by Laurie Paige
* * *
THE TEXAS TATTLER
All the news that’s barely fit to print!
Search for $50 Million Dollar Baby Continues
Federal agent Devin Kincaid arrived on the massive Fortune estate this week to spearhead the kidnapping case of the century. Baby snatchers have stumped local law enforcers, and pitiful progress has been made as to the whereabouts of “golden child” Bryan Fortune, who vanished from his bassinet into thin air two months ago.
Sources report that Vanessa Fortune, aunt to missing Bryan, is playing right-hand gal to the rugged Kincaid. But can this intense “older man” keep his mind on the case if his hands are investigating a certain feisty heiress? Maybe this big gun is shooting for a promotion, as in Special Agent Son-In-Law….
Forget about Kincaid’s roaming hands—looks as if family patriarch Ryan Fortune is sitting on his. Maybe to prevent himself from wringing the neck of his estranged wife, Sophia. Will this be the year that Ryan breaks the shackle on that fourteen-karat, diamond-studded ball and chain?
* * *
About the Author
LAURIE PAIGE
“One of the nicest things about writing romances is researching locales, careers and ideas. In the interest of authenticity, most writers will try anything…once.” Along with her writing adventures, Laurie has been a NASA engineer, a past president of the Romance Writers of America, a mother and a grandmother. She was twice a Romance Writers of America RITA Award finalist for best traditional romance and has won awards from Romantic Times for best Silhouette Special Edition and best Silhouette in addition to appearing on the USA TODAY bestseller list. Recently resettled in Northern California, Laurie is looking forward to whatever experiences her next novel will send her on.
LAURIE PAIGE
The Baby Pursuit
Meet the Fortunes of Texas
Vanessa Fortune: The beautiful virgin has rebuffed her share of money-hungry suitors. Can her true love come in the form of a handsome lawman just arrived in town…?
Devin Kincaid: The dedicated FBI agent thought nothing could ruffle him…until feisty Vanessa entangled herself in his kidnapping investigation. The tough loner claims the heiress is a royal pain—that he doesn’t need anyone—but his tender actions tell a different story….
Maria Cassidy: The youngest daughter of Lily Cassidy is surely hiding something. What secrets lie behind her return to Texas and her sudden interest in baby Bryan’s disappearance?
Cruz Perez: The handsome wrangler’s motto is “Love ’em and leave ’em.” But his bachelorhood is soon put to the test by an all-too-appealing new arrival on the Fortune ranch.
This book is dedicated to the romantic-at-heart: to Mary-Theresa, who told me she has an “old Irish soul” but I know her heart is forever young; to Jo in Illinois—yes, I have an idea for the children born in the Wild River series to have their own stories, but it will be a while before I get to all of them; to DL in Japan—yes, after over fifty books, I still love to tell stories; to Rick, the bachelor—tomorrow the world!; to Heather, Holly, Jim, Kim and Nick—let’s do the steepest streets in San Francisco again; to Natalie, visiting relatives in Italy—I cried for Sissy, too; to Leigh in London—hope the Russian translation went well; and to Clara in Kansas who sent the other verses for Barbry Allen.
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
One
Devin Kincaid swore and cut the wheel sharply to the left as the huge red horse broke from the trees to his right. For a second he thought the animal was a runaway, then he realized a slender figure was astride the beast.
His next impressions whipped through his mind at Mach speed—that the rider was female, that she was young and lithe of frame, that her hair, lashing across her shoulders with each lunge of the stallion, was the same shade of red as the mane that tangled with her locks as she bent low over her mount’s neck…and that she was racing him!
He glanced at the speedometer. Fifty miles an hour.
The primitive urge to win at all costs surged through him. He pressed the pedal downward and felt the kick of the powerful engine concealed beneath the hood of the nondescript SUV push him against the seat.
The youngster glanced his way, then she urged the horse faster. Fifty-one. Fifty-two. Fifty-three.
The car pulled ahead, leaving horse and rider behind. A brief flare of triumph brightened the heat-laden August afternoon. It was short-lived.
Frowning, he wondered what the hell he thought he was doing, racing a kid on a horse at fifty miles per hour. If the horse had stumbled, if the girl had fallen…
Ryan Fortune would have his hide if anyone on the Double Crown Ranch was hurt because of him and a momentary foolishness left over from a childhood that had forced him to fight back or die trying.
He glanced into the rearview mirror but the horse and rider had vanished as quickly as they had appeared. Maybe he ought to tell Fortune that some ranch hand’s kid was playing games with cars, probably on a prize stallion with a mile-long pedigree. On the other hand, a kid and her pranks weren’t his main concern at present.
The baby kidnapping was.
With this somber thought, Devin parked under a tree a short distance from the ranch house, an adobe hacienda of both awesome dignity and inviting warmth. As he walked up the sidewalk along the green sweep of lawn shaded by the oaks native to the Texas hill country, he heard the pounding of hooves on gravel and turned to face the road.
The huge red beast bore down on him. He gauged the distance between him and the rapidly approaching animal. Energy poured into him as he prepared to dive out of harm’s way. Six feet away, the rider pulled up.
