No, going to Jared and telling him about the stranger would be far easier. Then she could leave it up to him as to whether Bram or the rest of the family should be told. With that final reasoning, she stepped off the porch and walked around to the side of the house where the yard opened up and she could see beyond the houses and trees to the work site where Peggy had been trapped.
From this angle she could see the movement of heavy machinery and several men at work on the ground. At this distance it was impossible to tell if one of them was Jared, but she was fairly certain his white pickup truck was among the vehicles parked nearby.
With sudden decision, she went back into the house and left a note that she’d gone for a walk. Then after a quick brush through her hair and a dab of cherry-red lipstick, she set off for Jared’s work site.
A few minutes later Jared spotted her slim figure picking her way over the uneven ground. The sight of her stunned him. Even though she’d kissed him last night like she’d enjoyed it, he’d not expected her to visit him on her own accord. The idea that she might actually want to see him filled him with warm pleasure.
Pulling off his hard hat, he walked out to meet her.
“Hello,” he greeted with a broad smile. “This is a nice surprise.”
Kerry felt a blush sting her cheeks as she tried to keep the memory of their kiss at bay. But it was impossible to do when just looking at his lips sent a curl of excitement spiraling through her.
“Hello,” she said, then quickly asked, “Do you have a minute or two? Or did I come at a bad time?”
He ran a hand through the sweaty hair plastered to his forehead. “No time is a bad time for you, Kerry.”
The suggestive gleam in his eyes caused her breath to hang in her throat. When she did finally speak, she sounded as though she’d just run from the WindWalker house rather than walk. “Well, I know I’m disturbing you. But I had something on my mind that couldn’t wait.”
The smile on his face deepened to a sexy grin. “I hope the something is me.”
She tried to keep a stern face, but the joy at seeing him again was radiating through her like a golden sunray and tilting the corners of her lips. “Have you always liked to tease?” she asked.
“Who said I was teasing?” he asked with a chuckle, then without explaining his intentions he took her by the arm and led her over to a shady spot where his truck was parked. After he let down the tailgate, he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her up to the makeshift seat.
Kerry’s heart was pounding by the time he joined her on the tailgate, yet she tried her best to remain calm and collected. A task made even more difficult by the fact that he made denim work clothes and muddy boots look so sexy it felt like a downright sin just to look at him.
“Jared,” she began with a tone of gentle warning, “I don’t want you to start getting any ideas about—that kiss last night. That’s not the reason I’m here.”
He feigned such a look of disappointment, she laughed before she could stop herself.
“How can you laugh?” he asked. “I’m hurt. Deeply hurt that you didn’t walk all the way out here to get a kiss from me.”
She rolled her eyes at his nonsense, then squealed with shock as he suddenly snatched a hold on her shoulders and tugged her up against his chest.
“Jared! What—”
The leisurely kiss he planted on her lips stopped her words and took her breath away. By the time he finally pulled his head back, she was sputtering for air.
“I didn’t come out here to put on a show for your crew either!”
His soft laughter fanned her ear. “The crew can’t see us from here.”
Kerry twisted around so that she was looking back in the direction of the work site. Thankfully, he was right. The two of them were hidden by the cab of the truck and the bulk of the vehicle parked next to them.
“That’s beside the point,” she said as she managed to squirm out of his arms and scoot to the very end of the tailgate. “Just because I went to dinner with you last night doesn’t mean I gave you a license to handle me.”
Clearly amused by her outburst, he shook his head. “Oh Kerry, don’t go getting all serious on me. I stole a kiss because I was glad to see you. Not because I think you’re a fast and loose woman.”
He made kissing her sound so simple and harmless. And maybe it was for him. But her heart was still galloping at a sickening pace and even worse, she was having to fight to stop herself from sliding back to his side.
“Okay,” she conceded. “Maybe I am guilty of overreacting.”
He continued to grin at her. “No. You’re guilty of being too serious.”
Without warning, he reached out and took a strand of her hair and rolled it between the pads of his fingers, making Kerry silently groan at the sensual contact.
“What are you doing now?” she asked.
“Looking at your hair. It’s beautiful. Did you know that? It has a blue sheen to it. Like a crow.”
She tried not to take his compliment to heart but it went there anyway and filled her with ridiculous pleasure.
“Crows are scavengers,” she pointed out. “I’m not so sure it’s a compliment to be likened to a crow.”
His fingers meshed into the black silkiness until the tips were lightly touching her scalp. To Kerry the contact was almost as intimate as the kiss from his lips.
“George can tell you all sorts of stories about the crow,” he said. “They’re a highly intelligent and tenacious bird, two qualities admired by the Comanche.”
She swallowed as the nervous beating of her heart seemed to rise up in her throat. “And it’s impossible to sneak up on one,” she added. “So you shouldn’t try it.”
Her words of warning caused him to laugh and he pulled his hand away from her.
“I’ll remember that, Kerry. So tell me, what are you doing here this evening?”
Kerry dared to glance at him. The hair falling across his forehead was dark enough to be called black. Yet here in the brighter light of day, she could see threads of deep brown and russet. Like his gray eyes, the subtle shades in his hair were a throwback to his white blood, she supposed.
