THE TEXAS TATTLER

All the news that’s barely fit to print!

Sinister Plot Stumps Feds

Divorce Scandal Takes the Spotlight

After a six-month no-stone-unturned search for missing “Midas” baby Bryan Fortune, the FBI closed their files on the case, declaring the debacle an unsolved mystery. The kidnappers remain on America’s Most Wanted list, and Red Rock Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk vows to solve the puzzle that has boggled the best criminal experts money and prestige can buy. As always, the ever-vigilant family holds out hope.

Top-secret sources close to the family report that cattle mogul Ryan Fortune has been on bended knee, pressuring lost love Lily Redgrove Cassidy to be his bride. Lovely Lily would be “Mrs.” number three, by the way. Someone, please remind dear Ryan that a married man—even a Fortune—must get divorced before he can remarry.

Red Rock’s tall, dark and eligible widower Dallas Fortune has been “rendezvousing” on the wrong side of the tracks! Numerous sources have spied the wickedly wealthy rancher in the very close company of single mom Maggie Perez Randall, daughter of the Fortunes’ long-time housekeeper. Is it possible this solid gold cowboy has his very own Cinderella?

About the Author

JACKIE MERRITT

is still writing, just not with the speed and constancy of years past. She and her husband are living in southern Nevada again, falling back on old habits of loving the long, warm or slightly cool winters and trying almost desperately to head north for the months of July and August, when the fiery sun bakes people and cacti alike.

A Willing Wife
Jackie Merritt

www.millsandboon.co.uk

MILLS & BOON

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Meet the Fortunes of Texas

Dallas Fortune: The wealthy bachelor had no plans to become a father, but ever since he rescued an adorable four-year-old, he’s found it impossible to resist the little boy and his delectable single mother. Is the marriage-shy rancher finally ready to say “I do”?

Maggie Perez Randall: She has no time for romance—raising her son is her number-one priority. But little Travis wants a daddy, and he’s chosen their handsome neighbor as his perfect father….

Sophia Barnes Fortune: The scorned woman will stop at nothing to make Ryan Fortune pay for daring to love another. She’ll even resort to kidnapping and harassment to claim her share of the Fortune wealth.

Logan Fortune: This dedicated businessman’s life is thrown into a tailspin when he discovers he’s the father of an adorable little girl. But what does this bachelor dad know about babies?

To all my friends in recreational vehicles

that we’ve run into during our travels.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

One

Dallas Fortune left his pickup truck parked near his sprawling adobe house, located not far from the ranch’s main house where his father lived, and walked the short distance to the barns and corrals. It was a sunny, clear day in late November, and the midday air was pleasantly warm. He’d been up since five and had already put in hours of work with the ranch hands.

More and more, Dallas was taking over duties that his father, Ryan, had once enjoyed doing, which was fine with Dallas for several reasons. First of all, he loved the Double Crown Ranch as none of his siblings did. Matthew was a doctor of medicine, Zane preferred working in the family’s corporation, Fortune TX, Ltd., and the twins, Vanessa and Victoria, had chosen careers that had nothing at all to do with the ranch or the family.

A second reason for Dallas’s dedication to the ranch’s operation was his father. Ryan’s plate was pretty full, considering the nasty divorce he was going through, the fact that Matthew and Claudia’s baby son Bryan had been kidnapped right from under everyone’s noses during a family get-together for the child’s christening, and last but certainly not least, Ryan was crazy in love with Lily Redgrove Cassidy and couldn’t marry her until his divorce was final.

But Dallas’s third reason for putting in long hours and deliberately exhausting himself so he could sleep nights was deeply personal. His wife Sara had died two years ago while giving birth to their stillborn son. The double tragedy still haunted Dallas—and a third tragedy was that he didn’t give a damn that it did. He’d become a loner, a man lost in his own past, and he often shunned social events and people, both friends and family, because some had the unmitigated gall to say right to his face that he had mourned long enough. Their attempts at matchmaking sickened Dallas. And the women who paraded themselves before him to get attention caused exactly the opposite reaction.

Dallas did have a few female friends, of course. His sister-in-law, Matthew’s wife Claudia, had been a friend since college, and he had developed a more recent friendship with Savannah Clark Perez. Not once, though, since Sara’s death had Dallas felt the slightest inclination toward anything but friendship with a woman.

He also did a bit of traveling now and again. In fact, he had just returned from Europe, a trip that had been mostly business, as almost everything was to him these days. Pleasure simply wasn’t on his agenda anymore, and he apologized to no one for his attitude or life-style, either.

He wasn’t thinking of those things as he hiked down to the barns and corrals today, however. His thoughts were on the herd of longhorns in one particular corral that had been sold and were scheduled to be picked up by a cattle truck at one o’clock. He had discussed the sale with his father, and Ryan had agreed with Dallas’s decision to weed out some of the older longhorns. Dallas intended to be there when the truck arrived.

Approaching the corral, Dallas heard the longhorns milling around and bawling much more than he’d anticipated. Frowning, Dallas broke into a jog, and as he got closer to the penned animals he saw the reason for their disturbance. A small boy Dallas didn’t recognize had climbed to the top rung of the corral fence!

Dallas’s heart skipped a beat. One wrong move and that kid could fall into the corral. The longhorns were already nervous over his presence; the boy could be trampled to death.

Realizing that he had to be careful, and that the “wrong move” could be his own, Dallas circled the corral until he was behind the boy. Then, walking as silently as he could, he moved in on the child.

He grabbed him just as the boy lost his balance and fell forward. With a wildly beating pulse borne of dread and relief, Dallas lifted the youngster back over the fence and then set him on his own two feet on the ground.

Travis’s small heart was beating a mile a minute. Holding back tears because he was really a very tough guy and didn’t want to cry in front of the tall man who had rescued him, Travis stared up at him.

Dallas leaned down and looked directly into the boy’s blue eyes. “And who might you be, young fellow?”

“Tra-Travis Randall.”

“Well, Travis Randall, didn’t anyone ever tell you that longhorns can be ornery critters, and that climbing the fence of their pen could be dangerous business?”

“I just wanted to see ’em better.”

“Haven’t you ever seen longhorns before?”

“Mama showed me some pictures.”

“And what is Mama’s name?”

“Uh, Maggie. Mama’s name is Maggie.”

Out of the corner of his right eye Dallas caught sight of someone running hell-bent for leather. He turned his head for a better view, and saw that the runner was a woman, a small woman with long, flowing dark hair and a figure any man would notice. She was wearing cut-off denim shorts and a white tank top that left little to the imagination.

“Could that lady heading this way at ninety miles per hour be your mama?” Dallas asked young Travis.

The boy took a look and visibly shrank. “She’s mad.”

“At you?”

Travis nodded and fell silent. Dallas rose and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder, and both of them waited for Maggie to reach them.

Out of breath, she ran up, took one look at the pale face of her son, then knelt down and put her arms around him. “Something happened, didn’t it? What was it?” Her gaze rose to Dallas’s face.

Dallas cleared his throat. “Travis accidentally fell into the corral.”

“And I suppose he ‘accidentally’ climbed the fence?” Maggie gave her son a small shake. “Didn’t I tell you to stay in Grandma’s yard?”

“Yes, Mama,” Travis said meekly.

“He didn’t actually fall, Maggie,” Dallas said. “He’d just started to fall when I caught him.”

“How do you know my name?”

“Travis told me. Are you Maggie Perez Randall?”

“Yes, that’s my legal name—my married name. But I prefer Maggie Perez. And you’re…?”

“Dallas Fortune.”

He was a Fortune. She should have known. Good-looking, confident. Oh, yes, she should have guessed that he wasn’t just another cowhand.

