But when the additional bills arrived yesterday, and he’d looked from the positive statement to the exorbitant debt, it didn’t take long for reality to set in. At the rate he was going, he’d have enough to buy his own ranch round about his ninetieth birthday. It made more sense to put the money towards his father’s care. Besides, the new dream was just that, nice to think about, but a dream nonetheless.
He steered around the last curve in the driveway and saw the main house lights were on, one of the barns was lit, but the guesthouse remained dark. A small thrill of satisfaction refocused his attention. Looked like he’d get the draw on the sneaky city chick before the showdown even began.
He slowed to a stop outside the guesthouse, glancing at the barn out of habit as he began to shift into park. One glimpse of a small, dark-haired figure moving down the bright aisle with a wheelbarrow shot his delight all to hell.
He jammed the car back into first, grinding the gears bad enough to make him wince. The car jumped forward, and he slid to a stop in his regular parking spot. He started to get out, then hesitated with a hand above the gloves. With an irritated sound, he snatched them up and slammed his car door while stuffing them into his back pocket.
As he strode down the aisle, he briefly paused at the sound of her voice, low and soothing, as she spoke to the horse she’d just fed. When he caught sight of her, his step faltered. How the hell was he supposed to keep an eye on her all day when she looked like that?
On second thought, keeping both eyes on her wouldn’t be the problem.
Her hair was braided, quite practically, not like yesterday when it’d flowed about her face and shoulders in wild abandon. At least that wouldn’t distract him. However, a baby-doll white T-shirt paired with her low-riding fancy label jeans was enough to distract even the Pope. The unbuttoned blue shirt she wore over them didn’t conceal near enough.
She reached up and ran her hand along the horse’s neck. A strip of bare skin at her waist caught his eye, along with a flash of sparkle. He squinted. Aw, hell. He might as well just throw in the towel right now. As if the bare skin wasn’t enough, the gol’ darn little thief had her navel pierced. Even more startling was how sexy he found the little gem. He’d seen his share of girls with them, but this was the first he’d ever liked one—he’d never cared for body piercings beyond the ears.
She glanced up and caught him staring. Disconcerted with the physical attraction that wouldn’t leave him the hell alone, Colton clenched his jaw and his fists, and spun on his heel to stalk toward his office.
“Hi to you, too.”
Her sarcastic words carried distinctly above the sliding of the stall door. Colton took a deep breath and turned back. He caught up with her at the next stall. Caught sight of her navel again—because he couldn’t help but look.
“There’s a schedule for a reason,” he growled. “Feed at seven, no earlier, no later.”
She hesitated. He saw her jaw work as if she were biting back a retort. Then she dropped her hand from the stall’s door latch with a discouraged sigh.
Her shoulders sagged, and she murmured, “I didn’t know.”
It wasn’t that big a deal, but he clung to his anger, looked for any excuse to feed the distracting emotion and refused to let her guilt him into feeling bad for condemning her efforts.
“It’s obvious there’s a lot you don’t know. Let’s add it to your list of lies.”
“I’m sorry.”
He snorted. “Save it for someone who’ll buy it.”
Her chin jutted forward, thrusting any remorse from her expression. “I am sorry. And I told Britt last night, she was still okay with me working here.”
He knew it’d been an act. A disgusted laugh accompanied the shake of his head. “It’s sickening how you’ve got them completely snowed. With the keys being handed to you, you don’t even have to figure out a way to steal the truck. I didn’t say anything last night, but now I’m thinking it’s time I tell Joel about our little meeting the other morning…”
Kendra’s eyes widened. “No! Please, you can’t.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
Indecision chased the alarm from her eyes, then she blinked and all that remained was a plea. She stepped closer and laid a hand on his forearm. “Colton…please.”
His muscles flexed beneath her fingers, registering rough skin, yet a warm touch. “That’s it?” he sneered. “That’s all you’ve got?”
She lifted her hands to her forehead with a frustrated sound. Still, she gave him no reason to keep her secret. Yeah, she was definitely hiding something. He started to turn away.
“I’m begging you, what else do you want?” She grabbed his arm and held on. The notion that she could physically keep him from going to Joel was absurd, but she seemed willing to try. His sudden stop brought her up against him. Her breasts pressed along his tense forearm. Their eyes met and held, and he stared down at her in suspicious amazement.
Was she actually offering what he thought she was?
Not that he would go that route, but it’d be interesting to find out just how far she would go. He deliberately let his gaze slide along her body. “What are you willing to offer?”
Her heart beat erratically against his arm and her eyes widened as if she were surprised he’d called her bluff. “I don’t know what you mean.”
Kendra retreated. He followed. “Sure you do.”
Her back hit the stall door. He placed his hands on her trim waist and drew her forward. Pitched his voice low. “What are you willing to do to keep me silent, Kendra?”
Before she could say a word, he lowered his head. She trembled in his arms when his mouth covered hers. In that one breathless moment, he knew he had her, and an answering thrill shivered through him. Intent on cementing his evidence of how far she’d go to ensure he kept her secret, he opened his mouth and used his tongue to coax her lips apart.
