Courtney snapped out of her daze and watched Renee disappear into the kitchen with a tray. She glanced at table six and saw that they did, indeed, need more drinks. She grabbed a pitcher of tea from the beverage stand and made her way across the deck that looked out over Silver Creek Canyon.

Courtney fixed a smile on her face and poured tea. "How is everything?" she asked, using the tone she'd picked up from Renee. I hope you're enjoying your meal. I'm not at all annoyed to be waiting on snotty rich people. Some of you actually tip well.

"We need a check," the man said curtly, and looked at his watch. "When's that tour leave?"

"Two-thirty." His wife replied, forking up her last bite of grilled salmon salad with sugar-free raspberry vinaigrette. "We've got plenty of time."

"Not if you're navigating, we don't."

The wife rolled her eyes, and Courtney pretended not to hear as she cleared dishes.

"Was your trout good, I hope?" Courtney asked, although the guy had practically licked his plate clean. The Silver Creek Inn's pecan-encrusted rainbow trout was legendary, or so she had been told to tell customers.

The man just grunted and handed her a credit card.

"I'll get this right out." You pompous prick.

She took the plates into the kitchen and slid them into the bin with all the rest. The lunch rush was ending, and Pedro stood at the sink, working double-time with his hose of scalding water.

Courtney stepped over to the computer and pulled up the order. She swiped the prick's credit card and thought of all the little conveniences she used to take for granted-paying with credit, hopping on the computer at work to check e-mail, picking up the phone and calling Jordan or Fiona whenever she wanted....

"Pauline needs to see you up front," Renee said as she swept past.

"What for?"

"No idea."

Courtney dropped off six's bill and checked her other tables' drinks before hiking across the deck, through the lobby, and behind the reception counter to Pauline's office. Her boss sat at her desk, talking on the phone. She looked up and smiled over her reading glasses when Courtney walked in.

"That's right." She held up a finger, telling Courtney to wait. "I recommend Theo's Fishing Tours. They're based in Santa Fe, but they're real big up here, too."

Courtney stepped inside the office but didn't sit down in the overstuffed armchair by the door. Offices made her uncomfortable now. As did paperwork, and men in uniform, and security cameras. She carefully avoided them. It was a new way of thinking about the world.

"That's early for the snow," Pauline was saying, "but there's still plenty to do.... Uh-huh...Absolutely."

Courtney watched her boss and suppressed a sigh. Her platinum-colored helmet hair added decades to her age, and for the umpteenth time, Courtney's hands itched for her scissors. Courtney combed her fingers through her stacked blond bob-which she still wasn't used to-and glanced away.

"All right, then. We'll see you in November." Pauline hung up and sighed. "I swear, some people can't make a decision. So." She smiled and rested her elbows on the desk. "How's it going, hon? How's the lunch crowd?"

"Good. Hardly a lull since breakfast."

Pauline's smiled widened. "Music to my ears." She picked up an envelope and held it out.

"What's that?"

"Payday."

Courtney glanced at the envelope uneasily. Did it have a check inside it? Made out to whom? When Courtney had responded to the ad posted at the local grocery store, she'd agreed to work for tips only, if she could get a break on lodging. Pauline had agreed immediately. She'd given her a small room at the back of the property and promised to keep her name off the books.

Courtney cleared her throat. "I thought we said-"

"It's cash." Pauline pushed the envelope at her. "I pay everyone in cash." She winked. "Makes things easier."

She took the envelope. "Thanks, but-"

"You been working your tail off. And you're good, too. You deserve more than just tips."

Courtney bit her lip. She'd never met anyone so straightforward and nice. From day one, Pauline had treated her with kindness and compassion, and Courtney was pretty sure it was because the woman thought she was on the run from a husband or boyfriend somewhere. But she'd never asked, and Courtney hadn't volunteered a different story.

"Nice earrings," Pauline said, nodding at Courtney's new dangles.

"I bought them in the gift shop."

"I know." She shook her head, and her own earrings jiggled. "They're pretty. Just not what I'd expect for you."

