Page 70 of One in a Million
She gave him a startled look, then nodded. “I caught him stepping out on Mother when I was thirteen. After that, he never tried to hide his affairs from me. It was our dirty little secret. Darrin didn’t even know.”
“How did you feel about that?”
She shrugged. “I felt bad for Mother—she knew, and she always took him back. But after he was married to Lila, I didn’t care. I felt she deserved it.”
Sam took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled to the photo he’d copied. “Lila hired a detective to take some pictures. This is one of them. Do you know this woman?”
Jasmine shook her head. “Dad never introduced me to his girlfriends. That was part of our understanding.”
“And what about the rumor that your dad was planning to divorce Lila and marry a younger woman?”
“Dad actually mentioned that to me. But I didn’t take it seriously. He depended on Lila to manage his world. Maybe the sizzle was gone, but he’d have been lost without her.”
“Do you still believe she killed him?”
“More than ever now that I know about the photos. He was fooling around, like always, and she caught him. Men have been killed for less.”
“You don’t have a very high opinion of men, do you?” Sam said.
She pulled her skirt down and stood. “My dad was a charming, lying rascal, but I loved him. My ex-husband was the same. I loved him, too, but only at first. I don’t know if I’m brave enough to try love for a third time—not even with someone like you.”
“Jasmine—” He reached for her, but she stepped back.
“Oh, did I say too much? Forgive me, I can’t seem to stop telling the truth tonight. Yes, I’m falling in love with you, Sam. And my survival instincts are screaming at me to run for my life.”
“Damn it, Jasmine!” He caught her waist and spun her against him, clasping her tight, feeling his body respond. “Don’t you know how hard I’ve been fighting this?”
“Yes, I know.” She gazed up at him. “I know because I’ve been fighting it, too. We’re poison for each other. You know that, don’t you?”
“So, what are we going to do about it?” His voice was thick and husky with need.
She stretched on tiptoe, bringing her lips close to his. “I have a suggestion,” she whispered.
His kiss was hungry, even brutal. She caught fire in his arms, whimpering as his tongue found hers, thrusting deep. Her hips curled inward to mold against his hardness.
If there was a price to be paid, he would pay it. Right now, nothing mattered except making love to her. With a curse, he swept her up in his arms and carried her through the darkness to the bungalow.
* * *
After clearing the table and stacking the dishes on the kitchen counter, Roper left the Culhane house and headed for home. He found his three brothers and his sister loading the horse trailer for a rodeo in El Paso. They planned to drive through the night and arrive in the morning to unload the horses at the rodeo grounds, then catch a few hours of sleep in the motor home before the evening show.
Roper pitched in to help load the feed and the tack. In the kitchen, Rachel was packing fresh bread, cookies, sandwich fillers, and a casserole into long-used Tupperware containers. These would go in the motor home’s tiny kitchenette, which included a microwave and a miniature fridge.
“You missed supper,” she said as Roper walked into the kitchen. “Where were you?”
“I had dinner at the Culhanes’. It was just spaghetti. Not as good as yours, Mom.”
“So now you’re getting invited up to the big house.” Kirby dribbled whiskey into his coffee mug. “Next thing you know, you’ll be too uppity to even sit down with us.”
“Stop it, Kirby. Roper’s just been doing his job. He knows better than to think those highfalutin folks will ever see him as an equal. But it’s how God sees us that matters, not a big house and fancy cars.” Rachel sealed the lid on a container of potato salad. “Has that FBI fellow figured out who killed Frank?”
“Not yet—unless he’s figured it out in his head. He’s got a way of keeping things to himself.” Roper might have told his parents about Lila’s so-called accident and the killer beast that was still at large on the ranch. But they would probably keep him in the kitchen until they’d heard every detail of their wealthy neighbors’ misfortunes. Tonight, he didn’t have the patience. All he wanted was to get some sleep before an early-morning return to the Culhane Ranch.
Maybe he shouldn’t have come home at all. As he walked down the hall to his bedroom, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Worries swarmed in his mind. There was Lila, who could still be in danger. There was the way Cruiser had walked out on his responsibilities, and the stallion’s odd behavior. There was the coming shootout that would determine Frank’s replacement in the Run for a Million. Would Million Dollar Baby be ready to perform? Would he be able to bring out the best in the beautiful mare?
Tired as Roper was, sleep refused to come. As the first light turned the sky pale, he dressed and went outside to his truck. The sense of foreboding he’d felt last night hadn’t gone away. If anything, it was stronger than ever—too strong to question.
Driven by an urgency he couldn’t explain, he floored the gas pedal all the way to the ranch. Arriving in minutes, he swung the truck through the employee gate, parked in his usual place, and sprang to the ground.