"Wow," Dylan said, and Lorenda jumped. "Not much I can add to that."

Felix scratched his beard. "If the program is free for the kids, how do you plan to fund it?"

Good question. So far, all of the expenses were coming out of her pocket, but she couldn't do that forever. As the program grew, she'd need outside support. And the program wouldn't grow without better equipment and some money to invest in it. She needed Daniel Summerall and all of the connections he could provide. She also needed Principal Wilkinson's support to keep enough kids involved to make it work.

"I've got some irons in the fire when it comes to funding." One. She had a total of one iron in the fire, and that was Daniel Summerall. She glanced at the clock on the wall. "In fact, I have a meeting with a potential donor in a few minutes."

Daniel would be at the cabin soon for another showing, and hopefully he'd decide to buy it. Her commission would help keep the program alive for a while. She just hoped Daniel's support didn't have strings attached, because he still didn't know she'd gotten married.

She shook Felix's hand. "Thanks. I'm hoping the publicity from this article will encourage community interest."

Felix shut off the recorder. "I do have one question for you off the record."

"Okay, shoot," Lorenda said.

"Is someone in danger?" Minx murmured in her usual sensual voice. "Should I call nine-one-one?"

Lorenda snatched up the phone and turned off the power completely. Only way to get rid of her porn-star OS system. "Sorry. My phone has a mind of its own. Kind of scary, actually."

"The scuttlebutt around town is that some parents have concerns about danger that might surround the program because of your husband. Any comment on that?"

Lorenda's laced fingers rubbed furiously against each other. Finally, she pushed the recorder button on again. "Last time I checked, a person was innocent until proven guilty. People have every right to be concerned for our community. There's a criminal on the loose, but Mitchell didn't do it. Frankly, I have faith in the people of Red River and know they wouldn't try and convict him with no evidence."

She looked at Dylan. "See you Monday at rehearsals?"

He gave her an approving nod. "You bet."

Trying to look confident, she gathered up her purse and headed for the door to go meet her one iron in the fire.

She just hoped that iron in the fire didn't cause both her and the program to get burned. And she hoped her faith in Red River wasn't misplaced.

Lorenda held a leather-bound notebook in her left hand to keep her wedding ring hidden during the showing. If her mom and dad had given Mr. Summerall the impression that Lorenda was available, well, then, they could explain to him that she was married now. She wasn't responsible for misleading Daniel Summerall.

And Kansas wasn't flat.

They stepped out onto the hardwood deck adjacent to the downstairs den so he could take in the view one more time.

"I'll take it." Daniel slid a hand into the pocket of his expensive steel-gray dress pants that had probably cost more than Lorenda's hefty commission on this sale. His gaze settled on her.

"Great!" She gave him a brave smile, trying not to show the guilt rippling through her. "I'll draw up the contract and e-mail it."

He leaned against the railing with an elbow. "How are preparations for the concert coming along?"

She pulled in a breath. "Good. It's a small group. I expect it to grow over time." Or not. "The kids are showing so much enthusiasm." Their parents, not so much. "And we have a lot of support from the community."

Did her nose just grow? She flicked an index finger across the bottom of it.

"Were you going to bring it up?" he asked.

"Well . . . I . . ." She'd wanted to, she just hadn't been sure how.

"Lorenda, you have to go after the things you want." The color of his eyes shifted as his gaze drifted over her face. "Even if you might get rejected. Even if you might fail. Even if it might be humiliating, and even if it ruffles some feathers."

He was right. And his statement didn't just resonate with her because of the music program. She wanted to turn her convenient faux marriage into the real thing. Ask Mitchell to take her hand and jump with both feet. Only, she'd been avoiding the subject because she was a chicken.

Maybe she was scared of going long term with another alpha. Maybe she was scared of rejection. Maybe she was scared that she might fail at marriage again if they did make it real. It was easier to fail at something that wasn't supposed to succeed in the first place.

The look in Daniel's eyes said he was thinking of going after things he wanted too, and it wasn't just the cabin.

She drew in a breath and held it until she thought her lungs would explode. Badassery just wasn't on her list of talents. Neither was manipulating the truth.

