There was no time for a plan of attack, no time to even figure out what was going on.

Katherine screamed again, and Hunter’s heart stopped dead in his chest. Swearing, he took the stairs two at a time to get to her.

Feeling like he was running in quicksand, it seemed to take him an eternity to reach the top of the stairs. Katherine didn’t scream again, but that did little to reassure him. She couldn’t scream if someone had knocked her out…or killed her.

Something squeezed his heart at the thought. No, dammit! She wasn’t dead, and anyone who even thought about hurting her was going to have to deal with him.

Dear Reader,

I’ve heard of writers who write romance novels by formula: the hero and heroine meet by page 5, the first kiss is by page 50, the first love scene should begin by page 150, etc, etc. I don’t do that. I have to let a story evolve and give the characters the space they need to come together. And my editor, thank God, indulges me! So sometimes the hero and heroine don’t meet until the twenty-first page of the manuscript—as they do in A Hero to Count On—but it’s worth the wait. Especially when you have a hero and heroine like Hunter Sinclair and Katherine Wyatt. I love the chemistry between them…and the sass. Writing their story was great fun, and I have to say that so far, this is my favorite of the BROKEN ARROW RANCH series. But then again, I feel that way about all my books when I finish them! I hope you do, too.

Enjoy!

Linda Turner

A Hero to Count On
Linda Turner

www.millsandboon.co.uk

LINDA TURNER

began reading romance novels in high school and began writing them one night when she had nothing else to read. She’s been writing ever since. Single and living in Texas, she travels every chance she gets, scouting locales for her books.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Epilogue

Prologue

Lying in her boyfriend’s arms, her heart still pounding from their loving, Katherine Wyatt felt like crying. How many evenings had they spent like this? After two years she couldn’t remember. She just knew that, even though she loved Nigel with all her heart, she needed more from him than sex. “We need to talk,” she said huskily.

“If this is about me breaking our date last weekend, I’m sorry, love, but I had to go to Paris again. There was a last-minute glitch in an acquisition, and the entire deal would have fallen through if I hadn’t taken a personal hand in things. Don’t be mad. I was just doing my job.”

He was always “just doing his job.” She tried to understand, but ever since she’d known him, Paris had been a problem. It seemed like every time they made plans to do something special, he had to travel to Paris to take care of some kind of glitch with the import/export business he’d inherited from his father.

She tried, however, not to complain. She’d had boyfriends who couldn’t keep a job, who didn’t work, who expected her to loan them money. She never had to worry about that with Nigel. He not only worked hard, he always paid for everything when they were together and spoiled her with wonderful gifts. How could she find fault with that?

Considering all that, she knew she should have been happy. He was a wonderful man—generous and loving, affectionate, honest and kind. He was, in fact, everything she could want…except her husband.

“I want to get married.”

The second she said the words, he stiffened. She wasn’t surprised. She’d tried discussing marriage with him before, but every time the word came up, he found a way to change the subject. Not this time. She wanted a husband, children, a home with toys and dogs and a swing in the yard. If he wasn’t interested in having the same thing, then she had some hard decisions to make about continuing their relationship.

“I know you swore you’d never get married again after your divorce, but I’m not Cynthia. I’m nothing like her. I’m not going to hurt you or take you to the cleaners—”

Setting her away from him, he reached for his pants. “It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” she asked, hurt. “We’ve been dating for two years! I love you. I want to have your children while I’m still young enough to enjoy them.”

“Sweetheart, you’re only twenty-eight!”

“I’ll be twenty-nine next month,” she said. “I’m ready to settle down. If you’re not, then at least give me some idea of when you will be. Give me some kind of hope.”

For a moment she didn’t think he was going to answer her. Pulling on his shirt, his face set in grim lines, he didn’t look at her as he tucked in his shirt, then sat down to tug on his shoes and tie them. She’d never seen him so somber.

Suddenly chilled, without quite knowing why, she pulled on a robe and quickly belted it around her waist. Even then, she wasn’t ready for what he had to say when she turned to face him.

“Cynthia’s not my ex-wife,” he said bluntly. “She’s my wife. I lied when I told you we were divorced. We’ve been married for three years.”

Stunned, she gasped. Married. He was married? “No! You can’t be. You’re lying.”

“We have a home in Paris…and a one-year-old son. That’s why I had to fly home last weekend. He was sick.”

His words hit her like a knife in the heart. Horrified, she looked at him as if she’d never seen him before. “You had a son a year after you and I started sleeping together?”

“It wasn’t planned, Katherine—”

“Do you think that matters?” she cried. “You’re married! While your wife was pregnant, you were having sex with me. And you obviously don’t see anything wrong with that.”

“She didn’t know. She never has to know. I wouldn’t be telling you if you weren’t pressing me to get married.”

Stunned, Katherine couldn’t believe he was serious. “So it’s all right for you to cheat on your wife and son and lie to me as long as you’re the only one who knows the truth? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No, of course not,” he retorted, scowling. “But telling the truth isn’t always the best policy. People get hurt…”

“So you’re saying it’s all right to lie?” When he didn’t deny it, she looked at him in confusion. “I don’t know you anymore. I’m beginning to wonder if I ever did. Who are you? How can you be so cold and unfeeling?”

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he growled, stung. “You know that.”

“You hurt me—and your wife and son—the first time you flirted with me. You betrayed us all when you had sex with me without telling me the truth.”

“It wasn’t just sex—”

“Of course it was,” she snapped. “What else could it be? You vowed to love and honor another woman till death do you part.”

“But—”

“Don’t you dare say that didn’t mean you couldn’t love someone else,” she cut in coldly. “The only person you love is yourself. Does your wife know who you are? Does she have a clue what kind of man you are?”

“She loves me,” he retorted. “That’s all she needs to know.”

“No,” she corrected him, “she loves the man she thinks you are. If she ever discovers the truth, she’s going to hate your guts. Just like I do.”

He winced, and reached for her. “Katherine, sweetheart, I know you’re hurt, but don’t do this. Give me a chance to make it up to you—”

“Get out!”

“Sweetheart—”

“We’re done,” she told him coldly. “There’s nothing else to say.” And without another word, she stepped over to the bedroom door and jerked it open. Left with no choice, he walked out. It wasn’t until she heard him slam the front door of her flat that she let herself cry.

Chapter 1

“I still can’t understand why you went to Scotland, of all places,” Priscilla grumbled. “I know you wanted to get away from everything that reminded you of Nigel, but what’s wrong with Nice?”

“France? Are you serious?”

On the other end of the phone, Priscilla winced. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. Obviously, anything connected with France is out of the question. But there’s always Monaco or Greece. Or Brazil. Now, there’s a change of scene! You could find yourself one of those fantastically good-looking Brazilians and have a good time. Trust me, you’ll forget all about Nigel. And who knows? The new guy might have a brother you can introduce me to. We could end up being sisters and sisters-in-law—”

“Will you stop? I’m not looking for a man and neither should you. They’re nothing but bad news.”

“They’re not all like Nigel,” Priscilla said.

“Really?” Katherine scoffed. “You couldn’t swear that by me. Remember Sam? And Thomas? And don’t forget Lucas. He was worse than Nigel. He took me home to meet his parents and forgot to mention the little fact that he had another girlfriend. His parents were totally confused.”

