Wildfire Read Free

would—
    "Dreaming erotic dreams, Rae?"
    Even as her eyes flew open, Rae already knew who had invaded the private territory of her thoughts. Tanner's low, husky voice was unmistakable.
    The door to the outer office stood open, and he leaned lazily against the frame, watching her with those dark devil's eyes.
    After a moment he pushed away from the door and moved on into the room. "Is this what you do all day? Sit in here and think sexy thoughts? Naked bodies, hot and sweaty, all tangled up together? Is that what keeps you going? Do you—"
    "Why are you here, Tanner?" she interrupted, her tone indifferent.
    His shrug was brief, a casual movement of broad shoulders. "I'm just your average tourist, paying a visit to foreign climes. See, I had a sudden yen to step across the line and stand elbow to elbow with moral probity. You're a native, Rae, so maybe you can tell me ... Does goodness always feel so damned dusty?"
    Raising one brow, she tapped her pen impatiently on the desk, silently urging him to get to the real reason for his visit.
    He gazed at her just long enough to make her shift in her chair before saying, "Joe wants you to come out to the ranch this afternoon. A couple of people have dropped dead, so his will needs revising."
    The tapping stopped as Rae's hand froze in mid-air. "Me?" she squeaked, her eyes widening in surprise. "Old Joe ... I mean, Mr. McCallister wants me to revise his will? Are you sure that's what he said?"
    "Joe isn't an easy man to misunderstand. He mostly talks at the top of his lungs."
    After staring at her pen for a second, Rae raised her gaze to Tanner. "But why me? Everyone—at least everyone of Joe McCallister's stature— uses Donnie Lee." Donnie Lee Coker was not only born and raised in Dicton, he had practiced law there for more than thirty years.
    "Why me?" she repeated.
    Tanner took a seat in the chair across from her, then slid down and slung one leg over the padded arm. Only when he was comfortable did he turn his attention to her question.
    "It probably has to do with the fact that Joe and Coker were some kind of rivals back in their wild and woolly days. For the past twenty or thirty years, Joe has been using Amos Roach over in Kliester, but since Amos is one of the ones who dropped dead, he decided to give you a shot. He wants you to start with the will and see how that goes, then maybe he'll turn over the rest of it to you."
    "That doesn't explain why he asked for me. There are plenty of other lawyers in town for him to choose from. Jake Watkins. .. Obie Jennings . .. Doesn't T. J. Goolsby specialize in agricultural law?"
    "Now I see why you don't have any clients," Tanner said wryly. "I'm sure there are a lot of reasons why he picked you, but the main one is, using you will put Coker's big fat nose out of joint."
    His grin was slighdy malicious. "You have to admire Joe. It's a neat, unmistakable insult. By tomorrow morning everyone in Welch County will know Joe would rather use an outsider, a female to boot, than go to Donnie Lee Coker."
    Now that sounded like something Joe McCallister would do, Rae conceded silently. Back in his heyday, the elder McCallister's feuds had been as famous as his extramarital affairs.
    "John Joseph McCallister wants me to revise his will," she murmured aloud, shaking her head in amazement.
    Tanner chuckled. "Now you're getting it. And here's a bonus for you: If you take your time with all the legal mumbo jumbo, draw out the whereases and heretofores, you might even get to stay for dinner. Does the thought of sitting at the same table with Drew make you hot, Rae?"
    At the change in Tanner's tone she glanced up sharply. He had moved and was now leaning across her desk. Before she could stop him, he reached out and began to twine a single auburn curl around his forefinger.
    Rae flinched, jerking her head away. And then uneasiness gave way to anger. He had no right. He had no right to stand there casually touching her hair. Casually touching her