The Pirate & The Adventurer & The Cowboy

could reply. "There's one on Monday evening at the gallery here in town that handles Sean's work. Do you think you could convince Rafe to come?"

    "I'll talk to him," Margaret promised.

    "Don't get your hopes up, Julie." Sean's voice was gentle. "Even if Margaret gets him there we can't expect him to instantly change his mind about me."

    "No," Julie agreed, "but it would at least be a sign that he's willing to give you a chance. Margaret, if you can pull this off, I will definitely owe you one."

    Margaret laughed, feeling completely relaxed around Julie for the first time since she had met her. "I'll keep that in mind."

    Julie turned to Sean. "Look, the band is starting up again. Let's dance."

    "All right. I could use a few more lessons in Western swing. If I'm going to marry a ranch girl, I'd better learn a few of the ropes." Sean put down his glass. He nodded at Margaret. "Thanks," he said as he took Julie's arm.

    "No problem. Us non-business types sometimes have to stick together."

    "You've got a point."

    Margaret watched the handsome couple disappear into the throng of people dancing on the patio. She was idly tapping her foot and wondering where Rafe was when she suddenly became aware of Doug Hatcher standing behind her. She turned to smile brightly at him, thinking that he was about to ask her to dance. But his first remark dispelled that illusion.

    "You're settling in very quickly around here, aren't you?" Doug's words were carefully enunciated, as if he was afraid of slurring them.

    Margaret felt a frisson of uneasiness. "Hello, Doug. I didn't see you there. Enjoying the party?" She eyed the half-empty glass in his hand and the careful way he was holding himself and wondered if he was a little drunk. She realized she had never before seen him drink anything at all.

    "You've definitely moved in on the Cassidy clan." Doug took a long pull on his drink. "You're changing things around here."

    "I am?"

    "Don't be so modest, Miss Lark." Doug stared at her and nodded, as if at some private understanding. "Yeah. You've changed him all right."

    "Are we talking about Rafe?"

    "He's different now."

    "In what way, Doug?"

    "Getting soft."

    "
Soft
? Rafe?" She was genuinely startled by that comment.

    "It's true." Doug nodded again, frowning. "When I first went to work for him he was like a knife. He'd just cut through everything in his path. But a year ago things changed. Oh, we put together a couple of good deals this past year, but it's not like the old days. I thought it was going to be all right for the first few months but then he decided he wanted you back."

    "He talked about me to you?"

    Doug shook his head, the gesture slightly exaggerated. "He didn't have to. I know him. I knew what he was thinking about and it wasn't about business. Like I said, he's gone soft, lost his edge. When he does think about business, he only thinks about one thing these days." He turned abruptly, caught himself as he nearly lost his balance and then vanished into the crowd.

    Margaret took a deep breath as she dared to hope that the one thing Rafe thought about most these days was her. She didn't expect him to spend the rest of his life focusing entirely on her, she told herself. She fully understood that he had a major corporation to run and a ranch to manage. She had no intention of being unreasonable.

    But it was comforting to know that there was growing evidence that she was finally important enough to him to make him alter his normal way of doing business. A year ago she had not been at all certain she held that much significance in his life.

    "You look like you're enjoying yourself, Maggie, love." Rafe materialized out of the crowd and took her hand to lead her onto the dance floor. "Can I conclude that the thought of engagement parties in general no longer is enough to send you running for cover?"

    She smiled up at him, aware of the sheer pleasure of being in his arms. His beautifully controlled physical strength was one of the most compelling qualities he possessed. She loved being wrapped up in it. "I'm having a great time at this one," she admitted.

    "One of these days we'll start planning another one."

    His certainty always left her feeling breathless. "Will we?"

    "Yeah, Maggie, love. We will."

    "I thought I was going to get plenty of time to make up my mind."

    "I promised you a little time to get used to the idea of marrying me, but don't expect me to give you an unlimited amount of rope. Knowing