The Heart of Hill Country

by Sherryl Woods

  He grinned. “Nothing like that. The cats have gotten very adept at avoiding Joshua and Zachary. They seem to have a sixth sense when the two of them are up to no good.”

  “That’s the beauty of cats,” Dani agreed. “They’re pretty good at fending for themselves.”

  “Like you,” he suggested lightly.

  She wasn’t entirely sure if he meant it as an insult or a compliment. “I suppose,” she agreed. She regarded him expectantly.

  “Actually, I’ve been meaning to call,” he began, but Dani cut him off.

  “You don’t need to explain. We agreed that we wouldn’t see each other again.”

  He seemed surprised by the statement. “Is that what we agreed?”

  There was that worrisome gleam in his eyes again. “Of course, it is,” she said hurriedly. “I told you—”

  “Specifically that I was never to kiss you in the middle of Dolan’s again.”

  Dani’s gaze narrowed. She thought she detected an opening there for other kisses in other places, when nothing could have been further from her intentions. Explaining that, though, might be considered an overreaction since he’d shown no particular inclination even to see her again lately.

  “More or less,” she said. She decided there was probably safer conversational turf for them to be on, especially since Duke seemed to be staring at her as if he hadn’t been near a woman in a hundred years and desperation was setting in. Since her own level of yearning had reached a fever pitch, they were heading for trouble unless one of them changed the topic to something a little less sexual.

  “You still haven’t explained about the so-called emergency,” she said hurriedly.

  He blinked at the reminder. “Yeah, right.”

  “Well?”

  He glanced around her office. “Do you think maybe we could have this conversation someplace else?”

  “Why?”

  He regarded her with amusement. “Because I asked nicely?” he suggested. “We could go out for pizza. That wouldn’t be too dangerous, would it?”

  Dani winced at the suggestion that she found being alone with him dangerous. She had hoped he would interpret their last parting as a lack of interest on her side. Obviously, he’d reached just the opposite conclusion.

  “Duke, please...”

  “It’s not a date,” he assured her. “It’s just that I’m starved. It’s around dinnertime. Why not have it together so we can discuss things.”

  “Things?” she repeated. “What things?”

  He grinned. “I’ll explain over pizza.”

  “Duke!”

  “Please.”

  She could turn him down. She could manufacture other plans, but the honest to goodness truth was, she didn’t want to. One sight of him standing in the doorway to her office and she’d reacted to his presence the way a parched man would to an oasis. Just because she didn’t want to get involved with him didn’t mean they couldn’t be friends, did it? Perhaps that was all he was offering, she told herself, though the unmistakable heat in his eyes said otherwise.

  “It will have to be a quick dinner,” she said. “I need to drive out to Betty Lou’s and take a look at Honeybunch.”

  Duke stared at her with obvious surprise. “I thought he’d be fully recovered by now.”

  “Actually, he is, but Betty Lou is lonely. She got used to me dropping in when I first took Honeybunch home.”

  Duke grinned. “The truth is, you miss that dog, don’t you?”

  “Well, he was around the clinic for several weeks,” she said defensively. “Besides, it’s more than that. Betty Lou has some terrific stories about Grandpa Harlan when he was a boy. I’m recording them all so I can blackmail him if the need ever arises.”

  “Now that does sound like a reason to keep calling,” Duke agreed. “Mind if I tag along? We can drive out there first, then eat.”

  “I thought you were starving.”

  “I won’t die from it.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure. I’m warning you, though. Betty Lou is liable to make a pass at you. She considers herself to be quite a femme fatale.”

  Duke returned her teasing gaze evenly. “I can hardly wait. I’ve been worried I was losing my touch.”

  They found Betty Lou fixing fried chicken and mashed potatoes, enough for an army. She invited them in without any evidence at all that she was surprised by their arrival.

  “Betty Lou, this is Duke Jenkins,” Dani said.