And maybe she should have remembered him from childhood. They’d known each other as children, after all. Obviously he was back from his trip. Where was it she’d heard he’d gone? Oh, yes, Scotland, to look over some special breed of cattle. Or was it France? Well, it didn’t really matter. What did was that he was here now and he had saved Travis from a nasty fall.

Rising, Maggie offered her hand, which Dallas readily shook. “Thank you for being in the right place at the right moment. If Travis had fallen into that corral…” She couldn’t even say it; just the thought of her precious son being trampled by cattle hooves was more than she could bear. But precious or not, Travis was going to get a good talking to, at the very least.

“Don’t be too hard on him,” Dallas said quietly, as though reading her mind. “Small boys are naturally curious creatures.”

“He disobeyed me. From the day we arrived I told him that when he played outside he had to stay in the yard.”

Dallas couldn’t seem to stop looking into Maggie Perez’s gorgeous dark eyes. She’d grown up to be a strikingly beautiful woman—naturally tawny skin, the kind of full rosy lips that a fashion model might envy, and a perfect body and legs. Her hands and feet were small, her wrists delicate, her fingernails beautifully shaped and shiny with colorless polish.

“Um, when did you arrive?” Dallas asked.

Maggie looked off into the distance and frowned slightly. It had seemed like such a good idea to return to Texas—to the ranch she’d grown up on and to her family—until she got her bearings again after being laid off from her job as a bank manager. But now she wasn’t so sure. Unquestionably she wasn’t accomplishing anything positive by living with her parents, even though Rosita, her mother, and Ruben, her father, were wonderful to her and Travis.

“I’ve…rather, Travis and I have been here for weeks and weeks,” she murmured, unnerved by the swift passage of time. She really must get herself together and decide what she was going to do with her life. Her divorce was over a year old and hadn’t bothered her nearly as much as had losing her job. But then she hadn’t really been in love with her ex, nor had he loved her. Their marriage had been a result of her pregnancy, a foolish mistake for both her and Craig, and for a while she had hoped to make it work. Craig, too, had tried—for a while—but then it all started falling apart. Without love, relationships—even marriage—simply couldn’t endure.

“Are you home for good?”

“No, of course not. Just until…well, I’m not really sure just how long we’ll stay, but I know we’re not here for good.” Maggie was a trifle confused. Dallas seemed to be sincerely interested in talking to her, and why would he be? Heavens, he was attractive! At least six feet tall, and so lean and hard-muscled. And his eyes were a marvelous color, a light golden brown that reminded her of good whiskey. She liked the way he wore his sun-streaked brown hair, too, long enough to touch his shirt collar.

“Didn’t I hear something about your living in Phoenix?” Dallas said, breaking into thoughts that Maggie knew full well she shouldn’t be having.

“I was living in Phoenix, so you heard right,” she said a bit brusquely. Admiring Dallas Fortune’s good looks was just about the most foolish thing she could do while she was here, and if there was one thing she didn’t plan on ever being again with a man, it was foolish. One stroll around that block was quite enough, thank you very much. “But I’m not going back to Arizona. I haven’t actually done anything about it yet, but I’ve been thinking about looking for work in Houston,” she found herself adding, in spite of all that common sense in her system telling her to take Travis by the hand and get the heck away from Dallas Fortune.

“What kind of work do you do?” Dallas asked.

“At my last job I was a bank manager.”

Dallas nodded. “Banking is a good field.” He wanted to ask about her husband in the worst way, but not in front of Travis. Something very unusual was happening to Dallas: he was attracted to a woman! Feeling her pull, inhaling her scent, realizing that his body was reacting exactly as it should to a beautiful, sexy lady—which it sure hadn’t been doing with any other beautiful, sexy lady he knew. Obviously their chemistries blended in the unique and special way that brought a man and a woman together. Did she feel it as strongly as he did?

Travis was beginning to squirm. Maggie took his hand in hers. “We’d better be going. Thank you again, Dallas. I shudder to think what might have happened if you hadn’t been here.” She started walking away.

“Maggie, it was great seeing you again,” Dallas called after her.

She turned around just long enough to say, “It was nice seeing you again. Goodbye,” and then began walking so fast that Travis almost had to run to keep up.

“Mama, stop, you’re going too fast,” he finally complained.

“Don’t you ‘Mama’ me, young man,” she said sternly. “You could have been hurt very badly today. Do you understand what almost happened to you? If I catch you leaving the yard again without permission, I promise I will paddle your behind and you will sit on a chair in the house for a week. Without TV or toys. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Mama,” Travis said with a tearful sniffle. He could cry now that he wasn’t with Dallas, and actually a few tears might even soften his mother’s heart.

They didn’t. Maggie marched stoically on toward her parents’ house with her son in tow, thanking God and Dallas Fortune that Travis hadn’t been injured, or worse, today.

But she’d meant what she’d told her son, and his teary little face did not affect that decision in the least.

Maggie’s homecoming—weeks and weeks before, as she’d told Dallas—had been everything she’d known it would be. She and Travis had arrived in the evening, surprising her parents to joyful tears. Rosita and Ruben had passed her back and forth, hugging and kissing her, and doing the same with Travis.

“Oh, he is such a handsome boy,” Rosita had exclaimed again and again. “And you are so beautiful, Maggie. Oh, my dear daughter, I’ve prayed so often that you would return to us. Now, let’s get you settled in, then we’ll have coffee and talk. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Rosita rarely had the time to write long letters, and Ruben corresponded with no one. But over the years Rosita had often scribbled notes to her daughter, passing on what Rosita considered to be the most crucial information about everyone who currently lived or previously had lived, on the ranch. And, of course, there’d been the long-distance phone calls between mother and daughter.

Those notes and phone calls were the reason Maggie knew about Ryan Fortune’s divorce problems, and about his new love, Lily Cassidy, which, in fact, wasn’t a new love at all but an old love renewed. Then there was the bewildering event of baby Bryan’s kidnapping.

Over coffee or tea at the kitchen table in the evening Maggie and Rosita did most of their talking. It began the first night Maggie returned to the ranch, and was what they were doing the evening of the day that Maggie and Dallas had met again because of Travis’s disobedient behavior. With Travis tucked into bed and Ruben reading his paper in the living room, Rosita related the latest news. “Sheriff Wyatt Grayhawk is still investigating the identity of the mystery baby. Of course, as I told you before, FBI agent Devin Kincaid rescued a baby from the kidnappers who the family believed was baby Bryan. But when Claudia and Matthew saw him, they knew it wasn’t their son. They’ve kept him and named him Taylor. More mysterious still is that the child turned out to be a Fortune—he has the crown-shaped birthmark and rare blood type. Yet no Fortune has claimed him.”

Maggie sipped her coffee. “That is so odd, isn’t it?”

“Very. He has to be the son of one of the Fortune men, because if any of the Fortune women had given birth, someone would know about it.”

“But which man could it be? How will Wyatt find out?”

Rosita leaned forward. “I heard that he’s mentioned a DNA screening on every one of the Fortune males.”

“But that’s so…so personal!”

Rosita shrugged. “So is fathering a child and then pretending you know nothing about it.”

“Mama, most of the Fortune men have pretty fast reputations, but I can’t imagine any of them knowingly denying their own flesh and blood.”

“I agree, but I have this feeling—”

Ruben shouted from the living room, “Rosita, stop with the feelings!”

“Oh, hush!” she called back. “You know my premonitions are more often true than not.”

Maggie had heard the same exchange from her parents before, and she hastened to change the subject, grabbing at the first thing that entered her mind. “It’s hard to believe that Cruz is married and settled down, isn’t it? He always had so many girlfriends.”

