Natural Born Trouble (11 page)

Satisfied with the plan, he sat back in his chair, sipped his beer and observed her. Dani Adams was something, all right. The boys clearly thought so, too.

Now all he had to do was turn up the heat between them a notch or two and his troubles would be over by Christmas, maybe sooner.

All in all, he concluded, the move to Los Pinos wasn't turning out to be quite as miserable as he'd feared. His job might not be as exciting as oil exploration, but courting Dani Adams promised to make up for that.

When she turned toward him, he lifted his mug of beer in a silent toast. Anticipation sizzled through his veins like fine champagne. Yes, indeed, life in Los Pinos promised to get downright fascinating.

G
etting Dani to fall in with his plans was trickier than riding a bucking bronco, Duke concluded after six weeks of her clever elusiveness. The woman had more unexplained social engagements than anyone he'd ever met. If he hadn't been a confident kind of man, he might have begun to wonder if she wasn't deliberately trying to avoid him. He concluded that he wasn't going to pull off this marriage proposal quite as easily as he'd originally anticipated.

He had surmised very quickly that simply calling and asking for a date wouldn't work. She was way too jittery to accept. She had claimed to be busy every time he gave her any sort of advance notice.

Stopping by the clinic for an impromptu visit was more successful, but he couldn't discuss the future while half her attention was on some kid's parakeet or gerbil.

Finagling invitations from one Adams or another was a snap compared to getting a minute alone with
Dani once he was there. If he didn't know better, he would have sworn that she was onto him, that she'd read his mind that night at dinner and resolved to avoid him at any cost.

Of course, that was impossible, he thought as he observed her clean dive into the pool at White Pines on Labor Day. Her swimsuit, modest by current standards, clung to her in a way that made it seem practically indecent. He hadn't been able to tear his gaze away from her since he'd first spotted her emerging, soaking wet, from the pool. A second later she dove back in and remained submerged up to her neck as if to deliberately prevent him from getting another peek at her.

The woman swam like a porpoise and apparently enjoyed it just as much. She hadn't been out of the water all day. Neither had anyone else, which made the huge pool far too crowded for the kind of intimate conversation Duke was interested in having.

“Dani looks happy, doesn't she?” Sharon Lynn observed, perching on the edge of the chaise longue next to him, her expression a little too innocent.

Happy, wet and sexy as hell, Duke would have corrected, but discretion prevented it. He merely nodded. He'd discovered quickly that the only way to avoid prying around this family was to keep his mouth clamped firmly shut. Occasionally, they gave up and went away. Sharon Lynn, unfortunately, showed no such inclination.

“Are you responsible for that?” Dani's cousin inquired in a tone that suggested her interest ran deeper than casual curiosity.

The question might have amused him if it hadn't been so wildly off the mark. “Hardly. I've barely seen
her recently.” He couldn't help the cranky note that crept into his voice.

“I see,” Sharon Lynn said thoughtfully.

“What does that mean?”

“I just thought…” She shrugged. “Oh, well, I guess I was wrong.”

“Wrong about what?”

She hesitated as if she were debating with herself. Duke watched the visible struggle with fascination. He wondered what the devil she was hiding…or what she wanted him to think she was hiding.

“Sharon Lynn?” he prodded. “What made you think Dani and I were seeing each other? Has she said something?”

“Oh, no,” she said. Again, there was a slight hesitation before she shrugged and said, “It's just that she's been into Dolan's with your sons quite a bit. Almost every afternoon, in fact. I just assumed that ever since you went out to dinner you two were something of an item.”

Duke tried to absorb the implication. Dani had been spending time with Zack and Josh? That was news to him. How had this friendship between Dani and his sons developed without his knowledge? Was he that oblivious to the twins' activities or were they deliberately keeping mum about these little get-togethers? Probably the latter, especially if ice cream was involved.

Paolina took them to the town pool every day for swimming lessons, but he'd just assumed they'd gone straight home afterward since he'd all but ordered Paolina not to take them anywhere other than the pool without his specific permission. Naturally, they'd
kept quiet about it. They'd known they were breaking the rules.