Hazelnut teased his senses, tempered with an underlying sweetness he couldn’t identify. He wanted more. Colton pulled her closer to begin an earnest quest to determine the source of the addicting flavor.
Her lips parted.
She pressed forward.
And then she bit his lip.
He jerked his head back. “What the hell—”
“Let. Me. Go.”
The taste of blood hit his tongue about the same time he realized he’d completely forgotten his objective for the kiss. Colton released her and raised the back of his hand to his throbbing lip.
She returned his glare without blinking. “I should sue you for sexual assault.”
Guilt attacked, and this time he had no defense. He’d lost control of the situation the moment his lips met hers. God, what a—
In the blink of an eye, he recognized her game. Remorse vanished, and his lip curled. “Sure, there’s an angle you could work. In fact, make sure you wear this sexy little outfit to court—please.”
Nose in the air, she stepped out of reach before he could pluck the skin-tight material of her top. Her offended expression tried his patience. “It was a kiss. The only assault was to my lip.” And my peace of mind.
“It’s harassment at the very least.”
He snorted. “You started it, remember? And let me point out the pierced navel. You don’t want the attention, don’t invite it.”
She looked down to where her T-shirt had ridden up and then yanked the sides of her over-shirt closed. A flush rose in her cheeks as she cast a furtive glance down the aisle. When her attention returned to him, anger glittered in her brown eyes. “I didn’t invite anything. You better hope I don’t tell my brother about this.”
“Go ahead,” he snapped. “You tell, I tell. He’s known me for eight years—who do you think he’ll believe?”
She glowered in silence.
“That’s what I thought.” Colton added one last insult over his shoulder as he walked away. “Besides, Joel knows I like blondes. Tall ones. Not ski
nny little birds from the big city.”
Yeah, right. Good one, Colton. The blood still simmered in his veins.
Three steps away, he remembered the gloves and spun back around. She straightened warily when he jerked the guilt-ridden purchase from his back pocket.
“Here.”
She stared at his offering before reaching to accept the soft, tanned leather. Her confused frown mirrored his own feelings, but he strode away, shoving them aside to throw himself into physical work until Joel turned out of the drive with Britt and Kendra a couple hours later.
Alone on the ranch, he took the opportunity to let himself into the guesthouse with his spare key. A quick tour revealed a clean house. Beds made in the two smaller bedrooms, and when he went into the master with its king bed, it was made up, too. Unfortunately, it was obvious she’d claimed it as her own.
He sighed. He should’ve guessed.
In the kitchen, he retrieved a piece of paper from the drawer under the phone, but noticed the phone book on the counter. A slip of paper marked a spot in the yellow pages. Curiosity got the better of him and he flipped the book open. Several names were underlined in the Attorneys At Law section and he recalled her threat to sue him for harassment. The name Michael Kabara was circled instead of underlined.
Services offered in divorce, family law, wills, estate planning, real estate, business and corporate law, employment discrimination, sexual harassment, and Civil Rights laws.
Apparently she hadn’t been bluffing. Considering the page in front of him as he sat at the table, he thought over what had occurred in the barn.
Okay, yeah, he’d carried it too far. He’d known that even as he walked away, but no way in hell he’d apologize. He would, however, be more careful in the future when trying to discover what angles she was willing to use to her advantage. He didn’t want to help her con, not even unintentionally. Besides which, he didn’t think his blood pressure could take it.
He started to replace the bookmark until he saw his name on the piece of paper that’d marked the page. Looking closer, he saw it was a list, titled First Paycheck. Number one: repay Colton $35.00. Number two: repay Colton for groceries…$30.00 (?). Skimming the rest, he noted the items for Noah far outnumbered the ones for herself.
This list of priorities didn’t coincide with what he knew about her. He’d bet he wasn’t expected to view the list, so what was her angle? There’d been no thank you for the groceries, though apparently, she intended to pay him for them; yet, at the same time, she contacted attorneys to sue him over a stupid kiss.
It made no sense.
She made no sense.
He frowned at the black and white evidence in his hand, compared it against the circled phone book ad and other facts he’d already established. The result was a headache-inducing, inconclusive, perplexing contradiction that he didn’t like one bit.
Damn her!
Before his resolve weakened, he took a firm hold of his confusion and put it in its place. He hadn’t imagined her stealing his wallet. He hadn’t imagined her lying to his friends about it. And he damn sure hadn’t imagined her begging him to lie to Joel about it just before that disastrous kiss.
Chapter Six
In the darkened bedroom, Kendra sat straight up and strained her ears to pick up anything unusual. Any sound to explain why she suddenly found her eyes wide open in the middle of the night without having had the dream.
A glance at the clock brought her up short. It was only ten-thirty. In the absence of any other explanation, she began to imagine that Robert had found them. Her heart pounded so hard in the acute silence, she heard the thump of each beat.
Then she heard a sound that chilled the blood in her veins—the muted sounds of footsteps on the kitchen linoleum. They were too heavy to be Noah’s…
Noah!
