“It’s all good at the ranch,” she answered Lisa’s question.

“I didn’t know you were coming to town.” Lisa closed the door behind them, her black ballet flats whispering as she moved.

“Just picking up a few things,” Abigail made the excuse.

“Spurs and saddle soap?” Lisa teased.

Apart from Zach, Abigail hadn’t confessed to Lisa or anyone else her trepidation about going back to the ranch. She pasted on a smile. “A new pocketknife and some baling wire.”

Lisa laughed. “Around you, I feel so useless.”

“You are anything but useless. I don’t know how my brother got by without you.”

“I think he had a whole lot more fun before I showed up. Hey, Seth,” Lisa called. “Your sister’s here.”

Conversation stopped in the back room. It had once been the original kitchen and dining area, but years ago it was converted into a large gathering room where many of the mayor’s formal parties took place. A new kitchen had been added to the house sometime in the fifties and updated every decade since.

“Which one?” Seth called.

“It’s me,” Abigail called. “But you don’t need to-”

Seth headed through the curved archway that led into the living room adjacent to the foyer. “Hey, Abby.” He strode across the big room and pulled her into his usual hug. “What are you doing in town?”

“A little shopping,” she told him cheerfully. “What’s up with the zoning?”

He pulled back and waved a dismissive hand. “The usual. The chamber of commerce wants the town boundaries extended past the river bend, and the ranching community is up in arms over the grazing leases. You staying over?”

“I already checked into Rose Cottages.”

He frowned. “Why would you do that? You know we’ve got plenty of room here.”

“I plan on sleeping in tomorrow,” Abigail lied.

“So what?”

“So, you’re here. And you’ll be up early. Not everybody wants to keep your manic schedule,” she added.

“You’ve never minded my schedule. In fact, I think you liked it.”

“Well, I’m not working for you anymore. And I feel like being self-indulgent.”

“And so you should,” Lisa stoically defended, linking an arm through Abigail’s in blatant solidarity. “Give the girl a break. She’ll be up slopping the hogs at the crack of dawn soon enough.”

“We don’t have hogs,” said Seth. He turned, calling out, “Benjamin?”

“Yes?” a young man’s voice answered from the gathering room.

“Do you mind running over to Rose Cottages and grabbing Abigail’s suitcase?”

“Seth!” Abigail protested, reflexively moving to block the door. She was not going to let herself get shanghaied.

“I’m not letting my sister stay in a hotel.”

“And I’m not letting my brother order me around.”

Benjamin, a local teenager who was doing a part-time internship with Seth, appeared in the doorway. A bedraggled, black-and-white puppy limped in at his heels, sniffing its way around the legs of a colonial side table.

“Which cottage are you in?” Seth asked Abigail.

She jerked her attention back to her brother. “None of your business.”

“Don’t start, Abby,” Seth warned.

“Back off,” she responded. She was usually quite amiable when it came to her family’s desires, but she couldn’t give in this time.

“I just opened a bottle of ninety-six St. Germain,” he cajoled.

“I’m not thirsty.”

“Come on.”

“Boss,” Lisa put in, in a warning tone. “Didn’t we talk about this?”

Abigail was a little surprised that Lisa was willing to come to her defense. Lisa was brash and bossy at the best of times, but she was usually quite deferential to Seth.

“This is an entirely different circumstance,” he intoned.

“It’s exactly the same circumstance.”

“What?” Abigail couldn’t help asking.

“Problem solved,” said Lisa, propelling Abigail from the room. “She’ll stay at Rose Cottages, but join us for a drink now. Bring some glasses, Seth.” Then she lowered her voice, leaning toward Abigail’s ear. “So, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Abigail whispered in reply.

“Like hell,” Lisa harrumphed as they made their way toward the gathering room. “You’ve got something going on tonight, or you wouldn’t be fighting with Seth over where you slept.” Then she raised her voice as they switched rooms. “Luis, Harlan, you remember Seth’s sister Abigail.”

