“You said she helped on Seth’s campaign? Is she in Lyndon?”

“She came to town a few months ago. But right now…” Abigail paused. “Right now, she’s in Houston.”

“She’s here?”

“She wants to meet you. And she wants to meet Mandy and Katrina and everyone. But we wanted to start with you.”

“Oh, well in that case.” Maureen promptly stood up, dropping her napkin onto the table. “Let’s go.”

Abigail laughed. “Hold on.”

Her mother paused, waiting.

“We don’t have to go anywhere.” Abigail nodded across the garden to a far table. “She’s over there.”

As Maureen turned to stare, Lisa caught the gist of the body language and came gracefully to her feet. She was wearing a white, sleeveless tank dress, her blond hair loose and framing her face. She looked nervous but brave as she walked forward on delicate, white, strapless sandals.

Abigail rose and moved to stand next to her mother as Maureen approached them.

“Nicole,” Maureen whispered, groping blindly to grasp Abigail’s hand. “She looks just like Nicole.”

Abigail found her own eyes filling with tears.

Maureen let go of her hand, rushing forward to pull Lisa into her arms.

Lisa’s eyes fluttered closed as Maureen rocked her back and forth and stroked her hair.

“Oh, my darling.” Maureen spoke in a choked voice. “I’m so glad you’ve come home.”


* * *

It didn’t take Abigail long to realize Zach’s employees were like a family. Thirty people worked in the executive offices, with another hundred and fifty or so between the sales, marketing, accounting and human resources offices on various floors in the office tower in downtown Houston. All of them greeted Zach by his first name. They all seemed to know he’d been in Colorado, and they were all anxious to hear how things were going with Craig Mountain.

She’d been in Houston for three days, and between visiting her father and watching her mother and Lisa get to know each other, she’d managed to power through the application for Zach. Now she sat in a corner boardroom on the thirty-second floor, gazing out the bank of windows at the lights of the surrounding buildings and the clear, night sky. The water-license variance application form 731-800(e) was on the table in front of her, neatly printed out, supported by charts and graphs, and a letter of intent, complete with the company background, prospectus and all the technical data she’d been able to pull together from her previous water-table research. It was a great report, probably the best she’d ever done.

Half the double doors opened, and Zach entered with his partner, Alex Cable. She’d met Alex earlier and really liked him. He seemed smart and motivated, with a wry sense of humor. She knew he’d just broken up with his girlfriend. She also knew he was staying with Zach. Though Alex was fairer than Zach, with blue eyes, light brown hair and a lankier build, the two had a lot of gestures, expressions and speech patterns in common. If she hadn’t known better, she would have taken them for brothers.

Zach glanced at the cover page of the report, then looked to Abigail. “That it?”

“That’s it,” she confirmed. She was done, officially free from his blackmail, ready to go back to her old life.

“It’s really nice of you to help us out,” Alex put in.

Abigail shrugged. “It was no problem.” Then she caught Zach’s ironic brow lift, and she amended the statement. “Uh, not much of a problem. I am glad to be finished, though.”

Zach lifted the report and thumbed through it.

“We should celebrate,” said Alex.

“You don’t have a variance yet,” Abigail pointed out, taking her clutch purse from the table and tucking it under her arm. She should be rushing from the room, but, for some reason, she found herself hesitating.

Her mother was resting at her rented condo right now, tired from her emotional few days with Lisa. She’d taken a shine to Ozzy, and the puppy was keeping her company. It was nearly eight o’clock, and Lisa had asked Abigail to meet for a late dinner or maybe hit a club before they flew back to Colorado in the morning.

It was a strange feeling of déjà vu. Abigail was having a final night on the town before heading back to the ranch. She was trying hard not to rehash the Lucky and Doll-Face evening in her mind, but it was proving impossible. She was also trying hard not to think about leaving Zach forever, but that was causing her trouble, as well. Despite everything that had happened, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from liking him.

“How long will the committee deliberations take?” Zach asked.

“Weeks, probably,” she answered, avoiding looking into his eyes. She had to be strong for another five minutes or so, get out of here and forget about looking back.

“We don’t have weeks.”

“You don’t have a choice.”

“Anything we can do to speed it up?” asked Alex.

“You want to try bribing a legislative committee of the state of Colorado?”

Alex coughed out a laugh. “Not a good idea?”

“Not if you enjoy life outside the Colorado penal system,” she responded. Then she shot a stern look at Zach. “And there’s not a thing in the world you can blackmail me with on that one.”

“Blackmail?” Alex glanced from one to the other, clearly in the dark about the details of her and Zach’s working relationship. No matter. It was over now, and Zach could explain himself however he wanted.

“Ask your partner,” she told Alex, starting for the door. “By rights, he should already be in jail.”

“Who’d you blackmail?” asked Alex.

“She’s exaggerating,” Zach drawled.

“Abigail.” Alex’s voice stopped her.

She turned, prepared to answer his question, acknowledging that she’d been the one to drop this bomb into the conversation.

“He actually blackmailed you into helping us?”

It was all a moot point now, and she didn’t really care enough to keep the secret from Alex. Mostly, she just felt tired. “He did.”

“Go, Zach.” Alex whistled in obvious admiration. “What’d he use?”

“He slept with me then threatened to tell my brothers.”

“Abby.” Zach dropped the report back onto the table.

“What?” She stared at him. “You embarrassed about sleeping with me, or embarrassed about committing a felony?”

“It wasn’t like that,” he protested.

“It was exactly like that. And now you’ve got what you want.”

“I threatened to tell them you hated the ranch.”

