Chapter One

      “What are you doing here?” Lulu McCabe rose to her feet and gaped at the big, strapping cowboy with the wheat-blond hair and the mesmerizing gold-flecked eyes. Even with a good ten feet and a huge table between them, just the sight of him made her catch her breath.

      Sam Kirkland strolled into the conference room at their Laramie, Texas, lawyers’ office in his usual commanding way. He offered her a sexy half smile that warmed her from the inside out. “I could ask the same of you, darlin’.”

      With a scowl, Lulu watched as he came around the table to stand beside her.

      Clad in jeans, a tan shirt and boots, his Resistol held politely against the center of his broad chest, he was the epitome of the highly successful, self-made rancher. The way he carried himself only added to his inherent masculine appeal.

      Ignoring the shiver of awareness pooling inside her, Lulu looked him square in the eye. “So, you don’t know what this is about, either?” she guessed finally.

      “Nope.” He gave her a leisurely once-over, then narrowed his eyes at her, as always appearing to blame her for every calamity that came their way. “I figured you engineered it.”

      Anger surged through her, nearly as strong as the attraction she’d worked very hard to deny.

      Lulu drew a breath and inhaled the brisk, masculine fragrance of his cologne and the soapy-fresh scent of his hair and skin. Determined to show him just how completely she had gotten over him, she stepped closer, intentionally invading his space. “Why would I want to do that?”

      He held her eyes deliberately. Gave her that slow smile, the one that always turned her legs to jelly. “Honestly, darlin’,” he taunted in a low tone, “I don’t know why you want to do lots of things.”

      Really? He was going to go back to their last argument, claiming she was not making any sense? Again? Slapping both her hands on her hips, she fumed, “Listen, cowboy, you know exactly why I want to join the Laramie County Cattleman’s Association!”

      His gaze drifted over her before she could make her proposal again. “And you know exactly why, as organization president, I’m not about to let you.”

      She had a good idea. And it had a lot to do with what had secretly happened between them a little over a decade ago. With exaggerated sweetness, she guessed, “Because you’re not just a horse’s behind, but a stubborn, sexist mule, too?”

      Finally, his temper flared, as surely as her own. He blew out a frustrated breath, then lowered his face to hers. “It’s not enough to just own a ranch in Laramie County, Lulu,” he reiterated.

      Both hands knotted at her sides, she glared up at him, aware her heart was pounding, and lower still, there was a building heat. “Well, it should be!” she argued right back.

      “You have to raise cattle. Not honeybees.”

      “Okay, you two, calm down.” Family law attorney Liz Cartwright Anderson breezed into the conference room, her husband and law partner right behind her.

      “Or someone might think something besides a show of heat is going on with you,” Travis Anderson quipped.

      “The only thing we share is an immense dislike of each other,” Lulu grumbled. Well, that, and an unwillingness to forgive. Because if they had been able to do that...things might be different now. But they hadn’t... So...

      Liz sent a questioning look at Sam. He lifted an amiable hand. “What she says,” he quipped.

      An awkward silence fell.

      “We could meet with you separately,” Travis offered finally. “Since Sam is my client, and Lulu is Liz’s.”

      Lulu shook her head. They wouldn’t have been called in together unless the matter involved them both. “Let’s just get it over with,” she groused.

      “Okay, then.” Liz smiled. “Travis and I called you both here together because we have some very important things to discuss,” she began, as a somber-looking man with buzz-cut silver hair walked in to join them. He was dressed in a suit and tie, carrying a briefcase and appeared to be in his late fifties.

      Travis made the formal introductions. “This is Hiram Higgins. He’s an estate attorney from Houston. He’s enlisted our help in making what we hope will be a smooth transition.”

      “Transition? For what?” Lulu blurted, glancing over at Sam. For once, the big, sexy cowboy looked as clueless as she was. Unsure whether to take comfort in that or not, she opened her mouth to speak again.

      Liz lifted a hand. “It will all become clear in a moment. Why don’t we all sit down?” she suggested kindly.

      Everyone took the chair closest to them, which put Sam and Lulu on one side of the table and Liz and Travis opposite them.

      Hiram took a chair at the head of the table and opened up his briefcase. “There’s no easy way to say this,” he said, “so I am going to plunge right in. I’m handling the estate of Peter and Theresa Thompson. They were killed in an auto accident in Houston two months ago.”

      Lulu sucked in a breath. She hadn’t seen her sophomore year roommate, Theresa, and her husband, Peter—one of Sam’s old college friends—since the two had eloped years before, but shock and sorrow tumbled through her. Sam seemed equally taken aback by the tragic loss. He reached over and put his hand on top of hers.

      Normally, Lulu would have resisted his touch. But right now, she found she needed the warm, strong feel of his fingers draped over hers.

      She actually needed more than that.

      Given the grief roiling around inside her, a hug wouldn’t have been out of bounds...

      Had the person beside her been anyone but the man who had stomped her heart all to pieces, of course.

      Unobtrusively, Lulu withdrew her hand from his.

      Hiram continued, “Peter and Theresa left three sons, two-year-old triplets.”

      Lulu struggled to take this all in. Regretting the fact they’d all lost touch with each other, she asked hoarsely, “Where are the children now?”

      “In Houston.”

      “With family?” Sam ascertained.

      Hiram grunted in the affirmative. “And friends. Temporarily. We’re keeping them together, of course. Which is where the two of you come in.” He paused to give both Lulu and Sam a long, steady look.

      “Peter