He turned back to face her. “As long as it takes and whatever’s necessary.”

She shook her head. “Absolutely not. It’ll only work if there are rules and we both agree to them.”

“Okay, then,” he relented. “A month and we’ll only share a few meals, a little conversation. Nothing more. What’s the harm in that? We got through dinner last night without the world coming to an end, didn’t we?”

“I suppose.”

“So, what do you say? Is it a deal?”

“Two weeks,” she countered, her defiant gaze locked with his.

“Two weeks,” he agreed, seizing it. He bit back his desire to utter a whoop of triumph. “Lunch and dinner.”

“You’ll be satisfied with that?” she asked, gaze narrowed as she studied him. “Whatever my decision at the end of two weeks, you’ll live with it? You’ll accept it if I say you haven’t convinced me of anything?”

“That’s the agreement.”

She held out her hand. Grady clasped it, felt her tremble, and knew he’d just made the smartest deal of his life.

As he walked away, he murmured under his breath, “Two weeks is a start, darlin’. That’s a real good start.”

Chapter Five

What had she done? Karen rested her head on her arms and groaned as she considered Grady’s trap and the way she’d neatly stepped into it with virtually no hesitation at all. She had invited the enemy into the camp and promised to break bread with him. She had to be out of her mind.

But somehow, in the quiet stillness of the night, she hadn’t been able to resist what he was offering-a chance to end this battle once and for all.

More, it was a chance to unravel a puzzle that was increasingly complex. Why she cared so much about that didn’t bear thinking about. She feared it went beyond fair play, beyond curiosity. In fact, she had a terrible sense that it had to do with a yearning that had started in the pit of her stomach and hadn’t let up since the day he’d appeared in her kitchen.

It could be as simple as a yearning for companionship, something she’d missed desperately in the weeks and months since Caleb’s death. A worrisome voice in the back of her mind told her it was something more, something specific to Grady, the allure of the forbidden.

She hadn’t been the rule-breaker all those years ago. That had been Cassie. But, oh, how Karen had longed to be just like her, to shake things up, defy convention. Spending time with Grady would certainly qualify. There would be talk. Her in-laws were likely to be outraged. Deep down, even she disapproved of the choice she had made.

But it was done now. She couldn’t go back on her word. It was only a few meals, she reminded herself. How difficult could that be? How much trouble could she get into by spending an occasional hour in Grady’s company?

She found out when lunch turned out to be a daily ritual and dinner slipped into the schedule six nights out of seven. By the end of the first week of their agreement, she’d almost grown comfortable having Grady around. She’d almost forgotten why he was there. The wicked danger of it all faded when he continued to behave like a perfect gentleman.

Then came the Saturday night that snow started falling while they were sharing a meal of beef stew and homemade bread. Karen wasn’t aware that the weather had changed outside as Grady beguiled her with stories of his grandfather.

As the tales unfolded, it became evident that Thomas Blackhawk was an amazing man, one who fought to preserve his Native American heritage while getting along quite well in a white man’s world. He was mayor of his town in the northwest part of the state and there was some talk that he might run for a position as delegate from the region to the state legislature.

“The first time I ever saw him dressed in a suit and tie, I couldn’t believe it was him,” Grady said, his eyes twinkling. “I’d seen him most often in jeans and flannel, but there he was speaking to a crowd at a town meeting, wearing this fancy black suit, his lined face filled with pride. It was quite a transformation. When I commented on it afterward, do you know what he said?”

“What?” Karen asked, fascinated.

“That all the fancy clothes in the world couldn’t make a man respect you. It was actions that did that.”

“You love him a lot, don’t you?”

“It’s more than that,” Grady said. “I love him and I admire him. He lives a very simple life in the middle of nowhere, in a house he built himself. As a kid I spent a lot of time with him, listening to him talk about nature, about our place in the universe. He taught me all of the old legends and practices, but those weren’t the most important lessons, by far.”

“What were the really important ones?” Karen asked.

“He taught me about self-respect and loyalty, about family and duty.”

She thought she saw where this was going. “Was he the one who taught you to hate the Hansons?”

“Not to hate them,” Grady denied. “My grandfather has never hated anyone. He just made me aware that this land should have belonged to his father, that it should have been Blackhawk land.”

“In other words, he planted a seed in your head, watered it regularly and now it’s grown into this obsession,” she said, derision cutting into the admiration she had begun to feel for Thomas Blackhawk.

“It’s not an obsession, Karen. It’s a commitment. I want my grandfather to stand on this land someday, look around and know that it’s back with its rightful owners, that it’s Blackhawk land again.”

“Would he be happy about that if he knew the price you’d paid?” she asked.

“Dollars aren’t the issue,” he told her.

“No,” she agreed. “And I wasn’t talking about the amount of money you say you’re willing to put on the table. I was talking about the rest, the attempts you’ve made to force Caleb, and now me, to sell.”

He regarded her with obvious impatience. “Dammit, I’ve told you I had nothing to do with trying to sabotage your herd.”

“If not you, who?”

“Both things could have been accidents. Cattle get ill. Pastures catch on fire during a dry summer.”

She regarded him evenly. “Do you honestly believe that’s what happened? Isn’t it a little too coincidental that both the outbreak of disease and the fire happened to our herd and no one else’s?”

“I’ll admit it looks suspicious, but I had nothing to do with any of it.”

“So you say.”

“In a lot of very powerful circles, my word is good enough.”

“All that tells me is that the world is filled with foolish people,” she said, stubbornly clinging to her-no, Caleb’s-conviction that Grady couldn’t be trusted. She needed these reminders from time to time. Otherwise, it would be too easy to start to like him a little too much, to begin to believe the pretty words that tripped so easily off his tongue.

He gave her a steady look, one clearly designed to rattle her. “Can you honestly sit there and look me in the eye and tell me that you think I’m capable of trying to destroy your herd just to get what I want? Have I done anything in the last week that was the least bit underhanded? Have I pressured you in any way?”

“No,” she was forced to admit. Not unless the fact that he was here in the first place counted as a crime. The truth was he’d been helpful and considerate. He’d done everything in his power to ingratiate himself with her, tackling odd jobs too long ignored. The ranch buildings had never been in better condition.

“Well, then, shouldn’t you be starting to trust me just a little?” he asked.

“I do,” she conceded with a sigh, then met his gaze. “A little.”

He grinned. “Another good start, darlin’. We’re making progress.”

Karen wasn’t sure they were making the right kind of progress. She was absolutely certain Caleb wouldn’t approve of it. She pushed away from the table, because it was becoming too tempting to linger, to share a second cup of coffee and a little more conversation each time they were together.