“Stop it!” Abigail demanded, afraid she knew where Zach was going.

“I threatened-”

“Shut up, Zach.”

Zach stared coolly into her eyes but kept right on speaking. “To tell you that she hates working at the ranch.”

The room went completely silent.

Abigail mouthed the word no, slowly shaking her head in denial.

“They need to know, Abby.”

No, they didn’t. They never needed to know. She couldn’t believe Zach had betrayed her. “You promised,” she whispered.

“I guess I lied.”

“How could you?”

Travis stepped up, clamping a hand on Zach’s shoulder. “Time for you to leave.”

“We need to talk,” Zach said to Abigail.

“Why did you come back?”

His tone went soft, and so did his brown eyes. “Because I couldn’t stay away.”

“Out,” said Travis.

But Lisa spoke up, advancing on Seth. “What did you do?”

Seth puffed out his chest. “I protected my sister.”

Abigail stood in mute misery, knowing she’d been the cause of all this.

Zach’s voice was deliberate. “Mayor Jacobs advised me that if I ever spoke to his sister again, he’d deny the DFB business license and bankrupt my company.”

“He was blackmailing her,” Seth protested.

“How did you know that?” asked Lisa.

“Stop it!” Abigail cried. “Everyone, please, just stop.” She couldn’t stand that Seth had compromised his principles. And she hated that Zach had outed her.

Lisa’s arm closed on her shoulders.

Abigail found herself searching Zach’s face, as if his expression might give her a hint of why he was doing this.

“You hate the ranch?” Travis asked.

“She’s had enough,” said Lisa.

Zach shook off Travis’s hand, turning on him. “You might want to think about letting her leave this place before you kill her.”

Travis sneered. “Don’t be absurd.”

“Ask her for an inventory of her bruises someday.”

Seth had gone quiet. Now he turned a concerned look on Abigail.

“Get out,” Travis ordered.

“Right,” Zach capitulated. “I’m leaving.” Then his icy stare took in both brothers. “But that doesn’t mean I’m gone.”

His last look was for Abigail. His eyes turned to mocha, and his mouth flexed in a half smile. His deep tone brought back a thousand memories. “Take your time, Doll-Face. Decide what you want to do and let me know.”


* * *

An hour later, Abigail blinked against the shaft of light from the hallway as her sister Mandy pushed open the door and stepped into the dim bedroom, quietly pulling it shut behind her.

Abigail shifted into a sitting position on the bed, drawing up her knees. “It didn’t take them long to send for reinforcements.”

Mandy smiled as she padded across the room, wrapping her hand around the newel post on the footboard. “Sounds like I missed all the fun.”

“You call that fun?”

“I call it exciting.” Mandy sat down at the foot of the big bed and leaned back.

“It was that,” Abigail allowed.

“Your life’s not usually that exciting.”

“Not so you’d notice.” Though, lately, it had had its moments.

“So, what’s the real story with this guy?”

“It’s a bit complicated.”

Her sister shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere.” Then she grinned. “Seriously, Abby. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. So you might as well start talking.”

“I met him in Lyndon.” Abigail settled back against the headboard, preparing to give her sister the whole story. Though she felt battered and bruised, and confused by Zach’s behavior, she felt strangely calm. It was all out in the open now. For better or worse, they could all stop sneaking around.

“When?” Mandy prompted into the silence.

“Election night. He was a stranger then, probably the only guy in town who didn’t know who I was. He thought I was elegant and sophisticated.”

“You are elegant and sophisticated.”

Abigail’s glance went to her tattered fingernails. “Not usually.”

“You were that night. It was one great dress.”

“It was,” Abigail agreed. She thought back to her and Zach’s nighttime picnic. “I was pretty hot that night. It was all very sexy. I wouldn’t let him tell me his name, and I refused to tell him mine. But we slept together.”

“No way.”

“Way. It was great. And then I sneaked away the next morning.”

“And he tracked you down to blackmail you?”

“No. He didn’t know who I was.” Abigail believed that now. “He needed a variance on his water license. Somebody gave him my name. And when I refused to help him, that’s when he blackmailed me.”

“And you’re still sleeping with him.”

“Yes. Well, I was until Seth threatened him, and he broke it off.” At least Abigail now understood Zach’s sudden withdrawal. She was going to have a long talk with both her brothers.

