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lines of his body tensed. “Come to the lawyer with me tomorrow.”
    She raised her head and met his solemn gaze. Worry burned in his eyes, and lines bracketed his mouth. He looked like a man about to open a box filled with live snakes.
    “Pa had a secret, Caroline, and I don’t know if I can face it without you by my side.”
    Long ago he’d asked her to stand by him, and she’d chosen the wrong path. Not this time. She threaded her fingers with his and kissed his hard lips to seal the promise.

Chapter Four
    Utah revolved through the front two rooms of the ranch house, past the old dusty leather couch, and on to the front door. For thirty minutes, he’d been walking through these same rooms, waiting for the lawyer to knock.
    In Utah’s youth, old Mr. Berger had dropped by more than once with contracts for Utah’s father, but now Utah was dealing with the son. Tom Berger had been a grade below Utah in high school. He didn’t remember much about him other than he liked to run the track.
    And he’s late.
    He made another rotation through the rooms. Caroline was bent over, her luscious ass pointed his way as she rubbed a cloth over the dining table. A shock of lust speared him. The woman looked alluring as hell, even while vanquishing dust so they could sit and hear what Berger had on Hollis Davies.
    God, he wasn’t ready for this. What kind of mess had his father left Utah to scrape off his boots?
    As he circled the table, Caroline’s gaze followed him. “You’re like a caged animal.”
    Pressure mounted in his chest. “Feel like one.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. Their gazes met, and he softened. Just looking at her gave him warm feelings. She stripped away the years of loneliness.
    He lingered over the arch of her throat, still red from the long night he’d spent loving her. His cock twitched at the thought of the hours he’d kept her under him, then in the shower, and after a quick breakfast, on her kitchen table. They’d had maybe two hours of sleep.
    She was as fresh and pretty as always. Her hair waved around her shoulders, and she wore a pair of slim black pants and a simple white cotton top. A single gold bracelet circled her wrist, but he wished it were a ring on her finger.
    She pulled out a chair and wiped it down. “Sit.”
    He shook his head. “Can’t.” Pushing off, he strode back into the living room. What had become of those photos from the safe? Did the lawyer have them? Why the hell was he late?
    When the knock he’d been waiting for finally sounded, Utah’s gut clenched. Why the hell had he been so eager? He didn’t want to get this over with.
    Caroline drifted past him, rubbing her hands together. She paused to shoot him a look. “You’re a mess, Utah. What do you know that you haven’t told me?”
    He didn’t answer. As she opened the door, he held his breath.
    “Come in, Tom.” The familiar way she spoke his name raised Utah’s ire a notch. She’d spent a decade without Utah, making relationships with people in town, both friendships and more, as the condoms in her drawer indicated.
    He scraped his teeth over his lower lip and stared at the lawyer.
    Tom Berger came into the house, and Utah saw with a shock he was disheveled and had a grease smudge on his blue dress shirt. “So sorry I’m late. I had car problems.”
    Utah relaxed a bit and offered him a hand. Tom shook it. “It’s okay. Had some vehicle troubles myself not too long ago.”
    After his mishap on the isolated road, Utah had hiked eight miles to the next house to ask the resident to bring his tractor and pull the truck out. They also had to rush back into town for tires, narrowly arriving before the shop closed.
    “Do you need to clean up? The bathroom’s right through here,” Caroline said.
    “No, thank you. I washed my hands in the gas station restroom. I was lucky enough to get a rental car on short notice.”
    Caroline smiled. “No small feat in this town. Come in. Can I offer you