Heating Up In Texas!

When Justin McCabe hires a master carpenter to help build his ranch for troubled teens, tall, gorgeous blonde Amanda Johnson isn’t quite what he’d imagined. But not only can she do the job, she has a thing or two to teach him about judging by appearances. And, more important, she has a knack for reaching the kind of kid Justin wants to help.

Amanda hadn’t counted on her new boss—all strapping six foot five of him—being so utterly irresistible. Working side by side under the scorching Texas sun, the two of them make a great team—in every way possible. The heat of summer is no match for the sizzle they generate whenever they’re together. But when a crisis forces Amanda to face her past, she’ll need to make a heart-wrenching decision about her future...whether Justin is in it or not.

“It’s not a competition, Justin.”

Another rueful smile. “Good thing.” He sighed in something akin to defeat. “Because if it were, no question, you’d win.”

And that bothered him, Amanda noted. Probably because he wanted to excel at everything he did. Silence and an aching awareness stretched between them. She felt compelled to remind him, “You know there are no perks that come with my presence here tonight or at any other time.”

He nodded, accepting her boundary. For now, anyway. “How about we just be friends, then?”

Amanda scoffed. Now who was kidding themselves? “You and I can’t be just friends,” she said drily.

Another lift of his dark brow. “Why not?”

Amanda was sure he knew, but she decided to demonstrate the pitfalls anyway. She smiled and stepped closer. Keeping her gaze locked with his, she dared to say quietly, “I’ll show you why not.”

Dear Reader,

We all have goals and dreams. Some may even seem impossible. Until the day we realize we have no choice but to pursue them.

This is the case for Justin McCabe. He was the kid who did everything right—the kid with the great home and happy family, who had every opportunity.

Amanda Johnson had everything working against her: an unhappy home, little familial support, doors closed to her at every turn.

Growing up, both Amanda and Justin thought they knew what the future held. Then things changed. Justin saw a different, less privileged side of life. Amanda found family to love her and show her all that was possible.

Both ended up on a ranch for at-risk boys. The girl who’d been “nothing but trouble” and the “role model” of Laramie, Texas, shouldn’t have anything in common. And yet…

I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

For the latest news on these and other titles, please visit me on Facebook, Twitter and www.cathygillenthacker.com.

Best wishes,

Cathy Gillen Thacker

The Long, Hot

Texas Summer

Cathy Gillen Thacker

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathy Gillen Thacker is married and a mother of three. She and her husband spent eighteen years in Texas and now reside in North Carolina. Her mysteries, romantic comedies and heartwarming family stories have made numerous appearances on bestseller lists, but her best reward, she says, is knowing one of her books made someone’s day a little brighter. A popular Harlequin author for many years, she loves telling passionate stories with happy endings, and thinks nothing beats a good romance and a hot cup of tea! You can visit Cathy’s website at www.cathygillenthacker.com for more information on her upcoming and previously published books, recipes and a list of her favorite things.

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

Epilogue

Excerpt

Chapter One

There were times for doing things yourself and times for not. This, Justin McCabe thought grimly, surveying the damage he had just inflicted on a brand-new utility cabinet and the drywall behind it, was definitely one of the latter.

Frustrated, because there was little he couldn’t do well, Justin shook his head in disgust. Then he swore heatedly at the blunder that further derailed his tight schedule and made it even harder to prove the skeptics wrong.

It was possible, of course, that this could be fixed without buying a whole new cabinet. If he knew what he was doing. Which he clearly did not—a fact that the five beloved ranch mutts, sitting quietly and cautiously watching his every move, seemed to realize, too.

A motor sounded in the lane, and he hoped it was the carpenter who’d been scheduled to arrive that morning and had yet to actually make an appearance. Justin set his hammer down. He stalked to the door of Bunkhouse One just as a fancy red Silverado pickup truck stopped in front of the lodge. It had an elaborate silver Airstream trailer attached to the back and a lone woman at the wheel.

“Great.” Justin sighed as all the dogs darted out the open door of the partially finished bunkhouse and raced, barking their heads off, toward the vehicle.

The obviously lost tourist eased the window down and stuck her head out into the sweltering Texas heat. A straw hat with a sassy rolled brim was perched on her head. Sunglasses shaded her eyes. But there was no disguising her beautiful face and shapely bare arms. The young interloper was, without a doubt, the most exquisite female Justin had ever seen.

She smiled at the dogs, despite the fact that they were making a racket. “Hey, poochies,” she said in a soft, melodic voice.

As entranced as he was, the dogs seemed more so. They’d stopped barking and had all sat down to stare at the stranger.

She opened her door and stepped out. All six feet of her.

Layered red and white tank tops showcased her nice, full breasts and slender waist. A short denim skirt clung to her hips and emphasized a pair of really fine legs.

She took off her hat and shook out a mane of butterscotch-blond hair that fell in soft waves past her shoulders. After tossing the hat on the seat behind her, she reached down to pet the dogs. The pack was thoroughly besotted.

Justin completely understood.

If there was such a thing as love at first sight—which he knew there wasn’t—he’d have been a goner.

The woman straightened and removed her sunglasses. “I’m Amanda,” she said in the same voice that had magically quieted his dogs.

Justin stared into long-lashed, wide-set amber eyes that were every bit as mesmerizing as the rest of her. His brain seemed to have stopped working altogether. His body, on the other hand, was at full alert. “I’m Justin McCabe.”

“This the Lost Pines?” Amanda asked, taking a moment to scan their surroundings.

Working to get the blood back in his brain where it belonged, Justin merely nodded.

“So,” she said, still admiring the acres of unfenced grassland peppered with cedar and live oak, as well as the endless blue horizon and rolling hills in the distance. “Where do you want me to park my trailer?”

And then, all of a sudden, the fantasy ended. This gorgeous woman had not been dropped into his life like a karmic reward for all his hard work. Brought swiftly back to reality, he stopped her with a regretful lift of his palm. “You can’t.”

She pivoted back to him in a drift of citrusy perfume. Her eyes sparked with indignation and her delicate but surprisingly capable-looking hands landed on her hips. “I made it very clear to whomever I spoke. My camping out here is part of the deal.”

What deal? “It can’t be.”

She came closer, her soft lips pursed in an unhappy frown. “Why not?”

Embarrassed that it had taken him this long to correct her misconception, Justin explained without rancor. “Because this isn’t the Lost Pines you’re looking for.”

A flicker of indecipherable emotion flashed in those beautiful eyes. She regarded him skeptically, seeming to think he was trying to pull something over on her. “But how can that be? The sign above the gate said this is the Lost Pines Ranch.”

“The sign’s on the long list of things waiting to be changed.” A new one had been ordered but wasn’t coming in for another month. Which meant he would continue to have these mix-ups with nonlocals.

“Are you sure I’m not in the right place?” she asked with a frown. “Because...”

Justin shook his head, a little disappointed that this beautiful amazon would not be settling in for a long stay. He turned and pointed in the opposite direction. “What you want is the Lost Pines Campground, which is another three miles down the road, next to the Lake Laramie State Park. But...” What the heck, why not? Just this once he was going to go for what he wanted. Which was a little more—make that a lot more—time with this sun-kissed beauty. “Once you get set up there, Amanda, I’d be happy to take you to dinner.”

* * *

THIS WAS, AMANDA BLISS JOHNSON thought, the most bizarre encounter she’d ever had. Even if the tall rancher with the shaggy chestnut-brown hair and gorgeous blue eyes was the hottest guy she had ever come across in her life. From the massive shoulders and chest beneath that chambray shirt, to his long muscular legs, custom-boot-encased feet—and ringless left hand—everything about him broadcast Single and Available.

Which meant Strictly Off-Limits to her.

She wished she’d left her sunglasses on so he wouldn’t see her dazzled expression. “First off,” she told him crisply, “I don’t date customers.”

Now it was his turn to look shocked. “Customers! What are you talking about?”

Amanda pushed on. “You called for a carpenter, right? At least, Libby Lowell-McCabe, the CEO of the Lowell Foundation and chairwoman of the board for the Laramie Boys Ranch, did. She said it was an emergency. That your previous carpenter quit with no notice and you only have four weeks to get the bunkhouse ready for occupancy.” She paused to draw a breath. “I emailed her back that I’d be willing to help y’all out, but only if I could keep my travel trailer on the property so I wouldn’t have to waste time commuting back and forth to San Angelo.”

Amanda fought her racing pulse and tried to stay calm. “But if that’s not going to work, I guess I could park my Silversteam at the campground. Assuming, of course, they have a space available. Since it’s the busy summer season, they may not.”

He lifted a hand. “You don’t have to do that.”

Amanda folded her arms in front of her. “Sure about that? Because just now you seemed dead set against me camping here.”

He flashed a slow, disarming smile. “That’s because I thought you were a tourist, not an apprentice.”

