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THE BACHELOR TAKES A WIFE

by Jackie Merritt

Meet Keith Owens—the most eligible millionaire in Royal, Texas. He’s a businessman who always gets what he wants, and what he wants now is Andrea O’Rourke, his high school sweetheart. Keith will do just about anything to reignite the passion he and Andrea once shared—but will he stick around when he discovers Andrea’s little secret?

SILHOUETTE DESIRE

IS PROUD TO PRESENT THE

Five wealthy Texas bachelors—all members of the state’s most exclusive club—set out to uncover the traitor in their midst…and find true love.

Dear Reader,

Summer vacation is simply a state of mind…so create your dream getaway by reading six new love stories from Silhouette Desire!

Begin your romantic holiday with A Cowboy’s Pursuit by Anne McAllister. This MAN OF THE MONTH title is the author’s 50th book and part of her CODE OF THE WEST miniseries. Then learn how a Connelly bachelor mixes business with pleasure in And the Winner Gets…Married! by Metsy Hingle, the sixth installment of our exciting DYNASTIES: THE CONNELLYS continuity series.

An unlikely couple swaps insults and passion in Maureen Child’s The Marine & the Debutante—the latest of her popular BACHELOR BATTALION books. And a night of passion ignites old flames in The Bachelor Takes a Wife by Jackie Merritt, the final offering in TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB: THE LAST BACHELOR continuity series.

In Single Father Seeks… by Amy J. Fetzer, a businessman and his baby captivate a CIA agent working under cover as their nanny. And in Linda Conrad’s The Cowboy’s Baby Surprise, an amnesiac FBI agent finds an undreamed-of happily-ever-after when he’s reunited with his former partner and lover.

Read these passionate, powerful and provocative new Silhouette Desire romances and enjoy a sensuous summer vacation!

Joan Marlow Golan

Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

The Bachelor Takes a Wife
Jackie Merritt

JACKIE MERRITT

is still writing, just not with the speed and constancy of years past. She and hubby are living in southern Nevada again, falling back on old habits of loving the long, warm or slightly cool winters and trying almost desperately to head north for the months of July and August, when the fiery sun bakes people and cacti alike.

“What’s Happening in Royal?”

NEWS FLASH, June—As usual, Royal’s Texas Cattleman’s Club ball was a smashing success! Could there have been any doubt? Glamorous women, sexy gents, fabulous food…and all for a wonderful cause. This year’s charity is Royal’s very own New Hope battered women’s shelter. New Hope’s representative, Andrea O’Rourke, was on hand at the ball to receive the hefty donation, along with the exclusive attentions of millionaire Keith Owens….

Ms. O’Rourke has refused to discuss her relationship to the debonair tycoon, but sources tell us that Andrea and Keith were a hot item back in their high school days…. Is there still something simmering between them? If so, the ladies of Royal are going to have to look elsewhere for an eligible man. This elusive executive may be going down for the count.

Do the members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club know who murdered Eric Chambers? Rumor has it that the culprit may be a club member…. Is there a traitor among them? If so, the murderer had better watch out, because justice is closing in….

Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Prologue

Keith Owens was well aware of Jason Windover’s air of contentment as he and his friends prepared cups of coffee for themselves at a serving cart, then sat in comfortable chairs around a table in one of the Cattleman’s Club’s private meeting rooms. Jason good-naturedly laughed off the teasing remarks about his and Merry’s honeymoon, from which they’d returned only the day before, because it was all in fun and he’d expected some tongue-in-cheek banter from his buddies. But he wasn’t above giving back at least part of what he was getting, and Keith, being the only bachelor remaining in the group, just naturally seemed to be his best target.

“Just you wait, old pal,” Jason drawled. “Some sweet-lookin’ little gal is out there this very minute, just biding her time for the right moment to rope and hog-tie Royal’s most elusive executive.”

“Elusive executive?” Keith repeated with a laugh, and looked around the table for confirmation or denial from Sebastian Wescott, William Bradford, Robert Cole and, of course, Jason, all of whom wore big smiles. “Is that what I am?”

“Sounds like an apt description to me,” Sebastian said. “Good work, Jason.”

