Is their red-hot reunion

too good to be true?

Broken trust is hard to rebuild.

But temptation is even harder to deny…

Wealthy rancher Camden Guthrie is back in Royal to rebuild his life and join the prestigious Texas Cattleman’s Club. To become a member, the widower needs help from Beth Wingate, the woman who shattered his heart fifteen years ago. Their attraction flares as strong as ever—but will long-buried secrets threaten a future with Beth all over again?

USA TODAY Bestselling Author Maureen Child

MAUREEN CHILD writes for the Mills & Boon Desire line and can’t imagine a better job. A seven-time finalist for the prestigious Romance Writers of America RITA® Award, Maureen is the author of more than one hundred romance novels. Her books regularly appear on bestseller lists and have won several awards, including a Prism Award, a National Readers’ Choice Award, a Colorado Romance Writers Award of Excellence and a Golden Quill Award. She is a native Californian but has recently moved to the mountains of Utah.

Also by Maureen Child

Rich Rancher’s Redemption

Billionaire’s Bargain

Tempt Me in Vegas

Bombshell for the Boss

Red Hot Rancher

Jet Set Confessions

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

The Price of Passion

Maureen Child

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-0-008-90437-1

THE PRICE OF PASSION

© 2020 Harlequin Books S.A.

Published in Great Britain 2020

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

By payment of the required fees, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right and licence to download and install this e-book on your personal computer, tablet computer, smart phone or other electronic reading device only (each a “Licensed Device”) and to access, display and read the text of this e-book on-screen on your Licensed Device. Except to the extent any of these acts shall be permitted pursuant to any mandatory provision of applicable law but no further, no part of this e-book or its text or images may be reproduced, transmitted, distributed, translated, converted or adapted for use on another file format, communicated to the public, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher.

® and ™ are trademarks owned and used by the trademark owner and/or its licensee. Trademarks marked with ® are registered with the United Kingdom Patent Office and/or the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market and in other countries.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

Note to Readers

This ebook contains the following accessibility features which, if supported by your device, can be accessed via your ereader/accessibility settings:

 Change of font size and line height

 Change of background and font colours

 Change of font

 Change justification

 Text to speech

For my mom, Sallye Carberry,

because she introduced me to the

magical world of reading…which eventually

led me here! Thanks, Mom.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Dedication

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

About the Publisher

One

Nothing much had changed in Royal, Texas.

And Camden Guthrie was glad to see it. Sure, the town was a little bigger than he remembered and there were some new shops, but it was still the place where he’d grown up. Cam was only just beginning to realize how much he’d missed it. He’d been in self-imposed exile in Southern California for fifteen years, and now every breath of warm Texas air felt like a homecoming.

Damned if he’d ever leave again.

“Cam?”

He turned and smiled at the sheriff. Nathan Battles was older, so they hadn’t hung out much as kids, but no one was a stranger in a small town.

“Good to see you, Nate.” Cam held out a hand and Nate took it in a firm shake.

“I heard you bought the old Circle K ranch.”

“Of course you did.” Cam shook his head. Gossip was the lifeblood of small towns, and Royal was no different. And, given that Nate’s wife Amanda owned and ran the Royal Diner—basically ground zero for information exchanges—she probably kept him up-to-date on whatever she heard.

Nate grinned. “You want secrets? Don’t use Natalie Barnes as your real estate agent. She’s been telling everyone who will listen that you bought the ranch where you and your folks used to work.”

Cam nodded at the reminder. The Circle K had been a huge part of his life. His parents had both worked as horse trainers for the owner, and Cam, as a kid, had done whatever needed doing—from feeding the animals to mucking out stalls and carpentry work.

He had a lot of good memories of that place—along with some he’d worked hard to forget. Like the loss of his parents in a stable fire when he was seventeen. Bad wiring had started it, and his mother and father had been so determined to free the stalled horses that they’d been trapped inside when the roof finally collapsed.

But the ranch had remained his home. He’d continued to live and work there while he finished school. Two years ago, when he’d decided to come back to Royal, Cam had made an offer on the property, and when it was accepted he’d figured it was fate. Sort of coming full circle.

Now that he was back, he had a lot of ideas for improvements on the ranch and plenty of plans for its future. His future. A future he’d once believed would include Beth Wingate.

Damn. Even thinking her name had his blood racing. Fifteen years since he’d seen her. Fifteen years since he’d touched her. Yet, Beth was there. Always. In his mind. In a dark, locked-up corner of his heart.

“Yeah,” he finally said in response to Nate. “It’s good to be back.”

He wondered, though, if he’d feel the same once he’d seen Beth again.

Just thinking about her now could bring up so many mixed emotions. He buried them all because how the hell could he sort through them? He hadn’t come back to Royal for her. He’d come because this was his place. His home. Texas was in his blood, and Royal was his heartbeat. Over the years he’d silenced the urge to come home. He and his late wife, Julie, had built a life and a fortune in California, but always there had been the ache for Texas. Now he was back, and nothing would make him leave.

Not even the one woman who still haunted him.

Nate pulled the brim of his gray hat down lower over his eyes. “I hear you’re stocking some Longhorns on your ranch, along with the Black Angus.”

Cam laughed. “You hear plenty.”

“I do.” The sheriff gave him a shameless grin. “And I’m glad if it’s true. The Longhorn is pure Texas. It’s good you’re doing what you can to help the breed survive.”

He had bigger plans than just the Longhorns, but Cam wasn’t ready to let anyone else in on what he had in mind. Still, the thought of what was in the works made him smile.

