by Lori Wilde
“Then I'm confused.”
That made two of them, because she was still more than a little rattled by what had happened when they'd hugged. She could still feel the tingle of attraction dancing across her skin, and her breathing was none too steady. But years of difficult trials had taught her to stay focused, so she forced herself to stay on topic.
“I don't know how much you remember about my grandmother.”
Travis leaned back in his chair. “She was...unique.”
“Understatement of the year. When Nana Freda gets upset at someone, she sometimes says something that she tells them is a prophecy, but that in actuality is just the rantings of an elderly woman.”
Travis nodded, his expression serious. His demeanor was completely professional. “I see. So my only question is—huh?”
Despite herself, Dani felt a smile tug at her lips. She didn't want to find Travis amusing. Not now. Not after she'd just felt a jolt of lust shoot through her. She'd always been a sucker for a man with a great sense of humor.
“Is that why you need a detective? You need someone to track down the meaning of that sentence?” Again, he asked this with a straight face, and this time, Dani couldn't stop herself from smiling.
“Let me be clearer,” she said.
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“My grandmother goes around putting curses on people she thinks have wronged her. She's done this for years and years. My family thinks of it as her little idiosyncrasy.”
“What sort of curses?” Travis asked. “Does she squint, point a gnarled finger, and mutter, 'You'll die a horrible death'?”
Dani sighed at his melodrama. She needed him to take this seriously. “They tend to be more romantic curses.”
Travis scratched his jaw. “Romantic curses. Now there's a phrase you don't hear very often. Give me an example of a romantic curse.”
Even after all these months, Dani still couldn't believe how silly this sounded. “Here's the one that's causing all the problems. She told her dry cleaner that love would overwhelm him.”
Travis gave her a pointed look. “And did it?”
She nodded. “Yes. He's a widower who got involved with a woman in her twenties and stopped paying attention to his business.”
“Because? What? He was too busy bungling in the jungle?”
“Apparently,” she said dryly. Then the reality of the situation forced her to admit, “And he feels this is my grandmother's fault.”
Travis looked as if he was trying hard not to laugh. A kinder woman would have told him to go ahead and at least smile, but Dani decided it would be better for him if he learned early on how to handle this case without laughing. She needed him to take this seriously because the problems facing Nana Freda certainly were serious.
“Why love curses?” he asked.
“They're not love curses. My grandmother thinks that people in love are happy people. Happy people are nice. She likes nice people. So she helps them fall in love so they'll be nice.”
“I see,” he said, but Dani spotted the smile that was still lurking around his lips. “So why do you need a detective? Also, have you noticed I’m not one anymore?”
She didn't miss the faint gust of laughter in his voice as he asked his question, but she chose to ignore it. “When I learned you were working with Max, I realized you weren’t a private investigator anymore. But I thought you might be willing to help just this once. See the dry cleaner says he's going to sue my grandmother. He claims she ruined his business, and he thinks she should pay.”
“And what do you want me to prove? That this guy was having sex but not more than he used to have before your grandmother cursed him?”
“No, because that won't help. Apparently, he only lived for his business before he met this young woman. Then he let the business slide because, as he says, love overwhelmed him.”
Travis scratched his chin. “No offense, but I don't think love was what he was experiencing.”
“I agree, but I'm not sure a jury will see it our way. Juries can be tricky. It’s sometimes hard to predict what they’ll do.” Dani looked him straight in the eyes and explained her carefully devised plan. “Instead, I want you to help me find other people my grandmother has cursed. If we can prove her curses had no effect on their lives, we stand a better chance of shooting down his argument. See, it’s not complicated. I just need a little of your time.”
Travis looked dubious. “But will that really help? You're a smart lawyer. Isn't it Psychology 101 that if you believe something is true, then it's true to you? Isn't that the theory behind curses and things like that? The person sincerely believes it to be true, and therefore, the curse works?”
“I've considered that, but still, finding other people who didn't believe in the curses can only help our case.” She fiddled with the strap of her purse. Talking about this case always rattled her nerves. She hated anything bad happening to Nana Freda, but she also didn't have time for this right now. She'd finally landed a great job at a firm in New York and was due to start in a little under two weeks. She should be concentrating on clearing out her apartment in Dallas. Instead, she’d driven all the way to Honey to ask Travis for his help.
But her grandmother needed her, so how could she say no?
Travis was looking at her, a frown on his handsome face, so Dani said, “Trav, I need help on this. I know it may be a long shot, but it's the only idea I have. Everyone wants Nana to hand over all her savings, but I don't think she should have to do that. I think this man is using this as an excuse for his own foolishness.”
Travis shook his head slowly, then met her gaze. “I’m not really doing this sort of thing anymore, but I guess I could help an old friend. I just hope your plan works, Gypsy.”
“Under the circumstances, I think you should avoid calling me Gypsy.”
He smiled. “True. So do you have a list of people your grandmother has cursed?”
“Nana Freda wants to talk to you herself about them,” Dani said. “She refused to give me the names. Instead, she wants me to bring you by the house so she can talk to you.”
“When?”