“Before I go into that, I’d like to know why you didn’t mention anything to me about getting a key to the city?” she asked. “You must have known I would see your picture in the paper.”
A sheepish expression stole over his face. “Oh. So you saw that little piece.”
She nodded. “One of the loan officers at the bank showed it to me. It looked as though the mayor had quite a little ceremony for you.”
“Believe me, Kerry. I didn’t ask for any of that. Actually, I tried to get out of the whole thing, but Bram wouldn’t let me. With him being the elected sheriff of Comanche County, it would have reflected badly on him to have his brother refuse such a nice gesture from the town leader.”
He sounded apologetic, which caused Kerry’s brows to lift with surprise. “There’s no need to apologize, Jared. I was only wondering why you didn’t mention it last night. I would have been watching for the article in the paper today. As it was, I learned about it secondhand.”
Jared shrugged. “I guess I stupidly hoped you wouldn’t see it.” He reached for her hand and gently smoothed it between both of his. “I don’t want you thinking I saved Peggy just to garner attention for myself. I might have been guilty of being a ham back in my younger days. But nowadays I’d just as soon stay in the background.”
He actually seemed embarrassed by all the notoriety he’d been receiving these past few days. Which didn’t fit in with her image of a playboy, at all. The notion put a soft smile on her face.
“You saved Peggy because you cared about her. Just as you would any other child. I’ve never believed anything else.”
He released her hand and smiled at her. Not a teasing or humorous smile. But a genuine smile of gladness. “It’s a relief to hear you say that, Kerry.”
Oh Kerry, this man is smooth. Too smooth for you
.
In spite of the inner warning, her heart melted like a gooey candy bar. “Uh—the reason I’m here is—well, it’s going to sound strange. But I decided you should know about it.”
He looked intrigued. “Now you’ve stirred my curiosity. Tell me.”
Feeling a bit foolish, she shook her head. “I don’t really know how to start, especially when this is hearsay. But Clarence, he’s a loan officer at Liberty National—he told me that a stranger was in the courthouse yesterday looking up information on your grandmother and all her descendants. Clarence suggested that the man probably had intentions of doing a story about you. But I told him that wasn’t the normal way to go about it.”
Jared studied her for long moments and just about the time Kerry expected him to burst out laughing, a concerned frown marred his forehead.
“That’s odd,” he said. “Where did your co-worker get this story?”
“Straight from the courthouse,” Kerry told him.
Thoughtfully, Jared stroked a thumb and forefinger against his chin. “And he—this stranger was looking into Gloria’s history?”
“That’s the story Clarence gave me.”
“Hmm. Maybe he’s doing a book on Comanches,” Jared reasoned. “Although she married a white man, she’s full Comanche and so is George.”
Kerry considered his suggestion. “Could be,” she agreed, “but the Comanche tribe numbers around ten thousand right now. That’s not very many people compared to the rest of the population. However, it is when you consider that most of them live in or around Black Arrow. So why would your grandmother’s life be singled out? Unless it has something to do with you being in the news here lately.”
Jared shrugged. “I don’t see any connection.”
“Neither could I. That’s why I thought I should tell you about it,” Kerry said, then asked, “can you think of anything connected to your grandmother that might make someone interested in her genealogy?”
His head swung back and forth. “Not really. Except for the time she spent in Nevada, she’s lived right here in Black Arrow all her life. Everyone knows her and all of us Coltons.”
“Maybe you Coltons have some land this person is interested in. Land that may have changed hands through the family,” Kerry suggested.
He shot her a guilty look. “To be honest, Kerry, I don’t keep up with all the goings on in my family. As long as I know they’re healthy and happy, I don’t interfere in their lives. So if this stranger did have some connection to Gloria, I doubt I’d know about it.”
“Maybe you should ask her,” Kerry went on.
Once again, Jared shook his head. “No. She works hard in the Feed and Grain store. And at her age, she doesn’t need any more stress than that. And if you’re wondering why us kids don’t make her retire, well, believe me we’ve tried. I do know that much.”
“Well, there’s probably nothing to this courthouse thing anyway,” she replied.
Jared said, “Just the same, I think I’ll talk to Bram about it. He might know what’s going on.”
“That’s probably a good idea,” she agreed, then with a pointed glance at their entwined hands, she cleared her throat. “You’d better let me go now. I have to get back home.”
“So soon? You just got here!”
“We’ve been sitting here longer than you think,” she told him. Definitely long enough for her senses to go bounding off in all the wrong directions, she thought. “And I’m keeping you from your job.”
He flashed her a crooked grin. “I’m the boss. And a good one. I don’t have to ride my men with a whip. They know what I expect from them and they do it.”
Yes, he was a man who knew exactly how to get what he wanted from people, Kerry silently agreed. Especially women. And if her ordeal with Damon had taught her anything, it was to never let herself be manipulated by another man. Even one as sweet and sexy as Jared Colton.
Drawing in a bracing breath, she glanced toward the direction of the WindWalker house. “Mom and Peggy went to visit a friend in Indiahoma. They might be back by now and if I’m not home, Mom will be wondering.”