“Well, it is true. I’ve got a small herd of a few hundred arriving end of the week.” Cam was finally living the dream he’d had since he was a kid. His own ranch. Run his way. “We’ll be keeping them separate from the Angus. Don’t want any crossbreeding.”

Nate laughed. “Better you than me. Riding herd on the town is enough excitement for me.”

Cam nodded and glanced around Main Street again. It was a quiet town and, he thought, a little bigger than he remembered it. The closest large city was Dallas, but here in Royal was everything anyone could need. County buildings crouched around a park with tidy flower beds, live oaks and manicured grass. Along the street were restaurants, a bank and dozens of shops—everything from hardware to hair salons.

The sidewalks were bustling but not crowded, and that was a relief. In Southern California, you practically had to lock yourself in a closet if you wanted some space for yourself.

Now, in the first week of June, summer was just a promise and the humidity hadn’t quite reached air-conditioning-or-die level yet.

“I wanted to tell you,” Nate was saying, “I was real sorry to hear about Julie.”

Pain, sharp and swift, stabbed at Cam, stole his breath and then slowly slipped away again. He’d come to grips with the death of his wife two years ago. It was losing Julie that had finally convinced him to come back to Royal. But when he was reminded of it out of the blue, it could still hit him hard.

“Thanks, Nate. I appreciate it.” Polite but cool, letting his old friend know without saying that Cam didn’t want to talk about it.

Nate got the message. Nodding, he said, “Well, I’m guessing you’ve got a lot to do here in town. I’ll let you get to it.”

“Yeah, I’m headed to the bank.” Had to open a new account and arrange for his money to be wired here from LA.

“I’m headed back to the office, but let’s get together soon. Tell some lies.”

Cam grinned. Relieved to be back on solid ground, he said, “Sounds good.”

He watched the sheriff walk away and envied him for a moment. Nathan Battles had always known his place. He had found it years ago, and now he walked through Royal, a man at peace with himself and the life he’d carved out.

Cam was back in Royal to do the same.

It took him nearly a half hour to walk to the bank because he was stopped every few feet by old friends. Back in California, he was a successful businessman. A self-made millionaire. But in Royal, Texas, he was a home-grown success story. People being people, they were all curious about what he’d been doing the last fifteen years. And these people, being Texans, would want their questions answered.

Funny, because back in the day, he’d been the half–Native American son of ranch workers, and his only claim to fame was starring on the Royal High School baseball team. Back then, he’d had major-league dreams that fueled his imagination. Cam had gotten scholarship offers based on his pitching abilities, but he hadn’t taken any of them because his world had been abruptly upended after graduation.

Yet here he was, returning to his hometown a millionaire many times over and the owner of the very ranch where his late parents had worked. Life could be strange—even when it was satisfying.

He walked into the bank and paused, taking it in. A big building with the stamp of Texas all over it, there were wide red tiles on the floor, paintings of Texas on the walls and dark wooden beams on the ceiling. The counters were of gleaming dark wood to match those beams, and the tellers worked behind a wall of thick plexiglass. There were several manned desks opposite the tellers and a staircase leading to the second floor in the corner. Cam’s gaze swept the desks, looking for the bank manager. But when he spotted him, it wasn’t the man Cam focused on, but the woman sitting opposite him.

Beth Wingate.

Every ounce of breath rushed from his lungs, and his vision narrowed until she was all he could see. It was as if the world had disappeared, leaving her in a bright spotlight.

Cam couldn’t have looked away if it had meant his life. Because at one time she had been his life. And, apparently, his body remembered. He was hard as stone, his breath laboring, his heart racing. His palms itched to touch her again, and even as he silently admitted that simple fact, guilt rushed into his mind to tear him a new one.

Hell, his wife had only been dead two years, and here he was lusting after the woman who had ripped out his heart and pushed him into Julie’s arms.

As if she could feel him looking at her, Beth slowly turned her head and fixed her gaze on his.

Her eyes were filled with memory as his own must have been. Once upon a time, he’d thought the world began and ended in those green eyes. Now he felt the power of her gaze slamming into his chest like a punch to the solar plexus. Why did she still have to be so damn beautiful? Her hair fell long and straight to the middle of her back, still blond but with highlights now that made it shimmer like gold when she shook her head. She was tall and thin, but not so skinny she didn’t have curves that he remembered all too well. As he watched, she stood up and held herself like a damn queen.

He should be irritated by that, because of course she did. She was a Wingate, and in Royal they were at the top of the ladder. Hell, Beth’s mother, Ava, had been the interior designer of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, and there was no club that better described Royal. The TCC was renowned for its membership. Every wealthy, influential person in this corner of Texas was a member, and those who weren’t were trying to get in. As Camden would be.

Beth stood there staring at him, and he let his gaze drag up and down her body lazily. She wore a summer dress, sleeveless, in a dusty blue with pale yellow stripes. Her tanned legs were bare, and she wore three-inch heeled sandals on her narrow feet.

She looked…too damn good. And he probably looked like just what he was—a man struck dumb by lust and need. Why the hell had he run into her in a public place? Knowing Royal, everyone in the bank was watching this meeting. Waiting to see if there would be a fight, or fireworks of a different kind.

There would be neither, Cam vowed. Damned if he’d let Beth see that she could still turn him inside out.

She sauntered toward him and he admired that slow, perfect walk. She’d always had a way of moving that made a man think of silk sheets and moonlight.

“Hello, Cam,” she said, and that deep, throaty voice of hers fell over him like warm water.

“Beth.” He kept his gaze on hers and saw the flash of…something there.

“I heard you were moving back.”

“Hard to keep secrets in Royal,” he said. Just as it was hard to read her expression. Her eyes were shimmering—but with what? Memory? Desire? Irritation? Hell, if he knew.

