Texas Temptation
Barbara McCauley

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To Liz Cutler,

a good friend and fellow writer whose knowledge is

impressive and patience immeasurable.

Contents

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

One

A storm was coming.

It moved in swiftly from the south, thick swelling clouds carried in by a hot heavy wind that swept the harsh West Texas land. Lightning split the dark horizon, illuminating the distant mountains. The air trembled in anticipation of the coming rain.

Jared Stone sat on the steps of the trailer he’d called home for the past eight months and watched the electrical display zigzag across the night sky. Jagged fingers of brilliant silver light flashed repeatedly, but there was no thunder. Not yet, anyway. Just the deafening echo of silence.

Lifting the bottle to his mouth, Jared tossed back a long swallow of rotgut whiskey, then grimaced as the liquid burned his throat and settled in his stomach with a kick strong enough to send a football two hundred yards.

Strange, but he’d actually come to enjoy that part.

The wind slid over Jared’s bare chest like sun-warmed silk, and the sensation made him think of a woman’s hands. Frowning, he stared into the darkness, wondering if he’d deprived himself of feminine company for so long as punishment or simply because he hadn’t had the time.

Jared stared at the bottle in his hand. “What do you think?” he asked his companion.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. He glanced up at the sound and stared out into the darkness, but there was nothing to see. Nothing but the silhouette of a one-hundred-foot oil derrick staring back at him from almost a half mile away. A flash of lightning illuminated the tower, and Jared’s hand tightened around the bottle. It was impossible to stop the image that flashed in his mind for what seemed like the thousandth time....

Jonathan.

Jared squeezed his eyes shut and drew in a sharp breath. Almost four years had not dulled the memory of his twin brother’s death. There’d been a storm that night, too. No one should have been up on the rig. Especially Jonathan. He’d been too green, too inexperienced. And at twenty-nine, too damn young.

Since they’d been ten years old, both Jonathan and Jared had dreamed of building their own oil well, despite the fact they came from a family of ranchers. It had taken ten years after graduating high school to convince their father, J.T., to back the project, but they’d finally worn him down. Jonathan, who’d returned to college in his late twenties to get his master’s degree in geology, and Jared, with ten years’ experience working every rig that would hire him, were ready to start drilling. They’d both believed in the well; both been equally determined to hit oil.

But one had died.

In his grief, J. T. Stone had closed the rig down after Jonathan’s accident, despite Jared’s argument that doing so meant that Jonathan would have died for nothing. But J.T. had insisted, and the project was abandoned, leaving the derrick and equipment to the elements of a lonely West Texas plain called Stone Creek.

Until now.

Jared took another pull of the whiskey. If only he hadn’t left in anger for South America right after his brother’s funeral and not come back. If only his father hadn’t died so unexpectedly eight months ago. If only...

Damn you, Jonathan Stone.

Jared threw the bottle, and lightning flashed as the sound of shattering glass rent the air. Clouds were moving in quickly now; the wind whipped at the ends of Jared’s dark hair. He stared at the derrick, cursing the wooden beast as if it were a living thing.

Since he’d come back, everyone had told him to give up. Sell the land or lease it out. There’d been no oil drilling on Stone Creek for three years. It was ranch land. His stepmother, Myrna, pestered him continually to sell his fifteen thousand acres, but Jared had flatly refused. His great-great-grandfather had bought this land with a lick and a promise, and that was all Jared had now, too.

Only Jake, his older brother, and Jessica, his younger sister, never questioned or discouraged him. Each of them had their own legacy of Stone Creek: Jake, sixty thousand acres of ranch, and Jessica, fifteen thousand acres, which included the abandoned town of Makeshift. Each of them understood they needed to safeguard their inheritance their own way.

Even his nine-year-old half sister, Emma, had painted a picture of a gushing oil well and told him to put it on his refrigerator where he could see it every day.

If only the investors would be so optimistic.

Jared had already mortgaged the land and used every penny of the money J.T. had left him to start drilling again. But it wasn’t enough. He needed a backer, and the only company that hadn’t turned him down yet was a Dallas-based company, Arloco Oil.

Arloco was Jared’s last hope. Without their backing, he’d have to shut down. Something had to happen. And it had to happen soon.

Another bolt of lightning struck, close by this time. Rain bounced off the dry earth, scattered at first, then building in speed and intensity as the storm settled in.

Jared lifted his face to the sky and welcomed the feel of the rain on his skin. The sky lit up again and the ground shook from the accompanying thunder.

* * *

She was miles away and yet she could see it.

It loomed in the distance, growing larger and taller with every passing mile. Her heart pounded at the sight. It was as beautiful as it was foreboding. As promising as it was hopeless. As seductive as it was frightening.

Excitement coursed through her as she drew closer. She’d been twenty-three the summer Jonathan had brought her home with him to introduce her to his family and show her the rig. She’d never forget the pride in his eyes when he’d showed her the derrick. Every foot of that well had been a labor of love for Jonathan and his brother Jared.

The odds against actually finding oil were horrendous; roughly ninety percent of the wells never hit. But neither Jonathan nor Jared had even considered that possibility. She’d had the feeling they would have drilled to the center of the earth and headed for China before they gave up. She smiled at the thought. No, that probably still wouldn’t have discouraged them. They hadn’t been identical in looks, but they’d certainly been identical in determination.

And now Jared was back.

Annie’s palms were sweaty as she pulled in front of the trailer where Jonathan had brought her four years ago. The same trailer where he’d proposed. The same trailer where he’d made love to her for the first time.

And for the last time.

She’d left Jonathan there that summer and gone home to finish her last year of school. How could she have known she’d never see him again?

Her hand shook as she opened the driver’s door of her Cherokee, and when she stepped out the ground felt unsteady under her boot. The clouds had moved on from the storm last night, leaving a deep blue sky and the scent of fresh damp earth. She’d loved Stone Creek the minute she’d laid eyes on the open land. She and Jonathan had been going to build a house not far from here; they’d even marked off the spot with rocks and pieces of wood.

She didn’t know where that spot was anymore.

Annie turned and stared at the derrick, letting her gaze slowly scan the length of it from bottom to top. She remembered the day Jonathan had scaled the rigging, teasing her until she came up and joined him. She’d been terrified as she’d climbed, but he’d sweet-talked her the whole way, telling her he’d never let any harm come to her....

If only she could have done the same for him.

Her eyes started to blur and she blinked rapidly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

Nights had been the hardest after Jonathan’s death. One day had become another, until a year had finally passed, then another and another. She’d stayed busy with school, then work. And slowly, without her even realizing it, the darkness began to lift.

She still missed him, she always would, but she’d finally managed to say goodbye.

