With Family In Mind (Saddle Falls Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

something was amiss, should have paid more attention to his inner warning system. It had never failed him yet, especially where a beautiful woman was concerned.
    Furious with himself, Jake realized he’d allowed her access to the family—worse, to the boys, exposingthem, possibly jeopardizing their safety and their privacy. He swore again.
    It was an unforgivable lapse.
    As the oldest of the Ryan boys, he had always been the self-appointed protector of the clan, and he took his responsibilities and obligations seriously.
    Once, and only once, he’d forgotten his responsibility, and his baby brother, Jesse, had paid the price.
    And a high price it had been.
    Jake had never forgiven himself, never been able to forget that because of him, his little brother had disappeared, had suffered an unknown fate, the horrendous possibilities of which still haunted Jake’s dreams almost every night.
    It was his fault.
    He could never forget, or forgive himself.
    Guilt and grief had eaten away at him for almost twenty years. He’d spent many long, lonely hours going over and over the events of the night Jesse disappeared—wishing he could change things, wishing he’d done things differently, wishing that night, that awful, awful night, had never happened.
    But all the wishing in the world couldn’t change reality. Perhaps he couldn’t change the past, but he sure as hell could protect his family’s future. And that meant never again forgetting his obligations or responsibilities.
    He glanced at Rebecca, felt a renewed sense of anger and quickened his step, anxious to get her out of his house and his life.
    “Will you let go of me?” Struggling to keep upwith him, Rebecca tried to get him to slow down, but he continued to haul her along.
    “Not until you’re out of my house and off my property.” Holding on to her with one hand, Jake yanked the front door open with enough force to have it bouncing back on its hinges. “Now get out.” His face had darkened like a sudden spring storm and his body was stiff with anger.
    Stunned by his reaction, Rebecca could merely stare at him. She’d always had a plan, a flexible plan depending on what she encountered. As an investigative reporter, she’d been in more dicey situations than she could remember, but she always had her professionalism to fall back on. It was like a cloak of protection—no emotions, nothing to cloud the clarity of an issue, a situation.
    But now she was off balance because her emotions were involved, and she wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation simply because it was so foreign to her.
    Taking a step closer to her, Jake narrowed his gaze when she made no move to leave. “Miss St. John,” he said with what he considered reasonable restraint. “I’ll assume you’re intelligent enough to find your way back to your car by yourself.” His eyes flashed like the flames of hell. “If not, I’ll be happy to show you the way.”
    “Take your hands off of me!” Rebecca yanked free of him, nearly knocking herself off balance in her three-inch heels. Absently, she rubbed her arm where he’d touched her. He hadn’t hurt her; on the contrary, he’d been surprisingly gentle with those large, masculine hands of his. But what his touch had done was start a riot in her body, a reaction that had yet to settle.
    “How dare you manhandle me!” Insulted, and more flustered by his touch than she dared let on, she stepped closer to him, bumping the toes of his cowboy boots with the toes of her high-heeled sandals. “I am not some misbehaved household pet to be hauled around and then tossed out.” Rebecca gave her head an arrogant toss, letting her voice rise in the quiet foyer. “Who the hell do you think you are?”
    “Who the hell do I think I am?” he roared, stunned by her sheer audacity. “I know exactly who I am, lady.” His voice bounced off the foyer walls, shaking her confidence. “And may I remind you this is my home. I belong here. You’re