Jules, I didn’t agree to stay at Cane’s Landing to take on the job of riding instructor! And I don’t want any sort of pay! I thought you and I were going to—”
Jules held up his hand. “I know we’d planned to do a lot of things together while you’re here in Louisiana. But that’s off. And now I’m asking a favor from you. If you don’t want pay for it, that’s fine—even better.”
Cordero let out a long breath. “I don’t think your daughter wants my help.”
Jules features twisted into a sardonic expression. “Anne-Marie has never known what the hell she wants. That bastard in her past ruined her. Or so she thinks. She sees herself as spoiled goods. She was always so virtuous before him. And then after she fell for him—well, she’s hidden from life. Now she’s secluded herself at Cane’s Landing, telling herself that her father needs her constant attention.”
“And you don’t?”
Jules swatted the air with his hand and muttered another curse. “No. And I’ll confess to you, Cordero, I’m only here in the hospital because I made my doctor put me here!”
Stunned by this revelation, Cordero sank into the seat Anne-Marie had vacated. “How did you manage to do that?”
“Threatened to take away all my donations to the hospital fund,” he said smugly. “Money will do it every time.”
Cordero’s head swung back and forth as he tried to get the whole picture. “I don’t understand. Why do you want to be in this place?” Glancing around the room, Cordero figured he’d have to have a mighty good reason to be cloistered in such a place if it wasn’t necessary. “And why drag me into this?”
Jules looked as if he considered Cordero to be as slow as molasses on a cold morning. “Because I knew you were bringing the horses and if I’d been home, Anne-Marie would have stayed hidden in her room and let me deal with you and the animals. Me being out of the house forces her to act like she’s alive. Now I need to stay in here a few days longer-until you’re able to get her into the saddle and her mind on something else besides—”
“Besides what? Has your daughter had some sort of health problem or something?”
The old man’s mouth snapped shut and he looked at Cordero for several long, thoughtful moments. “Look, Cordero, my daughter is too good for her own good. She never thinks about herself, only others. She’s wasting her youth—hiding herself because she’s afraid to deal with real life. I bought the horses hoping she’d be interested in something that would get her away from the plantation. I think someone like you could nudge her into it if you’d just give her a little push. I know you like a son. You come from a good family and I trust you with my daughter.”
What did Cordero look like? A psychologist in cowboy boots? He was feeling more awkward by the minute. Especially since Anne-Marie had more or less told him that she wanted her own life, not the one her father wanted for her.
“It sounds like what you want for your daughter is a companion. And I can’t be that, Jules. Not even for a week. It wouldn’t be right.”
The old man’s eyes narrowed perceptively. “You’ve told me before that you weren’t married. Have you gotten engaged or something?”
Cordero had to stifle a groan. “No. And I damn well don’t plan to. But that’s not the point.”
Relief, or something close to it, crossed Jules face. “Good,” he said with a smile. “You’d already planned to take some time off from the Sandbur. You can think of the next few days as a vacation.”
Las Vegas would be a vacation, Cordero thought. Bright lights. Music and gambling tables. Beautiful, scantily dressed showgirls. That was his idea of fun. Not a plantation where the most action he was likely to see was a hound treeing a squirrel. And yet, he had to admit that the thought of spending more time with Anne-Marie was an enticing notion. She might present a prim appearance on the outside, but she wasn’t completely innocent on the inside. She’d already admitted that she’d had a lover. If Cordero played his cards right, he might persuade her that a brief tryst with him would be perfectly harmless. And giving the beautiful redhead a few instructions in bed would be far more enjoyable than giving her riding lessons.
He glanced thoughtfully at Jules. Here he was making plans to seduce his good friend’s daughter. Did that mean he was betraying Jules’s trust? Of course not.
Hell, Cordero thought, he shouldn’t even let that question cross his mind. Not when Jules was handing over his daughter on a silver platter.
“All right, Jules,” Cordero said after a moment. “I’ll stay. For a day or two. If by then Anne-Marie doesn’t seem to resent me being around, I’ll wait until Sunday to leave for Texas.”
Today was Monday, Cordero silently calculated. That would give him six days with Anne-Marie. A shrewd smile crossed his face. In that length of time, he could make most anything happen.
Chapter Two
Slapping his knee, Jules beamed. “I couldn’t ask any more than that from you, son. And I won’t forget this. I’ll pay the favor back. You can bet on that.”
This was looking more and more like an attempt at matchmaking. Admitting himself into the hospital and asking a friend to keep his daughter company, wasn’t a normal request from a father. But whatever Jules had planned, it originated in the love he had for his daughter.
“You’ve already done enough for me, Jules. And don’t thank me yet. Anne-Marie isn’t a pushover. If she isn’t interested in the horses, I can’t twist her arm.”
Jules snorted. “If she isn’t interested in the horses, then get her interested in you! The girl needs her temperature raised a little and I don’t care how you do it.”
Before Cordero could make any response to the old man’s remark, a swishing noise sounded behind him. Cordero glanced over his shoulder to see Anne-Marie pushing through the door. The foam cup she carried was steaming.
“One of the nurses just made a new pot, so it should be fresh,” she told him.
With a tender smile for his daughter, Jules took the coffee from her. “You’re the best, sweetheart.” He took a careful sip and his eyes twinkled as he gave Anne-Marie another big smile. “And I have good news for you. Cordero has agreed to stay on with us for a few days—just like he first planned.”
With a stunned expression, she whipped her head around to stare at Cordero. “You—you’re not going home tomorrow after all?”
The strained timbre to her voice reminded Cordero of someone in a panic. Was she frightened of him? If that was the case, he was glad he’d decided to stay. He wanted her to discover for herself that he was a gentleman, not a wolf in a cowboy’s clothing.
“That’s right. Your father persuaded me that I’d be doing you both a favor if I stuck around and helped you get acquainted with the horses.” He gave her a harmless grin. “I’d feel pretty awful if I left and then you had a nasty fall or something.”
Forget about the horses, Anne-Marie thought wildly. The only nasty tumble she was in danger of taking was for him. And that was something she wasn’t about to let happen. Going back to her missionary work was all she wanted. And she intended to do just that as soon as her father was well enough to live on the plantation without her help.
Jules spoke up in an all-too-casual way. “Now that I think of it, Anne-Marie, I’d planned to take Cordero over to New Orleans tomorrow night for some blues music and dinner at Antoine’s. Now that I’m stuck in this place, you’ll have to take him.” Jules tossed Cordero an innocent look. “If you’ve never visited the French Quarter, I think you’ll find it a real treat.”
Cordero had visited that colorful part of the city more than once. But with Anne-Marie as a guide, visiting Bourbon Street would be more than a treat. It would be a double dose of sensuality. Just