The Outlaw and the Lady Read Online Free

detect no tender spots to indicate that he’d bruised her when he’d fought to subdue her outside the bank.
    “It is not that simple. The posse will be hours behind us. I cannot leave you here unprotected, and I won’t wait for help to arrive and risk capture.”
    “I’ll be perfectly fine waiting alone,” she assured him.
    “What happens when that rattler coiled over there decides to move from the shade into the sun?” he asked.
    Honestly, how many times did the man think he could bluff before she’d call? “There is no rattler.”
    She heard a popping sound, bones snapping as though he’d crouched. A dull thud reverberated as a small object hit a nearby tree, followed by a sharp rattle, then the sickening swishing of something slithering along the ground.
    An icy shiver rippled through her, and she fought to keep her face a mask of stoicism while her heart thudded against her ribs. “Apparently Iwas mistaken about the snake, but he’s gone now. I’ll take my chances.”
    “It’s not that simple,” he repeated.
    Anger surging through her, she latched onto the most improbable thing to say. “It is that simple. I’d rather take my chance with a poisonous snake than a vicious murderer!”
    “Unfortunately, señorita , the decision is not yours to make.”
     
    Lee stared at the writhing flames of the small fire as Alejandro cooked the hare he’d managed to snare. Lee knew they would be wise to keep riding, but the horses needed to rest, and his brothers would do better with something in their stomachs. As for the woman…
    He sighed, a useless release of breath that did nothing to assuage his concerns. He’d made many mistakes in his life, but this one was by far the stupidest. It would serve the contrary lady right if he abandoned her to her own devices. Unfortunately, his mother had raised him better than to do that to a woman. Even one who possessed a sharp tongue. He had been called the worst of names, but having her refer to him as a vicious murderer had cut deeply.
    She sat on the ground nearby, her legs folded beneath her. Earlier she’d pulled a deck of cards from her skirt pocket. After shuffling with a grace that had amazed him, she had set about laying down cards, one after another, creating seven stacks. Now she flipped the cards over one at a time and rearranged them on the stacks. Shelooked incredibly peaceful…yet her absolute absence of fear bothered him. A female who lacked apprehension was a dangerous thing.
    He cursed harshly. They’d gotten such a good head start. She would slow them down. He had a feeling she would deliberately slow them down.
    Alejandro removed his catch from the flames. Lee unfolded his body and sauntered to the fire. “Four ways.”
    Alejandro glanced up at him. “You have to eat.”
    His brother knew him too well. “Four ways,” he insisted. He would not have his brothers take less because of his idiocy.
    With a shake of his head, Alejandro began to divvy up the hare. “Could this situation get any worse?” He shot a look at the woman. “She is blind.”
    Lee shrugged. “She does not appear to be helpless.”
    “Her father is a friend of a legendary Texas Ranger.”
    Lee gave a brisk nod. “ That could be a problem.” He held up a hand when Alejandro opened his mouth. “But I will handle it.”
    “You should just leave her,” Alejandro insisted. “That is what she wants, and what would be best for us.”
    “But it is as you say, Alejandro, she is blind.” And so lovely that he found it difficult to breathe whenever he was near her. He took the tin plate Alejandro held out. “Gracias.”
    He walked over to the woman and crouched before her.
    “You need to rub some grease onto your knees,” she said bluntly as she lifted the five of hearts and set it on the six of clubs.
    “What?”
    “Whenever you squat, your knees sound like a cork popping out of an old bottle of wine.”
    He glanced briefly at his bent legs. “I never noticed.” He