We ride in silence the entire way. With the exception of walking a trail or something like that, horseback riding isn’t really conducive to conversation. That’s fine with me, though. I know Haley’s over there on her mare mulling over everything that’s been said between us today. I’m learning that when her mouth isn’t moving, her brain’s going extra fast. But I’m okay with that. Any thinking she does about me at this point is a good thing.

She has no trouble keeping up. Not that I expected her to. She just needed a little nudge to get back on the horse. Literally. It’s easy to see that she grew up in the saddle, though. The way she sits the horse is very natural. We’ve slowed down now and she’s at ease. The reins are light in her hands, her legs are relaxed, her hips loose. She moves like she’s sensitive to every motion of the animal between her legs. Rocking and swaying with it.

And damn, I gotta quit thinking in that direction. Just reminds me of having those legs wrapped around me, those hips rocking and swaying on me.

“How much farther?” she calls out, ripping me out of my fantasy.

“Maybe forty-five minutes or so. We’re going up into the foot of the mountain a ways.” She nods, but doesn’t say anything more, which prompts me to ask, “Everything alright?”

“Everything’s fine. Just curious.”

It’s actually almost an hour later when we slow our horses to a walk as we enter the denser thicket of trees and the trail that leads to the clearing where Hope is staying. When the trail widens and a cabin comes into view, Haley speaks up.

“I thought she was camping.” I glance back at her. She’s staring incredulously at the structure. “This isn’t camping. It’s a cabin. It’s two stars away from ‘glamping’ for God’s sake.”

I don’t ask what glamping is.

“I didn’t say she was camping.”

“Oh. I guess Dad did. I should’ve known. It was too weird to think she’d be up here roughing it. That’s just not like her.” She dismounts quickly and with what sounds like a hiss. “But this? This is much more what I’d expect.”

She ties her horse, and I watch her walk toward the cabin as I dismount and do the same. I almost wish I hadn’t looked. Her ass in those jeans… It’s enough to make a man break a sweat.

She knocks on the front door. “Hope?” No answer, so she knocks again. “Hope, it’s me, Haley.”

“Afraid she won’t recognize you?”

“Ha. Ha.” She knocks again and tries the knob, but it’s locked.

“Maybe she’s out taking pictures. That’s what she’s up here for, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” She doesn’t sound convinced. She steps off the small front porch and walks over to peek in the window. “Hope?” She pecks on the glass. “Hope?”

When she finally returns to me, I hold up a ring of keys I dug from my pocket. “You done?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you had a key?”

“You didn’t ask.”

I sift through keys and pull out the right one, slipping it into the lock. It turns easily. I push the door open and wave my arm. “After you.”

Haley steps into the dark interior and feels along the wall for a switch. She flips it, and nothing happens. “I assume there’s no electricity?”

“Generator out back. It’s not running, though.”

She cocks her head to listen for the sound of an engine running. There’s nothing but Texas quiet. “Nope. Nothing’s running.” She walks deeper into the living room. “What is this place?”

“It’s an old bunkhouse. The previous owners tore out the bunks and made it into a large cabin.”

“Huh.”

“Let me show you around.”

I lead her into the living room, which is discernibly Texan with its longhorn skull above the rock fireplace and its cowhide rug in front of the hearth. I stop and turn a circle. “This is the living room. That’s the kitchen,” I say pointing to the left, to the row of cabinets above a stove and small sink. I swing my arm to the right, toward the king-sized bed in the corner. “There’s the bedroom and the bathroom’s through that door.” There’s only one other door, so it’s fairly obvious which one I mean.

“Thanks for the tour. I’d never have figured out all that by myself.” Her tone is snide. I smile. “Any idea where my sister might be hiding? Under the floorboards? Behind a wall?”

“In a tree? Beside a pond? On a ridge? I don’t know. Where do photographers go to get good shots?”

She frowns. “And where’s her stuff?”

I glance around. The place looks as untouched as it did last time I was up here.

