Jordan softened, understanding that Maria was still grieving. “I know. If you’ll let me, I’ll come back out and sit with you sometime.”
Maria stared for several seconds before releasing Jordan’s hand, almost in a defeated kind of way. Jordan thanked Diego on the way to the door and practically ran to her car.
That was weird! She remembered how Maria went berserk when she was looking at the pictures. And Jordan still hadn’t discovered if Diego was the cause of her stroke.
On the drive back to her apartment, she decided no matter how uncomfortable visiting Maria had made her feel, she had to help the woman. For now, she’d go home and regroup.
But she would be back!
The one scene playing over and over again in her head was Maria banging on the wheelchair. Was it frustration because she couldn’t speak? Or was it something else, something more critical?
Regardless, Jordan was determined to find out what had Maria so scared, and why she kept a butter knife hidden under her lap blanket.
CHAPTER 14
Jordan parked the car and slowly walked to her apartment, hoping Danny was back so they could hurry out to DiNardo’s for dinner. Her stomach was already growling like a dog with a treed squirrel. Although she’d made a pig of herself on Bella’s Baked Steak and Gravy, that had been hours ago. She was looking forward to a gigantic serving of spaghetti and meatballs with a salad and garlic bread. The last time they were there, she’d had enough leftover food for lunch the next two days, which was always a plus with her budget.
Even though Danny was splitting the cost of groceries, money was still tight. Her brother was turning out to be a bad influence, cooking even less than she did and coaxing her into eating out on a nightly basis. Unfortunately, while he was good at sharing Pop-Tarts for breakfast, he drew the line at bologna sandwiches for dinner. She’d experimented one night with a simple chicken recipe she’d printed in her column and ended up throwing the entire dish down the disposal. Danny still teased her about it.
There was only so much humiliation a girl could take.
The good thing was that she never had to worry about eating on paper plates or drinking from her matched set of plastic cups from the Pizza Palace when Danny was around. He didn’t care what the dishes looked like as long as there was food on them.
She opened the door, glad to find it unlocked, which meant Danny was already home. She hoped he’d worked out the details with the rest of the gang, and they could be on their way to the restaurant soon. She was exhausted and looking forward to an early bedtime. On top of it all, her editor had called before she’d left work Friday, wanting to see her in his office first thing Monday morning.
That always meant he wanted something—which always meant she wouldn’t like it. But she couldn’t complain too much. So far, the job had been fun and seemed to have gotten easier. Or maybe it was just the fact she worried less about everyone in Ranchero finding out she was clueless when it came to cooking.
The readers had to have figured out by now that she was merely posting casserole dishes with fancy names, but they still kept begging for more. Egan had even mentioned he was thinking about having the Kitchen Kupboard run three times a week instead of two. Maybe that was what he wanted to talk about in the morning.
Danny wasn’t around when she walked into the living room, but she could hear the shower running. Since his teenage years, he’d been known for his hour-long showers. And the guy would take ten of them a day if he could. Although the thought of hot water running over her body was particularly appealing at the moment, she was far too exhausted to even think about a quick shower.
How dirty could you get sitting around all day? Besides, every time they went to DiNardo’s, she came home with the pungent smell of garlic in her hair.
She flopped down on the couch, resting her feet on the coffee table and thinking if she weren’t so hungry, she’d fall asleep right there. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head back to enjoy a few minutes before Danny emerged from the bathroom.
When the doorbell rang, she silently cursed having the only serene moment of her day interrupted.
Crap!
People irritated the tar out of her sometimes. It had to be someone either selling something or trying to save her from the fires of hell. Her friends usually didn’t knock, never mind ring the bell.
Springing up from the couch, she blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, intent on giving whoever it was a lecture about getting their eyes checked. The sign on the front door clearly said NO SOLICITING.
When she threw the door open, she got the surprise of her life as she stared into the most dazzling blue eyes she’d ever seen—well, since the last time she’d seen them.
It had been a few months, but he was exactly as Jordan remembered. Six feet tall, wearing jeans and a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO sweatshirt, Alex Moreland made her heart race. His dark blond hair with golden highlights set off his Paul Newman eyes, causing her thoughts to take a sharp turn from PG into dangerously R-rated territory.
“Hello, Jordan. Did you miss me?”
Before she could lift her jaw from the floor and think of a snappy comeback, her dorky brother chose that moment to come out of the shower wearing only a towel around his waist.
“And who’s this?” Danny asked, pointing to the new arrival.
“Alex Moreland,” she stammered.
She watched the surprise in Alex’s eyes turn to anger.
“I see you’ve moved on, Jordan. I guess I can’t blame you.” He turned to leave.
Grabbing him by the arm, she swung him around, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.
He looked down at her, confusion clouding his eyes.
“Alex, this is my brother, Danny.”
The relieved expression covering his face made Jordan want to grab him for another kiss. The man was clearly jealous. A small part of her was delighted at his reaction.
Okay, a big part of her.
“This is your brother?”
She nodded. “He’s staying with me for a few weeks.”
Danny crossed the room and extended his hand. “You must be the FBI guy my sister has been hiding from me.”
