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SARA ORWIG lives in Oklahoma. She has a patient husband, who will take her on research trips anywhere from big cities to old forts. She is an avid collector of Western history books. With a master’s degree in English, Sara has written historical romance, mainstream fiction and contemporary romance. Books are beloved treasures that take Sara to magical worlds, and she loves both reading and writing them.
The Wedding Wager
Sara Orwig
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Title Page
Dakota Daddy
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Epilogue
Montana Mistress
Dedication
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Epilogue
Wyoming Wedding
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Epilogue
Copyright
Dakota Daddy
Sara Orwig
With love to Hannah, Rachel, Ellen, Elisabeth, Colin, Cameron and Maureen
Prologue
“May the best man win!” Jared Dalton declared as the three cousins stepped out of a limousine into the bright Houston sunshine. Waiting on the tarmac were three sleek jets with each man’s logo proclaiming ownership.
“One year from today, whoever’s net worth increases the most wins our bet.” Chase Bennett said, rehashing their agreement.
“Yes, the deadline for our bet is the first Friday next May,” Matt Rome confirmed. “We each put five million in the pot, so whoever wins gets a fifteen-million-dollar prize.”
“Right,” Jared nodded. “On top of poker winnings, Chase.”
Chase grinned. “I was lucky this year. Guys, it’s been great to be together again.”
“Still best friends, still bachelors—maybe forever bachelors. This weekend together is necessity,” Matt said.
All three shook hands. “So long, my two best cuz,” Jared said, grinning.
“If nothing else, we’ll see each other next at the family Christmas get-together,” Jared added. “Stay cool.” He boarded a white plane and sat by a window, watching his cousins’ planes taxi, one Houston-based cousin heading off to Paris, the other returning home to Wyoming. With mothers who were sisters, they had grown up close, even competing in football in college. All were wealthy and owner-CEOs of vast enterprises.
Jared intended to win the bet Matt had dreamed up. It would add some spice to work, akin to the thrill of success when he’d started out. Waiting until they were airborne, Jared withdrew his BlackBerry to send out messages that would start his staff searching for possibilities for solid moneymaking deals. He mulled over current projects and realized the bet gave him an opportunity for payback.
Excitement gripped him. He’d offer to buy the Sorenson ranch in Dakota. If Edlund Sorenson would sell, Jared could make money. Whether or not Edlund would sell, Jared knew he would have the satisfaction of letting an old enemy know he could buy him out. Making money was great. But best of all was revenge.
One
June
That old saying about a woman scorned was too damn true, Jared Dalton thought.
He thought back to when he’d first learned that old man Sorenson had died and that Megan had no apparent interest in keeping the family ranch. Jared assumed he could buy it easily. To his surprise, the minute Megan had learned who intended to buy the ranch, she’d withdrawn it from the market. Now he was here to get her to sell.
With a disturbing skip in his heartbeat that overrode a simmering anger, he saw Megan emerge from the Sorenson barn, carrying a saddle to the corral. She was too far away for him to see if her looks had changed. Her red shirt was as noticeable as her long-legged, sexy walk, which still revealed the years she had studied dance before she’d left for college. Her black hair was in a thick braid that lay on her back. Setting the saddle and blanket on the fence, she turned to the approaching horses to give each a treat. Within minutes she had saddled and mounted a sorrel.
The sight of her brought back too many hurtful memories. Vengeance was sweet. He just wished her father had lived to be part of the intended payback.
Jared intended to encounter her out on the ranch, where she would have to talk to him. He’d spent the night in a comfortable log guesthouse on her ranch without her knowledge in order to watch for her this morning. Before dawn he had dressed in jeans, a blue Western shirt and a wide-brimmed black Stetson.
Now he went to the barn to saddle a bay to follow her without haste.
The vast, grassy land made it easy to see in all directions except along the river, where trees could hide a rider from view. He knew he could catch her when she stopped at the river to let her horse drink. Until then, he didn’t want to alert her that he was trailing behind. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a glance at gathering clouds told him rain seemed imminent.
As soon as she reached the line of trees, she vanished from view. Watching, he could remember meeting her at the river—and their steamy kisses. Since their split, he rarely thought of her without bitter feelings surfacing.
Unwanted memories enveloped him. He had known her all his life. Even as their dads battled over water, he’d paid no attention to her because she had been six years younger—the skinny little kid on the neighboring ranch. The first time he’d ever noticed her was when he was getting his master’s degree and she’d entered his same university in Chicago.
Too clearly he could recall that initial encounter. Her black hair had cascaded in a cloud over her shoulders and her startling turquoise eyes sped his pulse. She filled out a white cotton blouse that tucked into the narrow waistband of a tan skirt. When she’d smiled broadly at him and said hello, he’d thought he was looking at a stranger. If a beautiful woman greeted him, however, he had no intention of not responding.
“You don’t know me, do you, Jared?”
Surprised, he’d stared at her and frowned, trying to recollect. “Did you go to UT?” he asked, referring to the University of Texas, where he’d gotten his undergraduate degree.
She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him and he sucked in his breath. All her pink tongue had done was make him think about kissing her. He was getting turned on and he didn’t have a clue how he knew her.
“Jared, for heaven’s sake!” she said. He shook his head, touching a lock of her soft hair.
“Okay, I give. I can’t believe I don’t remember a gorgeous woman. Where have we known each other?”
“I’m Megan Sorenson,” she’d said, laughing at him. He stared in astonishment, seeing it now in the turquoise eyes. But that was all. Gone was the skinny little kid, replaced by a luscious, curvaceous woman.
“You grew up,” he said, and that sparked a fresh burst of laughter.
“I didn’t know you’re going to school here,” she said. “I thought I’d heard you’d graduated.”
“MBA,” he said slowly. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
She tilted her head to study him. “You know how our dads fight. You and I should keep a distance.”
“C’mon, Megan. Their fight isn’t our fight. I’ve never in my life had anything against you.”