“Ah, but things went very differently when he met Savannah. They had their ups and downs, of course. Only once in a while does true love run smoothly. But they are happy now.”

“And I’m happy for them.”

Rosita nodded. “Yes, we all are. And I’m so pleased about the child they are expecting.”

“I’m sure you are, Mama.” Maggie smiled. “You will have another grandchild to love.” Her smile faded slightly as she thought of her and Craig’s shotgun wedding. Their marriage hadn’t lasted. She hoped Cruz and Savannah’s would endure forever.

“I’m so proud of him for striking out on his own,” Maggie murmured, forcing her thoughts into a happier vein. “I can’t believe he’s finally going to have his own ranch. That piece of land he bought is breathtaking. He’s going to make something of himself, Mama, and that’s very exciting.”

“Yes, it is, but it wouldn’t have been quite so easy to do if Dallas Fortune hadn’t offered to invest in Cruz’s dream.”

Maggie frowned. “That’s true, isn’t it. Mama, for Cruz’s sake I hope his ranch and horse operation doesn’t end up being just another Fortune possession.”

“Dallas isn’t like that, Maggie. I’m positive that his investment is in Cruz, not in the ranch itself.”

“Oh, I believe that Dallas’s investment is in Cruz, too. But after Cruz works himself to death starting up the ranch and getting it in good shape and running smoothly, what is Dallas’s attitude going to be then?”

Rosita looked shocked. “Maggie, what are you thinking of? Dallas is not plotting to benefit from Cruz’s hard work.”

Maggie sighed. “I’m sorry, Mama.”

“Dallas is not going to take advantage of Cruz,” Rosita repeated. “He’s not that kind of man.”

“What kind of man is he, Mama?”

Rosita thought a moment, then said with a saddened sigh, “He’s a lonely man, Maggie. He took the death of his wife and baby very hard.”

Maggie let that pass, for the moment, and the brief interval altered her mother’s thoughts. Rosita began to beam. “It’s so good having you home, Maggie. Promise you will never leave again.”

Maggie replied gently, “Mama, this is just a visit.” She smiled. “Granted, it’s a long visit, but eventually Travis and I will have to live someplace else.”

“No!” Rosita cried, then called to her husband, “Ruben! Maggie said this is just a visit.”

Ruben appeared in the doorway still holding the newspaper. “Why do you say such a thing and break your mama’s heart?” he asked Maggie.

“Papa, I can’t live off you and Mama indefinitely,” Maggie said weakly. She loved her father dearly, but he could be very daunting, and right now he wore an expression that made her feel like a child again.

“This is your home. You and Travis will stay,” Ruben said with a finality that brooked no further debate. He returned to his chair in the living room.

Maggie looked down at her coffee cup. Her parents were united against her in this case. There was no point in arguing with either of them. When the time came, she and Travis would simply leave. Regardless of their generous, loving spirit, she could not live off her aging, hardworking mother and father. Rosita was head housekeeper in Ryan Fortune’s huge mansion, and Ruben was a cowhand. They had already raised their family and should not have to raise Maggie’s, too.

While it was good to be home for a visit, things weren’t quite the same as they used to be. Or maybe they were exactly the same, Maggie thought, and she’d simply forgotten how deeply her mother had always involved herself in the Fortune family’s troubles, and how quickly she had defended anything they’d ever done. Maggie now saw that involvement and defensiveness from a much different perspective. As strange as it seemed, Rosita loved the Fortunes, and she worried about them as she would a second family.

Maggie became introspective. Her mother might love the Fortunes, but she certainly didn’t. Neither did she dislike them; they were simply there, rich beyond belief, and obviously bored with life, because one or more of them was forever getting into or causing trouble.

Well, she wanted no part of them. She’d come home to see her family, and to get herself back on track, not to get involved with the Fortunes.

But today’s event seemed to have worked against that philosophy, she realized, and though it would bring Dallas’s name back into their conversation, she couldn’t keep it from her mother.

Maggie related the incident as calmly as she could manage. “Travis could have been—” she couldn’t force the word killed out of her mouth “—seriously injured.”

“Well, thank God Dallas was there,” Rosita exclaimed. “I’m so glad you met him again. He’s a fine man, Maggie, but so alone. My heart goes out to him every time I see him.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t have to be alone, Mama.”

“He’s an honorable man who loved his wife,” Rosita said with defensive pride in Dallas’s lonely existence. “Mourning Sara’s death the way he’s done indicates respect for her memory. Too many people seem to forget a beloved spouse within months of their passing, which I will never understand. Do you think I could forget your father so soon if something should happen to him, God forbid? No indeed, Dallas is to be admired for holding his grief so close to his heart.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Maggie said quietly, recalling quite vividly the way Dallas had looked at her today. He hadn’t been thinking of Sara then, Maggie thought. And she knew that he would have stayed and talked to her for longer, if she had encouraged further discussion.

But what did a Fortune and a Perez have to say to each other? Oh, they might do business together, as Dallas and Cruz were doing, but Dallas breathed the rarefied air of the very wealthy, and Maggie was the daughter of a housekeeper and a cowhand. Not that she was even a tiny bit ashamed of her parents’ life-style or history. Rosita and Ruben had raised their five children in this very house, and it had been a home brimming with love and good morals.

Still, the distance between the Fortunes and the Perezes was much farther than the walk from Ryan’s southwest mansion to this cozy little house.

Strangely, knowing how far apart the two families really were didn’t seem to keep Maggie from thinking about the unique color of Dallas’s eyes or his wonderful smile. Sensible or not, she knew that he had stirred something within her today that had nothing at all to do with gratitude over his rescuing Travis.

She gave her head an almost angry shake to push Dallas from her mind. She was absolutely not going to get silly over Dallas Fortune.

“So, Mama,” she said matter-of-factly, “how did your day go?”

Rosita frowned. “For me it went well, but it wasn’t a good day for Ryan. His lawyer, Parker Malone, delivered some very bad news. Ryan’s wife, Sophia, is demanding half of everything Ryan owns in the divorce settlement, which she certainly doesn’t deserve. That woman is a disgrace,” Rosita exclaimed disgustedly.

“She must be the same woman today that she was when Ryan married her, Mama,” Maggie said gently.

“She was his first wife, Janine’s, nurse, and I would bet anything that conniving Sophia set her cap for Ryan Fortune long before his wife and the mother of his children passed away! Oh, I remember so much about that sad time, Maggie. Ryan was devastated, and Sophia was there to console him. Console him, hah! Why did she stay on the ranch after her patient was dead and buried? I’ll tell you why. It was to get her greedy hands on Ryan’s money! She was never a nice woman, Maggie, never. Ryan was vulnerable, and Sophia took advantage of him. She’s still trying to take advantage of him!”

Maggie couldn’t help smiling. “Mama, do you eavesdrop on the Fortunes’ conversations?” she asked teasingly.

Rosita looked hurt. “How could you say such a thing?”

Maggie reached for Rosita’s hand. “Mama, I was only teasing you.”

“Sometimes I hear things—how could I not? But I do not deliberately sneak around and spy on the Fortunes.”

“Of course you don’t.”

“And sometimes they tell me things themselves. They know I care about them, Maggie.”

“I’m sure they do.”

Rosita became thoughtful for a few moments, then she smiled rather impishly. “You know, Maggie, Dallas is considered to be the area’s most eligible bachelor. He’s very good-looking, he’s educated and he’s a hard worker. Maybe you should be nice to him.”

