede Svenson. A…friend of mine.”
    Will shook hands with Swede and then glanced around. “Where’s Mr. Reynolds?”
    “He left shortly after the explosion,” Allie said. “Apparently, he had to take care of business before the wedding.”
    “I’d better check the horses.”
    “I’ll help.” Allie followed Will through the gate to the pasture.
    Swede followed with Ruger trotting alongside.
    The horse he’d sweet-talked came trotting up to him.
    Grinning, Swede held out his hand, and the horse nuzzled his open palm.
    “Has he been around horses much?” Will asked Allie.
    “No.” Allie shook her head.
    Will’s lips twisted and he shook his head. “That horse doesn’t usually come up to anyone.”
    Swede held the gelding’s halter while Will and Allie looked over the animal. Other than smelling like soot, he seemed to be okay.
    They performed the same inspection on the other four horses. When Will and Allie were satisfied they hadn’t suffered any lasting ill effects, Allie checked in with the fire chief and sheriff once more.
    “If you need us for further questions, we’ll be at the Bear Creek Ranch.”
    Without waiting for her escort, she crossed to her truck, climbed in and left the Double Diamond.
    Swede, with Ruger, stayed right behind her all the way to the ranch house.
    As Allie drove up to her family home, she wondered what sleeping arrangements she’d have to make for her new bodyguard. She snorted. Her father would be thrilled to know she was bringing a man into his house. As her bodyguard, he couldn’t sleep in the barn. Nor could he sleep in the foreman’s quarters, as that was already taken. Unlike larger ranches, they didn’t have a bunkhouse for ranch hands. It was up to her, her father, and Eddy, their foreman, to manage the herd. During cattle roundup days, they hired extra hands who slept in the barn, and Mrs. Edwards cooked for them.
    No, Swede would have to stay in her brother’s old bedroom. A tingle rippled down her spine at the thought of the big SEAL sleeping in the room next to her. But then, he was a bodyguard. What good was a bodyguard if he wasn’t close to the body he was guarding?
    She parked the truck beside the old house with its wide porches. Yeah, the paint was peeling and the steps needed repair, but the place was her home. At least, for the next week. Allie’s heart