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“You can’t.”
Colton didn’t budge.
Emotions, old and new, roiled deep within Cassie. She hated him—hated the very sight of him. Or at least that’s what she’d been telling herself for eight years. “Dad doesn’t want you here—don’t you remember?”
His eyes narrowed. “How could I forget?”
“Then take a hike and do it fast! Or I’ll call the sheriff’s office.”
“Go ahead.” With a jaded half grin, he motioned toward the phone. “I know a deputy there, Mark Gowan. You’ve probably heard of him.”
She had. Mark was one of
the best the sheriff’s department employed.
“Go ahead. Call him. When Gowan gets here, I’ll explain about Black Magic and the fact that the fence was cut—the fence between your property and mine. Then I’ll repeat every threat Ivan’s made against the McLeans to the good sheriff!”
Cassie blanched.
“And if that isn’t good enough, I’ll tell my tale to the local press—I’ve got connections, you know. Friends in high places. It comes with the territory.”
“You bastard!”
He winced a little.
“You wouldn’t!” she whispered, grasping at straws. “You’d look like a fool!”
“And your father would look like a criminal,” he growled.
He was bluffing! She knew it. He couldn’t risk another scandal with the McLean name. Not after the last one—when John McLean had seduced Cassie’s mother! She reached for the phone, but he caught her wrist. The receiver clattered against the wall. “This would be a whole lot easier, you know, if you let me take a look around myself.”
His fingers were hot and hard against her flesh. “Dad’s never stolen anything in his life!”
“So prove it.”
She glared at him indignantly. Why bother explaining? The stern set of Colton’s jaw told her he’d already tried and convicted her father, just as he had her, years before. “Let go of me, Colton.”
He didn’t.
She tried a new tack. “This happened before—right? Last year. I heard it from Milly Samms, Denver’s housekeeper. The horse was missing, then just showed up. This is probably the same kind of mistake.”
“This is no mistake, Cassie. Someone took Black Magic. I want to know who.” His grip tightened, the warm pads of his fingers playing havoc with her pulse. She tried yanking her hand from his, but he wouldn’t let go. “Come on, Cassie. Here’s your chance to prove me wrong.”
Her gaze burned into his. “One of your ranch hands just got careless.”
He dropped her hand. “Then you won’t mind if I walk through the barns and stables?”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going to let you go poking around, disturbing the animals—”
“After I see what I came to see, I’ll leave.”
She wavered. She wanted him to leave, and the opportunity to prove him wrong and put him in his place was tempting. “Okay—but this isn’t going to take all night. We check out the stables and that’s it.”
He nodded.
“It’ll take me a few minutes to change.”
“Don’t bother. I can find my way around—”
