One-Click Buy: July 2009 Harlequin Blaze

by Julie Kenner

  His eyes when they met hers were brimming with laughter. “Isn’t that what they call the older woman who’s on the hunt for a younger man?”

  “Cougar.” She had to admit the term suited Margo Lawson. She had a feline grace and beneath it, Jordan sensed, a streak of ruthlessness. Plus, the woman hadn’t done anything to hide the fact that she was interested in Cash. Jordan couldn’t help being annoyed that she was still feeling jealous.

  “And you’re familiar with the term because you’ve had a lot of experience being ‘hunted’ by older women?”

  He laughed and settled back into his chair. “You can relax. I can handle Margo Lawson. I’m more worried about how you’re going to handle Daniel Pearson.”

  With a frown, Jordan sat down. “You can relax on that score. Daniel Pearson’s interest in Maddie isn’t personal. He wants the ranch. And she has his number.”

  “Exactly.” Cash’s voice and eyes had turned hard. “But he thinks he’s close to getting it.”

  Jordan’s temper flared. “If you think Maddie’s agreed to sell it to him, you’re wrong. I’m positive she doesn’t want to sell the place.”

  “It isn’t a matter of what she wants. It may come down to necessity. And he seems pretty confident that he can close the deal.” Cash fisted a hand on the table. “She’s running fewer cattle, she’s let all her hands go except for Mac McAuliffe. He hires on workers on a per diem basis when he needs them. I’ve been helping her out as much as I can. But your sister’s proud. I don’t know how much longer she’ll continue to accept help from me. I know Maddie. She could very well let Pearson talk her into selling the ranch to make it easier on me.”

  Though she hadn’t known her sister very long, Jordan found herself leaning toward his theory. “Not yet, she won’t. Not for the next three weeks. Do you think that your prejudice against Daniel Pearson might be why you think he’s behind the vandalism?”

  Cash considered for a moment. “No. I believe he’s a prime suspect. He knows she’s in trouble, and a little vandalism here, a poisoned horse there, might be all it takes to have her signing on the dotted line.”

  Jordan thought for a minute. “If things are getting worse for Maddie, wouldn’t he think it’s just a matter of time before she agrees to let him sell the ranch? The look on his face when I said you’d be coming with me to dinner told me he had very high expectations for tomorrow night. He thinks his plans are right on track. It doesn’t mesh with hiring someone to kill her. Plus, he didn’t look at all surprised to see me here.”

  “Perhaps it’s Pearson’s buyer who’s getting desperate,” Cash said. “He or she could be acting on their own.”

  “Why?” The question hung in the air between them for a few beats. Jordan tapped her fingers on the table. “Maddie’s having trouble making ends meet, so why is someone so anxious to get their hands on the ranch?”

  “Perhaps Shay’s theory is correct and the attempt on your life is somehow connected to your mother’s will?”

  “Maybe. Could be I’m prejudiced against that idea because it would mean that someone in my family could be involved. And I just don’t see it. Maybe I don’t want to see it. In any case, I’m more anxious than ever to take that tour of the ranch you promised me.”

  Cash’s brows shot up. “You think you’ll find the answer there?”

  “Maybe. Maddie’s an artist. She’s like my mother. I’m a business person. I see things from a very different angle. I wonder if my father were here—if he’d known what was going on—if he’d know what to do.”

  His smile was slow and easy. “I know one thing for sure. Mike Farrell would have liked you, Jordan Ware.” Then he took her hand and drew her to her feet. “Why don’t we go turn that expert businessperson’s eye on Maddie’s booth?”

  CHAOS. That’s what Jordan saw when she stepped into the hotel’s cavernous exhibition room. Her first impression was that a huge movie set was being constructed. Saws buzzed and screeched through plywood. Carts rattled as they carried display cases, tables and chairs across the space. The smell of paint and woods chips mingled with the scent of flowers that were being placed around pillars and doorways.

  Beside her, Cash was taking in the room as carefully as she was. She bet his mind was on the bodyguard thing. But right now, she had to concentrate on her job, which was to represent Maddie as well as she could.

