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  He’d been fighting his attraction for her because she threatened to touch his heart. That private part of him that was open to no one.

  She gave a half smile. “Ah, my knight in shining armor.”

  “You bet. Razzle-dazzle Reed Preston.”

  She grimaced. “I’m sorry I said all those nasty things.”

  He shrugged. “Sometimes the truth is nasty.”

  She held out the bottle. “Take it. You might have to carry me out of here.”

  Taking the water, he screwed the lid tight and placed it back in the bag. She would need it later.

  She trembled and was unable to stop. He gathered her close and held her. “You’re safe now,” he whispered against her sweat-coated hair. “You’re safe.”

  She drew back and wiped at her dirt-stained face. “But for how long? I thought once we met a person they would help us. Not…not…”

  “Shh. We just met the wrong people. I’m sure they’re trying to get as far away as possible now.”

  She shuddered. “I hope so.” Suddenly she laid her head in his lap. “I’m so tired.”

  “Try to sleep and then we’ll walk on.” He wouldn’t close his eyes in case he was wrong and the Mexicans tried to find them.

  “Reed.”

  “Hmm?”

  “Are we going to make it home?”

  “Yes,” he replied. “We just encountered two people and soon we’ll encounter more. We just have to keep going.”

  “I wonder how my parents are.”

  “They’ll be better once they know you’re alive.”

  “I don’t want Marisa to be sad.”

  “My sister is very strong.” He stroked Cari’s hair. “I’m sorry that idiot stood you up for the prom. That had to have been awful for a young girl.”

  She raised her head. “Yes, it was, but I went anyway.”

  He lifted an eyebrow. “You did? How did that happen?”

  She sat up. “Well, in high school I dated one of the rich, popular boys, Jared Cramer. I was excited about the prom that was coming up. We had talked about it. I couldn’t believe I was going with ‘Mr. Cool.’ That’s what the girls called him.”

  “Mr. Cool didn’t show up?” he asked when she stopped and stared at the ground.

  “No.” Her dark eyes held a faraway look. “Like I said, I sat in my parents’ living room and waited. Finally I called Jared and he laughed. He said he was just joking. His parents would die if he took me. I wasn’t from their circle of friends. He added I wouldn’t enjoy the prom anyway and he’d see me in school.”

  “Did you still date ‘Mr. Jerk’?”

  “Are you kidding?” The fire was back in her eyes. “I was crushed and planned to cry myself to sleep, but my mother was angry her daughter had been treated so callously. She said I was going to the dance and when I saw the tears in her eyes, I knew I’d do anything she wanted to make that look go away. Will Dunbar lived down the road from us and he wasn’t exactly in with the ‘in crowd’ either. My mother called his mother and before we knew it we were on the way to the prom.”

  “No one but Cari Michaels has that much nerve or confidence,” he said, grinning. “Did you have a good time?”

  “You bet.” A tentative smile touched her lips. “We did all the crazy dances and laughed most of the night. Jared tried to talk to me, but I ignored him.” She picked up a rock and turned it over and over in her hand. “As a kid I used to love shiny, sparkly things I saw in Wal-Mart. When my mom would buy me the shiny bauble, the shine never lasted. Once the shine was gone, I was left with a piece of junk. That’s how I saw Jared that night. All his shine was gone and what was left wasn’t attractive or appealing anymore.”

  For a moment there was total silence and he could actually feel her pain of long ago. He admired her strength and courage and hated that she’d been hurt so cruelly. “You’re incredible.”

  “Or stupid. I dredged up the courage to go to make my mom happy.”

  “Did it make you happy?”

  “Yes. It proved to me that no one can make me feel bad unless I let them. I decided right then and there that no one was ever going to make me feel less of a person again.”

  He brushed hair from her forehead. “Not even me, huh?”

  Her eyes met his. “Not even you, razzle-dazzle man.”

  He cupped her face. “You’re right about me. I’m afraid, and all my choices have stemmed from that fear. You grew up surrounded by love, but I’ve had very little of that. It’s hard for me to open up that side of me.” He realized he was doing it now and it felt right and easy with Cari.

