She cast him a suspicious glance. “I’m trusting you with a lot of company information. How do I know you aren’t just trying to find a way to force me to sell?”
It was a good question, a smart question to ask. “If I was a different man, you’d have every right to question my motives. But Joe was my friend. By extension that makes his granddaughter my friend. I want to help you. That’s all I want.”
She sat back in her chair. Studied him for several long moments. “Okay. It’s a deal.”
He smiled and nodded. He stretched out a hand and she slid her smaller hand in his. A feeling of protectiveness went through him. She was trusting him. He wouldn’t let her down.
Linc picked up the case file. “I’ve got to go. I want to talk to Townsend before I leave.” He held up the file. “I’ll show him this.”
“Let me know if he sees something.”
“I presume you haven’t had a call from El Jefe.”
“No. Maybe he changed his mind.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “You really think so?”
“No.”
“Neither do I. Stay in touch and keep that gun of yours handy.”
Linc left the office. But the more he thought about the note and the attack on Carly at the roadhouse, the more it bothered him to be leaving Iron Springs.
Chapter Eight
Carly changed out of her suit and heels into jeans and a pretty ruffled blouse she’d brought with her from home. It was almost closing time when she heard a polite knock on the door. Not Donna this time.
“Come in.”
The door swung open and Rowena walked into the office. She was in skinny jeans and a tube top, her dark red hair curling around her shoulders.
“I was just driving by and I realized it was almost time to close. I thought I’d stop and see if you wanted to go somewhere for a drink on your way home.”
She sighed. “I’d love to, but I can’t. I’ll be here at least a couple more hours before I can leave. But I’m really glad you stopped in. Anything interesting happen after I left the roadhouse Saturday night? You and Johnnie Banducci seemed to be having fun.”
Row sat down in the chair next to the desk. “Johnnie’s a good guy, but not really my type. What about you and Cain? He walked out just a few minutes after you left. I figured maybe the two of you hooked up.”
The thought of being in bed with him unleashed a curl of heat low inher belly. She remembered his heavy weight on top of her, the way his breath warmed the side of her neck.
“I . . . ummm . . . had a run-in with some guys in the parking lot that night. Linc came to my rescue.”
“Wow. No kidding! Are you okay?”
“I’m all right now, but at the time, I was pretty shook up.”
“I’d be shook up, too. So what about Cain? He saved you. Did you spend the night with him?”
“Of course not. He bought me a cup of coffee and we talked about what happened. He was great.”
One of Row’s russet eyebrows went up. “He seemed really interested in you. Did he ask you out?”
Carly studied her friend, couldn’t help wondering if Rowena had been one of Cain’s conquests. “I thought you said he didn’t mess with the local women.”
Row caught her look. “He doesn’t—and that includes me if you’re wondering.” Row gave her an all-knowing smile. “On the other hand, where you’re concerned, my guess—Cain’s the kind of guy who thinks rules are made to be broken.”
She shouldn’t have felt so relieved. “I won’t deny I’m attracted to him. God, he’s the most masculine man I’ve ever met.”
“And that body. I saw him outside the roadhouse with his shirt off once and I almost had an orgasm. The man is sex personified. If you get a chance to sample some of that, you have to do it. You have to come back and tell Britt and me about it so we can live vicariously.”
