by Julie Kenner
Jordan swallowed hard. “You think someone wants to kill Maddie or me because of my mother’s will?”
He jerked his head in the direction of the wrecked van. “It’s not the only explanation, but it does leap to mind. Money’s always a powerful motivator.”
“Jordan just found out this morning that her mother’s hit-and-run death is being investigated as a possible homicide,” Cash said.
Shay let out a low whistle. “You think there’s a connection between that and this.”
It wasn’t a question, Jordan noted.
“I’m not a fan of coincidence, but as you say, it’s not the only possibility,” Cash said. “What do you know about Daniel Pearson?”
Shay’s eyebrows shot up. “The real estate broker and wannabe mogul?”
Cash nodded.
“Mostly what I read in the society pages. He’s well-connected socially, serves on a couple of museum and gallery boards, and he’s using those connections to establish a thriving real estate business. Why?”
“Because for the last six months he’s been pressuring Maddie to sell the ranch.”
Shay thought for a minute. “I’ve met him a few times. He appears at all the events my mother bugs me to attend.”
While Shay went on to describe Pearson as a social climber who thought he had a great deal of charm with the ladies, Jordan studied the two men standing in front of her.
Physically, they were similar. Both were tall and dark haired. Shay was a smoother dresser. His khaki slacks were neatly pressed. Cash’s jeans were well-worn and fit like a second skin. Both radiated competence. In addition, the cowboy and the cop talked with the ease of old friends, their minds in tune, their respect for each other’s ideas clear.
“You think Pearson is involved in this?” Shay asked.
“I think it’s possible.” Cash glanced up the road to the skid marks. “He could have hired the guy in the van. The same guy could have destroyed Maddie’s studio last night and then waited around for us to go into Santa Fe. It was a good bet that she’d drive in today because of the big jewelry show tomorrow. And once Maddie’s out of the picture, it’s a pretty sure thing that the ranch will go on the market.”
“Could be,” Shay said. “But if he’s been pressuring Maddie for six months, why all the urgency?”
“Perhaps he’s under pressure, too,” Jordan said. If Pearson is so anxious to list the ranch, he must have a buyer on the line.”
Shay and Cash both turned to her.
“You’ve got a point,” Shay agreed. “It’s not enough for me to question Pearson. However, I could make some inquiries about who his buyer might be. My mother is on a couple of boards with Pearson’s broker.”
Cash smiled at him. “You do that.”
“I assume you’ll be sticking close to Ms. Ware.”
Before Cash could reply, Jordan said, “I’m Maddie, remember?”
“Point taken.” He took a step closer to her. “Cash won’t tell you, but you were lucky to have him behind the wheel today. He knows every inch of this road.”
“I know.”
When a uniformed officer approached, Shay said, “Duty calls,” and strode over to talk to the young man.
“You’ll get back to us?” Cash called after him.
“Soon as I have something.”
Turning, Cash took Jordan’s hand. “Do you want to call it a day and go back to the ranch?”
She shook her head. “I want to go to Santa Fe. I came here to walk around in my sister’s shoes, and I gave my word to Maddie that the jewelry show would go off without a hitch. I’m not letting anyone prevent me from doing either of those things.”
He gripped her chin and brushed his mouth over hers. “I like your style, Jordan Ware.”
7
CASH HANDED JORDAN a frozen cinnamon latte and set his coffee down on the table before he took the seat across from her.
She glanced up. “Thanks.” Then she shifted her attention back to the notes Maddie had given her. It had been her idea to stop at the small restaurant across the street from the hotel where the jewelry show was scheduled to open on the following morning. She’d wanted a chance to prep herself in case she ran into anyone she should recognize.
He reached over to lay a hand on one of hers. “You’ll do fine.”
“I hope so.” She linked her fingers with his. “There are a lot of people I’m going to have to keep straight. Some of them Maddie only sees at shows, but there are others she runs into more frequently.”
“I might be able to help with some of them.”
“Do you know Joe Manuelo?”
He thought for a moment. “We’ve never met, but I believe he’s the man who cuts a lot of Maddie’s stones.”
“Yes. Maddie says he often visits the shows to see the end products of his work.”
As she shifted her attention back to the notes, he studied their clasped hands. Hers was slender, delicate almost, a stark contrast to the woman he was coming to know. And he’d nearly lost his chance to know her better.
As Cash sipped his coffee, he glanced around the small outside patio. He’d taken less than three minutes to fetch their drinks, yet as he’d watched her sitting in the shade of a potted tree with the sunlight dappling over her, nerves had knotted tightly in his stomach. They’d had a close call.
And it didn’t help that she was masquerading as Maddie. While he’d been waiting on their drinks, he’d considered pressing her to let him go forward with his idea of announcing their engagement. But there were problems with that plan. He was no longer sure it would be enough to protect her, and, more importantly, he no longer wanted to become engaged to Maddie. That was something he’d have to think about later.
The rational side of his mind told him that she was safe for now. After all, they were in the center of Santa Fe, and there would be some delay time before whoever had hired the thug in the van would learn that the mission had not been accomplished.
Unless the thug had an accomplice right here in Santa Fe. That might shorten their reprieve considerably.
