There were times when his eyes were shadowed with emotion she didn"t understand, and it surprised her that she wanted to know the root of that darkness. It surprised her that she was as attracted to the inner man as she was to his outward appearance.
She found a seat in one of the back pews as Joshua disappeared to find the rest of the wedding party. She"d meet up with him again after the ceremony and they"d go together back to the West ranch for the reception.
As she waited for things to begin, she pulled out a small notepad and made notes that would become an article for the paper.
White and burgundy roses bedecked the church, their beauty so intense it created a small ache inside her. Scented candles were lit, their flickering glows completing the romantic ambience.
When the men took their places near the minister and the traditional music began to play, a swell of emotion filled her.
Weddings always made her cry and the tears began the minute Libby"s daughter, Gracie, began her walk down the aisle as flower girl. She looked like a miniature fairy princess in a billowing white dress and with her pale blond hair falling in ringlets down her back. As she walked and dropped rose petals, she smiled at the man who would be her official daddy when the ceremony was finished.
Clay stood at the front of the church, his brothers beside him as groomsmen. Her gaze lingered on Joshua, who looked slightly ill at ease but handsome as the devil. Clay smiled at the little flower girl, and she hurried her footsteps, almost skipping toward him.
As the bridesmaids began their march down the aisle her throat closed up as her tears increased. Meredith was first, looking more lovely and put together than Savannah had ever seen her. Then came Kate and Anna and another woman Savannah didn"t recognize. One more lovely than the next in their cranberry-colored dresses and with flowers decorating their hair.
By the time Libby appeared in a stunning wedding gown and made her regal walk toward Clay, Savannah dug into her purse for a tissue.
Clay"s face lit at the sight of his bride, his gaze filled with such love it was palpable in the air.
It was at that moment Savannah knew she"d lied to Joshua. She"d basically told him that love and marriage wasn"t important to her, but that wasn"t true.
There was a deep core of loneliness inside her, one that had ached inside her for as long as she could remember. She wanted somebody in her life, somebody who would listen to her dreams and share her desire.
She was filled with the need to love, with the desire to be loved. And her greatest fear was that she"d never find her lonely cowboy, she"d never get the opportunity to see a man look at her as Clay looked at Libby.
Her greatest fear was that her mother had been right when she"d told Savannah that she"d better learn to be content alone because a happily-ever-after probably wasn"t in her future.
The white canopy shielded the wedding guests from the late afternoon sun. Beneath the canopy were tables and chairs and enough food to feed two townships.
Joshua stood near one of the food tables, a soft drink in his hand, his bow tie dangling loose. It appeared that the whole town was here. Mayor Aaron Sharp was holding court at one of the tables, talking to several other members of the city council. Jim Ramsey sat with a couple of his deputies, looking relaxed and definitely off duty.
Red and Smokey bustled between the kitchen and the tables, making sure the platters of food remained heaping and everyone got their fill.
A local band provided the music and a wooden dance floor had been laid out on the gra.s.s. A dozen couples occupied the s.p.a.ce, two-stepping to a Garth Brooks tune. One of those couples was his brother Dalton and Savannah.
She looked like a bright yellow daisy, warm and vibrant amid the other people on the dance floor. Yellow was definitely a good color on her.
He narrowed his gaze as he watched them dance. It was obvious Savannah didn"t know how to two-step and each time she messed up she raised her head to look at Dalton and laughed.
Heat coiled in Joshua"s stomach, a familiar heat that he felt each time he looked at her. If only he hadn"t kissed her. The kiss had been a momentary lapse of judgment he"d paid for ever since with a heightened sense of s.e.xual desire for her.
Over the last week he"d learned several things about Savannah Clarion. She was smart and confident when she was working. She was good with people and had a sense of humor most people would envy.
But, even though she had a bravado about her, he sensed her insecurity as a woman. She obviously had no idea that she possessed an earthy s.e.xiness that was far more interesting than traditional beauty.
She seemed to have no idea that when she smiled she lit from within and that whoever was gifted with that smile felt special. More than once she"d repeated something her mother had said to her and Joshua wouldn"t have minded taking her mother out and horse-whipping her for the insecurities she"d put in Savannah"s head.
d.a.m.n the woman anyway. He turned his back on the dance floor and instead eyed the faces of the crowd, seeking one who didn"t belong, one who might have hatred in her heart.
For the past week he"d tried to connect with Lauren, to a.s.sure himself that she was still in New York City and not someplace in Cotter Creek.
Unfortunately, he"d been unable to get in touch with her. Her answering machine picked up at her house no matter what time he"d tried to call. She was either not home or not taking calls.
He"d also made several calls to mutual friends they had shared, but none of those friends had been able to tell him where she was or what she might be doing. n.o.body had seen her at the usual places for the past week.