“Danny!” She glared. “How did you know about him?”
“I have to protect my sources since you don’t tell me squat.”
“Your sources, my butt. Victor couldn’t keep a secret if you wired his mouth shut.” She inched closer to Alex, catching a drift of his aftershave, which somehow made her forget any earlier hunger pangs. “So what are you doing here, Alex?”
“I got a call yesterday from Sheriff Delaney down at the police station. Cattle rustling has become a real problem in this area lately, and he’s—”
“What?” Danny moved so quickly toward Alex that he almost lost his towel.
Jordan didn’t have to look at her brother to know his face was probably skewed with a mix of anger and disbelief. And she was not about to glance in his direction for fear she would be scarred for life if there was a sudden wardrobe malfunction.
She led Alex to the couch where they both sat down; Danny settled in the chair directly across from them.
“Why would Sheriff Delaney call the Feds?” Danny asked.
“Apparently the crime is escalating and has now crossed over into interstate fraud. Since we worked together on a case a few months ago, he requested the Bureau send me.” He moved his hand behind Jordan’s head and caressed the nape of her neck. “But that’s only part of the reason I’m here. An old friend is working a nonrelated case for the department and asked if I could help out.”
“I thought you were deep undercover. The last time we talked, you said you and your partner were finally making contacts. So how is it your boss let you come all the way back here to help with a small-town case?”
Not that she really cared why he was here. Just sitting next to him on the sofa again with his thigh touching hers, she felt a jolt of electricity through her entire body.
&n
bsp; Alex tipped her chin and touched his lips to hers, sending goose bumps rippling down her arms. “First of all, if the thieves are crossing state lines with stolen cattle, it’s no longer a small-town problem. I’m supposed to meet with the guy TSCRA sent here. I’ll know more after I talk to him.”
“Why wait?” Danny leaned forward and held out his hand. “Danny McAllister, field marshal for TSCRA.”
Alex stopped the march of his fingers up and down the inner part of Jordan’s arm and stared. He reached over and shook Danny’s hand. “That’s the case you’re working on?”
“Yep. And I have to tell you, I’m more than a little pissed off that they’d call in the cavalry when I haven’t even had a chance to really get into the investigation.” He stared back defiantly.
“Trust me, this is your show, Danny. I promised Delaney I would look over the police reports. That’s all. I’m really here to help with the other case.”
Being this close to Alex was maddening. All she wanted to do was to lock him in her room and never let him out. She took a few deep breaths before she trusted her voice. “I still don’t get it. How could they pull you away from your undercover gig when the last time we spoke you said the bad guys were finally beginning to trust you?” She leaned away from him, narrowing her eyes. “That was over two weeks ago, by the way.”
His gaze dropped from her face, to her shoulders, and settled on her chest for a few seconds before he met her eyes again. “I forgot how feisty redheads can be or how quickly it can drive me to drink.” He ruffled her hair. “The logistics of getting me away for a few days was a problem, since we were pretty sure the drug lord had Rocco and me under surveillance and even had our phones tapped. I couldn’t use the government-issued one, because I’m sure Uncle Sam was listening there, too.”
“So how did you get away?” Danny repeated, obviously still nursing a touch of anger.
“Since we knew they were watching, we staged a bar fight where the police intervened and took me and my sparring partner, another undercover cop, to jail. I’ve got three days in Ranchero. Then I have to head back, since that’s all the time we can milk out of the arrest.” He turned and nailed Jordan with a let’s-not-waste-one-more-minute-with-small-talk stare.
For once, she thoroughly agreed with him. “Where are you staying?”
“My old place was vacant, and the landlady agreed to let me crash there for a few days. It cost the Bureau a little more than a hotel, but they felt I had less of a chance of being recognized there.” He melted her with a sexy look. “If memory serves, I still owe you a pan of lasagna.”
“That’s right, Moreland. After you bragged about how you had these mean cooking skills that you learned from your Italian mother, you skipped town before I had a chance to find out if you were just blowing smoke up my skirt.” She had forgotten how much fun it was to trade barbs with him.
“For the record, you went and got yourself an overnight stay at Ranchero Community Hospital on my last night in town, if I’m not mistaken. And I wasn’t blowing hot air. My mother’s lasagna recipe is the best.”
Jordan slapped her forehead, suddenly remembering their plans for the evening. “Danny, did you ask the guys if they wanted to go to DiNardo’s with us tonight?”
“Oh hell!” Danny popped up, nearly losing the towel again. Glancing at the clock, he said. “They’re all coming with us. I told them we were leaving around seven. That only gives me fifteen minutes to get ready.”
“DiNardo’s? Is that the little dive in Connor?”
“Yes. And if you’re nice to me, I’ll let you come along.” Jordan tried to make her smile seductive. “Unless you just want to stay and hang out here.”
He pulled her into his arms and held her to him. “I can’t tell you how inviting that is, but I haven’t had a thing to eat all day. All I ask is that you hold that thought.”
Lowering his head, he kissed her, making her forget the rumbling in her stomach—and just about everything else, except how much she didn’t want to leave the warmth of his embrace. She sighed and snuggled closer.
