He didn’t know of too many that had been successful, though. The government’s treatment of Native American rights might have been shabby, but there were probably legal documents a foot thick to prove that the Native Americans had been compensated for every bit of land taken from them.

The thought that Janet might try, though, was enough to make his blood run cold. The knowledge that she had insinuated herself into his life without ever saying a word about her intentions infuriated him. He would have sworn Janet Runningbear didn’t have a duplicitous bone in her body. It appeared his judgment had been impaired after all.

“Don’t worry,” he reassured Jenny with icy calm. “I won’t say a thing to your mother.”

No, he was going to sit back and wait for her to make her move. He would be ready for her, though. And he would make her regret the day she ever tried to tangle with Harlan Adams.

Later that night, alone in his den, he fought against the wave of disappointment rushing over him. He’d been so hopeful that Janet and her rebellious daughter were the answers to his prayers. Now it appeared that Janet, at least, was nothing more than a liar and a cheat.

He didn’t like the prospect of sitting idle, waiting for her to strike. That wasn’t his way.

And maybe he couldn’t admit to all he knew and involve Jenny, but he could try to force Janet’s hand. Maybe it was time he found out once and for all if it was him she was attracted to, or, as he was beginning to believe, the land she thought belonged to her.

With cold deliberation, he sat behind the desk where he’d kept White Pines books for so many years and plotted a strategy for making sure that not one single acre ever left Adams ownership. Janet Runningbear might be the smartest, slickest lawyer ever trained, but she was no match for him.

Except maybe, he thought, in bed. As icily furious as he was about Jenny’s innocent revelations, he couldn’t seem to tame the desire Janet aroused in him. Maybe sex was the way to force the issue. He could satisfy this growing hunger that had him aching to touch her morning, noon and night. A woman revealed a lot when she made love to a man. He was almost certain he would know once and for all what was really in Janet’s heart, if he could just get past her emotional defenses.