“Then go home, Mr. O’Donnell. If Gina says she doesn’t know anything, then she doesn’t know anything.”
“I wish I could do that, Mr. Petrillo, but I can’t. Your daughter is my best link to Roberto Rinaldi. Sooner or later they’re bound to be in contact.”
“And when they are, I’m sure she’ll let you know,” her father said. “Gina’s an honest, law-abiding citizen. That’s the way we raised her.”
“As reassuring as it is to hear you say that, it’s not good enough.”
George frowned. “You’re not suggesting that my daughter is mixed up in whatever this Rinaldi fellow did, are you?” There was a sudden flash of alarm in his eyes. “Did he kill somebody? Gina’s not in any danger, is she?”
“No, it’s nothing like that, I assure you.”
“Then what are you suggesting that my daughter’s mixed up in?”
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m just saying that I can’t leave here until I know more than I know now.”
George Petrillo sighed. “If this is all about some legal difficulty my daughter and her partner might or might not be in, what the hell was that kiss at the house all about? Was that just some sneaky tactic to try to get her to talk?”
Rafe felt his cheeks burn. He should have known better. Not only had his behavior been unprofessional, but both of those kisses they’d shared had been in plain view of Gina’s neighbors or her family. The very least he could have done was to exercise more discretion.
“Actually, that was a mistake.”
“Which time? At the rodeo or at the house?”
“Both times, to be perfectly honest.”
“Then I suggest you keep your hands to yourself from now on. I don’t want to hear any more about any so-called mistakes. This isn’t New York City, where two people can get away with anything. Around here there are reputations to be considered. Eventually you’ll go on your way, but Gina has to live in this community.”
“I thought Gina lived in New York.”
“This is her home. New York is where she works,” her father said, making the same distinction Gina herself had once made. “Keep that in mind.”
“I’ll do my best,” Rafe promised.
George bobbed his head, clearly satisfied that he’d put Rafe on notice. “See that you do,” he said as he jammed his hat on his head and strolled away, pausing for a minute to share a joke with Stella before heading for the door.
After he’d gone, Rafe muttered a sharp expletive. Why was it that every time he was around Gina, her friends or her family, they wound up asking all the questions? He hadn’t been on the defensive so much since he’d discovered in the middle of a trial that his client had been lying to him about almost everything except his name. And he didn’t like the feeling any better now than he had then.
Nor was he crazy about the fact that he hadn’t even discovered why Gina’s trip had already lasted several days longer than originally anticipated. Just when the query had been on the tip of his tongue, George Petrillo had cleverly distracted him with his own barrage of questions.
The fragile trust Rafe had begun to feel for Gina was already wavering. He’d give her one more day. If she didn’t turn up tomorrow, he was going after her. And heaven help her if she wasn’t where she had told him she would be—at Mrs. Collins’s bedside in Denver.
For some reason Gina wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Rafe sitting in a parked car just down the street from her house when she finally got back home several days after she’d intended to. She hadn’t been on such an emotional roller coaster in years. A confrontation with him fit right in.
She watched him strolling toward her, a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach. One word, she thought. Let him say just one wrong word and she would belt him. After what she and her friends had been through, she was just itching to take her anger out on somebody.
Rafe bent down to peer in the car window. “You okay?”
“No.”
He seemed taken aback by her response. “What’s wrong?” he asked eventually.
“Everything.”
“Are you planning on sitting in there all evening?”
She scowled at him. “I might.”
Rafe shrugged and walked around to the other side of the car, then got in. He sat there, staring straight ahead, seemingly perfectly comfortable with the silence.
“Caleb died,” she finally murmured, barely able to get the words out. “Karen’s husband. He just collapsed and died. It happened while we were in Denver. By the time we got to the hospital in Laramie, he was dead. I’ve been staying with Karen at her ranch for the last few days.” She glanced at him. “In case you were wondering where I’d run off to.”
“Never crossed my mind,” he said.
She almost managed a smile at that. “Liar.”
“I’m sorry about Caleb,” he said.
Gina regarded him with faint surprise. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“I do. I didn’t meet him at the reunion, but I saw you and the others with him. It was obvious how close you were. It must have been a terrible shock.”
“It was. I don’t know how Karen’s going to manage without him.” Gina hoped she would never experience the kind of loss that Karen was going through. Karen was heartbroken and racked with guilt because she hadn’t been there. Nothing anyone had said had been able to console her.
“She could lose their ranch,” Gina whispered. “That will kill her. It meant everything to Caleb, but I don’t know if Karen can keep it running on her own. I would hate to lose Café Tuscany, but it’s not the same. I love it, but it’s just a business. Even I can see that. That ranch meant everything to Karen and Caleb. And there’s this man, Grady Blackhawk, who’s just waiting in the wings to take it from her.”
She shuddered at the thought. “How can something like this happen?” she asked bitterly. “Caleb didn’t deserve to