The Heart of Hill Country

by Sherryl Woods

  “Still won’t cut me any slack, will you?” Jordan said with a laugh. “Even when I’m trying to apologize.”

  “Sorry. I guess I missed that part.”

  “Maybe that’s because I’m out of practice,” his boss conceded. “Look, jot down some of your thoughts and let’s go over this again in the morning, okay? Maybe clearer heads will prevail by then.”

  “Mine or yours?”

  “Hopefully, both. My wife says I behaved like an arrogant, pigheaded idiot.”

  “You’ll get no argument from me, sir.”

  “Kelly said the same thing about you.”

  Duke chuckled. “No argument there, either. I’ll have my reasoning on paper in the morning.”

  “Good. Now, tell me. How are you and the boys settling in? I should have asked you that earlier today. Do you like it here? Is there anything you need?”

  “The boys love it,” Duke said.

  “But you’re still fighting the desire to get back into the field,” Jordan guessed.

  “Yes,” he admitted, knowing that the older man would understand. At one time Jordan had been a wildcatter himself, trying to make a place for himself in a business vastly different from his family’s cattle empire.

  “You’ll find this challenging enough in time,” Jordan promised. “I’ll see to it.”

  If Jordan didn’t, Duke had a feeling his daughter could. “By the way, I met your daughter today,” he said.

  “Dani?” Jordan asked, clearly surprised. “How’d that happen?”

  He related a condensed version of the dead goldfish saga that had his boss laughing.

  “So how many kittens did she stick you with?” Jordan asked before Duke had even gotten to that part.

  “Are you psychic or something? How did you know about the kittens?”

  “Son, from the day I married her mother the house has been crawling with kittens, and I’m allergic to the blasted beasts. Dani has a way with her.”

  “I’ll say,” Duke muttered.

  “Did she pull out the sob story about drowning them in the river if no one took them?”

  “Good God, no.”

  “That’s the one she used on me. Those big eyes of hers filled up with tears. She told me that’s what Kelly intended to do to them unless I agreed to let them stay.”

  “And you believed her?” Duke asked skeptically.

  “Of course not. Kelly’s got the softest heart in the universe. But I had to admire Dani’s ingenuity. My father bought it, though. She had cats all over White Pines by the time she was six or seven. Somehow over the course of twenty odd years she’s managed to convince my father that it’s a win-win situation. He saves the cats. The cats keep the mice away.”

  “Amazing,” Duke said, thinking that Harlan Adams’s legendary reputation did not include any reference to the notion that he was a soft touch.

  “You could have told her no,” Jordan pointed out. “You had no problem delivering news I didn’t want to hear.”

  “This was different.”

  “Yes,” Jordan said thoughtfully. “I imagine it was. Good night, son. We’ll talk in the morning.”

  “Good night, sir.”

  After he’d hung up, Duke had the awful feeling that he’d revealed far more about his reaction to Dani Adams than he’d ever intended. And he didn’t like that speculative note he’d heard in Jordan’s voice one little bit. It appeared he was going to have to be on his guard about more than business when he went into work in the morning.

  And he was going to have to stay the hell away from Dani Adams and her cats. Even as he reached that conclusion, one of those blasted little kittens tried to crawl up the leg of his pants, its claws biting into his flesh even through the fabric. He heard the snag, even before he caught the plaintive meow. Looking down he saw that the kitten was caught partway up his calf.

  “You’re going to be nothing but trouble,” he muttered sourly as he leaned down to disentangle the animal.

  But even as he said it, he brought the soft, tiny creature up to curl against his chest.

  “Nothing but trouble,” he murmured again. This time, though, he was thinking of Dani Adams when he said it.

  3

  Dani was pretty sure she held her breath all the way back into Los Pinos. Duke Jenkins was the kind of overwhelming, purely masculine man who made a woman’s toes curl without half trying.

