The Rancher's Surrender

anything, but she just couldn't let it go.

Zoe was tempted to keep her eyes on Cade's so she wouldn't have to see her sisters' response, but that was the chicken way out. She turned to them. 'I'm so sorry,' she whispered. 'God, I'm sorry. But I have to know.'

Maddie's eyes filled with love. 'Oh, sweetie, of course you do. Don't be sorry for that.'

'No, don't be,' Delia agreed, reaching over and wrapping her arms around Zoe, too. 'It's okay with me if it's okay with Maddie.'

'It is,' Maddie insisted. 'I promise.'

Zoe's throat was thick with emotion when she looked over Delia's head at Cade. 'Do it,' she said softly, hope and fear and a thousand other emotions drilling her. 'Find out the truth and tell us. We'll be here.'

Chapter 7

'Find out what?'

Zoe whipped around to face the doorway of the dining room, but she would have known that rough, velvety voice anywhere now. It invaded her thoughts, her dreams.

Ty stood propped against the jamb, his lean face unreadable at first glance. His day-old growth of beard only added to the mystery, hiding his face in a dark shadow, but the lines around his eyes spoke of exhaustion, reminding her that he'd put in a long day here, and then more hours at his own ranch.

He lifted a shoulder in lieu of an apology. 'I knocked, no one answered.'

'I suppose you followed your nose, then,' Zoe said, gesturing with her head toward the table laden with food.

'I suppose I did,' he said with a cocky grin meant to disarm, and it did.

Maddie, ever the hostess, rose and went for another plate. 'Come sit,' she said in a subdued voice to Ty. 'We have plenty.'

He hesitated, his hand on the plate as he dipped his head down and studied Maddie's drawn, tight face. 'No smile?' His voice was gentle in a way that Zoe never heard directed toward her. 'You don't laugh enough, Maddie, you know that? And you look so pretty when you do.'

'Oh, you…' Maddie waved him off and blushed.

Ty lifted his nose and sniffed theatrically. 'Smells terrific. I'm starved.'

'Well, that's new,' Zoe said sarcastically.

'Please sit, Ty. We have plenty,' Maddie said again, as Zoe knew she would. The more people Maddie got to feed, the happier she was.

Ty filled his plate with obvious pleasure. He took a big bite of pot roast and sighed deeply, rubbing his stomach as though he were in heaven. 'Oh man, this is amazing. I'm not kidding, Maddie. Your cooking is unbeatable.'

Maddie relaxed under the attention and actually opened up enough to smile shyly.

'Well, that's better,' Ty said, smiling, too, and reaching over to give her a quick squeeze around the shoulders. His eyes found Delia next, narrowing in on her in mock seriousness and said, 'Don't tell me. Man trouble. No guy within five hundred miles good enough to take on, is that right?'

Delia laughed. Laughed. 'You got that right.'

Ty shoved an unbelievable amount of food down his throat as he considered. 'How about Cade here?' he asked Delia, gesturing with his fork, grinning when Cade pretended to choke on his water. 'He's not a bad-looking guy. And as a private investigator, he probably makes okay money, too. A bonus for a woman who appreciates the finer points of shopping.'

'Oh, please,' Delia said, sniffing disdainfully. 'A private investigator? I can do better than that with my eyes closed.'

'Yeah,' Ty said, grinning widely now because Cade looked so absolutely insulted. 'Probably can.'

'Hey!' Cade protested, waving his fork. 'I'm a major catch, you know.'

Everyone laughed.

And that was it. Zoe shook her head in amazement as everyone continued to talk easily. That simply, the tension-filled mood was broken, and Ty had done it single-handedly, where she couldn't possibly have managed it.

In fact, she'd caused it.

It was hard to resent a man who could do that. How could the dark, explosive rancher be such a softy, so intuitive as to know how to draw out her sisters? He was so gentle with the quiet, withdrawn Maddie, so funny with the intense Delia.

But with her he was fierce and passionate. He was bold and wicked and uninhibited and rowdy.

And suddenly, just thinking about it, her insides started to tingle.

What was that about?

Women wanted him, there was no mistake about it. She'd seen Shirley watch him. She'd been into town with him to pick up supplies and she'd seen strangers on the street, normal women, just melt away at the sight of him.

It made her feel startlingly… jealous. Jealous! God, she hated that. She had no hold on the man, no future with him.

She had no future with any man.

Zoe was so lost in her own thoughts on this matter, it took her a moment to realize Ty's attention had centered on a new subject. Her.

'What!' she snapped.

The corners of his mouth twitched, but his eyes remained serious. 'So defensive.' Then, right in front of her sisters and Cade, he reached out and tugged on a lock of her hair, completely unaware of how it turned her heart to fluttering wildly in her chest. 'Why is that, Zoe?'

She slapped his hand away, scowling to cover her confusion about her reaction to him. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

He let his grin show now. 'Sure you do. That's why you're so mad.' He took a bite of his food and studied her. 'Takes a lot of energy to remain as defensive as you always are.'

'She's always been that way,' Delia said lightly, only her eyes showing her concern as she looked at Zoe.

Zoe had always been a little guarded, and since she couldn't deny it, she tightened her jaw. Anyone who'd been dumped in a home with a heart full of broken promises would be an expert in self-preservation, she told herself.

Besides he was only being so nice and funny and cute because he was banking on them leaving.

He watched her while he continued to eat. Stifling the urge to squirm, she pretended a great interest in her glass of water. She listened to the conversation between Maddie and Cade about the type of spices Maddie liked to use in cooking.

Zoe studied the ceiling pattern, but it was no use. She could still feel the weight of Ty's gaze on her, waiting.

Finally she couldn't stand it any longer and sighed, facing the man whose singular ability to render her a nervous wreck was really getting on her nerves. 'What now? Is there food between my teeth?'

'Nope. Just looking at you.' He shoveled another bite into his mouth and chewed slowly, his eyes never leaving hers.

His eyes weren't solid gray as she'd thought, they had little specks of blue in them, and long, thick black lashes that any woman would give her right hand for. They were far too pretty to be wasted on a man. 'It's rude to stare,' she pointed out.

'It's also rude to glower at your guest,' he pointed out right back. He smiled. 'I understand glowering is your favorite expression, but did you know if you keep doing it, your face will freeze like that?'

Everyone laughed, even Maddie, who was grinning. Grinning.

Even Zoe found herself having a hard time continuing to frown under the circumstances, with Ty looking at her so innocently.

He'd drawn them all out, she realized. Effortlessly.