Apprentice? Strike two for the handsome Texan! “I’m not the apprentice,” Amanda said tightly, her temper rising. “I’m the master carpenter.”

He pulled the paper out of his pocket and squinted at it as if he couldn’t believe the words in front of him. Then his head lifted and he speared her with an incredulous gaze. “You’re A. B. Johnson Jr.?”

Amanda wondered if it took him this long to process everything. “Amanda Bliss Johnson. Junior’s the nickname I got at work.”

“You want me to call you Junior?” he asked, with a hint of humor in his low baritone.

“Or Amanda.” She waved a hand. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter to me.” What did was getting this gig. It would allow her to settle in this ruggedly beautiful place for an entire month before moving on to her next rural job.

Justin McCabe continued to contemplate her as if he either didn’t believe she could really be an ace carpenter or wasn’t going to be comfortable having a woman undertake such a large job.

Amanda sighed.

Great, just great. She’d gotten up at the crack of dawn to put the finishing touches on a built-in bookcase for a very fussy client, then spent hours getting all her stuff packed up and driving all the way out here. Now, the deceptively laid-back McCabe was acting like he wanted to fire her on the spot.

Deciding it was his turn to be put in the hot seat, Amanda stepped closer. “Do you have a problem with the fact I’m a woman?”

“No.” He was clearly fibbing. “Not at all.”

Then why couldn’t he stop looking at her like he was going to need a protective force field just to be anywhere near her? “I come highly recommended.” The defensive words were out before she could stop them.

“I know.” He exhaled, beginning to look as off-kilter as she felt. “I just expected a guy. That’s all.”

A common mistake, given that most of her competitors were male. Still, Amanda refused to let Justin McCabe off the hook. Sensing there was more to whatever it was going on with him, she arched a brow.

There was a beat of complete and utter silence.

He scrubbed a hand across his face. “I did a Google search on your company after Libby told me she had arranged for A. B. Johnson Carpentry to come out and finish the work on an emergency basis. The website said the company was founded in San Angelo, Texas, by Angus ‘Buddy’ Johnson thirty-eight years ago.”

Proudly, Amanda relayed, “That’s my grandfather. He still runs the business—although he’s supposed to be phasing out of that, too—but he stopped doing the rural gigs a year ago.” After much persuading on her part.

Amanda touched her thumb to the center of her chest. “I do them now.”

It was McCabe’s turn to appear irritated. “So why didn’t you make that clear in the communication with Libby? Unless—” he paused, still scrutinizing her closely “—you’re trying to purposely mislead people?”

Amanda really did not want to get into this. However, he’d left her no choice. “When I first started doing jobs on my own the company was getting a lot of requests for me that had nothing whatsoever to do with my talent as a carpenter.”

Understanding dawned on his handsome face. Along with a hint of anger. Amanda warmed beneath the intensity in his eyes. “So we took all the employee photos off the website and just listed the carpenters by name, or in my case, just my initials and last name. To differentiate me from my granddad we added the Junior to my name. That successfully eliminated all the customers just interested in making up jobs to hit on me.”

“Makes sense.”

She straightened. “Luckily, that’s not going to be the case here.”

“No,” he concurred, meeting her stern gaze. “It’s not.”

“Good to hear.” Amanda relaxed in relief. The last thing she wanted to deal with was the amorous attention of the tall, sexy Texan. Given how physically attractive she found him, the situation might be just too tempting.

Thinking he was possibly the most easygoing man she had ever met, Amanda drew a deep breath. “Anyway, back to the way the company operates. My grandfather takes the service requests. He makes up the schedule and does all the accounting work required to run the business. The other four employees are all master carpenters, and they work in San Angelo. They all have families, and don’t want to be away for days at a time, so I take the gigs on all the remote locations.”

When he opened his mouth she lifted a staying hand. “Unless you’re not comfortable with that? If that’s the case, I’ll see if one of the guys wants to do it.” She paused again, frowning. “They’d have to commute back and forth, and the two hours’ travel time daily would add significantly to the overall cost and time it will take to complete the job.”

McCabe shook his head, swiftly vetoing that suggestion. “That won’t be necessary,” he reassured her. “You’re here. You should do it.”

Happy that much was settled, Amanda was ready to move on, too. She returned his easy smile. “Then how about you show me everything you want done so I can get started.”

* * *

JUSTIN SPENT THE next half hour showing Amanda the bunkhouse they were converting for the opening of the Laramie Boys Ranch. It would house the first group of eight boys and two house parents. There were cabinets to install in the bathrooms. Trim and doors to put on. Bookshelves and built-in locker-style armoires to be constructed in each of the five bedrooms.

Amanda paused next to the mangled drywall and damaged utility cabinet in the mudroom. She brushed splinters of wood from the plumbing hookup for the washer. “What happened here?”

Motioning for the dogs to stay back, well out of harm’s way, Justin grabbed a trash bag. “I tried to put the cabinet up myself and it fell off the wall, taking the drywall with it.”

Amanda dropped the shards of splintered wood and ripped-up drywall into the bag. Justin knelt to help her gather debris.

“Can you fix it?” He wasn’t used to screwing up. Failing in front of a highly competent woman made it even worse.

“Yes.” Amanda dusted off her hands and took out her measuring tape.

Justin watched as she set down her notebook and measured the damaged back of the cupboard. “No need to order a new cabinet?”

Nodding, she jotted down a set of numbers.

When she had finished looking around, Justin asked, “What’s your best estimate?”

Amanda raked her teeth across her lush lower lip as she consulted the list she had made. “You said you wanted hardwood flooring installed throughout?”

“Except for the bathrooms. Those are going to have ceramic tile.”

“The target date?”

“August first.”

“Which gives us a little under four weeks.” She tilted her head slightly to one side, her hair brushing the curve of her shoulder. “That’s an ambitious schedule.”

“Is it doable?”

“That all depends. Are you willing to have me work weekends and some evenings, too?”

Until more donations or grants came in, things were really tight. “We don’t have the budget for overtime pay,” he admitted.

Understanding lit her eyes. “I’ll just charge you the regular rate, then.”

He paused, tempted to accept yet not wanting to take advantage. “Sure?”

She tucked her notebook under her arm and headed for the open front door. She stepped outside, the sunshine illuminating her shapely legs. “Consider it my donation for your cause. Which, by the way, is a good one.”

Justin fell into step beside her as they continued toward her truck. “You think so?”

She tossed him an admiring glance. “Troubled kids need a place to go.” A hint of a smile curved her lips. “If that can happen in a beautiful setting like this, more power to you.”

“Thanks.” Not everyone was on board with his idea for the ranch. It helped to know she was.

The dogs raced forward, suddenly on full alert. A split second later, a car motor purred in the distance. Two vehicles appeared, the second one a black-and-white Laramie County sheriff’s car.

“Another lost tourist?” Amanda joked, her glance roving over him once again. “This one with a police escort?”

Justin shook his head, hoping it wasn’t more bad news. “Mitzy Martin. She’s the social worker tapped to work with the ranch. She’s also on the board of directors. The sheriff’s deputy is my brother Colt McCabe. He’s in charge of community outreach for the department. I have no idea who the teenage boy with her is....”

Amanda backed up. “Well, obviously you don’t need me for whatever this is.” Giving the other visitors a cursory wave, she walked to the truck, his dogs trailing behind her, and began unloading her tools.

The teenage boy stayed put as Mitzy and Colt got out of their cars. Both radiated concern as they approached. “We have a favor to ask,” Mitzy told him.

Justin looked at the sullen teen slouched in the passenger seat of Mitzy’s car, arms crossed militantly in front of him. Pale and thin, he wore a black T-shirt with a skull on the front. His dark ash-blond hair was on the long side. “What’s up?”

Mitzy shot him an imploring look. “We need a place for Lamar Atkins to stay during the day for the rest of the summer.”

Understandable, but... “The ranch isn’t open yet.”

Colt inclined his head toward the unfinished bunkhouse. “It looks like you could use a lot of help getting it ready.”

That much was certainly true, particularly in the bunkhouse. Justin paused, wanting to make sure he knew what they were expecting him to provide. “You want me to pay him?”

Mitzy shook her head. “Help him work off his community service hours.”

“For...?” Justin prompted.

His brother frowned. “Repeated truancy. He’s supposed to be in summer school now, but he keeps skipping, and the judge gave him one hour of community service for every hour of class he’s skipped. Which amounts to two hundred and thirty-six hours.”

Justin muttered a compassionate oath. That was going to take a while to work off.

“If you take Lamar on, and he sticks with the program, he’ll be finished with his community service commitment before school starts in the fall,” Mitzy urged. “And hopefully will learn something in the process.”

Justin looked at the kid. He had his earphones in, his eyes closed. Justin turned back to Mitzy and Colt. Both had also felt the call to help others. Although his brother was now happily married and father to a little boy, Mitzy was as single as Justin was, with as little time for her social life as he. All three of them took to heart the fate of those in need. “Where are the boy’s parents?”

