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A Man of Honour
by
TINA LEONARD

SILHOUETTE INTRIGUE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a child, Tina Leonard cut her teeth on Alfred Hitchcock
black-and-white TV programmes, enjoying late-night summer episodes with
her stepmother, Judy.  To this day, Tina has an affinity for the old,
scary movies--the spookier, the better!  Tina in person is a
self-avowed coward, however.  The only brave thing she has ever done is
scare a large rat away from an open car door!  She eschews the
blood-and-guts films and books, preferring instead more psychological
ones, and believes fervently that the most compelling part of any good
romantic mystery is the timeless and magical love between a man and a
woman.

Tina Leonard on.  The most romantic gift or gesture she has ever
received: "My husband used to drive five hours on Friday nights to see
me and then five hours back home on Sundays.  I think that's when I
knew I would have to move closer to him--had to get him off the
road!"

A tip for readers to make their lives more romantic: "My husband likes
it when the kids and I sneak a card into his suitcase when he goes on a
business trip.  I love it when my husband brings home a bouquet of
flowers."

The most romantic place she's ever been: "We spent our honeymoon in Key
West, Florida.  It was wonderful!

We flew into Miami and drove down to the Keys.  It's so peaceful there!
"

Many thanks to my father, Tom Sites, for his military advice and
plotting assistance.

Also my mother, Sylvia Kalberer, who liked this story from the start.

Lisa and Dean, I love you.  Thanks for always being supportive of
"Mumsie."

To Denise O'Sullivan, thanks for believing in this book from the start,
and Natashya Wilson, more thanks than I can possibly give you for
helping me make it what I wanted it to be.

Prologue

For each man must look into his own soul-John F. Kennedy, Profiles in
Courage

The north Texas night was colder than most, stinging Cord Greer's face
as he went out into the February storm to get firewood.  Sleet-driven
wind slashed across his cheeks, but he merely lowered his black Stetson
a little more and tried to ignore the chilling sensation that had been
bugging him for the past two hours.

Something was wrong.  He could feel it as surely as the ice storm
gripping Crookseye Canyon.  What really had his skin creeping was that
he'd only had this feeling once before, when his brother.  Hunt, had
been in a car crash.  It was as if Cord had felt the impact himself
that night.  Hunt walked away from the crash, but Cord could still
remember the peculiar sensation that he'd been right there in the car
with his brother.

Tonight he'd felt another kind of impact.  This one closed over him
with dark fingers of dread as his soul experienced a rending, a tearing
of one half from the other.

He shook it off, telling himself the storm--and too much time alone on
his ranch--was making him imagine things.

Being half Navajo didn't necessarily make him a mind reader, as some
people seemed to think.  But he did feel deeply, a trait he'd had all
his life.

Taking an armload of firewood inside, he tried to force his mind off
Hunt's latest secret assignment.

Ten minutes later, the knock at his front door came as no surprise.
Though he'd been dozing in the recliner in front of a crackling fire,
his mind had been waiting.  He got up reluctantly, bracing himself for
what he knew he would hear.

Opening the door, he stared at the two men standing in the bitter black
night.  Framed by the yellow light from the porch lantern, they looked
serious and official.

"Mr.  Greer?"

Official-looking identification flashed at him, which Cord ignored.  He
kept his gaze fastened on the men instead, nodding once.

"We regret to inform you that your brother was killed tonight while on
a sensitive assignment.  Though we can't divulge more than that at the
present time, you may rest assured that your brother.  Hunt Greer, died
an honorable death."

He let a moment pass.

"You're positive it was my brother?"

"Yes," the tall man assured him.

The fools.  Whom did they think they were kidding?

Hunt wasn't dead.  Cord had felt something strange, an odd passing
through his soul, but not the disconnection he would feel if Hunt was
dead.  He waited, his jaw tight.

His silence appeared to unnerve the smaller officer.

"We would like to inform the fiancee."  He checked his paper.

"She should be notified.  Regretfully, we don't have her location."

You never will.  Cord vowed.  He wouldn't allow these two lame excuses
to go to Tessa's door and frighten her out of her wits with their lack
of emotion.  Regret to inform you.  She was carrying Hunt's child, and
the shock these unfeeling clods would give her could cause harm.

"I'm sorry," he said with a shrug.

"I'm not aware other location myself."  He told the lie easily to spare
her the pain.

The men shifted.

"You don't know where your brother's fiancee is?"  the taller man
asked, his voice edged with surprised disbelief--and obvious
disappointment.

Cord noted the foreign accent, possibly Mexican, Spanish more likely.

"No, I don't," he said softly, his voice clear and hard as the ice
forming on the streets.

"My brother and I weren't close."

He shut the door.  Oh, he'd known where Tessa was almost every time she
rendezvoused with Hunt after he completed his assignments.  Cord had
pleaded with Hunt not to take his fiancee to places that teemed with
unrest, pointing out that he risked her life as well as his.  Should
some subversive foreign faction ever figure out Hunt was breaking their
codes and moving equipment and people in and out of high-risk
positions, he would be at risk.  Tessa might even divert his attention,
getting both of them killed.

Nonsense, Hunt had laughed.  Tessa and Hunt, two people who lived life
to the fullest while Cord stayed on his ranch, watching after his
cattle and tending a few crops.  Hunt was an adventurer, and Tessa had
caught his fever.

"Having her with me sharpens my focus," he'd told Cord.

"I'm knife aware when she's there.  She makes every moment that much
more denned."

Cord had turned away, but not in disgust at his brother's selfishness.
He'd completely understood.  Tessa was the kind of woman any man would
want to protect, to give all his heart and soul.

She'd stolen Hunt's heart the first time he met her--and then she'd
stolen Cord's.

Chapter One

"Who is it?"  Tessa called as she rubbed sleep from her eyes.

Running a fast hand over her hair, she cautiously waited at the door.
Who could be knocking this late at night?

"It's Cord, Tessa."

Her heart plummeted with dread the moment she heard his deep voice.
There was only one reason Cord would show up on her doorstep without
calling, only one mission that would bring him to her house despite the
hour.

Hunt.  She'd been fearing the worst, and clearly, the news Cord had
about his brother was too serious for a phone call.

Swallowing tightly, she opened the door to stare at him.

His darkly handsome face was drawn and worried.

"May I come in?"

"Of course."  She stepped back, drawing her robe tightly around her
with fingers that clenched the soft velour lapels for nervous
support.

Closing the door behind him, he said, "Tessa" -- "Cord.  Please.  Just
tell me.  Don't try to spare me."

She was speaking too fast, but Tessa couldn't stand the tension
knotting her insides.

"Two men came to my house tonight.  They claimed they had news about
Hunt, but..."  He squinted at her as he considered his next words.

"I had the strangest hunch they were really looking for you."

"Looking for me?"  She sank into an overstuffed chair covered with a
bright tropical fabric and motioned Cord to sit in the wicker chair
across from her.

"Their story was that they had come to tell me Hunt was dead."

"Oh, no!"  Even though she expected the worst, hearing it shattered
her. Tears instantly burned her eyes.

"Wait."  He held up a hand.

"Tessa, I can't quite put my finger on it, but there was something off
about their story."

"What do you mean?"  She could barely push her voice through her stiff
lips.  Her entire body seemed frozen, unable to move.

He got up, moving panther like to look out every window in the den of
the small, three-bedroom house.  What he thought he might see in the
darkness, Tessa didn't know.

"They had ID.  They had the right uniform.  They almost said the right
words.  Almost."

"Almost?"

"Almost, if I wasn't already inclined to be cautious because of Hunt's
work.  Almost, if they hadn't followed up their song-and-dance routine
by asking me where to find you."

She shook her head, puzzled, trying to follow Cord's words and yet
unable to think through the blinding haze of sadness.

"They said they wanted to inform you that Hunt had died an honorable
death while on a sensitive assignment.  You know, the usual cliches."

Pain flowed through her every nerve ending at hearing the blunt
words.

"But if you don't believe them--if you think they were really looking
for me..."  Panic rose inside her.

"Are you suggesting someone wants to use me to flush Hunt out?"

"I don't know.  And I don't want to get ahead of myself before I get
some answers out of the military."

He waved a hand dismissively but not with much emphasis, and Tessa
realized he was exhausted.  Her gaze sought the clock;

it was nearly midnight.  Cord would have gotten up at about four in the
morning to check on his cattle.

"You're tired," she murmured.

Cord sent her a sharp, assessing glance.

"I'm not tired."

She knew better.

"Did you just find out?"

He shook his head.

"Why did you wait so late to come tell me?"  He studied her, every inch
of her, and Tessa's eyes widened under his scrutiny.

"Tell me.  I have to know everything."

"I told them I didn't know where you were."  He hesitated, watching
her.

"I didn't want them to follow me here."

"Oh."  Tessa felt something inside her begin to unravel.  Her strength,
perhaps.  After all the months of worry about Hunt, Cord was trying to
tell her as gently as possible that not only were they not going to
find out that Hunt was alive, but also that the worries were about to
intensify.  Unconsciously, she ran a soothing hand over her rounded
stomach.  Somehow, somehow I will take care of this child.  I will not
be afraid.

When Cord's weight suddenly filled the space beside her, Tessa felt her
eyes begin to overflow.  He put his arms around her in the most
unobtrusive, supportive way--and she allowed her head to sink against
his broad chest.

"I have to hear everything you're thinking."

"Not tonight you don't.  I can worry for both of us tonight, and in the
morning, when the shock wears off some, I'll fill in the rest of my
hunch.  Possibly I'll have more concrete information then."

"All right."  She had no strength left to insist.  All her strength was
needed to nurture the child growing inside her.

"I want you to come stay at the ranch tonight."

She jerked away from the warm shelter of his arms.

"Why?"

"I'd just feel better if you did."

She sensed something deeper, something hidden in his request.

"There's no need to worry about me.  I'm fine here."

The watchful depth in his granite eyes struck her.

"You're not telling me you think I'm still in danger, are you?"

The near hysterical question hung between them.

"You told them you didn't know where I am!  How would they find me?"

Cord stood, picked up his hat, settled it on his head.  He gave her one
long stare that shook her with its protective purpose.

"I'll understand if you don't want to stay in my house, but I think you
should go to your mother's, at least.

My gut tells me you shouldn't be alone.  "

What exactly was his concern--her safety or her sanity?

"My mother's house is not an option," she snapped, angered because he
knew as well as anyone that her mother was disgusted by her
free-wheeling relationship with Hunt Greer.

He's never going to marry you.  You're making a fool of yourself,
running all over the world after him.  You just wait, Tessa Draper.
You 're going to find yourself right back here in Crookseye alone and
that spy boyfriend of yours will never remember your name.

The memory of her mother's harsh words made Tessa shiver despite the
velour robe she wore.  Since July, when Hunt had disappeared, she'd
worked in Dallas at a friend's shop.  That employment ended when her
friend had to close her business.

Now more than seven months pregnant, Tessa had decided to come back to
the tiny house she owned, to spend the remaining days of her pregnancy
in quiet solitude.

She had no place else to go.  It was doubtful anyone would hire her at
this late stage in her pregnancy.  It would be peaceful, at least, in
her little house in Crookseye Canyon.

So she'd thought.

Periodically, Cord had called to check on her unobtrusively.

She knew he hoped his brother would return to her safely.

This apparently was not to be the case, and now the months of waiting
had come to a disturbing resolution.

"If you get your things, I'll carry them to the truck.  The snow's
getting deeper, so wear boots and warm clothes."

Tessa tensed as Cord's gaze nicked to her melon- size stomach, not
quite hidden beneath her robe, the months of her pregnancy no longer
quite as camouflaged by her height.

She knew he was right.  The Greer ranch was a large spread, the house
much nicer than her cottage.  There would be more warmth there than in
her poorly insulated cottage.  There would also be security, and that
was Cord's intent.  To conceal that, he was trying to keep her focused
on mundane tasks, on everyday, normal, routine life like packing warm
clothes.  Cord couldn't know that even the snow was a painful reminder.
There had been no snow in Spain when she'd last seen Hunt.  It had been
pleasantly warm, a flirtatious day of laughter and happiness in a
seaside cafe and.  Tessa bowed her head for an instant.  Cord was
worried for her safety, and because of his brother, he was determined
to protect her.

The secret she held inside made her feel that she was taking advantage
of Cord's protective caring.  On that last day in Spain, she had been
in wonder at her pregnancy--and abjectly torn because she knew she
didn't want to marry Hunt.

She loved him, but the minute she'd learned about the baby, her whole
outlook on life had changed.  She'd grown up, matured with shattering
clarity.  She wanted for her child what she had never had.  Security.

Love.  A childhood free of worry.  She had decided to tell Hunt she was
returning home.  For good.

"What makes you think they wouldn't look for me at your house?"  she
asked softly, forcing herself to focus on the present.

He shrugged.

"First off, I'm just going with my instincts tonight, Tessa.  I don't
know that they weren't telling the truth.  I just didn't feel that they
were."  He rubbed a palm over his chin in a scrubbing motion.

"All I do know is that if some stooges are looking for you, they can
find you here and they can find you at my place.  But they'll also find
me--and my father's prized collection of rifles, any one of which has a
sight on it that can target a deer's tiniest hair at hundreds of
paces."

Great.  She'd never even held a gun, much less needed anyone to protect
her with one.  Tessa reluctantly rose to her feet.

Hunt had said many times that if anything happened to him.

Cord would look after her.  She had taken his statement to indicate his
strong feelings about their relationship.

Despite Hunt's topsecret job, she had always felt secure with him on
many levels.

Faster than a lightning strike, he'd disappeared, leaving her alone in
Spain.  With worry, with doubt, with fear.

Tonight, his brother wanted to protect her.

For the sake of her child, she had no other choice.

"I am freezing my ass off," the short man complained.

"Do we have to squat in this tree house all night?"

"Until the cowboy comes back."  The tall, quiet man lowered
night-vision goggles.

"No one goes out at midnight without a reason."

"He could be looking at his cows.  Stinking cows.  I hate stupid cows,
and I hate this cold!"

"You hate everything."  Vehicle headlights in the distance caught his
attention, and he lifted the goggles back up to his face.  "Mira."

Rossi, his short companion, hunkered down beside him, squinting
intently into the darkness at the ranch house.

"Senor Vaquero is back?"

"Si."  The word was rich with satisfaction.

"And Senor Cowboy has the missing lady with him."  Lowering the
glasses, Salvador chuckled, pleased with this new move.

"Fdcil.  What an easy game this is going to be."

the bitter february cold melted away as soon as they walked inside
Cord's sturdy, five-bedroom house.  There were plenty of rooms for the
two of them to spread out and feel comfortable in separately, he told
himself.  Having Tessa under his roof would give him peace of mind on
one level; on another more primal level, he would burn in a physical
hell;

The torment was necessary if he wanted to assure himself of her safety.
For Hunt, Cord would face his own demons.  And for Tessa and the unborn
niece or nephew she carried inside her.  Duty called a man in different
forms.  He would answer this call although the cost would be painful.

She stood in the center of the living room, watching him set down the
hastily packed overnight bag he didn't want her carrying.  Her face was
strained, her blue eyes so big in her pale face that Cord instantly
wanted to hold her.  Wanted to comfort her.  The words, "You are the
most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on," sat on his tongue like
a rock, never to be spoken.

The burning began.

"Let me show you to your room."  Gruffly, he motioned her to follow him
down the hall.

His room.  Hunt's room--not the right place to put her in case Hunt
never returned--two smaller rooms and then a final room that could be
used for housing help on the ranch since it had a separate bathroom all
its own.  The walls were sunshine-yellow, painted many years ago by his
mother.  There was an old fourposter and a nightstand of oak.  A brass
lamp sat unlit on the nightstand.

"I guess it's not much," he said reluctantly.

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she replied too quickly.

"It's ... if you can show me where the sheets are, I'll make the bed.
I'm tired and I know you could use some sleep."

He doubted he could sleep.  Not with Hunt missing or dead, not with
Tessa in his house.  Silently, he reached into the hall linen closet
and pulled out some white sheets that he handed to her.

"Towels are in here, grub's in the kitchen.  I hope you'll make
yourself as at home as possible, Tessa.  I'm not a very good host and
wouldn't know when you might be hungry."

"I can find the kitchen," she assured him.

"Right now, I just want to change and go to bed."

"Good night, then."  He backed away from her.  She waited for him to
disappear down the hall, so he did, feeling slightly as if he'd escaped
a desperately awkward moment.  Sighing, he went to stoke up a fire in
the fireplace.  Outside, the wind howled like a coyote looking for its
mate.  The eerie sound sent prickles along his arms.  He stoked the
fire harder, sending flames shooting up the chimney.  He heard Tessa
close her door.  With a deep sigh, he put the poker down and threw
himself into the leather recliner in front of the fireplace where he'd
been dozing before the strangers came to inform him of the death of his
brother, which they so greatly regretted telling him.

Just before they'd asked about Tessa.

Do military personnel stand on the porch to tell you you 'we lost your
brother--or do they ask to come inside to deliver the bad news?  Do
fiancees make it on the regret-to-inform-you list?  Maybe Hunt had
listed Tessa on some paperwork as a next of kin, but Cord had a feeling
that wasn't likely.  His brother hadn't been one to settle down or to
think long term, particularly about women--not even Tessa.  It had been
a relationship of fun and easy attachment, though Hunt certainly cared
deeply for Tessa, more than any other woman he'd ever known.  But not
enough to make it to the finish line of marriage.  It just wasn't
Hunt's way.

The whole incident seemed surreal, out of place.  It rankled in his
mind like a cocklebur, raising question after question.  Tomorrow he
would call the base to find out where he could get some honest
answers.

He focused his gaze on the hot, crackling fire.  As the wind shrieked
outside, he waited.

For morning.

Chapter Two

Tessa awoke without remembering falling asleep.  She had lain in the
darkness, thinking.  Remembering Hunt.  Remembering how much fun they'd
been having that afternoon in Madrid.  She had been about to tell him
about the baby.  He wouldn't be happy; she knew that.  There was no
room in Hunt's life for a permanent hearth.  His job was his life, and
she was an extraneous part of it.  He loved her in his own way, and
she'd been satisfied with that.

Until the baby.

She could just hear the venom her mother would spew when she learned
that her daughter was unmarried and pregnant.  Folks in Crookseye who
had known her since she was a baby would pity her.  Classmates who'd
gone to school with her and the Greer boys would gossip.

Hunt would have offered to marry her if she'd had a chance to tell him.
She'd worn a cheery cotton dress and sandals that last afternoon.  A
sea-green ribbon tied around her blond ponytail kept the slight breeze
from blowing her hair into eyes that must have sparkled with
expectation for the wonder inside her body--and her eyes would have
held sadness for the breakup she knew was inevitable.  Her body hadn't
revealed any of its secrets--the pregnancy was too new.

Closing her eyes, Tessa had sighed inwardly.  Although she remembered
the confused panic that had swept through her when she realized she'd
been left high and dry, there always followed a tidal wave of relief
that she hadn't uttered the four, life-altering words: We're having a
baby.  It was painfully obvious now that the complications could have
been disastrous.

Stranded in Spain, she'd had no choice but to call Cord.  By phone,
he'd immediately purchased her a ticket for home and told her to get on
the plane.  There had been firm instruction in his tone, but there had
also been concern over Hunt.  Cord plainly did not believe that Hunt
would have abandoned her.  It was possible that no one was after her
now, but Cord tended to be very overprotective.

She liked that, more than she would have thought.  In fact, she tried
not to think about Cord and his gentle strength.

He reminded her of a shepherd keeping constant vigil over a flock.
Hunt was the breeze blowing to the far corners of the earth.  No one
and nothing could hold him.  In contrast.  Cord was unshakable,
unfailingly steadfast, an invincible fortress that would always be
there.

Of course she'd been attracted to Hunt.  She didn't want to live and
die never having strayed from the spot where she'd been born, the place
where people looked down on the Drapers.  Perhaps there was also an
aura of excitement, of danger, with Hunt that had lured her.

Passion in places where he spoke the language of the locals in
different countries.

The baby kicked restlessly inside her.

She got to her feet and dressed.  Making the bed, she told herself it
did no good to let the ghosts of the past shape her destiny forever.
To raise a child, she had to find a real job.  There was very little
she would be able to do in Crookseye Canyon, but she could talk to Mrs.
Ashley, who lived next door to Cord.  Mrs.  Ashley was the nosiest of
neighbors, but she had the brightest of hearts.  She owned a beauty
shop in town and perhaps she needed help.  That would put Tessa front
and center into where the gossip was hottest, but there was no way to
run from what her life was going to be.  She preferred to face it
head-on and gainfully employed.

Opening her bedroom door, she noted the silence in the cool, dark
hallway.  Maybe Cord had already left to feed his livestock.  She crept
down the hall to go into the kitchen, only to pause as she glanced into
the den.

Cord was sleeping in the recliner, in front of a fire that was now
mostly smoldering ash.  A long rifle lay across his lap.  Tessa's heart
rate suddenly accelerated.  She forced back the scream of anger and
frustration and fear.  A man was protecting her with a loaded rifle,
and she was pregnant by a man who was missing.

"Good morning."

Cord's eyes had suddenly opened to assess her from head to toe, while
she was still trying to gather her wits so she wouldn't succumb to the
black-edged hysteria.

"Is it?"  she asked numbly.

"The wind has died down," he said, rising from the chair.  He settled
the rifle on a buck horn rack and stretched his long, tall body.

"That's something to be grateful for."

Something inside her snapped.

"I don't care about the wind!

I care about you sleeping in a recliner.  You were really afraid
someone might break into the house, weren't you?  You didn't want them
getting down the hall where I was!  You slept right here!  " She flung
out a hand to indicate the chair in front of the fireplace.

"Cord, I ... I'm scared."  The tears she hadn't let herself cry before
pricked af her eyelids.

"You shouldn't have to change your life because of me.  This is not
your problem.  If I leave here, you can" -- "Tessa.  Stop," he
commanded.  She did, halting her disjointed rambling.

"My brother is missing," he said quietly.

"That changed my life.  It doesn't matter how or why right now.  It
matters that it's a fact.  I don't know whether anyone is after you or
not.  I'm just overly suspicious because I have a brother in a
dangerous job.  But he would want me to look after your well-being. And
his child's."  He took a deep breath.

"I think we're better off trying to pull through this situation
together.  Have you ever thought about that?  I need you as much as you
need me.  You and that baby are all of Hunt I have if those goons were
for real and he's dead."

She'd never thought of it that way.

"I'm sorry."

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down.

"I

didn't mean to be selfish.  I think the gun.  startled me.  "

He nodded.  Silently, he took the rifle off the rack on the stone wall,
unloaded it, put the shells in a box and locked everything in the gun
cabinet.

"There."

She smiled hesitantly.

"You'd think I'd be used to them, growing up in Crookseye Canyon."

Shrugging, he said, "It doesn't matter.  It upset you, so I've put it
away for now."

For now.

She looked away.

"We don't know what's going to happen, Tessa.  Let me make some calls.
Hopefully, someone can give me the full story."

He stared at her, and Tessa was struck by the kindness in his eyes.
There was compassion and deep concern.

"In the meantime, do you mind sticking fairly close to the ranch today?
Until I do enough checking to satisfy myself that those jokers last
night weren't genuine?"  "But if they were, then that means Hunt is d"
"Don't think about it."  His voice cut harshly across her words.

"Knowing would be better than not knowing, but let's not say it until
we get confirmation."

"Okay," she said softly.

They held each other's eyes for a moment.

"Would you mind making some toast while I put in some phone calls?"

She shook her head quickly, grateful for the chance to feel she was
reciprocating his care of her.

"I can burn toast with the best of them."

"Great.  I like charred bread.  I'll be in my office."

He went into a room off the den, and Tessa looked at the back of him as
he exited.  Strong, capable.  Both the Greer men had a lot of admirable
qualities.

Hunt hadn't loved her, though.

Intuition had told her a long time ago that Cord felt more toward her
than brotherly.  It was in his standoffish posture, in his discomfort
when he was in the same room alone with her if Hunt went to do
something while all three of them were in the house.  It was the way
she caught him watching her every once in a while, his eyes on her as
if he was gazing at a fascinating, desirable treasure.  His gaze would
slip away guiltily if hers ever met it.  She pretended not to notice.
It was easier for everyone that way.

But it made the situation all the worse now.  She wanted Hunt to be
alive for the sake of their child.  Deep inside, she knew Cord would
consider it his obligation to raise Hunt's child in the place of its
missing father.

Tessa didn't want that to be the case.  She didn't want to be an
obligation.  She didn't want the people of Crookseye to laugh at her
and her child because there was no father, and she didn't want to
succumb to the caring in Cord's eyes.  The truth was, letting him into
her life would be taking advantage of him.

No matter how desperate her circumstances became, she would not allow
herself to cross that line.  There were all kinds of different honor
codes: Hunt's was for his country; Cord's was for his family and
homestead.

Tessa's was for her child.  This baby wasn't going to be raised in the
shame that had been her constant childhood companion.  She would be
proud of her child.  She would be a loving mother.  She would give this
child the emotional security she had never known.  She might have to
raise her baby alone, but she would give it every last soul-nurturing
ounce of what she had wanted all her life.

Love.

thump!  nan ashley hit Cord's office window with a flying newspaper,
dead on, the way she did every morning at this time to announce
herself, but still he nearly shot out of his boots.  His ears,
straining for the slightest suspicious sound, screamed danger!  with
the heavy thud of noise against the pane.  He cursed under his breath.
Not at Nan, who tried so hard to unobtrusively care for him, but at the
situation that had him so edgy.

He got up to open the half glass-paned, half wood door, letting in a
burst of frigid air.

"Howdy, neighbor."

She stamped her snow boots on the raffia doormat outside his office.

"Scared ya, didn't I?"  Her round, wrinkled face was rosy with
delighted mischief.

"Yes, ma'am.  This time.  One day, I'm going to scare you.

You'll be surprised when a newspaper gets fired right back at you.  "

"Ha."  She shrugged off his facetious retort and handed him the
plastic-wrapped newspaper she always brought him although he rarely had
time to read it.  It was her excuse, her way of checking up on him.

She glanced at him from head to toe.

"Didn't see your truck leave this a.m."

"I..."

He glanced guiltily at the doorway.

"I overslept."

"Hmm.  Not like you.  You ailing?"

"No, ma'am.  Not in the least."

"You ought to be eating a good breakfast every morning.

Cord.  At least a milk shake.  " She sniffed the air warily.

"What's that smell?"

"Ah..."

Tessa walked in, not noticing Nan standing behind him, and extended the
plate.

"Cord, here's your burned toast."

Nan peered around his shoulder at Tessa--and then her offering.

"Damn right," she said laconically.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you to toast bread, child?"

"Hello, Mrs.  Ashley."  Startled, Tessa glanced at Cord, who
shrugged.

"I don't suppose I've got much talent in the kitchen."

"I'd say.  On the other hand, it takes a special kind of woman to burn
bread."  Nan's gaze went from the plate to Tessa, to Cord and back to
Tessa.

"Special?"  Tessa repeated.

"Yep.  Your attention was specially focused on something else."  She
eyed Cord shrewdly.

"Heard from Hunt?"

He didn't dare glance at Tessa.

"Hoping to soon."

"Well."  Her alert gaze moved over each uncomfortable captive again.

"Let me know if you do.  I'm going to be working half days at the
beauty salon starting today, so I can whip up a meal or two should you
be needing it."  Her tone held nothing but kindness, no intended slight
to Tessa.

"I'm sure we'd enjoy that.  Why are you slowing down your work
schedule?"  He wanted her to focus on anything except Tessa, and right
now.  Nan's gaze wasn't missing a thing.

"My knees are bothering me.  Cord.  And I've got more money than I know
what to do with anyway.  I keep the shop just so the gals'll have a
place to work and the Customers'll have a place to gab."

"I could pick up your extra half day," Tessa said eagerly, shocking the
hell out of Cord.

"No!"  he automatically vetoed, his tone stern.

Both women stared at him as if he'd taken leave of his senses.

"I mean," he began again, intensely aware that he was between two women
and had sounded way too male, "I mean... perhaps that isn't the best
idea, Tessa."

She blushed, clearly misunderstanding his concern to be about the
baby.

"Cord, it'll be fine."

Nan's brows rose over cherry-dark eyes not quite hidden enough beneath
wrinkled eyelids as she awaited his response with great interest.

He cleared his throat.

"I'd rather you didn't work right now, Tessa."

The elderly woman's eyes fairly bugged with mischievous glee.  She
slapped Cord on the shoulder with a hefty whack that made his arm burn
almost as hot as the skin on the back of his neck.  "Why, you old son
of a gun!  Aren't you taking your brotherly duties a bit too seriously.
Cord?  Tessa's her own woman,

aren't you, honey?  And I'd love to have ya, but I need me a chauffeur
more than anything.  It would save my knees tremendously 'cause
driving's what's really killing me.  You can drive me to the salon and
then back after we put in the morning hours.  What do you say?  "

"Yes," she answered.

"No!"  Cord insisted.

"Tessa" -Nan elbowed him and flashed a genuine, teasing smile.

"It's okay, big brother.  I won't let her do anything that might harm
the baby.  You can rest easy on that account.  There's no heavy lifting
at a beauty parlor, Cord.  Just a lot of gals having some fun and
talking too much over curlers and coffee."

Thunderstruck, Cord and Tessa stared at the gnome of a woman.

"How did you know?"  Tessa's hand instantly went to her stomach.

Nan peered at the mound not quite disguised by the faded jeans and
baggy sweater.

"You're not exactly incognito, though I can tell you've tried hard to
be.  And Cord's macho routine is a dead giveaway."

"I'm not being macho!"  He merely wanted to make certain there were no
bad guys waiting to chase Tessa down.  She seemed to have forgotten all
about his nighttime visitors.

"Your mama know you're staying here, honey?"  Nan stared pointedly at
both of them.

"Actually, I'm not really staying here" -- "Yes, you are," Cord said
firmly.

"Until the situation is resolved."

"It'll take a couple of months just to resolve the situation, I
reckon," Nan put in.

"Hester's gonna have a fit if she finds out you're here."

At the mention of her mother's name, he saw Tessa's face take on
unhappiness like a sinking ship takes on water.

"Hester doesn't have to know."

"Nope.  She won't know from me."  She patted Cord's shoulder
conspiratorially.

"You'll make a fine uncle.  Cord.  You've always had that family
instinct.  It's the Irish in you, I suppose.  Herding the flock
together.  Keeping the clan secure."  She shuffled out the door,
pulling a plastic rain bonnet from her coat pocket.

"It's misting, and that might make the roads a little slick if it gets
any colder.  It'll sure as shooting make the ladies' hair fall, so I'll
probably get a ton of cancellations this a.m. Come over in fifteen,
Tessa.  Cord, we'll probably just start easy today with two hours, and
if the roads get bad, I'll get the little pre- bundle of joy right back
here."

She never even looked back for his confirmation.  Together, Tessa and
Cord watched the elderly woman make her way across the gravel driveway
to the open field that lay between the two houses.  Once she gained her
own yard.  Cord swung the door shut.  "Tessa" -- "Don't ever tell me
what to do."  Her large eyes were full of blue fire, her skin flushed
along the cheekbones with anger.

"Please, Cord.  Mrs.  Ashley is offering me an opportunity I don't
intend to pass up.  I need a job.  I know I said I'd stick close to the
house, today at least, but I won't be alone, and it's just a short
drive into town."

He stared at her, suddenly starting to understand the hasty jump at
employment.

"Tessa, I'm just worried" -- "I know you are.  And I appreciate that.
But please try to understand that both of us are worrying right now."
She put her hands on her hips.

"I don't think you understand that I'm going to be raising a child
alone.  Even if Hunt isn't d-dead" -she hesitated after forcing the
word out "--he might not be able to help me with the baby.  She's
offering me a chance I just can't afford to pass up."

"Tessa!"  Cord couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Surely you don't think I wouldn't provide for my own blood."

"I know you would."  Her voice was full of quiet determination.

"You want to provide for me right now and I'm no blood relation of
yours.  But, Cord, I can't go from one brother to the other just
because there's a child involved.

I have to stand on my own two feet.  "

He recoiled from the meaning in her words.

"God, Tessa,

I.

"

They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment.  He nodded once,
his heart tearing.  Somewhere in his subconscious, maybe, just maybe,
he had been relishing his role of stand-in man in Tessa's life.  Sure,
he owed it to Hunt to take care of his girlfriend, but she was Hunt's
girlfriend.  Not his.  And she never would be.  The tearing went
further than his heart and deep into his soul.

"You're right," he said quietly.

"I may be trying to hold you too tightly because of Hunt.  I may be
overly suspicious because I got spooked last night.

But I won't interfere in your personal life again, Tessa.  "

He swallowed, avoiding her gaze.

"You are your own woman in my eyes."

Before she could reply, he strode out the door, heading for the barn.

So she couldn't see that there was more than brotherly concern in his
eyes.

Chapter Three

Cord waited until he saw Tessa walk across the field to Nan Ashley's
house before emerging from the barn.  He went into his study through
the back door, watching out the window until Nan's car pulled out of
her driveway and pointed toward town.

Sighing, he picked up the phone and dialed some numbers.

Tessa had unfortunately been right.  He had been overbearing in his
role as protector.  He had basically forced her to come to his ranch
for his own feelings of security.  He had asked her to stay close to
the ranch today to ease his own fears.

He bowed his head as the phone rang at the other end.  Tessa had made
it as clear as the glassy icicles hanging from the eaves that she
wanted to fly solo, regardless of whether Hunt ever returned to her.
She wanted to find her own way in the world.

He understood that desire.  He simply wished her way in the world led
to him.

No one answered at the military base.  Frowning, he considered his two
options: Call again later, or go looking for answers.

Putting on his Stetson and grabbing up his keys, Cord locked the door
behind him.  Tessa would be with Nan at the beauty parlor for a few
hours; knowing she was safe gave him unworried license to leave the
ranch.

"this is going to work out very well for both of us."

Tessa smiled at the pleased note in Nan's voice as she steered the
vintage sedan into town.

"I'm so glad you needed help."

"I'd say you're the one who needs help," Nan pointed out wryly.

"Cord looked like he swallowed a rock when you asked me for a job."

He had looked dismayed.  Tessa guiltily shoved the memory aside.

"Cord's got enough to do without watching out for me."

"Could be he wants to."

Tessa shook her head at the pert reply.

"Cord considers it an obligation on his brother's behalf."

"Because of the baby?"

Tessa started to shake her head again but realized the baby likely had
a lot to do with his vigilant watch over her last night.

"Partly," she admitted reluctantly, not willing to divulge that Cord
had received unwelcome news last night from men he didn't trust.  That
was a confidence she wouldn't share with anyone until Cord could
determine whether he had reason to mourn his brother or not.

"You know, Tessa, from where I'm sitting, it seems you're in a bit of a
pickle."

Tessa sighed.

"When do you plan to tell your mother?"

"I'm not.  Not right now."  Her answer was sharp.

"I suppose it's too much to hope that a grandbaby in the picture might
soften Hester up."

