by Julie Kenner
“I tried to phone Maddie, but the phone’s dead.”
For a moment, Cash didn’t answer. He was too caught up in absorbing her. In the sunlight pouring through the windows, he could see more differences between the women. Maddie’s presence was quiet, perhaps more controlled. Jordan radiated a certain energy. And she was wearing makeup. He’d never noticed any on Maddie. Jordan’s was subtle, but she’d done something to make her eyes seem larger, and her mouth was painted a soft shade of rose. Hunger stirred sharply inside of him. When he found his gaze lingering on her lips just a bit too long, he took another swallow of coffee.
“Did you hear what I said?” she asked.
Cash dug for what she’d said. “The phone’s dead. I thought I heard it ringing earlier. It’s what woke me up, in fact.” He shrugged. “Lots of time service is intermittent after a storm. It’s not unusual for it to go on and off for up to twenty-four hours.”
“My cell doesn’t work, either.” She moved to the coffeepot, and her arm nearly brushed against his as she refilled the mug she was carrying.
Her scent was just what he remembered—flowery, exotic—and it rekindled memories of the hot, sweaty sex they’d shared. He was surprised at how much he wanted to reach out and touch just a strand of her hair. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when she moved to the other side of the granite-topped island.
Cash drew in a deep breath. Growing up on a ranch, he’d had to learn to adapt and go with the flow. The weather changed, the price of beef varied. So he was just going to have to learn to handle Jordan Ware’s effect on him. Problem was, he just wanted to handle her, period.
JORDAN SIPPED COFFEE and made herself meet Cash Landry’s eyes across the expanse of granite. It had been a mistake to get that close to him. Especially when he looked so good. With that long lean body, that ruggedly handsome face and those intent gray eyes, the man gave the words boy toy new meaning.
And the fact that she was even thinking of him that way shocked her. She’d never been a boy-toy kind of woman, but the idea was becoming very seductive. She thought that she’d pulled herself together while she was showering, but as she refilled her mug, she caught his scent again—pure cowboy, soap and leather and horses—and she’d wanted to jump him.
Wasn’t that what had gotten her into this mess?
Very firmly, Jordan reminded herself of the conclusion she’d arrived at while she was showering. She was going to treat this as a business problem—solve it and put it behind her. Boy toys were off the agenda. She and Cash Landry were not going to repeat the little scenario they’d enacted during the night.
“Does your cell work? I need to talk to Maddie.” Cash regarded her steadily over the rim of his cup. “I’ve never been able to get a signal on the Farrell Ranch. It’s in one of those blackout zones. Why do you need to talk to Maddie?”
“Why?” Setting her mug down, Jordan began to pace. “I need to talk to her about you and me.” She waved a hand. “Us. And what we did last night.”
“Why?”
Jordan paused to glare at him. “Because I just slept with a man who wants to get engaged to her.”
“I can explain that.”
She raised a hand, palm outward. “I don’t want an explanation. I just want my sister to know that I didn’t sleep with you on purpose. I thought you were a dream. I have a weakness for westerns, and I was watching The Big Country—”
“Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons and the feud over the Big Muddy.”
She stared at him. “You know the movie?”
“It was one of Mike’s—your father’s—favorites. Maddie didn’t like westerns, so he roped me into watching it with him a few times.”
“So it was my father who read all those westerns in the library?”
“Whenever he could find the time.”
Something inside of her warmed. Then she refocused. “I want to explain to Maddie that it was because I was watching that movie that I had this dream.”
“About me making love to you.”
She fisted her hands on her hips. “No. I wasn’t dreaming of you. I was dreaming about making love to Gregory Peck.”
“I wasn’t dreaming, Jordan.”
She pointed a finger at him. “No, you believed you were making love to Maddie. And then you proposed to her. I just have to figure out a way to explain it to her.”
“It seems to me that we were both victims of circumstance.”
Jordan’s temper flared. “I don’t know about you, pal, but I don’t like to think of myself as a victim.”
To her surprise, Cash Landry threw back his head and laughed. The bright, infectious sound of it filled the room and had her anger fading. In fact, she barely kept herself from smiling. “What’s so funny?”
“Us. This situation. And the fact that you’re absolutely right. It’s hard to picture you as a victim of anything.”
“I don’t think Maddie will see the humor in this.”
Cash’s expression sobered. “I told you, there’s nothing but friendship between Maddie and me. I’ve never touched her, never even thought about touching her the way I touched you last night.”
The words and the way he looked at her when he said them had little thrills rippling over her skin. And her concentration was fading. No man had ever affected her this way. He only had to be in the same room with her to make her want.
“And I don’t think you have to explain anything to your sister. What happened between us can remain just that—between us. No one has to know.”
Jordan ruthlessly refocused. She couldn’t deny that the idea of not having to confess to Maddie appealed to her. “But what about the fact that you want to get engaged to her?”
“I’ll explain that. But first things first.” His eyes never left hers as he set his cup down on the counter and straightened.
For a moment, Jordan was sure that he was going close the distance between them. If he did… Her hand trembled and coffee sloshed over the rim of her mug.
Then he asked, “Do you cook?”
“No.”
