room. "I can do the same thing." He lifted one knee and pulled his crooked arm down like a semitruck driver honking a horn. "See! I'd make a great golfer. I bet there's no chess guy who could do that."

"Chess?" Kate asked, confused. "Golf?"

Tension rippled through the older male as he took the magazine away. "Doing victory dances is not high on the list of good golf qualities-"

"Not according to that Star Magazine article I read about you."

Jesse's lips thinned.

Kate shook her head, still confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"I've been reading about Jesse and golf. I know I'm supposed to be figuring out something else I can do

this summer besides golf. But golf sure sounds fun, and I read that Jesse's been playing since he was about my age." Travis smiled knowingly. "It also talked about him having a way with girls. Kinda like me, too," he said with a gloating smile. "Lena's cute, huh?"

"Last I heard"-Kate sliced a look at Jesse-"sneaking girls into a boy's bedroom wasn't considered an extracurricular activity."

Jesse's jaw tensed. "You're grounded."

"Grounded?" Kate gasped.

"Who, me?" Travis asked.

"Yes, you," Jesse snapped.

"For reading golf magazines?" Travis wanted to know.

Kate and Travis exchanged a look.

"For . . . having a girl in your room," Jesse stated, then he turned and walked out the door.

"Well," Travis mused, "I guess grounding is a father-son kind of thing. I just thought we'd do something more fun than that."

Kate shook her head and realized she wasn't the only person around here who was having a hard time adjusting to a new set of circumstances. She had worn ankle weights on TV and Jesse had just grounded his son for no real good reason. Jeez, they were a pair.

To: Katherine Bloom Julia Boudreaux From: Chloe Sinclair Subject: Date How was lunch with Parker? Chloe Chloe Sinclair Station Manager Award-winning KTEX TV To: Julia Boudreaux Chloe Sinclair From: Katherine Bloom Subject: Great Amazingly great! It was wonderful! He really is dreamy. Also, I had an idea for a new segment that will show viewers that I'm not a complete idiot and that shouldn't turn me into a blushing fool. I was thinking about something with pets?

Best, Kate Katherine C. Bloom News Anchor, KTEX TV West Texas To: Katherine Bloom Chloe Sinclair From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: Animals Hmmm. I actually like the idea. And I'm thrilled that you had a good time with Parker. I can't believe after all this time both you and Chloe had dates.

xo, j p.s. Let me think more about the pet thing.

To: Julia Boudreaux Chloe Sinclair From: Katherine Bloom Subject: Dates Chloe had a date and no one told me? Who, when, where?!!!!

K.

To: Katherine Bloom Chloe Sinclair From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: Setups I arranged the date for Chloe, but you know how she gets. All nervous around men. Awkward. But I've sworn to cure her since she is too sweet and wonderful and amazing never to have been in love. I'm going to find her a man if it kills me.

xo, j To: Katherine Bloom Julia Boudreaux From: Chloe Sinclair Subject: Gander Jules, I know you mean well, but he's not my type. I mean, really, he named his car. Goose. Have you ever heard of anyone out of high school who names his car?

Chloe To: Chloe Sinclair Katherine Bloom From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: What's in a name So he calls his car Goose. He probably named it after that fellow in Top Gun. The guy who moved on to ER. If I were you I wouldn't be so picky.

xo, j To: Julia Boudreaux Katherine Bloom From: Chloe Sinclair Subject: Naming names I don't care if it refers to the goose that laid the golden egg. If he names his car, what else has he christened? I shudder to think.

To: Chloe Sinclair Katherine Bloom From: Julia Boudreaux Subject: Ooooo...

Do you really think he has named his penile appendage? Hmmm... Igor? King of the Jungle? I guess it might be hard to do anything really wild or wicked like going down on a dick with a name. Oh! He's named it Dick!

xo, j To: Chloe Sinclair Julia Boudreaux From: Katherine Bloom Subject: Tom Cruise Penile appendage? Good God, Julia. And Chloe, my guess is if your date named his car Goose, he probably named his penis Maverick. Kind of a Top Gun theme.

K.

To: Julia Boudreaux Katherine Bloom From: Chloe Sinclair Subject: Unglued Have the two of you lost your minds? Movie character body parts, and I am not going down on anyone's anything, regardless of what it is called. And I don't want to hear any of that prude business. It is only good sense. Now both of you leave me alone so I can work in peace.

