“Yeah, the guy you met at the bar the other night.”
“Oh.” It took only a second for her to make the connection that he’d figured out who her ‘date’ had been. “Oohhhh,” she repeated, caught in the lie and a rush of guilt. But wait—what did Michael Kabara have to do with the kiss on the rock?
“You do realize that the past half-hour more than proves you have no right to sue me.”
What? She tightened up her slack jaw to ask, “What are you talking about?”
“You threatened to sue me for sexual harassment that day in the barn, and since you’re talking to a lawyer—”
The real reason for his kisses slapped her in the face. Anger exploded as if he’d actually struck her. “You smug son of a bitch.”
She spun to leave, but he caught hold of her arm. Jerking free, she spoke before he could. “For your information, the lawyer is for an entirely different matter.” Questions sprang into his eyes, and her fury leapt another notch. “It’s none of your damn business. And as for what happened up there”—she pointed toward the ledge without looking—“I sure hope you enjoyed yourself because the only place that’ll ever happen again is in your dreams!”
Kendra stomped away, so mad she could spit fire. God, she was so stupid! He’d been so nice up on the ledge, worried enough about her safety that he’d comforted her fears. Now she saw his consideration for what it was, a calculated scheme to prove something that didn’t need proving in the first place.
Damn him. She’d just begun to like him, too.
****
Colton brought up the rear again, though he noticed Kendra kept to the front of the line, as far away from him as possible. Okay, so maybe he’d been wrong about the sexual harassment thing, but something still didn’t add up with the lawyer and the mysterious brother, Robert. And, heaven help him, if she told him it was none of his business again—
“Saw you and Kendra on the rocks earlier.”
Joel’s tight voice jerked Colton’s gaze from the small, dark-haired figure up front, to the tall, dark-haired figure who’d dropped back alongside him. None of your business seemed like a good phrase right about now.
“Enjoy yourselves?” Joel inquired.
If it were anyone other than her brother asking, Colton would swear he was jealous. It struck him as funny all of a sudden, and he was unable to contain a smile. “Yeah.”
That earned him a cold glare. To ease the tension, Colton explained, “She stepped too close to the edge, and I caught her.”
“With your lips?”
Colton sighed and looked straight ahead. “Look, it’s no big deal—it was nothing.”
“To you, maybe,” Joel accused.
His gaze swung back to Joel. “Did she say something?” Damn, did he have to sound hopeful?
“She didn’t have to,” Joel said. “It was obvious she was upset when you guys came back. I don’t want you toying with her—”
r />
“It wasn’t like that,” Colton contended. “We argued about something entirely different.” Sort of. “And since you’re so worried about it—don’t be. She made it pretty clear it meant nothing to her either.” Increasing his stride to leave Joel behind, he told him exactly what Kendra had assured him. “It won’t happen again.”
****
The next day, Kendra was straightening up the kitchen before bed when the phone rang. She picked up on the second ring, expecting it to be Britt confirming a day of shopping in Denver next week. Instead, she was greeted by Michael Kabara’s deep voice. “Kendra?”
“Michael, oh…you’re working late.”
“Sorry, is it a bad time?”
She cast a furtive glance around, then remembered Colton was still in the barn. “No, it’s fine.” She sat at the table as he explained the reason for his call.
“Your new Will is ready, all you need to do is sign the documents.”
“I’ll come by in the morning.” Though she was pretty sure she was alone in the house, she snuck another look over her shoulder and lowered her voice. “Are you sure he won’t be able to fight this?”