Renegade's Pride. B.J. Daniels

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ her breath. “How dare you come into my house like a prowler. Had I got to my gun, I would have shot you.”

      “Which is why I didn’t give you a chance. Not that I really believe you would shoot me,” he said with a tentative smile.

      “I figured you left town again.”

      He shook his head. “Not until I take care of some old business.”

      “Old business? Like going to prison for Gordon Quinn’s murder?”

      “You know I didn’t kill him.”

      “Do I, Trask? I thought I knew you, but I’m not so sure I ever did.” She saw the hurt in his eyes and felt her own heart ache at the sight.

      “I know you’re angry. That night when I told you I’d come for you, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t drag you into the mess I’d made of my life. I didn’t want to leave you behind, but I knew it was the best thing for you. You’d just bought this place with your brother, you never wanted to leave Montana, let alone go on the run with me.”

      She said nothing, thinking of her heartbreak when she’d realized he’d taken off without her. She didn’t want to think how long she’d waited in the dark for him. Or how long she’d waited over the years for him to come back. She’d been ready to give up everything to be with him. He’d left her behind without a word all these years.

      “Nice, you had the decency to come by to tell me that instead of letting me wait for you.”

      “I knew that if I saw you, I would change my mind and ruin your life.” He noticed her sleeping attire and shot her a grin filled with devilment. “I see you still sleep in one of my old T-shirts.”

      She’d been feeling nostalgic earlier and had seen it in the bottom of her drawer. Now she regretted putting it on, especially since the fabric was so laundry-worn-soft that you could almost see through it.

      Lillie pulled the covers up to her neck. “Why are you hanging around here? Do you have a death wish? Flint is still looking for you.”

      “I had to come back. I realized that I would risk everything for you. You’re all I thought about. Lillie, I never got over you.”

      “Well, I got over you.” It was a lie and she figured he knew it, since he’d just found her alone in a queen-size bed wearing his old T-shirt.

      “You loved me once. I’ll do whatever it takes for you to love me again.”

      She shook her head. “Do you realize how dangerous this is, you being back here? You’re wanted for questioning in a murder.”

      “I’ve had a lot of time to think about things over the past nine years. I understand now why your brother was so sure I’d killed Gordon. Someone set me up and I intend to find out who and clear my name.”

      “So you haven’t gotten any smarter is what you’re saying?”

      He gave her a sad smile. “I don’t have a choice. If I want you back, I have to clear my name. But first I had to see you. I had to tell you that I never stopped loving you.”

      She thought she’d known him, had known him since they were kids. But the man who’d left her waiting for him that night... She didn’t know him. Wasn’t sure she knew this man before her now. Did he really expect her to pick up where they’d left off? She had no idea where he’d been all these years or what he’d been doing, and said as much.

      “I’ll tell you everything once I’m a free man,” he said as he rose from the bed and stepped over to her vanity, where he picked up the bottle of perfume he’d bought her for their first-year anniversary. The smell had become a part of her as familiar as her skin—until Trask left. She hadn’t used the scent for nine years. It reminded her too much of him.

      Trask sprayed a little into the air, the scent rushing at her with all the memories of the two of them. She felt that old pull, stronger than gravity. When he looked at her, naked desire burned hot in his blue eyes. Clearly, the scent had the same effect on him.

      “Just know that leaving you was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”

      “Yet somehow you managed it.” She wished he’d put down the perfume and leave.

      “I don’t expect you to believe me any more than your brother Flint does, but I didn’t kill Gordon. Yes, I punched Gordon, believe me he had it coming. Then I went for a long drive up into the mountains. I knew hitting him was wrong. But I was more worried about you being disappointed in me. I needed that job for us.”

      “He was all right when you left him?” she asked, needing to hear him say it again.

      “He got to his feet and threatened to have your brother lock me up on assault charges, so he was his normal self. That’s why I decided to lay low for a while. I stayed up in the mountains, built a campfire, slept in my truck. It wasn’t until the next morning that I came back into town. By then I’d decided to try to make amends. I knew I couldn’t work for Gordon anymore, but I thought I could get on at the construction site, where Johnny was working. I’d been paying on an engagement ring for you—”

      “I don’t want to hear this.” She’d thought he couldn’t do anything more to hurt her. An engagement ring? She felt as if her heart would burst.

      “It’s true. I was going to ask you to marry me as soon as I got paid and picked up the ring.”

      She couldn’t take any more of this. How did she even know he was telling the truth? Maybe he was just saying what he knew she desperately needed to hear. She met his gaze, saw pain in his blue eyes and felt another piece of her heart break.

      “Then I heard that Gordon was dead, that he’d been killed with a pitchfork in his barn and that your brother was looking for me. I got scared. But I swear to you, Gordon was alive and well when I left his ranch.”

      Her voice cracked when she asked, “If all this is true, then why didn’t you stay and prove you were innocent?”

      He raked a hand through his dark hair, making her own fingers ache at the memory of its silken feel. “That was just it. I couldn’t prove I didn’t kill him. I had his blood on my shirt. I had no alibi. And let’s face it, I’d been in enough trouble that I couldn’t blame your brother for thinking I killed him. Not to mention, I’d threatened to kill him earlier in the day.”

      “So I guess you’re right back where you were nine years ago.”

      “No, I was twenty-two, just a saddle tramp who courted trouble nine years ago. I had nothing. I had nothing to offer you. And all of a sudden I’m wanted for murder? You were the only person who believed in me. Your brother wanted me gone as it was.” He held her gaze, his eyes pleading for her to understand. “Running was what I knew. Look at my mother, my old man. Things get tough, bail.”

      “So you bailed. I ask again, what’s changed?”

      He put down the perfume bottle and stepped toward the bed. “I needed to grow up and I did. I spent those years working hard, saving every dime and investing that money. All I could think about was coming back and making things right with the law, but especially you.” She started to interrupt, but he stopped her. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get you back because all I’ve СКАЧАТЬ