Genuine Cowboy. Joanna Wayne

Sean was years younger than Troy, and so ruggedly handsome that he could have been a soap opera star. And he was still so close that he could probably feel her heart beating.

      Collette had said that Troy’s other sons were estranged from their father. But then Dylan must have called them when he left for the hospital. Maybe his having a heart attack had gotten through to at least one of Troy’s other sons.

      “If you talked to Dylan, he must have told you I was here,” she said, still trying to make sense of this.

      “He mentioned a friend had found Dad. He didn’t say you were staying here. In fact, he made a point of telling me the house would be empty and the spare key was under the flowerpot next to the door. So what are you doing here?”.

      “If you’ll release me, I’ll explain.” She wouldn’t, of course, but she’d tell him all he needed to know.

      “Deal. As soon as you let go of the knife.”.

      She exhaled sharply and released her killer grasp on it. Before he moved away, his right hand slid slowly down her left arm. Awareness vibrated through her.

      “Mommy! Mommy!” She made a quick return to the harsh reality of the situation, as Joey’s high-pitched calls echoed down the hallway.

      “My son,” she said. “He has nightmares.”.

      Sean cocked his head to the side and arched his brows. “Your son. A husband? A daughter? Exactly how many people are in this house?”.

      “Just my son, Joey, and me. I don’t have a husband and Joey’s an only child.”.

      She was babbling in her relief. Whatever complications Sean presented would be minuscule compared to what she’d have faced had it been Orson instead of Troy’s son who’d showed up tonight.

      “Momma!” The cry had become more hysterical.

      “I’m coming, sweetie.”.

      She hurried away without further explanation, grateful to break away from Sean Ledger and get her emotions back under control.

      In the two years since Brock’s death she hadn’t once felt the pangs of attraction for another man. She’d begun to worry that she never would. Now was not the time for fate to turn up the heat.

      SEAN WATCHED EVE WORTHINGTON hurry down the hall and disappear into what had once been his bedroom. She was the last thing he’d expected to find when he pushed through the heavy door of his childhood home.

      Before encountering her, his head had been swimming in a thick fog of memories. The good, the bad and the tragic had immersed him so deeply into the past that his feet had felt like lead when he climbed the steps to the porch.

      Nothing like a woman about to plunge a knife into your back to smack you back into the present. But what in the hell was a woman and kid doing here?.

      Dylan had written several times about their father and the fact that he was settling into the life of a rancher. Not once had he mentioned that Troy had a lady friend—one young enough to be his daughter. If he had, Sean would have never come home again.

      He’d been only thirteen years old when his mother was murdered in this very house. His world had been destroyed that day. Then, when his father had been accused of the crime, Sean literally wanted to die.

      When his brothers were asleep that night, he’d taken one of his dad’s guns and actually placed the barrel of it into his mouth. He might have pulled the trigger if his imagination hadn’t played ghostly tricks on his mind, probably an easy feat, considering his shaky emotional state.

      He saw his mother that night as clearly as he saw the weapon in his hands. She’d stepped into the room and taken the gun from his shaky hands. It had fallen to the floor without a sound. He’d tried to hold on to his mother, but she dissolved like a warm breath on a frosty morning.

      He never told anyone about that, had tried to block it from his own mind. But there had been many nights when those memories were so vivid that he could feel the chill of the evaporating vapor and taste the cold metallic bitterness of the gun barrel.

      He shouldn’t have come back here. Returning to Willow Creek Ranch had worked for Dylan, but there was no way Sean would ever mend fences with his father or become totally convinced of his innocence.

      He’d visit his father in the hospital in the morning, but then he’d be on his way. In fact, he should probably apologize to Eve Worthington for barging in on her and leave right now, before he looked into those gorgeous, haunted eyes of hers again.

      He started down the hall after Eve, hating the memories that the house awakened. He stopped near the doorway where she’d disappeared. Her voice was soft and reassuring when she talked to her child, yet there was a shudder of fear in its depths, likely the same fear that had initiated her waiting at the door with a knife.

      She’d thought he was someone else, obviously someone she was deathly afraid of. A stalker? An ex-husband? A betrayed lover?.

      None of his business and not his problem. He was running from woman trouble, not looking for it.

      He stopped, just out of sight of Eve and her complaining son.

      “I wanna go home.”.

      “It’s too far to drive back to Dallas tonight. Besides, you don’t want to miss the fun of seeing the horses, do you?”.

      “What if I don’t like horses?”.

      If she was from Dallas, then why hadn’t Dylan realized she was spending the night? Perhaps he’d just forgotten with all that was going on with Troy. Still, it was odd he hadn’t remembered it when he told him to make himself at home. Sean turned and walked back to the kitchen.

      He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He’d barely swallowed his first swig when his cell phone rang. It was Dylan. Sean didn’t bother with a hello. “What the hell have you gotten me into in now? “.

      “I take it that means you’ve arrived at the ranch and met Eve Worthington.”.

      “I met her all right. She threw me a welcoming party, only instead of balloons, she was wielding a knife.”.

      There was a short pause in the phone conversation in which Sean overheard a muttered thanks from Dylan.

      “Sorry, bro,” Dylan said. “One of the nurses just brought me a cup of coffee. What’s this about a knife?”.

      “Dad’s houseguest took me for an intruder and came at me with a kitchen knife. I had to take it away from her.”.

      “Still fighting off the women.”.

      “You’re smiling, aren’t you?”

      “Maybe just a little. Why’d she have a knife?”.

      “She thought I was someone else.”.

      “Probably believes all that bunk about the house being haunted.”.

      “Our house is haunted?”.

      “So some of the locals say. Anyway, I’m sure Eve’s fear was no match for your Ledger brawn and charm. Apologize to her for the confusion.”.

      “As soon as you explain why you failed to warn me the house was occupied.”.

      “I just found out myself. I called Collette to tell her you were in town, and she said she’d persuaded Eve to spend the night. That’s why I’m calling, hoping to give you fair warning. Collette is calling Eve, probably has her on the phone now.”.

      “A little after the fact.”.

      “You know, you have to take some of the blame,” Dylan said. “You could have called and said you were coming before you reached Mustang Run. Then we could have avoided the surprise element.”.

      “I wasn’t sure I’d actually go through with the visit, until I saw the city limits sign.”.

      Even