Maggie’s eyes widened. “You just told me a few minutes ago how much you respected his long mourning period. And then we talked about Sophia, and you said that she took advantage of Ryan while he was in the same state after Janine’s death. Surely you’re not suggesting that I chase Dallas as Sophia chased Ryan!”

Rosita looked aghast. “Oh, my, I did sound as though I was, didn’t I?”

“Yes, Mama, you did.” Maggie studied her mother’s stricken face. “But I know you didn’t mean it. You were only teasing, too.”

“Well…yes,” Rosita said slowly, almost reluctantly, Maggie noticed just before her mother smiled again. “But you are not like Sophia. You are a good, honest, kindhearted, decent woman, and Dallas would be lucky to have you for his wife.”

“Mama, you’re incorrigible!” Maggie got up. “I’m going to bed.” Leaning over, she kissed Rosita’s cheek. “Good night, Mama.”

“Good night, Maggie.”

Chuckling under her breath over her mother’s brass, Maggie went into her room and shut the door. How could her mother possibly think that Dallas Fortune would ever marry a nobody? she thought while getting ready for bed. Especially when he was still in love with his deceased wife.

Maggie stopped buttoning her pajama top, as today’s meeting with Dallas overwhelmed other thoughts. Unquestionably, he had looked at her as a man looked at a woman. She could get his attention, if she put out the effort. But then what would happen? she asked herself with a disdainful toss of her head. A fling? A short-lived affair? She wasn’t here permanently, for one thing, and besides, her sexual experience was limited solely to the man she had married. She wouldn’t even know how to have an affair. For that matter, she didn’t even like the word affair.

Flirting with Dallas Fortune would undoubtedly end up in shame for herself and her family. She wanted no part of that sort of heartache, nor did she deserve it.

Settling down in bed, she told herself to forget Dallas’s whiskey-colored eyes and great smile. Forget his long, lean body. Forget you even met him again!

“Good advice,” she whispered, and took a vow to heed it.

Two

Dallas put in a restless night. He kept picturing Maggie, and reliving the feelings he’d had while talking to her. Was he being disloyal to Sara because he found another woman desirable? He’d honestly believed it would never happen again, and the fact that it had was still surprising him, even at midnight.

How best to approach Maggie? he wondered, knowing he was driven to do it. Was she a lady who would like being treated delicately? Somehow that image didn’t mesh with the blatant sensuality she exuded. Maybe she liked the he-man approach.

Truth was, Dallas finally had to admit, Maggie made him nervous. It had been a long time since he’d made advances toward a woman with anything in mind but a friendly chat. He was out of practice as far as flirting went—rusty as hell, actually. Maybe straightforward simple honesty was all he had to offer.

Punching his pillow because he was tired and his eyes wouldn’t stay closed, Dallas tried again to steer his obstinate mind away from Maggie Perez. This time he thought about Travis and what a great little kid he was. Was he five years old? Six? He was a handsome boy, with his mother’s dark skin and hair, and bright blue eyes that could only have been inherited from his father.

Where was Maggie’s husband? Okay, Dallas thought disgustedly, obviously he was destined to torture himself all night with questions about Maggie. She hadn’t said that she and her husband were moving back to Texas—she’d said that she was going to look for work in the Houston area. Did that mean that the man she’d married was no longer in the picture?

It occurred to Dallas at some point in the night that he was almost as drawn to Maggie’s son as he was to her. Truth was, he realized, he would like to see them both again.

Something else occurred to him. He could ask Rosita, Ruben or Cruz about Maggie’s husband. Rosita was the logical choice, because both Ruben and Cruz were rather closemouthed. But Rosita loved to talk; if Maggie was divorced, Rosita would tell him.

But, dammit, he’d rather ask Maggie herself! No, he would not take his questions to her mother, he’d take them directly to Maggie.

With that decision made and final, Dallas slept.

The following day Maggie was startled to look out the kitchen window—just to check on Travis’s whereabouts—and see Dallas outside in the yard with her son. A pickup was parked near the front gate, obviously Dallas’s. Maggie’s stomach instantly tensed, and she chewed uneasily on her bottom lip. Why was he here?

In the next breath she couldn’t help smiling. Dallas had taken off his western hat and placed it on Travis’s head. Then he let himself be led around the yard while Travis showed him his toys. Maggie was amazed that a grown man would give some of his valuable time to a little boy he barely knew.

“How old are you?” Dallas asked the youngster.

“I’m five,” Travis said with a big-boy swagger. “And I’m tough, Dallas.”

Dallas swallowed his laughter and said solemnly, “Five is almost a man.”

“Yep, and I’m gonna be a cowboy like Grandpa and Uncle Cruz. They’re tough, too.”

“Yes, they are,” Dallas agreed. Ruben wasn’t a tall man, but he was built like a bull and possessed astounding strength. Cruz had the height in the family, and everyone knew he was Rosita and Ruben’s pride and joy. He wore his shiny dark hair long and sometimes tied back with a leather band, and it was common knowledge that Cruz had attracted women like flies to honey since he was twelve years old. Now, at twenty-nine, Cruz was settled down and happily married.

Dallas felt that their business arrangement was a good deal for both of them. Cruz had a special talent with horses, and Dallas was positive that Cruz would work hard and make his longtime dream of breeding and raising quality horses a huge success. Besides, Dallas personally like Cruz, who was two years older than himself.

“Trav,” Dallas said, unconsciously shortening the boy’s name, “is your mama in the house?”

“Yep! Want me to call her?”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll knock on the door.”

“Want me to come with you?”

“I’d really like to talk to her alone for a few minutes, if you don’t mind, that is.”

“No, that’s okay.”

Dallas ruffled the boy’s hair. “See you later.”

Maggie saw Dallas heading for the front door, and was instantly on edge. Did she look all right? She was wearing jeans and a pink blouse. Her wardrobe wasn’t anything to boast about. Raising a child alone was an expensive endeavor and she’d had precious little money to spend on clothes.

But her hair was fixed and there was makeup on her face—not much because she didn’t use a lot of makeup— Actually, she realized, she looked as good as she could—other than wearing glamorous, more expensive clothing, of course.

When Dallas knocked, Maggie held her breath for five counts, then opened the door. She hoped her smile was only pleasantly welcoming.

Before she could say hello, Dallas huskily said, “Maggie,” in such an intimate way that she backed up a step. She swallowed hard and forced a “hello” out of her mouth.

Dallas suddenly believed he knew the best way to approach Maggie. She was so sexy-looking that she must prefer a man to act like a man. He figured he could carry it off.

“May I come in?” he asked.

“Uh, sure, yes, of course.” Standing back, Maggie held the door open wider so he could enter. Her knees got weak when he passed by her at a snail’s pace and even appeared to be inhaling the faint scent of the cologne she used so sparingly.

She couldn’t think of one sensible thing to say to him. Why are you here? was just too blunt, although that particular question was definitely at the root of her confusion. Unnerved, she slammed the door shut a little too hard.

Dallas grinned. Obviously he was ruffling her feathers, which was a good sign that he was right about her preferring a man to be a man.

His smile broadened. “How are you today?”

“Fine,” she said stiffly. “I’m fine. And you?”

“Right as rain,” he quipped.

Maggie was beginning to remember her manners. “Would—would you like something cool to drink? There’s fresh lemonade in the refrigerator.”

“Thanks, I’d love a glass of lemonade.”

Grateful that she had dusted and vacuumed the house that morning, Maggie said, “Go on into the living room. I’ll get the drinks.”

“Thanks.” Dallas went one way, Maggie another.

When she walked into the living room a few minutes later with two glasses of lemonade, Dallas was standing at the one window in the room from which he could see Travis playing in the yard.

Dallas accepted a glass and said, “That’s some boy you have, Maggie. You must be mighty proud of him.”