Tessa pressed her lips tightly together and shrugged at the
pain-inflicting words.  Nan didn't mean to pry at old, never-healed
wounds.

"Where I'm concerned, my mother is never going to believe there is any
good in me.  A grandchild out of wedlock will certainly clad her
opinion in iron."

"Oh, gal."  Nan settled her rain bonnet more firmly onto her hair.

"How long are you staying at Cord's?"

"I don't know."  The question was startling.

"I didn't mean to stay there last night, but he insisted.  He felt it
was in my best interest."  "Oh?"  Nan jumped on that information.

Tessa struggled to think of a way out of her accidental admission.

"I think he was worried about the ice storm the weathermen were
predicting for today."

"Pooh.  TV weathermen are just props.  Gives the viewers a break to see
someone with a smile on his face.  Not that those guys know beans about
what they're forecasting."  Nan waved that away.

"Ice storm's coming tonight.  I've been keeping an eye on the Farmer's
Almanac, and there are several clues in the woods around my house and
Cord's that make me think it's tonight, tomorrow night at the latest.

And when it comes, it's going to be a doozy!  " She sneaked a glance at
Tessa.

"You'd best stay at the ranch a few more days."

Tessa parked in front of Nan's Beautiful Woman salon.

Turning off the ignition, she faced her new employer "There is nothing
going on between Cord and me."

"Oh, I believe you."  Nan nodded sagely in perfect understanding.

"But would it hurt if you gave it a chance, honey?"

Tessa stared at Nan.

"What do you mean?"

"Simply that love can grow in the rockiest soil if all the other
conditions are right.  Cord would make a fine husband and father.
You'll be a fine mother and could be a wife he'd be proud of.  After
all the years of searching, you could finally have a real family."  The
elderly woman put a hand over Tessa's briefly.  Nan's skin was warm,
wrinkled and imparted caring, which felt like heaven to Tessa's starved
heart.

"But you've got to allow yourself to be open to being loved, Tessa.  If
you push it away all your life by looking in the wrong places, you
never will find it.  You deserve to be loved, Tessa."

She couldn't look at Nan any longer.  It was a benediction to hear that
someone believed in her--and yet Tessa wondered if Nan's faith was
misplaced.

"We'll be late," she said miserably, hoping to get the good-hearted
woman off the subject of handsome Cord.  She just couldn't think of him
too much.  It would be wrong, wrong to fall into his arms when she was
pregnant with his brother's child.  "One of the perks of being
companion to the boss lady is that you're on my time," Nan said
cheerfully.

"I get to work when I feel like it."  She opened the door, carefully
setting her snow-booted feet onto the paved road.

"I won't bring it up again, Tessa," she suddenly said with a backward
glance.

"I certainly don't mean to make you uncomfortable.  And I sure am going
to like having a driver."  She gave Tessa an irrepressible grin.

Tessa doubted that Nan would be able to stay off the subject of Cord,
but she knew the woman meant her no harm.  Like the horse that was led
to water but did not drink, Tessa did not have to fall in love with
Cord.

It was as simple as that.

"senor cowboy is leaving."  Salvador put down his field glasses and
looked at Rossi.

"He is guarding her."

Salvador pulled a warm knit cap over his bald head.

"She would have been upset last night when he went to her with the bad
news about his brother."  He sent his companion a shrewd look.

"It is all proceeding according to plan."  "I hope so.  I don't want to
freeze out here for days.

Killing them both would be easier.  "

"We won't have to be cold much longer.  If she is going to walk to the
old woman's house, she will be in the open and that is so easy, like"
Salvador snapped his fingers "--like that."

"It's daylight," Rossi protested.

"What's the difference?  If he is out with his cows, he cannot hear
her.  The old woman would not be any trouble, either."

"Could be yes, could be no."

"Come on."  Salvador was impatient with Rossi's lack of awe for his
brilliant plan, which so far was working like a clock.  Smooth,
unhurried--and on time.  They could snatch the girl and drag her out of
the country quickly.

That would bring the enemy known as the Hunter out of hiding.  Salvador
smiled grimly to himself as he pulled on brown leather gloves.  Or a
brother for a brother would be a fair payment.

All he needed was the woman to bring the Hunter into the open again.
The woman might not betray her lover willingly, but he could think of
ways to make her do what he wanted.

cord didn't even make it past the MP at the gate.

"I'm sorry, sir," the regretful MP told him.

"I can't let you in without instructions."

Cord ground his teeth.  The kid was all of twenty- two, and this
morning Cord was feeling every day of his thirty years.

This young, crisply uniformed MP knew nothing about war while Cord had
a war waging inside him.

"Can't you call someone?  My brother's old CO, Col.  John West?  I just
want some answers.  I only want to know if he's dead or alive, for
crying out loud.  Is that too much to ask?"

"Try calling for an appointment, sir," he said respectfully.

But firmly.

Cord sighed, realizing he'd gotten as far as he was going to.

"I'm just doing my job, sir.  I hope you find out what you need to
know."

The MP's eyes held concern for an instant.  Just doing my job.  Well,
Hunt had just been doing his job when he disappeared without a trace.
And Cord was doing his job taking care of his brother's pregnant
girlfriend.  He sighed through the pain in his heart, nodded at the MP,
then circled his truck around to the exit.  He couldn't fault the MP
for doing such a conscientious job.

Hopefully, the military would be just as diligent in turning up his
brother's whereabouts.

All he could do was return home and place a few more phone calls.  By
then, he trusted he'd have figured out a way to convince Tessa that she
was better off under his roof until Hunt was found.

the truck left the base while the MP watched, his eyes no longer
sympathetic but focused.  He reached for the phone and dialed a number.
When the call was answered, he recognized the voice.

"Colonel?"

"John West speaking."

"My orders are to call you if anyone should ask to see you.

Civilian Cord Greer was just here.  He is trying to locate his brother.
"

He heard a sigh at the other end of the line.

"Why?"

"Said he wanted to know if his brother is dead or alive, sir."

"That will be all.  Lieutenant.  I'll take care of this matter from
here."

the last thing tessa expected was to find herself in a salon chair
under Nan's ministering fingers.

"You need a day of pampering," Nan told her firmly.

"I need a job," Tessa protested as her employer gently pressed her head
back into a sink.

With determination.  Nan picked up the squirter and began rinsing
Tessa's hair.

"Nothing like a new do to a lift a gal's spirits."

"My spirits are fine.  It's my purse that's lighter than air.

I really need a job, Nan.

"You've got a job.  Relax."  Nan kneaded her scalp with soothing
digs.

"You're too keyed up."  She leaned down to whisper in Tessa's ear, "And
stress isn't good for the baby."

Tessa gave up and closed her eyes.  If she had to be a prisoner of
Nan's interference, at least it was in a beauty-salon chair.

/ wonder if Cord likes my hair so long.  Her eyes snapped open at the
stray thought.

"All this blond hair is like sunshine in winter," Nan told her.

"Wasn't that a poetic turn of phrase?"

Tessa closed her eyes again, unwilling to reward the woman's romantic
penchant.

"Relax," Nan commanded her in a firm voice.  She massaged the skin
behind Tessa's ears and above her neck.

Tessa could feel herself slowly succumbing.  The languor was magical
and enticing.  What would it hurt to enjoy this for just a moment?

It would hurt.  Because you like the idea of looking pretty for
Cord--and that's wrong.

"Men go crazy for long blond hair," Nan stated blithely.

"Yours has natural highlights.  I bet Cord will just about drop his
teeth when I get finished with you.  You're going to be sexy, gal!"

Tessa struggled not to jerk her head out of the basin and leap away
from Nan's mind reading.

"It doesn't do me much good to be sexy when the father of my child
is... in another part of the world, does it?"  She made her tone
purposefully forbidding to force Nan onto the proper track.

Away from Cord.

Nan hummed benignly as she scrubbed.  Tessa wanted to snap at her to
stop, to quit being so bent on seeing her fall for Cord, but she set
her teeth and refused to encourage the woman any further.  Any protest
she offered would no doubt become ammunition for Nan's cause.

"Now, then.  You're as clean as a fresh canvas.  Let me help you," Nan
said, easing her up from the basin, "and get you over there, then I'll
get started.  When I'm done with you, Tessa, no man will be able to
resist you."

Great, Tessa thought.  Unfortunately, the only man who should resist
her was the only one who would lay eyes on Nan's handiwork.

"Look at these puppies!"  a lady called as she came into the salon.

"I wish you'd look at the puppies my Bertha is about done nursing!"

Several women peered into the basket.

"Oh, they're adorable," someone said.

Tessa read a magazine and concentrated on Tom Cruise pushing a stroller
with his wife beside him.  The picture of domestic harmony made her a
little envious.  Would Hunt want to push their baby's stroller?  She
found it difficult to imagine where Hunt was concerned.

Not so difficult to imagine it with Cord.

"Here, Tessa."  Nan's voice in her ear suddenly alerted Tessa to the
object being placed upon her gown-protected lap.  "This is what you
need to cheer you up!"

The black-and-white-spotted puppy went back to sleep in her lap as if
it hadn't been removed from its bed in the basket.

"I can't keep a dog," Tessa said though she desperately wanted to pat
the chubby animal.

"Take it away.  Nan."

"Nonsense."  Nan ignored her.

"A dog will give you some of that stability you've been searching for.
You can start building a home with such stability."

"With a man who isn't mine and a dog that isn't mine."

Tessa's voice was wry as she relented and picked up the puppy.  Its
eyes were closed, but its plump body was warm and soft.  "They could
be--if you take them.  Sometimes we have to reach out in life to say
yes to the things we want.  Nobody's going to shove security down your
throat, Tessa.  You have to accept that you want it before you can have
it."

The puppy sleepily opened its eyes, staring into Tessa's gaze with
absolute trust.  With absolute patience.

"I wish you'd look at what a fine pup my Bertha had.  You won't find
patience and calm in just any old dog.  Bertha took such good care of
her entire litter that they are all like that!"  the owner boasted.

"I don't think I'm up for housebreaking," Tessa said, her tone
uncertain as she tried to think of rational excuses to say no to this
shaggy dog that appeared to have all the signs of becoming one big
Border collie.

"You'll probably want to go out at night.  I bet your owner is overly
touting your serene disposition.  Are you an every-hour-on-the-hour
needy hound that's going to keep me up all night?"

"Give you practice.  We'll take him," Nan said, taking the woman by her
elbow and leading her to the front of the beauty shop.

Tessa saw Nan give the woman some money.  Unhappily, she looked back
into the puppy's troubled eyes.

"You just cost me money I don't have."

The puppy yawned, its tongue pink and tiny.

"Oh, dear.  You are cute."  Reluctantly, she gave herself up to the
dog's charm and held his warmth under her chin.

Breathing deeply, she smelled the warm puppy fragrance.  What if it was
all that easy?  What if the dreams of a secure future for her child
were so near her grasp that all she had to do was reach out--then hold
on to them the way she was holding on to this bundle of fur?  She
settled the puppy on her lap, and it curled itself up next to the
roundness of her stomach.  A baby and a puppy.

Parts of a family.  But not the whole picture she had in her dreams.

salvador peered into the bedroom window where the woman obviously
slept.  Her robe and gown were neatly laid on the bed in the sparsely
furnished room.

"What if she does not stay here again?"  Rossi asked.

Salvador shook his head, memorizing the location of the furniture in
the room and the placement of the window.

"She will.  He will not let her go.  He is suspicious, I think."

Salvador enjoyed knowing he was getting to the man in the black cowboy
hat.  He was like one of the villains he'd seen in many American
movies. The bad guys always wore black hats.  Salvador was not the bad
guy.  The cowboy was, because his brother had gotten Salvador's brother
killed. It was a matter of honor to avenge his brother's death.

"That could mean trouble if he is suspicious of us."

"No," Salvador said softly.

"That's good.  It means he will keep her here where we can keep an eye
on her just like he does."

Chapter Four

Cord felt as if the rug had been jerked out from under him for the
second time that day when he walked inside his house and saw Tessa.

She was beautiful.  Like a model, only better, because she was real and
standing in his den.

Location was a problem.  He wanted to carry her to his bedroom and pull
her jeans off so fast the zipper would split.  Her sunshiny hair was
pulled up into an elegant fall of curls that curtained her shoulders in
gold.  It was a stunning hairdo, but it made him think about removing
whatever was holding her hair so he could run his fingers through it to
his heart's content.  That was not a possibility.

The squirming black-and-white puppy in her arms was actually a
surprising relief.  It gave him something to focus on besides Tessa.

"Is that a stray?"

"No."  She looked down at the puppy, patting it with adoration.  The
puppy licked her chin, enthusiastically returning the affection.

"Nan decided I needed a dog.  And a new do.  She said a dog and a new
do would..."

She hesitated and Cord waited.  But he already knew what Nan was trying
to do.  In her kind way, she meant to comfort Tessa for the perceived
lack of husband in her life, the lack of a father for her child.  Nan
didn't know that Hunt might return if he could.  If something hadn't
gone terribly wrong.  Cord made himself smile, but it felt more like a
grimace.

"Make a new woman out of you.  I know.  She's always trying to make a
new man out of me."

Her eyes watched him as she considered his words.

"When did she take it upon herself to become your guardian?"

That jolted him.  He'd never thought of his elderly neighbor in that
way--he was the one who did the guarding.

"Nan and Mom were friends.  They swapped newspapers in the morning,
shared a cup of coffee, talked about the things two ranch girls have in
common.  When Mom died.  Nan continued the paper swap with me."

"It must be hard to lose a friend," Tessa said softly.

"Perhaps she feels that to break the routine would be to say goodbye
for good."

"I can understand that."  He reached out a hand to cover the pup's soft
back, feeling the delighted wriggle of loose puppy skin.  "She still
has a key, so sometimes on Sunday nights I come home to a loaf of
banana bread baking or a stew in the Crock-Pot.  Always warms me up."
He suddenly met Tessa's gaze over the puppy, and she hugged the dog
closer to her protectively.

"I got a lot of dead ends today," he admitted.

"We knew it wouldn't be easy to find out anything."  Her blue eyes
widened with soft inquiry.

"Would you please take me home?"

His heart dropped into his stomach.

"I will if that's what you want."

"I think it's for the best."  She swallowed, snuggling the dog to her
chin.

"I have my furry friend here for companionship.  So... I'll be fine."

He knew that.  Tessa would be fine no matter what.  She was a
survivor.

"What did you name it?"

"Her name should be Spoiled Rotten.  But I've decided to call her
Eleanor."

"Eleanor?"  He choked back his startled laugh of surprise.

She peered at him narrowly.

"Are you laughing at Eleanor and me?"

"Absolutely not.  Wouldn't dream of laughing at two such beautiful
ladies."

She glanced down at Eleanor.

"Don't say that," she whispered.

"Why not?"  He lifted her chin with two fingers and a thumb.

"You are."

"Cord" -she pulled away and stepped back a pace "--I know you're
sincere, and there's nothing a woman would rather hear more than she's
beautiful.  But I don't want to complicate matters.  The worst thing in
the world that could happen to me at this point is if I found myself in
love with you.  And I could, I think, fall for you," she added, her
voice soft and haunted.

"I'm afraid of what would happen if did.  I would never know if I was
so vulnerable I jumped at what you're offering.  So please, don't tell
me I'm beautiful because I'm having a real tough time right now."

Her eyes filled with sparkling tears.  Cord's heart seemed to
shatter.

"I understand" was all he said.

"Do you?"

"More than you can probably believe."  He closed his eyes.

"But stay another night, Tessa, until I've got a better idea whether
the coast is clear or not.  The morning might bring some word of
Hunt."

"Do you really want it to?"

"Yes," he told her definitively.

"My feelings for you won't change, but I'd have my brother back, and
that's more than I've got right now."

She stared into his eyes.

"You're a good man, Cord Greer.

You put everybody else first.  "

"Not always," he countered.

"Not always.  Tonight, I'm putting myself first.  Stay," he asked
again, his voice husky.

She nodded once, almost in slow motion, as if she wanted to change her
mind even before she agreed to his request.

"If you promise to get some sleep tonight."

"Deal.  But you have to make me some more toast in the morning."

"You didn't eat it."  She refused to smile at him.

"That's why I need a second chance."  He really needed a first chance
with her, but fate apparently didn't mean for that to happen.

"Okay," she agreed shyly.

"But I can't rely upon your charity for much longer."

"Tessa, the last thing I regard you as is charity."

"It is if you're eating my cooking with a smile on your face."

He laughed, taking Eleanor from her hands.

"Eleanor, eh?  All right.  Ellie."  Come on, you crazy dog, with your
big brown eyes and sweet temperament.  You managed to get into her life
a whole lot quicker than I ever did, you lucky pooch.

"Let's see how strong you are when you're confronted with cold snow."

Tessa followed behind, watching the pup skid on the icy patches.  It
kept her from focusing on the tall man in front of her, his back turned
so she could stare at the broadness of his shoulders, the dark, well
trimmed hair just showing under the cowboy hat.  Hunt was every bit as
handsome, just not as filled out with corded muscle from working cattle
and riding every day.  She forced her mind to stop the comparison.  It
would do no good to start dwelling on how sexy this cowboy looked.

"Nan mentioned that she likes to walk in the woods out here.

I suppose that's safe for her to do?  " Tessa didn't think she'd go
very far in the densely grown forest of black and gray bare trunks and
branches reaching up into the winter-white sky with gnarly fingers.
Shorter skirts of pine trees fringed the taller, naked trees,
obstructing the view.

It somehow seemed lonely beyond the open field, the woods an overgrown
encroachment.

"Safe enough.  Nan's a big fan of stargazing, and she likes to do some
bird-watching."

"I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to find my way out.  Or that I'd step on
a snake."

He chuckled, shooting her a wry glance.

"I'm sure there are snakes, but they're more afraid of you than you are
of them."

"I don't think so!"

He grinned now.

"Poison ivy in season would be more likely to get you.  But you'd find
your way out of there soon enough.  Hunt and I used to play in the
woods all the time, so Dad marked the trees well.  Dad even built us a
tree house where we used to bring our knapsacks of lunch.  Mom used to
call us home by banging on the triangle."  A soft reminiscent laugh
escaped him.

"One night, we insisted we had to sleep in the tree house, and we
carried out sleeping bags and a lantern.  Hunt and I spent the whole
time telling each other ghost stories, each one more fantastic and
scary than the last.  In the middle of the night.  Dad came out,
silently climbed the ladder, then jumped onto our sleeping bags roaring
like a mad bear.  You never heard two boys yell so loud."

His thoughts were far away now, dwelling on a tree house only he could
remember, and Tessa felt a sharp twinge of sadness for the happy
memories that might be all he had left of his brother.  She had known
Hunt as a lover in their adult years and as a schoolmate in their
younger years, but Hunt and Cord shared a special, deep bond of
brotherhood.  They were very close, despite the fact that they'd chosen
very different life paths.  "Did you stay outside the rest of the
night?"  She tilted her head to look up into his eyes.

"Heck, yeah."

She raised one eyebrow.

"Very brave of you boys."

"Not really.  We made Dad sleep with us for the rest of the night.  At
the crack of dawn, Mom brought us biscuits to eat and our fishing
poles.  She said she could hear our banshee yelling clear to the next
county, and if Dad was going to scare the pants off her boys, he could
darn well take us fishing to make up for it."

Tessa loved the story.  It was everything about family she dreamed of
but lacked.  "Take me out to the tree house.

Cord.  "

He looked at her.

"Maybe someday."

She sensed his reluctance but wasn't sure of the cause.  Just the same,
she didn't push.  They were uncomfortable enough with their situation
as it was.

"You'll want to keep an eye on Ellie, though.  I wouldn't go too far
into the woods where an owl might mistake your pup for a snack."

"Cord!  Are you teasing me?"

He smiled but shook his head quite seriously.  "No.  There are lots of
owls.  They've been known to grab a bite during the day, so you'd best
keep an eye on her."

"I'm getting her a leash!  We can start leash training today!

No owl is carrying off my dog.  "

Cord nodded.

"That might be the best idea."

Ellie didn't seem inclined to do much walking in the snow.

Mainly she hovered by their feet, sniffing.

"The last thing I need is a dog," Tessa murmured.

"But once I held her, I knew my heart was lost."

Cord tightened his jaw, his eyes on Tessa.

Suddenly, Ellie looked toward the woods.  She gave a sharp, interested
bark.  It wasn't very loud, but it was enough to make Tessa smile with
joy.

"Gosh!  That's the first time she's made a peep!"  Tessa gazed proudly
at the puppy.

"I didn't even know what she sounded like."

In the next instant, Ellie was off toward the wooded acreage, her paws
scrambling to keep up with where her head wanted to go.

"Ellie!"  Tessa ran after her.

Cord hollered, "Ellie!"  overtaking Tessa, but he was no match for the
puppy as it disappeared into the trees.  Night was falling, shrouding
the thicket in shadows.  It was impossible to see the black-and-white
puppy anymore.  They could barely hear her tiny barks.

"I'll go get her," Cord said.

"Stay here."

"No.  I'll go with you."

"You don't know your way around, Tessa.  You'll definitely get lost,
and that'll be two of you I'll have to search for."

She stared at him stubbornly.

"Cord Greer, it's my dog.

Nobody appointed you my guardian, and my dog isn't a duty you raised
your hand for.  Either you take me with you, or"-- " Or what?  "

"Or... I go in looking for her as soon as you're out of sight."  She
raised her chin.

"She'd come to me quicker than you.  She barely knows you.  I'm not
sure she would trust you."

"Trust isn't what she's thinking about right now.

She smelled a squirrel or a skunk and she's gone investigating.  But
that's no reason for you to be out in the cold, Tessa.  Her curiosity
will be over soon enough.  Stay here.  "

His tone brooked no argument.  Tessa knew that all of Cord's arguments
made sense, far more sense than her running into a forest where she
could easily lose her way.

"All right.  But I still think you need me to help you search."

"One little puppy doesn't need a search-and-rescue team.  I can handle
it.  Trust me."

"I do," she said softly.

"I'll wait right here."

He nodded.

"If I don't come back in ten minutes, go home and get warm.  Put on a
kettle of tea."

She pulled her jacket collar more closely to her neck and tucked her
hands into her cuffs so her hands joined beneath the fabric, warming
each other.

"Don't be stubborn.  Go get warm."

"I will," she promised.

"If she comes back to the house, ring the triangle."  "Okay.  Hurry and
find her before an owl" -He touched a finger to her lips.

"I'll be right back."

A second later, he had disappeared into the gloomy, leafless woods.
Tessa held her breath, biting her lower lip, and told herself that Cord
had tramped through the trees many times.

Even Nan was accustomed to walking in the woods.

It was safe for a man and a lost puppy.

the pup gave a little yip when its scruff was grasped securely.  She
was airborne, her paws scrambling helplessly before she was tucked
inside a jacket, zipped securely against a warm chest.  The smell of
the man was not one she was used to, so she struggled, but there was no
hope of escaping.

"Why did you do that?"  Salvador demanded.

"We do not need a damn dog."

"He's cute," Rossi answered.

"And warm.  He is not hurting anything.  I'll let him go when we are
finished here."  With one finger, he rubbed the soft muzzle poking out
of his jacket.

"Shh!"  Salvador listened intently.  From somewhere, a man's voice
called urgently, followed by a whistle meant to entice a dog to
return.

"Senor Vaquero."

"5f.  Guess he is looking for you."  Rossi touched the tip of the dog's
cold nose.

"But you are not going anywhere."

The crackling of leaves under heavy boots silenced Rossi and Salvador.
Beneath the tree house, they could hear the big man's steps halt.

Salvador winked at Rossi, picking up a large rock that he used to jab
his cigarettes out against.  But Rossi shook his head, frowning.

Salvador shrugged, letting his hand relax though he still held the
rock.  Rossi tended to think his actions through, while Salvador could
be impulsive, sometimes to his detriment.  He felt very impulsive right
now.  His hand twitched.  Rossi ever so slightly shook his head
again.

The footsteps moved on.  The cowboy headed south, calling for the
puppy.

When they could no longer hear him, Salvador put the rock down.

"Why not?  It would have made me happy."

"Because the girl is waiting.  She will send for help if he doesn't
return soon, and we will never be able to snatch her and get away
before the police come."

Salvador nodded reluctantly.

"On the other hand, we have got her little friend.  And you," he said,
giving the puppy a tickle around its ears, "are the reason she will
come looking for you herself tomorrow.  When you don't go home."

In the distance, a triangle was rung vigorously.

"Coming!"  the cowboy shouted from not too far away.

Salvador and Rossi looked at each other, slight smiles on their
faces.

"As usual, you are the levelheaded one."

Rossi kissed the puppy.

"This dog doesn't smell like a dog.

Smell him.  "

"No."

"Smell him," Rossi urged.

"It is not a him.  Do you not know the difference between a girl and a
boy?"

"Smell her, then."  Rossi shoved the puppy under his nose.

Salvador took an unwilling sniff, then inhaled deeply.

"Perfume.  Woman's perfume."

"Her perfume."  Rossi tucked his treasure back inside his jacket.

"Tomorrow, you get close enough to smell it on the code breaker's
woman."

Soon the hunt would be over.

The revenge could begin.

Chapter Five

Cord's relief at hearing the triangle was short-lived when he saw the
man standing inside his doorway.  Far from letting him know Ellie had
found her way back, Tessa was announcing the arrival of a visitor.

"This is Cord Greer, Hunt's brother," Tessa said.

"Cord, Col.  John West."

Cord heard the quiver in Tessa's voice.  Her dismay was transmitted to
him though he remained impassive as he extended his hand.

"We've met.  Once."

The man shook his hand.

"Good to see you again.  Got a message you'd been at the base."

Now Cord knew the situation merited more than a phone call.

It didn't make him feel any better.

"Care to have a seat?"

"No, thanks.  I can only stay a minute."

Tessa's eyes met Cord's.  He sensed her rising dismay, but there was
nothing he could do.  The helpless feeling was hateful to him, and
strange.

"What can you tell me about my brother?"

"Not much, I'm afraid."

"Can't tell us because you don't know where he is?"

"We have communicated with your brother."

Tessa gasped, her face pale.  Cord reached out and took her hand
tightly in his, offering his strength to her.

"So he's alive?"

John looked at Cord oddly.

"We have no reason to believe otherwise."

"I see."  Cord nodded, his expression grim.

"We had reason to believe otherwise the other night."

"Oh?"

"Two men came to my door claiming to be military personnel.

They informed me of my brother's heroic death and asked for his
fiancee's address so they might inform her.  "

John hesitated.

"I don't have to tell you that this is worrisome."  He glanced from
Tessa to Cord.  That someone would go to those lengths.  is an
unanticipated complication.  "

"I would think so," Cord said dryly.

"Can you tell us what cat-and-mouse game we're involved in?  Is there
any information the military would care to divulge since it appears my
brother's fiancee may be in danger?"

His voice was stern, but Cord didn't care.  Helpless anger boiled
through him--at the military, at the situation, at the men who'd come
to his door in disguise.

"I'm afraid all I can do is reassure you that we have no information
indicating your brother is dead.  I was hoping a personal visit would
be less risky than a phone call, but what you've just told me makes me
guess your house could be under surveillance."

Cord stared at him.

"My house?  Not Tessa's?"

"Possibly both.  But since you've had one visit" -- "They might hang
around.  To watch me."  Cord hadn't thought about that.  All he'd known
was that his ranch was safer than Tessa's small house.  He had guns; he
had a running vehicle.

As long as he kept Tessa with him, he could protect her from any
possible danger.  He never dreamed he might be putting her in danger.

"When will we know something?  When will this be over?"

The colonel shook his head.

"At this time, I've confirmed all I really can in order not to
compromise any ongoing operation."  There was a flash of guarded
sympathy in his eyes.

"Your position is difficult, but we can't put anyone at risk."

He meant Hunt.

"I understand," Tessa said suddenly.

"I appreciate your time in coming out here."

The man nodded.

"I was hoping to alleviate your concerns.  I would suggest you have
your local law enforcement officers run a periodic patrol through the
area.  If you are under surveillance, extra personnel may be a
deterrent."

"Thank you so much," Cord said sarcastically.

"Your assistance has been invaluable."

John nodded, seeming to understand his frustration.

"We'll be in contact."  He stepped out the door and went to his car
before glancing back at Tessa.

"John," Tessa suddenly called, startling Cord.  He had nothing further
to say to anyone in the military until they told him more than they
already had.

Tessa joined the colonel at the car, speaking briefly to him, her hand
touching her stomach.  The man nodded once before sliding behind the
wheel and driving away.

"Do you mind telling me what you said to him?"  Cord asked when she had
carefully traversed the icy patches to his side.

"I simply said I didn't want Hunt to know about the baby."

She stared up at him.

He gently caught her arm as she moved to walk past him.

"Why not?  I think Hunt should know.  He'd be upset if he" -- "It's my
baby, Cord Greer," she snapped.

"I don't want Hunt knowing about the baby.  Not while he's missing. Not
while he's obviously involved in something that has the military
operating under caution.  Did you ever stop to think that if Hunt found
out, he might try to come home?  He might try to contact me?  That
could put him at risk.  Worse, it could put my baby at risk.  And that
is something I will not do."

She was determined on this issue--and he unwillingly forced himself to
admit that she was right.

"I'm sorry.  I wasn't thinking."

She rubbed one hand wearily over her forehead.  I know you weren't.
It's hard to think straight.  I just don't want Hunt's attention
divided.  He wouldn't have left me in Madrid if there hadn't been a
compelling reason.  "

Cord agreed with that statement.  Hunt cared for Tessa.  The hardest
admission Cord had ever been compelled to make to himself was that he
badly wanted his brother to come home safely--despite the fact that he
was in love with his brother's girlfriend.

Desperately.  He wanted her so much he ached with it.

He was a selfish man.

He turned away.  Somehow he made himself climb the steps and go into
the house.  He went to his bedroom and closed the door behind him.
Silently, he sat on the mahogany bed, which had been devoid of female
companionship for a very long time.  He looked at the pictures of his
parents and the pictures of Hunt, sitting in wooden frames on his
bureau.

Bowing his head, he shut his eyes.

And prayed for strength.

tessa knew she had hurt Cord's feelings.  She had been sharper with him
than she should have been, but her emotions were raw, twisted with
fear.  The colonel's visit hadn't exactly been calming.  She felt more
alarmed than ever about the danger Hunt might be in, the danger she
might be in, and worse, the danger there might be to her baby.  For the
past two nights, she'd had horrible nightmares--ever since Cord had
brought her to his house.  She wanted her baby to be safe.  There was
enough to worry about with a pregnancy; the added factor of fear was
slicing into her subconscious.

It all had to end soon.  The uncertainty was making her tense and edgy.
None of this could be healthy for her baby.

"Drat that dog," she murmured.  The dog at least had given her some
comfort.  Cord certainly did not.  The underlying currents they felt
around each other were electrifying her nerves to the point she felt
she couldn't breathe when he was in the room.  Ellie gave her something
to hold on to that was soft and gentle.

Now she would worry all night about owls looking for prey, and her
little puppy being frightened in the dark, cold woods.  No matter that
Cord had happy memories of the forest, and that Nan tromped through
them enjoying the flora and fauna.  Tessa would not be brave enough to
stay out there alone.  Surely her pup would find its way home soon.

She prayed for the same with Hunt, if for nothing more than to know he
was safe.  For the sake of her baby.

For all their sakes.

something in the silence awakened Tessa in the middle of the night.
Her eyes snapped open, staring upward in the darkness, her body
suddenly on alert, her ears straining to hear.  It was so still in her
room that she could easily hear the slightest sound, yet it was eerily
quiet.  Too quiet.

She got out of bed, then slowly moved the curtain back from the window
beside it.  She opened the miniblinds and peered outside, but there was
little to see in the darkness.  Too dark.

Her scalp prickling, she reached over the bed to switch on the lamp.
Once the room was illuminated with the cheery light, she breathed a
little more easily.  Still, she knew she wouldn't be able to fall
asleep again, so she put on her robe and went down the hall.  If the
puppy had returned and was somewhere outside.  Tessa's heart beat with
hope.  She sure hoped

Nan's gift wasn't gone for good; she felt very guilty about its
disappearance.

Glancing in the den, she saw that the recliner was empty.

Cord's bedroom door was closed, so he'd apparently slept in there.
Tessa gave a sigh of relief.  She didn't want him suffering sleep
deprivation because of her.

But maybe Cord wasn't asleep.  It would be safer if he went with her.
He would understand that she needed to give her puppy one last chance
to come home; surviving the night would be nearly impossible for the
dog. Quietly, she tapped on his door.

"Cord?  Are you awake?"  There was no answer.

Tessa held her breath and opened it a crack.

"Cord?"

He lay sprawled across the bed as if he'd fallen like a tree onto the
sheets.  The bed was big to accommodate a big man.

Undressed, wearing only boxer shorts, he looked even bigger.

He was stretched out flat, his arms flung up over the pillow as he
slept on his stomach, either in utter relaxation or exhaustion.  She
hadn't realized how strongly built he was.

Every muscle in his body visible to the naked eye ran long and true and
toned.

She swallowed, her eyes caught by the fitness of the man.

She forced herself to close the bedroom door.

There was no way she could awaken him.  He needed the rest.

The truth was, she hadn't been prepared to see Cord nearly nude and
breathstealingly sexy.  The only man she'd ever seen naked was Hunt,
and he was not as tall as Cord, and more slightly built.

What she'd seen overwhelmed her senses.  Such a big man and yet he was
so gentle with her.  It made her heart pound with images and fantasies
she knew she shouldn't allow herself to even think.  Tessa slowly,
quietly, opened the front door and flipped on the porch light.

She didn't hear a whimper or a bark.  Easing the door open farther,
Tessa poked out her head to peer across the porch.

Snow.  Deep snow had built up around the porch, powdering the gravel
driveway and the yard in white.  Thunder rumbled and Tessa jumped, not
anticipating the far-off noise.  Nan had been right; the storm was
coming in tonight.

Her little Ellie was shivering in those woods.  Tessa couldn't stand
the thought.  A coyote howled its lonesome cry in the distance, sending
goose pimples over Tessa.  She closed the door, then hurried to put her
boots and jeans on under her gown, tossed her robe on the bed and
looped her gown into her jeans as she pulled on her coat.  Quietly, she
slipped past Cord's bedroom door.  The all-weather flashlight attached
to the kitchen wall had a nice wide path of illumination, so she took
that with her.  Making certain the front door didn't even whisper as it
opened, she went out.

She could face the forest; she would only go to the edge where there
was nothing to hurt her.  Even the coyote that howled occasionally was
too far away.

Fifty feet from the house, crunching on snow that seemed to blow from
the sky ever faster, she whistled.

"Ellie!  Come on, girl!"

salvador's eyes flew open as he heard the urgent voice calling in the
night.  He'd just fallen asleep next to Rossi, after they'd both smoked
cigarettes to give them an illusion of warmth.  They had not counted on
the cold of this hellish place, bone-deep and biting.  Snow was
building up on the roof of the tree house, and though it was built
securely, much more than a simple plank structure between two trees, it
was not insulated.  Still, the conditions were nothing to deter two men
with a mission of honor.

