"Oh. Sorry." She went back to her parade duties.

"How are you liking the parade now?"

"Better. I wish I'd brought candy to throw out to the kids. I didn't think of it."

Gabe took advantage of a temporary halt and called out to Nick. "Hey, bro, can you snag a bag of candy from the wagon and pa.s.s it back?"

"Sure thing." Nick trotted forward, reached for the bag Mary Lou handed him and fell back until he was on Gabe's left. "Here you go." He handed the bag over to Gabe. "Gonna impress the rug rats?"

"Morgan wants to." Gabe held out the bag to her.

She took it with a smile. "Thanks! And thanks to you, too, Nick."

"My pleasure, Morgan." Nick touched the brim of his hat.

Gabe expected Nick to move back into his position ahead of them, but instead he stayed even with Gabe.

"Everything all right back here?" he asked.

"We're doing okay." Gabe glanced over at Morgan, who seemed totally absorbed in tossing candy to the kids. "Thanks for asking."

Nick lowered his voice. "You know it's the real estate thing."

"I know. I explained it to her."

"Did you also explain that she'd better not make a sales pitch for her services?"

"I didn't have to. She has great respect for the Chance family heritage, probably even more than I do."

"Good. Then rock on, bro." Nick urged his horse forward and got back into line ahead of them.

Gabe wasn't sure what rock on meant in this context. Nick had found himself a woman, one he'd no doubt marry some day. Maybe he thought his two brothers should do the same.

Gabe wasn't thinking that way himself. He was enjoying competing too much, and that wasn't the kind of life he envisioned leading as a family man. One of these days, maybe after Top Drawer made the Hall of Fame, he'd retire from the circuit, but for now he still loved the challenge.

Sure, he'd been temporarily sidelined by Jack's penny-pinching, but Gabe wouldn't allow his brother to deny him permanently and rob Top Drawer of his chance to shine. They'd work something out. Gabe believed his dad would have wanted him to continue competing, especially with Top Drawer getting closer to that milestone.

In the meantime, though, Gabe was here and so was Morgan. He admitted that he found her s.e.xy. Each time she tossed out that candy her b.r.e.a.s.t.s quivered. He couldn't help noticing the fit of her jeans, either. Yeah, if given the chance, he'd be more than willing to get cozy with Morgan.

She seemed to like him okay, too. They could have some adult-rated fun together until he managed to convince Jack to send him back out on the circuit. As long as Morgan didn't expect wedding bells, the two of them could have a lot of fun.

3.

THROWING OUT candy toward the end of the parade route lifted Morgan's spirits considerably. At the other end of town another field had been designated as the gathering point for partic.i.p.ants. Those who were on foot dispersed. Morgan noticed a large horse trailer with the distinctive intertwined L and C parked on the far side of the field.

Jack led their group toward the trailer, and because Morgan was on Gabe's horse, she had to go along. Then she saw another trailer, considerably less elegant, from the stable where she'd rented Geronimo. The owners had agreed to meet her at the end of the parade. Belatedly she wondered if she'd have any liability for letting someone else ride the horse.

She looked over at Gabe. "How should we work this?"

"Simple. I'll turn in your horse and you turn in mine."

"If they ask you any questions about why-"

"I'll tell them Geronimo needed a more experienced rider in a parade situation. They should be made aware of that."

"Great. Thanks." Morgan wondered what it would be like to feel so sure of yourself all the time. She never had, although she'd learned to put up a good front. Maybe, when she'd created a solid situation here in Shoshone, she'd feel more grounded.

Until then, she was in fake-it-till-you-make-it territory.

She headed over to the Last Chance trailer. At least she understood now why Sarah and Jack hadn't been as warm as she might have hoped. They thought she'd try to talk them into selling their beloved ranch.

Her wayward shirt had behaved so far, mostly because she'd learned to breathe more shallowly. She kept up that program as she rode Top Drawer over to the trailer, where Jack had dismounted and was organizing the reloading operation.

He glanced up as she approached.