  From what she could make out, booths would eventually line the walls and run in several rows down the center of the room. That coincided with what she was used to. Thank heavens she’d had some experience with jewelry shows. Her mother had occasionally showcased her designs at the Jacob Javits Center in New York.

  “My mother always hated these shows,” she said.

  “Maddie doesn’t care for them much, either. She doesn’t like the sales end of the business.”

  “It’s an essential part. Without it, the pieces run the risk of spending their lives in display cases. My mother’s jewelry is meant to be worn. Maddie’s is, too. I’m coming to believe that two of them are a lot alike. It’s such a shame that they never got to know each other.”

  For a moment Jordan felt a mix of emotions swamp her—regret, anger, frustration. Once again, her mind turned to the question of why her parents had cut themselves off from one of their daughters.

  “It is a shame.” Cash reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “You should have had the chance to know your father, too. At least, you’ll get to know him a little better once you settle in at the ranch.”

  Jordan pushed the flood of feelings away. These were things she’d think about later, deal with later. It helped that Cash was there, and that he held her hand.

  Turning, she studied him for a moment, absorbing once more the strong, lean face that her hands had explored so thoroughly before she’d even seen him. And she remembered the pleasure that came from merely touching him. Not just his face, but that long, hard body.

  As if he sensed the direction her thoughts had taken, he turned to her, and the heat in his eyes had her breath stopping in her throat. Suddenly, they might have been alone in the room. Workmen stepped around them, voices chattered, saws buzzed, but to Jordan, the sounds came from a distance. All she could think, all she knew was that she wanted Cash to kiss her. All she felt was a pull that came not just from him, but from something edgy and needy inside of her.

  All she had to do was move just a little closer and his mouth would cover hers. She would feel again that sharp, dazzling pleasure she’d felt when he’d kissed her on the side of the road. She took the step.

  “If I kiss you, I might not be able to stop.” His voice was low and rough. “Do you want me to see if I can get us a room?”

  For a moment, Jordan was outrageously tempted. To spend the rest of the afternoon in a hotel room with Cash. To think only about the pleasure that they could bring one another. It would be wild and wonderful.

  And completely impossible. Her sister was depending on her. “I can’t.”

  Cash squeezed her hand and then released it. “Later, then. That’s a promise, Jordan.”

  Her hand trembled as she took a catalog from a box. But scanning through it helped her gather her thoughts. “I want to see where they’ve put Maddie.”

  The catalog listed the names and photos of exhibitors, along with a booth number. And in another moment or so, she’d be able to focus on them. The pictures would help tomorrow, she thought. She was banking on the fact that buyers would introduce themselves to her or hand her a card. But over the years, Maddie had become acquainted with other designers, and the last thing Jordan wanted to do was snub them. Of course, Maddie had named and described them, but having a picture—well, it truly was worth a thousand words. Noting Maddie’s booth number, she located it on the floor map of the exhibition hall and led the way.

  “It’s a good spot,” she said when they reached it, pleased that her legs were working and her thoughts almost refocused. “Most people will take at least one complete tour of the
room, but sometimes they skip the rows that run in the center.”

  She watched as the workmen—one white-haired with a grizzled beard and a muscular build, the other just barely out of his teens, unloaded a stainless-steel-and-glass case. She could see from a glance at adjacent spaces that each exhibitor was getting one. When the display case was centered in the space, she approached the older man and extended her hand.

  “Hi, I’m Maddie Farrell. This will be my booth tomorrow. I’m supposed to be getting two display cases.”

  The white-haired man immediately frowned. “Not according to what I got here.” He pulled a clipboard off his cart, flipped over a few pages, then angled it so she could see. “Booth one-twelve—one case.”

  As Jordan sighed and turned to Cash, she met his eyes and hoped that he would follow her lead. “It’s Aunt Amy again. She assured me she’d arranged for the extra case. I asked her several times. I’m afraid she’s getting more and more forgetful…”

  Cash placed his hand on her shoulder. “You’re going to have to think about letting her go.”

