Texas Tall (The Tylers of Texas 3)

Beau’s eyes flashed a startled look, but he swiftly recovered. “Well, you know what Dad would say if he was here.”

“I do, and for once I don’t agree with him. I won’t betray Erin and see her hurt. You’re about to have a child of your own. When you do, you’ll understand.”

“I can’t believe this!” Beau stalked out of the den, crossed the hall into the office, and slammed the door behind him.

Tori had been so quiet that Will almost had forgotten she was there. Now she rose from the couch and walked toward him. Without a word she reached out and pulled him to her in a hug that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but gratitude. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For Erin and for me.”

Will waited until she’d stepped back. “I need you to do something for me. As you know, if I go to prison, Beau will have power of attorney to sell ranch property. I need a separate document drawn up declaring Erin sole owner of her foal.”

“I’ll have it for you to sign tomorrow. But do you really think that’s necessary?”

“I hope it won’t be.” Will didn’t like going against his brother, but this needed to be done. “Beau means well. But his idea of what’s right doesn’t always match mine.”

Tori nodded. “How much do you think we should tell Erin about this?”

“No more than we have to. The idea that Beau would’ve sold Tesoro to pay off the bank would just upset her. She’s already got enough grief on her young shoulders. I just wish to God I could spare her this mess.”

Will turned away, but she seized his wrist. Her grip was surprisingly strong as she yanked him back around to face her. “Listen to me, Will Tyler!” Her eyes blazed, passionate and falcon fierce. Her voice rasped with emotion. “We’re going to beat this, do you hear? You’re innocent of any wrongdoing. I’m going to prove it to the world, if I have to take on the whole damned justice system. So help me, I won’t let you lose your freedom! I’ll fight this to the last breath in my body!”

Her honest gaze burned into him, its heat pure enough to sear all pretense from his soul. He’d prided himself on having the strength to stand alone. But he’d never needed anybody the way he needed this woman.

Resistance crumbling, Will jerked her against him. His kiss was hard, hungry, and demanding. He felt the barest flicker of resistance before she caught fire in his arms. Her mouth went molten, tongue dancing tip to tip with his. Her arms clasped his neck. Her frenzied fingers tangled in his hair. Pressing tight against her, his arousal ached for release. Will cursed silently. Under different conditions he would’ve taken her on the sofa, on the floor, on the bar, anyplace he could get her under him. All he wanted was to push inside her and thrust until the tension and anxiety burst in one sweet explosion.

But there were people all around them. Beau was in the office. Erin was in her room. Bernice was probably in the kitchen. Any one of them could walk in without a warning.

Reluctantly he released her. They were both breathing hard. Tori’s blouse was rumpled, her lips wet and swollen. Will’s erection was still straining his jeans.

“Damn it, Tori,” he muttered.

She shoved him away from her—shoved him hard. “Go,” she said. “Just go.”

Forcing himself to turn away, Will strode out of the den and headed for the front door.

* * *

Knees shaking, Tori tucked in her blouse, smoothed her hair, and slicked on some tinted lip balm. Will’s kiss, and her own fevered response, had left her weak. What a time to rediscover that, under the tension, the bad memories, and the coldly controlled anger that kept them civil for Erin’s sake, their old chemistry still sizzled.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Serving as Will’s lawyer called for calm detachment and total focus on his case. It wasn’t going to work if the two of them couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Tori knew better than to think this sudden compulsion to rip each other’s clothes off was leading anywhere. Chalk it up to stress and hormones, nothing more. Will had been impossible when they were married, expecting her to kowtow to his father and be as dedicated to the ranch as he was. And a career woman with a mind of her own was probably the last thing Will had wanted in a wife. They were definitely not going to do that number again.

People didn’t change—that was the bitter lesson Tori’s failed marriage had taught her. Even so, today, when Will had refused to sell Erin’s foal, she’d glimpsed the man she’d fallen in love with—the man she’d lost when he’d tried to turn himself into Bull Tyler.

And she could almost—under different conditions—have fallen in love with him all over again.

* * *

For most of the past week, Sky had planned to go back to the cave in the canyon. But work with the colts, running them through their training to keep them sharp, had kept him too busy to take time off. Still, he hadn’t stopped thinking about what he’d found there. The memory of that small skeleton, barely glimpsed in the dark pit, had haunted him day and night. It was as if those lonely bones were calling to him, demanding . . . what? Recognition? Justice?

Today he’d made an effort to finish early. It was midafternoon when he saddled Quicksilver, the gray gelding that had become his favorite, and headed for the foothills. He’d thought about asking Lauren along, but that would have taken extra time, and she was busy with work in town.

Not that she’d have been eager to come. She’d fallen silent, visibly affected, after he’d told her about the bones. No sense exposing her, or Erin, to that dark place again.

He reached the petroglyph canyon with plenty of daylight to spare. Leaving the horse to graze by the spring, he climbed the steep, narrow trail to the clearing and the cave.

Everything was as he’d last seen it, the cave open, with rocks heaped on both sides of the entrance. Sky checked around for rattlesnakes, but, as expected, he didn’t find any. By now, the frigid nights would have driven them underground to hibernate till spring. Most snake dens had multiple entrances and passageways. Even with the rocks blocking the cave, they’d have had no trouble coming and going.

Sky had worn gloves, armed himself with a pistol, and brought along the high-powered spotlight he kept in his truck. He didn’t plan to kill any snakes unless they threatened him. This was their territory, after all, and he was the intruder. But he planned to be extremely careful.