  “You’re being honest and that’s a start.”

  He swallowed. “When we get back, I have to sort out my relationship with Daphne. I have to find out if my father set up our meeting. I can see now it’s a very real possibility.”

  His thumb made a circle on her cheek. “I do have strong feelings for you, but I can’t do anything about them until I straighten out my life. I have to do this right.”

  Her eyes sparkled. “Would it be wrong to kiss you?”

  He touched her lips gently, tasting dirt and sweat, but all he could feel was her warmth, her inner strength. Blood pounded in his veins and his tired body never felt more alive. “You’re everything that’s right in my world.”

  She curled her arms around his neck and they held on to each other for this moment in time.

  It was all they had.

  It was all they needed.

  Chapter Nine

  Richard sat in his study with the door locked, a bottle of bourbon in front of him. Untouched. He kept staring at it, knowing solace and forgetfulness were within.

  But he had to remember.

  Everything.

  He twisted the bottle. Marisa, Colter and the kids were in the kitchen with Vanessa, making cookies. Craziest idea he’d ever heard of. Vanessa wanted to make something for Reed when he returned. She had decided Reed wasn’t dead. Richard supposed it was the only way she could cope and he didn’t have the energy to make her see the truth. Evidently Marisa didn’t either because she went along with the insane plan and had even tried coaxing him into joining them. He wasn’t in the mood for company, though. Not even his grandchildren’s.

  Marisa said they needed to be together, so the whole family was spending the night. He didn’t think the kids needed to be told yet, but Marisa and Colter had felt otherwise. Now they were in the kitchen talking and sharing.

  As the Michaelses had. Thank God they had finally gone home. But Richard still didn’t have any peace.

  A tap sounded at the door.

  “Go away!” he shouted.

  “I just wanted to know if you needed anything, sir,” Winston asked, his voice muffled.

  Richard jumped up, marched to the door and yanked it open. “Yes, Winston. I would like to be left alone. Do you understand me?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Thirteen-year-old Ellie strolled into the room. She was a blond beauty, a replica of her mother, except she had her father’s green eyes.

  “Mommy sent me to get you, Grandpa.” She linked her arm through his. “You have to be with family. Grandma is cooking and it’s a sight to see. Uncle Reed would be freaked out—I sure am.”

  He went with her like a dutiful puppy. She should hate him for what he’d stolen from her—her mother. It had taken eight years for Marisa to discover her daughter was alive and living with her father. But Ellie had a forgiving soul and a loving heart. Richard had Colter to thank for that.

  He never had, though.

  As they entered the big kitchen, he saw Colter and Jack, his four-year-old grandson, sitting on bar stools at the granite countertop island.

  Marisa and Vanessa stared at something in a bowl. No servants were around, so Vanessa must have dismissed them.

  “Now cream the eggs and sugar,” Marisa told her mother.

  “Hi, Grandpa.” Jack raised a hand. “Grandma is making sugar cookies for Uncle Reed and we’re goin
g to decorate them. Right, Daddy?”

  Colter put an arm around Jack. “Right, son.”

  “Do you mean add cream?” Vanessa asked, her linen pantsuit covered with a white apron.

  “No, Mother,” Marisa answered in a patient voice. “You beat them together until the mixture is creamy.”

  “What do I beat it with?”

  Good grief. He was surprised Vanessa had even found the kitchen. He rolled up his shirtsleeves. “This is how you do it.” He picked up a spoon and whipped the ingredients until the mixture was creamy. He remembered doing this as a kid at his uncle’s during the holidays. He’d forgotten that. “That’s it.” He sat the bowl aside.

  Vanessa clapped her hands. “Oh, Richard. I didn’t know you could do that.”

  “Grandpa can do anything,” Ellie said, leaning against Colter. “Just like my daddy.”

