Texas Wild

“Pam?”

“Hmm?”

“How would you react if a man told you he wanted you?”

Pam glanced her way and smiled. “It depends on who the man is. Had your brother told me that, I would have kicked my fiancé to the curb a lot sooner. The first thing I thought when I saw Dillon was that he was hot.”

That was the same thing Megan had thought when she’d seen Rico. “So you would not have gotten upset had he said he wanted you?”

“Again, it depends on who the man is. If it’s a man I had the hots for, then no, I wouldn’t have gotten upset. Why would I have? That would mean we were of the same accord and could move on to the next phase.”

Megan raised a brow. “The next phase?”

“Yes, the I-want-to-get-to-know-you-better phase.” Pam looked over at her. “So tell me. Was this a hypothetical question or is there a man out there who told you he wants you?”

Megan nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. She must have taken too long to answer because Pam grinned and said, “I guess I got my answer.”

Pam took the last of the chicken out of the skillet, turned off the stove and joined Megan at the table. “Like I said, Megan, the question you should ask yourself is … if he’s someone you want, too. Forget about what he wants for the moment. The question is what do you want?”

Megan sighed. Rico was definitely a looker, a man any woman would want. But what did she really know about him, other than that he was Jessica and Savannah’s older brother, and they thought the world of him?

“He doesn’t want to mix business with pleasure, not that I would have, mind you. Besides, I never told him that I wanted him.”

“Most women don’t tell a man. What they do is send out vibes. Men can pick up on vibes real quick, and depending on what those vibes are, a man might take them as a signal.”

Megan looked perplexed. “I don’t think I sent out anything.”

Pam laughed. “I hate to say this, but Jillian can probably size a man up better than you can. Your brothers and cousins sheltered you too much from the harsh realities of life.” Jillian was Pam’s sister, who was a sophomore in college.

Megan shook her head. “It’s not that they sheltered me, I just never met anyone I was interested in.”

“Until now?”

Megan lifted her chin. “I’m really not interested in him, but I want us to work closer together, and he doesn’t … because he wants me.”

“Well, I’m sure there will be times at the hospital when the two of you will have no choice but to work together.”

Pam thought the person they were discussing was another doctor. Megan wondered what Pam’s reaction would be if she found out the person they were talking about was one of her dinner guests.

Megan heard loud male voices and recognized all of them. One stood out, the sound a deep, husky timbre she’d come to know.

Rico had arrived.

Rico paused in his conversation with Dillon and Ramsey when Megan walked into the room to place a huge bowl on the dining room table. She called out to him. “Hello, Rico.”

“Megan.”

If his gaze was full of male appreciation, it couldn’t be helped. She had changed out of the scrubs he’d seen her in earlier and into a cute V-neck blue pullover sweater and a pair of hip-hugging jeans. She looked both comfortable and beautiful. She had spoken, which was a good indication that he hadn’t offended her by what he’d told her. He was a firm believer that the truth never hurt, but he’d known more than one occasion when it had pissed people off.

“So, you’re on your way to Texas, I hear.” Dillon Westmoreland’s question penetrated Rico’s thoughts.

He looked at Dillon and saw the man’s questioning gaze and knew he’d been caught ogling Megan. Rico’s throat suddenly felt dry, and he took a sip of his wine before answering. “Yes. I might have a new lead. Don’t want to say what it is just yet, until I’m certain it is one.”

Dillon nodded. “I understand, trust me. When I took that time off to track down information on Raphel, it was like putting together pieces of a very complicated puzzle. But that woman,” he said, inclining his head toward Pam when she entered the room, “made it all worthwhile.”

Rico glanced over to where Pam was talking to Megan. He could see how Pam could have made Dillon feel that way. She was a beautiful woman. Rico had heard the story from his sisters, about how Dillon had met Pam while in Wyoming searching for leads on his great-grandfather’s history. Pam had been engaged to marry a man who Dillon had exposed as nothing more than a lying, manipulating, arrogant SOB.

Rico couldn’t help keeping his eye on Megan as her brother Ramsey and her cousins Dillon and Riley carried on conversations around him. Thoughts of her had haunted him ever since they’d met back in June. Even now, he lay awake with thoughts of her on his mind. How could one woman make such an impression on him, he would never know. But like he told her, he wanted her, so it was best that they keep their distance, considering his relationship with the Westmoreland family.

“So when are you leaving, Rico?”

He turned to meet Ramsey Westmoreland’s inquisitive gaze. The man was sharp and, like Dillon, had probably caught Rico eyeing Megan. The hand holding Rico’s wineglass tensed. He liked all the Westmorelands and appreciated how the guys included him in a number of their all-male get-togethers. The last thing he wanted was to lose their friendship because he couldn’t keep his eyes off their sister and cousin.

“I’m leaving on Thursday. Why do you ask?”

Ramsey shrugged. “Just curious.”

Rico couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was more than just curious. He frowned and stared down at his drink. It was either that or risk the wrath of one of the Westmorelands if he continued to stare at Megan, who was busy setting the table.

Dillon spoke up and intruded into Rico’s thoughts when he said, “Pam just gave me the nod that dinner is ready.”

Everyone moved in the direction of the dining room. Rico turned to follow the others, but Ramsey touched his arm. “Wait for a minute.”

Rico nodded. He wondered why Ramsey had detained him. Had Megan gone running to her brother and reported what Rico had said to her earlier? Or was Ramsey about to call him out on the carpet for the interest in Megan that he couldn’t hide? In either of those scenarios, how could he explain his intense desire for Megan when he didn’t understand it himself? He’d wanted women before, but never with this intensity.

When the two of them were left alone, Ramsey turned to him and Rico braced himself for whatever the man had to say. Rico was older brother to two sisters of his own so he knew how protective brothers could be. He hadn’t liked either Chase or Durango in the beginning only because he’d known something was going on between them and his sisters.

Ramsey was silent for a moment, doing nothing more than slowly sipping his wine, so Rico decided to speak up. “Was there something you wanted to discuss with me, Ramsey?” There were a couple of years’ difference in their ages, but at the moment Rico felt like it was a hell of a lot more than that.

“Yes,” Ramsey replied. “It’s about Megan.”

Rico met Ramsey’s gaze. “What about her?”

“Just a warning.”

Rico tensed. “I think I know what you’re going to say.”

Ramsey shook his head, chuckling. “No. I don’t think that you do.”

Rico was confused at Ramsey’s amusement. Hell, maybe he didn’t know after all. “Then how about telling me. What’s the warning regarding Megan?”

Ramsey took another sip of his drink and said, “She’s strong-willed. She has self-control of steel and when she sets her mind to do something, she does it, often without thinking it through. And … if you tell her no, you might as well have said yes.”

Rico was silent for a moment and then asked, “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”

Ramsey’s mouth curved into a smile. “Yes, and you’ll find out that reason soon enough. Now come on, they won’t start dinner without us.”

Megan tried drowning out all the conversation going on around her. As usual, whenever the Westmorelands got together, they had a lot to talk about.