Samantha James Read Online Free Page B

cheeks were flame-red—and so were hers. She scarcely heard the last of his words.
    Instead she considered the information Grady had revealed. As she did, a burgeoning hope began to blossom inside her.
    She laid a hand on Lucas’s arm. “Lucas,” she said slowly, “if this man—Kane—really was part of Stringer Sam’s gang, do you think it’s possible that he would know where the hideout is located?” She held her breath and waited.
    “Indeed I do,” he said grimly. “That’s why I brought Grady in to see you.”
    “Then there’s only one thing left to do.” She turned to Grady. “Grady would you go out to the barn and saddle Sonny for me?”
    He jammed his hat on his head. “Sure thing, ma’am.”
    Her steps purposeful, she strode from the room. She was halfway up the stairs before Lucas’s voice halted her.
    “Miss Abby, where … what do you think you’re doing?”
    Abby paused, turned and looked down at him. Another time, another place, and she might have laughed at his gaping astonishment.
    She smiled faintly. “I think you know, Lucas.”
    His face had turned dark as a thundercloud. “Miss Abby, you can’t. Why, it’s crazy! The man’s an outlaw! No doubt he’s a killer just like Stringer Sam …” He stopped and cursed silently. He’d known Miss Abby too darned long not to recognize the stubborn set of that pretty little chin.
    Watching him, seeing the bleakness creep into his lined features, Abby felt her heart rend in two. Pa had been gone … what? Only a few hours.
    She felt as if a lifetime had passed since then.
    And yet there wasn’t time to see that Pa had a decent burial—she would have to leave that to Dorothy and Lucas. There wasn’t time to mourn him … to say a last good-bye.
    There wasn’t even time to cry.
    Lucas continued to stare up at her. “Miss Abby,” he said finally, “you don’t have to do this. Let me go instead.”
    A hot ache constricted her throat. Her heart brimmed with misery. “No, Lucas,” she said, her voice low and choked. “I need you here at the ranch. Besides, I promised Pa. I made that promise, Lucas, and it’s up to me to fulfill it. I know it’s risky, but this may be the only way to save Dillon—Kane may be the only man who can save my brother’s life.” She drew a deep tremulous breath, her eyes full of quiet desperation. “I have to find him, Lucas. I have to find Kane.”

Chapter 2
    “L et’s go upstairs,” she whispered.
    His lazy slouch against the bar was deceptive. Standing, he was a full six-foot-two inches of lean, spare flesh with the instincts of a predator. His hair was black as a crow’s wing, but whether his coloring came from his mama or his papa, he had no idea … because he’d never known either one. His mother was a drunk who’d left him on his own when he was just a kid; his father had never stayed around to begin with.
    “Kane?” The voice came again, a sultry invitation close to his ear.
    Soft feminine arms twined around his waist. Daisy draped herself against his back, thrilling to the intimate press of her stomach against his buttocks. She remembered splaying her hands against him last night, glorying in the way he tensed and flexed with each sinuous motion of his hips.
    A smile of remembered satisfaction played over her full, rouged lips. Such a man , she recalled. More man than most .
    Her fingers toyed with the thick dark strands of the hair that grew low on his nape. He hadn’t been inclined to talk last night, but that was all right. And for all that those glittering silver eyes gleamed icy and cool, he was a superb lover, not at all selfish like most of her customers. Why, it seemed almost a sin to take his money!
    And it wasn’t the thought of his money that was making her burn inside again. Her hands fluttered over his chest. She rotated her hips and whispered his name huskily once again, hoping he would take the hint.
    Kane released a long, pent-up sigh of frustration. He turned, trying to