She withdrew a printed document from the notebook. "Everything you asked for is here. Guidelines, a budget, and a mission statement." She held it up. "Even a rundown of what we have planned for the concert."

He tried to take it, but she held it out of reach. "First, there's something I have to say."

Something raced across his expression, but it was gone before Lorenda could identify it.

"Look, you're a really nice guy, Daniel, but I'm afraid my parents may have misled you." She chewed her lip for a second. Looked out over the green landscape. "Before you offer your support or buy this cabin, I have to clear the air about something." Not to mention clear her conscience. "I got married recently." She flipped her hand over and showed him the glittering wedding band. "It was sudden, and my parents weren't a hundred percent on board." Their approval ranked in the negative numbers, but that was beside the point. "They liked you and hoped that you'd ask me out. You haven't, but just in case you were thinking about it, I wanted you to know the truth so there is no misunderstanding between us."

There. She'd said it. God, it felt good to get that off her chest. Maybe her pulse would stop thundering now.

One corner of his mouth lifted, and he studied her. Finally he took in the view of the mountains. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed."

Uh-oh. She may have just lost his support.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't find you the most attractive woman I've met in a long time."

Oh. Okay. She felt a blush coming on.

"I'd also be lying if I said I didn't know you were taken from the moment I first met you."

What? She blinked. "What?" She blinked again. "I wasn't even engaged then."

He pushed off the railing and stood beside her, both hands shoved into the pockets of his dress pants, his shirtsleeves cuffed up on his forearms just enough to look casually stylish.

"But you were already in love. It was hard to miss."

She had no idea it had been so obvious.

He took the paper from her. "I'm not afraid to go after what I want, but I'm not stupid. I already knew I didn't stand a chance as long as my competition was still in the picture." He walked to the edge of the deck. "I wasn't sure if whoever you were in love with felt the same way about you."

Neither was she.

"I figured I'd get to know you and see where it led after I bought a cabin and, more importantly, made a decision about your program. So I waited to ask you out, hoping that glow in your expression that only happens when a woman is in love would fade."

Daniel was as talented with words as he obviously was with music. Of course she wanted the alpha war junkie who communicated best with "hooya!"

She had to give Mitchell credit, though. His communication skills weren't bad when using his hands. Or his mouth.

"The glow didn't fade, Lorenda." Daniel turned an expression on her that said he was more than a little disappointed about that. He stepped off the deck and flicked his car remote. The lights on his silver Beamer blinked. He turned around and walked backward a few steps. "Draw up the sales contract for the cabin. I'll see you at the concert." He reached the car and opened the door. "You still have to prove yourself as a music teacher and as a leader before I'll put my reputation on the line to support your program."

He climbed in, and the sporty engine roared to life.

His BMW disappeared before Lorenda realized her jaw was hanging open.

Mitchell flew through the mountain pass on his way to the cottage, frantic to find Lorenda. She hadn't been at her office. His mom had called and said his dad was picking the boys up from school in his sheriff's car for a sleepover. He dialed Lorenda's cell again but got her voice mail.

What had his heart pumping with fear was that her safety app wasn't registering her location.

Next he called her parents. "Hi, Mrs. Brooks. Is Lorenda with you?" He tried not to sound alarmed, even though fear had every one of his muscles tensed into a ball.

"No, Mitchell." Her tone was stiff. "Is something wrong?"

"No, ma'am. Just trying to catch up with her."

Mrs. Brooks cleared her throat. "She had a client come in from out of town unexpectedly. Besides that, I don't know what she had planned today."

Dammit. He didn't know where Lorenda was or whom she was with. Or if she was safe. "Thanks, Mrs. Brooks." He hesitated. What the hell? "I appreciate all you do for Lorenda and the boys." Mr. and Mrs. Brooks had been Lorenda's safety net. Her fallback plan when Cam hadn't come through for her. "Is there anything I can do for you? You know, to show my gratitude?"

A beat passed in silence. "Just take care of my little girl. She's always been well liked. Had lots of friends to turn to. Now that circle of friendships is much smaller."

She left out how that was because of Mitchell. He had to hand it to his mother-in-law for trying to be diplomatic.

Mitchell slowed to take a sharp curve. "I promise I'll make this right." Somehow.

