by Tina Leonard
“Metcalf?”
“You know them. Old man Metcalf and his son have been running on the wrong side of the law as long as I’ve been working for the state. The old man’s been in jail God knows how many times and the kid one or two times himself. Cattle theft. Drunk and disorderly. Poaching. A lot of poaching. Maybe that’s what this all boils down to. Metcalf shot himself an antelope out of season and then did in the joker who stumbled on them.”
“Maybe.” Somehow Hayden didn’t think it was that simple. “How long do you think it’ll take for someone to get out here?”
“Hopefully less than an hour. I’ve already talked to Jay and the state police. You hold tight. Sorry, Hayden. So much for peace and quiet.”
“Yeah.” Hayden bit down on the word.
Tomara Metcalf was getting ready to climb a telephone pole on West Sunnyside Road in Idaho Falls when the call came over the walkie-talkie. “He didn’t say who he was.” The office woman relayed the message. “All I know is, he says he’s a lawyer from Copper, Montana. He wants you to get in touch with him as soon as possible.”
Copper. History. Dead and gone. Or at least it should have been. Although her long chestnut hair was caught in a practical braid, Tomara reached for the strands that had clung to her neck all the time she was growing up. Angry at herself for the gesture, Tomara pulled her hand away and stared at the offending limb. There was a half-healed cut at the base of her thumb, compliments of the way she earned her living. It would have been little more than a scar by now if she’d had stitches taken, but Tomara couldn’t be bothered with trips to a doctor. Instead she’d slapped a tight butterfly bandage around it. The bandage was gone now, she noticed. “Do you have a number?”
The woman explained that she’d already placed it on Tomara’s desk. “He said he’d be in his office until the middle of the afternoon. I thought you should know. What is it? I didn’t know you knew anyone in Montana.”
I don’t, Tomara wanted to say. But that wasn’t true. She might have been able to put hundreds of miles between herself and the past, but she couldn’t exorcise that past. “Look, I’m coming in now,” she said, although making that particular phone call was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.
“But you’ve got two more service calls to make before lunch.”
“They’ll have to wait. This won’t take long.”
Fifteen minutes later Tomara was back in the telephone company office. Because she knew the woman’s curiosity would get the better of her, Tomara slipped in the back way, waiting until the linemen’s room was empty before picking up the receiver. She asked the operator to bill her home phone and then waited, the years sliding away into nothing while the connection was being made.
Leonard Barth, attorney-at-law. She hadn’t seen the man in six years. Tomara accepted the reality of his call with the same stoicism as she would have had had the call been from the coroner’s office. She doubted that Leonard’s office had changed since she’d packed two boxes and caught a bus out of town. He’d still be sitting at his desk, staring at Copper’s main street, watching life plod by, taking note of the changing seasons, storing up gossip to spread at the post office or in Mandy’s Saloon.
“Tomara. I didn’t think you’d get back to me this soon. Had a hell of a time running you down.”
“What is it, Leonard?” Tomara leaned against her desk, her right hip taking most of her weight. She didn’t trust herself to sit.
“You’re not going to like hearing this, but I’m afraid your dad and brother got themselves into some trouble.”
“They’re always getting into trouble. What is it this time?”
“They’re in jail.”
It Takes Two
Tina Leonard
She’s not about to go down easy…
Deep in the Heart, Book 1
It’s crunch time for Zach Rayez. He’s four weeks away from marrying his fianceé and taking the reins of her father’s company. And one piece of land away from closing the biggest development deal of his career.
When his partner drops the ball, Zach finds himself on the way to Desperado, Texas, to clear the acquisition off his plate and calm his fiancée’s pre-wedding jitters. He never expected to run into a brick wall named Annie Aguillar.
Descendent of a Spanish grandmother and Comanche grandfather, Annie is holding on tenaciously to the last hundred acres of her family’s vast holdings. The last thing she needs is a sexy stranger showing up on her porch, trying to sweet talk her out of her daughter’s legacy.
Neither saw their powerful mutual attraction coming. And when an untimely emergency draws them closer, Zach must choose which to defend: his plans for the future, or Annie and her dream.
This Retro Romance was previously published by Scarlet Books in 1996.
Warning: Contains a city slicker hero who fast-talks his way into a corner, and a proud Texan heroine who doesn’t let go of her heart so easily. Get ready for some dust to fly!
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
It Takes Two
Copyright © 2013 by Tina Leonard
ISBN: 978-1-61921-843-7
Edited by Linda Ingmanson
Cover by Kim Killion
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Original Publication by Scarlet Books: 1996
First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: October 2013
www.samhainpublishing.com