Heart of the Hunter Read Online Free PDF

nothing.
    “Lemonade?”
    Lee’s head jerked up at the sound of her voice. “What?”
    He turned around to face her and she offered him a chilled
glass of lemonade.
    “I thought you might be thirsty,” Kelly said with a shrug.
    “Yeah, thanks,” he replied, and taking the glass, he drained
it in two long swallows.
    “I guess I should have brought the whole pitcher,” Kelly
remarked, and then bit down on her lip, afraid she’d offended him again.
    But he only grinned at her as he dragged the back of his
hand across his mouth.
    “You don’t have to finish everything today,” she said,
indicating the corral.
    Lee shrugged. “I like to keep busy.”
    “Oh. Well, I’d better let you get back to work then. I’ll
call you when lunch is ready.”
    He nodded, his conscience stabbing at him as he watched her
walk away. He hadn’t come here to work. He’d come here to steal. He tried to
tell himself it wasn’t stealing, not really, it was only taking back what was
rightfully his. But he hadn’t expected to like Kelly McBride. She seemed so
open, so honest, not like Melinda…
    Muttering an oath, he picked up his shirt and wiped the
perspiration from his face and neck.
    He’d fix the corral and patch up the roof, even paint the
damn house. It was the least he could do for her, he thought, before he went
looking for the gold.

Chapter Five
     
    Harry Renford leaned forward in his chair, both hands flat
on the desktop.
    “I cannot believe you actually hired that man,” he said,
shaking his head.
    Kelly frowned, baffled by the banker’s obvious annoyance. “He
needed a job. I needed some work done.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand why
you’re making such a fuss about it. A lot of the ranchers around here hire
Indians.”
    “Don’t you know who he is?”
    “He said his name was Lee Roan Horse.”
    “Didn’t your grandfather ever mention him?”
    “Not that I recall. Why?”
    “Your grandfather caught Roan Horse trespassing. He warned
him not to come back, but the Indian didn’t listen. The next time your
grandfather caught him sneaking around, he called the police and had Roan Horse
arrested for breaking and entering.”
    “When was that?” Kelly stared at Renford, not wanting to
believe him. And yet, hadn’t she known, deep down, that Lee was hiding
something? It was the gold, she thought. Lee knew about the gold. That was why
he wanted to buy the ranch, why he had been so insistent that she hire him.
    “It was quite a while ago, probably four or five years. Roan
Horse did a year in the county jail. When he was released, he left town. He’s
only been back a few months, but he’s already been in trouble. Bar fights and
the like.”
    Harry picked up a thin gold pen and rolled it back and forth
on the desktop. “Don’t trust him, Miss McBride. Lee Roan Horse is bad clear
through. Mean, too. I heard he broke Ronny Brogden’s nose in a brawl just last
week.”
    Kelly had a sudden mental image of Lee Roan Horse with his
back against a wall, his hands curled into tight fists, his muscles taut as he
took a swing at the aforementioned Ronny Brogden. She’d met Ronny years ago on
one of her summer visits to Cedar Flats. He’d been a bully and a braggart and
she thought it likely that he’d probably only gotten what he deserved, but of
course she couldn’t tell the banker that.
    “Please don’t trouble yourself about it, Mr. Renford,” Kelly
said, forcing a smile. “Everything’s under control. Now, is the deed ready?”
    “Yes, the deed,” Renford muttered, not meeting her eyes. “I’m
afraid it’s missing.”
    “Missing? How is that possible?”
    Renford spread his hands in a gesture of appeal. “I’m not
sure. All I know is that it’s not in the vault. I’m sure it’s simply been
misplaced.”
    “I see.”
    “I’ll call you just as soon as it turns up.” Renford smiled.
“Signing the deed is just a technicality. Even though your grandfather didn’t
leave a valid will,