The Detective's Undoing

Cade was watching her closely now, and she returned his stare with one of her own. He was tall and built like an athlete, with powerful muscles born more from physical labor than any gym. With the sun behind him, every one of those muscles was outlined beneath his dark T-shirt, along with the ones in his long legs, which were encompassed in faded snug denim. And every one of those muscles was tense as he sat in the saddle looking at her. “This is good news, remember?”

“Of course.”

He bent closer, peering into her face. “Then where’s the smile?”

Baring her teeth, she gave the smile her best shot.

His big body shifted back, but he still watched her with that probing gaze.

As if he knew.

She assured herself that her secret fear was safe. No one must know that she was afraid and ashamed that she might be found lacking, not good enough to gain custody of her half brother.

But as she looked into Cade’s melting brown eyes, eyes that were filled with questions, she swallowed hard.

She could trust him.

The thought came from nowhere and was quickly squelched.

With one click of his tongue, Cade moved his horse right next to hers. “Why were you crying last night?” he asked bluntly.

She closed her eyes, blocking out the pretty but too-cool autumn sun, the breeze and his too-curious gaze.

“Was it Jacob?”

She didn’t—couldn’t—answer.

“You don’t have to go meet him alone,” Cade said as if she’d responded. “Your sisters—”

“It’s too expensive.” And none of them had a spare cent to their name. “And then there’s the upcoming opening. Plus, we’ll have guests soon.”

“You need support for this.”

“I can handle it.” She could handle anything.

“So strong.” He gave her a look that said he saw right through her. “You can do it all, right?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head. “No one is that strong.”

“I am.”

He stared at her until she felt that odd fluttering in her stomach. It annoyed her since she could see nothing in his gaze but his irritation at the worry he didn’t want to feel for her.

It was ironic that once upon a time she’d wished for a prince to solve all her problems, but life had taught her the hard way that she needed to be self-reliant—at all times. She would handle this, by herself.

And besides, Cade was no prince.

“Delia—”

“Look, I don’t know why you won’t just drop it.” She felt more desperate than ever, but her voice was sure and calm. Her voice was always sure and calm, thanks to years of practice.

“I can’t,” he said with real regret.

“Why?”

“Because I can’t shake the feeling that…that you need me.”

She managed to laugh at that and toss her head. “I don’t need anyone, Cade, especially you.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” Not a man to hide his feelings for anyone, his voice was tight. She’d stirred his male pride.

In a way, Delia admired him for showing her that. With Cade, she never had to guess what he was thinking, not when his face expressed every emotion, even when he obviously didn’t want to feel that emotion.

What would it be like not to worry what people thought? To just be? Delia didn’t have a clue. She’d been playing at being strong and independent for so long she no longer knew how to do anything else.

“It’s not a bad thing, needing someone,” he said after a long moment, and because she’d often wondered about that very thing, she closed her eyes.

She thought she felt a light caress in her hair, but when she opened her eyes again, he held his reins in one hand, the other lay on his thigh.

It must have been the wind, she decided.

Cade was a man seemingly at rest. Yet power and restless energy emanated from him in waves. There was a dangerous edge to Cade McKnight, one she didn’t understand. For all his casual smiles and laughter, there remained a part of him always prepared for anything. Maybe it was the bright day or the isolation, but she thought she saw a surprising depth to that edge now, and it made her take a good long look at him.

He looked back just as steadily, without a hint of discomfort.

Hurt, she realized, startled. He was hiding a wealth of hurt, just beneath his rough surface, and this unexpected side to the man she’d thought of only as a pain-in-her-own-rear was unsettling.

She looked away first.

The day around them was gloriously white, green, blue—a whole array of colors so brilliant that her eyes welled with stinging tears. It almost hurt to breathe, the air was so cold and crisp and pure.

So different from Los Angeles where she’d worked all her life in busy upscale beauty salons. Yes, she most definitely missed everything about it, especially the weather. Right now, she couldn’t remember what fifty degrees felt like, much less seventy.

And God help her, it was only October.

But her sisters were here, she reminded herself. They loved it and she loved them. It would also be the perfect place to raise the brother she’d never known existed—if she could ever get Jacob here from Los Angeles.

That, unfortunately, depended on Cade’s help. And he didn’t even know it yet.

“We going to ride?” Cade asked lightly.

“Yes.” She drew a deep breath and urged Betsy to walk. The stark wild land before her was the most incredible she’d ever seen, she’d give it that much. When they’d first arrived, the Triple M had been nothing more than two run-down barns and a house ready to collapse.

Over the past few months she and her sisters, along with Ty Jackson, their neighbor and now Zoe’s fiancе, had worked their fingers to the bone and their bank accounts to the limit. Due to inexperience and lack of funds, they’d been forced to give up the idea of ranching. Instead, they’d opened a guest ranch.

It was harder than anything she’d ever done, and if she was in an admitting sort of mood, she’d have to say it was also the most rewarding thing she’d ever done.