Heart of the Hunter Read Online Free PDF Page B

there’s no question of who the ranch belongs to. Your
grandfather had no other kin.”
    “I understand,” Kelly replied. But she didn’t, not really,
nor could she shake the feeling that there was something Renford wasn’t saying,
something he wasn’t telling her.
    “I’ll call you,” Harry said. Rising, he extended his hand.
    It was a curt dismissal.
    Kelly was fuming when she reached home. It seemed as if
everyone she met was conspiring against her. First she’d had to go into
Coleville to exchange a few gold nuggets for cash. A trip that should have
taken less than an hour took two because a truck had jackknifed on the road,
bringing all traffic to a halt.
    From Coleville, she’d driven back to town to settle her
grandfather’s hospital bill. No easy task. Her grandfather had spent three days
in the hospital before he died. They had tried to charge her for six days and
then seemed annoyed because she had refused to pay them for the extra three
days.
    Renford hadn’t been able to find the deed and she was having
second thoughts about the wisdom of paying off the loan and having nothing
other than a receipt to show for it. And now it seemed that Lee Roan Horse had
hired on under false pretenses.
    Kelly blew out a long sigh. Maybe she should just take the
gold out of the cave and sell the ranch to Lee Roan Horse. It would serve him
right. And yet, even as she thought about taking the gold, more gold than she
would ever need, she felt suddenly cold, as if the chill wind from the cave had
blown into the car.
    Switching off the ignition, she sat behind the wheel. From
where she sat, she could see Lee sawing a new rail for one of the corrals. Of
course he wanted to fix up the place, she thought bitterly. He intended to own it.
    She let her eyes travel over his broad back. Didn’t the man
ever wear a shirt? Angry as she was, she couldn’t seem to stop watching him. He
moved with effortless grace, the muscles in his arms and back bunching and
relaxing as he worked.
    He’d been in jail for breaking and entering. She grunted
softly, remembering the night he’d broken into the house. No wonder he knew
what he’d be charged with when she had threatened to call the police. He’d
already done time for breaking and entering. She supposed a year in jail could be
considered a small price to pay in exchange for a fortune in gold.
    Take only what you need. If you take one nugget more, my
spirit will haunt you for as long as you live .
    That had been the warning given to Charlie McBride when he
first found the gold a hundred years ago. Thinking of it now sent a shiver down
Kelly’s spine. In the bright light of day, it was hard to believe in ghosts and
curses, yet she knew she lacked the courage to enter the cave and remove all
the gold.
    So, what was she to do? Take as much as she needed and run
back to L.A.?
    She let her gaze sweep over the ranch. In the short time she’d
been here, she’d come to love the place—the timeless beauty of the mountains,
the quiet nights and peaceful days. She’d thought she’d miss the excitement of
the city, but, to her surprise, she’d discovered that she preferred the soft
pastoral sounds of tree frogs and crickets to the grinding of brakes and the
shrill scream of sirens. She preferred blue skies and green trees to smog and
tall, glass-fronted buildings. And she definitely preferred riding Dusty to
braving the Los Angeles freeways!
    She did miss shopping malls and TV, though, she thought,
frowning, and then she smiled. She had money. She could buy one of those
big-screen TVs she’d always wanted and a satellite dish to go with it.
    With a start, she realized that Lee was standing at the car
door.
    “You all right in there?” he asked, bending down so he could
see her better.
    “Fine.” She pulled the key from the ignition, grabbed her handbag
and opened the car door.
    “You look tired,” he remarked.
    “Yes.”
    Lee frowned. “Something wrong?”
    “No.”
    With a shrug,