Truth and Dare
Candace Havens
Forensic anthropologist Patience McGee doesn't play games. So when she offers to investigate the death of businessman Cade Randall's father from twenty years ago, Cade's ambivalence is nothing short of frustrating. Well, she'll show this mouthwateringly hot man exactly who he's dealing with….Cade had made up his mind to walk away from the case–until Patience dared him to help her investigate the murder. And as they immerse themselves in the mystery, it isn't long before the vibe between them goes from civil to sizzle. But what will happen when Cade and Patience realize that the most dangerous dare of all…is the truth?
“I aim to please, ma’am…”
“But to be honest, where you’re concerned my thoughts aren’t very gentlemanly,” Cade continued, before leaning in and kissing Patience. He meant it to be a soft taste, but at first contact she pressed herself into him, and Cade’s instincts took over. He gently twisted a hand in her hair so he could tilt her head to better explore her mouth.
“Cade,” she whispered against his lips.
“Yes.” His breathing was heavy. All he wanted to do was take her upstairs and make love to her until the morning. For a moment, her hand traveled down his hip and he thought she might cup him. The mere hint of her touch made him harden into a brick.
When Patience suddenly stepped away from him, he groaned.
“Didn’t we promise your grandmother we’d be there by eight?”
He grunted and leaned his forehead against hers. “You don’t play fair.”
“Oh, I can think of all kinds of games we can play later. And none of them will be fair,” she promised.
Dear Reader,
I used to spend a great many of my summers in East Texas where my grandparents had a farm. It was a way for my parents to get cheap summer babysitting, but I also learned useful skills like how to ride a horse, shell peas, oh, and the most important one, how to flirt with boys.
When I decided to write my first cowboy story, Truth and Dare, I looked back to those country summers. Skiing on the lake, dances where the whole town turned out and there were so many handsome cowboys. Cade, my hero, is an amalgamation of those guys, with a little bit of my husband thrown in. He’s from good solid stock and he’s a man who goes after what he wants.
And he wants Patience.
She isn’t sure what to make of Cade. All she wants to do is solve her first case and get back to her nice safe lab. Cade is anything but safe, and the more she gets to know him, the tougher it is for her to keep up her emotional walls. Will she be able to step out of her shell to be with this incredible guy? The answer awaits you in Truth and Dare.
Please email me at candacehavensbook@gmail.com and tell me what you think about the book. You can also find me on Twitter.com/candacehavens and MySpace, Facebook and Live Journal, all of which you can find on www.candacehavens.com.
Enjoy!
Candace Havens
Truth and Dare
Candace Havens
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Award-winning author and columnist Candace “Candy” Havens lives in Texas with her mostly understanding husband, two children and two dogs, Scoobie and Gizmo. Candy is a nationally syndicated entertainment columnist for FYI Television. She has interviewed just about everyone in Hollywood from George Clooney and Orlando Bloom to Nicole Kidman and Kate Beckinsale. You can hear Candy weekly on The Big 96.3 in the Dallas–Fort Worth Area. Her popular online writer’s workshop has more than thirteen hundred students and provides free classes to professional and aspiring writers.
To my husband, Steve,
thank you for believing in my dreams
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
1
“YOUR FATHER IS DEAD.”
It took a few seconds for the Phosphor County sheriff’s cautious words to register. Cade Randall’s chest tightened with pain, but he pushed the emotion away.
Figures the old man would show up today, of all days. Even dead he still caused trouble.
Cade didn’t want to care about the man who abandoned his family twenty years ago. He glanced around the offices of Stonegate Investigative Agency wondering why the sheriff brought him here to tell him the news when a simple phone call would have sufficed.
The woman behind the desk watched him carefully. He struggled to remember her name—Patience something. He didn’t know who she was, exactly. She was beautiful. A professor type, with long blond hair that framed a perfect face featuring high cheekbones and nearly translucent green eyes. She wore a suit jacket over a miniskirt, he recalled her legs were the kind men dreamed about. And she smelled like honeysuckle, which for some reason was the most distracting thing about her.
His father was dead.
Judging from the looks on the sheriff’s face and Patience’s, they were waiting for him to respond.
“Sheriff, I appreciate you letting me know.”
He checked his phone. There were six messages from his executive assistant. “I’m sorry, but I need to go.” The merger was happening today, and he couldn’t be late for his next meeting. Cade rose to leave.
“Wait.” Patience held out a hand as she stood. “Don’t you want to know what happened to your father?” Her eyes narrowed with recrimination. To her, Cade probably looked like a heartless bastard.
“Ma’am, he left our family many years ago without so much as a goodbye. He just didn’t come home one night. So, no, I don’t care how he died, or where he was when you found him.” He paused reflecting for a moment. There was someone who would care. “Though I’m certain my grandmother would like to give her son a proper burial.”
“Please, hear me out.” Her voice was firm. “I promise you I won’t take more than two more minutes to explain.”
Stubborn woman.
Cade didn’t have time for any of this. He had to get back to the office. Though something in her eyes compelled him to stand still. “Fine. You have my attention.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
She didn’t bother sitting down. “As the sheriff said, I’m Dr. Patience Clark, Stonegate’s forensic anthropologist. Your father’s remains were brought to Austin by the sheriff for identification.”
Cade inclined his head slightly to let her know he understood.
“I’ll cut to the chase, since you have no interest in what happened to him. I felt you should know your father was murdered about twenty years ago on some land just outside of your hometown.”
Murdered?
In Phosphor?
The knot in Cade’s chest tightened even more. That meant… No, she had to be wrong. Why was this happening now? His phone vibrated again and Cade took it out and glanced at it as the sheriff and Patience watched him.
His father didn’t leave the family, after all. Cade rubbed his forehead and tried to process the information, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t deal with this today.
Cade shoved what Patience told him on a mental shelf. He’d deal with it after the merger. His employees were depending on him making this deal work.
“I apologize for my behavior and I appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Unfortunately, I have to go.” He started to back out the door.