"Ellie!"  the cry came again.

Rossi was slower to awaken, the puppy inside his jacket keeping him a
bit warmer.  But at the next cry, he came wide awake.

"The golden woman."

"Yes."  Salvador listened, his heart pounding.  They could take her to
the vehicle by the creek in the woods before she could cry for help.
They would abandon the vehicle at the airport.  Waiting for a flight
would be trickier if she was fighting, but Rossi would make certain she
didn't give them trouble.  It could all be over much faster than
planned, and so much easier under cover of darkness.

"Come on," he whispered.

Rossi began silently packing the small duffel bag.  Like panthers, they
waited motionless as the voice came to the edge of the woods.

The woman called again.  Without any warning, the puppy scrambled
wildly inside Rossi's jacket as he bent to put his cigarette pack in
the duffel.  With a sharp bark, the puppy vaulted from the jacket, her
feet scrambling for purchase on the boards.  She found it, suddenly
leaping forward off the edge.  Salvador and Rossi both grabbed for the
dog but caught air.  She cried out when she crashed to the ground, then
they could hear her little paws running as she stirred up fallen leaves
and debris in the snow.

"Caramba!"  Salvador swore under his breath.  He couldn't believe their
bait had gotten away.

"Caramba!  " Rossi put a knife between his teeth and climbed over the
edge of the tree house.  Salvador knew he was going after the girl.
Hidden by the night, they had their best shot at her, whether the dog
made it to its mistress or not.  If necessary, the dog could be
silenced.

Salvador grabbed a length of rope from the duffel and followed his
comrade.

"You silly girl!"  Tessa cooed with delight, snatching up the puppy as
it raced toward her.

"You scared me half to death, disappearing like that!"

She snuggled Ellie to her, enjoying the feel of the puppy's fur--until
she caught the scent of cigarette smoke.  Alarmed, she pulled the dog
away from her face to look at it.  Ellie was warm, not cold and
shivering as she imagined she would be.  Puzzled, she stared into the
dog's brown eyes.

"Where have you been, young lady?"

"Tessa!"

The harsh call of her name whipped Tessa around to face Cord stomping
through the snow toward her.  He had the long rifle, carried at an
angle to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I came out to find Ellie," she said defensively.

"Nan says there's a real bad snowstorm coming tonight, and I couldn't
sleep thinking about her out here."

He practically growled down at the puppy in Tessa's arms as he drew
near.

"I'm not going to tell you that no animal is worth traipsing out after
in the darkness.  I'm not even going to ask you why your field trip
couldn't wait until morning."

"Then don't!"  She tucked the puppy to her chest.

"Something woke me up.  I guess I couldn't sleep too well thinking
about her.  She doesn't like her paws to be wet and cold."

"I don't like my feet to be wet and cold, either, but I didn't get
myself lost in the woods.  A dog is not worth endangering yourself
over."

"I wasn't in any danger."  Tessa drew herself up, marching past the
frowning rancher.

"I'm taking Ellie inside before she gets cold."

"She ought to have had better sense than to run off," Cord grumbled,
following along after a brief, wary glance at the forest.

"She'll feel like a lump of wet ice in your bed."

"She's all warm and toasty, thank you very much."

"How did she get so lucky?"

"I don't know."  Tessa kept walking, refusing to slow down until they
reached the house.

"She must have found a place to lie in a tree stump or woodpile,
because she smells kind of funny.  Maybe she was in a burned-out log or
something.  Or my nose is so cold I'm not able to smell very well."

They walked inside, and he leaned the rifle against the wall and locked
the door, dead-bolting it.  She handed the puppy to Cord, who took it
unwillingly while Tessa pulled off her coat and hung it up on the peg
beside the door.  Tiny snowflakes dusted her hair and droplets of
moisture glistened in her eyelashes.

Cord thought Tessa looked sexy as hell without the elaborate hairdo Nan
had done for her earlier.  Her face was clean, her lips bare and her
cheeks just the slightest bit red from the cold.  Her nose was running
a little.  It didn't matter.  He wanted nothing more than to take her
to his bed and warm her up, hold her close to him and keep her safe.

"The damn dog's name should be Refugee," he said instead, handing it
back before shrugging out of his jacket to hang it next to Tessa's.

"Could you get me the next time you decide to take a midnight jaunt?"

"I didn't want to wake you, Cord.  I knocked on your door, but..."

She stared up at him, and all his anger melted away as he looked into
her eyes.  He didn't think he'd slept anyway, his ears attuned to the
slightest sounds.  He'd heard her calling the damn dog over the return
of the late-night talk show he'd left on in his bedroom.

"I wasn't sleeping."

"You were.  Cord."  Her eyelashes lowered for a split second.

' I did open your door in case you were awake.  You were sound asleep.
And you need the rest.  "

Though her gaze held nothing but honest emotion, his heart stirred in
his chest at her words.  Strangely, he found he liked her concern for
him.  It was different from Nan's concern, which was grandmotherly.
Tessa's worry for him brought desire flooding into him--and regret that
her words only conveyed simple, friendly compassion.

"I'm fine."  He turned to go down the hall.

"Did you notice that she smelled smoky?"

He frowned, reluctantly leaning over to take a whiff of the puppy.  All
he could smell was the fresh soap fragrance that clung to Tessa after
she showered, which she'd done before she went to bed.  Being so close
that he could catch her scent did nothing to increase the possibility
that he might get to sleep any time soon.

"She smells like a dog to me."

But she didn't.  A dog that had been outside in the cold and wet would
be shivering and smell dank.  Ellie had very little moisture clinging
to her coat.

Slowly, he took the puppy from its mistress, eyeing it as he cupped it
in his big hands.

"Where have you been?"

Ellie yawned, showing a pink tongue as she disregarded his question.

"Your mother was worried about you.  Don't go running off again."  He
put Ellie back under his nose for a more careful inspection.

"I don't know.  She does smell kind of smoky.

Like you said, maybe she did find a burned-out log.  " The scent
bothered him, but there was no logical explanation for it, and he
didn't want Tessa worrying.

"You know.  Nan smokes.  Perhaps the smell clung to Ellie's fur from
Nan's holding her, and we're just now noticing the smell because we're
outdoors."

Tessa reclaimed her pup from him with a smile.

"Everything does smell so crisp out here.  Anyway, I'm glad you're
back," she said, nuzzling the dog to her nose.

"I'm sure going to sleep better."  She gave Cord a look completely
devoid of sexual innuendo.

"Thanks for worrying about us, but we're staying in our room for the
night now.  No more field trips."

salvador watched from the stand of trees rapidly being coated with
snow.  The rancher took the woman inside the house with him, closing
the door.  Adrenaline curdled in Salvador's veins.

"Tonight we are not lucky.  Tomorrow, maybe we are," Rossi comforted.

"Maybe."  Salvador hungered for the right moment.

"Come on.  I am going to find a place to stay."

"We cannot leave!"

Rossi blinked in the worsening storm, the blowing snow blinding.

"We must, if we are not to die on this mission.

There is a motel in town where we can stay until this passes.  "

"Our car will be seen."

Rossi shrugged and turned into the woods.

"On a night like tonight, no one cares.  Come on."

Salvador didn't like it, but as always, Rossi was right.

There was no reason to die of cold although Salvador's burning will
would keep him alive.  But Rossi wasn't blinded by the agony searing
Salvador's vision.  Cold reason settled into Salvador's anguished
mind.

There would be another time.  Soon.

Chapter Six

The snow didn't keep the customers from filling the beauty salon to
overflowing the next morning.  The road crews had been out, so it
wasn't difficult for Tessa to drive Nan to work even though Cord had
insisted he take Tessa over to Nan's in his truck.  Then he'd salted
Nan's driveway so it would be safer to the main road.  Ushering both
women into Nan's car, Cord had driven them to the end of the driveway,
then allowed Tessa to have the driver's seat.  He had walked back up
the driveway to his truck after telling her to take it easy.

She felt warmed by his regard for her and for Nan.  Her mind occupied
with that thought, Tessa was unprepared for the door swinging open with
the last person on earth she wanted to see.  Her heart dropped into her
stomach as her mother, wild-haired and wilder-eyed, marched into the
Beautiful Woman salon.  With customers wanting to be gorgeous for
Valentine's parties and dates, Tessa was working the cash register for
Nan--right in the line of fire.

"I'd heard you were working for Nan, but I had to see it with my own
eyes to believe it," Hester stated, her gray hair fuzzy and windblown.
She wore no makeup, merely her perpetual scowl.

Tessa despised the coldness that flooded her body at the sight of her
mother.

"Hi, Mama."

"You know I need help with the flower shop."  She gestured to the
opposite end of the street at her store that sat whatnot-style on the
corner.

"I'm run off my feet at Valentine's, and you're over here helping a
woman who'd love to stab me in the back at the first opportunity!"

Tessa sighed.

"Mama, Nan's a nice lady who isn't up to hurting anybody.  She needed
help, and I needed a job."

Hester smacked her hand down on the wooden register stand.

"/ need help.  And you don't know about Nan, so keep your nose out of
it.  Mind your manners, Tessa.  I don't like your tone of
disrespect."

The customers parked under hair dryers were peering their way.
Embarrassment prickled Tessa's skin.

"I'm not being disrespectful.  Can we have this conversation another
time?"

"Don't sass.  We'll talk when I want to.  How come you didn't tell me
you were back from your latest pleasure trip?"  "Mama, I got back from
Madrid in July.  You know that.  I worked in Dallas for a friend for a
few months and then came back here."

"Spy-boy dumped ya for good, then?"

Tessa bristled.  She stared at her mother.

"I wasn't dumped, and please don't call him that."

"Oho!  Fine talk for a young lady who's ringing a cash register while
her lover sails the high seas and docks his ship in every port."

"Mama!"

"Well, you know it's true, you twit.  It's an abomination to all the
hard work a mother does raising her child to flaunt the polite rules of
respectful and decent society.  And then to have you so casually
sitting in one of Crookseye Canyon's hot gossip spots as if you have
nothing to be ashamed of--why, it just turns my stomach."

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

Hester shook her head, her whole body quivering in disgust.

Nan made her way over a bit unsteadily to stand beside Tessa.  "My
knees are more worrisome in this cold, I will say that," she remarked
conversationally.

"I imagine you've got a brisk flower business going with the holiday,
Hester."

"Busy enough that I don't need my daughter working for you.

Nan.  I could use her at the shop.  "

Nan nodded.

"I know I'm fortunate to have Tessa here.  Maybe you could hire some of
the college kids who are home for the weekend."

"Don't tell me how to run my business.  And I can see through your
sweet-as-sugar routine.  You did this just to humiliate me, hiring my
daughter when everyone knows a daughter ought to help her own mother!
It's as good as shouting to the whole town that I'm an unfit mother!"

"I don't think it got shouted until you came in here and did it."
Nan's tone was mild, but her eyes snapped blue sparks.

"How about if you come over later and we'll sit down and talk, Hester.
In the spirit of old times."

"If you're looking for the ghosts of the past to change my heart,
you're going to be sadly mistaken.  And this conversation is between my
daughter and me.  You never had any part in my life before and you
won't now."

"So be it."  Nan shrugged.

Tessa winced.  The two women had been best friends in high school until
the boy Hester loved fell in love with Nan and married her right after
graduation.  Heartbroken, Hester quickly married a local boy who was
going into the Marine Corps, only to be further disappointed when he
was never home.  He saw the world; she arranged flowers in the family
store.  It was the underlying reason Hester felt so much ill will
toward Hunt.  To Hester, Hunt was gallivanting around the world while
Tessa was left behind.  Conceivably, a lot of her mother's fears had a
basis in fact, Tessa acknowledged unwillingly.  Even if she knew where
Hunt was, she couldn't be with him permanently, and he would never
settle in Crooks- eye Canyon.  His job kept him from the ranch and the
town where he felt closed in, and that was what he wanted.

Cold moisture slicked her palms.  Her face heated.

"Mama, can we talk about all this another time?"  Reaching behind her,
she pulled the wooden stool closer so she could sit down.

Hester's eyes fairly popped as Tessa's stomach shifted into
prominence.

"You're pregnant."

Her horror clearly begged a denial.  An explanation.  Tessa stared into
the shocked, angry expression, straightening her spine as she did.

"Yes."

"Oh, my Lord.  That's why you've been hiding from me all these months."
Hester's face went white;

her mouth pinched.  Her hand flew to her chest before wiping nervously
at the plain silver cross she wore around her neck.

"Oh, dear sweet Lord.  Dear Father in heaven, the pure, undiluted sin
of it all."

Hester's eyes turned up in her head as her hand scrabbled at the wooden
counter before she slid to the plastic floor mat in a dead faint.

rossi gestured to the window of the motel, his attention on the
ambulance across the street.  "Mira."

Salvador didn't care much for watching the town's people go about their
daily errands.  It held endless fascination for Rossi.  At six in the
morning, he'd pulled a cap low over his forehead and went to buy
doughnuts at the next-door shop.  It was as if Rossi had to sample all
things American.  Salvador could not have cared less.  He wanted one
thing, and one thing only.  Biding his time in this run-down, one-story
hotel with its dingy decor was like any other squalid room in the world
he'd visited.  He was content to surf the five-channel TV.  "Mira,"
Rossi said again.  "Andale."  Salvador reluctantly rose and went to
peer out the thick vinyl blinds at the ambulance crew who were loading
an old woman onto a stretcher.  His heart stilled at the sight of the
woman whose golden fall of hair he could see at a thousand paces.  The
first thing he intended to do when he had her safely on the airplane
was touch her hair.  How could anything shine so brightly even in this
darkest corner of the world?

The ambulance pulled away, leaving the code breaker's woman standing in
the street surrounded by spectators.  Then they all went back inside
the building.  Beautiful Woman Beauty Shoppe the sign read.  She did
not need to visit such a place.  He frowned.

"She works in there.  With the old one," Rossi murmured.

"How do you know?"

Rossi picked up binoculars, sighting the narrow parking strip in front
of the shops.

"The car the old woman drove yesterday is parked in the spot that says
Owner."

Satisfaction settled over Salvador again at being so close to the code
breaker's woman.

"I can only hope you are right.

For once, your love of all things American may have paid off.  "

"I am always right.  And I do not love all things American.  I love
everything in every country."  Rossi put the binoculars back up to his
face, sighting it now on the flower shop down the street, which was
filled with people buying roses.

Salvador didn't care about flowers or doughnuts or anything American
except the woman.  He threw himself back on the unmade bed and went
back to flipping the five fuzzy channels with the remote.  They knew
where she was during the day and they knew where she was at night.  All
they had to do now was wait.

"I suppose I should go to the hospital and make sure Mama's all right."
Tessa didn't want to and felt terrible voicing her feelings.  She felt
like a bad daughter.

"Take my car," Nan replied.

"I'll work here for a while, then you can come back and pick me up."
She put a soothing hand over Tessa's.

"Don't let this upset you.  I know it's hard not to, but guilt won't
solve anything."

It was her duty to make sure her mother was all right.  If not for
their relationship, then for the baby inside her.

Her child would want to know her grandmother, and Hester would feel the
same one day.

"I swear, Hester Draper can arrange the most beautiful posies in the
world, but how a woman with such a mean spirit can make things so
beautiful, I'll never know.  I've always thought all the toxins she
spews would kill the flowers as soon as she breathed on them.  And yet"
-Nan shrugged "--she is gifted in doing such a difficult thing as
arranging flowers, whereas me, I only do hair.  Can't make a daisy look
as pretty as a rose, not with these gnarly hands."

Tessa shook her head.

"Mama's been very disappointed that I can't do flowers the way she
can."

"Don't take it so hard.  It's not a daughter's duty to be exactly like
her mother.  Hustle down to her store, snatch a couple of stems of
whatever and take 'em to her.  Like as not, she'll tell you she's not
on her deathbed and doesn't need a flower to clutch between her stingy
hands.  Just ignore her, Tessa, and tell her you love her."

Tessa's eyes widened.  She hesitated as Nan handed her the keys to her
car.

The elderly woman raised her brows with a resigned shake of her head.

"You would love her if she'd let you.  If she'd let anyone."

"Yes."  It was true.  Her mother was bitter, but that didn't mean Tessa
hadn't longed for her love.  Not having it only made her more resolved
that her child would always know her love.

"Thanks, Nan," she said softly.

"Be careful on the roads."

Tessa nodded and left the store, dreading the visit to her mother--and
yet praying that nothing was seriously wrong.

Except for her unborn child, her mother was her only blood relation.
The thought of being left on earth without at least one blood
connection made her suddenly feel very alone.

cord rode his horse hard, trying to release some of the worry building
inside him.  If he divided the problem he had on his hands into
sections, it felt bigger than just saying, "I've got a helluva mess
here."

Wanting Tessa was something he should not feel, so he forced his mind
off her.  To think clearly, he could not allow himself to spend every
minute with his mind on her although he'd nearly lost it when he'd
heard her outside calling for the puppy.  Remembering Ellie, he turned
his horse toward the house.  It was probably time for the dog to go
outside.

What would Hunt want me to do?  How can I help him?

He could keep Tessa safe, even from himself.  But he wanted Hunt home,
and safe, too.  Even if it meant watching Tessa go with his brother.
Cord wanted two things: His brother home, and Tessa.  This was a
serious dichotomy, a forked path that required one route to be
irrevocably chosen.

The correct path was clear.  He would gladly watch Tessa reunite with
Hunt if there was any way possible for that to happen--even if he was
dying inside.

Looping the reins over a rail on the porch.  Cord went inside to get
Ellie.  The puppy didn't protest when he scooped her up in his hand.
She wasn't interested in being deposited on the snowy sidewalk,
however. The pup remained at his feet, sorrowfully shivering.  Cord
sighed, reaching down to sweep the snow aside.

"Your mistress says you don't like to get your paws wet and cold.  Is
that good enough for you?"

It must have been, because she began sniffing the sidewalk, then the
snow.  Cord watched as the puppy proved its mistress wrong by bounding
ungracefully through the snow and around the side of the house.  He
followed, figuring Ellie could drop into a snowdrift with her exuberant
curiosity, which appeared to be in high gear.

Under Tessa's bedroom window, the dog found a patch of drier earth.
Protected by the eave of the house and positioned on the southernmost
side, this area was good for planting roses and other delicate plants.
It also looked out toward the pasture, so Cord's mother had enjoyed
gardening here the most.

The dog sniffed the ground with interest.  Cord frowned, wishing she'd
hurry and do her business.  Standing outside the room where Tessa slept
made him think about her, and he was trying to keep his mind otherwise
occupied.

"Come on," he told Ellie impatiently.

He reached down to scoop her up--halting at the sight of the single,
large shoe print indented in the mud where the dog had been standing.
Puppy prints decorated the soft earth now, but the larger imprint was
still clear.  It was fresh and not made by the boots that Cord wore.

Someone had been standing outside Tessa's window.  Recently.

There were no other prints, so either they missed one when they covered
their tracks or they hadn't been very careful.

Cord's gut tightened.  Someone had been on his property.

Spying on Tessa.

Carefully, he held his boot over the shoe print, measuring.

He frowned, a sudden strange vibration humming through him.

Suddenly, he knew.  Striding around to the front, he went inside, put
Ellie on the floor and walked quietly down the hall.  He closed his
eyes for a moment before slowly opening the door to Hunt's room.

His brother sat upright in the bed, grinning at him, his hair shaggy
and ruffled and dyed blond.  He hadn't shaved in weeks, so a full brown
beard raggedly concealed the lower half of his face.

"Hey, bro," Hunt said.

Chapter Seven

Relief tore through Cord as he took in the leaner, tougher version of
his brother.  A sheet covered the lower portion of his body as if for
modesty, but the man lounging against the pillows looked fit and
relaxed.

Brother in the flesh, thank God.

"I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

Hunt laughed.

"They say a bad penny always returns.  So I have."  He scrutinized his
brother.

"How'd you know I was here?"

Cord shrugged.

"Call it a hunch."  He didn't mention the footprint on the ground
outside Tessa's room.

"Staying long?"

"Leaving very soon, as a matter of fact.  I was in New York and decided
I wanted to sleep in my own bed for one night before I head to
California."

Cord held back the urge to tell his brother that he had many reasons to
stay.

"What's in California?"

"A new face."

He met Hunt's eyes in shock.

"Witness protection?"

"Sort of.  It's a safeguard, but it'll allow me to do my job without
the risk of being recognized."

"Oh, God."  Cord leaned against the wall and stared at his younger
brother.

"You took a risk coming here."

Hunt shrugged.

"Figured you might want to see the old me one last time."

Fear and longing for their secure, easy boyhood twined inside him even
though the past was so far away it felt like a mirage.  Cord was a
protector.  So was his brother, but it was different.  He craved the
peace of the caring shepherd and his flock; Hunt craved a much larger
mission.  Cord's heart was heavy for he knew that the face of the
brother he'd grown up with, the face he loved, would be no more.  But
one day, the enemy might catch up to Hunt.  So he understood the
precautions Hunt had to take; he just wished it could be different.

"Two goons came to tell me you'd died an honorable death."

His brother's eyes honed in on him.

"I suppose you knew I was fine."  "I was pretty certain they were
hoping I'd buy their story and give them some information they could
use so they could get to you."

"I'm sorry."

Cord clamped his jaw together, hearing the apology for all the worrying
he'd suffered.  That price had been small in the overall picture.

"I sent them on their way with nothing.  But they wanted to know where
to locate Tessa."

"Damn it!"  Hunt got out of bed, his lower body encased in faded jeans
that fitted his lean body closely.  There wasn't a spare ounce anywhere
on him.  He reminded Cord of a cheetah, ready to run, either for prey
or for escape.

"They're pretty desperate to be taking these measures."  He drew in a
deep, contemplative breath.

"I

didn't want Tessa in danger.  It's why I left her like I did.

Getting the hell away from her was the only thing I could do to draw
attention from her.  I thought.  " He faced his brother.

"Thanks for rescuing her and getting her home."  "All I had to do was
purchase a ticket and tell her to get on a plane.  You did the right
thing by disappearing."  He knew Tessa well enough to realize she would
have protested leaving Spain without Hunt if she'd thought he was in
danger there.

Hunt looked out the window before meeting his brother's gaze, "You were
right all along.  I shouldn't have put her at risk like that.  I knew
there was no place in my life for her, but... I liked her being with
me."  He swallowed.

"Is that why she's here?  Because of the goons?"

Cord nodded, hearing the deeper question in Hunt's voice.

"She came back to Crookseye when her job in Dallas ran out.

Since she wouldn't go to her mother's, I thought it best she stay here.
"

"No, she wouldn't go home."  Hunt glanced back out the window, regret
in his tone.

"But I didn't mean for you to end up looking after my
responsibilities."

Cord thought about the child that Hunt didn't know he was going to
have, the child who would never see his father's real face.  Telling
Hunt might change the course of the future--but to what purpose?  To
put

Hunt in greater danger?  Tessa in jeopardy, and even her baby?

Did you ever stop to think that if Hunt found out, he might try to come
home?  He might try to contact me?  That could put him at risk.  Worse,
it could put my baby at risk.  And that is something I will not do.

Tessa had not wanted Hunt to know.  It was her right to tell him.  He
couldn't go against her wishes, not when it was her life, her baby, her
decision.  Her greatest fear was that Hunt might put himself in a
precarious position because of the child.  Yet the unspoken words
burned on his tongue as he met his brother's gaze as honestly as he
could.

"Your responsibilities," he said slowly, "are my responsibilities."

"Thanks, bro."  Hunt smiled, relieved.

"I care about her too much to put her in harm's way again.  I should
have listened to you, but ... she's special."

"It doesn't matter now.  If any of us could see the future, we'd be
able to make better choices.  Anyway, she wanted to be with you."  He
took a deep, pained breath.

"Don't suppose you're going to talk to her while you're here?"

"I already did, sort of."  Hunt grinned, the old, slyly mischievous
little-brother grin he'd always worked his brother with.

Cord stilled.

"What is 'sort of?"

"She called to leave a message.  I was asleep when the phone rang and
reached over to pick it up."  He gestured toward the bedside table.

"She said hello a couple of times, but I didn't say anything, so she
hung up."

Not talking to Tessa if she was on the other end of the line would be
insurmountable for Cord.  But she would never call him to talk, not the
way she had been used to calling Hunt.

The envy made him angry with himself.

"It was great to hear her voice," Hunt said, breaking into Cord's
thoughts.

"She called back a few seconds later and left you a message."

Cord met his eyes.

"What did she say?"  He checked his watch, realizing she and Nan should
have been home by now.

"That she'd be home soon but had to run a short errand.  So I'm going
to hit the road."  He pulled on an old black T-shirt, tucking it into
the worn jeans.  Then he swiftly made the bed with precision.

It looked as if it hadn't been slept in.  As if Hunt had never spent a
last night in his old room.

Cord hesitated, not wanting his brother to leave.  Yet he understood
why Hunt had to go, if Tessa was probably on her way home.  Slipping
into his bed in the night was one thing, but hanging around during the
day when Tessa might discover him was foolhardy.  Hunt felt that seeing
her wouldn't be the right thing to do.  He'd made a break in Madrid,
but was it better that way?  Cord swung between keeping silent--and
changing his brother's whole world.

"What about a wife, children?  Does this change of face preclude a
family?"

Hunt laughed.

"What could I offer a wife?  And children, well... I like to think that
the world's children sleep a little safer at night because of what I
do.

I'm not cut out for fatherhood.  Cord.  I'm as opposite from you and
Dad as anyone could be.  "" You don't have to be like us to be a good
husband or father.  I'm no saint.  " Not as long as I've been on fire
for your girlfriend--which wouldn 't qualify me for the good-brother
award.

"What about Tessa?  With a new face, and if she was willing to travel
with you..."

Even as he spoke the words, he knew it was impossible.  Tessa and Hunt
had made a resolution about their relationship.

Even if it wasn't easy, at least the rules of the game were understood.
Only Cord wanted to hold on and not play by those unwritten but
necessary rules.

"Tessa and I had a lot in common at the time, bro.  But when I put her
life in jeopardy, I quickly realized all the reasons we didn't belong
together for the long haul.  Tessa will find someone else.  But if I
stay in the picture, all I'll do is ruin her future.  She's had it hard
all her life with Hester.  She deserves something better.  Someone who
can love her with all his heart.  But it's not me."  He strapped on a
black-wristed watch.

"To be honest, we had fun together, but I always knew it wouldn't last,
and I think she did, too."

The thought of the unborn baby tore Cord's heart into pieces.  Tessa
had not known closeness with her mother, and that had been devastating
for her.  How much more devastating for this child to never know its
father was alive and would love him if life were different?

"I do think about Madrid," Hunt said suddenly,

his words agonized and soft.

"You know.  Cord, we're all players on a great stage.  My part is
small, but I hope I'm reading the role the best I can.  I need to do
what I do because I'm uniquely cut out for the lifestyle, and there
aren't many who are.  More people are needed in the field, but the cost
is too high.  So" -he shrugged "--I remember Madrid, and Tessa.  It's
like a golden memory I'll always treasure.  But like Camelot, it's no
longer in existence.  Not for me.  I won't put her at risk anymore.  I
should have listened to my big brother."

Cord had to tell him, but the words stuck in his throat.

Tessa's pregnant formed in his mind, the thought warring with stark
reasoning.  Hunt might stay if he knew, as Tessa had predicted, and
then he'd be in danger.  He already was if a change of face was
necessary. Hunt's staying would endanger her and the baby.  There were
long-term repercussions to telling him the truth--and also to remaining
silent.

"It's not the world we grew up in, sheltered and protected," Hunt said,
his voice reminiscent and somehow sad.

"That was also Camelot.  And it's not coming back, either."

Everything was changing faster than Cord could bear.

"Do you ever think about the tree house?"

Hunt reached out to clasp his brother's hand in his, the sign of
brotherhood between boys who'd gotten along.  Who'd shared their
deepest secrets.  Who'd known an unbreakable bond.

"I think about it often.  I remember Dad's worn hands putting each
plank of the floor together.  Then the walls, just as securely, with a
large window on each side.  The leftover wood shingles he got from a
friend, which kept it dry.  The door that had to be just so.  And Mom
worrying about Dad up in a tree, though I know she was proud of what he
built.  It was more than a tree house.  It was a hideout where we could
have our space.  Playing cops and robbers and commandos in those woods
with you was more fun than any kid should ever have."

Hunt took a deep breath, his expression slightly longing.

"I

think about Dad scaring the hell out of us one night, and Mom making
him take us fishing.  She acted mad, but underneath her stern facade, I
sensed her admiration that Dad was still a kid at heart and that he
spent so much time with us.  I think about them and how happy they
were. They loved each other and they loved us.  " He took a deep breath
as they held their secret handshake more tightly.  " Those were good
times, weren't they?  "

They were silent, each smiling a little sadly for the boyhoods left
behind in a tree house and fishing ponds.

"You're the best brother I could ever have had," Hunt told him.  "You
were the better brother then and you always will be," Cord whispered,
his voice strangling in a too tight throat.

"I miss the hell out of you."  "I miss you, I miss Mom and Dad, I even
miss the ranch, believe it or not.  But I think the reason I'm so
suited to what I do is because I had so much security as a kid.  When
Mom and Dad weren't there to take care of me, I had you."  He smiled at
his big brother.

"You kicked my ass when I needed it and then you kicked anybody's ass
who dared to mess with your kid brother.  Did I ever tell you thanks
for all the messes you got me out of?"

Cord shook his head.

"No thanks were ever needed."

Hunt smiled, his attention riveting on the puppy who whined suddenly at
Cord's feet.

"Who's this little fur ball?"

"Her name is Ellie.  She's Tessa's."  Cord swallowed, picking his words
carefully.

"Nan gave her to Tessa so ... so she'd have a companion."

That came out all wrong somehow, in spite of his careful choice of
words.

But Hunt didn't seem to notice.

"Good old Nan.  How is she?"

"Looking after me now that Mom is gone."

"Still take the occasional tipple with her?"

"Yeah.  She likes companionship when she drinks.  So I -sit with her
about once a month.  The rest of the time she takes care of me if she
can figure out a way to do it without being too obvious."

Hunt laughed, tickling the puppy to his nose the same way Tessa did.
Cord's heart squeezed tighter in his chest.

"You need someone to look after you for a change."  Hunt put Ellie back
on the floor.

"I've got to go, bro."

Cord forced back the protest that rose to his lips.  He stared at his
brother, memorizing the face he would never see the same way again.

"I remember when Mom and Dad brought you home from the hospital," he
whispered.

"You had the most pinched and squalling face I'd ever seen.  I thought
I was going to have a playmate, but you looked like a doll that had
been soaked in brine."  He laid his hand on his brother's shoulder,
gripping it.

"Before I knew it, you were running around after me, and I could show
you how to do stuff.  You became that playmate I always wanted.  I was
never lonely again... once I had you to share bunk beds with."

Hunt clasped his brother's arm, moving in close for a brother's hug.

"I was the luckiest kid on the earth.  I don't think you ever knew how
much I looked up to you.  Man, my big brother, he could do anything.
You were Superman.  You could move mountains."  He slapped his brother
on the back.

"You still can."

"I think I'm past my mountain-moving days."  Cord squeezed his eyes
tightly shut, smelling his brother, holding him so he wouldn't have to
let go.

"You're the hero in the Greer family."

"I learned everything I know about being a hero from you, bro."  Hunt
pulled back to grin devilishly at Cord.

"I also learned everything I needed to know about self-defense.

Nobody kicks my ass anymore.  "

Cord tried to smile, but it was too hard.  Staring into his brother's
eyes, he slowly moved one hand up to trace his brother's face.  He
touched every plane of his cheeks, the toughened skin around his eyes
where life had etched sorrow and joy.  He felt his brother's lips,
lingering just over the beard that camouflaged his chin.  Then he
touched Hunt's eyes, seeing the unshed tears there.

"It's a shame to say goodbye to such a pretty face," he said, trying
not to let any tears cloud his own eyes.

"The doctor says I'll still be good-looking enough to suit the women,"
Hunt responded without losing the mischievous sparkle in his eye.

"Maybe the new version will be even more heartbreaking than the old
one."

But it wouldn't be the face of his brother.

"Come back one day if you ever can," Cord said, his voice a plea.

"Want to see the final results?"

"Yeah, I want to see what miracles modern medicine can achieve," he
managed to quip, but the real answer was left unspoken.  / can't bear
saying goodbye forever.  Not to my brother.

"Well, a bad penny always returns."

You were never bad.  But Cord didn't say it; it was time to let go.

"I don't suppose there's any chance you might reconsider.  There's a
spy store that opened up in Dallas with all kinds of gadgets..."  The
joke fell flat because the desperation in him was too strong.

Hunt squeezed him one last time before slowly releasing him.

"I love you," he told him.

"Watch your pennies.  You never know what may turn up."

"I'll know it's a penny I've seen before when it shines brighter than
all the others."

"Cord, I'm back!"

Tessa's voice cut through the moment.  Hunt saluted his brother, his
smile a tribute to the bond between them as he picked up his duffel and
raised the window.

"It's all still here, bro."  He placed his hand over his heart--and
then he was gone.

Cord stared at the space where his brother had been.  His heart blew
apart, leaving a huge, gaping hole in his life.

Tessa came in to stand beside him.

"What are you doing?"

"Airing out the room," Cord said automatically.

"It was stuffy in here."

"In thirty-degree weather?"  Tessa looked up at him, touching his arm
softly.

"Are you all right?"

Cord turned his gaze from the window to the beautiful woman standing
beside him.

"Yeah.  I am.  I'm going to be fine."

He looked at her for a long moment, from her questioning, worried eyes,
to her round stomach, to her delicate wrists and lovely lips, before
returning to her eyes that glowed with compassion and concern.

And then he left her standing in Hunt's bedroom as if it were just any
other room in the house.

Chapter Eight

Tessa stared after Cord, realizing instantly that something was wrong.
She glanced around the room he said he was airing out, but the open
window was letting in so much frigid air that surely the room had
gotten enough circulation.

Frowning, she closed the window and followed Cord into the kitchen.

He'd put on his coat and was grabbing up his gloves that were lying on
the kitchen counter.

"Going somewhere?"

"I'm taking a walk."

"Oh."  No invitation was issued for her to join him, so Tessa hovered,
watching.  Something about Cord was different.  He was gruff and
distant, which he'd never been with her before.  She wondered if he was
angry with her.

"Is everything all right?"

His gaze flashed over her before he went to the front door.  "Did you
get your errand taken care of?"

Was he upset because she hadn't come back sooner?

"My mother went to the hospital for a little while.  She wasn't feeling
well, but I think she's going to be fine."  Glancing toward the phone,
she saw the red light blinking, indicating that messages hadn't been
listened to.

"Didn't you get my message?"

"Yes," he said absently.  Then he went out the door.

Perplexed, she looked back to the blinking light.  The numeral one
indicated one call had gone unheard.  It wasn't like Cord not to answer
the phone if he was home, so it couldn't have been that he'd heard her
call and simply not picked up the phone to speak with her.  Maybe
someone else had called and left a message and he hadn't noticed.

