Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart: Texas-Sized Temptation / Star of His Heart

“Please think about this. I want to save the house and people’s livelihoods that you’ll take away. I love them and they’re older now. I feel responsible for their well-being because they’ve devoted their lives to my grandmother and to me.”

“Noble, but they also got paid to do so and probably a damned good salary.”

“Sure, but it went beyond that. That house holds happy memories. Please rethink my request to buy before you answer hastily.”

He smiled at her as he sat in silence and studied her. “All right, I’ll think about it, but I doubt if I’ll change my mind.”

“If so, your decision has to be spite.” Her expression didn’t change. Green eyes observed him coolly. “You have one of the largest ranches in the state as it is and now you’ve bought up neighboring ranches as well as ours. I urge you to have an open mind when you give this thought.”

“It isn’t spite. At least not toward you. It’s vengeful where Will is concerned. I was delighted to buy him out. Even happier to tear down Will’s home place, turning it into rubble that will be cleared. Eventually, in its place will be mesquite, cactus and bare ground.”

Lightning crackled and popped while thunder made the windows rattle. Rain began to drum against the house.

Jake’s mind raced as his gaze roamed over her again. Her beauty pulled on his senses and there was an unmistakable physical attraction, but he didn’t care to pursue it. She was a Santerre and he wasn’t selling land back to her. She should have talked to Will immediately after their father’s death about her wishes to keep their grandmother’s property. He glanced beyond her through the French doors at the downpour, listening to the loud hiss of rain.

He glanced at his watch; it was almost six o’clock. He wanted her to stay for dinner when common sense said to get rid of her. Tell her no, get her out of his life and keep the property. She would give up and go on with her life if she learned there was no hope of regaining her childhood home.

But, traitorous or not, he was enjoying the sight of her too much. “You might as well stay for dinner. You can’t ride home in this and I don’t care to get out in it right now. It’s a gully washer and you know as well as I do how fast creeks and streams here will flood, so just stay. I can take you home later and you can get your horse when it’s convenient.”

She gave him another of her long, assessing looks and he couldn’t guess what ran through her thoughts. “Very well, thank you.”

He nodded. “This place is stocked. All the staff is gone, Their work is minimal since I’m here so little. I give them notice when I want them. My cook lives here on the ranch, and the other house staff live in town. Since you’re here, I’ll ask Fred to come in the morning. He lives on the ranch, so it’s easy for him to do so. Dinner will be what I can rustle up.”

“That’s fine. You can keep it simple.”

“Want a drink? Wine, soft drink, mixed drink, beer?”

“A glass of water would be great,” she said.

“Let’s go to the family room. It’s more comfortable.”

“Fine, lead the way,” she said, standing in a fluid motion.

She was tall, although a good six inches shorter than he was. They walked into an adjoining room twice the size of the study with windows and French doors with another, more panoramic view of the storm. French doors also opened onto the porch and the covered patio. She crossed to the windows to look out while he built a fire in a stone fireplace. He went to the bar to get her water and get himself a cold beer.

“We can sit outside and watch the storm if you prefer, although it may be chilly. I can build a fire and I’ll cook out there.”

“I have a jacket.”

“And I don’t get cold,” he said. They walked out to the patio with its comfortable furniture, stainless-steel equipment and a state-of-the-art cooker.

“Even though there are no walls, you have what amounts to another few rooms out here,” she remarked, glancing around at a living area, a kitchen area and the cabana and pool.

“It’s livable. A fire will make it more so.” He built a fire in a fireplace and then sat facing her near the blazing orange flames.

Handing her drink to her, he brushed her hand lightly. The physical contact, while so slight, burned. Soft warm skin. A startling awareness increased his desire.

She smiled at him. “Thank you. We’re having quite a storm. There won’t be any going home the way I came. As you said, this kind of downpour gets the river spilling out of its banks.”

She slanted him a look that was hot. He wondered if it was deliberate. Maybe he shouldn’t be so hasty in getting rid of her after dinner.

While he had no intention of selling any part of the Santerre ranch back to her, how far would she go to try to convince him to do so?