“Oh, liar, liar!” she accused with amusement again dancing in her eyes. “You thought I was a pest. You wouldn’t even say hello if you saw me.”
He felt his face flush. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise to give you my full, undivided attention,” he said, and saw a flicker in her eyes. The moment between them sizzled and his heart raced.
“Dinner it is,” she said breathlessly.
“About seven,” he’d replied. And from that moment on, he’d thought he was in love. He’d hoped to marry her. They’d talked about it and planned on it, and then that summer after her freshman year, when Megan had gone to Sioux Falls to stay with her aunt and uncle, Olga and Thomas Sorenson, her dad sent one of his hands to summon Jared.
The old man had run him off by threatening harm to Jared’s dad. He’d always wondered how much Megan had known about what her father was doing. For over a year he’d hurt, pain turning to anger that had grown when she wouldn’t answer his letters. It pleased him enormously to buy her ranch. This payback was long overdue, and again he wished he’d offered to buy the ranch when Edlund Sorenson had still been alive, just to watch the old man’s face.
Most obstacles weren’t insurmountable, he’d discovered. Not with the wealth he had accumulated. He didn’t expect this one to be, either.
He heard her horse before he rode into a clearing at the river’s edge, and then he saw her. His insides clenched. Longing, hot and intense, rocked him. He rarely spent time on regrets but briefly, the thought that he never should have left her tore at him. Surprised, he shook aside his uncharacteristic reaction as she whirled around.
Color drained from her face. Her eyes widened until they were enormous and she swayed, making him wonder if she were about to faint. “Jared!” she exclaimed, as if he were an apparition.
“Megan, I didn’t intend to startle you.” He dismounted, dropping to the ground.
She drew herself up. As abruptly as she had looked on the verge of fainting, she pulled herself together.
Jared’s heartbeat quickened at the sight of her. “You’re more beautiful than ever,” he said, and cursed himself with his next breath. Anger flashed in her turquoise eyes, those crystal-clear blue-green eyes that were astonishing when he first looked at her.
“Why are you trespassing?” she asked, her composure obvious. He’d surely imagined her terrified reaction to the first sight of him. “This isn’t your ranch, nor will it be. You get off my land.”
“Whoa, give me a chance,” he replied in amusement, reassessing changes in her. “Seven years was a long time ago.”
“Not long enough. Your people were told this ranch is no longer on the market. I’m not selling. You’ll never own this land.” While thunder rumbled overhead, she withdrew a cell phone. “I don’t know how you got one of my horses, but leave it where you found it and go. You’re trespassing, and if you don’t get off this ranch, I’m calling the sheriff.”
“Don’t be so emotional,” Jared said, wishing he could unfasten her thick braid. “At least listen. You have nothing to lose.”
Thunder boomed again, and she glanced skyward.
“I think, unless you don’t mind getting soaked, you’ll have to ride back to the barn with me,” he added.
Without saying a word, she glared at him and then turned to mount her horse. Observing her tight jeans that pulled across an enticing bottom, Jared swung into the saddle as well, and waited for her to lead the way through the trees.
As the first large drops hit leaves overhead, they rode into the clearing. A jagged bolt of lightning flashed, and Jared knew they should get out of the open field and back to shelter.
He urged the bay he’d chosen, Jester, hoping she could keep up. Drops were coming faster by the time the barn loomed in sight.
As they galloped into the barn, the heavens opened. Jared dismounted, dropping to the ground while both horses shook their heads, sending drops flying.
To the accompaniment of the steady hiss of rain, they unsaddled and rubbed down the horses. Once the animals were in stalls, Megan strode to the open door and watched the rain.
“Probably a summer shower. It’ll move on,” Jared said, standing close enough to catch the scent of an exotic perfume, not the rose perfume she once wore. “Why don’t you listen to my proposition? I know you don’t intend to retire to the ranch.”
“You don’t know that,” she said, glancing up at him with hostility simmering.
“So you are?” he probed, and saw another flash of anger, knowing he had been correct.
“I am not selling my ranch to you,” she said slowly and clearly. He looked at her mouth, remembering their kisses. She’d been eighteen years old then. What would it be like to kiss her now? “Why do you even want it? There are other ranches.”
“I have a bet with my cousins, Chase and Matt, to see which one of us can increase his net worth the most during the coming year.”
“My ranch is to help you win a bet?” she asked, glowering at him.
“That shouldn’t make any difference to you.”
“One more thing that you want for your own purposes,” she said in a clipped tone.
“Whoever buys the place will purchase it for his own purposes,” Jared said.
“I don’t see how acquiring my ranch can put you over the top,” she observed.
“That alone won’t. It’ll be one of several projects,” he answered easily.
“How’d you get here and where did you get my horse?” she asked.
“If I had called you, I didn’t think you’d take an appointment to talk to me about the ranch, so I sent one of my lawyers, Trent Colgin,” Jared answered, and she compressed her lips.
“I should have known,” she said. She rushed to yank up a horse blanket. “I’m going to the house. It could rain all day, and I don’t intend to stay here. You get off the ranch however you got on it. Don’t spend another night here, or I truly will call the sheriff.”
“You’re going to get soaked.”
“That’s better than staying here with you,” she said and turned to dash for the sprawling ranch house. Jared ran easily beside her, not caring if he got wet as long as he could try to convince her to listen to him. They rushed up the back steps and across the wrap-around porch. While she draped the dripping blanket over a rocking chair, he pushed his hat to the back of his head.
In spite of the blanket, her jacket was soaked in the front and she shed it to hang it on another chair. Her damp shirt clung, revealing lush breasts that stirred erotic memories of kissing her as he caressed her breasts.
As she started to turn away, he looked into her eyes and suspected she guessed what he was thinking. His gaze trailed leisurely over her. Her quick breaths made her breasts thrust out more. When he looked up again, sparks flashed between them.
Raising her chin defiantly, she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not inviting you inside.”
