Embarrassed by the intimacy conveyed through his caressing fingers, she tore her gaze away and jerked her hand free of him. Karen and Shelly stared at her with quizzical expressions, and Dayna knew that what had passed between her and Brand hadn't gone unnoticed.
To break the strained silence, she faced W.R. and quickly reinforced her poise with a slight lift of her chin. "I'm terribly sorry for making such a fuss over nothing."
W.R. flashed a broad smile at her. "I'm sorry it happened. May I welcome you ladies to the Double R and express my hope that the rest of your stay will be enjoyable." He sent an abbreviated glare at Brand before returning his attention to Dayna. "And I hope nothing else will displease any of you while you stay with us. Let me show you inside and we'll see about your accommodations." He turned and opened the door behind him, tossing a quick command to Brand. "You'd better be off now and get those fences mended. Maybe out there you'll keep yourself out of trouble."
Hearing this censure, Dayna couldn't resist looking back over her shoulder and directing a satisfied smile at Brand. He responded to her smug expression and his employer's words with an indifferent, amused grin.
Dayna quickly climbed the rest of the steps. Bonnie followed, juggling their suitcases, but from the corner of her eye, Dayna saw W.R. frowning with perplexity. If an explanation became necessary, Dayna would offer it., but for now all she wanted was to escape Brand's unsettling presence.
The inside of the building was a complete contrast to its Spanish exterior. The massive, timbered lobby was totally western. Rich tones of natural woods, dark plank flooring, and old lanterns along with Indian handiwork and western artifacts added to the lobby's rustic atmosphere. Soft, cushioned sofas and chairs were grouped near an enormous stone fireplace and chimney, which rose twenty feet to a cathedral ceiling. This was the room's focal point and took up almost the entire length of one wall. Nearby, a heavy oak staircase led the way to the accommodations in the main lodge.
The loud sigh Bonnie emitted jarred Dayna. Having gathered their luggage, he had struggled up the stairs and through the lodge door. Dayna flashed an understanding smile at him. As he maneuvered the luggage to the floor, he addressed the woman behind the high-countered reception desk. "Sara, these ladies just arrived."
The young woman behind the desk was dressed in a powder-blue T-shirt and designer jeans and had her long, dark hair tightly bound in a single braid that reached the middle of her back. Even if her hair hadn't been styled in that particular manner, the high cheekbones and strongly defined features proudly declared her Indian ancestry. "Names, please," she requested with a warm smile.
Karen moved forward to supply the information. As she did, W.R. approached them. "Ladies, let me formally introduce myself. I'm really sorry for such an oversight." Extending his hand to Dayna first, he said, "William Reardon—W.R. to my friends, and I hope that will include the three of you."
Dayna accepted his hand. Wanting to offer a better impression than she first had made, she smiled brightly, but it faded quickly as she caught sight of Brand standing near the doorway. "Dayna Palmer, W.R.," she replied, using the informal address offered and bringing a wide grin to W.R.'s face. She liked him immediately and understood now why her father showed such concern about the ranch. "I understand you know my father, Edward Palmer."
"You're Ed's daughter," he said with a wry expression. "I should have realized. We've been anticipating your arrival ever since your father called about accommodations." He winked conspiratorially at her. "All that proud father of yours talked about when we saw each other recently was his daughter and how competently she ran the travel agency."
"Thank you," Dayna answered with a smile, but her eyes were fixed on Brand.
Noticing that her attention had shifted, W.R. gestured slightly with his head back over his shoulder. "The wrangler behind me who made such a disruptive greeting is the man in charge of the spread, the foreman. You'll have to forgive him," he explained. "He tends to act like a charging bull at times."
He said more, but his words were lost to her. Brand was the foreman, the man the Minters had complained about. She stared thoughtfully at him and tried to remember if she had told him her reason for visiting the ranch when they were together in Phoenix. She hadn't, and now she was glad that she had shown some restraint. Having seen how fast he worked and how arrogant he could be, she found Mrs. Minter's complaint suddenly more believable.
