Page 36 of Lie for a Million

She had started for the house when she glanced the other way and happened to see Roper come out of the stables.

He appeared to be taking a short break from work. His sweat-dampened shirt was plastered to his torso. His dark hair lay flat against his head. He raked it back with one hand while the other hand raised a jug of water to his lips. He drank long and deep. Lowering the jug, he turned to go back into the stable. He stopped as he caught her watching him. Would he come to her or go back inside?

As she waited, something inside her seemed to break. She felt the strange, warm pain of it, like a dam washing away in a spring thaw. It wasn’t Sam she needed to talk with. It was Roper.

He wasn’t the easiest person to understand, but he’d been honest with her even when it made her angry. She had struggled to keep him at a distance, especially after they’d lost control and made love. Could she keep that distance if she took him into her confidence?

He walked toward her. She waited for him to come within speaking distance.

“Boss?” He stopped a few paces from her. “Is everything all right?”

“Not really,” she said. “Have you got a few minutes to talk?”

He frowned. “I can arrange it. Give me a minute to put somebody in charge.”

He vanished inside the stable, leaving Lila to wait and wonder. What if Roper was driven by motives she wasn’t even aware of? Could she trust him?

But she was overthinking now. She wanted to trust him. She needed to trust somebody.

A few minutes later, he reappeared. He had splashed his face and hair with water. Drops glistened on his sun-weathered skin. “If you want to talk, maybe we should get out of the heat,” he said.

“The Jeep’s still cool, and the AC is working. Let’s take a ride. You can drive.” Lila tossed him the keys and led the way back to the vehicle shed. Inside, the Jeep was already warming, but when Roper started the engine, the air conditioner kicked in with a cooling blast.

“Where to?” he asked as he backed out of the shed.

“Anywhere.” She fastened her seat belt. “Just drive.”

* * *

At the gate, Roper made a left turn onto the road that would lead past the McKenna ranch and down the lane where Lila had driven him the night she’d picked him up to offer him a job. After hours in the stifling heat of the arena, the blowing air felt deliciously cool on his damp face. But he was here for other reasons.

In his side vision, he could see Lila’s profile, a tendril of pale hair fluttering against her cheek. Her silence lay between them, weighing on his concern. Was he in trouble? Should he say something, or wait for her to speak?

But waiting wasn’t his way.

“What is it? Have I done something wrong?”

“No, not you,” she said. “This is just something I need to talk about. There’s nothing you can do to help. All I’m asking is that you listen.”

“That sounds easy enough.” He slowed the Jeep as they passed the gate to the family ranch. He could see his mother outside hanging sheets on the clothesline. The house had come with a dryer, but Rachel liked to do some things the old-fashioned way. And the air-dried sheets did smell fresh.

Rowdy’s pickup was parked in the yard. Roper could only hope the young rascal was getting along with his parents and helping with the work.

Ahead, the lane cut off to the right. Without asking, Roper swung off the main road and followed the unpaved pathway through the overgrown tangle of brush and trees to where it ended next to a wide curve in the creek overhung with willows. He pulled into the shade, switched off the engine, and opened the windows far enough to let in the sound of water babbling over stones.

After unfastening his seat belt, he turned toward her. “Take all the time you need, Boss. I’m all ears.”

She shifted in her seat and took a deep breath. “I know you thought a lot of Frank. Did you know he was cheating on me?”

“I didn’t know until Sam showed me the photo you had taken. He was wondering whether the woman could be my sister, Cheyenne. As soon as I saw the woman’s hand in the photo, I knew that she wasn’t.”

“I can’t imagine she was the only one,” Lila said. “I know he cheated when he was married to Madeleine—and not just with me. Sorry, I can’t say I’m proud of that, but I had my reasons.”

“No need to apologize. I’m not here to judge you.”

She leaned back in her seat. “When Frank died, I tried to put the past behind me. I told myself the cheating didn’t matter anymore. Then I got a phone call from the woman in the picture. Her name is Crystal Carter. She’s pregnant.”

Roper had seen the photo and was aware of the woman. He wasn’t surprised that she would contact Lila. But pregnant? That was a stunner. For a moment he was lost for words.I’m sorrydidn’t seem appropriate here.

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