“I don’t hate the ranch.” Though she once again felt as if a set of walls was closing in on her. By this time tomorrow, she’d be in blue jeans and boots.

He moved toward her. “I was never going to kiss and tell.”

She was vaguely aware of Alex discreetly backing his way out of the room.

“Then you lied to me,” she told Zach as he came to a halt directly in front of her.

“I guess I did.” His eyes reflected the desire she couldn’t deny.

“Yet another sin on your head.” But her pulse sped up at his proximity, and her skin flushed with heat.

“Yet another sin,” he agreed. “You want to go get something to eat?”

She sputtered a laugh. “A date? On my last night in town?”

“Something like that.”

“You looking for another one-night stand?”

He gently took her hand in his, rubbing the pad of his thumb over her knuckles. “Absolutely.”

Her mounting desire peaked and crested. She struggled not to stammer. “You have got to be kidding.”

He leaned in, voice lowering to a husky drawl. “I’ll understand if you say no.”

Her breath hitched. “How very magnanimous of you.”

“But I’m still going to ask.”

“I’m saying no,” she managed to say.

“Yeah. I figured.” But his hand moved up to her cheek. His fingers brushed her sensitized skin, and he dipped his head toward her. “At least let me kiss you goodbye.”

She ordered herself to move, to back away, get out of the danger zone. But her feet weren’t cooperating, and her head was tilting to accommodate him. Her lips were parting, and her eyes were fluttering closed.

When his lips touched hers, desire exploded within her. A small sound escaped from her throat. Her knees went weak, and her chest became a tight band of emotion. Before she could form a coherent thought, her arms wound their own way around his neck.

His free arm pulled her close, pressing their bodies together, while his tongue found its way into the hot recesses of her mouth. The kiss continued for long minutes before he broke it off.

“I’ve missed you,” he moaned, cradling the back of her head, pressing her cheek against his strong chest.

Her voice was muffled. “You’ve barely let me out of your sight.”

“You know what I mean.”

She did. She’d missed him, too. But that didn’t make sleeping with him again a good idea. Okay, it would be great. It would be fantastic. But it would also be foolish.

She shook her head and tried to pull back.

“I can’t let you go.”

“You have to.” She swallowed, forcing herself to stay strong. “You’re out of ammunition, and I’m going home.”

She braced her hands on his shoulders and broke free of his arms, stumbling a couple of steps in her high heels.

He reached for her, but she’d already put enough space between them.

“Goodbye, Zach.”

He stilled. But then he dropped his shoulders and gave a sad smile. “Goodbye, Doll-Face.”

Her eyes started to burn, and she quickly turned away, walking out the door.


* * *

Watching her two sisters dancing under the sparkling lights of the central ballroom at the Ten Peaks Country Club in downtown Denver, Abigail couldn’t stop smiling. Mandy’s gown was clean and classic, strapless with simple lines that flowed gracefully as she danced in Caleb’s arms. Katrina’s dress had a sweetheart neckline and glittered with shimmering embroidery, beadwork and sequins. Where Mandy had gone with a silver-link necklace and hoop earrings, Katrina wore cascades of white sapphires, interlaced to a point just above her cleavage. Her dangling earrings and elegant bracelet made up the set. She looked delicate and beautiful in Reed’s arms.

Abigail had served as maid of honor, while Lisa was a bridesmaid. Seth and Travis stood up for the grooms. Their father was sitting now, at the head table near the multitiered cake that was flanked by two bridal bouquets. But he’d done an impressive job of escorting his daughters down the aisle. After the wedding, he and Abigail’s mother were definitely considering an extended stay here.

The lights were dim around the dance floor as everyone watched the two bridal couples in their first waltz. Abigail’s feet were sore, but in a good way. It had been weeks since she’d worn high heels, and she felt feminine and beautiful in her knee-length, plum-colored bridesmaid dress. Made of airy chiffon, it had a soft, strapless bodice, a two-layer skirt and a sleek waistline.

“Abby?” A deep voice resonated close to her ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

She twisted to come face-to-face with Zach. She blinked, unable to make sense of his appearance.

“Hi,” he offered.

“What are you doing here?”

He was dressed in a well-cut three-piece steel-gray business suit, his silver tie in a sharp knot, his crisp, white shirt allowing him to blend with the other guests.

“I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

“I’m a little busy.”

The crowd broke into applause as the final strains of the waltz came to a close. The string quartet immediately launched into another song.

Mandy picked Seth from the crowd, while Katrina laughingly asked Travis to dance. Reed Terrell snagged Abigail’s hand and smoothly pulled her onto the hardwood floor. He swung her gracefully into his arms. For a large man, he’d always been a great dancer. He’d been a year ahead of her in high school, and they’d danced together many times before.

“Who’s that?” he asked, leaning to be heard above the music.

Abigail glanced back at Zach. Her heart tripped at his handsome, sexy looks.

“Zach Rainer,” she told Reed. “He owns Craig Mountain Brewery.”

“He was invited to the wedding?” Reed’s tone was incredulous.

“He’s here looking for me.”

Reed stopped.

“Don’t,” Abigail warned. She knew her neighbor well enough to realize he would step in to solve whatever problem was at hand. Dressed in a wedding tux or not, he was completely capable of tossing Zach out on his ear. “I’ll handle it.”

Reed hesitated a second longer, but to her relief began dancing again. “Why’s he crashing my wedding?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet. I haven’t had a chance to talk to him.”

“He a friend?”

“Sort of.”

Reed stared down at her, eyes narrowed. “There something you’re not telling me?”