Once Forbidden...

In the past ten years, the Delaney Dude Ranch had become a popular vacation place for tourists. It was open ten months out of twelve and closed for a month in the spring and another in late fall for maintenance and repairs.

“I was surprised to discover that Mark was the first of you all to get married,” he said.

“Matthew might as well be married to the ranch. He’ll probably never take a bride. Luke is so busy romancing everyone in the four-county area, he’s a lost cause when it comes to monogamy and marriage.”

“And you?” His blue eyes seemed to be searching inside her, seeking weaknesses—or secrets.

She met his gaze evenly. “And I’ve decided I’m not cut out to be somebody’s wife. I like living my life my way, without compromises or conditions. I’m set in my ways and perfectly happy alone. And what about you?” she asked curiously. “Do you have a wife tucked away somewhere? Perhaps a couple of kids?”

“No wife. No kids. I’ve been pretty focused on my ministry and that hasn’t left much time for anything else.” He leaned back against the red plastic booth. “I have a lot of plans for the church, which I understand from Reverend Templeton is slowly dying from apathy. But eventually I’d like a wife and children.”

Was this the reason he was eager for Erin to be acquitted? Perhaps he intended to take up where they had left off long ago.

It surprised her that the thought of the two of them together after all these years still possessed the power to hurt. She’d thought she’d become inured to the pain and knew she had to move past it in order to do the best possible job for Erin.

“When do you begin your work at the church?” she asked.

“Reverend Templeton is giving his farewell sermon tomorrow, and I’ll take over starting next week.” He paused a moment. “I was sorry to hear about your father’s death.”

She eyed him and said dryly, “Really. You were probably one of the few people who were sorry to see him go.”

His gaze was so tender, she felt as if it reached inside her and stroked her heart. “Things never got better between you and your father?”

Johnna didn’t reply as the waitress appeared with their orders. She placed Johnna’s salad before her, then offered Jerrod a flirtatious smile along with his burger and fries. “Can I get you anything else?” she asked, and Johnna knew from the look in her eyes she was offering something to Jerrod that certainly wasn’t on the menu.

“I think we’re fine,” Jerrod said, his gaze not leaving Johnna. The waitress pursed her lips in disappointment, then twirled and left.

“Isn’t it some sort of sin for a woman to look at a preacher like that?” she asked with a burst of irritation.

Jerrod laughed, the deep rumble stirring the embers of memories Johnna thought dead. “I’m a minister, Johnna, not a saint. And we were talking about you and your father,” he said softly.

Johnna picked up her fork and stared at her salad. “No,” she countered, “you were talking about my father.” She set her fork down, her appetite buried beneath the weight of thoughts of her father.

“Nothing changed, Jerrod. From the time of my birth until his death, Father blamed me for killing my mother in childbirth and for not being born a son. He wanted a John, not a Johnna. I never could do anything right in his eyes.”

She didn’t want to think about Adam Delaney. It was bad enough that he still controlled her from the grave, setting up ridiculous terms in his will that forced her to spend far too much time working on the dude ranch.

“I’m sorry, Johnna.” He reached across the table and touched the back of her hand. His touch shot fire through her, and she jerked her hand away from his.

“Soon after you left Inferno, I did, too.”

He looked at her in surprise. “You did? Where did you go?”

“I went to Phoenix, enrolled in college and lived in a tiny apartment off campus. I was there almost six years, but I came home regularly on breaks and holidays.” She picked up her fork and speared a piece of lettuce, trying not the remember those first few months away from home, when she’d realized she was pregnant. “What about you? Where did you go when you left here?”

“Dallas. Uncle Cyrus gave me the name of one of his eccentric friends, and he was eccentric enough to believe I was worth investing money and tutelage.” A smile curved his lips. “He was a preacher and took me under his wing and taught me about things I’d never known before.”

“You mentioned that you were staying with your father. How’s that going?” Johnna picked at her salad, not having regained much of an appetite.

Jerrod sighed. “Okay. Dad is still a mess, but I’ve finally come to the realization that I’m not responsible for saving him from himself. I’m looking for a house for us. I’d like to get him out of the trailer.”

They fell silent as they each focused on their meals. As Johnna ate, she found her gaze drawn again and again to Jerrod.

As a young man, Jerrod had been handsome, but now, at twenty-nine, he had a quiet self-confidence, a strong maturity that had been absent years ago. And these traits transformed him from handsome to devastating. His finely honed features were more interesting now, with maturity and character reflecting within. His thick, dark hair invited feminine fingers to dance in the strands, and his sensual mouth looked as if it had been shaped just for kissing.

Even if he and Erin didn’t work out, Jerrod would have no problem finding women interested in him. The waitress was a perfect example of how Jerrod’s attractiveness drew female interest. If it was his choice, he’d spend few nights alone in Inferno.

Suddenly Johnna needed to be away from here, away from Jerrod. The enormity of taking on a murder case, coupled with the past that she seemed to be having trouble keeping firmly in the past, made her need action.

She didn’t want to be sitting here, studying the gorgeous features of the man she’d once loved with all her heart, a man who had absolutely no place in the safe, careful life she’d built for herself.

“I need to go,” she said briskly, and shoved her barely eaten salad aside.

“But you’ve hardly touched your food,” he protested.

“I’m not hungry. I suddenly realize I’ve got a lot to do. I’ve got to talk to Chet, gather reports and plan a defense strategy.”

“You’re going to need help.”

She nodded, having already thought of that. “I’ve got a friend in Phoenix, a lawyer friend who I’m hoping will come out here to help.”

He touched her again, his warm hand reaching out to cover hers. This time she fought the impulse to pull away. “I’m not a lawyer, but I want to help in any way I can.”

He removed his hand from hers and Johnna stood. “I’m sure Erin appreciates your support.” She opened her purse to get money for her meal.

“It’s on me,” he said.

“Thank you,” she said, and closed her purse. She murmured a quick goodbye, then left the diner, hoping the heat of the midday sun would burn away the feel of his hand on hers.

Fifteen minutes later she was ushered into Chet Maxwell’s office, where the chubby prosecutor greeted her with a big grin. “I hear we’re going head-to-head on the Kramer murder case.”

Johnna raised an eyebrow in surprise. “News travels fast.”

He laughed and gestured her into the chair in front of his desk. “This is Inferno. The minute you walked into the jail this morning, half-a-dozen people began talking.”

“I don’t know why we bother publishing a newspaper every morning,” Johnna said wryly.

“So.” Chet sat behind his desk and reared back in the oversize chair. “I assume that’s why you’re here—the Kramer case.”

For the next hour Johnna argued, cursed and conceded points of law with Chet. She came away from the meeting knowing that Erin would be charged with first-degree murder and that Chet intended to ask the judge for no bail.

He promised to have his secretary personally deliver copies of all pertinent paperwork to her office in the next couple of hours.

Johnna left his office and walked the three blocks to her own law office. She unlocked the door and entered the small office that comprised two rooms—the reception/lobby area and her private office. Her receptionist worked on a part-time basis and didn’t work on Saturdays.

Johnna headed to the private office and sat down behind her desk, her thoughts tumbling turbulently in her head. Her father had never seen her office. He’d never shown any interest in the fact that she’d passed the bar, leased an office or begun a practice. But then, he’d never shown any interest in her other than to tell her how utterly worthless she was.

In retrospect, Johnna realized her relationship with Jerrod had begun as a rebellion and it had been the first time she’d achieved her goal, resulting in her finally gaining her father’s attention. They’d had the biggest row of their lives over her seeing Jerrod.