“It’s already dark out because of the storm,” he said. “We have plenty of room,” he added in a husky voice. “You can stay all night.”

Two

“A Santerre staying overnight with a Benton. It’s a shocking invitation that would turn our relatives topsy-turvy if they had known.”

“Scared to stay with a Benton?”

“Not remotely. I look forward to it,” she said, smiling at him. “It’s just that never in my wildest imaginings would I have guessed I would be here overnight. One Santerre is definitely shocked.”

“This is a stormy night, so better to stay inside.”

“Good. Staying longer will give me more time to try to talk you into selling. You don’t live here year round, why would you want so much more land? I know you’ve bought the ranch to the east of this one in addition to buying ours.”

“The first and foremost reason is oil,” he answered. “My brother thinks there may be oil in this general area. You have to know that he’s already drilling to the west of your grandmother’s house.”

“I see the activity with the trucks coming and going all hours. A rig is up now. From the upstairs floors we can see the work. They have fenced off the area so the cattle won’t roam there. I don’t think you’ll find any oil. My dad went through this at one time.”

“Gabe thinks there may be oil on your ranch, or on the old Patterson place. That’s why I wanted the land to the east, partially why I wanted your home place. Mostly I wanted to buy out Will and see the last of the Santerres in Nealey County. The people who worked for your grandmother are not Santerres. They would eventually have to go, but I haven’t been in a rush to run them off.”

“I have never done anything to hurt you or your family,” she stated quietly, but he saw the flare of fire in her eyes indicating animosity was not his alone.

“No, you haven’t. Admit it, though, you don’t like me or any other Benton.”

She glanced away. “I was raised to feel that way. I’m sure both families are at fault.” Her attention returned to him. “Your dislike hinges primarily on your sister and Will, even though Will was found innocent.”

Jake hoped he hid the sudden clenching of his insides as the old anger stirred again. She had touched a nerve. “I’ll always feel my sister’s death was due to Will.”

“Even though a jury found him innocent?” Caitlin asked. “From what Will said, your sister was the one at fault.”

“My sister had the poor judgment to fall in love with your half brother,” Jake said, thinking Caitlin should have left the topic alone because she stirred memories of the most abhorrent event in his life. It was the ultimate culmination of his hatred of Will. “Brittany didn’t live to tell her side of the story.”

“At the trial Will testified that they had a fight and she drove off in a rage. He said he was afraid she would have a wreck and he followed her. He tried to get in front of her car so he could slow her down. He testified that when he tried to pass her, she sideswiped his car. She lost control and crashed.”

“I’ll always think Will sideswiped her car. Will was the one who wanted her out of his life. She wanted him to marry her.”

“That never came out in the trial, although it was common talk. Will admitted to Grandmother that Brittany wanted him to marry her.”

“You know a lot about it.”

“I was there, even if I was younger than you.”

“She was pregnant with Will’s baby,” Jake said, feeling the dull hurt that came when he thought about Brittany’s crash. “Brittany told me. She was in love with him, too. I’m convinced Will ran her off the road and she crashed,” Jake said, hurt growing with each word. He hated having painful memories dredged up again.

Caitlin gasped. “I always figured talk of pregnancy was just a rumor. It was never brought up at the trial.”

“My mother didn’t know about it. My dad didn’t want it brought out at the trial and your family sure as hell didn’t,” Jake said. “I will always blame Will. I don’t believe he told the truth about that night, but no one will ever know because only two people were present. At the time of the trial, one of them was dead,” Jake stated, bitterness filling him as he sank into dark memories of a painful time. “We better get off this subject if you want to have a civil conversation with me.”

Jake gazed into fiery green eyes. Caitlin made no effort to hide her anger. He could feel the waves of antagonism that revealed her flirting was simply a means to try to get what she wanted from him.

“So that’s why you hate Will so much,” she said.

“Will and I have competed in school in sports and in the classroom. I was captain of the football team when he wanted to be. We both were on the baseball team. I had more home runs than Will. He had more stolen bases. I was my class president and the next year he was his class president. We were both on the debate team. Will and I have had plenty of our own battles. I never put Will in the hospital or vice versa.”