  Betty Lou batted long, thick, mascaraed eyelashes at the man in question. “Oh, honey, I know who this is. Not a woman in town hasn’t been speculating why a handsome catch like this is still on the loose.” She looked Duke over from head to toe, then gave a little nod of approval. “How do you feel about older women?”

  To his credit, he managed to keep a straight face. “I’d say that depends. If they’re as beautiful as you, I’d say my mind is open.”

  “Then sit right down here. Dani, you, too,” she added as an afterthought. “You’re staying for dinner.”

  “But we intended to go out for pizza,” Dani protested.

  Betty Lou waved the long fork she was holding in a dismissive gesture. “You can have pizza any old time. I’ve got mashed potatoes, corn and a peach pie to go with this chicken. Now tell me you can turn down home-cooking like that.”

  “Not me,” Duke said, eyeing the pots on the stove avidly. When his gaze reached the huge peach pie with the golden crust, he practically salivated.

  Dani decided to save her breath. She would just have to wait until after dinner to discover what had been on Duke’s mind when he turned up in her office. Besides, they were probably better off with a chaperone, especially one who had her own designs on Duke.

  “Dinner sounds lovely,” she agreed. “Where’s Honeybunch, by the way?”

  “Out chasing squirrels last time I checked. He’ll be dragging back here any second looking for something to eat.”

  “He’s doing okay?”

  “Better than okay,” Betty Lou said. “He’s taking full advantage of that new lease on life you gave him. I don’t know how to thank you.”

  “You’ve already thanked me,” Dani said. “A hundred times, in fact.”

  “Maybe so, but I know you would have put any other dog in that condition to sleep,” Betty Lou said. “Maybe I should have, too, but I just couldn’t bear it. He’s been my companion for too long now. I expected to go to my grave long before he did. You can bet I gave that drunk driver a piece of my mind when I caught up with him down at the jail. It was bad enough that he hit the dog to begin with, but to just leave him in the road like that was a real heartless crime.”

  “The judge sentenced him to volunteer in a hospital emergency room for six months once he gets out of jail,” Dani said. “The judge told him he wants him to get a good, up-close look at the victims of traffic accidents before he gets behind the wheel again.”

  Betty Lou shrugged off the justice. “The man’s trash,” she said. “He won’t get the message. He’ll end up dead sooner or later, which wouldn’t bother me a bit, if it weren’t for the guarantee that he’ll be taking some innocent soul out with him.” She shook her head. “Enough of this. You two didn’t come all the way out here to listen to me go on and on.”

  “Actually, in a way we did,” Duke told her. “Dani said you have some great stories about her grandfather.”

  “Harlan?” Betty Lou said with a chuckle. “That old coot and I go way back. Not that he likes to admit it. Ever since he married that young attorney, he pretends he’s shaved a couple of decades off his age. Let me get all this food on the table and I’ll tell you a thing or two about Harlan Adams.”

  For the next hour she regaled them with stories from her own school days. Grandpa Harlan seemed to play a pivotal role in most of them.

  “Did you, by any c
hance, have a crush on my grandfather?” Dani teased.

  “Heavens, no. Now that brother of his...”

  Dani stared at her. “Brother? Grandpa Harlan had a brother?”

  “Well, of course, he did. Henry Adams. Everyone around here called him Hank. Now there was a looker.”

  Dani was stunned. She had never once heard anyone in the family mention that name. “Did he die or something?”

  “Not as far as I know,” Betty Lou said. “There was some kind of falling out. He left town when he was quite young, maybe sixteen. He was quite a few years younger than your grandfather. He just took off. As far as I know, no one’s heard from him since.”

  “Well, I’ll be,” Dani murmured.

  A half hour later with the dishes done and Betty Lou openly yawning, Dani and Duke made their excuses and left. When they had climbed into his car, he glanced over at her. “I gather you’ve never heard of this great-uncle Hank.”

  “Never. Apparently Grandpa Harlan is even better at keeping secrets than he is at prying into them.”