She stared at the trailer again and hesitated, suddenly overcome with a desire to get back in her car and leave. Jared wouldn’t want to see her, she was sure of that. There were enough painful memories of Jonathan around here. She knew how hard Jared had taken Jonathan’s death, and she would be one more reminder to him that his brother was dead.

Heart hammering, she moved toward the trailer, then drew in a deep breath and knocked on the door.

Nothing.

She knocked again. Louder.

Still nothing.

Frowning, Annie stared at the door. It was only ten o’clock. She could see there was no activity at the rig, so she doubted he was there. She started to turn away, thinking he might have gone into town, but there was a dusty black pickup parked in front of the trailer. He should be here. He was supposed to—

The sound of breaking glass from inside the trailer cut her thoughts short. She drew her brows together, then turned the knob and opened the door.

It was dark inside. The scent of cold coffee and wet clothes filled the trailer, and she nearly stumbled over a pair of damp jeans lying by the front door.

“Jared?” she called hesitantly. An unintelligible response came from the bedroom.

She took a shaky step toward the sound, then stopped. Dear Lord, what if he had someone with him and she was intruding? She started to turn away, but another cry came from the bedroom, one filled with such anguish that she couldn’t possibly ignore it.

Heart pounding, she moved through the living area, stepping around a large map laid out on the tiled floor. Smaller maps covered a brown fabric couch, and several bottles containing soil samples were lined up on an oval pine coffee table.

The bedroom door was ajar, and her fingers were trembling as she placed her hand on the knob and pushed. The room was in near darkness, except for the glow of a clock on the nightstand. A half-empty bottle of whiskey sat beside the clock.

“Jared?” She stepped closer to the bed.

At least he was alone, she noted. He moved restlessly in his sleep, tossing the covers off his shoulders and uttering another low moan.

Was he sick?

She couldn’t see his face because he was lying on his stomach, facedown in his pillow, his fists clenched tightly beside his head. Her heart thundered in her chest as she reached out a shaky hand to touch his bare shoulder. He mumbled something incoherent and his muscle twitched at her touch. His skin was hot and damp with sweat.

She leaned over the bed. “Jared, are you all—”

He moved so fast she hadn’t time to react. His hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the bed with him as he kicked the covers off completely. In less than a heartbeat he had her underneath him and his long hard body stretched out over her.

His naked body.

She sucked in a sharp breath, and in the next moment his lips closed over hers. She opened her mouth to say something, but his tongue invaded, kissing her with more passion, more desperation, than she could have dreamed possible.

Panic consumed her. Her cry was muffled against his mouth, and when she placed her palms against his chest and pushed she might as well have tried to bench press a two-hundred-pound weight.

Annie’s mind raced. Her heart pounded. Stay calm, she told herself. He was obviously still asleep, or else he thought she was someone else. As soon as she could manage to say something, he’d realize what he was doing and stop. There was no need for her to worry. Jared would never hurt her, she was sure of that.

At least, she thought she was sure.

His lips moved over hers in a rhythm as timeless as it was sensual, and she felt herself go weak with the force of his kiss. He moaned again, and this time there was no doubt it was pleasure, not illness or pain. The need she heard and felt from him vibrated through her, sending shivers of electricity coursing through her body.

It had been so long since a man had kissed her like this, like he wanted to consume her, and longer still since she’d felt even a spark of response. He deepened the kiss, slanting his mouth hard against her own, taking her again and again with a wild abandon that left her breathless.

And undeniably excited.

This can’t be happening.

She made a sound into his mouth that was more like a moan, and he responded by cupping her breast and moving his hips against hers. She felt an intense sudden urge to wind her arms around his neck and pull him closer. An ache spread through her belly into her thighs.

She knew she had to stop.

Immediately.

She pressed her palms more firmly against his broad hard chest and pushed. He paid no attention. His lips left her mouth and moved down her throat leaving hot, wet kisses.

“Jared,” she finally managed, but her raspy voice sounded more like encouragement than an objection. He must have thought so, too, because he pulled her tighter against him, cupping her buttocks as he moved against the juncture of her thighs.

He was fully aroused, she realized, and despite her embarrassment, she couldn’t deny that she was aroused, as well. His hand moved to the waist of her jeans, and she gasped as he quickly unsnapped the button and started to slide her zipper down.

“Jared!”

In a dim corner of his mind, Jared knew there was a problem with this dream. He just wasn’t quite sure what it was. The pleasure pumping through his body at the moment certainly wasn’t the problem, and neither was the feel of the soft smooth skin under his fingertips. This was the stuff that real dreams were made of. And since he’d never quite had one this intense before, or this enjoyable, he wasn’t quite ready to let go of it yet.

He kept his eyes closed, struggling to hold on to the fantasy—

“Jared!”

A woman called his name again, and he heard the alarm in her voice. This was no dream, he realized abruptly.

Maybe there was a problem, after all.

He opened his eyes slowly, waiting for them to adjust to the dim light. There was a woman in bed with him. A living breathing long-limbed woman with short blond hair.

And she sure as hell hadn’t been here when he’d gone to bed. He definitely would have remembered, no matter what state he’d been in.

Lifting his head, Jared peered at the woman in the semidarkness. She was breathing rapidly and her breasts were pressed firmly against his chest. The hardened peaks of her nipples burned his skin. He could feel the furious beating of her heart and realized his own heart was keeping time.

Dammit. The woman in his dream had not only been willing, she’d been eager. This woman was obviously distressed, and the pressure she exerted on his shoulders was hardly an invitation to lovemaking.

“Who are you?” he said raggedly. “And what the hell are you doing here?”

“Jared, it’s Annie,” she said breathlessly. “Annie Bailey.”

He went completely still. He blinked, then sucked in a deep breath. “What?”

“Annie Bailey,” she repeated.

Jared frowned deeply, drawing his dark brows together.

“Annie?” Bewildered, he lifted his head higher, blinking again as his eyes began to adjust to the light and focus on the woman lying beneath him. “Annie...Bailey?”

She nodded.

They both lay there, breathing hard, neither one of them moving, whether to hold on to the contact or because they were both too stunned to move, Jared wasn’t sure. He stared at her, absorbing the fact that she was not only real, but she was in his bed.

And one of them wasn’t wearing any clothes.

He rolled away from her, swearing as he grabbed the covers and pulled them over his hips. Annie sat, turning her back to him, and he watched as she took a few deep breaths.

He narrowed his eyes. It was Annie. Her hair was shorter, but she most definitely was Jonathan’s fiancée.

Ex-fiancée, Jared reminded himself grimly.

Her eyes were wide and full of expression as she turned back to him. “Hello, Jared,” she said, smiling weakly as she forced a short laugh. “It’s, uh, nice to see you.”

