“Steve! My father is here, too…I wonder what he’s doing here still? I mean, he was here before Christmas, but I assumed he’d rejoined Sonya in Louisiana by now. Oh, I must go and visit him, then. I have some things I want to discuss.”

“You’ll have to wait your turn. I have business with him first. Besides, you’ll want to see Missie. You’ll be traveling back to my grandfather’s with them when they leave.”

As he expected, her eyes narrowed at him. Before she could reply, he added, “I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”

“You’re not leaving me now! We just got to town. You haven’t been here an hour yet, Steve Morgan!”

“Ginny, the sooner I take care of what I have to do, the sooner we can send for the children. Keep that in mind while you’re badgering me.”

Two bright spots of color flamed in her cheeks, but she said with prim resignation, “I have no intention of badgering you, Steve, so you needn’t look so expectant. I know you have to finish whatever it is Jim Bishop has sent you to do, and I know you have no intention of taking me with you. It should make you happy to know that I’m quite content to stay here. I’m just rather surprised to discover that Renaldo and Missie are here, as well as my father. Quite a crowd. Are you sure you didn’t send for all of them, just to keep me busy?”

He grinned. “Maybe I did mention to my cousin in a telegram that we would be visiting San Antonio and suggested it was a good idea for him to get Missie away for a while. You like Missie well enough, don’t you?”

“You know I do. And I see through your plan. You’re quite obvious, you know. I’ll go back with them, don’t worry about that. And I will wait for you, Steve Morgan, but I won’t wait forever! Don’t forget where you left me, because I may not be there if you take too long to come back!”

Even though she had said it with a faint smile, he thought about that, and of all the times he’d left her before as he stepped out of the hotel into the street.

The wheel always seemed to swing back around, bringing everything full circle. It wasn’t so long ago that he’d run into Francesca in Dallas, too, but then Toni Lassiter had been there. Vicious, depraved Toni—the beautiful blond bitch who had tried to destroy him.

If not for Francesca’s help then, Toni may very well have succeeded. And then Ginny had been there, come to find out what she could about him. After everything, he had gone to her rescue, taking her from Toni and Matt Cooper before they could hurt her.