“Whenever you can make it.” She realized this was asking a lot. She hadn't seen Travis in years, and now she was expecting him to drop everything and help her.
“Now works for me,” he said.
Dani hadn't expected him to be willing to go immediately, but it certainly made her life easier. She'd known instinctively that he wouldn't let her down. And she'd been right. “Great.”
“Want to ride together or take separate cars?”
She didn't hesitate. “Separate cars. You’re coming back to Honey, right? I plan to stay in Dallas.”
“Makes sense.” He stood and headed toward the front door.
“I plan to pay you,” she said. “And I insist on paying you the standard rate. I mean what used to be your standard fee.”
“Okay. Then why don't you give me directions to where we're going? I'll let Elvin know what's happening, and we can head out.”
He held open the front door. Dani readjusted her purse strap, then headed toward the door. For the first time in several weeks, she felt optimistic about this case. She had a good feeling that Travis really would be able to help her. And it was wonderful to see him again.
Once outside, Travis headed toward the barn. As she watched him talk to the young man, Dani couldn't help thinking how well he'd turned out. Her grandmother had asked her this morning if she thought Travis would still be a nice-looking young man. Dani had speculated that he'd be fat and bald.
But he was neither. He was still very nice-looking, if you could call a man who seemed to drip with raw sensuality “nice-looking.” He was tall, still had all of his thick, dark chocolate-brown hair, amazing blue eyes, and had that great smile.
But Travis’ looks came from so much more than his features. His attitude and the way he carried himself, along with that twinkle of devilment that lurked in his eyes, all added up t
o an incredibly attractive man.
Personally, she'd never thought of him as sexy in high school. But she certainly did now. And for her own self-preservation, the sooner she got him working on this case and put some distance between them, the happier she'd be. Just like she didn't have time right now for this lawsuit, she certainly didn't have time to get distracted by a man.
So she'd keep her mind on the case—no matter how yummy Travis Walker had become.
Chapter Two
Travis studied the front of Dani's parents' house and whistled softly. Man, her father was one heck of an insurance salesman. The place was huge. A rambling modern house painted bright white, it didn't seem like something a girl nicknamed Gypsy would grow up in.
He pulled around the wide circular drive in front and parked a little way beyond the front door. Climbing out of his car, he waited for Dani. When she pulled in behind him, he waited patiently for her to get out. Then he said, “If I'd known you were rich, I would have chased you in high school.”
“No, you wouldn't,” she said, shutting the door to her blue SUV. “You didn't date smart girls in high school. And as I'm sure you remember, I'm very smart.”
He chuckled and headed across the wide driveway to join Dani. Although he’d happily given up being a private investigator, this case was one he couldn’t turn down. No doubt about it—this was going to be a lot of fun.
Over the years, he'd thought a few times about the kids he'd hung around with in high school. Up until he was a teenager, he'd moved from school to school almost every year because his father had been in the Army. He'd never really got to make many school friends. But after they'd settled in Dallas, they'd stayed put for a few years. That's why once he and his brother got out of the Navy, they'd moved back. They liked this town. It felt more like home than any other place they'd ever lived in. In fact, he still kept in touch with a couple of the guys from the old high school gang.
Almost as if she'd read his mind, Dani asked, “Do you still see Will or Mike or Brian?”
Interesting how she'd only mentioned the males. “I see Brian a couple of times during the year. We get together at the gym and play a game or two of basketball. He's an engineer now.”
“I can't picture Brian playing basketball,” she said, leading the way up the front steps. “He was always a two-left-feet kind of guy.”
“He's outgrown it.” Then with a smile, he added, “Now he's got two right feet.”
Dani laughed. “No wonder you like to play against him.”
“Got to get your small victories where you can find them in this world,” he said. He liked her smile. Liked it a lot. He liked her eyes, too.
His gaze drifted to her lips. They were full and looked soft. She wasn't wearing any sort of gloss, but her lips were still a dark pink and suddenly, all Travis could think of was how much he'd like to kiss those soft, full lips. Slow, lingering kisses that would let him explore her—
“Stop it.”
Travis pulled his gaze up to meet hers. “Stop what?”
“That look you were giving me. Don't do it.”
“What look?” he teased, knowing full well what she was talking about.
“That, oh-baby-I-could-eat-you-up look.”
Travis laughed. “I would never, ever say something like that.”
“Yeah, well, your look does,” she muttered, then rang the doorbell. “So don't do it again. Just because I'm female doesn't mean you have to hit on me.”
“I wasn't hitting on you. Did you hear one single 'Oh, baby' leave my lips?”
She gave him an oh-pulease look, and he chuckled.
“Okay, sorry,” he said. “But let’s face it. A guy doesn't get called a lady-killer if he's not interested in women. It's a habit of mine.”
“One you need to break.”
He could tell she wanted to say more, but the door flew open and a blur of bright green rushed out and wrapped itself around Dani like a blanket.
“Danielle, you tell your mother that I'm not signing any papers. I didn't do a thing wrong, so I refuse to give him my money.”
Travis tried to look around Dani to see who was speaking, but all he caught was a glimpse of white hair.
“Nana Freda, leave Mom to me. I'll explain our plan.”
