Cowboy to the Rescue by Stella Bagwell Read Free Book Online

they’d be there for him.”
    â€œWhat about the third man, Lawrence Carter?”
    â€œThe epitome of a nerd. Physically weak. Smart at his job, but socially backwards. He’d always been big in playing the stock market and had a degree in business along with being a chemist. Like I said, he was smart, but Red always bullied him around. I remember Mom mentioning that Lawrence had a sickly son, but I don’t know what came of that. You might ask her about it. But I’m pretty sure his wife left him, too, sometime after Dad died. But his luck turned around eventually. All three men came into a small fortune about a year after Dad died.”
    Christina looked at him sharply. “Oh? How did that happen?”
    Lex shrugged. “Dumping a bunch of company stock right before the value crashed. Just good timing, I suppose. A lot of stockholders lost all their retirement investments. Some demanded an investigation, but nothing criminal was ever proved.”
    The wheels inside Christina’s head were clicking at a fast rate, but she didn’t voice her thoughts aloud. She needed much more time and information before she could share with Lex any of the ideas she was entertaining. Instead, she said, “Well, could be the men were just savvy traders. Sometimes it’s hard to tell a good businessman from a thief.”
    â€œYeah.” He rose from his perch on the bridge and offered a hand down to her. “We’d better be getting along. If you’re ready, I’ll show you the family cemetery before we head back to the ranch. It’s a little west of here, but not too far.”
    â€œI’d like that.”
    She closed her fingers around his, and with no effort at all, he tugged her to her feet. The sudden momentum tilted her forward, and she instinctively threw her hands out to prevent herself from falling straight into his arms. They landed smack in the middle of his chest, and she found her face only inches from his.
    â€œOh! I—I’m sorry!” she said breathlessly. “I lost my balance.”
    As she started to push herself away, she realized that he had a steadying hold on both her arms.
    â€œNo need to apologize,” he said, with a grin. “I’m just glad you didn’t teeter over into the creek. You would have probably taken me with you.”
    She desperately wished he would release his hold on her. Standing this close to him was creating an earthquake in the pit of her stomach. Everything about him smelled like a man, felt like a man. And everything inside of her was reacting like a woman.
    â€œThat wouldn’t have been any fun,” she said, trying to keep her voice light.
    â€œOh, I don’t know. Might be pleasant to have a little morning swim together.”
    The suggestive drawl of his voice clanged warning bells in the back of her head, and she quickly jerked away from the clasp of his hands. “I—uh, we better head on to the cemetery.”
    Christina walked off the bridge, and as she rapidly headed toward the waiting horses, she sensed him following closely behind her.
    Once she reached Hannah’s side, the touch of his hand on the back of her shoulder drew her head around. As she met his gaze, she felt her breath lodging in her throat.
    â€œChristina, are you okay?”
    The softly spoken question caught her off guard, and for a moment she wasn’t sure how to answer. “Why, yes. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    His brows pulled together in a frown of confusion. “Because I saw something on your face back there. You looked at me like you were scared and wanted to run away.” He gently touched his fingertips to her cheek. “You’re not frightened of me, are you?”
    Totally disconcerted, she looked at the leather stirrup dangling near her waist, the ground where one of Hannah’s hooves was stomping at a pestering fly, at anything and everything but him. “That’s silly. Of