The Texan's Bride (5 page)

“I’m so sorry.” As she placed her hand on his fore
arm, his eyes were drawn to her long slim fingers. He wasn’t sure what to say and all he could feel was her soothing comfort. He never talked about this to anyone but his brothers.

“Who’s Dane Belle?” she asked, and that broke the headlock on his emotions.

“The owner of the High Five ranch and the nicest man you’d ever want to meet. Aunt Etta, my dad’s sister, and Uncle Rufus worked for him. He moved us into my aunt and uncle’s house, which is on High Five. Dane was there to help us every step of the way. He literally stepped into our dad’s shoes.”

She removed her hand to continue eating and he felt a moment of disappointment. He was the strong one, never needing anyone’s comfort, but her soft supportive touch got to him.

“I can’t imagine anyone taking Daddy’s place.” She pushed the salad aside as the waiter brought her entrée.

“He didn’t replace him. He just filled this big empty void in me, Kid and Chance.” Leaning back, he fiddled with the napkin and the words seem to gush out of him like one of his oil wells when they hit pure Texas gold. “You’d have to know Dane to understand. He was a gambler, a drinker, but he had a big heart that he gave to everyone. He never met a stranger and he made the Hardin boys feel right at home. We spent all our holidays with them. Chance still does. Kid and I have a harder time getting home. We always seem to be hundreds of miles away.”

“Does Dane have children?”

“Oh, yeah.” He took another swallow of tea. “Three
beautiful daughters by three different mothers. Dane was also a ladies’ man, a charmer, sort of like Kid.”

“No one is like Kid.” She lifted an eyebrow. “So you grew up with his daughters?”

“Yeah. We lived down the road from High Five and then we relocated to their backyard. Summers were fun because all the girls were home.”

“What do you mean?”

“Caitlyn was raised on the ranch because her mother died in childbirth. Madison and Skylar lived with their mothers. There was a clause in the divorce papers that Dane got the girls during the summer and Christmas, that way their lives weren’t disrupted during the school year.” He felt a smile tug at his lips. “I’m surprised Kid survived those summers because the sisters knocked him for more loops than I can count. He was always teasing and picking on them. We usually baled hay in the summer and the girls were always there, even though Dane and Miss Dorie, their grandmother, didn’t want them to be. They wanted them to be proper ladies.” Cadde suppressed a laugh. “You’d have to meet them to understand that one. Caitlyn is bossy and responsible. She tried her damnedest to be the boy Dane had always wanted. Madison is like a lollipop—she’s so sweet you just want to lick her, which Kid has done on more than one occasion. And Skylar, well, she’s the wild sister, the one Dane worried about the most. They certainly kept Dane on his toes.”

Cadde leaned back as memories seemed to grip him. “After baling hay under a hot Texas sun, we’d pull off our hats, boots and shirts and jump into Crooked Creek
to cool off. Sometimes the girls would join us. One time Kid dove in and snuck up behind Caitlyn and pinched her butt. She slapped him and he sank like a rock. We thought she’d killed him. We kept diving trying to find him, even Dane got in the water. Kid came up downstream, laughing. Caitlyn chased him all the way to the barn. He hid from her for two days.”

“Sounds as if you had a happy life on High Five.”

“Yeah.” He twisted his glass, knowing Dane and the sisters had given them a reason to keep going, to keep living. “I still miss Dane.”

“He passed away?”

“His drinking finally got him.”

There was silence for a moment.

“You haven’t said anything about your parents.”

Glancing up, he saw her gazing at him with dark, concerned eyes. While he’d been talking, she’d finished eating. “That’s not an easy subject.”

He could feel the gusher of words being capped, his throat closing. Then she laid her hand on his arm again and her gentle touch freed his emotions.

“Dad said they were high school sweethearts and married after graduation. They were happy…”

“They weren’t.”

“What?”

“I’d rather talk about Dane and the sisters. Those are good memories. My parents…”

She squeezed his arm. “What happened?”

He could do this. He could handle anything. From somewhere deep inside him he heard the word
liar.
Talking about his parents was something he didn’t
do, except with his brothers. They understood. Jessie wanted him to talk, to share. Could he?

