Texas Temptation (9 page)

She turned then and saw him. He saw the flicker of fear in her eyes, but then she smiled and looked quickly away.

“Good morning.” She pulled an orange-juice container out of the refrigerator and then shut the door.

“Mornin'.”

“I thought you might be hungry.” She set the juice down and turned her attention to the eggs. “I hope fried eggs are all right.”

“Fine.”

This was crazy, Jared thought. They'd just spent the night together, and they were talking like strangers. He watched as she removed the eggs from the pan, put them on a plate with some bacon and set it in front of him.

That was when he noticed her hand was shaking.

“Annie...” He sighed heavily and reached for her hand, but she yanked it away as if he'd burned her.

“Don't you say it, Jared Stone.” Her voice was low and hard. “Don't you dare say ‘I'm sorry,' or, ‘This should have never happened.' If you do, so help me, you're going to be wearing these eggs, instead of eating them.”

Stunned, he simply stared at her.

“Last night was the most incredible night of my life,” she said quietly, her voice wavering. “Don't take that away from me.”

Her words made his heart jump. Desperately he wanted to believe her, to pull her into his arms and drag her back in the bedroom, so he could unbutton that shirt slowly and see every inch of her in the daylight. Hold her close, laugh with her, love her... His hands clenched into fists.

He couldn't.

“Annie, my God...” He hadn't a clue what to say. But what was the difference? She'd hate him no matter what he said. “Look, emotions were running pretty high last night. I took advantage of that.”

She shook her head. “You took advantage of nothing, Jared. We're both adults. I knew exactly what I was doing.”

“I scared you half to death at the rig,” he argued. “You thought I was...”

The sentence died on his tongue. He shut his eyes and shook his head.

“Say it, Jared.” She placed her hands on the counter separating them. Her eyes flashed with anger. “Say it.”

A fist tightened around his chest as he lifted his gaze to hers. “You thought I was Jonathan.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That's what this is about, isn't it? Not just that I thought you were Jonathan at the rig, but that I thought you were Jonathan in bed last night.”

He wanted to slam his fist into the wall or kick down the door. Anything to release the horrendous pressure building inside him.

“I want you to look at me, Jared.” When he stared at the wall behind her, she curled her fingers into fists and banged them on the counter. “Look at me, dammit!”

Jaw tight, he did as she asked. If she'd been angry before, she was furious now. And so was he. He just didn't understand why.

She leaned closer and he heard the struggle in her voice to stay calm. “Last night there was no one on that couch or in that bed or in my mind except you. You, and only you. Do you understand that? Not physically, emotionally or mentally.”

She turned away from the counter, jammed her hands on her hips, then spun back around. Her eyes glistened. “I loved Jonathan. You loved Jonathan. But we can't bring him back. We can only be thankful we had the time with him that we did.”

Jared swallowed down the tightness in his throat. Still he said nothing.

“I didn't come here looking for this.” Her shoulders sagged. “It just happened. And I'm glad it happened. I'm only sorry that you aren't.”

She didn't understand, he thought, his chest aching. How could he ever make her understand?

“Annie,” he said hoarsely, “he...he was my brother. He loved you. He should be with you. I have no right.”

She sighed wearily, and the pain in her eyes was like a knife in his gut.

“So what shall we do, Jared? Shall we be friends?”

Friends? He frowned.

“Or maybe I should just think of you as a brother?” The sarcasm dripped from her words. “Is that how we should see each other, Jared? Brother and sister?”

She was being ridiculous, but her point was made. After last night, he'd never think of her as a friend, and he sure as hell would never think of her as a sister.

Dammit, he didn't know what to think anymore.

“Annie,” he said quietly, “there's something else. We...I...” He raked his hands through his hair. “Dammit, I didn't use any protection last night.”

Her cheeks flushed. She turned to the sink and stared out the window.

“It was careless of me,” he said awkwardly. “But you don't have to worry, I mean, about me. I've been no saint, but I've always used something with every woman I've ever been with.”

She drew in a slow breath and turned back to face him. “You don't have to worry about me, either,” she said, but there was no expression on her face. “Jonathan is the only other man I've ever made love to.”

He stared at her. She'd never been with anyone but Jonathan? A rush of elation poured through him, followed closely by a rush of pain. Had she loved Jonathan so much no one else had ever compared?

