Taming the Montana Millionaire by Teresa Southwick Read Free Book Online Page A

chided the teen.
    Roy just shrugged. “Can I go now?”
    â€œDo you have a place to sleep?” she asked, knowing full well he didn’t or he wouldn’t be here.
    â€œWhat do you care?” the teen asked.
    â€œThat’s not an answer.” Haley folded her arms over her chest. “I’d give you permission to sleep here except my permit doesn’t allow anyone under age to be here without adult supervision.”
    â€œThen I’ll split and find somewhere else to crash.”
    Haley sighed. “Look, it’s late. I’m tired. And I won’t sleep if I’m worried about you.”
    Hey, Marlon thought, that was his line. He didn’t like where this was heading.
    â€œYou don’t have to,” the kid told her.
    â€œDoesn’t mean I won’t. You can come home with me.”
    â€œWhat?” Marlon stared at her and wondered if her bleeding heart was starving her brain of oxygen. “That’s crazy. What do you know about him?”
    â€œHe’s in trouble. That’s all I need to know.” She heldup her hand to stop him when Roy started to deny it. “He reminds me of Austin when he was that age. It’s why I started this program. How can I turn away the first kid who needs help? Where would my brother be if he’d been turned away when he needed it?”
    â€œBut, Haley—” Marlon met her stubborn gaze and slid the kid a wary look while trying to think of something to change her mind. “He’s a total stranger. Bad things happen, even in Thunder Canyon.”
    â€œNo one knows that better than me.”
    â€œLook, I didn’t mean to—”
    â€œDon’t worry about it. The thing is, I’m a pretty good judge of character,” she insisted. “And, if you’re worried, you can follow me home.”
    No, he really couldn’t. Not legally. “I don’t have a car,” he hedged.
    â€œNo wheels?” the kid said. “That’s harsh.”
    â€œI didn’t think I’d need any,” he defended. “And if I did, I could borrow a truck from my dad’s construction company.”
    â€œWell, I don’t want to drive you back to town just because you have big-city induced trust issues,” she said.
    â€œI’ll sleep on your couch.”
    She glared at him for several moments, then nodded, apparently getting the message that he wasn’t backing down. “Roy can sleep on an air mattress in Austin’s room.”
    â€œOkay.”
    That was a lie, Marlon thought, because nothing was okay. A night on her couch was the last thing he wanted but he couldn’t let her drive out to her place all alone with a kid she didn’t know anything about, and a runaway to boot. Damn this protective feeling. It was darned inconvenient.
    It wasn’t bad enough that he’d sat in the dark with herfor hours, wanting to kiss her. Now he’d be spending the night under her roof.
    On the other hand, it was the least he could do. She didn’t just talk the talk. She walked the walk and was willing to put herself out there to help a kid in need. She was a really good person in addition to that sweet, sexy thing she had going on. She wasn’t a taker, but a giver and for reasons he couldn’t put his finger on, he found that incredibly appealing.
    Marlon had a feeling he wouldn’t actually get any sleep on her couch—and it had nothing to do with whether or not it was comfortable. Spending the night under the fascinating do-gooder’s roof would give him ideas that would test a saint’s will power.
    And he was no saint.

Chapter Four
    T he next morning, Haley sat in a booth at The Hitching Post next to Marlon, with Roy across from them. This place, with its cowboy ambience and distressed hardwood floors, was home away from home to her. Manager Linda Powell had given her a job when she badly needed one and that bought a lot of