He studied her as if she were a paradox. “In that case, why bother to look him up at all?”

“Because I promised Terrie I would. All she wanted was for him to know he had a daughter. What he does with that information is up to him.” Catherine had no doubts he’d do nothing with it. That was what she was counting on. “It’s no one else’s business.”

“What about you?” he questioned.

“I don’t under stand,” she dissembled, vying for time, though she didn’t know why because no one was going to come and rescue her from this precarious dilemma.

“Let’s not play games.” His lips broke into a for bid ding curl. “In my gut I know there’s a lot more at stake here than your being the simple bearer of this kind of news.”

Catherine couldn’t afford to lose her cool now. Not in front of this all-seeing, all-knowing watchdog who was sounding much more like a chief prosecutor. She needed to stay calm and collected, like the professional she purported to be.

Filling her lungs with air, she said, “I’m here because of Bonnie.”

Though his expression didn’t change, a silver flash coming from those suspicious gray eyes indicated she’d hit some kind of nerve. “Bonnie…” he repeated quietly. For want of a more precise word, he sounded haunted.

“Yes. That’s the name Terrie gave her baby.”

After an almost eerie interim of silence his deep voice spoke again, this time in a gravelly tone. “And the father’s name?”

“I-it’s one of those nicknames that could belong to any number of men or their horses, especially those living in this part of the country.”

“I’m still waiting.” He was about to take the action he’d threatened. A small shiver ran down her spine. She was going to have to trust him.

“Terrie said he called himself…Buck.”

The second the name left her lips a daunting stillness pervaded the atmosphere. While she could feel the adrenaline driving the speed of her heart, her interrogator carefully shut the door, as if he’d come to some monumental decision.