Texas Gold (12 page)

Brenton thought about setting John straight. That he wasn’t just keeping Mallory quiet and occupied. But he didn’t. Instead, he just kept his mouth shut, signed on the dotted line and closed his eyes.

Somehow he’d make Mallory understand this really was in the best interest of the city.

An entire day had passed, and no one from her family had called. That in and of itself was a miracle on regular days. When the entire town was gossiping about a red hot love affair, her red hot love affair, it was beyond water into wine.

All day Brenton had sent flowers, and now gardenias, jasmine, and roses were spread around her living room. Their scent a little on the stifling side, she wondered if Brenton knew his romantic gesture was quickly turning her living room into a funeral home setting.

An entire day had passed, and she had more flowers than she knew what to do with, but she hadn’t heard his voice.

She wondered what that said about their relationship or lack thereof.

 
As she laced up her shoes, she decided to give him ten more minutes, and then she was hitting the running trail without him.

Fifteen minutes later, still no Brenton.

Enough waiting. It wasn’t like he was ignoring her. She definitely had the flowers to prove it. Still, he could have at least phoned.

She’d tried to convince Carolyn to tag along today, but her friend had laughed. “Hell, honey, if I ever even dream of running with you, I swear it’ll be penance for a capital crime.”

So she was on her own. It had never bothered her before, she wouldn’t let it bother her now.

She pushed open her door to find Jen and Nina standing in her front yard.

“Hey Aunt Mal. Can we see the flowers?”

“Aren’t you two on restriction?” Mallory questioned as she opened the door to let them see.

“Yeah, we are, but when we said we were going running with you, well, you know.” Jen said the words as if their parents were the most naive people in the world. Once she saw the flowers she turned to Nina. “You are so right. Your dad is totally insane. Aunt Mal, do you want us to fill Mr. Alexander in on flower etiquette? Nina said he’d gone FTD crazy.”

Mallory pulled the door to. “No. He’s just making up for all the flowers I never got before.”

“My mom says if a man ever pulls an overkill stunt, he’s feeling guilty.” Jen offered the words as sage advice.

Mallory knew her brother well enough to know he’d sent Julie plenty of flowers over the years. But she refused to believe these flowers had anything to do with guilt. Instead she tried to joke.

“I’m sure your daddy’s felt guilty plenty of times. Since y’all are here let’s go.”

A few seconds into the run Nina pulled up beside her. “Dad said to tell you he’d have to take a rain check on running. He’s meeting with contractors out at a new site today.”

“I didn’t realize they’d already started on a new site. At least not one other than the new zero lot lines.”

Mallory tried to sound just a little interested, barely concerned. Not at all worried.

“It’s so cool, Aunt Mal. We should run out there. I bet Mr. Alexander wouldn’t mind seeing you. It’s just a couple miles out.”

Mallory thought her niece might have a great idea. But Nina was more than a little hesitant.

“I don’t know. It’s going out the wrong way, plus we’d be running by the interstate. And Mr. Lavoy is there. He hates it when I bother my dad while he’s working. I can only imagine what he’d be like with three people there. Let’s run in town and stop by to see Miss Ella at the sweetshop.”

A million responses ran through Mallory’s mind. All of them bothersome. Nina’s reasons for running in town were valid. But they seemed forced. Worried.

As if she knew Mallory wouldn’t like what she’d find.

“The interstate’s not a problem, we just need to stay on the access road.” Jen obviously wanted to go to Brenton’s site. With her next words, Mallory knew why. “Plus, today is the only day the press will be out there. Remember the reporter from Dallas? Come on. We can go to the sweet shop any day.”

The press? Were they covering Brenton’s good deeds or did it have something to do with Serendipity? Judging by the way Nina groaned at Jen’s words, she figured she wasn’t supposed to know, which left one conclusion.

The flowers were definitely guilt driven. Didn’t that just figure!

Well, if the press was there, she had only one choice.

“I think you’re right, Jen. Let’s go see Nina’s dad. It could prove quite entertaining.”