“Jackass,” her sister retorted. “If I could punch him and the others in the nose, you know I would. But it wouldn’t change anything, and it certainly wouldn’t make you feel better. The only thing that’s going to do that is getting on with your life.”

“I’m not jumping back into dating, Cilla. Not this time.”

“Buck said the same thing, and so did Elizabeth, and look what happened. They both found love when they least expected it. You can, too.”

“No, thank you,” Katherine said, shuddering. “Just the thought of putting myself through that again turns my blood cold.”

“You’re cold because you’re in Scotland,” her sister said bluntly. “Has the sun even been out since you’ve been there? It hasn’t, has it?”

“I didn’t come for the sun,” she reminded her. “I just wanted some time for myself.”

“Time for what? To mourn? To slip into depression? Being alone now is the worst thing you can do. You need family. Why don’t you go to Colorado and see Elizabeth and Buck?”

She had to admit, she’d thought about it. But then she remembered she wouldn’t just be visiting her brother and sister. Buck had Rainey now, and Elizabeth was head-over-heels for John. Regretfully, she shook her head. “I can’t. Everyone’s in love there. I’d only bring them all down.”

“Hogwash! They love you. And none of us want you to go through this alone. We’re all here for you if you’ll just let us.”

Katherine knew she was right, but she didn’t know if she was ready to face anyone. She felt like such an idiot for not seeing Nigel for the lying dog he really was. “I’ll think about it,” she promised. “Just give me some time.”

Time was something she had plenty of, and Katherine should have used it to her advantage. After all, she had plenty to do. She was an illustrator for one of the most well-known publishers of children’s books in England, and she’d brought her latest project with her. It was due in a month, and she would need every second of the next thirty days to finish her illustrations on time.

But three days after her telephone conversation with Priscilla, she still found it impossible to focus on her work. The silence of her own company was driving her mad, and just when she thought she was getting her emotions under control, images of Nigel would float through her head uninvited, and tears would once again flood her eyes. Scotland obviously wasn’t working for her. She had to get out of there.

For all of thirty seconds she considered going to a tropical island far, far away, somewhere where the language and food were so foreign that she wouldn’t think twice about him. In the end, however, she knew there was only one place where she would find solace, and that was the Broken Arrow Ranch, near Willow Bend, Colorado.

She hadn’t spent much time at the ranch, and six months ago, when she and her sisters and brother had inherited the place from their long-lost American relative, Hilda Wyatt, leaving London for a cattle ranch in the wilds of Colorado was the last thing she’d thought she’d ever be interested in. It was too far away, too rugged, too different from the kind of life she’d led in England, and she’d wanted nothing to do with it. She had gladly let her brother, Buck, move to Colorado and she’d stayed in London.

Her feelings about the ranch, however, changed drastically when her family came under attack. And it was all Hilda Wyatt’s fault. She hadn’t left the ranch to them outright, with no strings attached. Instead, through the terms of her will, she’d required someone from the family to spend every night at the ranch for a year. Buck or Katherine and her sisters could be absent from the house for one night, but not for two in a row. If they failed to meet the requirements of the will, then the ranch would go to an unnamed heir.

Katherine appreciated the fact that Hilda respected family heritage enough to include her and her siblings in her will even though she’d never met them. She’d obviously wanted the British branch of the Wyatts to inherit the Broken Arrow, if possible.

Unfortunately, she’d probably never suspected that once the citizens of Willow Bend learned of the conditions of the will and the unnamed heir, they would attack the legal heirs in order to drive them away from the ranch so someone else could inherit. They’d harassed Buck and Rainey, made their lives miserable. Then, while the newlyweds were gone on their honeymoon, someone had terrorized Elizabeth when she’d taken Buck’s place at the ranch. If John, the ranch foreman, hadn’t been there to protect her—and fall in love with her—she could easily have been seriously hurt, even killed, during her stay at the ranch. Someone had shot out the windshield of the vehicle she was driving and even set the hunting cabin she and John had escaped to on fire.

Over the past few weeks, however, things had calmed down considerably at the ranch, which wasn’t surprising. Buck and Rainey had returned home from their honeymoon, and Elizabeth and John were engaged and busy rebuilding the cabin where they would live once they were married. When she arrived, three-fourths of the family would be in residence. Surely, whoever was after the ranch would realize that their odds of driving the Wyatts away from the Broken Arrow were slim to none.

She would, she decided, be safe…and have thousands of acres to lose herself in and forget Nigel. The decision made, she booted up her computer and booked the first available flight to Colorado.

“What do you mean you need someone to pick you up?” Elizabeth asked, shocked. “Where are you?”

“Changing planes in New York.” Katherine laughed. “I’m scheduled to arrive at four in Willow Bend. You can pick me up, can’t you?”

Surprised, Elizabeth said, “What? Oh, yes, of course.” Her thoughts on the wedding she and John were scheduled to attend at three-thirty, she didn’t have a clue how they would get there on time to pick her up, but she could hardly tell Katherine that. She’d been through too much lately—the last thing Elizabeth wanted her to think was that her arrival was an inconvenience. “Everything’s kind of crazy today, but someone will be there. Are you okay? Priscilla said you were in Scotland.”

“I was. I just needed a complete change of scene. But I need family, too,” she added huskily. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

At the sound of her sister’s voice thick with pain, Elizabeth wanted to cry. “I know it hurts, but give it some time. Things will get better.”

“I know,” she choked. “I’ll see you this afternoon. All right? I’ve got to go.”

She hung up almost immediately, and Elizabeth didn’t doubt for a minute that her sister was crying her eyes out. Her heart aching for her, she hurried into the dining room, where the rest of the family was lingering over an early lunch.

“Who was that?” Buck asked as Elizabeth took a seat across from her fiancé, John. “I’ve been expecting a call from Luke Hucklebee about the livestock trailer he’s selling—”

“Katherine’s in New York,” she said. “She decided Scotland wasn’t the right place for her, after all.”

“Thank God for that,” Rainey said. “What time’s her plane getting in?”

“Four.”

“Four!” Buck repeated, frowning. “But we won’t be back from the cattle auction. And you and John will still—”

“Be at the wedding,” she finished for him. “I know.”

“We could leave the auction early,” Rainey suggested. “Someone needs to be there to pick her up.”

“I agree,” Elizabeth said, “but I don’t see how John and I can just walk out in the middle of the wedding. Unless, of course, we leave between the wedding and the reception, make a quick trip to the airport and bring her back with us to the reception.”

“Oh, I don’t think that would be a very good idea,” Rainey said. “The last thing she’s going to want to go to right now is a wedding.”

“True, but what else can we do? After all the cows we lost to rustlers, you and Buck really need to go to the auction and pick up some calves—”

“I’ll go.”

When everyone at the dining room table turned to him in surprise, John’s half brother, Hunter Sinclair, grinned crookedly. “Did you think I meant the auction? No, thanks—Buck and Rainey can handle that. I don’t know one end of a cow from another. I was talking about Katherine. I’ll pick her up at the airport.”

“Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked him. “I thought you were going to Aspen.”

“I can do that anytime,” he assured her. “I don’t mind. Really.”

Studying him, Elizabeth still hesitated. Hunter had only been at the ranch a few days, but she’d recognized him for who he was within the first twenty minutes of his unexpected arrival. A flirt and a tease. He was too good-looking for his own good, and he could sweet-talk a woman without even thinking twice about it. That was the last thing Katherine needed right now.