“Were you trying to keep it a secret?”

“No,” he replied. “Why would I?”

“No reason, but for the fact you’ve been back a week and this is the first time you’ve been in town.”

His mouth quirked. “Keeping tabs on me?”

“Hardly.” She shook her head, sending that golden hair of hers into a brief, soft swing. Then she lifted one bare shoulder in a shrug that had the bodice of her dress strain against her perfect breasts. “You said it yourself. Hard to keep a secret here. So have you been hiding out at the ranch?”

“Hiding from what?”

She tipped her head to one side and studied him. “Interesting question.”

He knew damn well she thought he’d been avoiding her. And, honestly, he wasn’t so sure she was wrong. But the point was that she should be on the defensive here, Cam reminded himself. Yet somehow, she’d turned things around until he felt as if he should be explaining himself to her. Well, the hell with that.

“Yeah, I don’t hide. Never did. I don’t care what other people have to say,” he pointed out. “Unlike some.”

Anger zipped across her eyes, and he silently congratulated himself on scoring a point. Weirdly, he realized that not only had his attraction to her remained sure and strong, but a streak of bitterness filled him, as well. Fifteen years hadn’t been enough to take the sting out of her betrayal.

“That was a long time ago,” she said quietly, obviously aware of their rapt audience.

“Doesn’t feel so long.” Hell, she still wore the same scent. Flowers and mist and the scent of a rain-drenched day that reached out to grab him by the throat and hold on. He really hated that.

Her gaze narrowed. “It does to me.”

For a heartbeat or two, their gazes locked and the tension arcing between them was almost a living thing. Cam felt it. He knew she did, too, though she’d never admit it. Memories rushed into his mind. Nights wrapped together in the back of his truck. Plans for a future that would never happen. And, finally, the last conversation they’d had all those years ago.

That memory dropped ice chips into his heart that were almost enough to quench the blistering heat he felt at simply being near her.

Beth broke first. She tore her gaze from his, glanced at a slim gold watch on her left wrist, and then looked at him again. This time her green eyes were blank, reflecting nothing of what she was feeling. Cam wondered idly when she’d learned to do that.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I have an appointment. But of course, welcome home, Cam.”

Her welcome was as cool as her tone. He turned to watch her go, his gaze dropping to the curve of her butt and the nearly hypnotic way it swayed with every step. His body stirred, and silently Cam cursed the fact that Beth Wingate could still turn him into a drooling fool.

But he was older now. Wiser, too, by a long shot. There was no way in hell he would allow Beth to tear his future apart as she had his past.

Beth couldn’t stop shaking.

For the last week, since she’d heard he was back in Royal, she’d been preparing herself to see Cam Guthrie again. And all of that preparation had gone right out the window the minute his eyes had met hers. Sitting there at the bank president’s desk, she would have sworn she’d felt the temperature in the room rise a few degrees, just from Cam’s presence. She’d felt his gaze on her as strongly as she would have a touch, and the instant she’d seen him her heartbeat had jumped into a wild gallop.

His dark brown eyes were filled with shadows. His black hair was cut shorter than she remembered, and he wore a well-tailored suit as easily as he had worn jeans and scuffed boots back when he was the center of her world.

Beth took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. It should have been easy. More than a decade since she’d laid eyes on Cam should have meant that seeing him would be like running into an old friend.

But she’d been fooling herself. Cam hadn’t been her friend. He’d been everything. Until that last night. When she’d discovered that what a man said and what he did were sometimes two different things.

Now he was home and she’d be dealing with him all the time. How was this fair? Why hadn’t he stayed in California? Then she thought that maybe his wife’s death had been enough to drive him from the state that was no doubt filled with memories of the two of them together. Had he missed Julie so much? Had he loved her more than he’d ever loved Beth? Because he’d come back to Texas, where he had to face her every day and that apparently didn’t bother him.

God, she had a headache. Rubbing at the spot between her eyes, Beth reminded herself that nothing had to change because he was here in Royal. There was nothing between them but for the bittersweet memories they shared of being too young and reckless to realize that love wasn’t always enough.

“Fifteen years, Beth. Neither of you are the same people you used to be.” Wise words. Now all she had to do was listen to her own good advice.

The early summer sun blasted down on her until she felt as though she was about to combust. Internally, fires were burning while, externally, the Texas heat was only making things worse. She stopped under a bright blue-and-green awning stretched over the florist shop window and hoped the shade would help lower her body temperature.

“It would take more than that,” she muttered, and shot a quick glance around to make sure no one had overheard her.

On the busy Main Street, she was alone and she wondered how everyone in town could be going on about their business as if the world hadn’t just shifted. Cam was back. He was gorgeous. And treacherous. Sexy. And faithless.

Looking into his eyes had cost her every ounce of self-control she’d worked so hard to develop.

“Hi, Beth!”

She jolted, looked up and nodded at Vonnie Taylor as she pushed her twins past in a double stroller. Beth ignored a twinge of envy as she watched the woman hurry down the sidewalk and reminded herself that she had a rich, full life and she didn’t need a man or children to fulfill her. It was true of course, but a part of her still yearned.

Not for Cam, though. That was over and done a long time ago. A few stray thermonuclear hormone reactions notwithstanding, she was fine on her own. Hadn’t she just a month ago told Justin McCoy that she wasn’t interested in a relationship? Not that the man listened at all. They’d been dating for months and Justin was pushing for more of a commitment. Which was exactly why she’d told him they should take a break from each other.