Both men came to their feet from a sofa grouping where they were going over some kind of report.

“Nice to see you again.” Luis nodded.

“Hi, Abigail,” Harlan echoed.

She barely had a chance to say hello because Lisa kept her moving toward an alcove with a bay window. Tucked into the corner of the L-shaped room, it was furnished with a low, round table, several broad-leaf plants and a half-round, floral-print bench seat.

“Are you okay?” Lisa asked with obvious concern as they plunked down on the soft cushions.

“I’m fine,” Abigail assured her, putting on a smile.

Lisa’s eyes narrowed. “Something’s off.”

“No, it’s not,” Abigail lied.

The quick denial seemed to pique Lisa’s curiosity. “It’s just us girls…”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Lisa tsk-tsked. “It’s a good thing you don’t have to lie for a living.”

“I’m not lying. Why would I be lying?” Abigail glanced to where her brother had followed them into the room. She wondered if he’d take Lisa to task or pick up his argument with Abigail. But, instead, he paused to joke with Luis and Harlan while he poured the wine.

“Because you’re embarrassed, or you’re up to no good. Or, hey, here’s one, you’re going to see that guy again. Making it a two-night stand.”

Abigail felt her face heat up. She couldn’t think of a single thing to say.

The men’s voices rumbled and glasses clinked. The puppy scampered its awkward way over the patterned carpet toward them.

Lisa’s eyes went wide, and her mouth formed an O. “No way.”

“Exactly,” Abigail told her firmly. “No way.”

“You are planning a two-night stand.”

“I’m not. No. Definitely not.”

“You do realize you’re protesting way too much.”

“I’m protesting exactly the right amount because you’re dead wrong.” Dead wrong. The very last thing in the world Abigail was about to do was sleep with Zach again.

“Ladies,” Seth’s voice preceded him. He strode forward, offering each of them a crystal goblet of merlot.

“Thanks,” Abigail managed to say, scanning his expression to gauge if he’d overhead anything.

“You’re a very good mayor,” Lisa told him approvingly as she accepted the other glass of wine.

“You might want to remember that,” Seth retorted.

“How could I forget? It’s in every other speech. Now go away.” She shooed him with the back of her hand. “We’re having girl talk.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He backed off with good humor.

Lisa returned her attention to Abigail. “You’ve got me worried here. You’re acting weird.”

Abigail heaved a sigh. If she was acting weird, she couldn’t help herself. She wasn’t any good at this cloak-and-dagger stuff.

“Fine.” She took a bracing drink of her wine. “I am meeting someone tonight. But it’s not what you think.”

Lisa leaned in. “A man someone?”

“Yes, a man. But it’s not like that. I’m helping him-” She stopped herself, searching for the right words. “It’s a research project.”

“A research project? At night? What is this, freshman year?”

“It really is a research project.”

“Uh-huh.” Lisa slipped off her flats and curled one leg beneath her simple, sky-blue dress. She gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m envious of your private life.”

“You really ought to focus on your own,” Abigail advised.

“It’s not the same. There’s nothing going on in mine.”

“I don’t believe you,” Abigail challenged, seizing on the opportunity to change the topic from herself to Lisa.

But Lisa wasn’t so easily swayed. “You’re the one with the hot guys on speed dial.”

“Nobody’s on speed dial.”

“Then how’re you contacting him?”

“He’s not a hot guy.”

“You’re blushing again.”

“Okay, he is a hot guy.” Abigail regretted admitting there was a guy involved. “But it’s not about sex.”

Lisa chuckled. “It’s always about sex.”

“Do tell.” Abigail raised her brows meaningfully, trying again to switch the focus to Lisa.

“I wish,” Lisa scoffed.

“There must be somebody. You’ve been in Lyndon for three months now.”

“I’ve been busy. Working hard. As you well know.”