“Megan, listen to what I have to offer. You may be losing a huge fortune. One you could make easily by getting rid of something you don’t want anyway. You’re letting emotion get in your way.”
“I know what I want,” she said with a frown.
“Try to keep an open mind. Come to dinner at my house tonight and let’s discuss the sale.”
“In this weather? I think not, thanks,” she said, shaking her head.
“According to the paper, this rain is supposed to stop before noon and it won’t rain again until tomorrow afternoon. Now quit spiting yourself and come have dinner with me. Why don’t we discuss a deal? You have nothing to lose.”
“I won’t sell to you at any price,” she snapped as she yanked a key out of her pocket and put it into the door.
“Scared to eat with me?” he asked softly in a taunting voice.
Her head came up and she faced him with anger blazing in her eyes, making them look more green than blue. “I’m not the least bit afraid of you,” she replied in a haughty tone. “All right. I’ll come to dinner, but you should know you won’t change my mind.”
“How’s seven?”
“I’ll be there.”
“You know the way,” he said, and her cheeks turned a deeper pink. “See you then.” He left for his cabin, fighting the urge to glance to see if she stood watching him. He hadn’t heard any door slam, but then in the rain, he probably wouldn’t have.
She was coming for dinner, so there was hope. When hadn’t he been able to talk a woman into something he wanted? She was beautiful, more poised than she’d been as a teen. Then, she had been friendly and warm as a kitten. Now she was a hellcat. Despite her anger, her self-confidence showed. She was not the naive, starry-eyed eighteen-year-old he had fallen in love with years ago.
Anticipation bubbled in him. How long before he could seduce her? he wondered. He planned to keep a clear sight on his goal of acquiring her ranch, but this new Megan was an unbearable temptation.
He packed his few things and drove back to his ranch to make arrangements for dinner. As if nature were cooperating, the rain ended by noon and sunshine broke out with a magnificent rainbow arching in the sky.
When he caught some news on the television, he went to his office to make a phone call to his cousin.
The minute Chase Bennett answered, Jared could picture his green eyes and easy smile. “Hi, Jared here. Just caught you on the news about oil you’ve found in Montana.”
“Hope to find,” Chase corrected. “If it pans out like I expect, it’s going to be a tidy discovery.”
“A bonus that it’s in your home state,” Jared remarked dryly.
“Yeah, but I don’t spend much time back on the ranch,” Chase replied.
“I’ll wager you think you’re going to win our bet,” Jared joked, rubbing his finger on his knee as he talked.
“I hope to. You guys are going to have to get busy.”
“I’m working on an interesting project. Remember Megan Sorenson? I plan to buy her ranch.”
“Nice! That’ll crush her dad. It will be satisfying to let him know you can buy him out.”
“I wish I’d done this sooner. The old man died. As soon as Megan discovered I’m the buyer, she pulled the ranch off the market.”
“Too bad. Making the offer should give you a bit of satisfaction. That would be a good purchase, a prime pheasant-hunting ranch, even though it won’t help you win.”
“Wait and see,” Jared replied, chuckling, unwilling to reveal his plans to Chase. “Better go. Just called to offer congrats and tell you I still intend to collect.”
“Dream on,” Chase replied in a good-natured tone.
“I will,” Jared said, and broke the connection, trying to be the one to get in the last word, a habit of the cousins since childhood. Jared gazed out the window. What to do about the Sorensen ranch …
The day seemed an eternity long, but eventually Jared showered, shaved and dressed with care in a tan knit shirt, chinos and hand-tooled leather Western boots that added to his six-foot-six height.
Promptly upon her arrival at seven, Jared met her on the porch. Watching her get out of her SUV and walk toward him, her slim column of a navy dress swirling around her shapely calves, he sucked in his breath. A large bow held the dress on her left shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. The material split as it fell from her shoulder, revealing her long legs as she walked. Her hair was rolled and fastened at the back of her head, giving her a sophisticated, self-possessed appearance. Had they gone out in public, she would have turned heads anywhere—the men in appreciation and speculation, women in envy and admiration.
Jared’s pulse skipped, and he wondered if that bow on her shoulder released the front and back of her dress. He desired her with an intensity that shocked him. She was gorgeous, and momentarily he forgot the ranch, his purpose, old hurts, even anger. He saw a ravishing beauty whom he intended to seduce.
“Evening, Jared,” she said. Her greeting brought him back to reality.
“You’re stunning,” he said in a deep, raspy tone, gazing into the cool, thickly-lashed turquoise eyes. “Welcome to my ranch,” he added. “Come inside.”
Without a word, she swept up the steps past him. When she passed, he caught that same exotic scent, a perfume he couldn’t identify. Watching the slight sway of her hips, he followed her through the flagstone-covered entry into the wide front hall with its polished plank floor. She took his breath away with her beauty. He was reminded again that the open, outgoing warmth of the eighteen-year-old had deepened into the fieriness of a beautiful woman.
“I’m grilling steaks. Let’s go to the patio,” he suggested as he caught up to walk beside her.
She strolled in silence beside him outside to the patio, where smoke came from a large state-of-the-art stainless steel cooker. “You have all you need to live out here,” she said, glancing around.
“Can I get you a glass of wine, tea, a soft drink? What’s your preference?”
“White wine, please.” She followed him to the bar, and he turned to hand a glass of pale wine to her. Even though their fingers brushed lightly, the contact was electrifying. He could feel the sparks, as close as he stood to her.
She tilted her head to study him. “You’ll be returning to Texas soon, won’t you?”
“It depends on what happens with you. I’m not in a hurry to go after seeing you again.”
“Stop flirting, Jared. Or is that impossible?”
“Not impossible, but infinitely more interesting when you provoke it. How can I be with you and remain all business?”
“You might as well. The personal touch will get you nowhere.”
He gave her a mocking smile. “Watch out, I might prove you wrong.” He saw her gazing up at gray clouds streaking across the sky.
