The Rebel Returns. Michelle Douglas

there something else?”

      Cleo glanced up at him, unable to recall their discussion. “What?”

      “You were about to show me to my room.” Jax’s penetrating gaze met hers, making her turn away before she said or did something stupid.

      “Follow me.” She started toward the players’ area.

      “Is there a back way to my room?”

      She nodded and turned around, guiding him down a long nondescript maintenance hallway. Jax may be tall, handsome and mysterious, but she had to remember that he was her client—a stranger to her now.

      She didn’t even know if she should trust him, but a little voice in the back of her mind said that he was still the same good guy down deep where it counted. He was also the guy her family didn’t approve of—at least not for her. It niggled her that he was good enough for her older brother to pal around with, but when it came to her, she’d been forbidden to hang out with him—not that it had stopped her.

      The silence between them stretched on. She didn’t do well with awkward moments. “We’re having a vintage car show in our convention center, if you’d like to look around—”

      “Maybe later.”

      So much for conversation. She didn’t recall Jax being this quiet when he was a kid. In fact, there were times he hadn’t known when to shut up. She couldn’t believe she was missing that smart-mouthed kid—the same kid who would go out of his way to put a smile on her face. What in the world had changed him so drastically?

      She stopped and pushed open a heavy steel door. The glare of the Nevada sun nearly blinded her. She blinked and her eyes soon adjusted. As she moved along the secluded footpath, the sound of laughter, the cacophony of voices and the splash of water filled the air.

      Jax grabbed her arm, giving her pause. “I thought we were taking the back way to my room.”

      An army of goose bumps raced over her skin. She pulled away from his touch and ignored the fluttery feeling in her chest.

      She lifted her chin to face him. “We are. Your bungalow is in a secluded area just beyond the pool. Don’t worry, there’s a path over here on the side that we can use.”

      As they passed the pool she found herself glancing over at the crowd of young people on summer break, enjoying themselves. Her family were ranchers—and ranchers didn’t take holidays. Or so her parents told her every time she asked them if they could go on a trip like her friends did.

      It was always expected that when she wasn’t in class, she would be at home helping out. It’s what her brothers did. No one ever seemed to understand she was different. Was it so wrong to want to hang out with her friends? Or take vacations?

      It was always presumed she’d become a rancher’s wife—just like her mother and grandmother. After all, she was a Sinclair and ranching was in their blood. Except somehow the love of ranching had skipped over her.

      “This sure is different from Hope Springs,” Jax said, as though he, too, were thinking about the old days.

      “Is that good or bad?”

      “Neither. Just an observation.”

      The desert air was dry and hot as it rushed past them. Even though the private walkway was ensconced with palms trees, large rocks and various types of greenery, she gazed longingly at the glimpses of the enormous pool that had a wall of granite with a beautiful waterfall on one side. A dip in the cool water was so tempting. But employees were forbidden to indulge. She wondered if that rule could be suspended if someone like Jax invited her for a swim. After all, her priority was to keep her clients happy.

      “What has you smiling?”

      She was smiling? She hadn’t realized that her thoughts had transferred to her face. She’d have to be careful in the future. The last thing she needed was Jax getting any ideas about her meandering thoughts.

      “I was just imagining how nice it’d be to take a dip in the pool.”

      “It is hot out.”

      “It’s always hot in Vegas.”

      “So how is it that the only Sinclair girl ended up in Las Vegas? I’d have thought you’d be back in Hope Springs with a cowboy by your side and a baby in each arm.”

      Cleo stopped short on the narrow path. He almost ran into her. “Not you, too. You sound like my parents.”

      “Calm down. I can see I struck a chord. I just thought that with your close-knit family that you’d never want to leave.”

      “Well, you’re wrong. Besides, you did the exact same thing. I don’t see you rushing back.” She eyed him accusingly.

      “That’s different—”

      “How?”

      “You know I couldn’t stay there.” His posture grew rigid. “After my mother died, my father only got meaner. I wouldn’t wish that life on anyone.”

      The pieces of the past started to drop into place. “That’s why you were always out and about. You were trying to avoid your father.”

      Jax nodded. “It was easier than having to deal with him.”

      “But why did you have to play into the negativity by being at the center of all of the trouble in Hope Springs? How was anyone supposed to give you the benefit of the doubt when you never gave them a chance to trust you?”

      His blue eyes stared straight at her. “Why didn’t you write me off like the rest of them?”

      “Because I saw there was more to you than you were willing to let on.” She wasn’t going to say that she’d had a bad case of puppy love. Thankfully they arrived at his bungalow, putting an end to this awkward conversation. “This is where you’ll be staying.”

      She swiped her master key card and pushed open the door. When she stepped back to let him pass, he shook his head and waved at her to go ahead. “Ladies first.”

      She smiled. “Thank you.”

      So the bad boy had transformed into a gentleman. She definitely approved of this change. But that didn’t mean she’d let her guard down around him. In her experience, people only showed you the side of them that they wanted you to see.

      She’d been so foolish in the past, always looking for the good in people. She’d been too trusting—too understanding. And what had that Pollyanna attitude gotten her? A broken heart and being disowned by her very own mother.

      In the end, people always let you down.

      “This is nice,” Jax said, drawing her back to the here and now.

      “Yes, it is. It’s our most private and exclusive residence on the grounds.”

      This was actually the first time Cleo had been inside the bungalow. Only the most valued players were invited to stay here. And it was hard to believe Jax was now one of the elite. A man like that would not need or want for much.

      But that still left her wondering, what was up with him using an alias? And his request for privacy was so different from the Jax she knew back in Hope Springs. In those days, he seemed to open his mouth just to annoy someone who was hassling him. Now he put thought into what he said and, more important, what he didn’t say.

      So what twist of fate had put him in her path? And why did it have to be him who held her future in the palm of his hand? Her stomach dipped. How did she get him to agree to keep her on as his host—permanently?

       CHAPTER THREE

      JAX KEPT HIS eyes on the room and not on Cleo. Did she have any idea how irresistible she looked? How in the world did she think that they were supposed to spend time together