Rodeo Daddy. B.J. Daniels

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СКАЧАТЬ had been, she would never trust her heart again.

      “I’m going to find Jack,” she said one morning at breakfast, surprising herself as much as she did Cody. “I have to confront him. I have to know the truth.”

      “I told you the truth,” Cody said contrarily.

      “I believe you,” she assured him. At least she believed that Cody believed it. “I just need to know why.”

      “For once in your life, just let it go, Chels,” Cody said, pushing away his plate. “He’s going to break your heart all over again.”

      “Try to understand,” she pleaded, not wanting this to come between them. “I have to do this.”

      “The man is no good, Chels,” her brother said hotly. “The worst thing you can do is dig all this back up. Think of Dad. This isn’t what he would have wanted. If it comes out about the rustling, it’s going to hurt everyone, especially the Farnsworths.”

      “This is just between me and Jack.”

      Cody threw down his napkin and pushed back his chair. “Why do you think Dad debated telling you for so long?” he demanded as he got to his feet. “Because he feared you’d do some fool thing like this. You always took in every stray cat or dog that wandered onto the ranch, thinking that with some food and love you could save them all. Well, you couldn’t save Jack Shane but you would have died trying.”

      “It wasn’t like that. Cody, please, try to understand. I’ve never been able to get over him. If you’re right, then after I see him, I’ll be able to move on. Finally.”

      “You think he’ll admit the truth to you?” he demanded.

      “Yes, I think he will.”

      Cody shook his head, his gaze softening. “Sis, I’m just afraid you’re going to fall under this guy’s spell again.”

      “I’m a big girl now, Cody. I’m not seventeen with stars in my eyes. If Jack lied to me, I’ll know.”

      Cody was still shaking his head. “Dad made one hell of a mistake by running him off. He should have let Jack stay long enough to hang himself so you could see who he really was.”

      “Yes, Dad should have,” she agreed. “But since he didn’t, I intend to see for myself. Support me on this, Cody. Trust me.”

      “It isn’t you I don’t trust, Chels. It’s Jack. I saw the way he stole your heart. He would have stolen this ranch just as quickly. You’re making a mistake, one you’re going to regret.”

      “I guess it’s my mistake to make,” she said quietly.

      “Then you’re on your own.” He swore as he turned and stomped out, grabbing his hat on the way. “Just don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

      * * *

      “I NEED YOU to find someone for me,” Chelsea said the moment she stepped into the office of Finders Keepers a few hours later.

      Dylan Garrett laughed at her abrupt entrance. “Chelsea. What a surprise!” He got up to embrace her.

      Dylan and her brother Cody were the same age and had been good friends since they were boys. The Garretts owned a ranch in the same area outside of San Antonio as the Jensens. She hadn’t seen Dylan and his sisters Lily and Ashley since her father’s funeral.

      Dylan released her, holding her at arm’s length to look at her. “How are you? I’ve been wanting to stop by to see Cody....”

      She knew what he was asking. “Cody is doing...better. You saw how he was at the funeral. He fills his days with work. But I think he’s sleeping more now and he’s talking to me again.”

      “Good,” Dylan said, offering her a chair.

      “That is, he was,” she added.

      Dylan raised a brow. Rather than go back behind his desk, he took a chair across from her. Dylan had always been a strikingly good-looking man. At one time, Chelsea had had a terrible crush on him—his rugged, muscular build, his sun-streaked light-brown hair, always in need of a haircut, and those incredible blue eyes so like his father’s.

      But it was the laugh lines around his eyes and mouth and that little dimple in his left cheek when he smiled that used to get to her. That and the fact that he was a nice guy.

      Unfortunately, he’d been her brother’s friend, one of the reasons the crush hadn’t lasted long. That and Jack Shane.

      She took a deep breath and smiled, trying to calm down. She’d always been impetuous, but now that she was in Dylan’s office she felt a little...scared. “How are you?”

      He smiled. “Good.”

      “I’ve been following your wonderful success with Finders Keepers. I hope I get to see Lily while I’m here, and the baby. How old is Elizabeth now, almost a month?”

      “She’s the cutest thing,” the proud uncle said, a sparkle in his eye.

      It struck her what a great father Dylan would make. But so far, it seemed, no woman had caught his eye.

      “So, who do you have to find this early in the morning?” he asked, no doubt sensing her need to get this settled and as quickly as possible.

      She took a breath and braced herself, not sure how much he knew about all this. “Jack Shane.”

      He arched a brow. “Jack Shane?”

      “He worked on the ranch about ten years ago.”

      She filled Dylan in on everything Cody had told her, although she suspected he probably knew most of it. “I was in love with Jack,” she confided.

      “I remember,” Dylan said quietly. “You went to Europe later that summer.”

      Her father had surprised her with that trip to Europe. Now she knew why. Obviously, he’d hoped it would help her get over Jack. Too bad it hadn’t worked.

      “Are you sure about this?” Dylan asked.

      She’d never been more sure of anything. Or more afraid. “I have to know the truth.”

      Dylan looked skeptical. “More than likely, you’ll never know the truth. If he conned you before, what’s to prevent him from doing it again? I have to raise these questions, Chelsea. Jack Shane might be guilty. He might even be...dangerous. What then?”

      She started to argue, but he stopped her.

      “Did you ever think that he might not want to be found?”

      She knew what Dylan meant: if Jack was guilty, seeing her turn up on his doorstep wasn’t going to make his day.

      “Or he might be in prison—or worse,” Dylan added. “Ten years is a long time. And all things considered, there’s more than a good chance you aren’t going to like what you find.”

      She nodded. “Either way, СКАЧАТЬ