“Thanks,” Jason said with a cocky grin at Keith.

“All right, I get it,” Keith said. “I’m the last bachelor among you jokers, and you’re not going to let me forget it. Well, put this in your pipes and smoke it, old friends. I happen to enjoy bachelorhood.”

“So did we when we were young and foolish,” Rob said with an overly dramatic sigh.

Everyone laughed, because they’d all been bachelors only five months ago and they’d been neither young nor foolish. Only one thing had happened to change their status from single to married—falling in love, which was a mighty powerful force, as they had discovered. And not a man around that table—other than Keith—believed that Royal’s “elusive executive” would remain a bachelor for long. After all, hadn’t he already tossed his hat in the ring by naming New Hope Charity for battered women as the beneficiary of the Cattleman’s Club’s annual charity benefit? That decision would bring Andrea O’Rourke, Keith’s old college flame, back into his life, since she was the volunteer at New Hope who dealt firsthand with public donations. It seemed to the men around the table that if Keith hadn’t wanted contact with Andrea, then he would have named an entirely different charity to receive this year’s check.

No one said so, though, as some subjects weren’t up for open and verbal conjecture. They could tease Jason, because he’d just come back from his honeymoon, but they couldn’t make light of Keith’s sudden interest in renewing ties with Andrea.

“Much as I’m enjoying this,” Keith interjected, “I think it’s time we got down to the reason we called this meeting. Dorian.” The other four friends sobered at once. They all shared the strong suspicion that Dorian Brady had murdered Eric Chambers, an accountant at Wescott Oil. But so far, they had no proof of his involvement.

Keith continued. “We’ve been doing our best to keep an eye on Dorian during your absence, Jason, and none of us have spotted anything suspicious. In fact, it appears that, if anything, Dorian has been deliberately maintaining a low profile.”

“That’s suspicious in itself,” Jason said. “Don’t you agree, Sebastian?”

“Dorian was never low-key before,” Sebastian soberly agreed. He was understandably more deeply affected by recent events than the others, since Dorian was his half brother. “Except when it fitted his agenda. As you all know, his showing up out of the blue was one hell of a shock. We look so much alike, I never for a minute doubted his story about Dad being his father, and I still don’t. Putting him to work at Wescott Oil was a bad error in judgment, however. My only excuse was that I really wanted to help him.”

“None of what happened is your fault, Sebastian,” Keith said quietly. “How do honest people deal with a snake like Dorian? He’s deliberately gone out of his way to undermine your authority and good reputation with the company and the community in general. Don’t blame yourself for anything Dorian’s done.”

“Considering his background with Merry’s sister even before he came to Royal, he was a louse then and he’s a louse now,” Jason said stonily. No one could disagree with that summation, and the conversation changed directions.

“What we still can’t figure out is his motive for murder. What was Eric Chambers to him, other than a co-worker? It simply doesn’t add up.”

“And let’s not forget Dorian’s alibi,” Will said. “Maybe we should talk to Laura Edwards about that. Double-check her story about Dorian being at the diner at the time of Eric’s murder.”

“Why would she lie?” Sebastian asked and got up for a coffee refill. “I’ve wrestled with motive since the murder, and I have a hunch that it’s somehow connected to me. Jason, I know you were uneasy about Dorian from the start.” Sebastian resumed his seat. “Why?”

“We’ve covered this ground before,” Keith said.

“Yes, but obviously we’re missing something,” Sebastian said. He frowned slightly and added, “What could it be?”

“His computer files imply that Dorian was blackmailing Eric,” Jason reminded them all. “Merry discovered that.”

“Yes, but those files do not explain the blackmail. What was Eric up to that Dorian was able to discover and use against him? Maybe if we knew more about Eric,” he mused. “What do we really know about him?”

“He worked for Wescott for quite a few years,” Sebastian volunteered. “He was a very private individual with a cat as his only companion. He was divorced long before coming to work for Wescott, so no one I know has ever met his ex. He lived alone—with his cat—in a small house. That struck me as odd, because he made a good annual salary.”

“Which he could have been paying to his ex-wife in alimony,” Keith said.