  Richard winked at her. “Now we add the rest of the ingredients.” He was getting into it. Soon he and Vanessa were cutting out cookies. Ellie and Jack added sprinkles, chocolate shavings and M&Ms. Marisa popped them into the oven and then they waited, sitting around the island.

  “Uncle Reed would be proud,” Ellie said.

  “Yes, he would,” Marisa added. “He’d want us to be together as a family.”

  “Have you talked to Ruth or any of the Michaels family?” Vanessa asked.

  “I talked to Ruth this morning and they’re waiting a few days before they make arrangements. She said they needed some time and they wanted to wait until the investigation was finished.”

  “Mommy, are the cookies ready?” Jack asked.

  The oven dinged. “Yes.” Marisa went to get them while Vanessa brought glasses and milk.

  “I want an M&M one.” Jack propped himself up on his knees looking at the cookies.

  “We have to say a prayer,” Ellie said. “We have to hold hands, too.” They gathered close to the island. Richard looked into Vanessa’s eyes and she smiled. It warmed his cold heart. He took her hand and reached for Marisa’s. The others joined in.

  “Who’s going to say the prayer?” Ellie asked.

  “You can, sweetie,” Marisa replied.

  “Okay.” They bowed their heads. “Dear God, we miss Uncle Reed and Cari, but we’re happy they’re with you. Please help us not to be sad. And please bless this food. Amen.”

  No one moved or said anything for a solid minute. They were linked by hands, by family and by blood and no one wanted to let go. Finally they moved to their stools, each dealing with their own sadness.

  They ate in a comfortable silence. Halfway through his cookies, Jack’s eyelids began to droop.

  “Time for bed.” Colter gathered up his son.

  Marisa stood. “I’ll be back to help with the dishes.”

  “Darling, no.” Vanessa hugged and kissed her. “I’ll take care of the dishes. Put your babies to bed.”

  Ellie frowned. “Grandma, I’m not a baby.”

  “Pardon me, young lady.”

  Ellie hugged them and followed her parents.

  Richard and Vanessa were left alone in an intolerable silence.

  “I need to put some of these up for Reed.” Vanessa grabbed a plate and plastic wrap. “I want them to be fresh.”

  Richard watched her nervous movements and knew he had to say something. She had to face the truth. “Vanessa, Reed is—”

  “Don’t say it,” she snapped and carried the cookies to the refrigerator.

  “Vanessa.” He tried again.

  She hurriedly carried plates to the sink, ignoring him. Opening the dishwasher, she started to stack dishes inside. He didn’t even know she knew how to do that. Once she had the dishes done, she wiped the counter.

  He took her hands and led her to a stool. “We need to talk.”

  “I know what you’re going to say and I don’t want to hear it. Let me deal with this in my own way.”

  “Okay.” He nodded. “Believe what you want, but I have to tell you something else.” He had to tell someone or it was going to eat him alive. Sharing wasn’t big on his list of favorite things, but it was the only way he was going to find any measure of peace.

  “Richard, please, I don’t want to talk about anything else. I just want to think about my son.”

  “This is about Reed.”

  She paled, reading him like a book. “What have you done?”

  “Stay calm.”

  “I know you and if you want to talk, it’s something bad.”

  He started to keep his secret, but he couldn’t. His punishment was so severe that the truth was the only thing that would save him. From himself.

  “Remember the dinner party where Reed and Daphne met?”

  “Of course. It was a traumatic evening trying to arrange the proper seating.”

  “I knew Daphne was in town. Clyde and I arranged the meeting.”

  “What!” Her eyes darkened.

  “I had to do something. I could see how Reed felt about Cari.”

  “So…you thought you’d find Reed a wife who was more suitable.”

  “Yes.” He met the accusation in her eyes squarely.

  She shook her head. “Richard…Richard…you promised Marisa and Reed you would not interfere in their lives anymore.”

  “I know and now I’m being punished.” He swallowed hard. “It’s my fault Reed is dead.”

  She stood and put an arm around him. “Oh, Richard. You just never learn, but you’re getting a second chance. No.” She arched an eyebrow. “This will be your third or fourth.”