He ended the call just as he got to Lorenda's drive, slammed on the brakes, and fishtailed into the driveway. Her SUV was parked out front. The truck had barely stopped rolling when he bailed out and hightailed it to the house. A rush of adrenaline surged through him the same way it always had during those critical moments of a mission that determined success or failure. Life or death. He walked past her SUV and put a hand on the hood. It was still warm, which meant she hadn't been there long.

He burst through the front door, then skidded to a halt.

Lorenda, dressed in a tight black skirt that revealed every curve and just enough bare knee to make his prick roar to life, stood there with a bottle of champagne in one hand and two stemmed glasses in the other. Her cream silk blouse was undone two buttons lower than when he'd kissed her goodbye in the drive earlier, revealing a choker of amber beads and a lacey bra.

And those heels. Six-inch black stilettos with sexy red-painted toenails peeking through the tips that screamed fuck me louder than a heavy metal concert.

"Just in time." She smiled. "I was getting some things set up to celebrate."

Malarkey must've sensed Mitchell's tension, because he stayed curled in a ball on the recliner.

Relief slammed through Mitchell, the same way it did when a mission was over and his team had been extracted from the hot zone. He sagged against the door.

"Mitchell, what's wrong?" Lorenda put the bottle and glasses on the coffee table next to a grouping of candles and a box of matches that hadn't been there that morning. She hurried toward him, but he met her in the den with just a few long strides.

"Where have you been?" His words were much more demanding than he'd intended, but he'd been scared out of his mind.

She took a step back at his tone. "Felix Daniels interviewed me at Joe's, and then I . . . I had a client."

"You didn't answer your phone." Mitchell tried to stop gritting his teeth, but that hard edge was still in his voice.

"It was acting up again. I turned it off." Her jaw hardened too, but she grabbed her phone off the credenza and pressed the button. "There. It's on now." She tossed it back on the table.

"You should've called to let me know." Didn't look like the gritting was going to stop anytime soon.

Both manicured hands slid over her hips and came to a stop at her waist.

Mitchell's mind blanked.

"I'm a grown woman, Mitchell."

Was she ever.

"I'm well aware of that, Sparky." His gaze slid over her, starting at the icy-blue anger in her eyes, down her creamy exposed cleavage, over the valley of her slender waist and the curve of her mouthwatering hips, and along her long, bare legs, all the way to those shoes.

Jesus, those shoes.

"Then stop acting like an alpha ass." Her tone was as fiery as her gaze.

He trekked toward her, the flecks of fire in her eyes turning a little more to sparks of desire with each step he took.

"I don't know how to be anything but an alpha ass." He stopped a breath away from her. "Especially when it comes to your safety."

She stood toe to toe, nose to nose with him.

It was sexy, and he liked it. What he didn't like was her putting herself at risk and scaring him. And he knew just how to get her to back down and listen to reason.

"When it comes to protecting you, Jaycee, and Trevor, an alpha ass is what you're gonna get, babe. So get used to it, and don't expect an apology from me for protecting what's mine."

Her eyes widened. Lips parted. Sexy pink tongue slipped out to trace her lips, and he knew he had her.

He also knew he wanted her.

"I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you for that." Her tone was husky with lust, and her quickening breaths brushed over his neck and jaw.

"I don't know whether to toss you across my knee and spank that nice ass of yours for meeting a stranger alone." His voice was a gritty whisper. "Or tear every stitch off you and prove that you like an alpha ass a lot more than you think."

Her breath caught, lusty gaze dropping to his mouth. He leaned into her so that the sensual vibes pouring off of her circled and settled over him.

"I'd already met this client, so he technically wasn't a stranger. And this is my house," she whispered. "You can't discipline me like a child."

He brushed his nose gently against hers. "Then that leaves me no choice." He took the lapels of her shirt into his hands.

Her eyes narrowed to challenging slits of fire. "You wouldn't."

He lifted a brow as if to say try me.

She grabbed his hands. "I love this top."

"Then lose it." He loosened his grip. "Fast."

She met his gaze, then lifted her chin like she was not only calling his hand but raising the stakes. "Stay there." She pushed him back against the credenza that lined the back of the loveseat.