Yet he was acting strangely.  She went to the window and saw him walk
toward the woods, his boots leaving a path in the snow, which had
ceased falling for the moment.

The first time she'd dialed his number, someone had picked up.  They
had listened to her say hello before she decided she'd misdialed and
hung up.  The second time she'd gotten the machine.

Something wasn't right.  Knowing she shouldn't do it, she pressed the
playback key of the answering machine.  Her voice eerily left the
message Cord said he'd gotten.  The machine clicked off, the red light
glowing steadily since its only call had now been picked up.

He hadn't gotten her message.  Why did he say he had?  And what was in
the woods?

Her heart leaped into her throat.  Something was going on and just
maybe it had to do with Hunt.  She zipped up her jacket, put Ellie on
the sofa so she wouldn't run out the door after her, then went out to
follow the path in the snow.

cord had to get away.  He couldn't look at Tessa and make up stupid
stories--lies.  Airing out Hunt's bedroom was such a thin excuse she
could easily see through it.  He needed a few moments to recover from
the pain of losing his brother; he wanted some time to ponder what he
was going to do about Tessa now.  By keeping silent about the
pregnancy, he had consigned her to unwed motherhood--a knowledge that
haunted him. His eyes burned and his throat worked spasmodically as he
walked faster.

He headed to the tree house.

As he climbing up the ladder, he realized he wouldn't have to shove the
door back.  It was open, as was the window that looked toward his home.
His stomach clenched as he saw the cigarette butts stubbed out on a
large rock.  A food wrapper lay in the corner.  His gaze focused on a
clump of mud clinging to the edge of the floor, possibly someone's
effort to clean his shoes off before coming inside.

The tree house had been--or was still--being used as a hideout.  His
heart pounded in his chest.  Maybe a vagrant who had no place to go had
temporarily lodged here during the storm.  Teenagers trespassing in his
woods might have used it as a place to sneak a few smokes.

With a boot toe, he turned over a cigarette butt, hunkering down to
narrowly gaze at the brand.  Marlboro.  That told him nothing.

He snatched up the wrapper.  The label was foreign, possibly Spanish.
His skin chilled as he realized the one goon had spoken with an accent.
Cord had paid little attention, his entire focus on Tessa and
protecting her whereabouts.

They had been spying on the ranch, watching for Hunt.

And Tessa had been going in and out of the house every day, right in
the line of vision for anyone who cared to walk to the edge of the
woods.  Ellie had returned from the woods warm and dry.  Tessa had said
the dog smelled of tobacco smoke--Tessa, whom the goons had asked about
after they'd informed him his brother was dead.

His brother wasn't dead, and Cord had put Tessa in danger.

He descended the ladder, striding toward the barn.  Tessa ran out to
meet him.

"Cord!"  He halted, staring down into her anxious eyes.  Her full lips
frowned with worry as she gazed up at him.

"Why won't you talk to me?"

"Right now I have something to do.  Please go inside the house, Tessa,
and stay warm."  He kept his voice toneless, lacking the urgency that
drove him on.

"Close the window in Hunt's room and lock that and all the doors."

Her lovely face went white, her big eyes rounding with fear.

"What's happened?"

"Now, Tessa.  Please."  He spoke softly but sternly before continuing
on to the barn.

When he came out with an electric saw, Tessa's jaw dropped.

She ignored his previous request, following behind him.  He had no
energy to object.  One mission occupied his mind, and it took all his
determination to carry it out.  The enemy appeared to have deserted his
property for now, but if they returned to camp on his land again, they
would be in for a shock.

He reached the base of the tree where the little house sat high, its
presence a testament to a happy childhood long gone.  He wiped his
eyes, then put on safety goggles.  Taking a deep breath, holding it,
letting it out slowly, he turned on the saw, its grinding roar
shattering the serenity of the silent, snow-dressed forest.

Holding back the tears, he slashed into the base of the ancient live
oak tree.  He fought with the saw, pushing it into the thick trunk.
Sawdust flew as the blade ate through bark.  He commanded himself to
keep pushing, to destroy that which had been used for evil.  Hunt
wasn't going to look the same, and he wasn't coming back.  As he'd
said, all their happy memories lived on in their hearts.  The tree
house was only a symbol Cord had been hanging on to, but this was his
and Hunt's place, theirs alone.

He motioned Tessa to stay well back and, with a mighty shove of his
boot, sent the tree toppling to the ground.  Then he attacked his
father's creation, the saw unmercifully stroking the planks into small
pieces.  Tears built up in his eyes, pressuring for release, but Cord
did not let himself be deterred.  When he'd destroyed the small house,
he hacked up the trunk into nice-size logs he could split later with an
ax.

It took about thirty minutes to undo all his father's hard work and rip
apart his boyhood haunt.  Switching off the saw, he pushed the goggles
up onto his forehead, surveying his handiwork with grim satisfaction.

The sound of a sniffle made him remember Tessa.  She was wiping her
nose on her coat sleeve, her eyes streaming with tears.

Instantly, he put the saw on top of a big log and went to wrap her in
his arms.

"You destroyed it!  Why, Cord?  You loved it so much."

He shook his head.

"I had to."

She leaned back to look up at him.

"But why?  Why won't you tell me?"

Gazing down into her eyes, he felt himself as lost as ever when he was
around her.  He'd always loved her, but loved his brother and her too
much to do anything more than pine for a woman he couldn't have.  Guilt
ate at him for endangering her, this woman to whom he would give
everything he had if he could.

"It was dead," he murmured.

"It died last summer."

She was sniffly and teary because she felt sorry for him, but she had
no idea that the tree house he could no longer have was nothing
compared to not being able to have the woman he loved.  But he loved
her all the more for being upset for him.

"Don't cry.  And this time, I want you to do what I tell you."
Touching the tip of her straight little nose, he moved his finger to
wipe away her tears.

"If you had gone inside as I asked you to, you wouldn't have seen
this."

"You wouldn't take me to see the tree house when I asked you to.  If I
hadn't followed you, I never would have seen something that meant so
much to you."

Her eyes begged him to tell her why, the why of so many questions he
couldn't answer right now.  Instead, he lowered his head, brushing his
lips against hers for the slightest second before drawing away.

She stared at him, stunned.

"Why?  Why did you do that?"

He closed his eyes, unable to tell her.  He couldn't answer that
question any better than the other questions with an answer that would
make sense.  Slowly releasing her from his arms.  Cord let her go.  He
picked up the saw, looked over the rubble one last time, then walked
away.

tessa stared at Cord's broad back.  Why had he kissed her?

She was astonished by all his actions since she'd returned from
visiting Hester in the hospital, but this surprised her the most.
Though it had been only for an instant, it hadn't felt like a brotherly
kiss, a kiss of comfort.

Cord's kiss had been a brush with the forbidden.  She touched her
fingers to her mouth, still dazed.

Most astonishing was how much she had loved his kissing her.

She, who should be faithful to the father of her child, at least until
the child of their union had been born.

She could not allow herself to start falling for Cord Greer.

Whatever it took, with every ounce of her being, she would make certain
it didn't happen.

when she walked in the front door, she could hear Cord moving around
the kitchen.  After closing the door, she went to join him in there.

"I meant to ask you if Hester was all right."  He glanced up from
washing his hands and forearms in the sink.

As if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.  As if he hadn't
destroyed something precious in the woods, as if he hadn't crossed the
unspoken boundary between them.

"She's fine," Tessa answered carefully.

"The doctors think she just fainted and that nothing else was wrong
although they ran some tests on her anyway.  Then I took her home in
Nan's car."

"You did?"  Cord's brows rose.

"Yes, though she protested vehemently.  She wanted to call a cab, but
that was silly."  Tessa glanced away from Cord's deep granite eyes,
feeling uncomfortable talking about her mother when it suddenly seemed
like a side issue to a much larger one.

"I don't understand what her problem is."  He dried his hands using a
faded blue dish towel that had seen many years of service.  I never
have.  I always thought she should be proud of you, Tessa.  "

"She's not proud of me right now."  Tessa avoided his gaze as long as
she could, but he was watching her, and it seemed better to face him as
she spoke the humiliating truth.

"She'd heard I was working for Nan and came into the salon to let me
know I wasn't doing my daughterly duty by working for her rival."  She
shrugged, but the movement was perplexed rather than uncaring.

"Then she saw my stomach.  And fainted."

A grin sneaked up on Cord's face.  Tessa stared at him, seeing nothing
funny in the matter, but also realizing that she found a sweaty, saw
dusted Cord just as handsome and appealing as when he was cleaned up.
But I shouldn 't find him attractive, not as much as I do.

"Why does that make you smile?"  she demanded.

"I'm sorry.  I shouldn't, I guess.  But it just seems so... like Hester
somehow, to faint and make a grand spectacle of herself.  She always
did like being center stage."

Tessa frowned at him.

"Her fainting wasn't an act, Cord.  She is deeply ashamed of me."

"I'm sure it wasn't an act," he said on an impatient exhalation.

"But there's so much drama in her head, Tessa, that it's just like her
to strip a gear over something as natural as childbearing.  Women have
been having babies for hundreds of years, and you won't be the first to
do it without the natural father around."

She felt herself pale.

"You sound like you know that for a fact."

He looked at her, his face a careful blank, but she sensed him backing
up, assessing what he'd said.  Unflinching, she returned his stare.  If
he thought she was like her mother, incapable of handling harsh
reality, he was mistaken.

"I want you to tell me what the hell is going on.  It's clear you know
more than you're letting on, and it affects me, so damn it, tell me."
The puppy came and sat on her foot, whimpering to let her know she was
there, but for once Tessa ignored her, waiting.

"Okay.  You should know."  He studied her, his mouth a straight,
unhappy line under suddenly grim eyes.  Glancing around the kitchen as
if he was suddenly on alert, he approached Tessa, standing so close she
could feel the heat of his exerted body.  He took her wrist in his
hand, squeezing it gently as he softly said in her ear, "Hunt was here
for a few hours."

"Oh, thank God," she said, the spoken gratitude a whisper.

He was all right.  Alive, not dead.  Her baby had a living father.

Cord's hand on her wrist tightened.

"He's going into witness protection."

Tessa's eyes flared wide.  She couldn't reply until she caught her
breath.

"That's good, right?"

"It's what he wants.  But it is a necessary precaution."

Prickles ran along her skin.  Cord stood next to her so he could speak
to her quietly, but Tessa became uncomfortably aware of how much she
liked his height, his build, his strong leg against hers.

"Are you afraid the house is bugged?"

"At this point, I think it's best for us to proceed cautiously."  He
measured how she was coping before he spoke again.

"The tree house was being used as a stakeout, I believe.  If they can
be right under my nose without my knowing it, how do I know they
haven't been in the house?"

Tessa gasped, unable to help herself.  His hand tightened on her wrist,
and suddenly she knew he was afraid she'd faint.

She snatched her hand from his grip.

"I am not my mother," she stated firmly.

"I knew what I was doing when I loved Hunt and I accepted the risks
involved.  I'm not a dainty heroine who faints at the first sign of
trouble.  Cord, and don't treat me like a china doll just because I'm
pregnant.

I can take care of myself.  " Her chin went up defiantly.

"I know that.  Hunt loved you because you were strong and carefree and
could take the challenges."

Her eyes widened.

"Did he say that?"

"Not in so many words, but yes."

She didn't know how she felt about that.  It should make her happy.
But to hear Cord speaking of his brother loving her left a gap inside
her somehow, a feeling that she wanted to hear how he felt instead.
This new longing startled Tessa.

Best she focus on the problem at hand rather than the unwilling pull to
Cord.

"Did you tell him about the baby?"

He hesitated, and Tessa held her breath.

"No," he said simply.

She nodded once.  His expression showed his worry that he'd done the
wrong thing, that she might be upset.

"Thank you."

Surprise lit his eyes.

"I was hesitant about what you would want me to say."

"You did the right thing.  We both love Hunt, and neither of us wants
him in danger.  As you said, women have been bearing children without
the father's presence for centuries.  I would never want Hunt to think
of me as an obligation.  And I would never, ever want him in jeopardy
because of me."  She felt stronger as she said the words, knowing this
much she'd spoken was true.

"I've made my peace with my situation where Hunt is concerned."

But her heart was breaking for the sake of her child who would never
know a father's love.  The distress might not have been so great if
she'd had a father around.  But it had just been her and Hester, who
was barely capable of being a mother, let alone doing the emotional
parenting of two.  Had there been a balance, another family member to
act as counterweight to Hester's careful rationing of love, Tessa's
life might have been very different.  Less empty.

But that was the past, and as she'd stated to Cord, she was not her
mother.  She did not flinch from life's difficulties.

"Did you destroy the tree house to keep them from using it?"

"Yes.  Though oddly enough, I found myself saying goodbye to my brother
by doing what I had to do.  I'm angry that those men spied on us.  I'm
mad as hell that they were trying to get to you."  He shrugged big
shoulders.

"I'm angry and I'll want to kill them if I ever get my hands on them,
but... like you, I refuse to be used as a pawn."

His lips tightened.  Tessa saw the pain he suffered in spite of his
strong words.  Her heart twisted for him.

"Where do you think they are now?"

"I don't know.  Maybe they've gone, but I doubt it.  You'll have to be
extra cautious from now on."

"And you," she warned.

"Whatever it is that they want from Hunt, they might just as well
decide to use you to flush him out as me."

"You're pregnant with Hunt's child."

They were speaking in hushed tones, but Tessa reached over and turned
on the water, switching on the disposal so the noise would cover their
conversation.

"They don't know that."

He frowned.

"Anybody with one eye can see that you're expecting."

"You see me without my coat.  They haven't, unless they've been in the
house."

He stepped back, his gaze roaming over her body from head to toe.

"Even without the coat, the baggy sweaters do a good job of
concealing."

"And I'll be certain I don't go outside without my coat."

Tessa crossed her arms, surprised by how much Cord's gaze on her sent
flutters to her stomach.

"I refuse to be used as bait.  And I won't let them use me to get to
Hunt.  You just watch your back and I'll watch mine."

Admiration flashed in his eyes.

"Deal."

She took a deep breath.

"Okay.  Now I'm going back to my own house."

Chapter Nine

Cord knew he shouldn't have kissed Tessa.  It was in the stiffness of
her posture and the resolve in her eyes.

Everything had changed--because he had opened a door that she wanted
kept firmly closed.

He had trespassed.

"Tessa" -She held up a hand.

"There's no need for me to stay.  Cord.

Hunt is off to wherever.  The people who are after him are on your
property.  I'm safer in my house than here.  "

Because of him.  He heard the unspoken words and knew it to be true.
Everything she said was indisputable.

"I'd feel better" -- "I know.  But it's illogical and it goes against
my grain."

Her expression softened as she tried to make him understand.

"You shouldn't have to be my bodyguard."

"You have someone else in mind?"

Quick irritation glowed in her eyes.

"To be honest, I don't think it's any of your concern."

That was news to him.

"How can you say that?  My brother" -- "Hunt and I are over."  She made
a slashing motion with her hand.

"Finished and done.  Your obligation has been met."

"I don't think he'd feel that way if he knew you were having his
baby."

"It's my baby.  Mine."  Her eyes flashed with determination.

"Just like you can't live in the past, neither can I."

"And I represent the past?"  He wanted badly to represent her future, a
future together, as impossible as he knew it to be.

"Yes," she said softly, "you represent the past.  Girlish dreams of a
man's brother I loved but knew I couldn't have.

I can't go from Hunt to you.  Cord, as if I'm afraid to stand on my own
two feet.  "

He clenched his jaw as he studied her.

"The protection issue is separate from the issue of" -he gestured as he
groped for the right words "--going from Hunt to me," he finished.

"I think it's all wrapped up together.  You may tell yourself you're
doing this for Hunt, but I don't think you kissed me for your
brother."

Her face heightened with color.  He shifted uncomfortably as they
stared at each other.  No denial came to him.

"Maybe it is one and the same at some point," he agreed.

"I'd look after you any way I could because Hunt cares about you."  He
hesitated before deciding to be completely honest.

"I'd protect any woman or man or animal if I thought they needed help.
But I

can't deny that I want you here for safekeeping, and I want you here
because I like your being here.  " His chest pounded with the force of
his thundering heart, but he made himself say what needed to be said.

"I wouldn't want to be the consolation prize because you couldn't have
Hunt, but I'm also not asking you to stay out of a sense of duty to
him."

Tessa's lashes lowered for just a split second before her clear blue
eyes met his full force.

"I think you can understand that I'm not ready for anything more
meaningful than friendship with any man."

He sure as hell didn't want to hear about other men.  But he couldn't
tell her that he wished she wouldn't lump him in with men in general.
To expect that he should have the inside edge because he was Hunt's
brother--or maybe because he'd been in love with her for so long--was
impractical.

Tessa wasn't about to think of him as having a jump start on other
contenders for her heart because she refused to think of herself as a
prize.

She was right.  Love existed between two people who wanted and
respected each other.  He wasn't going to talk her into a relationship
just because he wanted it to be so.  If she didn't feel the way he did,
that wasn't entirely unexpected.

There were many reasons why she wouldn't, and the biggest one was
Hunt.

For both of them, his brother would always be squarely in the middle.
While a part of him wanted Tessa, that was purely protective instinct.
The other half of him loved her and wanted her for himself-except that
it would feel like stealing from his brother.

He reached around her, switching off the disposal as he said softly,
"I'd like to give you the protection of my name and my resources, for
the sake of the baby if nothing else."

Her breath drew in, a sharp hiss that parted her lips.

"Are you suggesting we stick together permanently-as in get married?"

"It would be legal and binding, Tessa, so that you and your child would
always be provided for should something happen to me.  This ranch is
half Hunt's.  He just never wanted it and he's never coming back."
God, he hated saying that.  He would give his right arm if it wasn't
so.  But there was no changing the reality of the situation facing
them.

"Hunt's child should be provided for, both financially and otherwise. I
am willing to..."  He hesitated, knowing he had to choose his words
carefully so he wouldn't offend her.  "I would like to be a large part
of the child's life.  I like to think I'd make a good stand-in
father."

"Oh, Cord," Tessa said softly, her kind, apologetic tone melting his
hope that she'd say yes.

There had never really been any hope.

"Here.  I want to give you this since it's Valentine's.  Well, you
should have it anyway, but Valentine's made me think of..."  Giving you
something.  Damn it.  He couldn't say that.  So he fell back on another
underlying truth.

"I think Hunt would have approved of your having it."  Wariness
shadowed her eyes, an unwillingness to let him get close to her.  He
understood.

"It's something my father had made for our mother.  I should have given
it to you sooner today, but... it's been kinda busy around here."

He handed her a small box, surprised by how nervous he was.

Slowly, Tessa opened the lid.  Inside lay an engraved heart-shaped
locket, the engraving lit with pave diamonds.

'"Greer," she read softly, opening the heart to reveal a baby's picture
on each side.  Hunt and Cord.  A birth date for each child was etched
below in tiny numerals.

"Oh, my goodness," she murmured.

"This means so much to me."

Running a hand roughly through his hair.  Cord hung on to the honest
emotion in Tessa's eyes.

"I know it might be an unusual gift, but it was our mother's and ...
she'd want you to have it.  You're carrying the next Greer generation."
And maybe the only heir to our family name and the ranch.

He turned away, unable to say anything else for the catch in his
throat.  She touched his arm, and he forced himself to look at her.

"Thank you," she said.

"Please put it on for me."

She still held Ellie, so taking the delicate golden chain from her, he
clasped it around her neck, warning himself to be as quick as possible.
She smelled too good, felt too wonderful--and he hurt too much to keep
standing so close to the fire.

"There."

She fiddled with the fine links, her fingers on them but her gaze on
him.  He wanted nothing more than to kiss her.

It was a mistake he would not repeat.

The doorbell rang, and he was glad for the interruption.  "Nan must
have decided to use the front door for a change."

Pulling his gaze away from the warmth in Tessa's eyes, he went to open
the door.

Hester barged past him into the living room, spying Tessa as she stood
in the connecting hall.

"Mama, you should be resting," Tessa said.

"I'd sooner be resting in my casket than believe my eyes, Tessa
Draper."  Hester's eyes were scornful and angry.

"Betty told me you hadn't been to your house in days, and right then, I
knew exactly where you'd be.  Have you no shame at all?"

Tessa clutched Ellie to her, her blood running fast and cold.

"Let me take you home."

"You get back home where you belong."  She shot Cord a poisonous
stare.

"You're not going to throw yourself at him just because Spy-boy dumped
you.  Either you go home to your house, or you come home with me, but
you leave this house where you've known sin."

The words hurt, but Tessa put her shoulders back and breathed deeply.

"I have not been dumped, and Hunt is not the horrible things you call
him.  If you can't speak to me respectfully, I'll have to ask you to
leave."

"You should leave yourself!"

"I go where I want to.  But I'm not leaving with you."

Her mother neared her, her attention caught by the necklace at Tessa's
throat.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," she said.

"The sugar does flow freely at Daddy's house, doesn't it?"

Cord started to defend Tessa, but she moved to the front door.

"Mother, I won't have you insulting me.  I'll take you home or you can
leave, but you're not going to stand here and insult Cord or my
baby."

Hester wagged her finger at her.

"I promise this is the last chance you'll ever have for respectability.
Either you leave with me now or my door is closed to you for good."

"That's your choice.  Mama."  Tessa shrugged, shaking her head but
keeping her gaze locked with her mother's.

"Fine talk from a hussy."  Hester glared at both of them.

"I

can't stand the sight of you.  Don't ever darken my door again,
especially not showing that big belly of yours.  And don't ever bring
your bastard child to my house and expect me to love it.  "

Hester slammed out of the house.

"I really wouldn't expect you to love anyone, Mama," Tessa said, more
to herself than anything.  She hugged the puppy to her.

Cord closed his eyes.  Hester had just thrown down a gauntlet Tessa
would feel compelled to pick up.  She would never stay under his roof
another night--and she sure as hell wouldn't consent to marry him to
give her child a name and love and a father.  Hester's bitter words
would make her even more determined to raise her child alone.

Which wouldn't be a bad thing under normal circumstances.

Tessa was more than capable.  But his brother had left her in a
situation that was far from normal.  The last thing she needed was her
mother making certain she chose the direction that could lead to
trouble.

"I don't suppose we could pretend she never showed up?"

"No."  The slightest smile curved her lips.

"I've often wished for that very thing, but unfortunately,

Mama always makes sure her presence leaves scars.  " She sighed,
putting her nose to the puppy's fur.

"I'd better go.

If nothing else, I know now that people are gossiping.  This is a small
town, and I don't want my child growing up being the favorite topic of
the day.  " She rubbed her stomach a little regretfully.

"Lately, I've been thinking about moving away.  Maybe back to Dallas
for good."

It was the last thing Cord expected her to say.  His heart jerked
uncomfortably, as if it stopped beating for the slightest second.  He
hoped she was speaking out of pain, but as he stared at her, he
realized she meant every word.

If Tessa left Crookseye Canyon, taking his niece or nephew with her,
the hole gouged in his life would be deeper and blacker than the dark
tunnel of knowing he would never see his brother again.

"I realize then the talk will be that I was abandoned by Hunt and was
too ashamed to stay."  Tessa nuzzled Ellie before opening the front
door to set her outside.

"But at least my child won't have to grow up with the whispers.

Eventually, no one will remember me.  Like Hunt, that may be the best
thing for me, and for my child.  "

Who would have thought Tessa and Hunt's relationship wouldn't just end
but would result in their disappearing, each for their own reasons?
Cord's chest was heavy with the knowledge.

"Maybe it would be the best thing for you."

He didn't say he wouldn't like it because she already knew he'd take
being an uncle seriously.  And it wouldn't be right to hamstring her
with his breaking heart.  The best thing he could do for her was say
goodbye.

"Yoo-hoof" Nan's voice drifted across the field.

"Yoooo-hoooo!"  Unsteadily, she walked a treacherous path over the
ice-slick snow.  She carried a hunting rifle sideways in front of
her.

"Oh, my God, I hope that's not loaded!"

Cord narrowed his eyes on his neighbor.  "It's her husband's rifle.
I'm willing to bet she's been cleaning it or wants me to fix something
on it for her."

Nan weaved slightly before finding better footing.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think she was... drunk."

Cord nodded.

"She may have had a mite too much."

"Is that common?"  Tessa's voice was astonished, though not
condescending.

They watched as the elderly woman moved toward them slowly.

"Every once in a while, she lets me know she's going to wet her
whistle.  I join her when I can just to keep her from being too
lonely."  He strode across the snow toward Nan, his boots crushing the
crisp layer of hard-packed snow.

"Come on," he told her, gently taking the rifle from her so he could
support her.

"I've got a fireplace that's just waiting to be warmed up, and a chair
right beside it.  You should have called me.  Nan.  I would have driven
you over."

"Didn't want to bother you."  Nan gazed at him owlishly.

"Ish better for you to take care of Tesha.  She needs you now."

"I still have time for a lady who makes certain I've got a hot loaf of
bread in my kitchen on Sundays.  Easy on the step."  He carefully
maneuvered her around Ellie, who hadn't moved a paw but sat shivering
on the walk.  Tessa grabbed Nan's other arm and together they helped
her to the wing chair opposite Cord's recliner.

"You shouldn't be out in the snow.  Ish dangerous when you're carrying
so high.  Means it's a boy," Nan told Tessa.

Cord pretended not to notice Tessa's dangerously pink face as he
settled an afghan across Nan's lap.  She leaned her head against the
headrest and promptly began to snore.  He shook his head, waving Tessa
to the hallway.

"Take the keys to my truck so you can get home, if that's all right.
I'll have Nan drive me to your place later when she's slept this
off."

"What?  I'm not leaving you here with her like that!"

"Why not?"  He frowned.

"She's comfortable.  This won't be the first time we've had a cozy chat
over a few drinks and a hot fire."  He checked the rifle.

"Not loaded."  Leaning it up against the wall, he decided against that
and put it in the gun cabinet with his.

"Cord!"  Tessa's plea for his attention turned him around.

"I

just can't run out on you when you could use my help.  You've been too
good to me.  "

He wasn't going to have Tessa stay for that reason.  If she felt it was
better if she went home, he wouldn't fight her.

"I don't need your help with Nan.  She's just lonely.  Trust me.  This
passes soon enough.  And it won't happen again for another month."

"I see."  Tessa put her coat on slowly.

"If you're sure, then.  I would like to go home.  I'd like to wash some
clothes, see if I've got any mail..."

Her voice drifted away, and suddenly he heard what she couldn't say.
She needed to go to her own home, where everything was normal and
familiar.  Maybe walk around in fuzzy slippers and a worn bathrobe, the
way she'd done before he banged on her door and insisted she come with
him.

"Here are my keys."  He reached into his pocket, digging them out,
lightly pressing them into her palm because she hadn't raised her hand
to take them from him.  Sensing her indecision, he opened the front
door where Ellie still sat, uninterested in moving now that the real
cold was settling in.

"Go.  I'll call you later to check on you."

"Thank you," she said on a whisper.  Scooping up her puppy and taking
one last uncertain glance at Nan, she made her way down the steps.

He'd shoveled the driveway and it wasn't steep out to the main road.
All she had to do was navigate a wide circle around the woods and she'd
be on sanded road.  The truck engine roared to life, and Cord closed
the door.

It had been a helluva day for goodbyes.  Nan still dozed in front of
the unlit fire, so he could get the logs started and grab himself a
beer from the fridge.

He was almost in relax mode when the truck horn blasted over and over
again from the road.

panicked, tessa punched the truck horn repeatedly, knowing the sound
would bring Cord running.  In less than a minute, he jerked open the
truck door.

"What is it?  What's wrong?"

She heard the worry and knew it was for her, but she couldn't speak to
reassure him.  With a shaking finger, she pointed to the man's shoe at
the side of the road.  It was a dress shoe, not inexpensive--and
certainly not the kind of shoe one left lying in the gutter.  She had a
bad feeling she knew how it had gotten there--and whose it was.

Cord examined the shoe, then followed what could be the path of a body
being dragged into the dense, dark woods.  Tessa shuddered with cold
and distress, realizing she couldn't sit in the truck even with the
doors locked.  Terror was taking hold of her.  Holding Ellie, she slid
down from the seat and headed after Cord, calling his name.

He joined her, grabbing her arm to steady her.

"You should stay in the truck."

Her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

"I can't."

He didn't say anything else, his attention turning to the soft dirt and
debris of pine needles and decaying leaves.

There wasn't enough light for anything to be very visible.

Tessa shook, her whole being trembling.

"Oh, God.  Oh, no.  Damn it to hell!"

Tessa nearly shrieked at the sound of Cord's emphatic cursing.

"What?  What did you find?"  She ran after him, though he tried to stop
her from seeing what was hidden behind a fallen log.

John West lay faceup, his eyes unseeing, his face wet with melted snow.
His overcoat sprawled out from him, as if he'd been dragged and thrown
carelessly to the ground.  His other shoe remained oddly on his foot.

That forlorn disparity took Tessa to the edge of hysteria.

She whispered, "I'm going to throw up," and the last thing she
remembered was Cord reaching out his arms to her.  She was never so
glad for anything in her life as she let herself slip into the security
of his arms.

Chapter Ten

"Look.  I found a drunk woman passed out in your living room who says
she was carrying a rifle.  You say it wasn't loaded, but forensics may
say something different."  The sheriff eyed Cord and Tessa testily.

"You got guns on the premises.  A man is found dead on your property.
Give me something else to go on here."

"I don't know what more to tell you," Cord stated.

"Those are the facts, at least the way you see them.  Nan brought the
gun over for me to look at because the trigger was jammed.  Anyway,
there's no blood on the corpse, and a rifle would have left a gory mess
that would be easily seen in the snow.  We have no reason to want the
colonel dead.  Quite the opposite, in fact."

"You were the last people who saw him alive.  Then he winds up snuffed.
I'm thinking that's no way to treat a guest--unless you had a beef with
him."

"We were not the last people who saw him alive.  Whoever killed him
was."  Cord's chest felt tight even as he said the words.  The colonel
had been trying to do him a favor--and the price for his kindness had
been high.

The sheriff wrote something down on a pad before glancing at his
officers who were in the process of marking the crime scene.  Policemen
were also spread out nearby, combing the woods for evidence.  The
sheriff glanced at his notes.

"So how's the military treating your brother?"

"He's... retired from the military, actually."  Cord decided at the
last second he was going to say as little as possible about Hunt.
Tessa stood still beside him, her face white and drawn.  He'd tried to
talk her into going inside to sit with Nan, but she'd refused.  She
slipped her hand into his for just a second, squeezing it, and he
realized she was trying to communicate her approval for his reticence
regarding Hunt.

"Doing civilian work now?"  Sheriff Grimes pressed.

"To be honest, I'm not certain."

"When's the last time you saw him?"

Cord hesitated.

"It's been a while."

Sheriff Grimes stared at him.  "A while.  Can you tell me how long of a
while?"

"I really can't."

The sheriff turned his attention to Tessa.

"How about you?"

He scanned her pregnancy with interest.

"I know you're on friendly terms with Hunt Greer."

"What does that have to do with anything?"  she demanded.

"I don't know.  Who wants to kill a military officer?"  The sheriff
shrugged.

"Maybe someone who didn't get along with him in the military.  Maybe a
jealous woman.  Maybe an old woman who carries a rifle with her when
she visits her neighbors.  I just like to check every angle."  He
glanced back at Cord.

"It's not likely the colonel paid house calls to just anyone in the
armed forces.  His presence here would lead a reasonable person to
believe that he was on good terms with my brother, so there's no call
to assume that we would want him dead."

"Maybe.  Or on bad terms he came to tell you.  Care to fill me in on
what he needed to tell you at that hour of the night?

I suppose I can assume it wasn't exactly a social call.  "

"He was in the neighborhood and wanted to see if Hunt was around."

Sheriff Grimes rocked back on his heels, assessing Cord.

"You're dangerously close to being uncooperative, Mr.

Greer.  "

Their gazes clashed, locking.

Finally, the sheriff said, "Still, that leaves you, the girlfriend and
the old woman.  I'll include the invisible brother.  Oh, and of course,
the chance murderer who happened to be roaming around private property
at the same time the colonel was leaving your house.  Short suspect
list."  "There were two strangers who came by my house one night.

I have reason to believe they'd been camping out in the woods.  "" Oh?
" The sheriff perked up.  " Why do you say that?  "" Because I found
cigarette butts and a food wrapper in the tree house.  They must have
holed up there during the storm.  "

"Let me see this tree house," the sheriff said with visible
enthusiasm.

"I sawed it down this afternoon."

For the first time.  Sheriff Grimes's eyes widened with surprise.
"You... sawed it down this afternoon?"

"Yes."

Tessa squeezed his hand unobtrusively, and he felt warmed by it.

"You destroyed evidence of someone trespassing on your land?"

Cord shrugged.

"It was a few cigarette butts, a little garbage."

The sheriff crossed his arms.

"I don't get it.  Why did you saw it down?  You could have simply
cleaned it out."

"The tree was dead," Cord said softly, his tone low and firm.

"The tree was dead.  Excellent."  The sheriff looked like he might rub
off what little brown hair he had as he scratched his head.

"Mr.  Greer, that puts me back to the old lady, you, the pregnant
girlfriend, and lastly, the unreliable chance-murderer-in-the-woods
theory."  He shook his head.

"The two of you look awful close to me, real tight for almost in-laws.
I'm sure there's more to this story than the simple " We were inside
having cocoa sitting by the cozy fireplace' routine.  "

A deputy came to stand beside them.

"No blood, no strangulation.  No obvious wounds.  Contact kill.  My
guess is he was ambushed, dragged out of his car and set upon by
someone who knew what they were doing.  An autopsy may show more, but
this is my assessment.  The M.E. will have to figure out the rest."

Tessa gasped.  Cord glanced at her white face, wrapping one arm around
her shoulders to press her to him.

"Knew what they were doing?"  Sheriff Grimes repeated.

"Yeah.  For a body to have no apparent injury, no obvious needle marks
or signs of violence, he may have been killed in a sophisticated manner
such as the exertion of pressure or a blow to just the right spot.
Again, the M.E. will examine the corpse thoroughly, but with the
deceased's prominence in the military, it's possible someone followed
him out here.  Someone with knowledge of complex assassination."

The sheriff's gaze slid to Cord.

"Thanks.  Let me know the final cause of death."  The deputy walked
away, but Sheriff Grimes kept his eyes trained on Cord.

"Your brother is in the military."

"Was."

The sheriff nodded.

"Was.  And the colonel was.  But he came out here with something to
say--and wound up dead.  You see, now it gets messy because the
military will poke around in this, and maybe the FBI and the media.
Journalists sniffing around, making news out of nothing.  Course, in a
small town, sometimes that's a way of life."  His glance grazed Tessa's
stomach.  "Mr.  Greer, my thought is that the colonel was on the way
out here to see your brother, who was doing a little A.W.O.L.
good-timing with Miss Draper, the mother of his child.  Maybe your
brother didn't want to see the colonel, or whatever, but I don't think
the deceased dropped by to pay you a friendly visit over Corona and
chips."

"So, if you're hiding your brother, now is the time to speak.

