Buch lesen: «Texas Wild»

Praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Jackson

“Brenda Jackson writes romance that sizzles and characters you fall in love with.”

—New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lori Foster

“Jackson’s trademark ability to weave multiple characters and side stories together makes shocking truths all the more exciting.”

—Publishers Weekly

“There is no getting away from the sex appeal and charm of Jackson’s Westmoreland family.”

—RT Book Reviews on Feeling the Heat

“Jackson’s characters are wonderful, strong, colorful and hot enough to burn the pages.”

—RT Book Reviews on Westmoreland’s Way

“The kind of sizzling, heart-tugging story

Brenda Jackson is famous for.”

—RT Book Reviews on Spencer’s Forbidden Passion

“This is entertainment at its best.”

—RT Book Reviews on Star of His Heart

Dear Readers,

I introduced Rico Claiborne in my seventh Westmoreland novel, The Chase is On, as the brother to my heroine, Jessica Claiborne. And you met him again in A Durango Affair as the brother of Savannah Claiborne, the heroine in that novel. Your e-mails began pouring in requesting that I write Rico’s story. I put him on my “To Do” list until I thought I had the perfect heroine. Someone who was worthy of his heart.

I found her in Megan Westmoreland.

Texas Wild is Megan and Rico’s story as they join forces in search of information about the patriarch of the Denver Westmorelands, Raphel. Their journey takes them from the mountains of Denver to the plains of Texas where the heat they encounter is blazing and wild—and is mainly for each other.

It’s time to get to know Rico, up close and personal, in a love story that will leave you breathless and tempt you to get wild.

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

About the Author

BRENDA JACKSON is a die “heart” romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because she believes in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always have happy endings. In her real-life love story, Brenda and her husband of forty years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.

A New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who now divides her time between family, writing and traveling with Gerald. You may write to Brenda at PO Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226, USA, by e-mail at WriterBJackson@aol.com or visit her website, www.brendajackson.net.

Texas Wild

Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Gerald Jackson, Sr. My one and only. My everything. Happy 40th Anniversary!!

To my readers who asked for Rico Claiborne’s story, Texas Wild is especially for you!

To my Heavenly Father. How Great Thou Art.

Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

—Job 8:7

Prologue

A beautiful June day

“OMG, who’s the latecomer to the wedding?”

“Don’t know, but I’m glad he made it to the reception.”

“Look at that body.”

“Look at that walk.”

“He should come with a warning sign that says Extremely Hot.”

Several ladies in the wedding party whispered among themselves, and all eyes were trained on the tall, ultra handsome man who’d approached the group of West more land male cousins across the room. The reception for Micah Westmoreland’s wedding to Kalina Daniels was in full swing on the grounds of Micah Manor, but every female in attendance was looking at one particular male.

The man who’d just arrived.

“For crying out loud, will someone please tell me who he is?” Vickie Morrow, a good friend of Kalina’s, pleaded in a low voice. She looked over at Megan Westmoreland. “Most of the good-looking men here are related to you in some way, so tell us. Is he another Westmoreland cousin?”

Megan was checking out the man just as thoroughly as all the other women were. “No, he’s no kin of mine. I’ve never seen him before,” she said. She hadn’t seen the full view yet, either, just his profile, but even that was impressive—he had handsome features, a deep tan and silky straight hair that brushed against the collar of his suit. He was both well dressed and good-looking.

“Yes, he definitely is one fine specimen of a man and is probably some Hollywood friend of my cousins, since he seems to know them.”

“Well, I want to be around when the introductions are made,” Marla Ford, another friend of Kalina’s, leaned over and whispered in Megan’s ear. “Make that happen.”

Megan laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Hey, don’t look now, ladies, but he’s turned this way and is looking over here,” Marla said. “In fact, Megan, your brother Zane is pointing out one of us to him … and I hope it’s me.” Seconds later, Marla said in a disappointed voice, “It’s you, Megan.”

Marla had to be mistaken. Why would Zane point her out to that man?

