They made love there on the blanket, hidden by the deep green grasses, their naked skin warmed by the sun slanting down through the branches of the trees. He tried to go slow, but she felt so good beneath his hands and he wanted her so badly. He kissed her breasts, her belly, found the place between her legs and pleasured her until she cried out his name.

She climaxed as he entered her, surging deeply, driving into her harder than he meant to. He clamped down on his need, determined to please her again, holding back, kissing her instead of pounding into her as he wanted. He loved her. He wanted her to know it. He kissed her breasts and she moved restlessly beneath him. Easing out, he drove into her and she arched against him, catching his rhythm, matching it, driving both of them to climax.

Their mating was more fierce than he intended and there seemed a desperation in the act.

She was leaving. He was losing her. He was in love with her. Though he wanted her again the moment they were finished, he reached for his clothes and so did Patience. They dressed in silence and he guided her back to the house.

Charlie rode up to the corral just minutes after Dallas and Patience arrived. Unfortunately, when Dallas mentioned the signs of trespass he had seen in the southwest section of the ranch, Charlie knew nothing about them.

"Probably just Sully," he said. "He's got a right to see what he's buying."

But Dallas wasn't satisfied. That night after supper, he went into the study and telephoned his father. Avery Kingman made it a point to know everyone who was anyone in Texas, from senators to television personalities, and that included wealthy businessmen and cattle ranchers. Rich men and their wives were the foundation of his hugely successful plastic surgery practice.

His stepmother, Rachael, answered the phone with her usual, effusive greeting, then Avery came on the line.

"Well, I wondered when I'd finally hear from you." The tone of his father's voice grated on Dallas's nerves.

"I'm back in Texas, Dad. Charlie's been having some trouble."

"Is that so?"

Dallas ignored the note of satisfaction. "I was hoping you might be able to help."

A pause. "Go on."

"The guy who owns the ranch next door to the Circle C is a man named Malcolm Sullivan. You ever heard of him?"

"Sullivan...yes, I know his ex-wife, Julia. She was a patient of mine some years back. Julia still comes in for the occasional Botox shot or a collagen injection to perk up her looks. She's got two kids, as I recall, a girl in her mid-twenties and a boy several years older, about your age, I think."

That was right. Beth Sullivan was about twenty-five and Brad was close to Dallas's age, somewhere around twenty-nine or thirty. They were both spoiled rotten, always had been. Dallas hadn't seen either of them in years.

"Sullivan's cut a deal to buy a portion of the Circle C," Dallas said. "I'm trying to find out if he has any special plans for it."

Dallas could imagine his father's face on the other end of the line, his features stern and frowning. "I can't tell you much about his finances, aside from the fact his ex-wife is very expensive to keep and those kids of his are downright bloodsuckers." His laugh held a bitter edge. "That's not something I could ever say about you. You never wanted anything from me, not even the things I wanted to give you-like a college education."

"I have a college education, Dad, in case you've forgotten. I graduated from Texas A&M."

"With honors, I might add."

Dallas braced for the rest of the lecture but it never came.

"Tell you what," Avery said. "I'll put out a few feelers, see if anyone knows anything useful."

"I'd appreciate that, Dad."

"Are you still seeing that attractive young woman you brought to my birthday party?"

Dallas's stomach clenched. "We've been dating. She's leaving on Sunday, going home to Boston."

"That's too bad. Rachael and I both liked her. She seemed to have a lot going for her."

"She does, Dad. That's why I'm letting her go." He hadn't meant to say it exactly that way and he wondered if his father heard the regret in his voice. Maybe Avery did, for he didn't make any of his usual sharp-edged comments, just told Dallas to keep in touch and said he'd call if he turned up any interesting news.

Dallas hung up the phone and swiveled his chair to see Patience standing in the doorway of the office. As he rose from his seat, she walked toward him. She went into his arms and he tightened them around her. She didn't say anything and neither did he. Both of them just stood there holding onto each other.

They had the next few days together. At the end of the week, he would drive her to the airport in San Antonio. He had reserved a room at the nearby Embassy Suites Hotel for their last night together, then the following morning, she would leave for home.

The summer was over. As soon as he was sure Charlie's troubles were ended, he would catch up with Stormy, go back to riding broncs, and try not to think of Patience.

He tried to imagine how long it would take him to forget her and wondered if he ever really would.

Patience sat behind the desk in Charlie's office. Dallas was out in the barn, looking over the latest crop of bucking horses Charlie was raising, trying to decide which horses to keep and which they might sell at the stock show in Miles City next spring. The auction in eastern Montana was one of the biggest events in rodeo, a place where bucking horses were actually ridden-or at least cowboys tried-so buyers could see how each animal performed.