"Gabe asked me to bring Top Drawer here," she said.

"All right. Thanks." Jack's tone was businesslike.

"I'll just get off him and he's all yours."

"That's fine." Jack's dark gaze gave nothing away as he turned to help his mother off her horse.

Looping her purse strap over her shoulder, Morgan prepared to dismount. Whew, the ground was really far away.

Gabe had shortened the stirrups for her, which had helped while she was riding, but now that she had to get off, she had a longer drop to the ground. She managed as best she could, but sure enough, her shirt popped open again.

Once she got back to town, she'd detour past her house-a block off Main Street-and change out of this blasted shirt. She wasn't about to struggle with it for the rest of the day.

As she tried to refasten it quickly, Jack appeared at her elbow. "Just so you know, no part of the Last Chance is for sale. And I mean no part, not even the acreage closest to the road."

Her fingers still gripping the two parts of the snap, Morgan looked up. "I have no designs on your ranch," she said. "I realize you've been plagued by real estate agents eager to make a buck, but that's not me."

His expression didn't soften. "I'm hoping that's true. But it is your job to sell property, so logically the ranch would look like an opportunity."

"Perhaps, but I have no plans in that direction."

Jack's gaze flicked to the other side of the field where Gabe was talking to the owners of the riding stable. "Just so you know, getting chummy with one of the Chance boys won't make any difference."

"I beg your pardon?" The combination of Irish temper and Italian fire was starting to create a burning sensation in her gut.

"Shoshone's a small town, and 'most everyone knows that Gabe prefers a certain...physical attribute in a woman."

"Oh?" As Morgan held her shirt together, flames of fury danced through her system.

"I'd hate to think that you were using that weakness of Gabe's to your advantage."

The fury erupted. "Are we talking about my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, Mr. Chance?"

He had the decency to flush. "I'm just worried about-"

"Well, don't trouble yourself for another second! I realize this is a difficult time for your family, and because I respect all that the Chance legacy stands for in this town, I won't tell you exactly what I think of your crude insinuations."

"Listen, I-"

"No, you listen." Her voice quivered with rage. "Gabe did me a favor so that I could ride in the parade, and I'm extremely grateful. Please let him know how much that means to me."

Jack looked a little disoriented, as if the conversation had taken a turn he hadn't been prepared for. "Uh, you can tell him yourself when he comes back."

"I'm afraid I can't. My b.r.e.a.s.t.s and I don't want to cause either you or your family greater distress, so we're leaving." Ah, the pleasure of turning on her heel and striding away. She had to hold her shirt together because she still hadn't managed to fasten the snap, but even so, it was a most excellent exit.

TALKING WITH the cowboy from the riding stable took longer than Gabe had antic.i.p.ated, but finally he headed back over toward the Last Chance trailer to find Morgan. The watermelon-eating contest was scheduled to start in thirty minutes, and he had a feeling she'd want to take part. After that would come the sack race, if the activities followed the traditional schedule, and then the hot-dog roast.

Gabe had been a teenager when he'd last taken part in Shoshone's Fourth of July celebration, and he discovered to his surprise that he was looking forward to the day's events once again. Morgan had a lot to do with that. Her excitement was catching. He wanted to spend the day with her and experience Shoshone through her eyes.

Jack was loading his black-and-white paint Bandit into the trailer, and everyone else seemed to have left. Gabe didn't see Morgan anywhere. He hadn't specifically asked her to wait for him, but he'd thought she would. Taking off without saying a word didn't seem like something she'd do. True, he didn't know her all that well, but he had a tough time imagining her being so rude.

Walking to the back of the trailer, Gabe asked Jack if he'd seen Morgan.

"Yeah." Jack closed up the trailer and turned to Gabe. "She said to tell you she appreciated what you'd done for her."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much."

Something was going on. Gabe could feel it, even though Jack was very good at hiding his emotions. "So, she didn't mention where she'd be after this, didn't ask me to meet her somewhere in town?"

"Nope."

"Maybe she left her cell number."

