"Elle used that word, too," Jonas said, "but mudslides aren't malevolent. Don't turn this into one of those weird things that seem to happen when you're all together. I don't want things coming out of the fog or shadows reaching for people behind their backs. Let's keep this simple."
"I was alarmed, but I couldn't tell by what," Libby agreed.
Jonas crossed the room to crouch down in front of her. "You're covered in dirt. Something did happen, didn't it?" The teasing note disappeared from his voice.
"No big deal. Elle is so connected to all of us that she can't help but worry. It was a minor accident. Remember the conversation about erosion on nearly all the cliff faces after that heavy rain? I was sitting near the cliff wall and there was a slide. A couple of big boulders must have dislodged and started it. The rocks smashed the chairs, but I'm fine, a little dirty, but no scratches."
"But she has a new strawberry birthmark on her neck," Hannah contributed helpfully.
Libby glared at her. "Treacherous woman! And I'm helping you talk without stammering, too. What's gotten into you?"
"Why would Hannah be stammering?" Jonas asked.
"Focus on the important things, mighty sheriff man," Hannah urged. "Strawberries. Necks. Rolling in the dirt. What kind of a detective are you?"
Jonas reached over and pulled Libby's palm from her neck. He studied the mark for a long moment, finally whistling. "I'm impressed. Who managed to leave his brand on you?"
"Brand?" Libby croaked, outraged. "It isn't a brand. It's a teeny mark, a scrape, probably from a rock."
Jonas exchanged a long look with Hannah and they both burst out laughing. "Good try, Libby," he said. "Give me a name."
"Don't you have work to do, Jonas?" Libby asked. "I'm busy."
"You don't look busy to me," Jonas pointed out.
"Oh, she is. She has to get ready for a date tonight," Hannah pointed out. "With Tyson Derrick."
Jonas whistled again. "Tyson Derrick, the multimillionaire? You're moving up in the world, Libby. He's a hell of a lot better than the toupee guy. That man had ice water in his veins. Ty goes for excitement."
"He's a biochemist," Libby said. "Not a millionaire. And he's matured over the years. I'm sure he's stopped all the crazy things he liked to do."
"Well, he climbed a mountain in the Himalayas last year. And he's gone rafting down the Colorado numerous times. He rock climbs and goes parasailing off cliffs. He fights forest fires and participates in helicopter rescues, but you're probably right. Other than driving race cars and getting speeding tickets on his motorcycle . . ."
"Don't tell me anything else." Libby covered her face again. "I can't take it. Why did I say I'd go out with him? I'm not even sure I did. I think he tricked me."
"How could he trick you?" Jonas asked. "You're pretty sharp, Libby."
"Most of the time," Libby conceded. "But I don't remember anything that happened at the hospital and he claims we had a conversation and he asked me out. I don't believe him. Dr. Shayner said he was severely brain damaged at the time which would preclude any conversation. I'm sure he made it up."
"You're sure?" Jonas teased.
"I'm almost certain." Libby sighed. "I'm confused. I don't even like him. For a man with a brilliant mind, which, by the way, I'm positive I wouldn't have said to him, he says the stupidest things."
"You may have told him he's brilliant?" Jonas asked.
"He's a good kisser," Hannah said helpfully.
Jonas glared at her. "You'd better not have firsthand knowledge on how that man kisses, baby doll. Having two of you getting silly over him is too much."
Hannah slammed her teacup into the saucer. "I'll kiss anyone I feel like kissing, Harrington. You're so bossy you think you can tell anyone what to do."
"You're forgetting I have a gun," he said complacently.
"I do believe you're threatening to shoot me," Hannah insisted, sparks beginning to form in the depths of her eyes.
"Not you. What the hell would I do without you to entertain me? I'd shoot him. Get it straight. Avoid locking lips with anyone if you know what's good for them." He stood up. "I'm going to check the cliff to make certain it's safe. I might have to rope part of it off and get some signs up."
"Thanks, Jonas," Libby said. "I didn't look at it. Ty was with me and I was distracted by his scintillating conversation."
"You mean his kisses." Hannah corrected her.
Jonas narrowed his gaze. "You seem obsessed with his kisses, Hannah."
She shrugged. "It's been a while. I'm looking for a little action."
His eyebrow shot up. "Oh, really?" Jonas leaned down, his hand twisting in her hair, holding her head perfectly still as his mouth took possession of hers.
Libby gasped in shock. The kiss seemed to go on and on forever. And there was definitely tongue. Hannah not only wasn't struggling, she seemed to be kissing him back.
Jonas pulled away just as abruptly, shoving his hat on his head and turning toward the living room. "That should hold you for a while. Next time you're feeling a little hard up, give me a call." He strode out of the room.
Hannah appeared dazed for a moment, her expression shocked, her eyes glazed and her lips slightly swollen. She opened her mouth twice before she succeeded in getting anything to emerge.
"Eww." Hannah looked outraged. "He's gone crazy, Libby. Did you see that? I should have kicked him. Or kneed him. Or at the very least turned him into a toad. He kissed me. I've been totally violated." She glared at the empty doorway.
"You kissed him back, Hannah."
"I most certainly did not," she denied vehemently.
Jonas whistled as he walked out of the house, slamming the living room door as he left.
"Why didn't you kick him?" Libby asked. There was definite kissing on Hannah's part, but Libby thought it best not to pursue it.
"I couldn't think." Hannah defended herself. "He took me by surprise. He's never done anything like that before. Ugg. I can still feel him." She touched her lips with her fingertips, almost a caress, rather than rubbing the kiss off. "He's such a rat. I'm going to have nightmares. And I'm going to retaliate."
"You're going to waylay him and kiss him?" Libby asked helpfully.
"That's not funny. I'm going to find a spell that will turn his lips numb."
Libby burst out laughing. "You might want to be careful. Jonas would know and his retaliation might be much worse."
"It's always bugged me that the house lets him in, like he's family or something."
"He is family, you dope," Libby said affectionately. "Jonas is the only brother we have."
Hannah made a face. "Not to me. I'm working on finding a way to make all the doors slam in his face when he tries to get in. I tried the gate, but the lock just falls off if he approaches and I can't do anything about that."
"You spend entirely too much time thinking of ways to annoy Jonas."
"Well, that's because he annoys me. He called me scrawny the other day. And he said I'd lost weight again and if I lost any more he was going to put my skeleton to rest."
"When did he say that?" Libby heard the hurt in her sister's voice.
"Oh, he came by yesterday to check on you. You were asleep so he bugged me. I have to stay thin or I lose my job."
Libby studied Hannah for a moment. She was so beautiful it was easy to just dismiss everything else beyond the surface, but Jonas was right, she was thinner. A lot thinner. "You are losing weight, Hannah," she said as gently as possible. "You need to eat more."
"I can't. I have a big show coming up in New York and I was told to make certain I didn't have an ounce of weight on me. Greg Simpson implied I was gaining." Hannah looked down at her hands. "I had the phone on speaker and Jonas came in and went berserk when he heard Greg tell me to keep the weight off. Jonas said it was stupid to be so vain and I was killing myself in order to be famous and it was only my need for constant adoration." Hannah paused, pushing back her hair in an unconscious, sexy gesture. "Jonas even said he could put his hand around my thigh. He was horrible and my agent heard every word."