“Yes, I am.” She sat on the sofa. “Sit anywhere,” she told him.

“Thanks.” Dallas chose Ruben’s favorite chair and took a big swallow of his lemonade. “This is good. Getting back to Travis, he sure seems focused on being tough—like his grandfather and uncle.”

Maggie groaned. “He wants to be tough so badly, and I don’t think he even knows the true meaning of the word.”

“He’s all boy, Maggie. Let me ask you something. Would you mind if I took him riding sometime?”

“He’s never been on a horse, Dallas. Papa told him he would teach him to ride, but he hasn’t had the time yet.”

“I’d put him on our most gentle horse, Maggie, and guarantee his safety. For that matter, you could come with us and see for yourself that he’s all right.”

While she was trying to think of a response to that somewhat troubling invitation, Dallas’s expression became caressing and intimate. “Know what I’d like to do right now?” he said softly. “Make love to you, Maggie. You’re just about the only thing I’ve thought of since we talked yesterday.”

She knew she should feel insulted: no man had ever spoken his mind so clearly to her before. But she was stunned because instead she felt overheated and achy in personal places.

“You—you don’t mean what you just said,” she whispered hoarsely. “We don’t even know each other.”

“We grew up together.”

“Knowing each other as kids doesn’t mean we know each other now.”

“You’re evading the issue. Will you go out with me tonight?”

Maggie felt as though a steel band around her chest was cutting off her air supply. “So we—we can make love? How dare you even suggest such a thing!”

“You’re trying very hard to be angry, aren’t you? Surely you don’t prefer that a man hide his true feelings and seduce you when you’re not looking.” Dallas set his glass on the table next to his chair and then leaned forward. “Maggie, with you I think everything should be out in the open. I was struck dumb by you yesterday. You’re one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen, but there’s more to you than an incredible face and body. You hit me precisely where it counts for a man, and I thank you with all my heart for that.”

“So I should sleep with you just because you—you feel grateful for something I didn’t even know I did?”

“Not sleep, Maggie. I doubt that we’d be doing much sleeping. I need to know something. Where’s your husband?”

“You don’t even know I’m divorced—and you’re asking me to go to bed with you? That does it!” Jumping to her feet, Maggie angrily advanced on the crudest man she’d ever known. “So you want to take Travis riding? You louse, you actually have the gall to use my son as an excuse to get to me! Well, read my lips, Mr. Fortune. I will never, let me repeat, never, have one personal moment with you! Is that clear enough?”

She’d made a tactical error. Dallas recognized it, Maggie didn’t. In her fury she’d gotten close enough to Dallas that it was a simple matter for him to reach out, take her by the waist and pull her down on his lap. She didn’t want to scream and risk scaring Travis outside, but she wiggled and fought and did her best to scratch out Dallas Fortune’s whiskey-colored eyes!

“So you’re a little wildcat,” Dallas said with a satisfied laugh after catching her flailing hands in his. “I figured you were. Come closer, little wildcat, and let me tame you.”

Maggie never did know how he managed to hold both her hands and press on the back of her head at the same time, but the next thing she did know was that his mouth was devouring hers. Fighting him did no good, so she did exactly the opposite. She sat statue-still until he stopped kissing her and looked at her with puzzled eyes.

“You didn’t like being kissed like that?” he asked.

“I don’t like anything about you!” she shrieked loudly enough to endanger his eardrums. Remembering Travis just outside, she lowered her voice. “Take your hands off of me and get the hell out of this house, you…you Fortune!”

Dallas’s heart sank clear to his toes. He’d completely misread Maggie Perez. She might look sexy as sin, but she obviously preferred a more gentlemanly approach from a man.

“Maggie, I— I’m sorry,” he stammered, red-faced and embarrassed over the way he’d talked to her. “Look, I can explain everything I did and said here today.”

“Are you going to let go of me?”

Dallas quickly released her hands and held up his own. “Whatever you say.”

Maggie leaped off his lap, crossed to the other side of the room, then turned around and hit him with a murderous look. “I have never been treated so—so boorishly by a man in my entire life. You Fortunes think you can do anything you want, don’t you? Well, your caveman tactics leave me cold, and I’d just as soon never set eyes on you again.” She took a breath. “And to think my mother believes you’re an honorable man!” she spat scornfully.

Dallas got up. “Maggie, I am an honorable man. If you’ll let me explain—”

“Not today!” Maggie pointed at the door. “Get out!”

With a hangdog expression, Dallas walked to the door. But he couldn’t leave without one more stab at making her understand. He looked at her pleadingly.

“I wasn’t conning you about how I feel about Travis. He’s a great little kid, and I really would like to be his friend.”

“Go to hell! If I told my dad or brother what you tried, they’d…they’d—” She stopped herself. This man’s family was her father’s employer. Her mother’s, too. And Dallas himself was her brother’s business partner. Oh, God, she thought miserably.

“What did I try, Maggie? Was kissing you really that terrible?”

She didn’t yell again, but the disdain in her voice was thick enough to slice. “You didn’t just kiss me. You asked me to go to bed with you.”

“Well, obviously I shouldn’t have spoken so plainly, and I apologize. But I can’t help wanting you,” he said quietly. “You’re the first woman who’s made me feel like a man since my wife died. That was two years ago.” Dallas took a deep breath. “Guess I’d better go. If you change your mind about anything—”

“Good Lord, I’m not going to change my mind! Just go!” Maggie threw up her hands.

“Okay. Don’t get mad again. See ya, Maggie.” Dallas went out the door.

“Not if I see you first,” Maggie fumed under her breath, then dashed to the window to make sure he didn’t do something else crazy when Travis was out in the yard alone.

Dallas walked up to the boy. “Trav, would you like to keep that hat?”

It was way too big for a child, but Travis beamed. “Could I? I’ve been wanting a hat like this one, Dallas.”

“It’s yours, son. I’ll be going now.”

“Will you come and see us again?”

Dallas glanced at the house and sighed. “I’d sure like to, Trav. I’d sure like to.”

The second he’d driven away, Maggie ran outside. “Travis, why didn’t Dallas take his hat?”

“He gave it to me, Mama. He said I could keep it.”

“Oh.” Maggie slowly turned and went back inside. Had she ever been more disappointed in a person than she was in Dallas Fortune? How could he have been so nice yesterday and so awful today? Oh, the things he’d said!

Maggie paced the house with her arms wrapped around herself. Something was wrong with her; she felt hot and cold at the same time.

Finally her emotions got the better of her. She collapsed on the sofa and cried her eyes out.

Cruz dropped in that afternoon, and Maggie threw herself at her brother to give him a big hug. He laughed and hugged her back.

“I wish you’d come around more often,” Maggie scolded, thinking that if she was ever going to tell her family about Dallas’s arrogant and insulting pass, this was her chance to do it. But, Lord, the stink it would cause! No, she couldn’t tell anyone. She would handle Dallas Fortune by herself.

Cruz grinned. “Savannah and I have both been really busy. You’re looking good, Maggie.”

She felt better just because her brother was here. “Did you see Travis?”

“No, where is he?”

“In the yard.” Maggie went to the kitchen window. “He’s not in the yard! Oh, Cruz, he almost felt into a corral of longhorns yesterday, and I’ve threatened him with everything from a paddling to a week of sitting on a chair in the house if he left the yard again. What am I going to do with that boy?” She went outside and shouted, “Travis! Where are you? Travis, answer me!”

“I’ll go and find him,” Cruz offered. “He probably just wandered off again.”

“Cruz, he’s only five years old,” Maggie wailed.

“But he’s a Perez, Maggie.”