He frowned at her. She certainly had seen him. That was like Annie, to try to alleviate tension with a joke. The only problem was, he wasn’t exactly in a joking mood at the moment.

He was still reeling with the realization that he’d woken up with a woman in his bed. That hadn’t happened in a hell of a long time. And it wasn’t just any woman. It was Annie, for God’s sake.

He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, still trying to bring his body under control. He’d been dreaming something incredibly erotic. Although that certainly wasn’t strange, considering the state of his sex life lately. The woman in his dream had been tall and slender and blond, and while that wasn’t strange, either, the fact that she’d looked remarkably like Annie was. He still wasn’t sure exactly what had happened, but he did know that he’d nearly made love to her, that he sure as hell had wanted to.

Dammit. He still wanted to.

His throat suddenly felt dry as a Texas plain. He stared at the bottle beside the bed and realized he’d probably had a little too much last night. He did that occasionally. Sometimes he had weird dreams.

But Annie had been no dream. She was very real, and sitting twelve inches away from him.

He couldn’t stop the ache that tightened his loins. Damn, but she had felt good. She’d smelled like spring flowers and tasted like something minty. Her skin had felt soft and smooth under his hands, and her hardened nipple under his palm—

He cursed himself again. This was Annie. Jonathan’s Annie. He couldn’t think about her like that. He had no right.

He’d never have that right.

He raked a hand through his tousled hair and closed his eyes. “Annie... God, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

“Hey, Jared, it’s okay,” she said with a flip of her hand, but he could see her fingers shake as she tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind one ear.

Dammit, she had every right to be scared. He’d practically attacked her!

“Besides,” she went on, “it’s my fault. I never should have come in here like I did. It’s just that I heard a crash and you called out, and I, well, I thought you were sick or something.”

A crash? Jared glanced around the room, then realized that a glass, the one that had been sitting beside the whiskey bottle, had fallen behind the nightstand and shattered. Good Lord, had he been reaching for the bottle even in his sleep?

“I’m fine.” Careful to keep his distance from her and just as careful to keep the sheet over his hips, Jared scooted to the edge of the bed. “I had a late night, that’s all.”

It must have been later than he thought, Jared realized, as he searched the bedroom floor. “Where the hell are my pants?” he mumbled irritably to himself.

“There’s a pair of jeans in the living room,” Annie said awkwardly. “They’re wet, though.”

Jared frowned. He’d been outside on the steps, and it had started raining. He’d obviously stayed out longer than good sense dictated.

But then, good sense was hardly one of his strong points, he reminded himself, in light of what had just happened.

He stood, intending to grab a dry pair of jeans from his dresser, then remembered his state of undress. When he quickly sat back down, she looked away and started to rise.

“I...uh, I’ll just wait for you in the other room.”

“No.” He took hold of her wrist and gently tugged her back down. Her pulse beat hard and fast under his fingertips.

He knew he should ask her to leave, but for some strange reason, he didn’t want her to go. Not just yet, anyway. Maybe because after nearly four years it was easier to face her here in the darkness, or maybe it was because he still didn’t want to face reality. He wasn’t sure what the reason was, but he did know that, even if it was only a few more minutes, he wanted her to stay right where she was.

“Just grab a pair of jeans out of that top drawer for me.” He gestured toward his dresser.

“Sure.” She stood and opened the drawer, then handed him the jeans. She folded her arms and looked away as he tugged the pants on.

When Annie felt brave enough to chance a look at him again, she was relieved to see that he was at least partially dressed. It was difficult enough standing here talking to him, pretending nonchalance, after what had just transpired between them. Her knees were the consistency of dry sand and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. Thank God the room was dark, she thought. She wasn’t quite sure how she could look Jared directly in the eyes at the moment, let alone have a calm conversation with him in the light of day.

He reached across her and pulled a T-shirt out of the dresser. She watched as he dragged it over his head, and it was impossible not to notice the ripple of lean hard muscle as he tugged it on. Goodness, but the Stone men were well built, she noted, quickly looking away.

Extremely well built.

“I—” she drew in a deep breath “—I just heard about your father. I’m sorry. I would have come for the funeral if I’d known.”

Jared tucked his T-shirt into his jeans, and Annie’s throat tightened as he pulled up the zipper. “Myrna made all the arrangements so fast even I couldn’t make it in time. I barely made it to the reading of the will.”

Annie remembered Jared’s stepmother. An attractive woman with red hair, she’d been somewhere in her late forties when Annie had last seen her. J.T. had married the woman close to twelve years ago, one year after Jonathan and Jared’s mother had died. Annie knew that Myrna was more tolerated by the Stone children than accepted.

Jared’s head snapped up suddenly and he looked at the lighted clock on the nightstand. His eyes widened. “Dammit. Dammit, dammit!”

“What?” Eyes wide, Annie stared at Jared. “What is it?”

He snatched a pair of socks from his dresser, then grabbed his boots. “I’ve got an appointment. Jeez, I had an appointment. At ten with a geologist from Arloco Oil. I was supposed to meet him at the rig. Annie, I’m sorry, but I have to go. If I blow this appointment, it will undoubtably put an end to my already shaky oil career.”

He hesitated at the bedroom door and ran a hand quickly through his hair. “Look, just make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back in—”

“Jared—”

“—a little while and—”

“Jared—”

“—we can talk then about—”

“Jared!”

He stopped. “What?”

“Jared, I hate to tell you this.” She swallowed hard and faced him. “But I’m your geologist.”

Two

Jared stared at Annie, certain he had misunderstood her. She couldn’t mean what he thought she meant.

“What did you say?”

“I said,” she repeated quietly, “I’m your geologist. The one you were supposed to meet this morning.”

An uneasiness tightened Jared’s chest. “From Arloco Oil?”

“Yes.”

No. She couldn’t be. Not Annie. He reached for the light switch and flipped it on. She blinked at the unexpected brightness.

Annie had been a geology major, Jared remembered. That was how she and Jonathan had met. He had just finished his last year when they’d become engaged, but she’d had one more year before she graduated.

He watched her, letting the impact of her words sink in. “So this is no social call,” he said carefully. “You’re here as a representative of Arloco Oil.”

She nodded. “That’s right.”

He took in the full sight of her: work boots, long denim-clad legs, white sleeveless blouse, short tousled blond hair, large hazel eyes and wide soft lips.

Lips that were still swollen from the kiss he’d unknowingly forced on her.

The uneasiness in his chest closed around him like a fist. He’d more than blown his chances with Arloco Oil. He’d pulverized them.

He stared down at his bare feet, then back to her. “Look, just give me a minute. You’ve caught me a little off guard here.”

She smiled weakly. “You might say the same thing for me.”

