Texas! Lucky (15 page)

His incisive arguments, combined with his sex appeal, were weakening her resolve. Pulling her hands free of his and lashing out defensively, she cried, "I can't see you anymore. Ever. Now, please go away."

Lucky switched tactics. Hooking his thumbs in his belt loops, he assumed a slouching stance, his body thrown slightly off-center. Arrogantly he tilted his head to one side. "Okay, for the sake of argument, let's say that the kisses we've shared didn't leave us both damned near senseless. Let's say that your blood's not running hot and thick right now. Let's forget all that and focus our attention on my problem—besides the one I have with you, that is. Let's discuss how badly I need you for my alibi."

She was shaking her head long before he finished, first in denial of her physical reactions to him, then to the idea of her testifying to the authorities on his behalf.

"No one can know that I spent the night with you," she said adamantly. "No one. Is that understood? I certainly can't make it a matter of public record." Her previous chill, temporarily dispelled by their embrace, returned.

She ran her hands up and down her arms as though to restore circulation.

"You can't just shrug off this arson rap as a frivolous misfortune of mine."

"I'm not. I'm terribly sorry that you're in trouble."

"More than just trouble, Devon. These federal guys are damned serious."

"What kind of case have they got against you?"

"Flimsy and circumstantial," he admitted. "I would never get convicted, but I don't expect we could raise bail. I do not cotton to the idea of going to jail for any length of time, especially for something I didn't do. I don't even like the idea of being charged with a felony. My family, our business, would be irreparably damaged by something like that." Gently he took her by the shoulders again. "Devon, be reasonable about this. You've got to help me."

"No I don't. You can't force me."

"I shouldn't have to. Why won't you just come forward like any decent person would?"

"I can't!"

"Tell me why."

"I
can't!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm married!"

Chapter 10

"
S
he's married."

Lucky's two glum words echoed as dismally as a death knell. Seated at the bar in Tanya and Chase's small apartment kitchen, he stared forlornly into the cup of coffee his sister-in-law had brewed for him.

He had arrived at their apartment complex before dawn. Ignoring the early hour, he'd knocked on their door and got them out of bed, his unkempt hair and stubble of beard chasing away their annoyance at having been awakened so early.

Besides looking as though he needed a shave, a hot meal, and twelve hours of sleep, Lucky had hair windblown from driving all the way from Dallas, a distance of over a hundred miles, with the top of his convertible down, going at speeds they dared not guess and would rather not know. Strands of dark blond hair were radiating from his head like straw.

His family had been worried about him since yesterday morning. The last one to see him had been Sage. According to her, he had left the house half-dressed, at a dead run, and without a word of explanation.

Now several moments transpired before Chase repeated his brother's bleak report. "Married?"

"Married. You know, matrimony, holy wedlock."

Tanya, having poured her husband and herself another cup of coffee, sat down on one of the barstools. "How do you know, Lucky?"

"She told me." After a lengthy, deep, wet kiss, he thought bitterly.

"You finally tracked her down?"

"Yesterday."

"Where?"

"Dallas."

"What's her name?"

"Devon Haines."

"That sounds familiar."

"You've probably read her newspaper column."

"Sure!" Chase exclaimed, thumping the bar with his fist. "Devon Haines."

"I accidentally stumbled over her byline and picture in yesterday morning's paper." Lucky recounted the rest of the story to them, leaving out the personal aspects of it and glossing over the tempestuous hours he'd spent in a bowling alley and batting barn—so he'd have something to hit legitimately—after his meeting with her and until he decided to drive home.

"The lady did not want to be found," he said. "When I did find her, she refused to cooperate, said she wouldn't,
couldn't
, be my alibi. Now I know why." The coffee was scalding hot, but he tossed it back as though the mug were a shot glass full of whiskey. Tanya silently rose to get him a refill.

"Did you meet her husband?" Chase wanted to know.

"No."

"Was he there?"

"No."

"Where was he?"

"I don't know."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know."

"If she's married, what was she doing sleeping with you?"

"I don't know that either. Who the hell can figure out what goes on inside a woman's head?" Angrily Lucky flung himself off the barstool and began to prowl the length of the galley kitchen. "This is one situation I've never run across. I don't have any experience, and I'm stumped." He stopped pacing to address his audience. "Don't get me wrong. I'm not claiming to be an angel. I confess to having done some pretty wild things with women."