He sent her a slow smile. “It’s a good thing that I do. While I rustle us up some breakfast, you can tell me all about how you and Maddie discovered that you’re twins and why you’re here and Maddie’s in New York City. Deal?”
Jordan let out a breath she hadn’t been aware of holding as he moved to the refrigerator and began unloading bacon and eggs. “Deal.”
CASH WATCHED HER scoop the last forkful of food into her mouth. She’d only wanted toast at first, but he’d ignored her request and filled a plate with bacon and eggs, as well. She’d made a second pot of coffee, poured orange juice and set places for them on the granite island.
The pull between them hadn’t lessened as far as Cash could tell, but they’d been able to work in harmony as they’d prepared the meal.
Jordan had told the story of the last few weeks of her life in a straightforward manner with no trace of emotion in her voice. He’d promised himself that he wasn’t going to touch her, but when she’d spoken about the visit she’d received from the two policemen telling her that her mother was dead, he’d reached over to cover her hand with his, and she’d immediately linked their fingers.
She still hadn’t pulled her hand away. Cash glanced down at their joined hands. Hers was delicate-looking, her skin paler than his. Maddie had calluses on her fingers. Jordan didn’t. Holding her hand felt…right.
Shifting his gaze to her face, he studied her as she took another sip of coffee.
From what he could gather, she’d been going nonstop ever since she’d received the news of the tragic hit-and-run. He knew something about the success of Eva Ware Designs because Maddie had talked about the famed Madison Avenue designer. So on top of absorbing the shock of losing her mother, she’d arranged a funeral for a celebrity, taken over the reins of a business and then had to make sure her newly discovered sister was prepared to step into her shoes.
His admiration for her
had grown with each new detail that she added to the story. But Cash was also worried. To his mind, the terms of her mother’s will and the decision she and Maddie had made to fulfill them could be a recipe for disaster. What had possessed their mother to put them in this position? If something happened to either of them—or if either of them backed out of the switch before the three weeks had elapsed—three of Jordan’s relatives stood to profit. A lot.
He knew that Maddie wouldn’t have thought of that. He wondered if the possible danger had occurred to Jordan.
“So Maddie is alone in your New York City apartment?”
“As far as I know. I haven’t been able to reach my apartment mate, Jase, because of the hostage rescue job he’s on in South America. He doesn’t even know that my mother died, let alone the terms of her will. If he comes home, he’s going to have a big surprise in store for him.”
Cash could sympathize fully with that. Jordan had been quite a surprise for him. “What’s this Jase like?”
Jordan smiled. “He’s great. He’s a good listener, and he lets me use him not only to vent, but as a sounding board for new ideas that I want to try out at Eva Ware Designs. I couldn’t ask for a better roommate.”
Hearing her sing the praises of Jase Campbell was leaving a bad taste in Cash’s mouth. Was he jealous? That was ridiculous. In spite of that, he wished that the man was there in the apartment with Maddie.
“So Maddie’s on her own?”
Jordan frowned. “She won’t be once she gets to Eva Ware Designs. My mother’s assistant, Cho Li, and Michelle Tan, our receptionist, will take good care of her. And I printed up all these files to fill her in. I even included photos.”
“How about the rest of the family? How do they feel about Eva’s other daughter suddenly showing up?”
A little frown appeared on Jordan’s forehead. “Not so good, I suppose. Uncle Carleton was civil, as always. My cousin, Adam, may give Maddie some problems at work. He was obnoxious at the reading of the will. He’s a brilliant jewelry designer, and my mother admired his work. I think that’s why he always thought he had a clear shot at stepping into her shoes one day and running the business.”
“And he’s lost that because in her will, your mother suddenly produced a daughter who’s also a brilliant jewelry designer and left her half of the business.”
Jordan frowned. “Yes. If we both live up to the terms of the will.”
“Depending on how ambitious he is, he could pose a real threat to Maddie.”
Her frown deepened. “Adam? I don’t think so. Basically, my cousin is a wimp. After the will was read, he followed Maddie and me to the door and grabbed my arm. Maddie unfastened his hand and gave him a shove that nearly had him bouncing off the wall. I have no doubt that she’ll figure out a way to handle him.”
She tilted her head to one side. “She’s smart, and she’s not the pushover she seems at first. I had to really do some fast talking to persuade her to switch places. She thinks I should have all the money and Eva’s design business.”
“You don’t agree.”
“No. We’re sisters. The fact that Eva Ware and Mike Farrell split us up and kept us apart all these years doesn’t change that.”
If he hadn’t already decided that he liked Jordan, her statement sealed the deal. “Maddie’s lucky to have you for a sister.”
“The luck is mutual.” She set down her mug. Then, as if realizing for the first time that her other hand was still linked with his, she withdrew it and crossed her arms on the counter. “Now I think it’s your turn to answer my question. Why did you propose to Maddie this morning?”
Cash ran a hand through his hair. “I knew we’d get back to that. There’ve been some incidents of vandalism on the ranch lately.”
“Maddie told me about them. Cut fences and someone doctored the feed in her stable.”
“Maybe she didn’t give you a clear enough picture. The poisoned feed in her stable nearly killed her horse, Brutus.”
