He couldn’t ignore Margaret’s warning. “How do you know she burned her uncle’s place down?”

“Sean told me. She confessed to doing it right before they got married. After the arson, she met a man who got her out of trouble and paid for her to attend college. I can just imagine what she gave that man to help her out of that kind of situation.” Margaret pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure you know what I mean.”

His gut soured at the thought. “I get the drift.”

Now she’d accused Sarah of using sex to get out of trouble.

He really didn’t know what to think. “Did Sean say why she did it?”

“What possible reason could justify setting fire to someone’s home?”

He didn’t know, but something like that took a lot of rage. He wondered what had happened to make Sarah go to such an extreme. If she even did it.

He couldn’t think through all the information and contradictions. “The woman you describe, and the woman I just met don’t add up. I guess I’ll see who she is when she comes to the ranch tomorrow.”

“Not everyone is as they appear. You know that.”

He’d met people who looked like they wouldn’t hurt a fly but had done some heinous things. He’d met guys who were handsome enough to easily get a date, but instead of treating women with respect resorted to harassment, assault, and worse.

Nothing people did really surprised him anymore.

And because of the people he dealt with he read people well. While he had reservations about Sarah, he wondered if they were rooted in what Margaret told him and his desire to help his friend rather than in anything substantive.

His initial impression of her seemed real. She was a beautiful woman, a warm and patient mother, a reasonable person, and not one to back down when challenged, but also not someone looking for a fight.

“If anyone met you right now, they’d look at you and see a rancher. How would they know you and your family own one of the most successful and lucrative law firms in the country?”

“I see your point. I guess I’ll get a better sense of her tomorrow.”

“You’ll see, I’m not wrong about her.”

“Enjoy your evening with the boys. Have fun with them. Don’t let her get to you. I’ll check on you later in the week.”

Luke was almost out the door when Sarah came down the stairs, cell phone to her ear as she carried on her business conversation. The boys stomped and scuffled upstairs. All he could think was that she looked lovely gliding down the stairs punctuating her conversation with one hand while holding the phone with the other. For a fleeting second he thought how nice it would be to have a home full of noise and life and a woman walking down the stairs to him.

Her eyes met his. She gave him a cautious smile and continued on into the kitchen.