Patience gave him a wary glance. “One more minute, please.” She pulled out a two-page document. “If you’ll sign this, it’ll give me permission to pursue your father’s murder on your behalf, then I’ll get out of your hair. You may not care who killed him, but my company, Stonegate Investigative Agency, has a one hundred percent close rate when consulting on cases. I need to find your father’s murderer. The sheriff will be supervising the investigation.”
Cade’s gut burned with anxiety and he ran his fingers through his hair. He had to get out of there. “I’ll sign anything you want, but I’m not sure what you think you’re going to find after twenty years. Seems like a waste of time to me.”
She pushed the documents toward him on the desk and pointed where she needed his signature. “My guess is you’ve never been on an archeological dig. You’d be surprised what can be found even after thousands of years. The sheriff told me the bones were discovered by hikers in a shallow grave that had been wasted away by erosion in a remote area, so if it’s been untouched there’s a good chance I’ll find something.”
“It’s your time.” He shoved the papers toward her.
“Thank you.” She pulled the signed papers to her chest.
The lifted eyebrow told him she didn’t approve of his attitude, but he couldn’t worry about that. The merger about to take place meant big things for his company. The value of his employees’ stocks would rise through the roof, and he could start the new research division for their microchip and have an entirely new brand of supercomputers out next year.
He shook the sheriff’s hand and took Patience’s hand in his. It was soft, and he had a feeling her scent would linger on his skin. “Thank you, again.”
His phone buzzed, and he answered it.
“Sir, Greg is here and he says he has to talk to you now.” His assistant was excited, which meant something had happened.
“Give me thirty seconds and then put him on.”
Cade tried to smile at the sheriff and at Patience but was sure that it came off more as a grimace.
“Again, I appreciate your efforts.” He turned to leave.
“Here,” she said. “This is my information, in case you have any questions.”
He stuffed the folded piece of paper into his pocket and hurried for the door, the phone at his ear.
As Greg spoke, he tried to listen, but his mind was on his father and the woman who had given him the news. While Cade usually didn’t care what people believed of him, it bothered him that she might consider him a coldhearted jerk. Well, he could be when it came to business, but that was different.
“Cade, did you hear me? The meeting has been moved up to ten. You have to get here now,” Greg yelled through the phone. Normally, Cade wouldn’t take such insubordination from an employee, but Greg was also one of his best friends.
Cade slipped into the limo waiting for him and the driver shut the door.
“Greg, calm down. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five. We have plenty of time to go over any last-minute issues.”
The other man went on to tell Cade some of the details, but he only half listened. He pulled the folded sheet from his jacket pocket. Her business card slipped out, the scent of honeysuckle filled his senses. He opened the piece of paper to find a brief note.
“I dare you to help me find your father’s killer.”
She’d met him less than ten minutes ago and she knew exactly how to get to him.
Cade wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
PATIENCE SAT IN THE BASEMENT of Phosphor’s
County Courthouse, staring at six giant boxes of records. Her job usually involved identifying bones, some of which were centuries old. This was her first time to do any real detective work, something she normally left to others at the agency.
The seasoned professionals at Stonegate knew exactly how to tackle cold murder cases. With so many colleagues busy with other projects and a burning desire to get out of the lab, Patience couldn’t let this case rest. She couldn’t stand the idea of this poor man being murdered and no one caring enough to do something about it.
Her mind flashed to the sexy Cade Randall. The instant their eyes met, her body reacted with a heated blush. That sort of thing never happened to her and she’d been worried she might be coming down with a cold. But when those steely gray eyes of his had narrowed in on her, she could tell he was just as attracted to her as she was to him. Anthropologically speaking the reaction was an interesting phenomenon, one she wouldn’t mind pursuing.
Too bad he’s a jerk.
Shoving her hair up into a ponytail, she moved toward the boxes, grateful experienced agency detectives Shannon and Katie had given her advice on where to start. No one seemed to know who owned the land where the bones were discovered. Finding the answer was her first assignment on the well-ordered plan she’d devised.
“More than likely, no one wants to lay claim because they are worried about the consequences,” Katie had informed her. “Some of the records may be really old, and property lines shift all the time. When land is inherited or sold and the surveyors don’t know what they’re doing, anything can happen. There have been cases where fifty years later a farmer discovers part of the land he’s been working on most of his life, isn’t his. Disputes over land, especially in Texas, are a big deal. It’s a good place to start.”
Lifting the lid on the first box, dust assaulted Patience. She sneezed, and reached for a tissue in her bag. Evidently, people didn’t hang out in the Phosphor records room very often. The whole place could use a vacuum and about a hundred dust rags. Patience had a slight case of OCD and preferred her spaces neat and tidy. She kept her labs pristine, and she wasn’t a fan of moldy smelling dustbins like the basement.
Pulling out an armful of files she sat down at the long table and began to peruse them. For three hours she sat searching for one mention of the property in question. She didn’t find a thing.
Her first day in town, and she was doing not so great. Frustrated, Patience returned everything to its proper place and put the lids back on the boxes.
Way to go, detective.
Her friends made it look so easy.
Glancing at her watch she realized it had been several hours since she’d eaten.
Guess it’s time to check out the Bluebonnet Café.
She’d seen the establishment across the street when she parked in front of the courthouse. It was almost one and when she entered the café she could tell it had been a busy afternoon. Dishes were stacked high in a big tub behind the counter, and the waitresses were wiping down all the tables and refilling salt and pepper shakers.
“Hey, darlin’, why don’t you take that booth in the corner, we’ve got that one cleaned up for you,” said the waitress with a long brunette ponytail, jeans and a pink T-shirt that read “Shut up and eat.”
Patience nodded her thanks and walked toward the back. A group of older gentlemen sat at a center table. They looked like regulars, and she wondered if maybe she should try to talk to them to see if they knew who owned the property. But food was her first priority.
The menu was on the table, and from the delicious smells in the kitchen she had a feeling the selections were comfort food greatness. She ordered a cheese-burger, fries and lemonade. She thought seriously about a piece of coconut cake, before deciding the burger and fries would do enough damage.
She didn’t mind her curves, unless they made her jeans too tight, which was why she usually stuck to meat, vegetables and fruit.
The waitress delivered her lunch, and Patience gasped. The hamburger was almost as big as the plate. Even with her appetite she would barely make a dent in the food.
