Mad Hatter

DEALING WITH THE DEVIL

The minute Sara opened the shop door, the old feelings came rushing back. The jingling harness brasses, the warm smell of cedar, and the dim light of the brass fixtures reminded Sara Dugan of her childhood, when she'd watched Owen's grandfather make hats with care and pride. Now that the old man had passed on, Owen was the last of a rare breed: a hatter with a penchant for double-talk and an eye for the ladies.

Tall, lean Owen Dixon was one of the reasons Sara had left this small Arizona town years ago. Back then she'd been a shy teenager with a terrible crush on Owen, the black-haired man nicknamed Devil. And despite the fact that the years had only made him look wilder and sexier, Sara focused on the business at hand -- the deal she'd come to propose.

Owen had been afraid to contact Sara after she'd left town. How could you tell a girl that distance was a good thing? How could you tell her that she was becoming a beauty who made your pulse race whenever she came near? But little Sara Dugan had gone off and grown up. And she was about to make a deal with the man they called Devil.