With a bigger sigh now, she went to her office and pulled out her own problems, her personal files. She spread out the loan papers she'd been working on, and looked at the numbers that represented what she was worth. Not bad for a single woman. But for a single woman who wanted to buy a guest ranch, the situation couldn't be less promising.

With a disconsolate sigh, she switched to Blue Flame's books to catch up on some accounting. It was tedious, but she welcomed that, as it kept her mind busy.

Thirty minutes later, she frowned and stared into the petty cash box. Something was wrong. Two hundred and fifty dollars wrong. "Damn it." She readded, and yet still came up short. A little overwhelmed by the implications, she sat back, a terrible feeling deep in her belly. Someone had stolen two hundred and fifty dollars in cash, possibly someone she knew well and cared about deeply.

It was two in the morning before she finally slipped back into bed, and though she tossed and turned, she could come up with no answers. There hadn't been any guests around, at least not consistently. Their neighboring ranches weren't that close, nor did they have easy access. Granted, Shep wasn't that effective, but he did have some watch guard tendencies.

So who? Not quiet, brooding Amy. Not sweet Eddie. Not Stone, even with his drinking problems. Not Marge or Lou, with his ex-boss and his accusations. Not Tucker, who considered this place home. Despite his crazy youth, she'd trust him with her life. Definitely not Michael who, granted, had been around a lot, partly because he loved being out here with his friends, and mostly because he had the bad fortune to care about her too much. Not a crime in either case.

God. She was so damn tired her eyes were gritty. She needed sleep to think clearly. In a few hours, she thought wearily, turning over, punching her pillow. It would come to her in a few hours.

Once again Jake woke up to Tucker's foot cracking him in the back of the head.

"Oops," Tucker said, glancing back on his way to the bathroom. "Sorry."

"You're so full of shit your eyes are brown."

Tucker stopped short, then burst out laughing. He shut the bathroom door, the sounds of his laughter still ringing in the predawn air.

Jake rolled to his back and eyed the door, surprised. That was the first time since he'd gotten here that his brother hadn't slammed the bathroom door hard enough to rattle both the windows and Jake's bones.

That had to be a good sign, didn't it? And he'd laughed. He'd laughed a lot in the old days, when Jake had tickled him, or given him piggyback rides, or taken him for an ice cream cone with money they'd stolen from their mother's purse.

Did Tucker remember those times? Jake hadn't, not until he'd come here and seen how these people were a family, in the way he'd never been with anyone other than Tucker.

On that thought he fell back asleep, dreaming about his mother's call the other night, when she'd had the nerve to warn Jake not to drag Tucker into the gutter, as if he'd been the one to do so in the first place. He dreamed about running from Moe and Goose, both of whom leered at him in the dark, their faces turning into his father's....Then he was holding Callie again, sinking into her heat. She looked up at him with her heart in her eyes, smiling, as she slowly faded away into nothing, leaving him all alone.

He woke up, still alone, with the sun fully risen and the sounds of excited voices ringing through the yard.

Their next guests had arrived, which meant he'd need good luck to find someone to help him paint today. He showered and dressed, and picked up his cell phone. There he found Joe's latest text message.

You find yourself a sexy cowgirl yet?

"Yeah, I found one," he muttered to himself. Only he hadn't kept her, had he? Outside there were two large airport vans and a bunch of young, perky women milling around the yard, with enough bags and suitcases to boggle the mind.

Callie stood in the middle of it all with a welcoming smile and a clipboard, checking names. She wore jeans-big surprise-and a bright green tank top with her cowboy hat hanging down her back. Her fiery hair flew around her face in the light morning breeze as she directed her show.

She belonged here.

Tucker came out the front door of the big house. He dove right into the organized chaos and grabbed two armfuls of suitcases, nodding to Callie when she pointed out who they belonged to, and led a group of the women inside.

He belonged here, too.

Jake didn't. He didn't know where the hell he belonged.

"Hello."