"Cause I really don't want the big boys coming out here and throwing
their weight around on what could be a minor wrong-time, wrong-place
murder, and you really don't want to be locked up for hampering an
investigation."

"Oh, no!"  Tessa protested.  She pushed away from the shelter of Cord's
arm.

"Hunt isn't here."

The sheriff focused his gaze on her like a snake about to strike.

"Do you know where he is?"  he asked softly.

"No, I don't."  She held up her head as the sheriff's gaze lowered to
her stomach, gauging the term of her pregnancy.

"But Hunt did not do this.  You need to focus your investigation
elsewhere."

"Really."  The sheriff raised his brows.

"How's your mother, Tessa?"

"My... mother?"

"Did your mother think highly of your liaison with Hunt Greer?  Pardon
me for speaking in the past tense as I'm assuming the relationship
is."

She bridled.

"It is in the past.  And no, my mother did not like me seeing him."

"Why not?"

Tessa hesitated.  No way was she going to confess to this nasty sheriff
that her mother had referred to Hunt as Spy-boy.  That would set him
off on the wrong path.

"Look," Cord interrupted.

"I've already told you,

someone camped in my woods, and that's where you should be searching
for a suspect.  "

The sheriff looked over his shoulder at the deputies detailing the
crime scene.

"It seems to me like there's a lot of searching going on, but sadly, no
evidence of any intruders in the woods.  Anything to corroborate your
story might have been in the tree house you sawed up.  Maybe I should
take a look at it, though."  He sighed as if he didn't think much would
come of it.

"I've been using it for firewood."

"Firewood.  That's real good, Mr.  Greer."  The sheriff shifted more
deeply into his jacket.

"Well, I'll be talking to you both again real soon, and the old lady,
so you folks stick around.  And if you see any more vagrants in your
woods, do me a favor, huh?  Call us.  One of our many talents is
retaining evidence properly."

The sheriff moved away, and Tessa felt her muscles go slack.

She melted into Cord's arms, laying her head against his chest.

"You don't think Hunt did it, do you?"  she whispered.

"Hell, no.  I know he didn't.  It was those damn trespassers, but I
have no idea where they could be hiding now, the bastards."  He itched
to wring their necks for killing the colonel Hunt had been so fond of,
who had tried to do their family a favor out of loyalty.

"It really scares me what will happen when Hunt hears that John is
dead.  John meant a lot to him.  He molded Hunt into a man and tunneled
his love of country into something Hunt was proud of."

Alarmed, Tessa raised her head.

"What do you mean, it scares you what will happen when Hunt hears?  You
don't mean he might return for revenge?"

Cord flexed his shoulders.

"It's a possibility, knowing my brother.  What they wouldn't have
achieved by using me or you to flush him out, they may very well have
done by murdering his mentor.  He'll take this assault personally, not
just out of loyalty to the country and to the military, but because
John was a good friend to him."

"Poor Colonel West."  Tessa felt so sorry for him.  A sudden deep fear
struck her.  If they could kill someone just because he was paying a
visit to the Greer household, then her own life had a very cheap price
tag, as well.  She could just as easily wind up murdered, her baby
never having a chance to breathe its first breath.

"I'm scared," she whispered.

He held her tightly, rubbing her back in calming circles.

"I

figure it's one of two things.  Either anyone who may know something
about Hunt is in danger, or they thought the colonel knew something,
maybe thought he was warning him of their presence.  If they were part
of the assassination attempt in Spain Hunt was warned about, then maybe
they thought the colonel was going to warn him that they were here.
"

"They wouldn't want to lose their chance at finding Hunt a second
time."

"That's what I think, not that Sheriff Grimes would care to hear my
theory."

"I don't think you can tell him about the attempt on Hunt in Spain, can
you?  Wouldn't that start to touch on the gray area of classified
information?"

"I wouldn't care," Cord said, his voice grim, "if

I thought the sheriff could help my brother.  I'd tell him anything I
believed he needed to know.  Unfortunately, with the way the sheriff's
mind works, I think Hunt is better off if I keep his personal details
to myself.  "

Tessa closed her eyes for just a moment.

"Cord, can I ask you something?  About Hunt?"

"Sure."

He kept her folded in his arms, and Tessa enjoyed the sense of
security.  The puppy didn't squirm between them, providing a solid
barrier to an embrace that would feel very intimate.

"What exactly did Hunt do?"

His expression turned guarded as he stared down at her.  "What do you
mean?  You knew Hunt as well as anybody.  What is it you're asking?"

Heat crept up her neck.

"We didn't spend much time talking about his job."

Cord nodded after a lengthy moment.

"Hunt wouldn't."

She lowered her gaze.

"I thought he was still in the military.  I assumed he was doing
something classified, so I didn't ask a lot of questions.  And I only
saw him for such short periods of time that sightseeing and having fun
was all we did.  Not talk about his job.  I know that may sound silly,
but we just didn't have that kind of relationship."

"I don't think it sounds silly at all to be in a place like Spain and
be more interested in having a good time than anything else.  Come on,
let's get you inside."

"Cord, wait."  She tugged at his hand so he would face her.

"You didn't tell me what Hunt does.  Are you deliberately avoiding it?
Because if you are, I think at this point I deserve at least some
explanation."  She drew in a deep breath.

"I don't think it's unreasonable for me to know exactly what's going on
because I get the feeling the stakes are getting high."  Unconsciously,
she gestured toward the spot where the colonel was being placed in a
black body bag.  "If Hunt is retired, why is everyone associated with
him at risk?"

Cord looked at her long and hard, his demeanor indecisive.

Then he took her hand, pulling her close to him as they walked away
from the crime scene.  He kept his voice low, for her hearing only.
"Cord was recruited by John to be in Special Ops, which is why I told
the sheriff Hunt was retired from the military.  It's true, in a
sense."

"I still don't understand."

"Hunt is trained and very experienced in covert operations."

She stopped in her tracks.

"So he's not a code breaker?"

"Not exactly, although I'm sure that falls into his talents at some
level."

"And he's not a spy?"  The fact that her mother's most derogative term
for Hunt might be applicable wasn't comforting.

"I'm sure he has been in possession of documents and knowledge other
countries would rather he not acquire."

Tessa took a deep breath.

"Is that why assassins are after him?"

"Maybe.  He might have had one piece of information too many.

To be honest, I don't know everything Hunt does.  "

"If he's getting a new face..."  She looked at him, her body suddenly
chilling.  "Are you dancing around telling me that Hunt is an assassin?
I mean, when they send him in to steal documents or people or whatever,
I'm assuming he's not invited in through the front door and greeted
with open arms, especially if he's dealing with hostile countries."

Cord shook his head, turning to walk toward the house.

Tessa's lips parted with surprise before she hurried after him, putting
Ellie down on the porch.  She took hold of Cord's sleeve.

"Silence is damning."

"So is knowing too much.  Tessa, I've said all I can about my brother.
I'm sorry you didn't know him as well as you would have liked, but I
can't tell you any more than I have without breaking confidence."

She was shocked.

"Are you saying I got myself knocked up by a man I didn't know very
well, and it's too bad I'm in danger, but I played with fire and God
knows it's hot in the center, so don't start asking questions now?"

Cord shrugged.

"I'm saying we both love Hunt, and you have to expect that I love him
enough not to talk about his work with anyone.  Including you."

"Because if he'd wanted me to know, he would have told me himself," she
snapped.

"Because he didn't want you to know, because he couldn't tell you,"
Cord shot back.

"That's what words like 'covert' and 'classified' and 'top secret'

mean, Tessa.  And even if you didn't know what Hunt was involved in,
you knew you were in above your head.  Even your mother knew, which is
why she constantly tried to warn you off.  "

"Maybe I should have listened to my mother!"

"Maybe you wanted to get away from your mother, and Hunt was in love
with you.  So you closed your eyes to the danger and jumped in with
both feet.  But I can't play information relay."

He went inside.  The door slammed behind him.  Tessa lowered her head,
staring at the hard white steps of the chilly porch.  Then she jerked
the door open, following him inside.

Nan sat up, still in the recliner, though she appeared much more
alert.

"I don't think it's that cut-and-dried," Tessa told Cord.

"It doesn't matter what I should or should not have done, although I
will say I don't regret the time I spent with Hunt at all.  God help
me, I don't even regret being pregnant by him, though maybe I should.
It's a gift of life, and like Hunt, I've always wanted more out of
life."

She put her hands on her hips, staring at him resolutely.

"Maybe you're the one with regrets.  And questions.  You stay on this
ranch, never leaving this town, doing all the family work.  Perhaps
you're mad at me for asking questions because you envy Hunt's
adventuresome way of life.  Don't make it sound like I'm Little Miss
Country Gingham who was too ignorant to know what I was getting into
but wanted a little international flair in my life.  I cared about
Hunt.  That doesn't mean I expected murder and stalking to play into
the equation.  And neither did you."

He blew out a breath.

"I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said any of what I did.  This ranch is my
home.  I keep it secure.  I take care of my livestock.  I didn't expect
to be worrying about Hunt and his girlfriend and his child, or his
mentor being murdered.  I want to protect all of you--and it's damned
frustrating to know I can't."  He spread his palms wide.

"I'm a little scared myself.  But I shouldn't have taken it out on
you."

Tessa nodded.

"I appreciate your honesty."

"Well, now that's settled, I guess I'll get myself home."

Nan eased herself out of the recliner.

"I don't think you should leave just yet," Cord said automatically.

Tessa flashed him a nervous glance.  Did he think Nan might be the next
victim?

"Why not?  I shouldn't have burst in on you two in the first place."
Nan's wrinkle-lined face was slightly pink.

"Got enough going on without me being around."

"I was leaving," Tessa said hurriedly.

"It's time for me to go home, so you might as well stay a while
longer."

"I don't think you should leave, either," Cord told her.

"We've already discussed the fact that the people who murdered John
don't know where I live, but they must know I'm here," Tessa
protested.

"It doesn't make sense for me to stay."  She glanced at Nan.

"We can't all stay here.  Cord, just because you want to watch out for
all of us."

"Until they find the murderer or murderers, I think it's best if you
do.  The sheriff will have more questions I'm sure, and with police
crawling all over the area, I believe you'd both be safer here.  No one
would try to do anything with the cops so close."

Tessa stared at him, hearing the validity in his argument but not
wanting to.  She didn't know how much longer she could be under the
same roof with Cord and not start falling for his kindness, his solid
sexiness.  Her gaze roamed from jeans that fitted just right to a blue
Western shirt that covered a narrow waist and broad chest.  A strong
chin and granite eyes were set off by jet hair that skimmed his collar,
falling neatly at an angle on his forehead.  There was similarity
between Hunt and Cord--but her love for Hunt had been sparked by a
desire to see the world.  Cord had called that pretty squarely.  There
had been no risk in the beginning with Hunt, just an easy relationship
that breezed to exciting destinations.

But her feelings for Cord were ignited by something altogether
different, an attraction for a man with just as deep convictions as his
brother, but much more compatible with what she knew and understood.
Maybe their love for Hunt somehow connected them at a deeper juncture,
an empathetic bonding that pulled her closer to Cord all the time.

She liked his caring; her heart hoped that he liked her as much as she
realized she liked him.

Which was all wrong.  She came with baggage he would have to accept, a
dowry of obligation and responsibility.  She didn't want Cord to see
her as the mother of his brother's child.

She wanted him to know her as a woman with feelings and hopes and
dreams all her own, who could take care of herself.  She wanted him to
want the woman she was becoming--not the Tessa who had left Crookseye
Canyon because she couldn't wait to escape the town and her mother.

"I'll stay," she said softly.

"Reckon I will, too, if you think it'll make you sleep better.  Cord,"
Nan said on a sigh.

"Supposedly there's safety in numbers."

Cord nodded, then left the room.

Tessa picked up the puppy, snuggling it to her chin.

"Nan, will you do my hair?"

"Be glad to.  Might as well do something to keep busy.

Anyway, you've heard the old line about washing a man right out of your
hair.  " She got up to run an assessing hand through the twenty-four
inches of fine straight, golden hair.

Tessa shook her head.

"Cut it off, please, Nan.  All of it."

Nan's cigarette dangled from her lips.

"Cut... it?"

"Yes."  Cord cut down the tree house that symbolized his boyhood,
saying goodbye to the past.  It was time for her to leave behind the
girl she'd been, as well.

"But it's so beautiful.  It's stunning.  It catches everyone's
attention wherever you go."

Tessa smiled a little reminiscently.  Especially in Spain, her hair had
drawn attention.  But that seemed long ago.

"Maybe it can be made into a wig for a cancer patient or something.
Someone who needs it."  Ellie licked her face, and Tessa smiled.

"It's dead.  Dead cells, dead weight.  And from now on, I'm going to be
alive."

Chapter Eleven

The woman staring back at Tessa in the bathroom mirror had a new look
of confidence about her, an attitude of vitality.

She ran her fingers through the short, cropped waves that feathered
jauntily across her jawline and in layers all over.  The length ended
at her nape, and for a second, her hand lingered there, enjoying the
feel of her bare neck.

"I

love it," she told Nan.

"I feel free."

"Of course you do."  Nan nodded at her handiwork.

"Your hair was stunning because no one had any that long--long hair
doesn't look good on many people, plus yours was in fabulous shape.
However, you're not going to have time for all that hair once the baby
is born, and this look is sexy as hell on you."

Sexy.  / wonder if Cord will think so.

"I wonder if Cord would care if we walked over to my house so I can get
my good scissors.  There's just a spot or two I want to even up, and I
need something better than what we used."

"I don't think he'd have a problem if we walked together."  Tessa's
gaze went to the lengths of blond hair lying in a neat swath.

"I feel like I'm putting so much behind me.  Nan.  I wish they'd catch
whoever killed the colonel so we can get on with our lives.  Poor
Colonel West," she finished on a whisper.

"Very strange."  Nan gathered up the hair, busily tidying up the fallen
strands.

"I just don't know what to make of the whole incident.  It was just the
three of us on the property, so I can't even imagine who might have
done it."

Tessa's attention turned from her reflection to the woman beside her.
How much should she tell her?  Nothing, Cord would likely say.  Nan had
a tendency to drink, and her beauty parlor was a hotbed of gossip.  Yet
couldn't Nan end up like the colonel just as easily if she wandered
unsuspecting into something?

The woods, for example.  Nan was fond of walking through the woods,
enjoying the birds and the different flora.  Tessa bit her lip,
indecisive.

"Why don't I ask Cord if he minds if we drive his truck to your house?"
she murmured.  The police had looked it over, and then Cord had brought
it home.  It would be safer to drive from driveway to driveway than
risk getting caught by a murderer.  Her scalp prickled at the
thought.

"I'll be right back."

She left the bathroom and headed down the hall to Cord's room.  The
door was closed, so she knocked softly.

"Cord?"

"Come in."

Her heart suddenly beating faster, Tessa eased the door open.  Cord sat
on his bed, staring out the window.  He was a big man, so he had big
furnishings: a large bed with a mahogany headboard, a triple dresser,
two big lamps on either side of the bed.  Instantly, she saw the
photograph of the three of them, her.  Hunt and Cord, taken long ago.
She went over to pick it up.

"Were we really this carefree in high school?"

"I think the same thing.  Tessa, turn around.  Please."

She put the picture down, slowly revolving, her eyes searching his
gaze.

"You are so beautiful," he said huskily.

Pleased shock mesmerized her.

"You like it?"

He stood, running his fingers through the careless locks.

"It makes your eyes look huge.  And your face is framed just the way it
should be."

She didn't know how to respond to the compliment.  His tone was
longing, wistful, just as she felt.  Their gazes touched, lingered,
remained.

"Nan knew what she was doing," she murmured.  But his fingers left her
hair, gently stroking the place where it ended and her cheek began, and
she could tell his mind was no longer on his neighbor's handiwork.

She knew she shouldn't, but the temptation to relax into his palm was
too soothing, too alluring.  His touch against her skin was warm and
sensual, and she closed her eyes even as she felt the heat growing in
her body.

"You're so soft," he said gruffly.

"Your skin is like satin."

"Thank you."  His palm was rough as he stroked her cheek, and she liked
the contrast between them.  She took his hand from her cheek to look at
it before meeting his gaze.

"Your hands are chapped."  "Not much I can do about it in the winter.
This is about as bad as it gets, though."

She smiled into his eyes.

"It doesn't feel bad to me."

Lightly, she rubbed her fingers over the calluses on the ridge of his
palm.  Grooves lined his palm, evidence of hard work.

"Yours is much softer.  I like the way you feel, Tessa.  And the way
you look."

Slowly, she released his hand, the tension burning too hot between
them.

"I don't know if it makes Mama's words true or not, but I find myself
liking you, too."

He digested her words.

"I wouldn't worry too much about what Hester thinks, unless you feel
you have to.  I've never understood why she doesn't see you as you are,
a daughter any mother would be proud of."

"Pregnant and unmarried?"

Shrugging, he said, "Tessa, even if Hunt had married you, her opinion
wouldn't have changed.  About anything.  She just wants to be a hag
where you're concerned.  I keep looking for the good in her that she
might be concealing, but it eludes me."

"With the exception of dating Hunt, I've tried very hard to be a good
daughter."

"You're a fine daughter.  Nan doesn't have any problem with you, and
she's right down the hall watching TV, for crying out loud.  If anybody
would be shriveling up by coming in contact with you, it would be Nan.
She's given you a job, tried to give you tips on cooking, cut your
hair.  All the things a mother might do.

And she seems damn willing to do it.  "

"About the cooking tips..."

His fingers returned to lightly slide along her cheek.

"Tessa, you're beautiful.  You're smart, an honor graduate of your high
school class.  You would have done well in college had your mom not
needed you in the shop.  You've done your duty by your mother, but you
have none to do by me.  I just like you, God help me.  As much as I've
tried not to, I do."

He made her feel so good; womanly feelings she never knew she longed
for blossomed under his acceptance.

"I have nothing to offer you."

"I have everything I need, Tessa.  In the material sense."

In spite of the wonder of his words, she still held back.

"I

feel guilty feeling the way I do because of Hunt.  "

His fingers gently lowered to skim her neck.

"I know exactly what you mean.  I would never do anything to hurt my
brother."

"Maybe we should quit while we're ahead.  Before things get too out of
hand."  Her tone conveyed her reluctance to back away from what was
growing between them, but also hesitation.

"I know he's never coming back.  I know he wouldn't settle down even if
he did.  And I know what was between us is over.  Still..."

"Still he stands between us.  I know.  It's a chasm

I haven't quite been able to cross.  Taking some time to think things
through might be a good idea, if that's what you want.  "

It wasn't what she wanted.  But going slow at this point made sense.
She'd known she was starting to fall for Cord.  But she was pregnant,
which left the future uncertain.  A man had turned up dead in the
woods, which might make her reach for the security Cord offered.  Hunt
was gone for good.  Her mother had let her disapproval be clearly
known.

"Let's take some time," she said slowly.

"I want to know that whatever is between us isn't born of my fear."

He stroked her collarbone, the sensation mesmerizing.

"You have a lot to think about, but I know you're not really afraid of
anything, Tessa.  You're stronger than you realize."

"Sometimes I feel strong and sometimes I feel like I'm right on the
edge of being lost."

"Me, too.  That has to do with Hunt.  Both of us love him and want him
to be safe and happy.  John's being murdered makes me worry that the
same thing could happen to my brother."  He shook his head.

"I don't think we'll ever know.  And that's the hard part that makes me
feel helpless.  I'll never know if he's all right or if he's lying
facedown in a jungle somewhere because they finally got to him."  His
breath was ragged as he drew it in.

"But he's doing what he believes in, and I've got to accept what he
accepts.  Because I love him."

"It's so harrowing.  And difficult."

"I know.  Even I didn't want to face the fact that the stakes could be
this high."  He snorted, his hand moving from her collarbone along her
shoulder.

"You wouldn't be the woman I thought you were if you still didn't care
for Hunt, Tessa.  I don't feel like you're moving on to me because you
can't have him.  I feel like something's happening between us even
though I don't exactly know what it is."

"I don't, either."  She moved away from him because his touch was
bringing her dangerously close to feeling an excitement she wasn't sure
she was ready to feel.  Sexual attraction built in her, almost washing
her common sense away in the sudden uncontrollable wave of desire.

"Maybe when this is all over, we'll both feel different.  When the
murderer is found, and I can go home, and we have a little time
apart..."

He stood behind her, gently cupping her shoulders in his hands.  She
could feel his heat behind her and she wanted him--wanted him so much.
But was it him?  Her mother had said she threw herself at Hunt.  Cord
had said--in anger, of course, bitter words he'd apologized for--that
she'd really loved the thrill of Hunt's life.  Would she know true love
after growing up with Hester?  Would she recognize emotion that could
last a lifetime?

"You're right," he said.

"There's no point in moving too fast.  Because if there is anything
here worth having, it will still be here when you're ready for it."

Tears filled her eyes unexpectedly.  She turned into him, seeking his
embrace.

"I wish I had the courage that you think I have.  But for the first
time in my life, I'm afraid.

It seems like I'm afraid of everything.  The woods, dark rooms, guns,
sometimes even stupid things I'm too embarrassed to tell you about.
"

He rubbed her back, pressing her tightly to him.  She let her hands
discover the broadness of his back through his denim shirt and the
narrowness of his waist.

She was desperately afraid of falling in love one more time out of
need.  The truth was, she wanted her feelings to be real for Cord.  She
thought they were because they felt stronger than anything she'd ever
known.

But it was so sudden after Hunt, her nerves raw from the months not
knowing about him.  She didn't want to be an emotionally scarred woman.
With Hunt, she had known fun.

This time, she wanted a lasting commitment.

Cord kissed her forehead, but it was the kiss of comfort one might give
a grieving soul.  "I heard once that women suffer fears during
pregnancy because of their protective feelings for the baby.  Natural
instinct."

"I'm suffering from natural instinct?"  Tessa wanted to laugh because
it sounded so absurd on the surface, and yet so true to her feelings.
"Maybe.  Have you seen a doctor to discuss any of these feelings?"

"I had prenatal care in Dallas, but I wasn't suffering from anything
unusual at that time, so no.  I haven't talked to a physician about my
fears.  And I'm due soon, so maybe the worries will go away then."

"How soon?"  "If the doctor in Dallas was correct in estimating how far
along the pregnancy was, I should be between seven and eight months
now."

He reached to encircle her stomach with his hands, feeling the
roundness with wonder.

"I guess I didn't think you were that far along."

"My height hides a lot of sins."

"This is not a sin," he said sternly.

"This is my niece or nephew, who is getting an examination from the
local doctor tomorrow.  Someone I can trust to put your fears at
ease."

"Cord" -- "No."  He held up a hand to ward off her protest.

"You are going into town tomorrow to see Doc McPherson, and that's the
end of it."

Tessa hesitated.

"I really didn't want to have Doc McPherson see me.  Mostly, I don't
want to have my baby delivered in Crookseye."

"You're worried about gossip?"

"Frankly, yes."

"I'm more worried about your health and the baby's.

Tomorrow, you'll ease both of our concerns by seeing the good doc.  "

Against her will, she smiled.

"You're determined when you make up your mind."

"I am very determined."  He turned away, going to the phone beside the
bed and pulling a phone book out from the nightstand.

"Make an appointment and have Nan go with you.

I'd be happy to do it, but I think you'd feel better discussing things
with a woman.  "

"You're not worried about us leaving the ranch?"

"You should be fine for an hour in town.  You and

Nan will be together, and Doc's office is right on the main street.
"

While she enjoyed the security of living in Cord's house, she wasn't
sure how long she could exist between four walls without going crazy.

"I hope they find the colonel's killer soon."

"I do, too."  Cord's face turned grim.

"I want him punished and I want us to go back to living normal lives. I
don't like being used as bait to force my brother out of hiding."

His eyes narrowed, and suddenly, Tessa saw herself looking into the
same thing she had seen many times in Hunt's eyes.

Danger.  Cold resolve.

Chills ran over her skin, and she backed away a step from him.  Had she
been blind to the same thing in Cord that she'd thrilled to in Hunt?
Had she mistaken Cord's kind, patient ways for lack of dangerous depth?
Safety--had she been reaching for safety to cover her own fears?

They were brothers.  Though they were outwardly very different, at some
deeper level they were bound to share some inner convictions.  Just
because Cord had chosen to remain on the family ranch didn't mean he
was any less of a warrior than Hunt.  She had mistakenly seen only his
peaceful tendencies--and the fury in his eyes was clear evidence of her
error.

Cord would avenge his brother if he got the chance.  She knew it as
surely as she knew her baby would arrive sooner than later.  Someone
was on the loose with a grudge against Hunt, someone who had targeted
her for use in his capture.  Cord intended to make certain that didn't
happen and he would seize the opportunity to end this threat to Hunt.

Cord could be killed.

Her heart curled up cold and tight inside her, laced with fear of the
unknown.  He was her last buffer between looming danger--and if he got
in the way of an assassin's bullet or the strange death blow used on
the colonel, she would be alone in the world.

She hated the thought of being alone--but she despised the fact she'd
thought it even more.  Until she knew for certain that her feelings for
Cord were real and true, and not a buoy for her emotions, there could
be nothing between them.

Tessa left the room, sharply aware of her growing attraction to this
man--and how much more it would hurt if she made the same mistake
twice.

cord felt tessa's emotional withdrawal from him the instant she
recoiled.  He recognized that the intimate moment between them had
elapsed as if it had never been.

It had been, and it was strong.  There was an attraction, a responsive
chord drawing them together.  Yet deep doubts kept them off balance.
Tessa would now resort to putting emotional distance between them, and
he would let her.

She had witnessed the unbound rage in him as he had recently perceived
it himself.  Forces beyond his control forged this change in him,
stoking an anger that anyone would threaten those he loved.  He could
no longer be the quiet shepherd, the live-and-let-live guardian of
good.

Better for her to see this side of him and run from it.  He did not
want to hurt her with an illusion of honor.  Honor was lost to him.

He had always known in his heart that Tessa would never be his.  It was
a burning, impossible desire.  His heart had known the flames for so
long he wondered how it kept beating--and yet it beat on.

But the flames would sear his heart, consume it, if the colonel's
murderers took Tessa from him for good.  He had to focus on the rage
inside him--and not allow himself to be distracted by the softer
beckoning of love.

Chapter Twelve

"Let's walk to your house," Tessa told Nan breathlessly after leaving
Cord's room.

"It's not that far, and police cars are still in the area.  We'll be
safe enough."

"Cord didn't want to give us the keys?"  Nan asked.

Tessa shrugged into her heavy coat.

"I forgot to ask."

"Is something wrong?  You seem upset."  Nan peered at her, a cigarette
in her hand.

"I don't know what's wrong with me.  I'm jittery over everything.  A
walk will help."  She glanced toward Cord's bedroom, where he remained.
Her nerves jangled more wildly.

"I'll leave Cord a note so he'll know where we're going and that we'll
be back in ten minutes."

"Fine by me."  Nan put on her coat, following her out the back door.

"Do we take poochie?"

"Not this time.  She might run off again, and with all the cars around,
I know she'd get herself flattened."

"Probably."

Tessa scribbled a fast note, leaving it on the kitchen table.  Then
they hurried across the field between the two ranches.  Nan's frequent
visits had tamped a nice path in the snow so the walking was easy.
Gray clouds overhead threaded a white sky, and Tessa wondered if she'd
ever see a sun again that wasn't painted winter's hazy silver.

"My pregnancy keeps my body temperature up, but I feel frozen straight
through."  Except for when she was around Cord, and then she felt
total, satisfying warmth.  Don't think about it, she commanded
herself.

Nan nodded, her hands in her coat pockets and her cigarette in her
mouth.

"I'm sure the cold kept the colonel's body pretty well preserved. Maybe
they'll be able to find out now he met his death."

Tessa winced at the mumbled words.  Glancing toward the woods, she
imagined all the concealing places.

"I think you should curtail walking in the woods for a while."

"Count on it.  Not even the sight of a yellow-bellied sapsucker could
lure me past the clearing.  I swear, all the beauty I used to see in
those trees, even in the bleakest winter, is gone.  Now it feels
downright eerie."  Nan shuddered.

"I can feel a hundred eyes on me."

"Don't say that!"  A chill raced up Tessa's spine and intensified the
coldness.

"My skin is creeping enough as it is."

"You'll feel better inside my house."  Nan dug out a key and stuck it
in the keyhole.

"Oh, I didn't lock it."  She frowned, trying to remember.

"That's right.

When I was leaving, I just hurried out the door.  I was too addled to
think about locking it.  "

She pushed the door open, and suddenly, Tessa felt as if she were
stepping into another world.  Nan's little house was feminine and
cheery in an old-fashioned way, very different from the dark woods and
heavy furniture at Cord's ranch house.

She'd felt such an overwhelming need to get away.

"Ah, home sweet home."  Nan smiled as she looked around her cottage.

Lace doilies decorated chairs, and crocheted snowflakes served as
coasters on plain wooden end tables.  Tassels made of fancy cording
hung from swathed drapes unlike any Tessa had ever seen, and
needlepoint pillows adorned every sofa and chair.

"I didn't realize you had such a creative gift.

Nan.  " She moved forward to pick up one of the snowflakes.

"I

would never have the patience for this.  "

"Oh, you will when you're my age.  Once the children have gone away and
the winter stretches long..."  Nan's eyes softened with reminiscence.

"I can't understand Hester being how she is.  Wish my children had
settled close by.  I'd be so glad to have them around I believe they'd
have to shoo me away constantly."

"I don't think they'd shoo you away."  She sent her friend a warm
smile. "Well, I can be as nosy and overbearing as the rest of them."
Nan winked at her saucily.

"Now, then, getting a decent pair of scissors to touch up your do
wasn't the only reason I dragged you over here."

"Oh?"

"You've noticed my fingers itch to keep busy."

Tessa nodded.

"I took the liberty of sewing up some baby goodies, if you haven't
already got your eye on something in a store."

"I ... I don't."  Tessa hadn't even thought past a crib.  She knew the
baby would need things, but there was no one to talk to about those
needs, and finding herself stranded in Madrid had left her in a
strange, lethargic limbo.  It was difficult to plan the future when
everything had turned so uncertain--although now it was more uncertain
than ever.

"I

haven't planned for anything.  "

"Maybe you'll like some of what I've been working on, then.

Let's let you eyeball it.  Walk back here with me.  "

Tessa followed Nan with some wonder and a lot of trepidation.  Planning
for a baby was such a big question mark, a foray into the unknown.  She
felt guilty that Nan had undertaken to remedy what she had been
avoiding.

The elderly woman turned on a light and opened a door off the main
hallway.

"What do you think?  It's just some odds and ends, but" -- "It's
adorable!"  Tessa's lips parted at the sight of a white wicker bassinet
delicately adorned with hanging eyelet lace.

Dainty pillows of the same fabric lay propped against a snuggly inner
cushion.

"I can't believe you did this for me," she said softly.

"Thank you so much.  Nan."

"Well, I did it for me, too.  I'd rather be busy, and it was no trouble
anyhow.  I still had some patterns from when I made these for my
grandkids."

Tessa hugged Nan to her.

"I can't tell you how much I appreciate this."

"Tessa!  Nan!"  a male voice hollered into the house, making them jump
nervously.

"We're down here.  Cord!"  Nan yelled back, poking her head down in the
hall.

A second later, he was in the small room with them.  Tessa's pulse
raced dizzily.  His eyes settled on her, the anger in them bright.

"Lord have mercy.  Cord, a bellow like that could cut about five years
off my life," Nan teased.

Ignoring that comment, he said to Tessa, "Do you mind not taking off
like that?  You could at least warn me that you're leaving.  If I
hadn't seen your footprints, I wouldn't have had any idea where you
were."  He held a wriggling Ellie between two large hands as she made a
valiant attempt to lick his chin.

She took her puppy from him.  The concern in his voice was clear
despite the angry tone.

"I didn't mean to worry you.  I left a note on the kitchen counter."
More softly, she said, "I just needed to get away for a while."

He studied her, his expression concerned, but he remained silent.  That
he didn't further press his point told her that he knew why she needed
a moment away.  Emotions were running hot between them, and if they
weren't careful, the anger, fear and tension could boil out of control.
Where it would lead, Tessa didn't think either of them was ready to
find out.

"What's this?"  he asked quietly, his gaze reluctantly leaving Tessa.

He moved toward the bassinet, and she felt sudden heat rushing into her
face.  "A gift from Nan for the baby."

His gaze met hers and Tessa lowered her eyelids, a hundred different
thoughts and emotions assailing her.  The bassinet was the first
visible herald of the expected infant--and it put Tessa's situation in
concrete terms that could no longer be ignored.

"Very pretty," he told Nan.

"Although maybe too feminine for a boy."

Nan laughed at him.

"You sound like a father."

Tessa started, but Cord smiled ruefully.

"I sound like an uncle.  It is my nephew."

"Well, have no fear.  Cord."  Nan patted his shoulder.  "White is for
boys and girls, and when we know the sex, I intend to sew on blue or
pink bows, whatever we find to be the case."  "Might as well get
started with the blue.  Save you time when the little fellow arrives,"
Cord stated, his tone decisive.

"Cord!"  Tessa was completely shocked by his insistence that the child
would be a boy.  She had never thought of it as anything more than a
baby; she had shaken her head during the ultrasound when asked if she
wanted to know the sex.  Yet Cord sounded like an enthusiastic
expectant father--which he wasn't.

"It's probably a girl.  And then Nan would have to take off the blue
and start all over," she pointed out, perversely wanting to be at odds
with his excitement for a boy.

"I think blue is fine whichever sex."  His gaze met Tessa's, softer
than it had been earlier when they'd talked about Hunt.

"I'm sure she or he will have your blue eyes, so it'll be a nice match.
You look pretty in blue."

She stared at him.  The Cord of not an hour ago, angry and vengeful,
might never have been.  Yet she had glimpsed the shadow.

And then she knew.  She didn't want to talk about the baby in specific
terms because she was caught between having Hunt's child and falling in
love with Cord.  It didn't matter how much he might look forward to the
child; she simply couldn't make herself believe that he would really
want to raise his brother's child.  No doubt it had a lot to do with
the fact that Hester had despised raising a child she hadn't wanted, a
child of a man who had deserted her.

The long-buried bitter memories made her shudder inside.  The moment
she'd felt secure with Cord, thought she knew him well enough to relax
her wall of caution, he had changed on her.

"I'm ready to walk back.  Nan.  Do you have the scissors you need?"
She kept her gaze steady on Cord, determined not to let her guard down
again.  There was no way she'd make the same mistake twice of not
knowing the depth of the man her heart wanted.  Foolish heart.

"Sure do."  She cheerily went to a basket and selected a pair of sharp
scissors.

"I'm ready if you two are."

Tessa walked past Cord into the hallway.  She didn't wait for either of
them to walk with her.  He could say all the kind things he wanted
about the color of her eyes or anything else, but her heart was encased
in steel.  For now, it was the only way she could survive.

When she saw the sheriff standing in the field between the two houses,
obviously waiting for them, she knew keeping her heart in steel was now
a vital fact of her existence.

