The Rancher Takes A Bride (The Burnett Brides Book 1)

Travis only because she wanted to explore these feelings he seemed to evoke. She'd stayed because the only other place for her to go was a cold boarding house in another Western town. And she was enjoying the close-knit atmosphere of the Burnett home.
    Never had she experienced a place where family seemed to take a genuine interest in one another. Never before had she longed for a life that revolved around a home, land, and a stubborn cowboy. A man who exuded honesty, goodness, and a voice that made her tremble inside. He was everything she'd dreamed of in a man. Yet she knew she didn't stand a chance of being with him permanently.
    The sound of him rustling around in the room across the hall heightened her awareness. Her experience with men was limited, to say the least, but no one else had ever made her wish she were someone else. Someone Travis could accept, fall in love with, care about. But why did that matter?
    She could only be who she was and no one else. Travis Burnett could never accept her or the love she felt for him.
    She turned and punched the pillow next to her. There—she'd admitted it to herself. She'd let the thought she had kept at bay so long finally sneak through the barriers she'd erected. She loved him. Had probably loved him since the night he had tenderly plucked the thorns from her hand. Definitely since the morning they had spent at the pond. But she had refused to acknowledge the tender emotion. She didn't want this feeling for any man. She hadn't planned on including a man in her life as an actress.
    Yet somehow those words didn't inspire her the way they once had. In fact, they only seemed to discourage her, and right now she needed encouragement. She was hopelessly in love with a man she would never be good enough for.
    Travis could never accept her love, so therefore there was no way she was going to let him know how she felt about him. She'd keep this little secret all to herself. But she could no longer stay in his house. Living in close proximity to him day in and day out, watching him, and knowing she could never have him, would be impossible. It was time to move on.
    The play would be in town for the next week before the troupe headed south to San Antonio, and tonight the director had asked her to come along and play the part of Bianca permanently.
    Rose had been thrilled they thought her capable enough of doing the part on a continuous basis, yet torn at the thought of leaving Travis behind. But this was what she had waited for all of her life, and she knew this could lead to her goal of becoming a star on the stage.
    Unfortunately, acting didn't seem as exciting anymore. Not since living with Travis, at the Bar None, had awakened her to a life she was missing. But she had to go; she had to get away or lose her heart permanently to a man who would always think of her as a thief and a con artist. A man who could never love her.
    ***
    Travis sat down in a chair in the Pinkerton man's office and glanced across the desk at Jake Hall. The Pinkerton agency had opened an office in Fort Worth due to the recent number of stage and railroad holdups.
    Tucker had used Mr. Hall when he had tried to find out exactly what happened to Tanner, his missing brother, though Mr. Hall hadn't done the actual investigation himself. One of his assistants in Louisiana had tried to find Tanner, with no success.
    Still, Travis felt uneasy sitting there waiting for the man to find his report on another human being's life. Rose's life.
    "Here it is. I put this together a week ago."
    He flipped open the book and scanned the report. "Oh, yes. Miss Rose Severin, otherwise known as Desirée Severin. Nothing much was found on her, but her father was a different story. Seems he had quite a reputation with the ladies and was known for swindling women. He especially liked rich young widows. If he wasn't making enough money that way, he had several scams he liked to run. One was buying and selling stock for a company that didn't exist."
    "What about Rose? Was she involved?" Travis asked, anxiety suddenly gripping him.
    "I'm getting to that, Mr. Burnett." He took a deep breath. "Her mother was the famous actress Rosalyn Severin and played the New York stage. She married Mr. Severin a year prior to Rose's birth. For most of their married life, Mr. and Mrs. Severin lived apart. Seems Mr. Severin had a way with the ladies, especially more than one at a time. When Mrs. Severin passed away, Rose and a servant named Isaiah