Until she'd met up with Jonathan's twin brother?

He stared at the food in front of him and wanted to smash the plate into a thousand pieces. “And if you're pregnant?”

She was quiet for what seemed like an eternity. “It's highly unlikely, but why don't we worry about that if it happens?”

He hated himself, because the idea of her having his baby brought a spark of joy to the emptiness inside him. And at the same time, he had to pray it wouldn't happen. “When will you know?”

Her face tightened. “Don't worry about it, Jared. No one's going to get the shotgun.”

“That's not what I mean, dammit,” he said tightly, then added more gently, “I care, Annie.”

She sighed, then tossed her head in frustration. “About three weeks. Just about the time we finish drilling, and before I have to leave.”

Leave.
No matter what the outcome with the well, she did have to leave. She'd get on with her life, and he with his.

They were both quiet as they ate breakfast. He was no longer hungry, but he forced himself. She picked at a piece of toast and sipped at her coffee. When they finished, they both dressed and drove into town silently together to give Slater and the crew the good news.

They had an oil well waiting to be drilled.

“I
swear, he was the most gorgeous man I'd ever seen. Right off the cover of Handsome Hunks Illustrated. Wavy sun-streaked hair, big brown eyes and quarterback shoulders. I fell in love instantly.”

Annie looked up from the menu she'd been studying and smiled as she listened to Jessica describe the shoe salesman she'd met in San Antonio.

Between school and work the past three years, Annie had spent little time with friends. It felt good to be out with another woman, exchanging girl-talk. Especially after the past three days of drilling. Everything had gone smoothly since they'd started work again, but Jared had been irritable, and the tension between them had been almost palpable. Annie had welcomed Jessica's invitation to lunch.

“And then he turned around—” Jessica leaned forward, her blue eyes wide as she whispered “—and I was a goner. He had the most perfect butt I've ever seen.”

Annie laughed at Jessica's outrageous comment. “You mean to tell me you really looked at his, uh, posterior?”

The waitress, a pretty brunette, appeared then and set two iced teas on the table. “First thing I always look at,” the brunette said as casually as if they'd been discussing an item on the menu.

Annie shook her head and reached for her tea, resisting the urge to ask what the second thing she looked at might be.

“Don't tell me you haven't noticed Jared's,” Jessica said to Annie with a mischievous grin. “He's adorable.”

Annie nearly choked on her tea. Adorable? Somehow, she couldn't quite put that word to Jared. Nor could she imagine having this conversation with Jessica and a strange woman. She felt her cheeks heat.

“Jared,” the waitress nodded with approval. “Now there's a
fine
specimen of—”

“I'll have a chicken salad,” Annie said quickly, cutting the woman off.

“Me, too.” Jessica handed the menu back to the waitress and wiggled her eyebrows. “Hold the dressing.”

Laughing, the brunette walked away. Jessica looked at Annie and grinned. “I mention Jared, and you turn red as a beet. So what's the skinny with you two?”

Annie doubted she'd ever met anyone more forthright than Jessica. She had a simple enthusiastic outlook on life that could charm the most hardened of individuals. And while it was a pleasure on one hand, the unexpected turn this conversation had taken was anything but.

“There is no skinny.” Annie busied herself squeezing a lemon into her tea. She hated lemon, but anything to keep busy so she didn't have to look at Jessica. “I'm here to work, that's it.”

Jessica's laugh was so enchanting that Annie noticed several men sitting at the counter turn and stare with interest.

“And I'm Bugs Bunny.” She wrinkled her nose. “I've seen the way you two look at each other. If you could bottle that heat, there'd be a new source for world energy.”

If Annie's cheeks had been warm before, they were on fire now. What was the point in denial? Jessica would see right through it, anyway. And besides, it felt good to talk to another woman, even if that woman was Jared's sister.

She sighed and stirred the ice in her tea. “Is it really that obvious?”

“Like sequins on a saddle,” Jessica drawled.

Without warning, Annie's eyes began to burn. She blinked and looked away.

“Annie, hey.” Jessica's voice softened as she reached across the table and laid her hand over Annie's. “What's the matter?”

Annie shook her head. She was making a fool of herself in front of Jessica. “Nothing. I'm fine, really.”

“No, you're not.” Jessica frowned. “It's Jared, isn't it? He's not making this easy. I swear, that man is too damn stubborn for his own good, or anyone's else's, for that matter.”

