The Texan by Bobbi Smith Read Free Book Online

saddle, ready for another rough ride. The stallion didn’t disappoint him. Even though the horse was obviously tired, he put up another good fight. This time, though, Josh managed to hang on. It wasn’t easy, but he stayed in the saddle.The stallion charged toward the fence and then stopped quickly and bucked as hard as he could, spinning around in his effort to unseat the man who was trying to break him, but Josh was as hardheaded as the stallion.
    The two battled on.
    Les had intended to drive the ladies straight up to the house, but there was so much cheering going on out at the corral, he drove there first.
    Burley saw the carriage coming and called out, “Hey, boys! Emmie’s here!”
    At his shout, the ranch hands glanced over to see the lawyer pulling up in the carriage with Emmie and two other ladies. They forgot all about Josh’s fight with the stallion as they hurried over to welcome Emmie home.
    Burley reached the carriage first.
    “Burley!” Emmie greeted him with a warm smile. He had always been one of her favorite ranch hands. She knew the gentle giant had a tender heart.
    At her greeting, the big man didn’t hesitate, but went straight to her to lift her down from the carriage with ease.
    “We heard you were coming,” he told her. He looked back up at the carriage and asked, “Who’d you bring with you?”
    “This is Miss Harriet, our chaperone, and my best friend, Millie,” Emmie said, quickly introducing her companions. Then looking up at the ranch hand, she told them, “And this is Burley. He’s worked here on the Rocking R for as long as I can remember.”
    “That’s right, I have. I’ve known this pretty ladysince she was knee-high to a grasshopper. We used to call her ‘Little’ Emmie, but not anymore. It’s nice to meet you,” he returned.
    Emmie smiled, remembering Burley’s affectionate nickname for her when she was a little girl.
    Les climbed down to help Millie and Miss Harriet descend from the carriage while Emmie went to greet the other ranch hands who’d come over to welcome her home.
    “We’re real sorry about your pa.” Burley’s mood turned solemn as he spoke up for all of them.
    “Thank you,” Emmie said sadly, looking at the men who’d been so loyal to her father. “I’m still having trouble believing he’s gone.”
    “So are we,” one of the other men offered in consolation.
    “Is Josh around?” Les asked Burley He knew this was going to be the hardest moment of her homecoming—going up to the house and finding her father not there—and he wanted to get the introductions over with so she could have time alone to adjust to all the changes in her life.
    Burley gave him a wry grin. “Who do you think’s riding that bronc?”
    As he spoke, everyone looked back toward the corral. Josh was still in the saddle. While they were watching, the stallion gave one last weak buck and then gave up the fight.
    Josh had been so caught up in breaking the horse that he hadn’t realized the ranch hands were gone until that moment. Glancing around, he spotted thecarriage. Les and the three women standing beside it were talking to Burley and the other boys. Josh reined in and dismounted.
    “Here he comes now,” Les said to Emmie.
    Emmie looked over toward the corral. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting of the partner her father had taken on—an older man, maybe, someone closer to Hank’s own age, but the sight of the tall, lean, ruggedly handsome cowboy striding their way unsettled her. There was something about him—an air of confidence and control, and even an edge of danger—that said he was a man to be reckoned with. She remembered what Carol Mason had said about him in town. She’d called him a gunman. Emmie wondered if Josh really had made his living with a gun before he’d come to the Rocking R. She waited, more than a little tense, while he approached.
    As Josh drew near, it took him only a moment to recognize Hank’s daughter. Hank had a