LITMIR.BIZ

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He ought to be concerned about the driver, but at the moment, thoughts of his daughter’s near miss overpowered any compassion he might have.

      “Cool car,” Hailey said. “Well, it was cool.”

      With an eerie groan, the door creaked opened. Two small feet clad in navy pumps appeared below the door. A feminine, well-manicured hand grasped the top of the window frame, and a woman’s brunette head popped up above the dark tinted glass of the driver’s window. Wariness churned deep in Jackson’s belly. What was a woman doing here?

      After a moment she stepped out from behind the car door and glared down the road. “That horse ran right in front of me. Look what it did to my car.”

      “If you hadn’t been driving so fast, you wouldn’t have spooked her and caused her to bolt.” Jackson yanked his black Stetson off and smacked it against his leg, wishing he could follow Sabrina and be rid of this unwanted visitor.

      “Uh-oh, there goes another hat,” Hailey mumbled. “That lady’s in trouble now.”

      He cringed at her comment. He’d lost count of the number of Western hats he’d gone through as a result of trying to control his temper. He liked this particular one and aimed to keep it awhile. Slapping it back on his head, he marched forward.

      “Listen, lady, your driving nearly got my daughter killed.” Hands clamped to his waist, he glared down into the woman’s startled black eyes.

      She took only a second to recover from her surprised reaction. “Me? What are you talking about?” She swiped her hand toward the crumpled hood. “Look at my car!” Sobering suddenly, she turned toward the road again. “Did you see that truck?”

      Jackson glanced down the road, wondering about her random change of topics. “What truck?”

      The moment of vulnerability disappeared as the woman tossed her dark mane over her shoulders, then tilted up her face and glared back at him, ebony eyes flashing. “I never even saw your daughter, and that horse did run right at me.” She reached one hand to the car door and white-knuckled the window frame. Her expression softened. “Is your daughter okay?”

      Jackson nodded, his heart still beating faster than normal at the close call.

      Hailey skidded to a stop beside him. “Daddy, did the lady get hurt?”

      He smiled at his daughter and brushed his hand across her head, and then Jackson studied the woman for a moment. At six foot two, he normally towered over most females, but this one appeared to be less than a half foot shorter than him. Her olive complexion and black eyes verified her Hispanic heritage. Wisps of dark brown hair curled around her oval face, giving her a softer appearance than Jackson expected from such a fireball.

      “Look. I’m sorry. I really didn’t see your daughter—or the horse—until it ran in front of me. It’s just that...” She glanced toward the ranch’s entrance again then pursed her lips. “Never mind.”

      The woman lifted a finger to her nose and a tiny sneeze squeaked past her pink lips.

      Jackson blinked. He’d never heard such a feminine sound before.

      “My, there’s a lot of dust out here.” She waved her hand in front of her face.

      “Yeah.” Jackson straightened. “Especially when someone drives too fast and fishtails on the gravel.” Or when it didn’t rain for weeks, but he let that thought slide.

      The woman hiked her chin; the fire in her eyes brightened. “Sorry if I was going too fast. You don’t exactly have a speed-limit sign posted. I’ve been driving up and down these country roads for hours, trying to find this place. Not to mention—” She jerked a tissue out of the pocket of her navy business suit and stuffed it under her pert nose just as another sneeze squeaked out.

      “Why didn’t you stop and ask somebody? Everyone around these parts knows where Angelfire Ranch is.” Why did men always get blamed for not asking directions when women were just as bad?

      Her chin lifted again. “I had a map. But obviously whoever faxed it to me didn’t know how to draw intelligent directions.” She ducked into her car, grabbed a piece of paper, then waved it in his face. “See?”

      Jackson instantly recognized the map to his ranch printed on Angelfire letterhead. An ominous feeling, like overthrowing the final pass that would have won his team the play-off game, settled in his gut.

      “Why don’t y’all quit fussin’?” Hailey held out her hand to the woman and smiled. “I’m Hailey Durant. This is my daddy. Did you know he was a famous football player?”

      The woman blinked at him, and then the color left her cheeks, leaving it to resemble the milky coffee Hailey occasionally drank. “You’re J. D. Durant—ex–Texas Tornados quarterback?”

      “Folks around here call me Jackson.” He gave Hailey a stern look. He should have scolded his daughter for her outspokenness, but his mind was too busy racing, trying to figure out what business this citified woman had with him. Today was Thursday, and nobody had an appointment scheduled to view his horses until the weekend. Besides, she didn’t exactly seem as though she was in the market to buy a horse.

      “You sure don’t look much like your football pictures.”

      Jackson narrowed his eyes. Had the paparazzi tracked him down again? “People change after six years.” He pulled his hat lower on his forehead. His looks weren’t the only way he’d changed; his heart and lifestyle had both taken a one-eighty. “Just who are you, anyway?”

      “Uh—” the woman licked her pink lips “—I’m Mariah Louisa Reyes.”

      Mariah Reyes. The name didn’t ring any bells. Should he know her? A memory invaded his mind—of a phone call several weeks back. A memory of a reporter from the Dallas Observer visiting the ranch so he could write an article on Angelfire. Something Jackson had regretfully allowed his brother, Evan, to cajole him into.

      “Are you the reporter?” Hailey asked. “Uncle Evan said you’d be coming.”

      What was that reporter’s name? Rayburn—something. Raymond? Reyes? The uneasy feeling in Jackson’s belly swirled faster than an Oklahoma tornado.

      No!

      “Yes,” the woman said. “I work for the Dallas Observer. I’m supposed to stay here for a few days and observe how you gentle and train horses for rodeos for a story I’m writing.” She moved a step to the side, winced and met Jackson’s gaze, her black eyes shining like polished onyx. “People will be fascinated to learn how your life has changed since you quarterbacked the Tornados, Mr. Durant. The story will run in our Where Are They Now? series.”

      “Oh, goodie,” Hailey squealed, bouncing up and down, clapping her hands together. “You’re gonna be in the paper, Daddy.”

      Great. Where Are They Now? series? Caution crept up his spine. He’d worked hard to maintain his privacy the past years since moving to the ranch and didn’t want strangers knowing where he lived. Besides, that article didn’t sound like one that would promote the ranch—and that was his only reason for agreeing to it. Jackson cleared his throat. “You’re the same reporter who talked to my brother, Evan Durant, and made arrangements to come here?”

      The woman nodded.

      He yanked off his hat and smacked it against his leg. “But I thought you were a man.”

      Ms. Reyes heaved a derisive snort. “Not hardly. Whatever gave you that idea?”

      Where had he come up with it? Evidently he’d made a false assumption—or had his brother purposely led him in that direction, knowing he’d never allow a woman to stay at Angelfire? Evan was going to get a tongue-lashing. His brother knew he avoided women whenever possible, and he couldn’t believe that Evan would make arrangements for one to stay at the ranch. Jackson never would have agreed to an interview if he’d known he’d be stuck with this prissy female.

      He’d

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