Buch lesen: «The Forbidden Texan»

One

In September, as Jake Ralston flew to Texas, he was lost in thoughts about the deathbed promise he’d made to his late friend and army ranger captain, Thane Warner. He hadn’t been expecting to return home and face a bitter enemy, but now he was flying back to Dallas to do just that.

Flying into DFW, Jake saw the orange glow in the night sky and then the twinkling lights of the city. He had finally finished his three years with the army and he was headed home.

He’d celebrated with military friends right after he was released. Now, on Saturday, the first day of September, he would be staying at his Dallas condo so he could see his family tonight.

Tomorrow night he’d celebrate at a welcome home party with his local friends. He was ready for a party. Parties, pretty women and peace. He was looking forward to all three. As a member of the army rangers, he’d done his part to help keep peace and now he was going back to his civilian life.

He planned to live on his Hill Country ranch, but his family’s business interests were in Dallas. He would divide his time between the two places.

The only part of the war that was left in his life was his promises to his buddy—and the first promise was a whopper. He was to hire a woman whose family hadn’t spoken to his family in over a century and a half.

Before he could make good on that promise to Thane and hire Emily Kincaid, he first had to get her to talk to him. No easy feat. He hadn’t spoken to a Kincaid in ten years—since he beat Emily’s oldest brother, Doug, in saddle bronc riding at an Amarillo rodeo when he was twenty-two. Before that, it was another brother, Lucas, with whom he’d fought way back in high school. If he had his druthers, he wouldn’t have been dealing with any Kincaid, but he’d promised Thane and he was an honorable man. He’d just have to get this job out of the way as fast as possible.

He barely knew Emily Kincaid. He knew she was a professional appraiser and she was younger than he was—but that was it. A vague mental picture came to mind when she was a skinny girl with pigtails.

One thing he did know well. Getting a Kincaid to work for a Ralston was going to be next to impossible. Except for two things. Emily and Thane had been friends. And Thane had left a cashier’s check for a small fortune to bribe Emily. Would the money sway her? Or, perhaps, would her friendship with Thane compel her to honor his memory? Jake would find out soon enough.

Thane Warner had been a top-notch soldier, had had an amazing influence on his ranger team and everyone he met throughout his life. He’d made life-long friends easily—and Jake counted himself among the many.

So nearly two years ago, when Thane lay dying in Afghanistan and called for his ranger buddies who were ambushed with him—one by one to instruct them of his wishes—they all promised to honor him. Mike Moretti, Noah Grant and Jake. The first two had carried through his plans to the letter. Now it was Jake’s turn.

He still felt the sting of Thane’s loss. It wasn’t survivor guilt; it was genuine grief. Of a life cut short. Of a good friend lost. Jake couldn’t imagine the pain his family must be feeling.

Now that he was home, he wanted to go see the Warners, to offer his condolences and reminisce with those who knew him best. Growing up, he’d spent hours at Thane’s house, which had been a far more harmonious place than his own home. Thane’s dad had been a better dad to him than any of Jake’s stepfathers or his biological father, and Thane’s mother was sweet. Jake had half siblings but he didn’t feel as close to any of them as he always had with Thane. He was going to miss his friend.

Thane, too, had had a high opinion of Jake. But in this instance, Jake thought, Thane was asking him to do the impossible: end the Ralston-Kincaid feud. That feud started about 1864, give or take a couple of years, and according to the stories, those early years were wild, with murders and thefts, one hanging and duels, one of which involved his great-great-great-grandfather. How was Jake going to be able to end years of hatred between two families? Make friends with them, Thane had whispered when Jake had asked that question. That wasn’t going to happen. Jake would be lucky if he could get Emily Kincaid to be civil to him, let alone agree to work for him.

After all, unlike Jake, Emily hadn’t promised Thane anything.

Emily Kincaid glanced at the clock. Five more minutes till her appointment with Jake Ralston. Though she didn’t want any dealings with a Ralston, this one she had to see. Because he was bringing a letter to her from Thane. She had grown up knowing Thane Warner. He had been eight years older and friends with her older brothers, but he was always nice to her. It had saddened her to hear of his death in Afghanistan nearly two years ago. His widow, Vivian, had remarried a United States Army Ranger who had served with Thane. Because of her antiques-and-appraisal business, Emily had worked with Vivian, an artist, and Emily liked her.