He turned to the feminine laughing voice. One of the guests had meandered over to where he stood on his front step, watching the proceedings.

"I'm Vicki," she said. In her mid-twenties, she looked to be a replica of Camping Barbie-tall, blond, and stacked. She wore dark blue ironed jeans with a designer label that had never been meant for camping or ranching. Her blouse was silk, fitted, and also freshly ironed. He had no idea how she was going to feed pigs or milk cows in that blouse. Adjusting her designer cowboy hat on her pretty head, she smiled with her carefully glossed lips. "Are you one of the cowboys who'll be taking us out in the wilderness?"

"Uh..."

"I hear there are wolves out there." She let out a full-bodied shiver. "Sounds dangerous?" She grinned. "I love it, especially if there's a bunch of big, strong cowboys around. Do you think we'll hear them howl at night?"

Jake laughed. "The cowboys, or the wolves?"

She laughed, too. "Either. All of us are hoping for adventure. All sorts of adventure."

She was cute, and sidling up to Jake in a way that felt familiar. "All of you?"

"We're professional cheerleaders, looking for a good time." She looked him over from head to toe, and then back again. "What's your name, cowboy?"

"Jake."

"Well, Jake, you're the cutest Arizona cowboy I've ever seen."

"Why do I have the feeling I'm the first Arizona cowboy you've seen?"

She grinned broadly.

"Vicki? Vicki Henderson?" Callie was consulting her clipboard and looking around.

"Right here." Vicki waved. "Just taking in the sights. The excellent sights," she added in a breathy murmur to Jake.

Tucker came back out of the house, took in the way Vicki was practically lapping up Jake, and shot him a long look before he picked up her bags and headed toward the house again.

Vicki took her eyes off Jake and watched Tucker go. "Mmmm, you're all fine. Goodie." With an air kiss toward Jake, she followed Tucker.

Callie walked over to Jake, still wielding that clipboard. "We get one every time," she said.

At the front door, Vicki turned to wave at Jake.

He waved back. "One what?"

"Oh, that's right, you've been hit on so many times, you don't even recognize it for what it is anymore." She slapped the clipboard against her thigh. "Well, let me enlighten you. Vicki Henderson is here to pick up a cowboy."

Jake laughed. "No."

"Fine. Make fun." She put a finger in his face. "But she's picked you now, Jake. Enjoy her." Clearly annoyed, she stalked off, and his grin spread because really, she was quite adorable when she was jealous.

And I pick you, he thought. Before he could tell her so, she stopped and pressed her temples. "Damn it." She came back to him. "I forgot."

Her face was so serious, his smile faded away. "What?"

"I'm sorry. It never should have left my mind even for a second, but you slept in, and I didn't get a chance to talk to you before the guests arrived-"

"Tell me." All kidding and teasing aside, he put his hands on her arms. "Did something else happen to you?"

"Not to me..." She closed her eyes, sighed, and then opened them again. "There's two hundred and fifty dollars missing from my office, from petty cash."

Jake and Callie met with the sheriff and made yet another report. As discreetly as they could, they talked to all the employees one by one, working around the new guests. Everyone was horrified; no one knew anything.

And a bad feeling grew deep in Jake's gut.

The cheerleaders were...perky. For the rest of the day they were entertained with ranch chores. Eddie and Stone had lots of fun getting the women to feed the pigs, cows, hens, and horses. Both men wore ear-to-ear grins at dinner that night, which they naturally took in the dining room with their guests, all too happy to keep entertaining.

The sheriff came by again after dessert to check on things. When he left, Callie stood in her office and dropped her face in her hands.

Jake put his hand on her shoulder. "This is getting old."

Her face jerked up to meet his. "I'll replace the money myself, from my own account."

Startled at how she'd so misunderstood him, he shook his head. "Who the hell do you think I am that I would ask such a thing of you?"

"My boss."

"I have no idea," he said slowly, "how you can dislike and distrust me so much, and yet let me into your bed to kiss and touch and f-"

She put her hand over his mouth. "Don't go there."