“Does that get me an invite to the party?”
“Absolutely,” she replied. “Oh Lord, the others will be here any second, and I need a shower.” A cold one!
Watching the gang interact with Alex as if it hadn’t been almost two months since he’d left Ranchero had warmed Jordan’s heart. Since Alex had taken the six a.m. flight from El Paso, he could barely hold his eyes open. Although he tried to keep up with everyone, Jordan had sent him home, convincing him he needed a good night’s sleep to get ready for their date the next night.
Things have a way of working out, she thought as she made her way to her editor’s office. Laughing to herself, she remembered how she’d popped Alex in the head with a skillet and knocked him unconscious a while back when she thought he might be a bad guy.
And Alex had been right. She was the one who had ruined their first big date by nearly getting herself killed and ending up in the hospital. No way she’d let an opportunity like that pass her by again. She had him for two full days, and she intended to make it impossible for him to forget about her while he was off in El Paso fighting drug smugglers.
They’d decided tonight would be lasagna night. And if Jordan had anything to say about it, dessert would be more than the chocolate cake she was picking up at Myrtle’s Diner on the way over to his house.
“You can go in now,” Egan’s secretary said, waving toward the door.
Jordan stood and proceeded in that direction, smiling at Jackie Frazier. “Nice sweater,” she said as she passed.
“Thanks.” The secretary didn’t even look up.
Since the very first time Jackie had summoned her to the editor’s office, Jordan hadn’t been able to get the woman to utter more than a few words in response.
Inside the office, Egan was on the phone reading someone the riot act and motioned for her to sit down. Slamming the phone in the cradle, he leaned back in the chair, his hands behind his head.
“Idiots! We’re getting bombarded with bigger orders from the 7-Elevens, and the incompetents at the distribution center can’t seem to get off their asses and make it happen. It’s like they have no clue we’re in an economic crunch and fighting for every newspaper sale we can get.” He stopped and released a frustrated sigh.
“Is that why you wanted to talk to me?” Jordan tapped impatiently on the arm of her chair.
Only two more hours until quitting time. Three more until she was on her way to Alex’s apartment. And hopefully, only a couple more after that and all her fantasies from the past few months would finally come true.
“Of course not. What could you do about it? We can fix a lot of things, but we can’t change stupid.” Egan straightened up in his chair and pointed to an envelope on his desk. “Know what that is?”
She shook her head, not sure if she wanted to find out.
“It’s a big fat check from Lucas Santana. Apparently, your column with last week’s beef recipe is making a pretty significant difference in his profit margin. At least for this month, he’s cashing in on the increased sales and has doubled his ads.” He slapped the desk. “I gotta hand it to you, Jordan, I wasn’t sure you could pull it off.”
“Does that mean I get a bonus?” She thought about the extra money she had already spent this month on takeout alone. “Because I sure could use it.”
“Yeah, yeah. So could the rest of the world. I have a different kind of bonus for you.”
Her interest piqued, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on his desk. “More Cowboys tickets?”
The editor laughed out loud. “I knew you had spunk from the moment I first saw you.” Shaking his head, he continued. “I’m talking about only running the personals two days and jacking up the culinary column to three times a week.”
“And that’s your idea of a bonus? I work twice as hard getting recipes and talking about food than I do just copying someone’s desperate attempt to hook up. So, n
o thanks.”
“And you get to sit in the press box with Jim Westerville at the Cougars basketball game against Wichita Falls in three weeks.”
She jumped from her chair and leaned across his desk. “For real?”
“Did I not promise you that way back when? It’s my way of saying thank you for a job well done so far.” He shrugged. “Of course, I had to bribe Westerville before he’d agree.”
She didn’t care what he’d had to do to get her a pass to sit with the sportswriter for the Globe. A picture of the big man falling down the steps of the bleachers flashed in her head, and she quickly blinked it away.
Okay, the more Christian thing would be to wish he only sprained his ankle, so she could take over his job for a few weeks. She wouldn’t have to plan a trip to the confessional that way.
“Before you gush all over my desk, get out of here and get back to work.” He patted the envelope with the check from Santana. “For now, we’ll hold on increasing your column an extra day. You’d better hope you live up to the hype with another good recipe this week.”
“I’m using Bella’s Baked Steak and Gravy recipe. I can personally tell you it will have the people of Ranchero begging for more.”
“You’re cocky, McAllister, but I like it. Now go make some money for the newspaper.”
Jordan grabbed her notebook on the way out and stopped at Jackie Frazier’s desk. “Have a great night, Jackie.”
The secretary didn’t even flinch.
“Or not,” Jordan mumbled under her breath. She pushed the elevator button, so totally happy with her life, it didn’t matter that she’d been snubbed yet again.
What did matter was she was one step closer to her dreams. Jordan McAllister was going to watch a Grayson County College basketball game from the press box!
CHAPTER 15
Jordan picked up the dessert at Myrtle’s Diner and headed east toward Connor. Alex’s rental house was located on the southern tip of Ranchero, and although she’d never been there, it was easy to find.
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