“You broke his nose. Actually, I wasn’t too sorry when I heard that. I thought a good punch was well deserved.”

“It definitely was,” he said lightly. “It was the loss of Brittany that tops my list of complaints against Will. I loved my sister and I hated to see her go out with Will. Brittany and I fought constantly over that. When she could, she hid her relationship with Will from our dad. I should have told him, but I don’t think it would have helped. She was eighteen, a senior. Will was eighteen by then. I was still seventeen. She would have done what she wanted. I don’t think anyone could have stopped her. Not even that fatal night.”

“As a Benton, you’ll always think Will was guilty.”

“Yes. While you’ll always think he’s innocent. We’re at an impasse on the issue and it makes even a business deal between us an emotional event that can’t be looked at in a purely impartial way.”

“Will’s no angel and we’ve never gotten along. Grandmother sat him down and made him tell her what happened. He swore that was the truth and I don’t think even Will could have lied to her. She could be a formidable woman. More intimidating than my father.”

Jake sipped his beer and listened to the rain, remembering all the emotional upheaval of that time in their lives. He could imagine easily Will Santerre lying to his grandmother. He looked at Caitlin and saw a Santerre, Will’s half sister. The ultimate irony would be to seduce her.

He had no intention of selling one inch of the Santerre place back to her.

How valuable was the land to her? Was trying to obtain it worth the price of seduction?

“That’s Will,” Caitlin continued. “What he did has little to do with me other than the fact that the same blood runs in our veins. There is no love lost between the two of us, so do not lump me with him.” The air was thick with hostility again. There was a fine line between them that kept them civil and caused her to flirt with him. He owned her family home and it was headed for destruction. In turn, he was beginning to want her in his bed. The more he was with her, the more he desired her.

She placed her palm on his cheek, startling him. “I told you. I’m going to make you see me as a woman and not as a Santerre.”

“I do already,” he answered in a husky voice, letting go thoughts about past history. Her hand was warm, soft against his cheek and he wanted her to keep it there. He longed to slip his arm around her waist and pull her into his embrace, to lean close to taste her lips.

Instead, when she sat back in her chair, he took her empty glass from her. “Want something stronger than water this time?”

“I’ll have another glass of water,” she said, smiling at him and getting up to follow him to the bar. She slid onto a high bar stool and watched as he filled another glass of water and sat on a bar stool facing her.

With their knees lightly touching, the temperature on the patio rose a notch in spite of the rain-chilled air.

“Now what can I do to get you to pay attention to me?” she asked.

He smiled. “You have my full attention right now,” he said. “Should it wander, you’ll figure out some way to capture my notice again. Some way as clever as getting into my house and spending the evening with me. You managed that easily.”

“Right now we’re captives of the storm. We both have to be here.” She leaned forward, her face closer to his. “I don’t know whether I can ever get you to see me apart from my family.”

“I promise you,” he replied in a huskier voice, “that I see you as Caitlin, a beautiful woman.”

Something flickered in the depths of her eyes and she got a sensual, solemn expression that made his heartbeat race. As his gaze dropped to her mouth, his desire to kiss her grew. He wondered about her kiss, resolving to satisfy his curiosity before the night was out.

“Now we have the whole evening to get to know each other. Do you work, Caitlin?”

She nodded. “I’m a professional photographer.”

“You must be good if you’re earning a living at it.”

Swirling her glass of water, she replied, “I freelance and I do earn a living at it.”

One dark eyebrow arched. “Why do you want to stay out here when you have a busy life elsewhere in the world?”

“Same reason you’re here, probably,” she replied. “I can relax, get away from everything else and have solitude.”

He sipped his drink and nodded. “You’re right,” he admitted. “This is an escape for me.”

“What do you need to escape from? Business decisions? Women?”

He laughed. “Never women.”

“You think about it—I’ll make a nice neighbor and the old feud will die with us. I won’t fight with you over the boundary, over water, never over the mineral rights, which I’m certain you won’t sell back to me, but that’s not my purpose here. I want to keep the home for all those people I told you about. Selfishly, also for my own memories and pleasure.”

She sipped her water and turned to watch the rain that still came in torrents. “We’re having a record breaker.”