Having zero men in her life had to be less complicated than what she was dealing with now. With that thought firmly in mind, she started walking again and didn’t stop until she came to the Royal Diner. She stepped inside and a wave of air-conditioned air slid across her skin. Grateful, she sighed a little, looked around the room and spotted her friend and assistant, Gracie Diaz. Thankful to get her life back to normal, Beth smiled and headed toward the booth in the back.

The Royal Diner hadn’t changed in decades. Well, that wasn’t quite true. There had been updates of course, but when the work was done, the color scheme and feel of the place remained the same. Black-and-white checkerboard-tiled floor, red faux-leather booths and even a working juke box on one wall.

Sooner or later, everyone in Royal stopped in at the diner, and so naturally it was the gossip hub. Anything you wanted to know, you could discover here. She couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before she and Cam were the latest hot topic of conversation.

She waved to Amanda Battles, who owned the diner along with her sister, Pam.

When Beth was halfway to her booth, Pam called out, “Hi, Beth! The usual?”

“Yes, thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” She slid into the seat opposite Gracie and set her cream-colored bag beside her on the bench seat.

“Rough morning?” Gracie quipped and smiled.

“You have no idea.” A wry smile curved her mouth briefly. She really needed this time with a friend. To cool down. To regain some sort of stability after that quick, devastating encounter with Cam.

Looking across the table at Gracie, Beth saw warm brown eyes, long, straight dark hair that fell, as Beth’s did, straight down her back. She wore a pale yellow sleeveless summer blouse and khaki slacks with a pair of sandals that Beth had coveted since the first time she had seen them.

Gracie had grown up on the Wingate ranch, since her parents had worked for Beth’s parents. As kids, they’d played and run wild on the ranch. In school, they hadn’t really hung out because Beth was three years older than Gracie. But at the ranch, they’d been close and supported each other through the inevitable crushes on boys. And when Gracie had graduated from college, Beth had hired her as an administrative assistant. Best move she’d ever made, since Gracie was as organized as Beth, and together they kept the many different charities Beth managed straight and growing.

Gracie studied her for a long minute, then said, “Okay, something is really going on. Tell me.”

Beth waited as Pam served her the usual. A club sandwich and a tall glass of unsweetened black ice tea. “Thanks, Pam.”

“You bet.” She turned to Gracie. “Can I get you another soda?”

“No, thanks. I’m good.” To prove it, she took a sip, then idly picked up one of the french fries that accompanied her burger.

“Okay then,” Pam said. She looked at both women and added, “Need anything, just ask.”

There was comfort, Beth thought, in the ordinary. In the routine of life in Royal. Of knowing the people in town and realizing that they knew and cared for her, too. So she’d just cling to that mental comfort while she thought about the discomfort of seeing Cam.

She took a sip of tea and blurted, “I just ran into Camden at the bank.”

Gracie, being the excellent friend she was, didn’t need more. “Oh, my God! That had to be awful. Everyone watching…”

“Exactly.” That had actually been the hardest part of the whole thing. Beth had felt the curious gazes locked on the pair of them, as if everyone at the bank had been waiting for a big scene. Heck, she’d half expected one herself. The last time she and Cam had talked, it hadn’t gone well.

“How’s he look?” Gracie asked.

“Delicious,” Beth muttered.

“Uh-oh.”

Beth’s gaze shot to her friend’s. “Oh, no. No worries there. He’s gorgeous and tall and sexy and—” She stopped and took a breath. If she really wanted her hormones to die down, she had to stop thinking about just how good Cam had looked. “It doesn’t matter. I made my choice fifteen years ago.”

“Uh-huh.”

It was Gracie’s sarcastic tone more than her words that caught Beth’s attention. “I’m sorry? Whose side are you on again?”

“Yours, but,” her friend added, “I know bull when I hear it, too.”

Like a balloon meeting a sharp pin, Beth simply deflated. Shoulders slumped, she took another sip of her tea and admitted, “Fine. I’m still susceptible to the Guthrie magic.”

“There you go. The first step is admitting you have a problem.”

Beth laughed shortly. “Is there a Getting Over Cam Guthrie meeting I could attend?”

“You’re there already,” Gracie said. “I’m here to help you be strong. To avoid all thoughts of sexy Cam and remember just how badly it all went back in the day.”

“Not like I could forget it,” Beth mumbled, and picked up a triangle of her sandwich. Taking a bite she didn’t really want, she methodically chewed, and as she did, she remembered the last time she’d seen Cam. Back when he was all she could see. Back when she believed he loved her. Back before he left town with Julie Wheeler, never to be seen again.

Her heart thudded in her chest, and what felt like an ice-cold stone dropped into the pit of her stomach.

“There you go.” Gracie gave her a smile. “Cam was the past, and now you have Justin.”

Oh, she didn’t want to get into Justin McCoy right now. That was over, too, though he hadn’t accepted the fact yet.

Deliberately she took another bite of her sandwich, chewed and said, “Enough about my pitiful love life. Did you track down the caterer for the Fire Department Open House?”

“I did.” Accepting the change of subject, Gracie dug into her black oversize leather bag and pulled out a manila folder. “Turns out she’s been in Galveston for a family thing.”

“That’s nice,” Beth murmured. “But she’s on track and we’re covered for the event this Saturday?”

“Oh, absolutely. She’s emailed me the finished menu for your final approval. I’ve got it right here.” Gracie handed over a single sheet of paper, and while Beth looked it over, she continued. “She says they’ll be there by ten a.m. to start the setup.”

“Okay, that should work.” She handed back the paper. “The menu looks great. Finger food, easy to carry around so people can talk and walk or sit down if they want to.”

“I’ll let her know.”

Beth nodded. “The open house at the fire station starts at one, and I want to hold the raffle by three. Give us time to get as many people there as possible.”

