for kidnappers to have accomplished their mission.”
“But we’ll call the sheriff anyway.” Janine picked up the telephone. “This is way too strange, Colonel. Let the sheriff figure it out.” Glaring at her brother as she dialed, she muttered, “If you need to come clean, you’d better do it before the cops arrive.”
Elise took Dawn’s hand. “Come to my office, dear. I have a couch. You can put your feet up. Megan, bring us some coffee.” She looked to her husband again and spoke in a calm, somewhat dreamy voice. “Dear, perhaps it might be a good idea to take one more look around.”
The couple exchanged a significant look, fraught with meaning. Dawn supposed the Dukes were as her parents had been, gifted with a type of mental telepathy developed over many years of marriage. A catch gripped her throat. She and Quentin might never have the chance to develop the art of reading each other’s minds.
Numbly, she allowed Elise to escort her out of the business office, down the hall to the small office where Elise organized receptions, parties and conferences for the resort guests.
“Do forgive my family, dear,” Elise said. “Despite the Colonel’s insistence on strict discipline, my children tend to be willful.” She sounded proud of them for it.
“They are…energetic.” At Elise’s urging, she sat on a camelback love seat.
Ross entered the office and joined Dawn on the love seat. “You’ve got a knack for crowd control. I’m impressed.”
“Uh, dear, perhaps you should leave Mrs. Bayliss alone.”
“Dawn needs me.”
She did need him and that was reason enough to keep as far away from him as possible. She’d come within seconds of committing adultery with him—intentional or not. Having him so near now reminded her of caressing his body and kissing him, and of the fun they’d had last week. The walks in the forest, the countless times he’d reduced her to helpless laughter with his silly tall tales…and how gazing into his eyes made her soul sing, as if with bells. If Quentin had left on his own, then he knew of her attraction to Ross. Accepting Ross’s support now would do little toward soothing Quentin’s jealousy.
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