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other.
    Maura turned onto her back, her gaze moving between the two of them.
    “We were right,” Dario said. “I'd guess it at eleven feet.”
    “About right.” Declan relaxed his grip on the rope at the same time Dario let his drop. The rope draped across Maura's stomach as she propped herself up on her elbows.
    “That's an interesting picture.” Dario's voice was deep, and Declan fought the urge to either agree with him or tell him to shut the hell up.
    “Don't get any ideas,” Maura said, as she ducked under the rope, then stood up. “I'm the boss, remember, and a comment like that could be construed as sexual harassment.”
    “Can an employee sexually harass the boss?” Dario began gathering up the rope. Declan let his end fall to the ground and walked toward Maura, who watched Dario carefully.
    “Oh yes,” she replied. “It could mean a dock in pay, or something equally bad, like going to bed without dinner.”
    “Hmm. How about going to bed and then getting dinner?” Dario licked his lips and Declan cleared his throat. He glanced at Maura, whose face had turned a nice shade of red. It spread under her shirt and her full breasts seemed to be moving faster. It was definitely a nice sight. He looked at Dario to see his friend's gaze fastened on the same spot Declan's had been just moments ago.
    “Behave, or I'll send you back to Albuquerque on the next bus.” Dario looked up at him and Declan gave him a look that he hoped conveyed the words, Keep your eyes off Maura's tits.
    “I don't think that's your call,” Dario retorted. “I'm still on the payroll, right boss?”

    A Trick of the Moon
    29

    They both looked at Maura, and Declan was happy to see she was still smiling, and still blushing. “I might dock both your pay for interoffice fighting if you don't straighten up. Besides, it's getting late in the day and we need to start back so we can make it to the Moon before the sun goes down totally. The area's pretty flat, but there's always the possibility of snakes or hungry coyotes coming out of nowhere.”
    “The trickster,” Declan said, as he took the rope from Dario and turned toward the horses. “Definitely something we don't want to meet up with.”
    Declan heard Maura and Dario shuffling behind him and he resisted the urge to turn and see how closely together they were as they walked. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to bring his handsome friend along with him. If he screwed up this chance to let Maura know how he felt about her, he'd kick himself for the rest of his life.
    That meant he needed to make a move quick, maybe even tonight. He just needed the right moment to give her more than a kiss on the cheek.

    30
    Melinda Barron

    Chapter Four

    Maura stepped into the kitchen and sniffed the air appreciatively. Declan had started the grill and the wonderful smell of charcoal filled the air. She'd had the meat for the fajitas marinating since last night. All she had to do was get it out of the refrigerator, drain it off, and take it to him to cook.
    The rice was almost done, and the beans had been in the pressure cooker for the last eight hours. Now she needed to take them out, mix in some spices, and mash them, and dinner would be ready.
    Her “employees” would have to make do with store-bought tortillas, since she hadn't made any homemade ones in quite some time. This afternoon had been very fulfilling. Declan had confirmed her suspicion that the kiva was old, although whoever was using it now might be damaging its historical value. She couldn't wrap her mind around why someone would use it.
    Kivas were places that had high religious value, true, but who around here still believed in the old ways? She had eight employees on the ranch, and all of them were native. But as far as she knew, all of them were Christian. They wouldn't be using a kiva to perform rituals. Or at least she didn't think they would.
    But then again, did you really know the people you worked with? You saw them