Mitzy’s expression tightened. “Long gone. Fed up with trying to deal with his defiance, they severed their parental rights and turned him over to the state last March. The court placed him with a foster family in Laramie, but both foster parents work during the day, and they can’t be around to constantly monitor Lamar.” She paused. “He seems to like them, and they feel the same way about him, but they just can’t keep him in summer school.”

Justin squinted. “What happens if this doesn’t work out?”

“Given that Lamar was already on his last chance when I picked him up?” Colt exhaled slowly. “He’ll be labeled incorrigible and put in a juvenile detention center.”

Which meant an awful lot was at stake. Justin had seen enough kids spiral downward. He didn’t want to be personally responsible for the ill-fated future of another. “I want to help.” Wanted to give the kid a safe place to be during the day.

Mitzy regarded him with confidence. “We figured you would.”

“But...” Justin cast a glance over at Amanda, who was lifting toolboxes and a power saw out of the bed of her truck. “I’d feel a lot better about it if the place was finished and the live-in counselors were here.”

“You still want to be named ranch director by the board?” Colt asked. “Instead of just chief financial officer?”

Justin sighed, frustration growing. “You both know I do.”

Mitzy pushed, sage as ever. “This is your chance to prove yourself worthy of the job.”

Justin knew Mitzy and Colt were right. This was a prime opportunity to advance his career in the direction he wanted it to go, as well as a chance to help a kid in need. So the situation wasn’t perfect. They’d manage. “When do you want to start?”

The duo smiled their thanks. “First thing tomorrow morning,” Mitzy said.

* * *

“SO YOU’RE GOING to personally supervise Lamar?” Amanda asked in shock after Justin filled her in an hour later.

To his aggravation, she seemed to think he couldn’t—shouldn’t—do it. “Why does that surprise you?” Justin was more than a little irked to find her among the naysayers who were constantly doubting him.

Amanda surveyed the area surrounding her temporary home site. “From the way you were talking earlier as you showed me around, I had the impression you were more of a numbers guy.”

Being good at something didn’t mean it was the right fit, career-wise. Justin wished he could make people understand that. He followed her back to the trailer. “I studied business and accounting in college.”

Amanda chocked the tires so the trailer wouldn’t roll. Finished, she stood. “What practical experience have you had working with troubled kids?”

Not enough; he’d found out the hard way. But that, too, was about to change.

“I worked at a nonprofit that helped at-risk teens.” He helped her unhitch the trailer.

Amanda undid the safety chains. “And did what exactly?”

“Initially, I was the CFO.” Justin pitched in and took care of the sway bars. “Eventually, I coordinated services for the kids, too.”

“But someone else did the actual counseling and evaluating,” Amanda guessed.

Justin nodded. “Which was quite extensive, given how complicated some of their situations were.”

Her expression pensive, Amanda unlocked the hitch. “I’m sure it was.”

“But?”

Amanda got into her truck to drive it out from under the hitch. “Facilitating services for an at-risk kid is not the same as actually getting through to him or her.” She stepped back out of the cab and headed toward him, her long legs eating up the expanse of yard.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time Justin had heard that particular argument. “I can do this.” He knew it in his gut. All he needed was a chance.

She gave him a skeptical look, then took out a carpenter’s level to check the floor of the trailer. As she moved, the hem of her denim skirt slid up her thighs. “From what you’ve just told me, Lamar sounds like a tough case.” Finding it okay, she stood with a smile. “Forgive me for saying so, but you don’t seem like someone who knows much about defying the system.”

Justin couldn’t deny that was true. He’d gone through life without getting into trouble with authority once. That didn’t mean he couldn’t help those who had.

He was beginning to feel a little irked. “So?”

“Where’s the common ground that will allow you and Lamar to establish any kind of rapport?”

“He’ll respond to time and attention.”

Amanda shook her head. “You think his foster parents haven’t been giving him that?”

“Obviously, Lamar needs even more than what he’s been getting,” Justin countered. “Which is where I come in.”

Amanda activated the trailer’s solar panels. “Want my advice?”

“No, but I expect you’re going to give it anyway.”

Their eyes met. “Leave the life lessons to the social workers. They’ve had lots of practice and they’re good at it.”

She went inside the trailer and returned with a rolled-up awning, which he helped her set up.

“Work on getting this ranch finished and ready for the first eight boys. If Lamar can help you do that, fine, it’ll be a good deal for both of you.” With the awning finally attached, she brushed dust off her hands. “But accept the possibility that the kid might not want to be here tomorrow any more than he apparently wanted to be here today.”

“And if that happens?” he prompted, intrigued despite himself by her perspective on the situation.

Her voice dropped a companionable notch. “If he doesn’t want to help out, don’t force it, because the only way it will ever work is if this is his choice. Not someone else’s.”

Justin studied her closely. “What makes you such an expert on all this?” As compared to, say—me?

A hint of sadness haunted her eyes. “Because I lived it. For a good part of my teenage years I hated everyone and everything.”

Now, that was hard to imagine. She seemed so content and comfortable with herself. Sensing he could learn something from her, Justin asked, “What changed?”

For a moment, Amanda went very still, seeming a million miles away. “Me. I finally realized I had a choice to either continue on as I was, which was a pretty miserable existence, or approach life differently. The point is, Justin, you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to help himself.” She sighed. “From what I saw, it didn’t look to me like Lamar is there yet.”

He grimaced at the truth of her words. “I know he’s not.”

Another beat of silence. “Then?” she pressed.

I’m not risking another tragedy. It’s as simple and complicated as that.

Justin stepped closer, vowing, “I’m going to help Lamar whether he wants me to or not.” He paused to take her in, appreciating both her beauty and her strength. “I’d like it if you were on board with that. If you’re not,” he paused and shot her a laser-sharp look, “I’d appreciate it if you would keep your feelings to yourself.”

Chapter Two

“I’d rather work with her.” Lamar pointed at Amanda, soon after arriving the following day.

Justin motioned Lamar back to the stacks of paper he had been trying to organize. Some were for state licensing and registration, others were for federal, state and private grants. The biggest—a quarter-million-dollar endowment from the Lone Star United Foundation—was due by the end of July. In addition to that, there were more fund-raising solicitations to send, thank-you letters to write, a tight budget to manage and local building regulations to comply with.

Justin had figured the teen would show up with an attitude, but he wasn’t going to let him dictate how things were done. “Not an option.”

Lamar slouched in his chair, a scowl on his young face. “How come?”

“Because Amanda’s not in charge of you,” he reminded the boy mildly. “I am.”

The teen returned his glance to the window. “That wood she’s carrying looks heavy.”

Heavy enough to require the sleek muscles of her gorgeous shoulders and upper arms, Justin noticed appreciatively. What it did for her legs wasn’t bad, either.

Justin dragged his glance away from the statuesque beauty in the sleeveless red T-shirt, denim coverall shorts and sturdy work boots. “If Amanda needed our help, she would’ve asked for it.”

“Sure about that? I mean, isn’t this place supposed to be about turning kids into well-mannered guys? What kind of Texas gentleman lets a lady hoist all that stuff by herself—even if she is a carpenter by trade?”

Good question. And one meant to make Justin bend to Lamar’s strategy. “Nice try.”

The kid held his palms aloft. “Hey! I’m just saying...”

Justin eyed the paperwork still needing attention. “Did you get how to use the scanner? Or do I need to explain it again?”

Lamar turned back to the desk with a huff. “I’m not good at this computer stuff.”

Which was an understatement and a half, Justin soon found out. In the next thirty minutes, Lamar managed to accidentally shut down the operating system, re-enter a single document three times and delete two files Justin had initially scanned as examples. The only thing worse than his own mounting frustration was the fact that his young charge seemed equally annoyed at his own ineptitude.

“So maybe office work isn’t your thing,” Justin said finally, ready to admit that all this assignment had done so far was cost both of them precious time and patience.

Lamar looked wistfully out the window at the vast blue horizon and dazzling sunshine. “Sure you don’t want me to go out and at least offer to give Miss Amanda a hand? She still has quite a bit to unload.”

The goal was to get Lamar doing something constructive on his very first day, so Mitzy could report back to her superiors that things were going well.

Figuring it would be okay if they both assisted Amanda, Justin stood. “All right. Let’s go ask.”

Justin and Lamar walked out of the lodge. By the time they reached the pickup truck that Amanda had parked just in front of the door, she had re-emerged from the bunkhouse. She looked from one to the other. Sweat beaded her face, neck and chest. “What’s up?” she asked, blotting the moisture on her forehead with one gloved hand.

Justin turned his attention away from the pretty color in her cheeks and the radiant depths of her eyes. “We thought we’d give you a hand with the unloading,” he explained.

Amanda stiffened. “That’s okay. I’ve got it.”