She rubbed his arm and it eased the grip on his throat, and the words came gushing out once again. “My…dad…is the reason I’m in the oil business. He preached education and how we should be bosses, not roughnecks. He taught us family values and about trust and faith, but in the end it was all a lie.”

“Why?”

“Seems my dad told my mom he was leaving her. It had just happened and all that kind of stuff. My mother wanted to know who the woman was, and he wouldn’t tell her. She started hitting him and he lost control of the car.” He swallowed. “On the biggest night of his young sons’ lives we were going to come home to find that our father had left us. I thought he’d meet us at the gym and he’d tell us how proud he was. Instead, we came home to find that our father had really left us…for good.”

Both her hands gripped his arm. “Cadde, I’m sorry.”

The waiter poured more tea and removed the plates. “Would you like dessert?” he asked.

“No, thanks,” Jessie replied.

“My mother didn’t deserve that,” Cadde murmured as if the waiter hadn’t interrupted them. “She was the nicest person.”

The words had come from a deep personal well inside him and Cadde thought he’d done enough sharing. “How about your mother?”

Jessie removed her hands and folded them in her lap. “I never knew her.”

“Not ever?”

“She left when I was a baby. Whenever I asked about her, Daddy would say that she left us and I had him. That was all I needed.”

“But you know who she is?”

She fidgeted in her chair. “I didn’t until I was older and snuck into Dad’s study and found my birth certificate.” She paused. “Her name is Angela Martinez.”

The spotlight was now turned on her, and by the thinning of her lips Cadde knew she didn’t like it. Sharing was hard for her, too.

“And?” he persisted.

“Okay.” She reached for her tea glass and took a swallow. “I called every Martinez in the Houston phone book, and believe me, there were a lot. I found a lot of kind people, but not my mother.”

“Did Roscoe know you did this?”

Her eyes darkened. “I would never hurt him like that.” She placed her napkin on the table. “I just wanted to talk to her.”

“About what?”

“I was fifteen. I didn’t have a plan.” She cocked a dark eyebrow. “Are you trying to make me angry?”

“Not intentionally.”

“Good.” She took another sip of tea.

He watched her. “But you do get a little heated when you talk about your mother.”

Her eyes narrowed to slits of fire and he knew a whole lot of stubborn was coming his way.

“Have you ever asked Rosa about her?” He tried to sidetrack her.

“Rosa and Felix didn’t come to work for us until after Crissy was kidnapped.” Her temper seemed to cool instantly.

“I didn’t realize that.”

“I’d had a normal childhood until then. Crissy and I were like sisters. Aunt Helen would take us to school and to our ballet and soccer classes. Life was fun. Suddenly it all changed.”

Dark emotions clouded her face and he wanted to comfort her in some way, but he wasn’t good at that. “You lived in Houston at that time?” he found himself asking.

She nodded. “Two blocks from Crissy. The kidnapper came in through her window and carried her away to his car. The police said that’s when she woke up and started to fight. She scratched his face and his hands. While he was trying to restrain her he broke her neck.” Jessie took a deep breath. “He stuffed her into a culvert at the end of the street and covered her with leaves. It was two days before they found her.”

“I’m sorry, Jessie,” was all he could say, and it seemed to be enough.

“Life became hell. Daddy carried a gun and hired Rosa and Felix to watch me. Felix had a gun, too. Daddy took me out of school and hired a tutor. I never went back.”

“But you went to college.”

She tossed her long hair over her shoulder. “Now that was a fight.”

Knowing her and Roscoe’s temperaments, he could imagine. “You won.”

“In a way.” She shrugged. “The college had to be up north where no one had ever heard of Roscoe Murdock, and the guards had to go with me. It was difficult to make friends with big, burly guys hanging around, but I managed. I missed Daddy, Rosa, Felix and Myra so much. I’d never admit it, though.”

“Never,” he joked.

She made a face at him.

The warm vibes stoked a flame deep in his groin. He cleared his throat. “Myra is Rosa and Felix’s daughter?”

“Yes. She works for Houston’s district attorney’s office, a very tough lawyer.” Her face became thoughtful. “I can see what you meant about Dane now. Myra is two years older than me and she sort of took Crissy’s place. She was someone to play with, talk to, share secrets and giggle with. She’s my very best friend.”

