Courting Trouble (The Texas Two-Step Series, Book 3) (12 page)

"I'll call my supplier to get more when I get back. It's strange, though. I just got a shipment in a couple of days ago."

"It's popular today." The shop door opened and Heather was relieved to see Bert coming to her rescue.

"Peanuts are especially rich sources of arginine," Diedra said. "Almost any nut is a good source."

"Peanuts. Okay, thanks." Bert joined her behind the counter and immediately went to work on the cash register, opening the side to remove the empty tape roll. "Listen, I need to run. Customers."

"Before I go, have you heard from Meagan?"

Diedra sounded so hopeful, Heather hated to disappoint her. "Sorry. No word here."

Bert pointed at the empty roll. "New one?" he mouthed.

Heather shrugged helplessly. She said to Diedra, "I guess this means you haven't found her."

"No luck so far."

"I'm so sorry. I know you're worried." More customers came in the door and the shop buzzed with activity. Heather had to get Diedra off the phone before she realized all wasn't perfect in herbal paradise. "I'll call you if I hear anything."

"What's that commotion?"

"Hmm." Of course she heard all the noise. Heather didn't want to lie to Diedra, but she had enough worries without thinking something was wrong at the shop. "Another customer just came in."

"It must be a noisy customer."

"Bert's helping me change the cash register tape. Do you know where more tapes are?"

"Sure," said Diedra. "They're under the counter by the chair."

Three more customers entered the store and it was becoming almost too crowded for people to easily move around the aisles. "Thanks. I need to run. A customer needs help."

"Okay. I'll check in with you again later."

Heather hung up the phone. "That was a close call. I think Diedra was suspicious, but she's got her hands full already."

"I'm sure she'll find Meagan soon." Bert gave Heather's arm a comforting pat. "I'll take care of this customer. You go help the others."

"As soon as I make a call for reinforcements," Heather said, dialing her twin's number.

Thistle answered immediately. "I knew you were going to call. What's up?"

They'd always been like that, knowing when the other was in trouble. "I need some help."

* * *

As they neared Dallas, Alec stirred restlessly. His head touched the convertible roof, making him duck and giving him a cramp in his neck. At least when the rain had let up, he'd been able to remove Diedra's shoe from the roof, but that left a down draft blowing directly in his eyes. It had been easier to drive with his head bent around the shoe.

He tried calling both Jeff and Heather again, but the result was the same as every other time he called, except this time Heather's voice mail said it was full.

Diedra had been silent for a while. When he turned to check on her, it looked like she was sleeping. Good. She needed it.

He rubbed his neck. What was he going to do about her? She was the most incredible woman he'd ever met, and she scared the living daylights out of him. What would happen next?

How could he seriously pursue a relationship with someone who so obviously needed a caretaker? He had more responsibilities than he wanted to cope with already. But that wasn't the real problem.

His mom wouldn't like it, but again, that wasn't a real problem, just a minor setback. He'd always thought he'd one day find a nice girl and want to settle down. He'd just thought she'd be someone who'd share his life rather than turn it upside down.

Whoa. Wait a second. Settle down? Where had that come from? Diedra was a nice girl. And sexy as all get out. But...

He'd spent the greater part of his life gaining and maintaining control of things. He needed that, and he had no business considering anything permanent with someone who couldn't control even insignificant parts of her life.

What would happen if he introduced her to a judge? She'd give him hives? Would she have his biggest client, Mr. Siebert, running from knives? The possibilities for embarrassment were boundless.

Then it hit him that the worst part wasn't that. It was the fact that Diedra was totally aware of the problem. That's why she'd acted so strangely when he'd asked her a few questions. He'd just wanted to know the rules.

Evidently there weren't any and Diedra expected him to run from her because of it.

He didn't want to hurt her any more than she'd been hurt already. Was it worse to continue something that could end only in disaster? Or worse to hurt her by confirming her fears? He couldn't see any way around the predicament.

She made him feel alive and free.

She made him hot.

She made him laugh and do silly things he'd never consider doing otherwise. Usually, he worried about his image instead of having fun. When he was with Diedra, he liked himself a lot better than he liked some image of himself as Mr. Fabulous Trial Attorney.

Was it so bad that spending time with her was like one of those trick peanut cans, with a snake jumping out at any moment?

Alec ran a hand over his eyes. He was tired and in no condition to think clearly. They had to find Meagan and Jeff first.

Beside him, Diedra fluttered into awareness. Making love with her had been fantastic. He craved the opportunity to do it again.

Properly.

On a bed.

She'd seduced him and he shouldn't have let her. At least not until he understood where they stood. Yet, he wouldn't give up the memory for anything. He craved her like a felon craved freedom. What was wrong with him?

Just looking at her made him hard and ready. He needed a psychoanalyst. He needed a cold shower. He needed Diedra and a bed, in that order.

Chapter 12

When they reached town, they drove to Alec's office building and parked the rental car in the underground garage next to Diedra's car. His had been left at Love Field Airport.

Wearily, they entered the high-rise building. His knees felt like spaghetti noodles but he managed to get them under control. When they climbed into the elevator, Diedra started to punch the button for his floor, but stopped.

