by Diana Palmer
He chuckled in spite of himself. “Okay. I get the idea.”
“Who in my building do you suspect, exactly?” she persisted.
He hesitated. His dark brows drew together in a frown as the ranch house came into view down the long, dusty road. “I can’t tell you that,” he said. “Right now it’s only a suspicion.”
“I could help you trap him,” she volunteered. “If I get a gun, that is. I won’t help you if I have to be unarmed.”
He chuckled again. “You shoot like you drive, Jodie.”
She made an angry sound in her throat. “I could shoot just fine if I got enough practice. Is it my fault that my landlord doesn’t like us busting targets in my apartment building?”
“Have Margie invite you down just to shoot. She can teach you as well as I can.”
It was an unpleasant reminder that he wasn’t keen on being with her.
“I don’t remember asking you to teach me anything,” she returned.
He pulled up in front of the house. “Well, not lately, at least,” he had to agree.
Margie heard the car drive up and came barreling out onto the porch. She was tall, like Alexander, and she had green eyes, too, but her dark hair had faint undertones of auburn. She was pretty, unlike poor Jodie, and she wore anything with flair. She designed and made her own clothes, and they were beautiful.
She ran to Jodie and hugged her, laughing. “I’m so glad you came!”
“I thought you were going to pick me up at the airport, Margie,” came the droll reply.
Margie looked blank for an instant. “Oh, gosh, I was, wasn’t I? I got busy with a design and just lost all track of time. Besides, Lex had already gone to the airport to pick up Kirry, but she couldn’t get his cell phone, so she phoned me and said she was delayed until tomorrow afternoon. He was right there already, so I just phoned him and had him bring you home.”
Kirry was Alexander’s current girlfriend. The fashion buyer had just returned home recently from a buying trip to Paris. It didn’t occur to Margie that it would have been pure torture to have to ride to the ranch with Alexander and his girlfriend. But, then, Margie didn’t think things through. And to give her credit, she didn’t realize that Jodie was still crazy about Alexander Cobb.
“She’s coming down tomorrow to look at some of my new designs,” Margie continued, unabashed, “and, of course, for the party in her honor that we’re giving here. She leads a very busy life.”
Jodie felt her heart crashing at her feet, and she didn’t dare show it. A weekend with Kirry Dane drooling over Alexander, and vice versa. Why hadn’t she argued harder and stayed home?
Alexander checked his watch. “I’ve got to make a few phone calls, then I’m going to drive into town and see about that fencing I ordered.”
“That’s what we have a foreman for,” Margie informed him.
“Chayce went home to Georgia for the weekend. His father’s in the hospital.”
“You didn’t tell me that!”
“Did you need to know?” he shot right back.
Margie shook her head, exasperated, as he just walked away without a backward glance. “I do live here, too,” she muttered, but it was too late. He’d already gone into the house.
“I’m going to be in the way if the party’s for Kirry,” Jodie said worriedly. “Honestly, Margie, you shouldn’t have invited me. No wonder Alexander’s so angry!”
“It’s my house, too, and I can invite who I like,” Margie replied curtly, intimating that she and Alexander had argued about Jodie’s inclusion at the party. That hurt even more. “You’re my best friend, Jodie, and I need an ego boost,” Margie continued unabashed. “Kirry is so worldly and sophisticated. She hates it here and she makes me feel insecure. But I need her help to get my designs shown at the store where she works. So, you’re my security blanket.” She linked her arm with Jodie’s. “Besides, Kirry and Lex together get on my nerves.”
What about my nerves? Jodie was wondering. And my heart, having to see Alexander with Kirry all weekend? But she only smiled and pretended that it didn’t matter. She was Margie’s friend, and she owed her a lot. Even if it was going to mean eating her heart out watching the man she loved hang on to that beautiful woman, Kirry Dane.
Margie stopped just before they went into the house. She looked worried. “You have gotten over that crush you had on my brother…?” she asked quickly.
“You and your brother!” Jodie gasped. “Honestly, I’m too old for schoolgirl crushes,” she lied through her teeth, “and besides, there’s this wonderful guy at the office that I like a lot. It’s just that he’s going with someone.”