Brand took a step forward, flashing a potently sexy smile at Dayna. "We've met. I didn't make a very good first impression on her," he said with a smile that indicated no ruefulness. "Though we did make some progress toward amiability, didn't we?"
Dayna held a tight rein on the warmth of embarrassment threatening to redden her face. "Amiability" seemed a mild description for the emotion she'd felt when he'd kissed her. Even so, she nodded in assent, but his smile was just too much. A knowing confidence emanated from him, conveying just what he meant by amiability. Her heart thundered in her chest as she realized just how much time he would have now to gently persuade her.
She turned away, trying to appear indifferent. Behind her she heard Brand tell W.R., "I'll meet you in the office."
Dayna couldn't resist looking over her shoulder. He moved away with easy strides across the wood floor covered by an enormous turquoise, gray, and white Indian rug.
Through the huge window that separated the office from the lobby, Dayna watched him settle into a chair in front of the desk and stretch out, crossing his legs at the ankles. She was railing at herself for following his movements when suddenly his blue eyes were turned to stare insolently back at her. She quickly looked away, pretending an interest in an enormous primitive-looking Indian weaving hanging on one of the walls. Somehow, despite her inner turmoil, she managed a smile in response to W.R.'s comment.
"I'll see you ladies at dinner. It's served at six-thirty. Now, if you'll excuse me, it seems I have some business to discuss."
For all her outward composure, Dayna sensed the last thing she would do on this particular vacation was relax. She kept her gaze averted from Brand, but all the while she felt that intense blue gaze resting on her speculatively.
With a mental growl, Dayna moved toward the lobby desk. From the moment he had met her, Brand had been very direct, his determined interest in her so obviously sensual that a person had to be blind not to see it.
She joined Karen and watched Bonnie's silent grumbling expression as he eyed their luggage. Despite her disturbing thoughts, Dayna had to smile at his pained look as he regarded the quantity of luggage he had to contend with.
The door of the lodge opened and a ranch hand entered. The man headed for a door marked "Employees Only," but Bonnie yelled out like a top sergeant, "Hank, get over here right now. It's about time you showed up."
"Huh?" the man answered in bewilderment but hurried over. "Nobody told me to come here. I was just going to see Charlie about supplies."
Dayna watched with amusement as Bonnie wangled the ranch hand into helping. "Oh, well, my mistake, Hank. You can see Charlie later, though. Come on and give me a hand with this luggage. You don't want these lovely ladies standing around here any longer and thinking bad of us, now do you?"
Dayna smiled as Hank tipped his hat and rushed to pick up the bags at Dayna's feet. "No way, Bonnie. All you had to do was say that some pretty lady needed her luggage carried and I would have come running."
Bonnie rolled his eyes upward at the ranch hand's flattering words. "I was sure you'd feel that way, Hank," he remarked, making a face.
Absently, Dayna listened to Shelly's excited chatter as they ascended the stairs. But as she paused on one step and glanced back, the cool air of the lodge seemed to grow warmer. A commanding blue gaze held her tensely still. Leaning against the doorjamb of W.R.'s office, Brand mouthed one word at her: "Destiny."
An odd clamminess dampened the back of her neck as she felt the same electrifying shock she'd experienced when he shook her hand.
Sh
e grabbed the banister to steady herself and whirled away from his devilish grin, wondering what had made her respond to the silent command of his eyes to turn around. There was no plausible explanation, but then she had reacted unpredictably ever since she'd met him.
As they walked through the long hall on the second floor, frequent interruptions in their progress soon dispelled her uncomfortable feelings. Bonnie's description of the guests was accurate. Everyone seemed eager to meet and become better acquainted with new guests. Bonnie was a congenial master of introductions, and he made them feel as though the various guests were members of his family.
It was going to be an unusual vacation for more reasons than one, Dayna thought. A heart-stirring event, at least as far as Shelly was concerned, occurred on the way to their room.
