Sinful

by Joan Johnston

  “Good,” Devon said. “I’ve been living alone a long time. It’s nice to have company.”

  Pippa wondered what Devon would think when he found out who it was he’d really welcomed into his home. That she’d run away with a married man and was pregnant with his child. That the small town in Australia where she’d lived had found her behavior so shameful that her father had agreed to return to a place he’d sworn he would never visit again in his lifetime. And that she’d come with him because she’d wanted to escape the label of adulteress that would have branded her forever after.

  But she didn’t have to tell him today. He had enough to deal with today, and maybe for a while yet. Her pregnancy didn’t show. So long as she could hide it, she would.

  And when you can’t? What is Devon going to think when he realizes you’ve been lying to him all along?

  Maybe she’d be gone from his ranch before that happened.

  And go where? With what money? Your only skill is whispering wild horses. Can you really do that when you’re the size of a hippo? You have to tell him.

  Pippa sighed.

  “Are you all right?”

  “I wish…” She let the words hang in the air. She wished she’d done a lot of things differently.

  “Yeah,” Devon said. “So do I.”

  Pippa smiled and reached out to brush his forearm in a gesture of friendship. “Thanks, Devon.”

  “For what?”

  “For understanding.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been where you are, Pippa. Believe it or not, I had to run away from home, too.”

  “Really?”

  He smiled. “Angus had a fit when he found out I’d bought this ranch in the mountains. Told me I was crazy to live so isolated from other people. Told me I was just like—” He paused, and looked at her with a shocked expression. “Angus cut himself off. He never said who I was just like.” Devon’s mouth flattened. “It must be him I’m like. My biological father.”

  “Maybe you should try to find him.”

  “What point would that serve? He’s nothing to me.”

  “Except it seems you’re a great deal like him.”

  “How did we get on this subject?” Devon said irritably.

  “We were wishing things could be different.”

  The silence between them grew oppressive. Finally, Pippa could stand it no longer. “Is it true that Angus has figured out a way to ruin King?”

  Devon laughed. “You really know how to change the subject.”

  Pippa grinned. “I thought that was what you wanted.”

  “The answer to your question is yes. It’s not a sure thing yet, but your dad might have come all this way for nothing. He might end up losing Kingdom Come to Angus.”

  Pippa’s grin disappeared. “You’re kidding, right?”

  Devon shook his head. “Angus has been pretty closemouthed about when the ax will fall, but he’s been gloating that the day is coming when he’ll finally have his revenge for my aunt’s death.”

  “Is there anything King can do, or my father, to stop him?”

  Devon shrugged. “Who knows? By the time King figures out what Angus has been plotting, it may be too late.”

  “What about my dad? He left everything behind to come here. What’s he supposed to do?”

  “I don’t have an answer for that.”

  Pippa turned to face Devon. “Is there any way we can find out what Angus intends?”

  “What would you do with the information?”

  “Tell my father, of course.”

  “You’ve run away from your dad, but you still want to help him?”

  “He’s my father. I love him.” And he has good reasons for wanting to protect me.

  Devon shoved a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, Pippa. I don’t agree with what Angus is doing. But he’s my father and—” His lips pressed flat and a muscle worked in his jaw as he cut himself off.

  Because Angus might not be his father, Pippa realized. And he’d apparently treated Devon differently than his other sons.

  “All right,” Devon said. “Let’s do it. I’ve never supported Angus’s desire for revenge. I’ll see what I can find out.”