The Consummate Cowboy

“She was here and talked to you a week ago.”

“She came into the bar while I was there. I didn’t know she was in the state. I talked to her, but I didn’t leave with her. I didn’t even see her leave. We just talked, that’s all. And when I asked her if she would see the children, she said she might the next day.”

Something thumped above them, and Emily looked up.

“That’s my daughter or son.”

“My niece or nephew.”

“Give me a break,” he said with unmistakable disgust. “You’ve never seen them or talked to them or written them.”

“I did write when they were born, and Amber never answered. You and Amber divorced when they were babies. You know Amber and I weren’t close. She never invited me to see them and neither have you!”

He waved his hand to stop her excuses. Her gaze wavered and flicked down over him. The knees of his jeans were wet and had smudges of damp earth from their encounter outside.

“Where’s your car?” he asked.

“Up on the road.”

“That was damn foolhardy.”

“Amber called me a week ago and she sounded terrified of someone.”

“So you decided it was me?” he asked, arching a dark eyebrow, disgust returning to his voice.

“She was in this area—why else would she be here?”

“Your sister is totally unpredictable. I saw her only briefly and she didn’t tell me about any plans. And she didn’t act afraid of anything. Far from it. She was flirting and having her usual good time.”

Zach knew he sounded bitter. Amber was a tall, dropdead gorgeous blonde and he had fallen for her, marrying her within a month of meeting her. They had married in Las Vegas, spent two nights there, flown to New York and spent a week there. On the way home they had stopped in Chicago and had had dinner with the sister. He barely remembered Emily because at the time he only had eyes for Amber. The honeymoon had lasted until she discovered she was pregnant and then she had thrown a screaming fit, telling him she was getting an abortion. He had talked her out of it. Zach drew a deep breath. Every thought about Amber stung. Anger burned, flickering between fury at himself for being so blind, and rage at Amber for her attitude toward her children.

And he only half believed the sister. He didn’t know what she was up to. When Amber had sashayed into the bar last week, she hadn’t acted frightened. He remembered her sitting next to him, flirting as her hand played over his thigh. Even though she wore Husband Number Three’s wedding ring, Zach knew he could have brought her home to his bed. She would have stayed a while, grown restless again, especially with the children, and gone on her way. He didn’t intend to fall into that trap again, or to let her get the children’s hopes up—only to disappoint them again.

“Did she tell you anything about another man?” Emily asked, bringing his thoughts back to her.

Zach shook his head, knowing he was being uncooperative. But he had been badly hurt by Amber. And he blamed himself for being such a fool over her and letting his body rule his mind and heart. The woman was shallow and selfish, and he should have seen it clearly.

He didn’t want to deal with her sister, either. He wanted to get her out of his house and send her on her way. He wasn’t concerned with this woman’s problems. Let her search for her sister. Never again did he want to be involved with Amber.

And all the time he was angrily deciding to get rid of her, Emily’s big green eyes tugged at him. In spite of the pull, he intended to stay out of it—even though it was obvious she didn’t know the first thing about searching for a missing person.

“Did you see her with any other man?”

“She talked to other guys. That’s the last I remember.”

Feeling defeated and frustrated, Emily stared at Zach. Something didn’t seem right about him. He was a rancher, yet he kept to himself. She had always thought ranchers were friendly people. But Zach kept the road to his house fenced and locked.

“I tackled you pretty hard,” he said, interrupting her thoughts. “In the dark, I thought you were a man.”

“That comes from being almost six feet tall,” she remarked dryly.

“Are you all right?”

She nodded, touching ribs that ached badly. “A little sore.”

“I’ll get the kids, and we’ll drive you back to your car. You shouldn’t have left it on the highway.”

“Don’t wake them at this hour. I can walk back.”

“No, you can’t. I think they’re awake, anyway. I’ll go see.”

“Isn’t it late for little children to be awake?”

“They went to bed a long time ago. They woke up and wanted drinks of water. Since my divorce, they don’t sleep well. If they’re asleep again, I’ll carry them down.”

“May I come see them?”

