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  He kissed her cheek. “I’ve missed this couch since you sent me away. And besides, I’ll be up and out of here good and early.” He would meet with Davis first thing, make it crystal clear to the old man that Mary was under his protection now and all harassment was to cease. Now. “Mary…” He kissed her ear.

  “Um?” She sighed and turned her head so their lips could meet.

  He kissed her slow and deep, trying to keep a rein on it since there was only so far they could go—trying, but not completely succeeding. She moaned and moved against him. He felt himself hardening again.

  It was sweet, hot torture. Mary drove him crazy. Just stark, raving out of his mind. Who knew that smart, no-nonsense Mary Hofstetter could drive a man wild with desire?

  She pulled away enough to whisper, “We should stop.”

  “One more kiss.”

  “Oh, Gabe…” She gave in, offering that mouth of hers, opening to him so he could taste the wet sweetness within.

  He was the one to end it that time, putting a finger under her chin, lifting his mouth away enough to whisper, “You taste so good. I don’t want to stop. But you need to know I’m a man who keeps his word.”

  Brown eyes shone. “Oh, I do. I know it.” With one last, quick press of her lips to his, she slid off his lap and stood. “You really ought to go.”

  The ought to was the giveaway. He knew then that she would let him stay. He spread his arms wide along the back of the couch and crossed one booted foot on the opposite knee. “That brisket sure looked good….”

  Mary felt a glow all through her. Like the world was magic and the magic was centered smack dab in the center of her heart.

  She made Gabe a sandwich and gave him a beer. Then she sat at the table with him and watched him eat, her chin on her hand, thinking how much she’d missed seeing him there, across from her, the past lonely days.

  Was this love, then?

  She hesitated to say so. Yet. It was like no other feeling she’d ever known. She had loved Rowdy deeply, a love steady and strong.

  But this? This was something altogether new. Sparkly like fireworks. Fizzy like champagne.

  She’d done what her heart told her to do—with a little nudge from Ida. And now she was just going to go with it, follow the magic wherever it took her.

  After Gabe ate, she popped a bowl of popcorn and they watched an old movie on one of the movie channels. Ginny woke up in the middle of it. Gabe went and got her.

  It was the strangest thing. He carried the baby out into the living room and she lay in his big arms, kind of staring up at him, perfect pink hands waving, making the sweetest little cooing sounds—as if she knew him, remembered him. As if she was happy to see him again. Mary got all dewy-eyed, just watching that.

  In a minute or two, Ginny remembered she was hungry. She started fussing and Gabe handed her over. Mary fed her, sitting right there on the couch next to Gabe, feeling completely comfortable about nursing in front of him.

  It was still just so…relaxed and natural between them. As if they’d picked up where they left off when she sent him away. Only better, because now there was that fizzy, sparkly thing they had going, now that she had finally admitted that she wanted him for more than a friend.

  After she put Ginny back to bed, she went out and sat with Gabe until the movie ended. Then he kissed her good-night, another deep, passionate, beautiful kiss.

  When he lifted his head, she said, “I’ll get you some blankets and a pillow.”

  “I can get them. Go on to bed.”

  She kissed him once more, because she could. Because it felt so very good. And finally, reluctantly, she left him to make his own bed.

  Gabe set his BlackBerry to wake him at five-thirty.

  Twice in the night, he heard Ginny crying. But before he could get up and go in to offer help, the crying would stop. He would drift off to sleep again.

  In the morning, he woke before first light to the buzzing of the alarm. He’d slept in his clothes, so he didn’t have to waste any time getting dressed. In his stocking feet, carrying his boots, he made a quick stop in the half bath across from the stairs and then, as silently as he could, went out the back door.

  Mary woke at a little after six with a smile on her face. She took a quick shower and dressed, eager to get out to the living room—and Gabe.

  But when she tiptoed out there, he was gone. Her heart sank that he’d left without a word. Until she opened the curtain and saw that his fancy car was still there.

  The bathroom, then?