“When I crossed your river, the water was almost up to the bridge.”
“Scared you’ll get stranded with me?” he asked in amusement.
She whipped around to give him a level look. “No. I’ll leave before I let that happen,” she remarked.
“Here’s to the future and forgetting the past,” he said, ignoring her remark and raising his drink in a toast, even though he doubted he would ever lose all his bitterness toward her.
“This is pointless, Jared,” she said, sipping her drink.
“Megan, we both did things that hurt. I left here and you married someone else two months later,” he said, hoping he kept his tone casual enough to hide the stab that memory always brought.
“I’m sure you know my marriage didn’t last much more than a month before we filed for a divorce,” she replied with anger in her voice.
He recalled his fury and pain when his parents told him about a reception her father had for her and her new husband shortly after the marriage, and then the next thing he’d heard was that she was divorced, which gave him a degree of satisfaction.
“Where’s your son from that marriage?” he asked, wondering about her child.
“With my aunt and uncle in Sioux Falls,” she replied. A shuttered look had come over her features and he could feel a wall of coldness between them. She looked half angry, half afraid. He tried to curb his emotions and not let his bitter feelings interfere with his goals.
“At the time I couldn’t stay to tell you why I was doing what I was doing,” he said. “I never meant to hurt you like I did,” he admitted quietly, refusing to get into it now, knowing she wouldn’t listen to the truth about her father.
Twisting her shoulders out of his grasp, she strolled farther around the patio while he walked with her. “Jared, let’s not rehash the past. As you said, it’s done. Let go of it.”
“I will if you will. But I know this is why you backed out of the deal we had for the ranch. Admit it, you were ready and willing until you discovered that I was the buyer.”
“I’m not arguing with you about it. My dad would have despised selling to you. I’ll not do it—I promise you,” she said, her eyes wide and almost green again.
“Wait and let me talk to you about it, and what I’m willing to pay,” he said, fully confident he would win her over.
“I agreed to tonight only. In the next hour over dinner you can make your offer and then I’m out of your life.” Her gaze slid away from his, as if there were more she wasn’t saying. She’d hardly been reticent before. He had a suspicious feeling there was something he was missing, but he didn’t know what.
“As far as leaving you alone—I don’t know about that. There’s unfinished business between us.”
“I can promise you, we won’t renew it,” she said with such force he was taken aback. She walked on and he stared after her. Again, he had been mystified by the venom in her quiet tone. Why would she be that bitter now? They had planned to marry, but he hadn’t left her at the altar. He’d never gotten that far—they’d talked about marriage and getting engaged, and he was looking for a ring for her when her father ruined their plans. Her reactions were still strong enough for it all to have happened last week instead of seven years ago.
“I’ll check on dinner,” he said, and went to the cooker.
Jared turned the steaks, watching her between glances at his cooking. He wondered whether she was truly interested in her surroundings or simply trying to avoid him.
After turning the meat, he went into the house to get things ready. Because of the threat of rain, they would eat inside. If they had a real downpour, his bridge would be underwater and the ranch cut off.
Jared hoped to avoid any threat that would send her home early before he could convince her to sell. Revenge was his goal. He didn’t want to return to Texas empty-handed, so he planned the kind of offer she couldn’t turn down. This was a battle he wanted to win. And he hoped to have her in his arms tonight.
As he returned outside to get the steaks, she continued to circle the expansive patio. He observed her for a moment, aware how easy it was to watch her, letting his gaze drift slowly over her, recalling her passion and fire the night he had taken her virginity.
Pushing aside memories, he plated the steaks and joined her. “Dinner is served. I thought we’d eat inside—it’s cozier.”
“Fine,” she said, smiling. “Although, ‘cozy’ isn’t necessary to discuss business.”
“You haven’t smiled much. I like it.”
“A smile changes nothing,” she said, falling into step beside him.
He caught her arm and turned her to face him, holding both arms lightly. It was on the tip of his tongue to blurt out the truth to her about her father. Instead, Jared held back, knowing it might be a misguided sense of honor. Or not wanting to sound like he was making excuses. “Megan,” he said solemnly, “admit it, all your hostility is a grudge because I walked out seven years ago. If that weren’t between us, your father’s fight with my father would no longer matter. It’s solely about us. Right?”
Two
As Megan looked up at him, her heart drummed. “Yes, I hate you for that, Jared,” she admitted reluctantly, hoping to get him out of her life with a desperation that was making a wreck of her nerves. This morning had shocked her beyond belief. She had almost fainted. She hated the light-headedness and queasy stomach the sight of him caused.
Even worse, she loathed the jump in her heartbeat, the unwelcome reaction he could still evoke effortlessly. He was more handsome and appealing than she remembered, and that cleft in his chin was even more noticeable to her now. Tall, dynamic, sexy—too many qualities that she couldn’t ignore.
“I’m astonished you’re even here. You have your chain of successful restaurants and you have high-rise condos. I’m sure you have investments galore, plenty to keep you busy.”
“I’m interested in your ranch, and now in you. I’m amazed you haven’t married again,” he said.
“Not so surprising,” she replied carefully, her palms growing sweaty with nervousness that she prayed she hid. “I’m a divorced single mom. I’m young—six years younger than you, if you recall. I haven’t met the right person. I’ve pursued a career.”
“Why do I think you haven’t touched on the real cause,” he broke in, and her pulse accelerated.
“I’ve given you all the explanations you’ll ever hear,” she said. In a taut moment, she was lost in his dark gaze. When his gaze lowered to her mouth, her lips parted. She hated the reaction she had to him, but she saw the faint, mocking smile on his face. He knew what he could do to her.
He ran his finger slowly along her jaw. “You know, we could go at this a completely different way. We can renew an old, solid friendship.”
“Solid until you walked out without a word!” she said, and yanked her head away, stepping back. “There’s nothing between us now. Jared, I—” she began, tempted to get into her SUV and go.