“I appreciate the offer, Hunter, but Katherine’s been having a difficult time lately. She’s not going to be very good company—it would probably be better if either Buck or I picked her up.”

“You mean because of that louse she was dating,” he said. “He broke her heart and now she doesn’t want anything to do with men.”

“Well, I don’t know that for sure, but she’s been crying a lot. You shouldn’t have to deal with that—”

“I’ll handle her with kid gloves,” he promised. “Honest. I know better than to take on a woman who’s just found out the man she gave her heart to is a rat. She’s safe with me. I’ll treat her like my sister. Scout’s honor.”

“You don’t have a sister,” John pointed out, grinning. “And as far as I know, you were never a Scout.”

“I could have been,” he retorted with twinkling eyes. “I will be in my next lifetime. And I’ll have a sister, too. Okay?”

“Yeah, right,” his brother chuckled. “You’ll probably pester the hell out of her, God help her. Elizabeth just wants to make sure you don’t do that to Katherine.”

“Me? C’mon, you know I’m a sweetheart. I’m certainly not going to pester Katherine. She’s Elizabeth’s sister, for heaven’s sake. I’ve got to keep peace in the family. So go to your friends’ wedding. I know you’ve both been looking forward to it, though God knows why. Why people celebrate when they’re making the biggest mistake of their lives—”

“Hunter—”

He grinned at Rainey’s warning tone. “Okay, okay. Each of you Wyatt women has the soul of a romantic. That’s another reason Katherine’s safe with me. Unlike you guys, I’m not going anywhere near that.”

Far from offended, Buck only chuckled. “Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”

“Yeah, come on in,” John teased. “The water’s fine.”

“No, thanks. I prefer to be footloose and fancy-free and only answer to me. The only reason I’m offering to pick up Katherine is because you all have plans. I don’t. But if you don’t want me to…”

“Oh, no, it isn’t that,” Elizabeth assured him. “If you’re sure you don’t mind…and you won’t flirt with her…you would really be helping us out.”

“Then it’s decided,” he said promptly. “All of you go do what you have to do and I’ll take care of Katherine. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she’s fine. Okay?”

Elizabeth knew he wouldn’t deliberately hurt Katherine or make her feel uncomfortable. If he could make her laugh after all the tears she’d shed, then she would kiss him for it when she and John got back from the wedding.

“Okay,” she sighed, relieved. “I’ve got a picture of her from Buck’s wedding that’s great. You can take it with you so you won’t have to ask every woman who steps off the plane if they’re Katherine.”

“Damn,” he retorted, wicked mischief dancing in his eyes. “That was the part I was looking forward to the most.”

Standing just past the security check at Willow Bend’s small regional airport, Hunter didn’t really need the picture that Elizabeth had loaned him to recognize her sister. After all, this was Willow Bend, for heaven’s sake, not Chicago. If there were more than a handful of passengers getting off the plane, he’d be damned surprised. And Katherine was British and had two sisters that were in the fashion industry. If she dressed as stylishly as Elizabeth, recognizing her wasn’t going to be a problem.

But even as he assured himself he’d know her the second he saw her, his gaze once again dropped to the picture he’d looked at at least ten times in nearly as many minutes. She was cute. Great smile, heart-shaped face, dimples. And the mischief that danced in her big blue eyes would make more than one man stop and take a second look at her. She could, no doubt, be trouble with a capital T. And there was nothing he liked more than a woman he could get into trouble with.

If you’re sure you don’t mind…and you won’t flirt with her…

Elizabeth’s words echoed in his ears, along with his own. I’ll take care of Katherine. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine.

Swallowing a groan, he wanted to kick himself. Idiot! What possessed him to say such a thing? He hadn’t even seen her picture yet. Not, he acknowledged ruefully, that he had any intention of making a serious play for the woman. She was extended family, of a sorts. Or she would be when her sister married his half brother. And he didn’t play around with women who were closely connected to friends or family. That only created hard feelings when the women discovered he wasn’t the marrying kind.

So Katherine Wyatt was off-limits and had been before he’d even seen her picture. Damn. He could have had some fun with her. Instead he had to behave himself. Sometimes life just wasn’t fair.

Grinning at the thought, he looked up as passengers started down the escalator that led to the baggage-claim area; and there was Katherine Wyatt, right in the middle of the pack. She’d been crying—that much was obvious—and the sparkle was gone from her eyes. In spite of that, all he could think was that her picture didn’t do her justice.

How could a woman who looked as if she’d cried all the way across the Atlantic and halfway through the flight from New York look so pretty? She’d been on a plane for hours, but you wouldn’t know it to look at her. Her chestnut hair was a mass of long curls that were held back from her face with a blue-and-white polka-dot scarf, and the red T-shirt and white jeans that she wore didn’t have a single wrinkle. If her eyes were swollen from crying, that was the only crack in her armor. She stood tall, all five-foot-two of her, in wedge-soled sandals, and was the cutest handful of trouble he’d seen in a long time.

“And she’s off-limits,” he muttered, swallowing a groan.

Resigned, he pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and headed toward Katherine as she stepped off the escalator. Her attention on the signs that directed passengers to the baggage-claim area, she didn’t spare him a glance.

Frowning, he couldn’t believe she was so unaware of her surroundings. Considering all the attacks against her family and the ranch over the past six months, she should have been on constant guard. Didn’t she know she was in danger? He’d have to talk to her about that on the way back to the ranch.

Stepping forward to help her with the heavy carry-on bag she had slung over her shoulder, he said easily, “You must be Katherine. Here…let me help you with that.”

Chapter 2

Caught off guard, Katherine turned sharply, just in time to see a stranger reach for her bag. Alarmed, she wrapped protective fingers around the shoulder strap of her carry-on and took a quick step back. “What do you think you’re doing?” she demanded, scowling.

“Don’t get all spooked on me,” he said with a crooked grin as he once again reached for her bag. “I’m just trying to help—”

Outraged, she knocked his hand away. “I don’t know who the hell you think you are, but you’ve got two seconds to get away from me or I’m calling security!”

Her threat should have sent him packing. Instead he only laughed. “C’mon, there’s no need for that. I’m harmless.”

“Yeah, right,” she scoffed.

She’d never seen a man who looked less harmless in her life. He was a bad boy—she could see it in his wicked, laughing green eyes—and she didn’t doubt for a second that he could melt a woman’s bones without ever touching her. She wanted nothing to do with him.

Deliberately she turned her back on him. “I don’t need your help. Leave me alone.”

“Okay, if that’s the way you want it. It’s ten miles to the ranch, but if you want to walk, far be it from me to stop you. Elizabeth’s going to kill me, but, hey, I tried.”

“I don’t care—” she began, only to break off abruptly at the mention of her sister. Whirling, she studied him suspiciously. “How do you know Elizabeth? Who are you?”

“Hunter Sinclair,” he retorted. When she just looked at him blankly, he explained, “I’m John’s brother. He and Elizabeth couldn’t make it, so I volunteered to pick you up, instead.”

At his words, Katherine paled. “John doesn’t have a brother. And I just talked to my sister this morning, and she never once mentioned that she was sending anyone to pick me up. They sent you, didn’t they?”

Confused, he frowned. “They? They who? Who are you talking about?”