“Yeah, look how the hottie is checking you out,” Vickie whispered to Megan. “It’s like the rest of us don’t even exist. Lordy, I do declare. I wish some man would look at me that way.”

Megan met the stranger’s gaze. Everyone was right. He was concentrated solely on her. And the moment their eyes connected, something happened. It was as if heat transmitted from his look was burning her skin, flaming her blood, scorching her all over. She’d never felt anything so powerful in her life.

Instant attraction.

Her heart pounded like crazy, and she shivered as everything and everyone around her seemed to fade into the background … everything except for the sound of the soft music from the orchestra that pulled her and this stranger into a cocoon. It was as if no one existed but the two of them.

Her hand, which was holding a glass of wine, suddenly felt moist, and something fired up within her that had never been lit before. Desire. As potent as it could get. How could a stranger affect her this way? For the first time in her adult life, at the age of twenty-seven, Megan knew what it meant to be attracted to someone in a way that affected all her vital signs.

And, as an anesthesiologist, she knew all about the workings of the human body. But up until now she’d never given much thought to her own body or how it would react to a man. At least, not to how it would react to this particular man … whomever he was. She found her own reaction as interesting as she found it disconcerting.

“That guy’s hot for you, Megan.”

Vickie’s words reminded Megan that she had an audience. Breaking eye contact with the stranger, she glanced over at Vickie, swallowing deeply. “No, he’s not. He doesn’t know me, and I don’t know him.”

“Doesn’t matter who knows who. What just happened between you two is called instant sexual attraction. I felt it. We all did. You would have to be dead not to have felt it. That was some kind of heat emitting between the two of you just now.”

Megan drew in a deep breath when the other women around her nodded and agreed with what Vickie had said. She glanced back over at the stranger. He was still staring and held her gaze until her cousin Riley tapped him on the shoulder to claim his attention. And when Savannah and Jessica, who were married to Megan’s cousins Durango and Chase, respectively, walked up to him, she saw how his face split in a smile before he pulled both women into his arms for a huge hug.

That’s when it hit her just who the stranger was. He was Jessica and Savannah’s brother, the private investigator who lived in Philadelphia, Rico Claiborne. The man Megan had hired a few months ago to probe into her great-grandfather’s past.

Rico Claiborne was glad to see his sisters, but the woman Zane had pointed out to him, the same one who had hired him over the phone a few months ago, was still holding his attention, although he was pretending otherwise.

Dr. Megan Westmoreland.

She had gone back to talking to her friends, not looking his way. That was fine for now since he needed to get his bearings. What in the hell had that been all about? What had made him concentrate solely on her as if all those other women standing with her didn’t exist? There was something about her that made her stand out, even before Zane had told him the one in the pastel pink was his sister Megan.

The woman was hot, and when she had looked at him, every cell in his body had responded to that look. It wasn’t one of those I’m-interested-in-you-too kind of looks. It was one of those looks that questioned the power of what was going on between them. It was quite obvious she was just as confused as he was. Never had he reacted so fiercely to a woman before. And the fact that she was the one who had hired him to research Raphel Westmoreland made things even more complicated.

That had been two months ago. He’d agreed to take the case, but had explained he couldn’t begin until he’d wrapped up the other cases he was working on. She’d understood. Today, he’d figured he could kill two birds with one stone. He’d attend Micah’s wedding and finally get to meet Micah’s cousin Megan. But he hadn’t counted on feeling such a strong attraction to her, one that still had heat thrumming all through him.

His sisters’ husbands, as well as the newlyweds, walked up to join him. And as Rico listened to the conversations swirling around him, he couldn’t help but steal glances over at Megan. He should have known it would be just a matter of time before one of his sisters noticed where his attention had strayed.

“You’ve met Megan, right? I know she hired you to investigate Raphel’s history,” Savannah said with a curious gleam in her eyes. He knew that look. If given the chance she would stick that pretty nose of hers where it didn’t belong.