He pulled her hand down. "Too late, I'm already there, sweetheart. There and waiting."

"Don't even try to tell me you've never slept with a woman who didn't like you afterward."

"No," he said honestly.

She laughed, then shook her head. "How do you do that, make me laugh when I don't want to?" Her smile faded. "Oh, Jake. Don't you get it? I don't dislike you at all." And on that shocking admission, she opened the door to leave. Tucker stood there, hand raised to knock.

He divided a glance between them. "What's going on?" He pointed to the cash box. "Did you find the money?"

"No," Callie said. "And I think we should implement new rules-no one goes where they don't belong. Amy, for instance, can be in the kitchen, but she shouldn't be in the barns or my office. Stone and Eddie-"

"Should be only in the barns, not the office. Yeah." Tucker looked grim. "Got it. You think it's one of us."

"Damn it, I don't think that at all. This is for our own protection, Tucker. A way to make sure no one is wrongfully blamed, okay?"

Tucker sighed. "Okay."

"The guests are all settled for the night, right?"

"Yeah," Tucker said.

"Good. I've got a killer headache. I'm outta here." She glared at Jake when he tried to stop her. "Alone," she said, and walked out of the room.

Tucker looked at Jake after she'd left. "I heard what she said before she opened the door. She likes you."

Jake was still worried about the headache he'd seen lurking behind Callie's green eyes, and the misery there. "Get your facts straight. She said that she didn't dislike me."

Tucker dropped into one of the chairs in front of Callie's desk. "She's off limits."

"Really? Says who?"

"Says me."

Jake shot him a look of disbelief.

"She's not like one of those cheerleaders, all right? She gives a shit about people, about everyone. I mean, look how she's protecting all of us, no questions asked. She trusts us, Jake. For no reason other than her heart tells her to. She's been hurt, and still, she trusts."

"What do you mean, hurt?"

"Haven't you ever wondered why we're all so close here? It's because we all have one thing in common. Sucky pasts, Callie included. So don't even think about fucking with her."

"How about," Jake said very quietly, "unless it involves you, you mind your own business, especially when it comes to Callie and me?"

Tucker's voice was just as quiet when he stood and got in Jake's face. "This is my business. She cares about me, Jake. She saved my life by letting me have this job, and I'm not going to repay that by letting you screw with her head."

Jake laughed incredulously. "She cares about you? How about me? How about how much I care about you? I dragged your sorry ass here. I gave you this job, not Callie. I asked her to keep you here."

Tucker stared at him stonily.

"Ah hell." Jake shoved his fingers through his hair and turned in a slow circle, searching for his cool. It was a hard time coming. Things were just so damn complicated. His feelings for Callie, his feelings about not being able to work, and now these problems here at the ranch. It was all changing his perspective, and he was so tired of thinking.

Tucker still didn't say a word and Jake shook his head. "Forget it. Just forget it." And like Callie had only a moment before, he walked out.

"There you go," Tucker said when he was alone. "Walking away again."

11.

Head throbbing with stress, worry, and a bunch of assorted other things, Callie started across the yard toward her cabin, the way lit by a blanket of stars. Halfway there, Shep met her, nudging her hand with the top of his head.

At his unconditional love, a lump grew in her throat the size of a regulation football. "Hey, boy. Got your family tucked in for the night?"

He panted alongside her, relaxed and at ease, so she knew everything was okay in the barn at least. The puppies had nearly doubled in size since they'd found them. She'd been checking on them every day, even if Tiger still wouldn't let her touch them.

Letting herself into her cabin, she pulled her shades and started stripping. She needed a hot bath, aspirin, and bed, and not in any special order. Down to her favorite soft silk camisole and panties, she moved toward her CD player. Some music would help her relax, help her think. She had a lot of thinking to do, but unfortunately, her cell phone rang, interrupting her thoughts.

"You sound upset again," Michael said.

Upset? Try tense enough to shatter. "I'm okay."