Secret Love

She glanced up at him. “Sure. Remember I told you that I wanted to meet them.” She studied his features closely. “That won’t be a problem, will it?”

Jake saw the worried look on her face. Her expression indicated she wasn’t sure if she would be doing something wrong or against his wishes.

“No, that won’t be a problem, and I’m sure they’ll get a kick out of it.” And I won’t be able to get a lick of work out of them for the rest of the day after they meet you, he thought further to himself.

He watched her features soften into a relaxed smile. “Good.”

“Do you know anything about cows?”

Diamond glanced over at Jake, wondering about the question he had asked out of the clear blue sky. They had been riding in his Jeep for the last few minutes or so without much conversation. She tried not to concentrate on the large work-hardened hands that gripped the steering wheel and wondered how those same hands would feel on her.

Her brows furrowed. The middle part of her body reacted to that particular thought. “I guess I know the same thing about them as everyone else,” she replied, deliberately turning to look straight ahead.

“Which is?”

“They give milk,” she said, looking back at him, meeting his gaze.

Jake smiled warmly. Another thing he liked about Diamond was the fact that she had a sense of humor. “Yes, they do give milk but I’m not running a dairy, although all the milk served on the ranch is fresh.”

“Even the milk we drank the other day with the cookies?”

“Yes.”

Diamond nodded, smiling. “No wonder it tasted so good. I thought it was delicious.”

Her compliment pleased Jake. “Thanks. My father used to run a small dairy and make door-to-door deliveries to the neighbors.”

“Have you ever considered going back into the dairy business?”

“Nope. We have enough to do just to make sure we get the steers to the market on time. That alone keeps us pretty busy.”

“I’m fascinated by all the things that you do around here. I’d like to learn more about it.”

“Why?”

Diamond shrugged. “I don’t know, I just do.” She didn’t want to tell him that for some reason, she wanted to know all she could about Jacob Madaris. She had a feeling that to know and understand Jacob Madaris, the man, she would first need to know and understand Jacob Madaris, the rancher. From the little bit Sterling had told her about him and what she had observed since arriving, Whispering Pines was his life.

“Just what are you interested in?”

She wanted to say you, but didn’t. “I’m interested in everything about this place. From fixing fences, driving the herd, doing the roundup to this very chic system I understand you use to guarantee you’re delivering the very best beef to the consumer that money can buy.”

“I thought you came here to rest.”

“I will be resting, Jacob. I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in years. There’s something about Whispering Pines that’s so exciting and refreshing. Everything here is so clean, pure and unique. I love it here.”

Jake didn’t say anything as he kept driving. Jessie had also been excited when he had first brought her here. So excited that she had been adamant about planting those rosebushes everywhere, even in the least likely places where they would survive. But soon, like it usually happens with city slickers and sophisticates, the novelty wore off and instead of finding the ranch exciting, she had found it dreary and boring. One day Diamond would feel the same way. She was too well-traveled not to. Whispering Pines was just a hole in the wall compared to the other exotic places she had visited. The only saving grace for the ranch was that it didn’t come with reporters and provided her a lot more privacy than she was used to.

When Jake turned the Jeep onto the road that would take them to the ranch house, he glanced over at Diamond and said, “We’re almost there.”

Chapter 6

Diamond fell in love with the sprawling hacienda-style ranch house the moment she saw it. The sight of it simply took her breath away. It was truly magnificent, and the closer she got to it, another word immediately came into her mind.

Gorgeous.

It was as gorgeous as the land and the man. The scenic setting gave a breathtaking view of the ranch, the pine tree–filled valley and the big blue Texas sky. When Jake brought the Jeep to a stop, she just sat there mesmerized. A deep breath filled her lungs. It seemed as if the structure was beckoning her. She closed her eyes momentarily, not understanding this strange feeling that surrounded her, absorbing her. To her surprise, she began wondering what it would feel like to wake up each and every morning here in this house. What would it be like to wake up to the fragrance of pine, mountain laurels and bluebonnets, and be surrounded by such natural beauty?

“Diamond, are you okay?”