“No, Megan and I haven’t officially met, although we’ve talked on the phone a number of times,” he said, grabbing a drink off the tray of a passing waiter. He needed it to cool off. Megan Westmoreland was so freaking hot he could feel his toes beginning to burn. “But I know which one she is. Zane pointed her out to me a few minutes ago,” he added, hoping that would appease his sister’s curiosity.

He saw it didn’t when she smiled and said, “Then let me introduce you.”

Rico took a quick sip of his drink. He started to tell Savannah that he would rather be introduced to Megan later, but then decided he might as well get it over with. “All right.”

As his sister led him over to where the group of women stood, all staring at him with interest in their eyes, his gaze was locked on just one. And he knew she felt the strong attraction flowing between them as much as he did. There was no way she could not.

It was a good thing they wouldn’t be working together closely. His job was just to make sure she received periodic updates on how the investigation was going, which was simple enough.

Yes, he decided, as he got closer to her, with the way his entire body was reacting to her, the more distance he put between himself and Megan the better.

One

Three months later

“Dr. Westmoreland, there’s someone here to see you.”

Megan Westmoreland’s brow arched as she glanced at her watch. She was due in surgery in an hour and had hoped to grab a sandwich and a drink from the deli downstairs before then. “Who is it, Grace?” she asked, speaking into the intercom system on her desk. Grace Elsberry was a student in the college’s work-study program and worked part-time as an administrative assistant for the anesthesiology department at the University of Colorado Hospital.

“He’s hot. A Brad Cooper look-alike with a dark tan,” Grace whispered into the phone.

Megan’s breath caught and warm sensations oozed through her bloodstream. She had an idea who her visitor was and braced herself for Grace to confirm her suspicions. “Says his name is Rico Claiborne.” Lowering her voice even more, Grace added, “But I prefer calling him Mr. Yummy … if you know what I mean.”

Yes, she knew exactly what Grace meant. The man was so incredibly handsome he should be arrested for being a menace to society. “Please send Mr. Claiborne in.”

“Send him in? Are you kidding? I will take the pleasure of escorting him into your office, Dr. Westmoreland.”

Megan shook her head. She couldn’t remember the last time Grace had taken the time to escort anyone into her office. The door opened, and Grace, wearing the biggest of grins, escorted Rico Claiborne in. He moved with a masculine grace that exerted power, strength and confidence, and he looked like a model, even while wearing jeans and a pullover sweater.

Megan moved from behind her desk to properly greet him. Rico was tall, probably a good six-four, with dark brown hair and a gorgeous pair of hazel eyes. They had talked on the phone a number of times, but they had only met once, three months ago, at her cousin Micah’s wedding. He had made such an impact on her feminine senses that she’d found it hard to stop thinking about him ever since. Now that he had completed that case he’d been working on, hopefully he was ready to start work on hers.

“Rico, good seeing you again,” Megan said, smiling, extending her hand to him. Grace was right, he did look like Brad Cooper, and his interracial features made his skin tone appear as if he’d gotten the perfect tan.

“Good seeing you again as well, Megan,” he said, taking her hand in his.

The warm sensation Megan had felt earlier intensified with the touch of his hand on hers, but she fought to ignore it. “So, what brings you to Denver?”

He placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I arrived this morning to appear in court on a case I handled last year, and figured since I was here I’d give you an update. I actually started work on your case a few weeks ago. I don’t like just dropping in like this, but I tried calling you when I first got to town and couldn’t reach you on your cell phone.”

“She was in surgery all morning.”

They both turned to note Grace was still in the room. She stood in the doorway smiling, eyeing Rico up and down with a look of pure female appreciation on her face. Megan wouldn’t have been surprised if Grace started licking her lips.

“Thanks, and that will be all Grace,” Megan said.

Grace actually looked disappointed. “You sure?”

“Yes, I’m positive. I’ll call you if I need you,” Megan said, forcing back a grin.

“Oh, all right.”

It was only when Grace had closed the door behind her that Megan glanced back at Rico to find him staring at her. A shiver of nervousness slithered down her spine. She shouldn’t feel uncomfortable around him. But she had discovered upon meeting Rico that she had a strong attraction to him, something she’d never had for a man before. For the past three months, out of sight had meant out of mind where he was concerned—on her good days. But with him standing in the middle of her office she was forced to remember why she’d been so taken with him at her cousin’s wedding.

