Prime Time

More than anything else, cable TV reporter Andrea Malone wanted a network job. And it could be hers if she gained a coveted interview with the aging General Ratiff -- especially if she uncovered the secret that drove him into seclusion at his Texas ranch. One obstacle was Lyon Ratiff, the general's watchdog of a son. Andrea had a plan, but had no way of knowing how Lyon's unexpected, undeniable effect on her would change everything, how they both would face a storm of suspicion and betrayal -- and how Andrea Malone would have to choose between the ruthless demands of her profession and the equally strong dictates of the heart.
"Are you sure he’ll be here today?” Andy Malone asked impatiently and shifted her weight into a more comfortable position. The “padded” stool in front of the counter was inaptly named—what padding there was beneath the red vinyl was lumpy and hard. “Nope, sure ain’t,” Gabe Sanders, proprietor and chief cook of Gabe’s Chili Parlor, said as he ran an unbleached muslin towel around the rim of a clean, but cracked and stained coffee mug. “All I said was that he was likely to be in today. That don’t necessarily make it so, ya see? He’s likely to do just what he damn well pleases.” The grizzled old man chuckled. Andy’s trained instincts twitched with renewed anticipation, and she forgot the hard, uneven surface of the barstool she was sitting on. She knew better than to attract the attention of the other lunchtime customers or to show too much interest in her quarry. At any moment Gabe Sanders might decide she was a nosy outsider and stop answering her questions altogether."