Free Last Night by Meryl Sawyer

night. There wasn ' t any other cottage available.
    Dana returned to Makai House and surveyed the situation. She could sleep on the love seat and let Rob have the bed. Six nights. It sounded like a life sentence with a man that she didn ' t quite trust. To day she ' d purged Rob from her thoughts. Well, most of the time anyway. The emotional aftershock of that kiss was undeniable. How could she have kissed him like that?
    She ' d never lost her composure when other men had kissed her. Temp orary insanity, she decided, re luctant to admit that she was actually attracted to him. Rob Tagett frightened her. Massive shoulders. Intimidating height. But it was much more than the threatening power of his body that disturbed her.
    And it was much more than the ugly rumors she ' d heard about him.
    He ' d been studying her. How else had he detected her dyed hair and her penchant for sexy undies? Add his talent for keen observation to his skill for assassinating people in print and she might as well be swimming with one of Big Daddy ' s deadly sharks.
    What choice did she have?
    She stretched out across the bed, listening to the birds singing in the jacaranda trees and the lulling sound of the ferns brushing against each other as the wind softly swept through the glade of ferns and wild orchids where the cottage was located. Her head on the pillow, she listened to the "oh-oh " call of the islands ' most elusive bird, the 'o ' o.
    She must have fallen asleep, she thought, jerking upright with a neck-wrenching jolt, not realizing at first what had awakened her.
    Another keening wail pierced the bosky stillness. A child's cry.

 
     
     
     
     
    6
     
     
    D ana sprinted up the path to the main house, drawn by the sobs. It had to be Jason; he was the only child at the ranch. As she crossed the terrace Dana could see into the house. Eustace was kneeling beside Jason while Big Daddy towered over Vanessa ' s young son.
    Nearby were Eric and Travis Coltrane, but neither of the brothers appeared particularly concerned about the sobbing five-year-old. Dana saw their blood-splattered clothes and knew they'd killed the pig. She could just see them " sticking " the cornered animal with the knives that were now in scabbards at their sides.
    And Jason had been forced to watch.
    " Shut him up before his mother hears him, " Big Daddy told Eustace.
    A white-hot flare of anger rocketed through Dana. Swear to God, if she ' d had a gun she would have shot the three of them. She charged into the room. " What have you done to him? "
    Big Daddy rak ed his hand through his arctic- white hair, which swept back from his face in thick waves and emphasized jet black eyes and matching eyebrows that shot upward like a Russian dictator ' s. "The boy ' s pussy-whipped. Started bawling the minute the dogs cornered the pig. "
    " W-Wilbur, " Jason got out between sobs, reaching his little arms out for Dana.
    She took him from Eustace and cradled him against her bosom with an overwhelming surge of affection. As young as he was, Jason sensed he could trust her even though he didn't see her as frequently as he did the others in the room. She kissed Jason ' s blonde head, silently praying that all he ' d inherited was the Coltranes' square jaw and distinctive cleft chin. She didn ' t want him to be anything like these men. " Honey, who ' s Wilbur? "
    He lifted his head from the crook of her neck. "Y-You know, Charlotte ' s friend Wilbur. "
    It took a second for it to register that he ' d thought the pig was the one from Charlotte ' s Web. Dana had given him the book at Christmas, and she ' d been the f irst one to read the story to him. To Jason, the sticking had been like watching a beloved pet die.
    " The dogs jump on Wilbur and bite him bad. " His blue eyes—so like his mother ' s—were swimming with tears. He sniffed and swiped at his runny nose with his fist. " R-Rambo tore Wilbur ' s ear off. " Imagining the dogs attacking the trapped pig, Dana gazed into Jason ' s