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“I’m not wanted by the law, no.”
“If you were, I’d turn you in myself.”
He had to smile at that. She’d probably enjoy doing it, too. “And no, I don’t have any drug-dealing cohorts who are after my money or my nonexistent stash. Whatever you think of me, I’ve never been arrested, and I’ve never spent a day on the wrong side of the law.”
“But Alex said—”
“Alex caught a glimpse of my guns, true.” Zach chose his words carefully, regretting the fabrication he had to use. “But I’m a collector, not a criminal.”
“You just collect them?”
Just as he’d feared, the boy must have seen him loading clips. “I also do a bit of target practice, so you might hear the noise now and then. But believe me, my guns are safely stored in a locked case, with the clips and cartridges stored separately. There are too many tragedies each year involving children and guns to ever be careless.”
She studied his expression, not giving an inch, and he had the uneasy feeling that she was far too perceptive. “You do understand my concern?” she asked finally.
“Of course.”
“My son has had a hard time dealing with his father’s death.” She extended her hands, palm up. “His grandpas are both gone, and his uncles are too preoccupied to give him the time of day. I worry about the wrong kind of influence.”
That hurt. “Like me?”
“I didn’t say that. I only want to keep him safe, and to raise him right. These days...”
“He’s a good kid, Dana. You’re doing a great job.”
“I’m trying. I want him to understand that his word means everything. That he needs to learn to face up to problems and deal with them head-on, instead of running.” She met Zach’s gaze, silently challenging him to deny ever failing to do just that.
“For the record, I agree completely.” Though she’d never find out how much, because he could never tell her about his last night in Fossil Hill so many years ago.
“Really. Then...” Her voice faded away as she stared at him, and he wondered if she felt the same mesmerizing connection he did—despite the way their relationship had ended.
She was only inches away. He could have reached up and smoothed back her hair or rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Perhaps even settled a kiss on those beautiful lips to see if the magic had survived.
Which was far too foolish to contemplate.
Not now, when he’d be here only long enough to recuperate. Not when he had a career back in Dallas, and a major-league case to solve. When—if his luck didn’t hold—the very man he was after could turn up in town and threaten the lives of anyone close to him.
He stepped back and motioned toward the kitchen table. “Coffee? I just made some.”
“No, I really need to—”
“Please?”
She wavered, glanced at the clock above the stove. Then she lifted the cell phone hooked to her belt and hit a single speed-dial digit. After a brief conversation with Molly, she laid the phone on the counter. “Ten minutes, then I need to get home. Ben is with them, but I still don’t like being away during the evening if I don’t have to.”
Zach poured two mugs of coffee and set them on the table with a plate of Francie’s cookies. “Who’s Ben?”
“He’s our only full-time ranch hand, and he lives in a cabin just a couple hundred feet from our house.” She took a sip of coffee, then reached for a cookie. “He’s sort of a reclusive old guy—won’t even eat with us very often. But he loves the kids. If he wasn’t willing to come to the house to stay with them, I couldn’t leave on night vet calls.”
A vet practice. A ranch. Kids to raise. A full plate, even if her husband were still alive. Was there another man in the picture by now? “Your schedule must be nonstop.”
“It had better be. If I don’t—” She caught herself abruptly. “You must really rate if Francie is baking for you already. She’s not exactly the most domestic type, but her oatmeal raisins are the best ever.”
Zach didn’t want to talk about cookies and the woman at the clinic. He wanted to know what Dana had done over the past fifteen years, day by day.
And he wanted to know what would happen if she didn’t keep busy. Was she on the verge of losing the ranch? Her practice?
“It’s good to see you again, Dana,” he said finally, opting for safer ground. “And it’s good for Katie to be with other people, too. I hope we’ll be good neighbors.”
