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“I have responsibilities,” she said, her voice husky. She tried to take a step backward, but his arms were strong and unmoving, his features set.
“So do I. In L.A.”
“But—”
“I’m not asking for a lifetime commitment,” he reminded her, and her heart wrenched. If only you were, Denver.
His gaze delved deep into hers and she felt herself drowning in the liquid warmth. “It’s payoff time, Tessa.”
“Why now? What’s this all about?”
The teasing light disappeared from his eyes. His skin tightened over his cheekbones, pulling taut, stretching over now-invisible scars. She sensed something had gone wrong—horribly wrong. She felt suddenly cold inside.
“Colton gave the P.I. the slip. He’s not in Northern Ireland— or at least he’s not where Ross’s private investigator thought he was.” He squinted against the rising sun. Golden rays touched his face, but his features remained strained. “The investigator thinks he’s in trouble. Big trouble.”
“Isn’t he always?”
Denver shrugged. “Probably. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he murmured, almost to himself. “If Colton needs to reach me, he’ll try to get hold of me in L.A.”
“Why would he want to get in touch with you now?”
“Because of the private investigator—because of John’s death—”
“He didn’t care about John.”
“It’s just a feeling I have,” Denver whispered, and a shiver darted down Tessa’s spi
ne. “There’s been a lot of trouble in Northern Ireland—a lot of unrest.”
“There has been for years.”
“But lately—” He shrugged, as if to shake off a sense of foreboding.
“What good would it do for me to come to L.A.?” she asked.
“I need you,” he said, wincing a little, as if the words actually hurt. Exhaling slowly, he added, “Besides, you and I are at an impasse, Tessa. I think it’s time we found out a little more about each other.”
“And we have to do that in California?”
“Yes.”
She studied the tired lines of his face, the tiny inflexible lines near his mouth, his black hair, falling fetchingly over his forehead. “And who will run this ranch?”
“Your father.”
Inside, Tessa panicked. Though she was loath to admit it, she was afraid to leave the ranch in Curtis’s hands. What if something went wrong? What if there were another accident? Dear God, what if he really had caused the fire all those years before? “I just can’t.”
“Mitch will be around to help him.”
“Mitch is getting ready to go to college in Seattle.”
“He’s not leaving for a few more weeks. I’m only talking about a couple of days.” He touched her tenderly on the cheek. “I need you, Tess,” he said again, and he didn’t have to say another word.
Within twenty minutes, Denver had showered, shaved and changed. Tessa threw a couple pairs of slacks, two cotton sweaters, a pair of shorts, T-shirts and a skirt into her old suitcase, then dressed in a billowing white skirt and pink sleeveless blouse. She plaited her hair into a French braid and snapped on small gold earrings and a matching necklace before meeting Denver downstairs.
“Do I look So Cal?” she asked, her dimple showing a bit.
“If that stands for sensational.”
