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Zeph. She knew all the touching and kissing had to be faked. After That Night in L. A., she was done with Zeph. Really. But he followed her into her father’s living room, just like a—well, a date. He got her a drink. He sat beside her. Acted the boyfriend part with apparent ease. It made her heart hurt.
    One day at a time. She only had to get through this evening without letting her confusion show. After fifteen minutes of suffering her father and his protective parent thing, she revised her goal. She had to get through the evening without telling her father Zeph’s real purpose in coming to Stone’s Crossing.
    “Dad,” she said when Zeph excused himself to take a call on his cell. “I’m twenty-eight, not sixteen. You can stop the heavy parent routine any time. Please.”
    “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “Of course you don’t. I don’t, either. Why would you assume Zeph is going to hurt me?” Any more than he already has.
    “He’s too sophisticated. I don’t trust him.”
    “I do.” Sure. She trusted him to do his job and leave. Trusted him to go back to his playboy lifestyle.
    When Zeph returned, her father intercepted him, almost dragging him across the room to look at some historical pictures of Stone’s Crossing in the Gold Rush days. “Here’s a picture of Luke’s old family home,” her father said as he handed it to Zeph.
    Allie curled up on the sofa. The two men bent over the table. Her father solid and judge-like and dependable. Zeph dark and dangerous and…desirable. She sipped her drink and promised herself she didn’t care.
    “That’s Allie’s clinic,” Zeph said, looking at the picture of Luke’s old home.
    “Yes. Derek—you remember Derek, I’m sure—made sure Luke’s ranch was sold off after—”
    “After Derek made sure Luke was framed for murder,” Allie put in.
    “Yes,” her father finished. “I bought the house then. Derek tried to convert some of the best land in the valley to vacation homes, but I was able to stop that.”
    “And Allie ended up with what I’m assuming was the original ranch house,” Zeph said.
    “Yes. When she went to Davis to study veterinary medicine, I realized the property would be perfect for a clinic.”
    Zeph raised an eyebrow. “Nice graduation present. I’d guess she deserves it.”
    Allie’s traitorous heart kicked over. Maybe he really had come here for her. No, he hadn’t. Repeat after me: big city; other women. “It was the perfect present,” she said. “Maybe also something of a bribe.” She smiled at her father.
    “Allie’s never failed me,” her father said stiffly. “And we couldn’t have our new vet setting up practice somewhere else. Stone’s Crossing needs her.” Her father’s look at Zeph might almost be called challenging. After a moment, he picked up another picture and handed it to Zeph.
    Allie went back to thinking about Zeph’s case. Did she believe him when he’d said building scam? She did. Nothing else made sense. None of the stores in town were big enough to cheat on a state-wide basis. In fact, since Paul had been convinced to keep his thumb off the scale when he weighed meat, Stone’s Crossing stores were pretty much cheat-free.
    As for politics, the current mayor, Bill Bartelett, believed in an open door policy. He conducted town business right out in front of everyone. Nothing flaky there.
    The bank didn’t seem to be doing anything particularly heinous, just doling out small loans and generally being conservative but helpful to the community. It had even, she’d heard, foreclosed on the few summer cabins built on Luke’s old ranch. No outsiders or state-wide involvement there.
    So Zeph must be telling the truth. A building scam, which had to involve the company Derek Blanton had started and run until he...left. The company had had, and still had, lots of projects outside of Stone’s Crossing, of course, because such a small town couldn’t support a big company. Zeph had no