LITMIR.BIZ

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beauty and wildlife habitat of the surrounding area.

      “Pro-development. Well, that figures.” Lots had changed, all right, and it made him tired. Mentally, as well as physically. A good night’s sleep was what he needed. Trouble was, he didn’t have a bed for the night. Not yet, anyway.

      He noticed how flushed Cathleen’s face was getting. As she allowed her feet to float up and out of the water, he could see that even her toes had turned red.

      “I’m not a chef, darlin’, but I’d say you’ve been cooked.”

      “I usually limit myself to twenty minutes. You’ve kept me in here almost double that, I’d guess. Why don’t you go into the kitchen for a drink. I’ll join you in a minute.”

      He smiled. A gentleman would probably do just as she’d asked, or, at a minimum, retrieve the towel draped on a nearby lounge chair, then turn his back as she slipped it around herself.

      But both options seemed kind of dull to him. He glanced from the towel back to her, then raised his eyebrows. Without a word spoken, it was out there. Dare you.

      She glared at him.

      He faked a yawn. “This is real comfortable. I could sit here all night.”

      “Oh, really?”

      “Of course, if you were to offer me a room, that would probably be even more comfy.”

      “Bastard,” she muttered. Then, even as he was congratulating himself on a hand well played, she added, “I’ve had enough.”

      She stood, and took her time climbing out of the tub and replacing the lid.

      Her body gleamed. Taut muscles, curved lines, gorgeous legs. In the moonlight her skin was honey-brown—except for the creamy places protected from the summer sun by her bikini.

      She turned away from him to reach for her towel. Methodically she patted off the moisture beaded on her skin—then tossed the towel back onto the chair.

      Completely naked, completely beautiful, she strolled to the patio doors, then turned back casually. The coldness in her eyes slapped down his libido as effectively as a pail of cold water over the head.

      She hated him. Almost immediately he rejected the impression. She was still angry, that was all. She’d get over it.

      “Good night,” she said, her hand on the patio door.

      So she was really going to do it. Leave him out here, with no method of transportation back to town. He schooled himself for the added insult of having the door locked in his face.

      “About tonight…” she said.

      “Yeah?” His confidence surged. After all, once she’d loved him. Once he’d been her best friend.

      “There’s an extra stall in the barn,” she said. “If you’re desperate, you can have that.”

      CHAPTER TWO

      CATHLEEN SAT IN THE DARK of her office for several minutes. She had no idea what Dylan would do. Would he walk the eight kilometers back to Canmore? Start banging on her door, demanding a room? Or actually settle down in the barn, as she’d invited him to?

      When she heard the sound of water rushing through pipes to the outside tap, she retrieved her towel from the deck, then cautiously made her way through the darkened hallway to the dining room. Through a clump of overgrown lilac bushes, the barn light glowed. Unless Cascade, the horse Dylan had given her as a wedding present, had developed an opposable thumb, he’d decided to take her up on her incredibly generous offer.

      In her situation, most women would’ve kicked the bum out, she was certain. Which just showed what a tolerant, kindhearted soul she was.

      Upstairs she showered and changed into a nightgown. After brushing her teeth, she was still too wound up for sleep. She needed to talk, which meant calling one of her sisters. Maureen, the eldest, had to get up early to work at her law firm in Calgary. But Kelly was on nights this week. Cathleen went back to the office and dialed the number for the local RCMP detachment.

      She caught her youngest sister at her desk. “You won’t believe what just happened. Dylan’s back. He came by about an hour ago.”

      “To the B and B?” Kelly sounded indignant. Then she turned suspicious. “He didn’t have the nerve to ask for a room, did he?” After a second of silence she added, “You didn’t let him have one, did you?”

      “Not really. I did tell him he could sleep in the stall next to Cascade, though.”

      Kelly laughed. “No way.”

      “Why not?” From the gleam in his eyes as he’d watched her get out of that hot tub, he’d been in the mood for a roll in the hay. So let him have it.

      “Only you would make an offer like that. Not that it isn’t better than what he deserves. What’s the going rate for one of those stalls?”

      “For Dylan? It’ll be very steep, trust me.” She propped her bare feet on top of the gray metal filing cabinet next to her desk and slid down in her chair to get comfortable.

      Even more than her bedroom, this study was her place. With a desk and bookshelves at one corner, and a sofa facing a fireplace in the center of the room, it made for a cozy retreat when the B and B teemed with guests.

      “Truthfully, just knowing he’s out there makes me nervous,” Kelly said.

      “I don’t know why.”

      “That man broke your heart.”

      Cathleen let her feet drop to the floor. “He did not!”

      “Right.” Kelly sighed. “You agreed to marry him, but never cared that much.”

      “I cared.” It was the most she was prepared to admit. “But Dylan showed his true colors the day he walked out on me. I’m just lucky I found out in time.”

      Unlike her mother, who’d married their father and had three kids with him before she’d finally faced the truth.

      “There are other reasons to be cautious….”

      “Kelly, you know Dylan didn’t kill that girl.”

      “Not on purpose—”

      “Or any other way.”

      “Cathleen, the demonstration was getting out of hand. Tempers were hot. There was probably some pushing and shoving between the oilmen and the environmentalists. The gun could have gone off accidentally….”

      “No.” Regardless of their personal differences—which were mammoth—Cathleen knew Dylan was innocent on this score.

      “You sound very confident.”

      “Why wouldn’t I be? Anyone could’ve shot Jilly. You told me so yourself.”

      “That’s true, but a number of factors weigh in against Dylan. Everyone knows he hates his stepfather so much he’d have done almost anything to stop him from drilling those wells. And running out of town the way he did sure doesn’t make him appear innocent.”

      “Running away was stupid.” And how! “But it isn’t a crime.” Not against the law, anyway.

      “No. But it made him look guilty. And it doesn’t help that he had an argument with his mother the night before he left. Did you know Rose sported a black eye the next day? I confess I used to like Dylan. But what kind of man hits his own mother?”

      Cathleen hadn’t heard this story before. Probably everyone had thought they were protecting her. Which was ridiculous, because there was no way it was true. “Dylan would never hurt his mother.”

      Her sister’s sigh made it clear she was losing patience. “Maybe, maybe not. The point is—”

      “Kel, he couldn’t even find a

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