“Let’s eat,” he interrupted, as if he guessed she was on the verge of leaving. He walked away in long strides. Distraught, with her heart pounding and her insides churning, she watched him. Why was the past being flung back in her face, when she had found some peace and thought she was safe from having to deal with Jared? If only he would leave. She couldn’t wait to get through dinner. The minute it was over she was going home, and, hopefully, he would go back to Texas forever.
In minutes, they were seated inside at a table, where thick, juicy steaks, steaming potatoes and crisp green salads awaited.
“Tell me about your life in Santa Fe. You have gallery now.”
She smiled and sipped her water. “I suspect you already know a great deal about my life at home. I’d guess you have staff check on all pertinent details. Admit it, you could write a dossier on me. And you know what my home looks like, what my income is, what I drive. And you’ve seen pictures of my gallery.”
“Actually, no,” he replied, as she had his full, undivided attention. “Only pertinent facts. You’re a potter living in Santa Fe with your son. You’re single. You have your own gallery.”
“That’s about it,” she said quietly, sipping ice water. “Santa Fe is an artists’ colony, actually. It’s a peaceful, thriving place, where someone can have a degree of privacy while maintaining an artist’s public lifestyle. I prefer to keep it that way, Jared. You don’t have to know about my life. Of course, you’re in papers and magazines and the news often enough for any six people.”
“That means nothing,” he said.
“In the meantime, you’ve built a fortune on delicious dinners, with your exclusive Dalton’s steak houses.”
“I’ve been lucky. That first restaurant in Dallas was a far bigger success than I ever dreamed. You have to make reservations a month ahead at a Dalton’s.”
“Sounds impressive. You’ve had a spectacular rise.”
He shrugged. “My dad bankrolled me with a huge sum of money, telling my brothers he would do the same for them when the time arrived. That hasn’t been necessary. I made enough of a fortune that I brought my brothers into the business and we’ve never looked back.”
“So what about your life and your offices and homes?”
He looked amused by her refusal to discuss herself. In spite of the polite conversation, they were sparring. She could feel the tension in the undercurrent, with his constant, unwanted appeal. So much about him was agonizingly familiar that it tore at her. Guilt, anger, desire pulling at her with increasing force. Dinner was eons long already, and they hadn’t even gotten to the true purpose. She had lived with a secret for over six years now. Was she staying silent and committing a sin beyond measure?
She tried to focus on what he was saying about himself.
“I’m not anywhere half as interesting,” he said. “I work and I play. The usual way. Mostly, I’m at my headquarters in Dallas, in meetings or on the phone. Depending on what’s happening, I go out in the evening. Nothing exciting. I travel a lot, have no serious love life. Any men in your life right now?”
She wished she could answer yes and put another wall between them, but if he’d had staff check into her lifestyle, even minimally, Jared already knew the answer to his question. She shook her head. “No. I lead a busy life and my days are dedicated to my son first and my pottery second. They fill my hours.”
“You’re a beautiful, desirable woman,” Jared remarked, his words slowing and his voice growing husky. “I find it difficult to think there’s no one. It has to be your choice.”
“Thank you,” she replied, intending to answer briskly and move on, but her words came out breathless, far too revealing. “I suppose it’s my choice, but my hours are taken. As it is, there aren’t enough hours in the day.”
Even though the steak was delicious, she had little appetite. Each bite was an effort. She was aware the evening had darkened early given the thunder, but she sat with her back to the windows.
“Tell me about Ethan,” Jared said, startling her to hear him say her son’s name.
“What’s to say? He’s a normal six-year-old. He plays soccer and T-ball. He has a mind for numbers, even at this age. He’s tall and has my black hair.”
“Where is he tonight?”
“In Sioux Falls with Aunt Olga and Uncle Thomas. Every summer when school is out, he stays with them for several weeks. You must know my parents died, but Uncle Thomas and Aunt Olga are like grandparents to him.”
“Do you have joint custody?” he asked, startling her. She shook her head quickly.
“No. Mike wanted out of our marriage as much as I did. When he learned about a baby on the way, we were already divorced. He gave me full custody. He had no interest in Ethan. Ethan doesn’t even know him.”
“I can’t imagine a man not wanting to know his own son. Sorry,” Jared said. “At least Ethan was too young to know what happened.”
Thunder growled, rattling the windows and she glanced back. “I’d like to head home while it’s not raining.” She turned to look into Jared’s dark eyes. “Let’s get this over with. We might as well get to the main topic. My ranch is not for sale.”
“Look at options,” he said easily, leaning back in his chair. “You plan to stay in New Mexico, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do, but as long as my aunt and uncle are alive, I have Dakota ties. They’re close to Ethan, as I am with them.”
“If you sell the place at the price I’m offering, you can afford your own plane and pilot, or charter a plane whenever you’d like to see them. That’s not any reason to hang on to something that will be a burden. Your place will go to ruin if you don’t care for it constantly.”
“I’m aware of the problems,” she said.
“Your uncle and aunt won’t move out here?”
She shook her head. “No. They’re city people and they have no interest in the ranch. I said I’d pay them to run it and give them a share in it, but they prefer to stay in Sioux Falls. Uncle Thomas and Dad never got along, and I don’t think Uncle Thomas wants any part of the ranch. Their only son, Ralph, lives in D.C., and his wife’s family is from Virginia, so he’ll never come back here.”
“So, why spend your money maintaining the ranch?” Jared asked. “Surely not out of spite. That’s expensive and impractical.”
“Our ranch is a profitable place, as you know. Which is exactly why you’d like it.”
He shook his head. “It’s profitable if it’s run right. But you know your dad invested hours and money into it and made it what it is. You can’t work in Santa Fe and maintain the ranch the way your dad did.”
She knew Jared was right, but she wasn’t going to admit it. She couldn’t keep from feeling that if she refused him, he would go on to other things, and she could quietly find a buyer later in the year and sell without Jared knowing until it was a done deal.
