by Leanne Banks
She would kill him, Troy thought, if she knew he was following her. But hell, the woman didn’t give him much choice. He could get more information out of a clam. He narrowed his eyes at the Circle K sign and wondered why she’d sat there staring down the lane so long. He wondered what the significance of the ranch was. He’d ask around at the bar tonight.
Troy eyed the speedometer and shook his head. Sin had a lead foot. Now why didn’t that surprise him? Keeping one car between his rental sedan and her sports car, he followed her until she turned into a parking lot. He rounded the block, noted the building’s occupant and felt his stomach take a dip. Medical office. Could be a regular checkup, he told himself, but his gut wouldn’t let him believe it.
He waited over an hour, then trailed her to a pharmacy. Fifteen minutes later, she came out with prescription bags.
He wiped his hand over his face, thinking his sister-in-law might not be thrilled with his update, so he decided to wait until he had more information. Either way, Senada Calhoun was full of secrets, and he was closer to finding out just what they were.
“I’ll take that table,” Senada said to the busy waitress and walked over to where Chris Grant was sitting. She was curious. “What can I get for you?” she asked him.
“Beer all around, and some ’skins.” He looked her over. “Seems pretty busy. How ya doin’ tonight?”
“Busy is good,” she said with a smile. “How are things at the Circle K? Rex Calhoun driving you hard?”
“Yeah, the guy didn’t turn that property around by sitting on his duff. He keeps his hands on the business end, but he likes riding with the guys every now and then.” He grinned. “Of course, his lady takes up some of his time too.”
“New girlfriend?” she asked, barely needing to hear his response.
“Nah.” He shook his head. “His wife. She roped him about three years ago.”
Senada just stared at him. The room was spinning. “Wife?” she echoed after a long moment. “You said his wife?”
“Yeah.”
She blinked at him.
He laughed. “You look surprised. You weren’t planning on going after the old man, were you?”
“I hardly think so,” she thought, since she was the old man’s daughter.
“Yeah, you’re not really his type. He goes for—”
“Blondes,” she finished for him, because Senada was quite familiar with her father’s taste in women. “I’ll get your order.”
“Hey,” he called after her. “Just ’cause you’re not his type doesn’t mean you’re not mine.”
She was so angry, she could barely see straight. It wasn’t rational, it wasn’t logical, but the heat flaring through her bloodstream would power a geyser. Senada took a deep breath to see past the red mist rising before her eyes and stretched her lips into a flirtatious smile. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, then headed for the kitchen.
Juan stepped in front of her. “When you going to give your man a second chance?”
His words were slurred, she noticed. “How many have you had tonight?”
“I dunno,” he said with a shrug. “Been a rough week.”
Senada counted to ten, then moved around him. Troy shifted away from the bar and walked beside her. “Problems?” he asked.
“Nothing major.” She tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Need to find out who’s been serving Juan. I think he’s reached his limit.”
“Tonya,” he said, watching her try to conceal the fire in her eyes. “Want me to tell her?”
“That would be nice.”
“You look like you’re ready to chew glass,” he told her.
“Not so,” she murmured, baring her teeth in a smile that would terrify most men. “I’d just like to break something.”
A shout rang out behind them, and both Troy and Senada whipped around to see what was the matter. A middle-aged man was screaming in Spanish at Juan. The name Nita came up several times.
Senada sighed and headed toward the two men. “One of those nights.”
Resisting the notion of Senada getting between two angry men, Troy held up his hand. “No. Give me a minute with ’em.”
He walked toward the men. “Excuse me,” he said, but both men ignored him. The middle-aged man was still going a mile a minute, and Troy, unfortunately, didn’t have a clue what he was saying. The man finally ended by shoving Juan.
Juan said, “Sí.”
The other man threw one punch, then another. Troy stepped forward and took the next one on the cheek.
“Troy!” he distantly heard Senada call.
Troy shook off the pain. Swearing, he pushed the man backward until he was pinned against the wall. “Nita,” was all the man said brokenly. “Nita.”
Juan came up beside Troy and swiped at his bloodied nose. “It’s okay. You can let him hit me. I got his daughter pregnant.”
Troy swore again. “Outside. We’re taking this outside.” He pointed toward the door.
Senada appeared at his side. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, let me get this taken care of.” Troy wrinkled his cheek and winced. He was going to have one helluva bruise.
“You need some ice?” she persisted.
“Maybe later.”
“You should have let me handle it.”
Troy tossed her a dark look. “The bruise’ll look better on me.”
Twenty minutes later, he’d negotiated his way through a convoluted discussion in Spanish spat out accusingly by Nita’s father and translated by an inebriated Juan. When he was certain no one was going to get killed, Troy sent both men home. By the time he returned to the bar, his cheek was throbbing. Tonya gave him beer, an ice bag and a look of sympathy.
In a darkened corner, Troy slumped in a chair wondering what had possessed his brothers to send him down here. Why was he staying? If he wasn’t taking abuse from Senada, he was asking for it from her customers, and suffering from lack of sleep in that horrible motel. Any man in his right mind would chuck it all and leave.
Troy glanced up at the sound of Senada laughing with a cowboy customer. Sin was flirting. No news flash there.