He rolled his eyes shut and groaned. “Annie, I’m sorry, I—”

She cut him off. “Never mind, Jared. Let’s just forget about it. There was no harm done. We’ll laugh about it later.”

He seriously doubted that. Nor did he think he’d forget about it, either.

“I’ll go put some coffee on,” she offered as casually as if she’d been gone four days, instead of almost four years. “I’ll meet you in the kitchen, and we’ll start all over. It should help,” she added with a smile, “that we’ll both be dressed this time.”

He could hear the teasing in her voice, but he was hardly in the mood for levity. Frowning, he stepped aside, wondering how a day that had started off feeling so damn good could end up so damn miserable.

Annie held her breath as she moved past Jared. The look on his face told her that he hadn’t appreciated her weak attempt to ease the tension between them. She sighed inwardly. She’d known it was going to be difficult seeing Jared after all these years, but she certainly hadn’t expected it to be quite this difficult.

Everything in the kitchen was pretty much in the same place as when Jonathan had lived here, and she had a pot of coffee brewing within a couple of minutes. When she opened the cabinet where she remembered the cups had been, an image of Jonathan reaching into this same cupboard suddenly came to her. He’d made dinner for her the night he’d proposed, a romantic candlelight meal with wine and flowers. When he’d slipped the ring on her finger, she knew she was the luckiest woman alive.

Strange, she thought, staring at the plastic coffee mugs in her hand, how quickly and how cruelly happiness can be snatched away.

“Annie?”

Startled, she turned abruptly and dropped one of the mugs. It bounced on the tile of the kitchen floor, then landed on the living-room floor.

“I—I’m sorry,” she gasped, scrambling after the cup. Jared reached for it at the same time, and their fingers touched. She quickly pulled hers away, and they both straightened.

This time, when his gaze met hers, he smiled. “No harm done,” he said, mimicking the words she’d used earlier.

He took the other mug from her and moved to the coffeepot. It was still sputtering and bubbling, but he filled the cups anyway. The hot liquid dripped and sizzled on the burner.

She took a calming breath, watching as Jared poured the steaming coffee. He’d combed his hair, and the thick dark ends brushed the back of his neck. He looked the same physically as he had four years ago, except his arms and shoulders appeared more muscular than she remembered. He was almost a foot taller than her own five-foot-four frame, and she had to look up to meet his eyes when he turned and offered her a cup. They were the same deep blue as Jonathan’s had been. Stone blue, she’d called it, since all the Stone children had the same incredible eye color. It reminded her of the ocean at sunrise.

He handed her a mug. “Black all right?”

“Fine.” She accepted the cup, thankful to have something to hold on to.

“Annie—”

She raised a hand to stop him. “Jared, please, before we get to business, can we just talk a little? Maybe catch up on a few things?”

He stared at her over his coffee cup for a long moment, then leaned back against the counter. “All right.”

They both stood there.

She cleared her throat. “So how are you?”

What an inane thing to say. Blast it! Why was this so difficult?

He just nodded. “Okay. You?”

She nodded, too. “Fine.”

He sipped his coffee, watching her, and Annie felt a heat scurry through her at the intensity of his gaze.

“You look different,” he said at last.

He didn’t, she thought. He was as handsome as she remembered. Jonathan’s good looks had been more refined somehow, while Jared had been more rugged. “It has been almost four years.”

His gaze skimmed over her face. “Your hair.”

Embarrassed, she ran a hand through her newly cropped hair, suddenly wishing she hadn’t let the stylist talk her into the shorter cut. She’d nearly cried when she’d seen six inches of blond hair lying on the floor. “It’s supposed to be easier,” she said self-consciously.

The corners of his mouth tilted up slightly. “I like it.”

She thought she was in control again, but her cheeks suddenly felt warm. She blew away the steam rising from the cup in her hand, then took a sip of the hot liquid. “I heard you were in Venezuela.”

His lips thinned. “I was.”

Wrong subject, Annie, she thought with a silent groan. From the hard expression on Jared’s face, she guessed that South America hadn’t exactly been a picnic. It was also perfectly clear that he didn’t want to talk about it.

Jared’s reticence seemed to be another area where he and Jonathan had differed. Annie had never met anyone more open and verbal than Jonathan had been. Something told her that it would take a crowbar to extract anything more than superficial conversation out of Jared.

“Jake and Jessica?” she inquired about his sister and brother, intentionally changing the subject.

Jared’s smile returned, and she couldn’t help but notice the attractive lift of his dark eyebrows. “Jessica’s living in town. She’s applying for a grant so she can turn the ghost town she inherited into a camp for troubled kids.”

“Ghost town?”

Jared laughed. “I’ll let her tell you about it when she gets back from San Antonio. Jake and his wife, Savannah, took Emma to the Fall Festival there and she went with them.”

“Jake married! So there are snowballs in hell, huh?” she joked, remembering a remark Jared’s older brother had repeated more than once in the short time she’d known him. He’d been recently divorced back then and the subject of marriage was not his favorite. “And who’s Emma?”

“My half sister.” He chuckled at her confused stare. “It’s a long story. I’ll explain everything later.”

Obviously a lot had transpired since she’d last seen the Stones, Annie thought in amazement. A great number of changes had taken place with the family. Except for one thing.

The oil well.

Which brought her back to why she was here.

The lightness she’d felt a moment ago was gone now. In its place was an ache that settled over her like a lead weight.

The silence stretched around them as taut and thin as a spider’s web. If she touched one delicate strand, the entire web would either fall apart or ensnare her. Either way, someone lost.

As if sensing her plight, Jared made the first move. “How long have you worked for Arloco?”

“Almost two years. My first few months out of school I worked for a major oil company, mostly desk work. It’s not easy being a woman in a male-dominated industry, but I suppose being the youngest and only daughter of six children was a good training ground. When Arloco offered me a job, I jumped at the opportunity to work in the field for an independent company.” She made a small gesture with her hand. “So here I am.”

So here she was.

The awkwardness was back between them.

“Look, Annie,” Jared said, pushing away from the counter, “this is difficult for both of us. There’s a lot of...history here. It might be easier if we put that book on the shelf and just deal with the present. You don’t know me, I don’t know you. You’re here to do a job. Just do it.” She lifted her gaze to his. His eyes were narrowed, his lips drawn tightly together. He was right, of course. This was business, no matter what the past.

“Jared,” she said carefully, “you know that after I review everything here I have to draw up a report.”

“And based on your report, Arloco either gives or doesn’t give its support.”

It was bad enough, knowing that she was the one person who could destroy his dream, but hearing him speak the words made her stomach twist into a knot.

Her hands tightened around the cup. “I wish it wasn’t me standing here, Jared. But it is. This is my job. I can’t compromise that.”