Lamar gave the pretty carpenter a pleading look. “If you don’t let me help, he’s going to make me go back to the computer—and I’ve already messed things up in there pretty bad.”

Amanda had no problem turning Justin down.

Lamar, it seemed, was another matter entirely.

She sized up the teenager. “The bunkhouse air-conditioning isn’t installed yet. My guess is, even with all the doors and windows open for maximum airflow, it’s about a hundred degrees inside. Add physical exertion to that, and it’s going to be a workout and a half,” she warned.

The tall, lanky teen was evidently unconcerned with the hard physical labor ahead of him, so long as he got out of any more office work. “Okay with me,” Lamar said cheerfully.

Justin smiled and offered, “I can help, too.”

Amanda frowned. “That’s okay...you don’t have to. Lamar and I can handle it.”

Justin didn’t like feeling expendable.

But if this was what it took to get Lamar to realize he could actually enjoy being out here on the ranch, Justin figured he could spare him for one day. “Let me know when Lamar’s work for you is finished,” he told Amanda briskly. “I’ll take it from there.”

* * *

AMANDA KNEW SHE had hurt Justin’s feelings. There was no helping it. She could not have him underfoot. He was too handsome, too distracting, and she couldn’t afford to lose her focus for even a moment.

“You know, if you don’t want me around, either, I could go off somewhere and just get lost for a while,” Lamar suggested casually as soon as Justin had gone back into the lodge.

Chuckling, Amanda clapped a gloved hand on his shoulder. “Nice try, kid. But you told Justin you’d help carry all this wood into the bunkhouse, so that is exactly what you’re going to do.” She rummaged around in her truck and returned with a pair of leather work gloves for him.

Awkwardly, Lamar inched them on. “You don’t mind taking orders from him?”

Did she? Normally, Amanda liked to maintain her independence and set her own work agenda. That was what made these rural gigs so appealing. The clients were so busy with their own work, they were less inclined to micromanage her. Best of all, at the end of the day, she could really get away from it all in her home-away-from-home travel trailer.

“Justin McCabe runs this ranch. It’s my job to make sure he is happy with the work I do. Yours, too, for that matter, since he’s overseeing your community service.”

Silence fell.

Lamar stacked more trim wood in the corner, next to a pile of interior doors that needed to be installed. “Don’t you want to know what I did to get sent out here?”

Amanda brought in a stack of doorknobs and latch kits. “Truancy, right?”

Lamar scowled. “Justin told you.”

They walked back outside for another load. “Yep.”

Lamar peered at her from beneath his blond bangs. “Aren’t you going to use this opportunity to lecture me on how I’m ruining my life and all that?”

Amanda took in the front of his Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt. It depicted a rollicking fight scene. “Would you listen?”

“No.”

She handed him a bundle of trim wood. “That’s what I figured.”

Lamar cradled it against his chest. “Which is why you’re not lecturing me.”

Amanda grabbed a bundle for herself and walked with him toward the door. “I figure there has to be a reason you keep cutting class.”

Lamar put down his bundle of wood with more than necessary force. “I hate it. It’s boring.”

Regular school had been a pain for Amanda, too. Figuring they could both use a rest, she went to the cooler in the corner and brought out two icy grape-flavored electrolyte drinks. She tossed one to him. “What does interest you?” she asked.

Lamar wiped the moisture away with the hem of his shirt. “I like watching TV. Listening to music.”

Amanda took a long drink. There had to be something that would help him connect with others. “Do you play any sports?” Even if Lamar didn’t qualify for school teams, there were always private athletic leagues to provide a little fun and make him feel involved.

“Nah.” Lamar finished half his bottle in a single gulp. “I’m no good at sports, either.”

So Lamar had suffered multiple failures, socially and otherwise. Catching sight of his dejected expression, Amanda’s heart went out to him. She knew was it was like to be a teenager who didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. “What are you good at?”

Abruptly, mischief crept into his expression. “Getting out of stuff I don’t want to do.”

Amanda could see that. “You can’t really make a living as a no-show.”

“So maybe I’ll be a security guard,” Lamar boasted, “and sit around and watch those TV monitors.”

Amanda couldn’t think of anything less interesting, but leery of discouraging him, she smiled. “Could work.”

He paced to the window and back. “You’re not going to try to talk me out of it? Tell me I have to finish high school and go on to college?”

Amanda held his gaze. “College isn’t for everyone.”

“Did you go to college?”

Amanda shook her head. “I didn’t like high school, either, so I got a GED instead and learned carpentry from my grandfather.”

His face grew pinched. “I don’t know about the GED,” he grumbled, as if it were the worst idea in the world. “All that studying and having to take those tests...”

Amanda could see where even the idea of that would be overwhelming for Lamar, given he’d skipped so much he had to be way behind on his studies. They walked back out to the truck to finish unloading supplies.

“Do you like being a carpenter?” Lamar asked eventually.

“Very much.”

He slanted her a wary glance. “How come?”

Trying not to think about the failures in her own life, Amanda offered him a faint smile. “Because I like building things that will last.”

* * *

IT WAS NEARLY noon when Justin looked up from behind his desk to see his dad striding into the lodge. As he walked across the spacious living area, Wade McCabe held a large high-velocity floor fan in each hand.

Justin strolled out of the administrator’s office to greet him. “Hey, Dad. Thanks for bringing those out.” Wade set them down next to the overstuffed sofas and chairs that had been donated by a local furniture store. “Some reason you couldn’t run into town and pick them up yourself?”

A very good one, as a matter of fact. “I’m supervising a teenager’s community service right now.”

His dad looked around, perplexed, noting they were quite alone.

“Lamar’s in the bunkhouse, assisting the carpenter. He’ll be back in here as soon as they’re finished carrying in all the wood from the pickup truck.”

His dad paused. “So this is a one-day thing?”

“All summer.”

Wade blinked in surprise. “You’re not really equipped for that, are you son?”

Justin tensed. Here we go again. He turned and walked into his office. “Dad, if this is where you tell me if I’m serious about all this, I need to go back to school and get a degree in psychology...”

Wade looked around the sparsely decorated administrator’s office, which at the moment was littered with the paperwork Justin was still trying to get through. “Your mother and I raised you to find what you’re good at and do it to the best of your ability.” He sank into a chair in front of Justin’s desk and gave him a long, level look. “What you are good at, Justin, is finance and accounting.”

Justin slid a stack of papers into a mailing envelope, sealed it shut and ran it through the postage meter. “I’m doing that here.”

Wade steepled his hands in front of him. “To a much lesser degree than what you were doing five years ago.”

Which, for his ambitious father and mother, was unacceptable, Justin knew. They wanted all five of their sons to have the same kind of financial security and success they’d built for themselves, while still holding on to their core values. “It’s important work, Dad.”

Wade’s expression softened. “I’m not discounting that. It’s why I made a sizable donation to help get the Laramie Boys Ranch up and running and accepted a position on the board of directors.”

Something Justin was beginning to regret. In hindsight, he saw answering to his father, even among a group of other involved adults, might not be such a good thing. “Then...?”

“Your mother and I are worried about you.”

Justin grimaced. “Why?”

“Clearly, you’ve yet to get over everything that happened in Fort Worth—first your broken engagement to Pilar, and then...”

Justin heard a feminine throat clear, followed by a knock. He and his father turned to see Amanda standing in the open door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking gorgeous as ever, despite her hot and sweaty state. “But have either of you seen Lamar?”

* * *

ACTUALLY, GIVEN THE conversation she’d overhead inside the ranch’s office, Amanda wasn’t at all sorry to interrupt. It sounded as though Justin McCabe needed a break. Having been the target of a great deal of parental lecturing growing up, she knew just how demoralizing such sessions could be. Not to mention the damage they inevitably did to the relationship. Although, unlike her mom and dad—who had seen her mostly as a stumbling block to their happiness—Justin’s parent seemed to genuinely care about him.

She continued, “I just got back with more wood and...”

Justin shot out of his chair, his expression filled with concern. “What do you mean you just got back?”

Why was he making a big deal out of this? “I had to run to the lumberyard to pick up the rest of the baseboard.” She paused. “He didn’t tell you?”

Justin shoved a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen him. I thought he was with you.”

Justin’s father looked on with a mixture of resignation and disapproval.

Amanda felt for Justin. Whether or not the two of them should have seen this coming was a moot point. She swallowed uncomfortably. “He should have reported back to you about an hour and a half ago....”

Justin stalked around the desk to her side. “Where could he be?”

Amanda turned to let Justin through. She caught a whiff of soap and man as he passed by. “I don’t know.” She was, however, willing to help search.

Together, the three of them looked through the lodge. Eventually, they found Lamar sound asleep in the lounge on the second floor. The TV was on, the sound turned all the way down.

Relieved yet still disapproving, Wade McCabe told his son curtly, “I’ll leave you to handle this.”

