Legacy by Jayne Ann Krentz

"The reason a man my age starts offering fatherly advice is precisely because he's a mite envious of a man your age. It's our way of getting even with you young folks. Spiteful. Downright spiteful."
    Landry's eyes lightened with fleeting humor. "That showgirl I saw hanging on your arm last month in Vegas didn't seem interested in finding anyone younger than you!"
    Ethan sighed grandly and shook his head. "Sad to say, I'm afraid my main attraction for that little gal was my bank account. Unfortunately I doubt that Miss Honor would be similarly impressed."
    "You don't think so?" Landry asked thoughtfully.
    "Well," Ethan drawled lightly, "I suppose it might be worth a try."
    Landry was startled by the sudden, unexpected tension that flashed through him as he pictured Ethan Bailey or anyone else trying to impress Honor Mayfield. He must be crazy, he told himself. Ethan was only teasing him. Deliberately he summoned up a determined casualness. "Hands off, Ethan, old buddy, I saw her first."
    "And when do you plan on seeing her next?"
    Landry glanced around at the quiet grounds. "This morning. I invited her to come watch the workouts."
    His eyes narrowed faintly as he glanced at his watch. "She said she'd try to make it."
    "Maybe something came up," Ethan said. "The lady's got a business to run, didn't you say? Some kind of decorating work?"
    "Interior designs for offices. Homes, too, I think," Conn answered absently, beginning to wonder if Honor might be going to stand him up after all. He'd called her yesterday, the morning after their dinner date, and issued the invitation to join him at the track today. The lure was an attractive one, he'd told himself. He had a hunch she'd enjoy watching the horses working out. She had seemed initially hesitant and then in a little rush of enthusiasm, she'd said she'd try to make it.
    He'd been certain she'd show. Everything seemed to be falling into place quite neatly. When he'd accepted the check the other night they'd both known it didn't erase the debt between them. He'd seen the gratitude in her eyes. It had been coupled with caution, but it had been genuine.
    She'd been frightened of Granger and he'd assumed the task of dealing with the man on her behalf. In addition, he'd kept her from getting mixed up with the police trap that had been set in the parking lot. A real knight in shining armor, Landry told himself sardonically. Then he wondered why the image bothered him.
    There were a lot of things bothering him that shouldn't have been making him uneasy. He didn't understand it. Everything had seemed so simple and straightforward when he'd originally decided to track her down. The decision had been based on an intuitive, gut-level feeling that there were questions to be asked and that the only one left who might have some answers was Honor Mayfield. It wasn't that he thought she would really know what had happened all those years ago, but she was a Mayfield. Through her he might be able to satisfy the uncertainties, the wrongness , the sense of injustice that had haunted him so long. But she would run if she found out who he was. In fact, she would probably be wise to run.
    So he had to ensnare her firmly before he revealed himself.
    And now that he'd kissed her, Landry knew the first strands of the web were securely locked in place.
    The response from her had been unmistakable. His body still remembered it, along with the seething frustration of knowing that the time was not yet right to push her into bed.
    Yes , she'd show up this morning, he told himself, aware of a sense of satisfaction. The bonds of gratitude and sexual attraction were in place. The combination was a strong one—with any luck at all, an irresistible one.
    "Here she is." Ethan Bailey interrupted Conn's thoughts to wave cheerfully at Honor, who was walking toward them with a foam cup of coffee in her hand. "Over here, Miss Honor."
    Conn turned his head to look at her, aware of a certain possessive pleasure. She looked