“It’s a brilliant idea, Beth.” Gracie shook her head in admiration. “Getting Connolly motors to donate a new truck for the raffle? A nice write-off for them, and raffling it off to raise money for the firehouse is really going well.”

Beth thought about that for a minute and acknowledged that her assistant was right. By the time the raffle was done, the Royal Fire Department would have enough money to renovate the old station and buy new equipment without dinging the town for it.

With the catering, the live country music band she’d hired and the guided tours of the firehouse, Beth knew that most of the town would turn out for the event. All of them would be hoping to win that shiny red truck.

“Well, now that we’ve got that one figured out, let’s talk about the food drive for the local shelter.”

“Great.” Gracie dipped her head, and her long, dark brown hair fell across her shoulders. “We’ve put up signs at the schools, asking kids to bring in canned or boxed food. Granted, it’s the end of the school year, so that won’t last long. Still, it’s going great, so far. Plus, the grocery store is pitching in, running a special on canned foods. They’ve set up donation boxes at both entrances, trying to make it easy for people to pitch in.”

“Perfect. It’s only June,” Beth said, opening up her phone and checking through the lists on her notepad. “I want to make sure everyone’s fully stocked long before winter.”

“You bet. I’ve got Tucker Davis hauling the donations to our storage units.” She glanced up. “The drive ends next Friday, and Tucker said he and his brothers can deliver all of it to the shelter, so we don’t have to hire a separate company.”

“Awesome.” She made a quick note, reminding herself to call Tucker herself and thank him for his help.

While Gracie went through the inventory, Beth’s mind wandered. Naturally, it took a sharp turn back to Cam Guthrie. He’d been such a huge part of her life, and then he was gone.

He’d unexpectedly married Julie Wheeler, a girl from their class, and the “happy” couple had left Royal—all within a month of Beth refusing to marry him.

He’d turned to Julie so heartbreakingly fast it had forced Beth to admit that Cam had never really loved her. It had all been a lie, and she was lucky that she’d had the sense to end it before she’d married the man.

Lucky, she reminded herself.

She was alone.

And lucky.

Two

Beth was beginning to feel depressed and wasn’t going to put up with it. “You know what, Gracie?” she said suddenly, “Let’s eat our lunch and let the rest go for today.”

Surprise flashed in the other woman’s eyes. “What about the masquerade charity ball at the TCC?”

Beth frowned a little and nibbled at a french fry. That was a big one. They’d be raising money for the children’s wing of the local hospital. So that ball had to come off perfectly. She smiled to herself. There was nothing to worry about. It was months away and they were both on top of the situation.

“It’ll be perfect, Gracie, because you and I will make sure of it. But we don’t have to do it today. The ball’s not until October, so we’ve got a little wiggle room. Enough, at least, for us to enjoy the rest of the day anyway.”

“You convinced me,” Gracie said, smiling. She picked up her hamburger and took a bite.

“That was easy.” Beth laughed, too, and bit into her own sandwich. When she’d swallowed, she asked, “So, did you get your Powerball ticket?”

Gracie grinned. “You bet. My mom always said if you don’t play, you can’t win. So I buy my ticket once a month, just like she always did—until she decided to save her money instead.” Laughing a little, she added, “If I win, I’m going to buy Mom a big house in Florida near her sister, and then I’m going to start up that event planning business I’ve always wanted.”

Beth sipped at her tea. “You know, I’m still willing to back you in that. If you won’t take money as a gift, we could call it a loan. Just enough to get you started.”

Gracie shook her head firmly. “Nope. Thank you though, Beth. I appreciate it. But I’m saving my money, and when I have enough, I’ll apply for a small business loan. I need to do it on my own. But once I’m open I may be ready for investors…” She grinned at that. “And maybe I’ll win the lottery!”

“God, you’re stubborn.” Beth laughed and picked up her sandwich again.

“That’s why we get along so well,” Gracie told her. “We have so much in common.”

Wryly she said, “Good point.”

For the next half hour, Beth didn’t think about Cam and what him being back in town might cost her.

Cam was still reeling from bumping into Beth at the bank. Hell, it had been ages since he’d seen her. He for damn sure hadn’t expected his body’s instant response to her, and there was no denying it, either. One look into her eyes, and he was back in the past, on hot summer nights, in the bed of his truck, lying on a blanket, tangled up with a naked Beth.

For years, he’d pushed those memories into a deep, dark hole in his mind. He had been married to Julie after all, and she was the one who had deserved his loyalty. They’d had a good marriage, he told himself. Together, they’d built a house-flipping business that had made them more money than either of them had dreamed possible. They’d been happy. Until Julie got sick. Then it had been doctors and hospitals and a fast slide to the end. In a matter of months, Cam had lost her and any interest he might have had to keep their business going.

But with her gone, there was nothing to hold him in California, and the pull of his roots was too strong to fight.

Now he was back and he’d bought the ranch he and his parents had once worked on. The Circle K… “Have to change that,” he muttered, stepping out of his truck to stand and take a good look around.

The sun was hotter now, beating down on him until he thought that maybe Texas was planning on giving him a baptism of fire as a welcome home. The air was still, not a hint of wind to rustle the live oaks surrounding the ranch house.

He turned to look at the place and felt a stir of pride. Buying this ranch was satisfying in a way Cam hadn’t really expected. It was as if coming back to Royal was returning to Texas, but owning this place was coming home.

He’d only been back in town for a week, but this house… It was as if it had been waiting for him all these years. It needed fixing up, definitely some updates. The kitchen alone made him cringe and ready to grab a sledgehammer. And he had plans for expansion, too. Some of it he’d do himself, because fifteen years of being both entrepreneur and carpenter was hard to shake. But for most of what he wanted done, he’d already hired Olivia Turner and her construction company.

