brunette in a blue business suit with a short skirt that stopped halfway between her knees and her panty line.
The brunette raised an eyebrow at the sight of Jared with Sara in his arms, and she didn’t smile. “Didn’t you expect me, darling?” she asked Jared in a honey-smooth tone.
Jared was still collecting his senses. “Max, this is Sara Dobbs. Sara, Max Carlton, my attorney.”
Sara had never seen an attorney who looked like that. The woman could have posed for a fashion magazine. She was sophisticated, beautiful and world-wise. Sara felt like a small child trying to play with adults.
“I have to get Sara to bed. Where’s Tony?”
Max shrugged. “I haven’t seen him. We have several contracts to go over.”
“We’ll get to them later,” Jared said, with an edge to his tone.
“Suit yourself, it’s only money. I like the house.”
The lawyer had yet to say one word to Sara. Jared noticed, and his irritation was obvious.
“Sara, you said?” Max asked, smiling at the woman in his arms. “Is something wrong with your leg?”
“She just had an emergency appendectomy and there’s nobody at her house to look after her while she heals,” Jared said shortly, turning toward one of the downstairs guest bedrooms.
“I see. Well, I’m sure you’ll feel better soon,” she told Sara as Jared carried her down the hall.
Jared ignored her. He turned into a pretty blue-themed bedroom with its own private bathroom and eased Sara down on the quilted coverlet.
He leaned over her, his big hands on either side of her head, and looked straight into her eyes. “Max is my lawyer. That’s all she’s ever been.”
“She likes you,” Sara replied.
His green eyes narrowed. “She likes my money.”
“She’s pretty.”
He bent and brushed his mouth softly over her lips, smiling as they parted for him now. “So are you,” he whispered, standing up straight. “I have to sign some contracts for Max. I’ll be back in a few minutes. TV control’s on the bedside table,” he indicated. “We have pay-per-view. Help yourself. I’ll have Mrs. Lewis bring you something to eat in a little while.”
“Mrs. Lewis? I thought she worked for the Hart brothers.”
“She did, but she had to retire just recently from doing heavy housework. Her arthritis got steadily worse and she had to leave them. But her doctor found a new drug that works. She still can’t do heavy work, but she cooks for me three days a week.”
She studied him curiously. “What do you do the other four days?”
He grinned. “I eat Italian.”
“We don’t have an Italian restaurant,” she began.
“Tony the Dancer can cook,” he told her. “He makes the best lasagna I’ve ever eaten.”
She laughed. “He doesn’t look like a cook.”
“He doesn’t look like a lot of things. Amuse yourself until I get Max out of here. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay.”
He winked at her and closed the door on his way out.
“Are you out of your mind?” Max raged. “The girl’s poor! She’s just after your money!”
He slid his hands deep into his pockets and glared back at her. “And you discovered that after exchanging two sentences with her, did you?”
Her lips tautened. “You can’t get involved with the locals, Jared. You know that, and you know why.”
He cocked his head and stared at her intently. “Why are you here?” he asked abruptly. “I can sign contracts at your office in Oklahoma City if I have to. I can’t think of a single good reason for you to be underfoot.”
Her eyes avoided his. “You’re vulnerable right now. You might get involved with someone you’d walk away from if things were normal.”
“I pay you a king’s ransom of a retainer to look out for my business interests,” he said, emphasizing the business. “You start poking your nose into my private life and I’ll replace you with a man. After,” he added deliberately, “I send a letter of explanation to the Oklahoma Bar Association.”
Her anger was gone at once. She pulled herself together. “You’re right, I was out of line.”
“What contracts are we discussing, then?”
She seemed oddly disoriented. One hand went to her temple and she frowned. “You know, I can’t remember.”
“Then why don’t you go back to your office and think about it?” he suggested.
She sighed. “Okay. But it’s still not good sense to trust people you don’t know too far,” she added.
He didn’t reply.
She went into the living room and picked up her attaché case. She laughed self-consciously. “I really just wanted to see how you were,” she confessed.
“I’m fine.”
“Take care of yourself.”
He didn’t answer that statement, either. He just stared at her with dark, brooding eyes until she went toward the front door.
“You’ll call, if you need anything?” she asked at the door.
“If I need legal advice,” he emphasized, “I will.”
She grimaced. The door closed firmly behind her.
Jared stared into space as he wondered how he’d missed that possessiveness in Max. Had it been there all along, or was it just starting? She knew he didn’t want involvement. He’d said so. Why had she come? Had she been checking up on him and found out about Sara?
He turned toward his study, still deep in thought. She did have a point, about Sara. He knew almost nothing about her.
Tony the Dancer came in with a bag of groceries. He paused at the open study door.
“I met a stretch limo on my way back,” he told Jared. “Was it Max?”
He nodded.
“What was she doing here?” he asked.
“God knows,” Jared replied curtly. “Warning me off Sara, I guess.”
“I thought it would come to that,” Tony mused. “Max likes to live high, and she doesn’t make quite enough to suit her tastes.”
“Obviously. Her office had
