light.” He crossed the hall with her at his side and switched the light on in another small bedroom. Two fuzzy mutts blinked sleepy eyes and wagged their tails.
“The dogs are Tater and Spot.”
Barely noticing the small dogs, Emily crossed the room to a narrow, four-poster bed. She leaned over it and looked at the sleeping three year old. The little boy had a mass of brown ringlets, the same freckled nose, the same pointy chin. Again shocked by the unmistakable resemblance, Emily moved closer, lost in thought.
How could Amber have run away and left them behind? Emily glanced over her shoulder at Zach, who lounged in the doorway and watched her. Was he to blame?
Emily felt a pang. She had never expected to have marriage, a husband, or children in her life. God knows, her family genes should not be passed on to another generation. Or so she had always thought—these two little children carried those genes and they looked sweet, innocent and adorable.
How could Amber have left them? The question tore at Emily again. It had to be Zach. No mother would willingly leave such angels—not even Amber, though she had never taken responsibility for anything in her life.
Zach turned and motioned toward the door. Emily tiptoed out while his boot heels scraped the floor with each step.
“The dogs stay up here?”
“They won’t leave those kids.” He changed the subject. “Let’s get something to drink. I have ice tea, coffee, milk or beer.”
“Tea’s fine,” she said, then lapsed into silence. Zach wanted some answers from her and he knew there were things he should tell her. Sheriff Nunez was a closemouthed, noncommunicative man and must not have said much to her about Amber. Nunez hadn’t even told him everything the police knew. And the sheriff certainly hadn’t mentioned talking to Emily.
Zach switched on the light in the kitchen. As soon as Emily stepped inside, he turned to face her, blocking her path. “Before I get drinks, let’s talk.”
“Sure,” Emily replied, puzzled, wondering whether there was something about Amber she didn’t know. Was he going to tell her?
Zach placed his hands against the wall on each side of her, hemming her in, moving in too close. She could feel the warmth of his body, smell his hair. The determination in his eyes made her want to duck and run.
“You said you came looking for your sister. I think you ought to tell me more about it. Amber could be involved in anything with anybody. She wasn’t very discriminating. You may be in danger, too. You may have led someone to us and put us both in danger.”
Startled by his remarks, Emily frowned. “You’re standing too close.”
“Yeah, I am. I want some answers from you.” His direct gaze disturbed her, and she was again acutely conscious of him. The urge increased to push past him, but there was a forcefulness about him that held her immobile. And something more held her in place; her heart raced with a visceral awareness of his appeal as a male.
“I don’t see how I can be in danger or bring any jeopardy to you. No one is interested in me. And if someone is after my sister, I haven’t had any contact with her since the one phone call—and no one could know about that.” Emily answered in a clipped tone, annoyed that she was responding to him in an elemental way.
Zach gazed down into thickly lashed green eyes that were wide and guileless. He had told himself over and over to stay out of her problems. He didn’t need more worries. He had the children’s safety to think about. He didn’t need to take someone else under his wing. And never would he want to be involved with anyone who had the slightest connection to Amber. Stop questioning her, he scolded himself. Take the woman to her car in the morning, get her to the nearest motel and tell her goodbye.
And maybe he had developed a gut instinct for trouble. Somehow he felt she might jeopardize his life and the children’s. If Amber was involved with the wrong people, Emily could place herself in peril by asking questions about her sister. He didn’t want any part of the problem. He had no interest in seeing Amber again. He was starting to get his own life together, trying to get some stability into the lives of the kids. The last thing he needed was to bring danger to them. He looked down into innocent eyes and caught a scent of lilacs and spring flowers.
“I have to try to find Amber,” she said.
“You could get hurt badly—” he seemed to have a thought “—when did you get here?”
“I took time off work and drove. This afternoon I arrived in San Luis, met with Sheriff Nunez and talked to people in town. Why?”
“I just wanted to know who you’ve talked to, what you might have stirred up. If someone was following you, you wouldn’t know it.”
“Why would anyone follow me?”
“You don’t know what your sister was involved in.”
“No, I don’t.”
Satisfied with her answers, he moved away and got a pitcher of tea from the fridge. He poured it over ice in a tall glass and handed it to her. “Sugar or lemon?”
“No, thanks,” she answered in a subdued voice, watching him warily. He knew she was afraid of him and that suited him fine. He didn’t want to get too close to her. Drink a beer and go to bed and get rid of her in the morning, he silently told himself again.
But should he tell her about Jason? It was only a matter of time until she learned the truth.
Zach uncapped the beer, grabbed a chair and sat down facing her. She wasn’t the knockout beauty her sister was, but Emily was pretty. And she was sexy. He suspected she didn’t realize the latter, but he could feel electricity between them when he got close to her.
Amber had been incredibly sexy, but she had known it and flaunted it. He remembered seeing her last week in the bar in her low-cut, clinging red blouse, dyed blond hair piled high on her head, pouty lips. No man would forget her. Damn few could resist her. Heaven knows, he hadn’t been able to. But that was a long time ago.
He took a drink and then lowered the bottle, glancing across the table into Emily’s eyes. He was ensnared. She didn’t have the faintest idea how to search for her missing sister, and she didn’t seem to believe him about the danger.
Leave it alone, he reminded himself. Yet her eyes were focused on him with an intentness that made him uneasy. She might get hurt and that worried him—and it annoyed the hell out of him that it worried him.
“You’re not married?”
“No, I’m not.”
“Regular guy in your life?”
“No, there’s not.”
“I find that a little hard to believe.”
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again—I’m entirely different from my sister. I don’t date a lot. I’m very busy with my work.”
“Where do you work?” he asked, thinking about what she had just told him. She didn’t date, hadn’t dated much. In spite of her direct gaze and sincere tone, he didn’t believe her. She was too poised, attractive and sexy to spend evenings