They’ll try again, nagged the tiny little voice at the back of his head. His gut instinct was to get Jordan as far away as he could. It was a sort of caveman response, and he couldn’t recall ever having one with regard to a woman before.
But then he’d never responded to a woman the way he had to Jordan. He’d had some time while Shay had taken her statement to think about his reaction when he’d kissed her on the side of that road right after the accident. The strength and speed of his desire, the draining away of his willpower—both had been unprecedented. He was still baffled by it.
Even now as he watched her pouring over Maddie’s notes, he wanted to reach out and touch her—just to run a finger down her cheek or tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. How long would it take him to erase that totally focused look from her face, he wondered. And how long could he wait to do it?
The current time and the place were all wrong, but that didn’t stop his mind from conjuring up a fantasy. In it, they were alone. Not in Maddie’s bedroom this time, but in his. It was only as he pictured it in his mind that he realized how much he wanted to see her in his home. She was standing in front of the fireplace dressed in nothing but those seductive scraps of lace and silk she’d been wearing the first night he’d seen her. The punch of heat was just as strong as it had been then—in spite of the fact that he knew what he’d find when he touched her and lowered her to the floor. Or he thought he knew. But every time he tasted her, wasn’t there something new, some flavor that he hadn’t discovered before…?
“Do you want more coffee?”
Her question snapped his mind back to reality and he silently cursed himself. “No.” Quickly, he glanced around the patio. No one seemed to take notice of Jordan. No one seemed out of place.
But a pro would know how to blend in.
For a second, Cash toyed with the possibility of giving into his caveman urges and just carrying her off. A
nd not merely because he wanted to be alone with her. Where could he take her so that she would be safe? To Albuquerque to a luxury hotel? His experience with the kinds of places Jordan must be used to were limited. Because of the ranch, his leisure time was always borrowed, and his idea of a great evening with a woman would be to spend it somewhere under the stars. He figured Jordan’s fantasy would be a far cry from that.
She glanced up suddenly and there was curiosity in her eyes. “You’re staring at me. It’s distracting.”
“Sorry. I like the view.”
She took a sip of her latte. “Penny for your thoughts.”
Cash decided to go with at least a partial truth. “I was wondering what your idea of a perfect romantic evening would be.”
She blinked. “A perfect romantic evening? You’re kidding, right?”
He felt heat rise in his neck. “No. I was thinking that I’d like to get you away from here where you’d be safe. Some place you’d enjoy. Some place where there’d be just the two of us. And I don’t have a lot of experience with women like you.”
Jordan set her drink down on the glass-topped table and folded her arms on its surface. “First of all, you’re not going to get me away from here. Not for at least three weeks.”
“Figured.” He stopped himself before he could say more. He’d already dug a hole that might get deeper even without his help.
“Don’t you get all overprotective on me.”
He said nothing, and her eyes narrowed.
“Look, we’re both smart, and we’ve been forewarned.”
“Yeah. But I’m not a professional bodyguard. And you need one.”
She waved that away with a little snort. “You’ve already saved my life once. Plus, anyone who can drive like you has good instincts. So do I. I thought we made a good team during the hair-raising ride down that hill.”
“We did.” And this wasn’t the time for fantasy, he reminded himself.
“Then we’ll handle this.” She took another sip of her latte.
“I’m not leaving you alone—not even for a moment until we know who hired that thug.”
She opened her mouth, shut it and then said, “Okay. Okay. Now tell me what you meant by not having much experience with a woman like me?”
Cash held back an inner sigh. He’d known they’d get back to that, just as they’d gotten back to his fake engagement proposal. Once again, he went with the truth. “You’re different for me, Jordan. It goes beyond the fact that I can’t look at you without wanting you. There’s something about you that’s felt right for me from the beginning.”
She swallowed. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk about what’s going on between us. Maybe we should. I’ve given it some thought. Not much.” She traced one finger through the frost on her glass. “I have trouble thinking when you’re around. But I did manage to decide something when I was in the shower. You’re different for me, too. Having impromptu flings or affairs…” She paused to wave a hand. “I don’t do that.”
“Now there’s something we have in common.”
She drew in a deep breath. “But I want to make love with you again. I can’t seem to keep myself from wanting that.”
“Same goes for me.”
“But that’s about the end of the list of what we have in common.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. We both love to ride. We both like ranches.”
The corners of her mouth lifted, and the little line of worry faded from her forehead. “I like ranches in movies and books. But I’m sure fiction doesn’t even crack the surface of what it’s like to run a ranch, to live on one.”
“You’re thinking of your parents, of what you’re beginning to suspect happened to them.”
“They came from different worlds. And it didn’t end happily for them. I’m not sure what we’ve begun here, but it can’t last. We should both be honest about that. It would make things less complicated when I go back to New York.”
He picked up her hand and raised it to his lips. “I’m not sure what we’ve begun yet, either. But why try to predict the ending? I’d rather see where it leads. Unless you’re afraid.”
Her chin lifted at that. “You don’t scare me, cowboy.”