  With the notable exception of her stepfather, she’d spent her whole life around men whose fashion sense gravitated toward denim. Somehow Duke Jenkins had managed to make a perfectly respectable business suit and starched white shirt look as if he were only seconds away from stripping down to nothing. Her imagination had run wild. If a man like that put his mind to it, he could probably seduce a tree stump.

  Of course, there was no chance of him trying anything with her. He worked for Jordan. More importantly, she was immune to his charms. He was a single dad, which placed him so far off-limits he might as well have been in Alaska with a barricade around him. With any luck she would never see him or his boys again. With better luck, she would never even hear his name mentioned.

  Luck, of course, was never on her side, not when it came to matters of the heart, apparently.

  No sooner had she walked into the house than her phone rang.

  “I hear you met your father’s new vice president today,” her mother said without so much as a minute of small talk to disguise her prying.

  “How could you possibly have heard a thing like that already? I barely left the man’s house an hour ago. Do you have spies over there? Or can I blame this on Grandpa Harlan. I know he has them everywhere. He always knows what we’re up to, half the time before we do. It’s unnerving.”

  “You can’t blame this one on your grandfather. Jordan spoke with Duke earlier on a business matter. He mentioned that you’d been there. He said you talked him into taking a few kittens off your hands,” she reported with obvious amusement. “Jordan said he sounded a little bewildered by how that had happened.”

  Dani chuckled. “I’m sure Dad could identify with that.”

  “Indeed. I overheard him sympathizing rather sincerely. He told Duke to watch his step around you or his house would be crawling with all sorts of critters.”

  “I’m not that bad,” Dani protested.

  “You’ll never convince Jordan of that. He wasn’t the least bit interested in owning one cat, much less the dozens you paraded through here over the years.”

  “That was better than my brother’s snakes and you know it.”

  Her mother laughed. “You bet. I’ll tell Jordan to remind Duke of that when he’s cussing about the cat hair all over the house.”

  She paused and all of Dani’s self-protective instincts went on full alert. Her mother turned hesitant only when she knew she was about to tread on dangerous ground.

  “So,” her mother began a little too casually, “what did you think of him?”

  “Who?” she asked just as innocently, determined not to be sucked into making an admission she could never live down. If she so much as hinted that she’d been attracted to Duke, even on a purely physical level, the meddlers in the family would turn that into an engagement before she could blink.

  “Duke, of course.”

  “I didn’t notice.”

  “Sweetie, a woman would have to be dead not to notice a man like Duke Jenkins.”

  “Okay,” Dani conceded grudgingly, aware that nothing less than total honesty would satisfy her mother. She might as well get it over with. “If I were to have to give a totally objective description of the man, I’d say he’s quite a hunk.”

  “An understatement, if ever I’ve heard one,” her mother concurred. “He’s gorgeous with all that thick, sun-streaked hair and those shoulders...” She sighed. “My goodness, those shoulders...”
r />   “Mother!”

  “Well, I can’t help it. He reminds me of Jordan.”

  “Is Dad aware that you’ve fallen for his new protégé?”

  “Very funny. The only man I’ve ever fallen for was Jordan and he knows it. Unfortunately, your father knew it, too. It took Jordan a while to figure out he felt the same way, but once he got the message things have worked out rather nicely.”

  As she spoke, Dani could imagine her mother’s soft, nostalgic smile, the one that always came with any mention of Jordan Adams.

  “Anyway, enough about that,” her mother said briskly. “We were talking about Duke.”

  “You were talking about Duke,” Dani corrected.

  “And you were trying to avoid the subject. I was just going to say if any man on earth needs a woman in his life, he does.”

  Dani had been waiting for this particular hint. It was about as subtle as a swat with a riding crop. “Forget it,” she said emphatically.

  “Forget what?” her mother inquired innocently.

  “I am not now nor will I ever be interested in Duke Jenkins.”

  “Because of his boys, I imagine.”