"I was wondering if you could think of any reason someone would park a
vehicle down by the creek that runs through the woods?"  Sheriff Grimes
asked.

Cord frowned, his arm going around Tessa's shoulders.  He'd seen her
halt at the sheriff's question, her whole body tightening with
returning fear.

"No, I don't.  I'd like to take a look at it, though."

"Well, it's not there any longer.  But it was there, and we got a good
set of tire treads, thanks to the snow keeping the ground moist.  I'm
just wondering if it has anything to do with the trespassers you
claimed squatted in your tree house."

"I couldn't tell you."  He met the sheriffs gaze, keeping his voice
even and calm.  The last thing he wanted was for Tessa to be frightened
over old tire tracks.

"Could be joyriding kids mud dogging I guess."

"Didn't look like there was room for many 360s."

"Kids sneaking a smoke, then."

Sheriff Grimes scratched his head.

"That would explain why the car was parked so far back from the road.
Too far back to be seen, but that would also explain why someone used
your tree house as a guest room.  From there they could have seen the
house, at least with binoculars, during the daytime."

"I can't help you.  Sheriff."  He moved to get the women inside the
house.

"I've told you all I know."

The sheriff followed them to the doorway.

"I don't think so, Mr.  Greer.  I have a few questions for your, uh.
Miss Draper."

Tessa was under enough strain as it was.  Cord knew the questions had
to be answered if the colonel's killers were to be found, but he
doubted the tenacious sheriff was up to the challenge of flushing out
international assassins.  He sighed, gesturing to the study inside the
back door.

"Come in."

Tessa glanced at him a little wildly, the dark circles under her eyes
clearly highlighted by the gray light coming through the large windows
of his office.  He shook his head, willing her to stay calm.

"I'll just get some supper going," Nan said, excusing herself from the
room.

"Do you mind if I stay?"  Cord asked.

"Makes no difference to me."

Tessa thanked him with her eyes.  Cord nodded, trying to let her know
everything was going to be fine.

He hoped it was.

"Miss Draper, it would help me if I knew when the last time you saw
Hunt was."

"July."

"No time since?  Have you had letters, phone calls?"

She shook her head.

"Sheriff, what would that matter?  She said she hasn't seen my
brother."

"I just have to believe that someone knew he might be around or they
wouldn't have sent a trained assassin to this neck of the woods.  We
don't have many of those running around in Crookseye."

"With the military base nearby, we don't know what the hell we have,"
Cord said testily.

"Am I to assume from your questioning that none of us are any longer
under suspicion?"

"For now."  The sheriff leaned against a paneled wall.

"Are you afraid.  Miss Draper?"

Tessa's expression was one of wary astonishment.

"I

certainly am not eager to end up like the colonel.  "

The sheriff nodded.

"Your haircut looks nice."

She frowned at him, not saying a word.

"Did you cut your hair because you're afraid?  And you wanted to look
different?  Quite a change, I'm thinking, when your hair was so pretty
before.  So... unique."

"Why would I need to look different?"  she demanded.

"I'm only asking.  Miss Draper.  None of the pieces are really fitting
together for me.  Criminals hiding out in the woods, a military officer
mysteriously dead, a missing brother whom nobody seems to know much
about--except we know you've seen him recently enough for him to father
your child."

"Sheriff," Cord growled, "does this have a point?"

"Yeah, I guess it does.  I'm thinking to myself, I'd be afraid if I
were Miss Draper.  I'd probably go somewhere else until things cooled
off.  But she's living with the brother, which is strange enough,
except that maybe there's some brotherly duty involved."

"Sheriff, I'm still waiting to hear the point of all this," Cord
reiterated.  Tessa's face was ashen as she glanced at him.

"I don't know."  The sheriff scratched his head.

"I think you folks are hiding something from me.  Supposing it's the
missing brother who was holed up in the woods, I ask myself, 'cause
he's A.W.O.L..  With Miss Draper being here, I see he can still visit
the mother and the child.  So the colonel shows up and gets himself
finished off by an assailant--and now I'm starting to wonder about the
brother.  Maybe he didn't want to be found by the military.  And maybe
that's why you sawed and burned up the tree house, so there'd be no
trace.

No fingerprints.  Nada.  "

"You are so far off," Cord said through a clenched jaw, "that you might
as well be on another planet.  That was my brother's mentor who died, a
man who shaped much of what he is, which is a good man.  He loved
Tessa, but they broke up and she hasn't seen him since, so any further
questions on that subject are a complete waste of time."

"If he's such a good man, why isn't he stepping up to be the father of
his child?  Or is he and you're just not saying?"

Tessa stared at him.

"I have not seen him.  He doesn't know about the baby because I have no
way of getting word to him.

As Cord said, you are way off base.  And, Sheriff," she finished
softly, " I'm just as afraid that your bungling may endanger me as
anything else.  Should you stumble on something con crete, please don't
hesitate to let me know.  " She tossed a glance at Cord.

"I'm going to get some cooking lessons from Nan."

She left the room, her face drawn and her mouth taut.  Cord shook his
head.

"I've got to agree with her.  You're not making us feel any safer.
Isn't that your sworn duty, to protect and serve?"

The sheriffs eyes crackled with sarcasm.

"Somebody around here is not telling the truth, Mr.  Greer, which makes
my job damn difficult.  The way it looks to me, if the colonel didn't
come out here to meet up with your brother, he came out here to get
your help.  And got helped to his grave instead."

"Can't help you do your job, Sheriff."

"Forgive me if I say that I suspect you of being less than candid."
The sheriff put his hat on his head.

"Which leads me to think you're not that worried about the colonel's
killer being found.  Next time I talk to you, I have a good idea it
will be at the police station."

tessa hovered in the hall, listening to the sheriff question Cord and
Cord's terse answers.  Her heart beat hard, fast.  If she'd ever
thought she was afraid before, the sheriffs visit brought the taste of
fear fully to her senses.  The question about her haircut was startling
and bizarre.  Not once had she thought about disguising herself.

But now that the sheriff had asked about it, a possible way out of
their predicament leaped into her mind.  She and Cord needed a
disguise.

Chapter Thirteen

"Supper!"  Nan called from the kitchen.

Tessa took a deep breath.  The three of them seated themselves at the
dinner table to eat the fried chicken Nan had prepared.

Tessa hesitated, her stomach too tight to eat.  A disguise, a cover,
would be protection--but could she make herself suggest it to Cord?
There was danger all around, but mostly in her heart.

The stereo played in the background, set to a country-and-western
station, loud enough to cover the quiet conversation at the dinner
table.  She knew Cord wanted to be part of her baby's life; as his
wife, she could refuse to reveal what Cord had told her about Hunt's
earlier visit.  It would protect Cord and Hunt and save her baby from
the humiliation of bearing only his mother's last name.

She took the plunge.  "We need just as much protection from the law as
we do from those thugs who might still be lurking nearby," she told
Cord.

"Matrimonial subterfuge would be a disguise of a different kind.  I'm
very afraid of the sheriff."

I'm afraid he'll lock you up on some bogus charge--and then God only
knows what might happen.

Cord's fork paused in midair.  His eyes focused on her, intense and
wary.

"Matrimonial subterfuge?"

"Yes."  She swallowed, suddenly more nervous than ever.  Her stomach
rolled and knotted, so she put down her fork, any remaining appetite
shot.  She had to convince him that her plan was a serious option to
consider.  And maybe their only option.

"A matrimonial subterfuge would ensure that legally I would never have
to reveal anything that would implicate you.  The sheriff is getting
close.  He's sure Hunt has been around."  She glanced at Nan with
sudden dismay, realizing she'd just made Nan an accessory with her
slip.

"Damn," Nan said instantly, reaching to pat her ear with her palm.

"My hearing aid just went out again.  If you folks will excuse me, I
think I'll go out on the back porch and have a smoke."

Tessa sent Nan a grateful look for understanding their need for
privacy.  After she left the room, Tessa looked at Cord for his
reaction.

"I'm assuming you're suggesting we remain platonic."

Tessa nodded, her heartbeat thundering in her throat.  She couldn't get
any closer to Cord emotionally than she already was.  Marriage would be
a stopgap measure in the rapidly growing problems they faced.  But
Cord's sudden lust for vengeance worried her, too.  As did the light
contractions she'd been experiencing recently, which had intensified
during the past few days.  She'd chalked it up to the fear and
uncertainty engulfing her, but she truly believed that if the baby
stayed inside her for another month, it would be a miracle.

Cord studied this suddenly calm, determined woman.  She was pale and
yet seemed utterly sure of what she was proposing.

"This maneuver would be to keep the law from questioning you about what
I know about Hunt?"

"I think it would be best for him.  And for you.  Ultimately, then, for
my child and me."

He admired her continuing loyalty to Hunt, but it also stirred jealousy
in a secret cavern in his soul he didn't want to investigate.

"I'm afraid that the next cockamamy theory the sheriff will offer is
that you killed the colonel because you were trying to protect Hunt for
some reason."

His anger at the situation rose quickly to the surface.

"Ridiculous."

"The sheriff is a loose cannon.  What do you do when there's a loose
cannon around?  You take cover."

He drummed the table.  "And you?  Is the only benefit to you my last
name?"

"I'm not sure," she said softly, her eyes dimming.

"I think there's much more than that."

His heart beat rapidly, bringing pain to his chest.  He could never
tell her the depth of his feelings for her, especially not while she
acted half-scared of him now.  There was a definite bridge she'd burned
between them to keep him from crossing into her life.

But he wanted her.  And the wanting went far deeper than matrimonial
camouflage.

"There's a huge hole in this plan.  I don't think I can be married to
you and not ever want marital relations.  I can be a father to your
child, I can give you my name, I can emotionally and financially
support you, but there's no way I could live under the same roof with
you as husband and wife and not touch you.  But thanks for the offer.
I'm just not that much of a hero.  Although I do appreciate your trying
to do the honorable thing by Hunt and me."  His mouth twisted with a
grim smile.

"Once you didn't want to have the honorable thing done by you.  Now I
understand how you felt."

He saw her swallow nervously.  The idea of being in a physical
relationship with him was clearly something either she couldn't, or
wouldn't, handle.  Forcing her to suffer wasn't his idea of how to
treat a woman.

Pushing his chair back from the table.  Cord nodded at her.

"No doubt there's a better way to bluff the sheriff than what you're
suggesting."

She folded her hands in her lap, her full, pretty lips unsmiling.  Cord
would have given anything to have her face light up with one of her
heart-stealing smiles.

"I'm only suggesting you protect me so that I never have to contradict
anything you say.  You don't know how far the sheriff is determined to
go to make you admit what he already suspects.  Until his mind is
turned in another direction, he's going to stay focused on you."  She
searched his face with unblinking perusal.

"And I'm suggesting you protect me by giving my child a father and a
name.  I think this is a fair trade."

Maybe it was.  It just wasn't the way he wanted her.  And he didn't
know if he could settle for less.

"I'm going down to the barn," he said abruptly.

"Since it's dark, I wish you'd stay in the house with Nan and Ellie."

She reached out to touch his forearm and something like lightning
sizzled across his consciousness.  "Cord, I couldn't stand it if you
went to jail for hampering an investigation.  The sheriff worries me.
Really worries me."

Maybe Tessa was thinking straighter than he was.  Maybe her idea to
outwit Grimes was a good one.  His pride stood in the way of his seeing
clearly because he so badly wished Tessa would see him as a real
husband, a lover, a friend.

But at least you'd have her, an eager inner voice prompted.

Under your roof for good is a step closer.  to having her forever.

It wasn't heroic.  It was wrong to take advantage of a woman in such a
stressful situation.  Tessa was definitely under stress.  They all
were. And the predicament facing them wasn't going away any time
soon.

"I feel like I'm about to step on a land mine the sheriff is planting,"
Tessa whispered.

"Eventually, he's going to compare our stories and it won't look good
for any of us."

His heart heavy, he jammed on his black Stetson, then pulled on
shearling-lined gloves and a jacket.  He didn't want to do it.  The
hell he'd been living in-wanting Tessa and not having a chance of her
ever being his--would ignite the burning to a roaring inferno inside
him.

Yet the other actors in the drama were playing very rough.

His soul shattering, he admitted it was time to put aside what couldn't
be and concentrate on keeping Tessa safe.

"I'll drive you to Doc McPherson's tomorrow," he said, his voice
resigned.

"And then we'll go to the courthouse for a license."

"We won't be able to marry for seventy-two hours.  We need to move more
quickly."

He stared at her, the ground falling away from his boots.

"What are you suggesting?"

"A minute is an hour during an investigation.  In that amount of time,
a lot could change for the worse.  We need to get out of the sheriff s
pocket.  I suggest we cross the border into Mexico and get married
there."

"You want a quickie marriage?"  All his traditional values clamored a
protest.

"I don't think we have a whole lot of time."

He hated hearing words he knew were probably more true than any of them
wanted to believe.

"I suppose driving to Mexico would be safer than being in an airport."
He didn't want her anywhere near an airport, he realized suddenly.  Not
with international assassins after them.

He stared at the fine blush suddenly blooming on Tessa's cheeks.  His
brother was the one with the fast reflexes.  Cord was slower of action.
He thought through everything carefully and benefited from logical,
practical choices.

Hunt lived on the knife edge of time and found satisfaction.

Cord wanted Tessa.  He didn't have a chance even if the circumstances
were normal.  It would make this whole horrible subterfuge so much more
palatable if.  "Tessa, I have to ask you... are you still in love with
Hunt?"  he made himself say.  His stomach clenched, shielding his
emotions from her answer.

"I think about him all the time."

Her voice was a whisper in the dimly lit room and barely discernible
over the honky-tonk blues song playing on the stereo.  But he heard
her.

"As much as you think about him all the time, I'm sure, Cord, praying
he's safe.  Worrying that if the colonel could be gotten to.  Hunt
could be, too, I guess.  He is the father of my child after all."  Her
eyes widened as she stared up at him.  "But what was between us ended
in Madrid.  And I don't look back and wish it still existed."  Her chin
rose in resistance to something he couldn't name.

"As much as I try not to, I find myself thinking about you more
often... than I probably should."

Her honesty caught at him; he could see in her eyes that she hadn't
said the words willingly.  She was giving him a piece of herself when
so many pieces had been taken from her.

It was a start, and he could live with that.

"I'll go warm up the truck," he said.

"mira.  " Rossrs command brought Salvador to stare at the television
set.  The camera angle panned to stark grayish-white trees behind a
reporter with windblown hair and ruddy cheeks.

"He is very cold," Salvador commented with a grin.

"Not as cold as the colonel," Rossi said.

This made Salvador laugh.  He gleefully observed the yellow crime-scene
tape, disappointed when the news reporter returned to talk about
something else.

"Senior Vaquero definitely knows we are here now.  It is time to make
our move."

Rossi hit the off button on the remote.

"Yes.  Let our contact know we will need transportation for three
within twenty-four hours.

They went quietly to the woods on foot, stealthy in the darkness.  The
police were gone though the yellow tape remained as a protective cordon
where the crime had been committed.

Salvador felt calm, driven.  All the months of planning were worth it
for tonight.  The feeling of helplessness at losing his brother was
erased with the action of moving forward with the plan.

Where the tree house had been, they found a stump.  Rossi shone a
flashlight on the area around it, revealing piles of sawdust.  Salvador
jerked his head toward the house.  As they walked to the edge of the
clearing, he put the night-vision goggles to his face.

The old woman stood outside with a tall woman holding the puppy.
Swiveling his head, he could see a form moving beyond the corral.
Senor Vaquero.  He moved back to the women on the porch.  The old one
went inside, leaving her taller companion alone.  Salvador frowned
behind the goggles.  Who was this woman?

She bent to put the puppy to the ground, and suddenly, Salvador knew
with an intense ache that it was she, shorn of her beautiful,
light-catching hair.

"Caramba," he muttered.  "Mande ?"

Salvador shook his head.  His fantasies about touching the long,
beautiful hair were extinguished as if doused by water.  Sometimes he'd
even thought about wrapping that golden cord around her neck, to watch
her eyes widen with terror as he choked her.

That would almost have been payment enough.

He would have to find another way to make her pay.  She stood slowly,
her hand going to touch her stomach before she opened her coat.
Something was wrong because she straightened her back again, flexing
it, her hand slipping inside her coat.  He stared through the goggles
so hard his eyes burned, and in a moment, he was rewarded by seeing her
put her other hand into her coat, framing her stomach under the glare
of the porch light.  She rubbed her belly, comforting it, and Salvador
smiled.

This was his reward for his patience.  The size of her stomach meant
there was one additional thing guaranteed to make the Hunter
suffer--his woman and his child were more than Salvador had ever hoped
for.  A baby ensured that the golden woman would do whatever they
wanted her to do without protest.

"we can't leave you here," Tessa told Nan.

"Me and Messrs.  Smith & Wesson know how to entertain unwanted
company," Nan stated.

But what if Nan decided to have one of her moments with Johnnie Walker
whiskey?  If the colonel had been lured or dragged from his car by
professionals, one little old lady sitting in a house was no match,
rifle or not.

"Please, Nan.

I'd feel so much better if you'd go to Mama's.  "

"I don't get along with your mama."  Nan waved her off, and Tessa
glanced at Cord for help.

"Did once, don't now, and don't care."

She reminded Tessa of a cat, hissing and ready to fight.  Nan maybe
weighed a hundred pounds.

"Nan, listen to me.

Everybody's doing something they don't want to do to keep out of the
sheriffs line of fire.  "

"I could have told you the sheriff was bad to the core.  Him and all
his deputies are on the payroll of the richest, most dishonest
scalawags in Crookseye."  Nan shot them a bellicose glance.

"But that's your problem, not mine.  Whoever murdered your friend
doesn't know anything about me.  I'll be just fine once Cord drives me
over to my own house.  Locked up tidily, puppy-sitting Ellie,
everything will be just fine."

"I know Mama drives you up the wall," Tessa said, trying one last time
to convince her.

"She's not the world's easiest human being.  But I can't get married
without telling her because she is my mother.  It wouldn't be right.  I
want to see her before I go" -she swallowed painfully "--and hope
she'll give me her love to go on."

"Not much chance of that," Nan warned.

"It might make a difference if you were there.  I

could use your support," she pleaded, using the thin excuse as a last
hope to persuade Nan.  Tessa met Cord's gaze, seeing nothing she could
read in his dark gray eyes.  Taking a deep breath, she turned back to
Nan.

"She is my mother, he is going to be my husband, and we are having a
baby.  I've got to give her one last chance to accept the situation,"
she said, her voice falling.

"And her grandchild.  I can't just drive past her house on the way out
of town without giving... without trying."

"I think Tessa's idea is a good one."  Cord moved to touch Nan's
shoulder, the gesture one of love for someone he thought of as a second
mother.

"It would give us both peace of mind.  There's really no place else we
can put you and Ellie where we know you'll be safely tucked away."

Nan clucked her teeth.

"What a bitter old fart of a woman," she said heavily.

"All right.  I'll go, just because you've got enough on your plate
without having to worry about Ellie and me."

"I'd so appreciate it.  Nan," Tessa said on a breath of relief.

"We'll take extra precautions to make certain we're not followed."

"We'll be safe because just the fury from Hester's dragonlike
countenance would slay them at the door.  Turn them right into stone,"
she muttered, getting up to follow them to Cord's truck.

"I know it's not easy."  Tessa patted her on the back as they walked
from the house.

"Quite frankly, I'm not expecting Mama to do anything more than throw
me out."

"She won't throw me out," Nan said sternly, issuing a vexed expletive
that could have melted snow.

"One tough old bird to another, I've got a few things to say to your
mama.  And she's gonna listen!"

To tessa's surprise, Hester didn't come to the door immediately.
Usually, Hester was quick to answer in case any of her customers popped
over with a bill payment.  The porch light was off--another strange
thing.  Hester wasn't a considerate soul as much as one who feared
litigation should any of her customers trip on her porch in the
darkness and decide to sue.

It took a second impatient ring of the doorbell before Hester called,
"Who's there?  Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Cord put his hands on Tessa's shoulders, giving them a squeeze, bracing
her for Hester's venom.  Tessa enjoyed the support for the slightest of
moments.

"Mama, it's Tessa."

"Open up the door, you old hag.  It's freezing out here!"  Nan
shouted.

Tessa waited, astounded, as the chain slid off the lock and the door
opened a crack.

"Are you alone?"  Hester asked.

"Are you deaf?"  Nan demanded.

"Didn't you hear me cussing you?  No, she's not alone!"

"Cord is with us."

"Well, come in, then.  Hurry."  Hester opened the door and shooed all
three in, never turning on the porch light so they could see where they
were going.  She quickly locked the door again, three locks shooting
home as Tessa tried to steer Nan into the foyer.

Nan shrugged her off.

"I'm not helpless.  I can see," she whispered.

"So this is your crypt, Hester," she said more loudly.

Hester ignored that and led the way down a dark hallway to a small den.
The curtains were pulled tightly shut.  A small lamp glowed on a
scarred end table.  There was little decoration, unlike Nan's cheery
home.  No pictures, no mementos of past cherished memories.  A
black-and-white TV sent the room into light and then dark with erratic
images.

Still, Hester didn't usually cloister herself with such unwelcoming
darkness and caution.  Unease sent shivers up Tessa's spine.

"Mama, why are all the lights off?  Why are you sitting in here with
the doors locked?"

Hester seated herself in a wing chair, her body tense.

Shocked, Tessa noticed the handgun within easy reach on the scarred
table, in the shadows where the lamp's light didn't reach.

"Sheriff Grimes left a little while ago," she said softly, her
frightened gaze on Tessa.

"He says you're in big trouble."

Chapter Fourteen

"Trouble?"  Tessa glanced at Cord, startled.

"What did Sheriff Grimes mean by that?"

Hester's eyes were wide as she stared at her daughter.

"He says you're mixed up in some bad stuff.  That the murder of that
colonel had something to do with Hunt.  He seemed to imply that you
might have done it because Hunt wanted you to.  Or that Cord did it and
you're covering for him out of loyalty to the father of your child."

"Preposterous!"  Nan exclaimed.

"Tessa has barely left the house even if she were capable of murder,
which she isn't.

Sheriff Grimes himself said that the colonel was killed using a method
yet to be determined other than it involved contact.  Not something a
gentle woman like Tessa would be trained to do or even could do.  And
Cord has been with us every moment he could spare.  The sheriff was
just fishing.  "

"The whole matter is preposterous anyway," Hester agreed, her eyes on
her daughter.

"My feeling is that the sheriff wants a scapegoat so that TV coverage
doesn't get too thick around here.  A few nosy're porters, some
determined military folks, and maybe the sheriff gets exposed for the
sneaky shyster he is.  That would make a serious dent in his den of
thieves.  He needs to find someone to take the blame, and my daughter
is vulnerable.  Tessa, you've got to get away from here unless you want
to have your baby born in jail."  Her voice broke at the end as she
sank back against the chair.

"I didn't ever dream I'd encourage my daughter to become a fugitive
from the law, but I honestly think there is trouble brewing in
Crookseye."

"I..."

Chills ran through Tessa like cold snakes.

"I came to say goodbye, Mama."

Hester nodded.

"Say it quick and be on your way, then.  I'm sure he's gone looking for
you."  She knotted a tissue between her fingers so hard it tore.

"You shouldn't stay here any longer than you have to in case he comes
back and finds you talking to me."

"It doesn't make sense," Cord said.

"Sheriff Grimes acted like he thought I had done the colonel in to
protect Hunt."

"He's trying to scare Hester into confessing anything she knows," Nan
interjected, her eyes narrowed as she stared at her longtime nemesis.

"Because she loves her daughter, she might start blabbing everything
she knows about the Greer boys to save Tessa's neck.  But you didn't
fall for his bluff, did you, Hester?"

"No.  I sure didn't."  Hester's voice was a whisper in the dimly lit
room.

"Grimes is evil, and I could see the desperation in his eyes.  He'll do
anything to keep his little kingdom in Crookseye securely in the palms
of his dirty hands."  Her gaze suddenly fastened on Cord.

"Where are you taking her?"

"To Mexico.  We're getting married."

Hester's gaze ricocheted from Cord to Tessa and back again.

"Do you love her?"

Time stood still for Tessa as the question hung in the stuffy room.

"Mama, we have to do this," she quickly answered before Cord had a
chance.

"Grimes is going to make this look the way he wants to.  He doesn't
want to find the colonel's killer.  If we get married, I can't be
forced to implicate my husband."  She turned her head to stare at Cord
before facing her mother.

"It doesn't matter whether we love each other.  This is something we
have to do."

Hester pursed her lips as she looked at both of them for a long time.

"Get going, then," Hester commanded again.

"Before he comes back and finds you here.  Or worse, arrests you for
something only his nefarious mind could fathom."

Tessa sank to her knees at her mother's feet.

"I guess I was hoping you'd give us your blessing."

Hester frowned.

"You don't need it."

"I do."  Tessa waited, shocked when she felt Cord bend to one knee
beside her.

"We do," he said.

"This isn't the way I want it, but I'll do my best by your daughter.  I
would like to ask you for her hand in marriage and for your blessing on
it."

Hester's mouth worked for a moment as she stared at Cord.

"You're taking a lot on yourself, you know.  You'll be a father."

"I consider that a matter of honor.  I look forward to raising a child
with Tessa."

"She's a wild one," Hester warned.

"She never would do anything I asked her.  Not try to be popular, not
make friends with the right people, not date the boys I wanted her to."
Hester burst into sudden tears, her wrinkled lids reddening.  "I wanted
so much more for you than I had," she told her daughter.

Tessa silently put her hand over her mother's shaking fingers that
still clenched the torn tissue.

"I was fine.  I only wanted your love."

"I couldn't," Hester said on a hoarse whisper.

"I couldn't tell you that your father never married me.  He was a
military man like Hunt, always gone.  Always leaving me here to wait.
When he found out I was having a baby, he..."  Her lips trembled as she
blew her nose.  Tessa reached to hand her mother a fresh tissue.

"He never came back," she whispered raggedly.

"He never came back.  And you were born, all rosy and pretty blue
eyes... I wanted so much for you.  But you always went the opposite
way, no matter what.  There wasn't much I could give you.  I wore a
wedding ring, pretended your father had married me during some romantic
rendezvous.  And that he died on a training mission overseas.  It was
wrong, but I bought a medal from an estate sale and kept it out next to
your father's picture."

She shook with the emotion of her confession, wiping at the tears in
her eyes.

"I wanted so much for my poor little baby girl, and then Hunt started
calling on you..."

Unable to finish, she took a moment to pull herself together as Tessa
patted her mother's knee.  Cord put an arm around Tessa, rubbing his
palm up and down her arm.

"I wish you hadn't been so hard on yourself, Mama.  None of that would
have hurt me.  Not like all the years of feeling you didn't want me
did."

Hester nodded.

"I realize that now."  She sniffled, suddenly glaring at Nan.

"I suppose you're leaving her here to irritate me like a splinter in my
skin," she snapped.

"Yes, you old fool," Nan said, pulling a chair over to sit.

by Hester.

"I'm staying right here to cuss you for being such a silly woman."

"I wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't stolen the one man I loved,"
Hester flung back.

"You wouldn't be in this mess if you weren't so stubborn.

You didn't have to go rushing off to the first man who winked at you,
and you didn't have to spend your life trying to make your daughter
perfect.  " She nodded to Tessa and Cord.

"Go.  I'll take care of her."

Tessa stood, her own eyes teary.

"It's going to be okay, Mama," she said softly, leaning over to kiss
her on the cheek.

At the last second before she pulled back, her mother's thin arms
reached out to encircle her.

"I'm sorry," she said against the side of Tessa's face.

Tessa closed her eyes, nodding.  Then she stepped away.  Her heart beat
faster as Cord stood also, beckoned by Hester to come closer.  He bent
to give her an awkward hug.

"You are a man of honor," she said.

"But I sense that there's more to you than that."

"I don't know if there is or not," he said wryly.

"Oh, I think there is."  She released him, rising to follow them to the
door.

"Wait."

She hurried down the hall to her bedroom, returning a moment later.

"I had no real wedding ring of my own, so I have nothing to give you
except the family Bible."  Drawing in a deep breath, she placed it in
Tessa's hands.

"Since you're starting the next branch of the family tree, I hope
you'll hold it when you get married."

"I will."  Tessa thanked her mother with her eyes, her heart lighter
than it had been in a long time.

"You do have my blessing," Hester said to Cord.

"And my best wishes."  She opened the door after looking at both of
them for a long second.  "You can leave the ratty old woman and the
flea-bitten hound with me for safekeeping.  They'll be here when you
get back."

She sent them out into the night, watching as they got into the car.
Her eyes streaming with tears, Tessa waved goodbye to Hester, and to
Nan who had come to stand beside her.

Clutching the family Bible close to her, she stared at her mother until
Cord drove away from the small wooden house.  "Thank you for letting me
say goodbye to her."

Cord didn't reply right away, but his hand covered hers over the
Bible.

"I'm proud of you" was all he said.

nan helped hester lock all the doors and check the windows one more
time before they went into the den again, the flickering TV
illuminating them as they sat quietly, uneasy with each other.  Uneasy
with what lay in the future.

"Guess I never thought I'd be on the same side with you again," Nan
finally said.

Hester nodded at her.

"I'm glad you're here," she told her friend.

"I'm scared to death."

"So am I."

They sat side by side, listening to the cold February wind buffet the
small house, grateful to have each other for comfort as the minutes
ticked slowly by on the mantel clock.

"Does he love her?"  Hester asked suddenly.

"They love each other," Nan assured her.

"If they get through this, I hope they stay together."

"For the sake of the child?"

"For the sake of each other," Nan said steadfastly.  "They are meant to
be together if they can find their way."

cord didn't want to think about how Tessa avoided her mother's question
about where love fitted into their marriage.  Did she really see it
only as a subterfuge, a cover to keep them from danger?  He would have
married her under any circumstances, God help him.  Was there a chance
on earth she could ever love him?

He didn't know.  She'd fallen asleep, exhausted.  Glancing over at her,
he could see her face as the highway streetlights brightened the truck
interior.  She was so beautiful, so kind, so loving, so family
oriented. A part of him couldn't believe she was actually going to bear
his name.

His chest tightened as he thought about Hunt.  His brother would
approve of the measures they were taking; he would want his child to
grow up with a name.  He would want Tessa safe.  Hunt had made it clear
that his life was with the military and Cord had made his peace with
that area of his brother's life.  As much as it tore at him.  Hunt
wasn't coming back.  Nothing on the ranch would ever be the same.

Except for Tessa.  New life began with her.  Cord was deeply grateful
for that.  If they stayed out of the sheriff's line of fire long
enough, maybe the whole thing would blow over and he and Tessa could
start a life together with their child.

He wanted that more than anything.

"where are they going?"  Rossi asked Salvador.

"I do not know."  The highway signs read Austin, several hours now from
Crookseye.  The cowboy had stopped once for gas, so Rossi had, too, at
a gas station across the road.

Then they'd gotten on the highway again, their car following at a far
enough distance to avoid suspicion.

"But they are on the run," he said, his body thrilling with an
adrenaline rush even as he said it.  He loved the chase, the excitement
of bearing down on the kill.  There was nothing better than toying with
helpless prey and tasting the fear on their breath just before the
deathblow was executed.

He wondered if the Hunter felt the same thrill of pleasure.

Salvador was haunted by the thought that the Hunter might have enjoyed
his brother's death, known the heady feeling of supremacy brought on b
3

innocent people.  Hell, they'd been doing that for years whenever the
necessity arose.

But military and foreign assassins--that was a whole other thing.  It
would bring journalists, prime- time, big-name talking heads, all
wanting a scoop.  The FBI was already investigating, but they tended to
stick close to their own affairs, their own code of silence, as did the
CIA.  He wasn't worried about their digging too deep into Crookseye.

This was a military problem; they could handle it.

All he had to do was produce a murderer to comfort the people of
Crookseye.  They wouldn't care who it was as long as someone was behind
bars.  Snug in their comfortable lives, they never cared about the
facts as long as the sheriff was doing his job.  No one looked into his
affairs too closely.

Tessa, with her unwed-mother status and lack of funds for an expensive
defense, was the perfect patsy.  She'd be assigned an attorney by the
courts--the public defender who just happened to be a buddy of his.
There would be a definite sentencing, and Grimes would retain his
status in Crookseye as the sheriff who got the job done.

He was aware of the murmurs of discontent over his leadership.  The odd
rumor had reached him that suspicious eyes were being cast upon the
matters he preferred to keep quiet.  He needed one good, wellpublicized
arrest.

He'd considered framing Cord as the killer, but there was the Greer
family wealth.  No, Tessa was perfect, a crime of passion that the
simple minds of

Crookseye would enjoy reading about over the morning paper.

Somehow he had to make sure that the thugs following Cord didn't get in
the way.  He picked up a cell phone and dialed a sheriff friend of his.
At the rate they were going, Cord obviously intended to drive through
the night.

He'd just arrange a little detour for their friends, have them stopped
for skipping out on Charlie's motel bill.  The sheriff smiled to
himself, knowing how grateful Charlie would be.  The whole incident
could be written up on the police blotter and featured on the front
page of the Crookseye Canyon Clarion.

One more time, he would be applauded as the sheriff who got the job
done.  Let the military quietly handle their problem--the unfortunate
colonel.  He could cover his own tracks--because he planned on being
sheriff in Crookseye for a long, long time.

Chapter Fifteen

Two hours later, Cord could no longer stand to see Tessa sleeping in
her cramped position on the truck's bench seat.

Surely they were far enough from Crook- seye that they could stop at a
motel and allow Tessa a nap in a real bed if only for a few hours.

When a small-town motel came in sight.  Cord pulled in and parked the
truck under the awning.  Tessa stirred, suddenly waking as he turned
the engine off.

"Are we there?"

He shook his head.

"We're still about six hours from Mexico.

Not far, but I want you to walk around a little, then get some rest
where you can stretch out.  "

Tessa breathed in deeply, turning to look at him.

"I feel like a huge burden has been lifted from us."

He noted the inclusive term and liked the feeling it gave him.  Maybe
she was thinking of them together as a couple.

Maybe this marriage they were entering into was something that could be
forever.

"Come on inside.  I'll get us a room."

"I'm going to take advantage of a shower.  I don't know if I can get
married without having a shower."  She smiled self-consciously at
him.

"As it is, wearing maternity blue jeans and an oversize sweater wasn't
exactly what I had in mind for bridal attire."

"I don't care what you're wearing as long as we get married."

He noticed Tessa looked startled, but he took her by the elbow and led
her into the lobby.  Could it really be a surprise to her that he
wanted to marry her?

"We'd like a room, please," he said to the clerk.

"Two doubles or a king-size?"  the clerk asked.

Cord frowned, glancing at Tessa.  She shrugged.

Somehow he thought she'd appreciate his not making her feel pushed into
anything.

"Doubles," he answered, his tone gruff.  "And your name, sir?"

"David Smith," he said, taking the registration form the clerk handed
him to sign.  He paid cash and picked up the key.  His arm around
Tessa, they walked up the stairs to the top level of the motel.

"David Smith?"

He glanced at her as he fitted the key into the lock.