He glanced at her, seeing the uncertainty in her expression. He knew Amber’s moods and the chronic liar and actress that she was. He suspected the sister was the same, and wondered if she was trying to soften him up. She couldn’t give a damn about the children because she knew nothing about them.

“I suppose.” He leveled a look at her that made her draw a shaky breath.

Emily felt anger and dislike radiate from him like heat from a wood stove. “You don’t even know me, yet you dislike me.”

He had started toward the hall. He stopped and swung around. “I know you’re Amber’s sister. You’re blood kin. Your sister is coldhearted, completely wrapped up in herself. There are two little children upstairs that have been hurt damnably by her.”

He left the room and Emily trailed behind him, watching the play of muscles in his back. She was stunned by his anger. She couldn’t argue with him. And she suspected that this man had been as badly hurt as the two children.

As she walked beside him into the hall, she was aware of his height. She was nearly six feet tall, yet he was taller than she by a good seven or eight inches.

“Why aren’t the police searching for Amber?” he asked as they climbed the stairs.

“They have started searching,” she replied. “Last weekend they found her car abandoned and burned.”

Zach frowned. “I saw that car on the television news, but it didn’t say anything about Amber.” And in the numerous times Zach had spoken with Nunez about Amber, the sheriff never once mentioned the burned-out car or that Amber was considered a missing person.

“They found my name on a slip of paper that was in the grass near the car. They called me before they were absolutely sure it was her car.”

“I can’t imagine your sister isn’t somewhere doing exactly what she wants. On the other hand, maybe she finally went too far with someone.”

“I’m worried about her. She sounded terrified when she called me.”

He shrugged and continued up the steps in silence. At the top of the stairs, he motioned toward an open door. As they entered, she heard a thumping. Zach switched on another light that revealed a black retriever sprawled on the floor, his tail thumping loudly. The dog got to its feet and crossed the room toward them.

“This is Tiger.”

“I was afraid of a watchdog.”

“Yeah, well, this is one of them—and he’s as tough as vanilla pudding.”

She scratched the dog’s head and followed Zach across the room to a narrow child’s bed that had a play castle as a headboard. He leaned over the bed and Emily reached out to grasp his arm. The instant her fingers closed around his muscled forearm, she felt an acute awareness of him. “Don’t wake her,” she whispered. “I can walk to my car.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at her hand and then at her.

Emily’s gaze ran past him to the child, and she forgot the man.

“Oh, great saints,” she whispered and moved closer, forgetting Zach Durham’s existence as she looked at the hauntingly familiar sleeping child.

Two

Zach stared at Emily. Her face paled and she moved closer, brushing against him as she leaned over the bed. He looked from her to his sleeping baby and he knew why she was stunned. The child looked like her child. Two heads of red ringlets caught the light and reflected gold in their depths. Two pairs of eyes were fringed with thick, auburn lashes. Two straight noses were sprinkled with freckles. And he knew if Rebecca opened her eyes, they would match the green of Emily’s.

Amber had been a natural redhead, but she had always kept her hair dyed blond. And it was straight, bearing little resemblance to Rebecca’s curls.

Zach watched Emily reach out to touch one of those cuds, letting it wind around her finger. He frowned and studied her, remembering the times Amber had played him for a fool with her lying. Did the sister really feel moved by the sight of her niece, or was this some ploy?

She stepped closer, and he wondered whether she was aware of his existence. As he stared at her, he fought a strange battle with his emotions. He didn’t want to soften his feelings toward her. She was Amber’s sister! Yet he couldn’t help feeling less hostile toward her as she stared at Rebecca. Tears glistened in Emily’s eyes, and he watched her swipe her hand across her face.

If she was so moved by the sight of her niece, why hadn’t she written or contacted them? Yet already he knew the answer. Amber kept no ties to anyone. He knew almost nothing about Amber’s family except that the father was in prison for robbery.

He walked to the center of the room and waited until Emily turned from the bed. Her face was pale and her expression was forlorn as if she had just lost something valuable. He had a ridiculous urge to wrap his arms around her and tell her she could stay and get to know Rebecca.