“I didn’t ask you to,” he said tightly. “Nor do I expect it. Just give the project a chance.”

She hadn’t meant to offend him. This whole situation was just so difficult. She was walking on eggshells here, and none too lightly. “You have the maps?”

“They’re in my office.” He gestured toward the living room. “Why don’t we step in there?”

The teasing lilt was back again and she relaxed a bit. She appreciated that he was at least trying to make it easier for her. With a sigh, she moved past him, determined to put her mind to her work.

* * *

Annie sat cross-legged on the floor, a log sheet in one hand and a pencil in the other. She stared at the map spread out on the floor in front of her, her concentration intense as she cross-referenced the map to the logs.

On the floor beside her, Jared took a sip of his fifth cup of coffee as he watched her lean forward, her eyes narrowed, and study the sketched-out cross section of a trap fault. When her hair fell across her cheek, she unconsciously tucked it behind her ear with a smooth flick of her fingers.

She’d changed a lot since he’d first met her, he noted. Her blond hair had been halfway down her back before, and straight. Now it sort of curved around her oval face, accentuating her large hazel-green eyes and thick dark lashes. The style also revealed the long slender line of her neck. In a dim recess of his mind, he had an image of his lips pressed against that soft sensitive spot just below her ear. He cursed himself and tore his gaze away, determined to put the morning’s incident between them out of his thoughts.

The sound of her scribbling in the notepad at her knee brought his attention back to the present. It was almost as if she’d forgotten he was there. For the past three hours, she’d pored over the map that Jonathan had worked up—a “play,” it was called—and occasionally she’d ask a question, but there’d been virtually no conversation between them. It was starting to grate on his nerves, not knowing what was going on in her head.

He almost laughed at that. As if he’d ever known what went on in any female’s head.

He remembered the day Jonathan had brought her home. She’d looked like a typical college student. A long-legged long-haired blonde who would have turned any man’s head.

But now there was something more, something provocative, even seductive, in the way she spoke and moved. It made no difference she was wearing work boots and jeans and a loose-fitting white blouse. The femininity that radiated from her packed a punch with definite knockout power.

And when she began to nibble on the eraser of her pencil, Jared’s mouth went as dry as chalk. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget the feel of those soft lips under his own. Or the feel of her body pressed tightly against his.

“Jared,” she said suddenly, and he nearly jumped at the sound of his name, “did you have a seismic crew out here three years ago?”

He nodded. “I’ve got the file at the site.”

As she stared at the log sheet in her hand, then the map, she frowned slightly. Jared wasn’t at all sure he cared for the expression. He’d seen it too many times on bank officers and backers not to recognize it. It meant doubt. With a capital D.

He heard her stomach rumble then and realized that he hadn’t offered her anything to eat. Her cheeks flushed as she pressed a hand to her stomach.

He really knew how to rack up points, Jared thought sourly. First he attacked the woman, then he starved her.

“I’ll throw some lunch together,” he said, standing.

“I am a little hungry,” she admitted, tucking the pencil behind her ear and stretching. “I left Midland this morning about seven and didn’t take the time to pull off at a diner for breakfast.”

“Sandwiches—” He stopped abruptly at the sight of Annie’s full breasts pressing tightly against her blouse as she arched her back and groaned. He quickly recovered, though he had to swallow first in order to finish speaking. “—are about the extent of my culinary abilities.”

“Really?” She gave him a curious look. “I would have thought that—”

She caught herself, but he knew what she’d been about to say. Jonathan had practically been a gourmet cook. Jared felt a strange surge of anger and nearly blurted out that he wasn’t Jonathan, but he held his words in check.

“I manage to get by on canned soup and frozen dinners,” he said, moving into the kitchen. “Jessica takes pity on me once in a while and cooks something for me. Even Savannah insists I come over for dinner at least once a week.”

He opened the refrigerator and loaded his arms with sandwich makings, then shut the door and plopped everything down on the counter. “I must look like I’m wasting away, the way they fuss over me.”

Hardly, Annie thought, uncrossing her legs and standing. In fact, she doubted she’d ever seen a healthier more virile man than Jared.

And she certainly had seen Jared.

For the most part, she’d managed not to think about what had happened between them this morning. There’d been momentary lapses, such as when he’d spoken and the rough grain of his voice had skimmed over her skin like a current of low-voltage electricity. Or the time he’d brushed her knee with his, and her heart had shifted into double time. The idea of women fussing over Jared was not a difficult concept to grasp.

She sat on a bar stool opposite him at the counter, watching him slice a tomato with a sharp knife. His hands fascinated her. They were large, with long work-worn fingers and callused palms. She’d experienced their rough texture on her skin that morning and knew firsthand the sensuality they contained.

She knew the pleasure they contained, as well.

“Lettuce?” he asked.

“Please.” Disturbed by her thoughts, she looked quickly away, pretending interest in a small clay paperweight shaped like an oil well.

What was happening here? she asked herself, lifting the paperweight so she’d have something to occupy her hands. She couldn’t be attracted to Jared. He was Jonathan’s brother.

Since Jonathan, she hadn’t found anyone who had interested her enough to date more than casually. Most of the men she met in the field were arrogant die-hard chauvinists whose main hobby was seeing how quickly they could get a woman into the sack.

She couldn’t help the smile that crept over her lips. Jared had probably beat the world record this morning in that masculine sport.

“Emma made it for me.”

“What?” She glanced up sharply.

“The paperweight.” He gestured to the crude sculpture in her hands. “Emma made it.”

“Emma?” Annie turned it over and noticed the inscription on the bottom: To Jared. E.R.S. “Oh, yes. Your half sister. You want to tell me about her?”

He handed Annie a sandwich. “We found out about her at the reading of J.T.’s will. Turns out that my father had an affair ten years ago with the architect who designed his house.”

“You mean Stone Manor?” Annie asked, remembering the huge house that J.T.’s wife, Myrna Stone, had been so proud of and lived in still. Annie had never liked the place. It was cold and pretentious, like the woman herself.

Jared nodded. “The architect’s name was Angela Roberts. She left when she found out she was pregnant. She never told my father, and it was several years before he finally hired a private investigator to look for her. The man managed to uncover the fact that Angela had had a baby, but unfortunately J.T. died before the mother or child could be found.”

Annie started to take a bite of her sandwich, then stopped. “But...then, how did you, I mean...”

Jared reached behind him and opened the refrigerator. He pulled out two sodas and set one in front of Annie.

“Jake continued the search. The P.I. found the child five months later. Only problem—” he popped the lid of his soda and it fizzed loudly “—was that Angela Roberts had also died.”

Annie closed her eyes and released a long slow breath. “Oh, Jared, I’m so sorry.”