I shrug.

Haley spins around. “No Brandt woman travels this light. I mean, it doesn’t look like she’s even been here.”

“Well, I dropped her off myself, so I know she has.”

“Then where is she? She should still be here, right?”

“Far as I know.”

When my eyes have adjusted to the low light, I see the concern on Haley’s face when she moves closer to me. “I have a bad feeling, Nixon.”

I walk to the bathroom and check the cabinet. It’s empty. I walk to the wardrobe beside the bed and open it. It’s empty, too. There is no sign of the bag Hope brought with her or, like Haley said, that she’s been here at all.

“Let me call down to the main house. Maybe she radioed out for someone to come and get her.”

“And Dad not know about it?”

I don’t answer. I just go out to my horse, grab the walkie from the bag on his side, and call the ranch. Ty is the first to respond. He’s a ranch hand who’s been with John for a couple of years. I don’t know him well, but he seems like one of the more competent employees. “Hey, man, mind checking at the main house to see if anyone’s seen or heard from Hope?”

“Hope?”

“Yeah. She was supposed to be up at the old bunkhouse taking pictures.”

“By herself?”

“Yeah.”

Ty makes a sound that is far from approving.

A niggle of alarm starts at the base of my skull. She’s a grown woman. Her father knew where she was going. I assumed she knew what the hell she was doing, but maybe I should’ve asked. “Go check with her family. Find out if they’ve seen or heard from her. Get back to me the second you do.”

“Roger that.”

There’s genuine fear on Haley’s face now. “We’ll find her. Don’t worry. Maybe one of the other guys was up here for something and gave her a ride back. We could’ve missed them.”

“Nixon…”

That’s all she has to say. It’s not so much my name that speaks volumes; it’s that everything she’s thinking is somehow wrapped up in it, in the way she says it.

I reach for her upper arms. “She’s fine. There’s no reason to think otherwise. There are no signs of a struggle or foul play or bl—” I stop myself short over the word blood. Don’t need to be planting any more troubling thoughts in Haley’s head. “We’ll find her.”

“I hope so, because if something has happened to her…” Haley raises her hands to cup them over her mouth. Her eyes fill with tears. “I’d never forgive myself. She’s begged me to come home every time I’ve talked to her for the last ten years. And now I’ve barely even seen her.”

“Why did she want you to come back so much? Was something wrong?”

“No, she just… She’s eight years younger than me. She was just a kid when I left. We never got to… I was so wrapped up in— I was so distracted. I didn’t make a lot of time for her. I promised her I’d make up for it when I came home. And now…”

I wonder what she was about to say. Wrapped up in…what? Or who?

I have my suspicions, like that it involved a guy, but now’s not the time to ask.

“Lucky for you, you’ll have plenty of time when we find her. In fact, you two can come back up here, and you can kick her ass all over the mountain for scaring you.”

She manages a weak laugh. “Something to look forward to.”

I loop an arm around her shoulders and tug her against my side, pressing my lips to the crown of her head. “I’ll even hold her down for you.”

We stand like that for a while. It feels comfortable to hold her. And, at the moment, she’s too distraught to keep up her normal pretenses, so she leans into me rather than trying to pull away.

The radio crackles seconds before Ty’s voice comes through on my walkie. “Nixon?”

I depress the button to respond. “Go ahead.”

“She’s not down here. Nobody’s seen her.”

“Shit.”

“That’s not all, though. Uhhhh, one of the guys, ummmm…”

When he doesn’t continue, I prompt. “One of the guys what?”

“Well, Gerber says he thinks Waylan is, uh, is…”

He doesn’t go on. “What, Ty? Just say it.”

“He said they’ve been seeing each other. Like seeing each other.”

Sex. With the boss’ daughter. Like I said, normally that’s never a good idea.

But normally, there’s not a feisty redhead named Haley involved.

“Ah. I see. So where’s Waylan?”

“Took some time off to spend in the city. Sounds pretty coincidental, don’t it?”

