STUPID! JESSIE CURSED silently. Why didn’t she let Cadde help her? Her father’s paranoia had made her dependent and she’d spent many years staking her independence, proving to everyone, mostly herself, that she was capable of handling her life. Claiming that prize hadn’t been easy, but she was tired of being afraid of everything around her. So she faced life head-on, determined to do things on her own. Sometimes, though, she needed to make better judgment calls—like tonight. Little was said as Cadde drove away from the house. She watched his big hands on the steering wheel: capable, efficient and strong. That described him to a T. A Shilah Oil coffee cup was in the console along with papers listing oil wells and production numbers. The four-door cab truck was big, but with Cadde’s presence it seemed to grow smaller. A woodsy coffee scent tempted her nostrils. She leaned back and let the cool air from the air-conditioning calm her nerves. When they reached the cutoff to U.S.