The cowboy was kissing her hand. And Troy, who had never had a jealous moment in his life, wanted to rip the guy’s lips off.
Chapter Five
An hour later, all the customers were gone and it was closing time. Senada bent down and peered at Troy’s swollen cheek. Wincing, she put the ice bag back on. “You look terrible.”
“Thanks,” he said dryly, still irritated with his feelings of jealousy but lapping up every second of her undivided attention.
She frowned and pushed his hair back from his forehead. “You should have let me handle it.”
“We already discussed that.” The woman had wonderful hands, he thought, wonderful. “I didn’t want you to get in the middle of that. You might get hurt.”
She blinked at him. “Protective? Is this the infamous Pendleton protective streak?”
“Not really,” he said with a shrug. “Logical move. I’m bigger than you are.”
“But I understand Spanish.”
“I don’t like the idea of you on the floor.”
Her lips twitched. “Pendleton protectiveness. I can’t remember the last time a man was protective of me. What a novelty.”
“Glad I brightened your day,” Troy said in a dark tone.
Senada giggled. “Oh, and believe me, you did.”
“Who were the friendly cowboys in the back?”
Her smile faded and her gaze slid from his. “Just some guys from the Circle K. They like to flirt.”
“Uh-huh. The Circle K a big cattle ranch?” He watched her closely.
She stroked his hair back again. Her scent seemed to permeate his pores. The touch of her hand was distracting. She was distracting.
“Yeah, I hear it’s pretty big.” She cleared her throat. “I hear the owner just got married.” Her eyes narrowed, then she seemed to shake off her pensive mood. “T
he foreman from the Circle K said the ranch is holding a big barbecue. He invited me to come.”
Troy felt another surge of something ugly in his blood. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” She gave him a considering look, and it was as if something clicked between them. “Wanna go with me?”
Fighting a rush of pure pleasure, he paused. “When?”
“I think it’s next weekend,” she said. “Of course, you might not still be in town.”
The dare in her voice dug into his nerve endings. “I’ll still be in town, and I’ll go with you.”
“You’re acting like someone died,” Senada said to Troy as they walked through the housewares department at the local store.
“Might as well be dead. He got married, didn’t he?” Troy still thought it was sad that Ethan had lost his mind and plunged himself into the drowning sea of matrimony.
She turned away from the silver tea service to face him. “I think you need to rework your attitude about this, Troy. How many of your brothers are married now?”
He shook his head. “All except Nathan and me.”
“What about your sister?”
“Carly was the first to go.” He rubbed his chin. “Russ isn’t a bad brother-in-law though.”
“But your sisters-in-law are bad, mean-tempered shrews. Right?”
“Hell no,” he said. “The women aren’t that bad. It’s just what they’ve done to my brothers.”
“Are you saying your brothers are unhappy?”
Troy thought about that. “Not unhappy. Just—” He searched for the right description.
“Just nuts. Garth won’t let Erin out of his sight for two minutes. He fusses over her every time she gets on one of their horses.” He sighed and made a face. “Daniel and Sara make baby talk with each other. God, it’s disgusting.”
“And Brick?”
“Brick’s the worst. He’ll do anything Lisa asks him to do.”
“Sounds like they’re all in love.”
“Yeah,” he said glumly.
“And they’re all happy about it.” She nudged him. “Adjust. I bet Ethan’s happy too.”
“Brick said he sounded like a different man.”
“So let’s pick out the wedding gift. Isn’t that why you asked me along? Do you know anything about his wife?”
“I think she’s a little younger. She was a student at the university where he teaches.”
“So they might not have all the necessities,” she said, looking around. “Do you want to send crystal or something more practical?”
Troy took a deep breath of Senada’s perfume. Damn, the woman even smelled like sin.
She looked at him as if she was expecting an answer.
Troy shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Twenty minutes later, they left with four crystal wine glasses and an electric ice cream maker. Senada led him into her house, and he immediately headed for the sofa. Since he’d been staying at the motel, creature comforts were few and far between. “Don’t suppose you’d rent out this sofa?” he asked, slumping into the cushions.
“Sorry,” she said with a laugh, and gave him a glass of lemonade. “You take up too much room.”
“Discrimination,” he muttered, and took a long cool drink.
“I, uh, need to go do something in the back. Can you amuse yourself for a few minutes?”
“Sure.” He looked at her, noticing the way she twisted her hands. “Anything wrong?”
“Oh, no,” she said. But her voice was high. “Everything’s fine. You just stay right here.” She walked a few steps away. “And I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
Troy stared after her and shrugged. “Okay.” She was a strange and wonderful woman, he thought. More strange than wonderful. He took advantage of the quiet to lie down on the sofa and close his eyes. The air was cool, the sofa soft. The room smelled clean. He drifted off. It seemed only seconds passed before a shriek jerked him awake.
Adrenaline pumping through him, Troy jumped to his feet and bolted down the hall. “Sin!” He quickly glanced through one bedroom door, then another. The bathroom door was closed. “Sin, are you okay?”
A lengthy silence passed.
He stepped closer to the door and tapped. “Sin?”