Courtney tipped her head. "Why?"

She laughed. "Because you're such a tomboy! You dress like my son."

Courtney gazed down at her flannel shirt and jeans and clunky boots. The outdoorsy look didn't come easily for her, but at least someone was buying it.

"Anyway, thanks for your work this week," Pauline continued. "You've been a huge help with the film festival crowd. Hopefully, we'll calm down a little before Thanksgiving, give you a chance to settle in."

Courtney smiled stiffly. Yet another thing that made her uncomfortable-talking about her future. If things went well money-wise, she'd be nowhere near Silver Creek by the time Thanksgiving rolled around. She had her next destination all picked out. Fiona's passport would help her get there.

Courtney returned to the restaurant, and the pace slowed down as tourists headed into the mountains to catch up on the hiking and fishing they'd missed due to yesterday's rain. When her shift finally ended, she slipped her tips into her pocket, took off her apron, and left the inn behind her. She'd walk into town today. She needed groceries and a change of scenery. Living near her workplace was convenient, but stifling at times.

Her boots sank into the soft earth as she plodded down the dirt road leading to the highway. The inn occupied a spruce-covered hillside overlooking Silver Creek Canyon. The view was spectacular-so good, in fact, it attracted travelers from all over. People would turn off Highway 25 to catch some scenery, then decide to stay a night. Then another. The canyon was magical like that-it could lure a person in. It had lured Courtney from the moment she'd seen it. She'd stood in the town's tiny bus depot and gazed out the window at the narrow fall of water cascading down the wall at the far end of the canyon. She'd been mesmerized. And what had started out as a day trip from Santa Fe had turned into a three-week stay.

Courtney was glad. It was better here. She felt safe, tucked away in the San Juan Mountains. And since she'd changed her mind about seeking work at a salon, she didn't need proximity to those luxury resorts, anyway. Silver Creek was lower profile, a little farther off the beaten path.

The dirt road met the highway, and the town of Silver Creek came into view. Her pace quickened as she planned out her errands. First, the grocery. Then the bookstore. She needed another travel guide, and she wouldn't mind a new magazine to keep her busy this evening. Her tiny room didn't have a television, or even a decent view. But it had privacy, which was just what Courtney wanted.

She stopped at one of the town's three traffic lights and waited. No more jaywalking, as even the most minor brush with law enforcement could become a problem. She rolled her shoulders to ease the soreness. She'd stop by the drugstore, too, and pick up a heat patch. She was used to being on her feet all day, but those trays were killing her. Her arms felt like noodles.

She remembered Will's arms, and her gaze shifted from the grocery store to the gas station where she'd stopped yesterday to call Fiona. She realized now why Alex had been so adamant about not making calls. They were addictive. Just a few minutes of her sister's voice, and she wanted more. She wanted to talk to Jordan, too. And Will. And even Amy.

The light changed, and she crossed the intersection. She especially wanted to talk to Will. But the last time she'd heard his voice, she'd started aching inside, and the feeling had persisted for days. She couldn't do that again.

Especially not now. Not with a warrant out there, and Will sworn to uphold the law. He felt something for her, but whatever it was didn't trump his commitment to his job. She knew that. She could deal with it. Just like she could deal with walking away from him and whatever crazy thing they'd started at his house that night. It was one night. It was over.

It wasn't love.

At least, she didn't think so. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible to love someone after just a few weeks. After just one night.

What she felt was loneliness.

She thought of his solid body under her hands. She thought of his hands.

Loneliness. With maybe some lust mixed in.

Courtney cut a glance at the pay phone. Her feet slowed. It was late afternoon, almost evening in Texas. Just one phone call...

Not a trace, Alex had told her. Not a single trace, or you're blown.

Courtney tore her gaze away and kept walking.

Some clients were a hell of a lot more trouble than they were worth. Courtney Glass was quickly turning into one of those clients.

Alex watched on her video monitor as Nathan Devereaux strolled though the door to Lovell Solutions and gazed directly into her security cam. He smiled slightly. She murmured a phrase that was sure to make her grandmother roll in her grave.

