THE RENEGADE RANCHER by Angi Morgan Read Free Book Online Page B

she worked by three that afternoon. Stuck inside. It couldn’t compare to working in the sun, walking in the sand or having the surf as part of every conversation.
    She missed the sun. But she was responsible now, with a real job and possible advancement. A permanent roof over her head instead of crashing with relatives during the winter season when she was broke. Responsibility was a good thing.
    The room didn’t look like Brian at all. Pictures in old frames were placed on a dresser around a handmade doily and jewelry box. Grandparents, baby photos of two identical boys and a stunning woman in a wedding dress from the 70s. Either the loner she’d met wasn’t much of a loner or it wasn’t Brian’s room after all.
    She was still completely dressed except for her shoes—a good thing, no awkward moments. She made the bed like a good guest—she’d been one often enough. Hit the bathroom, then not wanting to disturb anyone, she tiptoed through the hallway leading to the living area. She followed the heavenly smell of pancakes, hoping to find her cowboy rescuer.
    A man was crashed on the couch. His face was pressed into the back cushions, but she knew it was Brian. His boots were at one end with his hat resting on top. She wasn’t surprised he was still asleep. He’d worked all night, then stayed up with her. What she couldn’t believe was that he’d carried her to bed and she hadn’t woken up.
    “Shh. You’ll get in trouble if you wake up Uncle Brian,” a little girl tried to whisper from the kitchen entrance, placing her first finger across her lips but speaking loud enough to be heard across the room.
    Lindsey followed the little girl into the kitchen, hesitating before interrupting the woman cleaning up, uncertain how to explain why she was in her home. These two had to be the new additions to the family. She recognized their pictures from the articles she’d found involving Brian and the little girl’s kidnapping last summer.
    “Mommy,” Brian’s niece said, sending her pigtails bouncing over her shoulders.
    “Lauren, you know you have to eat before you can go outside. Get back in your seat and leave Uncle Brian alone.” She didn’t look away from the dishes in the sink.
    “Brian’s lady is up,” she announced, and her mom turned. Lauren laced her fingers through Lindsey’s and tugged her across the kitchen. Mother and daughter looked alike; both had rich, dark brown hair and the same arch to their brows.
    “Hi, I’m Alicia. Brian said y’all got here at dawn. I didn’t expect you up this soon.” Alicia wiped her hands on a dish towel. There had been a moment of hesitation with her smile, but it looked genuine now that it was in place. Then she knelt by her daughter. “Lauren, you didn’t go and wake Miss Lindsey up, did you?”
    Another surprise, Alicia Sloane knew her name. “Oh, no, I had a great sleep,” Lindsey rushed to explain. “I met Lauren in the living room. Oh, and I’m not Brian’s lady. We just met yesterday and he brought me here because I had no place to go. Great, that sort of sounds horrible. I mean, the story’s a little complicated. A lot complicated, actually.”
    Alicia smiled bigger, stood and tapped Lauren on the bottom, scooting her toward her booster seat at the table. “Thank you for minding me, sweetie. Now get up there and finish eating. Don’t worry, Lindsey. Brian explained everything over breakfast. Are you hungry? I was instructed to give you hotcakes as soon as you were ready.”
    “They smell delicious. Can I help?”
    “Guests don’t cook, silly.” One of the cutest giggles she’d ever heard came from tiny lips and a mouth full of pancakes.
    “Lauren, that was rude. You don’t call grown-ups silly.” Brian’s sister-in-law retrieved the batter from the refrigerator and slid it onto the mixer stand. “And you don’t talk with your mouth full.”
    “But you do. You said Uncle Brian bringing a guest to Pawpaw’s very full house was