Skylar's Outlaw. Linda Warren

formed in Sky’s throat. Ru was a quiet man. He rarely spoke and he never talked about that time in his life.

      “Coop’s had no one,” he continued. “His mother died and his dad beat him regularly as a kid. Finally, he ran away and made it on his own. He was doing good. A lot of ranchers wanted to hire him, and then that man framed him to get the insurance money from the thoroughbred horses. In anger, Coop lashed out. I don’t blame him. I probably would have done the same thing, but it changed his life forever. No one trusts him. It’s like a brand he wears every day—‘ex-con.’”

      She swallowed the lump, feeling lower than dirt. And Ru wasn’t through.

      “Have you ever seen a ranch this size run by two men, one of them getting on in years? Coop’s a workhorse. We have corn, maize, coastal and alfalfa planted. It will all have to be harvested at about the same time. Coop will get very little sleep during those weeks. This is his home now. He has no family but the one he’s made here at High Five.”

      Ru placed a worn boot into the stirrup and mounted his horse. The leather creaked from his weight. Dixie pranced around, ready to go. “If you love High Five, you’ll adjust your attitude. Remember, Dane Belle is watching.” After delivering that startling news, he slowly rode out of the barn.

      Sky sank onto a bale of hay and let the sounds and smells of the old barn take her away. Most people would think the scents of manure, horses, dogs and hay unpleasant. Nevertheless, it brought back her childhood—days of fun and laughter and of being loved. She had very little of that in her mother’s world. They moved so much her suitcase was always packed.

      Julia was good at spouting the same old line: “I’m gonna find the right man this time, sugar.” But the right man for her mother never appeared. She kept looking, though. Julia was a beautiful redhead who could attract any man’s attention, but she could never hold it.

      The last one, Everett Coleman, had just about done them both in. Sky never liked him, but her mother was crazy about the arrogant, egotistical Texan. Mostly, Julia was crazy about money, and the way Everett lavished it on her. The only thing Sky liked about the man was that he lived in Texas and she could visit her father when she visited her mother.

      It amazed her that Julia had stayed married to the man for five years. When he started having financial problems, her mother was out the door. That was four years ago. Sky never asked what had happened. Her mother’s marriages weren’t her favorite topic.

      After that, she and her mother did grow closer. Julia had been a nurse before she’d married Dane Belle, and she was there when Sky needed her the most—to answer her many questions about Kira’s health.

      Now her mother was out to capture husband number six. Sky had vowed never to be like that, so she and Todd had moved in together for a trial period. The stupidest decision she’d ever made. She was determined to avoid repeating her mother’s mistakes. In doing so, she’d fallen into the same pattern.

      From the start Todd had said he never wanted kids, so they were very careful. But partying all night sometimes left “careful” at the door. When Sky told Todd she was pregnant, he’d thrown a fit, packed his things, told her she was on her own and left. She’d kept waiting for him to come back. He didn’t.

      As her pregnancy started to show, rumors began to emerge. A friend told her that Todd’s parents knew she was pregnant and were just waiting for the baby to be born so a paternity test could be done. If the baby was Todd’s, they planned to file for custody.

      She dismissed the first rumor, but then a friend of Todd’s told her the same thing, and she knew it was true. The Spencers were wealthy and they could take her baby with a high-priced attorney, something she couldn’t afford. Her party-girl status was well-known. She wouldn’t be portrayed as mother of the year.

      The last four years she’d been on the run, making sure the Spencers never found her. It wasn’t easy, but she had to keep Kira a secret from everyone, even her family at High Five.

      As her father had said, all chicks come home to roost. She’d arrived at High Five at Christmas and decided to stay. Mainly because Maddie was getting married, and Sky was needed on the ranch. Besides, she was tired of living out of a suitcase. And Gran was right—Kira needed stability. She needed a home. That’s what Sky wanted for her child.

      So here she was, back at High Five, and her father’s presence was all around her, from the land he’d loved, to his collection of fine wines in the parlor, to the cigars he kept hidden in the study. Home. Family. Dad.

      He’d been furious when he found out about Kira, and disappointed in Sky and her choices. That hurt. However, he’d supported her decision to keep Kira away from the Spencers, and made sure she had the money to do it.

      “Spitfire, someday you’re going to have to grow up and face this.” God, she thought of his words often.

      The tomcat eased around her on the bale of hay. “Hey there, Tom. Are you going to keep me company? Everyone else is on my backside, and I might just have to admit they have a reason. It’s hell when that happens.”

      The cat curled into a comfy position and Sky rose to her feet. What was she going to do about Cooper Yates? All the way to the house the question plagued her.

      She’d never had a problem with men before. Not that it was something she was proud of, but getting them to fall over themselves for her came relatively easy. It was a talent she’d inherited from her mother. Why hadn’t Cooper been bowled over by her?

      Motherhood. Since she’d become a mother, her life and views had changed drastically. Protecting Kira, keeping her safe and happy, was Sky’s top priority. She saw Cooper as a threat to Kira’s safety, and had acted accordingly.

      Or was it more? Something about the way he’d looked at her when she’d first met him got to her. It was an I-don’t-like-you stare. She didn’t understand it, and at the time, she’d felt it was his problem, not hers. Now she wasn’t so sure.

      CYBIL SPENCER WAITED impatiently as her husband talked on the phone.

      “Well?” she demanded when he clicked off.

      “Leo Garvey, the P.I., located the apartment Skylar Belle was renting in Tennessee.”

      “Was she there?”

      “No. She got wind he was asking questions and disappeared again.”

      “We pay him a lot of money. Surely he can do a better job than this. It’s amateurish, and I’m tired of all this waiting.” She swept back her blond bob in irritation.

      Jonathan poured a shot of bourbon and raised the glass toward her. “He managed to get in the apartment before it was cleaned.”

      “And?”

      “He found a child’s hairbrush with red hair on it behind a sofa cushion.” He took a swallow of the bourbon. “He’s sending it to a lab for DNA testing. Now he has to get a sample of Todd’s DNA, and then we’ll know if the child is a Spencer.”

      “Pour me a gin and tonic. It’s time to celebrate. After all this time, that Belle bitch is going to get what’s coming to her.”

      WHEN COOPER RODE INTO THE barn, it was late. Darkness had settled in and the dim lightbulbs hanging from the rafters did little to chase it away.

      The dogs trotted behind him, breathing heavily. Ru had quit for the day long ago. After checking the herd, Coop had sat in the grass near Crooked Creek. This time of the year, the grass was green and thriving. The cows were knee-deep in it. The hayfields were also flourishing. After the fire, he’d worried about that, but now High Five was back on track.

      It was good to know that Albert Harland, the man who had set the fires to the land and house, and had attempted to kill Cait, was now serving twenty years for the crimes. That didn’t erase the damages, though. Coop had to keep working so the ranch could overcome its losses.

      For what?

      To