“I’m fine,” she finally said. “Just dropped something. I’ll be out in a minute. Sorry.”
Troy shook his head. “Dropped something,” he repeated, bemused. He put his hand on the doorknob. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m okay. That little yell just popped out.” She paused a half beat. “Go back to the living room,” she told him in a voice that mixed nerves and amusement.
“Okay,” he said, frowning and turning back down the hall. Little yell? He was surprised the neighbors weren’t beating down the door. Hesitating at the end of the hallway, he turned and leaned against the wall.
Senada appeared from the bathroom. She glanced up, saw Troy and closed the door behind her at the same time she gave him a big smile. “Hi there.”
“You okay?”
She walked toward him. “Well, how do I look?” She ran her hand down his arm.
He fought the distraction. “You look like trouble.”
Her eyes gleamed with mischief. “Who, me?”
“Yeah, you.” He nodded down the hall. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”
Her smile vanished and her eyes rounded.
“I—uh—just a minute. I left it a mess this morning.” She whipped away from him.
Troy lifted his hand in protest, but she’d already disappeared again. Within a minute, she popped back out with a bucket she toted toward her bedroom. “All yours,” she called.
Walking into the pale pink bathroom, Troy glanced around, wondering what had made Senada scream. He closed the door and saw her silk robe on the hook. Cosmetics and perfume lined a shelf. The flowery bath curtain was pulled closed. He peeked past it into the tub. He knew he was being nosy, and felt a little guilty about it. Swearing, he took care of his business and washed his hands. Just as he was about to leave the bathroom, he spotted a wrapper beside the trash can. Bending down to pick it up, he read the label. Syringe.
Needles. Why would Sin need a medical syringe? His heart clenched in his chest. “What’s she doing with needles?” No good reasons came to mind. He thought of the visit to the clinic and the pharmacy.
Senada Calhoun was full of secrets, and he was one step closer to uncovering one. He just wasn’t sure he was going to like what he learned. He strolled back down the hall and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Sorry to have to kick you out,” she said, glancing at the clock, “but I’ve got to get to work.”
“Okay,” he said reluctantly. He had too many unanswered questions. “Thanks for helping me pick out a present for Ethan.”
“No problem. I was born to shop.”
“Yeah.” He walked closer to her and looked at her. “Tell me something, Sin. Are you okay? Healthwise?”
“Why?” Suspicion narrowed her eyes for a second, then she flitted toward the front door.
“Believe me, Troy,” she said. “My lifestyle is healthier than it’s ever been.”
Healthier by choice or necessity? he wondered, but he sensed he didn’t have a chance in hell of getting a straight answer to that one. Especially with her standing there holding the door open, waiting for him to leave. He walked past her and barely brushed his mouth over hers. “See ya in a little bit, Sin.”
When Troy got in his car, he swore under his breath. He didn’t like what he didn’t know about Sin, but he did like that softly stunned look on her face after he’d kissed her.
Senada took a break after her third lap to catch her breath. Lord, how she hated exercise. Her dietician had insisted it was time for her to begin a regular exercise program. “An essential part of your health maintenance.” Senada had chosen swimming because that way, at least, she wouldn’t sweat. She’d forgotten, however, how tiring it was after even a few laps.
/> “Didn’t know you swam.”
Senada looked up past a pair of big feet, muscular calves, powerful thighs, dark blue swim trunks that didn’t conceal the bulge of his masculinity, to a washboard-flat abdomen. At that point, Sin closed her eyes and sank down into the cool water up to her neck.
Enough was enough.
“I just started. What a surprise meeting you here,” she said in complete irony. It was obvious Troy had started following her. She just wasn’t sure how long he’d been doing it.
“Yep.” He jumped in beside her. “Great idea for getting away from the heat and out of that sorry excuse for a motel.”
Senada fought a smile. “It’s been very difficult for you to adjust to the high temperatures since you’ve been down here, hasn’t it, Troy? Bet you’d give just about anything for a cool Tennessee breeze, wouldn’t you?”
He sighed. “Yeah. Just about anything.”
“So,” she said, infusing her next words with all her persuasion, “why don’t you go back to Beulah County for a little visit?”
He popped her with a little splash of water. Senada glared at him, trying not to admire his well-developed chest and incredibly broad shoulders.
“I can’t go home until my mission here is accomplished,” he said in a wooing voice, and wrapped her in his violet gaze.
Senada sighed. It really was a shame she couldn’t just regard him as an object of lust.
He put his hands on her shoulders and his gaze narrowed. “Since you’re not helping me, God knows when that will be. Besides, I wouldn’t dare give up the privilege of escorting you to the Circle K Barbecue.”
Senada ignored the burning sensation where his hands touched her bare skin. She shrugged away from him. “You know, Troy, I like you a lot better when you don’t talk so much.”
Then she put her face in the water and swam.
Troy watched her, wishing he could see past those sexy brown eyes and read the truth beyond her flirty manner. Maybe if he held her long enough and kissed the easy lies from her lips; maybe if he made her body burn like she made his burn, the need for deceit would turn to ashes. Maybe if he laid himself bare, she would feel safe enough to drop her own facade, and Troy could see the real Senada.