He leaned back against his brand-new gleaming black truck and took it all in. Two stories, the house was built of river stone, boasted a red tile roof, and its design successfully mixed Spanish and craftsman styles. There was a wide balcony around the second floor of the house and a wraparound porch on the ground floor.

The view from the front was a wide sweep of ranchland, the corral and, off to the side, a barn that was painted the rich, dark green of young meadow grass. There were outbuildings for the ranch hands, a bunkhouse and a separate house for the foreman, Henry Jordan and his family.

Cam’s plans to turn this place into a sort of working dude ranch meant that he’d need Olivia’s company to build a dozen cottages for guests and another stable for the extra horses he was going to have to buy. Which meant, he told himself, they’d also require more ranch hands, but he’d leave the hiring to Henry. He’d be working with them and knew practically every cowboy in Texas, so there was no point in Cam sticking his nose in. He was a big believer in delegating. Find the best person for the job and then get out of their way.

One day, Cam would think about making the house bigger because he wanted a family, eventually. He and Julie had tried, but things hadn’t worked out.

When his cell phone rang, Cam reached for it gratefully. He was willing to thank whoever it was taking him out of his own head for a while. He glanced at the screen, smiled and answered.

“Hi, Darren.”

“Hey, do you miss us yet?”

Cam laughed a little. Darren Casey was his partner in a home improvement line of products they’d started up four years ago. Darren had the manufacturing experience and Cam had his name and the fame he’d built as a house flipper.

He hadn’t been looking to be famous, just to make a good living. But, as word had spread about Cam and Julie’s gift for rehabbing houses, they’d earned sponsors, clients and, finally, their own show for two years on a home and garden network. Then Julie had gotten sick and…

Shrugging out of his suit jacket, he loosened his tie, undid the collar button on his shirt and wished desperately for the gray Stetson he’d left in the house that morning. He undid the cuffs on his shirt and rolled the sleeves up to his elbows.

“That depends,” he answered, only half joking, “what’s the weather in Huntington Beach like?”

Darren laughed. “Same as every year at this time. About sixty-five and cloudy.”

Right now, Cam thought with a glance at the cloudless, brassy sky, the June Gloom of Southern California sounded great.

“Are you frying in Texas already?”

Damned if he’d admit to that with it only being June, so Cam changed the subject. “You call to talk about the weather?”

“Not really. We got an offer to expand our line of tools into the biggest home improvement hardware outlet in the country.”

“Yeah?” He grinned and leaned back against the truck. They were already in a nationwide department store, but this offer would seriously put their tools into the hands of do-it-yourselfers across the country.

“Tell me the details.” While the other man talked, Cam let his gaze wander across the house, the land and the future he planned to build there.

Beth used to love this house, he remembered. They had talked about buying it one day, raising a family here. But that was when they were kids and the future looked big and bright and the only problem he had was keeping his hands off her whenever they were together.

Back then, Cam had had no money but lots of dreams. Now he had enough money for ten men, but no dreams.

He’d come home to change that.

So much for taking the day off.

Beth hadn’t been able to stand it. If she was going to be seeing Cam on a regular basis, then she wanted to lay down some ground rules. She’d practically run from him at the bank and that really bothered her. Why should she run? He should have turned around the moment he’d seen her. But, no. Cam Guthrie did what he wanted, when he wanted. Always had.

Well, she promised herself, until now.

Which was why when they’d finished lunch, she’d left Gracie in town and steered her car toward Cam’s new ranch. If her stomach was dipping and rolling at the prospect of being near him again, she ignored it. Eventually she’d get used to having him in town, right? All she had to do was get past the first rush of whatever was driving her crazy.

The road stretched out in front of her, and Beth realized she could have driven to him in her sleep. She knew every dip, every curve and every damn oak lining the road. Just as she’d once known Cam—or thought she had, anyway.

“Doesn’t matter,” she muttered. “The past is gone, this is now.”

Even as she thought about it, that past roared into life in her mind. The images tumbling through her brain were so vivid, so real, she had to shake her head to dislodge them or risk driving her car right into a tree. It didn’t matter that she could remember how Cam had smiled at her. How he would swoop in to kiss her and lift her off her feet as he turned her in a slow circle while their mouths fused. Didn’t matter that he’d left her because of one fight.

That he’d turned to Julie overnight and married her as if Beth hadn’t meant a thing to him after all. How much time had she wasted wondering if there’d been signs all along that he didn’t really love her? Had he been cheating on her with Julie behind her back? She wanted to know—and she didn’t. Just like she didn’t want to revisit her old relationship with everyone she bumped into just because Cam was back in town.

He’d been gone a long time and she’d been here. Building her life. Her reputation. She wasn’t going to risk any of it just because Camden Guthrie had decided to return to Royal.

She punched the accelerator and was suddenly glad she’d left the top down on her bright scarlet BMW. Yes, her hair would look like hell when she got to Cam’s place, but hopefully, the rushing wind would push all memories out of her mind.

No such luck.

Because as she made a left into the wide drive, those memories flooded into her consciousness whether she wanted them or not.

Oaks still lined the drive, though of course they were bigger now. Flowers grew wild and tangled in the once tidy beds, and the drive itself needed to be regraveled. But the house at the end of the drive was as she remembered it, if in need of some fresh paint on the storm shutters and the front porch. Beth had always loved this place, but now she wondered if it was only because Cam had lived here.

“Doesn’t matter,” she assured herself.

