Jackson could sense the closeness between her and her sisters and he understood it. After all, he and his siblings had worked side by side for years to make the farm a success. It built a deep bond that could never be broken. He sat back in his chair, slightly amazed at that revelation. He’d been feeling slightly abandoned these past few months, even though he’d been extremely happy for both Erin and Nathan. But he realized now that nothing could break the close bond that they’d formed during all those years they’d spent working alongside one another. It was a good feeling. Life might change, for better or worse, but the strong bond with his siblings would never diminish.

“What about you?”

“I’m an artist. I do all the designs for the journals, greeting cards and stationery. I’m also just starting to design fabric for making scarves and that new purse line I mentioned. I’ve also been thinking about including extras like lipstick cases, makeup bags…stuff like that.” She ducked her head as if she were almost embarrassed to be talking about herself.

“I’d love to see some of your work.”

“You would?” He could see she was genuinely surprised.

“I wouldn’t have said so if I didn’t.”

“I don’t have anything new to show you.” Her smile faded and she looked pensive. “I’ve been in a bit of a creative slump the past three or four months. It’s been especially hard the last two.”

He sensed that they were starting to get to the crux of the problem. He wanted to ask her about her work, but there would be time for that later. Right now, he needed to know why she’d felt the need to leave the job she adored and the sisters she loved and run all the way to an apple farm in Maine. “What happened in your life, Emerald?”

His heart skipped a beat when she looked up at him. Her dark brown eyes were filled with worry and fear. “Someone is stalking me.”

Jackson was out of his chair in a flash. Emerald jerked back and knocked over her mug. Coffee spilled over the deck and she jumped up to keep it from seeping into her jeans.

He grabbed her arm to keep her from toppling off the steps. Her skin was soft beneath his hand, but he could feel the slight trembling that engulfed her. He drew her slowly into his arms and wrapped them around her. Her heart was thudding so hard he could feel it against his chest. “You’re safe here.”

She gave a bitter laugh that made his heart twist. “I’m not sure I’m safe anywhere.”

As much as he wanted to go on holding her in his arms, he needed to find out exactly what was going on. Why this woman had become so important to him in such a short time, he didn’t know. She just was.

Settling back onto the chair, he eased Emerald down on his lap. Instead of trying to get away, she snuggled closer. That alone told him that she was more than a little upset and distracted. He might not have known her for long, but one thing he did know for sure was that she had an independent streak a mile wide. Otherwise, she’d be tucked away on her parents’ estate with a ton of bodyguards rather than leaving her family and heading out on her own. “Your parents don’t know about this?” He already knew the answer, but he wanted her to tell him everything.

When she shook her head, her hair brushed against his face. He wanted to bury his face in the thick mass and just inhale her sweet scent. Tucking a stray lock behind her ear, he waited as she marshaled her thoughts. “No, they don’t know. They’re traveling in Europe right now and I didn’t want to bother them.” She rubbed her hands over her jeans in a nervous gesture as she gave a rueful laugh. “That’s not totally true. If Daddy knew, he’d lock all of us up on the estate and we might never get out again.” Emerald tipped her head up so that she was looking straight at him. “Daddy’s a mite protective at times.”

Jackson found himself drowning in her liquid brown eyes. He cleared his throat. “I don’t blame him for that.”

She laughed. “Thankfully, Momma is there to keep a tight rein on him. Otherwise we might all still be living at home.”

He could tell she was trying to work up to the issue at hand. “Tell me what happened.”

She sighed. “It started out innocently enough.” As she sat there on his lap, the entire story spilled out of her. The flood of presents that gradually escalated from the harmless to the perverse. The tampering with her e-mail account and the problems it caused for Sisters’ Jewels. And finally, the wedding dress and black cuffs that had been delivered to her apartment and the note that had been tucked in with it.

She shivered and he wrapped his arm tighter around her. “What do the police say?”

Emerald shrugged. “They’re looking into it and checking leads, but there really isn’t much to investigate. This guy hasn’t given them much to go on. They’re leaning toward the theory that it’s a crazed fan of my parents.”