“Maybe it’ll be a night to remember,” he said softly. She gave him a sultry look. He wondered if she hadn’t wanted the ranch from him if she would have been far less friendly. She had a convincing act to get what she wanted.

“It already has been,” she replied. He took her chin in hand to hold her face so he could look into her eyes.

“Are you playing with me to get what you want, Caitlin?” he asked.

“Perhaps, but you’re doing the same thing.”

“I didn’t come to the ranch wanting something from you.”

“You do now,” she replied, and his heart drummed. He wanted to close the last few inches between them to kiss her. As if she guessed his intent, with a deft move, she twisted away from his light grasp and sat back, smiling coyly at him.

“What would it hurt to sell a piece of the ranch back to me? You could still search for oil and reap the rewards if you find it. The little parcel you’d sell to me, you’d really never miss.”

“You could turn right around and give it to Will. As a matter of fact, how do I know that he hasn’t had a change of heart and sent you to buy a piece of the ranch back for him? If I sell to you, it’s yours to do with as you see fit.”

“You can write it in the contract. I’ll swear in front of a judge if you want—I absolutely am not doing this for Will,” she said and her expression frosted. “Will and I speak only when necessary. Our father barely recognized me. Will has snubbed me on the street in town before. There’s no love lost between us.”

“I’d think you’d be glad to be rid of the house and the land that belonged to your father and that Will inherited. That would be a constant reminder of your status in the family when you’re here. And a reminder your grandmother couldn’t own the house she lived in. The Santerres were not considerate of the women in the family.”

“No. When I’m in the house where I grew up, my blood father and Will are an insignificant part of it. My father and Will were at her house for family get-togethers, rarely any other times. Grandmother couldn’t own the land or the house, but she had other assets. She left Will a token $25,000, otherwise all her money, savings, stocks, bonds, went to me. One thing, Will had to mind Grandmother and he hated that. Will never took orders well from anyone except Grandmother and sometimes his father. Grandmother made him mind and it irritated him no end, but she was the one person on this earth Will truly feared. He feared and cooperated with his father just to the point to keep in his good graces. Will’s mother spoiled him terribly. She may have contributed greatly to Will being the selfish, self-centered person he is.”

“Did you ever go to your father’s house?”

She shook her head and stood, watching the rain. “No, except for Christmases when I was young. Later my father and Will would travel to exotic places to celebrate. I think they were both frightened of Grandmother. They didn’t mess with her. I haven’t seen Will since my father’s funeral. We talked on the phone after I learned about the sale of the ranch. That’s how I know Will is living in California and Paris. I’m my father’s daughter by blood only. Since I didn’t grow up with him, he had little influence on my life. Grandmother raised me to think for myself and form my own opinions. I keep telling you, please don’t categorize me with Will.” Caitlin tilted her head, studying Jake.

“I haven’t. I can keep you and Will separate in my mind.” Jake reached out to touch a stray lock of her hair. “I have a suggestion. Let’s set aside business so we can enjoy the next few hours. For a while, let’s forget that I’m a Benton and you’re a Santerre. We can get to know each other on another level that doesn’t involve the past, but is the present. If we’d just met, we wouldn’t be into all this family history. I think we’ll have a better evening that we’re compelled by rain to share.”

She smiled. “You feel compelled to share this evening with me?”

“You’ve already said we’re captive for tonight and I never said the time together was a bad thing. I’m just trying to make it better by removing some of the remnants of the family feud for a few hours. We can always return to swords’ points.”

She laughed softly. “Deal. At least we can try. We’ll see how long it lasts.”

“Excellent,” he said, smiling at her. Again, there was a flicker in the depths of her eyes and his insides tightened. She was responsive to him, willing to flirt. She wanted to kiss, he was sure of it, but he was determined to wait until the right moment.

“So, Caitlin, tell me about professional photography. Do you have a studio somewhere?”

“Yes, I do in Houston as well as galleries in Houston and in Santa Fe. I have homes both places.”

“Impressive.”

She smiled as she peered over the edge of her drink at him. “You’re not really impressed. I like my work. Actually, I love my work.”

“And what kind of photography do you do?”