Patience used the time the men were working to check in with her research team, bringing up her e-mail for any new information, then phoning Constance Foster, at the Cowgirl Hall of Fame, whom she hadn't heard from yet.

Nothing new surfaced. When she finished, she closed down the computer and headed downstairs, surprised to hear the sound of an unfamiliar voice in the entry.

"The men are out in the barn," Annie said. "They'll be back any minute. Why don't you wait for them in the living room and I'll bring you a nice glass of homemade lemonade."

"Thanks, Annie, that sounds great."

Annie looked up just then and saw Patience at the bottom of the stairs. "This here's a friend of Dallas's. Her name's Patience Sinclair. Patience, this is Malcolm Sullivan."

Sullivan smiled. "Most folks call me Sully."

Patience stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Sully."

"Same here."

The only time she had seen Mal Sullivan had been through the kitchen window the last time she had visited the ranch. He had been rather nondescript, she had thought. Now she saw that he had once been a very handsome man, but years of sun and wind had wrinkled his face and time had begun to wear his body down. His shoulders seemed to carry the weight of the world. A general weariness surrounded him.

"So how do you like the Hill Country?" he asked, while Annie went to get the lemonade.

"It's beautiful. It's a whole lot hotter than Boston, but there's something kind of magical about it."

"Last week it was even warmer, and a lot more humid. This week's been pretty nice so far."

She started to say something equally inane when the front door opened and Dallas and Charlie walked in. She didn't miss the faint stiffening in Dallas's shoulders the instant he spotted Mal Sullivan.

"Hello, Charlie...Dallas. Heard you two were back. Thought I'd drop by, see how things were going. Figured maybe we might set a date for the closing on that land."

"Figured to see you sooner or later," Charlie said.

"You been up there lately?" Dallas asked. Patience knew he was thinking of the tire marks he had seen and wondering if Sullivan had been digging around on the land.

Sully cast an uneasy glance in his direction. Then he smiled. "My foreman, Pete Russell. He was up there last week. I didn't figure Charlie would mind. I'm thinking of running some cows on that section. Thought I'd have Pete take a look at the water situation."

"No problem," Charlie said, tossing Dallas a look that warned him to tread lightly.

"Cows, huh? Looked to me like someone was doing some digging up there. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Sully continued to smile. "Like I said, Pete was prowling around. Probably his doing."

Dallas said nothing more. Annie arrived carrying a tray that held glasses and a pitcher of lemonade. While she poured the refreshment, Sullivan and Charlie began discussing a date for the closing on the land.

Twenty minutes later, Sullivan returned his empty glass to Annie, made polite farewells, and left the house.

As soon as he was gone, Dallas turned to Charlie. "I wish you'd hold off on that sale."

"I promised I'd sell the man the land and I keep my word."

"I know, but-"

"Sully's wanted that property for years. Now he's gonna have it and that's the end of it." Charlie stomped off, and Dallas sighed into the silence his uncle left behind. Catching the weary set of his shoulders, Patience walked over and slipped an arm around his waist.

"The afternoon's still early. You promised we could go riding again."

He drew her around in front of him, gave her a soft, lingering kiss. "You're right. We haven't got much time left. We had better make the most of it."

The words made her chest ache. Patience mustered a smile she hoped didn't look forlorn and let him guide her out of the house.

It was late when Dallas's cell phone rang, the sound shrill where it sat in the upstairs bedroom on top of the walnut bureau against the wall. In the process of undressing for bed, he walked over and picked it up, praying it hadn't awakened Charlie.

"I hope you weren't asleep." His father's voice reached him from the other end of the line. Unlike Dallas, whose job got him up early, Avery Kingman was a night owl, often staying up past midnight.

"I was still awake. You got news?"

"Maybe. I spoke to a friend of Julia Sullivan's, a woman named Peppy James, she's married to that golfer-you know-Mickey James? Peppy came in to have her eyes done-long overdue, if you ask me, but then, that's her business. At any rate, I happened to mention Malcolm Sullivan and Peppy gave me an earful. She says Sullivan's gotten into some major financial difficulties. The stock market, I guess, among other things. Peppy says he's threatening to go back to court to get his wife's alimony payments reduced. He cut his kids' allowance in half and they're having a fit about it."

Sullivan in trouble? He never would have guessed. "If he's having money problems, how's he coming up with the money to buy Charlie's land?"

"I have no idea. I just figured this was something you might want to know."

"Yeah, no kidding. I really appreciate the information. Thanks, Dad."

There was a pause on the end of the phone. "Rachael and I...we thought maybe you might get a chance to drop by for a visit before you leave Texas."

