Read Certified Cowboy for Free Online Page B

that nauseated her because it reminded her of Rex.
    Dear God, had he found her?

    J OHNNY WANTED TO ASSURE Rachel he was only trying to be nice to her son. But he couldn’t force her into liking him or sharing her past.
    Dammit. He’d put off checking into her background. Why, he didn’t know.
    Maybe because she was so damn pretty and looked so lost and frightened and in need of a friend. Or maybe it had to do with her son. Maybe Kenny reminded him of himself at that age.
    But he couldn’t stall running the background check any longer. Not with the other kids around.
    He walked back to the dining hall, retrieved his truck, then drove back to the main headquarters. Inside, he grabbed a cold beer, then slipped inside the office. He hated to probe, but he was her employer and they had rules, so he phoned the service they used to run background checks.
    Troy Staley, the guy the BBL had used before, answered and plugged Rachel’s name into the database.
    He took a long pull from the bottle and waited several seconds, then Troy spoke.
    “Several different women with that name popped up, Johnny. The first is seventy-five and lives in Wyoming.”
    “So it’s a common name,” Johnny said, although his pulse was clamoring.
    “Yeah. There’s also a teenager from Georgia who won a beauty pageant.” Troy sighed. “I’m checking down the list, but none of them match the description you gave me. Well, except the last one. But that Rachel Simmons was buried in Austin three weeks ago.”
    Hmm, she’d lived in Texas and was about the same age as Rachel.
    He frowned, his mind clicking away various possibilities. Maybe the database had missed her for some reason.
    Or maybe Rachel had given him a fake name.
    But why?
    “Thanks, man. If you find out anything else, give me a call.”
    “Right, I’ll keep looking.”
    Johnny disconnected, then headed out the door, irritated that Rachel might have placed the kids at the BBL in danger. Night had fallen, the full moon a ball of fire casting a shimmering glow across the pastures as he climbed into his truck and drove to her cabin.
    He loved his own spread, but this place had come to life with the kids this week. And for the first time in years, he felt as if he was doing something worthwhile.
    He couldn’t let anyone jeopardize the operation or the people here.
    The truck rumbled across the dirt drive, the sight of the quarter horses they’d just brought in running through the east pasture a reminder that he had to start organizing the rodeo. Plan the events, advertise, make posters… It was going to take time and all his focus.
    A vehicle parked at the ridge by the creek on the hill drew his eye, and he frowned. Maybe one of the grooms or ranch hands had driven out there for some fresh air? He craned his neck to see the make of the vehicle, but didn’t recognize it.
    Odd.
    Still, he didn’t know every SUV or truck belonging to the hands.
    Then again, what if their neighbor Rich Copeland was snooping around? He’d protested when Brody had bought the land and designated it for a kids’ camp. Copeland tried to stir up supporters to stop Brody, claiming troubled boys would endanger his own property and hands. Brody had tried to make the man understand that his fears were unfounded, but Copeland wouldn’t back down and had spread rumors and stirred animosity and worry with others in town. There was bad blood between the men now.
    He’d reached Rachel’s cabin and forgot about the vehicle and Copeland as he pulled to a stop and tried to determine the best way to approach her.
    Sucking in a sharp breath, he climbed out, pausing to study the cabin. Even though she’d been here only a few days, Rachel had planted flowers in the flower boxes and had attached wind chimes from the awning of the front porch. She’d even hung the bird feeder Kenny had built in the day camp with the other boys and filled it with birdseed.
    As if she was making this a home.
    Guilt slammed into his gut for