The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

arms and regarded her father with a sense of amusement mixed with exasperation. "Bev Cassidy appears to be an all-around wonderful person and I'm delighted the two of you are so happy together, but I didn't corner you in here to listen to a glowing litany of her attributes. You've been avoiding me since I got here, Dad. Admit it."

    Connor appeared shocked and horrified at the accusation. "Avoidin' you? Not a chance, girl. How could you think such a thing? You're my own little Maggie, my only child, the fruit of my loins."

    "Hold it, Dad."

    "It's nothin' less than the truth. Hell's bells, girl, why would I want to avoid you? I'm delighted you got down here for my engagement shindig. A man's one and only child should definitely be present when he takes the great leap into marriage."

    "That's arguable, depending on when the leap is made," Margaret said dryly. "But your impending nuptials, exciting as they may be, are not what I wanted to discuss."

    "Maggie, girl, you know I'm always available to you. I'm your father. Your own flesh and blood. You can talk to me about anything."

    "Terrific. That's just what I'd like to do. I have a little matter I've been wanting to discuss with you ever since I got here."

    Connor brightened. "Wonderful. We'll have us a nice father-daughter chat one of these days just as soon as we both have a spare minute."

    "I've got a spare minute right now."

    "Well, shoot, too bad I don't." Connor's face twisted into a parody of sincere regret. "Promised Bev I'd get on the kitchen staff's tails. We're runnin' out of ice. Maybe sometime in the mornin'?"

    "Rafe is going to take me riding in the morning, if you'll recall."

    "Hey, that's right. I remember him sayin' somethin' about that earlier today. You haven't been ridin' for quite a while, have you? You used to be darn good at it. Don't worry about bein' out of practice. It's like bicyclin'. Once you get the hang of it, you never forget. Rafe's got some fine horses, doesn't he?"

    "I'm sure Rafe's horses are all first class. They're a business investment and Rafe has excellent instincts when it comes to business investments. Dad, stop trying to sidetrack me. I want to talk to you."

    Connor exhaled heavily, surrendering to the inevitable. He eyed Margaret warily. "More likely you want to chew me out for my part in Rafe's little plot. You still mad about that? I thought you and Rafe had settled things."

    "Rafe and I have an ongoing dialogue about certain matters."

    Conner wrinkled his nose. "Is that a fancy way of sayin' everything's settled?"

    "It's a way of saying we're both reevaluating the situation and waiting to see how things develop."

    "You know, Maggie, girl, for a woman who's made a career out of writin' romance novels, you sure do have an unexcitin' turn of phrase when it comes to describin' your own love life.
Reevaluatin' the situation
?"

    Margaret smiled ruefully. "I guess it does sound a little tame. But the truth is, Dad, after last year I'm inclined to be cautious."

    Connor nodded, his eyes hardening slightly. "Yeah, I can understand that. Hell, I was inclined toward a few things, myself, after I got wind of what happened."

    "Like what?"

    "Like murder. Damn near killed Cassidy at our first meetin' a few months back. Raked that boy over the coals somethin' fierce, I can tell you that."

    "You did?" Margaret was startled. But, then, no one had seen fit to inform her of that meeting.

    "Sure. You hadn't told me all that much about what had happened, remember? You just said it was over and Cassidy had said some nasty things there at the end. But I was mad as hell because I knew how much he'd hurt my girl."

    Margaret drummed her fingers thoughtfully on her forearms. "Just what did Rafe say at that first meeting?"

    Connor shrugged. "Not much to start. Just let me rant and rave at him and call him every name in the book. Then, when I'd calmed down, he poured me a glass of Scotch and gave me his side of the story."

    "And you instantly forgave him? Figured he was the innocent party, after all?"

    "Hell, no." Connor glowered at her. "You're still my daughter, Maggie. You know I'd defend you to the last ditch, no matter what."

    "Thanks, Dad."

    "But," Connor continued deliberately, "I was extremely interested in the other side of the story. I'd taken to Cassidy right off when you introduced us last year. You know that. Figured he was just the man for you. Don't mind sayin' I was real upset with myself to think I'd