Once a Cowboy Read Online Free PDF Page A

hadn’t been made who could make him think about marriage.
    Pity, he thought for a nostalgic moment, the blonde was very attractive. And something about the touch of her smooth skin against his sent his thoughts in an entirely different direction.
    He released her hand. “I’m Brodie Hayes.”
    “Nice to meet you.” Her smile lit up her face. Damn. She wasn’t just attractive. She was beautiful.
    “I apologize for interrupting your evening.” She glanced at the TV.
    The rise and fall of her breasts against the tank top caught his eye. He pulled himself up sharp. What was wrong with him? This woman wasn’t his type.
    “No problem, ma’am.” He turned his attention back to the TV.
    “May I please use your bathroom?”
    “Down the hall to the right.” He breathed a sigh of relief as she disappeared.
     
    A LEX HURRIED to the bathroom, locked the door and went to work. She was looking for some of his hair. Bingo. A comb lay on the vanity with black strands in it. Not many, but it might be enough.
    Pulling a plastic bag out of her pocket, she slipped the comb into it, then tucked it into her shorts. She flushed the commode and quickly made her way to the den.
    Brodie had his eyes on the TV and didn’t even look up.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “Sure,” he replied, sparing her a brief glance.
    She had no choice but to leave. He could have been friendlier. She fumed about that all the way to her car. He was probably used to having his pick of women and today he just wasn’t interested. Or he wasn’t interested in her. Why did that hurt?
    She’d just invaded his privacy and had stolen something from his house, so if she never saw him again that would probably be for the best—for both of them.
    All the way into the city, she knew she had the evidence to prove if Brodie Hayes was Helen Braxton’s son. She’d told Helen the odds were slim and she still believed that.
    But those blue eyes were hard to ignore.
    The same eyes she’d seen in the photos of the Braxton men. And in Maggie.
     
    F ROM HIS KITCHEN WINDOW , Brodie watched her drive away. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but he had a feeling the lady wasn’t lost. What was she after? Didn’t matter. He’d never see her again.
    A smile tugged at his mouth. Tripp would laugh at him. Brodie was known as a charmer, a ladies’ man around the rodeo circuit. He never met a woman he didn’t like. Or who didn’t like him. So what had held him back with…what did she say her name was? Alex Donovan. That was it. What held him back from getting to know Alex better?
    He walked into the den and sank into his chair. Maybe he was getting older. Maybe a nice girl wasn’t on his to-do list. Or maybe his instincts told him Alex deserved better than a walk-away cowboy.
     
    A LEX CAME THROUGH the back door and did a double take. Naddy, with her hair in rollers, was in the utility room, stuffing clothes into the washing machine.
    “Get your investigating done?” Naddy asked, pouring soap onto the clothes.
    “Yes. Thanks for catching on.”
    “Might take me a minute, but I always catch on.” Naddy closed the lid.
    “Naddy, what are you doing?”
    Naddy lifted a sharp eyebrow.
    “Okay. Dumb question. I’ll try again. Why are you washing clothes? I usually have to threaten you to get you to do that.”
    “I’m going to Vegas and I need clean clothes.” Naddy turned the dial and water spewed into the machine. Alex couldn’t hear over the loud noise so she pulled her grandmother into the kitchen.
    “Why are you going to Vegas?”
    “Can’t get those idiots in control of the case to listen to me. I’m going in person. Ethel and me are driving.”
    “What!” Alex followed her into her bedroom. “You are not driving to Vegas. Absolutely not.”
    “I drive just as good as when I was twenty, only better. I don’t drive as fast.”
    Alex took a calming breath. “You’re not driving to Vegas in your old Buick.”
    Naddy placed her hands on her hips.