“Are you willing to close your gallery and move back here?” Jared asked. He sounded as if he were asking a casual question. His quiet voice and easygoing manner were deceptive. Even though she hadn’t been around Jared in years, she knew better. He had to care, and with his wealth, she suspected he was unaccustomed to rejection.
“I don’t think I’ll have to,” she answered, with the same lightness of tone that he maintained. “If it turns out more of my time is required, I’ll hire someone to run my gallery.”
They both had stopped eating and she could feel the tension increase. She also realized the thunder was more frequent. “Jared, I have to get across your bridge.”
“You have time,” he said dismissively, and with as much certainty as if he controlled the weather, which, under other circumstances, would have amused her. “Here’s what I’ll do,” he said. “I’ll pay you one million more than your asking price of thirty million,” he said flatly. “That has to be a figure that you have to consider.”
Stunned, she stared at him. One million more was huge. On top of her asking price, it was fantastic. “That’s impressive,” she said, studying him. “Why would you possibly want the Sorenson ranch that badly?”
He nodded. “Plus, I’d like the water rights.”
“The river runs through the Dakotas, far north of us. You can’t control all of it.”
He smiled as if they were discussing the weather. She knew he expected her to jump at his spectacular offer. “No, I can’t, but I’ll feel better about it if I control more water than I do now. That’s what our dads fought over. Plus, you have a thriving ranch. I would fully expect to make back my investment, or I wouldn’t want it. There would be no point.
“I’ve made you a damn fine offer, Megan, and you know it. Think about it. Whatever you do about the ranch, I don’t think you’re going to spend a lot of your time in South Dakota.”
“That’s not the only consideration.”
“You’re hanging on out of anger, not because of a business decision. I know you don’t run your gallery this way.”
“I’ve never been emotionally involved with anyone the way I was with you, so it’s difficult to view objectively,” she admitted, hating to reveal the depth of her hurt. His eyes widened as if in disbelief, and she wondered what he was thinking about. Just being with him was opening doors to more problems and hurt. Thunder boomed again, as if a reminder to terminate the evening.
Staring at his supreme self-assurance in consternation, she knew he was right, but she wasn’t going to let him win. “You’re a ruthless man, Jared,” she said flatly.
“No, I’m not. At least not in this case, and you know it. That’s a fabulous bid, more than you’ll get from anyone else. More than the place is worth. You’ve admitted that yourself. There’s nothing ruthless about it. Most people wouldn’t even be discussing the matter.” He reached out to touch her hand, startling her and causing an unwelcome jump in her heartbeat. “But then, you’re not ‘most people,’ and you never have been,” he added in a husky voice that made her draw a deep breath. His gaze lowered to her mouth and her lips tingled. “You think about it,” he suggested quietly, continuing to hold her hand. His hand slipped down to her wrist lightly, finding her racing pulse.
Satisfaction flared in his eyes, and she knew he could tell that she still had a strong physical reaction to him. The moment became taut, as his dark eyes probed hers. She should look away, move, speak—anything to end this electricity that intensified with each second; but she was held by his mesmerizing gaze. Memories rose to haunt her, tormenting moments of the past and their lovemaking. She could remember his kisses in exact detail, recollections she’d tried to shake.
“Stick to business,” she said, the words bubbling up in anger even as her soft tone sheathed the steel in her voice.
She became aware of rain, wondering when it had begun, because she had been engrossed by their conversation. To her chagrin, she discovered it was a downpour, barely heard inside while sheets of water beat against the windows. She stood abruptly. “I’m going. I’ve stayed until it’s pouring and I didn’t intend to.”
“Sit and wait it out,” he suggested. “We can be civilized with each other. If you prefer, we can stay off the topic of business.”
“The only thing I have to talk to you about, Jared, is business,” she said, praying that was all she had to discuss with him and that he never learned the truth of why she was so unhappy to see him. The whole day and evening had turned into a nightmare, and she tried to hide her nervousness over seeing him again.
“You’ll have a rough drive home. Let me take you and you can send a couple of your hands for your SUV tomorrow.”
“No,” she said, going to get her purse. Jared strolled behind her, his long legs eating up the distance with ease.
“Do you have a raincoat or umbrella?” he asked, and she shook her head.
“I didn’t think about it. I have an umbrella in the SUV.”
“I’ve got an extra. Wait a moment and I’ll get it for you.”
She watched him walk away, her gaze drifting over his long legs and through the memories of their bare strength against hers. Annoyed, she turned to the darkened window, watching rain beat against it. She wanted out of his house. Clearly, she recalled the muddy, rushing river nearly brushing Jared’s bridge. She had to be able to get through. She couldn’t stay the night with him.
To her relief, he reappeared with an umbrella and raincoat.
“Take both. I have others.”
“Thanks. Where are you going?” she asked, as she watched him yank on a second raincoat.
“I’ll follow you and see that you get across the bridge. I intended to have it replaced, but I forget about it in the dry spells. We can go years without it being underwater.”
“I can manage by myself. Thanks for dinner, Jared. I’ll consider the offer and get back to you,” she said over her shoulder, but he caught up with her, reaching ahead of her to open the door. His car was nowhere in sight, and she knew he would have to go back through the house or make a run for a garage. She didn’t care what he did. Her focus was on crossing the river.
As she started the SUV and drove away, she peered through the watery windshield that couldn’t be completely cleared by the wipers, even set on the highest speed.
Each flash of lightning increased her concern. Brilliant light illuminated fields that were turning into ponds, water running in the bar ditch. Occasionally, thin streams crossed low spots in the graveled road, and she knew the saturated ground was not soaking up the rain.
She couldn’t be cut off. Not here and not now. Why had she let him goad her into this dinner? He would have made his pitch whether she showed up to eat with him or not.
Rounding a bend, she topped a rise when lightning flashed. She gasped as the streak of light revealed a river ahead. The instant display vanished, leaving driving rain and darkness, but the image was indelible in her mind. There was no bridge in sight because it was underwater.
