The Texan Takes A Wife
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He blinked a few times. For a second, he seemed uncertain and that was a small triumph.
“Yep,” he said finally.
She took a bite of her toast and prayed the taxi wouldn’t take too long to arrive.
* * *
Dan hated putting Erin in a cab. It seemed so impersonal. So doggone harsh. But she’d insisted and in the end, he’d thought maybe it was better that way. He gave her an awkward kiss and stood on the porch at Hunt Acres, surrounded by Rio, Buggy, Juliet and the rest, watching the yellow car drive off his property.
Once she was gone, he was struck by a deep sense of loss. Had he made a colossal mistake letting her go? Not even asking for her phone number.
“Fool,” he said. She must think him an entitled rich bastard for sending her off that way. Hell, he would agree. Thirty-one years old and he was still pushing people away. Or rather, he pushed women away. He wasn’t one to get caught up in a relationship that would eventually go awry. He liked his life the way it was. Risk-free. With no chance of getting injured. With no chance of being abandoned. Again.
Erin seemed different. Special. She was the first woman in a long time that he’d truly liked. It wasn’t wise liking her so much. Dan was a loner and he wanted to keep his life simple. It was the standard he lived by these days. Don’t get too close, don’t allow anyone in. He kept his scars hidden, where they belonged. His dogs and cats filled the void that could otherwise consume him. And so he’d made up his mind after an incredible night together, that’s where it had to end. He wasn’t going to get involved with her. They’d met by chance, not by design.
Yet the look in her aquamarine eyes as she’d climbed into the back of that taxi popped into his head and hinted at disappointment and regret, hidden by a healthy dose of pride.
Dan strode into his study and sat at his desk. His computer counted some thirty-odd emails for him to go through. Hunt and Company, the family business that supplied beef to restaurants nationwide and ran its own chain of steak houses, chunked out a big portion of his life and he had a heavy workload to get through today. He opened the first email, narrowing his eyes, trying to make heads or tails of the message on the screen. The words didn’t make a lick of sense because his mind was elsewhere.
“Is she gone?” Darla’s voice broke into his scattered thoughts.
Grateful for the intrusion, he mentally thanked her for saving him from twenty-nine more daunting emails. Swiveling around in his chair, he faced his housekeeper. These days, she tended to keep more than his house, and some part of him appreciated that. “Yes. Erin is gone.”
“You didn’t drive her?”
Dan shook his head. “She was stubborn about it.”
“She out-stubborned you?” Her voice reached a pitch of incredibility. It was not a compliment.
A chuckle rose from his throat, but with a hefty dose of guilt too. He hadn’t fought Erin hard enough on that battle. “Yeah, guess so.”
“Too bad. I liked her.”
“You liked her?” Dan’s brows gathered. “Is that some secret woman perception thing? You only just met her, how do you know you liked her?”
“Because, you liked her.” She sighed and gave her head a shake. She was twenty years his senior and at times took to mothering him. “And let’s face it, this house has been lacking female attention for a long time. Erin was very nice. She colored up redder than a greenhouse tomato when I walked into the room. That says something about a gal.”
Dan noticed too and he’d tried to remedy her discomfort. “She helped me with the dog last night.”
“I have no doubt.” His housekeeper’s smile was a little too bright.
“Hey Darla, give a guy a break, okay?”
She laughed. “I’m only saying you’re gonna die an old lonely man if you don’t step up your game.”
“I don’t have game.”
“I’m beginning to think that’s true, Dan. A pity.”
She whirled out of the room as fast as she’d entered, and Dan turned back to his computer and stared at the screen. “Ah, hell.” He was in no mood for work this morning.
He planted his feet, lifted from his seat and left the study, taking Darla White’s words along with him.
* * *
Lucky’s prognosis was good. Doc Bristol’s exam determined the dog had no internal damage and Dan was given a dose of antibiotics to administer for a week. The dog should heal in time, with no residual problems. It was good news and Dan returned to the house by early afternoon.
He set to work in the study, reluctantly getting back to answering emails, checking over his accounts with the Cattleman’s Club to make sure everything was set for the next few months of inventory. His company’s steaks were a big draw at the club.
He forced himself to sit there until his work was done. Well, almost done. By four o’clock, he’d had enough of numbers and computer screens. He was restless, antsy. He didn’t want to get into his head about why that was. He only knew he had to get outside.
The front door slammed shut behind him as he exited the house and fresh brisk November air hit him. He loved the fall, when the summer air cooled and the humidity vanished. Ah, a man could really breathe again. He stood on the veranda of the house, his sanctuary, and filled his lungs. He’d gotten used to the smells around him, until beeves and earth and leather all seemed to blend into one solid Hunt Acres scent. It tended to calm him down, to keep him leveled.
