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ruined your brother’s career. Well, as much as I know I should just save my breath, I’ll tell you right now, I didn’t touch your brother’s damned horse.”
    “He says you did.”
    “Knew I should have saved my breath. Regardless, I didn’t. And you can’t get out of our agreement, so you might as well just go ahead and believe my version. At least for the next six weeks.”
    “I can’t do that,” she said. “And you deliberately concealed your identity. Do you deny that?”
    “Hell no. I’m a shady bastard. I didn’t cause Cade’s accident, but I didn’t say I was an angel.”
    “I can’t believe this.” Cade would be so pissed. And Cole . . . Cole would think this just confirmed that he needed to be the one in charge of her decision-making.
    She thought back to the way she’d felt at the wedding, how she’d felt like she was finally moving forward. Like she was finally getting somewhere with her life and her career. And now she just wanted to laugh hollowly at the bitter irony of it all.
    She’d made the choice to step out, and she’d made a big-ass mistake.
    “You’ll hardly see me,” he said. “I have actual ranch work to do, and I’m not overly concerned with the computer stuff. That’s your domain, not mine.”
    “It’s a conflict of interest,” she said.
    He smiled—slow, dangerous, and damned if it wasn’t a little bit . . . seductive. It made her stomach feel tight. Made her feel like she couldn’t breathe. “What do you think I’ll do to you? You think the big bad wolf is going to eat you?”
    “I’m not some limp fairy-tale character. If you try to touch me, I’ll mace your ass, do you get it?” she asked, not feeling half the confidence she was attempting to exude. No, inside she felt like Jell-O.
    He chuckled, a low, rolling sound that stoked the heat inside of her. The angry heat. It was angry heat. That was all it was. She couldn’t feel anything else for the man who’d been responsible for Cade’s injuries, and no matter what Quinn said, she knew he was.
    Cade was certain, the Rodeo Association was certain. So much so that they’d banned Quinn from competing for life. Cade had been triumphant over that. An eye for an eye. He couldn’t ride in competition anymore because of his physical limitations. And now? Now Quinn couldn’t either.
    “You’re welcome to try,” he said.
    She frowned. He wasn’t taking her threats very seriously. Maybe she should mace him and get herself fired.
    “And now you’re thinking of ways to get yourself fired,” he said, crossing his broad arms over his chest. “I’m not going to do that. Too easy. Don’t forget, I knew who you were.”
    “So what? You’re just here to poke the hornet’s nest?”
    “Hell no. I’m here to get this ranch started, to give these boys a new start on life. I want the best thing for them, and that means the best computer system, since we will be continuing some schooling here, even over the summer. You were the best this town had to offer, and I hired you. For good money. Not only that, once the project gets rolling, you’re going to be able to get some good publicity for yourself. You could end up with a serious business on your hands. A little independence.”
    How did he know she wanted that? How? What voodoo magic did this guy possess?
    “At what cost?” she asked.
    “A lot less than if you walk away from the contract.”
    Either way she was screwed. If she confessed the situation she’d landed herself in, any respect she’d hoped to earn by landing the job would be nullified. But if she took it she would be shaking hands with the devil, and she wasn’t all that excited about the possibility.
    “This ranch, this is really for what you said?” she asked. “For troubled youth?”
    “You read the press release, didn’t you? My hiring manager was supposed to send you all the info.”
    “While leaving your name out, right?”
    He shrugged. “Yeah.”
    “Well, yes, he sent