  “I’m not sure that I can. I’m the only family she has left, and she’s worked all her life. I can’t imagine her sitting home and taking up knitting.” Then with an apologetic smile, she turned back to the man with the clipboard. “My aunt—who is my secretary—said she’d talked to the man in charge of the exhibits and arranged for me to have a second case. Is there any chance that you could hunt me up one? I know you’re busy.”

  “Busy doesn’t even begin to describe it, lady.” But his frown was fading. “How old is your aunt?”

  “Nearly eighty.”

  He studied her for a moment, then nodded. “You keep her on. My grandson and I will hunt you up a second case if we can.”

  Jordan beamed a smile at him. “Thank you so much.”

  “Nice job,” Cash said in an undertone as the two men wheeled their cart away.

  “Thanks for picking up on what I was trying to do.”

  “My pleasure.”

  She was about to turn back to the case when she spotted a pretty young woman in tribal Navajo dress hurrying toward her. Even as her mind raced, her stomach knotted.

  “It’s Lea Dashee,” Cash murmured in a low tone.

  Right. Lea Dashee had gone to college with Maddie. She was slender, with long black hair, and the white dress she wore, with its silver beading, looked stunning on her. Silver jewelry design had been a tradition with the women in Lea’s family for hundreds of years.

  “She’s Pete Blackthorn’s granddaughter. He’s the turquoise prospector I told you about. She may know how we can contact him.”

  As Lea reached them, Jordan smiled. “Hello.”

  The young woman threw her arms around Jordan and gave her a hard hug. “So good to see you. It’s a shame that we only get to see each other a couple of times a year at one of these things.”

  “Don’t we say that all the time?”

  “We do.” Lea laughed. “But then we go back and bury ourselves in our studios.” She drew back and gave Jordan a swift study. “Beautiful as always.”

  “Ditto.”

  Lea laughed again. “We always say that, too. And tomorrow we’ll oooh and aaah over each other’s designs.” She took one of Jordan’s hands and squeezed it. “You bring your appointment calendar with you. We’re going to make a definite date. Have lunch and hit some galleries. I’m going to watch you write it in.”

  “It’s a deal.” Jordan made a mental note to hunt up an appointment calendar. It wouldn’t do for her to use her BlackBerry.

  Lea turned her attention to Cash. “Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly developed an interest in jewelry?”

  Cash tilted his head in Maddie’s direction. “She dragged me here in case she needed some hauling and lifting.”

  “Good idea! I may ask a favor if you’re coming back tomorrow?”

  Cash nodded. “Sure thing. But I need a favor right now. Maddie’s trying to get in touch with your grandfather. Do you know where we might find him?”

  Lea thought for a minute. “He hasn’t been back to his trailer for a few days. Usually when he camps out, it’s in the hills to the southeast of Maddie’s ranch.” She glanced back at Jordan. “I’ll bet if you take a ride out, you’ll run into him there.”

  “Thanks,” Jordan said.

  Lea waved a hand as she hurried away. “Tomorrow.”

  Jordan turned to Cash. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  “My pleasure.” And it was, Cash thought. His pleasure deepened as he watched her move closer to examine the beveled glass case in great detail. She was totally focused now, just as she had been at the small café when she’d been poring over Maddie’s notes.

  “If they get me that second case, we’ll angle them into a V.” Then she circled to the back of the booth and studied the wall. It had been painted a sunny yellow.

  “Not bad. The color should work with the turquoise. And I packed some swatches of silk in nearly the same color.”

  As she turned back to the display case, the wall behind her suddenly began to tilt forward. Moving on instinct, Cash shoved Jordan aside and braced both his palms against it.

  For several seconds he struggled unsuccessfully against the downward momentum of the wall. He heard an ominous creak as the base slid an inch backward and the pressure against his arms built.

  “Cash?”

  “Stay away.” Sweat beaded on his forehead. Fear arrowed through him. He wasn’t going to win this battle.

