THREE

 

 

Avery had heard Reese call after her. She had stopped momentarily and turned back, and as soon as she did, she recognized his eyes. Those dazzling green eyes were unmistakable. The realization had stunned her, stopping her from returning to him and instead propelled her forward. Some type of instinct she didn’t understand had told her to keep walking.

When she stepped outside of the restaurant and headed to her car, she knew she’d done the right thing. Knew if she had lingered even for a moment longer, she wouldn’t have been able to walk away. Reese Cooper Jr. had a power over her like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Never in her life had she felt so drawn to another human being as much as she had standing out on that balcony. Almost as if he were a magnet and if she lingered even for a heartbeat longer, any resistance would be futile.

She’d driven back to the Circle Starr on autopilot, not really thinking about the streets or the other vehicles around her. When she pulled her car around to the side of the main house, she basically had no recollection of the drive itself, and could only remember her encounter with Reese Cooper Jr. Even as she showered and dressed in casual clothes, jeans, a tee and cowgirl boots, all her thoughts had remained focused on the man in black with the emerald green eyes. Her desire for him had been all-consuming, but those eyes had secretly warned her to keep her distance, to stay away, to proceed with caution.

Now, as she sat at the dinner table, waiting for Chuck to join her, there was only one question that burned in her mind . . .

Why didn’t Chuck tell me that Reese Jr. is his son?

Kaya had set the table with what had to be Chuck’s finest china, white plates with the Circle Starr brand embellished in the center while gold filigree encircled the edge. There were matching bowls, cups, saucers, platters, and stemware. Even the heavy silver flatware boasted the Circle Starr brand. The long, impeccably polished mahogany table could easily seat twenty, but at the moment had been set for two.

Avery had taken her seat on the right of Chuck’s place at the table promptly at six-thirty, expecting him to be on time, as promised. However, it was now almost seven, and Chuck still had not shown.

“I’ll be leaving in a few minutes,” Kaya said as she walked into the room. “Everything is on the stove. It’s hot now, but I just turned it all off. Do you want me to serve it before I go?”

“I don’t think he’s coming home any time soon,” Avery told Kaya, her disappointment coloring her voice. She thought for sure he’d keep his word, especially after she delivered the envelope for him. Didn’t he want to know all the details?

“He’s a busy man. I can put everything on the table for you. I have a little time before my daughter picks me up. It’ll only take me a couple minutes.”

“Sure. Can I help?” She pushed her chair back and stood, ready to assist in any way she could. After Avery’s mom died, her dad hired what seemed like a battalion of women to manage the house, cook, clean, and babysit. Avery was used to someone taking care of things, but Kaya seemed to go over and above with her genuine kindness. Very few of the women Avery’s father had hired ever showed her more than respect and courtesy.

There were times when Avery thought her dad had purposely instructed them to be cold and distant, but she could never prove it. Her dad had tried his best to shield her from any further hurt, as if that was even remotely possible. Losing her mom had been a torrential downpour of constant pain that had never really left her. Trying to keep her from getting attached to a nanny had always seemed silly. Still, her dad had hired and fired them routinely every six months.

“No, you sit and enjoy the wine. It’s quicker if I do it. But thank you. I’ll be right out.”

Avery sat back down in her chair as Kaya disappeared through the door. She poured a second glass of red wine, a smooth Pinot from Napa, also one of Chuck’s favorites, according to Kaya. For all the time Avery had spent at the house in the last couple of weeks, she wished more of that time had been spent with Chuck.

Now, suspecting that Reese Jr. was Chuck’s son, she regretted they hadn’t been able to discuss this before she had met Reese Jr. Obviously, this was a monumental moment in both men’s lives and she’d unwillingly been dropped right in the middle.

Exactly what was in that envelope she didn’t know, but if she knew Chuck, it might very well have had everything to do with Reese Jr.

“Can you pour two, please,” she heard Chuck say as he entered the room through the door directly behind her. “Sorry I’m late. Been thinking about this dinner all day.”

“Me too. Glad you made it. For a while there, I thought you blew me off.”