"You do it," she said with a wave.

He shook his head, but wordlessly punched the button himself. She was pale and he wished he could do something to bring the color back to her face. He held the door open for Diedra as they reached his office.

"Thank goodness you've come, A.C.," exclaimed his secretary, Sarah, as soon as she saw them.

He smiled at her, thankful she'd remained in the office waiting for his return, even though it was now early evening and she should have left at least an hour earlier.

"What happened to you two? You go swimming with your clothes on?"

Diedra and he hadn't stopped anywhere to clean up. Their clothing was damp and wrinkled, and his jacket hung limply from his shoulders. However, he never went to the office without one, so he suffered through.

"We got caught in the rain. Is Jeff here?" asked Alec, hoping for good news but after a look at Sarah's expression, not expecting it.

"No, but he was. I didn't know what to do. He wouldn't stay." Sarah twisted her hands and her voice rose. "He's skipping out. I just know he is."

Alec patted her on the shoulder, and immediately felt awkward and embarrassed. He wasn't a demonstrative man, and it hit him that he'd never touched Sarah before. "Sit down, take a breath. I'll get you some coffee and you can tell us what happened."

As he left to fetch the coffee, Diedra asked, "You haven't heard from my sister, have you?"

He heard Sarah's negative reply. Glad to escape their scrutiny, he was careful to add exactly one and a half teaspoons of sugar to the cup, just as Sarah liked it. Rather than dwell on his embarrassing emotional display, he considered what he'd like to do to Jeff when he caught up with him.

Coffee in hand, he returned to the reception area feeling much more relaxed about having patted Sarah. Neither she nor Diedra had acted as though it was unusual. Obviously, it had been an appropriate gesture to make in a time of stress. It didn't mean that he had lost control or acted out of character. It didn't mean spending time with Diedra, making love with her, had changed him. He hoped.

He handed the coffee cup to his flustered secretary as he noticed Diedra talking on the phone, looking downhearted. So, Meagan still wasn't home.

He turned back to Sarah. "What happened?"

"He came in about three hours ago. Went into his office and made some phone calls. I told him you wanted to talk with him and I hoped he was trying to get in touch with you." Sarah took a sip. "The next thing I know, a messenger arrived and delivered a bank bag!"

"A bank bag?" Alec felt a weight sink onto his shoulders. Why would a messenger come from the bank, unless it was with money or securities? "Did he say what that was about?"

"No. As soon as Jeff got the delivery, he left. I tried to stop him. I asked if he'd talked with you, but he said he didn't have time. I said you'd left a message for him to wait. He muttered something about going to your Uncle Robert's, and then he left."

"We don't have an Uncle Robert." What on earth had Jeff meant by that? He turned to Diedra. "Does this mean anything to you?"

She shook her head.

Without a word, Alec went into his office and looked in his Rolodex for the string he wanted to pull. Within minutes, he had the bank manager on the line at his unlisted home phone number.

Once Diedra finished her call to Heather, she walked over to Sarah's desk. "Still no sign of Meagan, not even at the shop."

Sarah filled her in on what had happened with Jeff while they waited for Alec. He emerged from his office looking grim. Diedra had never seen him like this. "More bad news?"

Alec blew out a long sigh. "I talked with the bank manager. Jeff cleaned out his accounts. He converted all his securities. The delivery was a cashier's check."

"No." Diedra couldn't grasp this latest development. Had he kidnapped Meagan? Hurt her? "What does it mean?"

"It means that at first, when I wasn't that worried, I should have been."

Her heart missed a beat. "What do we do now? Call the police?"

"I called them, Diedra. We can't report them missing until tomorrow. I've checked with everyone again. No sign of either of them at the hospitals." His voice broke. "I even called the morgue."

Diedra pulled him into her arms. "Nonsense. There's no way he'd hurt Meagan. You said so yourself. We're both exhausted. Let's go change our clothes and get something to eat. After a good night's rest, we'll be able to think more clearly."

Alec nodded and looked over Diedra's shoulder. "Sarah, can you please keep manning the office? I need to know someone's here to pass on word."

"No problem. When I leave tonight, I'll forward the calls to my home instead of the service. That way, if there is any news, I can pass it on right away."

"Thanks."

Sarah nodded.

As they turned to leave, the overhead fluorescent lights dimmed, then plunged the office into darkness.

* * *

It was dusk when Alec and Diedra arrived at her home. They had elected to leave the rental car at his office and took Diedra's car instead. Before Alec could unstrap his seatbelt, Diedra shut off the engine and had her door open. "The light's on. Meagan must be here."

She gave him a dazzling smile. It was a smile he'd never seen before and it affected him right down to his feet. A smile like that was a pure jolt of two hundred and twenty volt electricity. Dazed, bemused and bedazzled, he needed a moment to recover and follow her up to the house.

Diedra opened the front door and called out, "Meagan!"

She got no answer. She repeated herself. "Meagan?"

She turned back to Alec, who was still suffering from the effect of her smile. But her happy face was gone.

"Maybe she's asleep?" she asked.

"We'll look around and see if she's here. Or maybe she left you a note."