Maureen McKade by A Dime Novel Hero

Author:A Dime Novel Hero
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

She laughed. “You don’t have to try and convince me. I already know what you are.”

So she already thought he was a bastard? Hadn’t he wanted her to see him without the damned blinders? However, it didn’t mollify Jake like it should’ve, and sarcasm oozed from his tone. “Thanks.”

“What I meant was, I know you’re not that kind of person, so there’s no reason to berate yourself.”

“How about when I was drunk? I was a bastard then.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true enough. And don’t forget—when you met Freda the first time, you weren’t a gentleman then, either.”

Bewildered, Jake raked his fingers through his hair. “It sure didn’t take much to convince you.”

She leaned forward. “Look, Jake, you’re not the same man who rode into Chaney a month ago. I think you might finally be figuring out you’re not as bad as you thought you were.”

“Damn it, Kit, do you always have to see the best in people?”

“Yes.”

Her direct answer and unflinching gaze melted a corner of Jake’s heart. She laid a hand on his knee, and her touch sent a jolt of heated pleasure up his leg to settle in his groin.

“Johnny, come get Salty and put him in with Pepper,” Kit said.

Johnny deposited the protesting kitten in the cage and played with the animals through the chicken wire.

Jake stood and held out his hand to Kit. Tentatively, she reached out, placing her cool fingers in his palm, and he grasped them snugly to pull her to her feet.

“You’d better be careful, Jake; someone might think you are a gentleman,” Kit teased.

He studied her flushed expression, the sparkling blue eyes behind her spectacles. She trusted him. He could see it in her candid expression. Unexpected resentment welled within him. “You don’t know me any better than T. K. Thorne.”

She drew out of his grasp and met his gaze evenly. “Because I see the good in you?”

“Because you won’t see me for who I really am,” he refuted. “T. K. Thorne built the reputation of Jake Cordell. It’s his fault I keep looking over my shoulder, and it’s his fault people think I’m a damned hero.”

Kit’s face drained of color. “I’m sure he never meant to hurt you, Jake. He wrote them as a tribute to you, to show everyone your bravery as you fought to bring justice to the lawless frontier.”

“How would you know why he wrote them?” He shook his head. “He did it for the same reason people rob banks: to get rich at the expense of another person.”

“That’s not true. He did it because he admired you.”

Jake grabbed her upper arms. “Damn it, Kit, open your eyes.” He glanced down at her full lips. “I’ll show you I’m not like that make-believe hero.”

He drew her willowy body against his. Her full, rounded breasts flattened against his chest and brought a flare of arousal. His gaze fastened on her rosy lips, sending his blood on a reckless journey through his veins. He had to teach her she couldn’t trust him.

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