  Two steps toward the stairs and she could see the half-bath door was open. No one in there. She went up the stairs. That bathroom was empty, too.

  About then, she realized he must have gone outside. To tend the animals for her?

  She smiled. How sweet.

  She went out the back door to thank him with a good-morning kiss. He emerged from the barn before she got beyond the rusty ironwork posts that held up the patio cover. She lingered there, waiting for him, her heart rising inside her chest. He came to her and she went eagerly into his arms.

  After the kiss, he said, “I took care of the animals.”

  “I thought maybe you had. Thank you.”

  “And that guy you let sleep in the barn?”

  She frowned up at him. Hadn’t they put that issue to rest? “What about him?”

  “He’s okay. He helped me out with the horses and the goats. Name’s Wyatt McCrae. Raised on a ranch down by Laredo. Been working cattle since he was a kid, but he’s hit a patch of real bad luck….”

  Where was this going? “I’ll invite him in for breakfast, if that’s what you’re hinting at.”

  His gaze held hers. “He needs a job, Mary. And you need a hand. If you’re serious about keeping this place, you’ve got to have someone to mend fences and burn ditches. Someone to whitewash the barn and slap a coat of paint on the house. You’re a fine woman. Steady. Strong. But you’ve got your hands full, with Ginny and the writing you do.”

  “I know I need a hand. But I can’t afford to hire anyone right now.” It galled her to say it, though she had no doubt he knew it already.

  “No problem. I’ll pay his wages.”

  “Gabe. No. That’s not right.” She tried to pull away.

  He wouldn’t let go. “That’s pride talking. The man needs a job. And you need a hand. And I’m willing to fork out the cash to give you both what you need. Let me do that, Mary. Just take a deep breath and say yes.”

  She looked in those blue eyes and thought how she trusted him. How it was a fine thing he wanted to do and she should be grateful instead of stiff with hurt pride. Mary took that deep breath. “All right. Go tell my new hand there’ll be breakfast in twenty minutes.”

  At a little after seven, when he got ready to leave, Gabe felt pretty pleased with the way things were going.

  It had been decided that Wyatt would take the cabin a couple hundred feet east of the barn. It had served as a bunkhouse decades ago, when the Lazy H was a going concern. The roof needed patching and things were pretty rustic inside, but Wyatt said he’d fix it up in his spare time. The electricity in there was working, and Mary would see about having the phone turned on again.

  Over breakfast, Wyatt had said he had a knack with machinery. He was in the barn, trying to get Rowdy’s old truck started, as Mary walked Gabe out to his car.

  She kissed him goodbye, coming into his arms, fitting there just perfectly. The only bad thing about having Mary in his arms was that eventually he had to let her go.

  And he did, with reluctance. He got in the Jag and rolled down the window and she bent close and kissed him once more.

  “How many cars have you got, anyway?” she teased.

  “Several. Kiss me again.”

  She did, her head halfway in the window. “Come back soon,” she murmured when they came up for air.

  “How about tonight?”

  “That would be perfect.”

  “Seven o’clock?”
r />   “It’s a date.”

  From the barn around the back of the house came a grinding sound and then a couple of backfires.

  Mary laughed. “That truck hasn’t worked for as long as I can remember.”

  “I get the feeling Wyatt’s not giving up till he makes it happen.”

  More grinding and backfires. And then they heard it—a ragged roar as the old engine came back to life.

  “I don’t believe it,” said Mary. “Will miracles never cease?”

  “Let’s hope not. Tonight?”

  “Tonight,” she repeated softly, and stepped back from the car so he could drive away. He watched her in his rearview mirror. She was smiling, her arms wrapped around herself, her shiny hair blowing across her cheek. He wanted to back up and take her in his arms for one more kiss.

  But he kept going. There would be plenty of time for kisses tonight and the next night. And the night after that.

  He went to his place to clean up, and packed a bag while he was there, thinking he would head for Mary’s straight from the office that evening. He’d be prepared if she let him spend another night on her couch. Funny how he’d rather sleep on Mary’s sofa than in his own big, empty king-sized bed.

