Daring by Sylvia McDaniel Read Free Book Online Page B

her. Since that Mullins kid attacked her, she’s never been the same.”
    “Agreed. Deke is a good man. Maybe he can find out what caused her to react in such a strong manner. Plus, she’ll be safe with him. I trust him.”
    Caroline had admired Meg for years. She’d watched her as a child, taking care of her sisters. She’d been envious of the three girls. As an only child, Caroline had thought the sisters were so close, and for many years, she’d longed for a brother or sister she could share adventures with. Now, she knew Meg was the visible strength of the girls, while Annabelle was the quiet glue that held them together.
    “I hope so,” Meg said. “I worry about her.”
    The McKenzie girls had their share of heartache as well, losing first their mother and then their father and almost their farm.
    But now they were happy. Everyone at least except Ruby, who didn’t realize the people who loved her knew something was wrong. Even Caroline could see Ruby was no longer that flirtatious, happy, fun girl. Now a strong-willed woman determined to make bad men pay for their crimes had taken her place.
    “Deke cares about Ruby. She’ll be fine,” Caroline said, remembering how the man had watched Ruby’s every move. She wanted a man to look at her like that.
    “So, are you going to marry the pig farmer, Caroline?” Annabelle asked, changing the subject, her blue eyes laughing with merriment.
    Caroline dreaded going home and facing the wrath of her mother for leaving and not accepting the pig farmer’s proposal of marriage. Sure, she wanted to marry and have a family, but she wanted a husband she could feel proud of. Someone who, when she looked at him, sent butterflies flying through her belly, not someone who sent her nose twitching from his odor.
    “When pigs fly is when I’ll marry that man.”
    *
    The state of Texas was so big that in some parts God must have been tired when he created the state. He’d left out a few important details like grass and trees. While there were plenty of mesquite trees in the area, there were very few good solid oaks and no pinewood. Deke liked grass and seedlings, something besides prairie.
    Riding to Hide Town, Texas, a person could get lost and ride in circles for days on end, seeing the same scenery over and over. And now that winter was approaching, everything looked more like saplings or nothing at all.
    They had ridden all day and said very little to one another. Deke had no doubts Ruby was an experienced horsewoman and she knew how to find a criminal and even how to fire a weapon. He wasn’t worried about her skills; he was concerned about her.
    She was no longer the carefree girl he’d met almost three years ago who had begged him to make her into a woman, to show her what happened between a man and a woman. And while he’d ridden away that day hard with the desire to fulfill her every wish, he knew he couldn’t have taken her virginity and disrespected the man who had taught him the profession that had gotten him out of poverty.
    Even now, they were riding to avenge the man Deke esteemed, whose loss had been such a waste. And Deke knew from firsthand experience that death often came when you least expected it and were unprepared.
    It was the main reason he wanted to settle into a different kind of life, one where he wasn’t chasing the worst of humanity. One where he spent his time doing what he loved.
    “Find a good spot off the trail and let’s make camp for the night,” he said, not looking at Ruby, fearing she would see the desire he felt for her in his eyes. Truly, he was trying to hide it as much as possible, but still it was there.
    The bleak landscape around them with the rolling hills and few trees would soon be dark, and he had no desire to expose them to any unnecessary risk. As much as he dreaded this first night, it was time to stop and make camp.
    “No, we should keep going as long as we can.”
    “We’re still a full day’s ride from Fort