The Daddy Search

She took a step backward from his electrifying touch as she cleared her throat of the sensation that her heart had lodged there. Perhaps he didn’t see their accidental meeting as a sparring match, but she did. And so far, the intense attraction she felt toward him had kept her almost tongue-tied and incapable of thinking clearly. The very last thing she wanted was to acknowledge the fact that she had almost allowed him to kiss her.

She noted the way he raised a questioning eyebrow, but he didn’t say anything. She needed to regain the upper hand. She held her breath for a brief moment in order to recapture her composure, then plunged ahead. “I was wondering if you’d had an opportunity to give any more thought to my sister . . . maybe recall her staying here. She spoke so highly of those two weeks that I decided to spend my vacation here.”

To her surprise, he straightened up and appeared to be trying to collect himself. Had she hit a nerve? A touch of satisfaction tickled her consciousness. Maybe this would be easier than she had thought. If she could take care of her objective very quickly, then she could return to her own home. She felt decidedly unsafe—emotionally at risk—around this disconcerting man. Nick Clayton frightened her. The very real attraction she felt toward him frightened her. She feared she might be incapable of denying him whatever he asked of her.

“Well, no . . . actually, I haven’t had the time. You said her name was Mamie Adams? The name does have a familiar ring to it now that I’m thinking about it, but I’m afraid I still can’t place her. Perhaps it will come to me after I’ve had the chance to give it some thought.”

“Yes, perhaps it will.” She heard the edge to her voice and silently berated herself for allowing it to seep through.

“That’s kind of odd.”

“What’s odd?” Had she missed something? It was as if he had changed topics on her while she wasn’t listening.

“You said your sister was here a little over six years ago, loved her stay, spoke of it in glowing terms, which prompted you to take your vacation here.”

“Yes . . . what’s so odd about that?”

“I was just wondering why you waited six years.”

His words caught her totally off guard. It hadn’t occurred to her to develop a cover story, at least not anything other than what she had already given him. She frantically searched her mind for an acceptable response to his question.

“Well...uh...you know. It was just one of those things. First there was the money, then something came up and... well, you know how that goes.”

“Sure, things happen.” He ran his fingertips across the back of her hand and offered his best smile. “I’m glad you were finally able to work it out.”

She eased her hand out from under his as she tried to still the tremor of excitement caused by his touch. Even after she had pulled her hand free, she could still feel the warmth of his skin against hers. His smile and his words may have said he accepted her answer, but she could see it in his eyes . . . the questions, the skepticism, the reserve that said he didn’t believe her. She scanned the lobby in an attempt to find something that would let her gracefully extract herself from the conversation.

When she couldn’t find anything, she returned her attention to Nick and gave him a pleasant smile. “I’m sure you have a lot to do so I won’t take up any more of your time.” She turned and left the lobby through the front door, forcing herself to proceed casually even though she could feel his eyes on her... and the tingle of excitement it caused.

Nick leaned back against the wall as he watched her walk away, his heart pounding and his pulse throbbing in time with each step she took. His gaze traced every line and curve of her body. When she finally disappeared through the front door, he closed his eyes and emitted a soft moan that came out as half desire and half frustration.

He took a calming breath, then decided to look into the matter of Lexi’s sister. For some reason, it seemed important to her that he remember Mamie Adams and her stay at the ranch. Rather than go to his office, he made a side trip to the storage room. Six years ago—he searched for the corresponding storage boxes. Time was forgotten as he immersed himself in the task.

“Aha!” The sound of his own voice echoing through the quiet startled him. There it was—Marnie Adams.

He opened the file and quickly scanned the contents, then went back and carefully reread everything. A slight furrow wrinkled his brow as he checked her original reservation and her registration card. She had vacationed alone, too. First Mamie, then her sister, vacationing alone at a dude ranch. Very curious . . . very curious indeed. He checked Mamie’s activity sheet. Unlike Lexi, Mamie had not been involved in any strenuous pastimes. In fact, the records indicated she had not been on a horse during her entire stay.

He went to the candid publicity pictures they’d shot during that month and carefully checked the names of those who had been captured on film. He found her name and pulled the photo, one taken at a chuck-wagon barbecue.

The image shot off the paper at him. Marnie Adams bore a striking family resemblance to Lexi, making it clear that the two women were related. He studied the photograph for a few seconds. Where Lexi’s look was softly sensual and very enticing, Marnie had a hard edge to her appearance as if she had seen too much of the world and found it a great disappointment.

Seeing the photograph jarred his memory. Marnie Adams . . . she had told him more about herself than he ever wanted to know. Even though she had only been in her mid-twenties at the time, she had talked about having two ex-husbands and a string of casual affairs. It was almost as if she had been bragging about those things, thinking it somehow made her seem worldly and sophisticated, the truth being quite the opposite. Even though Marnie was an undeniably beautiful woman, she had not struck a responsive chord with him.

Mamie had presented herself at his cabin door late one night with a bottle of wine in her hand. A moment later, she revealed that she had nothing on beneath her robe. He tactfully, but firmly, refused her offer and sent her on her way. The blatant invitation had been tempting, but she was obviously drunk. Other men might have considered that type of situation as easy pickings, but that certainly wasn’t his style.

