Mail Order Cowboy (Harlequin American Romance) Read Online Free Page A

into thinking he was suitable husband material! Gabby would have liked to boot his dirty butt right back on the bus and send him back to Nebraska.
    Two things stopped her. One was the fact that he was obviously not able to get back on the bus, and the other . was her stubbornness. She refused to believe that she could have been wrong about her choice for Hannah’s mail-order groom.
    Gabby studied his sunburned face. He did have a straight nose—well, almost straight—which in Gabby’s opinion meant he was a good decision maker. That small bump halfway down indicated he worked hard. As a nose reader, Gabby was the best, and this guy’s proboscis told her he had good qualities. The tattered clothes could simply mean he had been down on his luck.
    The longer Gabby stared at the man’s face, the less offensive it became. In fact, she began to find it attractive—despite the grime and the beard stubble. It had a mustache, a good, strong chin and a mouth that even in repose said “I get my way.” Gabby figured he probably, wouldn’t put up with any crap from anyone. Not even Hannah, who Gabby knew liked to give men crap.
    “Maybe we should call 911,” Jeremy suggested, but Gabby quickly dismissed the idea. She didn’t need anyone in town finding out what she had done. She hadn’t even told Hannah, who would raise a holy fit if the residents of Stanleyville knew about the plan before she did.
    “We should get him some water,” Gabby said anxiously. “If he’s been walking in the sun, he’s probably suffering from heat exhaustion.”
    “I think he was hit by lightning,” Jeremy contended.
    Gabby shook her head. “Uh-uh. Look at his clothes. If he had been caught in the storm they’d be all wet.”
    “Not if he stood under a tree.” Jeremy lowered his voice as he said, “He’s got marks on his throat.”
    It was then that Gabby saw the deep red bruise ringing his neck. Could Jeremy be right? “Run back to the house and get some water,” she ordered the boy.
    While he was gone, Gabby was careful not to get too close to the man. Even if he was Alfred Dumler, a man whose references she had checked carefully, she knew it would be wise to keep a safe distance. After all, she was alone.
    She grimaced as she thought of what Hannah would say if she were to see him now. It was going to be hard enough to convince her she needed a groom, but this one? Gabby shuddered. What on earth could have happened to Mr. Dumler?
    It was with a sigh of relief that she watched Jeremy come riding toward her on his bike, Outlaw at his side.
    “Here. I put ice in it.” He handed Gabby a red plastic water bottle with a built-in straw.
    Gabby pulled her handkerchief from her pocket and bent down over the man. She poured a little water onto the handkerchief and dabbed gently at his sunburned face. Next, she drizzled water across his cracked lips. “Jeremy, boy, I think he’s coming to.”
     
    WOOD OPENED HIS EYES expecting to find a mob of angry men swarming him. Instead, an elderly woman and a young boy stood over him, looking at him with the same strange curiosity he knew must be on his face.
    “What happened?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
    “You fainted,” the old woman answered. “Too much sun, I guess.”
    Behind the wire-framed glasses, blue eyes revealed a gentle spirit. Was she the one who had saved him from the lynch mob? Her voice sounded familiar, similar to the old woman who had ministered to him just before he had hung, yet she was obviously not the crone. Still, when she brushed gnarled fingers over his brow, he had the sensation that she had done so before.
    He raised himself on his elbows and tried to survey the land around him, but a sharp pain in his neck had him squeezing his eyes shut. Carefully, he turned, looking for any signs of rifle-toting men on horseback, but he saw none. Only fields of tall corn...and these two oddly dressed people.
    “Did you save my life?” he asked, wincing. His