Emily glanced at the clock again, curious and, admittedly, nervous about her upcoming meeting. While she wasn’t as into the feud as some members of her family, she rarely spoke to any Ralston. Tempers ran higher with the Kincaid and Ralston ranchers. It was with the ranchers where the past was violent and ugly.

Still, she thought it best to talk to Jake in the privacy of her office, which was in the back corner of her store, so most Kincaids would never even know she’d associated with a Ralston.

The buzz of her intercom interrupted her thoughts and her assistant announced her visitor.

“Send him in, please,” Emily said, standing and walking around her desk. She knew who he was and not much more than that.

Leslie opened the door. “Emily, here is Jake Ralston,” the slender brunette said and stepped aside.

Emily was surprised when the tall, handsome man in a navy Western-style suit, a black broad-brimmed hat and black boots entered the office carrying a briefcase. In person, Jake Ralston was far more good-looking than his pictures in the newspapers and magazines indicated, and he had an air about him that instantly commanded attention.

His startling dark brown eyes caught and held Emily’s gaze, and for a moment she wasn’t aware of anything else except the tall man facing her. Somehow she managed to get control of herself and, as usual when she met a likely customer, she held out her hand.

“I’m Emily Kincaid. Way back as kids we probably met,” she said. If they had met as adults, she would have remembered him. There was no way she could have forgotten meeting him. His warm hand closed firmly around hers and tingles raced up her arm from his touch.

Startled by her reaction, she looked up at him in time to see a flicker of surprise in those dark eyes. Had he felt something, too? His eyes narrowed a fraction when he looked more intently at her. She felt as if all breath had left her lungs and there was no air in the room, only a sizzling current between her and Jake Ralston. After a moment, she realized they were standing in silence, staring at each other and still holding hands.

She yanked her hand away and turned with an effort. “Please, have a seat,” she said, or hoped she said. Her pulse raced and there was a roaring in her ears. What had caused the intense response to him? She didn’t react to men in this manner and she didn’t know him at all. Besides, he was a Ralston. A Ralston should have been the last person on earth who could elicit a steamy response by a mere handshake.

Trying to regain her composure, she motioned with her hand for him to sit in one of the two leather chairs in front of her desk. She took the one opposite him. Never before had the chairs seemed particularly close, but now she felt she had made a tactical mistake and she should have put her desk between them. She wouldn’t even have kept this appointment if she had known she would have this kind of reaction to him. He was handsome, but this startling physical response went way beyond attraction. There was a chemistry that made her feel as if sparks were flying around them.

He tossed his black hat on another chair, revealing thick, slightly wavy black hair, and crossed his long legs. She recognized his black boots as elegant hand-tooled, fine leather dress boots, not work boots. In fact, she noticed everything about him.

She didn’t want this kind of reaction to a Ralston. She felt an urgent need to find out what he wanted and get him out of her office.

“Thanks for accepting this appointment. Unless things changed drastically while I was away in the army, you and I are breaking more than a century of silence between our two families. Except for unfriendly communications,” he said, looking slightly amused. His dark eyes seemed to hold a degree of curiosity, as if he were eager to notice her as well, although she couldn’t imagine that she would stir such a reaction in him as he had in her.

She decided to cut to the chase. “I can’t guess any reason why Thane Warner would write to me.”

“I won’t keep you in suspense. He wanted me to do some things for him that he wasn’t going to get to come home and do himself. Important things to him. Thane wanted to get rid of his grandfather’s ranch, which he had inherited. Thane said there are valuable things in the house, and he told me that you, Emily, would know the appraised value and where to get rid of what I don’t want. He told me about your store, Antiques, Art and Appraisals. I noticed some interesting items as I walked through.”

“I’ve grown up around antiques and being in this business, I have a chance to buy and sell them.”

“Thane was badly wounded and we were under fire,” Jake said, his voice changing, sounding harsher. “You don’t say no to a dying buddy’s request. And he was a friend of mine all my life. Without hesitation, I promised I’d do whatever he asked. He actually made three requests and he did ask the impossible. I’ll just do the best I can.”

