After dealing with the mountains of mud and a zoo full of pets generated by two growing boys, Cathy is ready to settle down to the much cleaner job of writing. With the continued support of her husband, who is hero material himself, she is constantly searching for interesting characters and new story ideas. Now if she can just convince her dog not to be jealous of the computer…

Chapter One

Chapter One

The Denver sky, reflected in the huge glass windows behind her, darkened with gathering thunderclouds, the image matching her worsening mood. A yellow circle of light from her desk lamp offered little comfort as Darci struggled to make the column of numbers work out the way she needed them to. She sighed and scrubbed at her eyes.

It wasn’t going to work. They were going to lose it all, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Mother would never forgive her.

Once more, maybe if she figured it just once more, it would come out right. It had to.

She jumped when a black shadow swished through the air and landed on the desk, scattering her carefully arranged papers. The shadow materialized into a black cowboy hat, and Darci slowly looked up, knowing she wasn’t going to like what she saw.

“Little girls shouldn’t be out alone after dark.”

The warning sent shivers down her spine, just like it had when she was a little girl. But the voice was different this time—deeper, harder, almost bitter.

“Cole.” Her whisper carried all the confusion, all the pain, all the fears, of these past years. Watching him move closer, she hungrily took in the sight of his lean form.

Her childhood hero had returned. And he still scared the heck out of her.

Cole Blackmore was six feet plus of pure cowboy, radiating the same masculine arrogance he’d claimed even at the age of seventeen—when she’d first met him. Tonight, he wore black, a color that seemed to match the anger emanating from him. Black jeans molded muscular thighs, and a black pearl-buttoned shirt was pulled taut across his broad shoulders. But as usual, a black curl slipped down onto his forehead, spoiling his toughguy image.

The only relief from the darkness surrounding him was a grim smile barely showing his even, white teeth and a champion-size silver belt buckle that reflected the light from her lamp, causing her to squint slightly.

“You shouldn’t be working so late, honey. It’ll make you old before your time.” He sat in one of the leather chairs across from her and leaned back, his smoky gray eyes carefully watching her for a reaction.