Dangerous Legacy (22 page)
Authors: Valerie Hansen
“That’s what Ben said. And he said she’s from New York.”
Joe nodded. “Yeah. She’s a long way from home. I wonder what she’s doing in the Smokies all alone.”
Dean frowned. “Maybe she isn’t alone. Did Ben find anything that would tell where she’s staying while she’s here? Maybe a key card from a hotel or a receipt from a cabin rental company?”
“Not that I know of.”
Dean glanced to the far side of the parking lot. Emmett and two of his employees seemed to have everything under control with the horses and guests, but it would be dinnertime soon. They needed to get back to the ranch for the cookout that was planned for the evening. “Well, I’d better get these folks back to my ranch, and you need to get her to the hospital. I hope everything turns out well for her.” He stepped around Joe and was about to leave when he glanced down and saw the woman’s face for the first time.
His eyes opened wide, and a strangled cry came from his throat as a shock like an electrical current raced through his body. His legs wobbled, and he staggered and would have fallen if Joe hadn’t grabbed his arm and steadied him.
“Dean! Are you okay?”
He could hear Joe’s voice, but couldn’t respond. The words Dean tried to say got tangled in his throat, and a strange gurgling emerged. He stared down at the woman, his heart pounding as if he’d just run a marathon.
No! It can’t be.
Joe clasped his arm more tightly and shook him. “Dean! Dean! I asked if you’re all right.”
He bent over and propped his hands on his knees, gulping great breaths of air in an effort to calm his racing pulse. “No, I’m not,” he rasped.
With a strangled cry, he dropped to his knees and touched the bandage that covered the wound on her head. Just a few inches and she’d be dead. And he’d run right past her when he’d rushed into the woods. Why hadn’t he stopped to see if she needed help?
She looked so pale. Blood matted her blond hair, which he gently smoothed back from her eyes. “Gwen,” he crooned. “Can you hear me? It’s Dean.”
Her left hand rested on the sheet that covered her body. He grasped it and rubbed his thumb down her ring finger. He could still feel the indentation at the base where she’d once worn a ring, but it wasn’t there now.
Ben must have seen his reaction, because he dropped down beside him. “Dean, do you know this woman?”
Guilt and sorrow welled up and flooded his soul like a tidal wave. Dean closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. “Ben, it’s Gwen. It’s my wife.”
Copyright © 2016 by Sandra Robbins
ISBN-13: 9781488008535
Dangerous Legacy
Copyright © 2016 by Valerie Whisenand
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical,
now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.