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Not while she was looking at him.
He searched hard for that oh-you-poor-thing expression half the women in the room had showed him tonight.
It wasn’t there.
She was simply watching him, assessing him with a steadiness that was unsettling.
His jaw tightened.
Now she was smiling, her lips curving in a way that reached deep into his gut.
She mouthed a word.
Hi.
And lifted her wineglass in … what could it be but invitation?
“Her name is Addison. Addison McDowell.”
Caleb’s voice was low. Jake looked at him.
“What?”
“The woman you’re looking at.”
“I wasn’t looking at anybody.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, well, just in case you were—”
“I just told you, I wasn’t.”
“My mistake,” Caleb said calmly. “I only meant—”
“What’s she doing in Wilde’s Crossing?”
His brothers exchanged a quick glance.
“She owns the Chambers ranch,” Travis said.
Jake cocked his head. “What do you mean, she owns the Chambers ranch? The old man always said he’d never sell it. The General tried to buy it a dozen times, remember? And—”
“And got turned down. Well, the old guy died. Pretty much the way you’d expect, still working his skinny butt off, refusing help from anybody, his temper nasty as ever. Turned out he’d mortgaged the place to the hilt. The General found out, told his lawyer to buy it, but the bank had already turned it over.”
“To her?”
“To some old rich guy from New York.”
A muscle knotted in Jake’s jaw.
“And she’s the old rich guy’s wife,” he said flatly.
“The rich guy kicked the bucket right after he took ownership.” Travis jerked his head toward the woman. “She inherited it.”
“So, she’s his widow.”
“No.”
“His daughter?”
