Page 32 of Lie for a Million

“Who says I’m leaving?” He sounded genuinely surprised.

“Don’t play games with me, Roper. You almost left once before. It could happen again—and probably will. You’re bigger than this ranch, and you know it. You could go anywhere, do anything.”

“I would argue against that.” His tone was neutral, giving her no clue. “But tell me what you’re thinking.”

“I’m thinking that when—or if—you go, I’ll need to do your job. For that, I’ll need to know everything that you know.”

Roper didn’t reply. Was he skeptical? Was he amused? She gazed across the pastures, avoiding him with her eyes. From here, Charlie’s game farm could be seen as a faint line of buildings and fences along the horizon.

“I know it can’t happen right away,” she said. “We’ve got the Run for a Million coming up. Then there’s the battle with Frank’s children for my right to keep this ranch. That’s bound to get even nastier than it already is. And Frank’s killer has to be found and brought to justice. And now—” Lila stopped herself. She wasn’t ready to talk about the latest development. Not until she had a plan to deal with it. Even telling Sam might have been a mistake.

She took a breath and continued. “I guess what I’m saying is, I hope I can count on your help.”

“Of course you can,” Roper said. “But unless you fire me, I have no plans to leave. I like to think that we’re building something here, a good program that will last. Apart from that, my family needs me. My father’s disabled, my brothers and sister are going their own ways. My mother’s strong, but she’s not getting any younger. Working here, I can live at home and be close by when they need my help.”

“That may be true,” Lila said, “but when we discussed your bringing Fire Dance here and I gave you my terms, you almost left.”

“But I didn’t leave. And I just told you why.”

“Is there any other reason?” She raised her head to look up at him. His expression hardened.

“You know better than to ask that question.” He stood so close that she could hear the low rush of his breathing. His smoky eyes blazed into hers. The urge to be in his arms and feel his mouth on hers heated her blood like a fever.

Don’t make a fool of yourself, the voice in her head scolded.You know better. Didn’t you learn anything before?

The voice was fading. As she met his gaze, warm and tempting desire uncoiled in the depths of her body. If she were to stretch on tiptoe and lean toward him, would he respond or would he push her away?

The jangle of the phone in her pocket left the questions unanswered.

Even without picking up, Lila sensed who the caller would be. She left the phone in her pocket, letting it ring again and again.

Roper had stepped back, breaking the tenuous connection between them. “Aren’t you going to answer it?” he asked.

“It can wait. They’ll call back.”

Before she could reach the phone, the call went to voice mail, which she’d set on speaker for convenience when she was driving her car. The all-too-familiar voice was a young woman’s. “Mrs. Culhane, you know who this is, and you know why I’m calling. Call me back, please.”

This was the last thing Lila needed, a reminder that Crystal was calling the shots, or at least trying to. She bit back a curse, feeling like a fighter on the ropes. Before she returned the call, she needed to get herself and the situation under control.

In the silence that followed, Roper gave her a concerned look. “I know it’s none of my business, but—”

“You’re right. It’s none of your business,” she said, cutting him off. “It’s something I need to take care of myself. And I don’t need you fussing over me. Go on back to work now, with my blessing.”

* * *

She turned away and stalked up the path. Roper kept an eye on her until she’d crossed the patio and gone into the house. She’d seemed vaguely troubled when she’d come out to the arena. Roper had assumed that he was the cause of her anxiety, and he’d done his best to smooth things over. He’d even been foolishly tempted to take her in his arms. But then the phone call had come.

He’d heard the voice message clearly. The woman had sounded young, with a Texas drawl. Whatever her business was, the phone call had been enough to throw Lila off the rails.

Had the call been about Frank? Maybe from a girlfriend?

Now Roper remembered Sam showing him a photo of Frank standing in the doorway of a motel room. The woman in his arms, visible only from behind, had a cloud of dark hair. Sam had wondered if she might be Cheyenne.

Roper had been quick to confirm that the woman wasn’t his sister. But the picture had been taken by a photographer working for Lila. Suddenly he couldn’t stop asking silent questions. Had Lila tracked down the mystery woman? Was that who had called her?

Lila may have conquered his heart, but a world of secrets lay beyond what he knew of her. Would she ever trust him enough to unlock that world? Or would it be safer for things to remain as they were now, with unspoken words building a wall between them?

* * *

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