  This calm, understanding reaction wasn’t like Vanessa and it threw him. “What are you talking about?”

  “Reed’s coming home. I mean, I just made cookies and that’s something I just don’t do.”

  “It’s well known you don’t cook. Period.” Now he understood. The woman was out of her mind.

  “So you see I’m right. Reed is coming home.”

  “Or you’re losing it.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time.” She kissed his cheek. “Now, let’s go to bed and try to sleep. By the way, where is Daphne?”

  “I don’t know. I would have thought she’d have been back by now.”

  “Your perfect, suitable wife seems to be an emotional air bag. Or is that vacuum?”

  He glared at her for pointing that out.

  “Darling, you chose someone just like me. Can’t you see that?”

  “I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”

  “Lecture? I thought it was a compliment. I never knew you thought I was the perfect wife.”

  He didn’t know anything anymore. But he had something that could shut off his mind like a tap. He headed for his study.

  And the bourbon.

  CARI AND REED WALKED on toward the endless horizon. Cari ached down to her bones, and her feet she couldn’t even feel at times, except for the pain. She knew she must have blisters the sizes of quarters on her heels, but she had to keep going. They needed water badly. She was so thirsty, but she tried not to think about it. The sun and the wind were unbearable. She had a tremendous headache and her skin was sunburned and felt like sandpaper.

  Something that looked like a tarantula inched across the ground in front of her and she didn’t even blink. He was the least of her worries. Her breath was shallow, her lips chafed and dry. All she had to do was pick up her feet and move forward. Her feet were so heavy though. One more step…

  She fell to the ground, prostrate, wondering if death was like this, where you reach a point and just give up.

  “Cari.” She heard Reed’s gentle, worried voice.

  “Go on without me,” she managed to whisper.

  “No way,” he said. “We go together or we sit right here.”

  “Reed, you…you…have to find help.”

  Reed’s heart broke as he saw how exhausted she was. He fished out the last of the water. “Drink the water. It’ll revive you.”

  She didn’t move.

  “Come on, Cari, I nev
er figured you for a quitter.”

  She didn’t respond and he knew she’d reached her limit. Overhead he saw buzzards flying. His chest tightened. No way. No way was he going to let her die.

  He set the bottle on the ground and gently turned her. Holding her in his arms, he put the bottle to her dry lips. “Drink,” he ordered.

  She gulped the water and he let her take a breath before he made her drink more. As he held her he saw a prickly pear cactus and then he saw something else. He’d been seeing this cactus for a while and from his school years in Arizona he knew it was cane cholla. It was a thorny tubular segmented bush and the tubular canelike stems drooped toward the ground. The cactus was covered in sharp spines, but clustered among them he saw the yellow egg-shaped fruit. The other bushes he’d noticed didn’t have the fruit, so the animals must have eaten them. This was a godsend. It was spiny, too, but he could get to the fruit.

  He laid Cari gently on the ground and tucked his jacket beneath her head. She didn’t move. He made his way to the cactus and careful of the spines plucked several fruit pods. Splitting one open with his fingers, he carried the fleshy insides to Cari.

  “Cari, look. I found more cactus.”

  She moaned and he helped her to sit up. “Here.” He held it to her mouth and she took it and began to eat. He sagged with relief and went back for more.

  Thirty minutes later Cari was noticeably better. So was he.

  “We’ll stay here for the night,” he said. “And eat more cactus in the morning before we press on.”

  “What’s the use?” Cari looked at the bleak scenery around her. “We’ve reached the end of the earth.” Suddenly her fighting spirit returned. “Why isn’t someone looking for us, damn it? It’s like the whole world has forgotten we ever existed.”

  He tucked her matted hair behind her ear. “Feeling better?”

  “A little.”

  “We’re seeing more animals again, so we’re getting close to something.”

  “I saw something that looked weird, but I was too tired to pay it much attention.”

  “It was a ringtail. I saw it, too. It looks like a cross between a raccoon and a cat.”

  “That was it.” She sighed. “I don’t even care anymore.”