Page 30 of Point of Mercy

So what the hell? Even if she were here for a quick roll in the hay—why not? So she was married.He’d always drawn the line at married women before, but with Heather, when she was practically begging for it…

He grabbed the front of her blouse in his fist and drew her close, intent on kissing her.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned as he lowered his head.

“No?”

Her own fingers wound around his wrists. “I didn’t come here to seduce you, Turner and, in fact—” she managed to rake her gaze down his filthy body “—if I were in the mood, you’d be the last man I’d want.”

“I doubt that,” he replied, his eyes slitting as he stared down at this rich little bitch who had the nerve to stride onto his ranch, uninvited, and insult him.

“I’d heard that you were a broken-down cowboy, a man who was on the verge of pouring his life into a bottle, but I didn’t believe it. But now—” she skated that haughty gaze over the rough planes of his face “—I see that I was wrong.”

He wasn’t going to argue with her. So he’d inherited his old man’s reputation. Big deal. He knew that he’d never,neverfollow the same path as John Brooks. What other people thought—including Heather Leonetti—didn’t matter.

“Then why the hell are you here,lady?” he asked, spitting out the final word.

“Because I need your help!”

His fist uncoiled and he stepped away from her, noticing the fire in her eyes. “From a ‘broken-down cowboy’? From a man who’s on his way to ‘pouring his life into a bottle’? I don’t think so.” He glared at her as if she were dirt. His lip curled in disgust. He was tired of the game and furious that just the sight of her could arouse him. “Go home, Heather. Go back to your fat-cat husband. I don’t really give a damn what you want. I wouldn’t help you if you crawled back to me on your hands and knees.”

“Well, think about it, Turner, because that’s exactly what I’m doing,” she said, holding her wobbling chin a little higher. Tears filled her blue eyes and he felt his pride start to shatter. “I’m begging you because I need your help.”

“I don’t think so—”

“We have a son, Turner,” she said quickly, and all sound inside the barn seemed to cease. He stared at her as if she had gone stark, raving mad. “He’s five. His name is Adam. And regardless of what you think of me, he needs you very much.”

Chapter Six

Beneath his tan,Turner’s face drained of color. “A son,” he repeated, when he finally found his tongue. Disbelief clouded his eyes and his voice was deadly. “I have a son?”

“Yes and—”

“And you haven’t told me about him for six years and now, all of a sudden, out of the clear damned blue, I have a son.” He looked at her long and hard, his face harsh and flushed with fury. “Come on, Heather, you can do better than that. Just try.”

“I’m telling the truth!” She didn’t panic. Not yet. She’d known he wouldn’t believe her, not at first.

“Sure. Well, for your information we have three daughters, too. I just never got around to tellin’ you ’bout ’em.” He offered a cold smile, and it was all Heather could do not to grab him by his filthy collar and shake some sense into him.

“It isn’t impossible, you know.”

His cruel grin faded, and she knew he, too, was remembering all the times they’d made love that summer.

“Why would I lie?”

“You tell me.” Yanking a handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped the sweat and grime from his face.His hands shook a little and she knew she was finally reaching him.

“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have to be, Turner. You know that.”

Time seemed to spin backward six long, lonely years. The air was thick with old, tangled emotions that seemed to creep into the barn and bring sweat to Heather’s brow. Turner’s expression turned from wary to a thundering rage that knotted his features as the truth finally hit home. “Are you trying to tell me that I’ve had a kid for five years and you’ve kept it a secret?”

Heather’s heart ripped.

“That you married a rich banker so that my kid wouldn’t have to be raised by a poor cowboy? Is that it?”

She choked, her throat swollen, her heart shredding.

“Are you trying to convince me that you’re so callous—so friggin’ manipulative that you would pass off another man’s son as his?”

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