His truck was parked out front. As she tore up the drive, Cam opened the front door and moved to the edge of the porch to watch her approach. Her heart did that frantic, racing beat again, and as much as she fought it, Beth was half-afraid this would always be her reaction to him. But that didn’t mean she had to act on it.

“For God’s sake, remember that,” she muttered as she threw her car into Park and turned off the engine. Quickly Beth ran both hands through her hair, then opened the door and stepped out. The air was breathless—or maybe that was just her.

She looked up at him. “Hello, Cam.”

He nodded. “Beth. Didn’t expect to see you here,” he said.

“Yes, well,” she answered honestly, “I didn’t expect me here, either.”

He laughed shortly and took the six wide steps down to the drive. She’d always loved watching him walk. It was definitely a cowboy amble, a slow, deliberate stride that made a woman think that he did everything that slowly. And Beth was here to testify that he certainly did. At least some of the time. He could also be fast and explosive. Either way, she admitted silently, was memorable.

Cam had traded his expensive suit for a black T-shirt that clung to his broad chest and a pair of jeans that hugged his long legs and stacked on the toes of his black boots.

Danger! Danger! She heard the warning shriek in her mind, but she was here now and it was too late to walk away without looking exactly like the coward she would be if she left.

“What can I do for you, Beth?”

Oh, there was a loaded question. She could think of so many things he could do for her. And that was not what she should be thinking.

She inhaled sharply, gave herself a silent, stern warning and said, “Cam, I thought we should talk, now that you’re back home.”

He came closer, stopped a foot from her, leaned against his truck and folded his arms over his chest. “Talk about what?”

“Seriously?” Beth stared at him for a long second or two. “You can ask me that?”

“What’s got you so worried, Beth? Me? Or you?”

A little of both, but he didn’t need to know that. “Please. I’m not a love-blinded teenager anymore, Cam. I’m not here to throw myself at your feet.”

“Good to know.” He pushed one hand through his hair. “Fine. You want to talk? Let’s talk about why we have to dredge up the past.”

“Oh, we don’t,” she assured him. “I’m here to talk about what happens now that you’re back.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Look,” she continued, since he was just staring at her. Damn it. “I just think we need to have some ground rules. So we both know where we stand.”

“Is that right?” He straightened up, and one corner of his mouth quirked. “And I suppose you get to decide what the rules are?”

“You bet I do,” she countered quickly. “I’m the one who’s been here. You left.”

All semblance of a smile left his face. “And you know why.”

She blinked at him, stunned. Did he honestly believe that? “No, Camden. Actually, I don’t know. And fifteen years later, I don’t want to know. What I want is to not be gossiped about. Again.”

“Bull.” One word. Clipped. Angry. “You know what the hell happened as well as I do. As for not wanting to be gossiped about? Can’t avoid that, Beth. Gossip is the blood of Royal.”

“Don’t tell me about the town you haven’t set foot in over a decade.”

“I grew up here, too. Far as I can tell, nothing much has changed.”

He had a point, but that didn’t mean she had to admit it. She spun around, took two steps, then turned back to face him. “This is my home, Camden.”

“Mine, too,” he said tightly. “I’m here and I’m not leaving. You’re going to have to get used to it. I know you prefer having everything run the way you arrange it, but some things are just out of your control.”

Again. Stunned. “Maybe I do have a little bit of a control issue, but let’s remember who it was who had our whole lives planned out. That was you, Cam.”

“Yeah. Worked out great, didn’t it?”

Beth felt as if the top of her head might just blow off. She deliberately took several deep breaths and reminded herself how far she’d come from the girl she’d been so long ago. She didn’t owe Cam anything, but she owed herself plenty.

“I didn’t come out here to fight,” she said calmly.

“And yet…”

She gritted her teeth. “We have to come to an arrangement.” Cam was insisting he was home to stay, but she wasn’t sure she believed him. He’d been in California for so long, why wouldn’t he get tired of ranching life and run right back to the beaches?

Off in the distance, Beth heard the whinny of horses and a couple of the working cowboys shouting to each other. The wind was still, the sun was blasting down on them, and Camden’s brown eyes were filled with shifting shadows.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

She lifted her chin, met his gaze and stiffly said, “We keep our distance from each other for one.”

“Not a problem.”

That was easy. A little insulting, but easy. She remembered a time when spending one day away from each other had been like a short visit to hell.

As if he could read her thoughts, his mouth curved again. “What’s the matter, Beth? Afraid you can’t keep your hands off me?”

She gritted her teeth again. Why had she once found him so irresistible? “I think I can manage.”

“We’ll see, won’t we?”

“Then you agree?” she asked.

“Not yet.”

“What?” She hadn’t expected that. They’d been apart forever. She hadn’t seen him in years. He’d been married to someone else, for God’s sake. Why would he have a problem with the two of them avoiding each other? “Why not?”

He looked down into her eyes and drawled, “Did you really think I’d just roll over and do whatever you told me to do?”

Yes, damn it. “Of course not. I’m just trying to make this easier on both of us.”

“Ah.” He nodded. “So thoughtful. Well, thanks for your concern, but I can take care of myself.”

“So you won’t agree?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Irritation fired up inside Beth until she wanted to tear at her hair. “What are you saying then?”

“Simple. You have a plan. I’ll go along, but I want something in return.”

Outraged, she sucked in a gulp of air. “You’re really going to ask me for a favor? You’re going to bargain with me? After what you did?”

He held up one hand. “Nope, not talking about the past, remember?”

Beth fought the urge to climb back into her car and drive away, leaving him in a cloud of dust. The only thing keeping her there was the knowledge that she had to get him to agree to a truce or Royal wasn’t going to be big enough for both of them.