  He took the Porsche 911 to BravoCorp. The hum of the powerful engine always soothed him. And the closer he got to the confrontation with his father, the edgier he felt.

  There would be shouting. And probably threats. Gabe did have a plan.

  He only hoped to hell it would work.

  Chapter Eleven

  As it turned out, Gabe didn’t have to go looking for his father.

  Georgia glanced up from her computer when he came in. “Davis just called. He wants you in his office right away.”

  So Gabe got back on the elevator and went up to the top floor. Davis’s assistant sent him right in.

  His father rose from his desk when he entered. “Gabe.” He sounded affable. Even welcoming. “Great. Have a seat.” He gestured at one of the leather chairs and Gabe took it. Davis sat back down, too. “I dropped by your place last night. But I missed you.”

  His father’s sudden friendliness had the hairs on the back of Gabe’s neck standing up. Since the argument Thursday before last, when Gabe had refused to hound Mary any further, Davis had been cool toward him at best, and even hostile more than once. Why the abrupt change of attitude?

  “I’m surprised,” Gabe said.

  Davis tried to look innocent. “What? That I stopped in to see my own son?”

  “Well, Dad. You and I haven’t exactly been on good terms lately.”

  Davis cleared his throat. “Ahem. Well, yes. That’s so. And I want to…get past that. Heal the breach between us. It’s not good to let bad feelings fester. We are family, after all.”

  Gabe put it together. “You told Mom about it. Now she’s after you to make it up with me.”

  “Ahem. Well. She’s a wise woman, your mother.”

  “I’m more than willing to get straight with you,” Gabe volunteered.

  “Excellent.” His father beamed. He reached a hand across the desk. Gabe took it and they shook. “Now.” Davis settled back, elbows on the padded chair arms, big fingers laced over his belt. “Pack a bag. I’m sending you to California to meet with Jonas.” Jonas Bravo was a second or third cousin—Gable could never remember which. The notorious Blake Bravo had been Jonas’s uncle. And the Bravo Baby was Jonas’s younger brother. Now and then, BravoCorp and Jonas did business. “You leave Thursday morning at 5:00 a.m., with Matt.” Matt was the fourth born of Gabe’s brothers. He was BravoCorp’s CFO. “Jonas is offering us a piece of a wind-energy project he’s developing. Hear his proposal, get specifics, see what you think. He sent a nice, fat file attachment containing the preliminary information. I sent it on to your in-box.”

  “I’ll look it over.”

  “Good, then.” Davis nodded. He looked supremely satisfied with himself. “We’re back on track, the two of us. And you’re on board for the California trip. Anything else we need to discuss?”

  “As a matter of fact, there is.”

  Davis dipped his head. “I’m listening.”

  Gabe laid it right out there. “I got a call from Mary Hofstetter yesterday evening. She asked to meet me so I went out to see her at the Lazy H. As it turned out, she’d just had a visit from Emily Gray.”

  Davis’s steady gaze narrowed. “You were with the Hofstetter woman last night, then?”

  “I was, but that’s not my point. Emily Gray is an excellent negotiator. And smart. She would never make the mistake of stepping out of bounds without your specific instructions. So I have to believe that you’re the one who told her to threaten Mary with ‘unpleasant’ consequences if she didn’t get with the program and sell BravoCorp the Lazy H.”

  “Is there something going on between you and Mary Hofstetter?”

  “Not the issue.”

  “It is as far as I’m concerned.”

  “Dad. Listen. No matter what you do, Mary is not selling her ranch. Give it up. Move on.”

  Davis’s square jaw was set. “You know I want that land. The widow’s in over her head, holding on to something she can’t take care of. I’ll make good use of that ranch and you know it.”

  “You’re repeating yourself. And you’re not getting that land. No matter what you do.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Gabe pulled out the big guns. “Try anything illegal—burn her out or poison her well, whatever—and Mary will have me representing her in court.”

  Davis sat very still in his thronelike chair. “You wouldn’t.”