“What about the guys on the campaign?” Abigail glanced at Luis and Harlan. She caught Seth looking at Lisa, a funny expression on his face.

Lisa’s earlier challenging and teasing of Seth came rushing back.

“What about Seth?” she blurted out.

Lisa’s jaw dropped, and her cheeks flamed.

“Ah-ha!” said Abigail. “I knew there was something-”

“Not Seth.” Lisa adamantly shook her head.

“Hey, I know he’s your boss, but-”

“Not Seth,” Lisa repeated, the flush turning to pallor as her gaze flicked across the room.

Abigail reached out. “What is it?”

“Nothing.”

“What’s going on?”

Lisa mutely shook her head.

Abigail couldn’t help another glance to her brother. His brow furrowed as he watched their exchange. She pasted a smile on her face and rose to her feet, reaching for Lisa’s arm. “Let’s step outside.”

Obviously upset, Lisa complied, and the two moved through an open set of French doors to a wide veranda that overlooked the mansion’s extensive gardens. The scent of roses permeated the air, and crickets chirped over the backdrop of the light traffic on the distant interstate.

They stopped beside the far railing.

“Dish,” Abigail ordered.

Lisa pushed back her blond hair and squeezed her eyes shut.

“I won’t give you up,” Abigail promised in a quieter tone, knowing Lisa had to have fallen for Seth. “You’re not the only one who can keep a secret.”

Lisa blinked open her blue eyes. “You sure?”

“Positive.”

Lisa downed her remaining wine. “Oh, man. I can’t-” She closed her eyes for another long second. “Okay. Fine. It’s better than you thinking I’ve got the hots for Seth.”

“Okay…” Abigail waited, not exactly sure what would be so terrible about being attracted to Seth.

Lisa looked directly into Abigail’s eyes. “You know about Nicole, right?”

“Who’s Nicole?”

“Nicole Aldrich. Your mother’s younger sister.”

Abigail drew back in surprise. She hadn’t heard that name in years. “I know she died young,” Abigail allowed. “I never met her, of course. And nobody really talks about her.”

“She died at eighteen, right after I was born.”

Abigail stilled. Then a tingle rushed over her skin. Her heart expanded in her chest. Could Lisa be saying…? “And…?” Abigail prompted impatiently.

“And I’m definitely not attracted to Seth,” Lisa stated with a toss of her head. “As it happens, I’m his cousin.”

Abigail gave a muted squeal, every muscle in her body contracting in delight. “And my cousin. Our cousin.” She wrapped Lisa in a tight hug. “Why on earth wouldn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t know how you’d feel.”

Abigail drew back. “I feel great. How could you not know we’d be thrilled?”

Lisa gave a self-conscious laugh. “Because I didn’t know you. That first day, I was just going to check you out. And you all assumed I was a campaign volunteer, and it seemed easier to go along with that. And then I found out about your dad, and that your mom was away. And then Seth hired me, and I loved the job, and I started to get scared that if he knew…”

“You thought Seth might fire you for being our cousin?”

“I thought he might fire me for secretly spying on him.”

Seth’s dry voice interrupted. “He might fire you for lying to him.”

Lisa jerked back, her attention shifting to where Seth had silently appeared on the deck. “I never lied.”

“You never told the truth.”

“I was working up to it.”

Seth crossed his arms over his chest. “And you pumped me for information.”

“I did,” Lisa admitted. “Your mother wasn’t around, and you were the only one old enough to remember Nicole.”

“I was six when she ran away.”

Abigail glanced from one to the other. “I don’t understand. When she died, why didn’t they bring you to us?”

“About a week before the car accident, she left me with the Sisters of Charity-anonymously.”

“You were abandoned? Raised by nuns?” Abigail couldn’t help asking, her brain scrambling about a hundred miles an hour as she cataloged the revelations.

Lisa shook her head. “I was adopted by a wonderful family. It was only two years ago when I started looking for you. Records were sketchy, so it took a while-”