Read Lone Stallion's Lady for Free Online Page A

you, lady, but that kind of thing doesn’t happen to me every day of the week.”
    “Oh, save me.” She glanced down at the hand encircling her arm. “And remove that now. I’m not going for any of your Neanderthal tactics.”
    His fingers released and she walked around him, picked up her laptop computer case and unzipped it. “Was there anything else you wanted to grill me about?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder as she placed the sleek little computer on the desk near her bed.
    “I just wanted to clear the air.”
    “Consider it cleared.” She found the outlet and plugged in her machine, then, ignoring the drumming of her heart, looked around for a phone jack.
    As if he understood her dilemma, he said, “There aren’t any connections in the rooms. I already checked.” With a thumb hooked toward the wall, he added, “I’m in the next room.”
    Her stomach tightened. He was close, too damned close. Just one door down the hall? In a house that had seven bedrooms. Just…great.
    “I’ve already talked to Garrett and placed a call to the local phone company to have a few more lines installed, but it’ll take a while.” He walked to the door and swung it wide, then strode through and said over his shoulder, “As I said earlier, ‘This ain’t exactly L.A.’”
     
    So it was true, Jordan thought as he shoved his plate to one side of the table. He’d eaten a long, late lunch, listening to the gossip buzzing around him like a swarm of mosquitoes on a stagnant swamp. Garrett Kincaid had, with the help of a private investigative firm fromsomewhere in California, located Larry’s illegitimate brood. He’d also managed to get control of the ranch that Jordan considered his own private legacy. Of course, he’d been screwed out of it. All those promises his uncle Cameron had made weren’t diddly squat. Once again, the Kincaids had kicked the Baxters.
    Hell.
    Frowning darkly, Jordan stirred his coffee and his blood boiled, but he somehow managed to hold his tongue. He’d learned a long time ago it was better to get even than to get mad, but that took considerable self-control.
    Jordan took a long sip from his cup, eyed the desserts that were slowly cooling in a rotating display case, and eased back in his booth. He was alone, which was fitting, he supposed. Since returning to Whitehorn a millionaire several times over, he’d collected a lot of “friends,” but he didn’t trust any of them. He knew they only liked him for his money and what he could do for them. Yep, he was becoming a powerful man here in Whitehorn and he’d been feeling pretty good about himself until Wayne Kincaid hadn’t accepted his offer to buy back the ranch he should have inherited.
    “How about a piece of pie?” Janie asked, dragging him out of his vengeful thoughts. She was a cute thing and efficient as all get-out. Her blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and her perennial smile was tacked neatly in place. Head waitress and would-be manager, she ran the Hip Hop Café these days. “We’ve got fresh strawberry-rhubarb, and isn’t that your favorite?”
    “Yep, but I think I’ll pass.”
    “Your loss,” she teased, and refilled his cup.
    “Hey, what’s this I hear about Garrett Kincaid buying the ranch from Wayne and fillin’ it up with the grand-kids that Larry left all over the country?”
    Little lines formed between Janie’s eyebrows and she hesitated. She wasn’t one prone to gossip, unlike most of her clientele. “That’s the word. I haven’t talked to Garrett myself about it, though, so, I guess it’s still just hearsay.” She slapped Jordan’s check onto the table as the front door opened and a group of teenagers walked in. “If you reconsider about the pie, flag me down.”
    “Will do.” He reached for his wallet and eyed the crowd. There was Lily Mae, the town’s premier gossip, dressed to kill, as usual, in a tight lavender sweater and matching slacks. At another table Winona Cobbs’s