He was glad she had Myra so she could vent her frustrations. He had Kid. A fight with Kid spiked his blood pressure more than a five-mile run. And Kid knew him better than anyone.

“Sadly, though—” she was saying “—no matter how much I told Daddy I could take care of myself, he never lost that fear of someone kidnapping me.”

“I know.”

Her eyes caught his. “That’s why I’m married to you.”

A tangible silence followed and Cadde seemed to lose his balance in the darkness of her eyes.

The waiter laid their bill in a vinyl folder on the table. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No, that’s fine,” Cadde replied, dragging his gaze from Jessie’s to reach for his wallet. He placed a hundred dollar bill in the folder. “Keep the change.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Cadde glanced around the restaurant. “Looks like we’ve closed down the place.” The tables were empty and one area completely dark.

Jessie leaned over and whispered, “They’re waiting for us to leave.”

Waiters and the hostess stood at the entrance, trying very hard not to stare at them.

Jessie picked up her purse. “We better go.”

Cadde followed her out and placed his hat on his head. “Good night,” he said to the group in the alcove.

“Have a good evening,” they chorused.

Once outside, the warm night air embraced them. Instinctively, Jessie reached for his hand. He gripped hers with his strong fingers and they walked to his truck. Darkness now ruled the neighborhood. Very few lights were on, but the streetlight provided ample illumination.

They moved to the passenger side of the vehicle. Cadde pushed a button on his key ring and the doors unlocked with a click. Opening the door, he helped her inside. She smiled. Oh, yeah, this was the way it was supposed to be done.

In a second, Cadde was in the driver’s seat and they sped away. Jessie leaned against the headrest. “It was a nice evening, wasn’t it?”

“Touch and go at first, though,” he remarked.

“That’s because you made me mad.”

“I have a feeling you get mad a lot.”

Jessie watched the night slip by in waves of blackness, punctuated with a light here and there. “I don’t…really.”

“But you have a temper,” he added in a teasing way that didn’t offend her.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I always thought I got that from Daddy, but I’m not sure.”

“You got it from Roscoe,” Cadde assured her. “That man had a temper. I remember one time he lit into a tool pusher for letting a guy who was clearly intoxicated on a rig. He yelled so much he bit his cigar in two. You know how he was always chomping on a cigar.”

“Yeah. And the angrier he got the more he chomped.”

“Mmm.”

Jessie relaxed in the loving memories of her father. She and Cadde shared that—the connection that held them together. Could there be more?

Glancing at Cadde, she wondered how he expected this evening to end. Well, she knew—in the bedroom. She was the one who had asked to take their relationship further and she didn’t want to tease him. That would be cruel, but again she hesitated. And she knew why. She wanted more.

He drove around to the garages and pushed a button on his sun visor. The garage door went up. Lights came on. While he guided the truck into his spot, the Dobermans barked, eager to confront their visitors.

“Down, boys,” Cadde said as he got out and walked around to her side.

The Dobermans sniffed her. “Good grief,” she com
plained, sliding out. “You’d think they’d know me by now.”

“Just instinct, I suppose,” he said, and they went into the house. The dogs darted away to the front, on guard.

Cadde pushed buttons on the wall, closing the garage door and setting the alarm system. Rosa had left the kitchen light on and there was another light on in her bedroom and the foyer. Coming into a dark house was not one of Jessie’s favorite things. Rosa knew her phobias.

They walked through the kitchen, dining room and living room to the large foyer. Jessie’s nerves were taut, and she turned quickly to talk to Cadde. His arms went around her waist and she forgot what she was going to say. He took her lips gently this time and, unable to stop herself, she returned his ardor. His hands trailed from her back to her hair, and desire, raw and potent, shot through her.

Breathing heavily, she whispered, “Cadde, could we talk?”

He sagged against her. “Jessie…” he groaned.

“Like you said—” she rushed into speech “—this is too fast. I need a little time.” She held her thumb and forefinger close together. “Just a little.”

“More rules, huh?” His voice held a note of complacency rather than anger.

She kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she murmured, and ran up the stairs.

“This is not how you get a baby, Jessie,” he called after her.