Margie grimaced. “You poor kid. It’s always like that with you, isn’t it?”
“Go right ahead and step on my ego, don’t mind me,” Jodie retorted.
Margie flushed. “I’m a pig,” she said. “Sorry, Jodie. I don’t know what’s the matter with me. Yes, I do,” she added at once. “Cousin Derek arrived unexpectedly this morning. Jessie’s already threatened to cook him up with a pan of eggs, and one of the cowboys ran a tractor through a fence trying to get away from him. In fact, Jessie remembered that she could have a weekend off whenever she wanted, so she’s gone to Dallas for the weekend to see her brother. And here I am with no cook and a party tomorrow night!”
“Except me?” Jodie ventured, and her heart sank again when she saw Margie’s face. No wonder she’d been insistent. There wouldn’t be any food without someone to cook it, and Margie couldn’t cook.
“You don’t mind, do you, dear?” Margie asked quickly. “After all, you do make the most scrumptious little canapés, and you’re a great cook. Even Jessie asks you for recipes.”
“No,” Jodie lied. “I don’t mind.”
“And you can help me keep Derek out of Alexander’s way.”
“Derek.” Jodie’s eyes lit up. She loved the Cobbs’ renegade cousin from Oklahoma. He was a rodeo cowboy who won belts at every competition, six foot two of pure lithe muscle, with a handsome face and a modest demeanor—when he wasn’t up to some horrible devilment. He drove housekeepers and cowboys crazy with his antics, and Alexander barely tolerated him. He was Margie’s favorite of their few cousins. Not that he was really a cousin. He was only related by marriage. Of course, Margie didn’t know that. Derek had told Jodie once, but asked her not to tell. She wondered why.
“Don’t even think about helping him do anything crazy while you’re here,” Margie cautioned. “Lex doesn’t know he’s here yet. I, uh, haven’t told him.”
“Margie!” came a thunderous roar from the general direction of Alexander’s office.
Margie groaned. “Oh, dear, Lex does seem to know about Derek.”
“My suitcase,” Jodie said, halting, hoping to get out of the line of fire in time.
“Lex will bring it in, dear, come along.” She almost dragged her best friend into the house.
Derek was leaning against the staircase banister, handsome as a devil, with dancing brown eyes and a lean, good-looking face under jet-black hair. In front of him, Alexander was holding up a rubber chicken by the neck.
“I thought you liked chicken,” Derek drawled.
“Cooked,” Alexander replied tersely. “Not in my desk chair pretending to be a cushion!”
“You could cook that, but the fumes would clear out the kitchen for sure,” Derek chuckled.
Cobb threw it at the man, turned, went back into his office and slammed the door. Muttered curses came right through two inches of solid mahogany.
“Derek, how could you?” Margie wailed.
He tossed her the chicken and came forward to lift her up and kiss her saucily on the nose. “Now, now, you can’t expect me to be dignified. It isn’t in my nature. Hi, sprout!” he added, putting Margie down only to pick up Jodie and swing her around in a bear hug. “How’s my best girl?”
“I’m just fine, Derek,” she replied, kissing his cheek. “You look great.”
“So do you.” He le
t her dangle from his hands and his keen dark eyes scanned her flushed face. “Has Cobb been picking on you all the way home?” he asked lazily.
“Why can’t you two call him Lex, like I do?” Margie wanted to know.
“He doesn’t look like a Lex,” Derek replied.
“He always picks on me,” Jodie said heavily as Derek let her slide back onto her feet. “If he had a list of people he doesn’t like, I’d lead it.”
“We’d tie for that spot, I reckon,” Derek replied. He gave Margie a slow, steady appraisal. “New duds? I like that skirt.”
Margie grinned up at him. “I made it.”
“Good for you. When are you going to have a show of all those pretty things you make?”
“That’s what I’m working on. Lex’s girlfriend Kirry is trying to get her store to let me do a parade of my designs.”
“Kirry.” Derek wrinkled his straight nose. “Talk about slow poison. And he thought Rachel was bad!”
