She picked up an ugly vase on the dresser in her room and started out the door with it, fury making her face red. She went downstairs and looked for Cort. She found him standing behind a chair while he talked to his father and Sandra.

“You snake in the grass!” Mina raged. She threw the vase at him.

He caught it handily and put it down on the end table before he moved toward her, “What are you talking about?” he demanded with some indignation. Surely he was the injured party here!

“This!” She pulled up the news item on her cell phone and showed it to him. “Explain that!”

His mouth opened. His cheeks had a ruddy flush, high on his cheekbones.

She glanced at Sandra. “Now I know how you felt!” she told the other woman. “He’s only been married a few days, and he’s already tomcatting around business dinners!”

“I wasn’t!” Cort tried to defend himself.

“You had your arm around her!”

“I never!” he shot back. “Here. You look closely at that picture,” he added icily. “I had my arm behind her. I was reaching for my drink on the table!”

She stared at the picture. It made her furious to see that he was right. He really didn’t have his arm around her. It just looked that way. But the cutline was damning: Texas Millionaire Courts Oil Princess.

“Oh yeah?” Mina retorted. “Well, the headline sure is explicit!”

“She’s married,” he said belligerently.

“So are you!”

Vic got up. “Okay, now,” he said, getting between them. “Listen. She had a career and didn’t tell you,” he told Cort. “While he—” he spoke to Mina, indicating Cort “—was apparently hanging out at business dinners with other women. It’s done. It’s over. You know about Mina’s career now,” he told Cort. “And you—” he indicated Mina “—know that he wasn’t running around on you. It was just a headline and some journalist’s attempt to start trouble. Everything’s out in the open. You both have to make peace. She’s pregnant,” he reminded Cort gently. He smiled. “And this time, I’ll get to know my grandchild, because you’ll both be here. So will I. Sandra and I talked about it. She thinks I need to take some responsibility for Latigo and the businesses, so you won’t be on the road so much, Cort. Now that her family is getting over its grief, she’s willing to live here.”

“Yes, I am,” Sandra said. She grinned at Mina. “I can pump Willow Shane there for plots and such, and I can hang out with her commando friends. It’s very exciting!”

“Exciting.” Cort let out a breath. He glared at his father. He glared at Mina. “Maybe I’m the one who should pack and go back on the road.”

“Why?” Vic asked.

“She risked her life and our baby’s life, crawling through a jungle with a bunch of strange men carrying a .45 automatic!” Cort exclaimed, pointing at her. “The leader of the commando group said she actually shot at a guy! Not only that, she was wounded during one mission she went on with them!”