beg your pardon,” she said with cool precision. “You must have mistaken me for someone you actually know.”
She didn’t recognize the man but the interest gleaming in his brown eyes was all too familiar.
“But I’d like to get to know you. You’re the prettiest thing I’ve seen in a long time.” His gaze swept over her, lingering on her breasts. His smile widened, creasing his florid face. “Let me buy you a drink,” he said, his voice heavy with innuendo. “We’ll get acquainted.”
“Sadly,” she said, her voice icy enough to chill, “I’m afraid I have to turn you down.”
“Aw, come on, honey,” he coaxed. “You’ll like me if you spend a little time with me.”
Cynthia moved to step around him.
He shifted sideways, blocking her.
“Let me pass,” she said tightly, ruthlessly holding down a wave of panic. She hated the feeling, hated being unable to control it, especially since she knew on a rational level that it was unlikely the man was a serious threat. Not on Main Street in broad daylight. At the end of the block, two young mothers strolled, three little boys bouncing along beside them down the sidewalk. Despite knowing she wasn’t alone on the street with the man, Cynthia couldn’t stop the instant shudder that shook her.
“The lady said step aside.” A different deep male voice held cold authority.
The man’s face tightened into a belligerent scowl as his gaze moved past her. Whatever he saw made his eyes widen, as the ruddy color leached out of his face and he immediately took a step back.
Cynthia drew a deep breath and fought for control. She half turned to look over her shoulder and felt her own eyes widen as she caught her breath at the sight of the man standing a few feet behind her.
He was over six feet tall with broad shoulders and long legs. Beard stubble shadowed his jaw and his coal-black hair looked several weeks overdue for a haircut. The hard angles of his face were set in implacable lines and beneath the slash of dark eyebrows, his grass-green eyes were narrowed and focused on the other man in a menacing stare. He wore a scarred brown leather bomber jacket that hung open over a black T-shirt and faded jeans with scuffed black cowboy boots. The jeans had apparently seen so many washings that they were faded white at stress points, the soft worn denim stretched over the powerful muscles of his thighs.
He looked as if he’d ridden straight in off the range, packing a six-gun and looking for trouble, Cynthia thought with disbelief. There was something vaguely familiar about him but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it.
That deep, cold voice prompted the other man. “I think it’s time you moved on.”
“Uh, yeah.” The shorter man touched his hat with a quick nod at Cynthia and turned on his heel to hurry off down the sidewalk.
“Are you all right?” The stranger turned his gaze on her and Cynthia was transfixed.
Dangerous, she thought. This gorgeous male could be seriously dangerous.
“I’m fine,” she assured him, gathering her wits. “He was annoying but I don’t think he would have actually hurt me.”
The stranger smiled, white teeth flashing in his tanned face, turning him from lethal to the poster boy for male charm.
“I certainly hope not,” he drawled. “Unless Indian Springs has changed drastically, women don’t normally have to worry about being assaulted on Main Street.” He cocked his head to the side and eyed her with interest. “It’s been a long time since I lived here, but I don’t ever remember anyone in town as pretty as you.”
Cynthia laughed, amusement bubbling at his obvious line. “I grew up here,” she told him. She was immensely relieved to find she was comfortable with his flirting. Lots of men had flirted with her over the years and she usually enjoyed the fencing with words that ensued. It wasn’t until someone stepped into her personal space and wouldn’t accept a refusal, as the older man had earlier, that she lost her composure and felt threatened.
“Not possible,” he promptly denied. “I would have remembered you. I have an infallible memory for beautiful women.”
“And I bet you’ve known a lot of them,” she shot back, smiling when he winced and grinned at her.
His eyes twinkled, only slightly easing the heat in his green gaze.
Cynthia hadn’t felt this attracted to a man in … well, she realized, never. Though he was clearly a heartbreaker, he was undeniably charming and just as clearly, interested in her.
“I’m Zach Coulter,” he said.
Her eyes widened and her breath caught. Of course you are, she thought. I should have realized the moment I saw you. All the Coulter boys had coal-black hair, green eyes and lady-killer charm. It was part of what made them so unforgettable.
She was five years younger than Zach, and he’d graduated from high school while she was still in junior high. Cynthia wasn’t surprised that he didn’t remember her because she’d simply been too young for him to notice. But she suspected most females who saw the Coulter brothers before they left town hadn’t forgotten them—and that included her.
“And you are …?” he prompted with the lift of a brow.
“Cynthia Deacon.” She held out her hand and felt it immediately enclosed in hard masculine warmth. His grip was firm, the surface of his palm and fingers faintly rough with calluses.
“Cynthia.” He repeated her name slowly, as if savoring the sound of it on his lips. Then his mouth curved upward in a small, wholly male smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” she told him, tugging gently to free her fingers. “I’m sorry about your father. I’d heard your oldest brother was back at the Triple C, but the local grapevine said he was the only Coulter who’d returned.”
“He was until today.” Zach nodded briefly in confirmation. “I just got in.”
“From where?” Cynthia knew her question was impolite but curiosity overrode good manners.
“Nepal.”
She felt her eyes widen again. “Nepal? What on earth were you doing there?”
His eyes laughed at her as his white teeth flashed in a grin. “I was climbing Mount Everest.”
“Seriously?” Nonplussed, she stared at him, speechless. “I think you’re the first person I’ve ever met who even attempted that. Did you reach the top?”
“Summit,” he corrected her. “And yes, we did.”
“What was it like?” She stared at him, wondering what drove a man to climb mountains covered in snow and ice.
“Cold,” he told her gravely. “Really cold.”
Startled, she laughed out loud. Amusement lit his features and laugh lines crinkled at the corners of his eyes.
“What? You don’t believe me?” he asked mildly.
“Oh, I believe you,” she said hastily. “I just can’t believe that’s the first thing that comes to mind when you’ve climbed a mountain most people only dream of attempting.”
He shrugged, broad shoulders shifting beneath the leather jacket.
“It was … awe inspiring.” The teasing quality was gone from his voice. “Like standing on top of the world.”
If she’d been attracted earlier by his teasing smile and unconcealed male interest, she found herself even more powerfully drawn by the depth and sincerity in his words.
“It must have been amazing,” she said with a sigh. “I’ve never had an experience like that. The highest I’ve ever been—outside an airplane—is standing on top of the