“The thugs who want the ranch,” she retorted. “Did you think I don’t know about what’s been going on just because I live in England? Elizabeth and Buck keep me posted on everything. They told me who they trust, and trust me, your name never came up. So get the hell away from me. If you lay so much as a finger on me, I’m going to scream my guts out and I won’t stop until somebody throws your butt in jail.”

Impressed—she was tougher than she looked—he stepped back, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. “Whoa, whoa! There’s no need to scream. I’m not going to hurt you. John does have a brother. A half brother.”

“Then why hasn’t he mentioned you?”

“How the hell do I know? Because I’m the black sheep of the family?” He shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe because we haven’t seen each other in years and lost touch. Maybe my name just didn’t come up when you talked to him. You’ll have to ask him yourself.”

“I’ll do that,” she snapped, and reached for her phone.

“You won’t get him,” he warned. “He and Elizabeth went to a wedding. It started at three-thirty. That’s why they sent me.”

Ignoring him, she punched in her sister’s number, then John’s. Neither one answered. Was he telling the truth? she wondered as her eyes searched his. He had all the right answers, but she couldn’t forget how badly certain people in Willow Bend wanted to drive her family away from the ranch. What if this man was part of that conspiracy? What if he’d somehow grabbed Elizabeth and John and locked them up somewhere for a couple of days? If he could lure everyone away from the ranch for forty-eight hours, the struggle to hang on to the Broken Arrow would be over for good.

“I’m not going anywhere with you until I talk to John and Elizabeth first,” she said flatly, “so you might as well get comfortable.”

“Fine by me,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve got nothing but time. And we can get to know each other. Do you still read tea leaves?”

Surprised, she blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

“Your grandmother taught you to read tea leaves when you were a little girl, didn’t she? I heard you were really good at it.”

“Who—”

“Elizabeth said you found a watch she lost on a school field trip. It was near a fountain, wasn’t it? It slipped off her arm when she threw some pennies in the fountain.”

No one but her family knew that story. Stunned, Katherine didn’t have to ask where he’d heard it. Elizabeth must have told him, just as he’d claimed.

“I understand why you don’t trust me,” Hunter said quietly. “After everything that’s happened to Buck and Rainey and Elizabeth, I’d be spooked, too, if I were you. But I’m not your enemy. You have nothing to fear from me. I won’t hurt you.”

The teasing glint that had been in his eyes just moments before was gone, and there was no doubting his sincerity. She wanted to believe him, but lately her family had learned the hard way not to trust anyone. “I still need to talk to Elizabeth,” she said huskily as she once again reached for her phone. “As soon as she verifies you’re really who claim you are, we can go.”

“Have it your way,” he said with a shrug. “I’m willing to wait as long as you are. How about a cup of coffee while we wait? Or would you rather have tea? Hot tea’s not something you’re going to run into in this neck of the woods, but there’s bound to be something. Let’s see what we can scrounge up.”

Katherine didn’t really want tea—or for Hunter Sinclair to be nice to her. She just wanted some time to herself. But if Hunter was telling the truth—and there was every indication that he was—they were, in some convoluted way, extended family, and the least she could do was be polite.

Before they could find coffee or tea, however, her phone rang, and with a sigh of relief, she snatched it up. “Elizabeth? Thank God! I was afraid you wouldn’t call me back for hours.”

“We just walked out of the church and are on our way to the reception. Are you home yet? Did Hunter have any trouble recognizing you? I loaned him a picture—”

“Oh, he had a much easier time than I did. I was expecting you. Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t make it?”

“You were in the air,” her sister reminded her, “so I couldn’t reach you on your cell. You caught me off guard when you called—John and I had a wedding to go to, but after everything you’ve been through, I didn’t want you to think we didn’t want you here. So when Hunter volunteered to pick you up, it seemed like the perfect solution.” Struck by a sudden thought, she said sharply, “Everything’s all right, isn’t it? He promised to behave himself.”

Aware of Hunter’s eyes on her as he waited for her to finish her conversation, she stiffened. Behave himself? Had Elizabeth asked him to behave himself with her? Why? Had the two of them discussed her?

Dozens of questions—and answers she didn’t like—bombarded her, but all she said was, “Everything’s fine, now that I know he’s who he claimed to be. I didn’t know John had a brother.”

“I just found out myself last week when he showed up at the ranch,” Elizabeth said. “But he’s a great guy. He may tease you until you want to shoot him, but John trusts him completely, and you can, too.”

“If you say so,” she said, studying Hunter doubtfully. “I’ll let you know.”

“Be nice,” Elizabeth laughed. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

When Katherine hung up, she wasn’t surprised to find Hunter grinning at her. “You don’t have to look so smug,” she sniffed, refusing to be embarrassed for distrusting him. “She said you were a tease but I could trust you. I’m reserving judgment.”

“On what? Whether I’m a tease or that you can trust me?”

Looking down her pert nose at him, she lifted a delicately arched brow. “What do you think?”

Far from offended, he only laughed. “And here I thought I was doing so well. What is it with you cute ones? None of you will give me the time of day.”

Fighting a grin, she pointedly looked at her watch. “It’s four-twenty.”

“Smart-ass,” he chuckled as he opened the door to his Toyota 4Runner for her and helped her into the vehicle. “I knew you were going to be trouble the second I laid eyes on you.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, right.” Shutting her door for her, he walked around the vehicle and climbed into the driver’s seat, his grin maddening as he reminded her to buckle up. The second her seat belt was safely in place, he glanced behind him, threw the transmission into Reverse and hit the gas.

“What the—?” Grabbing the handhold on the doorframe, she gasped, “Are you mad?”

“You mean crazy?” he laughed as he put the SUV in Drive and head for the highway. “Sometimes. I don’t let any grass grow under my feet.”

“Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me,” she retorted dryly. “So what’s a man like you doing in Colorado?”

“Taking a break between jobs. I don’t start my new job in L.A. until next month, so it seemed like a good time to visit John.”

Her gaze on the road that stretched out before them as he headed for the ranch, she said, “I thought it was a good time for a visit, too.”

“Because you wanted to put some space between you and that amoral jackass you were involved with?” At her sharp look of surprise, he added, “Oh, yeah, I know about it. And just for the record, you should have known better than to trust the bastard.”

“Oh, really?” Indignant, she said, “And how would you know that? You don’t know anything about Nigel.”

“I know he’s a man,” he retorted. “That’s all I need to know. Even a woman with a pea brain should know better than to trust a man.”

“I beg your pardon! I know a lot of good men.”

“Really? Name two.”

She held up her index finger. “My brother.” Then a second finger. “Your brother.”

“Most men aren’t like your brother or mine,” he returned. “Or haven’t you figured that out yet?”

“Are you including yourself in that group?”

“Guilty as charged,” he said promptly. “We’re after only one thing. You should know that. The jerk you were in love with didn’t just lie to you—he lied to his wife, too, and cheated on both of you. Talk about a scumbag. If you were smart, you’d never have anything to do with a man again.”

“Trust me,” she said stiffly, “I learned my lesson. That’s exactly what I intend to do.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he mocked. “That’s what all you women say. Then some good-looking loser flirts with you, you get all hot and bothered and think you’ve found Prince Charming. Why does everything have to be a fairy tale? What’s wrong with good old-fashioned sex for sex’s sake?”