He stared at the soda can for a long moment, then nodded grimly.

“Anyway,” Jared continued, “when we found Emma a few months ago she was living with an aunt. It wasn’t easy, but Jake talked the aunt into coming here with Emma for a visit.” A smile lifted one corner of Jared’s mouth. “Then he married her.”

Annie still couldn’t believe it. Jake, of all people, remarried. She remembered that when Jonathan had told Jake he was getting married, the first thing Jake had said was, “Better you than me, bro. Have a dozen kids to make up for the ones I won’t.” Though he’d laughed as he said it, the smile never made it to his eyes.

The sandwich she was eating suddenly tasted like sawdust in her mouth. Annie had never had the chance to even marry Jonathan, let alone have his children. She’d almost thought—even hoped—that she’d been pregnant when she’d left that summer. She’d desperately wanted something of Jonathan she could have with her always, a part of him that she could love. A child.

But she hadn’t been pregnant. She realized later, of course, that it was for the best, but at the time she’d been disappointed.

She set the sandwich down and looked at Jared. “And now you’re here, too.”

“And now I’m here.”

And so am I, she thought.

For a few minutes there’d been an easiness between them, a connection that surprised her. But it was gone now, as if it were no more than a wisp of smoke.

And they were both abruptly aware that her visit was not of a social nature.

A weariness overcame her, and she felt a sudden desperate need to be alone. Away from here. She stood and rolled her shoulder to loosen the stiffness there.

“Thanks for the sandwich, Jared, but I think I’ve done all I’m capable of doing for now. I’m beat. It’s been a long drive here from Dallas. Why don’t we start fresh tomorrow and take a look at the rig first thing in the morning? Say about nine?”

“All right.” He set his sandwich down as if he, too, had lost his appetite. “Where are you staying?”

Annie couldn’t help but notice the fatigue that lined the edges of his deep blue eyes, and she realized that he was just as tired as she was. Based on the condition she’d found him in this morning, she assumed he hadn’t slept much the night before. She’d also noticed that he hadn’t stepped too close to a razor for a couple of days, and unbidden, the memory of how those rough bristles had felt against her neck flooded her mind.

She looked away, letting her insides settle before trusting herself to speak.

“I have a room in town,” she said, turning around and gathering up her notes. “At the Cactus Flat Motel. You can call me there if you need to. I’ll be going over this paperwork tonight.”

She turned to leave, then turned back again and lifted her gaze to his. “I know it’s hard for you, my being here,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

He nodded slowly, and she saw the pain in his eyes as he stared at her. The most natural thing in the world would have been to go to him and put her arms around him. To comfort him and to be comforted.

But she didn’t. And though she didn’t know why, she did know that in all the time she’d been here neither she nor Jared had said Jonathan’s name once.

Three

Annie was already at the rig when Jared drove up the next morning. At least her car was there, he noted as he pulled up beside the Cherokee, but she wasn’t in it.

He’d arrived early, hoping to get there before her. Partly to give himself a few minutes to do a test run on the drill motor, and partly because he needed a few minutes alone there before she showed up.

Maybe she’d needed a few minutes herself, Jared realized grimly.

He stepped out of his truck and tipped his Stetson back as he searched the area. The equipment shed was locked, so she couldn’t be in there. He started toward the small square trailer that served as office and lounge for the crew, but hadn’t gotten more than a few feet when he heard her call his name. Turning, he frowned as he looked around, but still didn’t see her.

“Good morning.”

Glancing upward, he narrowed his eyes and focused on a slender form silhouetted by the rising sun. She stood at the edge of the derrick platform twenty-five feet off the ground, her hand lifted in a wave.

He froze.

He couldn’t breathe. His heart pounded with bruising force against his ribs. He wanted to scream at her to move back, to get away from the edge, but his voice had suddenly gone numb.

“Jared?” she called down, and stepped even closer to the edge. “Are you all right?”

His hands were shaking now. He clenched them into fists and, without taking his eyes off her, walked stiffly to the metal platform steps, then moved slowly upward toward her. At the top of the stairs, he paused, his jaw tight, and stared at her.

Brow furrowed, Annie asked, “Is something wrong?”

As she stepped away from the ledge, the steel band around Jared’s chest loosened and he could breathe again. “What the hell are you doing up here?”

“Waiting for you.”

“You haven’t got any gear on,” he said more sharply than he intended. He was still waiting for his heart to slow down, trying not to think about how close she’d been to the edge....

“Gear?” She frowned at him. “Jared, for heaven’s sake, I’m just looking around.”

“There’s no place on a rig for sight-seeing, Annie. You want a tour, take the bus.” He knew he was being unreasonable, but he didn’t care. “Next time you come up here, you better have a damn good reason, and you better be wearing a safety belt and hat.”

“A hat!” She stared at him incredulously. “You’re not even drilling yet.”

“That would have made me feel loads better if I’d driven up and found you in a dozen pieces. And now that I think about it, you don’t need to be up here at all. You need something, let me or one of my crew handle it for you.”

She moved close to him, close enough that he could see the flecks of green sparkle in her hazel eyes, close enough that he could smell the flowery scent of her skin. He wanted to move away, but he held his ground.

“I’ve been in the field now for almost two years.” She tilted her chin upward. “I’ve been on a dozen rigs like this. I know what I’m doing.”

Don’t worry about me. I know what I’m doing....

How many times had he awakened in the middle of the night, drenched with sweat, with those words pounding in his head?

He couldn’t take that chance again. Not with Annie. “I don’t want you up here.”

She stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.”

“Damn straight I am. You have no reason to be up on the rig.”

Her mouth thinned, and he felt his gut tighten as he stared at her lips and remembered how soft they’d felt under his, how warm. He quickly pushed the thought aside.

“Jared, I know what’s bothering you, and it’s understandable, but I have a job to do here.”

“Your job,” he said tightly, “involves the logging and mapping and soil samples. Once I’ve hired my crew, we’ll take care of everything else.”

She shook her head. “That’s not my style. I know most geologists keep their distance, but my policy is strictly hands-on.”

He tried to ward off the impulse to throw her over his shoulder and carry her off the rig. “I set the policies around here. I’m responsible for three crews of six men twenty-four hours a day. I won’t be responsible for you, too.”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Responsible for me? Of all the—” She leveled her gaze on his. “Jared, sit down.”

“What?”

“I said, sit down.” She pointed to the floor of the platform.

He narrowed his eyes, then did as she asked, stretching one leg out in front of him and bending the other. She sat facing him, curling her legs under her in a way that made him think about how long and slender those limbs were in her tight jeans.

She laced her fingers together and stared at them for a long moment. A hawk swept close to the derrick, screeching as it soared past, and a prairie dog chattered a warning to the underground community that a predator was close by.

