Heart of Stone. Lenora Worth

my hairdresser knows for sure,” Tara quipped, very much aware of his touch. When he’d helped her down the gazebo step earlier, she’d felt a kind of lightning bolt moving up her arm. That same jolt was back now, like a current, humming right up to her heart.

      Or maybe more like another warning.

      “Does your hairdresser charge you a lot for that shampoo?”

      Tara felt the magnetic pull of his eyes as they traveled over her hair then came to settle on her lips before his gaze met hers. Again, she got the feeling that he would pounce on her like a lion at any minute. “Drugstore special,” she managed to say. “I’m watching my budget these days.”

      Why she’d said that, she didn’t have a clue. Or maybe she did. Tara had dealt with the whims and demands of her materialistic husband, and now that he was dead, she was dealing with the bills he’d left behind. Maybe she just wanted to set things straight with Stone Dempsey right away, so there would be no misunderstandings. So that he’d see she wasn’t like him, in any way, shape or form.

      But then, what did it matter? Stone would be gone come tomorrow. And she’d be in a meeting that could very well change her life and hopefully take away some of the financial strain she’d been under since Chad’s death.

      “It smells good,” he said, no disdain for her honesty in his eyes or his words. “Maybe I should invest in shampoo stock.”

      Tara pulled away, dishes clattering in her hands. “Is that how it is with you? Is everything about money?”

      “Yes,” he said, unabashed and unashamed. “Isn’t that how it is with everyone? Isn’t everything always about money?”

      “You are different from your brothers,” she said, frustration and anger making her see red. His words sounded so much like Chad, it hurt to think about it. Or the fact that she’d once felt the same way.

      Stone took the dishes away again, this time setting them down on a nearby side table. “And you’re completely different from your sister.”

      “Touché,” she replied, feeling the sting of his remark just as much as she’d felt the heat of his touch.

      “I didn’t mean—”

      “I know exactly what you meant,” she said, moving around the table to get away from him. Stone made her too jittery, too aware of her own shortcomings.

      But there he was, right beside her before she could rush out of the room, his hand bracing against the door facing, blocking her way.

      “Could you please be a gentleman and let me by?” Tara asked, defiance in each word.

      “Could you please not be in such a hurry to get away?” he countered, a daring quality in the question.

      “I’m not in a hurry,” Tara replied, lifting her gaze to meet his compelling eyes. “I just think we got off to a very bad start, you and me.” Then she held her gaze and leaned close. “And we both know that you don’t visit very often around these parts. We probably won’t see each other much, in spite of the fact that my sister just married your brother, so what’s the point?”

      He let that soak in while he took his time searching her face. Tara dropped her eyes, wishing she hadn’t said that, but when she looked back up, his expression had turned grim, as if he understood exactly what she was trying to say to him, exactly what she meant.

      “Well, I did try to warn you,” he said, dropping his hand away as he stepped back.

      Then he picked up his coat, turned and walked out into the night.

       Chapter Two

       S he refused to be nervous.

      Finally, Tara thought as she paced the confines of the elegant lawyer’s office located in what used to be a Savannah town house, she was going to meet the buyer who’d been playing cat and mouse with her over the land Chad had left her. Finally, she was going to get the price she had named, the only price she would accept for the seventy-five acres of land that was now a prime piece of real estate.

      And finally, she was going to get the face-to-face meeting she had requested with the buyer as part of the stipulation for the sale. Tara had to be sure that she was doing the right thing by selling off the land that rightfully belonged to her children. She had to see this mystery man in person, to look him in the eye, to know that she wasn’t selling out.

      Whoever he was, he wanted this land badly. They’d been negotiating since the day she’d grudgingly decided to put the land on the market. Tara knew the buyer, who was hiding behind some massive corporate logo, wanted the land for the least amount of money possible, but she also knew what the land was worth. Situated between the Savannah River and a small inland bay, this parcel was well suited to an upscale subdivision and shopping center. If developed, it had the potential to generate millions of dollars, which was why she had wrestled with letting it go.

      But Tara didn’t have near the kind of capital to develop the land. That would take a lot of money, and right now she didn’t have it, and she was too in debt to borrow more. What little bit she had received from Chad’s life insurance was almost entirely gone. No, what she wanted, what she needed now, was enough money to get her out of debt and set up college funds for her girls.

      “That’s all I ask, Lord,” she said, still unfamiliar with trying to pray even though she’d been doing a lot of that lately, thanks to Rock and Ana. “I only ask that my children be taken care of. I can handle the rest.”

      The same way she’d been handling things since Chad had died.

      The door of the office opened, causing Tara to whirl around. A petite, redheaded secretary in a striped suit came strutting into the room, her smile practiced and calm. “They’re on their way,” the woman said. “Would you like anything to drink? Some coffee maybe?”

      “No, I’m fine,” Tara replied, trying to muster her own smile. Her nerves felt like ship rigging pulled too tight, but she refused to let that show.

      The redhead straightened a few files, then smiled again. “Let me know if you need anything, Mrs. Parnell. My name is Brandy.”

      “Thanks, Brandy.” Tara watched the woman leave, then sank down into a staid burgundy leather armchair, her gaze moving over the busy Savannah street just outside the tall window. Tourists mingled with businesspeople in the tree-shaded square across the cobblestone street, making Tara think she did need something after all.

      What she needed was a long vacation from all the worry and stress of juggling the many financial problems Chad had left her with. What she needed was some way of lifting this tremendous guilt off her shoulders. At least her parents were staying with her and the girls for a while, now that the wedding was over and she had brought her family back to their house in Savannah. Her mom and dad loved the girls and wanted to spend time with them before school started in a few weeks. But in spite of having her folks close, Tara still felt so alone.

      “Turn to God,” Rock had told her after she’d blurted out the truth to him just last week. “Turn to the Lord, Tara. Give some of it over to Him. I’m telling you, it will help you get through this.”

      Dear Rock. He couldn’t even tell Ana about Tara’s troubles, since she’d told them to him as her minister. He had to keep that information confidential. Tara had needlessly begged him to do so, but he had assured he wouldn’t break her confidence. He’d also urged her to talk to her sister. But Tara didn’t want to worry Ana with her problems, not now when Ana had at last found happiness with Rock. Not now, when Ana had just opened her new tea room to an immediate success. Thank goodness that investment was solid, at least. Tara had managed to loan Ana that little bit of money just before Chad’s death, just before the dam had burst on her finances. She didn’t want Ana worrying about paying her back right now.

      She’d do all the worrying. Turn to God.

      “I’m trying, Rock,” she whispered now, her fear so