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She shrugged. “Not straight out, but he hinted at it real
strong. Him and his friend have been looking.”

Wyatt sat up a little straighter behind the wheel. He hadn’t
liked the look of Rafe Winslow. Hadn’t liked the speculative looks he’d sent
Haley’s way. “And you told him what?”

“I told him I’d have to see if Dooley needed anybody. And
that I’d have to discuss it with you.”

Wyatt barked out a terse laugh. “Bet that didn’t set well.”

“It didn’t until I showed him this.” She held up her left
hand, admiring the large chocolate diamond. “And before you say something, he
said if I was happy, he was happy for me.”

One eyebrow cocked, Wyatt gave her a quick glance. “And you
told him?”

“I told him you were a good man and I was happy.”

He braked for a red light. “I don’t reckon you mentioned you
love me?”

Her mischievous grin lit up her face. “Well, it don’t take a
genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep, darlin’. Figured you knew.”

He turned the truck into the restaurant parking lot and
drove around the side where the larger vehicles parked. Putting it in gear, he
cut the ignition and leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt.

“I reckon I’ll let you prove it to me when we get home. You
mind staying at the Flying W? I planned something special for tonight.” And
with those words, he dragged her across the seat, kissing her soundly.

* * * * *

The sun had long since set by the time Haley and Wyatt
dropped his trailer and turned Geronimo over to Dooley. The Flying W hands were
finishing the last of the day’s chores and heading for the bunkhouse. Hands
raised in casual greetings but no one initiated conversation as the newly
engaged couple walked arm in arm to the house.

Haley hadn’t spent much time at Wyatt’s place. The One-Eyed
Jack wasn’t a big operation and she and Dooley got by with a few extra hands,
but with everyone on alert for trouble it made for a full day’s work.
Consequently, Wyatt was more of a fixture at her place than she was at his.

The house was decidedly masculine, built of logs and Texas
limestone, which had been added onto over the generations. Like her place,
there was a deep wrap-around porch peppered with rocking chairs and the
ever-present porch swing. Wyatt ushered her up the steps and inside. They
removed their boots, setting them beside the door.

“Wait right here,” he told her, pointing to an overstuffed
chair. “I’ll be right back.” He returned a few minutes later, shirtless and
barefoot. “Come on.”

She grinned and stood, making her way to him. “What have you
got up your sleeve?”

“Ain’t telling. It’s a surprise.” He took her hand and
guided her through the master suite and into a huge bathroom with an equally
large tub filled with swirling hot water. Scented candles lit the room with a
warm glow and a bottle of champagne and two glasses sat on a wide ledge on the
tub surround.

The air was redolent with the fragrance of cinnamon and
clove and Haley took a deep breath. She turned to Wyatt, wrapped her arms
around his waist and held on tightly. “It’s the best surprise ever. I can’t
believe you went to all this trouble. It’s so romantic.”

“Nothing I ever do for you will be too much trouble,
darlin’. I love you and I intend to spend the rest of my life showing you just
how much.” He reached for her buttons and began the process of undressing her.
Her shirt and bra fell to the floor and he leaned down, his mouth warm against
the base of her throat. “I love this spot right here.” His tongue swirled against
the gap between her collarbones. “Because I can see your pulse flutter when
you’re really excited.” His lips skimmed the tops of her breasts as he flicked
open the button on her jeans. The zipper hissed and his hands slid inside to
caress her bottom. Haley wiggled her butt and her Wranglers sagged and fell to
her ankles. She returned the favor, opening his jeans and shoving them past his
hips, reaching inside his briefs to stroke. He chuckled. “I do like the way you
take me in hand, honey. But this night is all about you.” He removed her hand
and finished undressing her before helping put her hair up and climb into the
tub.

“It’s your night, too,” she reminded him as he stepped into
the tub behind her. “I’m not the only one who got engaged.”

“I know that but I wanted to make it special for you.” He
opened the champagne, poured and handed her a glass. “Now, lean back against me
and let’s just relax in this nice, hot water and soak the day away.”

They talked of inconsequential things, whiling away the time.
Their respective ranches. What it was like to travel the rodeo circuit. Had she
run into anyone she knew from previous races?