“What do you think?” He rubbed his hand over her back, doing his best to comfort and soothe her.

She scrubbed her hand over her forehead. “I honestly don’t know. I guess it’s easier to believe that it’s some crazy stranger rather than someone I actually know. But…” She bit her lip and turned her head away.

He captured her jaw in his hand and gently turned her face back toward him. “But?”

“But it seems more personal than that.” She peered out over the yard. “It’s so quiet here.”

“Yes, it is.”

“I like it. You can really see the moon coming up in the sky. The air is fresh and clean and you can hear yourself think.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Jackson’s mind was mulling over what she’d told him and what she hadn’t.

“He called me.”

Jackson took a deep breath, biting back the surge of anger that shot through him. “Since you got here?”

She shook her head. “No. When I was on the road. He called me on my cell phone. It was a new phone I’d just gotten before I left the city. Only Topaz and Sapphire were supposed to have the number.”

It was a battle, but Jackson forced his body to stay relaxed when he felt anything but. The urge to find this guy and beat him to a pulp was almost more than he could stand. But right now, Emerald needed him to be calm. “So this guy knows his way around computers and electronic equipment.”

“Yeah. He also knew where I’d stayed the night before. I knew then that he was tracking my credit cards.”

Knowledge flooded through Jackson. “That’s why you took this job.”

Emerald glanced up at him and nodded. “I needed a safe place to stay, where no one could find me while the investigator I hired looks into things.”

“This investigator any good?” Jackson was filled with the unreasonable urge to go to New York and check things out for himself. Which was totally crazy. He wasn’t an investigator. He was a farmer. But he did know several people who might be able to help him.

Emerald nibbled on her bottom lip. Jackson realized that it was a nervous habit. He smoothed his thumb over her lip, soothing the abused bottom lip. She jerked but didn’t pull away from the small caress. “He’s very good. My father has used him in the past for other things. I figured my sisters would be safer if I left town. I mean, this person seems to be fixated on me, not them.”

He realized that she was looking for some kind of reassurance that she’d done the right thing. “You said that they have a bodyguard?”

“Yes, one each. And they’re keeping their activities to a minimum.”

“Then they should be fine.”

Emerald sighed, her warm breath brushing across his face. “That’s what I thought too.”

Jackson shifted, trying to get more comfortable. Having Emerald in his lap was having a predictable effect on his body. He did his best to ignore the erection pressing against the zipper of his jeans. “Have you made a list of men you know for the police to check out?”

She stiffened in his arms, but he continued to rub her back and arms and she gradually settled back. “Yeah. It was hard though. I mean, I know these people. Or at least, I think I do.” She buried her face in her hands and took a deep breath. “I don’t know anymore.”

“What about that Derek guy you mentioned on the phone?”

Emerald shook her head. “He’s a friend—the son of my parents’ former manager. No, that’s not quite true. He’s more like an overbearing older brother. I’ve known Derek since we were both kids. He’s a successful promoter for big-time musicians and movie stars. Appearance and success mean a lot to him. He’d never do anything to jeopardize what he has.”

“What about the rest of them?”

His anger built slowly as she told him about her ex-boyfriend, Beau Vater, who just happened to run his own computer software company. Then there was Fred Kirby, who was a delivery guy by day and computer geek by night. Finally, there was the odd assortment of acquaintances, people she came in contact with through work and friends of her sisters.

“What about the investigator?”

“Dane Hatcher? What about him?” Her brows were drawn together as she frowned. “He’s not very happy that I disappeared without telling him. Apparently he raked both Sapphire and Topaz over the coals for not contacting him immediately.”

Jackson’s hackles rose immediately. “He knows your father, your family. It would be easy for someone like that to trace phone records and credit cards, maybe hack into your e-mail account.” He shrugged when she continued to frown, his mind working furiously. “Makes sense that if you were having trouble you’d turn to an investigator you knew and trusted.”

“I never thought of that.” She chewed on her bottom lip and Jackson barely swallowed back a groan. The urge to sooth the small hurt with his tongue was almost overwhelming. “He’s probably just worried about me.”