"You don't like my choice of alias?"

Tessa giggled as he shut the door behind them.

"There is no way I could ever think of you as a David, and I'm only
guessing that his computer is full of Smiths."

"Which makes it perfect for us, Mrs.  Smith."  He sat down on the edge
of the bed and pulled off his boots.

Tessa stopped laughing when she realized Cord was about to shed some
clothes in front of her.  She swallowed hard.

"I think I'll shower while you nap," she said weakly.

"Okay."

He lay back against the pillow, his body sprawled, wearing only jeans.
The shirt, socks, boots were all in a heap on a cracked wooden chair.
Tessa couldn't be sure, but it looked like he'd fallen asleep the
instant his head hit the pillow.

Of course he had.  He'd been up for days keeping a vigil over her.
Instantly, Tessa felt guilty for being hurt that he apparently had no
inclination to snuggle with her.  Seduce her.

Tessa, you want to be seduced.

She wondered if the wish she held inside her heart was unusual for a
pregnant woman as close to delivery as she was.  Today, all was quiet
with her body.  No baby squirming inside her, no sensation that her
diaphragm was being compacted.  She felt lighter, freer, than she had
in months.

Maybe it was just being away from Crookseye and all the horror they'd
found themselves embroiled in.  She took off her clothes and turned on
the warm water, reveling in the rush of heated steam in the chilly
bathroom.  Using the motel bar of soap, she washed her newly shorn
hair, grateful for the chance to have it clean for her wedding.

"Couldn't have done that with long hair," she murmured, closing her
eyes as the water ran down her body in a soothing massage.

When she finally felt relaxed and somewhat waterlogged, she turned off
the water and got out, toweling off with one of the rough white towels.
In about six hours, she'd be Mrs.  Greer, she suddenly realized, Mrs.
Cord Greer.

She hugged that thought to her, suddenly excited.  There were times she
hoped so much that Cord would touch her, kiss her.

She'd gotten frightened the night he'd talked about revenge, but since
then he'd been chivalrous, considerate.  And she'd eased up a little
more, allowing herself to wonder about falling in love with him.

Pulling on her clothes, she wished her stomach wasn't quite so big.
Her breasts were swollen, ready, she supposed, for nursing.  Time was
running out on her in so many ways.

"Tessa?"  Cord called.

Fully dressed, she walked out of the bathroom, running her fingers
through the short wet curls of her hair.

"Yes?"

"Nothing."  He sat up, his chest broad and ridged above his jeans.
Tessa's heart did a funny flip; sped up her pulse.

"I

woke up and didn't know where you were.  "

"You were so tired you're probably not sleeping well.  Maybe you're too
keyed up."

"I think I am."  He ran a hand through ebony locks that stood suddenly
on end.

She went over and turned on the television.  "Maybe if you watch a few
minutes of TV, you can fall back asleep."

He got up to pace the room, stopping to peer out worn curtains.

"I think I'm just uneasy.  The farther we get from Crookseye, the
easier I'm going to breathe."

She sat on the bed, using the pillow as a backrest.

"Maybe we should just stay on the run forever."

"You might be safer, but you'd get tired of traveling, and my cattle
would get hungry.  They're fine for a week, but after that, they'd be
anxious for a friendly face and a big hay bale."

She smiled.

"I suppose you're right."

He returned to the bed, sitting up against a pillow as she did.

"Tessa, why didn't you give me a chance to answer your mother?"

She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I don't want you to think you're obligated to say you love me just to
please her."

He reached out to take her chin in his hand, turning her toward him.

"What if I told you I don't feel obligated in any way at all?"

"I wouldn't believe you," she said, her eyes meeting his as she
answered truthfully.

"This whole trip down south is about obligation and responsibility.
Duty.  Honor."

"It's about staying alive.  Sure I wish things were different.  I wish
you didn't have men after you.  I wish the colonel wasn't dead.  I wish
Hunt ... I wish I knew when I was going to see my brother again, if I
ever will."  He ran one finger gently over her lips.

"But wishing doesn't change what has happened, nor does duty impact the
way I feel about you."  "You sound like you mean it, and I want to
believe you so badly," she whispered.

"I want you to.  No matter what happens, I'm glad to be marrying you.
I'll never regret that."

"You're not the kind of man to regret doing what you think is right,"
she said, her heart wanting so much to believe it could all be for real
but knowing it wasn't likely.

"I'm not the kind of man to do anything I don't want to, and it's time
you knew that," he replied, his lips claiming hers in a sweet, brief
kiss.

"I wanted to do that."

She waited, her eyes searching his face.

He kissed her tenderly, longer this time.

"And I wanted to do that."

A sigh escaped her lips.

"I wanted you to do that for so long."

"You did?"

"Yes."  She met his gaze fully, honestly.  Shyly, she touched a finger
to his lips in much the same way he had hers.

"In fact, I want you to kiss me again."

"You're sure?"

"Are you worried you'll scare me?"  she teased lightly.

"I'm scared," he said, taking her invitation as he nipped little kisses
along her lips and chin.

"Not a big strong guy like you."

"Oh, yes.  You definitely scare me."  He pressed kisses along her neck,
and she felt heat in places she never had before.

"I'm scared of caring for you too much.  Maybe you wouldn't like it."

"Why wouldn't I?"  She thought it would be wonderful to have someone
care for her deeply.

"I don't know.  I haven't figured all this out yet."

He ran his hand under her shirt, and Tessa sighed as his fingers found
her bra, sliding lightly over the satin.

"Figured what out?"

"You.  There's a thousand different pieces, and some of them fit
together and some don't."

"I'm no more difficult to figure out than any other woman."

Undoing her bra, he leaned over to kiss along her neck, down her
collarbone, inside the full cleavage her shirt revealed.

Slowly, he removed her blouse.  Tessa blushed under his heated
scrutiny. She reached one hand up to cover her full breasts,
embarrassed by the enlarged nipples, but he moved her hand.

"You are not like any other woman."  He kissed her breasts reverently,
lifting them in his hands.

Instant warmth tightened Tessa's moist, secret place.

"You say that like it's a good thing," she murmured, her eyes closed.

He lifted his head.

"It is.  I've admired you as a person since I first met you.  I used to
envy Hunt being able to spend time with you.  What I would have given
just to have a date with you, even something as simple as going to a
movie."

"Why didn't you?  While we were still in high school?"

"The three of us were friends."  He pressed light kisses between her
breasts, a trail that led over her belly.

Looking up at her, he said, "Hunt asked you out first, and I never
would have after that, not if there was any chance my brother liked you
as a girlfriend.  Then he went away and you went with him whenever you
could."

She caught his face lightly between her hands to make him pause.  He
looked up at her, questions in his dark gaze.

"Cord, I think you should know that what I felt for Hunt is in the
past."

He waited.  "Not that I don't love your brother in some special,
unexplainable way.  Hunt will always be the father of my child.  But my
feelings for you aren't like anything I ever imagined I could feel."

"You don't have to say this, Tessa."

She smiled wistfully.

"Yes, I do.  You should know that in spite of the circumstances, what I
feel for you is different from what I felt before."

"Tessa."  He took her hands from his face, moving back to press his
lips against the burgeoning curve of her belly.

She blushed as he hungrily kissed her stomach.  How she wished she was
toned and attractive!  How could he want her with her body so pushed
out of shape?

"Don't," she whispered, trying to move his head.

"Let me," he asked.

"You have no reason to hide from me."

She closed her eyes, trying to surrender to his touch.

"After you've had the baby, I'd like to make love to you," he told
her.

Her eyes flew open.

"You're not going to make love to me now?"

"No.  I don't want to hurt you."

Tessa was overcome with disappointment.  Her body begged him to
continue making her glow with his eager touch.

"I don't think you can hurt me."

"We don't know for a fact."  The more Cord thought about it, the more
he realized it was better to wait.  Tessa might be overwhelmed with
conflicting emotions right now.  He didn't want her to regret their
lovemaking--if it ever happened.

"It's enough to be with you.  I never thought I'd smell your skin or
even hold you like this."

"You said you didn't want a marriage in name only," she said softly.

"I don't think it would be enough for me, either."

He loved the shy look she got in her eyes when she was able to speak
her feelings.  Running his palm along her face to cup her chin, he
said, "I've waited a long time for you.  I'm willing to wait until the
baby arrives and you heal before we consummate our marriage."

The strangest thought assailed her that time was running out.  This was
the second occasion she'd felt this unnerving, disquieting passing of
opportunity, like trying to catch the wind but not being able to run
fast enough.

"I have the craziest premonition that if we don't make love today, we
might never have the chance."

He snorted.

"I don't think so.  If I have to lock you in my bedroom or in a cabin
on a romantic cruise, we are going to make love.  A lot."

She shook her head.  What was making her so edgy?  The baby?

Or the terrifying men they'd left behind in Crookseye?  Maybe the
sheriff, who wanted to frame one or both of them?

"Please, Cord," she whispered desperately.

"Love me tonight.

Now.  "

Could any man resist that plea coming from the woman he'd wanted for so
long?  Sexual desire flared inside Cord, igniting into a fiery
wanting.

"I might hurt you," he stated one last time in a futile effort to
stall.

"Not if I'm on top."  She slid her panties down her legs, watching his
eyes follow her every movement.  She let them fall from around her
ankles to the floor.  Reaching for his jeans, she unbuttoned the fly
buttons one by one, keeping her gaze on his.

"Take these off."

He had to.  He was going to burst if he didn't.  She helped him, and
the jeans joined her underwear on the carpet.  His hardness rose from
his body, and Tessa smoothed a hand over the tip and down the shaft,
encircling him.

There was only so much a man could take.  He lay down, allowing her to
straddle his legs.  Her moist heat was near to him, so ripe and
delicious.  He stopped her from reaching for him.

"Let me please you first."  Her face showed puzzlement, but she allowed
him to move her off him, gently settling her on her back.  Slowly, he
spread her bent knees, feeling desire so hot it was almost painful as
he looked at her fullness.

"You're beautiful."

"Not like this I'm not.  Let me up, Cord."

She moved to get up, but the position was awkward, and she succumbed to
his hands when he stroked the inside of her thighs.

"Relax," he said.

"It's so hard!"

"Let me make it easier."  Between her legs, he stroked her with a
finger, drawing a moan from her.  She closed her eyes, and he leaned
down to touch her with his tongue, just a slick pressure on her tip,
but she nearly jumped with the surprise of it.

"Relax," he told her again, slipping his tongue inside her and keeping
it there until she stilled, caught by the intimate fullness.  When he
felt her bend to his will, he moved his tongue more daringly, in and
out, swirling, sometimes suckling lightly.

"Oh, my gosh, that feels so good," she whispered.

"Cord, oh.

Cord!  "

The force of her orgasm brought her hips up, which he liked.

Catching her to him, he tasted her more deeply, searching for the
nectar she released.

Her whole body seemed to shatter like a fragmented rainbow.

What Cord was doing was torture, wonderful sensual torture, and she had
no strength to resist.  She climaxed again, brought to sweet relief by
the tiny suction pressure he kept on her bud.  Crying out, she dug her
fingers into his hair, trying her utmost to drag him up to her.  He
stared down at her, a proudly ornery smile on his face, and she raised
an eyebrow at him.  "That was probably enough to send me into labor
right now."

He grinned but ran his fingers through her hair, moving it off her
forehead in answer.

"Didn't you enjoy it?"

"I loved it, and you know I did, and now... it's my turn."

She rolled to her side, pushing him onto his back and pinning him
underneath her.

"Turnabout... is fair play," she warned him, her dewy crevice hovering
over him just enough to tantalize, to tease.  She rubbed him with her
moistness, letting him feel what he was going to have, before slowly
sliding herself down the length of him.

"Tessa," he groaned, a muscle working in his throat.

"Are you sure about this?  If I hurt you" -- "You won't."  She
interrupted his protest with a kiss.

"Relax."

He tried to.  He closed his eyes, letting her set the rhythm, giving
her the chance to make the contact where it felt best to her.  There
was a chance he would die of pleasure, he thought, squeezing his eyes
tightly shut.  Tessa fitted him in all the right places, satiny and
smooth and seductive.  If he wasn't afraid of letting her down, he'd
blow up right now, and there would be nothing left of him for the next
few days.

But she set a new rhythm, one he could tell suited her, rocking against
him snugly.  Gritting his teeth so he wouldn't lose control, he rocked
with her, back and forth again and again.  He felt her start to tighten
on him, and it was all he could do not to let out a warrior's cry of
abandon.  It was so close, but she wasn't there yet.

He grasped her hips, pressing her buttocks so she'd feel more pressure
in the sensitive place.  With a muted cry, she slumped forward,
gasping. One more thrust, and he met her on a plateau of pleasure,
hoarsely crying his satisfaction.

"Tessa, Tessa," he whispered.

He raised his arms to catch her and laid her on her side next to him.
Putting his arms around her, he held her close, her head tucked under
his chin.

They fell asleep, undisturbed by anything outside the cocoon of their
newly budding love.

"Do you think they're planning on staying here long?"  Rossi asked
Salvador.  He squinted at the motel-room window and the truck parked
below.

"They should be hungry."  He was, but they didn't dare leave in case
their prey decided to leave.

Small problems such as hunger didn't count for much on their mission.

"They will come out soon enough," Salvador answered.

Rossi nodded.

"We could go in and take the woman."

There would be a struggle with the cowboy, and that was more of a
problem.  However, they had to come out soon, and it was preferable to
run them off the road on a deserted stretch of highway.  There were a
lot of flat, rarely driven roads in this part of Texas.

"We'll wait," Salvador said tersely.

A rapping on the car window startled both of them.  A state trooper
stood outside, staring in at them.  Rossi rolled down the window of the
old car.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," he said, his voice big and deep like everything
else in Texas.  "Could I see your vehicle registration, please?"

There was no vehicle registration because the car was stolen.  Salvador
nodded ever so slightly at Rossi.  He reached into the glove box as if
he were looking for papers, smiling as he heard the sudden smack, the
telltale grunt as the trooper hit the ground.  Swiftly, he got out to
help Rossi put the man into the trunk.  Rossi unbuckled the gun belt
and retrieved the man's hat before slamming the lid.

"Did you kill him?"

"No.  But he will have a headache if he doesn't suffocate in here."
Rossi put on the tan Western hat, holding the gun belt up to his
waist.

"Do I look like a cowboy?"

"A little.  Hide that belt in the back seat.  I don't want anyone to
see it and get suspicious."  "But I will wear the American cowboy hat.
Many people wear them here."

Salvador shrugged, brushing off his palms as he got back in the car.

"We are very lucky for the darkness.  That policia could have made us
big trouble."

"Si.  But maybe our luck is changing.  Perhaps we should speed up our
plan."

"What do you have in mind?"

"We need them to come out."

They sent a glance upstairs where they'd seen the cowboy and his
companion go.

"Set his truck on fire," Salvador suggested.

"He will come out, and we can grab her while he is otherwise occupied."
"I think not.  Where there is one policia, there will be a station
waiting to hear from him.  That's how it is on television."  Rossi
considered the situation, his eyes narrowed.

To their surprise, the motel door opened, and the cowboy and the golden
woman came out, holding hands as they walked down to the truck.

Salvador looked at Rossi.

"I think maybe we are still lucky."

Chapter Sixteen

Tessa sighed in the predawn breeze.  Though it was still dark, the sky
was lightening and she could hear the stirrings of life.

"We'll be there by noon."

Cord nodded, opening the truck door for her.

"Yeah.  I'm glad we're getting an early start."

"Did you sleep well?"  she asked as she scooted across the bench
seat.

"Like a baby.  You?"

She smiled.

"The same."

They stared at each other for a moment, the secret of the lovemaking
shining in their eyes.  Tessa hoped Cord would kiss her, but he didn't.
He made sure her seat belt was well fastened and closed the door.

He seemed preoccupied, so she didn't say anything else as he started
the truck and pulled onto the highway.

"Are you hungry?"  he asked.

"I don't want a thing until we get to Mexico.  After we get married,
I've got a craving for a big plate of beans and rice.  Real Mexican
food, not Tex-Mex."

"That wouldn't have been the honeymoon dinner

I'd have ordered under different circumstances, but we'll go with it.
" He squinted as he looked at the gas gauge.

"I've got to stop and fill up.  Do you want a soda?"

"That would be nice.  Not nutritious, but it sounds good."

Pulling into a filling station, he got out to pump gas.

Tessa waited inside the truck until he was finished.

"We're good to go," he said, sliding into the seat.

She nodded, suddenly apprehensive.

"Are you all right?"  He reached up to brush her hair away from her
face.

"I'm just afraid we're not going to make it in time," she murmured.
Her fear seemed to loom larger with every passing hour.

"In time for what?"

"I know this is going to sound silly for someone who has 'lived in sin'
as my mother would say, but I really want my baby to be born after I'm
married."  She could barely meet his eyes.

"I'd live in sin with you for the rest of my life if that's what it
took," he said.

She laughed.  "What did the doctor figure your due date to be?"

"I don't know for sure because it's really an estimation based on my
cycle, which was never regular to start with.

Nan said sometimes first babies take their time.  She said I could be
as much as two weeks after my estimated due date.

Since that's what my doctor in Dallas said, too, I'm not overly
worried.  I'm just.  unsettled for some reason.  "

"So where were you planning on having the baby?  In Crookseye?"

She shook her head.

"I don't think so.  I think the indigent hospital in Dallas would be
fine."

His brows rose.

"I called two weeks ago and put you on my health insurance policy if
that's what you're worried about.

You can have the baby anywhere you like.  "

Her heart soared.

"You did?"

"Yeah.  That baby is part of my family whether or not anything
permanent ever happened between you and me."

Warm happiness filled her.

"I would have thanked you if you'd told me."

He shrugged and adjusted the mirror.

"No reason to bog you down with the details, Tessa.  You've had enough
on your mind."

"I can't believe they let you put me on your policy without us being
married."

"I told them we were getting married and that you were having a baby,
and they didn't seem to have a problem with that.  With the price of
self-employed insurance, I'm guessing they like adding dependents onto
my coverage."

She stared out the window, unable to say how much she appreciated what
he'd done.  For the first time in her life, a feeling of security
washed over her.  He was going to take care of her baby--and everything
else would work out.

As soon as the colonel's killers were captured.

"I think we're being followed," Cord suddenly announced.

sheriff grimes kept his eye on the car tailing the truck.

He'd thought alerting his trooper buddy that there was a possible
stolen vehicle parked outside that squatty motel would have been enough
to lose them, but apparently the trooper was all that had gotten lost.
Unwilling to risk being spotted.  Grimes had parked on the opposite
side of the highway, so he didn't know for sure whether his friend had
even talked to the driver of the suspicious car.

He cursed the inept trooper, realizing he must have checked up on the
wrong car.  If these men had done the colonel in, then they were
following Cord for a reason.  Most likely to silence him in case he'd
seen something.  Heard something.

The best thing he could do was wait for them to make their move.  They
appeared to be as determined as he was to keep an eye on the rancher
and his brother's girlfriend.

by afternoon, cord drove through Mexico's border with hardly a sideways
glance from the officer at the checkpoint.  Just a nod at his license
and half an ear for Cord's explanation, and that was it.  Tessa was
worried that something might go wrong at the last second, that some
snafu wouldn't allow them to cross into Mexico, but apparently Cord's
story that they were going shopping for the day was sufficient.

She let out a huge sigh of relief.

"That was so much easier than I anticipated."

"They like people to come over and shop."  He put his glasses back on,
shielding his eyes from the bright light of the day.

"It's much warmer down here, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but I was ready for some sunshine."  He turned to smile at her,
and Tessa was caught by how handsome he was.  White teeth flashed
against swarthy skin.  Jet hair ruffled in the breeze from the open
truck window.  He had some similar features to Hunt, but he was older,
more weathered around the eyes.  His jaw was a bit more square, giving
him a strong appearance.

"We shouldn't have to look too hard to find a place to get married."

He had no idea how much she hoped he was right.  The realization that
this man was actually going to be her husband gave her a secret thrill.
Her mother hadn't been married, something that had bothered Hester
terribly over the years.  Tessa hugged the delight to herself that she
would be.

Fifteen minutes later.  Cord stopped at an open-air market and asked
directions in Spanish.  Like Hunt, that was a language he was
comfortable with.

"What did he say?"  Tessa asked.  "That the el civil is around the
corner.  And he sold me this."  He held out a ring, lapis lazuli chased
with silver.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"I love it."

"See how it fits.  I told him I needed a small size."  Her heart
palpitating, she slid it on her finger.

"It won't go on.  My finger is swollen."  Switching to the other hand,
the ring went over her knuckle when she tugged it.

"When I shrink back to size, my hands will, too.  Thank you."  She
smiled at him.

"I couldn't have anything more perfect."

"Yes, you could.  This whole situation could be a helluva lot more
perfect."  He started the engine, keeping his head facing forward.

"It bothered your mother that she'd had no ring.  If I had my way, it
would be a diamond, but the schedule doesn't allow for it.  I'm
sorry."

"Don't be."  She covered his hand with hers.

"I'm very, very happy."

"The only consolation is that lapis matches your eyes.  Of course, the
shopkeeper tried to tell me it was good luck, but I think he was
selling me more than a ring with that one."

She smiled down at the shiny, beautiful ring.

"I think I'm very lucky."

He didn't say anything as he parked in front of a courthouse.

"This is it."

Suddenly a little nervous, Tessa laughed.

"I think I've got bridal jitters."  "Not backing out on me, are you?  I
might get my feelings hurt if you jilted me after proposing to me."

She smiled.

"I doubt your feelings would get hurt."  Moving to get out of the car,
she halted when he caught her arm.

"My feelings would be very hurt."

The smile slid from her face.

"Trust me, I'm not changing my mind.  I'm just suffering some normal
jitters."

He nodded.

"Got your Bible?"

"Oh, my gosh, I'm glad you reminded me."  She dug under the seat and
pulled it out.  "This means so much to me."  Her eyes brightened as she
looked at the Bible.  She opened the cover to look at the first page,
gasping when she saw a one-hundred-dollar bill and a sticky note that
read "Tessa."

"Mama must have had a total change of heart.  She gave me a wedding
gift."

He smiled.

"I'm glad.  It's good to see you so happy."

"I'll really be happy if you take me back to the market."

His brow rose.

"Why?"

"Because I need to buy you a band that matches mine.  I couldn't stop
to get any money out of my account because we left so quickly, but
Mama's gift makes up for that."

"Tessa, you don't have to buy me anything."

She tapped the side of his mouth.

"But you're trying not to smile, so I think the idea appeals to you a
little.  I know I proposed to you, but I'd also like to buy you a ring.
You don't have to wear it, but" -- "I didn't think of it or I would
have bought one."

"No, you wouldn't.  In our case, you have every reason not to feel like
you have to.  But I'd like to get one for you."

He gently caught her chin in his fingers.

"I don't know what you meant by that, but I can tell you that the only
reason I didn't buy a matching band is because I didn't think of it.

Other than that, Tessa, I consider myself about to become married in
every sense of the word.  "

She tried not to shiver with the pleasure those words brought her.
Everything was going so well.

If it only stayed that way.  She closed her eyes in silent supplication
as he backed out of the parking space.

Please let everything work out, just this once.

salvador cursed as the truck went through the checkpoint without a
hitch.  Rossi stopped on the side of the road, debating their
situation.

"Maybe they check our trunk, maybe they don't."

"Maybe is too risky this time."  Salvador could hear the trooper
banging against the trunk lid every once in a while.

He would be sure to make all kinds of noise if he figured out they were
at a border.  "This is bad.  We should have grabbed them at the
motel."

"Now what?"

It was an unexpected hitch that didn't bode well for their plan.  Quite
possibly, they had just lost the couple for good.  On the one hand,
Rossi and Salvador could blend in more easily in Mexico with their
knowledge of Spanish and their skin color.  It wouldn't be difficult to
find out where two gringos had gone, particularly the woman with her
light hair and large belly.  However, the trooper posed a problem.

If they let him out of the trunk, policia would be after them in no
time.

"I think we have to say goodbye to the trooper."

Rossi nodded, backing the vehicle down an emergency lane until they
reached a turnoff point.  They went back the other way, heading toward
a dusty, rundown Texas border town.

sheriff grimes narrowed his eyes as he saw the truck go through, then
the car that was following them stop, back up and head the opposite
way.  Frowning, he wondered what his woods-squatting friends were up
to.

Something about crossing the border into Mexico bothered them.

If they were bothered, he'd be willing to bet his boots they were
hiding something.  He considered his options.  He could call the local
police and suggest they investigate the car and its occupants.  Or he
could follow them and see what they were up to.

On the other hand, now that Tessa and Cord had crossed into Mexico,
that all but damned them in the eyes of the law.  In fact, now that he
thought about it, there was no other reason for Cord Greer to take his
brother's girlfriend into Mexico, a trip they'd made mainly under cover
of night, unless they had something to hide.  A helluva haul they'd
done nearly straight through except for a small amount of time in a
fleabag motel.  There was no reason for this desperate dash to Mexico
unless Cord was trying to help Hunt's girlfriend escape scrutiny.

She might have done the colonel in after all.  And lied through her
pretty white teeth to him.  Were the men following their truck some
kind of government agents?

His own situation was hampered because the Mexican authorities wouldn't
allow him to stop and question Cord and Tessa.  There could be no
apprehension.  Grimes cursed, hating it when he fell for a sweet face
and a sweeter story.  Worse, Hester Draper had lied to him, and she had
a wrinkled face.

All that talk of Tessa being such a good soul had been bullcrap.  He
despised being played for the fool.  No doubt Tessa and Cord thought
they were safe and were laughing at eluding him.

He weighed his options.  He could alert the Mexican authorities that
the possible killers of an American military official were in their
country.  Maybe they would be arrested and possibly held in Mexico for
a long time.

However, the American ambassador would become involved and then the
military, and the whole thing could get out of hand.  Extraditing Tessa
and Cord would be a pain in the ass.

And he wanted to be the one in control.

Yet there didn't seem to be any other choice.  They might have escaped
him for good.  For all he knew, they planned on meeting Hunt in Mexico.
Maybe Cord was driving her to meet Hunt.

He felt like lightning had struck him.  Why hadn't he thought of that
before?  His blood boiled as he realized how badly he'd been duped.
One or both of them had killed a man and were trying to get away with
it. Tessa intended to leave the country with Hunt, probably figuring no
one would be the wiser as she spent as little time in Crookseye as
possible.

Cord Greer wasn't about to do anything to rat out his brother.

A choice had to be made.  He couldn't follow both the old Ford and the
red truck.  Spitting tobacco into the paper cup he kept in a plastic
cup holder, he made his decision.

Chapter Seventeen

Grimes turned around and followed the Ford.  If Cord hadn't been lying
through his teeth, then Grimes had himself an easy task ahead--unless
the dudes in the beat-up, brown car were under cover.  It had to be the
same one that had been parked at the Greer ranch, but only matching the
tire treads would verify his hunch.  There was no way to do that now.

They left the road before the border town, turning down a lane along a
large dirt field that looked like it was being readied for planting.  A
good stretch from the road, the brown car turned into a narrow street
in front of a dilapidated white frame house.  The Ford passed the house
while he kept a careful distance behind.  A stand of mesquite trees on
the left side of the road appeared to be their destination because they
stopped there.

Mighty peculiar for folks who'd just decided against seeing the sights
in Mexico.  He pursed his lips, unable to see what the occupants of the
car were doing.  They could be dumping some weed or other illegal drug
with which they wouldn't want to cross the border.  Possibly some
stolen hardware.  Guns, in all likelihood.

He got out of the car, checking his holster.  His blood hummed, his
heartbeat a hammer inside his chest as he quietly tracked the car.
Several paces from the Ford, he squatted behind a mesquite tree.  If it
was FBI, he sure as hell wanted to know what they were up to.

Two men, one short and wearing a cowboy hat and a holster, one tall and
bald, got out of the car.  They surreptitiously scanned their
surroundings.  Grimes perked up.  He knew that glance.  It was
nonchalant but alert, a dead giveaway something was going down.  Yet
the cowboy hat and gun belt gave him pause.  Who else could be muscling
in on his investigation?

The short man pulled a gun from the holster, checking it.  He nodded to
his friend, who put a key into the lock of the trunk.

Something was in there, something that was about to be very dead.

He drew his gun just as the trunk lid sprang open, thrust out of the
tall guy's hand by the force of something inside.

The short man jumped as a foot kicked out toward him, someone
desperately trying to escape the small prison.  A khaki-covered leg and
an arm made it from the trunk as the person inside tried to get out.

Suddenly, Grimes knew what had happened to his trooper buddy--he was
about to meet St.  Peter at the gates just like the colonel.

He raised his gun, squeezing off one shot at the gunman, winging him in
his firing hand.  The man screamed and dropped his weapon, while the
taller man swiveled to see from where the shot had come.  The trooper
leaped from the trunk, landing on top of the tall man, pulverizing his
face and chest with furious strength.  Though wounded, the gunman ran
over, kicking at the trooper's head in an effort to free his comrade.

"Dead or alive?"  Grimes murmured to himself.

"It's your lucky day," he muttered, choosing to fire one warning shot
close enough to the kicker to make him hit the dry dirt.

"That's better."  He came out, holding the gun on the perpetrators.

"Stand up," he told the trooper.  "Get my cuffs and use them on the
tall one."

"Senor, this man was attacking us!  We are merely defending ourselves,"
the short, ugly one protested.

"Is that a Mexican accent?  Well, you'll find these aren't friendly
parts for murderers.  No, sir, don't you move, or you're going to end
up dead."

The trooper handcuffed them both, giving the short one a good smack
upside the head.

"That was for doing whatever the hell you did to knock me out."

"There are laws against police brutality in your country," Rossi
protested.

"I saw it on the television.  And we get one phone call.  We are from
Spain, and we want to call our ambassador."

The trooper glanced at Grimes.  Nodding his head, Grimes turned around.
He heard a hard thump and then a moan.  He turned back around as the
trooper snatched his hat and his gun belt back from his attacker as he
lay prone on the ground.

"You can't do that!"  the tall man cried, his eyes wide at the rough
treatment his partner had just received.

"You can't treat us that way.  We know the laws of America."

"You may," Grimes said, "but you're in Texas right now.  You attacked
an officer of the law, and I'm a witness to the fact that you were
about to shoot him with his own firearm.

That makes you one dumb criminal with very few rights.  "

The trooper looked at him.

"Thanks, buddy."

"No problem.  Let me call to get you a ride back and someone to pick up
our friends here."  He dialed local information for the police
department, explaining the situation before turning off his phone.

"They're going to arrange for someone to get you back to your car.  Are
you okay?"

"Going to be fine now that I'm out of that damn trunk."

Grimes nodded, going over to kick one of the Spaniards, the short one,
who lay cuffed on the ground, bleeding from his wounded arm.

"Hey, what do you boys want with the folks you been tailing for the
past two days?"

The men didn't answer.

"I see you're suffering hearing impairment."  Grimes leaned down to
stare in their faces.  "You can tell me now, or you can tell me after
you rot in jail for a week, but you're going to tell me."

"He killed my brother," Salvador spit out.

"Cord Greer did?"

"No, his brother killed my brother."

"Ah.  Revenge.  You want revenge, amigo?"

"Si."

Grimes frowned.

"Well, you ain't gonna get it.  You messed up by killing the
colonel."

The tall one shrugged.

"I saw him in Madrid with the Hunter.

I know he was in on it.  "

' The Hunter?  "

"The Hunter whose girlfriend went into Mexico."

His eyes narrowed.

"Do you know why she did that?"

"No."

"Were you planning on killing her, too?"  Grimes asked.

"We wanted to use her to make the Hunter come out of hiding.

He deserves to die.  "

"How do you know he's in the States?"  "We have been following him for
a long time.  We nearly had him in Madrid, then we followed him to New
York.  And then to Texas.  We will find him again one day because we
are on a holy mission of vengeance.  An eye for an eye."

"Yeah, well, vengeance is Mine, saith the Lord," Grimes stated without
emotion.

"I guess it was a good enough plan.

Maybe it just wasn't your lucky day.  "

The Spaniard spit into the dust near him.  "When I am free, I may
decide a brother for a brother is better payment.  And I will be free
soon."

"I'm not sure you realize how much hot water you're in.  You won't be
coming into the United States again for a long time once our legal
system tosses you out.  I don't think Hunt or Cord will have too much
to worry about."  Grimes turned to look at the trooper.

"If you can handle these boys, I'm going to go sit along the border for
a little while.  We'll get our heads together on the police report
later."

"No problem."

Grimes nodded and went back to his car.  Hunt had to be in Mexico.
They had to have gone there to meet him, maybe so Tessa could join him.
He wondered why they hadn't flown to Mexico.  For that.  Cord wouldn't
have needed to accompany her.  She could have gotten on some small
plane that served the area close to the border and then she would have
only had to get across.  Hunt could have picked her up there.

Why had Cord brought her himself?  Unless there were no available
flights in the time frame they needed; unless he wanted to be with her
for some reason.  Grimes drove back up the highway, this time parking
his car at a dingy restaurant where he had full view of the highway.

He'd just sit there for a few hours and see if a red truck belonging to
Cord Greer came back across the border--and if Cord was minus his
brother's girlfriend.

If Cord was alone, then Tessa had to be in Mexico with Hunt.

And an American spy in their country was something Grimes was pretty
certain the Mexican government would be interested to know about--for
mucho dinero.

the man at the market saw Cord returning and waved.

"Honeymooners!"  he called.

"She don't like the ring?"

"I like the ring," Tessa told him.

"I wanted to see if you had a matching one."

"Claro.  Of course.  Let me show you."

Cord waited patiently while a ring was selected for Tessa's perusal.
Shs agreed that it matched hers, glancing up at him with troubled
eyes.

"You're sure you have no problem with this?"

"None at all."  He took it from her so he could slide it on his finger.
The braided silver band fitted.

Tessa smiled.

"Do you like it?"

"It's just fine."  He didn't know what else to say about the ring.  It
was a symbol of commitment.  He didn't need the symbol.  In his heart,
he was completely committed to Tessa.

She was the one who didn't seem to quite believe he felt that way.

She paid for the ring with Hester's hundred-dollar bill.

That was the only thing that gave him any misgivings.

"Your mother meant for you to spend that money on yourself.

Not buy me a wedding band.  "

Tessa shook her head as American change was counted into her hand.

"I'm positive Mama would be thrilled to see a ring on your finger."

She winked at him, a teasing wink, but desire stirred in Cord's belly.
He wanted another helping of what they'd shared yesterday in the motel.
Holding Tessa was a miracle he never thought he'd experience.

Being with Tessa wasn't something he could ever see himself tiring of.
She was all he'd ever wanted.

"I've got the ring.

Let's go get married.  "

there was little ceremony.  Basically, it consisted of a blood test and
then a brief signing of papers, but Tessa didn't care.  She was Cord's
wife, and she couldn't imagine being any happier.  Unless he loved
me.

Love wasn't part of the matrimonial subterfuge.  She was destined to
get hurt again if she hoped for love.  It was a lesson her heart should
have learned.  A shaky smile was pasted on her face as she looked up.