“He’s a great guy,” Abigail continued. “In a ridiculous situation.” She thought back to the DFB employees she’d met in Houston, and his determination to do right by them. And when you added to that Seth’s blackmail, and Zach’s stunning reaction tonight… A reaction that was only now coming clear inside her head.

She sat up straighter. “I’m pretty sure he said something about marrying me down there.”

“I heard. Lisa told me.”

“What do you think he meant by that?” Could it have been metaphorical? Even if she took into account Zach’s rather single-minded determination to get her away from the ranch, offering to marry her seemed a bit extreme.

“Let’s see…” Mandy tapped her temple with her index finger. “What could a man possibly mean when he offers to marry a woman?” She gave an elongated pause. “I know. Maybe he wants to marry you.”

“Why?”

“To love, honor and keep you all the days of his life?”

“That’s silly. Zach doesn’t love me.”

“You sure about that?”

Abigail wasn’t sure about anything right now. And her head was starting to ache.

She changed the subject. “What on earth was Seth thinking?”

“That he was protecting you.”

“Ha, he botched that. I’m a grown woman. He needs to stop interfering in my life. So does Travis.”

Mandy leaned forward as if to share a secret. “Maybe if you hadn’t lied to him, lied to all of us.”

“I never lied.”

“You didn’t tell us you hated the ranch.”

“I don’t hate the ranch.”

“You hate working on the ranch.”

Abigail pushed back her messy hair. A sheen of sweat had formed at the hairline. “Yeah,” she admitted. “I hate working on the ranch.”

“You should have said something.”

“And then what? Leave Travis stuck here all alone?”

“He can hire more help.”

Abigail’s voice rose. “It’s not the same. You know it’s not the same.”

Mandy scooted to the middle of the bed, placing a hand on Abigail’s upraised knee. “That doesn’t mean you get to be the sacrificial lamb. Travis doesn’t want you to do that. None of us want you to do that. Would you want Katrina to do that?”

“It’s different with Katrina.”

“It’s not different at all.” Mandy squared her shoulders. “You’re not staying, Abby. We’re not going to let you stay.”

Abigail gave a sad smile. She had mixed emotions about that. She didn’t want to abandon Travis, but she desperately wanted her freedom.

Mandy wasn’t finished. “And while you’re thinking about where to go, did you happen to give a listen to what Zach said down there? Did you watch him stand up to Seth and Travis? Did you see that he was willing to give up everything for you? His company. His fortune. Alex, and everything they’ve ever worked for. And he didn’t know how our brothers would react. There were two of them and only one of him, and he barged onto their land to get you.”

Abigail had seen all that. She’d been shell-shocked at the time. But Mandy was right-it was pretty amazing.

“Love doesn’t get much better than that,” said Mandy.

Abigail’s chest squeezed tight. Could it be true? They pushed and pulled and prodded each other. He was frustrating and opinionated, and she was stubborn. But they also made amazing love. And they laid for hours in each other’s arms afterward. And they shared joys and fears and secrets. And if she’d had her way, she might never have left Craig Mountain.

She loved Zach. She loved him so very much.

Mandy tossed back her hair. “So, what are you going to do now?”

“I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do.”

Abigail groaned at the bedroom ceiling. “I should never have let him walk out of here.”

“You love him.”

“Yes.”

“Then you should have thrown yourself in his arms, told him that and walked away from the ranch with him by your side.”

“I’d be halfway to Craig Mountain by now.” Abigail paused, hope glowing to life inside her. “Is it possible that he really wants to marry me?”

“He asked you.”

“In a roundabout way.”

“In a very public and possibly hazardous way. He didn’t know how Seth and Travis would react.”

Abigail’s heart thudded, and the hope grew stronger.

“Go ask him,” Mandy whispered. “Better yet, answer him. Tell him you love him. Say yes to the marriage proposal.”

“Drive on up to Craig Mountain.” Abigail couldn’t help remembering what had happened last time she’d tried that.

“Yes.”

“Tell him I love him.”

“Yes.”

“Step off an emotional cliff with no safety net.”

“He already did that for you.”

Abigail felt herself smile.

He had. He’d waltzed right in here and gambled everything. Mandy was right-the very least Abigail could do was meet him halfway.

She put her hand on top of Mandy’s and squeezed. “I’m going to Craig Mountain.”

“You want me to drive?”

“I think I need to do this alone.”

“It’s late. And it’s a long way. Caleb will-”

“I’m a big girl, Mandy. I can drive myself.”