“Do you have his cell? Or any way to reach him? Name of the hotel or whatever?”

“I’m sure I can get him.”

“Find him and get back to me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Haley pulls back and looks up at me. “Who’s Waylan?”

“He’s a ranch hand.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“Got a problem with ranch hands?” I wouldn’t have pegged her for a snob, but this is the second time she’s taken exception to them.

She gives me a withering look. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then how did you mean it?”

She backs away, running a hand through her wild hair. “I just… I know what they’re like. Hope doesn’t need that kind of heartache.”

Heartache.

So she was involved with a ranch hand at some point. Makes me wonder if that’s why she left and didn’t come back for a decade.

“She’s a big girl. I’m sure she knows what she’s doing.”

“She’s twenty-one. She’s only been a big girl for two seconds.”

“I’m sure her sisters keep an eye on her.”

“Unless she’s hiding it from them, too.”

I can see her getting all worked up. This is a touchy subject, and not just because she’s concerned about her little sister. Since I don’t know what happened and, therefore, can’t help, I lead her back to her original concern, hoping it’ll help get her mind off whoever hurt her. “Let’s find her first. Then you can kick her ass twice. How’s that sound?”

This time she doesn’t laugh.

She wanders aimlessly through the room until the walkie crackles again and Ty’s voice fills the open space.

“Nixon?”

“Did you find him?”

“Yeah. He’s got her. She’s fine.”

“Good job. Thanks, man.”

“No problem,” he replies. “Hey, you might want to stay put up there. Wind’s pushing a helluva storm right over top of you. Might end up with some washed-out trails and mudslides between you and flat land. Big risk to you and the horses to get down.”

“Thanks for the heads-up.”

“You got it. Over and out.”

Haley’s head is tilted and her eyes are narrowed on me. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“Planned what?”

“Us getting stuck up here.”

“That would be kind of hard since I wasn’t planning on coming all the way up here. That was your idea if you remember.”

“Uh-huh.” She nods slowly, suspiciously.

“Besides, why would I purposely plan to strand us here, with your sister? Unless you’re into sibling three-ways, which I suspect you’re not, then—”

She claps her hands over her ears and squeezes her eyes shut. “Oh, God! Shut up! La la la la la.”

“I’m just sayin’. Doesn’t make much sense.”

“Wait,” she says after a few seconds, her eyes snapping open. “You’d have a threesome with my sister and me?”

“Uh, I’m a man. Is that a trick question?”

“I’m being serious.”

“So am I.”

“So just because you’re a man, you’d have sex with my sister and me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Uh, you kinda did.”

“I didn’t.”

“You did. You’re the one who mentioned it.”

“I was just making a point.”

“Were you?”

“Yes, I was.”

“Because if you’re interested in my sister—”

I hold out my hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there. Didn’t we already go over this?”

“I thought so, but…”

“Look, I’m not interested in your sister.”

“You sure about that?”

“Hell yes. I’ve been here with her for weeks. Don’t you think if that was something I wanted, I’d have done something about it by now?”

“Maybe you were waiting for the right time.”

“Do you really think I’m the type of man who just sits back and waits for something he wants?” I start across the room toward her. A lion stalking his prey.

She takes a step back. “I wasn’t saying that. I was just saying you…you…”

“I don’t want a threesome with Hope. I’m not waiting for Hope. I’m not interested in Hope.”

“I wasn’t saying any of that. I just asked because you brought it up.”

“I shouldn’t have.”

“But you did.”

“Haley, I don’t want your sister. Any of them, for the record. I don’t want a threesome with any of them. Or a one-some. The only woman I’m interested in doing anything to or with is you.” She’s backed herself up against the kitchen cabinets. “Now if you’d like to talk about that, I’d be more than happy to give that conversation a go. Unlimited details. Graphic descriptions of the things I’ve fantasized of doing to you. Say the word and I’ll tell you everything.”