  “Of course, because of the boys. Mother, I really don’t want to get into this again. Just forget it, okay? If you feel some sort of matchmaking force coming over you, give Jenny a call. She’s older than I am. She’s practically an old maid. Besides, she has Grandpa Harlan’s tough hide. She could probably handle a man like Duke Jenkins, plus his sons without batting an eye. She needs a little romance in her life. I don’t.”

  “Danielle...”

  “Don’t start with the Danielle. That always precedes a lecture and I don’t need one. It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.”

  “But—”

  “Bye, Mom. Good to hear from you. Love you.”

  “Danielle! Don’t you dare hang up on me.”

  With only the slightest twinge of regret, Dani ignored her mother’s command and slid the receiver firmly back into its cradle. Francie III crawled into her lap, circled twice, then settled down, purring loudly as Dani automatically stroked her under her chin.

  Jenny and Duke Jenkins. Now there was a combination to contemplate. Grandpa Harlan’s adopted daughter was as potentially volatile as a high school chemistry lab. Unlike Dani, she would be a more than even match for a man like Duke.

  Ironically, though, the thought of seeing the two of them together made acid churn in Dani’s stomach. If she hadn’t known better, she would have labeled the reaction as pure, gut-deep jealousy, which was ridiculous, of course. No single father would ever stir anything more dangerous than the quiet warmth of friendship in her ever again. She wouldn’t allow it.

  * * *

  Famous last words, she thought a few days later when she went to White Pines for the annual Fourth of July celebration. There were Duke, Joshua and Zachary right in the thick of things. There was Jenny, beautiful, dark-haired Jenny Runningbear Adams, holding Duke’s attention with her animated telling of some Native American lore. Dani wanted to strangle them both, which was hardly the reaction of a disinterested third party.

  Everyone—with the exception of her mother and Jordan—claimed to be absolutely stunned that she and Duke had already met. Her grandfather’s claim struck her as a little too hearty, a little too determinedly innocent. She didn’t trust the man one iota, not when it came to meddling. How Harlan Adams could have heard about the whole kitten incident she had no idea, but she didn’t doubt for a second that he knew every detail. Nothing in Los Pinos and especially with his own family escaped his notice.

  Nor did she doubt that Duke and the boys were here at his personal invitation. She doubted he’d needed any coaching from her mother on this one. Grandpa Harlan was a romantic, and he wasn’t about to rest until everyone he loved was settled down and as content as he was.

  “Nice-looking family,” her grandfather observed as if he’d gotten a look inside her head. Old as he was, he still moved with an agility and sneakiness that amazed her.

  Dani stared straight into his eyes, hoping her unblinking gaze would persuade him that Duke Jenkins was absolutely the last person on her mind.

  “Who?” she inquired.

  He returned her gaze with a sharp look. “Don’t play that game with me, gal. You know perfectly well who I mean. Saw you looking at them just a minute ago.”

  “I was just curious about what they were doing here,” she insisted. “Usually it’s just family here for the Fourth of July picnic.”

  “Can’t tell around here anymore who’s family and who’s not,” Grandpa Harlan grumbled. “Besides, your daddy’s right fond of the boy. Thought I ought to take a look for myself. I have a lot of respect for a man who’s all alone and trying to do right by his kids.”

  So did Dani. She just didn’t want to be any part of the equation. As if he’d read her mind again, her grandfather squeezed her hand, then took off as if someone had lit a fire under him. When she caught sight of Duke heading her way, a can of her favorite soft drink in hand, she understood why.

  He offered her the chilled can without explaining how he’d known it was the drink she preferred, then took a sip of his own beer. “I counted four cats in the barn when I was out there. How many more have you hidden around the place?” he inquired.

  “Oh, I lost count ages ago,” she said, even though she knew precisely. “How are the three I left with you?”

  “Still alive, which is something to be grateful for, if you ask me.”

  “I knew the boys would take good care of them.”