He strode down the stairs and followed the path to the corral. His mares, all three of them, trotted over as soon as they spotted him, hanging their heads over the top of the fence. “Hey, girls.” He gave each one attention, stroking their manes and patting their shiny coats.
“How’s your day going?” Ted asked, coming out of the stable, holding a handful of carrots.
“Hey, Ted. Fine. Just fine.”
Ted handed him half the bunch of carrots and he gave two of his mares a treat, while Ted fed the other horse. All three mares chomped eagerly and waited for more.
“I hear you brought someone home with you last night.”
Dan stilled. It wasn’t anybody’s damn business and it was uncanny how fiercely he wanted to protect Erin from any scrutiny. “You hear that from your wife?”
“Nope, not Darla. I saw the dog with my own eyes this mornin’. What happened this time, and is he stayin’?”
Dan choked back his relief. He should’ve known Ted would be more discreet. Even if he had seen Erin, he wouldn’t have said anything. “Hit and run. I witnessed it and brought him to Doc Bristol. He’s stayin’ unless someone comes to claim him.”
“Does the dog have a name?”
“Lucky.”
“Fittin’. Him gettin’ hit in front of you might’ve saved his life, that’s for damn sure,” Ted said, slapping him once on the back. “You never could resist a body in need.”
Dan smiled at Ted’s comment because it was so true.
And a little while later, he suited up in a pair of new denim jeans and a solid royal blue shirt. With his belly full thanks to Darla’s fried chicken dinner, Dan gunned the engine in his four-wheel drive SUV and headed off the ranch. He knew where he was going and he told himself it was only to see if anyone at the Dark Horse was missing a half shepherd, half collie mix.
And once he arrived, he scanned the parking lot, finding clusters of people milling about by their cars, but no one looked familiar. No one was asking about a lost dog. A damn chuckle rose from his throat. He was such a fool. He’d blown it big-time and now was hoping to see Erin again. To find her, and then to do what? Hell, he didn’t know.
He continued on until he was inside the saloon, standing at the bar. “Scotch. Double. Straight up,” he told the bartender. The barkeep set a tumbler down in front of him and poured from a bottle two inches high. Dan took a healthy sip.
“Have you seen anybody come in here looking for their dog? Medium-sized collie-shepherd mix?” Dan asked the barkeep.
The guy shook his head. “Can’t say as I have.”
Just as well, Dan thought. He was growing fond of Lucky. He turned his back to the bar to look out into the crowded dance floor. A leggy brunette came out of nowhere and batted her eyes at him. She was put together, wearing a low-cut eye-popping blouse.
“Are you looking for your dog?” she asked.
“Something like that. I found a dog.”
“Oh, um. Well, I can help you ask around if you’d like.”
“No, thanks.” He sipped his Scotch. “I’m good.”
“I think so too,” she said. Her eyes gleamed darkly, a flicker in them that would have most men paying the check and escorting her home. She leaned in closer. “I’m Yvonne.”
Yep, ripe for the pickin’, his buddies would say, but Dan wasn’t interested.
“Yvonne, I was just about to call it a night. Thanks for the offer, but no thanks.”
Her eyes snapped in surprise. “Sure,” she said, her chin up as she pivoted on her three-inch heels and walked away.
Dan turned back to the bar and polished off his drink.
“Oh, man,” the barkeep said.
Dan gave him a look. “What?”
“You’re looking for that chick who rode the bull last night? You, uh, helped her out, right?”
Dan didn’t respond.
The bartender shook his head. “She doesn’t come in here. She’s not a regular. Doubtful she’ll be back. You can always tell, you know. This place didn’t suit her, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t.”
“There’s always the internet. Look her up.”
“What?”
The bartender grinned as if he knew all the truths in the world. What a dumbass. But Dan had to agree. Erin didn’t fit in a place like the Dark Horse.
He was wasting his time. She wouldn’t be back.
Three
“Thanks for inviting me to lunch, Chelsea,” Erin said as she sat across from Chelsea Hunt in Royal’s number one new resort, The Bellamy. “This place is amazing.”
Erin didn’t know Chelsea well, but she’d heard that Chelsea had been the latest of Maverick’s victims. She’d been secretly photographed in the TCC locker room and those images had emerged on a popular internet site causing quite a splash. It had been a bold move on Maverick’s part, to hack a hacker, Chelsea being the CTO of Hunt and Company. Her friendship with Max St. Cloud and Will Brady culminated in their being tasked to investigate the crimes. Erin’s heart went out to Chelsea. It must have been so awful being violated like that.
“Yeah, I thought the two of us could use a break and I’ve heard The Glass House has incredible food.”
The entire resort was something out of a modern tech dream and this restaurant, made of more windows than walls, looked out upon beautiful lush greenery mingled with colorful fall flowers. Inside the restaurant, everything from the napkin rings to the delicate chandeliers over each table was made of the finest handblown glass.
