Contents

      Prologue

      Chapter One

      Chapter Two

      Chapter Three

      Chapter Four

      Chapter Five

      Chapter Six

      Chapter Seven

      Chapter Eight

      Chapter Nine

      Chapter Ten

      Chapter Eleven

      Chapter Twelve

      Prologue

      “Go ’way, kid.”

      “But, Mitch—”

      “I don’t want to see or talk to anyone named Stevens.”

      Taylor Stevens stared at the dark expression on Mitch Rafferty’s face and wondered what had happened and how fast she could change her name. Her sister must have done something. Only Jen could put Mitch’s nose out of joint like this.

      If only he would notice her instead, Taylor thought dejectedly. She might be younger than he, but she was more mature than he thought. Certainly old enough to notice his sandy-brown hair, his broad shoulders that made all the girls sit up and take notice, and those bad-boy blue eyes. Especially his eyes. Whenever he looked at her, her heart beat so hard she got a little scared.

      The Texas state high school rodeo championships in Abilene had just ended. Tomorrow they would go home to Destiny. It was their last night at the Lamplighter Motel and she’d found Mitch by the pool. She took a deep breath and a heaping dose of courage as she sat down on the lounge chair next to his.

      Other teenagers sat nearby, but didn’t seem to be paying any attention to her and Mitch. He looked like a volcano about to erupt and she was afraid for him. Afraid of what he might do. She just couldn’t leave him alone. The feelings she had for him were so deep, so big she felt she might burst any second.

      Taylor touched his arm, then started when he flinched away. “Okay. Don’t look at me. Just tell me what’s wrong, then listen while I talk.”

      “Get lost, kid,” he growled. “Don’t you get it? I don’t want you here. I want to be alone.”

      Kid? She wanted to grab his shirtfront and show him she was no kid. In fact, she would pit her fourteen years against his nineteen any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

      She took a deep breath. “You’re acting like someone took away your favorite toy. At least tell me why. What’s wrong? I thought we were friends.”

      “Jen and I are through.” The smoldering look in his eyes hinted that there was more. But all he said was, “I could never be friends with anyone related to her.”

      Taylor’s first thought was stunned disbelief that her sister was dumb enough to let a guy like Mitch go. Her second: she was going to hell for being so happy that he was no longer spoken for.

      “I’m sorry,” she said lamely, not meeting his gaze in the dim light surrounding the pool. If he looked at her he would know she wasn’t sorry at all.

      Silence stretched between them. It was late and everyone else who was at the motel had turned in. Or almost everyone. Behind her, she could hear the kids around the pool talking, and muffled voices and giggles beyond the shrubs that shielded her and Mitch. On the far sidewalk, a guy with a square competition number attached to his long-sleeved Western shirt walked hand in hand with a girl Taylor recognized from the rodeo week queen’s court. Crickets chirped and the muted sound of television drifted to them from nearby rooms.

      “I’m really sorry,” she said again. And she truly did feel bad that he was hurting so. When he remained silent, she added, “But she’s not the only girl on the planet, Mitch.”

      “She is for me.”

      Taylor cared about him more than her sister ever could. Why couldn’t he see that? How could he not know that he was the first person she thought about in the morning and the last one to cross her mind before sleep took her at night? Every waking second in between she wished she were with him, just to be in his presence, just to look at him.

      Mitch had brushed her off the night before, when she’d tried to tag along with him to the lake. But now she knew he wasn’t going steady with her sister. Taylor knew it might be her best chance to make him notice her.

      “What about me?” she blurted out, unable to hold back any longer. “I love you. I’d never hurt you. Not in a million years.”

      Maybe if she showed him. Before she could think it over, she leaned forward and touched her mouth to his. She tasted surprise and hesitation in his unyielding mouth. Then he pulled back and stared at her. The look in his eyes made her wish she could take it all back—especially the kiss. Or better yet, if only a twister would swoop out of nowhere and dump her in Kansas so she wouldn’t have to see that bitter, cold expression on his face. He stood up, inches from the deep end of the pool. She stood, too, because he towered over her and she didn’t like him looking down at her.

      “You kiss like a little girl.”

      She heard laughter behind her. Her cheeks were hot with embarrassment, but it was nothing compared to the pain just starting to seep into her heart.

      He folded his arms over his chest. “Even if I hadn’t sworn off women, you’ve got three strikes against you.”

      “Like what?” she asked before she could stop herself.

      “You’re her sister. That kiss proves you’re