Rocky Mountain Redemption Read Online Free PDF Page B

Christmas morning.
    Those fond memories made it almost impossible to imagine Max dead. With nothing of his brother’s life left to redeem, Ben was left feeling helpless.
    â€œA cook and housekeeper?” Aaron’s eyes widened.
    â€œYou want me to throw her out?” Ben queried, irritated.
    Aaron splayed his hands in an it’s-not-my-problem kind of gesture. “It’s your call, but the whole thing sounds fishy to me. I mean, her showing up here in the middle of the worst October snowstorm I can remember, and then asking for a job? There’s gotta be a good reason for that kind of behavior. If that’s not fishy, I don’t know what is.”
    â€œWhat other information did you get out of her, anyway?” Joseph inquired.
    â€œNot much. She isn’t very talkative.” Ben’s admission rankled a little, especially as he remembered how stubborn and evasive she’d been. “She’s pretty sick. In fact, we need to make this brief so I can get back in there to see to her.”
    â€œIf it were me, I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her.” Aaron’s sure look altered to an instant frown. “Well, maybe not, seeing as how she’s such a tiny thing.” He nudged Joseph’s arm and whispered conspiratorially. “As small as she is, Joe-boy, a fella could fit her into his coat pocket.”
    Relishing descriptions, however lame, Joseph grinned at Aaron’s remark.
    â€œYou’re all talk, Aaron,” Ben dismissed. “You couldn’t turn your back on her either, and you know it.”
    â€œSo, what if you’re wrong about her?” Aaron folded his arms at his chest. “If I were you, I’d get that locket from her before she takes off with it.”
    â€œShe already tried to give it back to me.”
    â€œWell, then…” Aaron held out his hand. “Why don’t you have it?”
    Ben met his disbelieving gaze. “I didn’t have the heart.”
    â€œOh, for the love of—”
    â€œGo easy, Aaron,” Joseph cautioned. “You never know how hard something is until you walk it yourself.”
    â€œI’m not arguing that. It’s just that Max pulled the wool over Ben’s eyes more than once,” Aaron responded then turned to Ben. “And I think we all know that he left because of this woman.”
    With a tentative shake of his head, Ben raked a hand through his hair. “That might be what he said, but how do we know it’s true? How can you judge her, if you haven’t met her?”
    â€œFacts are facts, Ben. And it was as clear as a mountain stream that Max got in with the wrong crowd,” Aaron bit off, his jaw tensing. “He always was wild on the vine. I just never thought he’d go so far as to steal from his own kin then walk away without ever looking back. If you ask me, I’d say that little lady in there had to have played a part.”
    Ben peered down at the box Callie had brought. He hadn’t wanted to take it from her room, and sure wasn’t about to look inside at the contents, but he had to knowif it was the box Joseph had made for Max years ago. That would be just another point of proof in her favor. “I know it doesn’t make sense. And I can’t say as I trust her, but—”
    â€œI’d be disappointed if you did.” Aaron snorted. “I wouldn’t put it past some young, sickly thing sent by Max, to try and con you out of money.”
    Joseph shifted his long cane from one hand to the other. “Knowing how hard it was for you to come to grips with the way Max took advantage of you, I’m not sure why you’d want to take that risk again.”
    â€œI’ll admit, I’ve been wrong a time or two.” Aaron took the box from Ben. “But the lady came here with this one box and the locket. Lord knows she could be lying through her teeth about being married to Max—even