“What time have they been coming in?” he asked.

“About four, I guess. After their swimming lessons.”

It was Duke's turn to mutter, “I see.” A few weeks ago he would have grounded them for the infraction, but now he saw that their sneaky little visits could be used to his advantage.

Tomorrow the three of them would have company at Dolan's. Thank goodness school didn't start until the following week or he would have missed out on this opportunity to slip into Dani's schedule when she wasn't expecting him.

He was so busy making his plans, he completely missed the thumbs-up sign Sharon Lynn exchanged with Jenny Runningbear Adams as she strolled away.

* * *

“Can't you take a break tomorrow afternoon?” Jenny pleaded with Dani. “I only have a few more days until school starts. We haven't had a long chat since I got back into town.”

Dani regarded Jenny suspiciously. “That's right, so why all of a sudden can't you wait to get together? I have a clinic to run, remember?”

“I know,” Jenny said repentantly. “We should have done it sooner. It's my fault. The summer just got completely away from me. You know how I am.”

That was the problem. Dani did know. Jenny was one of the most organized women she'd ever met. She didn't fritter away time. She had too much going on.

Like Janet, her mother, Jenny was involved in advocacy programs for Native Americans in addition to her teaching duties. Dani could believe that Jenny
hadn't had a second to get together, but she wasn't buying this nonsense about time just slipping away from her. There was a reason for this sudden urgency.

Unfortunately, she couldn't quite figure out what Jenny's angle was. She tried one more time to get a fix on it. “Jenny, why does it have to be tomorrow afternoon? Make it six o'clock and we could have the whole evening. I'll even cook.”

“That won't work,” Jenny said a little too quickly. “Like I said, school's almost ready to open. I have all my teaching materials to get organized. I don't have another spare minute, especially in the evenings. I've been playing chess with Harlan then. He really looks forward to it.”

“So the only time you have free is tomorrow precisely at four?” Dani asked skeptically.

“Yes.”

“And I'm supposed to drop everything and meet you and Sharon Lynn at Dolan's for some girl talk? That's all? There's no hidden agenda?”

“Of course not. It'll be fun. I'll even treat.”

Dani laid a hand dramatically over her heart. “Goodness, how can I resist an offer like that?”

“Then you'll be there? Four o'clock?”

Dani sighed. The only way she was going to find out what Jenny was up to was to fall in with her plans. “Yes. I'll shuffle some appointments around, and I'll be there.”

“Wonderful,” Jenny said, then glanced up. “Don't look now, but someone is staring at you. When are you going to give that poor man a break and go out with him?”

“It's not going to happen,” Dani insisted.

“But you went out with him once. Didn't you have a good time?”

“That wasn't a date. It just sort of happened.”

“Whatever,” Jenny said dismissively. “You enjoyed yourself, didn't you? That's what Sharon Lynn said. Your mom said the same thing.”

Dani sighed. “I'm glad everyone has been keeping you up-to-date on my activities.”

“Were they wrong?”

“No, but I also had a little too much fun hanging out with Duke's kids. I won't take that kind of risk again.”

“Because of Robin and Amy,” Jenny said.

“And Rob,” Dani reminded her. She had told no one about the painful scene over a month ago. She doubted Duke would mention it either.

“Sweetie, something tells me that Duke Jenkins is absolutely nothing like Rob.”

Dani had made a similar assessment herself. That still didn't mean she was willing to take any chances with her heart or with his sons'. She'd seen enough of them over the past couple of months to know that they were endearing little devils. It wouldn't take much for them to make her go all mushy inside and then where would they all be when Duke packed his bags and took off for a new oil field? Sooner or later, he would. He hated being chained to a desk too much not to balk at it sooner or later.

“Forget it,” she said succinctly.

“Then I guess you won't mind if I check him out,” Jenny said.

Dani flinched at the suggestion but forced herself to shrug indifferently. “It's up to you. I have no claim on Duke Jenkins.”

Jenny's stare was penetrating and disconcerting. “You're sure?” she persisted.