“But he wasn’t. His wife had remarried quite a while back, ending the alimony payments, and there were no children for Eric to support. He could’ve afforded a much better home, considering his earning power.”

“Follow the money,” Jason said, half in jest.

But the simple concept simultaneously struck all five men as critically important. They looked at each other, and several of them nodded. Months ago, money had gone missing at Wescott Oil. Sebastian, accused of killing Eric and taking the money—a ridiculous charge when he owned the company and had more money than he could ever spend—had been completely exonerated and all charges against him had been dropped. Since then, everyone had been concentrating on Eric’s murder. The missing money was still unexplained, a loose end left dangling.

It could be the clue they had been hoping to uncover and follow up on.

One

Andrea O’Rourke was given the good news on the first of June. “New Hope has been named by the Texas Cattleman’s Club as the primary beneficiary of this year’s charitable donation!” The other volunteers present at the time were overjoyed and began discussing what could be done with the money. New Hope’s most crucial need was money for expansion, but how much would the donation be? Everyone knew the club’s annual charity ball donations were legendary, but the sums distributed to needy causes were never publicized.

Andrea tried to appear as thankfully elated as the other volunteers in the meeting room of the big old house that served as a sanctuary for battered and abused women. The building was the heart and soul of New Hope Charity, and the meeting room was pleasant with comfortable mismatched chairs, several desks where paperwork was taken care of, and a table with the tools and supplies to brew coffee and tea.

While Andrea rejoiced at New Hope’s good fortune in her own quiet, subdued way, she also suffered an internal ache that she would never even attempt to explain to these good ladies. Residents of Royal, Texas, knew that she was the volunteer who acted as New Hope’s representative for events that benefited the charity. The more Andrea thought about it, the more suspicious she became that Keith Owens, longtime member of the Cattleman’s Club and the one citizen of Royal whom Andrea tried diligently to avoid, was behind the good deed that had the other ladies in the room giddy with delight.

I’ll have to attend the club’s annual charity ball! I’ll have to accept the donation with thanks, probably even have to say a few words about New Hope. Well, I’ve done that before at other events, but not with Keith Owens looking on and undoubtedly smiling that overbearing, egotistical smile of his while I’m on stage!

Oh, my heavens! What if he’s the member passing out the award?

No! I won’t do it, I can’t do it.

But of course she could do it, and she would, however painful to herself. Looking around at the generous women who gave time, energy, intelligence and individual talents to New Hope, Andrea was aware that none of them really knew her. They thought they did, and she encouraged that impression because her privacy was crucial to the quiet lifestyle she had fashioned for herself. She had lived alone since the death of her husband five years before, and her preference for dignity and serenity in everything from her home to her personal demeanor eliminated a good many people who had attempted a close friendship. Those friends who had made the cut were truly cherished by Andrea, and for the most part they enjoyed the same gentle entertainment that she did—primarily small dinner parties and elegant little luncheons at which intellectual discussions of literature, music, fashion and personal hobbies took place.

Keith Owens was not in that circle and never would be. Andrea had never stepped foot inside the Texas Cattleman’s Club’s sprawling two-and-a-half-story clubhouse—decorated, she’d heard, in dark paneling, heavy leather furniture and stuffed animal heads. Visualizing herself doing so the night of the charity ball actually made her shudder. She couldn’t share that thought with the group, of course, and why would she? Were the intimate details of her life—past or present—anyone’s business, but her own? Of course not.

Again scanning the women, Andrea uneasily wondered how many of them, if any, knew about her and Keith’s commingled past. It seemed a silly concern when their history had ended almost twenty years ago—both she and Keith were thirty-eight years old now—but some people had such damnably long memories.

Andrea suddenly couldn’t sit still a moment longer. Rising from her chair, she smiled at the group and said, “I’m terribly sorry, but I just remembered a very important appointment. I really must run.”

The women accepted her story and bid her goodbye, and before Andrea had even gone through the door they were back to fantasizing about New Hope’s windfall.

Andrea left with acidic resentment gnawing at her vitals. If it weren’t for Keith Owens’s participation in the club’s gift to New Hope, she would have been as genuinely overjoyed as the other volunteers were.