“Don’t mention Rachel!” Margie cautioned quickly.
“Kirry makes her look like a church mouse,” Derek said flatly. “She’s a social climber with dollar signs for eyes. Mark my words, it isn’t his body she’s after.”
“He likes her,” Margie replied.
“He likes liver and onions, too,” Derek said, and made a horrible face.
Jodie laughed at the byplay.
Derek glanced at her. “Why doesn’t he ever look at you, sprout? You’d be perfect for him.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jodie said with a forced smile. “I’m not his type at all.”
“You’re not mercenary. You’re a sucker for anyone in trouble. You like cats and dogs and children, and you don’t like night life. You’re perfect.”
“He likes opera and theater,” she returned.
“And you don’t?” Derek asked.
Margie grabbed him by the arm. “Come on and let’s have coffee while you tell us about your latest rodeo triumph.”
“How do you know it was?” he teased.
“When have you ever lost a belt?” she replied with a grin.
Jodie followed along behind them, already uneasy about the weekend. She had a feeling that it wasn’t going to be the best one of her life.
Later, Jodie escaped from the banter between Margie and her cousin and went out to the corral near the barn to look at the new calves. One of the older ranch hands, Johnny, came out to join her. He was missing a tooth in front from a bull’s hooves and a finger from a too-tight rope that slipped. His chaps and hat and boots were worn and dirty from hard work. But he had a heart of pure gold, and Jodie loved him. He reminded her of her late father.
“Hey, Johnny!” she greeted, standing on the top rung of the wooden fence in old jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved blue checked shirt. Her hair was up in a ponytail. She looked about twelve.
He grinned back. “Hey, Jodie! Come to see my babies?”
“Sure have!”
“Ain’t they purty?” he drawled, joining her at the fence, where she was feeding her eyes on the pretty little white-faced, red-coated calves.
“Yes, they are,” she agreed with a sigh. “I miss this up in Houston. The closest I get to cattle is the rodeo when it comes to town.”
He winced. “You poor kid,” he said. “You lost everything at once, all them years ago.”
That was true. She’d lost her parents and her home, all at once. If Alexander hadn’t gotten her into business college, where she could live on campus, she’d have been homeless.
She smiled down at him. “Time heals even the worst wounds, Johnny. Besides, I still get to come down here and visit once in a while.”
He looked irritated. “Wish you came more than that Dane woman,” he said under his breath. “Can’t stand cattle and dust, don’t like cowboys, looks at us like we’d get her dirty just by speaking to her.”
She reached over and patted him gently on the shoulder. “We all have our burdens to bear.”
He sighed. “I reckon so. Why don’t you move back down here?” he added. “Plenty of jobs going in Jacobsville right now. I hear tell the police chief needs a new secretary.”
She chuckled. “I’m not going to work for Cash Grier,” she assured him. “They said his last secretary emptied the trash can over his head, and it was full of half-empty coffee cups and coffee grounds.”
“Well, some folks don’t take to police work,” he said, but he chuckled.
“Nothing to do, Johnny?” came a deep, terse voice from behind Jodie.
Johnny straightened immediately. “Just started mucking out the stable, boss. I only came over to say howdy to Miss Jodie.”
“Good to see you again, Johnny,” she said.
“Same here, miss.”
He tipped his hat and went slowly back into the barn.
“Don’t divert the hired help,” Alexander said curtly.
She got down from the fence. It was a long way up to his eyes in her flat shoes. “He was a friend of my father’s,” she reminded him. “I was being polite.”
She turned and started back into the house.
“Running away?”
She stopped and faced him. “I’m not going to be your whipping boy,” she said.
His eyebrows arched. “Wrong gender.”
“You know what I mean. You’re furious that Derek’s here, and Kirry’s not, and you want somebody to take it out on.”
He moved restlessly at the accusation. His scowl was suddenly darker. “Don’t do that.”
She knew what he meant. She could always see through his bad temper to the reason for it, something his own sister had never been able to do.
