Free Lady's Choice by Jayne Ann Krentz Page B

fireplace. "You're probably right, as a matter of fact. It doesn't matter anymore, though.
    Whatever was between Elly and me five years ago is nothing but ashes now."
    "I'm not so sure of that," Juliana said coolly. "I saw the way you two looked at each other tonight.
    There was a lot of old emotion in the air."

    Travis waved that observation aside with an impatient movement of his hand. "Old anger on my part.
    Old fear on hers, probably. Five years have passed and she had convinced herself I'd forgotten all about Flame Valley Inn. She practically had an anxiety attack tonight when she realized that I hadn't forgotten anything."
    "Revenge is powerful stuff, isn't it, Travis?"
    "It'll keep you warm when you haven't got much else," He agreed. His gaze switched back to her face.
    "Tell me what happened when you found out Kirkwood was calling off your engagement because he was in love with your cousin."
    "That's personal. Why should I tell you?"
    "I'll bet there was a hell of a scene. Fireworks and mayhem. Blood and guts everywhere. You wouldn't easily surrender something you wanted. Did you fight like a she-cat to hold on to your handsome tin god?"
    Juliana wrinkled her nose. "Golden god, not tin god."
    "Let's compromise on papier-mache god. Did you fight for him, Juliana?"
    "Why do you care?"
    "I want to know, damn it. I want to know if you fought for him. I want to know how hard you fought for him. Maybe I want to know if you're still fighting for him. Just answer the question."
    "I don't owe you any answers. Did you fight for Elly? How hard? Are you still fighting for her? Is taking over Flame Valley your way of trying to reclaim her?"
    That appeared to startle him for an instant. Travis looked honestly taken aback. "I don't do things the way you do."
    "You just turned around and walked out, huh? Vowing revenge, of course."
    "I think," Travis said, "that we had better change the subject."
    "You started this conversation."
    "Your logic is irrefutable, madam." He saluted her with his glass. "You're right. I started it."
    "I love it when you use big words. So professionally macho."
    He shook his head. "You're in a real prickly mood tonight, aren't you?"
    "I have good cause."
    "You're not the one who found himself stranded in the middle of nowhere without a ride home."
    Travis's crystal cold gaze locked on hers. "Why in hell did you sink your personal cash into Flame Valley, Juliana? You're a better businesswoman than that. You must have realized it was a high-risk investment."

    She blinked at the quick shift of topic. "We're back to that, are we?"
    "Yes, we're back to that and we're not letting go of it until I get some answers."
    Juliana sighed and sipped her brandy. "I've already given you the answer. It was a family thing.
    I knew David and Elly were in trouble. I made them a loan. So did my parents, for that matter.
    And Uncle Tony. Everyone in the family has tried to help David and Elly save the inn. We've all got a stake in it."
    Travis set the brandy glass down on the table with a snap. "Damn it, Juliana, you're too smart to have let yourself get sucked into that mess. I've been working with you long enough to know you're anything but a fool when it comes to business. You must have known how bad things were with the inn." He slanted her a quick, assessing glance. "Or did Kirkwood lie to you about how precarious the situation was?"
    "No, he did not lie. I knew exactly how bad things were."
    "And you loaned him the money, anyway."
    "He and Elly are fighting to save the resort. I wanted to give them a chance. Of course, the one thing I didn't know at the time was that you and East Forward Properties, Inc. were waiting to pounce on the wounded victim at the first sign of blood. We all assumed Fast Forward would be reasonable when David approached them in a month or so and asked for an extension. Obviously that was a false assumption."
    "Obviously," Travis agreed dryly. "You're going to lose a hell of a lot of money because