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“Ladies first.”
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t what I saw in front of me. The furniture looked like it came straight out of a Sundance catalog. Rustic, yet it appeared comfortable, with cushions, pillows, and throws in deep, rich colors that reminded me of time I’d spent in Taos. “This is beautiful,” I murmured.
“I haven’t seen it since my brothers and sister fixed it up.” Buck walked into the hallway, opened a door, and set both of our bags inside. When he turned back toward me, I raised an eyebrow. “Is that the only bedroom?”
“The only one I’d hoped we’d need.”
He took a step closer to
me. The look on his face, in his eyes, was heated. He was so close I could feel his breath, like I’d been able to at the wedding. I’d run from him then. Did I have the balls to stand my ground now? Could I look him in the eye, challenge him to quit playing and kiss me?
I closed my eyes and leaned into him. We both went perfectly still when we heard a knock at the cabin door.
“Shit,” mumbled Buck as he took a step back. He walked over and pulled the door open. Someone who looked like he could be his twin, walked inside.
“Stella, this is my brother Cord.”
The man walked over to me and held out his hand. His blue eyes sparkled just like Buck’s did. “Welcome to the Roaring Fork, ma’am.”
Ma’am? Jesus. The reminder of how much older I was than the two men standing in front of me had the same effect as if I’d been drenched with a bucket of ice-cold water.
Buck put his arm around my shoulders. “What can I do for you, Cord?”
“Just wanted to welcome our guest to the ranch.”
“Done.” He dropped his arm and ushered his brother toward the door.
“You be sure to let me know if there’s anything you need, Miss Stella. If Buck doesn’t take good care of you, I guarantee that I will.” When he winked, also like Buck had, I felt my knees go weak.
“Get the hell outta here,” said Buck, closing the door behind him and throwing the lock. He rested against it. “You need somethin’, Stella, you’ll get it from me. Understand?”
“Buck?”
He took a step in my direction. “Yeah?” He took two more steps and wound his arm around me. “I’d really like to kiss you. You okay with that?”
I gripped the chair behind me. “Maybe you should show me around first.”
“We’ll get to that.”
I twisted away from him when I heard my cell phone ring. Not many people had the number to the new phone Rock had secured for me. When I pulled it out and saw it was Jinx calling, I thought about letting it go to voicemail. I didn’t, though. I needed a minute to break the spell Buck had cast on me.
“Hey, Jinx.”
Buck scowled and stalked out of the cabin.
“Hey, Stella. I wanted to make sure everything was going okay in Colorado.”
“It’s fine.” I walked over to the window to look for Buck. I didn’t see him. “Was there another reason you called?”
“We lifted a partial print in Barb’s apartment. My team is working now to see if it’s enough for a match.”
“That’s encouraging and…surprising.” It was incomprehensible to me that someone would be that sloppy. It wasn’t as though it was a robbery gone wrong. Whoever had killed Barb and Nancy was looking for something, most likely her laptop, the key, or both.
“I agree.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Buck pacing out front. He was on his phone but turned toward the window in time to catch me watching.
“Jinx, I gotta go.” I ended the call without looking away from Buck. He appeared to do the same thing and stalked toward the cabin’s door.