J
ESSIE HURRIED INTO HER ROOM
, smiling. Somehow, she’d known behind that hard exterior Cadde Hardin was a nice man. He was giving her time. Touching her lips, she still felt the heady sensation of his kiss. She fell across the bed and closed her eyes.

Something wet touched her cheek and that euphoric feeling vanished. She reached out, pulling Mirry into the crook of her arm. “Miss me?”

The dog snuggled closer, and Jessie could see dog hair clinging to her black dress. Oh, well, it was going to the cleaners anyway. Her cell buzzed. She grabbed her purse and fished it out. Seeing the name, she clicked on.

“Hi, Myra.”

“I called Mama earlier and she said you were out with Mr. Cadde.” Myra dragged out the last part.

“Yes, and I had a great time.”

There was a long pause. “So he agreed to the deal?” Myra was the only person she’d told about her plans, and she was vehemently against it. But Jessie had listened to her heart.

“Yes.” Jessie bit her lip, trying not to react to the disapproval in Myra’s voice.

“Just like that?”

“No, but we worked it out.” Jessie scooted up against the headboard, the dress sliding up to her hips.

“With strings, I’m sure, to his benefit.”

Jessie gave up on being tolerant. “Myrie, I’m not talking to you if you keep being so critical.”

“I’m just worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I could use my friend’s support.”

“Cadde Hardin is wrong for you.”

And the conversation went like so many in the past— Myra in her misguided wisdom was always trying to protect Jessie, and Jessie inevitably lost her cool. Why couldn’t the people closest to her understand that she had to live life—her way?

“You don’t know him.”

“I know his type.”

“And what is that?” Jessie stroked Mirry to calm herself.

“Strong, powerful, determined and in control…always. I see his type in the courtroom all the time.”

“Cadde’s not like that.” Well, that probably wasn’t true. Jessie barely knew Cadde, but she was trying to make a point.

“You’ve known him, what? Ten years or more? And ninety-nine percent of that time he’s ignored you. He was sucking up to your father for a big chunk of Shilah.”

“I didn’t meet him until I came home from college and that hasn’t been ten years. If you don’t apologize, I’m done talking to you.”

A tense pause. “Okay, I’m sorry, but he’s going to hurt you.”

“I might hurt him. Have you thought of that?”

“Since you’re besotted with the guy it hasn’t crossed my mind.”

Jessie sighed. “Myrie, I’m not that little girl you used to lead around by the hand. I can make my own decisions and handle the consequences.” She stuffed a pillow behind her back with more force than necessary. “I recall a certain lawyer I know who dated a man for nine months and then found out he was married. She cried for three days.”

Another pause. “Okay, I’m a lousy judge of men.”

“Yes, you are, so let me make my own mistakes.”

“That’s hard to do.”

“Try.”

Myra laughed. “Tell me about your evening.”

“No. It’s private.”

“You’re kidding.”

Jessie kicked off her heels and they landed with a thud on the carpet. “He’s my husband and I’m not telling tales about our relationship.” And it would be a whopping tale. She could embellish with the best, but the truth was they were both feeling their way and she wasn’t giving Myra details. She wasn’t a teenager.

“Wow! This is serious. We talk about everything.”

“Not my husband, though.”

A long pause.

“Wanna hear about this lawyer who’s been giving me the eye?”

“Oh, no. Not another one.” Jessie settled back to hear the rest of the story.

C
ADDE FLUNG HIS HAT ACROSS
Roscoe’s study and it landed somewhere behind the brown leather sofa. He needed something strong. Opening the liquor cabinet, he pulled out a bottle of Scotch. He didn’t bother with a glass. He wasn’t going to need one.

Unscrewing the top, he set the Scotch on the coffee table and plopped onto the sofa. Jessie needed time. She’d started this whole charade and now she wanted to wait. He didn’t get that, but then he didn’t get a lot about women. Maybe that’s why he was still…

Single?

He wasn’t single. He’d been married eighteen months—without sex.

He reached for the bottle and took a sip, wincing as it went down. Damn! The stuff was potent. Taking a breath, he noticed the lights were on all over the house. What was that about? Rosa and Felix had gone to bed long ago. Many nights he came in late and the lights were always on. Why? He upped the bottle again.