Tense with embarrassment, Justin nodded at his dad. “Thanks again for bringing the fans.”

Wade nodded and left.

Lamar opened his eyes, stretching lazily. He smelled of sweat and bubblegum. “Hey,” he said to Amanda. “You’re back.”

“Yes.” She tried not to think about how much trouble Lamar was already in, and he’d only been at the ranch for half a day. “I am.”

Justin clenched his jaw with frustration. “Is this where you’ve been the entire time she was gone?” he demanded.

“Yeah. So?”

“You were supposed to find me when Amanda no longer needed your help.”

Lamar rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “Yeah, well, all you were doing was office work. I’m no good at that.”

Justin gave Lamar a reproving frown. “That’s not for you to decide. This is community service, remember? To get credit for your time, you have to do what you’re told.”

Lamar sat up and dropped his feet to the floor. Belligerence radiated from him in waves. “Is it time for lunch yet?” he asked, completely ignoring Justin’s reprimand. “I’m really hungry.”

Amanda’s stomach had been growling for the past half hour, too. “I’ve got some sandwiches made if anyone wants to join me.”

“Sounds good to me,” the teen said.

Amanda looked at Justin. Temper again under control, he nodded. Then he cautioned Lamar, “Just don’t do that again, okay? For both our sakes, I need to know where you are at all times.”

“Okay,” Lamar muttered.

Relieved to have that settled, Amanda led the way to her trailer. She invited the guys inside, figuring there was safety in numbers. Wrong. The moment they stepped inside, her refuge felt filled to the brim with testosterone. And much smaller. Especially with Justin standing right beside her. Of course, that was probably because at six foot five his head almost reached the ceiling.

“Wow!” Lamar whistled appreciatively as he surveyed the comfortable space she had worked so hard to create. More a mini-apartment than camper, the back half was all bedroom and bath. The front half of the Airrstream housed the kitchen—with a full-size fridge, microwave, stove, sink and even a tiny dishwasher. The butcher-block tabletop between the roomy banquettes doubled as a work space, and there were plenty of built-in racks for her pantry items and cookware.

“You must really like to cook.” Lamar checked out the bins of fresh fruits and veggies, her complex variety of dried chili peppers and some freshly made tortillas.

Amanda nodded proudly. “It’s a hobby of mine.”

“Where did you learn?” the teen asked.

She opened up the fridge and brought out the three large grilled-chicken wraps with lettuce, cheese and Caesar dressing that she’d made from the leftovers of the previous evening’s dinner. “My grandmother and grandfather. Cooking was something they liked to do together, so when I moved in with them I started cooking, too.”

“Sounds fun,” Justin said.

“It was.” It was the first time she’d known what it was like to be part of a happy family.

The handsome Texan’s fingers brushed hers as she handed him a flavored sports drink. “Was? You don’t do it anymore?”

Trying not to react to the husky caress of his voice, the warm feel of his fingers or the tenderness in Justin’s brilliant blue eyes, Amanda shook her head. “Occasionally, but not as much since my grandmother died of congestive heart failure a couple of years ago.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Justin and Lamar said in unison.

Amanda accepted their condolences with a nod, aware of a growing sense of intimacy she didn’t expect. Wasn’t supposed to want. And knew would be unwise to encourage. “So,” she said, pushing her lingering grief away. “Why don’t the two of you tell me a little more about the area. What should I know about Laramie County?”

“There are a number of good restaurants in town,” Justin began.

Lamar nodded. “The Lone Star’s food is good, and they have live music and dancing, too. Since chicks seem to like that stuff,” the teen added helpfully.

Amanda wondered if that was where Justin had intended to take her the first night, when he’d asked her out.

“I do like dancing,” she admitted with a smile.

Justin’s eyes gleamed. “Then you should make it a point to go while you’re here,” he said. “With or without a date.”

Amanda’s middle fluttered with sensation. Adopting her best poker face, she nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Wary of letting her thoughts wander where Justin’s were obviously headed—into forbidden romantic territory—Amanda guided the conversation to mundane subjects, like the new wind farm and a famous sculptor she’d heard about who worked in bronze.

As soon as the meal was over, she rose. Eager to get back to work, she looked at Justin. “Your dad said he brought two fans that would help cool off the bunkhouse till the air-conditioning is installed?”

Justin nodded. “Lamar and I will carry them over for you.”

Amanda smiled. “Great. I’ll meet you guys there.”

A few minutes later they walked in, and Amanda showed them where she wanted the fans set up. Concerned that there was still a lot of friction between Justin and Lamar, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to act as buffer a little while longer.

“I don’t know what you had planned for Lamar this afternoon,” she told Justin, “but my work will go a lot faster if I have assistance mounting the top kitchen cabinets.”

“I’ll do it!” Lamar quickly volunteered.

Justin looked at the cabinet lift Amanda had set up, and the bulky stock cabinets. She knew he could see it was not an unreasonable request, even if she could easily have done the job all on her own. “Can you keep him busy the rest of the afternoon?”

“I won’t let him out of my sight,” Amanda promised.

Justin exhaled, his expression grim. After a long pause, he gazed at Lamar. “No more disappearing acts. Okay?”

The teen nodded, clearly aware he was on very shaky ground with the man supervising his community service.

Justin turned back to Amanda, his eyes devoid of the gratitude she had expected. “I’ll be in the office, working on grant applications, if you need me.” Justin turned on his heel and stalked off.

Watching him go, Amanda knew she had just made another mistake. She should never have stepped between Justin and his charge. In the end, all she had done was make things worse.

As soon as Justin disappeared from view, she did her best to undo the damage. “You need to give Justin a chance.”

His expression stony, Lamar helped her cut a base cabinet out of its cardboard cover. “McCabe doesn’t get me the way you do.”

Amanda bit her lip. “I’m not so sure about that.” While it was true that she could talk to Lamar with ease, Justin seemed to have Lamar’s number in a lot of ways.

The boy’s jaw tightened. “I see the judgment in his eyes when I screw up, Amanda. I don’t need any more of that.”

She had seen the disappointment, too. However, it didn’t mean Lamar had to return it in kind. “You’re going to have to work with Justin while I’m around, and after I leave. So the sooner you try to find common ground with him, the better.”

Lamar picked up the utility scissors. “Maybe I could continue my community service with you, wherever you go after this,” he suggested hopefully.

Amanda was flattered. She also knew it wasn’t the best idea. She cut open the next box. “I don’t think the court is going to go for that. They’re going to want to see that you can follow the rules and act in a positive manner, no matter where you are or who you’re with.”

Lamar sulked but said nothing more.

Her point made, Amanda focused on the cabinet installation. She kept Lamar busy until his foster father showed up to collect him at the end of the day.

Only when she’d had a chance to get a shower and clean up a little did she go in search of Justin again.

She found him on the back deck of the lodge with his dogs.

“Got a minute?” she asked, aware she owed him an apology, but unsure if he’d accept it.

Justin measured kibble into five stainless-steel bowls. He had the same brooding look he’d worn when he’d been talking with his father. “It’s probably not the best time for us to talk, Amanda.”

Not an encouraging start. “We need to clear the air.”

After each dog had a bowl of food he turned to her. “Go ahead.”

She swallowed. “I’m sorry if I got in the way of whatever you were trying to accomplish with Lamar this afternoon. But I thought a time-out between the two of you might help. And I used the opportunity to tell him he should give you a chance.”

His gaze drifted over her before returning ever so deliberately to her eyes. “Bet that went over well.”

Like a lead balloon. “He’ll come around.” Amanda punctuated her words with a hopeful look.

He stood, legs braced apart, arms crossed in front of him. “Is that all?”

She wished. “I have a feeling you blame me for Lamar skipping out on us this morning.”

“I’m sure he would have done the same thing whether you were here or not.”

She lifted her chin. “Then why are you ticked off at me?”

Leaving the dogs on the patio, he turned and strode back into the lodge. “I’m not.”

“And if I believe that, you’ve got a lake in Odessa you’d like to sell me.”

Justin walked down the hall to his office where stacks of paper and letters littered every available surface. Frustration emanated from him in waves as he took a seat behind his desk. “Let’s just say it wasn’t the best day for me, okay?”

Amanda refused to give him sympathy. He was throwing enough of a pity party all on his own.

“I don’t deny there were issues,” she countered. “But to be honest, the problems were also of your own making. I mean, really,” she continued, goading him with thinly veiled exasperation, “could you have given Lamar a worse task on his first day here?”

Justin’s glance narrowed. “What do you mean?”

Not about to let him pull rank on her—because in this instance they were equals—she moved around the front of the desk and leaned against it, facing him. “Lamar was sent here because he can’t stand school. So the first thing you do is give him paperwork?”

His full attention on her, Justin rocked back in his swivel chair and waited for her to go on.

Her frustration with the situation boiling over, Amanda continued, “Does anyone know why he is skipping so much? Has anyone even asked him?”

