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information, so he told her what he knew. “She’s pretty banged up. The guy who did this left her alongside the road to die. I’m not even sure if the baby made it.”
    “I didn’t know she was pregnant,” she murmured, peering at him oddly. “Is it…your baby?” she ventured hesitantly.
    At that, he nearly did a double take. His kid? “She’s my office manager,” he said in a tone that communicated what he thought about dating employees.
    “It’s not against the law,” she said, but the way her shoulders relaxed told him she’d been tense over the possibility he’d been shacking up with Gretchen.
    “That’s not how I operate,” he grumbled, annoyed at how a minute thrill chased the knowledge she’d been apprehensive over his dating choices. He risked a short glance her way. “I draw the line at employees and cousins.”
    That last part was meant as a joke and he was relieved to see her crack a reluctant smile.
    “So why is her daughter with you?” she asked. “I assumed because you were there for her at school that maybe you and her mom were a couple.”
    “I was just helping Gretchen out. She’s a good woman with questionable taste in men. And Quinn’s a great kid.”
    A slow smile lifted her mouth but she appeared perplexed by the information. Someone must’ve been filling her ear with bad press when it came to him, for she seemed suddenly adrift. “That’s very nice of you,” she finally said.
    “Yeah, sometimes I take a break from ruining the environment to be kind to someone else,” he quipped, turning to face her. “Listen, we got off on a bad foot. We don’t have to be enemies. I’m prepared to let bygones be bygones if we can start fresh.”
    “And what does that entail?” she asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “I mean, I still have a job to do. Are you still willing to do the interview?”
    “Of course,” he stated.
    “Okay. Then I’m willing to accept those terms,” she answered with an efficient nod that went as a perfect accessory to her flawless look. He wondered if she let herself go wild in the bedroom. And then because his mind had already sparked the question, his imagination provided the imagery. His groin tightened as he saw in his mind’s eye a bed-tousled Piper in a sea of tangled sheets with a wicked, come-get-me-bad-boy smile. Hell, that’s not helpful at all, he chastised himself. “Shall we head to your office to get started?” she asked, her eyes bright and cheery with expectation.
    But he didn’t want to be stuck indoors. It was part of the reason he’d gone into forestry. He hated being rooted to a desk for eight hours. He needed fresh air and a distraction. He started the truck and pulled onto the highway.
    “Speaking of jobs, I have one, too. You want your interview? You have to tag along with me to the job site.”
    “And where’s that?” she asked, trying to appear unconcerned by his announcement.
    He grinned and pulled onto the highway. “Up on the mountain. Where else?”

    P IPER’S GAZE DROPPED to her pretty heels, and she swallowed a moan at how ruined her new shoes would be after tromping after Owen in the Santa Cruz mountains. “Are you sure the office wouldn’t be more appropriate for an interview?” she asked, hoping to appeal to some sense of logic but to no avail. In fact, he seemed quite amused by the idea of her trailing after him dressed as she was in a tight silk skirt and ultra-feminine white chiffon blouse with fluttery georgette sleeves.
    “You want the real deal, you got it,” he said, that damnable grin returning so that he looked rakish and delicious at the same time.
    She huffed a silent breath and counted to ten. He was trying to get her to back out, to get her to relinquish their deal without losing face. Well, he didn’t know who he was dealing with. Piper had once won a staring contest even when a bug had landed on her nose. She wasn’t one to give up, no matter the obstacle. She liked to consider it one