“I was never allowed to get too close to any of the other
contestants,” Haley explained. “Pa didn’t want us making friends but I guess I
had a few. At least there were some I saw all the time, talked to in the places
observers weren’t allowed to go. Cowboys mostly. I’d grown up on the circuit so
everybody knew me. I was one of the boys.”

She shivered when Wyatt ‘s hand skimmed over her belly to
stroke between her legs. “You sure don’t look like any boy I’ve ever seen.” His
lips grazed her neck and he paused to nibble her earlobe. “Even with your pa
keeping such a sharp eye on you, I can’t understand how it is none of those
cowboys made a move on you.”

Haley laughed, turned her head to kiss him. “Oh, there was a
few that tried but I’d already seen how they were with women.” She arched her
back and gasped as Wyatt’s fingers pumped into her.

“How’s that?” he murmured.

“That’s fine,” she sighed. “That’s real fine.”

He chuckled. “I meant the way they were with women. But I’m
glad you like it. Hook your legs over mine, baby.”

She did as he asked, opening herself to his teasing.
“They…ah god…weren’t disrespectful. A cowboy always treats a woman like a lady,
whether she deserves it or not, but rodeo was their first love and everything
else came way down the list.”

“How’d the list read?” Oh stars, did he really expect her to
go there when he was intent on making her crazy?

“Rodeo. Keeping the truck and camper running.” Her back
bowed and she shuddered, so close she could barely stand it. “Wyatt…” He
stopped what he was doing and she slowly came down from the erotic ledge.

“Go on.”

“You’re the devil,” she said, wriggling herself against the
hard cock pressing into her lower back. He laughed and cupped her breast with
his free hand. “Okay. Um, his rig…saddle, rope, chaps, making sure everything
was in tip-top shape. Sex fell into the top five, I reckon. Falling in love
wasn’t even on the radar.”

“Wasn’t on my radar either, until I met you.” He used his
big toe to flip open the drain. “Let’s get dried off and continue this in the
other room.” He helped her stand and wrapped her in a thick, fluffy towel
before wrapping one around his waist. “Oops, almost forgot the champagne.” He
snagged the bottle and glasses, and followed. Haley reached for his towel,
ready to do some teasing of her own when the phone rang. They both looked at
the caller ID and sighed. Dooley. On their engagement night, a call from her
foreman could only mean one thing.

Wyatt picked up. “Yeah, Dooley.” His voice went from a
resigned to tense. “What? Did you call the sheriff? All right, we’ll be there
in a few.”

Haley was already pulling on her clothes. “What’s happened
now?” She came out of the bathroom, Wyatt’s clothes in hand and gave them to
him.

“Somebody broke into your house. Dooley found the front door
open when he went to the barn to his final check of the night. Sheriff’s on the
way.”

* * * * *

“Conner? He broke into my house?” Haley stood on the bottom
step, her gaze swiveling from Dooley to the deputy hovering over her brother.
Connor sat slump-shouldered on the old church pew her aunt had placed on the
front porch as a bench for visitors. She couldn’t say exactly why she was
surprised except that Connor had never been a thief. Not in the true sense of
the word. Sure, he’d taken money from her but he’d never gone through her purse
for it, had never even so much as borrowed the old pickup without asking first.
He’d never stolen from her. Never had to. She’d taken care of him his whole
life.

The deputy turned from Conner and approached her. “Ma’am,”
he said. “If you’ll just step inside with me.”

Haley followed him. Disappointment congealed into a thick
lump in her belly when she saw the mess on her countertop. The lid of the flour
canister rested on its back, a Ziploc bag lay open and empty. The dusting of
flour stood in stark relief against the dark granite. Nobody but Conner knew
where she kept her hidden stash of cash. Her emergency escape fund. She’d
hidden it in flour tins since she was old enough to know she might someday need
to take Conner and run.

The deputy studied the notes he’d scrawled in his little
notebook. “Mr. Dooley discovered the door ajar and entered to premises to find,
ah, one Conner Kilpatrick attempting to wipe down the surfaces. No money was
found on him but that laptop was on the counter. Looks like maybe he was fixing
to take that with him. Did you have cash in that zipper baggie, Ms.
Kilpatrick?”

“Two hundred bucks, I guess. Maybe three. Emergency cash.”
She heaved a sigh. “You say he doesn’t have any cash on him?”

“No, ma’am. Not a penny. Just flour on his hands and clothes
and a surly attitude.”