  Duke considered that, his expression thoughtful. “Maybe you should leave well enough alone,” he said. “If he hasn’t mentioned his brother in all these years, it must have been a bitter feud. It might really upset him to bring it up at this late date.”

  “I suppose,” she said disappointed, but unable to argue with his logic. She would ask her father about Hank Adams, though. Maybe he or Luke knew something about the man.

  At the moment, though, there was another secret she needed to get to the bottom of. “When are you going to tell me what brought you to my office this afternoon?” she asked.

  “Invite me in for coffee when we get to your place,” he countered. “This isn’t something we can discuss in the car.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I need to get a clear look at your face when I bring it up.”

  She stared back at him nervously. “Uh-oh. I don’t like the sound of that.”

  He grinned. “It’s nothing to fret over, darlin’. You’ll either say yes—” his gaze settled on her mouth “—or no.”

  Dani’s heart thumped unsteadily for the second time that day. Yes or no? People said yes or no to proposals. Marriage proposals. Surely, if he’d gotten the message about kissing, then he would understand that it stood to reason she wouldn’t be interested in marriage, right? Or had he just capitulated easily on the kissing, knowing that he had a bigger goal in mind?

  Oh, for heaven’s sakes, stop, she told herself sharply. This wasn’t about marriage. It was about...well, who knew what it was about, she concluded, eyeing Duke warily. Anything was possible, especially with a man as unpredictable as Duke. She would probably laugh herself silly when she realized how far off the mark she’d been.

  At the moment, though, trepidation was tearing through her at an astonishing clip. If she could have thought of any rational excuse, she would have bolted from the car in a flash. Heck, she would have packed her bags and moved out of Los Pinos to avoid having this conversation.

  As it was, Duke was pulling into her driveway, cutting the engine and turning to her expectantly, obviously awaiting the invitation in for coffee. Dani swallowed hard and mumbled the invitation without much enthusiasm.

  Duke regarded her with amusement. “Darlin’, lighten up. This isn’t about walking hand in hand to the gallows.”

  “Yeah, go tell that to someone who’ll buy it,” she muttered under her breath even as she led the way inside.

  She flipped on every single light in the house as she passed through on her way to the kitchen. Forget cozy and romantic. She wanted illumination. She wanted it so bright, he would never mistake the ambience for an invitation. In fact, it wouldn’t be bad if the lighting brought to mind a police interrogation room. Not that she’d ever been in one personally, but maybe Duke had.

  She put the coffee on to brew, found a couple of old mugs so he would understand that this wasn’t a special occasion, poured some fresh sugar in the sugar bowl even though it was already half-full and put milk into a cream pitcher, despite the fact that they both drank their coffee black. When there was absolutely nothing else left to do, she finally sat down opposite him.

  “Finished?” he inquired, not bothering to hide a smile.

  She scowled, annoyed by his amusement. “Yes.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to dash off and check the mail or dust the living room?”

  “Duke, will you just spit out whatever’s on your mind and go? I have a splitting headache, and I have an early day tomorrow.”

  He was on his feet in a flash and moving behind her. She twisted to see what he was up to, but he rested his hands on her shoulders until she sighed and faced forward again.

  “Duke! What do you think you’re doing?”

  “You said you have a headache,” he explained patiently as he began to massage her temples.

  Dani would have protested, but it felt too good. She could feel the tension beginning to ease even before his fingers began kneading the hard knots in her shoulders.

  “No wonder your head’s pounding,” he observed. “You’re tense.”

  “Well, of course, I’m tense. You’ve been dropping little hints all evening that you have something important to discuss. My imagination is running wild.”

  “Really? I’m fascinated. Just what sort of images have you managed to conjure up?”

  “Never mind.”

  He chuckled. “Whoops, here come those knots again. They’d probably go away if you’d tell me what you’ve been thinking.”

  “They would go away if you would just say what’s on your mind and get out of here,” she countered.