The man was hot.

“Would you like to take a seat? This sounds important,” she said, returning to the chair behind her desk, eager to hear what he had to say and just as anxious to downplay the emotional reaction he was causing.

A few years ago, her family had learned that her great-grandfather, Raphel Stern Westmoreland, who they’d assumed was an only child, had actually had a twin brother, Reginald Scott Westmoreland. It all started when an older man living in Atlanta by the name of James Westmoreland—a grandson of Reginald—began genealogy research on his family. His research revealed a connection to the Westmorelands living in Denver—her family. Once that information had been uncovered, her family had begun to wonder what else they didn’t know about their ancestor.

They had discovered that Raphel, at twenty-two, had become the black sheep of the family after running off with the preacher’s wife, never to be heard from again. He had passed through various states, including Texas, Wyoming, Kansas and Nebraska, before settling down in Colorado. It was found that he had taken up with a number of women along the way. Everyone was curious about what happened to those women, since it appeared he had been married to each one of them at some point. If that was true, there were possibly even more Westmorelands out there that Megan and her family didn’t know about. That was why her oldest cousin, Dillon, had taken it upon himself to investigate her great-grandfather’s other wives.

Dillon’s investigation had led him to Gamble, Wyoming, where he’d not only met his future wife, but he’d also found out the first two women connected with Raphel hadn’t been the man’s wives, but were women he had helped out in some way. Since that first investigation, Dillon had married and was the father of one child, with another on the way. With a growing family, he was too busy to chase information about Raphel’s third and fourth wives. Megan had decided to resume the search, which was the reason she had hired Rico, who had, of course, come highly recommended by her brothers and cousins.

Megan watched Rico take a seat, thinking the man was way too sexy for words. She was used to being surrounded by good-looking men. Case in point, her five brothers and slew of cousins were all gorgeous. But there was something about Rico that pulled at her in a way she found most troublesome.

“I think it’s important, and it’s the first break I’ve had,” he responded. “I was finally able to find something on Clarice Riggins.”

A glimmer of hope spread through Megan. Clarice was rumored to have been her great-grandfather’s third wife. Megan leaned forward in her chair. “How? Where?”

“I was able to trace what I’ve pieced together to a small town in Texas, on the other side of Austin, called Forbes.”

“Forbes, Texas?”

“Yes. I plan to leave Thursday morning. I had thought of leaving later today, after this meeting, but your brothers and cousins talked me out of it. They want me to hang out with them for a couple of days.”

Megan wasn’t surprised. Although the Westmorelands were mostly divided among four states—Colorado, Georgia, Montana and Texas—the males in the family usually got together often, either to go hunting, check on the various mutual business interests or just for a poker game getaway. Since Rico was the brother-in-law to two of her cousins, he often joined those trips.

“So you haven’t been able to find out anything about her?” she asked.

“No, not yet, but I did discover something interesting.”

Megan lifted a brow. “What?”

“It’s recorded that she gave birth to a child. We can’t say whether the baby was male or female, but it was a live birth.”

Megan couldn’t stop the flow of excitement that seeped into her veins. If Clarice had given birth, that could mean more Westmoreland cousins out there somewhere. Anyone living in Denver knew how important family was to the Westmorelands.

“That could be big. Really major,” she said, thinking. “Have you mentioned it to anyone else?”

He shook his head, smiling. “No, you’re the one who hired me, so anything I discover I bring to you first.”

She nodded. “Don’t say anything just yet. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. You can say you’re going to Texas on a lead, but nothing else for now.”

Presently, there were fifteen Denver Westmorelands. Twelve males and three females. Megan’s parents, as well as her aunt and uncle, had been killed in a plane crash years ago, leaving Dillon and her oldest brother, Ramsey, in charge. It hadn’t been easy, but now all of the Westmorelands were self-supporting individuals. All of them had graduated from college except for the two youngest—Bane and Bailey. Bane was in the U.S. Navy, and Bailey, who’d fought the idea of any education past high school, was now in college with less than a year to go to get her degree.