SEVEN.

It was nearly midnight when Kate turned off the computer. Earlier, Parker had called and they had talked on the phone like teenagers. Instead of pulling further and further away from Parker since Jesse's arrival, she had felt more comfortable being around him. It had been fun and she had hung up feeling a little bit giddy by this unexpected turn in her world.

Retrieving a printout, she left the house and walked across the yard to slip the single page under the guest cottage door. She wanted Jesse to have the information first thing tomorrow morning.

Crouched on the flagstones, the paper halfway under the door, she was startled when it opened. From her vantage point, all she saw were incredible hard-muscled legs with a dusting of dark hair disappearing up into a pair of khaki shorts. Then a shirt, just pulled off, bunched in his hand as if she had interrupted him undressing.

She scrambled to stand. "I have information for you,"

she said as smoothly as she could over the flutter in her chest.

His lips tilted at one corner. "Hello to you, too."

"I found this on the Internet. It's the perfect solution. If you'd like, I can go over it with you."

"I assume that means you want to come in."

Her mouth fell open when he didn't wait for an answer, slung the tee over his shoulder, and walked

back toward the tiny kitchen.

Kate had to focus her thoughts, though she hadn't managed to do it before he stopped, looked back at her, and said, "Are you going to stand there, or are you coming in?"

"Oh. Well, fine," she replied with a firm nod of her head as she stepped inside.

But the minute she entered, she knew it was a mistake. She didn't remember her guesthouse feeling so

small. Jesse seemed to fill the place, all heat and hard muscle, leaving no room for anything but his presence. Three different types of putters were propped against an overstuffed chair, while several white balls were scattered on the rug around an empty, washed soup can that was tilted over on its side. More than that, however, she couldn't help notice that her teapot and cups were still sitting on the counter like an embarrassing rebuke.

Fortunately she caught sight of her hair in a decorative mirror, distracting her. She grimaced at the sight.

Her curls looked like a full head of Medusa snakes.

His gaze, however, drifted lower, touching her everywhere, then he whistled appreciatively. "Nice legs."

The ankle weights were working!

Though just as quickly she reminded herself that she didn't care. After only a second more, she remembered why she was there. "Travis."

That wiped the smile off his too-handsome face.

He turned away from her and went to the tiny refrigerator, pulled out a beer, and popped the tab.

Just before he took a sip, he hesitated. "Do you want one?" he asked.

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure? You could use a little loosening up."

"I am plenty loose," she stated stiffly.

Fresh amusement surfaced in his eyes, though fortunately he didn't comment.

"I'm here about Travis. I think it's a great idea to enroll him in a summer golf program."

The beer can stopped halfway to his mouth. She could see emotion trailing across his face. Then it

was gone and he shrugged. "If you want him to play golf-"

"He wants to play. It's a great solution to keep him busy while I'm at work and you're doing ... whatever it is you do. That is, unless you have a problem with golf."

That darkness flared, then he visibly tamped it down. "No problem. Like I started to say, if he wants to

play golf, it's fine with me."

"Earlier I made a call and found out that the country club is in between sessions. But I've also learned that there is an afternoon program in Canutillo on the public course. A van picks kids up right here at the corner."

"Just tell me who to write a check out to, and I'll take care of it in the morning."

"Oh." She had expected an argument. Clearly this man was more than generous with his money. It was just his emotions he kept to himself.

After a startled second, she handed him the printout.

He glanced over it, and when he finished, she was still there. "Did you want something else?" he asked.

"No. No. There's nothing else." She started to leave, should have left, but stopped at the last minute.

"Though there is the whole thing about the grounding."

That broad smile of his reappeared, this time a little sheepish. "I know. I didn't handle that so well."

"True. Maybe in the morning when you mention the golf, you could say something about that, too."

He didn't respond.

"Travis needs more from you than money, Jesse. Paying for lessons is a great gesture, but don't withhold

everything else. I'm pretty sure he wants to play golf to have something in common with you."

He studied her, then finished the beer in one last swallow, crumpled the can in his fist, and tossed it into

the trash. He turned to face her and she didn't like his expression at all. His midnight eyes narrowed and he took a step toward her.

"Wow," she said weakly, "two points."