Annie's laugh was dry. “It didn't take long to figure that one out.”

“That was always one of the differences between Jonathan and Jared, you know,” Jessica said. “You could talk to Jonathan, reason with him. With Jared, you always needed a sledgehammer.”

At the mention of Jonathan, Annie felt a knot tighten in her stomach. How could she, after being engaged to Jonathan, be casually sitting here discussing Jared with Jessica?

Annie stared down at her hands in her lap. “Jessica, this is so awkward. You must think I'm...well, that I...”

“I don't think anything of you, Annie,” Jessica said softly, “except that you're a terrific person and you have great taste in men. There was never any question that you loved Jonathan. Everyone knows you did.”

Jessica's eyes were bright now as she tightened her fingers around Annie's. “But no matter how much we miss him, no matter how much we want him back, it's not possible. More than anyone, Jonathan would want you and Jared to be happy. Shoot—” she wiped at the corner of her eye “—knowing Jonathan, I'll bet he arranged this whole thing.”

The two women looked at each other and smiled, then laughed. A weight that Annie hadn't even realized she'd been carrying around suddenly lifted. It didn't ease the pain, but she felt considerably lighter.

“So what do I do now?” she asked Jessica. “He blames himself for Jonathan's death. Every time he looks at me, that's all he sees.”

“Like I said, he's a stubborn man. Give him some time, and if that doesn't work, get yourself a sledgehammer. He'll come around.”

Annie wasn't so sure. But the idea of a sledgehammer appealed greatly to her. “I think you're going to need one for yourself when you move out to that ghost town of yours. Jared and Jake have both threatened to drop you down a well and leave you there until you come to your senses.”

Jessica grinned. “Oh, they'll try, all right, but stubborn doesn't stop with those two. I'm afraid I inherited that character flaw myself. They've been hovering over me since our mother died, questioning every date I've ever been on, watching every step I take.”

“How old were you when your mother died?” Annie asked.

“Fourteen,” she answered, then stared down at her iced tea. “I ran a little wild after that, especially after my father married Myrna.” Her grin was wicked. “I admit, I delighted in tormenting the woman. She hadn't a clue how to deal with a rebellious teenager. She was easy to get around, but three big brothers, on the other hand, were a little more difficult. They were breathing down my neck constantly. Despite all their efforts, I came close to getting into some serious trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“Even in a town this small, there were drugs and liquor. I was so lonely and I missed my mother so much I could have gone that way, but fate intervened and I turned everything around.”

Annie leaned forward intently. “Fate?”

The waitress brought their salads then. Jessica just smiled. “It's another story for another time. But let's just say that Makeshift—that's my ghost town—saved my life. No matter what Jared or Jake think, nothing would ever hurt me there. It's the safest place in the world. Whether they like it or not, I'm moving out there and building my youth center.”

Annie recognized the rigid tilt of Jessica's chin and lift of her shoulders. It was the Stone trademark of tenacity. She'd be moving out there, all right. No doubt about it.

Jessica grinned. “Wait till you see the fuss Jake and Jared are going to make. It's going to be great.”

An ache spread through Annie's chest. “I wish I could, Jessica. But I'm afraid I won't be here. Once we finish drilling, I'll be going back home.”

Jessica looked at her and smiled reassuringly. “Don't be too sure about that, Annie. Jared might be stubborn, but he's not stupid. He won't let you go.”

He'd not only let her go, Annie thought bleakly, he'd hold the door for her. But for this moment, as Annie looked into Jessica's confident eyes, she felt a tiny ray of hope. It wasn't much, but when it came to Jared Stone, she'd take whatever she could get.

* * *

“Of course I'm sure.”

Annie switched the phone from one ear to the other as she dug under the mountain of paperwork for her pencil. She'd had it in her hand just before her supervisor from Arloco, Ken Fisher, had called, but now it had mysteriously disappeared.

“Like I told you yesterday, Ken,” she said, flipping through a stack of logs, “and the day before that, everything is fine. An overzealous civil servant is not a problem, and we've made up the time, anyway. We've been drilling seven days and we're not even off the projected depth by five feet.”

Of course, she didn't mention that the pipes had twisted off once in the past four days and the lights had blown twice. Ken really didn't need that pressure. He'd have enough when he got the bill for the overtime they'd had to pay when three of the men had come down with flu.

