Tucker: Texas Rascals Book 5 Read online

  Matt stared at her, incredulous. “You didn’t check his references?”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of being choosy. He’s the only one who applied for the job.”

  “How do you know he’s not an illegal alien?” Matt chided, disturbed by her glib trust in a total stranger.

  “I don’t.”

  “You’d be breaking the law, Savannah.”

  “He showed me a social security card.”

  “They can be faked.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “Are you going to arrest me, Matt?”

  Damn that hardheaded streak of hers. Frustrated, he plowed a hand through his hair. “You allow a total stranger to stay at your ranch without checking his background? Two women and a baby living all alone out here. Very foolhardy, Mrs. Markum.” He forced himself to say her married name. The word “Markum” caught in his throat, bitter as gall.

  “Clem lives here, too.”

  “Yeah. But he’s as old as the hills and twice as slow.”

  “That’s why I had to hire a younger man to do the ranch work.” Her tone held a bit of acid.

  “You still should have checked him out.”

  “I trust Julio. He’s very loyal.”

  Unlike you. Immediately, Matt was ashamed of his unkind thought. It wasn’t like him. But damn if that old hurt hadn’t crawled up to the surface of his skin.

  “So, are you finished raking me over the coals?”

  Her blind trust in this Julio character made him want to suck ground glass. Didn’t she realize she’d laid herself wide open for trouble? Whatever had happened to those Santa Gertrudis, Julio Diaz could be involved. Matt met her bold gaze, narrowed his eyes, and mentally dared her to look away.

  She stared him down, rising to his unspoken challenge. “Well?”

  About the Author

  Lori Wilde is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers’ Weekly bestselling author of 87 works of romantic fiction. She’s a three time Romance Writers’ of America RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Readers’ Choice Award. She has won numerous other awards as well.

  Her books have been translated into 26 languages, with more than four million copies of her books sold worldwide.

  Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie.

  Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University. She holds a certificate in forensics, and is also a certified yoga instructor.

  A fifth generation Texan, Lori lives with her husband, Bill, in the Cutting Horse Capital of the World; where they run Epiphany Orchards, a writing/creativity retreat for the care and enrichment of the artistic soul.

  Also by Lori Wilde

  Texas Rascals Series

  Keegan

  Matt

  Nick

  Kurt

  Tucker

  Kael

  Truman

  Brodie

  Dan

  Rex

  Clay

  Jonah

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter: Excerpt Matt

  About the Author

  Also by Lori Wilde