She glanced in the rearview mirror and received another surprise. Headlights were a quarter of a mile behind and gaining on her. It had to be Jared. How fast was he driving in this storm?
She forgot about him as the next bolt lit up her surroundings, and again she saw the river with only the top of the bridge rails showing.
With a sinking disappointment, she knew crossing it would impossible. Jared pulled close behind, honked his horn and stopped. He climbed out of his black pickup, dashing to the passenger side of her SUV. Reluctantly, she unlocked the door to let him in out of the storm.
“You can’t cross the bridge. Sorry, Meg,” he said as he slid in, slamming the door.
“Megan!” she corrected. It was the first time he’d called her Meg since he’d walked out on her.
“You’ll have to come back to the house. I’ve got plenty of room.”
In another flash of lightning, she looked at the river that spread out of its banks.
“I promise you this night will pass and be only a memory,” he said quietly, and she turned to find him watching her. “If you’d like, I’ll turn your SUV around for you.”
“Of course not, but thanks,” she answered. “I’ve gotten along on my own,” she said, unable to keep her resentment from showing.
Her cell phone rang, and she pulled it out of her pocket and answered, only to hear her son’s voice. She glanced at Jared, fear and guilt returning as she said hello to Ethan.
Jared waved at her and climbed out of the car. Relieved to have him go, she let out her breath. A tense evening was now turning into a grim night. She talked briefly, promised she would call again when she was out of the storm. Then she turned her SUV around in water that lapped over new ground.
Still, the rain came in thick sheets, drumming on the SUV and shutting the world from view except what was caught in her twin headlights. Jared’s pickup had faded from view quickly in the rain. The thought of being under the same roof with Jared through a stormy night frazzled her nerves. She didn’t care how large his house was—it could never be big enough, being thrown together through the night and morning until the rain stopped.
She wasn’t going to worry about tomorrow. Just get through tonight and resist his dark eyes. Their midnight depths held blazing desire, a continual hot-blooded look that made her tingle from head to toe. There was nothing circumspect, businesslike or remote about what she saw smoldering in his appreciative gaze.
When he was younger, he went after what he wanted with a single-mindedness that was fierce. She knew that intensity was focused on acquiring her ranch, but she didn’t care to have it turned on seduction.
Squaring her shoulders, she promised herself to keep barriers between them and try to get him out of her life before he discovered what she never wanted him to know. The SUV slid on the wet road and she turned her full attention to driving.
As she expected, when she reached his house he was waiting on the lighted porch. He stood by the railing, one booted foot propped on the rail. If he weren’t so handsome and sexy, it would be far easier to remain cool toward him. Too many shared moments that, at the time, she had thought the best of her life, made it impossible to deal with him objectively. She cut the motor and sat a minute. The wind was blowing, a thorough storm lashing the earth as if a mirror of her emotions. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out with the umbrella and dashed to the porch and into the house, where she kicked off her impractical pumps. She left her umbrella on the flagstone entryway. “I’ll leave them so I don’t track water,” she added, walking along the wide hall with him, trying to block memories of being in this house years ago. Her simmering anger crushed conversation and she walked in silence.
“Remember any of this?” he asked.
“Of course,” she answered in clipped tones, and he glanced at her with his head tilted and one eyebrow raised in a questioning glance that made her heart thud. She knew that look only too well.
“You haven’t changed much here, if my memory is correct,” she said, looking at potted palms and gilt-framed seascapes.
“Not in this part of the house. I’ve left this part alone. Otherwise, I had an addition built to the kitchen, as well as a new bedroom for me. I’ll show you later. How’s this room?” he asked, switching on a light and entering a room with a king-size four-poster bed and maple furniture that stood on a polished oak floor.
“Fine,” she said, following him into the room and seeing the adjoining bathroom.
“Let’s go back to the kitchen for something warm to drink. What would you like—hot chocolate, hot tea or something cold?” he asked while they walked down the hall again.
“If you have some, I’d prefer hot tea,” she answered. “I told my son I’d call him back. If you’ll excuse me,” she said, getting her cell phone from a pocket in her skirt. She went to the living area to stand at one of the floor-to-ceiling glass walls and watch the rain while she called Ethan. She missed him and just wanted to wrap her arms around him. Reassuring herself he was safe and happy with her relatives, she tried to quell her anxiety. Next she talked to her aunt to tell her she was marooned at Jared’s ranch.
With each jagged streak of lightning, she saw that the drenching rain hadn’t let up. The puddles had spread, increasing her concerns that she might be stranded in the morning.
Assuring her aunt she was fine, Megan put away her phone and rejoined Jared in the kitchen. Asking about his work, she perched on a bar stool and watched him set yellow china mugs on a large tray. Her gaze traveled over his features, so familiar to her. If he ever saw Ethan …
Her heart did a flip at the thought. With brown eyes and black hair, Ethan looked as much like his dad as a child could, even down to the cleft in his chin.
Another clap of thunder boomed and lights dimmed. Jared glanced toward the windows. “I’ll get candles, in case,” he said, crossing to disappear into a walk-in pantry.
“All I need,” she mumbled softly, hoping she didn’t spend the evening in candlelight with him. He had too many things going for him already.
Still focusing conversation on his work, she followed him into the living area, where she curled up in a chair. Lights were low and Jared had switched on soft music, while rain still drummed outside and poured off the porch roof. He took the nearby sofa and placed a tray with their steaming cups of tea and coffee on the glass table in front of both of them. Usually, such surroundings would lend a cozy intimacy to the evening, but she planned to have her drink and get back to the bedroom and close the door on Jared for the night.
As he answered her inquiries about his Dallas and Paris offices, his traveling and his houses, she wondered if she had made the mistake of her life. Should she have revealed to Jared long ago that he was the father of her son?
