Familiar Adversaries. Patricia Thayer

walked around all goofy about that girl. I thought I’d have to buy you a bib because you drooled so much.”

      “I wasn’t that bad.” Was he? “Besides, that was years ago,” Shane insisted, trying not to remember the time when he’d had no choice but to give her up. “Now, she’s just a pain in my…side.”

      Nate frowned. “Are you afraid that she’ll try to undermine your job?”

      Shane shrugged. “What else can I think? She’s Kurt Easton’s daughter.”

      Chapter Two

      “I need the lumber delivery by noon, Mr. Harris,” Mariah said into the phone at her desk. Her first morning, and already she’d had to deal with half a dozen problems and it wasn’t even nine o’clock.

      “No can do, lady,” the local supplier said. “My driver won’t be able to get the load there until three.”

      Mariah took a silent breath, not wanting to let him know her frustration. “That means my men will be standing around. It will put us behind schedule.”

      “That happens in this business. Just sit tight, Jess will be there as soon as possible.”

      “I don’t have time to sit anywhere, nor does my crew. You give me no alternative, Mr. Grant, but to discontinue our business arrangement.”

      She heard his soft curse. “You can’t do that. We have a contract.”

      “Which you broke when you didn’t deliver on time,” she informed him. “In fact, the lumber in question was due two days ago.” Why hadn’t Shane dealt with this problem before now? “That leaves me no choice but to give our business to another company.”

      “I want to talk with Shane.”

      Mariah was used to distributors who wanted to deal with a man. “Sorry, he’s busy with the crew. Mr. Grant, if we’re going to continue our association, you’ll be dealing with me, Mariah Easton. I’m the project manager.”

      The man murmured another curse.

      “And you’ve got until twelve noon today to make the delivery.”

      “How am I supposed to do that when I don’t have a driver?”

      “Strap the lumber to your back, just get it here.” She slammed down the receiver. What was wrong with her? She never behaved like this. Of course, she’d never had to work with an ex-boyfriend, either. She drew a long breath and closed her eyes. When she finally opened them she saw Shane standing by the door.

      “Just what the hell is going on?” he demanded.

      He looked like a soft-drink-ad model in his faded jeans and crepe sole boots. The little residue of perspiration on his dark T-shirt that covered his muscular chest only added to his sex appeal.

      “I asked what’s going on,” he repeated.

      Great, things were getting worse. “Maybe I should be asking you that.” She held out the supply order from the local lumberyard. “This delivery is two days late.”

      “So I’ll call Jerry. He’s been having some trouble finding a driver.” He went to the phone.

      “Mr. Grant and I talked already. I informed him that if the delivery isn’t made by noon, then he’s broken the contract with the project and will be replaced.”

      Shane gripped the order form in his hand. So Mariah had jumped into her new job with both feet. She’d started yesterday by having a cleaning crew go over the trailer. Then a desk and file cabinet had been brought in at quitting time. All he’d asked was that nothing in his area be touched, then he’d left and headed to the local bar with some of the guys.

      At five-thirty this morning he’d walked into the trailer to the smell of coffee…and Mariah. Dressed in creased khaki pants and a wine-colored blouse, even her work boots didn’t take away from her femininity. Her long auburn hair was pulled back from her heart-shaped face and braided, making her green eyes look large and alluring. That was when he’d decided it would be best to get out of the there. So he went to work with the crew.

      Now he was trying to hold it together. “Jerry gave us the best price for this project. He’s also the only local supplier. I know it sets us back…a little, but I can find other work for the crew.”

      “It’s not good business.”

      She wasn’t giving an inch on this. “This isn’t Phoenix, Mariah. Haven is a small town. This project is supposed to bring jobs and revenue to the area. That won’t be true if we take our business to Tucson.”

      “We won’t make any money if this project comes to a standstill. I can’t back down on this, Shane.”

      “Can’t or won’t?”

      He met her stubborn look, but soon realized he couldn’t intimidate her at all.

      “Like I said, Jerry’s got until noon,” she answered.

      Shane moved in closer. He was really ticked off. How dare she come in here and start rearranging things before even asking about the situation? She had certainly changed from the timid girl he’d known in high school. The girl who wouldn’t speak or even smile at him for months. Finally he had gotten her to talk to him. He could still recall their first kiss. Her shy response…

      “You need to bend a little, Ms. Easton.”

      “You need to remember this is business, Mr. Hunter, not a popularity contest.”

      She was driving him crazy. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to shake her, or kiss her. He sucked in a breath. Man, he was in trouble. “I’ve got to go. If you need me, call my cell.” He walked out, slamming the door behind him.

      Two hours later Mariah still couldn’t concentrate on work. Shane’s words kept playing in her mind. She’d never admit it, but he might have been right. Maybe she should have worked things out with Jerry Grant. What Shane didn’t understand was that being a woman, she couldn’t be soft. Not in this business, and not if she wanted to run this project successfully. If she didn’t have the respect and cooperation of their suppliers, she’d never earn respect from the crew.

      The door opened and her father walked in holding his cell phone to his ear. At fifty-five, Kurt Easton, the town councilman/businessman was an imposing figure dressed in his dark suit. He acknowledged her with a nod as he continued to talk. Mariah was used to this. Although he tried to be a caring father, he’d always been obsessed with his business ventures and trying to make a name for himself.

      He’d come from poor beginnings and always blamed his poverty on the Hunters. Mariah and her younger brother, Rich, had been raised by a man who carried years of bitterness.

      Her father closed his phone. “Where the hell is Hunter?”

      “He said he was working with the crew.”

      “I thought that’s why I brought you in. To keep an eye on him.”

      She tried to brush aside the hurt. “I thought you brought me in because I’m good at my job.”

      “You also need to watch Shane Hunter. He can’t be trusted. The site’s already been vandalized twice.”

      She stood and stared into her father’s green eyes that were so like hers, hoping that was all she’d inherited from him. “And tell me why destroying his property would be the best thing for his company?”

      Her father backed off with a shrug. “He’s a Hunter.”

      “And I told you when I took this job that I wasn’t getting involved in this crazy feud. What went on years ago has nothing to do with Shane, his mother, his brother, Nate or sister, Emily.”

      “How can you say that when you know Nathan Hunter cheated your grandfather James out of land, and stole the love of his life?”

      Mariah