“Good.” He wished he could say that she didn’t scare him, either. But she did. He was almost getting used to the jittery feeling in his stomach. Just as he was almost getting used to the fact that he couldn’t be near her without experiencing that steady thrum of excitement in his blood. She felt it, too. He could see it in her eyes. They were darkening into the same deep shade of purple that coated the mountaintops as the sun dropped behind them. He took her hand. Maybe he couldn’t carry her off to Albuquerque, but surely he could take her somewhere…
Then beyond her shoulder he caught a glimpse of Daniel Pearson approaching with a woman on his arm. Cash searched for the name and found it. Margo Lawson. Though he’d never formally met her, he’d seen her photo on Maddie’s Web site, and Maddie had talked a lot about her. Margo owned one of the premiere boutiques in Santa Fe that showcased Maddie’s jewelry.
“Don’t look now but we’re going to have company,” he said to Jordan. “Daniel Pearson and one of the shop owners who carries Maddie’s jewelry—Margo Lawson.”
JORDAN IGNORED the nerves that danced briefly in her stomach. Her masquerade hadn’t fooled Shay Alvarez. Would she be able to fool the two people who were approaching?
As if reading her thoughts, Cash squeezed her hand and whispered, “You’ll be fine. You’re a dead ringer for your sister. Just remember not to say too much. Maddie is quieter than you.”
“Maddie?”
The male voice was still some distance away. Cash squeezed her hand and whispered, “Show time. Knock ’em dead.”
“This is a pleasant surprise.”
With a smile, Jordan rose from her chair and turned to study Daniel Pearson. He was medium height and handsome in an Ivy League, preppy kind of way. In the light suit, he looked every an inch a city boy, right down to the diamond winking on his pinky finger. “Daniel, it’s good to see you.”
Then she very nearly stiffened when the man hugged her and kissed her cheek. Maddie’s notes hadn’t mentioned they were that friendly. Or perhaps the man hugged all his potential clients?
Turning, Jordan smiled at the woman. “You, too, Margo. I was going to stop by the shop later this afternoon.”
“You won’t find me there,” Margo drawled in a husky voice. “I’m taking the afternoon off to rest up for the big show tomorrow.”
Jordan dredged up Maddie’s notes. Margo was a tall brunette, who looked to be in her late thirties but was older. Her sundress was designer. Most importantly, she was Maddie’s oldest client and supporter, so Jordan wanted very much to like her.
“I love the way you’re wearing your hair.” As Margo’s eyes narrowed on her for a minute, Jordan felt her nerves dance again.
“It’s a much more professional look than the braid. And it matches the sophisticated and feminine turn your latest designs have been taking. You should wear it that way to the show tomorrow.”
Silently Jordan agreed, and she made a mental note to talk to her sister about a permanent change in her hairstyle.
Then Margo shifted her attention to Cash. “I hope you’re going to introduce me to your friend.”
“This is Cash Landry, my neighbor,” Jordan said. She didn’t like the way Margo was looking at Cash—as if she wanted a good-size taste of him.
“Margo Lawson,” the brunette said as she took Cash’s offered hand.
“Landry.” Daniel sent him a nod, then turned to smile at Jordan. “This is delightful. I didn’t expect to see you until the show tomorrow. You haven’t forgotten that I’m taking you out to dinner afterward?”
Jordan thought fast. “I hope you don’t mind if I bring Cash along. He’s insisting on joining me in my booth at the show.”
Annoyance flashed briefly into Daniel’s eyes as he stepped closer to Jordan.
“I’d planned on discussing business. You promised you’d have an answer for me about the ranch as soon as you put this show behind you.”
Not about to let the grass grow under your feet, Jordan thought. As much as she might admire the move on a business level, she didn’t like the fact that he was putting this kind of pressure on her sister.
Cash slipped a protective arm around Jordan’s shoulders. “Someone broke into Maddie’s studio this morning, and I plan on providing her with security until we find out who’s responsible.”
“Your new designs—did they steal them?” Margo’s voice was laced with concern.
“No, thank heavens,” Jordan said. “I keep them in a safe.”
“They seemed more concerned with destroying the place than filling their pockets with jewelry or stones,” Cash added. “I’ll be staying at the ranch tonight and I’ll drive her into Santa Fe for the show tomorrow.”
Daniel was frowning now, but Jordan was pretty sure it wasn’t the vandalism that was bothering him. She could read people well enough to know that he was a man who didn’t like his plans changed. Trying to think how Maddie would handle the situation, she said, “Margo, why don’t you join us for dinner tomorrow after the show and make it a foursome? That way you can amuse Cash while Daniel and I talk business?”
Margo kept her eyes on Cash. “I’d be delighted to amuse Cash. In fact, I’ll look forward to it.”
I’ll just bet. There was no denying that it was jealousy she was feeling. But she could also feel Daniel Pearson relax.
“Great idea. Margo and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Depend on it. I can’t wait to see your latest collection.”
With a brief nod to Cash, Daniel Pearson took Margo’s arm and led her away down the sidewalk.
“I believe she’s what they call a cougar,” Cash murmured.
Jordan glanced at him and didn’t like it a bit that he was still looking at Margo. “Cougar?”