There had never been any doubt in Megan’s mind that she would go to college to become an anesthesiologist. She loved her job. She had known this was the career she wanted ever since she’d had her tonsils removed at six and had met the nice man who put her to sleep. He had come by to check on her after the surgery. He’d visited with her, ate ice cream with her and told her all about his job. At the time, she couldn’t even pronounce it, but she’d known that was her calling.

Yet everyone needed a break from their job every once in a while, and she was getting burned out. Budget cuts required doing more with less, and she’d known for a while that it was time she went somewhere to chill. Bailey had left that morning for Charlotte to visit their cousin Quade, his wife Cheyenne and their triplets. Megan had been tempted to go with her, since she had a lot of vacation time that she rarely used. She also thought about going to Montana, where other Westmorelands lived. One nice thing about having a large family so spread out was that you always had somewhere to go.

Suddenly, a thought popped into Megan’s head, and she glanced over at Rico again to find him staring at her. Their gazes held for a moment longer than necessary before she broke eye contact and looked down at the calendar on her desk while releasing a slow breath. For some reason she had a feeling he was on the verge of finding out something major. She wanted to be there when he did. More than anything she wanted to be present when he found out about Clarice’s child. If she was in Denver while he was in Texas, she would go nuts waiting for him to contact her with any information he discovered. Once she’d gotten her thoughts and plans together, she glanced back up at him.

“You’re leaving for Texas in two days, right?”

He lifted a brow. “Yes. That’s my plan.”

Megan leaned back in her chair. “I’ve just made a decision about something.”

“About what?”

Megan smiled. “I’ve decided to go with you.”

Rico figured there were a lot of things in life he didn’t know. But the one thing he did know was that there was no way Megan Westmoreland was going anywhere with him. Being alone with her in this office was bad enough. The thought of them sitting together on a plane or in a car was too close for comfort. It was arousing him just thinking about it.

He was attracted to her big-time and had been from the moment he’d seen her at Micah’s wedding. He had arrived late because of a case he’d been handling and had shown up at the reception just moments before the bride and groom were to leave for their honeymoon. Megan had hired him a month earlier, even though they’d never met in person. Because of that, the first thing Rico did when he arrived at the reception was to ask Zane to point her out.

The moment his and Megan’s gazes locked he had felt desire rush through him to a degree that had never happened before. It had shocked the hell out of him. His gaze had moved over her, taking in every single thing he saw, every inch of what he’d liked. And he’d liked it all. Way too much. From the abundance of dark curls on her head to the creamy smoothness of her mahogany skin, from the shapely body in a bridesmaid gown to the pair of silver stilettos on her feet. She had looked totally beautiful.

At the age of thirty-six, he’d figured he was way too old to be that attracted to any woman. After all, he’d dated quite a few women in his day. And by just looking at Megan, he could tell she was young, that she hadn’t turned thirty yet. But her age hadn’t stopped him from staring and staring and staring … until one of her cousins had reclaimed his attention. But still, he had thought about her more than he should have since then.

“Well, with that settled, I’ll notify my superiors so they can find a replacement for me while I’m gone,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “There are only a few surgeries scheduled for tomorrow, and I figure we’ll be back in a week or so.”

Evidently she thought that since he hadn’t said anything, he was okay with the idea of her accompanying him to Texas. Boy, was she wrong. “Sorry, Megan, there’s no way I’ll let you come with me. I have a rule about working alone.”

He could tell by the mutinous expression on her face that he was in for a fight. That didn’t bother him. He had two younger sisters to deal with so he knew well how to handle a stubborn female.

“Surely you can break that rule this one time.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Other than the fact that you prefer working alone, give me another reason I can’t go with you.”

He crossed his arms over his own chest. “I don’t need another reason. Like I said, I work alone.” He did have a reason, but he wouldn’t be sharing it with her. All he had to do was recall what had almost happened the last time he’d worked a case with a woman.