A shadow crossed in front of her table. Patience glanced up to see three of the men from the other table standing over her.
“Hello.” Patience was curious as to why they were there.
“Heard ya was over at the courthouse digging into property records,” the oldest man said. He wore a dark gray hat, jeans and his skin was so leathery it didn’t look real. His nearly black eyes were downright hostile, as was his tone.
“I might have been,” Patience ventured. She didn’t know what they were up to, but she refused to be intimidated. “I’m not sure how it concerns you, one way or the other.” Her right eyebrow rose. She’d dealt with bullies all of her life, she could handle a couple of rednecks in a Podunk town.
“Quite a mouth you got there,” said the youngest of the three, who was probably somewhere around fifty, though it was hard to tell with his black hat pulled down over his face so low she couldn’t see his eyes. He leaned forward.
Patience refused to move, holding her chin even higher.
“Reckon you should keep to your own business and leave our town alone,” the man threatened.
“I reckon you should leave my friend Patience there alone,” said a voice from the doorway of the café. There was a silhouette of a man who wore a cowboy hat, white shirt, boots and jeans, but she couldn’t see his face.
“Her business is my business,” he continued, “and I don’t appreciate you making threats to my friends.”
The older man held his hands up in surrender.
“Just looking after the town, Cade. We don’t like nosey folk in our business.”
Cade walked to the table and Patience had to forcibly shut her mouth with her hand. The man had been sexy in his suit, but in these jeans, he was nothing less than smokin’ hot, as her boss, Mariska, the owner of Stonegate, would say.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Hey, there. Everything okay?”
His lips scorched her skin, and she couldn’t breathe.
She nodded.
Cade slid into the other side of the booth. “I see you ordered enough for the both of us.” He gave her a dazzling smile.
She willed her mouth to work, but it didn’t. Though her heartbeat did double-time.
Cade glanced at the men. “Moses, Jim, Ralph, I’m sure you have better things to do than watch us eat.” He smiled but his tone implied they should leave quickly.
Up until six weeks ago when he came to town to check on his land at his grandmother’s request, it had been two years since Cade had been in Phosphor to visit his family. Not much had changed. For the most part the townspeople were friendly, but these old characters were the exception.
The men stared at him, but eventually backed away, mumbling as they left the café.
Cade jumped up to grab an empty plate from the waitress, and ordered a sweet tea.
Patience remembered the last time she’d seen him. He was like some kind of Jekyll and Hyde—a mind-bendingly sexy Jekyll and Hyde.
“Thanks,” she said finally. “I could have handled them on my own.”
Cade nodded. “I’m sure you could. But I don’t like aggressive types, especially ones who pick on beautiful women.”
He called her beautiful. No one had ever said that about her. The man was a flirt.
She cleared her throat. “What are you doing here?”
Cade took her fork and knife and cut the hamburger in half. Then he scooped a handful of fries and put everything on his plate.
“I’m taking your dare.”
2
THE SUN SHINING THROUGH the diner windows danced along Patience’s angelic locks giving the appearance of a halo, but Cade’s thoughts weren’t close to heavenly. The woman was more intoxicating than he had remembered and for the past week she’d been haunting his dreams.
Twice while closing the merger deal he’d lost track of what he’d been saying thanks to sudden visions of her face flashing in his mind. More than anything he wanted to wash away that look of disappointment she’d given him just before he’d walked out of her office.
He tried to convince himself that he’d been upset when they met and that he’d made her into much more than she was. But he was right the first time. He’d known that as soon as he walked into the café.
Taking a bite of his half of their hamburger, he studied her as she concentrated on her fries. She was obviously surprised to see him, and he’d arrived just in the nick of time. If she had any inkling of how he really felt, Patience would run straight back to Austin and lock her door.
If he had any brains at all, he’d do the same thing.
“Thanks for sharing your food with me.”
A slow smile crept across her mouth. “Uh, sure. So, you came to help me out?”
“Thought it was the least I could do after being so rude to you the other day. I’m usually never rude to women.” It was true. Many in the business community thought him to be cutthroat and they weren’t wrong. Cade was driven and wanted to provide a solid company for his employees, most of them had been with him from the beginning and sometimes that meant making tough decisions. Combining his company’s resources with that of another would in the long run make both companies stronger.
Patience pushed the stray hairs that had fallen from her ponytail behind her ears. “That’s sexist in a way, you know.”
He nodded. “You can blame my mom, and after she died, my grandmother. Gentlemen are always supposed to speak kindly to the ladies.” He gave her his best sweet Southern accent. “I can honestly say I was in shock. All these years I thought my dad was some sorry bastard who ran off with another woman. Then I find out he’d been murdered.” Cade took a sip of his tea.
“The sheriff explained as much, so I didn’t hold it against you—much.”
Cade had to stop himself from leaning across the table and kissing her when she smiled at him like that.
Whoa, boy, slow it down.
“So what were you doing that got those boys’ attention?”
She shrugged. “I was going through old property records in the courthouse. I didn’t find anything. If Moses had given me the chance, I would have told him he had nothing to worry about. And, well, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m not sure you’re going to like it, but I hope you’ll give me a chance to explain.”
Now he was curious. “I can’t imagine anything you could say that would upset me, Patience.” He liked the way her name sounded on his lips.
After glancing around the restaurant she leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. “I told you when we first met I’m a forensic anthropologist.”
Cade had done some checking into her background before making the drive down to Phosphor. He’d discovered she was the best at what she did. She’d written several books, and universities around the world courted her and through the Stonegate Agency she consulted for law enforcement officials all over the world. She was the superstar of the forensic anthropology field.
“Normally, in a case like your father’s, I identify the remains and then one of the detectives from our agency would take over the case to track down the murderer.”
Cade had a feeling he knew where this was going. “You’re worried you don’t have the right skill set to solve this.”
“Yes and no.” She twirled a fry. “I’ve been with the Stonegate Agency for some time now, and I’ve picked up a great deal from my friends. But I’ve never followed through on a case completely on my own.”
“So why not assign the case to someone else?”