“You’re a cynic.”

He didn’t deny it. “Yeah. So?”

“You don’t believe in love?”

“Not hardly,” he said with a short laugh. “It’s all just hormones.”

Deep down inside, Katherine’s bruised heart was tempted to agree with him. If she didn’t believe in love, she reasoned, she couldn’t get hurt. It made perfect sense. There was only one small problem. If she didn’t believe in love, why did she feel as if her heart had been ripped out of her chest by Nigel?

“I don’t think so,” she said quietly. “Hormones don’t hurt like this.”

Cringing at the sound of the pain thickening her voice, she knew she was going to cry if they didn’t change the subject. “Enough doom and gloom,” she said briskly, straightening her shoulders. “So you’re the half brother. What’s your story? It has to be more entertaining than mine.”

“I don’t know about that,” he said wryly. “I can always make something up. My mother always said I could tell a better story than all the other kids put together.”

“And how many kids were there in your family?”

“Eight.”

“Eight! Are you serious?”

Grinning, he shrugged. “Doesn’t everybody have eight brothers and sisters? Of course, some are step, others half, a few full blood. Between them, my parents were married five times.” At her look of horror, he chuckled. “It’s pretty damn awful, isn’t it? My mom married twice, my dad three times, and they’re probably not done. They’re both currently divorced and looking. Talk about optimists. They’re both crazy.”

“So that’s why you’re such a cynic. No wonder you don’t believe in happily ever after.”

“You’re damn straight,” he retorted. “There’s no such thing.”

Katherine had always considered herself a die-hard romantic, but that was before…before Nigel lied to her, before he made a fool of her, before he charmed her into falling in love with him without even hinting that he was married. “If you’re hoping for an argument, you’re out of luck,” she said flatly. “I just got my heart stomped on by a man who claimed to love me. If that’s love, I want no part of it.”

She meant every word, but later, after they arrived at the ranch and Hunter carried her luggage upstairs, and she’d gone down to the kitchen to make a pot of tea, the silent emptiness of the house made her more lonely than ever. She found herself thinking of Nigel, and she hated it. She had to stop this! The man was a rat, and even if he’d contacted her and told her he’d made a mistake—she was the one he loved—she would have told him never to darken her doorstep again. So why did her heart ache? Why did she constantly feel like crying? Why couldn’t she get past—

“You’re thinking of him again, aren’t you?”

Looking up from her thoughts to find Hunter standing in the kitchen doorway, watching her, she frowned in irritation. “Do you always slink around the house that way, spying on people?”

Not the least apologetic, he laughed. “Yeah. Does it bother you?”

“Yes,” she retorted. “At least have the decency to knock, to let someone know you’re there.”

His green eyes alight with mischief, he lifted his fist and knocked twice on the doorway.

She told herself she wasn’t going to laugh. But he didn’t make it easy, darn him! Trying and failing to give him a stern frown, she sniffed, “Very funny. How long did it take you to think that one up?”

“Sweetheart, you just bring out the best in me,” he drawled, winking at her.

The sound of a car honking in the drive suddenly echoed through the house. “That must be Elizabeth and John,” Katherine said. Thankful for the distraction—the man was far too sure of himself—she quickly set down the cup of tea she’d just made for herself. “They’re early.”

Hurrying out to greet them, she took one look at the two of them together and found it hard not to believe in love. Her sister was glowing, and John couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

“Look at you!” she told Elizabeth, stepping back from a hug to study her with a teasing smile. “You look wonderful.”

“It’s the dress,” she said, grinning as she showed off the ultrafeminine pink concoction Katherine recognized as their sister Priscilla’s design. “Cilla outdid herself.”

“True,” Katherine agreed, “but it’s not the dress. Have you set a date yet for the wedding?” When her sister hesitated, she said quietly, “It’s okay, Lizzie. You’re getting married. I’m happy for you.”

“I could kick Nigel,” Elizabeth retorted, scowling. “Somebody needs to go to Paris and string him up by his ears.”

“Just say the word, and I’ll go,” Hunter volunteered as he joined them. “The bastard needs to be taught a lesson.”

“I’ll go with you,” John added. “After we get through with the jerk, he’ll think twice before he cheats on his wife and takes advantage of another woman.”

Amazed by the three of them, Katherine couldn’t help but smile. “You all have been in the Wild West too long,” she told her sister. “Where’s Buck? Don’t we need him to ride shotgun?”

“He and Rainey have gone to an auction in Colorado Springs. And trust me, if he thought for one second that he could confront Nigel, he’d already be packing for Paris,” Elizabeth said, sobering. “We’re all outraged by what he did to you. He’s nothing but a lying, two-timing adulterer, and don’t you dare lose a second’s sleep over the jerk. You deserve better. Give it time. You’ll find someone.”

“Oh, no!” she cried. “I’m not going there again, thank you very much. I’d rather deal with mad cow than take on another man.”

“Whoa!” John said quickly, horrified. “This is ranching country. Don’t say that!”

“Sorry,” she said with a grimace. “I didn’t mean that, of course. The cows don’t deserve to suffer just because Nigel was and is and always will be a bastard.”

She would have sworn she was in perfect control, but tears suddenly stung her eyes, and before she could blink them away, Elizabeth saw her distress and came to her rescue. “What are we doing, standing in the drive, when you’ve got to be exhausted? Let’s go inside and have a spot of tea.”

“I just made some.”

“Good. I made a pound cake yesterday—it’s Hilda’s recipe. We’ll have that, too.”

Rainey and Buck came in later that evening. Except for Priscilla, the family was finally together again. It didn’t take Katherine long to realize that coming to Colorado had been the right decision, after all. Over the course of the next few days, she fell into a routine of having meals with the family, then retreating to quiet, private areas of the ranch to work on her illustrations. For the most part, she thought she was doing quite well. She’d gotten her emotions under control, and if she cried, it was only when she was alone in bed at night.

She hid it well—or so she thought—until she was forced to face the truth one morning at the breakfast table. “You’ve been crying again,” Buck said flatly.

“I have not!”

“And you’re losing weight,” Elizabeth added with a frown. “You need to eat more than an apple for breakfast.”

“I do! I had—”

“Toast,” Rainey finished for her when she hesitated. “One lousy piece of toast. That’s not enough to keep a bird alive.”

“I’ve never been a big eater…”

“Oh, really?” Elizabeth retorted. “It seems to me that I remember someone eating an entire batch of scones with butter and honey. And then there’s Mother’s recipe for braised lamb. You used to eat three servings!”

“I did not! It was—”

“Four,” Buck said with a quick grin. “I distinctly remember.”

Trapped, knowing her siblings’ memories were every bit as sharp as her own, she laughed. “All right. So I have a weakness for braised lamb and hot scones—”

“You mean biscuits,” John teased.

“They were made and eaten in England,” she said loftily. “That makes them scones.”

“And you ate a whole pan of them?” Hunter said with a lazy grin. Seated across the breakfast table from her, he surveyed her with new respect. “I’m impressed. Who knew a skinny little thing like you could eat so much?”

Her chin jutted up at that. “I’m not skinny. I just have a high metabolism.”

“Yeah, right,” he chuckled.

When she gave him a narrow-eyed look that would have sent a lesser man scurrying for cover, Elizabeth quickly jumped into the conversation. “I think you need to get out more, circulate, meet people. We should have a party.”

