be close to that.”
She set her hands on his biceps, felt them tighten under her palms, but neither of them moved closer.
He went on. “I don’t know which Miranda you’ll see—probably the pathologically nice one to begin with, but since I’m not going to play her game…well, I just want you to watch. See if you see what I do.” He gave a small snort. “And then help me come up with a way to defeat her.”
“She sounds like a supervillain.”
“No.” He brushed his fingers down her face and leaned down to give her a soft kiss before stepping back. The kiss was as heady as the hot one had been. Maybe more so. “She’s just an evil narcissist.”
Taylor smiled a little. “Same difference. I’ve encountered a few of them in my professional life.”
“Another reason you’re here.” He swept his gaze around the barn, shook his head and then motioned toward the truck parked just outside. “Let’s do this thing.”
“Sure.” She reached out and took his hand. He squeezed her fingers and kept hold of them until he opened the truck door for her.
Taylor settled inside. Where is this going? her little voice murmured as Cole got into the truck.
Into territory she’d never been in before.
She straightened her shoulders. Okay, so she was venturing into something new with a guy she was beginning to like a little too much. A guy who made her hormones happy.
A guy whose lifestyle didn’t exactly mesh with her own.
Maybe it’s time to stop thinking.
She didn’t know if she could do that, but she could suspend activity until she got more information. Actually…she’d been doing pretty good at suspending activity lately. It wasn’t a bad skill to hone.
Instead of following the road that Matt had taken, Cole drove out the main entrance, locked the gate after him, then followed the pavement to the guest ranch.
Like his ranch, this one was meticulously kept. The buildings were rustic, yet obviously new. And there were a lot of them.
“This is some place,” Taylor said. A tastefully carved wooden sign on the cabin-like building to her right said Spa and Sauna.
“It used to look a lot like my ranch, once upon a time.”
He took her hand as they walked up the steps to what was the main lodge. “My cousin grew up here. I don’t think there’s anything left that he recognizes.”
A young woman in a white shirt approaching from the direction of the stairway smiled in welcome, but the smile disappeared when she saw Cole standing beside Taylor. One of the loyal minions, no doubt.
“I want to see Miranda.”
“She’s—”
“Right here,” a carefully modulated voice sounded from the top of the stairs. A woman in her midfifties, dressed in dark-wash denim jeans, a plain white shirt and a zillion-dollar turquoise-and-silver necklace descended the staircase. As she caught sight of Taylor, her expression became one of gracious welcome. If Taylor hadn’t been clued in, she would have totally bought it.
“Cole.”
“Miranda.”
“I’m Taylor.” No sense waiting for introductions while these two faced off, one smiling graciously, the other stone-faced, both with hard, hard gazes pinned on the other.
“So nice to meet you.” Miranda offered her hand and Taylor took it, noting that the woman wore no rings except for the gold band on her left hand, and that her nails were buffed but she didn’t wear polish. Yet everything about her and her environment cried money. Purposeful? Probably.
She was attempting to look down-to-earth but elegant. It was working. With milky skin, pale green eyes and light auburn hair, simplicity suited her.
Taylor smiled and withdrew her hand, wishing she could have said she was Cole’s attorney just to see the woman’s reaction.
Miranda turned her attention to Cole. “Have you heard from Jancey?”
“She’s staying with me,” Cole said. “That’s why I’m here.”
Miranda wore an expression of extreme relief, then her features hardened. “Even though she’s family, this isn’t working, Cole. I can’t have people disappearing like this. It’s too nerve-racking.”
“You didn’t call to let me know she was missing.”
“I didn’t know if she was missing.” The smile became strained. “She’s eighteen. She might have been on an…overnight date.”
The woman who’d greeted Taylor entered the room and passed behind them on her way to an office, but Miranda lifted her chin, the silent message was instantly received, and a second later they were alone again.
“You threatened my sister.”
Miranda’s eyes went wide. “I did no such thing.”
“She told me everything. How you attempted to strong-arm her—”
Her chin went up before she interrupted him. “There is no crime in offering to buy something. Especially when Jancey can use the money.”
“There is when you tell lies about her to college admissions.”
Miranda’s hand went to her chest. “I did no such thing.”
“One of your little helpers, then. Which one is related to someone influential?”
An expression of outrage began to form. “I don’t have to stand for this…”
“I know someone in Danner College admissions,” Taylor said, which was almost but not quite true.
Miranda turned cold eyes toward her. Any hope that the woman would twitch instantly evaporated. “How lovely. It’ll make it easier to check the facts, although I believe there are federal regulations that prevent such information from being released.”
Cole glared. “If Jancey loses her slot at that school—”
Taylor took hold of Cole’s uninjured wrist and wrapped her fingers firmly around it, both as a show of moral support and just in case he felt driven to do something he’d regret later.
“We’ll open an investigation,” she said quietly. “I don’t believe anonymous tips are covered under federal regulations. There is a law against slander, however.”
“You’re both being ridiculously dramatic,” Miranda snapped. “Jancey quit because she can’t handle living here without you. She ran home to big brother and told him a tale about me threatening her.” She lifted her chin, gave a small sniff. “If there’s nothing else?”
“Threaten my sister
