Hot Stuff (Hot Zone 1)

"I'm not about to saddle her with an old man whose going to lose his eyesight," he muttered, then rose from his chair.

"Isn't that her choice?" he asked again.

"This discussion is over. We can move on to my niece."

Vaughn stiffened in his seat. For all his careful planning, he'd blown it now but good. "Look, Yank-"

"My Annabelle's got a tendency to pick losers." As Yank paced the floor and muttered, Vaughn furrowed his brows and shut his mouth. He was clueless as to where this discussion was going, so he might as well find out before he created trouble he might not be in.

"Annabelle needs a good man," Yank continued. "All three of my girls need a good man."

Vaughn swiveled around fast.

"Can't argue that point, can you?" Yank asked Vaughn.

"Uh, no I can't." He had no doubt what Yank's point was. His niece deserved the best and Vaughn, with his sorry excuse for a family, dyslexic background and the way he'd betrayed Yank years ago, wasn't it.

Yank walked over and slapped Vaughn on the back. "Glad to hear it. I knew we'd understand each other."

"We do." Vaughn swallowed hard. He was damn glad he had Yank Morgan back in his life and he'd already known to steer clear of his niece. Now he had confirmation. He understood Yank's unspoken words.

After this business deal, when Annabelle left for New York, anything they shared while she was here was over.

BY MIDDAY, Vaughn arrived at the lodge. As Mara had informed him, Annabelle had called Nick for a ride and had gotten there first. He was way past being jealous of Nick. After all, he was the one who had

Annabelle in his bed. He did a quick tour of the construction area before returning to the office where Mara sat at her desk stuffing and stamping envelopes.

"Hey there," he said, treating her to a wink.

"Hey yourself." She pushed a too-tall pile aside before it toppled over. "I think offering a free night to all your registrants is a great idea."

"At least it's a start. Finding out who wants this lodge not to succeed would be even more helpful."

She nodded. "What do the police say?"

"That they're following up leads, whatever that means."

"Hey, at least you know you've got the best working for you here," Mara said.

Vaughn rolled his eyes at the blatant pat on her own back. "I just gave you a raise when we started this project," he reminded her. Before the lodge's inception, Mara had been his personal assistant. Now she ran things here, too.

"Are all men this thick or is it just you?" Mara asked, laughing. "I'm talking about Annabelle, not me." She stuffed another envelope, licked, sealed, stamped and began another pile.

"Oh." She had a point. Annabelle was the best. "Where is she, anyway?"

"When she arrived, she asked to use the computer and printer, worked for an hour and then headed to gather the employees."

"Uh-oh. What's she up to now? Anything I need to be forewarned about?"

"It's pretty basic. And nice, too. She's inviting all high-level employees, including construction foremen, to a big party her firm is throwing in Manhattan."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's a long drive from here."

Mara tried to lick an envelope, then grimaced. "I've got no spit left." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I doubt anybody minds the trip."

"And she's doing this…"

"For you, blockhead…" Mara rose and smacked him on the side of the head.