Bobbi Smith Read Online Free PDF Page B

Pa.”
    “All right, go on and get out of here. I’ve got work to do.”
    Jack watched Randi in silence as she left the office and closed the door behind her. He loved his daughter dearly, and just the thought that something might have happened to her earlier today had left him desperate to know she was safe. It hadn’t helped matters any when he’d found her with Morgan, but as it was, everything had turned out all right.
    For the first time that day, Jack found himself smiling as he thought about Randi. Headstrong and independent, Randi was definitely his daughter.
    Randi let out a sigh of relief as she walked out into the hallway. She’d been lucky her father’s anger hadn’t been worse. There had been any number of times when she’d had to take the full brunt of his fury, and it hadn’t been pleasant. She was thankful today hadn’t been one of them.
    As she started back toward the kitchen, Randi caught a glimpse of her own reflection in the small mirror on the wall, and her father’s words echoed in her mind:
You are a young woman with a reputation to uphold
.
    The image staring back at her bore little resemblance to a lady. If anything, the girl in the mirror looked downright disreputable. Her hair was an uncontrolled mass of curls and tangles. Her face was smudged with dirt, and her clothing was wrinkled and soiled.
    If her hair had been tied up under her hat, Randi doubted anyone who didn’t know her would ever guess she was a female, let alone consider trying to ruin her reputation. More than likely they’d think her reputation had already been ruined, or they’d take one look at her and run in the opposite direction. She thought of Hawk’s earlier “rescue” attempt and far too clearly remembered his very real shock when he’d discovered she was a girl.
    Randi frowned at the memory.
    She continued to stare at herself. Her mother had been a lady through and through. Her father often told her she took after her mother, but at that moment, the only resemblance she could find to her mother was the color of her pale blond hair.
    Turning away from her troubling reflection, Randi decided to go up to her room and get cleaned up a bit. She knew it couldn’t hurt.
    Once in her room, Randi sat down at her dressing table and went to work taming her hair. It took a few minutes, but she finally managed to brush all the tangles out of her thick, golden tresses. With practiced expertise, she then plaited the now-silky mass into a single, neat braid that hung down her back. With her hair done, she went to her washstand, stripped down to her underclothing, and scrubbed herself clean.
    Again, she thought of her father’s words as she washed off the day’s dirt and grime:
You are a young woman . . .
    Randi paused for a moment and glanced over at her wardrobe, eyeing the dresses that hung there. She had numerous day gowns and a few fancier gowns for socials and parties. With all the real work she did around the ranch, however, the dresses were practically useless to her. She could start dressing like a lady, but she didn’t think her father really wanted her to stop working. More important, though, she didn’t want to stop. She loved the Lazy S. The ranch was her life.
    Closing the wardrobe door, Randi went to her bureau and took out a clean pair of pants and a blouse. Dressed once more in her normal workday clothes, she hurried down to the kitchen to get some lunch.
    “So you’re all right?” Wilda asked when Randi came into the kitchen. The housekeeper had been wondering how the girl’s meeting with her father had gone.
    “I’m fine, but I am hungry,” Randi replied with a grin.
    “Well, good. You just sit down, and I’ll get you something,” Wilda directed.
    Randi did as she was told.
    “What happened with the new fella?” Wilda asked.
    “Pa hired him on.”
    “He hired him? But he’s a half-breed, isn’t he?” Wilda asked sharply. She’d seen the man when he’d left the house after his meeting