She flew out of bed and peered into the hallway. All clear. Pressing against the wall, she scurried to the entryway between the living room and kitchen. A quick glance revealed the living room to be empty. In the dim illumination from the light above the sink, she saw the kitchen was, too. Whispering across the floor in her bare feet, she grabbed a butcher knife and went to check on Noah.
She froze at the sight of a hulking shadow backing out of his room. If he hurt Noah…A blinding red wave of anger swept through her and she sprang forward, the knife raised high. “Leave him alone, you monster!”
The shadow’s arm rose to deflect her attack. He was definitely real, not a dream.
Robert.
Flesh and blood after her brother. She had to stop him.
That single thought screamed inside her head. When his hand closed over her wrist, the one with the knife, the one thing she’d mastered in self-defense class flashed back.
She dropped the knife and seized his wrist with her free hand. Pure adrenalin gave her the strength to twist her back to his chest and plant her feet. Using his own weight and forward momentum against him, she bent at the waist and heaved him over her shoulder.
He landed flat on his back with a loud thump. The breath whooshed from his lungs. She heard a strangled gasp and squatted down, scrambling to locate the knife. The bite of the blade had her reaching with her other hand for the handle. Ironically, a rush of temporary relief shook her knees even more.
She braced her free hand against the wall for support as she rose with the knife extended in front of her. Slightly crouched, she swept her hand back and forth along the wall until she located the light switch. One flip and she’d confront Robert face to face. Her heart clogged her throat, but she forced her fingers to move.
The hallway lit up. Kendra nearly dropped the knife again as her other hand flew to her mouth in astonished horror.
Colton?
He lay on the floor in front of her, squinting in the bright light. Then his gaze fixed on the nine-inch blade in her hand, and he scooted to sit against the wall.
What was he—her gaze narrowed before she spun around and hurried inside Noah’s room. Assured he was unharmed and still sleeping soundly, she returned to the hall to find Colton picking himself up off the floor.
Dizzying relief gave way to anger. He’d scared the living daylights out of her! “What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.
His green eyes narrowed. His attention dropped to the hand at her side and then, without a single word, he strode toward the kitchen. She rushed after him and he whirled to face her. She jerked the knife up in automatic warning. “Stay there. I asked you a question.”
His gaze caught hers and held. The challenging glitter in his eyes held her immobile as he took a deliberate step forward and slowly reached to close his hand over her fingers on the handle. Heat from his touch radiated up her arm and through her entire body. She tried to pull away and his gaze darkened in tandem with the tightening of his grip.
“Threaten me again, and you’d better be damn sure you succeed the first time.”
The chill of his clipped warning effectively chased down the heat tingling along her spine. Her bravado wavered. She relaxed her hold enough for him to take possession of the knife.
He turned to set the blade on the table while she explained, “I didn’t mean it, I thought you were—” She broke off abruptly, but he pounced on her slip-up.
“Thought I was who?”
She swallowed. “I didn’t know it was you.”
“Would that have changed anything?”
She studied the chipped polish on her toe nails. “I wouldn’t have gotten the knife.”
“Oh, yeah. That’s real convincing.”
Kendra took a breath to apologize. Wait a second—why was she the one feeling bad here? She met his gaze dead on. “What was I supposed to do? It’s after ten and as far as I knew, you went home hours ago. When I saw you coming from Noah’s room, I panicked. I had to keep him safe. I grabbed the first thing I could think of.”
A frown darkened his expression. “It’s not like I would’ve hurt him.
She huffed, s
tepping around him to walk toward the sink. Noticing his measured look from her to the knife as she passed, she rolled her eyes and faced him again.
“I didn’t know it was you, okay? Besides, even if I had known it was you, I don’t know you. Like this.” She made an all-encompassing gesture with her hands. “I didn’t expect you to be the cat-burglar type, breaking in during the middle of the night. How was I supposed to know what you were doing in his room?”
Colton braced his hands on a chair, and they faced off across the table.
“It was a reflex. His door was open, and I stuck my head in to check on him. I guess when I saw him sleeping I wondered if he’s as innocent as he looks—”
“Of course he’s innocent! How dare you even suggest otherwise.”
He lifted a shoulder. “As you just pointed out, we don’t know anything about each other. And we both know your track record isn’t exactly trustworthy.”
“Judge me all you want, then, but leave Noah out of it,” she snapped. “And it still doesn’t warrant you breaking and entering.”
“I have a key.” He pulled the proof from his pocket.
“Why—who gave you a key?”
He slipped it back with a careless shrug. “I’ve had one for years.”
She held out her hand and tried to remain calm. “Give it to me.”
“No.”
“If you think I’m going to let you keep a key so you can sneak in here whenever you want—”
“I didn’t sneak, I live here.”
“I want that key.”
He crossed his arms over his chest with a grim smile. “No.”
“I mean it, I—” Her mind suddenly caught up. “What did you say?”
“I said no.”
She bit back a frustrated growl. “You don’t live here.”
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