Justin’s handsome features sharpened with chagrin. “I don’t know what he’s told others, but I can tell you that I haven’t discussed it with him.”

Hands cupping the edge of the desk, her arms braced on either side of her, Amanda leaned close enough to search his eyes. “Don’t you think you should?” she persisted.

Justin’s brooding expression returned. “I’m not his counselor.”

Amanda exhaled and sat back. She knew this wasn’t her problem, and yet it was. “Then try being his friend.”

His jaw hardened. “He’s got to respect me first.”

Amanda knew better than anyone that a solely disciplinarian approach never worked with a kid like Lamar, just as it had never worked with her when she was ticked off at the entire world. “Set a good example. Inundate him with kindness and patience. The respect will come.”

Silence fell between them. She couldn’t tell what Justin was feeling. Wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

Restless, Amanda stood and began to pace around the room. She paused to look at some of the awards hanging on the wall. There were several for community service and fund-raising, as well as his bachelor’s degree diploma from the University of Texas. Also on display were a model and numerous sketches of the Laramie Boys Ranch as it would look when it was completed with a dozen residential bunkhouses, barns and corrals, basketball and tennis courts, and a swimming pool. But the walls were devoid of the kind of pictures that one would expect to see—portraits of family and friends, and kids he had helped in the past. Truth be told, there was nothing uniquely personal here.

Wondering if his quarters at the ranch were any different, she swiveled back around. “I know your heart is in the right place,” she said softly, determined to help him succeed with Lamar.

He raked his hands through his shaggy hair and stood. “You just don’t think I’m cut out for this.”

Amanda paused, her hands curving over the back of an armchair. It was difficult telling someone what they didn’t want to hear. For whatever reason, with Justin, it was ever harder. She met his eyes. “Kids like Lamar are complicated. They’re tough to reach because they play everything so close to the vest.”

His broad shoulders relaxing slightly, Justin roamed closer. She inhaled the brisk masculine scent of his skin and hair, her pulse picking up another notch.

“So how did you get through to him?”

Feeling as if the room was a little too warm and small for comfort, Amanda turned and walked into the spacious living area with its abundant couches. She sank into a big armchair, wishing she could find the right words to reassure him. “I didn’t. Not really.” Pretending she wasn’t oh-so-aware of every masculine inch of him, she looked Justin in the eye, then lamented, “All I can tell you for certain is that Lamar’s self-esteem is incredibly low.”

Justin rubbed the underside of his handsome jaw. “Which is why he’s acting out.”

Trying not to notice how good it felt to be with Justin in such an intimate setting, Amanda fought back a flush. “Right.”

Justin sat on the sofa opposite her. “Still.” Justin paused to look her over lazily, head to toe. “You connected with him a lot more than I did. He followed you around like a lost puppy.”

Tingling everywhere Justin’s gaze had touched, and everywhere it hadn’t, Amanda shrugged. She knew that what she and Lamar had shared had, for the most part, been superficial, that there was much more going on with the teenager than he was divulging. There had to be, given the fact Lamar had been abandoned by his parents before becoming a ward of the state.

Aware Justin was still studying her intently, Amanda slanted Justin a haphazard glance. “Lamar had never actually seen any carpentry work being done, so he was interested in what I was doing.”

“Plus,” Justin guessed ruefully, “Lamar was trying to get out of more desk work, assigned by yours truly.”

“Good point.” A more companionable silence fell, and they exchanged smiles. “I want this to work out for you both,” she said.

Really listening now, Justin leaned forward a bit. “Then where would you suggest I start?”

Amanda tried to keep her eyes off the sinewy lines of his shoulders and chest. She did not need to be wondering how it would feel to be held against him. And she certainly didn’t need to be wondering what it would be like to kiss him!

Amanda smiled and advised, “By doing something with Lamar tomorrow that would get you both out from behind a desk. Something that needs doing that he can feel good about at the end of the day.”

Justin took her advice to heart. “I’ll work on it,” he promised, leaning toward her. “In the meantime, I have a favor to ask.”

Chapter Three

“A favor,” Amanda repeated, wondering why she was so drawn to him. And even more important, why she was so curious. He was just a client. She shouldn’t need to understand Justin McCabe on a personal level, never mind try to figure out why he had taken on a challenge of this nature. And yet, she sensed there was something motivating him. Something he didn’t like to talk about.

“Don’t worry.” Justin rose and headed for the lodge kitchen. “It’s nothing all that drastic.”

Intrigued, Amanda followed him. “I can’t wait to hear it, then.”

Justin wandered over to the fridge and peered inside. He took out a package of New Braunfels smoked sausage links and set them on the counter. “I volunteered to host a fund-raising dinner and I’ve got no clue what I need to do to get ready for it...or even what kind of food I should serve.”

Amanda couldn’t have been more shocked had he proposed marriage. “And you’re asking me? The carpenter?”

Justin set a skillet on the stove. He opened a bottle of Shiner Boch beer and poured it into the skillet, then added the links and turned the burner on to simmer. “You’re still a woman. And you like to cook.” He went back to the fridge and brought out containers of pre-made German potato salad and green beans with almonds. “I figured you would know this stuff.”

Amanda did. Unfortunately, she had gone down this particular path before, and it wasn’t a mistake she intended to repeat. “Isn’t this the kind of thing you should be discussing with your girlfriend?” she asked.

Justin went to the fridge again and brought out two more bottles of beer and a jar of jalapeño barbecue sauce. “Don’t have one.” He opened both beers and handed her one.

Their fingers brushed, sending a thrill spiraling through her. Amanda took a small sip of the delicious golden brew and studied him over the rim. “Don’t have one as in you recently broke up with someone, or don’t have one as in you don’t want to be in a relationship?” she asked before she could stop herself.

The corner of his mouth quirked up and he took a drink. “You really want to know?”

“I do,” she murmured. Though maybe she shouldn’t...

He let out a long breath, then turned and dumped the green beans into a saucepan to heat. “A couple of years out of college, I got engaged to a woman I worked with.” The words seemed to come with difficulty. “Pilar and I were both vying for promotion. But there was only one slot available at the company where we worked, and the competition for it was intense. I’d been there longer, had an edge. So Pilar picked my brain at length about what I thought it would take to land the top job, then passed my ideas off as her own before I could present them to my boss.” He took another sip of beer. “Suffice it to say, she got the promotion.”

“That’s terrible!” Amanda blurted out, stunned by the depth of his ex’s betrayal.

“The worst of it was that Pilar didn’t think she had done anything wrong.” There was a long pause as Justin lounged against the counter. “She said that the corporate world was brutally competitive and to succeed one had to be ruthless. She was only surprised I hadn’t done the same to her, or at least tried. But—” cynicism crept into his low tone “—she felt we could still go on, forewarned and forearmed.”

Amanda couldn’t believe her ears. “Obviously, you felt otherwise.”

“I realized I didn’t want to be in a relationship where competitiveness was a factor. So I ended it.”

“Over her objections,” Amanda guessed.

“Yes.”

Amanda couldn’t blame him for brooding. Setting the bottle aside, she closed the distance between them and squeezed his hand compassionately. “I would have done the same thing in your place,” she admitted.

“What about you?” He drained the remainder of his beer. “Is there a reason you don’t want to help me out? A boyfriend waiting in the wings who might not approve?”

Hoping Justin hadn’t picked up on how attracted she was to him, because an awareness like that could propel them right into the bedroom, Amanda flushed. She moved a slight distance away and worked to contain the emotion in her voice. “I’m not attached, either. Although, like you, I was engaged once, several years ago.”

His gaze scanned her face and body, lingering thoughtfully, before returning to her eyes. “What happened?”

“Rob’s parents got wind of the fact that I had a less-than-admirable record before I went to live with my grandparents.”

His gentle expression encouraged her to go on. Amanda drew a bolstering breath. “They heard from one of their friends, who managed a department store, that I had been caught shoplifting there. As you can imagine, my potential in-laws were not pleased. They had in mind a very different type of woman as the mother of their grandchildren.”

He caught her hand when she would have turned away. “So your fiancé broke up with you?”

Amanda leaned into his touch despite herself. “I broke up with him. I didn’t want to come between Rob and his family, and I certainly didn’t want to have kids with a man whose own parents detested me.”

Justin turned around and brought out two plates. “And Rob didn’t try to persuade you otherwise?”

Noting that Justin had simply assumed she’d dine with him, Amanda shook her head. “In the end, he agreed a long-standing family quarrel wasn’t what he wanted, either.”

“And since then...?” Justin asked, seeming to understand implicitly how devastated the whole debacle had left her.

She decided she might as well eat with him—she was starving and he had enough food to feed four people. “I’ve had dates here and there, but nothing with the potential to be lasting.”

It seemed the kind of guys she wanted to date all had stellar childhoods and stable, loving families. In the end, none wanted to be dating a former delinquent.