  “Tsk, tsk, that’s not a very auspicious beginning,” he taunted. “Maybe I’d better get into this another time, when you’re not so cranky.”

  “Get into what, dammit? And I am not cranky.”

  He chuckled. “Yes, indeed, another time would be best. It’ll keep.”

  Before she knew what he intended, he leaned down, brushed a brotherly peck across her cheek and headed for the door.

  “Duke!”

  “Night, darlin’. It’s been fun.”

  “Duke Jenkins, if you walk out that door without explaining yourself, don’t come back.”

  The threat was wasted. He was already halfway to the car by the time she finished. Since he gave her a jaunty wave as he pulled out of the driveway, she could only assume he wasn’t feeling the least bit threatened.

  “Well, damn,” she muttered, staring after him.

  * * *

  As he drove home, Duke whistled cheerfully and congratulated himself on an evening well spent. He’d proved to himself once again that Dani wasn’t nearly as immune to him as she wanted to be.

  He could guess precisely which path her imagination had led her down. In fact, he had deliberately chosen his words just to point her in the right direction. Yes and no were answers to a whole lot of questions, most of them innocuous enough. But spoken with a little hint of seductiveness, they clearly hinted at very provocative queries to come.

  After planting that particular seed in her mind, he’d been somewhat surprised that she’d allowed him in the house at all, given her avowed aversion to any kind of future with another single dad.

  He had also been careful the past few weeks to stay away from White Pines or any other place where she was likely to be. Since any invitation always included Joshua and Zachary, he’d turned them all down. He’d wanted Dani wondering what he was up to, not remembering that he had two sons underfoot.

  In the long run, he figured his strategy would pay off. In the short run, he was very close to losing his mind. How had he missed the fact that rearing two boys could be so incredibly challenging? Maybe not as challenging as exploring for oil, but a darned close second.

  Maybe it was because they
were twins, but Josh and Zack seemed to think as a single unit, conspiring to get into the most amazing amount of mischief just when he thought he had everything under control. Thankfully, they hadn’t scared off Paolina, but he knew with every fiber of his being that the housekeeper was no substitute for a real mom. He intended to give them one or die trying.

  It would have been a heck of a lot simpler, of course, if he’d picked one who was a little more amenable to the idea. Then again, courting Dani Adams was just about fascinating enough to take his mind off the tedium of all that paperwork her daddy piled on his desk.

  10

  After a restless night Dani stepped outside at midmorning on Saturday to get the paper and discovered two little boys sitting on the front steps. She stared at Josh and Zack, then automatically looked around for some sign of their father.

  “Dad’s not with us,” Josh said as if he, like his father, was capable of reading her mind.

  “So I see. How did you get here?”

  “Paolina brought us,” Zack said.

  Dani fought the panicky feeling that had been automatic from the moment she met these two wonderful, emotionally scary kids. “She just left you on my doorstep?”

  “We came to buy cat food,” Zack said. “Paolina said she’d get it at the grocery store, but the cats like the kind you have better.”

  Dani nodded as if the explanation made perfect sense, which it obviously did to them. “Well, then, I guess you’d better come in and choose the flavors you want.”

  “Anything but liver,” Josh told her. “That smells yucky.”

  “Not to a cat,” Dani pointed out.

  Both boys looked startled.

  “I guess you’re right,” Josh said. “And it’s their dinner.”

  Dani grinned at him. “Exactly.” She led the way into her pet supply room and pointed to the rows of gourmet cat food in cans and bags. “Can you two pick what you want on your own?” she inquired hopefully.

  Zack gave her a shy look and, to her astonishment, slipped his hand into hers. “No, we want you to help. Okay?”

  The warmth of that little hand tucked trustingly into her own brought on a flood of bittersweet memories. Every bit of instinct for self-preservation protested that she should make up a plausible excuse, walk away and leave the two boys to their shopping. One look into two pairs of hopeful eyes told her she couldn’t do it.