The next morning, she acted as if the incident had never happened. He acknowledged that due to her inebriated condition she might not have even remembered what she’d done. When he made love with a woman, he wanted it to damn well be something they would both enjoy and remember the next morning.

That had been a little over six years ago. So, what was Mamie’s sister doing at the ranch now and why did he feel that something was wrong? Was it just his imagination or was there more to it than that? There was no question that he felt a very strong physical attraction to Lexi, an attraction he fully intended to pursue. It was something that most certainly had not existed with Mamie.

He closed his eyes for a moment and allowed a smile to curl the corners of his mouth as he entertained a totally inappropriate thought. Well, maybe not inappropriate, but probably unlikely. He visualized Lexi Parker presenting herself at his door, carrying a bottle of wine and wearing nothing but a—

“There you are!” Danny Clayton’s irritation interrupted Nick’s errant musings.

Nick whirled around to face the six-foot-tall man with the sandy-colored hair. “And where should I be?” He arched one eyebrow and leveled a serious gaze at his brother as much in an attempt to cover his embarrassment at being caught daydreaming as anything else.

Danny glanced at his watch. “In five minutes you’re supposed to be at the corral—” he grinned and slipped into an exaggerated slow drawl while doing his best John Wayne impersonation “—to saddle ‘em up, pilgrim, and move ’em on out for the afternoon ride.” He stepped into the storeroom and looked around. “So, what are you doing in here?”

Nick attempted to sound casual as if nothing out of the ordinary had been going on. “I was checking on a guest who stayed here a few years ago. Her sister arrived this morning and mentioned it.” He handed the photograph to Danny and indicated Mamie. “Do you remember her?”

Danny took the photograph from Nick and studied it for a moment. “Oh, yeah. I remember this one all right. She was one hot little number.”

Nick stared at his brother, not sure exactly how to interpret what Danny said. “Oh? Do I take that to mean that you—”

“No, not me. I just meant that she seemed to be really hot for cowboys and was determined to get it on with as many as possible. I made it a point to stay clear of her.” A wicked little grin tugged at his lips. “She seemed to be more interested in quantity than quality.”

Nick returned the photograph to the file, stuck the file folder into the storage box and shoved it aside with the toe of his boot.

Danny shot Nick a knowing look. “Well, well, well . . . the sister who’s the newly arrived guest wouldn’t be that tasty-looking blonde you’ve been drooling over ever since the shuttle van arrived from the airport, would it?”

Nick hid behind a stern expression. “Knock it off, Danny. I haven’t been drooling over anyone.” He attempted to project a businesslike manner. “Lexi simply mentioned that her sister had vacationed here a few years ago and asked if I remembered meeting her. I was just looking through the old records to see if I could find a photograph to jog my memory. It’s no big deal.”

“Oh, I see.” Danny could no longer suppress a mischievous grin. “Then I can assume you have no personal interest in Ms. Lexi Parker? That you don’t have any objections to my making a play for her?”

Nick balled up his fist, gave his brother a loving punch to the shoulder, then broke out into a teasing smile. “You do and you die!”

Danny returned the feeling of closeness between the brothers. “That’s what I thought.”

Lexi forced a smile and tried to assume an upbeat manner as she stepped into the dining room. She turned to the attractive gray-haired woman seated at the front desk.

“Lexi Parker . . . one for dinner.”

The older woman extended her hand toward Lexi and offered a gracious smile. “I’m Gloria Clayton. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lexi.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Gloria.”

“On behalf of my two sons and myself, I’d like to thank you for choosing to spend your vacation with us. The weather forecast says blue skies and sunshine for the next few days, so there won’t be anything standing in the way of your having a great time.”

Lexi could see the family resemblance between Nick and his mother. She was a charming woman who exuded warmth and sincerity. Lexi instantly liked her. “I’m sure I will. The scenery here is truly spectacular, and coming from a large city, I can assure you that I’m really enjoying all this clean mountain air.”

Gloria smiled. “It’s good for flagging appetites, too. Now, about the meals. They’re all served family style. That gives the guests an additional opportunity to get to know each other. So if you’ll just follow me, I’ll show you to your table.”

Gloria wheeled out from behind the desk and headed across the room. Lexi had not realized until that moment that Gloria was in a wheelchair.

Gloria showed her to a round table set with ten places. Not more than five minutes passed before nine of the ten places at her table were filled. She glanced around the dining room, noting that it was quickly filling with ranch guests. A festive mood prevailed with everyone enjoying themselves. She spotted Gloria seated at another table and a man she assumed to be Danny Clayton at yet another. A minute later, someone sat down in the chair next to hers. She turned toward the new arrival and found herself staring into Nick Clayton’s blue eyes.

“Good evening, Lexi. I hope you’re hungry. I just took a quick tour through the kitchen and everything looks good.”

She forced a smile. “Yes, it certainly smells good.” Nick Clayton . . . was there no way to avoid constant contact with him? It seemed that every time she left her cabin she ran into him. Her purpose in being at the ranch had been to confront him. Except now she wished she could stay away from his very disconcerting presence. He made her feel uncomfortable, arousing totally inappropriate longings and desires. She wasn’t sure which disturbed her more—how he made her feel or the implication of those feelings.