A Woman's Touch

pregnant? In that day and age, that took guts,“ Rebecca said with admiration.
    „Ballard was furious from all reports. Claimed he was the father of her child and she had to marry him. But she refused to admit the baby was his. Said it could just as easily be a Stockbridge bastard which, according to my father, was an outright lie. As it turned out, her pregnancy was a moot point. She miscarried shortly afterward and spent the next forty years of her life alone in Harmony Valley. Her name was Alice.“
    „My Alice Cork?“ Rebecca asked swiftly. „The one I’m supposedly related to?“
    „One and the same. She was one stubborn old lady. I’ll tell you that much. Wouldn’t give an inch. When Dad died and I took over the ranch, I went to see her about Harmony Valley. She wouldn’t let me in the front door. The only satisfaction I had was that she was even less hospitable to Ballards. Three months ago she died.“
    „And left the land to me?“ Rebecca shook her head in bewilderment. „But I never knew her. According to the lawyer, the relationship is very distant.“
    „Which explains why it took so long for the lawyers to find you.“ Kyle took a swallow of his drink. „Then again, lawyers are inclined to move slowly. I knew they wouldn’t give the hunt for you top priority. After all, the client was dead and the firm was busy with more pressing matters. I, on the other hand, hired the best private investigation firm money can buy as soon as I saw the terms of the will.“
    „How did you happen to see the will?“
    Kyle sighed. „Alice Cork instructed her lawyer to publish the whole damned thing in the newspaper that serves the community she’d lived in all her life. Her idea of a joke, no doubt. She wanted to be sure everyone in town knew the Stockbridges and the Ballards had been beaten once again by a woman. Anyway, I told the investigation firm there would be a bonus in it if they turned you up before the lawyers did.“
    Rebecca’s hands tightened into a fierce knot. „You always move fast when you’ve got your goal in sight. I’ve worked with you long enough to know that.“
    Kyle’s mouth thinned. „The end of the story is that I found you first. I got lucky. Stockbridges are known for their luck in, uh, certain areas. It turned out you were right here in Denver, working for a firm that I knew was about to be bought out. It was a simple matter to get an introduction through Carstairs. I’ve known him for years. And when I told him I could use an administrative assistant like you, he fell all over himself recommending you. He was concerned about your future after the buy-out.“
    Rebecca inhaled slowly. „And I, knowing my job was in serious jeopardy because of the buyout, couldn’t get over how lucky I was to run into you when I did. I was so grateful to you that I decided I’d make the best executive assistant you’d ever had.“
    „I’ve never had an executive assistant before,“ Kyle pointed out wryly.
    „True. So I fulfilled my end of the bargain, didn’t I? I was the best assistant you’ve ever had. Tell me, Kyle, when did you decide to seduce me?“
    His eyes narrowed dangerously. „I didn’t set out to seduce you, Becky. In fact, I wasn’t sure what to do with you at first. The chief priority had been to find you, but once I’d accomplished that I wasn’t sure how to handle you. You weren’t quite what I was expecting.“
    „What were you expecting?“
    „I don’t know.“ Kyle moved restlessly. „You just took me by surprise, that’s all. I’d hoped to find someone I could do business with, but the minute I met you I no longer wanted to do business with you.“
    „You expect me to believe that now? After hearing your family’s history?“
    He gave her a fierce, slanting glance. „Damn it, Becky, I didn’t expect the attraction between us. I wasn’t prepared for it. I decided to stall. I kept telling myself the lawyers would take months to find you, and in the meantime I could get to know you. I took things one step at a time. You needed a job. I was in a position to give you one.“
    „Figuring I’d be so grateful later I’d let you have the land at whatever price you chose to offer?“
    Kyle looked down at the contents of his glass. When he looked up again, his eyes were blazingly honest. „It occurred to me that you might return the favor I’d done for you by listening to my offer for the land before you listened to Ballard’s.“

    „Then I