Free Desert Devil by Rena McKay Page B

resorting to some vice to make life bearable here." He paused suddenly, blue eyes intent. "I hope I'm not upsetting you. I don't mean to."
    "Of course not," Juli assured him. As a matter of fact, she reflected, what Brian was saying could be a confirmation that David had been on to something big and important, something that preoccupied both his time and interests. Could it have been something secret, something other workers in the department didn't even know about?
    "If you'd like a tour through the plant or the research department while you're here, I could arrange it," Brian offered unexpectedly.
    Juli shook her head, restraining a shiver. "I don't think so. I've already met Mr. Taylor."
    "Ah, yes," he said dryly. "Our sun-tanned leader. Cholla's most eligible bachelor. One glance from him and fourteen secretaries swoon at their desks."
    One word leaped out at Juli. "Bachelor? But I thought he was married!"
    Brian shook his head. "Not unless he acquired a wife since yesterday. And I'm sure that didn't happen, or there would have been a groan of disappointment from the secretarial pool that could have been heard all over Cholla."
    Juli ignored his facetious exaggeration. "But I just met his wife," she protested. "I had to go to… to Mr. Taylor's house for something, and she was there. And she definitely said she was
Mrs
. Taylor."
    Brian asked Juli to describe the woman. Juli did so in as straightforward a manner as possible, giving a general description of age and coloring without remarking on the woman's seductively sexy appearance.
    Finally, Brian nodded. "Oh, that was Mrs. Taylor, all right. Mrs. Nicole Taylor. She's the widow of Thorne Taylor's younger brother, Jason."
    "Widow!" Juli gasped. "But she said—" Juli broke off, surprised and puzzled. She was sure the other woman had deliberately led her to believe she was Thorne's wife.
    "You've seen the Taylor place?" Brian asked, eyeing her with frank curiosity.
    "A little business matter concerning David," Juli explained hurriedly. Her mind was spinning. What Brian was saying didn't change what Thorne had done, of course, but it threw a subtly different light on the situation. Thorne might be arrogant and savage, but he hadn't been sneaking around behind a wife's back. "Was Thorne's brother involved in the company, too?"
    "Oh, sure. Half-owner. He did a lot of traveling for the company, I understand. He died several months before David's accident."
    Brian's second drink arrived and he gulped it as appreciatively as the first. With it came crisp tortilla chips and a creamy guacamole dip. The rich blend of avocado and spices was a perfect contrast to the icy drinks, but Juli's thoughts were elsewhere.
    "How did he die?" she asked curiously.
    "Hiking accident. It happened up in the Superstition Mountains. He had a hobby of hunting for lost gold mines, and there's supposed to be a famous One up there somewhere. He slipped on a rock or something and fell over a cliff. Some other hikers saw it happen, but he was dead when they got to him."
    Juli shuddered. "How awful."
    Brian nodded. "Just one more reason you won't find
me
stumbling around out there. But the widow seems to be bearing up nicely," he added dryly. "With Thorne Taylor's strong arm for support, of course."
    Juli glanced up sharply. "Is there something between them?"
    Brian shrugged. "You hear all kinds of rumors."
    "Such as?"
    "The talk is that they're just waiting for a decent interval of time to elapse after Jason's death before she becomes Mrs. Thorne Taylor."
    "I see." Juli put her drink down. Her stomach felt suddenly queasy. "I take it they're not concerned with how it looks with her already living there under the same roof with him."
    "She doesn't live there," Brian corrected, "at least not yet. She has a home up in Scottsdale, near Phoenix. Another estate, from what I hear."
    "You mean she and her husband lived up there even though the company is permanently located here? I wonder why," Juli mused.
    Brian