jolted when he nicked himself. Damn. He needed to concentrate on shaving and rid his mind of Megan. At least he didn’t have to worry about that foolishness of hers, about wanting to go with him to Texas. He felt certain, with the way her eyes had nearly popped out of the sockets and her jaw had dropped after what he’d said, that she had changed her mind.
He hadn’t wanted to be so blatantly honest with her, but it couldn’t be helped. Like he told her, he preferred working alone. The last time he had taken a woman with him on a case had almost cost him his life. He remembered it like it was yesterday. An FBI sting operation and his female partner had ended up being more hindrance than help. The woman blatantly refused to follow orders.
Granted, there was no real danger involved with Megan’s case per se. In fact, the only danger he could think of was keeping his hands to himself where Megan was concerned. That was a risk he couldn’t afford. And he had felt the need to be blunt and spell it out to her. Now that he had, he was convinced they had an understanding.
He would go to Texas, delve into whatever he could discover about Clarice Riggins and bring his report back to her. Megan was paying him a pretty hefty fee for his services, and he intended to deliver. But he would have to admit that her great-grandfather had covered his tracks well, which made Rico wonder what all the old man had gotten into during his younger days. It didn’t matter, because Rico intended to uncover it all. And like he’d told Megan, Clarice Riggins had given birth, but there was nothing to indicate that she and Raphel had married. It had been a stroke of luck that he’d found anything at all on Clarice, since there had been various spellings of the woman’s name.
He was walking out of the bathroom when his cell phone rang, and he pulled it off the clip. He checked and saw it was a New York number. He had several associates there and couldn’t help wondering which one was calling.
“This is Rico.”
There was a slight pause and then … “Hello, son. This is your father.”
Rico flinched, drew in a sharp breath and fought for control of his anger, which had come quick … as soon as he’d recognized the voice. “You must have the wrong number because I don’t have a father.”
Without giving the man a chance to say anything else, he clicked off the phone. As far as he was concerned, Jeff Claiborne could go to hell. Why on earth would the man be calling Rico after all this time? What had it been? Eighteen years? Rico had been happy with his father being out of sight and out of mind.
To be quite honest, he wished he could wash the man’s memory away completely. He could never forget the lives that man had damaged by his selfishness. No, Jeff Claiborne had no reason to call him. No reason at all.
Two
Megan tried to downplay her nervousness as she continued to cut up the bell pepper and celery for the potato salad. According to Pam, Rico had been invited to dinner and would probably arrive any minute.
“Has Rico found anything out yet?”
Megan glanced over at her cousin-in-law. She liked Pam and thought she was perfect for Dillon. The two women were alone for now. Chloe and Bella had gone to check on the babies, and Lucia, who was in the dining room, was putting icing on the cake.
“Yes, there’s a lead in Texas he’ll follow up on when he leaves here,” Megan said. She didn’t want to mention anything about Clarice. The last thing she wanted to do was get anyone’s hopes up.
“How exciting,” Pam said as she fried the chicken, turning pieces over in the huge skillet every so often. “I’m sure you’re happy about that.”
Megan would be a lot happier if Rico would let her go to Texas with him, but, in a way, she had solved that problem and couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when he found out how. Chances were, he thought he’d had the last word.
She sighed, knowing if she lived to be a hundred years old she wouldn’t be able to figure out men. Whenever they wanted a woman they assumed a woman would just naturally want them in return. How crazy was that bit of logic?
There was so much Megan didn’t know when it came to men, although she had lived most of her life surrounded by them. Oh, she knew some things, but this man-woman stuff—when it came to wants and desires—just went over her head. Until she’d met Rico, there hadn’t been a man who’d made her give him a second look. Of course, Idris Elba didn’t count.
She lifted her gaze from the vegetables to look over at Pam. Megan knew Pam and Dillon had a pretty good marriage, a real close one. Pam, Chloe, Lucia and Bella were the older sisters she’d never had, and, at the moment, she needed some advice.
“Pam?”
“Hmm?”
“How would you react if a man told you he wanted you?”
Pam glanced her way and smiled. “It depends on who the man is. Had your brother told me that, I would have kicked my fiancé to the curb a lot sooner. The first thing I thought when I saw Dillon was that he was hot.”
That was the same thing Megan had thought when she’d seen Rico. “So you would not have gotten upset had he said he wanted you?”
“Again, it depends on who the man is. If it’s a man I had the hots for, then no, I wouldn’t have gotten upset. Why would I have? That would mean we were of the same accord and could move on to the next phase.”
Megan raised a brow. “The next phase?”
“Yes, the I-want-to-get-to-know-you-better phase.” Pam looked over at her. “So tell me. Was this a hypothetical question or is there a man out there who told you he wants you?”
Megan nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. She must have taken too long to answer because Pam grinned and said, “I guess I got my answer.”
Pam took the last of the chicken out of the skillet, turned off the stove and joined Megan at the table. “Like I said, Megan, the question you should ask yourself is … if he’s someone you want, too. Forget about what he wants for the moment. The question is what do you want?”
Megan sighed. Rico was definitely a looker, a man any woman would want. But what did she really know about him, other than that he was Jessica and Savannah’s older brother, and they thought the world of him?
“He doesn’t want to mix business with pleasure, not that I would have, mind you. Besides, I never told him that I wanted him.”
“Most women don’t tell a man. What they do is send out vibes. Men can pick up on vibes real quick, and depending on what those vibes are, a man might take them as a signal.”
Megan looked perplexed. “I don’t think I sent out anything.”
Pam laughed. “I hate to say this, but Jillian can probably size a man up better than you can. Your brothers and cousins sheltered you too much from the harsh realities of life.” Jillian was Pam’s sister, who was a sophomore in college.
Megan shook her head. “It’s not that they sheltered me, I just never met anyone I was interested in.”
“Until now?”
Megan lifted her chin. “I’m really
