Memories for Eternity: Taming Clint Westmoreland

He chuckled. “Yes. The Westmoreland family is a rather large one and they love to visit. They like checking up on each other. I have a bunch of cousins who were close growing up. Like I said earlier, when they found out about me, Cole and Casey, they didn’t hesitate in extending that closeness to us.”

He glanced at his watch. “Come on and let me show you to your room so you can get settled in. I’ll show you the rest of the house later.”

* * *

A few moments later Alyssa’s fingers trembled as she ran them across the richness of the guest room furniture. There had to be about ten or so guest rooms in this house. Clint had been quick to explain that his uncle loved to entertain and always had friends visiting.

The layout of the house actually suited the magnificent structure. Once you entered the front door you walked into this huge foyer that led into a huge living room. There was also an eat-in kitchen and dining room. The house had four wings that jutted off from the living room. North, south, east and west. Clint’s bedroom was huge and was located on the north wing, and although he’d only given her a quick glimpse, she’d liked what she’d seen of it.

The beauty of every room in his home made her speechless. It seemed to be fitting for a king...and his queen, from the expensive furniture to the costly portraits that hung on the walls. He evidently was a man who liked nice things and who didn’t mind paying his money for them.

Clint had left her alone to get settled and indicated he would be back in a few minutes. She knew he was trying not to crowd her, give her space and she appreciated that. She wondered at what point her heart would stop beating so wildly in her chest. When would the rapid flutter in her stomach cease?

She glanced over at the overnight bag. It contained her toiletries, fresh underwear, an extra-large T-shirt to sleep in and a pair of jeans and a top. If she decided to stay the thirty days she would have to return to Waco and pack more of her things. She supposed that her friends were wondering where she had gone. She hadn’t mentioned her destination or the reason for her trip

to anyone except her aunt Claudine. Aunt Claudine wouldn’t tell anyone about her trip, Alyssa thought with a chuckle. Her sixty-year-old great-aunt would be tickled that for once she knew something that the other family members didn’t.

Alyssa had already put away the few things she’d brought with her and was waiting for Clint when he knocked on the bedroom door. For some reason she felt restless and a call to Aunt Claudine hadn’t helped when she was informed that Kim had already begun asking questions about her whereabouts.

When Clint knocked again she quickly crossed the room, not wanting him to think she had taken a nap or something. She opened the door. He stood in the hallway, towering over her. “I told you that I’d be back. Are you ready for me to show you around?”

Looking up at him, his penetrating dark gaze seemed to hold her captive and she became aware of how even more fluttering was going on in her stomach. And it wasn’t helping matters that she felt compelled to stare at his lips. Doing so reminded her of the kiss they had shared and how the moment his tongue had wrapped around hers an ache had begun within her. It was an ache that wouldn’t go away.

At that moment she wasn’t sure if going anywhere with him was a smart move. That and the fact that she seemed to be glued to the spot. But then she quickly decided that she wasn’t about to let another man get to her again. Kevin had taught her a lesson she would never forget. She studied Clint’s features again. They were still unreadable. “Clint...”

“Yes?”

He took a step closer, stepping into the room, and since she was glued to the spot she couldn’t get her legs to move. She inclined her head back and looked up at him, thinking he was so tall, and much too handsome. She then saw the dark frown that creased his forehead. “What’s wrong?” she asked. The words had come tumbling out before she could hold them in.

One of his broad shoulders lifted nonchalantly. “You tell me,” he said.

She had said his name; however, because of the way he had been looking at her, the way that look had made blood rush through her veins, she had forgotten what she’d been about to say. She then remembered. “I was going to say that if you’re busy I can just look around myself.”

“I’m not busy, so let’s go,” he said.

She noticed right before he turned to step back into the hallway that the frown on his face had deepened, and she had a feeling that although he had invited her to stay for the night he still didn’t like it one bit that she was there.

* * *

After giving Alyssa a tour of his home, he walked by her side down the steps to the outside. Her compliments had again pleased him, although he wasn’t quite sure why they had. He’d never been one to place a lot of emphasis on what anyone thought of what he owned. He bought to satisfy his taste and not anyone else’s.

“You said your sister moved to Montana. Does she come back to visit often?”