Damn him! How dare he create disturbances on the smooth pathway of her daily existence after so many years?

Keith kept himself in good physical shape in his home gym. A personal trainer came to the house twice a week to put Keith through the paces, check his vitals and advise him on diet and general fitness. The rest of the week Keith worked out on his own. He liked exercising himself into a sweat, and his exertion, followed by a shower, always seemed to clear his head.

The morning after New Hope had been notified of the club’s choice—most definitely an honor for any charity organization—Keith went to his gym with his usual good intentions. But he hadn’t slept as well as he usually did, and instead of diving into his exercise program, he dawdled around for about ten minutes, then lost interest and went down to his kitchen for some coffee and the morning paper.

The coffee tasted good but he couldn’t concentrate on the daily news. Frowning slightly he leaned back in his chair and stared off into space. He felt adrift, uncentered, and he didn’t have to wonder why: It was all about anticipation and the knowledge that Andrea would be at the ball.

For years they had ignored each other, or tried to ignore each other. When something unforeseen and unpreventable brought them together—always briefly—they said hello, but Andrea’s polite voice and unsmiling countenance emitted enough ice to chill to the bone anyone within hearing range. He had to ask himself why he was forcing them to meet again when Andrea had only tried to avoid him. He didn’t doubt that she would be civil at the ball—he’d observed those cool, impeccable manners of hers more than once—but since when had an evening of distant, chilly civility from a woman held any appeal for him?

Deep down, Keith knew the answer to all of his questions about Andrea. He wanted things to be different between them. He wanted her to talk to him without that famous chill, to look at him and really see him, and to treat him as she once had. Would the ball change anything? Maybe not. Probably not, if he was completely honest about it. But it was an opportunity to spend some time with her.

Accepting that summation with a knot in his gut, Keith turned his thoughts to the problem of proving Dorian Brady’s guilt. It was frustrating as hell to be certain of something and not be able to come up with enough evidence to take to the police. Mulling it over for at least the tenth time since his last meeting with Sebastian, Rob, Jason and Will, something that had been niggling at Keith abruptly rose to the surface. Getting up from the table, he went to the telephone, took it from its cradle and walked around the room while he dialed a number.

“Sebastian? I’m glad I caught you. Listen, I’d like to pick up Eric’s computer. I should’ve thought of it before. I know the police checked the computer and so did Rob. He found Eric’s personal journal and that e-mail message and, believe me, I’m not minimizing Rob’s…or the police expert’s…computer abilities, but if there’s one thing I know through and through, it’s computers. There could be more information in disguised or hidden files that everyone thus far has missed. I think I should check it out.”

Keith’s extremely successful career had been built around computer software, and no one got very far with software unless they understood computer hardware—the nuts and bolts of the machine, so to speak. He could take a computer apart and put it back together in mere minutes. Hell, he could build one from scratch if he had the components on hand. In some cases he could actually create the components. Owens Techware was a well-known and highly respected contributor of technical software the world over.

“Yes, you’re the logical person to do that,” Sebastian agreed with a spark of excitement in his voice. “You may be on to something, Keith. Pick it up anytime. I had it put in storage.”

“Great. I’ll come by Wescott Oil sometime today.”

After hanging up the phone, Keith let Andrea enter his mind again, but only for a few moments. Heaving a sigh because he had never understood himself where Andrea was concerned, he went to take the shower he should have taken earlier.

The elegant old clubhouse and its immaculate grounds seemed magical on ball night. Hundreds of tiny white lights bedecked shrubbery and trees, and every window in the building glowed with warm, golden light.

The limousine in which Andrea was riding crept toward the club’s entrance. It was following a long line of luxury cars and limousines that stopped only long enough to dispatch beautifully dressed guests, so it was stop and go, stop and go, for about ten minutes.

Seated in the limousine’s back seat Andrea drew a long breath rife with disapproval and dissatisfaction. She had accepted being manipulated into attending this year’s ball, but she was adamant about it not happening again under any circumstances. If club members chose to bestow some of their wealth on New Hope again, she was going to weasel out of this duty by hook or by crook. She absolutely hated the club’s insistence on picking her up in a showy limousine. She was not a limousine person, and she felt completely out of place in it.