He took a seat, not at the head of the table, but across from her. He pulled the glass of wine she’d poured in front of him, took a few long swallows, then sat back in the chair. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Just running late, is all.”

Kaya came in, pushing a small cart with platters of steaming food. Avery immediately got up to help her serve. When everything had been transferred to the table, Avery and Chuck thanked her and she left for the night, closing the kitchen door behind her.

“I met Reese Harrington Cooper Jr. today,” Avery began, taking her seat. She didn’t know how else to say what she’d been thinking, but to simply come out and say it. “The resemblance is subtle, but his eyes are a dead giveaway. Why didn’t you tell me the truth, Chuck? Why didn’t you tell me that Reese is your son?”

Chuck held his wine glass in mid-air, as if he’d become one of those stop action figures. He didn’t even blink for what seemed like a long time. He merely stared at Avery, his thoughts obviously churning with her last statement. She wondered if he would come clean or deny what she knew to be the truth.

“Because he doesn’t know, and I couldn’t take the chance that somehow he would learn the truth before I was ready.”

She resented that statement, as if he couldn’t trust her.

“Until today, I didn’t know Reese Cooper Jr. existed. My loyalty lies with you, Chuck. What made you think I would ever betray your trust?”

She picked up her glass of wine and swirled a sip around in her mouth, savoring the musky flavors with deep cherry undertones. She loved a good red wine, and this one was superb, as was all the wine she’d tasted on the Circle Starr.

“I don’t. But I’ve kept that secret close for so long I’d become fearful of saying the truth out loud. Somehow, if I did, it might get back to Reese and jeopardize my plans for him. That’s why I wrote that letter today, and asked you to deliver it without telling you its contents.”

She plunked her glass down on the table. The sting of betrayal burned through her veins. “Jesus, Chuck, you lied to me and used me blindly to do your dirty work when I could have guided you through this. What did you say in that letter?”

His face paled as he tipped his glass up to his mouth finishing off the contents. Then he put the glass down and leaned an elbow on the table.

“I can’t even remember everything I said. I wrote it early this morning when I was half-cocked with fatigue and filled with years of resentment. Now, I’m more scared than I’ve ever been. I don’t know if what I said to Cathy will turn her against me. I wouldn’t be happy if she turned on me. Not now. Not when I have so many plans for Reese.”

The back of Avery’s neck tightened as deep concern for Chuck’s reckless action took hold of her legal mind.

“Try to remember the essence of the letter. What point were you trying to make?”

“I threatened her.”

“How?”

“I told her if she didn’t tell Reese the truth, I would.”

Avery’s heart broke for Chuck. She knew he was desperate to finally come clean, but he’d done it all wrong. “You know I would have counseled you differently. A threat is never a prudent move. There were so many smarter ways to do this, Chuck.” She took in a deep quick breath, then let it out in a sharp burst of frustration. “None of that matters now. Was your threat sufficient that once she read the letter she would tell Reese the truth?”

He nodded and pressed his lips together for a moment. “Yes. I told her if she didn’t tell him, that I would. I’m sure she didn’t want it coming from me.”

“What held you back from simply telling him yourself years ago?”

“It’s complicated, but in essence, I promised Cathy that I wouldn’t.”

“Did you sign anything?”

Chuck poured more wine into his glass then drank down a third of it. “Yes. I gave up all my rights. Reese Sr. adopted him.”

“But did you sign anything that kept you from telling Reese Jr. the truth?”

“No. I merely promised Cathy that I wouldn’t. But now that Reese Sr. has died, well, I figured it was time.”

Avery leaned in. “And what did you think you would accomplish by dropping this bomb on a man who clearly loved his father?”

Chuck leaned back in his chair. “I thought it was time he knew the truth.”

“Now? When he’s grieving over his dad, and legally, Reese Sr. was and still is his dad.”

“Yes.”

She decided he was lying to her again, so she pushed her chair back, getting ready to leave the dining room, and his house if need be. No way would she remain under the same roof with Chuck now, not after she’d met Reese Jr., who she desperately wanted to see again.

“I don’t know how other people in your circle handle your lies, but let me be perfectly clear. I will not deal with you, not now, not ever, if you’re going to keep things from me and flat out lie to my face.”

