Relentless by Bobbi Smith Read Free Book Online

“My daughter says you’re a Ranger.”
    “That’s what she told me, but I have no memory of anything before yesterday when I woke up here,” Frank answered honestly.
    “Nothing at all? Not your name? Or who might have been trying to kill you? I don’t need no trouble here on the ranch.” Nat studied the wounded man, watching to see if he was lying.
    Frank looked up at him and met his gaze straight on. “No. Nothing.”
    Nat appreciated that the man looked him in the eye. He knew then he wasn’t a liar. “All right. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need to, and we won’t go telling anybody that you’re here, just in case someone is out gunning for you. The fewer people who know where you are, the better.”
    “I appreciate it.”
    “You rest up.” Nat turned and left the room.
    Frank watched him go, and then closed his eyes in frustration as he tried desperately to remember something that would give him a clue to his identity.

Chapter Five
    One Week Later
    “Oh, Dusty, you look so pretty in that dress!” Francie told her friend as she watched Dusty standing before the mirror in her bedroom wearing the borrowed turquoise gown.
    “I feel pretty, too—for the first time in ages—” Dusty admitted. “Are you sure it’s all right if I wear your gown tonight?”
    “Of course, it is! I’m just thrilled it fits you so well,” Francie insisted, delighted that Dusty was in town and would be able to attend the dance. It wasn’t often Dusty and her father managed to get back in time for the social events of Canyon Springs. True, they had to head out again the following day, but at least her friend could have fun tonight.
    Dusty had been wearing her pants and work shirt, as usual, when she’d first come to the house for a visit, and Francie, good friend that she was, had insisted Dusty come to her room and pick out one of her dresses to wear.
    Dusty stared at her own reflection in the mirroronce more and then looked at her friend and grinned. “You know, I actually feel like a girl again—even with the short hair—” She twirled about, enjoying the feel of the skirt flaring out around her. She rarely bothered to wear a dress anymore. The only time she did was when she and her father happened to be in town on a Sunday and she got to go to church. The simple dress she wore then was nothing like the gown she had on now. The lovely turquoise confection had a scooped neckline and yards of lace trim.
    “You are a girl, and don’t you ever forget it!” her friend scolded, and they both laughed.
    “It’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to dress up—” Dusty turned to get an even better view of the stylish gown.
    “Well, this is your big night. We’re going to have a good time.”
    “I know.”
    “I just wish you were in town more.”
    “I do, too, but my father wants me to stay with him.”
    Francie understood, but knew it was a difficult life for her friend. “I’m just thankful that you haven’t had any trouble on your trips.”
    “Oh, we’ve run into trouble, but Papa’s one of the best drivers around. He can handle just about anything. Why, just last week one of the wheels was damaged, and we almost tipped over.”
    Francie gasped at the thought of Dusty sitting on the driver’s bench when the stage started to go over. “What did you do?”
    “I held on real tight,” Dusty answered, managing a grin even as she remembered the terror of the moment, “and Papa straightened it out. No one was hurt. Some of the passengers were a little shaken up, but they got over it.”
    “You are so brave. I don’t know how you do it.”
    “I’m my father’s daughter.”
    “Your mother would be proud of you.”
    For a moment, Dusty was quiet. “I hope so.”
    “She would be,” Francie reassured her and gave her a quick hug.
    Dusty started to tell her that the stage would be carrying a big payroll when they left in the morning and that her father had even hired an extra man