He shook off the impulse. “You can stay here tonight and we’ll take you to your car in the morning,” he said, wondering if even this gesture was a sign that he had lost his wits.

“Oh, no! I don’t want to put you out. It wasn’t that bad a walk. I really don’t mind.”

“We have plenty of room here,” he said, realizing she didn’t want to stay any more than he wanted to have her. “Either you stay or I wake them.”

She bit her lip as if torn and glanced back at Rebecca. “I’ll stay. Please don’t wake them. May I see Jason, too?”

“Sure,” he answered, realizing there were things she probably wanted to know about her sister—things he didn’t want to get into right now.

“Don’t turn the light on in his room. The hall light will be enough,” she said.

“Nothing except bad dreams will wake them. They can sleep through storms, noise, light.” He crossed the hall with her at his side and switched the light on in another small bedroom. Two fuzzy mutts blinked sleepy eyes and wagged their tails.

“The dogs are Tater and Spot.”

Barely noticing the small dogs, Emily crossed the room to a narrow, four-poster bed. She leaned over it and looked at the sleeping three year old. The little boy had a mass of brown ringlets, the same freckled nose, the same pointy chin. Again shocked by the unmistakable resemblance, Emily moved closer, lost in thought.

How could Amber have run away and left them behind? Emily glanced over her shoulder at Zach, who lounged in the doorway and watched her. Was he to blame?

Emily felt a pang. She had never expected to have marriage, a husband, or children in her life. God knows, her family genes should not be passed on to another generation. Or so she had always thought—these two little children carried those genes and they looked sweet, innocent and adorable.

How could Amber have left them? The question tore at Emily again. It had to be Zach. No mother would willingly leave such angels—not even Amber, though she had never taken responsibility for anything in her life.

Zach turned and motioned toward the door. Emily tiptoed out while his boot heels scraped the floor with each step.

“The dogs stay up here?”

“They won’t leave those kids.” He changed the subject. “Let’s get something to drink. I have ice tea, coffee, milk or beer.”

“Tea’s fine,” she said, then lapsed into silence. Zach wanted some answers from her and he knew there were things he should tell her. Sheriff Nunez was a closemouthed, noncommunicative man and must not have said much to her about Amber. Nunez hadn’t even told him everything the police knew. And the sheriff certainly hadn’t mentioned talking to Emily.

Zach switched on the light in the kitchen. As soon as Emily stepped inside, he turned to face her, blocking her path. “Before I get drinks, let’s talk.”

“Sure,” Emily replied, puzzled, wondering whether there was something about Amber she didn’t know. Was he going to tell her?

Zach placed his hands against the wall on each side of her, hemming her in, moving in too close. She could feel the warmth of his body, smell his hair. The determination in his eyes made her want to duck and run.

“You said you came looking for your sister. I think you ought to tell me more about it. Amber could be involved in anything with anybody. She wasn’t very discriminating. You may be in danger, too. You may have led someone to us and put us both in danger.”

Startled by his remarks, Emily frowned. “You’re standing too close.”

“Yeah, I am. I want some answers from you.” His direct gaze disturbed her, and she was again acutely conscious of him. The urge increased to push past him, but there was a forcefulness about him that held her immobile. And something more held her in place; her heart raced with a visceral awareness of his appeal as a male.

“I don’t see how I can be in danger or bring any jeopardy to you. No one is interested in me. And if someone is after my sister, I haven’t had any contact with her since the one phone call—and no one could know about that.” Emily answered in a clipped tone, annoyed that she was responding to him in an elemental way.

Zach gazed down into thickly lashed green eyes that were wide and guileless. He had told himself over and over to stay out of her problems. He didn’t need more worries. He had the children’s safety to think about. He didn’t need to take someone else under his wing. And never would he want to be involved with anyone who had the slightest connection to Amber. Stop questioning her, he scolded himself. Take the woman to her car in the morning, get her to the nearest motel and tell her goodbye.