She and Chelsea had bonded one day over tall lemonades while playing with little Faye Brady on the Flying E Ranch. Erin missed her little eleven-month-old charge.
She was out of a job, too. With a ton of time on her hands and no prospects. Will had insisted on keeping her on his payroll until the end of the year and so she figured why not go to a five-star resort and splurge a little?
The little buggy voice in her head hollered, Remember the last time you splurged?
She’d splurged alright, on adventure at the Dark Horse Saloon and ended up having a one-night stand with a man that had topped her list as a forever kind of guy. A guy who took great care with animals. A man who didn’t say much, but allowed his actions to speak volumes. A man who had treated her with the utmost respect.
Dan.
She sighed. It had been two weeks since their night together. And though she felt the loss of him all the way down to her bones, she didn’t plan on splurging like that anytime soon. She’d stick to splurges like hot fudge sundaes at the Royal diner, or fifty-dollar lunches at a swanky resort.
Opening the menu, she glanced at all the choices. “Wow. I can’t decide. It all sounds delish.”
“If you like seafood, I recommend the scallops in lobster sauce.”
The thought of it made her stomach clench. “I’m not really a fish person.”
She was, sometimes, but today a meal doused in all that sauce didn’t sound appealing. “I think I’ll stick to something basic, like chicken.”
They ordered their meals and sipped iced tea through colorful straws. While they were chatting, she caught Chelsea sighing and staring out the window a few times.
“And so the cat howled at the moon and the dog turned green.”
Chelsea turned to face her, shaking off whatever it was in her head. “What? I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you.”
She smiled. “You went somewhere.”
“Yeah, I did. Forgive me.”
“It’s okay. I think I know what it’s about.”
Chelsea stared into her eyes for a second and then shook her head. “I still can’t believe some creep actually snapped nude photos of me in the club’s locker room and posted them on Skinterest of all places. I’m no wilting willow, but I’m floored by his or her audacity. This Maverick has been causing havoc at TCC for months now and we’re no closer to finding out who it is than the day it all began.”
Erin sympathized with her. She hadn’t had nude photos displayed to the world, but she had been involved in a scandal in Seattle, and she knew how violated she’d felt when it all came down. She softened her voice. “Will shared some of that with me. Gosh, I’m so sorry. For a while, didn’t they think they’d found the jerk doing this?”
“Yeah, there was some evidence pointing to Adam Haskell, even though the man hadn’t any keen knowledge of computers, certainly not enough to cyber attack the residents of Royal. But it became obvious after Mr. Haskell died in a car crash that it wasn’t him. Evidence had been planted in his car, making him a victim of Maverick too.”
“Poor man.”
“Yes, that’s why I seem so distracted today. Those photos that surfaced are proof that the cyberbully is alive and well, and who knows what else he’ll do.”
“Chelsea, I’ve got nothing but time on my hands right now. I would love to pitch in and help in any way I can to help you find this guy. I’m not as tech oriented as you or Will, but I can come at it from a fresh perspective. Maybe find something hiding in plain sight.”
“I think that’s a great idea. I’ve been splitting my time between the investigation and working at the family business. I could really use the extra help. But are you sure?”
“Believe me, I’m sure. I know a little of what you’re going through. That feeling of being betrayed and the helplessness that settles around your heart.”
“Oh, wow, Erin. Sounds like you’ve had man trouble. Recently?”
Well, Chelsea was perceptive. And Erin wasn’t going to hold back any longer. She didn’t really have anyone here in Texas to talk to, and Chelsea had already shared so much with her. Fair was fair. Besides, Erin could use a friend and her inner voice was telling her she could trust Chelsea Hunt. “Yes, back in Seattle. It was an awful situation. I was involved with a man named Rex Talbot. Have you heard of him?”
“Vaguely, but I don’t know much other than he runs a megacorporation. He keeps a low profile.”
“Yes, well, when I met him, it was at a private school’s music program. I’m a musical director and teacher by profession and initially I thought he was the father of one of the students. He was charming and lovely. My interest in him had nothing to do with money. It was the furthest thing from my mind, and I truly liked him. After our first date, he confessed that he was the school’s anonymous benefactor. I was over the moon thinking I’d met such a kind and generous man. He told me he wasn’t married and had no children and I had no reason not to believe him. He wasn’t over-the-top, we did low-key things that didn’t warrant any sort of glamorous news. I fell for him and we had an intimate relationship for months.”
“And don’t tell me, then his wife showed up?”
“Yes. Cliché, isn’t it? I never thought it would happen to me. I was blinded by his charm and had no clue he was lying to me. But his wife, who had been out of the country the entire time, returned with a vengeance and found out about our relationship. As low-key as Rex was, his wife, a socialite from birth, made all kinds of noise in the local school district, thinking nothing about scandalizing my good name, blaming me, of course, for homewrecking. It was humiliating and the situation brought the school undue negative attention.”