She turned away from the table, determined to leave his house and never look back. She could forgive a lot of things, but she refused to forgive purposeful deception, especially from someone she loved. It was the one thing she had no tolerance for. Not in her clients, and most certainly not in Chuck, a man she once had wished was her dad instead of her real dad, who purposely kept himself distant from her.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“Home.”

“Seems to me you’ve got your own set of lies to deal with. Lies that may get you permanently disbarred. I’ve done a little digging and you can come down from your high horse any time now.”

Anger surged through her, and caught in her throat, squeezing it tight. She turned back to face him, raw fury pulsing through her veins. Somehow she managed to keep her cool, keep her voice at a natural pitch. “For your information, I did nothing unethical. I don’t know who’s filling your head, but my client used me for his own gains, and I assure you, I will be vindicated once all the facts are turned over to the board. You, on the other hand, broke a trust, not only with me, but with Reese’s mother. Did you love her?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I just want to know if you always betray the women you say you love.”

She pushed her chair back in, turned and headed for the door, trying to breathe normally as she went. Her temper was getting the best of her, and she didn’t like when that happened. All it did was cause her to say things she didn’t mean. Although, this time, she knew her emotions were tangled up in hurt more than they were anger. Everything she’d said to Chuck, she’d meant.

“I’m not the man you think I am,” Chuck said, as she reached the doorway. “Never was. Probably why your dad and I get along so well. We’re two of a kind.”

His words caused her to reconsider her exit. She whirled around to face him, took a couple steps and leaned on the table, hands splayed out on the polished wood.

“My dad is the most honest man I’ve ever known. His ethics are beyond reproach. Do not put him in the same category.”

“A few minutes ago, you thought the same thing about me.”

Her stomach tightened, but she wouldn’t back down, and refused to think any less of her dad, who wasn’t there to defend himself.

“Let’s forget about my dad for now. Tell me who you are, because obviously I’ve been wrong about you. Just who are you, Chuck Starr, and why should it matter to me?”

His features seemed to tighten, his jaw clenched, and his right hand, that rested on the table, suddenly curled up into a fist. If she was a guy, she’d be worried he was going to slug her. But this was Chuck Starr. Perhaps she didn’t know some of his more underhanded schemes, but she knew for a fact, he would never physically hurt her.

“I’m someone you wouldn’t like very much, and that single fact is tearing me apart.”

She let out a heavy breath, and stood up straight, her eyes moist with tears. “Why? What have you done?”

“It’s not any one thing. It’s a series of smaller things . . . things I’m not proud of,” he said. “I don’t know what it’s like to have a daughter, but I’ve always thought you were as close to one as I was ever going to get. I loved the way you admired me, looked at me like I could do no wrong, like I was your favorite uncle. I couldn’t stand it if that ever changed.”

There was no denying that she’d loved Chuck at times even more than her own dad. He’d been the voice of reason when everyone else around her could only deal in emotions. She could always depend on him to help her make the big decisions in her life. He’d helped her decide on her major in college, and was there when she graduated. It was as if she had two dads who she had loved equally without question. She didn’t want their relationship to end, not like this.

“If we’re telling the truth here, I admit that’s how I’ve always thought of you, Chuck. I knew you were there for me, no matter what. When my mom died, you helped my dad and me get through all the tough times. I’ll always love you for that, but you should have told me about Reese, that he’s your son. You used me, and lied to me. I don’t know how to forgive you for that.”

He was standing now, his eyes dry, but she could tell he was holding back the dam that wanted to break inside of him. She’d never seen him so emotionally drained. Apparently, their love for each other was in fact mutual. She couldn’t walk away from him now, not when he was so vulnerable.

“There’s a lot of things I should tell you, but I don’t know where to begin,” he said, a slight crack in his voice. Chuck was one of those old-fashioned man’s man, a cowboy who didn’t break no matter what happened around him. She knew this had to be slowly killing him.

She softened, willing to give him another chance. She pulled out her chair and sat down. “Promise me no more lies.”

“I promise,” he said, but she felt he was still holding back.