Rules! Jessie had rules. As much as he wanted to be irritated, he somehow understood. At his age he had come to realize that men and women were different in more ways than the obvious ones. Compliments, flowers, open hearts and love reached a woman faster than a bullet could strike a moving target. The first two most men handled without a problem. The last one…love…proved to be the stumbling block.

He was no different. He wasn’t even sure what love was. His parents were supposed to love each other and look how that had turned out—tragically. But their defunct marriage wasn’t the reason he was single all these
years. He hadn’t really known about his dad’s affair until recently.

Deep down he must have known. He came home from school early one day and found his mother crying. She said she’d had some sad news about a friend. She’d lied to cover up…for him. And then his dad had worked a lot of overtime. He was rarely home. There were signs, but as a kid he didn’t recognize them.

He tipped up the bottle again.

Cadde loved his brothers, his aunt and uncle, Dane and the Belle sisters. Those relationships were permanent, solid. They’d never change. Even though there were disagreements at times, the bond still remained.

Marriage was different. He took another swig. How did he make it work without straying? How would he stay faithful to his wife and commitment year after year? So many others had tried and failed. What hope was there for two people who weren’t in love?

He only knew one thing for sure—he wasn’t going to be like his father. Straightforwardness and honesty was his plan. As he raised the bottle again, he wondered what Jessie expected from him…besides a baby. Did she expect him to love her?

Oh, God. His head hurt. Was it the Scotch? Or thoughts of Jessie? Another drink might help.

He should be at Shilah working. Now, the oil business he understood. He set the bottle on the coffee table and reached for the phone on his belt. Being out of contact this long wasn’t like him. He’d turned off his cell because he knew Jessie would get mad if he took calls during dinner.

Reading through his messages he saw he had one from the engineer, the geologist, three from Kid and two from Chance. He closed his cell. They could wait until morning. Right now he couldn’t focus enough to reply.

He grabbed the bottle. Jessie had given him a shock when she’d left the restaurant. He didn’t expect her to do that. He didn’t expect her to do a lot of things. Through the haze of Scotch he realized Jessie had manipulated him and he’d bowed to her every whim. She was in control, as always.

But maybe not.

As he stood, the room seemed to sway. “O-o-oh.” He’d reached his limit. The coffee table was in front of him, but every time he tried to set the bottle on it, the damn thing moved. What the hell, he’d take it with him.

He needed to go to bed.

J
ESSIE QUICKLY UNDRESSED
and slipped on short pajama bottoms and a tank top. After scrubbing her face, she applied moisturizer. Myra had talked on and on and it was past Jessie’s bedtime.

It was ironic that for someone who was a brilliant attorney, Myra’s personal life was a mess. If anyone should be giving out advice on men, it should be Jessie instead of Myra. Jessie knew what she wanted. Myra did not. The fact they were brutally honest with each other was just part of their relationship.

But Jessie hadn’t told Myra everything. Her secret was her own and she planned to keep it that way.

Rinsing her hands, she froze. Someone had opened
her door. She tiptoed to the bathroom doorway and peered around the frame.

It was Cadde!

He stumbled to the left side of the bed. He had something in his hand—a bottle, which he tried to set on the nightstand. After the third try, he managed it. He’d been drinking. That was more than evident, but what was he doing in her room?

I’m moving into that big master bedroom.

His words came back to her and she trembled. What did he plan to do?

He sank onto the bed and yanked off his boots and then he stood and unbuttoned his shirt, sending it sailing toward her bay window. He seemed to sway. How drunk was he?

Since the light was on she saw him clearly. Broad, naked shoulders met her eyes, followed by swirls of dark chest hairs that arrowed down his lean stomach into his slacks. She swallowed, but otherwise remained perfectly still, which was difficult because her pulse hammered loudly in her ears. He undid his belt and removed his pants, revealing black Jockey shorts.

By now she was deaf. She couldn’t do anything but stare at the male body in front of her. Where did those gorgeous muscles come from? Cadde sat at a desk all day. Evidently he worked out. When? He spent every waking moment at Shilah. Or so she’d thought. Something else she didn’t know about him.

He staggered for a moment and then threw the top sheet aside, crawling into the bed.