Patience shook her head. “There is no one else right now. We’re short staffed in Austin as it is while some of our associates are away working around the world. It would be weeks, possibly months before one of the detectives could take on anything new. I felt like your father was long overdue for some peace, and I wanted to give that to him. And to your family.”
Every time he thought of the word murder he had to pause to consider what it really meant. He had a lot of apologizing to do to the heavens for the many horrendous things he’d said through the years about his dad.
“As far as I’m concerned we couldn’t have anyone better than you helping our family.”
Patience sucked in a breath of surprise, her cheeks becoming a light shade of pink. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re passionate about this or you wouldn’t have taken time away from your lab and other cases.” He wanted to ask her why this was so important to her, but something told him this wasn’t the right time. It was more a hunch than anything, but he also saw sadness in her eyes. “You mentioned at your office that the sheriff would be overseeing the investigation, so I’m not totally understanding the problem.”
She grinned.
Cade shifted in his seat like a nervous schoolboy with a crush.
“I promise you I will do everything I can to find who did this. They have to pay for what they did to your family.”
Cade was grateful someone cared enough to even try. It couldn’t be easy solving a twenty-year-old murder. “Well, I’ll be here to help you, so we can cover twice the ground at the same time. I do have to run out to the ranch every once in a while to see how things are going.”
“The ranch?”
“Yeah, a couple of months ago I hired a foreman to run my family’s old place. We bought some cattle and he’s got the barn on the east side up and running. I promised to help him with the fences while I was here, and fixing up the old barn near the house. But my dad comes first. That is if you want me.”
WANT HIM? PATIENCE WANTED to tie him up in a bow like a present and feast on him for weeks. She couldn’t remember the last time her libido had been this fully engaged. He wasn’t her normal brand of “man candy,” as her friends liked to say, but then what was normal? She hadn’t been on an official date in years.
Technically he was a client and she had to behave.
Katie broke the rule and she survived quite nicely.
Katie, one of Stonegate’s best detectives, lived in London with her hot professor boyfriend. They’d met when Katie was protecting him. So maybe the rule wasn’t so hard and fast after all.
The last thing Patience needed was romantic complications. It would take all her concentration and resources to find the murderer. Her gut told her it would be best to stay away from the handsome cowboy.
“I don’t want you to take time away from the ranch, it sounds like it’s important to you.” She popped another French fry in her mouth. She’d have to run two or three miles to keep half of her lunch from landing on her hips.
“Oh, it’s no problem. I’d planned on spending as much time as I can with you.”
Patience’s head snapped up. Did he say he wanted to spend time with her? From the moment they’d met in her office she’d experienced an inexplicable pull toward him. Had he felt the same?
“Helping with the case that is,” he finished.
Her hopes sank. “Of course.” She waved a hand to the waitress for the check.
“Ah, honey it’s on the house,” the waitress told her. “You got our Cade back to town, so I feel like we owe ya one.” She leaned down and kissed Cade’s cheek, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Something strange came over Patience and it took a second for her to realize her clenched fist might be a sign of jealousy. It wasn’t an emotion she knew. There had never been anyone in her life to feel jealous about.
Interesting.
The scientist part of her brain wanted to explore the implications, but the woman in her was freaked out by her response.
Cade stood and gave the waitress a big bear hug.
Patience’s stomach twisted into one huge knot.
“Charli, you are the best cousin ever, but I told you that’s no way to run a business.” He plopped a twenty down on the table. “You can’t be giving the goods away for free.”
“That ain’t what you told all those girls in high school.” She let out a loud laugh, but she didn’t give him the money back.
Cousin? They were family.
“You keep this one,” she said, pointing to Cade, “on the straight and narrow. Don’t get his temper up or he’s ornery as a hornet’s nest on the first day of spring.”
He made a ring motion above the top of his head indicating a halo. “Don’t listen to her. I’m a complete angel.” He fluttered his eyelashes angelically. “She’s the one with the temper. Just ask her brother Jason. He woke up bald one morning because he said her boyfriend looked like a bean pole.”
Charli slapped him on the hip with the rag. “Now don’t you be tellin’ tales.” The other woman smiled at Patience. “But trust me that boy deserved it.”
They all laughed. This man was the exact opposite of the one she had met at her office. She couldn’t believe she thought him so cold and calculated. He was down-to-earth and relaxed. And she could see he had a great respect for his family.
Over at the courthouse, everyone seemed to have kind words for Cade. There were many cheerful hellos and pats on the back welcoming him to town. When she’d entered the first time she’d been completely ignored, except for the occasional curious glance.
“They’re so much more friendly toward you,” she said as they walked down the long staircase to the basement.
“What do you mean?” He helped her push open the large wooden door protecting the old records.
“When I first arrived, some of them looked at me like I was an exhibit at the zoo.”
“Ah, well, they’ll warm up to you soon enough. Everyone around here is cautious of strangers,” he said as he held the door open for her.
“Like those men at the diner?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure what’s going on with them. I’ll have a talk with them later.”
There was no sense making more trouble. “Don’t bother. That was probably their way of protecting their town from an outside threat. Though why they see me that way makes no sense.”
“With those three there’s absolutely no tellin’.” Cade waved a hand in front of his face as they reached the dusty records room. “I’m guessing the spotless housekeeping upstairs doesn’t make its way down here very often.”
“From the looks of it, they pretty much use this as a storage room. Evidently no one in Phosphor ever has to do any research, because I found at least three inches of dust on most of the boxes. I wonder if they understand how much of their history is down here.”
“What do you mean?” Cade took a deep breath and blew the dust from the top of a box they’d moved to the table.
“From an anthropological point of view, when people migrate to an area and when they leave can be based on a variety of factors. You can find information about certain eras where the town may have been booming because of river travel, or the railroads. From some of the mortgages and contracts I saw earlier, there seems to be an influx of ranchers buying up land around here over the last five years.
“Possibly they’ve had some good years without drought and the pastures are greener than normal. I don’t know that for a fact, but it’s something that can be found out with a little study. I find it fascinating.” She coughed from the dust. “I only wish other people found it as interesting as I do.”