He glanced over at Alyssa as they walked down the stairs. She seemed to have gotten shorter and a quick look at her feet told him why. She had exchanged her three-inch high-heel shoes for a pair of flats. Smart move. A working ranch was no place for high heels. “Casey’s been back once since she left and that was to get her wedding dress made. Mrs. Miller, a seamstress in town, always said she wanted to be the one who designed Casey’s wedding dress if she ever got married,” he said.

Her question quickly reminded him of something. “But she and McKinnon might be visiting within the next couple of weeks. Why?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I was just wondering.” And then she asked, “What about Cole?”

He glanced over at her again. “What about him?”

“Does he live here, too?”

“No, Cole has a place in town but most of the time he’s on assignment somewhere.” Clint had an idea why Alyssa asked about Casey and Cole and the chances that they would be paying a visit to the ranch anytime soon. “If you’re concerned what my siblings will have to say about our situation if they happen to pop in then don’t be. They won’t ask questions.”

At the uncertainty in her eyes, he went on to say, “And no, it’s not because I usually let women stay over on occasion. It’s just that my family respects my privacy. Besides, it’s not like either of us has done anything wrong.”

“So you plan to tell them the truth about who I am?”

“The part about you being my wife?”

“Yes.”

He met her gaze. “I see no reason not to. Besides, Chester knows and if he knows then they know, or they will soon. He thinks I need a wife.”

“Why does he think that?”

“He’s afraid that like Uncle Sid, I’ll get so involved with my horses that I won’t take time out to build a personal life or have a family. He’s determined not to let that happen. He would marry me off in a heartbeat if he could.”

They said nothing for the next few moments, but as they continued to walk together around the ranch he was fully aware of the admiring glances Alyssa was getting from the men who worked for him. His mouth thinned; for some reason he was bothered by it.

“This is a huge place,” she said, as if wanting to change the subject, which was okay with him.

“Yes, it is.”

“Do you have a lot of men working for you?”

“Well over a hundred. And as I said earlier, Alyssa, if you decide to stay here, the chances of getting in each other’s way are slim to none.” As far as he was concerned life would be much easier, less complicated that way. The last thing he needed was for her or any woman to get under his skin.

“Ready to head back?” he asked and watched how she pushed a wayward curl back away from her face.

“Yes...and thanks for the tour.”

As they walked back toward the ranch house—strolling quietly side by side—he wished like hell he could dismiss from his mind the memory of her taste that remained on his tongue, and how even now, the memory of his lips locked to hers was uncoiling sensations that were running rampant throughout his body. His loins were on fire just thinking about it. His body, in its own way, was sending a reminder of just how long it had been since he’d slept with a woman. It had been way too long and today he was feeling it right down to the bone.

That wasn’t good. He had told her that she wouldn’t become an itch that he would be tempted to scratch and he hoped like hell that he didn’t live to regret those words. He had to remain calm, in control and more than anything he had to remember that no matter how much desire was eating away at his senses, the last thing he needed in his life was a wife.

Chapter 5

“I tell you, Alyssa, that girl is up to no good.”

Alyssa tugged off her earring and switched her cell phone to the other ear. Claudine often said that about Kim, but in this case she was inclined to believe her great-aunt. She hadn’t heard from Kim in months, at least not since her cousin’s last attempt to sabotage one of the projects she’d been working on for a client.

It had cost Alyssa two weeks of production time and she had had to work every hour nonstop to meet the deadline date she’d been given. Of course, as usual, Kim had denied everything and there hadn’t been any way Alyssa could prove her guilt.

“You’re probably right, Aunt Claudine, but there’s nothing that I can do. You know Kim, she’s full of surprises.” Usually those surprises cost Alyssa tremendously. Kim’s bag of dirty tricks included everything from sabotaging important projects to sleeping with Alyssa’s fiancé and then having a courier deliver the damaging photographs just moments before she was to leave her home for the church.

Her troubles with Kim started when Alyssa had arrived in the Barkleys’ household to live with her grandfather and great-aunt. Her mother had never given Alyssa a reason for sending her away, but to this day Alyssa believed that Kate Harris had begun to notice her most recent lover’s interest in her thirteen-year-old-daughter’s developing body.