The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

you came into the picture all that changed. Cassidy's out for blood now. Lately I've had the feeling I'm being hunted and I don't like it. I'm asking you to help me."

    "You're out of your mind. I can't help you. I wouldn't even if I were in a position to do so. As you said, I'm out of this."

    Moorcroft shook his head. "It's not your fault, Margaret, but the truth is, unwittingly or not, you started it. And now Cassidy is involving you again."

    Margaret sat very still in her chair. "What makes you say that?"

    "He's invited you down to that spread of his in Arizona, hasn't he?"

    "How do you know that?"

    Moorcroft sighed. "I told you, I don't have totally reliable inside information, but I have some. I've also heard your father has been seeing Beverly Cassidy."

    Margaret grimaced. "Your information is better than mine, Jack. I didn't know that myself until Thursday night. My own father. I didn't even believe it at first. How could Dad…" She bit her lip. "Never mind."

    She had spent most of Thursday night trying to convince herself that Rafe had lied to her. But several phone calls on Friday had failed to elicit any response from her father's home in California. His housekeeper had told her he had gone to Arizona.

    When Margaret had angrily dialed the Cassidy ranch she had been told by another housekeeper that her father was unable to come to the phone but was looking forward to seeing her on Monday.

    The unfortunate reality was that Rafe Cassidy rarely bluffed—so rarely, in fact, that when he did, he usually got away with it. Connor Lark probably was involved with Mrs. Cassidy and if that much was true, the part about selling Lark Engineering to Rafe was probably also true.

    That knowledge gave Margaret a sick feeling. What was Rafe up to? she wondered.

    "We're on the same side this time, Margaret." Jack's tone was soft and cajoling. "We're natural allies. Last time you were caught in the crunch. You were in love with Cassidy but you felt loyal to me. A real mess. But that's not true this time, is it? You don't owe Cassidy anything. It's payback time."

    "What are you talking about? I don't want revenge, I just want out of the whole thing."

    "You can't get out of it. Your father is involved. If he marries Beverly Cassidy, you're going to spend the rest of your life connected by family ties to Rafe Cassidy."

    "That notion is certainly enough to kill what's left of my appetite," Margaret said morosely. The thought of being related by marriage to Rafe was mind-boggling.

    Moorcroft picked up his latte and took a swallow. "You'll be going to Arizona, won't you?"

    She groaned. "Probably." She had been facing that reality since Rafe had walked out the door on Thursday night. She had to find out what, exactly, was going on.

    "All I'm asking is that you keep your eyes and ears open while you're down there. You may pick up something interesting, something we can both use. Maybe something that could save my hide. I'd make it worth your while, Margaret."

    She looked up sharply. "Forget it, Jack. If I go down there, it won't be as your spy. I have my own reasons."

    He exhaled slowly. "I understand. It was worth a shot. I'm a desperate man, Margaret. There's an outlaw on my trail and I'll do anything to survive."

    "You're that afraid of Rafe?" she asked in genuine surprise.

    "Like I said—before we were just business rivals. Win some, lose some. No problem. That's the name of the game. But this time things are different. This time I have a feeling I may be fighting for my life."

    "Good luck."

    Moorcroft turned his cup of latte carefully in his hands. He studied Margaret's face for a long moment. "You're not going to help me, are you?"

    "No."

    "Because you love him?"

    "How I feel about Rafe has nothing to do with it. I just don't want any part of this mess, whatever it is."

    "I guess I can understand that."

    "Terrific," she murmured. "I'm so glad."

    "Margaret, there's something I want to ask you."

    She waited uneasily. "Yes?"

    "If Cassidy hadn't ridden up when he did and swept you off your feet, do you think you could ever have been interested in what I had to offer?"

    "You didn't have anything to offer, Jack. You're a married man, remember?"

    "But if I hadn't been married?"

    "My best guess is no."

    "Mind telling me why not?"

    "First, when I was in the business world I had a policy of never getting involved with my employers, even if they did happen to be single. From what I saw, it's almost