Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer Read Free Book Online

to maneuver around his brother, but the quick change of direction gave Meredith no time to compensate for her weaker leg. She stumbled a bit, her limp becoming more pronounced. Travis frowned down at her leg as he drew her to a halt.
    â€œDid you say you took her home? You actually left our land?”
    â€œHer leg was broken. What did you expect me to do?” Travis demanded. “Leave her for the coyotes?”
    â€œOf course not. It’s just . . .” Crockett stood there staring at him, the incredulous look on his face almost comical. “I never thought you’d cross that line.”
    â€œIt was one time. Don’t make more of it than it is.”
    Good advice for her, too, Meredith realized as Travis shouldered past Crockett and continued escorting her across the clearing. The fact that Travis had kept their meeting a secret from his brothers didn’t mean something private and personal existed between them. Most likely, all it meant was that he didn’t want to give them an excuse to follow his example and venture too far from home. Allowing the warmth expanding all too rapidly inside her to cloud her judgment would indeed be foolish.
    Too bad his hand felt so good on her arm and his solid presence at her side confirmed all those heroic imaginings she’d indulged in as a young girl. It made sensibility far less attractive.
    A horse whinnied somewhere behind the house, though, and reason returned as she recalled Ginger tied up at the gate. Coupling that with Travis’s comment about the coyotes, Meredith knew her errand had taken too long already.
    Before he could haul her up to the covered porch that stretched the length of the log house, Meredith tugged her elbow free and stepped a couple of paces away from the steps. “Thank you for offering the hospitality of your home, but I really should be on my way. I left my horse tied at your gate, and she tends to get restless if left alone too long.”
    Travis’s gaze bore into her. Gone was the compassion she’d experienced as a child. And the gratitude she’d expected to see was nowhere in evidence, either. The only thing glimmering in those greenish-brown eyes of his was steely determination.
    â€œI’m not bringing you to the house to offer you hospitality, Meredith.” Travis closed the distance between them with one long stride. “I’m bringing you here so that you can tell us everything you know about this former fiancé of yours and his plans for our ranch.”
    â€œBut . . .” Meredith looked from brother to brother. Even the teasing Crockett looked implacable. “I’ve already told you all I know,” she insisted.
    The Archers surrounded her once again and started herding her like a stray cow. Before she knew it, she was up the porch steps and through the front door.
    This was not how things were supposed to go. The heroic Travis of her dreams would never dictate to her in such a way.
    â€œIt’s nearly dark. I really have to go. It’s not proper for me to be here.” Her protests fell on deaf ears as they drove her toward the kitchen. Warmth from the stove permeated the air along with the smell of some kind of roasted meat.
    Travis pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and glared at her until she sat down. He set his gun against the wall and leaned close to her face, one hand on the table, one on the back of her chair. “I’m sorry, Meredith, but I can’t take any chances. Protecting my brothers and my land always comes first with me. Always.” His words rang with righteous conviction, leaving little room for argument. “You’ll stay here and answer my questions until I’m satisfied that I’ve gotten all I can from you.”
    Meredith’s temper flared, although she didn’t know if she was more upset about being coerced to stay or about her hero acting in such an unchivalrous manner. “So it’s