“Huh. I never thought about it that way. My cousins and I have all bought up land, or have come back to town to rebuild our family ranches that have gone to pasture.”
“My first question would be why in the last five years?”
“I don’t know about my cousins, but for me I finally had the income to do with the place what I always wanted. My plan is to have at least three hundred heads of longhorns in the next twenty-four months. I’d also like to fix up the old family house and make it a weekend and summerhouse. Somewhere I can get away from Austin and my life there.”
“Makes sense. Do you feel a need to reconnect with your past and possibly spend time with your family? I find that is the motivation for most people when they return to their old homes.”
Cade was scrutinizing her. “I guess so. I’ve been so caught up with my business I realized I hadn’t spent Christmas with my grandmother in five years. She put her foot down when I forgot her birthday in February, and I guess that’s when I started thinking about the ranch.”
Patience knew there was more to his story, but she wasn’t sure he was ready to examine that yet.
“Well, I guess we better get started opening these boxes. They aren’t going to research themselves.” He grinned at her.
“What I wouldn’t give for a modern-day courthouse with computer records.” She smiled back at him. “But I guess this is why my friends call it grunt work.”
Cade searched through twenty-year-old property deeds. Patience took on the task of reading through the more recent files. They hoped to meet in the middle somewhere.
“Hmm.” She heard him murmur.
“Did you find something?” She peeked over the edge of the box she was going through.
“It’s not so much about what is here, as what isn’t. There are six months’ worth of files missing.”
Patience stood. “Maybe no one filed deeds during that time,” she offered.
“No, it wouldn’t matter. There were years when nothing was filed, but there were still file folders for those months. But it’s the dates that really have me wondering.”
“Why is that?”
“The missing files are the ones six months before my dad died.”
3
“I SHOULD CALL THE SHERIFF with this information.” Patience drew the box toward her and replaced the documents. “For all we know, he may have the files in his office. He said he’d do some preliminary work before I arrived.”
She slammed a box lid down. “I didn’t even let him know I was in town. I probably could have saved myself a lot of trouble by going to see him first.”
She pushed her hair out of her eyes and twisted it back on her head. Cade had the urge to touch the wayward strands, but he made himself pack up the rest of the boxes.
“Don’t beat yourself up. You were excited about getting started.” Cade did his best to be encouraging.
“Don’t pander to me, Cade. I made a mistake. A rookie one, I’m sure. Now I need to backtrack and do what I should have done this morning when I got here.”
“That’s a good idea.” Cade ignored her comment about pandering. He had a feeling she wouldn’t believe him if he tried to explain that wasn’t what he meant to do. “If he didn’t take the files, then that’s a clue for us. Don’t you think?”
Patience pursed her lips. “Definitely. I’ll stop by the station and ask him, but first I need a shower. I feel like I have ten layers of dust on me and I haven’t even checked into the B and B yet.”
The image of Patience naked with warm water and soap sluicing down her body was almost more than he could take. Cade returned the boxes to where they found them. “You said you were staying at the B and B?”
“Yes. Staying at a B and B takes me into the life of the townspeople, which is helpful when you’re trying to understand the local culture. You said you were hanging around for a few weeks, where are you staying?”
“Same place, just around the corner from the diner.”
A small smile turned up the edges of her mouth. Could she possibly be happy about staying in the B and B with him? “If you want to follow me, my truck is across the street.”
“Sure.” She glanced up but there was no trace of the smile he’d seen there.
As they rolled up in front of the B and B, Cade jumped out to help her with her bag.
“It’s okay,” she said refusing to let go of the suit case.
“Trust me, I need you to let me do this. When we get inside you’ll understand.”
She gave him a curious look but relinquished the bag. “Why?”
Holding open the door, Cade ushered her in carrying both of their bags.
“My stars, if it isn’t my errant grandson come home, and with a woman.” His grandmother held her hand to her heart. “Are there any great-grandbabies out there for me to hold?”
Dressed in her jeans, denim shirt and cowboy boots, GG hadn’t changed a bit. Her long white hair was tied in a ponytail, and she wore the silver belt buckle she’d won bull riding forty years ago. She’d always been a woman before her time.
Cade scooped her up in a big hug, and she planted a kiss on his cheek. “Missed you,” he said as he put her down.
After his mom died, his grandmother was the one person in the world who kept him grounded. She was the reason he went to college and why he didn’t give up when the chips were down. He owed everything to her.
She slapped his shoulder. “Now who is this beauty you brought in with you?”
“Hi, I’m Patience Clark.” She held her hand out to his grandmother.
“Well, you are as pretty as they come,” his grandmother said. “I’m Dorothy Randall, this one’s grandma, and I own this money pit.” She winked. “Everyone calls me GG. Now, how did you meet my grandson?”
Cade knew what he would say would ruin his grandmother’s good mood, but it had to be done. “GG, she’s the woman who discovered what happened to Dad. She’s helping the sheriff with the investigation.” The last bit came out hoarse with emotion. He still had a hard time believing what had happened to his father.
GG pressed her lips together and sniffed once. No tears were shed. It wasn’t her way. Then she hugged a surprised Patience.
“Bless you child for bringing my son back home to me. People been throwing tacks at his reputation ever since he disappeared and now they’re all ashamed. I knew my boy wouldn’t run off. I just knew it.”
Patience cleared her throat. “Thank you for letting me stay here,” she said as she changed the subject. “I’m not fond of motels, or even hotels, for that matter. You have a lovely home here.”
His grandmother let go of her and headed behind the front desk in the lounge area. “Damn, money pit. Hailstorm two weeks ago did some damage to the roof, and the toilet is running in room six where you’re staying tonight.” She pointed at Cade. “You’ll have to jiggle the handle.”
Cade smiled. That was her way of saying he needed to fix the roof and the toilets, and he didn’t mind a bit. “I’ll make a run to Tom’s Hardware later and pick up what we need.”
“I’ve got Patience in room five, the rooms are adjoining. Is that going to be a problem?” GG had a twinkle in her eye. Was it that obvious he liked the beautiful blonde next to him? Nothing much ever made it past GG.
He noticed her erasing the fact that she’d originally had Patience in room one, at the other end of the hall. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself. The woman never stopped.
