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Interesting was an understatement. Jordan Rayburn Carlisle, eldest son of the wealthy and influential
Carlisle family, had started out in life with a silver spoon in his mouth. A brilliant student, he had achieved
a law degree with honours and had been poised to progress into a partnership in the family law firm.
Instead, he had ended up in prison, disbarred and banned from taking any part in the family
business doing time for grievous bodily harm and the attempted murder of his unborn child, Danielle
Margaret Marlow.
Carter s jaw tightened as he skimmed the details. Carlisle had dated Susan Marlow, a legal secretary
with his firm, gotten her pregnant then demanded she have an abortion. When Susan had refused, he had
hit her in the abdomen in a deliberate attempt to make the foetus abort. Susan s landlord had heard the
ruckus and intervened, and had sustained a broken jaw and a hairline fracture to the skull for his trouble.
The police had picked Carlisle up and he d been remanded on bail, Susan had ended up in hospital and
almost lost the baby. The intimidation had continued, but she had stuck to her guns and indicted him.
Carlisle had gone down for eight years, six of which he had served.
The file finished there, but Carter could fill in the blanks for himself. When Carlisle had gotten out of jail,
his career and position in the family firm gone, he had gone after Susan and Dani. He had stalked them,
driving them from town to town, until, in desperation, and in fear of their lives, Susan had stopped
reporting the harassment and had simply concentrated on disappearing. When Susan had decided to stay
in Jackson s Ridge she had taken a huge risk. With the resources available to Jordan Carlisle she d had
to know it was only a matter of time before he found them.
Carter s gaze was cold.  Where is he?
Murdoch steepled his fingers.  He s disappeared. Hasn t been seen at his inner-city apartment for
weeks.
But there were no prizes for guessing where Carlisle was. The only thing Carter couldn t figure out was
how he d managed to stay hidden. In a small place like Jackson s Ridge, the second a stranger drove
into town, it was news.
* * * *
Dani walked into Nola s café. Becca was waiting, a copy of theJackson s Ridge Chronicle spread out
on the table.
Nola, busy cleaning off a nearby table, paused to set a menu in front of her.  Hear Carter s back to
barracks tomorrow.
Dani pulled out a chair and sat down.  He s got his final medical.
 Expect they ll be shipping him back out to Indonesia. There s been a lot of trouble there.
Dani kept her expression noncommittal as she ordered coffee.  Your guess is as good as mine.
But all the same, the knowledge that he was leaving Jackson s Ridge at all was an old trigger and hard to
shake. They were sleeping together the intimacy she d worked so hard at avoiding had caught her off
guard and tipped her life upside down but in every other respect nothing about their relationship had
changed.
Becca frowned at Nola s retreating back.  Don t listen. She s still upset that you could have even
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thought about turning Carter down.
 It s okay. And surprisingly enough, despite Nola s occasional sharpness, it was. Dani was aware there
was no malice in the exchange, just the worn-in familiarity of years. Nola had known Carter since he was
a baby. She d seen him grow up, she d known his parents and his grandparents, and still kept in touch
with Carter s mother. They weren t related by blood, but to Nola, Carter was family.
Becca folded the paper and put it to one side.  Has Carter proposed?
For the barest moment Dani s heart stopped in her chest. She hadn t known until that moment how
much she wanted not just a proposal, but the whole deal marriage, babies and family. The hunger had
sneaked up on her, a silent ambush that had swept the ground from beneath her feet.  Not lately.
 He won t walk out on you again. Becca s expression was fierce.
 No, Dani agreed,  he won t. She stared at the menu. Now that she was head over heels in love with
him, her tolerance level had shrunk to zero. If he left again, that would be it; she couldn t afford to have
him in her life in any capacity. Staying away wouldn t be just a simple case of protection, it would be a
requirement for survival.
Becca lifted her brows, openly fishing for some kind of admission. And?
 And nothing. Dani waited until Nola had set their coffee down on the table and left.  You know me.
 Uh-huh. The last thing you committed to was taking over where Robert Galbraith left off. Ever since
then you ve been on hold. When are you going to let go of that place? David s got to be, what?
Seventeen?
 Eighteen. Dani sipped her coffee and set the cup back on its saucer.  I ll let go when the cattle are
sold and the mortgage is paid.
And not a second before. Quite apart from the fact that she loved her brother, she owed it to
David and to Susan and Robert to hang on.
 I just hope Carter stays around that long.
 What makes you think he s even coming back after he s pronounced fit?
 Call it women s intuition. Becca shook her head.  You know, sometimes I could shake you. You re
one of the smartest women I know, but you can t see what s going on right under your nose.
A flicker of movement drew Dani s attention. On the other side of the trellis that enclosed the outdoor
seating area she could see Nola talking to a man. A split second later Nola lifted up on tiptoe and kissed
him on the mouth. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]