And maybe he had developed a gut instinct for trouble. Somehow he felt she might jeopardize his life and the children’s. If Amber was involved with the wrong people, Emily could place herself in peril by asking questions about her sister. He didn’t want any part of the problem. He had no interest in seeing Amber again. He was starting to get his own life together, trying to get some stability into the lives of the kids. The last thing he needed was to bring danger to them. He looked down into innocent eyes and caught a scent of lilacs and spring flowers.

“I have to try to find Amber,” she said.

“You could get hurt badly—” he seemed to have a thought “—when did you get here?”

“I took time off work and drove. This afternoon I arrived in San Luis, met with Sheriff Nunez and talked to people in town. Why?”

“I just wanted to know who you’ve talked to, what you might have stirred up. If someone was following you, you wouldn’t know it.”

“Why would anyone follow me?”

“You don’t know what your sister was involved in.”

“No, I don’t.”

Satisfied with her answers, he moved away and got a pitcher of tea from the fridge. He poured it over ice in a tall glass and handed it to her. “Sugar or lemon?”

“No, thanks,” she answered in a subdued voice, watching him warily. He knew she was afraid of him and that suited him fine. He didn’t want to get too close to her. Drink a beer and go to bed and get rid of her in the morning, he silently told himself again.

But should he tell her about Jason? It was only a matter of time until she learned the truth.

Zach uncapped the beer, grabbed a chair and sat down facing her. She wasn’t the knockout beauty her sister was, but Emily was pretty. And she was sexy. He suspected she didn’t realize the latter, but he could feel electricity between them when he got close to her.

Amber had been incredibly sexy, but she had known it and flaunted it. He remembered seeing her last week in the bar in her low-cut, clinging red blouse, dyed blond hair piled high on her head, pouty lips. No man would forget her. Damn few could resist her. Heaven knows, he hadn’t been able to. But that was a long time ago.

He took a drink and then lowered the bottle, glancing across the table into Emily’s eyes. He was ensnared. She didn’t have the faintest idea how to search for her missing sister, and she didn’t seem to believe him about the danger.

Leave it alone, he reminded himself. Yet her eyes were focused on him with an intentness that made him uneasy. She might get hurt and that worried him—and it annoyed the hell out of him that it worried him.

“You’re not married?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Regular guy in your life?”

“No, there’s not.”

“I find that a little hard to believe.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I’m entirely different from my sister. I don’t date a lot. I’m very busy with my work.”

“Where do you work?” he asked, thinking about what she had just told him. She didn’t date, hadn’t dated much. In spite of her direct gaze and sincere tone, he didn’t believe her. She was too poised, attractive and sexy to spend evenings alone.

“I work for Chicago Charities. It’s a privately funded organization that does charity work for families. We provide counseling, handle adoptions, and maintain a home for battered women. We work closely with city agencies.”

Zach stared at her, realizing she had been telling the truth when she insisted that she was different from her sister. Amber could never have held a job like the one Emily just described, nor would Amber want to. He began to see Emily in a whole new light. And he realized how dangerous that might be. The last thing on earth he wanted to feel was an attraction to a relative of Amber’s. His ex-sister-in-law, for Pete’s sake!

“Your title?”

“I’m executive director and I oversee the counseling, decide which families we will help, work on the adoptions, check on the women who are in the shelter. The executive committee and I decide how the money will be dispensed when there is a catastrophe and donations come in.” She added, “I love my work.”

He could imagine her in the kind of job she described. She looked soft, caring. A small light above the sink was the only illumination and it made a halo of her red-gold hair. Locks of it were still pinned to her head, but tendrils had fallen and curled around her face. He imagined all of it free and tumbling loosely over her shoulders.

“What did you do—take a few days off?”

“Yes. I haven’t taken a vacation since I started working there, so I have a lot of time coming—more than I plan to take.”

She looked much younger than Amber, he found himself thinking. At first he would have guessed Emily’s age at about twenty-three, but she had to be older to hold the job she described. He took another drink of beer. Stay out of her problems and get her on her way home, he reminded himself. His gaze swung back to her and worry was plain in her expression as she bit her lip and gazed beyond him.

