High-Stakes Passion Read Online Free Page A

said you usually work for a disaster-recovery company in Dallas. What are you doing out here in hayseed country?”
    Audrey was caught in his intense gaze. She opened her mouth but nothing came out. She’d stick to the truth as much as possible. “My uncle owns the company. I don’t actually work there anymore.” Not since college. “But then I saw the ad for this housekeeping position and….” Her voice trailed off. She dropped her gaze. “And I’ve always been a big fan.”
    Mark snorted and angled his head toward the barn. “We keep the hay and feed in here.” He pointed his beer bottle toward the other large wooden structure. “Horses and tack in the stable. That’s about it.” He turned to leave.
    But Audrey brushed past him and stepped into the barn. The combined smells of hay and leather reminded her of her dad. With a nostalgic smile, she wandered farther inside. She turned a corner and saw a large metal barrel with a rope tied around it, turned on its side and stuck on a metal post. There was a lever on the wall behind it, and beneath it was a thick pad extending about three feet in each direction.
    â€œWow. A mechanical bull!”
    â€œIt didn’t have the pad at first,” Mark said quietly behind her. “But when the kids came out here, I added the pad for safety.”
    Kids? She swiveled to stare at him. “You have children?”
    His brows drew together and his mouth pinched into a tight line. “No, I meant the foster kids.” Mark headed for the doors. “Coming?”
    Audrey reluctantly followed. She’d read of Mark Malone’s support for Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and admired him for making a difference in the world. But she hadn’t realized he’d brought the kids to his ranch. That bit of information had never been mentioned in an interview. At last! Something good for her story!
    Mark escorted her to the back porch, gave her an insolent salute with his beer bottle and sauntered off toward the front of the house.
    An eerie silence descended after he’d gone. Audrey shivered. She hated to deceive him, but she wasn’t going to hurt anyone. Just write a little article about what hadhappened to a famous rodeo champion, earn herself a promotion and, hopefully, get to know a real-life hero.
    If she could just put aside this niggling sense of guilt, she’d make it through this just fine.
    She rubbed her arms and wandered into the den. Drawn to the wall of picture windows, she gazed wistfully out, past the neglected pool and yard to the barn and corral in the distance. A lush forest of pines, oaks and sweet gums lined the horizon.
    Audrey turned to scan the gloomy room. Her heart ached at the wasted potential of the room—and its owner. A pine-paneled wall opened to a dark hallway that led to the master bedroom, and on the other side, a large stone fireplace sat alone, like the house, cold and empty. The only furniture in the room was a tattered recliner and a big-screen TV.
    Well, if she were going to carry out this charade, she should start cleaning this pigsty. The cowboys’—and girl’s—mud-caked jeans were piled high in the laundry room. As she put on a load to wash, a thought hit her. A real housekeeper would clean Mark’s room and change the sheets. She decided to tackle that room first thing tomorrow morning.
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    That night at dinner, Audrey self-consciously pulled the bottom of her T-shirt down after she set a giant bowl of mashed potatoes in the middle of the table.
    Thank goodness for Ruth. All this testosterone in one room left her flustered and overwhelmed. Men definitely didn’t eat the way her sisters did. The meal was a loud, boisterous affair.
    She learned a lot more than she ever wanted to know about ranching. Discussion of branding, ear tagging, vaccinations, calves, yearlings and castration all figured in the dinner conversation.
    One of