Her response is more than a little breathless. “I don’t…I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“So you believe me?” I wind one hand around her tiny waist.

She nods.

“You sure?”

Another nod.

“Lie to me. Tell me you don’t.”

“Why?”

“So I can prove it.”

“You can’t prove you’re telling the truth. It doesn’t work that way.”

“Oh, I think I can prove it. I think I can prove how interested I am in you, in discovering all the ways I can make you purr. And scream. And everything in between. I’d damn sure like to try anyway.”

“Nixon, I…I…” Her eyes flicker from my eyes to my mouth and back again. She licks her lips, and I realize I can’t remember the last time I wanted to kiss someone so badly.

“You’re stuck with me for the night. What happens up here will stay between us. It can be like the night you came to my hotel room, just better. Longer. Hotter. I can probably even find a bottle of tequila around here somewhere.”

“I d-don’t want any tequila, thank you.”

“No? I’d love some. I’ve craved it every day since I met you. Some nights when I close my eyes, I can still taste it. Right on the tip of my tongue.” She watches as my tongue sneaks out at the corner of my mouth. Air huffs out from between her parted lips. Her eyes are dark with what she refuses to admit. I’d be willing to bet that, right this minute, her panties are damp. My dick gets as hard as a slab of granite just thinking about that.

“You just don’t give up, do you?”

“Not when I really want something.”

“Well,” she begins as she slips out from between the wall and me, “you won’t be getting what you want tonight.”

I swivel with her as she makes her way around the room toward the sofa to sit down facing the fireplace. Facing away from me. She thinks that’s the final word and that’s that.

She couldn’t be more wrong. The harder she resists me, the harder it makes me.

I flip open kitchen cabinet doors until I find alcohol. I knew there would be some in here somewhere. And it’s tequila, like I also knew it would be. This is Texas. The odds were pretty high. I grab the bottle by the neck and put two tumblers in my other hand and make my way to the couch to join the woman who’s more or less promising to leave me high and dry tonight. High and dry and wanting her so bad it hurts.

I plunk down beside her, kicking my feet out in front of me as I pour a shot of tequila into each glass. I push one into her hand. “Does that mean tomorrow night’s on the table?”

Her lips curve as she answers. “No, that doesn’t mean tomorrow night’s on the table.”

“Then how about on the chair?” She shakes her head. “Or on the counter?” Shakes again. “Or on that vanity bench in your bedroom?”

“How do you—”

“I lived there for a while without you, remember? Didn’t pay a damn bit of attention to the furnishings until you showed up. Now, everything I look at is a place I want to see you naked.” I throw back my shot. It burns all the way down. My only hope is that it can burn away this maddening need I’m developing for this woman. Otherwise, it’s going to be one long and miserable night.

She leans up, setting her glass on the table as she looks away, but not before I can see the pretty stain on her cheeks. “Excuse me, I need to— ugh!” She sucks in a breath as she tries to stand and sits back down instead.

That gets a different kind of attention. “Are you okay?”

Her eyes are closed, and her lips are thinned in pain. “Yeah, it’s just been a long time since I was in a saddle that long.”

I nod at her legs. “How bad are they?”

“They’ll be okay.”

“You know if you don’t rub them down, they’ll be locked up come morning. And it’s a long ride back.”

“I’ll be fine,” she says, grunting as she tries to stand again. I heard her hiss a couple of times already, like when she dismounted and again when she sat down. I had other things on my mind, though (like how her skin might look by firelight) and it just didn’t register that she might be sore from riding.

“Then by all means, get up and go to the bathroom.” I sit back and watch her attempt to get up. She tries three times before she makes it.

I smile, imagining her in the bathroom gingerly getting up off the toilet. I know she’d probably rather die than ask for my help, though. That’s why I’m going to give it to her in a different way.

I first take the matches from the mantel and light the logs that are dry and ready for a fire, and then I go back to the kitchen to search the cabinets for liniment. I smile when I find a tub.

Maybe tonight won’t be a total loss after all.