.

      But no matter what, she would.

      “You sure I’m not putting you out, Riley? I can certainly get a room at the hotel in town.”

      “I won’t hear of it,” Riley Westmoreland said, smiling. “Hell, you’re practically family.”

      Rico threw his luggage on the bed, thinking he certainly hadn’t felt like family earlier when he’d been alone with Megan. He still couldn’t get over her wanting to go to Texas with him. Surely she had felt the sexual tension that seemed to surround them whenever they were within a few feet of each other.

      “So how are things going with that investigation you’re doing for Megan?” Riley asked, breaking into Rico’s thoughts.

      “Fine. In fact, I’m on my way to Texas to poke around a new lead.”

      Riley’s brow lifted. “Really? Does Megan know yet?”

      “Yes. I met with her at the hospital earlier today.”

      Riley chuckled. “I bet she was happy about that. We’re all interested in uncovering the truth about Poppa Raphel, but I honestly think Megan is obsessed with it and has been ever since Dillon and Pam shared those journals with her. Now that Dillon has made Megan the keeper of the journals she is determined to uncover everything. She’s convinced we have more relatives out there somewhere.”

      Rico had read those journals and had found them quite interesting. The journals, written by Raphel himself, had documented his early life after splitting from his family.

      “And it’s dinner tonight over at the big house. Pam called earlier to make sure I brought you. I hope you’re up for it. You know how testy pregnant women can get at times.”

      Rico chuckled. Yes, he knew. In fact, he had noted the number of pregnant women in the Westmoreland family. Enough to look like there was some sort of epidemic. In addition to Pam, Derringer’s wife, Lucia, was expecting and so was Micah’s wife, Kalina. There were a number of Atlanta Westmorelands expecting babies, as well.

      Case in point, his own sisters. Jessica was pregnant again, and Savannah had given birth to her second child earlier that year. They were both happily married, and he was happy for them. Even his mother had decided to make another go of marriage, which had surprised him after what she’d gone through with his father. But he liked Brad Richman, and Rico knew Brad truly loved his mother.

      “Well, I’ll let you unpack. We’ll leave for Dillon’s place in about an hour. I hope you’re hungry because there will be plenty of food. The women are cooking, and we just show up hungry and ready to eat,” Riley said, laughing.

      A half hour later Rico had unpacked all the items he needed. Everything else would remain in his luggage since he would be leaving for Texas the day after tomorrow. Sighing, he rubbed a hand down his face, noting his stubble-roughened jaw. Before he went out anywhere, he definitely needed to shave. And yes, he was hungry since he hadn’t eaten since that morning, but dinner at Dillon’s meant most of the Denver Westmorelands who were in town would be there. That included Megan. Damn. He wasn’t all that sure he was ready to see her again. He was known as a cool and incontrol kind of guy. But those elements of his personality took a flying leap around Megan Westmoreland.

      Why did he like the way she said his name? To pronounce it was simple enough, but there was something about the way she said it, in a sultry tone that soothed and aroused.

      Getting aroused was the last thing he needed to think about. It had been way too long since he’d had bedroom time with a woman. So he was in far worse shape than he’d realized. Seeing Megan today hadn’t helped matters. The woman was way too beautiful for her own good.

      Grabbing his shaving bag off the bed, Rico went into the guest bath that was conveniently connected to his room. Moments later, after lathering his face with shaving cream, he stared into the mirror as he slowly swiped a razor across his face. The familiar actions allowed his mind to wander, right back to Megan.

      The first thing he’d noticed when he’d walked into her office was that she’d cut her hair. She still had a lot of curls, but instead of flowing to her shoulders, her hair crowned her face like a cap. He liked the style on her. It gave her a sexier look … not that she needed it.

      He could just imagine being wheeled into surgery only to discover she would be the doctor to administer the drug to knock you out. Counting backward while lying flat on your back and staring up into her face would guarantee plenty of hot dreams during whatever surgery you were having.

      He jolted when he nicked himself. Damn. He needed to concentrate on shaving and rid his mind of Megan. At least he didn’t have to worry about that foolishness of hers, about wanting to go with him to Texas. He felt certain, with the way her eyes had nearly popped out of the sockets and her jaw had dropped after what he’d said, that she had changed her mind.

      He hadn’t wanted to be so blatantly honest with her, but it couldn’t be helped. Like he told her, he preferred working alone. The last time he had taken a woman with him on a case had almost cost him his life. He remembered it like it was yesterday. An FBI sting operation and his female partner had ended up being more hindrance than help. The woman blatantly refused to follow orders.

      Granted, there was no real danger involved with Megan’s case per se. In fact, the only danger he could think of was keeping his hands to himself where Megan was concerned. That was a risk he couldn’t afford. And he had felt the need to be blunt and spell it out to her. Now that he had, he was convinced they had an understanding.

      He would go to Texas, delve into whatever he could discover about Clarice Riggins and bring his report back to her. Megan was paying him a pretty hefty fee for his services, and he intended to deliver. But he would have to admit that her great-grandfather had covered his tracks well, which made Rico wonder what all the old man had gotten into during his younger days. It didn’t matter, because Rico intended to uncover it all. And like he’d told Megan, Clarice Riggins had given birth, but there was nothing to indicate that she and Raphel had married. It had been a stroke of luck that he’d found anything at all on Clarice, since there had been various spellings of the woman’s name.

      He was walking out of the bathroom when his cell phone rang, and he pulled it off the clip. He checked and saw it was a New York number. He had several associates there and couldn’t help wondering which one was calling.

      “This is Rico.”

      There was a slight pause and then … “Hello, son. This is your father.”

      Rico flinched, drew in a sharp breath and fought for control of his anger, which had come quick … as soon as he’d recognized the voice. “You must have the wrong number because I don’t have a father.”

      Without giving the man a chance to say anything else, he clicked off the phone. As far as he was concerned, Jeff Claiborne could go to hell. Why on earth would the man be calling Rico after all this time? What had it been? Eighteen years? Rico had been happy with his father being out of sight and out of mind.

      To be quite honest, he wished he could wash the man’s memory away completely. He could never forget the lives that man had damaged by his selfishness. No, Jeff Claiborne had no reason to call him. No reason at all.

      Two

      Megan tried to downplay her nervousness as she continued to cut up the bell pepper and celery for the potato salad. According to Pam, Rico had been invited to dinner and would probably arrive any minute.

      “Has Rico found anything out yet?”

      Megan glanced over at her cousin-in-law. She liked Pam and thought she was perfect for Dillon. The two women were alone for now. Chloe and Bella had gone to check on the babies, and Lucia, who was in the dining room, was putting icing on the cake.

      “Yes, there’s a lead in Texas he’ll follow up on when he leaves here,” Megan said. She didn’t want to mention anything about Clarice. The last thing she wanted to do was get anyone’s hopes up.

      “How