She listened to Jake talk and knew he was hurting over the loss of his friend. And she could understand why he couldn’t have said no to whatever Thane had requested. She took another deep breath because she had a feeling something was coming that she would want to say no to and Jake Ralston had promised Thane he would get her to agree to do it. She hadn’t promised Thane anything, but Jake had already set her up for a guilty conscience if she declined. She wished she could end this appointment without hearing what Jake wanted.

“Thane wanted me to hire you, so I’m offering you a job.”

How could she possibly agree to that? She was a Kincaid. She couldn’t work for a Ralston. That would stir all kinds of trouble with her family, especially her brothers. She didn’t mind talking to Jake in her shop, but working closely with him, going through belongings out on a ranch, was a far more personal involvement with a Ralston.

“Jake, let me stop you right there. I have to say no. Our families are too divided. Feelings are bitter and run high. I can give you names of some really good appraisers who are trustworthy people with lots of experience in this business.”

He put both feet on the floor, his elbows on his knees, and leaned forward while she talked until he was almost touching her. She looked into his intent dark eyes that made her heart beat faster.

“Emily,” he said in a deep voice that had her attention riveted, “Thane made a supreme effort to stay alive long enough to tell me what he wanted me to do. The medics were astounded he lasted as long as he did. This project was vital to him and he died with my word that I would hire you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen. If the only thing standing in the way is an old family feud that you and I are not very involved in, we can manage. I’m not asking you to become my friend, just my employee.”

She closed her eyes as he talked and wanted to shut him out of her life, to cover her ears and not hear what he was saying. She didn’t want to work for a Ralston out on a ranch. Jake was the best-looking man in the next twelve counties, and from what she had read and heard, he was a man who went through women in amazing numbers. A guy who liked pretty women, loved parties and had no intention of settling into family life. Definitely not her type. Granted, the women she had known who had gone out with him stayed friends, liked him and would be willing to go out with him again if they had the chance. But Emily didn’t want to be a trophy or a statistic. She didn’t want an affair and she definitely didn’t want a broken heart. If she got deeply involved with a man, she was old-fashioned enough that she wanted a wedding ring on her finger.

“Emily, let’s go through this before you flatly refuse,” he said in a throaty, coaxing voice that sent warmth through her, causing her refusal to fizzle.

“As I said, in the last moments of Thane’s life, he asked me to promise him three things—first, to clear out the possessions in his grandfather’s ranch house. For promising to do what Thane asked, he deeded that ranch to me as a gift. It is my house and my ranch now. The second promise was to hire you to appraise the contents of the house and help dispose of or keep what we find—and to live at the ranch with me for the duration of this job. The third promise, I’m afraid, is hopeless. It is to try to end the Ralston-Kincaid feud. You and I are talking to each other, making a deal with each other, so that’s a start. He did say try on that one.

“Let me briefly tell you about my military buddies. Thane was our captain and he was also our friend, fellow Texas rancher and businessman. Although you’re younger, you’ve grown up knowing the Warners and I imagine you know Noah Grant, or at least his sister, Stefanie.”

Emily nodded. “I’ve gone to school with Stefanie and I know the Grants.”

“Noah was asked to deliver a letter to the woman who turned out to be the mother of his son. Another Texan fit into our little group, Mike Moretti. Thane had asked Mike to work at the Tumbling T when Mike returned home. Not only had he done that, he ended up marrying Thane’s widow and taking over the ranch. The ranch that sat right in a stateside battlefield—directly between a family of Ralstons and a family of Kincaids.”

“I agree that ending the feud is absolutely impossible,” Emily replied. “Some of my family members have strong feelings. They wouldn’t even want to learn that I’m working for you. Thane was a very nice person, but this job is just not—”

Jake held up his hand, stopping her.

“Hear me out and let me give you the letter and an envelope Thane had for you. As I said, you can’t imagine the effort he made to tell me and two of his close friends what he wanted and to get each of us to promise to do certain things.”