  “I would. Maybe I wouldn’t be able to prove you were behind whatever ugliness you’re planning, but I can make you pay on other levels.”

  “Don’t threaten me, Gabriel.” His father’s green eyes burned with fury. He didn’t enjoy having his own tactics turned back on him.

  Gabe replied flatly, “It’s not a threat, Dad. It’s a hard fact. It’s not going to look good in the media, Bravo against Bravo.”

  Davis straightened his desk pad. Then, with a low sound of disgust, he pushed himself out of his big chair, turned and went to the window. He stared out at the city spread wide below him. “Your grandfather won Bravo Ridge on a bet,” he said.

  “I know, Dad.”

  “A horse race.” Davis went on as if Gabe hadn’t spoken. “Between Emilio Cabrera’s best Andalusian and a fast little Mustang your grandfather found running wild and trained to the saddle himself. That Mustang won. And your grandfather took the last of the Cabrera holdings, their land and their hacienda that they called La Joya, the jewel, and renamed the whole thing Bravo Ridge after a clump of rocks he’d stood on when he first saw the Cabrera spread. We’ve had bad blood with the Cabreras ever since. They would never forgive us for stealing their heritage, for making it ours. But we did. Bravo Ridge was the start of it, of the Bravo dynasty in Texas….”

  It was an old story and not a pretty one. The feud between the Bravos and the Cabreras continued to the present day. There had been blood spilled on both sides. Blood spilled and revenge taken.

  Gabe would have told his father he didn’t need to hear it all again. But he kept silent. He had the sense Davis was working around to the current conflict between the two of them.

  Davis said, “My father had seven sons and he chased all of them away. Except me. I was too mean to let him scare me off. And I swore I’d never drive my own kids away.” Finally, he faced Gabe again. “I don’t want this.”

  Relief washed through Gabe. He softened his tone. “I know you don’t. Nobody does.”

  “Ash says he’s got another property that will work as well or better. He wants me to go out and take a look at it.” He slanted Gabe a careful glance. “Are you involved with the Hofstetter widow?”

  Gabe refused to be deterred from the main point. “Dad.” He spoke gently now. “You never could stand to be told ‘no.’ It’s a character flaw. Ash won’t steer you wrong. Go
see the other property. Move on.”

  Davis returned to his chair. He settled back into it. And then, at last, he said the words Gabe was waiting to hear. “All right. We’ll move on.”

  “Thank you.”

  His father gave a regal nod. “It’s done. Now, about you and the widow…”

  Gabe answered him honestly then. “I’m involved with Mary. And I like her. A lot. I…admire her. She’s a special kind of woman, sweet and bright and good. And a straight talker, too.”

  Davis said nothing for several seconds. His expression was unreadable. But Gabe knew his father. Though Davis was less than pleased, he didn’t want to alienate Gabe all over again. Not now, when they’d reached a shaky peace at last. So he was taking his time, trying to choose the right words.

  In the end, he threw up both hands. “I’ve got to speak frankly. Even if your mother does have my hide for it.”

  Gabe braced himself. He really didn’t want to listen to his father say things they would both regret. But he knew there was no stopping Davis now. He would have his say.

  “Look, son. I believe in love and all that. Without your mother at my side, I would be nothing. But we both know you could have your pick of women from some of the best Texas families. Couldn’t you just fall for one of them?”

  Gabe almost smiled. “’Fraid it’s more about the woman than the size of her fortune, Dad.”

  Davis swore under his breath. “First Ash and now you. Don’t get me wrong. I love my daughter-in-law. Tessa’s a fine woman. And she makes Ash happy. But isn’t it enough that my oldest son married a shopkeeper from the wilds of California? Now you’re getting involved with a dirt-poor rancher’s widow? I’ve been counting on you to marry well when you finally decide to settle down.”

  Screw the fragile peace between them. Gabe wanted to pop his father a good one about then. He could punch the old man’s lights out just in defense of Tessa, for starters. If not for Tessa, Ash would be dead. Plus, Tessa was an all-around good person. You’d think Davis would be grateful to see Ash married to a woman like her.