  8

  TWO SETS OF HANDS suddenly joined Cash’s on the wall of the booth. Working as a team, he and the two men who’d come to his aid managed to get it back into position. The moment it was upright and balanced, Cash turned to one of the workmen. “Thanks. What the hell happened?”

  One of the men had already moved behind the wall and dropped to his knees. Cash joined him.

  “Looks like someone didn’t fasten the braces tight enough. Pretty careless. These things can do quite a bit of damage if they fall.”

  “Thanks.” Cash noted that there was plenty of room for someone to fit behind the booth. Plus there was an exit doorway right behind the wall. He shoved through it, but the hallway was empty.

  “There. That should hold it,” said the man.

  “Thanks.” Cash stepped around the now secured wall and moved to Jordan’s side. Pitching his voice low, he said, “Someone may have purposely unloosened the braces and then slipped out of the room.”

  Or perhaps they’d edged their way behind several of the other booths and joined the throng of people in the exhibition hall. He scanned the room. Everyone was busy. Carts were moving, workmen were hoisting walls. Hammers pounded, saws whirred. No one seemed out of place. Not one person glanced guiltily in their direction. And no one was making a beeline for the door. Frustration raged inside of him. He wanted badly to get his hands on someone.

  “You think someone wanted that wall to fall on purpose?” Jordan asked.

  She had turned to study it. He followed the direction of her gaze, and in his mind he pictured just how the wall might have fallen, trapping her against the display case on the floor. The glass would have shattered, and she could have been badly hurt. “I’m not willing to completely trust coincidence.”

  “But who would have known we’re here?”

  “Good question.” And he didn’t like the answers. “Pearson and your friend Margo knew we were headed for the exhibition room.”

  “But if something happens to me, Daniel won’t get to list the ranch. He seemed very focused on talking me into that tomorrow night at dinner.”

  “Perhaps he only wanted to injure you, make you vulnerable to his offer.” Cash ran a hand through his hair even as his gaze raked the room again. “Or maybe I’m getting paranoid.” He met her eyes. “Do you have everything you need for now?”

  “Yes.”

  “C’mon.” Cash urged her toward the door. He wanted to get her someplace safe.
r />   Jordan’s cell rang the moment they stepped out of the exhibition room. Even as she pulled it out of her pocket, Cash nudged her against a wall between two potted plants. From their position, he could keep his eye on the lobby and the main door to the exhibition room.

  “Maddie? What is it?”

  Cash heard the fear in Jordan’s voice. Neither had expected Maddie to call again. It couldn’t be good news. Moving closer, he leaned down, and Jordan tipped her cell so he could hear.

  JORDAN SAT in the pickup next to Cash as they drove back to the ranch. Her head was still spinning from the news that Maddie and Jase had given them.

  A professional hit woman had tried to shoot Maddie in Central Park.

  Just thinking about it had fear tightening in her stomach. She’d nearly lost her sister.

  When Cash had reported what they’d learned to Shay Alvarez and related what had happened at the exhibition hall, the detective suggested that they return to the ranch and provided them with a police escort home. The two men in the cruiser following them would stay, keep the ranch under surveillance and escort them back into Santa Fe for the jewelry show in the morning.

  As they started up the hill where they’d nearly been driven off, Cash said, “You’re too quiet. You have to be worried about Maddie. Talk to me.”

  She turned to study him. In profile, he looked tough and rugged. And he was. But he also had a streak of kindness that ran bone-deep.

  “I can’t seem to get my mind around it.” She swallowed hard. “Someone tried to shoot my sister.”

  He flicked her a glance. “Someone tried to kill you, too, Jordan.”

  “I know. It’s hard enough to accept that, but when I think of Maddie being in the sights of a professional sniper… I might never have gotten a chance to know her. And what if it happens again? What if the next shot hits its target?”

  Now that she’d started talking, Jordan couldn’t seem to stop. “That’s why I didn’t tell her about the man trying to drive us off the road. I didn’t want her to feel helpless and angry. More than anything, I want to go to her. I want us both to go to New York and help protect her. But because of the will, we can’t. And we don’t have a clue about who’s behind all of this.”