Nonetheless, she was willing to listen to what he had to say, hoping that somewhere in his confession she’d hear all the truth, and not just the things he thought she should hear.

“How about if you start at the beginning. With you and Catherine. We have plenty of time. I’m not going anywhere tonight.” She drank more of the luscious wine, then put her glass down on the table and topped it off. “Can we eat while we talk? I haven’t had an appetite all day, but I seem to have one now. And Kaya has worked hard on this meal. I think she’d be disappointed if we shoved it in the fridge.”

“I think that’s a good idea,” he said, a smile pressing his lips together. “Kaya’s food will relax us both. Let’s start there.”

 

 

REESE COULD BARELY breathe, let alone speak after he’d listened to what his mother had to say about his biological dad, Chuck Starr. Reese had refused to tear up the letter that had been tucked inside the envelope, and instead demanded that she tell him its contents.

At first, he thought the letter contained another offer of some ridiculous sum of money for their land. He assumed Chuck had decided to go around him and appeal directly to his mom now that his dad was gone. But when his mom assured him that wasn’t what the letter dealt with, Reese couldn’t let it go, even though his mom tried her best to convince him otherwise. Reese was indeed his father’s son and the same stubborn streak that had caused his dad to go on that roundup even though Catherine had begged him not to go, propelled Reese to insist she tell him the contents of Chuck’s letter.

“No. Mom. You can’t be serious. This is some kind of twisted joke that Chuck is trying to pull, right?” Reese said, once his mom explained the facts. “You would not have purposely kept this from me. You’d have told me when I turned eighteen or certainly by the time I turned twenty-one. Not now. Not when I’m thirty-one years old, and we just had a memorial service for my father this afternoon. Not after all the crap that’s gone on between Chuck Starr and Dad for all these years. You wouldn’t be this cruel.”

Reese couldn’t help the anger and the hurt that bubbled up from deep inside him. He could hardly believe what she was saying, could hardly believe she’d . . . they’d . . . lied to him for his entire life.

Not his parents.

Not his dad.

“I’m sorry, Reese, but yes, Chuck is your biological father, but that in no way changes anything. Please let me explain.” He could tell his mom was struggling to hold it together. Part of him wanted to comfort her, and tell her not to be so upset, but he couldn’t get past his own hurt to justify acting on hers.

In the last two weeks, ever since his dad had passed, his mom had not only lost enough weight to cause her clothes to look several sizes too big, but her face had become gaunt. Reese and his siblings worried and fussed over her, spent more time with her, trying to never leave her alone, and prompting her to eat. Reese knew this argument wasn’t helping her situation. He could see it in her face, but the blow had been too much for him to withstand, and he needed to try to lessen its impact or he’d explode.

“Explain? You want to explain why you never told me?” His fists tightened until his fingernails dug into the fleshy part of his palms. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to stop the pressure. “Just tell me one thing. Did Dad know the truth?”

Reese and his mom stood inside Reese Sr.’s office, a room filled with memories and furniture that had seen better days. The wooden desk his dad had bought at a ranch liquidation sale, to remind him of what could happen if he wasn’t diligent about managing his ranch, still dominated the room. Its hand-carved ornate front panel depicting cowboys herding wild mustangs was now chipped and in need of refinishing, much like everything else in the office, in the house, and on the ranch. Times were hard, and they were about to get much harder if this bombshell was in fact true.

His mom sat in one of two tattered brown leather armchairs that she and his dad would often sit in to discuss ranch business. “Come sit with me. Let me explain. Everything isn’t as cut and dried as you might think.”

“Did Dad know the damn truth? Just answer the question.”

He could tell she was trying her best to hold it together and not break down, and it killed him to see her like this. Still, he couldn’t back down, couldn’t allow himself to think of her feelings when his were in shreds.

“Yes, but you know how much he loved you,” she said, pleading her case. “How he loved all his children. Equally.”

“But I’m not his child. Why the hell did he name me his junior if I wasn’t even his son?”

“But you are his son. You two were like peas in a pod. Same temperament. Same views. Heck, you two even had the same walk. You are as much his child as any of your siblings.”