“Which makes him immortal? I don’t think so, Cruz. Come on, you go one way and I’ll go another. I’ve got to find him before he pulls another naughty-little-boy trick and gets himself really hurt this time. He thinks he’s tough, you know, and he doesn’t have the strength of a flea.”

Cruz laughed again as he walked off, conveying a boys-will-be-boys attitude. Ignoring it for the time being, Maggie headed for the corrals and barns, because that was where she’d found Travis yesterday. Cruz could laugh off her motherly concern, but her son’s disobedience was no laughing matter for Maggie. This time he was definitely going to be punished, she promised herself.

Unless he’s hurt! she thought with a burst of panic that caused her to start running. Travis wasn’t anywhere near the corrals, and she started peering into outbuildings. Spotting the huge horse barn where the Fortunes had always stabled their best horses, Maggie’s heart skipped a beat. With the hat that Dallas had given him, Travis might be playing cowboy, and she knew that often horses could be high-strung and skittish!

Maggie hurried to the barn and went in. It was well-lit and very clean. A wide aisle ran through the center of the building, with stalls on each side. She could hear horses snorting and moving around, and she wondered if her five-year-old son would actually have the nerve to go into a stall with a strange horse. Sometimes Travis’s boasts about being tough were funny, but Maggie knew that he really did believe that telling people how tough he was made it true.

Scared to death, she began walking the aisle and looking into stalls. “Travis?” she called at each one.

About halfway through the barn, she heard her own name. “Maggie?” Dallas said as he stepped out of a stall. “What’s wrong?”

Talking to Dallas again was the last thing Maggie wanted, but right now she had no choice. Still, her voice was cold as ice when she said, “Travis is missing again. I thought he might be in here.”

Dallas set down the brush he’d been using on Jubilee, a valuable stallion, and began walking toward Maggie. Though concerned about young Travis, Dallas couldn’t help looking at this incident as a heaven-sent opportunity to talk to Maggie again. “I haven’t seen him, Maggie. Unless he’s hiding somewhere, he’s not in here. I’ll help you look for him.”

A frisson of alarm rippled through Maggie. Dallas might be offering to help her find Travis, but he was looking at her again with ill-concealed hunger in his eyes!

“Thanks,” she said coldly, “but I don’t need your help. Cruz is helping.” Spinning, she walked away, forcing herself to leave at a normal speed so Dallas wouldn’t get any silly ideas about her being afraid of him. Not that he didn’t affect her, dammit. Even though she was angrier with him than she’d ever been with anyone, she felt her tingling reaction to his good looks and maleness.

Dallas ignored her frostily stated declaration of independence and stayed right behind her. Just outside the barn he asked, “Have you checked the equipment sheds?”

Maggie turned with blazing eyes, fully intending to give him yet another piece of her mind, when she heard Cruz shouting, “Maggie, I’ve got him! He was playing in a haystack behind one of the barns. He’s fine, and we’re going back to the house.”

She heaved a relieved sigh. Forgetting how much she despised Dallas, she said, “It looks as though keeping Travis on the ranch is a mistake. I have no idea why he started leaving the yard, but he keeps doing it, no matter how often I threaten, beg or cajole him.”

“Have you tried explaining the dangers he could run into on a ranch?” Dallas asked quietly, then quickly switched gears. “Maggie, you have to let me explain what happened earlier today.”

She was instantly angry again. “Have you forgotten I was there? What possible explanation could there be for your treating me like a tramp?”

Dallas groaned. “My God, I don’t think of you as a tramp.”

“Well, you certainly fooled me,” she snapped, and turned to leave.

Dallas rushed to keep stride with her. “Maggie, don’t go off like this. Talk to me, please. Everyone deserves a second chance, even a man who made a horse’s ass of himself.”

“We’re single-minded on that, at least,” she said with heavy sarcasm. She kept walking, and it irritated her that Dallas kept pace beside her. “Will you please stop following me? I’m not the least bit interested in anything you might have to say, and if I said what I’ve been thinking, your ears would get scorched black!”

“A red face and black ears,” Dallas said. “Paints a pretty picture, don’t you think?”

“Stop trying to be funny,” she snapped.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Maggie, just stop and talk to me for a minute. Please.”

“I will stop, just long enough to ask you why you even want to talk to me.”

He wiped his hands on the legs of his jeans. “I’m not sure I can explain it. What is it that happens when a man meets a woman and immediately knows that she’s special? It’s not something that a person chooses to happen—it just does.”

Maggie’s lip curled. “Yeah, I’m so special that it’s a wonder you didn’t offer me money for sex!”

“Oh, my God! Maggie, how can I make you understand that it wasn’t like that? For some stupid reason I thought you would, uh, appreciate honesty. I wanted you to like me so much that I…I…” Dallas wished the earth would just open up and swallow him whole. He had never in his life talked to a woman as he had to Maggie, but in defense of his apparently unforgivable faux pas, he had said nothing that wasn’t in his heart.

He looked so miserable that Maggie suddenly felt sorry for him. Wearily she said, “Just forget it happened, okay?”

“Can you forget it happened?” Dallas asked hopefully.

She walked away from him with one final comment. “The only answer I have for that question is, I’ll think about it.”

Three

Maggie greeted her mother when Rosita got home from work that evening, then watched Rosita suppress laughter over the huge hat on her small grandson’s head.

“Come here, you rascal, and talk to me,” Rosita said, sitting on a kitchen chair and pulling the boy onto her lap. “Now, tell your grandmother where you got that, uh, wonderful hat.”

“Dallas gave it to me, Grandma. Didn’t he, Mama?” Travis looked to his mother for confirmation. Rosita also looked at Maggie, only her eyes contained a suspect twinkle that made Maggie feel like squirming. She hastened to relate the only explanation that wouldn’t cause trouble between the Perezes and the Fortunes.

“He came by to see Travis,” she told her mother.

“And maybe to see you, too?” Rosita said with unabashed relish.

Travis slid from his grandmother’s lap. “I’m goin’ outside, Mama.”

Maggie instantly became all mother. “No, you are not going outside. I told you before that you will play inside the house until I can trust you not to leave the yard. Go and wash up for supper.”

“Aw, heck,” Travis groused as he left the kitchen dragging his feet.

“What was that all about?” Rosita asked.

“He left the yard again today. Cruz came by, and we both went looking for Travis. Cruz found him playing in a haystack behind one of the barns. Mama, I just don’t know what to do with my son. He will not obey me.”

“He obeys you most of the time, Maggie. He’s just so fascinated with the ranch. Try to see it through his eyes. He’s always lived in a city, and out here there are so many exciting things for a boy to explore.”

“There are also many dangers for a young child.”

“That’s true, but he has to learn, Maggie. Do you think I didn’t worry about you and Cruz and your sisters when you were growing up?”

“We were different, Mama. We were always ranch kids.”

Ruben came in and, as was his habit each evening, he kissed his wife’s cheek. To Maggie he said, “Something smells good in here.”

“It’s beef stew, Papa.”

Getting to her feet, Rosita said, “It’s so good of you to make supper, Maggie. And the house is so clean, and you even did the laundry. I don’t have to do a thing when I come home. You’re spoiling me.”

Maggie smiled but had pensive thoughts. Her mother was sixty years old and was still working as hard as a young woman. True, it didn’t seem to bother Rosita, Maggie had to admit. Other than one lovely white streak, Rosita’s hair was as black as it had always been, and her skin glowed from good health. She’d grown a bit plump over the years, true, but the beauty she had possessed in her youth was still visible, especially when she smiled.

“Wash up, Papa,” Maggie said. “Supper will be on the table in five minutes.”