He waited for her to speak, watching as a breeze ruffled the ends of her hair. She combed the loose strands away from her face and finally lifted her gaze to his. Her eyes were soft now, edged with a sadness that twisted his insides.

He understood with painful clarity how his brother had fallen in love with this woman. And he also understood why he had to keep his distance.

“Jared.” She reached out and laid her hands on his. “It wasn’t your fault.”

His jaw clenched as he stared down at her fingers resting on his knuckles. Her skin was smooth and cool, yet her touch burned. But he didn’t want her understanding. And he sure as hell didn’t want her pity. “So I’ve been told.”

She frowned and her fingers closed around his. “Dammit, Jared, it wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. A terrible tragic accident. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”

“He didn’t belong up here,” Jared said tightly. “He wasn’t familiar with the operation yet. He didn’t have the experience.”

“And you think you could have stopped him?”

It was a question he’d asked himself every day for almost four years. A question he’d never have an answer to. “I should have insisted. He didn’t understand the risks.”

She shook her head. “He understood more than you give him credit for. The need to be a part of it, every aspect of it, was in his blood just as strongly as it was—and still is—in yours. You couldn’t have taken that away from him.”

Jared stared at Annie, amazed at the compassion lighting her face. She’d lost her future with the man she’d loved, yet she sat here and attempted to comfort him. Anger at himself, as hot as it was black, shot through him. “I was the one with working experience on this rig. Jonathan was green, right out of the classroom.”

Annie felt Jared’s hands tighten beneath her touch. His jaw was taut, and his eyes... Lord, the pain she saw there was like a sharp knife twisting in her chest. She drew in a slow ragged breath and forced herself to hold his gaze with her own.

“Do you realize,” she asked quietly, “that’s the first time you’ve even said his name?”

His lips thinned and he looked away, but for one split second, so brief she almost thought she imagined it, Annie saw—and understood—the depth of Jared’s anguish. The first year after Jonathan’s death, she’d seen that same look staring back at her from the mirror. She’d felt that grief. She’d lived it. Time had slowly healed her, but Jared, apparently, hadn’t been so fortunate.

She felt a desperate need to free him from his torment, to ease the pain he’d lived with for the past several years. But what could she say? What could she do? Jared wasn’t going to let anyone get that close. The wall he’d built around himself served not only to keep everyone else out, but to keep him in, as well. And of all the people he didn’t want help from, Annie was first on the list, she knew. If anything, Jared wanted her as far away from him as possible.

Because she couldn’t stop herself, she leaned in closer and stroked the back of his hands with her thumbs. The coarse texture of his skin amazed her, but not nearly as much as the moisture that gathered in her eyes and fell onto Jared’s fingers. Was she crying for Jonathan or for Jared?

Dammit, Jared thought. Not tears. He could stand anything but tears. He reached for her then and pulled her into his arms, cradling her body against his. “Aw, jeez, Annie, don’t cry. Please don’t cry.”

“I’m not,” she insisted with a sniff. “Not really.”

He smiled as she wiped at her eyes, but when she laid her head against his shoulder his smile faded.

A heat began to build in him. Even though he’d been half-asleep when he’d kissed Annie yesterday, he’d never forget the taste of her. The sweetness, and the shimmer of innocence that had made his blood race and his pulse pound.

Her cheek brushed his neck, and the warmth of her sigh on his skin had his blood pounding again, only faster and more furious this time because he was wide awake now and more aware of Annie in his arms than he had ever been aware of any woman in his entire life.

His hands tightened on her arms, and his mind screamed to move away before she felt his arousal. But somehow he was pulling her closer, tucking her against him as if he might never let go.

“Annie,” he breathed her name with a ragged whisper, “I—”

He stopped himself. I what? I want you? I need you? For God’s sake! This was Annie. Jonathan’s Annie. He didn’t have the right. Not ever.

With willpower he didn’t know he possessed, he finally set her away from him. He struggled to breathe, and when he looked at her flushed face and saw the confusion in her eyes, he decided that horse whipping wouldn’t be good enough for him. She’d needed comfort and he’d wanted to take her. To touch her and make love to her. Right here. Right where Jonathan had died.

Disgusted with himself, he stood and pulled her to her feet. “You might want to take a look at the equipment,” he said in a voice that sounded foreign to him. “It was purchased new three years ago, and I’ve reconditioned everything in the past few weeks.”

Annie felt as if everything inside her was shifting. She looked at Jared, heard him speaking, but she hadn’t a clue what he’d said. Her heart beat low and heavy. Her throat felt dry. When he let go of her hand, she nearly protested.

What had just happened between them? Something very strong, powerful even. It had the same physical drive as yesterday when he’d pulled her into his bed and kissed her, but there was an even stronger force this time, something that went beyond attraction. Something primitive and raw, a need that shook her clear to her toes.

Her pulse increased as he watched her with eyes that were as dark as they were intense. They stood mere inches from each other. A simple lift of a hand would connect them, bring them together. Her body tingled with anticipation.

“Jared—”

The blast of a car horn shattered the moment like fragile glass. Annie turned and watched the approach of a white luxury sedan. Clouds of dust billowed behind the car as it turned off the paved road and made its way toward them.

Jared stepped away from her and tipped back his hat. “The woman is determined, I’ll give her that much.”

Annie looked at him curiously. “What woman?”

“Myrna.”

“Your stepmother?”

Jared nodded, watching the sedan approach. “Ever since she realized she couldn’t buy Jake’s land, she’s been after mine. She makes at least a weekly trip out here.”

He sighed, then turned and headed for the stairs. Annie followed, hurrying to keep up with Jared’s long strides. “Why would she want to buy this land? Is she interested in drilling for oil?”

His laugh was dry and harsh. “Hardly. She’s got this idea she wants to breed and train Thoroughbreds.”

“Horses? Myrna?” Annie couldn’t keep the surprise from her voice. The Myrna that Annie remembered hated horses. She’d hated the smell and the flies and the “stable refuse,” as she’d so fondly referred to the ever-present mountains of manure.

“It’s a real hoot, ain’t it?” Jared waited at the base of the stairs, his gaze narrowed as the cloud of dust grew closer. “Not that she’d ever spend a penny of her own money. She’s managed to convince Carlton to buy it for her.”

“Carlton?”

“Her father. Carlton Hewitt III. He’s never said no to the woman once in her life. I always thought she married my father because he was the first man who ever did say no.” Jared’s expression was somber as he leaned back against a rig post and folded his arms across his chest. “But even that changed after they’d been married for a while. She built that damn house of hers and spent every penny of J.T.’s money she could get her hands on. He stood by and never said a word.”

Annie watched the sedan pull up in front of the office trailer. “Why?”