“I said so, didn't I?” she snapped testily.

“Okay, then. If we don't hook up again before I leave today, I'll see you tomorrow, right?”

Dani nodded and watched Jenny circle the pool in Duke's direction. Along the way she was waylaid by Sharon Lynn. Dani swore that the little whoosh of relief she felt had nothing at all to do with Jenny's failure to hook up with Duke. She didn't care who the man dated. He could go out with the entire female population of Los Pinos for all she cared, Jenny included. In fact, she was the one who'd first suggested they would make a good pair.

So why did the prospect still set off this odd little aching sensation in the region of her heart? she wondered. Lunacy, she concluded. Maybe exercise would restore the blood flow to her brain.

When everyone else headed for dinner on the patio, she remained in the pool. She swam laps, which had been impossible when it had been jammed. She was praying the exercise would wipe out the thoughts of the man who had been plaguing her for weeks now. She was running out of excuses to avoid him. She'd been so sure he would take the hint eventually, but he'd shown no signs of doing so. In fact, it appeared all she'd really succeeded in doing was increasing his fascination. He had an absolutely inspiring mix of patience and determination.

Jenny would probably take care of that, she thought irritably. She was a little surprised to hear that Jenny was interested in Duke, but she probably shouldn't have been. After all, he was a gorgeous,
bright, funny man. What sane woman wouldn't be interested in him?

Breathless at last, she swam to the side of the pool and clung.

“Worn-out?” an amused voice inquired from above her. She looked up into sparkling blue eyes and felt that strange little sizzle Duke managed to set off without even trying.

“Pretty much,” she confessed. “How come you're not eating dinner with everyone else?”

“It'll still be there in a few minutes.”

“Don't count on it. Uncle Cody and Uncle Luke have very hearty appetites. And Harlan Patrick and Justin are virtually grown men. Everyone knows they can clean off a buffet table faster than a butler with a hand-vac.”

He grinned. “You worried I'm going to starve? Or just anxious to be rid of me?”

“Why would I want to get rid of you?”

“Good question. Care to answer it?”

“If I've given you that impression, I'm sorry.”

“Said very dutifully and very politely. Why don't I believe it?”

“Believe whatever you like.”

“Let me hazard a guess instead,” he suggested. “I think you're scared to be alone with me. Look at you now, for instance. You're shivering.”

“The air's cold,” she said defensively.

“It's ninety,” he pointed out. “And the water's not that cold, either, in case you were thinking of mentioning that next.”

“How would you know? You haven't been in.”

He grinned. “Keeping an eye on me, were you?”

“You know I could really grow to dislike you,” she muttered.

He didn't appear to be horrified by the prospect. “Really? I don't think so. I think exactly the opposite is true and it scares you silly.”

“You really are full of yourself, aren't you?” she said as a mischievous idea popped into her head. “Maybe you should cool off.”

Before he could guess what she intended, she snagged his arm and toppled him straight into the pool. If he hadn't been off balance to begin with she doubted she could have managed it, but he was. He came up sputtering with a look of astonishment on his face. She might have laughed, if she hadn't noted the calculating gleam in his eyes. He wanted revenge.

She pushed off from the wall and swam for the opposite end of the pool. She was fairly confident of her swimming skill, plus she had the element of surprise on her side. And Duke was weighed down with shorts, a T-shirt and sneakers. She should have made it. No question about it.

When she felt a hand wrap around her ankle, she yelped with surprise and took in a mouthful of water. Strong hands spanned her waist and lifted her up. Her legs instinctively circled Duke's waist and her hands came to rest on his shoulders. At least his skin wasn't bare, she thought as desire slammed through her. If it had been, if she'd felt that muscled flesh beneath her fingers, it would have been all over. Her pretense of being unaffected by him would have vanished like a puff of smoke caught by the wind.

As it was, she doubted he could mistake the pebbling of her nipples beneath the scanty fabric of her bathing suit. Nor could he miss the catch of her
breath or the way her own flesh was suddenly burning. She was surprised steam wasn't rising all around them.