Eyes dancing, she drew teasing circles along his back. “Thank you for that beautiful offer, and a couple of weeks ago, I might have been wrongheaded enough to have accepted. But now I know my heart and my future are here in Royal.”
He couldn’t believe his ears or his luck. More than luck, this was a Christmas miracle beyond any he could have imagined. And right on schedule as the night slid into Christmas Eve.
Jesse looked into the eyes of the woman he knew he would love for the rest of his life. “Merry Christmas, Esme. You’re the best gift I could have ever received.”
“And Merry Christmas to you, cowboy.” She pulled his Stetson off and dropped it on her head. “I can promise you, the celebrating has only just begun.”
Epilogue
Esme clutched Jesse’s hand, eager to hear the announcement of the Houston chapter’s president, the news to be revealed just before the stroke of midnight at the New Year’s Eve soiree. She was doing her best to seem even-keeled and not at all on edge.
The ballroom was packed with members from both clubs, wall-to-wall Texas powerhouses mingling under crystal chandeliers. The men were decked out in tuxedos and their best Stetsons. Designer gowns and jewels to rival royalty draped the women.
But no one outshone the man at her side. She stole a look up at Jesse, her heart in her throat. They’d had a blissful Christmas week together before driving to Houston yesterday for this evening’s New Year’s Eve gala.
Esme had gotten dressed twice tonight. The first time, Jesse had peeled off her gown and messed her updo. But she didn’t mind. Not one bit. She and Jesse had thrown their clothes on quickly, barely making it to the gala on time. Trying to restore order to her hair in the car ride over, she’d given up and brushed it into a sleek, straight fall down her back. She’d smoothed the wrinkles out of her maroon gown with her hands, the silver embellishments glistening in the dash lights.
No one seemed to notice her hastily-put-together look. She slid a smoky-eyed glance up at Jesse. His knowing smile promised a repeat of earlier. An answering heat rose in her.
Her father and Ryder both appeared to be a bundle of nerves, even though they were making nice with each other, Angela smiling between them.
Her sister seemed happy. Genuinely happy. A sight that had been missing for what felt like ages.
And Jesse stepped right up like he’d known them forever. She appreciated how supportive he was of her family as a whole, and hoped to help him grow closer to his sister, Janet.
The music shifted from a fast dance number to a softer tune as the chairwoman for the nomination committee walked around the champagne fountain. Abigail Langley Price, a stunning redhead in a bold sequined gown, had been instrumental in allowing women to join the Texas Cattleman’s Club.
Abigail climbed the steps to take the microphone. “Well, I imagine everyone is eager to hear the election results.” She paused playfully before continuing, “And I won’t keep you in suspense a second longer. I’ll start with the board members.”
She pulled out a card and slid on cat’s-eye reading glasses. She read name after name off the list with a flourish, waiting for the applause to wane after each announcement. And every time neither Ryder nor her father was called, nerves ratcheted higher in Esme’s stomach with the growing possibility the president would be one of them.
The woman smiled out at the audience. “There are only two more board positions to fill before I announce the first president of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, Houston branch. Are you ready?”
The crowd roared in response. Esme’s gaze skittered over to her father. She mouthed “good luck” from across the room. Sterling winked at her, inclining his head before turning his attention back to the stage.
Jesse squeezed her hand, a gesture of warmth and support that flooded her. Made her feel invincible. Like anything and everything was possible.
“There’s a bit of a twist. We have a tie for the last two board positions, both having gained equal support. Our last two positions will be filled by...Sterling Perry and Ryder Currin.”
Neither man had won the bid for president?
Shock tingled through Esme, a sentiment she suspected she wasn’t alone in feeling. Whispers zipped from person to person. If not Sterling or Ryder, then who?
The woman tapped the microphone to regain control of the room. “It is now my honor, as one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal chapter of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, to announce your president...” A drumroll rippled from the band, then stopped. “Elected with an overwhelming amount of write-in votes...Angela Perry.”
Angela?
Without a second’s hesitation, the crowd erupted into deafening applause and shouts of approval. And as Esme thought about it, she couldn’t imagine anyone better for the job than her sister. She hoped her father and Ryder would be supportive, as well. Angling to look, she found both men holding their hands high in applause as Angela made her way to the stage.
Her sister was a vision in an off-the-shoulder gown of gold tulle with the tiniest shimmer. “Thank you, everyone, for the vote of confidence.” Angela pressed a hand to her chest, breathless with surprise. “I’m stunned, to say the least. But honored and excited to lead the Houston chapter as we launch.”
She waited for the applause to die down. “I’m especially pleased to serve with my father and my fiancé on the board.”
More applause and cheers rippled through the partiers. Jesse let out a whoop. Esme’s heart nearly burst as her smile grew even wider.
“I hope you’ll indulge me a moment longer as my fiancé and I share some news of our own.” Angela held out a hand to Ryder, her engagement ring glinting. She waved for him to join her on stage. He climbed the steps, his face beaming with pride.
Angela looked up at him, their love for each other clear for all to see. “We were given the best Christmas present of all. We’re expecting our first child together.”
The cheers and applause doubled in a rousing endorsement followed by glasses lifted in toast. Partiers converged around the couple and Esme knew she didn’t stand a chance of getting to her sister anytime soon. But that was okay. They had months to celebrate.
Plans were already flowering in her mind for a joint baby shower for both of her sisters. Twins celebrating the births of their first children. Esme was truly happy for them.
Just as she knew they would be happy for her when her day came.
She looked up at Jesse, wondering aloud, “Are you feeling the baby urge? I know you want children. And so do I.”
Jesse kissed the inside of her wrist before drawing her hand to rest against his heart. Stars and promises glimmered in those green eyes.