It had been a frustrating week on all levels as far as Joshua was concerned. He"d not only fought against his own desire for Savannah and failed at finding out what Lauren might be up to, but their investigation had stalled as well.
They had spent the week getting in touch with family members of the victims of the accidental deaths. Most had moved away, others weren"t interested in rehashing the tragedies and nothing they had learned had indicated there was foul play at hand.
And yet despite that they"d hit nothing but dead ends, over the past week Joshua"s instincts had begun to whisper that maybe Savannah was right. Maybe something bad was happening in the town he loved.
It was Charlie"s death that made him believe something wasn"t right. As the week had progressed and he"d gained some emotional distance from the trauma of finding Charlie dead, he"d found it hard to believe that Charlie would have done such a thing under his own volition.
Although his logic battled with his instinct, he"d decided to go with his instinct for the moment. He glanced back at Savannah, who had changed partners and was now dancing with Joe Steward, a middle-aged widower with four kids at home.
Joshua thought about cutting in, but the idea of holding Savannah in his arms, feeling her lush curves against him sent an uncomfortable shot of desire through him.
"Heard you"re moving."
Joshua turned and smiled at his brother Zack. "Yeah, I"ve decided to move into the cabin." The cabin was a little two-bedroom place down the lane from the big house. At one time or another almost all the brothers had lived there. Zack had been the last and had left to move in with Kate.
"Any reason why you decided to make the move?"
"Nothing in particular. I just got used to having my own s.p.a.ce while I was in New York." Certainly that was part of the reason he"d decided to move, but not the main one.
Each time his father looked at him Joshua felt a silent pressure to bend to his father"s will, to agree to go back into the family business.
"You need help moving your things?" Zack asked.
"Nah, it"s just a matter of taking a couple of suitcases to the cabin." At that moment Kate joined them.
"Hey, Joshua, you look as handsome as ever," she said. "All you Wests look fine in a tux."
Zack tugged at his collar. "Personally, I can"t wait to get out of this monkey suit."
"I couldn"t agree more," Joshua said with a laugh.
"If you"ll excuse us, I believe my husband has promised me at least one spin around the dance floor." Kate grabbed Zack"s hand, who moaned loudly but allowed his wife to pull him to the dance floor.
Once again his attention was captured by Savannah, who was twirling on the arm of yet another man. Didn"t the woman ever take a break? She"d been dancing nonstop almost since the moment the band had begun playing.
"Nice party."
Joshua turned to see a familiar face. "Hi, Ms. Burnwell," he said to the flashy-dressed woman who worked as a Realtor in Cotter Creek.
"It"s Wadsworth now, Sheila Wadsworth." She smiled. "While you were in New York I went and got myself married."
"Congratulations," Joshua replied. "Have you retired from the real estate business?"
"Heavens, no, I"m busier than I"ve ever been. Thomas, that"s my husband, he"s always complaining that the only way he can get any attention from me is if he wears a For Sale sign around his neck. And speaking of Thomas, I"d better go find him. That man has an unusual fondness for the spiked punch."
As she hurried off Joshua stared after her. So, the real estate business was booming in Cotter Creek. He frowned, a thought niggling at the back of his head. As the thought took full form, he looked around for Savannah.
He spied her on the dance floor with yet another partner, a young man he didn"t recognize. Her cheeks were flushed with color and she looked at Joshua in surprise as he tapped her partner on the shoulder. "I"m taking your partner," he said to the young man.
He frowned, but stepped back. Joshua grabbed Savannah"s hand and led her off the dance floor. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"I"ve thought of something and we need to check it out." He pulled her away from the party and toward his truck.
"What? What did you think of? Where are we going?" She hurried to keep up with his long strides.
"We need to find a plat of the area. I have a hunch."
"I have a plat in my office at Winnie"s."
He got into the truck and started the engine as she scrambled into the seat next to him. "What"s your hunch?" she asked as they pulled away from the West ranch.
"I"ll tell you when we get that plat." He might be wrong. He needed to visually see on paper what was in his mind at the moment. "You looked like you were having fun." He cast a quick glance at her, noting that her cheeks still held a flush of color and her eyes sparkled brightly.
"I love to dance. I"m not terrific at it, but I love it. The wedding was wonderful, wasn"t it? Libby looked like a fairy princess."
As they drove to Winnie"s place she continued to chatter about the wedding, talking about how cute Gracie had looked, the decorations in the church and how happy the bride and groom had appeared.
He thought he heard a wistful note in her voice but told himself all women got a little silly when it came to weddings and babies.
By the time they reached Winnie"s, he was as tense as he"d ever been. He told himself it had nothing to do with Savannah, that he was anxious to see if his suppositions were right. If what he believed was correct, then Savannah wasn"t crazy and there was something wicked going on in Cotter Creek.