Bonnie again stopped their progress to introduce them to Martin Randolph, a young accountant from New York. Although their conversation with him was brief, Dayna learned that he was twenty-nine, single, as interested in astronomy as Shelly was, and, by the sparkle in his dark eyes behind aviator-styled glasses, more than casually interested in Shelly.
Dayna knew Shelly would have been happy to spend the next two weeks right where they were, standing in the hall talking to Martin, but she was relieved when Bonnie finally showed them into their room. He set the luggage down and then, with a tip of his hat, said he'd see them at dinner.
Excited conversation flowed as Shelly and Karen discussed the previous hour. While they talked, Dayna decided to unpack. She slipped out of her high heels and viewed the room. Set up in the manner of a suite, it was an extremely large, rectangular room painted a soft tan. It easily accommodated two double beds, a writing desk, a chest of drawers, and—on one side of the room—a settee and an overstuffed chair. Although three single women would be occupying it for the next two weeks, the fireplace and the large window with a spectacular view indicated it could have just as easily been a romantic haven for lovers. Earthy, wheat-colored carpeting, refurbished oak furniture of another century, and baskets of dried wildflowers decorated the room.
Dayna lifted her suitcase onto the bed while Karen took in the view from the window. "I couldn't believe the shape of Bonnie's legs when I first saw him," Karen commented.
"I know what you mean," Shelly replied and then added to show she wasn't making fun of him, "He's nice. In fact, everyone here is. W.R. seems to be the true cattle-baron type. And I thought Martin Randolph was very nice," she said in an overly reserved tone.
Karen lifted a brow at her. "Nice? Just nice, Shelly?"
"Oh, stop it." Shelly giggled, sitting on the edge of the bed next to Dayna's suitcase. "He did seem a little interested, didn't he?" she asked hopefully.
"Definitely a little interested," Karen assured her. She looked at Dayna who was removing a green dress from her suitcase and securing it on a hanger. "Someone else seemed a little interested in someone too."
Dayna looked up slowly, responding to the sudden silence that followed Karen's remark. "Are you talking about the foreman?"
Stretching the word out, Karen said with a smirk, "We-e-ll he could barely take his eyes off you."
"I don't believe this conversation. You expect me to be thrilled about a cowboy leering at me? Hardly," she said, answering her own question as she turned her attention back to unpacking. "He practically strips me naked when he looks at me."
Karen smiled slightly, one of her fair brows rising in response to Dayna's denials. "What really upsets you is the way you crumble under his gaze. The man's just got sensuous eyes. He's gorgeous and you know it."
Dayna remarked with a wry face, "I'm still not interested."
"I don't know why not. He's rugged and," Karen said, deepening her voice and making Shelly giggle, "sexy."
Remembering the deep-set blue eyes, bronze skin, and sun-streaked hair, Dayna had to agree mentally that Karen's description was accurate. "He might be all that. But I think it's important to remember he's also the foreman Alexandria Minter complained about. And, though I considered this a vacation, I am supposed to find out about that."
"He said you've met?" Karen queried.
Dayna heaved a sigh. "Yes, we've met. Brand is the man I told you about meeting in Phoenix."
Karen mouthed an "Oh."
Dayna sensed the uncomfortable remarks Karen might be tempted to make. When Dayna had finally found Karen and Shelly that evening in Phoenix, they had quickly apologized, telling Dayna they had been detained in the hall outside their room by a high-pressure representative of a tour company. The woman had insisted on showing them slides she had in her room and had used every effort to convince them how worthwhile it would be for Palmer Travel Agency to become affiliated with her company. Her tenacious sales tactics ended only when she realized the person she really needed to talk to, namely Dayna, wasn't there. Dayna's calm acceptance of being kept waiting had provoked questions from her friends, and she had told them about Brand, even about his suggestion that they spend the night together.
Seeing the curious look on Karen's face now, Dayna quickly grabbed her royal blue wrapper from the suitcase. "I'm going to take a shower and remove the dust that was stirred up by a certain thoughtless cowboy," she commented.