“Bossy, just like your mama,” Ruben said, but he smiled at his daughter and went to do as she’d asked.

Rosita eyed her daughter. “So, Dallas Fortune came by today.”

Maggie winced. She should have realized what that oversize hat on her son’s head would do to Rosita’s curiosity. “We’ll talk after supper, Mama. Everyone’s hungry now.”

While the Perezes enjoyed their fine meal, Dallas heated a frozen dinner in the microwave. He could go to the main house and eat at his father’s table anytime he wished. He could also eat with the ranch hands, which he often did.

But tonight he felt that he wasn’t fit company for anyone. He’d made a fool of himself today with Maggie, and he couldn’t stop wondering what the devil had come over him. Scowling and brooding over it while he ate his chicken dinner, he tried to recapture the misguided logic that had made him think Maggie would respond to such a blunt overture.

Pushing his chair away from the table, he rubbed the back of his neck in almost painful agitation. His behavior was inexcusable, and so uncharacteristic of the man he really was that he wondered if he hadn’t temporarily lost the good sense he’d been born with.

Was there anything he could do to make amends? Since he’d already apologized more than once, another apology wasn’t apt to change her opinion of him.

But there had to be a way to prove his worth to her, he thought with a panicky sensation in his gut. If he could only make her understand how empty his life had been before meeting her again, and how hard she had hit him. If she would really listen to him just once without that derisive look in her eyes, then he might get through to her.

As hopeless as it all looked, Dallas remained certain of one thing. He was not going to give up on Maggie. He couldn’t.

In the comfortable dining room of the ranch’s main residence, Ryan Fortune and Lily Cassidy occupied one end of the long dining table. Tonight they were eating alone, a rare pleasure in the usually active household.

They were a handsome couple, so much in love that even if their hands weren’t touching, their gazes were. They were the same age, fifty-three, and each looked much younger. Ryan was a tall, muscular man with dark brown hair and eyes. His mother, Selena, had been an exquisitely beautiful woman of Mexican descent, and Ryan looked a great deal like her.

Lily’s ancestry was Apache and Spanish, and her exotic beauty only became more pronounced with time. She and Ryan had “dressed” for dinner, and her silky sea-green gown was both fashionable and becoming to her voluptuous figure.

“You’re very beautiful in that dress,” Ryan said.

Lily smiled indulgently. “You say the same thing when I’m wearing jeans and an old shirt.”

“Only because it’s true. My love, please let me make our engagement official with a public announcement.”

Lily’s beautiful smile faded. “We’ve discussed this many times. You’re still a married man. Please, let’s not cause gossip by putting the cart before the horse. When your divorce is final, then we’ll make our announcement. Please don’t be impatient, darling.”

Ryan sighed. “I’m tired of it all, Lily, and so must you be. Parker’s a good lawyer, and I’m confident he’s doing all he can. But Sophia is a dirty fighter, and I doubt if Parker ever came up against anyone like her before.”

“I know, my darling, I know….”

Maggie was tucking Travis in bed for the night, when he said, “I like Dallas, Mama. He’s nice.”

The hat Dallas had given the boy was on the nightstand next to the bed. Travis hadn’t even wanted to take it off for his bath and had insisted it go to bed with him. The only reason it wasn’t in bed with Travis was Maggie’s patient explanation that the hat could get crunched in the night.

Maggie sat on the bed to lean over and kiss her son good-night. “He likes me too, Mama. I can tell.”

An uneasiness crept into Maggie’s system. Even though Craig had rarely been around, and hadn’t been much of a father when he had shown up, Maggie wondered if Travis missed him. He’d been, after all, the only man in Travis’s life since the boy’s birth. Was Travis transferring his need for a father from Craig to Dallas?

That idea was so disturbing that Maggie found it difficult to behave normally. She couldn’t possibly have foreseen something like that happening on the ranch, but self-reassurance on that point offered little solace. Just how did a single mother turn a child off a man who had been nothing but kind to him?

Pulling herself together, Maggie quietly led her son through his prayers, then kissed his smooth, soft, little-boy cheek. “Good night, son. I love you very much.”

“Good night, Mama. I love you very much.”

It was their normal bedtime ritual, but when Maggie left Travis’s bedroom tonight she felt as though her heart had just been broken. Damn you, Craig, why couldn’t you have been the kind of father Travis deserves to have?

On her way to the kitchen, Maggie saw her mother coming out of her bedroom, wearing nightgown, robe and slippers. Rosita’s long hair had been released from the bun she trussed it into every morning, and she was carrying a hairbrush.

“Let’s sit in the living room,” Rosita whispered.

Nodding silently, Maggie followed her mother. Once there she spoke out loud. “Did Papa already go to bed?”

“He’s tired tonight.”

“You look tired, too, Mama. You don’t have to stay up on my account.”

“I’m not quite ready for bed.” Rosita smiled mischievously. “I want to hear all about Dallas’s visit today.”

Knowing there was no way to avoid this conversation, Maggie gave in gracefully. “Why don’t you sit in this chair so I can brush your hair the way I did when I was a little girl?”

“Oh, that would be nice.” Rosita sat on the straight-backed chair and handed the brush to her daughter. She murmured when Maggie began gently running the brush through her hair, “Hmm, that feels wonderful. Now, tell me about Dallas Fortune’s visit.”

Maggie knew she had to make this story simple. Rosita’s sharp mind would pick up on the slightest hint that something other than seeing Travis again had brought Dallas to this house today.

“He wasn’t here very long,” Maggie began in a deliberately neutral voice, as though Dallas just showing up unannounced was a common occurrence and meant nothing for her. “I heard his truck and looked out the window. He had already gotten out and was talking to Travis.”

“And that’s it? You and he didn’t talk?”

Lies had always gotten stuck in Maggie’s throat. Besides, there really was nothing wrong with her and Dallas saying a few words to each other. If only that was all that had happened!

“Well, yes, we did talk. After Travis hauled him around the yard to show off his toys, Dallas knocked on the door.”

Rosita became excited. “What did he say?”

“I believe it was something like, ‘Hello, Maggie.”’

Rosita twisted around to look at her daughter. “Are you being fresh with me?”

Maggie couldn’t help laughing. “No, Mama, I’m not being fresh. But that’s what he said.”

“That’s all he said?”

“He also asked how I was, and then he talked about what a great little kid Travis is.”

“This all took place on the porch? Didn’t it occur to you to invite him in?”

“It occurred to me,” Maggie admitted quietly. “I asked him in and offered lemonade. He drank a glass and left.”

“Well, you must have talked about something while he was drinking his lemonade!”

“I believe that was when he referred to Travis as a great little kid. I agreed, of course.”

“Hmm,” Rosita murmured thoughtfully. “He was probably thinking of the baby he lost. It’s so sad to lose a child. And poor Dallas lost his wife at the same time.” Rosita wiped away a tear and recovered her composure. “Did he say anything nice to you?”

“Like what, Mama?”

“Maggie, for heaven’s sake. Did he say you were pretty, or hint that he would like to see you again?”

“Mama, he came to see Travis,” Maggie hedged, glad that Rosita’s back was turned so she couldn’t see Maggie’s guilty face.

“That’s what he wanted you to believe,” Rosita said, and folded her arms across her bosom in a gesture that appeared smugly satisfied. “Now I know what is happening,” Rosita declared. “Dallas likes you. He’ll be back.”

“Mama! Don’t you dare play matchmaker with Dallas and me! I’m not the least bit interested in him!”

“Oh, hush,” Rosita said. “You couldn’t find a better man than Dallas Fortune, and don’t try to convince me that you wouldn’t like to marry again. It’s not natural for a young woman to live without a man. The same goes for Dallas, living all alone in that big house of his. You’re perfect for him, and I have a feeling that he knows it.”

