Always a McBride by Linda Turner

she was flirting with him or seeking him out. In fact, he got the distinct impression that she wasn’t any happier about this attraction between them than he was. So what the hell was the matter with him? He shouldn’t have given her a second thought. Instead, she was all he could think of.
    That would change as soon as he got a room in Colorado Springs, he assured himself confidently. He’d be able to sleep nights without her being right down the hall, distracting him just by breathing. Maybe then he could focus on the McBrides and how he was going to expose Gus to them for the bastard he was.
    She’s your ticket to the McBrides, an irritating voice in his head reminded him. They wouldn’t have been nearly as quick to accept you if it hadn’t been forPhoebe’s introduction. And don’t forget, every invitation that they have extended to you has included Phoebe. How many more times do you think they’re going to ask you to their house if you cancel your stay at their friend’s bed and breakfast?
    The answer to that was quick and irritating. None.
    He had no choice but to accept the inevitable. Like it or not, he wasn’t going to get very far with the McBrides without Phoebe. From what he had seen of his brothers and sisters, they were a loyal bunch and protective of friends and family. He was an outsider and someone they barely knew. If his leaving cost Phoebe money or in any way inconvenienced her, he doubted that the McBrides would extend another invitation to him, let alone let him get close enough to Sara to tell her the truth about her deceased husband and the man she no doubt thought had been faithful to her his entire life. The family would continue to think Gus was some kind of saint, and they’d never know the truth…all because Phoebe could, just by walking through his air space, make him forget his common sense.
    It wasn’t going to happen, he thought grimly. He’d resented his father for as long as he could remember, and he’d promised himself on his mother’s grave that Gus McBride was going to pay for not being there for her. Gus might be out of his reach, but he would still see that his mother was avenged by telling the McBrides the truth about Gus. He didn’t doubt that they would be hurt when they realized just how they’d been duped all these years, but their hurt couldn’t compare to the lifetime of loneliness and poverty his mother had suffered because she’d made the mistake of giving her heart toGus. Let them all walk in her shoes, and then they’d talk about hurt.
    â€œI was going to ask if I could join you,” a familiar male voice drawled in amusement, “but now I’m not so sure. You look like you could take somebody’s head off if they looked at you wrong, and I’m kind of fond of mine.”
    Jerking back to his surroundings, Taylor looked up with a scowl to find Joe McBride standing by the empty chair next to him, grinning down at him as if they’d known each other all their lives. Later, he knew that was going to bother him—how could the McBrides be so damn friendly when they didn’t know a thing about him?—but all he said was, “Don’t worry, your head’s safe. It’s somebody else’s I’d like to take off. Pull up a chair. What are you doing in town at this time of day?”
    â€œBuying some barbed wire,” Joe replied as he pulled out the chair across the table from Taylor and sank into it. “Some idiot drove through the fence down the road from Merry’s office, and I’ve spent all morning rounding up cattle. It’s time for a break. I’ve been thinking about Ed’s chicken-fried steak all morning.”
    The waitress appeared at their table then and didn’t bother to hand him a menu. “The usual, Joe?” At his nod, she glanced and Taylor and smiled. “Sure I can’t tempt you with a piece of chocolate