“And introduce her to all the jerks who’ve been trying to drive us off the ranch?” Buck drawled. “I don’t think so.”

“Good,” Katherine retorted. “I don’t want a party.”

“How about a dating service?” Rainey suggested. “An online one would give you the chance to meet someone from other areas.”

“No!”

“It could be fun,” Hunter pointed out. “If you like losers—”

“Hunter!”

“Stop that!”

“Just because someone uses a dating service doesn’t mean they’re a loser.”

Hardly hearing the defense of her family, Katherine frowned at him in irritation. She didn’t know what it was about him that rubbed her the wrong way, but every time their eyes met, he knew just what to say to raise her hackles. And he knew exactly what he was doing. The knowledge was right there in his laughing eyes.

Sitting back in her chair, she surveyed him with a frown. “When are you leaving? Surely it’s time for you to move on to your job in California. If you like, I can help you pack.”

Far from offended, he only grinned. “I don’t know. I kind of like it here. I thought I might stay awhile, if that’s okay.”

When she gave him a withering look, John said dryly, “This is great. One big, happy family. Don’t you just love it?”

Hunter Sinclair was, Katherine decided three days later, the biggest pest she’d ever met. After his annoying comments at breakfast on Saturday, she’d done everything she could to avoid him, without success. If she hadn’t known better, she would have sworn he had radar where she was concerned. Whenever she slipped off by herself, he always seemed to show up.

She still didn’t know how he’d known she was at the ranch’s hot springs yesterday. She’d taken her sketchpad and pencils and slipped away from the homestead in Rainey’s SUV. All she’d told Rainey was that she was going out on the ranch somewhere to work on the illustrations that were due at the end of the month. No one had seen her leave the homestead, let alone followed her. Considering that, she should have had the rest of the morning to herself. Instead, she’d hardly settled beside the bubbling hot springs when Hunter drove up in his Toyota 4Runner.

“What are you doing here?”

Not the least bit put off by her greeting, he’d only grinned and started toward her with the lazy grace of a mountain lion on the prowl. “I was just out exploring and decided to check out the springs,” he said easily. “Buck told me the Indians used to camp here.”

It was a good story, and another woman might have swallowed it without a blink of an eye. But thanks to Nigel, she wasn’t nearly as naive as she’d once been. “Really? And you just happened to show up when I was here?”

“That’s right,” he chuckled. “Coincidence is a pretty amazing thing, isn’t it?”

“Coincidence, my eye,” she retorted. “You followed me!”

“Now, sweetheart, why would I do that?”

“Don’t call me sweetheart!”

“Yes, ma’am. What would you like me to call you? Personally I like darlin’. It’s got a nice ring, you know. But I can’t call you that without kissing you first. That’s one of my rules—”

Frustrated, irritated, fighting the smile that tugged at her lips, she hadn’t said another word. She’d packed up her art supplies and left.

When he’d gone out last night to one of the local watering holes, she’d told herself she was glad. There was bound to be a woman there who would catch—and keep—his attention for the rest of his stay at the ranch. Then he would stop yanking her chain and pestering her.

Clinging to that thought, she should have slept the night away. Instead, the darn man chased her into her dreams, and she’d tossed and turned and stared at the ceiling for hours before finally falling asleep around four in the morning.

Not surprisingly, the rest of the family, including Hunter, had already eaten breakfast by the time she woke at ten, and the house was deserted. Desperate for a cup of tea, she stepped into the kitchen, only to discover a note from Elizabeth on the refrigerator.

Hey, sleepyhead. Hope you slept well. John and I have gone to the cabin, and Buck and Rainey and Hunter are riding fence on the ranch’s north boundary. If you want some company, take the dirt road west of the barn and it’ll take you to the cabin. I packed a picnic lunch for the three of us, and Rainey left her keys for you on the kitchen table. See you later. Elizabeth.

So Hunter was with Buck and Rainey. She shouldn’t have been relieved—she liked to think she didn’t care what Hunter Sinclair did one way or the other—but she couldn’t forget the way his eyes danced when he teased her. Why did he have to be so attractive? Why did she have to notice?

Irritated with herself—she really did need a break from the man!—she grabbed the keys and found Rainey’s SUV parked in the circular drive at the front of the house. Within minutes she was heading west, toward the old hunting cabin in the mountains where Elizabeth and John would live after they were married.

Nearly forty-five minutes later, she broke through the trees into a small, natural clearing, and there was the cabin right in front of her. Last month, one of the wannabe heirs had torched it in an effort to drive Elizabeth and John away from the ranch, and the damage had been significant. When Elizabeth had told her that she and John were going to rebuild it and make it their home, Katherine had thought they were crazy. She’d assumed it was nothing but a burned-out shell and any attempt to repair it would be nothing but a waste of time and money. She couldn’t have been more wrong.

Only part of the cabin had been burned, and John had already removed the damaged wood and replaced it. He hadn’t, however, stopped there. The framework for two new rooms and a new front and back porch were already in place, and although the design was simple, Katherine could see that it was going to be charming when it was finished.

“Hey, stranger, I see you finally decided to join the world of the living,” her sister said with a grin as she parked and stepped from the car. “What do you think?”

“It’s wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me…”

From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of movement and turned just in time to see Hunter come around the side of the cabin. Stunned, she gasped, “What’s he doing here?”

Chapter 3

He’d pulled off his shirt and hung it on a nearby tree branch, and in the late-morning sun, his bare chest glistened with sweat. Transfixed, Katherine heard a roar in her ears and only then realized that it was the thunder of her heart. And it was all Hunter’s fault, she decided with a scowl.

No man had a right to look so good dressed in nothing but a pair of worn jeans. Faded, torn, soft from a thousand or more washes, they hugged his lean hips in a way that any woman with any sense of decency would have wanted nothing to do with. And all she could think about was touching him. Were the muscles of his chest as hard as his jeans were soft?

Shocked by the direction of her thoughts, she wanted to sink right through the ground. Her eyes met his, and the glint of humor she saw there told her without words that he knew exactly what he was doing to her. And he loved it.

Hot color flooding her cheeks, she hardly heard her sister say, “You mean Hunter? When he heard that John was working on the roof today, he offered to help.”

“I don’t know what we would have done without him,” John added from the roof.

“I told you I was a good guy to have around,” Hunter told Katherine with a grin. “Wanna help?”

Help him? She didn’t think so. “Thanks, but I don’t like heights.”

“Then you’d better get some Dramamine or something,” he said with a wicked chuckle, “because you’re going to need it when I take you to the moon and back.”

“Hunter!” Elizabeth gasped, laughing. “Stop that!”

Up on the roof, John grinned broadly. “He’s just giving her fair warning, honey.”

“I don’t need fair warning,” Katherine retorted, never taking her eyes from Hunter’s. “In other words, Romeo, I’m not interested.”

“Are you sure?” he teased. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“I’ll chance it,” she said dryly. “I know that must devastate you, but there’s nothing wrong with your ego. You’ll survive.”

“I might grow on you.”

“You mean…like a fungus? I don’t think so.”

“Katherine!” Elizabeth choked on a laugh. “Remember your manners.”

“Leave her alone,” John said, grinning. “She’s holding her own.”

