pick up a few supplies and get to the cottage. What if the sheriff had picked her up? What if she'd been in an accident? What if she'd changed her mind and decided not to join him?
If she had any sense at all, she was on her way back to Sequana Falls and as far away from him as she could get. In the cold light of day she might have realized what a mistake she'd made following a fugitive, a man balanced between life and death.
A hard knot formed in his gut. He slammed his fists down on the pristine white wooden banister surrounding the porch. Dammit, he didn't want to care whether she was on her way to him or on her way back to Sequana Falls. He didn't want it to matter, but it did. There was something addictive about Elizabeth Mallory, about the way she looked at him, the way she put her strong arms around him, the way she said his name. In less than a week she'd gotten under his skin. She'd made him want her near. No other woman had ever done that.
Reece glanced up at the blue-gray sky, heavy white clouds floating past, the sun noonday high. In the distance he heard a car. His heartbeat accelerated. Maybe it was Elizabeth; maybe it was the sheriff. He went inside the cottage, positioning himself beside one of the huge front windows, and waited for the car's approach. Peering around the side of the window, he saw the black '65 Thunderbird round the curve in the dirt road.
Elizabeth! She'd come to him. She hadn't deserted him. A spiral of sweet, unadulterated joy sprang up inside him and spread through his body and mind, and even invaded his heart.
Swinging open the front door, he rushed out onto the porch, but stopped himself from running into the yard to meet her. His heartbeat roared in his ears. Excitement raced along his nerve endings.
He wasn't alone.
Elizabeth flung open the car door, stepped outside and waved at Reece. Dear Lord, he was so handsome, so big and virile and utterly beautiful standing there on the gingerbread-trimmed porch, Sam's old jeans clinging to his lean, muscled hips and legs. She wanted to run to him, throw her arms around him and tell him how glad she was to be with him.
Did she love Reece Landry, a man she'd met less than a week ago, yet a man she'd known in her heart for months? Her feelings for Reece were complicated, her empathy for him, her desire to help him and the sexual attraction she felt all mixed together. She knew one thing for certain-she had never felt about another man the way she felt about Reece, and the intensity of those feelings frightened her.
Reece headed straight for her. 'I was beginning to wonder if you'd come to your senses and gone back to Sequana Falls.'
For one brief instant Elizabeth felt Reece's fear-he'd been afraid that she had left him. Swallowing down the overwhelming emotions choking her, Elizabeth smiled, secure in her knowledge that, despite how much Reece protested, he truly wanted her at his side.
'It took a while to get the supplies. The checker was talkative. And a highway patrolman came in the store and they started discussing you and your second escape.'
Reaching inside the car, Elizabeth picked up a grocery sack and handed it to Reece. 'Can you carry two?' she asked.
Nodding, he accepted the second sack. Elizabeth took the third and they walked toward the cottage. She glanced around, taking in the two-story white frame house with dark green shutters and roof. A wraparound porch, graced with carved banisters, circled the house.
'Why did you decide to come here instead of your father's hunting lodge?' Elizabeth asked, wondering who owned this lovely summer cottage.
'Flossie pointed out that the sheriff might have the hunting lodge under surveillance, since Kenny would alert them that I knew how to locate the lodge.'
'You spent time with your father at his hunting lodge?'
'Yeah. Once. B.K. liked roughing it, liked hunting. He took Kenny and me up to his lodge to do some hunting last year.' Reece led Elizabeth up the porch and inside the house.
Just as she had suspected, the interior had been perfectly decorated by someone with good taste and money. Pastel, spring colors dominated the living room. Fragile lace curtains had been pulled back to expose the row of French windows facing the front porch. Sturdy white wicker furniture held thick cushions and pillows covered in blue, rose and cream floral prints. A brass screen stood in front of the fireplace, which had been painted a pale cream and was adorned with a simple wooden mantel. A cheerful fire burned brightly in the fireplace.
Elizabeth followed Reece into the kitchen, an open area adjacent to the living room. The stainless steel appliances were modern and matched the sink and countertops. White hexagonal tiles covered the floor and glass- fronted white cabinets lined the walls. 'I didn't realize that you ever socialized with your father and his family.'
Reece helped Elizabeth unsack the supplies and place them in the empty cupboards, storing the beer and colas in the double-wide refrigerator.
'I didn't socialize with the family. Not really. I was never invited to their house, but B.K. saw to it that I attended some of the same social functions.' Reece retrieved one of the beer bottles, snapping the lid with a decorative metallic opener attached to the side of the refrigerator. 'The hunting trip wasn't socializing. It was a contest B.K. contrived to see which one of his sons was as rough and tough and mean as he was.'
Elizabeth watched Reece put the beer bottle to his lips and pour the liquid into his mouth. 'Are you saying that your father deliberately encouraged a rivalry between you and his other son?'
After downing a third of the beer, Reece set the bottle on the counter and wiped his mouth. 'I'm saying that B. K. Stanton's legitimate son was a disappointment to him. Kenny lived the good life. Never had to get his hands dirty. He's a spoiled, weak mama's boy.'
'Everything you're not.'
'Everything that B.K. and Alice Stanton's wealth and social positions made him, and yet, he wasn't what B.K. wanted.' Looking toward the front of the cottage, Reece gazed out the windows. 'Are your bags in the trunk of your car?'
Elizabeth nodded. When Reece walked past her, she reached out, laying her hand on his chest. 'Your father discovered that you were more of a man than his other son, is that it? He found that you possessed the qualities he admired, the qualities he couldn't find in Kenny.'
Reece glanced down at her hand. 'Yeah. I'm the exact opposite of my big brother. And our father finally saw how he could use those differences to his advantage. He thought that if he threw me up in Kenny's face often enough, Kenny would eventually grow a backbone and become the son B.K. wanted.' Reece walked away from Elizabeth and out onto the porch.
A stinging warmth of pain spread through her when she realized how deeply Reece had been affected by his father's manipulation. She met him at the door when he returned with her bags.
'There is one bedroom downstairs and two upstairs. They're all pretty much the same. I'll put your bag in here.' Opening the door to the downstairs bedroom, Reece walked in, tossed the bag on the old iron bed and turned quickly, his body colliding with Elizabeth's. He grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her.
'Looks like we won't need to share a bed tonight,' she said. The memory of waking in the early-morning hours to find herself snuggled into Reece's arms warmed Elizabeth with the hope of what lay ahead for them.
'Not unless you ask me real nice,' he said.
'Oh?'
Reece laughed. 'I'll have to hunt up some more firewood, since our only source of heat is the fireplace. There used to be some electrical heaters the Burtons kept for cool autumn nights, but since they use this place mostly in the summer, I don't think they keep the heaters around anymore. If you get cold in the night, you can always come get in bed with me.'
'I'll keep that in mind.' She smiled, trying to imitate his jesting. But talking about sharing a bed with Reece reminded her just how much she had liked awakening in his arms this morning. Reece was a virile man, and if they shared a bed again, he would probably expect them to have sex. Was she ready for such an important step in their relationship? More importantly, was Reece ready?
'Did you have any problems finding this place?' Reece asked.
'No problems. Flossie's instructions were perfect.'
'The sheriff didn't try to stop you or question you, did he?'
'I left before they gave up searching the motel for you.'
Reece turned toward the fireplace, warming his hands. He'd thought twice about building a fire in the fireplace, since a helicopter might spot the smoke, but he'd been listening to news on the radio and there had been