"Well, that was certainly quick."

"Just the way we wanted it."

It was true, but she missed the You may kiss the bride part.

"I don't think I'll feel quite married without the traditional kiss."

He grinned, and she knew he didn't mind the hint.

"I'm a very traditional guy, as you know."  He slid an arm around her
waist and pulled her close, his other hand cupping her neck.  This kiss
was traditional, short and sweet because of the spectators in the
courthouse, but Tessa closed her eyes and savored the moment anyway.
When they pulled away from each other, he smiled.

"Feel married now?"

"Much more so.  Thank you."

He led her outside.

"I don't have to be thanked for kissing you, Tessa.  Now, are we on to
the honeymoon meal?"

She smiled.

"If you don't mind.  For some reason, I feel at peace here.  Safe.  I
really would like to take advantage of being in Mexico.  Some great
Mexican food would be wonderful if that sounds good to you."

"I wouldn't mind a plate of enchiladas myself."

They found a cafe with arched adobe windows and a view of the plaza.
The owner was happy to show them to a seat and offer them a menu.

"Cabrito is the especial of the day," she told them.

Tessa raised her eyebrows at Cord.

"Pass on it," he said.

"I think you want something more simple."

She saw the twinkle in his eye.

"Tell me what I'm passing on."

"Goat."

Her stomach lurched.

"I'll take your advice on food matters in the future."  He laughed, and
it was the first time she'd ever heard him do it.

"I feel like I'm on a real date."

"Married people should date."  He ordered drinks, then pointed to
something on the menu for her, which she approved.

"Maybe we'll start dating now, since we skipped the usual
preliminaries."

She lowered her eyelashes shyly.  Did he mean that?  He sounded so.  so
interested in starting a real relationship with her.  As if he hadn't
simply done what he considered his duty by marrying her.

"I think I would like that."

He put his hand over hers, rubbing her wrist soothingly.

"Everything's going to be better soon, I'm sure."

"But we don't know," she said softly.

"That's why we're here.  That's why we got married."

"It is, but it doesn't have to be the reason we make a go of it."

"I guess not."  She couldn't help but think he was being very
chivalrous.  The sun was bright, the plaza was filled with happy,
brightly dressed people, an occasional child ran to the fountain, and
it all couldn't have been more perfect.

Unless it had been a true honeymoon.

Which it was never intended to be.

cord walked with Tessa's hand in his as they gazed in shop windows.
She'd seemed surprised when he caught her fingers, but he wasn't giving
her a chance to break loose.  One way or the other, he was determined
to convince her that the wedding might have been short, but their
marriage was going to be of long duration.

When she suddenly turned to him, her face white, her upper lip beaded
with moisture, he made her sit down on the fountain's edge.

"What's wrong?"

"Just a stomachache," she said, obviously uncomfortable.  Her skin was
so pale in the early-afternoon sun, like fine porcelain under too hot a
lamp.  She was so delicate he wondered how she'd be able to cope with
the rigors of childbirth.

The thought made his own stomach lurch.  He cupped her shoulders,
supporting her.  "Do you think it was something you ate?"  It had
looked and tasted fine to him, but he supposed they might have taken a
risk.

She shook her head, her lips thin.

"I don't feel sick to my stomach, but I am... uncomfortable."

"Did it just start?"

"No.  It started out as a dull ache while we were walking, but it's
become more... oh, no!"

"What?  What is it?"  His heart jumped into his throat.

"I think...!  think my water just broke.  But that's not possible, is
it?"

She put her hands on either side of her stomach.  Surely his
imagination was playing tricks on him, making her stomach seem even
larger than before?  He swallowed, his gut suddenly twisting.

"Let me help you to the truck.  I'll get you back into Texas to a
hospital."

"No," she said.

"Cord, listen to me.  Let's stay here.

Please.  Let's not go back, at least not for a while.  Maybe they'll
catch the killers while we're gone.  Maybe it will all be over"" Tessa.
" He made her stand, then put one arm at the small of her back.

"You're not having my baby outside the United States.  Come on."

"I don't think we should."  Her eyes were wild, dilated with fear.

"Cord, I have a bad feeling about this.  I don't mind having my baby
here.  If I had married..."  She didn't finish, and he read her
meaning.

"If you had married Hunt, what?"

"There's no telling what dot on the world map might have been our
child's birthplace.  But I seriously doubt it would have been in
America.  I don't mind having my baby here.  I'm sure it's safe and a
lot less expensive."

He frowned at her, telling himself to be patient.

"Tessa, you married me, you're having this child in a hospital, and
it's going to be born a U.S. citizen."

"Please, Cord.  For the first time, I'm relaxing.  If we go back, it
will start all over again."  Her eyes pleaded with him.

"Don't you see?  We're different people here.  It feels like...
something good is happening.

Just for a few days, please.  "

He understood her fear, but he wanted her to have the best medical care
possible.  As it was, they might only be able to make it to a small
town.  The odds of their making it to any place like San Antonio were
probably remote.  He shook his head.  Helping her toward the truck, he
said, "Breathe deeply.  I won't let anything happen to you or the baby.
And we'll work on the relaxation thing when we get past the birth."

He could tell she didn't like it but wasn't going to argue with him.
His heart sank.  She was really afraid of what lay back in Texas for
them.  She had good reason to worry, he knew, but he didn't have any
choice.  They couldn't hide out forever.

He helped her into the truck and wished he had a place for her to
stretch out fully.  She moaned softly, clutching her abdomen, and fear
pressed into his heart.  "Put your head in my lap and lie on your back
with your knees up.  Maybe that will help."

She did, her eyes closed.  He stroked one hand through her hair as he
drove.

"It's going to be okay," he murmured to calm her.

He prayed that he was right.

it was exactly five hours Grimes had been sitting, almost too afraid to
get anything to eat or take a leak in case he should miss the red
pickup and its fugitive occupants.  He'd just about decided they'd
given him the slip for good when it went flashing by him, traveling
faster than the law preferred.

Border excursion.  High speed.  Something was up.

Best he cover all the bases.  He started the engine and hit the
accelerator.

Chapter Eighteen

Tessa breathed through the series of contractions, closing her eyes
tightly and forcing herself to relax.  The wave passed, leaving her
grateful for the respite.  The air conditioner blew cold air on her,
for which she was thankful.

"Are you all right?"  Cord asked.

"Yes.  I just don't feel much like talking."

"That's fine.  We're about thirty minutes from a hospital."

She sighed, focusing on her abdomen.  Her fingers lay around her
stomach protectively.

"At this point, I just want my baby born healthy."

"I want you both coming through this with flying colors and a gold star
on your chart.  Try to sleep."  They didn't speak again until Cord
found the hospital.

"Here we are.  Are you ready for this?"

"It's too late now," she said, forcing lightness into her tone.

"If I'm not ready now, I'm out of luck."

He helped her from the truck, his hand against her back.

"I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Oh, no."  Shaking her head, she said, "I couldn't bear for you to be
with me, Cord.  I mean, thank you for being so, so caring, but..."

Not wanting to hurt his feelings, she looked into his eyes, which were
wide with worry.

"I'm probably going to make a lot of noise, and maybe a mess, and I'd
rather my brand-new husband not witness that."

He helped her inside.

"Why don't we see how it goes.  If you don't want me, I'll leave.
Deal?"

"At the risk of being cruel, I don't want you."

Grinning, he went to the nurses' desk.

"You may need me to get you a glass of water."

"There are nurses for that," Tessa said, her tone edgy.

"My wife is having a baby," he told the nurse at the emergency-room
check-in.

"You'll have to go through to labor and delivery.  That way."

"Can you make it?"  he asked Tessa.

"Of course!"  she snapped.

"I'm not helpless, Cord."

The nurse nodded at him.

"She sounds like she's in real labor."  "What other kind is there?"
Tessa groaned.

"False labor."

"My water broke," Tessa said between her teeth.

"I'm pretty sure that precludes a dry run."

The nurse smiled.

"You'd better get her on down the hall.

She may want something for the pain.  "

"That's the first sensible thing she's said," Tessa muttered under her
breath.  She was conscious of Cord guiding her down the corridor, and
for once, she was glad to let herself be guided.

"My wife's having a baby," he told another group of nurses.

"Take her into that room so someone can check her over.  You, sir, fill
out this paperwork."

"Okay," Cord said.

Tessa could hear the reluctance in his tone.

"It's all right," she said.

"Cord Greer and Tessa Draper," a voice boomed from behind them.

Tessa whirled.  Sheriff Grimes grinned at her, the cat having cornered
the mouse and now intending to play with it.

"We were being followed," she said to Cord.  "Why did you follow us?"
Tessa demanded, holding her stomach as if to shield the baby from
evil.

"I need to talk with you folks.  We've got a few things left to clear
up."

"Mrs.  Greer, if you'll come on in here, we can see how far you're
dilated."

Tessa shrugged off the nurse's hand.  No way did she intend to have
this miserable sheriff waiting outside her door like a jailer, a magnet
for all bad karma.  This delivery was between her and her baby, so
whatever the sheriff wanted, she was going to get it over with now.

"What do you want?"

He leaned against the counter.  "First, you can tell me what was in
Mexico."

"Enchiladas and rice," she snapped.

"Tessa," Cord murmured.

"Let me answer the questions.  You go have your baby in peace."  He
moved to her side.

"Can't this wait?"

"No," Tessa stated.

"Get it over with.  Get it done so I can go on with my life without you
hanging around like a buzzard waiting for remains."

"Touchy, isn't she?"  the sheriff said to Cord.

"Holding her own, I'd say.  Did you have something specific on your
mind?"

"Want to ask you about your brother."  Grimes nodded at Cord.

"Was he why you went to Mexico?"

Tessa breathed through another mind-stealing contraction before
reminding herself to stay calm.  The entire reason they'd gone to
Mexico was because of the slimy sheriff.  Now he was here asking
questions anyway.

It was her worst nightmare.  But she had to face it.

"We didn't see Hunt.  We don't know where he is.  We've told you that
before.  Why it's of interest to you to know every detail of our day of
sight-seeing, I don't know, but we got married.  Sheriff.  That's the
whole story.  You followed us for nothing.  There's no scurvy details,
no top-secret reason.  I'm sorry you've wasted Crookseye Canyon's tax
money on two people who are just trying to live their lives."  The pain
was making her brave and she welcomed it, needing it to survive this
confrontation.

He looked at Cord, who shrugged.

"Can't say it any plainer than she did.  You wasted a trip."

"Not really."  The sheriff eyed Tessa thoughtfully.

"Caught the two men who were staking out your property."

Tessa's eyes widened as she and Cord met each other's gaze.

Disbelief was etched on both their faces--and wary hope.

"I don't believe you."  Tessa stared Grimes down with self-righteous
disgust.

"I don't believe you could catch a headless mouse.  You haven't done
anything to deserve your badge in years."

"Careful, Ms.  Draper.  Mrs.  Greer, rather," he said, in sneering
deference to her claim that she and Cord had married.

"I am an officer of the law to be respected."

"Not when you're out of your jurisdiction and you accost a pregnant
woman on the way to deliver a baby."  "How do we know you apprehended
the right men and not some scapegoats?"  Cord demanded.

"You were trying to make us the fall guys for the colonel's death.  You
didn't believe us then.  Why should we believe you now?"

The sheriff shrugged.

"They followed you from your wife's mother's house to the border.  The
only thing that kept them from crossing the border and catching you was
the kidnapped trooper they had in the trunk."

"Oh, my God," Tessa murmured.  Another contraction hit her, taking her
breath, making her want to bend over and scream, but she stood her
ground, shaking.  She wanted to hear every word this man had to say.

"Cord, we were in danger and we didn't even know it."

"We knew it."  He took her hand in his, fortifying her as he stroked
her back with his other hand.

"We just haven't known who the good guys were.  So, Sheriff, have you
come to tell us you're one of the good guys now?"

Grimes gave them an ugly look, obviously resenting their disrespectful
attitude.

"I still think you lied to me.  You're just too slick to get caught."

Cord pinned him with an uncaring stare.  "We feel the same about
you."

The sheriff hesitated.

"Guess we know where we all stand.

May I say congratulations on the wedding?  And the impending arrival?
Your brother must be so proud," he said silkily.

"Growing a new branch on the family tree."

"A branch that's going to grow up learning the difference between right
and wrong," Cord stated.

"Now, if you'll excuse us, we have matters to attend to."  "Certainly.
See you in Crookseye.  You are returning, aren't you?"

"Of course."  Tessa speared him with disgust.

"I'll be sure to stop by and see the doting grandma."

"Leave her alone," Tessa commanded.

"There are no bones for you to dig up.  Surely you have something
better to do than harass a hardworking woman whose life is tough enough
without you making it worse."

He tipped his hat to her.

"I remember when you used to be such a shy girl.  It's a shame you've
gotten so hard."

"I remember when you used to be an honest man.  It's a shame you've
gotten so crooked," she flung back.

Glaring at her, he left the room.  Cord patted her on the back.

"I'm proud of you."

She shook her head, biting her lip against the pain swelling in her
abdomen.

"I don't think this baby can wait any longer."

"Come on," the nurse said, taking her arm.

"Let's get you examined.  Goodness, that was some excitement, wasn't
it?"

"Not really."  Tessa held back a moan as she was helped into a birthing
bed.  She smiled as Cord took her hand in his.

"You have to leave now.  You've had your quota of drama for the day."
She ground her teeth, closing her eyes as the nurse examined her
efficiently.

"She's at seven," the nurse informed them chirpily.

"We have time for an epidural."

"She sounds so happy about having a needle stuck in my back," Tessa
commented.

Cord squeezed her hand.

"It'll make you feel better."

"Maybe."  She warded off another spasm of pain, gasping with the
intensity.  He rubbed her back and she tried to focus only on the
comfort.  When the pain passed, she lay back against the pillow,
smiling at him weakly.

"You really don't want to see me like this."

"I want to be part of the whole process."

"I heard you say you'd been to Mexico," the cheery nurse butted in as
she sat Tessa up, readying her for the anesthetist.

"It's an old wives' tale, but supposedly if a woman is really close to
delivery, eating Mexican food can help bring on the birth.  It only
works if she's really, really ready, though."

Cord let Tessa lean against him, her face against his chest, as the
anesthetist worked on her.

"Maybe I shouldn't have made love to you," he whispered in her ear.

"That might have been more potent than the Mexican food and stirred
things up."

She wanted to shoot back an appropriate comment, but the anesthetist
commanded, "Don't move.  This is the important part."

Tessa promised herself she would make Cord pay for his teasing remark
later.  Right now, she just wanted to lie down and let the medication
do its work.

"You're in big trouble with me," she said, closing her eyes as her back
was taped.

"That bit of machismo is going to cost you."

He rubbed her shoulders.

"I remember when you used to be shy," he told her, mimicking the
sheriff.

She could feel his grin, if not see it.

"You're much too happy about this whole thing."

"I'm ready to see my son."

"Daughter."

She kept her forehead against the buttons of his shirt, glad for the
strength of his broad chest.

"Truthfully, I wouldn't mind having a daughter who looked just like her
mother.  We can teach her how to ride, rope, barrel race" -The nurse
said, "You can lie back now," so Tessa collapsed against the pillow,
looking at Cord with some disgruntlement.

"It's time for you to make yourself scarce.  I want to enjoy the
epidural for a minute."

"Why don't you go get some ice chips, Dad?"  the nurse hinted.

"Your wife would like that."

"Ice chips," Cord repeated.

"Okay.  I'll go get Mrs.  Greer some ice chips."  He left the room, a
big grin on his face.

"Is he always this happy," the nurse asked, "or is he afflicted with
new-father delirium?"

Tessa hadn't seen Cord this carefree, not in a long time.  He never
teased her, not since she'd returned from Spain and they'd been worried
about Hunt.  But it hadn't always been that way.  She thought about the
picture on his dresser--her, Cord and Hunt, all grinning at the camera
as if they had all their lives ahead of them and expected the future to
be bright and shiny.  They were young and free and believed it to be
so.

But she had changed, and Hunt had changed, and Cord had changed.

"I'm not sure," she told the nurse, closing her eyes.

"I

don't know him very well.  "

cord came back with ice, feeding some chips to Tessa in between her
breaths.

"Things seem to be moving at a nice pace," their birthing nurse told
him.  Her name was Anita Gray, and he couldn't think of a last name
less suited to such a cheery being.

"How much longer?"  He watched the waves on the monitor with great
fascination.

"Maybe a couple of hours.  Depends on what the baby wants to do."  She
stood beside Tessa's bed.

"How do you feel?"

"Fine.  Ready."  Tessa's eyes met his.

"Very ready."

He was, too.  Eager to move their relationship forward, start their
lives together.  He was proud of the way Tessa had stood up to the
sheriff, proud of the way she was handling the delivery.

"You're doing fine," he told her.

"It's not hard to just lie here."

From what he could see on the monitor, it didn't look like she was
simply lying around.

"Can you rest?"

"No.  I'm too excited."

He smiled, pulling a chair next to the bed so he could hold her hand in
his.

"I'm pretty excited myself."

She rolled her head to look at him.

"Cord, thank you for being here.  Thank you for... standing in.  You
make a great labor coach."

"I want to be here.  I told you I did."  He squeezed her fingers.

"I'm amazed that you've grown a real person inside you.  I can't wait
to hold the baby."

She closed her eyes, opening them to stare into his eyes.

"I

don't think you'll have to wait much longer.  " The fingers that had
been relaxed suddenly clenched his.

"Look at that," Nurse Gray said, looking at the paper coming out of the
monitor that graphed Tessa's contractions.

"Let's check you again."  She made a brief examination to check Tessa's
dilation.

"I'm going to call the doctor."

Tessa met his gaze, her face shining despite the pain.

"It's happening."

He smiled, smoothing a hand over her stomach.

"Boy."

"Girl."

They smiled at each other.  Cord thought it was possible he had never
been so happy.

Before he could fully register what was happening, what seemed like an
army of people filled the room.  Lights went on, and the bed was pulled
into two sections.  He tried to stay out of the way, unnoticed.  His
heart beat rapidly in his chest.  A nurse stood on either side of
Tessa, instructing her to push and praising her when she could.  His
stomach knotted tensely as he hung there helpless and uncertain.  What
if something went wrong?

Closing his eyes, he prayed that Tessa would be fine and that the baby
would be fine.  He needed both of them.  He wanted both of them.
Giving up his brother was something he'd understood; he'd been willing
to make the sacrifice because it had been important to Hunt.

But Tessa and the baby were important to Cord.  He prayed harder than
he ever had in his life.  A nurse asked him if he was okay, and he
nodded, stunned.  Waiting.

It seemed to Cord that hours passed before a cry rent through the
quiet, efficient sounds of the medical team.  The baby's yell was lusty
and furious.  He smiled, thinking that had to be a good sign.  They put
the baby on Tessa's stomach for a few moments, letting her bond with
her baby.

Then the newborn was whisked off for measuring, cleaning, weighing.
His throat tightened as he watched the doctor finish taking care of
Tessa. Cord moved to her side, wanting to do something but not knowing
what.

"Everything's fine," he whispered.

"You did it."

Her smile was weak as she looked up at him, her face so pale against
the pillowcase.

"We did it."

"I didn't do anything except stand over there scared out of my
boots."

"It takes courage to watch someone in pain," Tessa told him.

"One of the nurses told me she was afraid you'd have to go sit in the
waiting room.  They were monitoring you for fainting."

"No way."  He drew himself up tall.

"I wasn't remotely close to fainting.  I know what's involved with
birthing."

He didn't want Tessa to know how weak-kneed he'd become.  Her frantic
pants, her moans of pain, had sorely tested his ability to remain
upright.  He'd stayed in his boots by telling himself that with what
she was going through, the least he could do was be there for her.

"What is it?"  he asked numbly, realizing someone had told him but he
hadn't retained it.

That brought a big smile to her face.

"A boy, Cord.  Just like you predicted."

At that moment, a nurse offered him a bundle wrapped in flannel.

"Would you like to hold your son?"

"Yes."  He hurried to take the baby in his arms, astonished by the
squirming little creature he held against his chest.

"I can't decide," Nurse Gray said as she glanced between mother and
father.

"I can see some of both your features, but neither one very strongly.
Of course, he's brand-new so it's always hard to tell, but usually I
see more mother or father.  With him, I just don't know.  But he sure
is a muscular little baby.  He's going to keep you both plenty busy."

Cord looked down to study the infant.  Dark hair, not blond like
Tessa's.  That was Greer.  Blue eyes, which could be any of them.  All
of that could change as the baby grew.

But the face shape, the lusty yell, the compact body--he'd experienced
all that before.

Suddenly he was back in time, and his mother was bringing his new baby
brother home to him.

"Take good care of him.

Cord," she'd said.

"He's going to look up to his big brother all his life.  He's going to
be your best friend."

She'd been right.  They'd had a special bond.

The baby in his arms flung a fist out of the flannel wrapping, waving
it at the world.  Instantly, Cord knew.  The baby had Hunt's face, the
face Cord had never thought to see again.  It was in the streak of brow
over wide-open eyes and even the shape of the eyes; Hunt was there in
the angle of the chin, the curve of the head.  Memories of tree-house
picnics, lazy summers and boyhood dreams came pouring back to him.

His brother would always be with him in this child.

It was a blessing he couldn't possibly have imagined.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he took a deep breath, drawing the air
into his chest in a profoundly grateful sigh.  Tears in his eyes, he
kissed the baby on the forehead, and then he kissed Tessa.

"Thank you," he said.

"Thank you so much."

Chapter Nineteen

Tessa awakened when Nurse Gray came in to take her pulse and remove her
IV.  She glanced at Cord, who hadn't left her side.  Though she
couldn't see his eyes for the black cowboy hat, she knew he was asleep,
hiding under the brim.  He held the baby securely on the V made by the
leg he rested on his other knee.  His hands held the sleeping baby in
place, one at the diaper line, one palm over the knitted baby cap.

She thought maybe she had never seen anything so sexy as that baby
cradled in worn blue jeans and held by Cord's strong fingers.

"Is he asleep?"  Anita Gray asked.

"Yes."

"How does he sleep sitting like that?"

"I don't know.  The night nurse tried to talk him into sleeping on a
cot, and I tried to get him to go to a hotel so he could shower and
take a nap.  But he wouldn't."

"You're lucky," Nurse Gray replied.

"We see a lot of dads and quite a few of them are excited about their
babies, but he's devoted."

Tessa lowered her lashes and didn't reply.

"Seems like the little tyke sleeps just fine with his daddy."

The baby was sometimes fussy, but not when Cord held him.

Tessa imagined it was the wonderful feeling of security Cord emanated.
"We got married in Mexico yesterday," she told the nurse.

"Have you ever done something that afterward you knew was a mistake?"

"Oh, honey."  Anita patted her arm.

"You know what?  You sound like all the other mothers who come here.  A
little bit of blues is normal after delivery.  Half the women who come
in here either want to kill their husbands during delivery or right
after when they're feeling puny as a sick dog.  You got yourself a big
hunk of burning love sitting right there holding your little hunk of
baby love, and I'd be willing to bet my nurses' training you didn't
make a mistake.  Give your body a chance to adjust to all the hormones
flying around in it for a while before you make any huge decisions."

Tessa didn't reply.  Her huge decision had been to get married.  All
her sound reasoning had melted into nothing now that the sheriff had
been defeated.

"What are you going to name Baby Greer?"

That was an issue they hadn't discussed.  It was a touchy one.  She
wasn't certain if Cord would want to share in it.

"I haven't decided.  We haven't decided," she corrected herself.

"Well, you'll think of something," Nurse Gray said happily.

Cord raised his head.  He stared at Tessa.  A shiver went through her
as their eyes met.

"How do you feel about Michael?"  he asked.

"Michael?  Michael Greer?"  Hoping he'd still been asleep when she'd
voiced her fears to Nurse Gray, she nodded.

"I like it.  A lot."

"I've been reading in this family Bible of yours.  There's a family
tree on the inside cover, which shows you had a grandfather named
Michael.  Someone's underlined some passages about Michael, the
archangel.  Apparently, he's a tough dude.  Strong.  And courageous."

It was just right somehow.  The relationship between her and Cord
should be just right, too.  But she knew it was not.  The premonition
that had been haunting her, warning that time was running out, took
shape in her mind and she knew why.

She couldn't make Cord stay with her for the rest of her life.  He put
everyone else first, took care of her, his brother, the baby.  He was a
good man and didn't deserve to be shackled to her out of a sense of
responsibility.  It was the worst way she could think of to start a
marriage.

There was no longer any need for matrimonial subterfuge.  The criminals
had been caught.  Hunt was safe from the men who had been planning to
assassinate him.

Cord should be free.  They had spoken no words of love, and though
their passion had been powerful, there was a lot more required to have
love blossom and grow between two people.

"Write Michael on the chart," she instructed Nurse Gray.

"Michael Alan Greer."

"Will do gladly," Nurse Gray said as she left the room with a smile.

"Alan?"  Cord asked, but he already knew.

"Yes, Alan for your father, because he would have been very proud of
his older son."

She could tell Cord liked that by the way his eyes lit up.

It was heartrending to witness his joy, so she stared down at her right
hand, fiddling with the silver and-lapis ring.

"I've made plane reservations to get you home tomorrow."

Her head came up.

"Why?"

"Because you can't ride all the way back to Crook- seye in a truck,
Tessa.  I can't imagine it would be comfortable for you or the baby."

As much as she knew she had to free him of the responsibility of her
and her baby, she hadn't wanted to be torn from him that soon.

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes.  The doctor says you check out tomorrow.  The baby is strong and
healthy, so there's no reason to keep him here.

You delivered one whopping youngster.  " He grinned proudly.

"You and Michael will fly home, and I've arranged for your mother to
pick you up at the airport."

"Mama and Nan will be so happy to see the baby," she said reluctantly.
He was being sensible, of course.  All those hours in a truck would be
tough on her, especially with no place to lie down.

"Cord," she said softly, "there's something I want to talk to you
about."

"Shoot."

"You and I, we've been through a lot... together.  But it's over now,
and I think our ... fake marriage should be over, too.  If we'd waited
twenty-four hours, maybe it wouldn't have even been necessary."

"Hold on, Tessa.  If we hadn't gone to Mexico to get married, none of
those folks would have followed us, and who knows when Sheriff Grimes
would have stumbled over the murderers?

Our marriage was for good, in every way.  "

Her neck heated above the lace of her gown.  "If I say that you
wouldn't have married me without the necessity of the subterfuge,
you'll argue with me and pretend not to see the point."

"Damn right I will."

She shook her head at him.

"Cord, I asked you to marry me.  I thought I was protecting you and
Hunt, but now those reasons no longer exist.  We need to dissolve our
marriage.  Anything else would fall short of what's right.  What really
counts."

"I didn't need protecting.  And what really counts is this little baby.
And you and me."  He got up to sit on the edge of the bed, putting
Michael down between them.

"Tessa, I know I'm a man of few words.  I don't always say what I
feel.

But I do feel deeply.  And you've made me the happiest man on earth.
"

"How could I?"

"Because I love you.  I have for a long time."  He picked up her
fingers, then kissed the tips.

"I'm not taking on my brother's responsibility.  I know that's what you
think.  The truth is, it was my duty to stay out of your way when you
and Hunt were together.

But you've both moved on, and once I saw that, I hoped you'd think of
me.  "

"I thought about you a lot," she admitted softly.

"You're all I ever wanted."

"But I find that so hard to believe."

He kissed her palm.

"Don't.  You're the one who should be running for the hills.  I've been
trying to think of how to keep you now that I've got you."

"Oh, I doubt it will be as hard as you think."

"Well, I'm not my brother.  I don't laugh as much, I'm a lot more
serious, and I don't dance well.  But that doesn't mean I won't love
you every day of your life."

"I don't see any of those as shortcomings," she said, laughing at him a
little.

"I fell for you because you're kind and giving and strong.  It was
enough to steal my heart even when I so badly didn't want to lose it
again."

"But?  Do I hear a but?"

"But I have.  I do love you, very much.  I don't want you to stay
married to me because you feel sorry for me."

"Oh, I can assure you you're no charity case, Tessa Greer.

I've wanted you for so long it's going to take me months to realize I
finally have the woman of my dreams.  "

Her heart just about burst inside her chest from sheer joy.

"I never knew I could be so happy."

He smiled, the skin crinkling around the corners of his eyes, the way
it did when he was the happiest.

"Don't talk about leaving anymore.  My heart can't stand the shock."

"I'm sorry.  I just felt that giving you the chance to back out was the
right thing to do.  But I'm terribly glad you're not accepting my
offer."  She smiled, then leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"You can do better than that."  He motioned with one finger, gesturing
for her to kiss his mouth instead.

"I'm not about to give up the only woman I know who can burn toast.
It's a rare talent."

She leaned over and kissed his lips, a kiss that he returned in full.
Between them, Michael let out a small cry.

"He's going to be keeping you up at night," Tessa teased.

"I'll be keeping you awake, so that will be fine with me."

She touched her fingers to the nape of his neck, running through the
long strands of hair at his collar.

"You know what I really want for Michael?"

"Tell me."

"A baby brother one day."

Cord nodded.

"Me, too."

She smiled at him, remembering.

"And a tree house.  For the boys."

"What about their father?"  His raised brows suggested he looked
forward to camping out with his sons.

"I'll miss you in our bed," she said, sliding her arms around his neck,
"but I'll bring you the fishing poles at dawn."

"You're going to make a wonderful, understanding mother and wife," he
told her.

She put her lips to his and whispered, "But after the night out with
the boys and the fishing trip, you're all mine."  She kissed him so
he'd completely get her meaning.

"I think I'll build that tree house," he said, pulling her close to him
as she picked up the baby, "but maybe I'll build it big enough for
six."

"Why don't you?"

"Why don't I just?  How are you at scaling fish?"

"I can't."  She snuggled her face against his as they gazed down at the
baby.

"I'll master popcorn before the boys are old enough to sleep in the
tree house."

"What if it's a girl?"

"Our next child?"

He nodded.

"Well, then," Tessa said, leaning against him, fully at peace, "she'll
do just fine.  She'll have a daddy who adores her."

"Like her mother," he said, sneaking a kiss.

"Yes," Tessa said, giving him another.

As he held her.  Cord smiled.  His brother had been right.

Everything good in life lived on in the heart.

Silent as a shadow.  Hunt stepped into the jail cell.  The prisoner
turned, instantly on guard since no one ever entered.  "I heard you
were trying to find me a few months back," Hunt said softly.

"Here I am."

Salvador looked into the glittering eyes and knew instant fear, though
the face had changed.

"You killed my brother."

Hunt stepped close to stare into the prisoner's eyes.  "I am not
responsible for the bad choices some people make.

Your brother made choices my country had to act upon.  " He touched one
finger to the vein pulsing in Salvador's neck.

"But you killed the man who was like my father," he said quietly.

"He would have warned you.  And I wanted to avenge my brother's
death."

Hunt shrugged, pressing more steadily against the vein.

"The problem is, you were using the wrong method to get to me.  I can't
let you live, knowing there is unfinished business between us."

"You mean your woman," Salvador spit out.

"I mean my brother's wife," Hunt said smoothly.  He pressed harder so
that Salvador's expression began to show pain.

"Say that for me.  Your brother's wife," he instructed.

"Your brother's wife," Salvador said on a gasp.

"Who had your child."

"Who had their child," Hunt corrected calmly.

"Their child," Salvador repeated.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

he asked the Hunter, knowing the words were probably his last on
earth.

Abruptly, the pressure was removed just as stars exploded behind his
eyes.

"No," Hunt said.

"You loved your brother.  And I love mine.

When you get back to Spain, remember that.  Or I will have to kill you.
"

Salvador nodded, leaning against the cold wall.  Hunt stepped from the
cell before turning to stare through the bars.

Salvador stopped breathing as the glittering eyes held him to their
understanding.  The face was different--but the eyes promised death.

He nodded his acquiescence.

Slowly, the Hunter nodded.

And then he was gone.

"come here, sweet potato pie," Hester said lovingly as she picked up
baby Michael.

"You just let your grandma sing you a lullaby so you don't fuss
anymore."

Tessa grinned at Cord and Nan as Hester picked up the three-month-old.
He grasped her finger, wailing at the top of his lungs.

"You are the strongest little thing I have ever seen," Hester
crooned.

"My goodness, but I do believe you are destined to take on the world."
She cradled the baby to her, the crying instantly ceasing as the infant
sensed warmth.

"She never puts him down," Tessa whispered to Nan.

"Spoils him rotten," Cord added although the complaint was
good-humored.

"Can't imagine why."  Nan smiled.

"He's only the most beautiful child on the planet.  And usually has his
mother's sweet disposition."  She gave Cord a poke in the arm.

"And your appetite."

"Oh, my gosh.  That reminds me.  I was supposed to take the apple pie
out of the oven!"  Tessa flew into the kitchen to retrieve it.

They all followed in time to see smoke billowing into the air as Tessa
opened the oven door.

"Wow," Cord said.

"Good thing I like my pie a little crisp."

Nan waved an oven mitt in the air to clear the smoke.

"Shew-eel Can't see a thing."

"I'm never going to get the hang of cooking," Tessa moaned.

Ever since her wedding day, she'd been determined to conquer her
disastrous ways in the kitchen, something she thought was required of a
good wife.

Cord saw the tears begin to fill his wife's eyes and grinned.

"Can you and Hester watch the baby for a while?"

"Sure thing."  Nan waved Tessa's way with the mitt.

"Leave the good part to us grannies.  You reward your wife for trying
so hard."

"I intend to."  He scooped Tessa into his arms, pot holder, apron and
all.

"Cord!"  she shrieked.

"What are you doing?"

"Didn't marry you to have you in the kitchen, Tessa Greer," he told her
on a chuckle.

"I can think of much better ways for you to spend your time."  He
carried her out of Hester's house to his truck and seated her inside.
She smelled like flour and cinnamon, and he was hungry.

"That pie will take two hours to cool, so I'm taking you home.  Cooking
lessons from your mother and Nan can wait."

She giggled, pulling the apron from around her waist.

"I

think you just have something else in mind for rising.  "

He glanced at her, his expression dry.

"I'm past the rising stage.  What comes after that?"

"If you can drive this truck any faster, I promise to show you when we
get home," she whispered in his ear, snuggling against his arm.

"I'm much better at lovemaking than cooking, I promise."

He grinned.

"I love you, Tessa."

Her heart spilled over with joy.

"I know.  I love you, too."

He parked the truck and reached inside to pull her out so that he could
carry her.  Ellie danced and barked at his feet, caught up in their
excitement.  Cord strode to the porch, putting Tessa down so he could
open the door.  They walked inside, both instantly pausing when they
saw the wooden rocking horse in the hallway.

Small and white, it was a child's dream first ride.  The bridle was
blue.  Across the saddle, Michael was scrolled in gold letters--and
painted golden pennies adorned the leather.  A card attached to the
mane said simply, "I love you all."

Cord and Tessa glanced at each other, smiling.

"Hunt," they said at the same time.  And then went into each other's
arms, with nothing standing between them ever again and a future so
bright it shone.

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