Reese tumbled into the chair opposite his mom feeling as though he didn’t have the strength to stand any longer.

His mom continued. “It was a different time back when I met your father and Chuck. I was rebellious, full of spit and vinegar, much like your sister is right now, wanting a different life. One that has nothing to do with ranching. I met Chuck first, and in those days, he was a sweet boy. I say boy because that’s what he was, even though he was in his early twenties. There was something about him that drew me to him. Don’t ask me what, but as soon as we met, I knew we had a connection. Almost like fate had prearranged our entire lives.”

Reese thought of Avery, and the impact she’d had on him that afternoon. And he couldn’t help thinking about the dream image of her, too . . . and how that connection, though strange, for sure, was something he didn’t feel he could fight—just like his mom was describing how she felt. The thought that his mom had felt the same intense pull towards Chuck Starr tightened his chest and caused his stomach to sour.

She pressed on. “Before I could come to my senses, we were intimate with each other. I knew better, but the attraction was overpowering. During that time, George and Louise had introduced me to your dad. You know how much I owed them for taking me in after my parents were killed in that horrible accident. They loved your dad, and encouraged me to date him. He ran his own ranch, had money in the bank, and could provide not only a future for me, but for them as well. Chuck was a drifter back then. He didn’t have two nickels to rub together. He certainly wasn’t the man he is today, and I saw no evidence that he would ever be more than a wandering cowboy looking for a ranch to work. Once I started dating your dad, I broke it off with Chuck, but by then, I learned that I was pregnant.

“Your dad never once wavered in his commitment to me, and proposed right there on the spot when I told him I was pregnant with Chuck’s child. I said yes, of course, and your dad hired a lawyer. Papers were drawn up that relinquished Chuck of any future financial obligations plus those papers allowed your dad to adopt you. Chuck promised me that he would never tell you he was your biological father, but I guess he decided to break that promise now that your father has passed. I’m so sorry, son, that it has come to this.”

Reese couldn’t speak for a moment, and instead tried to quell his shaking. Then after he leaned forward in the chair and slid his fingers through his hair, he looked at his mom. “What you’re saying is you wouldn’t be telling me now if Chuck hadn’t sent you that letter and I hadn’t insisted on knowing its contents. It was his threat that caused you to finally tell me the truth.”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. Her lovely face contorted with anguish. “There are some things that are best left in the past.”

Reese jumped up, his anger red-hot again. “Mom, do you realize what you’re saying? What else are you hiding from me? What else did Dad hide from me . . . from all of us? Are my brothers and my sister from the man we buried out in the cemetery, or were you attracted to other men along the way?”

She stood, walked over to him, and for the first time in Reese’s entire life, she struck him. Slapped him right across the face with everything that was in her. The sting soared through him in more ways than he could withstand. Emotion dampened his eyes and caught in his throat.

“You will not disrespect me or your father. I told you the truth. There’s nothing more to it, and nothing more behind it.”

They stared at each other for another moment as a flood of hurt spun around inside Reese. Never in his adult life had he felt more anger and grief. His dad, whom he had admired and loved more than he could ever express, had hidden a secret from him that he had deserved to know. What gripped Reese’s soul was the fact that he couldn’t confront his dad, couldn’t ask him why he chose to expunge the facts so completely that Chuck Starr had been made out to be the devil.

When Reese finally turned and left the room, there was only one person he wanted to talk to . . . Chuck Starr, the man who had done everything in his power to destroy the Cooper ranch, and who had forced his mom into admitting the truth.

Chuck Starr might have been the man who impregnated his mom, but he was not, nor would he ever be, Reese’s father.

 

 

BY THE TIME Reese drove his ten-year-old pickup truck along Chuck Starr’s private ranch road, evening had taken over the moonlit sky. Stones and red dirt billowed up behind him as he sped towards the sprawling ranch house ready to confront his deceased father’s lifelong nemesis. He didn’t know what Chuck intended to do about the situation, but Reese wanted nothing to do with him . . . ever. And he intended to tell him just that.

