01 Cade by Paige Tyler Read Free Book Online

of minutes,” Cade told her as he closed the door.
    Riley nodded absently as he strode across the living room and disappeared down the hallway and into what she assumed was his bedroom. As bachelor pads went, it was nice, she thought as she looked around. There were the requisite television, CD player, and various other electronic equipment, of course, but there were no piles of dirty clothes on the floor or dishes in the sink like she had would have expected to see.
    Maybe that was because Cade didn’t live alone, she thought. Maybe he shared the apartment with a girlfriend.
    That would make sense, considering how clean and put together the place was. For some strange reason, though, the notion of Cade having a girlfriend bothered Riley. Which made no sense. It wasn’t like she was jealous or anything. Actually, she didn’t even like him. That being the case, she pushed the errant thought aside. Besides, it made sense that the Marshal would have a girlfriend; he was too good looking not to. But as Riley let her gaze wander around the living room, she couldn’t help but admit she was relieved to find that there weren’t any obvious feminine touches anywhere. Maybe he didn’t have a girlfriend.
    Catching sight of the framed photos on one of the shelves on the built-in bookcase along the wall, Riley gave in to her curiosity and walked over to look at them. One was of a smiling, older couple standing in front of what looked like a horse corral. The man was wearing a cowboy hat and had his arm around the woman’s shoulders while she leaned into him slightly. From the man’s angular jaw and the woman’s warm golden-brown eyes, it was easy to figure out that they were Cade’s parents.
    Riley turned her attention from that photo to the one beside it. This one was of Cade and another man that could only be his brother. Besides being tall and broad-shouldered like the Marshal, the man also had the same dark hair, chiseled features, and golden-brown eyes that Cade did. A girl would have a hard time resisting either of them, she thought.
    A noise behind Riley interrupted her musings, and she turned to see Cade coming out of the bedroom, overnight bag in hand. Embarrassed to be caught looking at his personal things, Riley flushed and quickly set the picture fame back on the shelf.
    “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “I didn’t mean to...”
    But Cade only shrugged. “That’s okay,” he said.
    Riley tucked her hair behind her ear. “Is this your brother?” she asked, glancing at the picture.
    Cade set his suitcase down on the floor and walked over to stand beside her. “Yeah,” he said. “That was taken a couple of years ago out at my parents’ ranch.”
    She nodded. “Does he live in Texas then?”
    “Madoc?” Cade shook his head. “No. He’s a U.S. Marshal out in Denver.”
    Riley looked at him in surprise. “Your brother’s a Marshal, too?”
    His mouth quirked. “Yeah,” he said. “I’d guess you’d say I’m following in his footsteps, though I’d never admit that to him.”
    She smiled, her gaze going back to the photo again. “You two sound like you’re close.”
    “I suppose you could say that,” Cade replied. “We fought like crazy when we were younger, and we’re still competitive as hell, but there’s nothing we wouldn’t do for each other.”
    Riley’s thoughts automatically went to her own family, and she chewed on her lower lip. “My sisters and I are really close like that, too,” she said softly. “Before I was in Witness Protection, I’d get together with at least one of them every weekend. Sometimes, they’d come to Manhattan and we’d go shopping or see a show, and then, sometimes, I’d go up to Connecticut to spend the weekend with one of them.” She shook her head. “God, it seems like a lifetime ago.”
    Beside her, Cade furrowed his brow. Once again, he realized how hard being in the program had been for Riley.
    He suddenly had an almost irresistible urge to take