Her fingers clawed through his hair as he took her to a precipice as high as the Colorado Rockies that loomed majestically outside her window. Her climax ripped through her, and while her muscles still clenched in wave after wave of pleasure, Ryder entered her. Julia squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to wring every ounce of joy from the feeling of completeness Ryder gave her.

“Open your eyes,” Ryder commanded in a guttural voice.

Her lids flew open and her eyes met Ryder’s fierce gaze. His breath hissed between his teeth as he drove into her. He growled his release and she folded around him, never wanting to let go.

Later, Julia curled up against his side, her fingers playing across his collarbone. She landed a kiss on his shoulder. “How could I have ever forgotten that? Forgotten you?”

“Brody was wrong about a lot of things, but I think he hit the nail on the head with this one. I had already come back into your life. You felt less urgency to remember me.”

“Maybe. Now our time together is all I can think about. All I want to think about.”

“My thoughts are running in one single direction right now. Ready for the refresher course?”

“Mmm.” She trailed her tongue along his throat, savoring his salty, masculine taste.

The phone on the nightstand interrupted her single-minded course and she pulled away from the feast in front of her. “I have to get this in case it’s the Stokers. Shelby gets homesick sometimes.”

She fumbled for the phone across Ryder’s chest. “Hello?”

“Julia, this is Sheriff Ballard. I have some interesting news for you about Dr. Brody.”

“You found him?” She bolted upright.

“Yeah, we found him all right. At the bottom of the gorge off Highway 160.”

The rosy flush on Julia’s face faded to white. Ryder smoothed her hair back from her cheek and mouthed the words, “What’s wrong?”

She held up her hand to him. “I-is he dead?”

Brody was dead? Relief surged through his body. He couldn’t help it. The proof they had against Brody didn’t amount to much, and Ryder didn’t want the doctor out on the streets.

“Uh-huh, I see.” She clutched the phone in her hands, her knuckles as white as her face.

Ryder couldn’t take the suspense anymore. He snatched the phone from Julia’s stiff fingers. “Ballard, this is Ryder. What’s going on?”

“Dr. Brody’s car went off the road on Highway 160 and plunged into the gorge. He’s dead.”

“Do you think he did it on purpose?”

“I don’t know. The Colorado State Patrol just recovered the car and his body. No autopsy or accident report yet. I’ll keep you posted. By the way, you know your brother graduated from the police academy today and is coming home day after tomorrow, don’t you?”

“Yeah, the family is throwing a big party for the prodigal son.”

“They didn’t throw one for you.”

“Different situation.”

“Because you’re not home to stay?”

“Something like that.” His gaze slid sideways to Julia, pleating the folds of the sheet in her lap. “Are you coming to the homecoming party?”

“Sure thing. I have to be there to welcome my new deputy sheriff.”

“Who’ll be minding the store?”

“Zack’s got it covered.”

That gave Ryder a warm and fuzzy feeling. “Okay, see you there, and keep me updated on Brody.”

Ryder ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed. “That’s it. Brody’s car took a tumble off Highway 160. He died in the crash.”

Julia sawed her bottom lip. “That’s the same highway I went over.”

“It’s a dangerous road.”

“But I crashed in a snowstorm. It’s summer, and we haven’t even had a summer drizzle.”

“That highway is a hazard any time of the year, especially if you’re agitated. You’re safe now, babe.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

Ryder scooped her against his chest and stroked her hair. “You’re safe.”

“WHY’D YOU DO IT?”

“The LAPD doesn’t have enough officers to police that city. The department is understaffed and underappreciated. Time to go.” Rafe shrugged and took a long pull from his beer.

Ryder kicked the leg of his little brother’s chair. “The truth. It was a woman, wasn’t it?”

Rafe studied the label on his bottle and scratched a corner with his fingernail. “Two women.”

“Unbelievable. Do Pam and Dad know they owe the presence of their darling boy to a ménage à trois gone bad?”

“Whoa, who said anything about a threesome? I take my women one at a time…on alternate days.” Rafe stretched his lanky legs in front of him, crossing his arms behind his head.

“And they had a problem with that? I’ve seen the women you date.”

“Nothing wrong with an air-headed bimbo. Much less work. Why are we talking about my personal life when yours is so much more interesting for a change? I was back in town for five minutes when I heard you and the amnesia chick were an item and I’m an uncle.”

Crossing his arms, Ryder bunched his fists against his biceps. Rafe could make light of the women he dated, but he’d better not try that crap with Julia.

“Don’t call her that. She’s almost completely regained her memory, and yeah, I’m a dad if you can believe that.”

“That’s a hard one to swallow from the antifamily man.” A smile quirked the corner of Rafe’s mouth. “But that’s one cute little girl…Shelby, not Julia. Don’t punch me.”

“I didn’t realize you were around long enough to meet them.”

“I saw them around a few times in the weeks I was here before heading off to the academy.”

“They’ll be at the party, and I don’t want you hitting on Julia or otherwise being an ass.” Ryder stood up when he saw Gracie Malone coming up the drive, carrying an apple pie. Charlie followed behind, grasping a crate with two more pies.

Rafe shook his head. “That’s cold, dude. I don’t hit on my brothers’ girlfriends.”

“What about Sheila Cramer?”

“High school? You’re bringing up high school? I’ve matured since then.” Rafe’s boyish grin cracked his face.

“Yeah, right.” Ryder jogged down the porch steps and reached for Gracie’s pie. “Let me get that for you, Gracie. I’ll bring it to Pam in the kitchen.”

“She must be bursting at the seams now that she has a granddaughter.” Gracie’s nose twitched. “I’m sure that put Millie Stoker’s nose out of joint, because she set herself up as Shelby ’s adoptive grandmother. I always thought that was greedy of her. She has plenty of grandchildren of her own, which is more than some of us can claim.”

She shot Charlie a withering look, and he hunched his shoulders, which made him look even more like the Incredible Hulk.

Turning toward the door with the warm pie balanced on his palms, Ryder compressed his lips. He thought Pam was bad. He pitied the poor guy.

An hour later, Siverhill’s locals filled up the McClintocks’ ranch house and spilled onto the patio in the back of the house. Ryder circled his parents’ large oak dining room table, which almost groaned beneath the platters and bowls of home-cooked food. In Silverhill they did things old-school. Rafe had some adjustments ahead of him.

Ryder dropped some ribs on his plate, followed by some of Millie’s potato salad, and spread some butter on a hot roll straight out of Mrs. Ballard’s oven.

While he ate and chatted, he kept one eye on the entrance. Julia and Shelby hadn’t shown up yet. Because of all the small-town gossip, he and Julia decided to break the news to Shelby yesterday that she had a father. They’d held their breaths while Shelby wrinkled her small nose. Then she patted Ryder’s knee and asked, “Can I call you ‘Daddy’ now?”

Totally choked him up. Julia had smiled, but a small crease appeared between her brows. She still didn’t completely trust him and she was probably wise not to. He didn’t know how long he could remain a father to Shelby.