Patience smiled sweetly. “No, I don’t mind.” She’d missed GG’s intimation and for that he was grateful.
“I’ll take her bags up and show her the ropes.” He paused. “Is that chicken and dumplings I smell?”
“Might be, but they won’t be ready until six. Ya’ll look like you’ve been rolling around in a dusty field. Maybe you ought to clean up?”
“Oh, yes,” Patience said. Once again missing his grandmother’s double meaning. “We’ve been in the basement of the courthouse. If you don’t mind my saying, it’s very dirty down there. The town should better preserve its history.”
“Ha, I’ll have to talk to the mayor about that,” GG said as she chuckled.
Cade laughed as he pulled the bags upstairs and motioned for Patience to follow him.
“What’s so funny?” she asked as they walked along the second floor hallway.
“GG is the mayor.”
PATIENCE FACE-PALMED HERSELF. “Great, I’ve insulted your grandmother who is one of the loveliest people I’ve ever met.”
Cade took the key GG had given him and opened the door. “Nah, she thought it was funny. And I bet the next time we go down to the courthouse basement it will be clean as can be. This is your room,” he said as he opened the door.
Patience walked in front of him and gave out a small gasp. “It’s beautiful.” The walls were painted a soft cornflower-blue, and everything else was white, the furniture, comforter and linens, even the vase holding the colorful bouquet of flowers on the small nightstand.
“She’s a tough old broad, but she does have a knack for turning places into homes,” Cade said. “Where would you like your suitcase?”
“If you don’t mind, by the bathroom would be great. Thanks for carrying everything up.” She suddenly felt awkward. The room was large, but with Cade in there it didn’t seem like it.
“No problem. So I guess I’ll meet you downstairs in a half hour?”
“Uh-huh,” she said.
Cade shut her door to the hallway and then walked through one that adjoined their rooms. He smiled as he closed the door.
Patience fanned herself. The man did strange things to her body without ever even touching her. Unzipping her suitcase she pulled out her toiletries and clean clothes.
In the bathroom, she stripped off her dirty clothes and was about to turn on the shower when she heard someone singing. The voice was rich and beautiful, and it belonged to Cade.
Delicious shivers shot down her spine. She listened for a moment before turning on the shower over the big claw-foot tub. She pulled the curtain around to keep the water from drenching the floor.
Cade was on the other side of the wall. Even with the water running she could hear his humming. Why did the man affect her so?
It’s an infatuation.
How long has it been since you’ve been on a date? Too long.
Patience showered quickly, turning on a cold blast of water at the end to send her traitorous body a message. She had to focus on what was most important—the case. With the towel wrapped around her she stepped out just as her phone rang.
It was the sheriff.
“Dr. Clark, heard you were over at the courthouse this afternoon, thought I’d check up on you.”
“Thanks, Sheriff. I should have come to see you first. Do you have a minute for me to ask you something?”
“Certainly. What’s up?”
She told him about the courthouse. “I was wondering if you might have the files? If so, we’d like to come pick them up.”
“Sorry, I haven’t seen them, but that is curious. You checked several boxes and those were the only ones you found missing?”
“Yes,” she said as she shimmied into her panties.
“I did some digging myself. Joseph Randall, Cade’s father, was the water commissioner back then, but he also worked in the deeds department. At the time, our courthouse was a small operation and everyone helped out when necessary.”
“Water commissioner? I’d imagine water’s a big deal around here, where there are so many ranches.”
“Yep,” he said. “You know, those missing files may be in a storage facility outside of town. The old courthouse was a mess five years ago and they moved a lot of stuff out. I’ll check into it and let you know.”
Before returning to search the records she figured she should speak with Cade’s grandmother to get some background about her son’s business as the water commissioner.
Well, I’m learning as I go.
Now, grilling the woman wouldn’t be her best option. Patience wasn’t always known for her tact, but she knew she needed to approach Dorothy with kindness. Maybe she could ask about Cade as a child and what he was like before his father disappeared.
She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment. You have to be patient. What was it Katie had told her? That one sentence could change the entire way one looked at a case. She needed to keep her ears open and talk as casually as possible with those involved. And not push too hard for answers. People clammed up that way, Katie had reminded her.
Her friends often joked that her name was a misnomer. In her lab, Patience always took her time, but when it came to the rest of her life—well, she had a way of being abrupt and saying exactly what was on her mind. She didn’t have time for the games people often played. And to be honest she didn’t understand them. Unfortunately, from what her friends had warned, game play was a part of solving cases. Often a cat-and-mouse game.
Given what she’d seen already, her direct way wouldn’t work to her advantage here.
There was a knock on the door. “Are you ready?” Cade asked.
She quickly slipped on her T-shirt. “Yes, I’ll meet you downstairs.” Her mind shifted to the sound of his beautiful voice as he’d been singing.
She turned toward the shower wondering if she might need another cold spray. Patience was dressed, but she wasn’t sure about being ready for whatever it was Cade might offer her.
4
“I HAVE TO SOLVE THIS CASE quickly and get out of this town,” Patience said as they left the B and B and stepped onto the sidewalk. She picked up speed as she hit the concrete for their walk to the courthouse.
Cade glanced at her sharply. “Why? I thought you enjoyed dinner. Did GG say something while I was upstairs?”
Laying a hand on his arm, she smiled. “No, I adore her. The food was incredible, but that’s why. A few more days of eating like this, and you’ll have to roll me out of town. I thought I might pop the zipper on my jeans before we even finished the meal.”
Your jeans look just fine. The way they hugged her slightly rounded behind and showed off her legs.
Cade stopped. He shouldn’t be thinking like this. He had to concentrate, get back to Austin. The merger.
Taking her hand, he tucked it in the crook of his elbow. He had to confess he was relieved by her joking about leaving town. Throughout dinner she’d talked mainly to GG, and Patience had charmed them with her openness and honesty.
“I love food, too,” Cade said honestly. “I’m usually a nut about eating healthy and exercise. Of course, all that flies out the window when I smell my grandmother’s cooking. But I plan to work it all off at the ranch this trip.”