She said the words as she seethed. The press, huh? Well, if they were here to cover Brenton’s Midas touch, she’d give them a different spin.
 

As she picked up tempo, she kept her thoughts to herself.

Somehow, they’d have to exist on two levels. Personal and business. Because there was no way she could just turn off what she felt for him, whatever that happened to be.

But where business was concerned, Brenton better hold on tight. If she had her way, today would be the beginning of one hell of a fight. And thanks to him, the whole world would know about it.

Chapter Eight

Brenton looked out at the bulldozers clearing land and watched the photographer take pictures of John working with the contracting manager.
 

Usually, this part of a deal made his blood sing. They were breaking ground on the new restaurant. In the distance, he could make out the Baber’s house. It stood on a hill, overlooking acres of prime property.

If they could secure one more plot, the one with interstate access, they already had two projects ready to go. An outlet mall and a fast food complex. On the other side of town, work had already started on a truck stop. This would be the ideal location for a second.

Problem was Mallory owned this section of Baber land, and hell would freeze over before she sold to them.

He wanted to see her. Wanted to talk to her. Wanted to kiss her and feel her hands around his neck.

He didn’t want to be here, on the work site talking to reporters or John. Didn’t want to think about protecting their interests as more developers watched their progress.

Land in Serendipity wouldn’t be so cheap now that the town was on the map. Bidding wars had already started.

Usually, this stage left him energized, excited.

Today, all it left him was exhausted.

Down the road he could just make out three runners headed this way.

His heart beat sped at the thought it might be Mallory. He wanted to see her. Ask her what she thought about the flowers. See if he could generate an ounce of their earlier heat with just a look. He was pretty damn sure he could.

But if it were Mallory...

It was.
 

And he could tell by her angry runner’s stance, she wasn’t a bit happy.

Well, hell. So much for generating heat.

Just then the reporter walked up beside him and started asking questions.

He couldn’t make himself pay attention. She stood to the side of the site with his daughter and her niece, looking like he’d destroyed any chance of her future happiness.

No sense putting off the inevitable confrontation.

He held out his hand to stop the reporter. “Could you go talk to my partner about this?” He pointed across the site to where John was still standing. “I’ve got visitors.”
 

He didn’t wait for an answer, just walked away.

If Mallory’d harbored any notion that Nina really wanted to run through town, she could definitely put it to rest now.

Brenton’s daughter knew what seeing this would do to her.

Hell fire and brimstone. They were breaking ground right next to Baber land.

The neighbors had sold out.

And now Brenton was walking over all debonaire in his fake working man clothes. She wondered if he’d bought the jeans and cowboy hat for the good ol’ boy story the paper was undoubtedly working on.

At least he looked good.
 

John Lavoy looked like a grown man playing dress up. Judging by his ridiculous pointed toe leather boots to the bright red button up shirt to the five hundred dollar hat on his head, she figured he must have run amok in a western store.

And she wished more than anything she could transfer the burning anger she felt over to the weasel.
 

As Brenton drew closer, she knew she couldn’t.

“Hey y’all.” He actually sounded happy to see them. He certainly could put on a show.

She watched as he hugged Nina, kissing her forehead at the same time.

Nina pulled away. “I know Mr. Lavoy doesn’t like me bothering y’all when you’re working. But Jen wanted to check out the site, and I told her about the reporter, so we had to come today.”

Mallory watched as he seemed to brush off her comments. “Since when has my work been off limits to you? Half your childhood was spent in my office. Just because the location’s changed, doesn’t mean you’re not welcome.”

Even as he said the words, Mallory could see him trying to formulate some excuse, some explanation.

It was a damn shame the man was the perfect father. If he’d said something mean like “I told you not to come out here. You were supposed to keep Coach Baber busy in town,” she could have worked up a good dose of spite.

As it was, she was stuck lusting after his body and despising his bulldozers. And he hadn’t even said anything to her yet. Jerk.

“Well, y’all come on over.”