This, too, she blamed on Keith Owens. No one would ever convince her that he hadn’t dreamed up this whole scenario just to embarrass her, and, however much she would like to cut him cold tonight, she was going to have to smile and chat and act as though she didn’t resent the air he breathed.

She had not willingly given Keith the time of day since college, though they ran into each other every so often. Accidental meetings—inevitable in towns the size of Royal, Texas—never failed to unnerve her. Just the sight of Keith raised her blood pressure and made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand up, a condition she attributed to a mix of extreme tension and dislike. He had, after all, nearly destroyed her that night so long ago. That night when she’d naively expected a marriage proposal, and instead Keith had proposed a business partnership. A business partnership! He’d been full of himself then, and from the little she’d seen of him over the years, he was still full of himself.

On that particular night she’d been totally crushed and had angrily let him have it, making it clear that she was going to major in education and wanted nothing to do with his business plans. To make matters worse, Keith had derided her choice of careers—teaching—and boasted about his ambitions. Although Keith had made a fortune in computer software, Andrea had felt in her heart that her career rewards as a teacher far exceeded Keith’s. But he would never, ever understand putting joy in one’s personal accomplishments ahead of an ever-increasing bank account.

Andrea shook her head just as the limousine braked precisely at the club’s main entrance. She disliked these particular trips down memory lane. Usually she had no trouble avoiding these memories in favor of those that gave her pleasure instead of riling emotions that she would rather not poke and prod to life.

The limo door was opened by a uniformed greeter. Andrea took his outstretched hand and allowed him to assist her from the vehicle. People were everywhere, she saw—going into the club or standing outside to chat. Laughter and conversation mingled with the muted music inside the club and floated out on the evening air. The dress code for the ball was formal, which had once dictated that men wore black. Not these days. There were tuxedoes in many different colors, and the males in attendance were almost as flamboyantly clad as their female companions. The ladies, however, were also gleaming from the exquisite jewelry around their necks, in their hair, on their wrists and fingers, and anywhere else they could attach diamonds, emeralds, pearls and rubies to their person.

The limousine moved away and another vehicle immediately took its place. Andrea began walking toward the entrance and gasped in surprise when someone took her arm.

“Good evening,” Keith said, his lips brazenly close to her ear. “I wasn’t sure whether you would arrive alone or with an escort, so I’ve been out here watching for you. Since you’re alone, I’m appointing myself your guide, counselor, escort and buddy for this evening’s festivities.”

Despite her annoyance, Andrea couldn’t help but register his good looks, which shook her aplomb and irritated her no end. His tuxedo was a wonderful shade of tan that was almost exactly the color of his light-caramel-hued hair. The quirky smile that had captured her heart back in college was still his best feature, although his thickly lashed dark-brown eyes ran a very close second. Admiring and eventually drooling over Keith Owens’s good looks had caused her pain and heartache in her college years. Maturity had provided her with some advantages, thank goodness, one of which was an understanding of just how unimportant good looks really were. She’d figured that out only a few years after college, because the man she’d married had been wonderfully pleasant-looking but not drop-dead handsome, as Keith was. Frankly, everything about Keith galled her, especially his overbearing assumption that he could appoint himself her escort for the evening.

“I think not,” she said coolly, trying to pull her arm out of his.

“Think again. It’s only good protocol for our guest of honor to have an escort,” Keith said smoothly while giving her a head-to-foot inspection. She was utterly beautiful. In college she’d been pretty, with long black hair and dark-blue eyes. Hell, she’d been cute as a button when she’d been a kid, a fact he remembered very well because they’d grown up next door to each other. But cute and pretty simply weren’t the right words to describe how she looked now. Her figure was incredible, especially provocative in that two-piece ivory gown she was wearing. It fit like a dream, from its high neckline all the way down its classic lines to a hem incorporating one sexy slit that permitted brief glimpses of the lower portion of her left leg. It was a marvelous dress, Keith decided, its delightful color accenting Andrea’s hair and eyes. Her black hair was much shorter now, but its simple style was extremely becoming to her beautiful face.