“Good.”
The green blanket pulled itself off Dani, and then took a flying leap toward him.
“Whoa,” Travis said, stopping it just before he was engulfed. “Hold on there.”
A tiny woman wearing a bright-green dress and wrapped in an equally bright-green shawl blinked up at him. She had long silver earrings dangling from her earlobes, several chunky silver necklaces draped around her neck, and climbing up each arm were what Travis conservatively estimated to be twenty-five silver bracelets.
Obviously, a woman who liked silver.
“Give me a hug,” she said, taking a half step, half hop toward him. Travis backed up a full step. “Everyone needs a hug.”
“Thanks, but I'm good.”
“Poo, I wasn't going to hurt you. Just give you a hug. A big strong man like you, Travis Walker, shouldn't be afraid of an old woman.”
Travis narrowed his eyes. “I'm not afraid of you. I just didn't want you to hurt yourself rushing like that.”
The elderly woman laughed. “I'm not sure you remember me, but I'm Dani's grandmother, Freda. And by the way, double poo. You're not worried I'm going to break a hip. You're worried I'll get some old-lady cootie germs on you. You're too young to be afraid. You need to face those fears and overcome them.”
Looking into her smiling face, he realized Dani had the exact same eyes as her grandmother. And just like her grandmother, Dani's eyes twinkled when she laughed.
“Fine.” He leaned down and gave Dani's grandmother a light hug. “There,” he said.
“Poo.” She wrapped her arms around him and hugged so hard he was pretty sure she bruised a rib or two. “Now that's a hug. You're going to have to work on your hugging.”
She released Travis, then grabbed Dani's hand, tugging her into the house. As they went inside, he heard Freda say, “Dani, help Travis learn how to hug. He stinks at it.”
Dani led the way to the living room while her grandmother hurried away to get something or other.
“Nana Freda,” Dani said. “Travis doesn’t need any help when it comes to hugging. He did a wonderful job when we hugged in his office.”
Travis turned and looked at her. For a moment, he held her gaze and felt the zap of attraction zip between them. Then he winked.
Dani laughed.
Yeah, this case was going to be fun.
DANI WALKED OVER TO a chair in the living room and sat. She hadn’t been lying when she said Travis was very good at hugging. He'd made her thoughts wander in a dangerous direction, something she couldn't afford at the moment. She didn't have time to have a hot-and-heavy affair. She'd worked too long and too hard to get distracted now.
So any temptation she might have felt in that direction went straight out the window when he'd looked at her lips the way he had. At first, she'd felt her skin tingle with awareness and her breath catch in her throat. But then, thankfully, sanity had returned, and she was proud of herself for telling him to stop it.
Sure, she was glad to see Travis. He was an old friend she'd hired to help her with a family problem. That was it. He'd help her prevent this lawsuit. Then they'd move on with their lives.
“What kind of insurance did you say your father sells?” Travis asked as he examined the room.
Dani never came in here, so she didn't really pay attention to the room. But now, taking in the obviously original artwork, the oversized, expensive furniture, and the ornate trimmings, she realized the room dripped money.
Her mother's doing. She'd hired the best decorator—which translated to the most expensive—to make the house a showplace. Not one thing in this room reflected the personalities of the people who lived here.
“He's president of the company,” she
admitted.
Travis pulled out his cell phone and started typing.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Making a note to myself to become president of an insurance company.”
Dani smiled, but only a little. “Being rich doesn't mean you're happy.”
“Being poor doesn't mean you're happy either,” he rebutted.
The look he gave her was filled with understanding, compassion, and more than a little warmth. She glanced away and staunchly resisted the impulse to glance at him again. She'd always been a sucker for chocolate-brown hair and stunning blue eyes, the exact kind Travis had. She wondered why she'd never found herself attracted to him in high school. Maybe it was because, as she'd told him, she'd been too smart.
Unfortunately, she didn't seem too smart now. Desire spread through her every time he looked at her with those sexy eyes of his. Still, she wasn't eighteen anymore, and sexy eyes alone didn't cut it now. By the time you reached twenty-eight, you needed more from a man than good looks and a great smile.
“Danielle, I see you're being insistent about this.”
Dani turned and watched her mother's grand entrance. There was no other way to put it. The woman made it seem that there should be trumpets heralding her arrival.
Deborah Karlinski turned to Travis, scanned him up and down, then said, “This is the detective, I take it. The one you went to school with.”
Dani wouldn't have blamed Travis if he'd said something snide back, but instead, he extended his hand. “Yes, I'm Travis Walker, Mrs. Karlinski. It's nice to meet you.”
Her mother took his hand with such reluctance you would have thought Travis was coated in mud.
“You're wasting your time,” she told Travis. “I say we simply give the man the money he wants and move on with our lives. There's no sense splashing family business across the papers.”
Dani knew that was the main reason her mother opposed this. She didn't want the embarrassment.
But Nana Freda had the right to handle the matter her own way, and Dani was all set to tell her mother that when her grandmother came into the room dragging a tea cart behind her. Travis immediately crossed the room and brought the cart over to the couch.