“Oh, wow. I’m so sorry, Erin.”
“Thanks. But if there was a silver lining, it was that the school administration was wonderful, sticking up for me and defending my reputation. They asked me not to resign my position, but at that time, I was distraught and embarrassed for myself as well as the school. I appreciated their support more than they’ll ever know, but I just couldn’t stay on.
“The worst of it was that Rex didn’t stick up for me. He crawled back to his wife and threw me under the proverbial bus. My judgment was way off and I made a big mistake.”
“Honey, don’t you dare put the blame on yourself. He lied to you. He led you on. He was a jerk. That’s a fact.”
A chuckle escaped her mouth and she grinned. “You’re right. I am so over Rex Talbot now. I figure the two of them deserve each other.”
“For sure,” Chelsea said. “I take it Will’s job offer came at a good time for you?”
“It did. I needed change. Will’s a good friend who went through a terrible loss when his wife died. We were both at loose ends, and so because he believed in me, he hired me as Faye’s nanny. Oh, I loved taking care of that little doll. When Will’s job brought him here to Royal, I came along as her nanny.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad we’ve met. And if you’re available to help with the investigation, I’m actually going to the club’s main office tonight. My big brother was supposed to meet me, but something came up and he had to cancel. I plan on diving into some files. If you’re free, you could help me. I know it’s short notice and—”
“Of course. I would love to. What time?”
“Can you meet me at nine?”
“I’ll be there.”
* * *
That evening with a renewed sense of purpose, Erin entered the main entrance of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, and showed her guest pass to the attendant at the front desk. It was late at night and the place, normally bustling with both men and women, now that the club allowed both sexes in equally, was nearly empty but for a few people walking out of the facility as she was walking in.
She strode past the dining area and secondary lobby, and walked down a long corridor of offices until she came to the door at the end of the hallway marked Texas Cattleman’s Club and underneath, Staff Only.
She was ten minutes early and anxious to get started. She didn’t mind the wait. This was the most exciting thing going on in her life since her ride on that bull and her encore ride—showing much more endurance with cowboy Dan—later that night.
She’d giggle and think it funny, but it wasn’t a laughing matter. Not only did she miss the cowboy, not being able to get him off her mind, she’d also missed her period two days ago and she was normally right on schedule, month after month. Stress could mess up a woman’s schedule, and it had only been two days, after all. She filled her lungs and steadied her breathing.
At least she could assist Chelsea in finding the sleaze who’d posted those pictures of her. Erin was glad she’d asked for her help. She’d been just about ready to throw in the towel and scurry back to her studio apartment in Seattle with her tail between her legs, as discouraging as that notion was.
On habit, she pulled out her cell and studied her phone messages, checking to see if Chelsea had texted. Then she heard the definite sound of footsteps on the floor, getting louder and heading her way.
She dumped her phone back into her purse and turned to face Chelsea.
Only, it wasn’t Chelsea, it was a big tall handsome beast of a man, wearing a black Stetson, jeans and a tails-out white shirt. The sleeves were rolled up, hugging his biceps to distraction.
She blinked.
“Erin?”
The low timbre of his voice did crazy things to her, reminding her how he’d whispered her name over and over while making love to her.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
His eyes were so blue, so amazingly bright right now, she wanted to throw her arms around him, but she also wanted to thrash his hide for not pursuing her, even a little.
“I’m, uh, meeting a friend,” she said. “What are you...?” Then it dawned on her like some insanely wicked twist that maybe this wasn’t a coincidence. Oh no. “You’re not Chelsea’s brother, are you?” she squeaked.
“You know my sister?”
Erin’s eyes blinked shut. She couldn’t believe this. She leaned her back against the door so it could hold her upright, rather than having her limbs crumble to the floor. She managed a nod.
“How?”
She opened her eyes. “We have mutual friends.”
Dan moved in on her, his presence surrounding her like a fortress, his lime scent reaching her nostrils. He wasn’t smiling, but his eyes blazed with some sort of relief. He put his hand up to touch her face, but then let his arm drop down before making contact. His gaze stayed on her and she didn’t know which emotion to cling to, which emotion to believe: the one that wanted to invite Dan to touch her, because oh how she craved it; or the one that poured acid into her stomach, warning her not to go near him again.
“I went back to the Dark Horse the next night looking for you,” he confessed.
“You don’t have to say that.”
“I say very little, but what I say means something.” He spoke with enough authority to sway any nonbelievers.
She stared into his eyes, captivated by the honesty she saw in them. “Why?”
“Why?” He smiled then, an apologetic smile that touched something deep in her heart. “I wanted to see you again.”
“Because?”
She wasn’t letting him off the hook that easily. Even if she had to pry the words out of his mouth, she wanted to know what he was feeling.
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