Texas Heroes_ Volume 1(32)
He merely lifted a negligent eyebrow and turned away from his foreman.
He felt it the moment Maddie saw him.
Her gaze halted on his before moving back to the cowboy whose hand rested on her hip. Boone ground his teeth and meant to look away.
But he couldn’t.
Instead, he glared at the man who had the nerve to touch her, even while he recognized that Maddie was a free agent.
He had no claim on her. He never would.
Tearing his gaze away, Boone turned to the first person he saw, Emma Ruth Rodgers. Sixty-five if she was a day, Emma Ruth had never married but had educated many a child in this town, including Boone.
“How are you, Ms. Rodgers?”
“Boone Gallagher, as I live and breathe. It’s good to have you back.”
Her eagerness warmed him. “Thank you. It’s good to be here.”
“I’m sorry about your father.”
Boone tensed, then muttered the expected. “He’d been sick for a while.”
“No, Boone, I mean I’m sorry about this mess he’s left you. Sam Gallagher used to be a lovely young man, one of this town’s real treasures, but he changed after your mother died. He was wrong in what he did to you and Mitch.”
Boone’s surprise must have shown, for she carried on. “You thought no one noticed? People noticed, all right, but it isn’t our way to interfere. Maybe we should have done something. We don’t have so much that we can afford to lose good men like yourself and your brother.”
Boone was sure his mouth must be hanging open. He cleared his throat. “Well…thank you.”
She waved it away. “No need to thank me. I’m as guilty as any for standing aside. But I don’t intend to stand aside now. If you need any help getting rid of that Yankee, you just let me know.”
Just then, Boone felt a hand on his arm and turned. That Yankee stood beside him, her smile fading.
“Uh…Ms. Rodgers, this is Maddie Rose Collins.”
“You’re Dalton Wheeler’s daughter, is that right?”
Maddie gripped Boone’s arm tightly, but drew herself up very straight. “Yes, I am.” Her tone dared the woman to say anything derogatory.
“Hmmmph,” Emma Ruth muttered. “Sam created a mess for Boone.”
Boone saw Maddie swallow and struggle for composure. When she spoke, her tone held a bite. “My father didn’t kill anyone, Mrs.—?”
“Rodgers. Ms. Rodgers.” Emma Ruth’s tone broadcast her doubts. “Everyone has known for years that—”
“My father did a noble deed,” Maddie interrupted, her silver eyes flashing fire. “He took the blame for something he didn’t do so that his mother wouldn’t go to jail for defending herself.”
“The Caswells are a respected family around here.”
Maddie’s jaw jutted. “I can’t respect a man who beats on women.”
Emma Ruth’s nostrils flared. Her color rose. She opened her mouth to retort, but Boone stepped in.
“It’s true, Ms. Rodgers. Dalton didn’t hurt anyone. Folks were wrong in what they thought. He took the blame and exiled himself to keep his mother safe.”
Boone saw Maddie’s startled glance, the look of gratitude in her gaze. He turned back to see Emma Ruth’s frown.
“Surely you can’t condone what your father did, giving your house to a—”
In another situation, Boone would have laughed at how Maddie puffed up like mama hen, prepared to defend Sam. Instead, he stepped in to defuse the situation.
“Ms. Rodgers, I can’t control what my father did or didn’t do. All I can do is deal with it. Ms. Collins is caught in a bad situation and is doing her best. Now if you’ll excuse us, I believe Ms. Collins has promised me this dance.” Then he turned and led Maddie away.
She was fuming. “That old biddy. Is that how they all feel? Like I’m an interloper? The daughter of a murderer who’s come to feed off the remains like a vulture?”
He pulled her into a dark corner, then grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.
Tears welled in her eyes, and he couldn’t stand it.
“She doesn’t matter, Maddie. People talk. Around here, they don’t have much else to do.”
“It does matter. I can’t stand that they’re thinking about my father that way. He did nothing wrong. He gave up everything that mattered to him. I don’t know why he would love this place, when people are so ready to believe the worst of him. It’s not right. I have to defend—” She turned away, ready to head back toward Emma Ruth.
He gripped her tightly and pulled her against him, cupping her cheek with one hand. “Listen to me.”