Taming Jesse James Read Online Free PDF

Why did the man have such an effect on her? She hated it. Absolutely hated it!
    The bell rang—impatiently, she thought—and with one more deep breath, she opened the door.
    His smile sent her pulse into double time. “I was just driving home and thought I’d check in with you and let you know how things went at the mayor’s place.”
    As much as she’d like to, she knew she couldn’t very well talk to him through the screen door “I…come in.” She held the door open, wishing she were wearing something a little more professional than a pair of faded jeans and an old Northwestern sweatshirt.
    The small foyer shrank by half as soon as he walked inside. There was absolutely no way she could stand there and carry on a half-rational conversation with him looming over her, looking so big and imposing. The house she rented was tiny, with a living room only a few feet larger than the entry. Where else could they go?
    â€œIt’s a nice night,” she said impulsively. “We can talk outside. Is that all right?”
    She took his shrug for assent and led him throughthe house to the covered porch, flipping on the recessed lights overhead as they went through the door.
    The back porch had become her favorite spot lately. She hadn’t realized how closed in and trapped she’d been feeling during the harsh Wyoming winter until the relentless snow finally began to give way to spring.
    As the temperatures warmed, she discovered she liked to sit out here in the evenings and look up at the mountains. Their massive grandeur comforted her, in some strange way she couldn’t define.
    A few weeks ago she’d found some wicker furniture in the shed and dragged it up the porch stairs. She’d purchased matching cushions and hung baskets over-flowing with flowers around the porch to create a cozy little haven. She’d been very pleased with the results, but now, trying to see the place through Chief Harte’s eyes, she felt awkward. Exposed, somehow.
    He sprawled into one of the wicker chairs, completely dwarfing it. “This is nice,” he murmured. “Hell of a view from here.”
    â€œI imagine you’re used to it, since you grew up in Star Valley.”
    His mouth quirked into a half smile that did more annoying things to her nerves. “I’ve seen those mountains just about every day of the last thirty-three years and they still sometimes take my breath away.”
    She wouldn’t have expected such an admission from him. It made him seem perhaps a little softer, a little less intimidating, to know they shared this, at least.
    Before she could come up with an answer, he settled back into his chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him until his boots almost touched one of her sneakers. Closing his eyes, he looked for all the world as if he were settling in for the night.
    â€œThis is really nice,” he repeated.
    She cleared her throat, suddenly not at all sure she wanted Jesse Harte lounging so comfortably on her back porch. “So what happened at the Garretts? Did you make an arrest?”
    â€œNo. Sorry to disappoint you, but the mayor is still a free man. And it looks like he’s going to stay that way.”
    She stared at him. “Why?”
    He opened one eye. “He and Ginny both said he’d never hurt the boy, and I believe them.”
    â€œJust like that?”
    â€œJust like that.”
    Renewed fury pounded through her. It had all been for nothing—risking her job and tangling with the man she had spent eight months doing her best to avoid. For nothing.
    Despite her own nightmares, she had done the right thing by going to the proper authority and he had basically laughed in her face.
    Calm down, Sarah.
    A corner of her brain sent out strident warning bells that she was going to say or do something she would regret, but she ignored it, lost to everything but her anger.
    â€œI can’t believe