He’d gone over his argument several times on the drive to the Circle Starr, but the scenario always ended up with Reese punching Chuck in the jaw for all the pain he’d caused his dad. Their innate animosity made sense now, but still, why did Chuck have to be such a bastard?

Reese pulled his rig up to the front of the house just as a woman stepped out on the porch, a woman he thought he might never see again, at least not this soon, and not on Chuck Starr’s front porch. Seeing her in this situation both saddened and elated him at the same time

Avery Templeton approached him, her red hair pulled back in a ponytail, face clean of makeup, eyes piercing right through him. This time she couldn’t hide behind a hat. He could see her beautiful face as it reflected both the moonlight and the soft light coming from the porch. She wore tight jeans, tan-colored cowgirl boots, and a dark blue long-sleeved T-shirt. The concern on her face said everything Reese needed to know.

“What are you doing here?” Reese asked as he ascended the three steps.

“I’m staying here,” she said in that sultry voice of hers. “What are you doing here?”

“I have a score to settle with Chuck Starr. Are you his keeper?”

“No. Just a guest who’s concerned about my host.”

“Your host has a bad reputation in this town. Did you know that before you came to stay with him or are you consistently attracted to everything that’s bad for you?”

Reese noticed the perfect curve of her face, the gentle slant of her eyes and the way the corners of her mouth turned up whenever she readied to speak.

“Only when it benefits me.” A slight smirk creased her full lips causing him to momentarily lose his resolve to speak to Chuck.

“So tell me, how does staying with Chuck Starr benefit you?”

“It brought you here, didn’t it?”

This time he smirked, but it was short-lived.

“Only because of that letter you delivered for Chuck today.”

“You shouldn’t have come,” she told him, her voice getting even lower. “Nothing can come of you confronting him tonight.”

He didn’t like that she apparently knew the contents of the letter. He wondered who else knew about it. The entire town, perhaps?

“Not much choice in the matter.”

“There’s always a choice.” She walked over and leaned against the railing, pushing her legs out and crossing her ankles, forcing him to gaze at her long legs that now stretched out in front of him.

“Seems we both like to live on the edge. Are you related to Chuck? Is that why you’re here?” Reese asked, hoping there was no blood relation between them.

“Just visiting. I’m one of Chuck’s attorneys, and as such, I think it would behoove you to leave.”

“Behoove me?”

“Yes, benefit you. Be a prudent move,” she explained as if she thought of him as some dumb cowboy without an education.

“I know what it means, but leaving before I talk to Chuck wouldn’t benefit me. After all, he shared some powerful information or didn’t he bother to tell you the contents of the letter you delivered?” Reese slowly walked in closer to her. She didn’t move, didn’t flinch. Tough. Resilient. Fearless. He liked those qualities in a woman.

“He told me what I needed to know.”

“That I’m his son?”

She looked him squarely in the eyes. He had to hand it to her, she lawyered up perfectly when she wanted to, unlike that afternoon when she had played the rebellious Jezebel. “Yes.”

“So, you officially delivered that letter today?” He had to know the truth. Was this woman playing him or was she simply caught up in one of Chuck Starr’s many games?

“No. I did it as a favor.”

She grabbed the railing and hopped up onto it, looking playful in the moonlight as she leaned forward and swung her legs between the spindles, wrapping her ankles and feet around them for balance. The woman had a visceral effect on him, a raw force that seemed to ignite his soul with passion, but now was not the time to let his imagination get the best of him. Now was the time to get at the truth of the matter.

“A favor implies that you like that son of a bitch.”

She bristled, standing then angling to face him straight on.

“If you’re referring to Chuck Starr, yes. I like him a lot, and please don’t insult him like that.”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re his lawyer. Since when do lawyers move in with their clients?”

“Since I decided to stay for a while.”

Reese let out a sharp breath. “I bet that’s convenient for Chuck.”

She stepped away from the railing and moved in close to him, never backing down, and giving off an aura of complete control. “Look, cowboy, Chuck is a family friend. I’ve known him since I was a kid, so don’t go thinking you know the situation, because you don’t. And as for the letter I delivered, I had no idea of its content before I handed it to you. I was only the messenger, and you know what they say about the messenger.”