“She sure is,” Hunter chuckled. “Be still my heart.”

Determined not to smile, Katherine said, “You’re wasting your time here, lover boy. Why don’t you check out Mabel at the Rusty Bucket? Last I heard, she was hot for just about any cowboy who walked in the door.”

“Katherine!”

“It’s okay, Elizabeth,” Hunter chuckled. “The woman’s crazy about me. Can’t you tell?”

Katherine just looked down her nose at him. “Don’t let me keep you from your work,” she said coolly. “I have better things to do than drool over you.”

Not the least insulted, he only laughed and made his way up the ladder to help John.

Long after Katherine returned to the house, the memory of Hunter dressed in nothing but jeans, work boots and a grin still had the power to make her mouth go dry. And it was driving her crazy. What was wrong with her? It had only been a few weeks since she’d discovered that the man she’d planned to spend the rest of her life with was not only married to another woman but had a child with her. He’d broken her heart in a way no one ever had before, and it would be months, possibly years, before she was ready to move on.

So why did Hunter only have to grin at her to set her heart pounding?

She needed a distraction, she decided. She had work, of course, but she needed something more than her illustrations, something that would keep her thoughts from straying to Hunter’s worn jeans and hard body whenever she dropped her guard. But what? she wondered with a frown. How was she supposed to put him out of her head?

She thought about it for the rest of the day but couldn’t come up with anything. Then she sat down to dinner with the rest of the family and once again found herself seated across from Hunter. He took one look at her and winked, and suddenly she knew what she had to do.

“You should have stuck around this morning,” Hunter told her with a grin. “What’d you do the rest of the day? Miss me?”

“Not at all,” she said dryly. “Instead, I’ve been giving it some thought, and I’ve decided Elizabeth and Rainey were right. I need to join a dating service.”

“Are you serious?”

“That’s wonderful!”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Buck asked with a frown as his wife and sister voiced their approval. “There’s no way to check these guys out.”

“Buck’s right,” Hunter said, scowling. “You think you had trouble with your married boyfriend? Wait till you meet a con man who takes a woman for everything he can get while he tricks her into falling in love with him. Men like that feed on women like you online.”

“What do you mean…‘women like me’?” she demanded indignantly. “I’m not some naive innocent who’s never been out on my own before. I know a line when I hear one.”

“Really? Then why did you believe Mr. Wonderful when he told you he loved you? If he really loved you, why’s he in Paris with his wife?”

“Hunter!”

Katherine waved off her sister. His words hurt, but she knew Hunter was right. “I made a mistake,” she said bluntly. “I won’t do it again.”

“How do you know that? Married men are smooth talkers, and an on-line dating service is perfect for them. They tell you women anything they want, charm you, and you fall in love before you even see the whites of their eyes.”

“Maybe some women do, but I don’t!”

“Sure you do. Don’t take it personal. All women are patsies when it comes to smooth talkers. You just can’t help yourself. You’re a woman.”

Narrowing her eyes at him, she studied him in irritation. Why did he always sit directly across the table from her? Every time she looked up, she was looking right at him. “And you’re a man. Does that mean you’re a male chauvinist p—”

“Katherine! That’s no way to treat a guest.”

“Let her be,” John chuckled when Elizabeth sent her sister a reproving frown. “He asked for it.”

Sitting back in his chair, Hunter grinned across the table at Katherine. “Why am I a chauvinist when I’m just trying to warn you about some loser looking to take advantage of you?”

“Because you’re implying that women are so foolish that they need a keeper,” she retorted. “I can take care of myself, thank you very much, and so can Elizabeth and Rainey.”

“Did I say you couldn’t?”

“No, but you implied—”

“I’m a pretty up-front guy, Kitty-Kat. If I thought you were incompetent, you’d know it.”

Just as he’d expected, she stiffened at the nickname. “My name is Katherine,” she told him coldly.

Damn, she was easy to tease. Making no effort to hold back a grin, he said, “I like Kitty-Kat better. It’s got a ring to it, don’t you think?”

“When did you say you were leaving?”

“I’ll let you know,” he promised, chuckling.

He didn’t, in fact, intend to go anywhere anytime soon. There was no job in California. He worked for himself as a private investigator, though no one here knew that, not even John. He’d intended to tell him, but when John called him to tell him he’d been shot, he’d decided it would be best, at least for now, to keep his occupation to himself while he looked into what the hell was going on at the Broken Arrow. He didn’t want the neighboring ranchers or the good citizens of Willow Bend to guess what he did for a living, so he’d made the trip to Colorado with the excuse that he wanted to check on his half brother before taking the fictional job in California.

Guilt pulled at him at the thought of deceiving his brother, but he knew John would understand. And over the course of the two weeks he’d been there, things had been extremely quiet. He didn’t expect that to last for long. Trouble never did. He’d learned that years ago, when he’d first worked in military intelligence, then for the CIA. He’d still be working for “the company” if it hadn’t been for Sheila.

His jaw tightened at the thought of his ex-girlfriend. Beautiful, smart, fearless, she was everything he’d wanted in a woman…or so he’d thought. In reality, she was a Cuban spy. When he became suspicious of her, she fled the U.S., but not without first warning him that he would pay for destroying her cover.

Two weeks later, a sniper took a shot at him from a bridge in Virginia. The police claimed it was just a random act of violence, but he knew better. Disillusioned, he quit, changed his name and disappeared for awhile. When he finally settled down, he chose a town in Texas that was so small that everyone literally knew everyone else. No one, he’d promised himself, who wanted to harm him or his family would ever be able to sneak into his life again without him knowing about it.

And since John was engaged to Elizabeth, that made her—and the rest of the Wyatts—family. He intended to watch over all of them and find out who the hell was trying to drive them away. He didn’t believe for a moment that it would be easy. He didn’t know the people of Willow Bend, didn’t know the dynamics of the place or which of the local citizens thought they’d been robbed of the Broken Arrow by Hilda Wyatt’s will. Who was desperate enough to attack the ranch? Who wouldn’t blink twice at blowing up the old Spanish gold mine or burning the cabin where John and Elizabeth planned to live? Who shot his brother?

He would find out, he vowed silently. He’d have to keep a low profile, though. As long as everyone thought he was a flirt and a tease, just killing time until his new job started, no one suspected his real reason for being there. He intended to keep it that way.

The minute dinner was over, Katherine helped Elizabeth and Rainey with the dishes as she waited for Buck to finish his evening work on the computer in his office. She hadn’t bothered to bring her laptop with her because of the difference in electrical outlets, so she had no choice but to sign up for online dating on the ranch computer.

Just the thought of that brought the sting of a blush to her cheeks. She knew it was crazy, but she hated to look for a man online in front of her entire family. It was like…kissing a beau in front of her father. She shouldn’t have been self-conscious—after all, she was twenty-eight years old, for heaven’s sake. She wasn’t doing anything illegal or immoral, and she certainly had nothing to be embarrassed about.

So why did she feel like a sixteen-year-old sneaking out to meet her boyfriend?

“Well, if it isn’t Miss Five-Foot-Two-Looking-For Mr.-Lonely,” Hunter suddenly said from behind her. “What are you doing skulking in the back hall? I thought you’d already be scouting out the loser hunks on the Internet.”

Startled, she whirled to find Hunter surveying her in amusement. “Do you have radar where I’m concerned or something?” she snapped. “Every time I turn around, you’re right behind me. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were following me.”

