After the Music by Diana Palmer Page A

shook his head as he studied her.
    "You amaze me," he said. "You always look like something out of Rodeo Drive, but you hardly pay anything for it."
    "I know where to look," she said with a grin. "Let's go. I'm just getting warmed up."
    "Thorn bites when he's in this mood," he cautioned her. "Don't underestimate him. Stick close to me."
    "You can count on it."
    The house was misleading. Judging by its front, it was a bastion of quiet elegance. But inside if was a masculine stronghold. The living room was done in earthy tones, with Indian rugs and a strong Mexican influence as well. The walls in the living room and den were pecan-paneled, and hunting trophies and rodeo awards lined the wall of the den.
    "Thorn's," Al told her, quiet pride in his voice. "He always took top money. The men still gather around when he feels like a little bronc busting out in the corral. It's quite a sight."
    "How big is the ranch?" she asked.
    "Not very, by Texas standards. But it's a good place to relax, and Thorn likes to experiment with his purebred Herefords. He's very much into embryo transplants right now, genetic improvement."
    That was Greek to Sabina. She'd spent a little time with her grandfather, her mother's father, who had a farm just outside New Orleans. But that was years ago, before the old man died. She had just a few pleasant memories of being allowed to ride horses and breathe clean, country air and gaze toward an uncluttered horizon.
    Her fingers lightly touched one of the awards, feeling its cold metal surface. It chilled her, like the man who'd earned it. "He must be very proud of these," she told Al.
    "He is," came a deep voice from the doorway.
    She turned to find Thorn, long-legged, narrow-hipped, devastating in jeans and a half-unbuttoned blue plaid shirt. He was still wearing dusty boots and the wide-brimmed hat that emphasized his dark complexion. His blue eyes were piercing from across the room, and his chiseled lips turned up in a twisted mockery of a smile.
    "The metal is an alloy; they aren't worth much," he told her, oblivious of Al's glare.
    "How sad," she sighed, moving away. "You couldn't even hock them if you needed money, could you, Hamilton Regan Thorndon the Third?"
    "My name is Thorn," he said in a tone laced with authority.
    She looked up, tossing back her long, silky hair. "That's what your friends call you, I'm sure," she said. "I am not, and never will be, your friend. I will call you Hamilton or Mr. Thorndon the Third or Hey, You. Take your pick."
    His eyes were flashing with anger, but she didn't even flinch. He pursed his lips. "Declaring war, honey? Watch out. You're on my turf now."
    "I don't have a white flag to my name," she returned with deliberate provocation. Honey. She hated that silky endearment that she'd heard so often in her youth. "And don't call me honey, your worship."
    "My God, you're brave," he said tartly.
    She corrected him. "I just don't like being walked on," she said, never letting her gaze waver.
    His blue eyes searched her face for a long, static moment, while he seemed to be trying to read her mind.
    She laughed. "Looking for weak links? I don't have any. I'm every bit as hard as you are."
    "You'll need to be," he said.
    Recognizing the tone, Al stiffened. "Uh, Sabina, let's see the rest of the house."
    She turned her eyes away from Thorn, feeling a weakness in her knees. She had had this tingling feeling for a few seconds, but she didn't dare let him know it.
    "Sure," she told Al, taking his hand quickly.
    "I'm opening up a new oil field out on the western stretch of the property," Thorn told his brother. "Ride out there with me."
    "Now? Like this?" Al asked, indicating his gray suit.
    "Change first."
    "Want to come along, Sabina?" Al asked.
    "She rides?" Thorn laughed mockingly.
    "She sure does," Sabina said with a deliberate vacant smile. "She even speaks all by herself, without help."
    "I'll just get my suitcase out of the car. Be right back." Al told Sabina with a smile