“With great reluctance, I’ll listen,” she said, feeling caught between Thane’s last wishes and the plea from Jake on Thane’s behalf.

“Good,” Jake said, giving her another look that took her breath away. She hated his request and watched as he picked up his briefcase, opened it and removed a sealed envelope.

With misgivings, she reached out to take it and as her fingers brushed his hand, she had that instant awareness of contact. She looked up to meet his curious gaze and she felt an uncustomary flash of desire, as unwanted as the envelope in her hand. Why had she agreed to meet with Jake Ralston?

She opened the letter and looked up. “I might as well read this to you, too, because it has to be about my working for you.”

“Go ahead,” Jake said.

“Dear Emily,

I have asked my friend Jake Ralston to hire you to do the appraisal of my grandfather’s belongings and to live with and help Jake dispose and take care of those things. I know it is life changing to ask a Ralston and a Kincaid to work together, but it is temporary, a job with two honorable, trustworthy people working together to do what I am not going to be able to do myself. Please be kind and honor this request of mine. It’s time the Kincaids and the Ralstons bury the old battles. Your lives are before both of you and this is a small request, and it will not take a lot of your time. I hope if you agree, that this task will bless both of you and bring something good into your lives. Life is precious, so please don’t waste it on an old feud that really doesn’t matter. I’d give anything to have that chance. Thank you so very much for doing this. I thank you both. May your lives be filled with joy.

Thane.”

When she looked up to meet Jake’s gaze, he looked away, but she had seen how the letter had refreshed the pain of losing his friend. Silence stretched between them for a few moments until she spoke. “I suppose you better tell me what it is you want me to do.”

“I have a letter, too, with very specific instructions, which we can get into later. In the meantime,” he said, removing another envelope from his briefcase, “Thane instructed me to open this envelope, which is from him to you. It’s his gift to you for taking the job and he wanted me to know about it. In addition to what’s in this envelope, I’ll pay you the regular fee for your work. Let me know your fee and we’ll go from there.” He held out the envelope to her. “Just so that you know, he wrote that Vivian knows and approves of what’s in here.”

When she took the envelope from him, his fingers brushed hers again and that sharp awareness made her glance up into an intense brown-eyed stare that caused her pulse to jump. What chemistry did they have between them? Unwanted chemistry. She didn’t want to be attracted to a Ralston or have her heart flutter by a simple brush of fingers. And he felt it, too. It showed in a revealing flicker in his eyes. Sparks flying between them would make working for him challenging. And definitely something she shouldn’t do.

There were a dozen reasons to turn down this job. She had great respect for Thane Warner, but this wasn’t a job she could accept.

She looked down at a brown envelope that was wrinkled, smudged, had small tearstains, but was still intact. She pulled open the flap that wasn’t sealed and withdrew a cashier’s check. “You said you know what’s in here.”

“Yes, I do. I still have Thane’s note that said to open it and look.” He paused as she looked down at the check in her hand.

Stunned, she stared at the check, unable to process the zeroes she was seeing. “Good heavens. Is this real?”

“Absolutely. Thane has paid you a million dollars to do this job.”

“I can’t accept that much money for a job like this.”

Jake shrugged. “Thane’s not alive. He can’t use it. Vivian has inherited his estate worth multimillions. Besides, she’s a billionaire heiress with a successful art career and Thane’s thriving ranch that her new husband, Mike Moretti, will make even better. She won’t need the money. It’s yours if you’ll take this job.”

Stunned, Emily looked at the check, thinking about what he had just said, about where else the money might be used to benefit others. “I’m shocked. I can’t even grasp this. Why would he do this?”

“He wanted you to take this job. My guess is that he thought you would turn me down without a good reason to do the appraisal. If we work together, our families will know it. If you take this job, this is the beginning of the end of a feud that is over a century and a half old.”

In that moment, Emily realized she could not possibly turn down this job. Her gaze met Jake’s. She was going to live under the same roof with the handsome rancher facing her. A charmer, a man who loved beautiful women, parties and no ties. Could she live in the same house with him, work with him every day for the coming month or however long it took, and keep from falling in love with him? Could she work with him and avoid a broken heart? Could she do this and avoid seduction?