“It’s those big blue eyes of yours,” he teased. “I just can’t resist you when you bat them at me.”

“When I what?” she gasped, outraged. “I don’t do anything of the kind!”

“And then there’s that come-hither smile of yours,” he continued with a broad grin. “I’m telling you, if you put a picture on the Internet that captures your eyes and smile, you’re going to be beating men off with a stick by the end of the week.”

“The only man I’m going to be beating is you,” she retorted, glaring at him. “Don’t you have something else to do?”

“You mean other than tease you?” he chuckled. “Are you kidding? What could be more fun than that?”

“Breathing,” she said promptly. “If you don’t stop pestering me—”

The door to Buck’s office opened then, and he stepped out, his sharp gaze quickly taking in the temper sparking in her eyes and Hunter’s wide grin. “Uh-oh. Looks like the fur’s about to fly. Better watch yourself, Hunter. The last time I saw that look in her eye, I thought she was going to pull out every hair in my head. And all just because I borrowed her bicycle without asking her.”

“You didn’t just borrow it—you brought it back with a flat tire,” she told him, fighting a reluctant smile. “And I didn’t lay a hand on that precious hair of yours. Though I should have,” she added, frowning at him. “You never did pay me for that tire.”

“Send me a bill,” he chuckled. “So what did Hunter do to set you off?”

“Nothing,” he said with an easy grin before she could open her mouth. “She’s just a little huffy because she thinks I’m following her. All I was doing was going to the kitchen for a snack.”

“Really?” she sniffed. “You’re hungry? We just finished dinner an hour ago.”

“I didn’t eat much,” he retorted. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

“Oh, please!”

Laughing, Buck stepped around them. “I’m out of here.”

“Buck, wait!”

“Can’t,” he said. “Rainey and I are going to watch a movie.”

He was gone before she could stop him, leaving her alone with Hunter. “Looks like it’s just you and me, kid,” he drawled. “C’mon, let’s go check out the Internet and see what kind of online dating services are out there.”

“You must be joking.”

At her dry comment, he swallowed a laugh. Damn, he liked her! She was just so easy to tease. Did she have a clue how cute she was when she looked down her nose at him that way? Maybe he should ask her out and save her the trouble of joining a dating service. They could have a lot of fun together.

Even as the appealing thought tugged at him, he stiffened. No, dammit, he wasn’t going there. After Sheila had betrayed him the way she had, he’d sworn he would never trust a woman again. And in the five years that had passed since Sheila had tried to have him killed, he hadn’t once been tempted to break that promise to himself.

That didn’t mean he’d turned into a hermit. He liked women, enjoyed their company, not to mention sex. And finding a date wasn’t a problem. He just made sure that the women he took out were just as disillusioned as he was and wanted nothing to do with a ring on their fingers. Even then, he didn’t date any woman more than twice. He didn’t intend to ever again give a woman a chance to get close enough to betray him.

“What?” he asked innocently. “You don’t trust me?”

“Not as far as I can throw you,” she retorted sweetly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a computer.”

Without a word, she turned and walked into Buck’s office, but if she thought he was so easily discouraged, she was in for a rude awakening. When she took a seat in front of the computer on Buck’s desk, he followed her and pulled a chair beside her before she even knew what he was about.

“Hunter—”

“I can help you with your profile,” he said at her warning tone. Thanks to his years in intelligence, he was damn good at sizing up a person, though he had no intention of telling her how he’d come by that kind of experience. “C’mon, Kitty-Kat, lighten up. If you want to get a good match, you want to word this thing just right. I can give you a man’s perspective.”

“I’m sure you will,” she said dryly. “Thanks, but no, thanks.”

“How are you going to describe yourself?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Let me guess,” he said, eyeing her speculatively. “You’ll probably say you’re cute, outgoing, artistic, with weight proportionate to your height.” When her blue eyes widened in surprise, he grinned mockingly. “Am I right or what?”

“So what if you are?” she tossed back. “What’s wrong with that?”

“You’re writing for a man, remember?” he pointed out. “Cute means ordinary, outgoing likes to hog the conversation.”

“That’s not true!”

“Artistic means you have one of those old houses that’s decorated with lace and fru-fru flowery stuff. And weight proportionate to height can mean only one thing. You’re fat.”

“I am not!”

“Of course you’re not. But that’s what any man who reads that description is going to think. And that’s okay if you don’t care that the only men who answer your ad are losers who still live with their mothers and wear their pants up to their armpits. Of course, if that’s what you want…”

Horrified, she cringed. “No, of course not.”

“Then you’re going to have to write a hell of a better description than that.”

She should have told him no. From the glint in his eye, he was enjoying himself far too much, and for all she knew, he was just pulling her leg. But what if he wasn’t kidding? If she was really going to join a dating service, the last thing she wanted was to attract one of those lonely, nerdy men who’d never had a woman in his life and wouldn’t know what to do with one if he did.

“All right,” she sighed. “If you’re really serious about helping me…but no funny business! Understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied obediently, his grin wide. “Whatever you say, ma’am.”

He did, of course, do nothing but tease and torment her for the course of the next hour, and she couldn’t help but laugh. When they were finished, however, she had to admit that her profile sounded far better than something she would have written herself. Still, she wasn’t sure.

“It sounds like I’m tooting my own horn,” she said, frowning. “Maybe we should tone some of this down.”

“Are you kidding? Like what?”

“Well, like…‘adventuresome’…”

“Didn’t you go off to Scotland by yourself when you found out that jerk you were in love with was married? Didn’t you jump on a plane and head for Colorado without even letting your family know you were coming until you were almost here?”

“Well, yes, but—” Frowning, she studied the words on the computer screen that made her sound like a fascinating catch that any man with any brains in his head would love to be matched with. “Maybe we shouldn’t include the bit about me being an award-winning illustrator.”

“But you are, aren’t you?” When she had to agree, he said, “You’re just telling the truth. And don’t think for one minute that I’m going to let you take out the part about pretty. This isn’t the time for hiding your light under a bushel. You are pretty, and if it was left up to me, I’d say you were downright gorgeous—”

“You’re flirting again,” she scolded. “You’ve got to stop that.”

“No, I’m not,” he retorted, and there was no question that he was dead serious. “You’re gorgeous, but I know you won’t go for that, so we have to go with pretty. That’s okay. Because when you finally let your matches see your picture, they’re going to know the truth, anyway.”

She didn’t consider herself gorgeous by any stretch of the imagination—that word was reserved for movie stars and beauty pageant queens—but she couldn’t deny that she was flattered. If he hadn’t been such a flirt, she might have believed he was sincere.

“Okay, so it’s settled. We leave it as it is.” And without giving her a chance to argue further, he reached over and hit the enter button on the keyboard. And there, for all her prospective matches to read, was a description of her that sounded amazing.

If you’re looking for a fascinating, fun-loving, adventuresome woman to spend the rest of your life with, you’ve found her. I’m a pretty brunette with expressive blue eyes, enticing smile and great figure, who loves pillow talk, dancing, intimate dinners for two, spontaneous, romantic trips to the mountains and holding hands. I’m a fantastic cook, award-winning illustrator, honest, sincere and looking for Mr. Right. If you think you could be him, I’d love to hear from you.

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