  “The boys? Are you kidding? All three of those blasted kittens have taken up residence in my study. When they’re hungry, they chase after me. I can’t move from one place to another without tripping over one of them.”

  There was too much affection laced in with the grumbling for Dani to take his complaints too seriously. “Won your heart, did they?”

  Duke scowled. “Even if they had, do you think I’d dare tell you?”

  There was a teasing glint in his eyes that Dani found just a little too attractive. She opted for a quick change of subject. “I saw you talking to Jenny when I got here,” she began.

  “Keeping an eye on me, were you?”

  “In your dreams, Mr. Jenkins.”

  “It’s Duke, darlin’. Once you’ve given a man kittens, you need to be on a first-name basis.”

  “Okay, Duke,” she said with deliberate emphasis. “Isn’t Jenny remarkable? Most men fall all over themselves when they meet her.”

  “Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised. “Guess I’m not most men. I prefer prim little blondes myself.”

  Dani felt her cheeks burning. “Even when they’re unavailable?” she said tightly.

  “Especially when they claim they’re unavailable,” he said. “Makes me wonder why they’re hiding from life.”

  “I am not hiding from life,” Dani protested instinctively.

  Duke grinned. “Oh, did you think I was referring to you?”

  “Go to hell, Mr. Jenkins,” she snapped and turned her back on him. Infuriating, insufferable tease, she thought as she marched off, spine straight. She could hear his soft chuckle as she went.

  The rest of the afternoon she did everything in her power to avoid him, but no matter where she went, no matter what she did, she could feel his speculative gaze on her.

  “Don’t look now, but you’ve made a conquest,” her cousin Angela said when she found Dani sitting all alone in a swing on the front porch.

  “If discussing Duke Jenkins is the only thing on your mind, go away,” Dani retorted.

  “Ah, so he’s made one, too.”

  “Angela, I am warning you. If you say one more word about Duke Jenkins, at least in any connection whatsoever with me, I will leave this party right now.”

  Her cousin�
�s gaze narrowed worriedly. “Are you okay?”

  Dani forced a smile. “Just feeling a little pressured, that’s all. Don’t worry about it. Tell me about you instead. How’s life in Montana? Are you happy?”

  Angela sat beside her and set the swing into a lazy motion. “Deliriously happy,” she confessed, beaming. “Clint’s the most wonderful, sexiest, kindest man on earth. He’s the best husband and father a woman could ask for.”

  Dani chuckled at the exuberant praise. “I seem to recall a time when you thought he was a sneaky, low-down, conniving son of a gun. Are we talking about the same man?”

  Angela grinned. “You bet.” She regarded Dani slyly. “Which just proves how quickly attitudes change. Never say never, when it comes to a man.”

  Dani stood up abruptly. “I have to go.”

  Her cousin nabbed her hand and held it tightly, preventing the escape. “Dani, I’m sorry. I was just teasing. You know how I am. I didn’t realize it would upset you so.”

  “Never mind.” She squeezed Angela’s hand reassuringly. “It’s okay. I’m too sensitive.”

  “Maybe if you or somebody would tell me what happened, I wouldn’t be sticking my foot in my mouth every time I turn around. My mother, your father, Jenny, practically everyone has told me to leave it alone, but I can’t. I care too much about you.”

  Dani sighed and sat back down in the swing, idly setting it into motion again. “It’s not as if it’s a big secret,” she said finally. “Everyone in the family knows.”

  “And everyone tries to protect you by being tight-lipped about it, giving you your space,” Angela guessed. “Maybe what you really need is to talk about it, scream, rant and rave, get it out of your system.”

  Dani grinned at the image of herself screaming, ranting and raving. It just wasn’t the way she handled things. She kept her emotions all bottled up inside, unlike the rest of her far more demonstrative relatives. She had envied Angela for some of the shouting matches she and Clint had had. Blowing off steam had seemed to pave the way to healing. Maybe her way just allowed the wound to fester.