Jett gave her a thumbs-up. “Atta girl, Tessa. Now you’re talking.”
Orin stopped his pacing to glare at the both of them. “Go ahead, encourage her,” he goaded Jett. “For all we know there could be something sinister behind this whole thing.”
Jett rolled his eyes. “Orin, the man has passed away. And, according to Mr. Maddox’s attorney, he had no family to speak of. On top of that, he was a decorated sheriff of the area. I hardly read sinister in the will.”
Relenting somewhat, Orin walked over to where Tessa stood near his desk. “Tessa, are you sure your mother never talked about this man before?”
If Monica Parker had still been living, she might’ve been able to explain this sudden and unexplainable inheritance. But her mother’s life had ended eleven years ago in a traffic accident.
Tessa’s mind spun crazily as she tried to recall, to make any sort of connection to Ray Maddox. “I never heard Mom say that name. Or mention she was acquainted with anyone in Arizona. This man...he must have known me—somehow. I won’t rest until I find the connection.”
Orin’s stern expression softened to a wry smile. “I imagine I’d feel the same way. It’s just that I’ve always had you close and under my wing.” Lifting her hand, he patted the back of it. “And I guess a part of me is afraid you won’t come back. That you’ll find something down there in Arizona we can’t give you.”
Her heart full of mixed emotions, she gave the big rancher a reassuring hug. “You’ve already given me so much, Orin. There’s nothing else I need.”
His smile turned knowing as he stroked the top of her head. “Oh, yes, Tessa, darlin’. There are plenty more things you need. Like a good man to love. Children to raise. A home to keep.”
“Stop it.” She sniffed. “You’re going to make me cry all over your white shirt.”
He squeezed her tight. “Damn the white shirt,” he said gruffly. “I have plenty of them. I just have one of you.”
“I won’t be gone forever, Orin. Just long enough to find out why Ray Maddox wanted to give me his home and money.”
Copyright © 2017 by Stella Bagwell
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Michelle Major for her contribution to the Fortunes of Texas: The Rulebreakers continuity.
ISBN-13: 9781488093333
Her Soldier of Fortune
Copyright © 2017 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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