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shoulders—and he was sure—the majority of her back, exposed. The ultra-spikes on her matching heels clicked on the pavement as she moved and his eyes couldn’t decide which bouncing balls to focus on: her tits or her swinging hips. It surprised him when a flash-memory of Julie, standing there in that old-fashioned pink dress, with the same color sash as Nora Lee’s dress, juxtaposed itself with the reality of the female barracuda-flesh flouncing before him.
    “I sure could use a glass of iced tea. You got any made?” Nora Lee asked, curling her arm around his and turning them both toward the door.
    He refused to budge though. He had way too much business to conduct—and the call to his dad really couldn’t wait much longer. “I’m afraid I’m all out.” She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off. “Look. I’ve got a lot going on right now. I’ve got important phone calls to make and a new partnership I need my attorney to draft a contract up on.”
    He took hold of the arm she was clinging to him with and forced it back down to her side. He could tell he was pissing her off, but it couldn’t be helped.
    And maybe pissing her off was the best way to get her out of his hair, anyway. Maybe being real blunt would do the trick. “I’m not in the market for a wife. Hell, I’m not even in the market for a steady partner, if you know what I mean. So, really, Nora Lee, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
    Her answering smile didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Oh, Sugar, don’t you worry your head about me. I’m just bein’ a good neighbor, is all.”
    “Good. Because that’s about all I can handle right now.” He took hold of her upper arm and started leading her back toward her Merc. “Like I said, I’ve got a lot of phone calls and business to conduct. Maybe I’ll see you around. At Jimmy’s or something, sometime.”
    He opened the car door and all but hauled her into her seat before slamming the door closed. “Goodbye, Nora Lee.”
    He could have sworn she nearly stuck her tongue out at him before she said, “’Bye Sugar,” and then turned the ignition key, revved the motor, swung her upper torso around to look out the back windshield and gunned the gas pedal. Jason leapt back. He was not surprised when he heard the tires squeal.
    * * *
    Jason’s dad answered on the third ring. “Hey, hey, hey! Didya get it then?”
    Jason grinned. It had been a long time since he’d heard that much enthusiasm in his dad’s voice. He slid forward on the mauve and green floral print sofa and leaned back, dropping his head to rest on the overstuffed cushion. “Yeah,” he said, resettling the cell phone’s receiver closer to his mouth.
    “So…didya meet Julie?”
    Jason shot forward as if the lid to a jack-in-the-box had been raised—and he was Jack. “Excuse me?”
    “Julie Del Mar. Was she there?”
    “Yeah—what the hell—”
    “ Now, we can’t really take that property from her. It was her parent’s, after all. Hell, it’s her legacy. No, can’t do it. How much d’ya pay for it anyway?”
    “Dad.” Jason’s throat ached with the strain of not shouting the word. “ What the hell is going on? Was this some kind of a set-up?”
    “No. Well…maybe, just a little bit.”
    Jason’s eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. “So, you didn’t really want this property for our fishing resort project.”
    “Hell yes I wanted it—want it! In fact, that’s how I found out whose property it originally was.”
    “And you knew Julie would be bidding on it?”
    “Not exactly. I just…speculated…that she might want it back. Especially after losing her sister.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me she might be there?”
    “Because. I knew you wouldn’t go then. And…well, I wanted the property for us. Absolutely. Especially if Julie didn’t show. But I also wanted you and her to meet. I just can’t stop thinking about that sweet little thing and how she’s got nobody now. I just want to