“If I had wanted or believed I needed an escort, I would have invited a friend to accompany me this evening. Your protocol is about fifty years outdated. You may find this a major shock to your good-old-country-boy beliefs, but nowadays women actually walk and talk all on their own. Please let go of my arm.”

“I’ll let go of yours if you’ll take mine.”

“How about if I kick you in the knee, put you out of commission and get rid of you that way?”

“Resorting to violence already, are we?”

Andrea shook off his hand with one big jerk of her arm. “That’s enough childish horseplay!” She started walking toward the entrance, fully aware of Keith keeping up with her every step. He wasn’t going away, however rude she might be. She heaved a sigh. The evening was going to be as unbearable as she’d anticipated.

Inside the club there was a receiving line, and while Keith bantered and laughed with his friends greeting the arriving guests, Andrea smiled congenially, and furtively checked out the décor. It was as dreadfully macho as she’d been told. Was that a boar’s head over the mantel? She shook hands and made appropriate comments to people she recognized but just barely knew. Her friends were not members of this club, which admittedly did a lot of good for the community but was also known for some very rowdy escapades. Now that Andrea was inside she could tell that the band was playing some very lively songs, mostly with a country-and-western slant. Well, what did you expect? Schubert? Beethoven? Chopin?

“My dear, we’re all so proud of this year’s choice of charities,” an older woman, Janice Morrison, wife to a lifetime member of the club, said while gripping Andrea’s hand in a long handshake. Mrs. Morrison’s diamond necklace alone would have financed the operation of New Hope for five years, Andrea thought, although she certainly did not begrudge the congenial woman her astounding necklace. Andrea was wearing very little jewelry herself—a pearl-and-diamond ring and matching earrings—but she had some very good pieces in her safe. They were gifts from Jerry, her deceased husband, which was the only reason she kept them, because she hadn’t worn the items since his death.

“We at New Hope are both proud and delighted,” Andrea murmured. “Be assured that all donations will be put to very good use.”

“I’m sure they will. My, you two make a fine-looking couple,” Mrs. Morrison gushed.

The woman was gazing from her to Keith, and Andrea’s smile faded a little as she withdrew her hand. Keith saved the day by quipping, “We’re just a couple of old friends, Janice.”

Janice Morrison wasn’t convinced. “Who do you think you’re kidding, Keith Owens?”

Andrea wilted internally. Here was a lady with a long memory, and there were probably dozens of others attending the ball that also remembered when the Vances and the Owenses—her parents and Keith’s—had lived next door to each other. This time, when Keith took Andrea’s arm to steer her away from the receiving line, she felt too weak to protest. How in heaven’s name was she going to make it through an entire evening of innuendo and reminders and still keep on smiling?

“Sorry about that,” Keith said to her.

Andrea forgot about smiling and her eyes flashed angrily. “Why would you expect anything else when you’re sticking to me like glue?”

“Would you really rather be left on your own in this crowd?”

“I’d rather not give anyone the wrong impression!” Andrea glanced around. “Do you have any idea of how many people are looking at us right now?”

Keith glanced around himself, then grinned wickedly. “Quite a few, by the looks of it. Wonder what they’re whispering about. Maybe they’re wondering if we’re sleeping together.”

Andrea gaped at him. “Are you mad? We didn’t even sleep together when we dated!”

“That sure wasn’t my fault.”

“Of course it wasn’t. Since you had—and probably still do have—the morals of an alley cat.”

“Don’t tell me the subject of sex still embarrasses you. Andrea, you’re a big girl now. Actually, when I think about it, you were a big girl in college, but you had far too many hang-ups for a…” Keith wisely closed his mouth. He’d been about to say something about randy young college men, but decided to avoid that topic for the present. “How about a glass of champagne?” he asked instead.

“If I say no are you going to go off and find someone else to badger?”

“Nope.”

“Then yes, I’d like a glass of champagne.”

“Great.” Placing his hand on the small of her back, and enjoying a delicious tingle in his lower regions from the physical contact, Keith steered her through the crowd to one of the bars and ordered two glasses of champagne. After handing one to Andrea he smiled and said, “Cheers, sweetheart, and let me add that you’ve got what it takes.”