The beast pivoted, then rose majestically on his hind legs, front hooves pawing the air. Backlit by the afternoon sun, horse and rider blended into one dazzling portrait of fiery splendor, so bright he had to shade his eyes, so alive and fierce and powerful, he felt an answering force within himself.
The rider studied him intently, and Devin felt a visceral thrill of recognition, as if he and the unknown young woman—she was definitely a woman, not a kid—had already met, as if this turbulent moment spoke of latent passions that had once flared between them…and would do so again.
She nodded once, as if acknowledging the mysterious connection. Then the great red horse seemed to gather himself on his powerful haunches before lunging forward into a ground-eating stride of unbelievable strength and speed.
Devin watched until horse and rider disappeared around the corner of the hacienda. At that moment, he realized his body was rock-hard and he was filled with an unquenchable hunger to follow wherever she led—
“You the FBI agent?”
He took a deep breath and fixed his attention on the man who stood at the edge of the lawn, looking him over with a critical eye. Ryan Fortune, patriarch of the Fortune clan, net worth one and a half cool billion, give or take a million or two, crossed the yard. He was dressed in typical cowboy work clothes—boots, jeans, long-sleeved shirt. A sweat-stained Stetson hat shaded his eyes.
Devin walked forward. “Yes, sir. Devin Kincaid.” He shook hands with the rancher and sized him up.
The older man was muscular and tall, standing about an inch less than Devin’s own six feet, two inches. Dark brown hair with gray sprinkled through it. Brown eyes. Laugh lines evident yet subdued by a deep frown that cut two creases across his t
anned forehead. He looked as tough as whit leather, more the working cowboy than the rich man.
“It took you long enough,” Fortune said in a low, harsh tone, the anger controlled but urgent.
Devin had dealt with families locked in despair. He understood the agony and the fear, the anger that tried to hide both but never quite succeeded.
“I checked in with Sheriff Grayhawk before driving out.”
Devin knew more about the Fortune clan than the tight-lipped sheriff had revealed in his briefing that morning. Thanks only to lots of newspaper and magazine articles on the famous Fortune spread—the second largest ranch in the state—and to Sam Waterman, a long-time acquaintance who had a detective agency in San Antonio.
At the mention of the sheriff, Fortune nodded. The lines at the corners of his eyes deepened as he squinted against the sun and surveyed the area as if looking for the cavalry to ride up any moment, bringing his baby grandson back.
Seeing the man’s expression soften slightly, Devin followed the dark gaze to the object of his attention. A young woman, dressed in jeans and a blue T-shirt, approached them. Devin recognized the rider of the red horse. The tightening in his gut said he knew her. Logic said they had never met.
Her eyes were as green as the grass he stood on. Her hair was tousled and as fiery as a Texas sunset. She was the promise of everything he’d ever wanted from life. Longing and lust raced through him in equal parts.
“My daughter, Vanessa,” Fortune said. “This is the FBI agent we’ve been expecting.”
“Devin Kincaid,” Dev added. He held out his hand.
Her grip was firm, her fingers slender and warm in his. Though he couldn’t see it, he was certain an arc traveled from the point where their palms connected all the way up his arm and down his chest to join forces with the primitive hunger she aroused.
Her eyes locked with his as an emotion flitted over her face too fast for him to read. She smiled briefly—as if in acknowledgment of the attraction, lust, whatever, between them?—her eyes never leaving his.
Devin dropped her hand as if it were the proverbial hot potato. He had studied pictures of the Fortune clan, but nothing had done justice to the vibrant life he sensed in this slender, shapely young woman. Her entire aura was one of subtle intelligence and willful spirit.
The youngest child—along with her identical twin Victoria—of a very rich man, Vanessa Fortune was twenty-five years old, a dabbler in psychology who had once helped the local police nab a serial killer. One lucky break, Dev mused, and she probably considered herself an expert on the criminal mind.
She was also twelve years younger than he was and as bright and shiny as a new penny. And as tempting to pick up and slip into his pocket. Ha. The Fortune heiress would be a pretty penny, indeed, for someone like him.
“It’s a hundred and two degrees in the shade,” the daughter informed them. “Let’s go inside.”
Dev followed her into the hacienda when her father gestured politely for him to precede him. He was aware of the other man’s eyes on his back and had a feeling the father had correctly read his reaction to the daughter.
He wasn’t here to get involved with a redheaded siren, he reminded himself sternly. Getting seriously entangled with any woman wasn’t part of his future. Period.
The wrought-iron gate, wide-open in a friendly welcome, and tan adobe walls that had once protected the family from intruders gave way to a small courtyard that had been transformed into a garden of paloverdes and native plants. Various-size stones had been used to effect a dry creek. A curving walk led to the steps to a massive wooden door with black iron hinges of conquistador design.
Inside was a typical great room and, beyond, an inner courtyard where the family would have entertained friends and often taken their evening meal in days of old. The courtyard, too, was an inviting expanse of trees and flowers, as well as a fountain and an overhead trellis covered with flowering vines. Under the trellis sat a cozy arrangement of chairs and an old-fashioned yard swing.