“Don’t sound as if I’m playing marbles for a living,” she said, her smile taking the bite out of her words. “I take pictures of people, families, children, celebs, pets. I specialize in black-and-white photography of people and children. I already know about you—the CEO of Benton Energy, Inc. Your father is retired now and you run the company. Your brother Gabe is CEO of Benton Drilling.”

“Right. Before hunger sets in, I’ll fire up the grill for steaks. I’ll put potatoes in to cook.” He went to the refrigerator to remove the steaks and put them on the grill.

While he cooked, she helped him get salads and water on the table. When she was finished, she perched on the bar stool nearest him to talk to him. “This is a wonderful patio. You can sit outside, yet you’re protected from the elements here.”

“I enjoy it when I’m here,” he said, glancing beyond the patio at the pool that was splashing as raindrops hit the blue surface. “No swimming in this weather.” Lightning streaked the sky in a brilliant flash. “If the lightning worries you, we can go inside.”

“I’m fine.”

“So what does worry you, Caitlin?”

“Losing the property, not being able to help the people who worked for Grandmother through the years.”

“I walked into that one.”

“So what worries you, Jake?”

“Business failure. My dad’s interference in my life.”

“You’re a little old for your daddy to interfere, especially since you’re running a large company,” she said and he detected the amusement in her voice.

“Oh, no. I have a manipulative father. At least he tries and I resist. It’s not quite the same for my brother. Sometimes I think Brittany dated Will out of rebellion against Dad’s constant attempt to dominate her life.”

She laughed. “That’s mind-boggling. You are definitely not the type to have someone try to control you.”

He grinned, turning from the steaks to sit near her for a few minutes. “I like your smile, your laughter. When you laugh, it’s a sunny spring day.”

“Thank you. That’s a nice compliment,” she replied. “Too bad you’re not Jake Smith and I’m not Caitlin Jones. The night might be incredibly different.”

“For tonight, we can try to be Jake Smith and Caitlin Jones. We’ve already agreed to forget business. Just stretch it a little more and pretend we don’t have family histories.”

“That’s a giant stretch with pitfalls all along the pathway, but it would have been nice,” she added and sipped her water.

He leaned down so his face was closer to hers and her eyes widened. “Try. You have an imagination. See me as someone you just met,” he urged, thinking she had the greenest eyes he had ever seen. Her perfume tormented him and her mouth was a constant temptation.

“While it’s an exciting prospect, it’s the way to disaster. Impossible,” she answered breathlessly and he was certain she felt the attraction, too.

“Coward,” he teased with a faint smile, wanting to lean the last few inches and kiss her. She tilted her face up another degree.

“Wicked man,” she replied, smiling to make light of her words.

It would be so easy to close the mere inches of distance and kiss her and she wanted the kiss as much as he, but he resisted. He wanted her to be eager to kiss with no hesitation. The tantalizing moments were building his desire. Hopefully, hers, too.

“Your steaks may be crispy now,” she remarked.

He hurried to flip the steaks. He turned, catching her studying him. “Now, wine with dinner?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied and he moved behind the bar to get a bottle of Shiraz.

In a short time they were seated near the fireplace with dinner in front of them. She was a dainty eater, telling him about her gallery in Santa Fe while he mentally peeled away the blue Western shirt. His appetite for steak diminished. To his surprise, he wanted to see her again beyond tonight and he wanted to take her dancing so he could hold her in his arms.

Common sense told him to forget both things. As a Santerre, when they got down to business, she was going to be unhappy with him because he didn’t want to leave a Santerre house standing. The people who had worked for her grandmother could retire or find other jobs, he was sure. He would look into hiring them himself.

Out of sentiment Caitlin wanted the house she grew up in, but she spent little time here. She could move everything out of the house into another home elsewhere. He saw no valid reason to sell the place back to her and several reasons to turn her down. He didn’t want Santerres left in the county. He didn’t want to have to worry about Caitlin and that old house sitting in the center of his property, leaving part of the property out of his control. If Gabe struck oil, it would be even more important to own the land. While he had mineral rights, he didn’t want to have to drive around Caitlin’s holdings.