Texas Bride. Carol Finch
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her face throbbing in rhythm with her pulse. Although her admiring gaze kept drifting up and down Jonah’s brawny body, she jerked her attention to the shaggy black hair that framed his rugged face. His bronzed skin, high cheekbones and chiseled features indicated Indian heritage, but his eyes were a startling shade of green and they showed curiosity and mistrust. It was difficult to maintain her composure while he kept his six-shooter pointed directly at her chest.
Six months earlier Maddie would have turned tail and run from such an awkward situation, and likely burst into tears after such a harrowing day. But she’d been tested repeatedly and forced to face one difficult situation after another. In addition, she was in need of immediate assistance and this man was the only person she could come remotely close to trusting.
“I’m dreadfully sorry about this interruption,” she blurted out. “But I need your help.”
He snorted and narrowed those intense green eyes at her. The smoke from his cigar drooped around his dark head like a fallen halo. This hard-edged law officer didn’t seem the least bit receptive or interested in her problems. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected from a member of the legendary Texas Rangers, but Jonah Danhill wasn’t it. Even unclothed he looked invincible, intimidating and unapproachable. Yet he was the most magnificent study of masculinity that she’d ever laid eyes on and she couldn’t help but be fascinated by him.
“My name is Maddie Garret,” she said, introducing herself nervously. “And I most certainly did not steal money from those two men. They are trying to steal money from me!”
Her comment drew very little reaction from the powerfully built man sprawled in the tub. When Maddie’s betraying gaze darted to the sudsy water that concealed his hips, her face went up in flames—again. Damnation, it was humiliating enough to plead her cause, but pleading to a naked man whose physical attributes kept distracting her—to the extreme—was even worse. She couldn’t help but admire the rippling muscles, sleek contours and dark skin that glistened with water droplets.
Maddie gave herself a mental slap for gawking, grabbed a quick breath and hurried on. “I heard you were a Texas Ranger so I came to find you, hoping for your protection.” She shifted uneasily from one foot to the other and stared over his head—anywhere except at that incredibly masculine body. “The hotel proprietor refused to give me your room number because he knew that you didn’t want to be disturbed.” Her gaze darted to Jonah momentarily, then skittered away once more. “With those two men hot on my heels I was frantic to find a safe haven—and I needed to find one fast. I told the proprietor that I was your wife and if anyone was allowed to disturb you then it definitely should be me.”
Jonah’s dark brows nearly rocketed off his forehead. He sucked in his breath so abruptly that he choked on cigar smoke. “My wife?” he wheezed incredulously.
“I was desperate,” she said righteously. “I made a hasty trip from my West Texas ranch to Fort Worth to request a loan against my trust fund. My inheritance won’t be available until my twenty-first birthday. I can’t wait another three months to gain control of the money, because my younger sister has been kidnapped and she’s being held for ransom.”
“Kidnapped?” Jonah parroted as he surveyed the attractive female standing before him.
She reminded him of a pagan goddess in living flesh. Her pale yellow gown accentuated her feminine curves and swells. Golden highlights glinted in her hair. Amber shimmered in her thick-lashed eyes. The texture of her skin reminded him of honey. Jonah had seen a few strikingly attractive women in his time, but this female radiated beauty, spirit and determination, and his body involuntarily responded to the appealing sight of her. Jonah was damn glad the sudsy water concealed his stirring arousal.
Although it was obvious that Maddie was uncomfortable carrying on a conversation with a naked man, she seemed to be on an unswerving mission to present her side of the story.
“Yes, kidnapped,” Maddie confirmed as she began to pace restlessly. “Christina is fifteen years old and I’m sure she must be terrified by this ordeal. Worse, she is uncommonly attractive and I fear she will be set upon by the band of cattle thieves who spirited her away.”
Maddie halted abruptly and glanced in his direction. “Evidence indicates that renegade Comanches have escaped from their reservation and have returned to their former homeland to raid, rustle and terrorize ranchers. If I don’t pay the ransom within a week I might never see Christina again. I’m in urgent need of your help.”
Jonah inwardly winced when she mentioned the Comanche. Fifteen years earlier he had lived with his father’s people in West Texas—before the land was taken from the Indians and opened for settlement. Because of his bitter past Jonah had refused to take arms against his people in that part of the state. Aware of his mixed heritage, Jonah’s commander had not forced him to patrol the area. Instead, Jonah had been sent to subdue white outlaws and Mexican desperadoes who stole Texas cattle and drove them south of the border.
The very last thing Jonah wanted was to revisit his old stomping grounds and stir up bittersweet memories.
“Not interested,” he said abruptly. “I’m in town to recuperate from an injury.” He directed her attention to his mending shoulder. “I’m taking a long-awaited furlough. You need to speak with the sheriff who has jurisdiction in the county where your ranch is located.”
Her luminous eyes threw off molten sparks. “I have to cross a wild frontier, carrying a considerable amount of money, to even get the opportunity to ask for the sheriff’s assistance,” she countered irritably. “Reaching Fort Worth unscathed was difficult enough. Returning home will be worse because I’ll have those two thieves breathing down my neck.”
“If they are actually thieves.” Jonah smirked skeptically. “I’ve been around long enough to know better than to be taken in by a pretty face and a wild tale of kidnapping, rustling and robbery.” He rinsed the soap from his arms and chest, then puffed on his cheroot. “Now, make yourself scarce, Miz Garret. I’d like to get dressed.”
She tilted her chin to a defiant angle, braced her fists on her shapely hips and said, “I am not leaving this room until you promise to help me rescue my sister from death—or worse. You have an obligation as a ranger to aid and protect citizens in need.”
She was stubborn and determined, he’d give her that. But who was to say which side of the law she was really on?
“Lady,” he retaliated gruffly, “I don’t get paid enough to go haring off to West Texas with a mending arm. Besides, I’ve learned to take nothing at face value. Why should I protect a woman who has been accused of theft? And why should I believe a female who is probably feeding me a wild tale to prey on my sympathy?”
“Because I’m an innocent victim! I will pay you to escort me home and deliver the ransom,” she insisted sharply.
His bathwater was getting cold, but her temper was getting hot, he noticed as she glowered, trying to scare him into submission. Before he could reject her request again—and he certainly intended to—she flounced on his bed, jerked up her skirt and tugged at the hem.
Jonah gaped at her well-shaped bare legs and silky skin for a long, appreciative moment before he forced his attention to the bundles of paper currency she had stitched into her skirt. He nearly swallowed his cigar when she stamped over to the tub, grabbed his hand and slapped a bundle of money onto his palm.
“It appears that the only way to gain your trust is to pay you up front,” she muttered angrily. She dropped the remainder of the bundles atop the stack in his hand. “I am entrusting my inheritance to you, as well. If I wind up dead—and with two thieves on my trail that is certainly a possibility—I expect you to rescue my sister. Surely even the meager amount of sympathy and conscience you possess won’t allow you to ignore the welfare and safety of a terrified girl!”
When Maddie whirled toward the door, Jonah reflexively came to his feet. “Wait just a damn minute, lady. I’ve been saving lives left and right for a decade—”
She whipped her head around—to fling a sassy