Haley scrubbed her hands over her face. She’d just given him
a hundred dollars or better a few hours ago. “Jesus. Well, the attitude part is
right but I’ve never known Conner to steal. Mind if I talk to him?”

“I’ll get him,” the deputy said and hurried out to the
porch.

Haley shoved her hands in her front pockets and leaned
against the kitchen island. If Conner had taken the money, why didn’t he have
it on him? There was only one reason she could think. Rafe Winslow.

Haley looked up when Conner stepped across the threshold.
Their eyes met and he ducked his head, unable to hold her gaze. Well, at least
he had the sense to feel guilty.

“Well?” she asked.

He mimicked her stance, shoving his hands deep into his
pockets. “Well what?”

“You tell me, little brother. You supposedly broke in here
to steal from me. Where’s the money?”

“Don’t have it,” he mumbled.

Haley pushed off the island and approached him. “You don’t
have it.”

He looked up, glaring at her. “That’s right, I don’t have
it. Done spent it.”

“Including what I gave you at the rodeo?”

Conner shrugged. “Reckon so.”

Haley stepped up close to him, sniffed the air around him.
“Funny. You don’t smell like you’re liquored up. I don’t smell no perfume on
you like you’ve been good-timing some woman. What’d you spend the money on,
Conner?”

“I guess that’s my business, ain’t it?”

Haley laughed. “I’d say it’s mine, since it’s my money you
took.”

His bottom lip stuck out in a pout. “So what, you got
plenty.”

“Well now, that’s true, I do. And I give you some of it
tonight, plus I told you I’d send you a check to tide you over until you could
find work.” She tipped her head to the side and lifted one shoulder in a shrug.
“Guess you was in a big hurry, huh? To find work, I mean. So much of a hurry
you thought the chain gang was a good career move?”

That got his attention. He looked up, eyes wide, breath
coming in short gusts. “I…you gonna put me in jail, Haley?”

“You don’t think I should? I mean, you break into my home,
steal my money, and now you’re lying about what you done with it. What should I
do?”

Connor cut a glance at the deputy. “Could we talk without
the L-A-W in the room?”

Haley laughed aloud. “I think he knows how to spell law,
little brother.” She pointed to the door. “Do you mind, Deputy…” She studied
his name tag. “Stillwater?” The man excused himself and Haley rocked back on
her heels. “Okay. Let’s have it. Winslow was with you, wasn’t he? Did he
threaten you?”

“Yeah. Said Pa owned some guys on his cell block and they
wanted their money before he was paroled, else he wouldn’t live to get out.
Rafe said he meant to get that money from you one way or another because he and
Pa had plans and wasn’t nobody gonna stand in the way. So we drove up here,
parked on that fire road up yonder and walked down. Rafe jimmied the back door.
He wore gloves so you won’t find no fingerprints. Wouldn’t let me wear none.
Not that I had any. He wanted to take more than the money but I convinced him
there wasn’t time. If you tell, Hales, there’s no telling what he might do.”

Haley closed her eyes. Would the nightmare of her life ever
end? All she ever wanted was a peaceful, quiet life with her horses. Someone to
love her, stand shoulder to shoulder with her to face life’s disappointments,
large and small. A passel of kids and dogs running around the yard. Was that
really so much to ask?

She looked up when Wyatt walked in with the deputy and the
peace she’d sought for so long settled over her like a mantle. She couldn’t
imagine what she’d done to deserve him, had done her best to convince herself
that she shouldn’t love him. Now she was so close to the life she’d always
dreamed of she could taste it. And her father was determined to ruin it all. No
way she was going to let that happen.

“Deputy Stillwater, I have reason to believe Conner’s
roommate, Rafe Winslow is the one who broke in my house and stole the money. I
reckon Conner was with him but I don’t think it was his idea.” At the deputy’s
raised eyebrow, she continued. “See, a while back, someone killed my dog. Beat
him to death with an oak limb. I can’t prove it but I think this Winslow probably
did it. A little message from my pa to let me know he’s coming and I’d best toe
the line, so to speak.”

The deputy looked from her to Conner, back to her, then to
Wyatt, who held up his hands in a don’t-ask-me gesture. “Well, what do you want
me to do, ma’am? You want to file charges against your brother?”