"I don't think anyone could dispute that."

"We've done some pretty wild things together."

Chase cast an uncomfortable glance toward his wife. His love for Tanya McDaniel had tamed the former rodeo star considerably.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd just as soon not discuss our escapades in front of Tanya."

"Those escapades aren't the point," Lucky said irritably. "Tanya knows you were a hell-raiser before she came along. My point is that for all my carousing, I have never slept with a married woman. I drew the line at that." Mindlessly he rubbed his stomach, as though the very thought of adultery made him queasy. "I never would even go out with a divorcee until the final, final papers were
final
. So this broad," he said irreverently, aiming his index finger in the general direction of Dallas, "not only duped me with the phony name bit, but tricked me into doing something that, old-fashioned as it sounds, I believe is morally wrong."

He returned to his seat, dejectedly throwing himself onto the padded cushion. Eyes vacant and bleary, he contemplated near space.

"Lucky," Chase ventured after a lengthy period of silence, "what are you going to do?"

"Probably ten to twenty for arson."

"Don't say that!" Tanya cried. "You can't go to prison for something you didn't do."

"You know what I meant, Lucky," Chase said. "You can't let her off the hook that easily. She fooled around, so she can damn well pay the consequences."

"I used that argument."

"And?"

"It got me nowhere."

"Appeal to her basic human decency."

"I did that too. Didn't shake her a smidgen. If she would run around on her husband, I doubt she has a sense of decency. Although," he added on a mumble, "she seemed decent enough at first."

"Well, if worse comes to worst, Pat Bush could subpoena her."

"To appear before a federal grand jury." Lucky sighed and tiredly dug his fingertips into his eye sockets, which were shadowed by fatigue. "I was hoping it wouldn't have to go even that far. With business so bad…" He lowered his hands and looked at his brother. "I'm sorry, Chase. I really screwed up this time. And the worst of it is that I'm dragging Tyler Drilling, you, and everybody else down with me."

Chase rose from his barstool and affectionately slapped his younger brother between the shoulder blades. "Your hide is more valuable to me than the business. I'm worried about the guy who actually set the fire. What's the bastard planning to do next?" He consulted the wall clock. "Guess I'd better get on out there and baby-sit those investigators."

"I'll be along later."

"Uh-uh. You're taking the day off."

"Says who?"

"Says me."

"You're not my boss."

"Today I am."

They'd been playing that universal sibling game almost since they were old enough to talk. Lucky gave in much sooner than usual.

Chase said, "You look like hell. Stay home today. Get some sleep." Turning, he headed for the bedroom. "If you're gone by the time I get out of the shower, I'll be in touch later today."

After Chase had withdrawn, Tanya smiled at her brother-in-law. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Nothing," he replied, getting to his feet. "Thanks, though." At the front door of the apartment, he pulled her into a hug. "I should take a cue from my big brother, find a woman like you, marry her, and quit screwing around for good. Problem is, since you've been taken, there aren't any good broads left."

Laughing, she shoved him away. "Lucky, I seriously doubt you'll sweep a woman off her feet by referring to her as a broad."

He smiled, but there was more chagrin than humor behind it. His blue eyes were tired and dull and puzzled. "Tanya, why would a married woman share a motel room with a total stranger in the first place, then let him make love to her?"

"It happens all the time, Lucky. Don't you read the statistics?"

"I know, but…" He gauged her worried frown. "I know you probably feel uncomfortable talking about this with me, but I feel like a jerk discussing it with another man, even Chase. Will you listen? Please?"

"Of course."

He hesitated, but only momentarily. "Devon just wasn't the type to pick up a stranger and go to bed with him. I've been with plenty of women who do it routinely, and she was different."

"How so?"

"In every way. Looks. Attitude. Actions." He shook his head in bafflement. "Why would she take a life-threatening risk like that? For all she knew, I was a psychopath, or had a venereal disease or God knows what else. She's married. She and her husband live well. She's got a successful career. Why would she risk all that? And if she's got the guts to do it, why get squeamish when it's time to 'fess up?"

"I don't know, Lucky," Tanya said, sounding genuinely sorry that she couldn't provide him with an answer. "I can't imagine being unfaithful to Chase. I can't imagine even being tempted."