By the time she stepped out of her office and into her reception room-which hadn't improved since Courtney's visit-she had her arms crossed and her mind made up. She'd tell him nothing.

"Mornin'." He gave her the full smile now, along with the accent. It wasn't a Texas accent. She hadn't placed it yet, but it was definitely someplace in the South.

"You're wasting your time here," she said. "I won't divulge the whereabouts of my client."

He lifted an eyebrow and wandered over to the Mr. Coffee. "Mind?" He took an NPR mug from a box she hadn't finished unpacking and poured himself a cup.

"I'm not here about Courtney." He propped a shoulder against the wall and looked at her.

"Why are you here?"

He took a sip. Nodded. "Damn, that's good."

"Why are you here, Detective? I've got work to do."

"I bet you do. You must stay busy, huh? Woman with your skills?" His gaze roamed the room, pausing on the enor mous computer box that had been delivered yesterday. She was in the process of upgrading all her systems.

"I make a living," she said.

"You use a lot of computers?"

She shrugged. "They come in handy. If you know what you're doing."

He took another sip. "I'm not much on computers, myself. Spend most of my time out in the field."

She wasn't surprised. Nathan Devereaux struck her as a talented detective. At the very least, he had a way with people. She'd guess he got most of his leads by conducting face-to-face interviews, not mining databases or cruising the Net.

"Why are you here?" she asked for the third time.

He pushed off the wall and stepped closer until she was looking right up into his face. Alex was short, and it didn't take much for a man to tower over her. She'd learned not to let it intimidate her.

He smiled. "You're very businesslike."

"I'm running a business."

"So I noticed."

He was standing so close, she could see the flecks of gray in his blue eyes. His hair was dark and scruffy and just the kind she'd like to run her fingers through during sex.

"I have a challenge for you," he said.

She lifted an eyebrow in question.

"It's a skip trace."

"Why don't you do it?" she asked. "You've probably got better resources than I have."

"Possibly. Thing is, I have no time. Zero. It's for a case that isn't even mine, really." He glanced around her office. "And I have a feeling you'd do it quicker than we would anyway."

She tried not to feel smug, but he'd given her some nice compliments in the space of five minutes. All part of his charm, probably. "Who is it?" she asked.

"Lindsey Ann Kahn. Thirty-five. Single. She's a junior partner over at Wilkers and Riley."

"She worked the LivTech trial with Alvin."

He nodded.

"You didn't tell me you weren't on that case."

He shrugged. "It's a technicality, really."

She crossed her arms. "It'll cost you a thousand dollars."

He whistled. "You're steep."

"Take it or leave it. I've got more than enough work." Actually, she didn't at the moment, but he didn't need to know that.

He took another gulp of coffee and looked pensive. "I'll take it. But for that price, I need a quick turnaround. She was last seen Friday afternoon leaving work. Her car was parked at her health club as of Friday night. She wasn't seen or heard from all weekend. I need to know where she went."

"What if she's dead?"

"That's entirely possible. But she might have gone someplace on her own steam."

Alex had to admit, she was intrigued. And a thousand dollars would do wonders for her bottom line this month. She'd given Courtney Glass a bargain-basement rate because she'd liked her spunk and felt bad about her predicament. She shouldn't have been so soft.

"Okay, I'll do it."

He nodded, as if he'd expected this. "Good. I'll check back in twenty-four hours, see what you've got."

"That's not a lot of time."

He smiled and handed her his empty mug. "Should be plenty for you."

When he was gone, she stood in the middle of her reception room and decided it was time to get serious. She was charging someone a thousand dollars for probably a day's work. It was time to get her act together and start looking professional. The office decor could wait, but she needed her new computer up and running pronto.

She found a utility knife in a crate of office supplies and cut open the cardboard box. It was packed in pieces of Styrofoam, of course. She pulled at the giant block. It didn't budge. She tugged and wrestled with it, but nothing moved. She turned the box on its side and heard the door open behind her. Devereaux must have forgotten something. He could lend her a hand with this damn thing.