“You going to the cabin?” Alex picked up the Macy’s shopping bag of clothing: their single piece of luggage.

“Cabin?” That sounded like no electricity or running water. Definitely not her kind of place. “Why a cabin? Isn’t there a hotel or something we could…?” Her question drifted as she caught the determined look in Jack’s eye.

“We’ve got a company-owned cabin up on the mountain. That’s where we’re going.”

“Why?” Finding her backbone, she held his stare. Please don’t mention composting toilets.

“Do you have a better idea? We both know we can’t check into a hotel. I don’t want to bring any of your friends or mine into something that could be dangerous.” He looked wryly at Alex. “Any more than I have.”

Alex shrugged.

“We’re going alone?” Her voice cracked. Just Jack and her in a small, isolated space…

Alex coughed. She scowled at him.

Jack leaned close and she caught a whiff of clean male. Her head gave a dizzy spin. He winked at her. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to you that you don’t want me to do.”

Hot coffee dripped down her hand as she leaned back from Jack and caught her breath. She tightened the lid, more burned by his gaze than the liquid.

What did she want him to do to her?

Behind the tinted glass of Sam’s truck canopy, Michael bit his lip to keep from whooping out loud. The gate of the compound had swung open for Sam after she batted long, sexy eyelashes at the farmhand. Michael couldn’t hear what she’d said, but the farmhand looked smitten. Michael was too.

Sam Short had impressed the hell out of him. Once she’d given him a chance to explain his role in a hunt for a killer and why he wanted into the compound, she was firmly on his side. She’d asked a few sharp questions and made him wait while she placed a call to Lusco. She’d agreed to get Michael into the compound and then led the way through the barn to her truck at a fast pace, explaining that she made regular visits to the compound because of the large number of horses. Maybe the owner didn’t seek preventative care for his animals from the vet, but the head man wanted all the horses shod.

She’d kept up a running commentary on polygamy and cults as they walked.

“Blasted idiots. They brainwash the women. Tell them that polygamy removes the pressure on a husband to commit adultery.” Sam snorted. “She won’t lose her husband or security as she ages because he’ll just marry that younger and better-looking woman too. Someone to help out around the house.”

“Hmm. Multiple wives. Someone different to choose from every night. Every man’s dream,” Michael said slyly. He sped up his steps. The woman moved like she would kick ass in a speed walking competition.

“Ha! The men want you to believe that’s a hardship. Those men shake their heads and moan about how hard it is to manage such a large family. How hard it is to keep everyone happy. He has to prove he can support all his children equally before he can consider another wife. Boo hoo hoo.”

“You seem to know a lot about it.”

Sam stopped her march through the barn and turned to face him, hands on her hips. “I should. My dad had several wives.” She tilted her head and locked on his gaze, waiting to see what he’d say. Her blue eyes flashed and her lips thinned.

“Uh…” Her father? Foot in mouth again. Michael glanced around the luxurious stables. “How…”

She read his mind. “The stable and business belonged to my husband. Now it’s mine.”

“Does he have…? Are you…?”

She laughed sharply and spun around to continue her quick strides. “I’m the only wife. He didn’t believe in it, and neither do I. He died three years ago. Broke his neck in a fall from a horse.” She didn’t sound too sad about it.

Michael didn’t know what surprised him more. Her stack of personal revelations or the fact she was sharing them with a stranger. “I’m sorry.”

“Thank you, but I’m not. Maybe he should have tried polygamy instead of ruining our marriage with affairs.” Her voice held a tint of restrained anger.

Michael had snapped his jaw shut. Could he say anything else wrong?

Hidden in the back of the truck, he wondered how it’d be to live with multiple mothers. Built-in babysitters, but more kids to watch. Extra hands in the kitchen, but more mouths to feed. More people to help with housework, but more people to clean up after and bigger homes to clean.

Sam grew up in that life?

Her truck came to a stop, knocking his head against cold metal. He peeked out a window and saw ratty barns and fencing that didn’t look strong enough to stop sheep, let alone horses. After visiting Sam’s beautiful ranch, anything else would look like the first little pig built it.

She opened the door on the canopy and gestured him out, glancing around. “There’s no one around right now. I wanted to hide you through the gate just in case the guy you had met earlier opened it. I’ll tell anyone else that you’re helping me out today.”

“If you don’t like these people, why do you do work for them?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Their money’s green. Besides, the only other farrier around here does a shitty job. For the sake of the horses, I like to make sure it’s done right.”

A true businesswoman.

Michael turned toward the house. Houses, he amended. Several single- and double-wide trailers were positioned in a staggered half circle around a snowy yard of play equipment. “Any idea where I might find the woman I’m looking for?”