Maggie groaned. “Now you’ve got us married? I don’t believe this.”

“Maybe you should believe it,” Rosita said serenely. “At the very least, you should give it some serious thought.” Rosita got up from the chair and took the brush from her daughter’s hand. “I think I’ll go to bed now. Good night, dear.”

Maggie had to forcibly beat back an impulse to blurt out the truth about Dallas’s visit today, just to see the shocked expression on her mother’s face. She paced the floor long after Rosita had retired, recalling with anger and humiliation Dallas’s insulting propositions one minute, and picturing the resulting ruckus should she ever relate the incident to her family the next.

Dallas might have her mother snowed, but Maggie knew what kind of man he really was, the big phoney! Walking around making everyone think he was still mourning his wife, and then coming on to Maggie with downright scandalous suggestions. Oh, yes, she was definitely on to Dallas Fortune.

It was later, after Maggie had gone to bed, that a feeling of melancholy settled upon her. She could have liked Dallas so much. Why had he ruined any chance they might have had of becoming more than acquaintances?

“Men!” Maggie muttered disgustedly. Rosita was right; Maggie would like to marry again. But was there one single man on earth who wasn’t a cad, a cheat or a liar? One man who truly liked and respected women?

She doubted it. If it weren’t for her parents’ long and happy marriage, she would also doubt that it was even possible for a man and woman to live together in harmony for any length of time.

Around ten the next morning Rosita phoned from the main house. “Maggie, Cruz and Savannah are coming to dinner tonight.”

“Oh, good,” Maggie exclaimed. “What should I fix for dinner? I’d like it to be something special.”

“Well, Cruz adores barbecued ribs. There are ribs in the freezer, and maybe you could make a nice potato salad.”

“Great. I’ll plan the meal around that.”

“Thank you, sweetie. See you this evening.”

“’Bye, Mama. Don’t work too hard.”

As she hung up the phone, Maggie moved the kitchen curtain aside to check on Travis. She had relented on yesterday’s decision about confining him to the house, because his sad little face under that huge hat had been more than she could bear. “But,” she’d told him firmly, “this is your last chance, son. If you leave the yard today without permission, you will remain in the house for at least a week.”

“I won’t be a bad boy, Mama, I promise.”

Maggie had hugged him. “You’re not a bad boy, sweetheart,” she’d said with a catch in her voice. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.” Then she had watched him joyously run for the door.

Holding the edge of the curtain in her hand, Maggie became so stunned that she nearly pulled it from the rod. Dallas was in the yard talking to Travis again! She wondered why she hadn’t heard a car pull up, and then she noticed a handsome black horse tethered to a post.

Groaning out loud, Maggie let the curtain fall back into place. What was wrong with that man? She’d done everything but physically attack him, and he still had the gall to drop in. What could she say that might penetrate his egotistical stubbornness?

Maggie angrily narrowed her eyes. Travis already liked Dallas and believed that Dallas liked him. There were more ways than one for her trusting little son to get hurt on the Fortune’s Double Crown Ranch. Dallas’s insincere attentions could cause more damage to Travis than any fall the boy might take. She had to put a stop to this before it got completely out of hand.

Detouring to the freezer just long enough to take out two packages of ribs to thaw for dinner, Maggie then hurried to the front door. Yanking it open, she found herself no more than a foot away from Dallas. His hand was up, and she knew that he’d been all set to knock on the door.

“Good morning,” he said as calmly as you please, as though people always opened doors before he knocked on them.

Maggie couldn’t be nice. “What do you want?” she asked in a cold, unfriendly voice.

Dallas’s heart sank, but he vowed again not to give up on Maggie. How could he, when she affected him so strongly? Even angry, she was so darned pretty that he wanted to stand there and stare at her.

Pretending that he hadn’t picked up on her foul mood, he smiled. “I’d like to take Travis for a ride.”

“And I suppose you told him the same thing and got him all excited about it,” Maggie said with scathing sarcasm.

“I wouldn’t do that, Maggie. I asked him to stay in the side yard while I talked to you. Since he’s never been on a horse before, I thought it might be best to get him used to being so far off the ground by having him first ride with me.”

Maggie almost shouted, “No!” but a sudden burst of very disturbing knowledge stopped her. She could be as protective of Travis as she wanted, but the damage—as far as Dallas went—had already been done, and could very well be irreversible. Was there any point now in stopping Travis from learning to ride a horse, just because Dallas would be his instructor?

A great weakness overtook Maggie. She loved riding herself, and it was only natural for a boy with Travis’s lively curiosity and imagination to be drawn to horses. She’d brought this on herself by bringing Travis to the ranch, even though she couldn’t possibly have predicted a relationship between her five-year-old son and one of the Fortune men.

“Well?” Dallas said quietly, awaiting her verdict.

Maggie didn’t want to say yes. She didn’t want Dallas to further encourage her son’s affection when she knew in her soul that Dallas was using Travis as an excuse to see her. Obviously Dallas hoped to wear down her objections to having an affair with him—she could see it in his eyes—and it wasn’t going to happen.

“I want you to understand something,” she said bluntly. “Your phoney friendship with my son is not going to undermine—”

“Phoney!” Dallas exclaimed heatedly, interrupting her. “Maggie, there is nothing phoney about my feelings for Travis!” Dallas looked off for a moment, then brought harder eyes back to her. “You’ve got me all wrong, Maggie. I caused it myself and I wish to hell it were possible to take back everything I said to you the first time I came here. Isn’t there some way we could start over?”

“Nothing leaps to mind,” Maggie drawled. “I really wish—” The hurt look in Dallas’s eyes didn’t halt her little speech, but the sight of Travis peeking around the corner of the house did. Had he been eavesdropping all along? she wondered uneasily. He should be scolded for listening to a grown-up conversation, but she’d laid down so many new rules since they’d come to the ranch that his little head was probably spinning from them. Eavesdropping was something that had never come up for discussion in Phoenix—there’d been no reason—but there was no question that their acute change in life-style at the ranch had demanded a great many new rules.

Regardless, Maggie suddenly felt sorry for her adorable little son. And guilty for denying him the pleasure of a ride on a horse, even if it was with Dallas. After all, she and Travis weren’t going to be here much longer, and once they left Travis would forget all about Dallas.

“All right,” she said in a much calmer voice. “You may take Travis for a ride.”

Dallas wondered what had changed her mind, but he wasn’t about to open that can of worms. “Thanks,” he said evenly. “And don’t worry about him. I’ll watch him like a hawk.”

“Please do.”

Dallas started to leave the porch, then stopped on the stairs to turn and look at her. “By the way, Rosita invited me to supper tonight. She said Cruz and Savannah would be here, and that you were making ribs. I’m looking forward to it.”

How could her mother do that to her? But even while the nerve-racking question formed in her mind, so did the answer. Rosita would like nothing better than to see her daughter married again, and it would never occur to Rosita that a Perez wasn’t good enough for a Fortune. If she knew what was really brewing in Dallas’s mind, she wouldn’t be so quick to play matchmaker, thought Maggie.

Silently, Maggie watched Dallas lift Travis up to the saddle on his horse’s back. Below his big hat, Travis’s little face was flushed and excited. Dallas mounted and nudged the horse into a walk.

“’Bye, Mama!” Travis yelled.

“Goodbye, sweetheart. You hang on tight!”

“I will, Mama.”

Feeling totally defeated, Maggie went inside. Dallas’s plans to eat with them tonight changed everything. Dinner was not going to be an enjoyable family affair.

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