Was he out?

He sighed and she jumped back. Taking a deep breath, she glanced around the corner. He’d maneuvered his long body to the right side. That was her place. She always slept on the right. Damn!

She slid to the floor and pulled up her knees. Mirry hopped into her lap. “Shh,” she whispered into Mirry’s nub of an ear. “We have a man in our room.”

Mirry cocked her head, as if she understood.

Jessie could sleep in a guest room, but her stubborn pride wouldn’t let her. On the other hand, she didn’t want to have drunken sex, either. She peered around the door again. He was out.

With Mirry in her arms, she walked into the bedroom. Cadde didn’t stir. His breathing was heavy and there was a faint scent of Scotch in the room. Placing Mirry in her bed, Jessie flicked off the light and waited. Still he didn’t move.

Frowning, she moved as quietly as possible to the left side. Cadde had most of the ecru sheet wrapped around him. The room was cool from the air-conditioning and she needed something to cover herself. Grabbing the peach comforter from a chair, she spread it out and eased beneath it.

How was she going to sleep here? It wasn’t natural to her. She turned onto her right, hoping to get comfortable. It didn’t work. She heard a whine and looked down. Mirry stood on her hind legs, her paws on the mattress. The poor thing was confused because Jessie wasn’t sleeping in her normal spot near Mirry’s bed.

Jessie scooped her in beside her and tried to get some sleep. And she must have. When she awoke she knew it
was morning even though it was still dark. She pushed hair away from her face and sat up to look at the clock on her nightstand. The light was on in her bathroom and she could see clearly. Five o’clock.

Cadde was still sleeping, inches from her in the king-size bed. His brown hair fell across his forehead and she wanted to smooth it back, to feel his skin and…shock him out of his mind probably. Enough time for that later. At present he was going to have a gigantic headache.

Unable to resist, she studied his features. Dark eyebrows feathered away from his eyes, not too thick or thin, just manly. His eyelashes were long and sexy for a man, and his straight nose and curved lips were, again, sexy for a man. Dark stubble covered the lower part of his face. Her stomach quivered in awareness.

Handsome
was too generic of a word to describe him.
Damn pulse-throbbing good-looking
suited him better and she could just imagine the hearts he’d broken over the years.

And she was dawdling. She didn’t want him to catch her staring at him. Easing from the bed with Mirry in her arms, she noticed the Scotch bottle on the nightstand. She grabbed it, not wanting Rosa to find it. Rosa had a thing about drinking. She’d given her father a few lectures on the subject. Once he’d fired her, but Rosa wouldn’t budge.

She’d said she wasn’t leaving Jessie in the hands of a drunk and slammed the door in his face. Her father chomped on his cigar until it almost disappeared. He never again drank in front of Jessie or Rosa, though. He did that in his study or at the apartment at Shilah.
It was the only time she’d ever seen her father make a concession to another human being. But he knew Rosa would take care of Jessie if anything happened to him.

Quickly dressing in jeans and a T-shirt, she headed downstairs with the bottle. Looking down, she noticed Mirry wasn’t there. She glanced back to see her curled up in her bed. Too early for Mirry, she thought.

And for her. Oh, God. She needed coffee.

Not knowing what else to do with the evidence, she put it back in the liquor cabinet. But it made her think. Did Cadde drink a lot? He’d had wine at dinner and then almost killed a bottle of Scotch. He was an astute businessman and that thinking wasn’t fueled by liquor. Maybe she’d made him imbibe. Now there was a sobering thought.

She went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Rosa had it set to come on at six. How did she change the damn thing? She studied the control panel. “Miss Jessie…”

Jessie almost jumped out of her skin at Rosa’s voice. She thought she was still sleeping.

With a hand to her chest, she said, “You scared the life out of me.”

“What are you doing up so early?” Rosa walked to the coffee machine, poked a couple of buttons and it came on. Since Rosa was in a cotton robe and slippers, she must have just gotten up.

“Thanks. I…I couldn’t sleep.”

“After your late night, I thought you’d sleep in.”

“No, I…”

“Rosa, have you seen my hat?” Cadde walked in,
fully dressed in jeans and a white shirt. His hair was still damp from the shower. How did he do that so fast?