The most vulnerable part of her did not want to find out that Justin felt the same way.

Justin loaded their plates with food and motioned for her to sit down at the stainless-steel work island that ran down the center of the room. He took a seat and his smile turned seductive. “So there’s really no reason you shouldn’t help me, then.”

Except that it would bring them closer, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to be closer to someone who made her feel this wildly excited and yearning for more.

She liked the way she had been before. Content with what she had, and who she was. Not longing for the Cinderella fantasy of a spellbinding romance.

Aware Justin was still waiting for her answer, Amanda settled onto a high-backed stool opposite him. “Don’t you have a mother or a sister or someone else you could ask?” Her mouth and throat had suddenly gone bone-dry.

He added a healthy splash of barbecue sauce to his plate and cut into his sausages with gusto. “I don’t have any sisters. My four brothers know as little about party planning as I do.”

“There’s still your mother,” Amanda persisted.

Justin set the barbecue sauce in front of her. “She’s a wildcatter, with her own company to run. Not only is she completely inept in the kitchen—to the point that it’s a running family joke—she’s pretty busy scoping out a new drilling site in the Trans-Pecos area of southwest Texas.”

“So,” Amanda said, picking up her knife and fork, “it’s back to me.”

Laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes. “That lunch you served us proves you’re an amazing cook.”

She kept her eyes locked with his, even as her heart raced in her chest. She took a bite of the meal he had prepared. The sausage was delicious—crispy on the outside, meaty and flavorful on the inside. “This is really tasty, too.”

“The supermarket deli made half of it.”

Amanda felt her face flush even as she savored the tang of the German-style potato salad. “One excellent home-cooked meal is not going to get you what you want.”

“Sure?” His eyes danced with merriment. “Because there are more meals where this came from.”

Amanda raked her teeth across her lower lip. She knew he was attracted to her, too. Sparks arced between them every time they were near. “Is this just an excuse to spend time with me?” she asked warily.

He dabbed at the corners of his mouth with his napkin, poker-faced once again. “I said I wouldn’t hit on you while you were working here.”

And he hadn’t. The problem was, she was beginning to want to proposition him. At least in fantasy...

Heat climbed from her chest to her neck and face. “I believe that you really do need help for this worthwhile cause, but why does it have to come from me? Surely you could hire a party planner or caterer.”

Finished eating, Justin leaned toward her, forearms on the table. “We don’t have the budget for that. Plus, word would get out. And since entertaining is going to be part of the ranch director’s job...” He let the thought trail off.

Unbidden, another wall came tumbling down. One that, perhaps, should have stayed intact. “So to help them take you seriously, this has to be well-done,” Amanda guessed.

His mesmerizing blue eyes found hers. “You got it.”

She bit her lip, intrigued despite herself. “How many guests are you going to have?” She did like cooking for a crowd.

“Twelve,” he replied, setting his glass down. “Thirteen, if you’ll come and speak to the rest of the guests about your own experiences turning your life around and how it led to you becoming the upstanding adult you are today.” He glanced at her admiringly. “Because clearly whatever it is—whatever it takes to connect with an at-risk kid—you have in spades. I can see it in your dealings with Lamar and the way he instinctively relates to you.”

Amanda didn’t know what was worse. The thought of wanting to hit on Justin—when he was so obviously off-limits and out of her league. Or being simultaneously recruited to plan and cook for his party and be the star of his dog-and-pony show on dysfunctional childhoods.

Thoroughly insulted, Amanda set down her napkin and stood. “I have to hand it to you, McCabe. You really know how to make a gal feel good.”

He seemed taken aback by her sarcastic tone.

“The answer is no,” she snapped. “To all of the above.”

And no to the idea of ever making a play for him, as well. Heaven help her, she thought wearily as she strode from the kitchen. When would she ever learn?

* * *

THE NEXT MORNING, it didn’t take Lamar long to notice the atmosphere. “Is Amanda mad at you?”

She’d certainly taken his compliments—and request for help—the wrong way, Justin admitted ruefully.

Wishing he had even a small part of Amanda’s natural ability to communicate with troubled kids, Justin asked his teenage charge, “Why would you think that?”

“I don’t know. I saw her shoot you this look when she was heading over to the bunkhouse. She was definitely angry.”

Justin sighed and ushered Lamar through the lodge onto the back deck, where the sun was already beating down. The heat had risen past an uncomfortable ninety-five degrees, and it was barely past nine o’clock. “I may have ticked her off last night when I asked her to do me a favor that would help out the ranch.” Justin whistled and all five dogs came running.

Lamar hunkered down to pet them and was soon covered with doggie licks and kisses. Reveling in the unchecked affection, Lamar looked up at Justin. “That doesn’t sound like Amanda. Seems like usually she’s happy to help out with stuff. She even volunteers. Like with lunch yesterday. I mean, she didn’t have to feed us, but she did.”

“Yeah.” Justin had also been surprised by this morning’s standoffish attitude. “Maybe I just caught her at a bad time.”

The only thing he knew for sure was that Amanda had felt used or manipulated. Which rankled. All he had really wanted was to find a way to bring down the barriers she had erected around herself and get to know her better. So something else a heck of a lot more satisfying than just friendship might be possible. But that hadn’t happened. Worse, he had undermined whatever small gains he had made in his pursuit of her.

And he was, Justin admitted reluctantly to himself, pursuing her. Despite the fact he had promised not to make a pass at her. While she was working on the ranch, anyway. Once that was done, all bets were off....

“Am I going to be helping her today?” Lamar asked hopefully as he gave the dogs a final pat and rose to his feet.

Justin pushed aside the disappointment that he was still a less than acceptable choice from the teen’s point of view. But, like Amanda said, he had to remedy that by giving the kid something he could accomplish and feel good about. “No, you’re going to be assisting me,” Justin said, ignoring Lamar’s immediate scowl of displeasure. “First off, we need to give the dogs a bath.”

Dismay quickly turned to trepidation. “All five of them?”

Justin nodded, figuring the task would take a good part of the morning to accomplish. “They need to be bathed before we put on their monthly flea and tick medicine.”

Lamar shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at that, either.”

Justin refused to let fear of failure get in the way, for either of them. “Do you know how to pet a dog?”

“Sure...”

Justin smiled and pressed on, “Do you know how to take a bath yourself?”

The boy scoffed. “Well, duh.”

“Then you’ve got all the skills you need.” Justin went into the mudroom off the kitchen and pointed to the shelves. “Grab the leashes, that stack of towels and the box of treats.” Justin picked up the rest of the supplies and stepped out onto the long deck that ran along the back of the lodge where the dogs were still waiting curiously.

One by one, Justin roped the leashes to the railing and then snapped the secured leashes to their collars. He asked Lamar to turn the water on and bring the hose up on the deck. Already sweating himself, Justin adjusted the handheld sprayer to the shower setting and handed it over to Lamar. “Let’s wet them all down first.”

While he did that, which also cooled the dogs off, Justin made sure the towels were well out of the way and opened up the shampoo and conditioner bottles. He handed one of each to Lamar, instructing, “Soap, rinse, condition and rinse again.”

The teen nodded, looking both serious and nervous, but Justin knew the kid would do fine once he actually got started. “Why don’t you start with Sleepy, since she’s the most patient?”

Lamar knelt down next to the dachshund–bassett hound mix. Sleepy lay on her side, lazy as ever and ready for a nap. Already starting to panic, Lamar looked at Justin. “How am I going to wash her?”

“Start with what you can reach.” Justin drizzled a line of shampoo down Roamer’s spine and began working it into his soaked coat. “She’ll get up.”

Lamar looked over at Justin and mimicked his actions. The teenager frowned at the dog’s fur. “It’s not lathering.”

“Did you use shampoo? Or conditioner?” Justin asked, belatedly figuring out what had happened. It was an easy mistake to make—the white plastic bottles all looked the same. Only the labels were different.

“Oh. Conditioner, I guess.”

“It’s okay. Just rinse it out and pour on some shampoo.”

Lamar seemed frazzled. It didn’t help matters when Woof, who was still waiting his turn, began to bark hysterically.

“It’s okay, Woof,” Justin said firmly. “Calm down.”

Reacting to the excited hound, Fetcher strained at her leash then took it between her teeth. Justin knew it wouldn’t take much to chew through it and reprimanded the Labrador–golden retriever mix. “Fetcher, drop!”

Assuming they were involved in a tug-of-war, Fetcher pulled all the harder on the woven fabric lead. Anxiously, Woof intensified his barking and howling. Professor—the poodle–black Lab mix who hated chaos of any kind—began to look for a way out. Any way out.

“Fetcher! Stop!” Justin warned, reaching past Roamer to comfort Professor.

Meanwhile, apparently hating the feel of the shampoo on his back, Roamer rolled around on the deck, trying unsuccessfully to rub the soap out of his coat.