“I’d like to see it.”
“The ranch?”
She nodded. “I’ve never been to a real working ranch.”
“Sure, although I don’t exactly have it working just yet. But my foreman and I are at least making some headway. I’ll take you out there anytime you want to go. But no judgments. The old house where I spent part of my childhood looks pretty beat-up on the outside, though the inside really isn’t so bad.”
The house had been in the family for more than eighty years, and his grandmother and all her sisters and brothers had been born there. His father had also been born and raised in the house.
Cade had to clear this throat. His father was the good man his grandmother always claimed him to be. She and Cade’s mother were the only people in town who had believed his father hadn’t run off with some woman.
“Cade?”
“What?”
Cocking her head, Patience watched him carefully with those beautiful green eyes of hers. “You look upset.”
He forced a smile. “Sorry, I was thinking about my dad. His reputation was maligned by most of the town. Eventually, I even believed the rumors. Now I feel so guilty for all the mean words I said about him. I hated him for so long and now—”
“You were a kid, that couldn’t have been easy.”
“No, for the first couple of months I caused my mom and grandmother so much grief. Fistfights every day, and I was small so I came home with a lot of black eyes.”
“You were defending your family and I find that quite honorable.”
Cade took a deep interest in the dust sprinkling the top of his boots. There was absolutely nothing honorable about the thoughts he’d had about his dad.
“Every night I prayed he’d come home to us. Then after six months, I just gave up on him.”
“Like I said before you were—” Patience was interrupted by a loud shriek and then a string of foul words.
“Sounds like that came from the park.” Cade pulled her along with him as he went to investigate the source. They rounded the corner by Tom’s Hard ware Store and found the park crowded with people working on various booths.
“What is all this?” Patience asked as they walked down the path to where the booths were being built.
“The town is getting ready for the annual Firefly Festival,” Cade answered. “Andy was that you howling like a dog in heat?” he joked with his old friend.
Andy held a towel around his fingers and from the hammer on the ground Cade knew exactly what had happened.
“Well, Mr. Big Man is gracing us with his presence.” With his good hand he punched Cade in the shoulder. “Great to see ya.”
“Same here.” Cade smiled at his friend. He hadn’t seen him since they’d had drinks a year ago when Andy had come to Austin for an auction. He and his wife, Celia, who had been one of their high school friends, owned the antique shop on the square in downtown Phosphor.
“Where is your better half? I thought she banned you from all tools, especially hammers and saws.”
Andy hung his head. “Why do you have to make me look bad in front of your lady friend? And why—” he faced Patience “—is someone as beautiful as you hanging out with this runt?”
She laughed and held out her hand. “I’m Patience.”
Andy held out his left hand for an awkward shake. “Nice to meet you.”
“Patience is investigating my dad’s case.”
Andy’s face grew solemn. “I heard about that. I’m sorry. I can’t imagine what you’ve been going through and—” Cade knew Andy must have realized he’d said too much in front of Patience.
“Sorry,” he said. “My mouth doesn’t work any better than my hands. But I’m glad you finally have the truth. If I can help find the bastard who killed him, you know I’m all in.”
Cade couldn’t have asked for a better friend, and he felt a world of guilt for letting so much time pass since their last meeting. “I appreciate the offer. I really do. So where is that wife of yours?”
“You just missed her. I was worried she was getting tired and she looked a little pale.”
Cade frowned. “Is she sick?”
Andy’s face widened into the biggest smile Cade had ever seen. “Nah, she’s pregnant. Five months.”
Cade put a hand on Andy’s shoulder. “That’s one lucky kid.”
His friend nodded. “Going to be one ornery little ankle-biter with Cel and I as parents. We’re going to spoil the kid rotten.”
“You look like the happiest man in the world,” Patience said. “Congratulations.”
“We’d all but given up on having our own and were looking into adopting, so it was quite a surprise.” Andy shook his head. “Celia’s about to bust at the seams she’s so happy.” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell her I said anything about busting out. She’s very self-conscious about her weight, but I think she looks more beautiful than ever.” Andy flexed his injured hand.
“What were you trying to do?” Cade picked up the hammer from the ground where his friend had tossed it.
“I thought I’d better get some supports up for the booth, before the storm got here, didn’t want the booth flying around like Dorothy’s house in the Wizard of Oz. Figured I could handle three or four two-by-fours.”
Cade turned to Patience. “I’m going to take a few minutes and help him out.”
She smiled. “I’ll help him pack up the rest of the tools.”
“Now that’s right nice of both of you,” Andy said.
“No problem. I’ve been eating Cade’s grandmother’s food and I feel like I’ve gone up two jean sizes in an hour.”
Andy laughed.
Cade picked up the boards and a sack of nails. As he added the supports and fixed the counter in front, he listened to his friend and Patience chat.
He couldn’t believe his friend was going to be a father, though he hadn’t lied. Andy and Celia would be incredible parents. They were loyal, loving, funny and smart. And some of the best people he knew.
Cade often invited them to come up to his house on Lake Austin for laid-back weekends. But the past year… He hadn’t made time for anyone, not even his family. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date.
That had to be why he was so into Patience. It had been a while since he’d been with a woman—a long while.
Patience stacked the rest of the boards while Andy searched for loose nails. They talked back and forth as if they had been friends for years. Cade felt the same way about her and secretly it pleased him.
Why?
Oh, I think you know exactly why.
Patience was beautiful and smart, and…
Yep. He was in trouble.
BACK IN HER ROOM, Patience brushed out her hair and changed into an oversize T-shirt. She sat down on the edge of the bed and opened her laptop. She was so far behind on email it was ridiculous. She replied to the ones that were necessary and then perused her early information on the Randall case.
A noise from the next room made her jump. Then she realized it was Cade fixing the toilet. A wrench or some tool must have thudded on the wooden floor. There was something about a man who was good with tools. More than once she had caught herself catching a peek at his hard muscles as he worked on the booth for his friend.
Here was this multimillionaire, known as a shark in the business world, who thought nothing of picking up a hammer to help a friend.