For a minute, Dallas thought he hadn't heard his father correctly. For years, the two of them had made it a point to stay away from each other. Then Rachael had asked him to come to his father's birthday party. That hadn't gone particularly well, but maybe it was a start.

"Yeah, maybe I can. I'll give you a call once things settle down."

"Great. I'll tell Rachael. I know she'll be pleased." But something in his father's voice said he was the one pleased by the news.

They ended the conversation and Dallas couldn't decide which was more surprising-that his father had asked to see him or that Malcolm Sullivan was in financial straits. He fixed his mind on the latter and two questions popped into his head.

How was Sullivan financing the purchase of the Circle C property?

And what was he planning to do with that land?

Breakfast was over, the morning chores completed when Dallas and Patience headed for the barn. The sky overhead was a bright shade of blue but clouds loomed on the horizon, hinting they might be in for a storm.

One of the hands had already saddled their horses. Swinging up on the pretty little sorrel mare, Gigi, she had been riding since she came to the ranch, Patience trotted along next to Dallas, posting against the cantle while he merely lounged in the saddle. The ranch house disappeared in the distance and rolling green hills stretched out in front of them. Deep green grasses feathered along the edge of the trail, and a little stream tracked through the foliage beside them.

"Let's go this way this time," Dallas said, reining off the path, leading her down a trail she hadn't ridden before. For a mile or so, they wound their way through the trees, then the terrain began to change. Layers of rock pushed up from the earth and the trees became sparse, dwindling until there were only a few in sight. The country was open here, the hills often jagged, with sharp ridges and sheer rock walls.

Dallas had wanted to revisit the southwest section his uncle was set on selling and so here they were. Earlier, he had relayed to Patience the conversation he'd had last night with his father and that Sullivan appeared to be having money problems. Dallas was concerned that Sullivan might be trying to take advantage of Charlie in some way and Patience wondered if he might not be right.

Dallas drew up his horse and Patience pulled the mare to a halt. "What is it?"

"Take a look up ahead. The ground's been disturbed here, too. Someone's been digging." He swung down from his horse, turned and lifted Patience down from her saddle. As he lowered her to the ground, her hands rested on his shoulders and for an instant their gaze met and held. Desire flared in his eyes but there was something more, something deep and turbulent. Then he turned away.

"This is the most remote section of the property," he said. "But there's a road coming in off the highway if you know where the turn is."

They walked over to the base of a stratified layer of rock. In several places, the soil looked powdery, not solid, as if it had been dug up and the hole filled back in. It hadn't rained lately. Once it did, the hole would be hidden and the ground would look the way it had before.

"Ever since my father called, I've been thinking about why Mal might want this land so badly. He needs money, right?"

"Apparently so."

"Last night, after I hung up the phone, I went downstairs and got on the Internet. I did a little research on the oil industry."

"Oil? You think Sullivan's after oil?"

He shoved up the brim of his hat with the tip of his finger. "Years ago, he used to be in the business, a corporate exec with one of the big Houston oil companies. I'd forgotten all about it until last night. He quit when his old man died and he inherited his father's money. That was nearly twenty years ago. Sully bought the ranch, built the house, and he and his family moved in."

"Well, there is certainly plenty of oil in Texas."

"There are lots of big fields, all right, but none in the Hill Country. Mostly the terrain isn't right. From what I've been reading, oil comes from animal and plant life that died in ancient seas, then decayed into sedentary layers."

"That's right. Over millions of years, heat and pressure turned the organic matter into oil and natural gas."

"Right, and sometimes the layers shifted and the oil got trapped into pools."

"And you're thinking maybe Sullivan believes there's a pool of oil somewhere in this area."

"Maybe. Last night, I stumbled across a Web site that listed all of the Texas oil production by counties. Generally, the Hill Country made a very poor showing, but a little gas was pumped last year in Uvalde County, and eighty-five thousand barrels of crude were pumped in Medina. Even Bandera produced a few thousand barrels."

"So it isn't impossible."

"That was the other interesting thing I found. On a site called drilling.com, I ran across an article about a company named Marshland Oil. They're planning to drill four new nine-thousand-foot wells in Bandera County."

Patience looked up at the striations on the steeply inclined hill. "Those are definitely sedentary layers and the earth has heaved them up on an angle. I remember reading somewhere that one of the ways they find oil is to explode dynamite underground to set up seismographic waves."

"So I read. Apparently, the waves outline areas that might contain pools of oil."

"And the ground in several places in this section has been dug up and then refilled." She frowned. "But wouldn't the explosions have been heard?"

Dallas shook his head. "I don't think so. This part of the ranch is pretty remote."