Realizing it would have been better to hook up two hoses, Justin waited while Lamar rinsed the foam off Sleepy.

Justin handed the teenager the appropriate bottle with one hand; with the other he worked to pry the leash out of Fetcher’s teeth. “Condition next,” he instructed.

Lamar frowned, perplexed. “I already did. Before I shampooed, remember?”

Justin grimaced as Fetcher clamped down harder on the leash and tugged with all her might. Meanwhile, Woof continued making a racket.

Justin had to shout to be heard over the growing commotion. “Condition after you shampoo!”

Professor, deciding he’d had enough of the ruckus, began yanking against his leash, using all his weight to pull free. Justin leaped to put a stop to that. Which was, as it turned out, all the opportunity Roamer needed. One jerk of the German shepherd–border collie’s long elegant neck and he was out of his collar. Still covered with swirls of shampoo, Roamer left the dangling leash and collar behind, bounded over the backs of Woof and Sleepy and raced across the long veranda just as an unsuspecting Amanda rounded the corner.

* * *

ONE MOMENT, AMANDA was on her way to see what all the hubbub was about. The next, eighty-five pounds of wet black dog rammed her legs. The impact knocked her off her feet and sent her sprawling so hard onto the wooden floor of the deck that the wind was knocked from her lungs. Roamer splayed awkwardly over her, equally stunned by the collision. He whimpered and licked her face as if to make sure she was all right. Dimly, Amanda was aware the barking and howling had stopped. She blinked again and saw Justin hovering over her, his handsome face taut with concern. Then she noticed Lamar, who was apparently just as worried.

“Amanda!” Justin physically removed his still-confused dog who sat, suddenly compliant. “Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling down beside her.

Feeling a little better, but never comfortable as a damsel in distress, Amanda started to rise. Justin slid an arm around her waist and helped her into a sitting position. “I’m fine.” She looked over at the half-bathed dogs, realizing why there had been so much commotion. She made a face. “You were bathing the dogs all at once?”

“It’s what I usually do,” Justin admitted defensively.

Lamar edged away, shoulders slumped, mouth tight. “Except this time I screwed it up.”

Knowing the last thing the youth needed was another setback, Amanda shook her head and answered in the same tone her grandfather used when she needed bolstering, “No, you didn’t. No one did.” She paused to give the skeptical teen a long, level look. Then she smiled, letting both guys know she really was okay. “Dogs just get excited sometimes.”

His hands still cupping her shoulders, Justin shot her an appreciative look that warmed her almost as much as his tender, protective touch.

“Do you have a dog?” Lamar asked, coming closer.

Amanda let Justin help her all the way to her feet. Realizing belatedly how soggy her T-shirt was, she plucked it away from her chest. She smelled like wet dog—as did the guys. “No. I always wanted one, though.”

Lamar leaned down to pet the now-quiet circle of animals. He regarded her curiously, and the sense of near-familial intimacy between the three of them deepened. “Why didn’t you get one, then?”

Amanda was aware that Justin was listening intently. “None of the adults in my life wanted to take responsibility, so I knew if I got a pet, I’d be completely on my own. I guess I was worried I’d let him or her down.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Lamar protested.

It was good to know someone thought so. Unfortunately, Amanda knew better than anyone that she was better at short-term relationships, in general, than anything requiring a lifetime commitment. Only with her grandparents had she been able to forge something lasting. And that hadn’t happened until they had taken her in and put her on solid footing.

Lamar turned to Justin, not above pleading, “Maybe Amanda should help us finish giving the dogs a bath. Then we could do her a favor by helping her with the carpentry.”

Amanda didn’t want to cut into Justin’s time with Lamar. However, she did want to boost the teen’s confidence. And, given the mess the two guys had made of the doggie baths, it was clear they needed help getting back on track. “Okay.”

Justin blinked in shock at her quick acquiescence, which probably surprised him given the irate way she had walked out on him the evening before.

A little embarrassed that she had been so emotional last night—she could have just said no and left it at that—Amanda continued matter-of-factly, “I’ve got some heavy lifting that needs to be done, and I was headed over here anyway to see if I could borrow you both for an hour or so. Now I won’t have to feel bad about asking since I’ll be helping you fellas out first.”

“We would have helped you anyway,” Justin countered, in a way that let her know he was thinking about her curt refusal to his request for aid the night before.

Amanda refused to feel guilty about that. It had been a bad idea. It was still a bad idea.

She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. “Yes, but this way we’ll be even.”

Lamar squinted at them. “Am I missing something?”

“No,” Justin and Amanda said in unison, despite the chemistry sizzling between them.

Again, Lamar took note.

Wanting to move on, Amanda took a deep breath and asked Justin, “So which dog do you want me to bathe?”

Justin paused. “Probably better take Woof. Fetcher’s still pretty rowdy.”

No kidding, Amanda thought, watching her recommence rolling around on the deck as if wrestling an invisible opponent, her leash once again clamped in her teeth.

“I’ll finish Roamer and then start on Fetcher,” Justin continued, getting back down to work. “Whoever finishes first can handle Professor.”

“So how long have you had your dogs?” Amanda inquired, picking up a bottle of shampoo.

“I adopted Sleepy and Woof when I was still living in Fort Worth and working at a nonprofit there. They came from a shelter. Professor and Fetcher came from families here in Laramie who thought they could handle having a pet and then discovered they couldn’t.” His voice thickened with emotion. “I found Roamer on the side of the road. He was painfully thin and infested with fleas and ticks. It looked like he had been driven out to the middle of nowhere, abandoned and forced to survive on his own.”

Amanda’s eyes filled just thinking about it. “That’s awful.”

Lamar’s jaw clenched in youthful indignation. “How can people do that?” he asked fiercely. “When you adopt a dog—”

Or have a kid like Lamar, Amanda thought.

“—it’s supposed to be a lifelong commitment!”

Only sometimes it wasn’t, Amanda thought sadly. “I guess some people aren’t cut out for that kind of responsibility.” She waited for her turn with the hose, then wet Woof down and lathered shampoo into his fur.

Lamar became even more irate. “Well, you can count my parents in that tally,” he muttered.

Deciding the only thing that would comfort Lamar was total honesty, Amanda confided, “And mine.”

Lamar’s jaw dropped. “You got ditched by your folks, too?”

Beside Amanda, Justin went very still. She realized these were the kinds of intimate details that Justin had wanted her to share with his dinner guests—to help them understand the plight of an abandoned child, from the child’s perspective—and she had declined.

Having shared it once with a man she trusted, and suffered the fallout, she wanted to keep the miserable story to herself.

Yet, realizing it might make Lamar feel less alone to hear her story, Amanda forced herself to continue. “My parents divorced when I was two. I spent the next twelve years bouncing back and forth between their houses.” She sighed heavily. “Both remarried and divorced, more than once, so to say it was chaotic is an understatement. I wasn’t happy about it, and I showed my displeasure by acting out.”

Lamar finished bathing Sleepy before turning his attention to the patiently waiting Professor. “How?”

Amanda shook her head in regret. “I skipped school. Shoplifted. Raided the liquor cabinet of a friend’s parents’. Threw parties. Secretly sneaked out to movies I wasn’t old enough to see.” Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Justin listening intently.

“Wow.” Lamar sounded impressed.

Amanda held up a cautioning hand. “It’s not as glamorous as it sounds, Lamar. I came really close to ending up in juvie. Luckily, before that happened, I tried to run away. The local police found me and took me to the station, where I officially entered the system, and a sympathetic social worker decided I needed more stability than either of my parents were able or willing to give. She talked my grandparents into taking me in.”

Amanda paused, remembering. “They had rules. Lots of them. I had to study for my GED and be respectful, help my grandmother around the house and work as Granddad’s apprentice when I had any spare time.”

Lamar reached for a bottle, paused, as if unable to decipher the labels. “And that was a good thing.”

Noticing he needed the conditioner, Amanda handed it over, and was rewarded with a grateful smile. “Yep. For the first time in my life, I really felt safe. And loved. And cared for.” She paused to towel off Woof, taking care to dry his face and ears before his body, just as she had seen Justin do.

That accomplished, she continued her story. “The point is, even though my parents couldn’t handle me or my problems, I eventually ended up in a better place. I was happy.” She paused to let her words sink in and saw Justin was a captive audience, too.

She turned away from Justin’s tender expression. Swallowing, she pushed on. “Even more important, for the first time I saw what a good marriage looked like. It made me realize how important it is to marry the right person from the get-go.”

Lamar turned to Justin, a question in his eyes. “Do you think that, too?”

Justin nodded as he toweled off Roamer. “Yes. My parents have a very strong and happy relationship.” He smiled at Lamar then turned and caught Amanda’s gaze. “Having that kind of love and commitment as a foundation makes for a very good marriage.”

“And happy marriages,” Amanda concluded softly, pleasantly surprised to find them all on the same page, “make happy families.”

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