He held out a hand and followed behind them to the truck. Jen and Nina ran ahead to talk to the photographer. When she walked past, he grabbed her hand.

“I’ve missed you.”

Ugh! Why did she want to throw herself in his arms and say she’d missed him, too. That maybe he should come on over later tonight? Had she lost sight of all that mattered just because Brenton made her feel like a woman? What exactly did that make her?

“Well, I can see you’ve had work to do.”

“I should have told you.”

Told her what? I’m sorry, Mallory. I know I promised you a week to get to know me before I’d do more to destroy your home, but once we had sex, all deals were off?

She wanted to scream the words. Instead she shrugged and said sarcastically, “I’m sure it just slipped your mind.”

Somewhere between the country club and five the next morning.

God, she was so stupid.

He’d never pretended this was anything more. He’d said it plain and simple. He wanted her. She’d turned his words into something more.

“I know you’re ticked.”

“Brain surgeon now, hm?” She didn’t care how sorry he looked. She knew all about him and his fake looks! He could just take his sorry looking self over to the reporter.

“This was out of my control.”

Sure it was. “Even if that’s true, would it matter?”

His silence said all she needed to hear.

As she moved to walk away, he grabbed her hand. “Wait. Stop.”

She thought about yanking her hand away. But she didn’t want him to know it mattered. That everywhere he touched left her singed. That just seeing him reminded her of every single place his lips had touched night before last when she’d fallen for a kind, generous man who would never be so heartless as to destroy what was left of paradise.

So instead she just stood, hand in hand with him as he continued. “I don’t know what to say here. Don't know the next step or how to make this better or if it’s even possible, but can’t we work out some sort of pact?”

“Like what, Brenton? Something along the lines of I ignore everything around me and fall helplessly in you arms just because you make me feel good? I don’t think it’s possible.”

He wasn’t giving up, but he did let go of her hand. “If we want it to be possible, it can be.”

“Okay. Let’s hear your ideas. How can we be possible? We’re not even real. We’re just another one of your business propositions. And you won. You’ve got to be feeling great about that.”

She really didn’t think this was the time or place for this conversation, but since she wouldn’t be talking to him again, she might as well say exactly what she was thinking.

“You quit being a business proposition the day you showed up at my office.”

“Oh sure. I remember. I threw myself at you and you said you’d give me a week to convince you not to destroy my life and my father’s. And after the week was up, I owed you. Well, I guess this was your lucky week.”

He shook his head. “It’s the only way I could think of to get you to spend time with me. I admit it was devious, but it worked. But I swear to you, you’re not about business anymore.”

He sounded so damn sincere.

“Okay. So I’m not about business. I can’t just forget your bulldozers are out here tearing up land.”

“So don’t.”

“Don’t?”

“Right. But who I am is different from what’s going on out here. And you like who I am.”

He had some nerve looking all calm and self-assured when she was telling him off.
 

“So what are you suggesting? That I look at the man and not his portfolio? That I ignore what’s going on all over town?” She’d meant the words to sear the air. Instead, they sounded almost hopeful.

“I’m suggesting that we make a truce of sorts. We agree to disagree on this. We don’t stand in each other’s way in debates or conferences or even the media. And we spend more time together trying to see if we can work this out. I don’t want to lose what we’ve started building together.”

Building suggested a future, and Mallory just wasn’t sure it was possible, but at the same time, she didn’t want to lose him either. When she wasn’t furious with him over town or her daddy’s contract, she loved the time she spent with him. He made her laugh, made her feel pretty, made her feel breathless, made her want something she’d forgotten to even look for.

But was it possible to separate this part of him from the man she...

Her mind tripped over the word she almost thought.

No way could she love Brenton.

They’d spent less than a week together.

No, what she felt for him was pure and simple lust.
 

That thought helped her make up her mind.

“We can try, if you’re willing to agree to a few stipulations. And I’m not making any promises here, Brenton. I don’t know if I can see you and not think of this.” She waved her arm around the building site. “And I know I can’t see you if you’re still going after my daddy’s job. I just can’t. It would be wrong.”