“I suspect it had to do with Angela. He wasn’t the same man after she left.” Jared shook his head. “He just sort of gave up.”

“Until he found out he had another daughter,” Annie said quietly.

“We found out last month that Myrna knew all along. Not only about the affair, but that Angela was pregnant.” Jared’s jaw tightened. “I can forgive her a lot of things, but not that. Emma is our sister, our blood, and we all missed out on a lot of years.”

Annie touched Jared’s arm. “But you have her now.”

He smiled. “Yeah. We have her now.”

The sedan’s engine stopped and the car door opened. One white high-heeled shoe touched the dirt, then another. Myrna stepped out of the car, smoothed the front of her yellow skirt, then adjusted her yellow-and-white-striped silk blouse. Her red hair gleamed in the morning sun as brightly as the shiny chrome on her car.

She patted the crisp back of her starched hairdo and headed for the office.

“Over here,” Jared called.

Myrna turned abruptly, her hand still poised in midair. “Oh, there you are. I was just on my way to pick Daddy up at the airport and thought I’d stop by to say hello.”

As if Myrna ever just stopped to say hello, Jared thought, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “Your father’s coming here?”

“It took a doctor’s order to finally get that man to spend some time with me.” The woman picked her way toward them, carefully avoiding rocks and shrubs. “He had a couple of dizzy spells, and his physician insisted he take some time off.”

Carlton Hewitt coming to Stone Creek was certainly a rare occurrence. If the seventy-three-year-old man wasn’t in a business meeting discussing the half of Houston he already owned, he was in a business meeting trying to buy the other half.

Like father, like daughter, Jared noted silently. But maybe while the man was here, it would keep Myrna occupied elsewhere. And for that, Jared would forever be in Carlton’s debt.

“Oh, dear me,” Myrna said, looking at Annie. “Am I interrupting?”

As if it would matter to her if she was, Jared thought. Before he could answer, his stepmother moved closer to Annie and held out a hand. “Hello, I’m Myrna Stone, Jared’s stepmother. You must be the geologist from Arloco that Jared told me about.”

Jared ground his teeth. He hadn’t told Myrna anything about Arloco or the geologist. She’d obviously been snooping again.

And how could she have forgotten Annie? Myrna had given Jonathan and Annie an engagement party. It was difficult, but Jared held back the swear word on the tip of his tongue.

“Actually we’ve met, Mrs. Stone,” Annie said before Jared could intercede. “I’m Annie Bailey. I was Jonathan’s fiancée.”

“Annie Bailey?” Myrna’s hand froze. She looked at Jared, then back at Annie. “Jonathan’s fiancée? But I... You mean, you aren’t the geologist from Arloco?”

“Well, yes,” Annie said. “I’m that, too.”

Jared wanted to laugh at the dumbfounded expression on Myrna’s face, but even more, he wanted to get rid of the woman.

Myrna moved toward Annie and took her hand. “Annie. Oh, yes, of course I remember you. Jonathan’s fiancée. It’s just been so long, and I certainly never expected you, of all people, to be Jared’s geologist.”

“Mrs. Stone,” Annie said carefully, “I’m not Jared’s geologist. I’m here as a representative for Arloco Oil to determine the feasibility of this project.”

“Well—” Myrna lifted one perfectly tweezed brow “—Jared must certainly be thankful for that. After all the problems this young man has had finding backers, he must see you as a true godsend.” She turned to Jared with a smile as phony as the color of her hair. “I would assume that congratulations are in order.”

“Annie is still evaluating the rig,” Jared said through clenched teeth. “When she’s finished, she’ll give her findings to Arloco.”

Myrna gestured blithely with her hand. “Well, yes, but she’s the one who really decides, doesn’t she?”

Jared searched the ground for a rope. He’d tie the woman up, then—

“I have an obligation to Arloco Oil, Mrs. Stone,” Annie said tightly. “Whatever decision I make will be based on facts, not emotions.”

“Of course it will, dear.”

Fingernails on a blackboard would be music compared to the words that came out of Myrna’s mouth. Jared spotted a steel cable a few feet away. It was just about the right size—

Myrna faced Annie, oblivious to Jared’s murderous thoughts. “It must be so awkward for you, though, considering the circumstances and all.” She placed a hand on her chest and looked up. “I mean, working here, right where poor Jonathan fell. How will you ever deal with that?”

Jared felt Annie go rigid beside him. Nothing that Myrna said or did should shock him anymore, but for a second he felt as if he’d been punched in the chest. He also suddenly realized how tightly he was holding on to Annie’s arm. He let go and felt her draw in a slow breath, then cursed himself when he saw the imprint of his hand on her smooth skin.

“This is my job, Mrs. Stone,” Annie said with a patience that amazed Jared. “My personal feelings have no place here.”

Myrna sighed. “Yes, well, I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. It’s only been eight months since J.T.’s been gone, and I just can’t imagine—” her lower lip quivered and she blinked several times “—well, I just loved him so much. I hope someday I’ll be able to get over his death as bravely as you have Jonathan’s.”

That was it. Jared had had enough. He’d just use his bare hands. That would give him more pleasure, anyway. He took a step toward his stepmother. “Myrna—”

Annie laid her hand on Jared’s arm. “Bravery has nothing to do with death, Mrs. Stone,” she said quietly. “We have no choice but to accept it, no matter how deep or how black the pain. It’s also the one thing in life that no one escapes, the one thing that makes us all equal, no matter how different or how special we might think we are.”

Annie turned to Jared then, and he saw a tension in her eyes that belied the calm expression on her face. “I still have some questions on cost estimates, Jared. When you’re finished here, I’ll be in the office.” She faced Myrna again and nodded. “Mrs. Stone, it’s been a real...pleasure.”

* * *

Eight hours later Annie sat in a booth at the Cactus Motel Café, staring intently at the menu a perky waitress with short platinum hair had thrust into her hands after reciting the nightly specials. The smell of grilled steak and onions wafted deliciously on the air, reminding Annie that she’d forgotten lunch in her hurry to not only finish her report, but to call in a report to the manager at Arloco and ask for verbal authorization for approval.

It was a go.

She’d only heard an hour ago, and the excitement that had been building inside her was bubbling over. Jared would be here any minute, and she couldn’t wait to tell him the good news. She’d already ordered wine to celebrate.

Even recalling her run-in with Myrna earlier in the day hadn’t dimmed Annie’s pleasure. There’d been a cool distant look in Jared’s eyes after the woman had finally left that made Annie uneasy. He’d apologized for his stepmother, but Annie had shrugged it off and insisted that whatever the woman said or did had no bearing on the project.

But there had been that one moment, she realized, that one second when she’d looked up at the rig, and doubt had shivered through her....

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