Only half listening as her supervisor continued to grill her on the well's progress, Annie lifted the corner of the map she'd been working on. The pencil rolled out, then over the side and under the desk. Exasperated, she juggled the phone between her shoulder and chin while she knelt down to retrieve it, but only succeeded in dragging the entire phone off the desk. It crashed to the floor.

She bit back the swear word on her tongue and got on her hands and knees.

“What's the big deal?” She scooted under the big metal desk and searched the floor. “We've worked on dozens of projects like this and you're never this concerned, especially so early in a project. Is there something you aren't telling me?”

Where had that pencil gone now? she thought irritably. Wasn't there even one thing in her life she had some control over? Was a pencil going to get the best of her, too?

Teeth set, she squinted and scanned the dark cubicle under the desk.

“A baby!” She jerked upward at the news and hit her head on the underside of the desk.

“Oh, Ken, that's wonderful,” she said softly, rubbing her head. “When?”

Still under the desk, she leaned forward and sat cross-legged, listening intently while he gave her the details. Annie knew Ken's wife, Debbie, and she knew how long they'd been trying to conceive. That certainly explained why the man was on edge.

“Look, don't worry about me,” she told him when he'd finished. “I'm a big girl, remember? I can take care of everything here, okay? Okay. And don't call me, I'll call you.”

Smiling, she hung up the phone. Ken Fisher was going to be a daddy. He'd sounded excited, but scared to death. She sighed softly and pulled her knees up, resting her cheek on them, closing her eyes as she gently touched her own stomach, wondering...

“You want to tell me what the hell that was all about?”

Startled, her eyes flew open, but all she saw were a pair of boots plastered with mud and two denim-covered legs. She craned her head and met Jared's dark gaze as he stared down at her.

“What was what all about?” She started to move out from under the desk, but he sat in the desk chair and moved closer, trapping her.

“That phone call. I heard you.”

She frowned up at him. He'd been ornery as a grizzly bear all week. He'd also been working extra shifts and obviously getting little sleep. His eyes looked like American flags and fatigue lined his brow. If she hadn't been so worried about him, she'd be furious. A mixture of frustration and exhaustion coursed through her.

“Jared,” she said with a sigh, “just say whatever it is that's on your mind. I have work to do.”

His lips thinned. “Are you pregnant?”

“What!”

“I heard you talking just now. I want to know if you're pregnant.”

So that was what it was. He'd been watching her closely all week, and she'd had a feeling this was the reason. As if by just looking at her he could tell if she was going to have a baby.

“Eavesdropping, Jared?” She clucked her tongue. “Shame on you.”

He scowled at her. “Annie, I have a right to know.”

“Yes, Jared, you do.”

“Well?”

“Well, what?” She folded her arms.

“Are you pregnant?”

Jared knew he was shouting but was too angry to care. When he'd walked in and heard bits and pieces of Annie's conversation—under the desk, no less—he'd felt a jolt of excitement when he'd heard the word “baby,” then a rage when she'd said she'd “take care of it.”

“It's been exactly one week.” Her lips thinned in annoyance. “How could I possibly know if I was pregnant or not?”

He thought about that. “I thought women knew stuff like that.”

She twisted under the desk and faced him. “That only proves how little you know about women, Jared Stone. Now let me out of here.”

He didn't. “Well, what am I supposed to think? I find you hiding under the desk, you said ‘baby,' then you said you'd ‘take care of it.'”

She looked up at him, and the pain and hurt he saw there made him instantly regret his words.

“Is that what you think, Jared?” she said quietly. “That I might do that if I were pregnant?”

He felt like a jerk. Hell, he
was
a jerk. He knew she would never do that. Not Annie.

He let out a long breath and shook his head. “I'm sorry. I'm just a little testy right now.”

“A
little
testy?” Her laugh was sarcastic. “Buddy, of all the men I've ever worked with, you get the trophy for testy.”

She was right. He had been difficult. But this past week had been hell. Since the permit fiasco, they'd already had more than their share of problems, with the crew getting sick and equipment breaking down. He'd worked long hours, not only to make up the slack with the crew, but to keep himself occupied every minute he could. It was either that or think about Annie, and that was one luxury he couldn't allow himself. He'd kept a close eye on her all week, but unless they needed to discuss the operation of the rig, he'd managed to stay away from her.