The shower had a refreshing, soothing effect as it drove away Dayna's tenseness. She couldn't believe they had met again. Words Brand had said to her came back. "I believe in destiny."
"We'll meet again." A cynical smile curved her mouth. He had known darned well they would meet again.
The fragrance of perfumed soap floated into the room as Dayna came out of the bathroom. She moved to the mirror over the dresser and pulled out the pins that held her hair back:
Lazily sprawled out on the bed and reading an Arizona tourist guide book, Karen showed no concern with hurrying to get ready for dinner. But Shelly, in high spirits because of the attention she'd received from Martin Randolph, wished by Dayna. An excited glow warmed her complexion as she nearly sang, "I'll take my shower now."
Dayna smiled as Shelly closed the bathroom door behind her. Taking a seat on the edge of the bed across from Karen, Dayna raked a hand through her slightly damp hair. "Shelly's practically floating already. If Martin Randolph shows as much interest at dinner toward her as he did earner, we may have to anchor her to the ground."
Karen laid the magazine aside. "Okay, now that you're relaxed, what do you think about Alexandria Minter's story?"
Dayna made a face. "I have to take my father seriously. But," she laughed lightly, "I figured it was a good excuse to take a vacation."
Looking around her, Karen commented, "These are beautiful accommodations." After a pause, she said, "You seem to have an inside track on finding out if Brand made 'uncalled-for advances' toward the woman."
"Karen, don't say any more," Dayna appealed.
"You told me in Phoenix you enjoyed being with him; you wished there had been more time to really get to know him. It seems his thoughts about you are the same."
"Why don't we just forget I said that," Dayna answered much more sharply than she intended.
"Okay," Karen conceded lightly, but with a sigh of resignation. She moved to her suitcase. "I guess I'd better get showered and dressed, too." Looking over her shoulder at Dayna, she said teasingly, "I bet this is one time Shelly's going to go to dinner and not even care about the food."
Dayna's obstinate expression disappeared, and she chuckled. "I think you're right."
"I think I'm right about everything," Karen mumbled to herself, grabbing a light blue dress from her suitcase.
Chapter Four
It was an exceptionally warm night. Dayna stood before the mirror checking her appearance. Without any forethought she had chosen her green print spaghetti-strap sundress. Her bare shoulders shone with a soft tan, and her coppery hair glistened from her efforts with the brush. Using a light hand with her makeup, she applied a flattering shade of green eyeshadow, a coat of mascara, and the spice of a coral-colored lipstick. After applying one
more coat of mascara, she eyed her reflection in the mirror critically.
The dress was much too alluring; it was seductive, gently following her slender curves, with a deep V-cut bodice that revealed a tantalizing hint of the swell of her breasts and exposed a great deal of soft skin. If Brand was at the barbecue tonight, the green dress would definitely entice his passion-ate nature. That was an understatement. Every time they had met, his eyes warmed like blue flames, his thoughts about her so intense only a blind person would have missed the silent message.
A wry expression settled on her face. She didn't really want his attention, did she? No, she didn't. Men like that used women. And Dayna had vowed a long time ago she wouldn't lose her self-respect because of some instant infatuation. Sensing her own susceptibility to his mischievous blue gaze and reckless smile, she was tempted to change her dress. She was still in a state of indecision when Karen and Shelly announced that they were ready. She dismissed her idea of changing, but as they went downstairs to the lobby, she hoped she wouldn't be sorry later.
Martin Randolph, looking very much at home in western slacks and a western-style plaid shirt, rose from the sofa in the lobby and rushed toward Shelly with a smile. "I waited for you. I hoped we could sit together at dinner."
Shelly's eyes grew wide as she gave an assenting nod. Hooking her arm through his, she flashed a beaming expression over her shoulder at Karen and Dayna.
Good-naturedly, Dayna exchanged a commiserating expression with Karen for their lack of male companionship, but then she saw someone else had been waiting just outside the high-ceilinged, timbered dining room and knew with a mixture of apprehension and excitement she wouldn't be lacking an escort for long.
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