Free Arizona Embrace by Leigh Greenwood Page B

air, Trinity could see with amazing clarity peaks nearly a hundred miles away.
    The sun had burned away the mist, and everything below stood out in fine detail. The lighter green of maples and aspen against the darker shades of pine and fir were as vibrant as a magnificent painting. White fleabane, rose-colored asters, and the brilliant yellow of poppies, goldenrod, and sunflowers splashed colors across a landscape dominated by brown and green.
    In such a spot, it was possible to feel like they were the only two people in the world.
    Trinity knew they shouldn’t linger. He had already proven he couldn’t control his feelings when it came to Victoria. Just knowing he was alone with her, close to her, made his muscles ache with delicious tension. He could feel his fingers nervously flex at the thought of touching her.
    Only her horse stood between them.
    “There’s not much to tell,” Trinity replied, deciding to make the story of his life brief and his description of the places he’d been unglamorous. “All towns look pretty much alike. And people aren’t much different no matter where you find them.”
    “I’ve never been anywhere. I grew up on my father’s ranch, moved to my husband’s, and then to my uncle’s. I’ve never seen anything but cows, and I’ve never talked to anybody but cowboys.”
    “Most of what’s out there isn’t worth the trouble. It’s certainly not worth exchanging for a place such as this.”
    Victoria looked at him across her saddle. “You can say that because you’ve seen it for yourself. I haven’t seen anything. I don’t know anybody. No matter what Uncle Grant tells me, I know there’s more to this world than Mountain Valley Ranch.”
    “Most women live out their lives on some farm or ranch.”
    “But they know they can leave if they want,” Victoria said. “I can’t. Not ever. It makes me feel absolutely desperate sometimes.”
    “Not too desperate I hope.”
    Victoria laughed despite the gravity of the subject. “Not desperate enough to let somebody take me back to Texas, if that’s what you mean. Missing something is quite different than being cut off from it altogether.”
    Trinity couldn’t resist her laugh. He turned to Victoria, a quirky smile on his lips.
    “I wouldn’t recommend visiting friends in Texas just now, but I don’t see why you have to stay here if you don’t want to. There are lots of places you could go. I doubt anybody outside of Texas has heard of you. You could go to London or Paris. Even New York. There’re so many people there nobody would find you, even if they were to come looking.”
    “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before,” Victoria said, excitement shining in her eyes. “You can defend me.”
    “No, I can’t,” Trinity stated flatly. I’m not a lawyer.”
    Victoria laughed at him. “And you’re not an ignorant cowpoke either, even if you do try to talk like one when you remember.”
    It was impossible for him to concentrate when she laughed. It simply engulfed him. Her smile teased and tempted him, but there was a timbre in her voice which invited him to share something intimate with her.
    “Maybe not,” he said, trying to push every sensation out of his mind, “but that’s a far cry from knowing the law and how to use it.”
    “I’m not asking you to do anything with the law. I want you to organize an investigation into Jeb’s murder. You would hire detectives to collect the evidence and lawyers to present it in court.”
    “But …”
    She came around her horse and stood in front of him, her eyes looking up at his. “Don’t say no, at least not yet. Think about it.”
    Trinity forced himself to step back. If he stayed that close to her a minute longer, he wouldn’t be able to think of anything but her eyes … or her lips. He might not even be able to think at all.
    “Have you talked to your uncle about this?”
    “Several times, but he doesn’t think it would do any good. Neither does Buc.