"Nope."

"d.a.m.n it, Jack, this smells fishy. She's not the kind of person to leave a message and walk off. I loaned her my horse."

"Not the wisest move you've ever made."

Gabe went on alert. "You said something to her, didn't you?"

"I told her we're not selling any part of the Last Chance, if that's what you mean."

"Yeah, well, she knows that, and she's not interested, anyway." Gabe didn't believe for a minute that was the sum total of their conversation. "What else did you say to her?"

Jack blew out a breath. "Look, I realize she's exactly the kind of woman you go for, but-"

"Because she's stacked."

"Well, yeah. And don't tell me she isn't out to capitalize on that. All you have to do is look at her shirt."

"The company that st.i.tched it sent her the wrong size."

"So she says."

"You're calling her a liar?" Gabe stared at his brother in disbelief. "What in h.e.l.l gives you the right to pa.s.s that kind of judgment on a person you don't even know?"

"Common sense! The Last Chance is a real estate goldmine. She's in real estate. Do you really believe she wouldn't like to have a piece of the action?"

"There's no action to have a piece of!"

"She might figure getting horizontal with you could change that."

Gabe pointed a finger at him. "You accused her of having ulterior motives, didn't you?"

Jack shrugged. "I only suggested that-"

"You son of a b.i.t.c.h. I'd punch you in the nose, except for two things. I need to find Morgan and I don't want Mom to know we had a fight." Gabe turned and left before his temper got the best of him.

Punching Jack would feel great, but it would cause more problems than it would solve. Jack would probably punch back, and Gabe needed his face to be in working order today. He had watermelon and hot dogs to eat. Later on, if he could repair the damage his brother had done, he might even have some kissing to do.

Gabe wasn't a big fan of walking, but he wasn't about to ask Jack to take him into town on his way back to the ranch. Fortunately he was less than a mile from the center of town. Shoshone didn't have a square like some small towns, so everything happened along Main Street. Traditionally one block was closed off on the Fourth. Gabe hoped he'd find Morgan there.

As he neared the roped-off area, he spotted a crowd gathered near a long table covered with butcher paper. Ten folding chairs lined one side. Gabe knew he'd found the site of the watermelon-eating contest. He just had to hope that his instincts were right and Morgan would have come here.

The country band from Spirits and Spurs had set up in a makeshift bandstand near the watermelon contest, and a few people were two-stepping on the asphalt. Red, white and blue banners and crepe paper hung from windows and doorways all along the street and every business was flying a flag. Kids with squirt guns chased each other through the crowd.

Gabe looked for Morgan, but a quick glance around told him she wasn't in the immediate vicinity. With her bright-red hair, he'd spot her immediately. If Jack had ruined this day for her, Gabe might have to go back to the ranch and pound on his brother, after all.

Then he saw her over by the Shoshone Diner, where Madge and Edgar Perkins were distributing plastic bibs advertising their business. Apparently they were still sponsoring the contest, as they'd done for as long as Gabe could remember. He'd never paid much attention to that kind of comforting stability, but after talking with Morgan, he had a new appreciation for it.

As Morgan tied on her bib, Gabe noticed that she was wearing a baggy T-shirt instead of her satin Western shirt. She might have decided to change clothes because of the snap issue, but he could also believe Jack's comments might have had something to do with it. His older brother had a lot to answer for.

Adjusting the brim of his gray Stetson, Gabe walked over to the diner. Morgan was laughing at something Edgar had said and obviously hadn't spotted him yet.

"Hey, Gabe!" Madge called out. "Come on over here and get a bib. You were always real good at this."

Morgan's head came up with a start, and the happy laughter faded as she looked in Gabe's direction. Her body stiffened and she clenched her jaw.

Yep, Jack would pay for this. "You bet I'll take a bib, Mrs. Perkins." Gabe accepted the piece of plastic and tied the ends around his neck. "Hi there, Morgan."

"Hi, Gabe."

"Say, weren't you two riding together in the parade a while ago?" Madge asked.