She glanced back at him and immediately saw the wheels turning in his gray eyes.
“I’m not about to let you go home now,” he said softly.
“Jared—what are you doing? Stop!” she cried as he grabbed her around the waist and lifted her down to the ground beside him.
“Don’t argue,” he said, “or I’ll kiss you again.”
His hands were warm and possessive, while the sultry gleam in his eyes backed up his playful threat. The eager beat of her heart warned Kerry that she’d be in big trouble if he kissed her again.
“All right,” she murmured submissively. “I suppose I can spare a few more minutes.”
“That’s better,” he said smugly. “Now let me help you into the truck and I’ll go tell the guys I’m leaving.”
Kerry remained silent as he assisted her into his four-wheel drive truck, but once he returned from talking with his crew, she said, “Jared, I didn’t come here to—to go out with you!”
He shook his head as he started the truck’s engine. “We have to eat supper and since you’re alone and I’m alone, we’ll eat it together.”
She groaned at his persistence. “I’ve already eaten a sandwich.”
He shot her a grin as he wheeled the truck onto the nearest street. “Then we’ll go have a milkshake.”
Kerry very nearly laughed. “Milkshake! I thought men like you took a woman out for cocktails. Strong ones.”
His low chuckles were as sensual as the glint in his gray eyes. “What do you know about men like me?”
“Mainly that you’re dangerous.”
The amusement on his face disappeared and before Kerry could guess his intentions, he reached for her hand and brought it to his lips.
“I would never harm a hair on your head, sweetheart.”
But what about her heart? Kerry wondered. She couldn’t lose it to this man who was content to live his life roving from one job to the next, from one woman to the next.
Ten minutes later the two of them were parked at a local drive-in. The truck windows were rolled down to catch the evening breeze and a few feet away, the faint sound of rock ’n’ roll music was filtering out from a car radio. Young waitresses dressed in shorts and roller skates weaved their way around the parked vehicles to serve trays of drinks and fast food.
Since Kerry knew that Jared had to be hungry after a long day at work, she’d insisted he order himself a meal, while she settled for a vanilla milkshake.
Once they were served their order, Jared brought up the subject of the courthouse stranger again.
“I’ve been doing some thinking about the whole thing,” he said, “And I’ve decided you and I should take a look at those records in the courthouse. Maybe we could figure out what the man was really looking for. Because I tell you one thing, Kerry, the more I study about it, the more I’m convinced he wasn’t just a genealogy buff.”
Kerry stared at him as two words stuck in her mind. “You and I? We should go over the records? What about Bram? Shouldn’t he be the one looking into this matter?”
Jared swallowed down a mouthful of French fry before he shook his head. “My brother is already bogged down with paperwork, much less all the emergency calls he has to respond to. Besides, I think we need to be a little sneaky about this. Otherwise, we might alert this person that we’re on to him. If Bram suddenly showed up at the courthouse asking questions, the whole story would spread like wildfire.”
She squared around in the seat so that she was facing him. “You’re probably right about that, Jared. But when would you and I have a chance to go over records in the courthouse? We both have jobs. And I can’t afford to miss work.”
“And I wouldn’t ask you to,” he assured her. “We’ll go after work.”
Her mouth fell open. “Jared, what are you thinking? The courthouse closes at five, the same time we bank workers leav
e the building. We couldn’t get in.”
His expression said he wasn’t the least bit deterred by that minor problem. “Hey, I got a key to the city, didn’t I? Surely I can get us into the courthouse after working hours.”
Maybe he could, Kerry thought. But spending time alone with Jared would be asking for big trouble. He was already kissing her, touching her as though he had the right. As though he was certain she wanted to be connected to him in that way. How would she be able to resist the man? Darn it all, she couldn’t!
“You really don’t need me tagging along with you, Jared. This is about your family. You would know much more about what to look for than I would.”
His sly grin said he wasn’t about to let her wiggle out of the task. “Maybe. But two heads are much better than one. And you are the one who so sweetly informed me about this stranger in the first place,” he reminded her.
He was right, she silently admitted. She was the one who’d brought this whole matter up to him. If she’d cared enough to tell him about the stranger, she ought to be willing to help him do a little investigative work.
“All right. I’ll help,” she agreed. “When did you want to start?”
“I’ve got a meeting with the representative of a drilling company later tonight. And I’ll need time to get a key to the building,” he said thoughtfully. “What about tomorrow night at seven? I’ll pick you up.”
“No!” she blurted out loudly, then quickly added, “I mean, I’ll meet you there.”
The close scrutiny of his gray eyes turned her cheeks a deep, rosy shade. “What’s the matter? Afraid your mother will meet me at the door with a shotgun?”
Maybe he thought it was funny, but Enola’s attitude was like a worrisome splinter in her foot. Glancing away from him, she said, “My mother doesn’t like you.”
Jared was more amused than offended by Kerry’s admission. Chuckling softly, he said, “Kerry, you’re a grown woman. Isn’t it about time you picked your own friends?”
Did he think of himself as her friend? she wondered. He seemed like so much more to her. Which only proved that she was getting in way too deep for her own good.
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