Diamond opened her eyes and turned her gaze in Jake’s direction, then tipped her head back and smiled. “I was just thinking of how beautiful your home is. I don’t think there are enough words in the English dictionary to describe it.”

Jake didn’t want to place much stock in her opinion of his home. It was a home he had designed and built after his divorce from Jessie.

“I had no idea,” Diamond went on as she continued to explain, “that a home could be made to look so inviting and welcoming.”

Jake couldn’t help but smile. No one had ever said such things about his ranch house before. The cabin had been a surprise gift for Jessie, one he had painstakingly worked day and night to complete. But she had refused to live in it, even for one night. Then when she had left him a week or so later, he had been determined to one day build another house, one that did not have memories of her. The only lingering memento of her short presence at Whispering Pines was the roses. Unfortunately she had planted several bushes on the site he had later chosen for his home to be built. As beautiful as they were, the roses served as a constant reminder of what could happen if you gave your heart completely to someone else.

Jake took his time watching Diamond, not knowing what was truly real and not just an overwhelming impression that would eventually wear off. “Are you ready to go inside?” he asked, deciding not to dwell on what she thought of his ranch house any longer.

“Yes.”

Jake tried to appear casual as he got out of the Jeep and walked around the vehicle to open Diamond’s door. He even pretended indifference when extending his hand to help her out of the Jeep. But he couldn’t mask the look in his eyes when they met hers, their gazes holding a bit longer than necessary.

“Thanks.” Diamond finally said in a soft, shaky voice. She would have backed up, but couldn’t. She was already pressed close to the Jeep’s door.

“Don’t mention it.” Jake took a step back to give her space. It was space he hadn’t wanted to give her. He took a long, deep breath and glanced around. Luckily for him, the yard was empty, which meant the men were inside the huge bunkhouse eating lunch. He was glad no one had witnessed his moment of standing spellbound before Diamond.

“This way,” he called over his shoulder as he turned and began walking away. There was no way he could walk next to Diamond. It took some excellent skill of mind over body control to make it not so obvious just how much she had aroused him. That was the last thing his men needed to notice.

As he knew it would be, the eating room of the bunkhouse was noisy. The clatter of dishes and the clamor of voices going at the same time met Jake and Diamond the moment they entered the building, unnoticed.

“Maybe this isn’t a good time to interrupt them,” Diamond whispered to Jake, trying to keep her voice low. “They seem rather hungry.”

Jake shrugged. “Cowboys are always hungry. It won’t take but a second to get their attention.”

Jake walked a little ways into the room. “Afternoon, guys. We have company.”

All the men looked up at Jake. Then they followed his gaze to Diamond, who was still standing in the doorway. Suddenly all movement at the table froze and total silence filled the room. Diamond took a deep breath as thirty-plus pairs of eyes stared at her without blinking. She hoped they weren’t upset that their lunch had been interrupted. She was sure to these men that after putting in so much time in the saddle, lunch was probably a very important part of their day. Ready to brave the storm that could erupt from the hungry men seated at the long table, she took a deep breath and walked into the room and stood next to Jake.

“Hi,” she said to the men, who had gone speechless. “I didn’t want to interrupt anything, but I wanted to meet all of you. I know this might not be a good time but I brought you something.”

When none of the men said anything but just continued to stare at her, she glanced quickly at Jake. His lean features that lighted into a smile gave her encouragement, so she continued. “I baked pies for all of you. Blueberry pies. Ten of them. I checked with Blaylock, and he said it would be all right for me to serve you a piece as lunch dessert.”

The men still didn’t respond.

Diamond gave another quick glance in Jake’s direction. He was smiling. In fact, if she didn’t know better she would think he was downright amused. She shrugged and decided to add, “I think I did a pretty good job on the pies, but I’ll let you be the final judge. Would anyone like to help me get them out of the Jeep?”

Jake saw, before Diamond did, all thirty-plus men jump out of their seats at the same time, nearly knocking over their chairs in the process. “Hold it right there,” he commanded in a loud voice before any one of the men could get within five feet of Diamond. “Sit back down. I’ll get the pies. Blaylock, maintain order until I get back.”