Crossing the great room, a dining room was visible to the left through a tall archway. Its glass-paned doors were closed. He surveyed the stucco walls and beamed ceilings. The house looked solid, stable… A good place to raise a family.
The wings on either side of the original hacienda had been constructed for the two sons of Kingston Fortune. However, Devin knew that Cameron, the oldest son, had built his own place near the main house after his marriage. His widow, Mary Ellen, still lived there. Ryan Fortune had stayed on in the main house. Dev wasn’t sure where the ranch workers lived. But he would find out.
Just as he’d find out all the secrets of the Fortune clan and who would take the baby grandson and why. He had already concluded there was more than one person involved and that it was an inside job in spite of the many guests who had been present at the child’s christening party. The grab had been too smooth, too easily carried out under the noses of the collective family members and their long-time friends and neighbors for an unknown trespasser to achieve.
“Iced tea?” the daughter asked.
At his nod, she used an intercom to relay the order—phrased as a request—to the kitchen and the many servants he knew worked there. The size of the ranch and its numerous employees might make his job a little tougher than usual, but not impossible. Criminals always made a mistake. There was always a weak link or an unplanned incident—
“Please, have a seat,” Ryan Fortune invited.
Devin chose a leather chair at right angles to the matching sofa. From this angle, he could observe the entrance and the inner courtyard. He noticed a maid leave one room and enter another. She pushed a trolley much like those used in hotels. Another maid entered the great room, a tray in her hand. She served him first, then Ryan Fortune, who indicated the daughter should be next. Devin stored that bit of information away under “protocol of the rich.”
The tea looked refreshingly cold. A sprig of mint and an orange slice decorated the rim of the glass. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to remove the mint and orange slice and put them in the saucer that came with the tea or just drink from the other side of the glass.
He picked up the glass and waited to see what his host and hostess did. They ignored the refreshment, each watching him as if waiting for a brilliant deduction, Sherlock Holmes style, on the kidnapping. Feeling distinctly foolish, he sipped the flavored tea, then replaced the glass on the saucer which, he noticed, matched the leaf design of the three glasses.
“How many men do you have working with you?” Vanessa Fortune demanded, perching on the arm of the sofa closest to her father, who had taken the chair that faced Devin across the coffee table.
He snatched a number from thin air. “Twenty thousand.”
Dev didn’t know why he’d chosen a smart-ass answer, other than the fact that Vanessa Fortune got his dander up. Among other things.
“I didn’t mean the entire force of the FBI,” she said, not taking offense. “How many from the district office came with you and how many from the local office are assigned to the case?”
“I’m it,” he announced, checking both father and daughter to see how they took this news.
“One man?” she questioned.
Her lips tightened. The bottom lip was fuller than the upper, he noted, and she didn’t wear a smidgen of lipstick. He wondered how that mouth would feel under his and was immediately irritated at the thought.
“The field office will supply any additional help I need,” he continued. “For now, I want to explore on my own.”
“Explore where?” This from the patriarch.
“Here. The house and ranch.”
“That’s about five hundred thousand acres,” Ryan Fortune stated dryly, the impatience controlled but visible.
“I’m aware of that.” Dev’s tone was equally dry.
“What exactly are you looking for?” the daughter broke in. “Don’t you think all the clues will have been eradicated by now? It’s been two months
since the kidnapping.”
“I’m aware of that, Ms. Fortune.”
“You had better call me Vanessa, otherwise you’ll have several people answer when the rest of the family is present,” she informed him crisply.
Devin caught the subtle nuance of arrogance in the correction, the demand that he do something now. He saw the father’s gaze shift to her, to him, then back to the daughter. The man saw more than Dev wanted him to.
An uncomfortable flash of heat hit him someplace deep inside. He maintained an impassive expression with an effort of will. But the hunger didn’t let up, nor the longing.
“My daughter will be available to answer any questions,” Mr. Fortune informed him. “I’ve asked her to take you any place on the ranch you want to go. You will have complete freedom to investigate as you wish.”
Another complication in an already complex situation. He ignored the woman and spoke to the father. “I understand Ms. Fortune is in school—”
“I’m taking a sabbatical from my studies,” she informed him. “A Ph.D. is nothing compared to finding my nephew.”
He thought of days spent in her company. Fate had never been kind, not to him. “I don’t have time for an amateur.”
The verdant eyes flashed. “I won’t get in your way.”
He didn’t argue, knowing the decision had been made before he’d appeared on the scene.
“You may go anywhere, question anyone, search any building,” Mr. Fortune assured him. “If anyone gives you any trouble, refer them to me.”
“Thank you, sir.” Dev breathed a little easier about his job. With Fortune’s approval, there was no doubt in his mind that he would get the cooperation he needed.
“Vanessa, take Mr. Kincaid to his room. He might as well get settled in—”
“I have a place in town, but thanks anyway,” Dev quickly put in.
“Staying here will be more efficient,” she told him in the same tone the father had used—as if no one would dare question the decision.