Last Stand In Texas. Robin Perini

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СКАЧАТЬ which meant she’d been watching for him. His behavior had become too predictable. Another sign he should move on.

      Mrs. Hargraves smiled, a beam of pleasure in her eyes at his compliment. “Practice. If I’m going to avoid wearing quiet, ugly librarian shoes, I’d better be able to walk this place without making a sound.”

      She could probably sneak up on 99 percent of the clientele, too. According to Carder legend, Mrs. Hargraves had been the librarian since the 1960s. Dressed in jeans, Ropers and a flannel shirt, she sure didn’t dress or act like any librarian he’d known, but the woman knew her books.

      Over the last couple years, he’d let her pick out one book for him whenever he visited. She rarely went wrong. His favorite to date was Inherit the Stars by James P. Hogan.

      “I’ve been saving this for you,” she said, handing him The Prince by Machiavelli.

      He nearly choked. He jerked his chin to meet her gaze. Did she know? Or did she think he needed lessons in being authoritative? Either one made the back of his neck itch.

      “Thanks.” He took the book, forcing a smile.

      “I can see there’s something wrong.” She frowned at him. “Are you okay after your...trip? Not like that last one, I hope.”

      Okay, so she was observant, too.

      “Or...” She paused for a moment and glanced behind her. “Is it my new assistant you’re interested in?”

      A small sense of relief loosened his neck muscles. So his favorite octogenarian had matchmaking on her mind.

      He returned the book to the shelf. “You caught me. I may have noticed both of your new helpers.”

      Mrs. Hargraves rocked back on the heels of her boots. “The last one quit and Faith needed a job. I liked the look of her. Been here a couple of months. She’s always on time, she’s no trouble, and that girl of hers is a pistol. Reminds me of myself when I was a youngster.”

      Faith. Her name suited her.

      “You’re collecting strays.”

      “Maybe.” She crooked her finger at him, and he bent closer. “Faith’s in big trouble. Skittish as a newborn colt. I don’t know what kind of problem, but I get the feeling whatever she’s running from is about to come to a head. You could help her.” She narrowed her gaze. “I have a strong suspicion of what you folks do out at that ranch.”

      He didn’t respond. “Thanks for everything.” He kissed her cheek and started to walk away.

      She grabbed his shirt. “She needs you. Don’t ignore your gut.”

      Muffled whispers sounded from the tables at the back of the library. Stefan sent Mrs. Hargraves a subtle nod and followed the noise. He paused just out of their sight.

      “What have I told you, Zoe? We can’t draw attention to ourselves, and you promised you’d work on your reading.”

      “I hate reading. I’m bored. I want to go home and play baseball with Danny. I can’t miss the next season of Little League. He’ll kill me.”

      “Look, Slugger, we need to stay here just a little longer. Then...”

      “You keep saying that. I want to go home with Daddy. I know he doesn’t like you, but he likes me. He wouldn’t make me sit hours and hours and hours reading stupid books all the time. He’d buy me stuff to play with. Cool stuff.” Zoe jerked away from her mother and plopped down at a table scattered with crayons, construction paper and children’s books.

      Ouch. Faith’s daughter could strike a bull’s-eye.

      Faith stared at Zoe with tortured eyes. Stefan had seen it before. The heartache. The dejection. He didn’t know exactly what was going on, but they clearly needed help.

      Seeing a woman that afraid of being found didn’t sit well with him. They needed help. Help he could give. If he could convince them to trust him.

      THE RAIN PELTED Carder with no signs of letting up anytime soon. A rainbow crossed the gray sky of the horizon, leading to nowhere. Faith stood in the doorway of the library and studied the expanse of dark clouds. They portended the future much more than the pink and blue and green. Rainbows were supposed to hold magic and hope. She’d lost count of the days since she’d believed in either.

      Zoe still did, of course.

      Faith attempted to cloak herself in optimism. Maybe their luck could change, but somehow she doubted it. From the morning she’d realized what her ex-husband had done to her car breaking down in this middle-of-nowhere town, she and Zoe hadn’t caught a break. She’d fought against the panic of being discovered every day. Sometimes she succeeded, but she’d been unsettled since the stranger had shown up at the library today. Something to do with how his gaze had pierced right through her, how he’d seemed to see too much and how Zoe couldn’t stop talking about him.

      She didn’t know how long she waited before the rain finally tapered off. The library had closed an hour ago, but Faith couldn’t afford for their clothes to get wet or dirty. She didn’t have the money to go to the Laundromat twice in a week.

      “Looks like it’s letting up,” Mrs. Hargraves said.

      “Thanks for letting me stay.” Faith shifted on her feet. She didn’t like making small talk. It led to relationships, and relationships meant being noticed.

      “I don’t mind driving you home, honey.”

      “That’s okay. I have to hit the store first. I’m out of your way.”

      “Nothing’s out of the way in Carder.”

      Faith didn’t respond. Mrs. Hargraves had hired her off the books. It was best no one knew where she lived, not even someone as seemingly honest as her boss. Faith had to be careful. If no one knew where she lived, she could relax enough to close her eyes at night. At least for a few hours. “Pack up, Zoe. We’re going home.”

      Her daughter ran up to her with a frown. “It’s not home, you know.”

      Before Faith could respond, her daughter rushed to the back of the library. Heat flushed her cheeks and she glanced at Mrs. Hargraves. “Sorry.”

      The librarian patted her arm. “Don’t you worry about it. She’s a good girl, just a little frustrated today. Rain’ll do that. I couldn’t ever live in Seattle or somewhere like that. I’d be in a bad mood all the time.”

      “Thank you.” Faith met the older woman’s gaze. She’d saved their lives. “For everything you’ve done.”

      “You’ve helped me, honey. I’m not getting any younger. Speaking of which, I’m telling you, if I had fifty years back, I’d be all over that man who took a shine to you today.” She winked. “You know who I’m talking about.”

      Faith didn’t pretend not to know. “He barely said a word to me.”

      “He was watching you all right.”

      “Watching me?” A chill froze СКАЧАТЬ