The Cowboy and the Angel Read Online Free Page B

freckles on the bridge of her nose. His fingers suddenly itched to bury themselves in the fiery length of her hair. He gripped the belt of his chaps, refusing to give in to the need to touch her, and took a step away from her. He’d never wanted to kiss anyone so badly.
    What was he thinking? This woman wanted to destroy Mike’s business—their family business—for ratings. She was a selfish, conniving witch, no matter how attractive. He hated himself for the desire still churning through his veins. Typical Derek, thinking with the wrong brain. He had to get a grip on himself before he betrayed his family again.
    “I guess it doesn’t matter how you get them, right? Who you might ruin along the way?”
    He saw her eyes cloud over, becoming as hard as the gems they resembled. “I’m a journalist, Mr. Chandler. I simply report the truth, even if you don’t like it.”
    “At least your skewed version of it,” he corrected. He turned back to his mount and unbuckled the halter. “I have to get back to work.”
    “I guess we’ll see soon enough how skewed my version is,” she answered with a haughty note.
    Derek mounted the gelding and curled his lip in derision. “I’m sure Findley Brothers will manage to come out unscathed, if your earlier outfit was any indication of the depth of your research skills.”
    “Well, since Mr. Findley has invited me to stay on the ranch and join him as his guest for the next few rodeos, I should be able to do plenty of in-depth research on every aspect of your job, don’t you think?”
    “He what?”
    She tilted her head, looking confused, and he wasn’t sure if she was legitimately surprised that he didn’t know about Mike’s invitation or just a great actress. “Mr. Findley suggested I follow you guys with a small crew and see how the animals are”—she searched for a suitable term—“handled.” She shrugged. She knew there was a good chance they would try to keep the less savory parts of the operation under wraps and hidden from her view. But they had a rodeo to run, which meant she’d have plenty of time to snoop around on her own without them watching over her shoulder. So far, it didn’t seem like they saw anything wrong with the way they operated though. In which case, she wouldn’t need to sneak around at all.
    “Wonderful,” he muttered. He forced himself to swallow the lump lodged in his throat as he clenched his jaw. “Then I guess this is your official welcome to the crew, Ms. McCallister.”
    He needed to find Mike now .

 
    Chapter Three
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    “M IKE, YOU’VE BEEN the only father I’ve ever known, and I mean this with all due respect . . .” Derek ran his fingers through his hair before slamming his hat back on his head. “What in the hell were you thinking? You cannot let her do a story on us.”
    “Derek, it’s not a big deal. We’ve got nothing to hide, and this will prove it. It should get animal rights activists off our backs.” He shook his head. “Trust me, your sister and Sydney will set her straight pretty quickly if she gets out of line. I almost feel sorry for her. Besides, she’s harmless.” He chuckled at the thought.
    Derek glared at Mike. “Just because that woman looks like an angel doesn’t make her one.”
    Mike’s brows shot to his hairline and he chuckled. “An angel?”
    “Damn it, Mike, this isn’t funny.” Derek sighed, irritated that he’d let the comment slip, and threw his gloves on the side of the trailer. His gelding twitched at the sound as a cloud of dust rose from under them.
    “What’s not funny?” His sister walked up to them with the baby in one arm and patted Derek’s horse on the neck.
    “Mike just invited that reporter to stay at the ranch in order to prove we don’t mistreat our animals.”
    “We don’t. So, what’s the big deal?” Jen agreed, shrugging. “She’ll follow us around for a few days, get some video, realize she was wrong, and go home. No story and no harm