“Brutus? That’s her horse’s name?”
Cash nodded. “Your father gave him to her for her twelfth birthday.”
When Jordan simply stared at him, Cash asked, “What is it?”
“I keep a horse just outside of the city. His name is Julius Caesar. What are the chances?”
“You’re twins. You may have been separated since you were babies, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a lot in common.”
“I suppose.” Then she frowned. “What else should I know about the vandalism?”
“The last cut fence was timed so a hundred head of her cattle strayed just before her foreman and I were going to drive them to market. We didn’t have time to round them all up and that’s going to cost her money. Money that she can’t afford to lose.”
She studied him for a moment. “You don’t think the incidents are random, do you?”
“Maddie’s problems have all occurred in the past six months, and during that time, there’s a local real estate agent, Daniel Pearson, who’s been urging her to sell the ranch. I don’t like his timing.”
Jordan wasn’t sure that she did, either. “Maddie told me that she was having trouble filling her father’s shoes. I can understand that. I can’t step into my mother’s, either. But she doesn’t want to sell the ranch. I promised her I’d try to help with that.”
Cash’s eyes narrowed. “How?”
Jordan’s smile was wry. “Good question. How does a Yankee tenderfoot think she can solve her sister’s ranching problem? But I am a business major. And I want to help. I’ll need to see the ranch first. Take a look at the books.”
“I’ll take you on a tour day after tomorrow. The best way to see it is on horseback. Think you can handle Brutus?”
“Yes.” He was taking her seriously. Something inside of Jordan softened. “Why would you think that I might come up with something?”
He shrugged. “Gregory Peck was a tenderfoot in The Big Country, and he solved the feud over the Big Muddy.”
“True.” She grinned at him. “Now finish explaining why you proposed to my sister.”
“It’s pretty well-known around here that our fathers always had this dream that one day Maddie and I would marry and join the two ranches.” He raised a hand. “Maddie and I agreed long ago that wasn’t a possibility. Our relationship never took the turn that yours and mine has. But if we put it out there that we were engaged, I figured people would believe it and since Maddie would no longer have a need to sell, that might put an end to the incidents.”
Jordan tilted her head to one side. “I’ve heard of a marriage of convenience. So this was sort of an engagement of convenience?”
“A fake engagement of convenience.”
“Would Maddie have agreed?”
Cash sighed. “Maybe. After some serious and figurative arm-twisting on my part.”
Jordan smiled at him. “That’s how I got her to agree to switch places with me. You’re a sweet man, Cash Landry.”
Color rose in Cash’s face, but before he could reply, they were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door. Jordan moved quickly and opened it before Cash could.
Although he couldn’t have explained it rationally, he was relieved to see it was his foreman Sweeney standing on the porch. But once Cash noticed the sober expression on Sweeney’s usually jovial face, his tension returned.
The tall man took off his hat and nodded to Jordan. “Mornin’, Ms. Maddie.” Then he shifted his gaze to Cash. “Glad you’re here, boss.”
“Problem?” Cash asked.
Sweeney’s eyes never left Cash’s as he nodded. “I finished with the stock, and I was on my way over here to check on Ms. Maddie the way you asked me to. When I passed by her studio, I noticed that the door was ajar. So I went in.”
“What is it?” Jordan asked.
“I’d better show you,” Sweeney said.
4
JORDAN ALMOST had to run to keep up with the men’s long-legged strides. The look in the older man’s
eyes had triggered a cold dread deep inside of her. The sun beating down from a clear, steel-blue sky wasn’t enough to chase away the goose bumps that had broken out on her skin.
Maddie’s studio had been broken into? Why? And by whom? Had something been stolen?
She thought she’d steeled herself. In the past few weeks, she’d developed a skill for doing that, but when Sweeney pushed the door open and she saw the devastation, her knees nearly buckled and she couldn’t keep from crying out.
The open shelving that must have lined the walls had all been shoved over. Boxes had been overturned, their contents scattered. Gems and silver wires littered the floor. And scattered over everything like freshly fallen snow were shreds of paper. Maddie’s design sketches? Something in Jordan’s stomach twisted. Eva had always pasted her latest designs on the wall over her workspace. Would Maddie be able to replace them?
Leaning down, she picked up a chunk of turquoise the size of a baby’s fist. A quick glance around confirmed that other stones—garnet, lapis, tiger’s eye, some even larger than the turquoise—had been thrown helter-skelter throughout the debris. They had to be quite valuable.
“Why didn’t they take the stones?” she asked.
“Good question.”
She hadn’t even been aware that Cash was touching her until he gave her shoulders a squeeze.
“Take a deep breath.”
She did and felt her lungs burn. Control. She reached deep for it. When the backs of her eyes began to sting, she blinked rapidly and carefully picked her way further into the room. Cash moved with her.
Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she thought of her mother’s studio, pictured Eva’s reaction if something like this had happened to her. A flame of anger began to burn inside of her. While thieves had broken into the main salon of the Madison Avenue store a few weeks back, they hadn’t destroyed the place.
Taking another breath, she said in a low tone, “We can’t let her see this.”