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

“As owner, you could have evicted them.”

“I’m not in a rush. I figured they would leave before long. If they didn’t, then I planned to tell them they had to go. It is my property.”

“I love all of them because they were there when I grew up. I wanted to keep the house, barn and animals for them as long as they live. I wanted to be able to return occasionally to the ranch house—just as you must do here.”

Jake nodded. “Why didn’t you tell Will?”

She looked away but he had seen the coldness in her expression that came with his question. “I did tell Will. He just laughed at me and reminded me that my father barely acknowledged my existence so I had no say in what he did with the ranch. He said he would tell me if it looked as if I could come up with more money to buy it and make a better offer than anyone else who bid on it. When the time came, he didn’t. I knew nothing about the sale. He didn’t legally have to notify me because I had no more part of ownership of the ranch than a stranger.”

Jake felt no stir of sympathy for her. Even though she and Will were alienated, Jake couldn’t forget that they were both Santerres. The same blood ran in her veins as in Will’s.

“You know I can’t work up much sympathy for a Santerre,” Jake admitted, voicing his thoughts aloud. “Not even a beautiful one.”

One dark eyebrow arched as she gave him a level look. “You’re honest. I’m not asking you to like me or even see me again in your lifetime. I just want to buy the house and part of the land. Grandmother never owned it. There was a stipulation in my father’s will assuring her she could live there the rest of her life and then it would belong to Will. All I want is a small part.”

“What advantage for me would there be in doing any such thing?” he asked. “It would mean keeping a Santerre for a neighbor. You surely heard the family histories and know what kind of past we’ve had.”

“Oh, I’ve heard,” she replied lightly as if discussing the weather. “The first Benton killed the first Santerre over water. The river meanders and thus the argument continues about each family’s rights and boundary. Our great-great-grandfathers were political opponents. Your family supposedly burned down our barn in the early days, rustled cattle, stole our horses. The list is long.”

“You’ve left out the most recent episode that touched our lives, at least it affected mine. You may have been young enough to miss it. I’m thirty-four. You must be about twenty-two.”

Her eyes danced with amusement. “You’re a little off. If that were the case, when you were seventeen in high school, I would have been toddling off to kindergarten. No, I’m twenty-eight now.”

Smiling, he shrugged. “You were a little kid. You might as well have been five when I was seventeen. I paid no attention to you at that age.”

“Mmm, I’ll have to remedy that. I have no intention of letting you continue to ignore me,” she drawled, making his heart skip because she was flirting with him.

“Maybe I’ll have to reassess my attitude toward Santerres,” he said.

“You might be surprised by what you’d find,” she rejoined, slanting him a coy smile that made his pulse jump.

“You should make me forget you’re related to Will. As far as our family is concerned, Will caused my sister Brittany’s death.”

“When the District Attorney pressed charges and Will was brought to trial, he was found innocent. The car wreck was ruled an accident. Will has been cleared of that charge,” Caitlin stated matter-of-factly.

“I’ll never feel he was innocent,” Jake replied. “Will testified that Brittany tried to run him off the road. But she was in love with him. Will is the one who ran her off the road.”

“The jury found Will innocent. Will and I barely speak. He’ll probably cease to do so now that our father is gone. Although, my success in my profession has given Will a grudging mellowing toward me. Not enough to inform me of his decision to sell the ranch, much less of the agreement to sell it to you.”

“Will is rotten,” Jake said, thinking more about Caitlin’s silky auburn hair and huge eyes, still amazed to learn her identity.

“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.”

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