“Derek will leave in the morning and Kirry will be here by afternoon,” she said. “Derek can’t do that much damage in a night. Besides, you know how close he and Margie are.”
“He’s too flighty for her, distant relation or not,” he muttered.
She sighed, looking up at him with quiet, soft eyes full of memories. “Like me,” she said under her breath.
He frowned. “What?”
“That’s always been your main argument against me—that I’m too flighty. That’s why you didn’t like it when Derek was trying to get me to go out with him three years ago,” she reminded him.
He stared at her for a few seconds, still scowling. “Did I say that?”
She nodded then turned away. “I’ve got to go help Margie organize the food and drinks,” she added. “Left to her own devices, we’ll be eating turkey and bacon roll-ups and drinking spring water.”
“What did you have in mind?” he asked amusedly.
“A nice baked chicken with garlic-and-chives mashed potatoes, fruit salad, homemade rolls and biscuits, gravy, fresh asparagus, and a chocolate pound cake for dessert,” she said absently.
“You can cook?” he asked, astonished.
She glared at him over one shoulder. “You didn’t notice? Margie hasn’t cooked a meal any time I’ve been down here for the weekend, except for one barbecue that the cowboys roasted a side of beef for.”
He didn’t say another word, but he looked unusually thoughtful.
The meal came out beautifully. By the time she had it on the table, Jodie was flushed from the heat of the kitchen and her hair was disheveled, but she’d produced a perfect meal.
Margie enthused over the results with every dish she tasted, and so did Derek. Alexander was unusually quiet. He finished his chocolate pound cake and a second cup of coffee before he gave his sister a dark look.
“You told me you’d been doing all the cooking when Jessie wasn’t here and Jodie was,” he said flatly.
Margie actually flushed. She dropped her fork and couldn’t meet Jodie’s surprised glance.
“You always made such a fuss of extra company when Jessie was gone,” she protested without realizing she was only making things worse.
Alexander’s teeth ground together when he saw the look on Jodie’s face. He threw down his napkin and got noisily to his
feet. “You’re as insensitive as a cactus plant, Margie,” he said angrily.
“You’re better?” she retorted, with her eyebrows reaching for her hairline. “You’re the one who always complains when I invite Jodie, even though she hasn’t got any family except us…oh, dear.”
Jodie had already gotten to her own feet and was collecting dirty dishes. She didn’t respond to the bickering. She felt it, though. It hurt to know that Alexander barely tolerated her; almost as much as it hurt to know Margie had taken credit for her cooking all these years.
“I’ll help you clear, darlin’,” Derek offered with a meaningful look at the Cobbs. “Both of you could use some sensitivity training. You just step all over Jodie’s feelings without the least notice. Some ‘second family’ you turned out to be!”
He propelled Jodie ahead of him into the kitchen and closed the door. For once, he looked angry.
She smiled at him. “Don’t take it so personally, Derek,” she said. “Insults just bounce off me. I’m so used to Alexander by now that I hardly listen.”
He tilted her chin up and read the pain in her soft eyes. “He walks on your heart every time he speaks to you,” he said bluntly. “He doesn’t even know how you feel, when a blind man could see it.”
She patted his cheek. “You’re a nice man, Derek.”
He shrugged. “I’ve always been a nice man, for all the good it does me. Women flock to hang all over Cobb while he glowers and insults them.”
“Someday a nice, sweet woman will come along and take you in hand, and thank God every day for you,” she told him.
He chuckled. “Want to take me on?”
She wrinkled her nose at him. “You’re very sweet, but I’ve got my eye on a rather nice man at my office. He’s sweet, too, and his girlfriend treats him like dirt. He deserves someone better.”
“He’d be lucky to get you,” Derek said.
She smiled.
They were frozen in that affectionate tableau when the door opened and Alexander exploded into the room. He stopped short, obviously unsettled by what he thought he was seeing. Especially when Jodie jerked her hand down from Derek’s cheek, and he let go of her chin.
“Something you forgot to say about Jodie’s unwanted presence in your life?” Derek drawled, and for an instant, the smiling, gentle man Jodie knew became a threatening presence.