Had she erred by never contacting Jared through the intervening years? The minute the question came, she knew if she had to do it all over again, she would do the same. Jared had walked out on her without a word, never contacting her until their encounter this morning.
The simmering resentment boiled momentarily as she remembered her joy and his declarations of love, the wild passion between them and then … desertion. He didn’t contact her, give her any indication that anything was wrong—he left, and when she began to look for him, she discovered from his parents that he’d gone to Texas, where he’d taken a new job. They gave her his phone number, but she had no intention of calling him. The hurt had been monumental, compounded when she’d learned she was pregnant.
To forgive and forget was impossible. Tonight, he wanted something from her, and therefore was flirting and charming once again; but there was a solid, lasting bedrock of pain that he’d caused.
Still, guilt nagged and worry plagued her. Had she cut her son out of a relationship that would have enriched his life? Yet, how could a man who left like that have been that role model? He might not have paid any attention to him, which would have multiplied hurts.
Again, she hated the painful memories—agonizing ones of Jared, hurtful moments with her father, who was enraged when he discovered her pregnancy. Jared had been gone two months by the time her father learned the truth, and from the first moment when the doctor had given her the news, she’d known that she would be alone when she had her baby.
It hadn’t turned out that way, thanks to her aunt and uncle in Sioux Falls, who stood by her through Ethan’s birth.
Jared tilted his head to give her another one of those quizzical looks that was so familiar. How often had she seen the same look from her son?
“I think I’m talking far too much about my life. Tell me about yours,” Jared said. He sat back with one foot on his knee. A brilliant flash was followed by a window-rattling clap of thunder, and the lights dimmed and then went out.
“Sit tight,” Jared said in the darkness. “We’re ready for the emergency.”
With the next flash of lightning, she saw him standing, holding a candle. He began to light candles and place them in holders on the table.
The hiss of rain could be heard clearly, since music no longer played. Candlelight flickered and bathed Jared in a golden glow, highlighting his prominent cheekbones, his thickly-lashed eyes, the cleft in his chin and the sheen in his well-trimmed black hair. Unbidden thoughts came, of running her hands through that thick hair which had a tendency to curl, particularly in damp weather. Most of the time, Jared fought the curls and kept them combed out as much as he could, taming them into slight waves. He sat again, closer to the end of the sofa and her chair. “You look gorgeous, especially in candlelight.”
“Thank you,” she answered, hating the stab of pleasure his compliment gave her. “In candlelight everyone looks appealing. And on another topic—do you work more in the U.S. or abroad?”
He looked amused as he answered. “A safer topic, as you wish. Far less interesting,” he said. “I’m in the U.S. the majority of the time. Did you move to Santa Fe when you started making pottery?”
“Not right away,” she answered. She couldn’t imagine that he really cared what she’d done. “I worked for a decorator in Sioux Falls as well as on my own,” she continued. “I marketed through a Web site, and through the decorator. I thought it would be good to work in Santa Fe, so I moved and eventually went out on my own.”
“I doubt if your dad liked you leaving here.”
“No, he didn’t, but he decided it would be a good experience for me. I think he thought I’d fail and come home, despite the fact I’d even bought a house,” she replied, remembering how frightening it had been to move and go on her own with a small son. She had worried about Ethan and if the change would hurt him. The early years she’d lived with constant worry.
“Did he ever recognize your talent?”
She smiled. “Once I began to make sufficient money, my dad’s attitude changed.”
“It usually does,” Jared said. “Nothing succeeds like success. It’s difficult to imagine you working in clay, though,” he said, taking her hands in his warm ones. “These hands don’t look like you’re a potter.”
He turned her hands in his, intensifying a smoldering desire that she couldn’t extinguish with either anger or logic. Drawing a deep breath, she pulled her hands away.
“I liked holding your hands,” Jared said in a husky voice.
“It’s the storm and candlelight—and wine you had with dinner. I suspect you like holding the hand of almost any woman you spend the evening with.”
He ran his finger along her cheek and studied her with a somber, intent look as he shook his head. “Perhaps, but this is different. I didn’t know when I came back here and saw you that it would be this way.”
Her heart drummed along with her annoyance at him. She had no intention of letting him rekindle an unwanted physical attraction. To her dismay, he still held appeal, but her emotions battled it.
Beyond her physical response to him, there was not only her smoldering rage over the hurt he’d inflicted by leaving but also icy fear over what he might discover about her now. To be in close proximity to him set her nerves on edge.
“Jared, this isn’t a special moment, other than we may be having the rain of the year. Don’t pour on the compliments because I have something you want. You have a captive audience tonight, but don’t overdo it,” she said, thankful she could sound detached. Anything to keep an emotional distance between them. Yet her heart raced and his words weren’t going to be easily forgotten.
He gave her a crooked smile. “That wasn’t the reason for the compliments, I promise you. Buying your ranch was the last thing on my mind,” he added, in that same husky voice that was a caress in itself.
She finished her tea and stood. “I’ll turn in. I rise early.”
He stood. “It’s early to turn in, Megan.”
“Times change, Jared. We’re different people. I’ll take a candle.” When she reached to pick up her dishes, his hand closed around her wrist. The touch was light and casual, but the outcome was an unwanted skip of her heartbeat. Warmth suffused her beyond anything the hot tea had accomplished. Startled, she glanced up.
“You know that’s not true. Leave the dishes,” he said, his husky voice revealing his reaction to the contact. She was bending over the table and he had leaned close to take her wrist. Now they were only inches apart, closer than before. Candlelight flickered with pinpoints of light reflected in his brown eyes.
Once again she was captive, as she’d been beneath his volatile kisses—those kisses that had always set her ablaze.
“Megan,” he said softly.
“No,” she answered with little force. A pang of yearning tore her, instantly followed by anger that he could still have such an impact on her. Worse, she knew he was on the verge of a kiss she very much wanted. “No,” she repeated more firmly. She straightened and he dropped his hand, still watching her with searing fire in the depths of his eyes.
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