Savannah unlocked the front door, then led him up the staircase. He followed behind her, trying not to notice the sway of her shapely bottom mere inches in front of his face as they climbed the stairs.
Once they were in the room she used as an office, he stood in the doorway and watched as she dug through a pile of papers stacked in one corner.
"I know I"ve got one somewhere," she said as she flipped through the stack. "I got one from Lillian down at City Hall when I first arrived in town. It made it easier for me to know where everyone lived when I needed to conduct interviews. Ah, here it is."
She straightened and unfolded the large plat and laid it on the table. Joshua walked over and looked at the map that detailed the lots and land of Cotter Creek and the immediate surrounding area.
As he focused on the map, he tried not to notice the disturbing scent of her, a fragrance that smelled clean and fresh with just a hint of vanilla and musk. He grabbed a pen, then looked at her. "Who was the first person who died in a suspicious accident?"
"George Townsend. A kerosene heater exploded and his place burned down, him with it."
Joshua looked at the plat and placed a big X on the Townsend property. "Who"s next?"
"Roy Nesmith. He fell out of his hayloft."
Joshua identified the Nesmith property and placed a large X there. One by one they went through the names and marked the property, with Charlie"s land being the last on their list.
"Oh, my G.o.d," Savannah said softly as they both stared at the plat. The marked areas formed a disturbing pattern. All the accidental deaths took place on the west side of town.
"What do you think the odds of something like this happening are?" he asked. "That all the accidents would happen to men who lived in the same area?"
Savannah"s eyes were wide as she held his gaze. "It"s about the land, isn"t it?" She looked down at the plat, then back at him, her b.r.e.a.s.t.s rising and falling with quickened breaths.
"It has to be about the land." Without warning she threw her arms around his neck. "You did it! I knew you could help me figure it out."
The moment her arms curled around his neck, the instant her b.r.e.a.s.t.s made contact with his chest, he lost the ability to figure out anything. All he knew was that she was warm in his arms and that since the last time he"d kissed her all he"d thought about was when he might kiss her again.
She must have seen something in his eyes, something that should have made her dance away from him, but instead she pressed closer into him and parted her lips as if in invitation.
He couldn"t help but respond. He"d been on the verge of an explosion for the past week. As he crashed his mouth down to hers, he allowed the explosion to consume him.
Chapter 8.
Savannah felt as if she"d waited a lifetime for his kiss. There was a hot, hungry demand in his lips that forced all thoughts of crazy conspiracies and land schemes out of her mind.
His strong arms wrapped her tight, pulling her as intimately against him as she could get. He was all hard muscle and she relished the feel of him against her, boldly aroused and taut with desire.
His tongue swirled with hers, evoking a want in her that she"d never experienced before. The hunger she tasted in his mouth clawed inside of her, made her weak and needy in a way that only he could sate.
As the kiss continued, his hands swept first up her back, then down to cup her b.u.t.tocks through the silky material of her dress.
His touch filled her with heat. She wanted him in her bedroom, in her bed, his naked body against hers. She wound her arms around his waist beneath the tuxedo jacket and unfastened the c.u.mmerbund.
As it fell to the floor, he stepped back from her, his eyes blazing and his chest heaving. "This isn"t a good idea." His voice was husky as his gaze swept slowly down the length of her, then back up to meet hers.
His lips might be saying one thing, but the heat of his gaze said quite another. He wanted her. The knowledge torched fire through her, making her think that following through on what they had begun was a very good idea.
"Why not? We"re both single and consenting adults." She reached out, took his hand and pulled him out of the office and into her bedroom. He came willingly, although once they were in the bedroom he pulled his hand from hers, his gaze tormented.
"If you don"t want me, then I certainly don"t want to make you do anything you don"t want to," she said, as if it didn"t matter to her. But it did. Her heart hammered in her chest. There was no doubt in her mind what she wanted. Him.
"I want you," he replied, his voice thick. He took a step toward her. "I haven"t been able to think about much of anything else except how much I want you."
His words made her heart beat faster. He took another step that brought him to within inches of her. He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, as if unable to stop himself. "I definitely want you."
"Then what"s stopping you?" She felt his hesitation and it was killing her.
He dropped his hand, his eyes darkening with the shadows that often filled them. "Because if we"re going to do this, then you have to understand that it isn"t any kind of a commitment on my part. This isn"t a promise of a relationship, it doesn"t mean we owe each other anything."
"And you tell me that I talk too much," she said teasingly.
His cheeks flushed slightly with color and he smiled back at her. "I just want things to be completely clear between us. I don"t want there to be any kind of misunderstandings on either side."