“And it’s not a favor,” Cam said. “Let’s call it quid pro quo.”

Folding her arms across her middle, Beth tipped her head to one side and met his gaze steadily. She should have known Camden wouldn’t go along with her plan. He’d always been stubborn. Always wanted things his own way. Of course, so had she. Which was just one of the reasons that their relationship had been filled with fire, excitement, passion… She shook her head. “Fine. What do you want?”

Squinting, he said, “Getting hotter out here. You want to come in and get out of the sun?”

She shot a quick glance at the house, then looked back at him. Alone in the house with him? Hoo, boy. That was too much of a temptation. “No. Just tell me, Cam.”

“Fine. I want to join the TCC.”

That’s what he wanted? Seriously? She’d thought that maybe he wanted to call a truce between them. Or donate a kidney to some deserving soul. Or hell, paint his house neon yellow. But the TCC?

Throwing up her hands, she demanded, “Well, who’s stopping you?”

He scrubbed one hand across the back of his neck. “No one that I know of,” he admitted. “Yet. Burt Wheeler’s the treasurer though and he’s not one of my biggest fans. He won’t do me any good when my application comes before the membership committee.”

Burt Wheeler. Camden’s father-in-law, who still blamed Camden for taking Julie away from Royal. He’d never really gotten over his daughter moving away to California, and when she died, it had nearly killed Burt. Beth could understand why there might be bad blood between Cam and the older man.

“Fine. What do you expect me to do about it?”

“Use your influence.” He shoved both hands into his back pockets. “Hell, Beth, you’re a Wingate. Your family has always ruled this town. You speak up for me to the president—Who is president of the TCC now?”

“James Harris.” Two years older than Camden, the two men hadn’t been friends growing up, but it was impossible to grow up in Royal and not know everyone.

“Good. He’s a fair man.” Cam nodded. “If a Wingate speaks to James for me, it’ll go a long way.”

He wasn’t wrong, Beth acknowledged. The Wingate name carried a lot of weight in Royal and in many other places, as well. She used that name to foster the charities she supported and ran. So supporting Cam at the club would be an easy enough thing to do. But, first, she had to know what was driving him.

“Why is this so important to you? You never used to care about the Texas Cattleman’s Club.” Had he really changed so much? “Heck, you used to make fun of the old guard gathering at their own private ‘watering hole.’ Now you want in?”

“I’m opening a business and I want that support behind me when I do.” He pulled his hands free, slapped one palm on the hood of his truck and instantly lifted it off again with a hiss of pain. “Damn thing’s hot. Anyway, everyone knows you need the TCC stamp of approval if you want a business in Royal to succeed.”

A business. She wondered why he would bother. Beth knew darn well that he was already sitting on a fortune. Why not just be a rich cowboy and enjoy what he’d already built. What did he have to prove? He’d been on television for heaven’s sake. Huh. Was that what he was up to?

“You fixing to flip houses here like you did in California? Want to film a new handyman show? Because you won’t find that many run-down neighborhoods in Royal.”

“No.” He shook his head. “I’m done with all of that.”

She waited, but he didn’t offer any more information and Beth didn’t ask. She wanted to, but damned if she’d give him the satisfaction of knowing she was curious. Was he finished with the flipping business because Julie was gone now and he couldn’t bear to do it without her? Had he loved his wife that much? Were memories of Julie haunting him? A twinge of pain ached in her heart. Beth pushed it aside, though she couldn’t stop the questions rushing through her mind. Still, she kept quiet.

“Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll do what I can for you at the TCC on one condition.”

His brown eyes narrowed on her. “You already laid down your condition. We don’t talk. We avoid each other. Remember?”

“Yeah, but now that’s not enough.” She had him and they both knew it. He needed her and she wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

Wary now, he asked, “What do you want?”

“A very hefty donation to my favorite charity.”

Both eyebrows rose. She’d surprised him. Well, good. Maybe that would convince him that he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did. They’d both changed a lot over the years.

“We’re going to build a new children’s wing at Royal hospital and I’m in charge of raising the money.” She smoothed the skirt of her dress. “I’m fund-raising now, and I think a donation from you will go a long way toward convincing the TCC membership that you’re the kind of man they want as a member.”

His eyes narrowed on her suspiciously. “Sounds like blackmail to me.”

“That’s an ugly word.” She examined her fingernails and made a mental note to get a manicure tomorrow. “I prefer the term extortion.”

He snorted.

“There’s going to be a big charity ball at the TCC in October to raise money for the new wing,” she said, catching his eye. “And if you make a substantial donation, I’ll make sure you’re a member before then.”

He took a deep breath and let it out again. “Hell, you’ve got more of your father in you than I ever noticed.”

Beth knew he meant that as an insult. Her father hadn’t liked Cam at all back in the day. Cam, of course, had decided it was because his mother had been a Tigua Indian.

Trent hadn’t cared about that, though Beth had never been able to convince Cam of it. Her father’s resistance had come from the fact that he hadn’t wanted his daughter falling in love with a simple ranch hand. She was a Wingate. That meant she had a duty to marry someone as rich as they were. To continue the dynasty.

Beth had ignored her father’s plans for her because, back then, all she’d been able to see was Cam. And, she told herself, look where that had gotten her. Thankfully now, her eyes were wide open.

“If you mean that, like my father, I know how to get things done, then yes. You’re absolutely right.”

He snorted again.

“That’s so rude.”

Cam grinned. “I know. Okay, we have a deal.”

“The whole thing,” she qualified. “The donation, the staying away from each other…”

“And the membership in the TCC,” he put in.

“Agreed.” She held out one hand and his right hand enveloped hers.

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.