“Why are you being difficult?”

“Why are you?” he countered.

“I’m not,” she said, throwing her head back and gritting out her words. “This is my great-grandfather we’re talking about.”

“I’m fully aware of who he was. You and I talked extensively before I agreed to take on this case, and I recall telling you that I would get you the information you wanted … doing things my way.”

He watched as she began nibbling on her bottom lip. Okay, so now she was remembering. Good. For some reason, he couldn’t stop looking into her eyes, meeting her fiery gaze head on, thinking her eyes resembled two beautiful dark orbs.

“As the client, I demand that you take me,” she said, sharply interrupting his thoughts.

He narrowed his gaze. “You can demand all you want, but you’re not going to Texas with me.”

“And why not?”

“I’ve told you my reasons, now can we move on to something else, please?”

She stood up. “No, we can’t move on to something else.”

He stood, as well. “Now you’re acting like a spoiled child.”

Megan’s jaw dropped. “A spoiled child? I’ve never acted like a spoiled child in my entire life. And as for going to Texas, I will be going since there’s no reason that I shouldn’t.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Okay, there is another reason I won’t take you with me. One that you’d do well to consider,” he said in a calm, barely controlled tone. She had pushed him, and he didn’t like being pushed.

“Fine, let’s hear it,” she snapped furiously.

He placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, stood with his legs braced apart and leveled his gaze on her when he spoke in a deep, husky voice. “I want you, Megan. Bad. And if you go anywhere with me, I’m going to have you.”

He then turned and walked out of her office.

Shocked, Megan dropped back down in her chair. “Gracious!”

Three surgeries later, back in her office, Megan paced the floor. Although Rico’s parting statement had taken her by surprise, she was still furious. Typical man. Why did they think everything began and ended in the bedroom? So, he was attracted to her. Big deal. Little did he know, but she was attracted to him as well, and she had no qualms about going to Texas with him. For crying out loud, hadn’t he ever heard of self-control?

She was sister to Zane and Derringer and cousin to Riley and Canyon—three were womanizers to the core. And before marrying Lucia, Derringer had all but worn his penis on his sleeve and Zane, Lord help him, wore his anywhere there was a free spot on his body. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d unexpectedly shown up at Zane’s place at the wrong time or how many pairs of panties she’d discovered left behind at Riley’s. And wasn’t it just yesterday she’d seen a woman leave Canyon’s place before dawn?

Besides that, Rico Claiborne honestly thought all he had to do was decide he wanted her and he would have her? Wouldn’t she have some kind of say-so in the matter? Evidently he didn’t think so, which meant he really didn’t know whom he was dealing with. The doctors at the hospital, who thought she was cold and incapable of being seduced, called her “Iceberg Megan.”

So, okay, Rico had thawed her out a little when she’d seen him at the wedding three months ago. And she would admit he’d made her heart flutter upon seeing him today. But he was definitely under a false assumption if he thought all he had to do was snap his fingers, strut that sexy walk and she would automatically fall into any bed with him.

She scowled. The more she thought about it, the madder she got. He should know from all the conversations they’d shared over the phone that this investigation was important to her. Family was everything to her, and if there were other Westmorelands out there, she wanted to know about them. She wanted to be in the thick of things when he uncovered the truth as to where those Westmorelands were and how quickly they could be reached.

Megan moved to the window and looked out. September clouds were settling in, and the forecasters had predicted the first snowfall of the year by the end of the week. But that was fine since she had no intention of being here in Denver when the snow started. Ignoring what Rico had said about her not going to Texas with him, she had cleared her calendar for not only the rest of the week, but also for the next month. She had the vacation time, and if she didn’t use it by the end of the year she would end up losing it anyway.

First, she would go to Texas. And then, before returning to work, she would take off for Australia and spend time with her sister Gemma and her family. Megan enjoyed international travel and recalled the first time she’d left the country to visit her cousin Delaney in the Middle East. That had been quite an enjoyable experience.