Beloved Bandit (historical romance) Prologue

Prologue to Beloved Bandit (available on Amazon)

St. Louis, Missouri
March 1869

    Sitting across the desk from her attorney, Leanna Taylor finished reading the single sheet of paper and stared at it a long moment. As much as she disliked the very thought of traveling to Texas to meet her long-lost father, she was almost glad to have the matter settled. The fight to avoid the trip had been a long one and according to this recent missive from her father's attorney, the last concession had been made. Hank, as she referred to her father, insisted that she come as soon as possible.

    "Well, I guess that's it," she said, with resignation. "If Hank had just written to me instead of doing this through his attorney, I'd feel a lot better about it. If he didn't insist that I stay until my twentieth birthday, I'd feel even better."

    "I know," Alex Perry said, "and so would I. Unfortunately, your father has every legal right to do what he wants to where you're concerned. He was kind enough to relinquish guardianship a year early."

    She laughed under her breath. "Only with a lot of prodding. He didn't make any effort to contact me in the nineteen years since my mother left him, so why now?" She paused and shrugged. Alex knew all there was to know about the situation. "I hate to leave my work, not to mention spending months with someone I don't even know. If there's anything I don't need, it's a guardian."

    "Leanna, I'm well aware that you've done a fine job of taking care of your own affairs since your grandfather's death, but the cold fact is that Hank Taylor has the legal right to take control of everything you inherited."

    And control of me, as well, she added silently. "It's strange that he didn't exercise his right to guardianship ten years ago when my mother died."

    "Maybe he decided you were better off with your grandparents. Now that they're both dead, he's probably just concerned about you being all alone."

    And just how he had known she was alone? An eerie feeling came over her every time she thought of that. "I wish I knew why my mother left him."

    Alex leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. "I'm sure he'll clear up a lot of things when you meet him. I know you don't want to go, but by the time you get there, you'll only have to stay five or six months. You must remember that your mother chose to marry this man. How bad can he be?"

    "Bad enough for her to leave him when I was six months old," she mumbled in the next breath, then smiled ruefully. "I concede, but what am I going to do on a ranch for five or six months? Good grief, I don't even like horses!"

    Laughing, Alex said, "You're worrying too much, Leanna."

    "I suppose so." She got to her feet slowly. "I have to go to work. Make the travel arrangements and if I can't manage to break both legs or come down with a life-threatening disease, I'll leave in a couple of months."

    "Everything's going to turn out just fine, Leanna."

    "Your confidence overwhelms me," she quipped, heading to the door. "If you're wrong, I'm taking my business elsewhere."

    "Fair enough. Don't forget the benefit tonight. We'll come for you around seven."

    Leanna nodded absently, already thinking of all that had to be done before departure time. Now that a trip to Texas was inevitable, she set her mind to making the visit with her father as pleasant as possible. Still, she was unable to shake the feeling that all was not as it appeared. Even worse was the silent voice warning her not to go at all.