Her opinion of him had changed so much since they first met. He was a caring, loving grandson and friend. She could tell by the way he communicated with Andy that there was a deep connection there. And honestly, a man didn’t have friends like Andy if he wasn’t good-hearted.
Patience checked herself. She shouldn’t care anything about the man’s personal life. She was here to solve a case, and that’s where her focus needed to be. It was hard to separate the man from the work, especially when he was right next door. She didn’t date much, but even she was aware of how hard it was to find a man like Cade Randall.
He’d been so passionate about his ranch, and she’d noticed he smiled more when he discussed what he wanted to do with the place he called the Triple Dare. The idea of restoring the ranch had been something Cade had thought about for a long time.
She wondered if this was some way of honoring his father or making up for the years he’d been so bitter about his dad’s disappearance.
Patience knew about being bitter and losing someone you loved. There wasn’t a day she didn’t think about the soul-sucking moment when her life had forever changed.
5
CADE’S FIRST THOUGHT WHEN he sat straight up in bed was that someone was crying. Rain beat down on the roof, and he wondered if maybe that was what he’d heard. There was another sob. Taking a moment to get his bearings he determined the noise had come from Patience’s room.
Patience called out to someone. He couldn’t hear the name, but the sob behind it was clear. The gut-wrenching sadness of the sound tore at him. Something was terribly wrong.
After sliding on his jeans, he knocked on the door separating their room.
She didn’t answer.
He heard another soft sob.
“Patience?” He opened the door. She was twisted in her sheets. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Jeremy… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please come home.”
Who was Jeremy? A pang of jealousy hit him.
He knelt at the bedside and saw she was sound asleep but in the middle of some kind of nightmare. “Patience.” He softly pressed his hand to her cheek.
“Hey, wake up,” he said softly. But the tears continued to flow.
Each sob constricted his heart. He couldn’t stand to see her this way. “Patience, come on, I need you to wake up.” This time he lightly jostled her shoulder and her eyes fluttered open.
“Cade?”
“You were having a bad dream.”
She turned to stare out the window. “I— Sometimes that happens.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry I woke you. Please, go back to bed.”
Cade smoothed a hand over her shoulder. “Don’t worry. I just wanted to make sure you’re all right. Do you want to talk about it?”
“No,” she said. “I’m fine. Embarrassed.”
“Why? It’s not like you can control something like that. And we’re friends. You don’t have to be embarrassed with me.” He meant it, though at times he had to admit he felt a little more than friendly toward her—well, way more.
“Thank you.” She sniffled.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk?”
“No, I’m fine. Please go back to bed and forget this ever happened.”
“Hey.” He pushed a strand of hair off of her forehead. “You aren’t the only one with nightmares. I’ve had a couple since you figured out what happened to my dad. All that boyhood trauma coming back to play.” He dealt with it by pounding on a punching bag in his gym. “I don’t know what upset you, but don’t feel bad about it. GG always said we work things out in our dreams and usually it isn’t always the fun stuff.”
She glanced back at him. “I really adore that woman.”
“Me, too. So, are you better?”
“I will be.”
The haunted look in her eyes hadn’t eased.
“I love the sound of the rain on the tin roof. It’s soothing, don’t you think?”
“I’ve never been in a house with a tin roof,” she said, leaning back against the headboard.
He glanced around searching for a place to sit, this room only had one of those small white wicker benches and he knew it couldn’t handle his weight.
“Do you mind if I sit on the covers over there and watch the rain through the window. It really is relaxing for me.”
Cade didn’t wait for her to answer him. He walked to the other side of the bed and sat on top of the covers. Propping up the pillow, he mimicked her action and leaned back against the headboard.
“Cade?”
Silently, he gathered her in his arms.
She hesitated, as if she were making a life or death decision. Then she snuggled into him and he tugged a blanket up over her shoulder.
Her nearness was almost his undoing. He wanted to kiss her pain away, and the honeysuckle scent of her was enough to push him to try it.
But that wasn’t what she needed.
Clearing his throat, he began, “Tomorrow, well, later today, I’m going to work on fixing the barn door out at the ranch. The structure is good, but like everything else on the property, it needs an overhaul.”
Cade talked and stroked her hair until he could hear her breathing steadily. He didn’t want to move for fear of disturbing her. And he convinced himself to stay through the night, in case she had another bad dream.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Romeo.
PATIENCE HAD A SHARP PAIN in her neck. She shrugged her shoulders as she opened her eyes. There was a pair of strong jean-clad thighs in front of her.
Sitting up she found Cade staring at her with a warm smile on his face. “Morning.”
The night before came rushing back to her and she almost cringed when she realized what she’d done. “Hi,” the word came out a whisper. A little cough escaped her throat. “Did you get any sleep?”
“A couple of hours. That’s all I need.” There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t read. Her usual lack of understanding human emotion was nothing less than frustrating at times like these.
She sat up on her knees accidentally touching his thigh as she did so.
He jerked slightly as if her touch repulsed him.
“Sorry. For—that and for everything,” she said quickly. “You were so sweet to stay with me.” She leaned forward to grab her pillow as he lifted his head. Their lips touched.
Before she could pull back, his mouth moved against hers, challenging and taking everything she had to give. She tried analyzing what was happening, but his tongue slid across hers and it was Patience who lost her breath. The man was delicious.
What are you doing?
She had the sense to push away and sat back.
Patience’s cheeks were hot and she knew they must be a dark shade of pink. “That was nice.”
“Nice?” One eyebrow went up.
“Yes, and unexpected,” she added.
“Yes, unexpected is a good way of stating it.” His hand caressed her cheek. “I’d be liar if I said I was disappointed.”
“Yeah, I’d be liar if I said that, too.”
The man looked at her as if ready to eat her up, and she was more than happy to be his dish. For a second she thought he might reach for her, but he rolled off the bed.
“Is there something wrong?” she asked.
“No, I’m checking for leaks. GG said the roof was leaking and we had a good soaking rain last night, thought I’d better see if there was water damage.”
Why wouldn’t he look at her? Had she done something to turn him off?
“Oh,” she said.
“I’d better check the other rooms.”
Patience had offended him. She tried to think back to what happened directly after the kiss, but she couldn’t think of anything.
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