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“Come here.”
She walked around the couch and he took hold of her wrist, pulling on it gently so that she fell on top of him. “You’re getting me dirty,” she protested with a smile.
“That’s not the half of it.” He drew her head to his, wound his fingers in her still damp hair and breathed deeply of the scent of her. “God, I’ve missed you.” Kissing her softly, he groaned when her body molded easily to the hard contours of his.
He started kissing her face and pushing the robe off her shoulders, when she stopped him. “Wait a minute, hero,” she said. “First things first. Tell me what else you know.”
“Anyone ever tell you that you’ve got your priorities mixed up?”
She laughed. “Come on, out with it.”
“Okay. I talked to Jenna Peterson earlier on the phone.”
“When?”
“Just a few minutes ago, when you were upstairs with Cody.”
“At this hour?”
“I decided that the sooner we figured this out, the better. Her sister had told me that she was due back tonight, so I gambled and called. It worked out.”
“So what did she say?”
“Jenna left Caleb, not because of me, but because she knew that Caleb had put Blake Summers on his payroll.”
“What?”
“That’s right. When I couldn’t convince you to sell, Caleb got hold of Blake.”
“But why?”
“Because he knew that Cody had received a letter from him. The way I see it, Caleb figured Blake was his ace in the hole. If Blake showed up, either one of two things would happen: Blake would work his way back into your heart and convince you to sell—”
“No way!”
“—or scare you into wanting out of this town and away from him. What Johnson didn’t count on was the fact that you weren’t going to let Blake boss you around. Apparently Blake figured it out, too. My guess is that he has some sort of deal with Caleb—a deal like Larry Cross had and if he convinced you one way or the other to move, that he’d get a bundle of cash. Why else would he come back now, try to make amends with his son and then set fire to your shed?”
“If he did it.”
“You don’t think he did?”
She smiled into his eyes. “I don’t know what to think. I just know that I’m glad you’re here with me, that Cody’s safe and that we can be together tonight. Tomorrow morning we’ll deal with everything.”
“Such as fire inspectors, insurance investigators, nosy neighbors—”
“Wet hay, frightened animals, Caleb, Blake and the rest of the world,” she murmured, placing her head against his neck. “But it really doesn’t matter,” she whispered, shuddering. “A few hours ago, when I thought Cody might be dead and I didn’t know where you were, I realized that nothing, not even this land, is worth all this trouble—”
“Shh,” he said, pulling the afghan over them both. “Sleep. Don’t think about giving up the land tonight. If you do, Caleb’s already won.”
“I’m just tired of fighting . . .” she murmured, snuggling against him.
“So am I, Dani,” he agreed, kissing her hair. “So am I. But I won’t let Johnson win . . . even if it does turn out that he’s my father.”
With his arms wrapped around the woman he loved, Chase McEnroe stared at the ceiling long into the night and silently vowed that no matter what happened, he would never give up Dani or her son. With every ounce of strength he could find, he’d fight Caleb Johnson for Dani’s right to own this land she loved with all of her heart.
* * *
Dani woke up with a crick in her neck. She moved her head from side to side and found herself staring into the most brilliant blue eyes she’d ever seen.