He needed to avoid her dilemma, to keep to himself—to build a home and a haven. He had a ranch to run. And there was already a crowd. He had the two kids to protect and care for. And there was the retriever he had found near the highway. Plus the two mutts that had been abandoned, and the cat that had appeared from nowhere. He thought about Nessie who stayed with the children. He didn’t need to take another living thing under his roof, especially one so desirable.

“There’s a possibility your sister is with someone of her own choosing. She didn’t act like a frightened woman when I talked to her. Or like a woman on the run.” Before Amber had sat down beside him, he had seen her flirting with other men in the bar. “My advice would be to go home and wait a while. She’ll call. Believe me, she wasn’t frightened that night. Far from it. She was having a good time.” He felt like swearing as Emily’s dainty chin raised defiantly and her eyes blazed with determination.

“I talked to the bartender at the Red Rocket,” she said, “and he gave me a list of names of men who were there that night or who frequent the place. I want to ask them about Amber.” She ran her fingers across her forehead. “Do you have aspirin? My head is pounding.”

He stood and crossed to a cabinet to get a small bottle and bring it back to her. As she shook out two aspirin and took them, he pulled his chair around the table. “Turn around. I’ll massage your neck. Sometimes that works better than aspirin for a headache.”

After a momentary hesitation, she turned her back to him.

He spread his legs and moved his chair close behind her, again catching the faint scent of flowers in her perfume. Wisps of red hair curled against her nape as he began to massage her neck. He could feel the tension in her shoulders. Her bones felt delicate and as he kneaded her shoulders, she leaned her head forward and began to relax. Her flesh beneath his hands was warm and soft. He wanted to touch her, and he knew he was playing with fire by doing so. He removed a remaining pin from her hair and the last locks tumbled down.

She turned to slant him a frown over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”

“Relax,” he said, amused that she was so bristly. “I’m giving you a massage. You feel better already, don’t you?”

She turned around without answering. He worked his hands into her hair, rubbing her scalp, massaging her slender neck. As he stroked her head, he heard a soft murmur from her, and a few minutes later a long, pleased sigh. With every sound of satisfaction she made, he felt his temperature rise. She wiggled slightly beneath his touch, stretching her back.

He worked his hands down her back until she twisted away from him.

“I hurt on my side.”

“From my tackle?” he asked, feeling a stab of guilt for being so rough with her.

“Yes,” she said, touching the ribs on her right side lightly.

“Does it hurt to take a deep breath?”

“A little.”

“Maybe I should take you to an emergency—”

“I’ll be fine,” she said, her voice becoming softer as his hands moved across her shoulders and neck. “That does feel good. And the aspirin is working.”

“Good,” he said. She was responding to his massage like a cat being stroked. What would it be like to kiss her? he wondered. The moment the question arose, he closed his mind to speculation. Stay away from the lady, he silently reprimanded. He ought to get up, move and put the table between them. Instead, he continued to massage her slender shoulders even while silently lecturing himself on the dangers of becoming involved.

“Do you have the list of names you got from the bartender?”

Shifting to one side, she pulled a paper out of her jeans hip pocket. He couldn’t help noticing the material pulled tautly across her round backside. He took the list she handed to him. Spreading it on the table, he looked at the neat printing. As he went back to massaging her neck, he scanned the page and frowned. “I know a few of these men. Some are trouble. Two are ex-cons. You ought to leave them alone.”

“It’s the only lead I have to her. Besides you.” She moved away and turned her chair, twisting to face him. “You can stop now.”

He wanted to keep on touching her. He was so caught up in kids and day-to-day ranch life that he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been alone with an appealing woman. The last time he’d been close to one, touched one. Too damn long and too dangerous to think about now.

“Thanks so much. I feel better,” she added.

“Always happy to oblige a lady,” he answered lightly.

Her eyes twinkled, and she flashed him a smile. Startled by the change in her, he was dazzled. She had a dimple in her left cheek, and for just a moment worry vanished from her expression. It was like a flash of sunshine on the cloudiest day, and he warmed to it instinctively. “So your opinion of me has improved a notch,” she said in a teasing voice.