Pure heat pulsed between them as he stared into her smoky blue eyes, eyes that told him she was telling the honest truth.

“I’ll try to keep my guns holstered.”

“Might be a smart move. Now, I think you should go.”

He refused to back down. His daddy didn’t raise him to wimp out at the first barrier. He was taught to keep pushing, keep working, keep fighting until the job was done.

“Not until I speak to Chuck. We have a few issues that need settling.”

“I don’t think that would be wise. Neither of you are in the right frame of mind to settle anything.”

She looked determined to get her way, but Reese refused to back down.

“That’s not for you to decide. You said you aren’t his keeper. This is between Chuck and me.”

They were only inches between them now. His body pulsed with an intensity he hadn’t ever felt before. He couldn’t seem to control the physical attraction he had for her. It seemed to consume him and only heightened the frustration he felt for the situation he was now in with his mom and Chuck.

“Maybe so, but you need to cool down, take a few days to let this news take hold. I’ll set up a meeting.”

She sounded official, as if she’d switched over to her attorney voice. He didn’t like it. Made her seem indifferent.

“I need an appointment to meet with my new daddy?” Sarcasm dripped from his voice.

“Yes. I think it would be wise, don’t you?”

He thought about it for a moment as he deliberately took a step back. Of course she made sense, but he wasn’t in the mood to be logical. He wanted to punch something, mainly Chuck Starr.

She leaned on the railing once again, as he stepped further back on the porch trying to bank down his searing emotions.

“Fine. I can wait a few days, but that’s it. I want to know what the bast . . . what he wants out of all of this.”

“I don’t think he wants anything other than for you to know the truth.”

“Evidently, you haven’t been around Chuck very much in the last few years, or if you have, he’s managed to keep his real personality under wraps. Let me clue you in. He doesn’t do anything without an ulterior motive. Something stinks in all of this, and I intend to find out what it is before we all have to start wearing gas masks.”

She folded her arms across her chest, then tossed him a defiant look.

The damn thing about this woman was that she’d managed to get under his skin, and even now when he should be hating her for even knowing Chuck Starr, all he could think of was how much he liked her boldness, her ability to match his attitude. How she got right up in his grill with her badass self.

“Good luck with that, because before you do or say anything that might slander Mr. Starr, I’ll hit you with so much legal shit you won’t be able to see daylight for a week.”

“More threats. You two are like peas in a pod, rotten peas that have been on the vine too long and are about ready to fall off into the dirt.”

“Is that some kind of folksy saying that’s supposed to scare me? ‘Cause you’ll have to do better than that. I’ve dealt with much worse cowboys than you.”

“Like the one inside that house?”

“Yes, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll get off his property . . . now!”

Reese smirked, and gazed up at the full moon for a moment, then back at her. “You know what’s amazing about all of this?”

“What?” she asked, her killer eyes sparkling, and if Reese wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of a smile on her delectable lips.

“That I still want to kiss you,” he said, as he pulled her in closer and slipped his hand through her silky hair.

She didn’t resist. Instead, she seemed to melt into him.

He kissed her hard as he cupped her cheek and felt the heat of her body next to his. For one magical moment, she kissed him back, her lips warm and luscious on his, her tongue skirting across his, driving him crazy with desire.

Then, abruptly she moved away.

“Of all the underhanded . . .”

He cut her off. “Just checking to see if what we started out on that balcony today was real. And from the way you just kissed me, I’d say it’s still alive and kickin’.”

As he descended the stairs, she said, “That doesn’t change anything, Reese Harrington Cooper Jr. And don’t you go thinking that it does.”

“Whatever you say,” he told her as he swung open the door on his pickup, then glanced back before he got in. “But you know as well as I do, that kiss changes everything.”

As he drove away, he knew darn well that despite all the crap that had come down today—his anger, his disappointment with his parents, and the tremendous ache in his heart from losing his dad, his one ray of sunshine in all of this was Avery Templeton, the woman from his dreams.

Or maybe, now that he knew what was really going on, she just might be the woman in his worst nightmare. Either way, he had a feeling they were both in for one hell of a ride.