ious. he had considered her a younger sister almost all of his life. ben's feelings about colby were very mixed, and he didn't want to see her in this light. they weren't suited at all. he had never noticed her looking alluring and sexy before, not once in all their years together.

ben glanced over at the dark stranger and caught the man looking at him. rafael didn't look away, his smoldering eyes odd in the waning light. they reminded ben of a cat's eyes, more suited to night vision than day. the eyes didn't blink and ben looked away, not liking that intent, hair-raising stare. rafael de la cruz was making it perfectly clear that colby was off-limits to any other man. ben didn't trust him, sensing something violent and dangerous seething below that calm exterior. and de la cruz seemed a playboy type, easily acquiring women and just as fast tossing them aside. colby was not made for a one-night stand. she was a woman who would give herself completely to someone she loved. ben didn't want it to be a man like de la cruz.

he shoved his hat on his head. "i'll find paul and talk with chevez, but, colby, you keep the kids close and don't go wandering off by yourself."

"i have a ranch to run, ben," she said quietly. "i'm not going to let someone scare me off."

"you said juan chevez found the steer. what was he doing riding your ranch?" ben sounded casual, but colby wasn't in the least bit fooled, she had known him far too long.

"after the fire, rafael didn't want us to be alone here. he couldn't stay with us so he asked juan and julio to help us out." she looked down at her hands, ashamed to admit her weakness to him. "it was a good thing they stayed. i was sick this afternoon and slept most of the day away."

"so de la cruz ordered them to stay"

"they wanted to stay, ben. they are paul and ginny's uncles, after all. they are concerned for their welfare."

he turned his faded blue eyes on her. "are you trying to make me believe that colby jansen is not in the least suspicious about this setup? that these people show up out of the blue claiming your brother and sister and wanting the ranch to hold for them? that they just happen to be business associates and are staying with your neighbor sean everett whose entire crew just happens to be ex-cons? and that just about the same time they arrive, all kinds of `accidents' begin happening on your ranch? this is all coincidence, colby? and now juan chevez finds a dead steer mutilated while he is 'watching over you' on de la cruz's orders. it seems a bit far-fetched to me."

"didn't we have this conversation before, and i was the one saying these things to you? you told me i was stubborn and to get over it. you told me i was talking through my hat when i tried to point out to you that the things going wrong on the ranch weren't accidents."

"yeah, well, pete's death was no accident, colby, and it was no accident that chevez and everett's riders were up on the bluff. or that clinton daniels and that scum harris were out there either, along with that new hand of his, ernie carter. now that's a real winner there. what the hell were you doing riding out there alone?"

"ben"-she laid a placating hand on his arm-"you aren't suggesting everyone is conspiring against me, are you?"

ben felt the weight of those peculiar eyes staring at him malevolently. he didn't look up to see; he knew instinctively they had de la cruz's full attention and he knew it was because he had raised his voice to colby and she was touching him. "i think you're in great danger, colby, and not just of losing the ranch. that's what i think and you'd better take me damn seriously."

"i will, ben," colby conceded with a little sigh. "i'm worried too. i don't know what to think, but i don't want anything to happen to paul or ginny. i promise to be careful." when he continued looking at her she sighed again. "very, very careful."

"and not trust anybody too much," he prompted.

"and i won't trust anybody too much," she added obediently.

ben walked off toward the hay field, and she watched him until his large frame disappeared around the side of the large barn. she stared at the barn, puzzled. it would have made more sense for the arsonist to burn down the barn. it was located farther away from the house and it didn't have built-in sprinklers. the barn would have gone up fast with the hay in it. why hadn't they chosen the barn?

"colby!" ginny called out, her voice betraying annoyance. she desperately wanted to make a good impression. tanya was very nice and she wanted colby to pay her lots of attention so she would want to come back.

colby hurried over, ignoring rafael's hot gaze and concentrating totally on joclyn and tanya. she was aware of rafael watching her intently the entire time she gave instructions, but she forced herself to keep from looking at him. she wanted to look at him. she even needed to look at him. she could feel her mind continually reaching for his. she had felt the sensation before; now she recognized it. and he often touched her mind. like a shadow. almost for reassurance. the moment he touched her she could relax again, breathe. she smiled at joclyn and talked normally. she hugged ginny often, going through the motions of being interested and excited by her chatter. she lavished attention on tanya, but all the while she was intensely aware of rafael. waiting. watching.

sean handed rafael an envelope through the truck's open window just before they left, promising ginny they would return in a couple of days. colby watched rafael casually tuck it into his shirt pocket. she really looked at him then, allowing herself the luxury. his clothes were immaculate, despite the fact that he had been checking the burns on the horses in the corral and helping with the riding lesson. it seemed as if even the dirt and dust of the ranch didn't dare cling to him the way it did everyone else. and he always smelled so good too.

rafael met her gaze over the top of ginny's head and smiled at her. he could rob her of her breath without doing much at all. colby ducked her head and began walking with ginny up to the house. "so, what did you think, chickadee, did you like tanya?"

"she's really nice, colby," ginny said enthusiastically. "paul should have at least come over to be introduced."

"really?" colby's eyebrow shot up. "did you think so? i thought he might say something awful and mortify us-you know paul."

ginny thought it over, then shook her head. "girls think he's cute. he's been talking to quite a few of them on the phone and they always call him first. he never calls them. at night when you're working he's on the phone in the kitchen."

"your brother talks on the phone to girls while your sister is working?" rafael asked quietly. there was no real expression in his voice, it was soft and calm like always, yet it held a wealth of menace.

colby glanced at him, wondering how he could do that, not raise his voice or change his inflection, yet sound so frightening. "paul is very young, rafael. he's only sixteen."

"and when armando was in the accident and left you to run the ranch and nurse him, you were what? seventeen?" his black eyes moved broodingly over her face.

she took the back porch steps very fast, suddenly angry with him. "paul helps out a lot, rafael, and in any case, it isn't your business."

he glided along beside her in his silent way, irritating her even more. his hand reached the door to the kitchen at the exact same time as hers did. colby jerked her hand away when his fingers brushed hers. "do you think coddling that boy is going to make a man out of him, colby? ultimately, he has to run the ranch. it was your father's dream to keep the ranch for the kids, but he wouldn't want you running yourself into the ground."

colby was all too aware of ginny's wide eyes staring from one to the other of them, suddenly very grown-up. "it was my dream too." colby sounded defiant even to her own ears. she stalked across the room to the refrigerator and stared inside.

rafael's smile was very gentle. he put a hand on her shoulder. i have been in your mind, pequena. i did not see such a memory.

he had been in her body too. the unspoken words shimmered in the air. she whirled around and glared at him. "then you darn well weren't looking for it," she snapped, hating that she knew what was in his pocket and that she would have no choice but to accept his handout. she was going to take his money and she had slept with him. "i wanted the ranch too. i did. i do."

the memory is not there, querida, and you, more than i, know it is true. it was never there, no such memory, because you had no such desire or dream.