“Someday. But first, I want us to have time together, to get to know each other, to build a foundation for our future.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “But at the risk of sounding too practical, I want us to have time to savor falling more and more in love with each other.”
“That’s beautiful. Underneath all that rancher practicality, you really do have a sentimental heart, full of emotions as messy as your desk.”
“My desk?” He cocked his head to the side, a laugh spluttering out.
“No need to look offended. I think all that clutter is endearing.” She remembered the time they’d gotten hot and heavy there, a place that had helped her see who Jesse Stevens really was inside.
“Well, then, I’m more than happy to have a messy office.”
The countdown to midnight started, the partiers chiming in until the forty-five-second mark was a thunderous echo of numbers. He pulled her close, swaying with her to the music, then spinning her out onto the balcony.
“How smart of you to have come out here ahead of the crowd to see the fireworks.”
“Actually, I brought you out here to tell you how much I love you.”
She smiled, her heart f
ull of happiness like a champagne glass full of bubbles. “You’ve already told me.”
“It’s something I look forward to telling you every day.” He held her tighter. Closer. Their bodies melting into one. Into a promise of forever.
“Now, isn’t that convenient? Because I love you, too, and I enjoy telling you again and again.” She teased her fingers along the hair at the base of his neck. “I can’t believe how lucky we are.”
“What a way to ring in the new year.”
“And how wonderfully perfect we’ll get to share the midnight kiss.”
His low growl of approval rumbled between them as he angled down to take her up on that kiss.
A kiss that set her senses on fire. Their love made everything all the more special.
And as she arched up on her toes to press herself even closer, she could have sworn the fireworks had already started.
* * *
Return to Royal, Texas, in a brand-new series
from Harlequin Desire!
Texas Cattleman’s Club: Inheritance
Things are more complicated than they seem
when the supposedly wicked stepmother
inherits everything...
Tempting the Texan by Maureen Child
Available December 2019
Rich, Rugged Rancher by Joss Wood
Available January 2020
From Boardroom to Bedroom
by Jules Bennett
Available February 2020
Secret Heir Seduction by Reese Ryan
Available March 2020
Too Texan to Tame by Janice Maynard
Available April 2020
Her Texas Renegade by Joanne Rock
Available May 2020
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Rebel by Joanne Rock.
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Desire story.
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The Rebel
by Joanne Rock
One
Marcus Salazar would have enjoyed the afternoon trail ride a whole lot more if he’d left his cell phone back at the ranch.
He’d set the device to vibrate after ignoring two calls from the office, but he still found himself checking it. He couldn’t help it. He’d come to Mesa Falls Ranch, a Western-style luxury corporate retreat here in Montana, for the most important business meeting of his life: to hammer out a deal with his half brother, Devon, that would finally give Marcus full control of Salazar Media. Their negotiations couldn’t start soon enough to suit him.
When his phone began buzzing again, he plucked it from the breast pocket of his canvas jacket and saw that it was Devon calling. Maybe his brother had finally arrived. Marcus reminded himself to be civil and start things on a positive note. He and Devon might have opposing views on the future of Salazar Media—and just about everything else—but there was no need to revisit old ground this week. He’d simply discover how to buy out Devon’s investment and they could sever ties at last. He swiped the screen to answer the call.
“I can meet you in the great room in twenty minutes,” Marcus said without preamble, grateful for the cooperative Appaloosa who didn’t seem to mind his busy hands. He tried to keep a level grip on the reins with one hand while he held the phone in the other, remembering basic horsemanship from his prep school days. “I took one of the horses out while I waited for you, but we’re almost back to the main lodge now.”
Squinting into the late-afternoon November sunlight, Marcus could see the pine-covered ridge that sheltered the stables on the six-thousand-acre ranch. The acreage was situated close to the Bitterroot River, a place his father, Alonzo Salazar, had visited often, and he’d talked of bringing Marcus and Devon there for a trip on several occasions.
When they’d been kids, there’d been bad blood between their mothers that had made the trip too difficult to orchestrate. And later there’d been plenty of enmity between the men themselves. Now it was too late. Marcus and Devon had said their final goodbyes to Alonzo Salazar last summer after a battle with pancreatic cancer that was over far too quickly. Their father was gone, and he’d been the only reason the brothers had been civil to each other outside the family business.
They probably could have dissolved the rest of their ties without coming here, but they were fulfilling a deathbed promise to their father to meet at the ranch before they went their separate ways. For reasons Marcus still didn’t understand, their dad had been determined to get Marcus and Devon to this corner of western Montana.
“I’m not in town yet, unfortunately.” Devon’s voice competed with a lot of background noise. An announcement over a loudspeaker. The hum of other voices. “I’m still in the airport in Mumbai.”
“Mumbai?” Marcus leaned back in the saddle, stopping the horse on the trail so he could give the call his full attention. “As in the other side of the globe?”
Frustration simmered in his veins. His brother wouldn’t arrive for at least another day.
“I would have called sooner, but my phone and passport were both stolen and I was...detained by customs.” His brother sounded pissed. And exhausted.
“Did you recover the phone?” Confused, Marcus checked the caller ID and saw his brother’s face, only to realize Devon had contacted him through a social media messaging service, not a regular call.
“No. I bought a new one at an airport kiosk.” Devon’s voice rasped like a man who’d been talking for hours. “I’ve got a message in to the embassy to get some help returning to the States, but in the meantime, I—” there was interference on the call, as if Devon was walking through a wind tunnel “—should be in Montana soon.”
“I missed that.” Marcus nudged the Appaloosa’s flanks, wondering if the cell signal was weak in this heavily wooded section of the trail. The mare started forward again. “I just finalized the deal to bring on Mesa Falls Ranch as a client.” He’d been working on that angle with the ranch owners ever since he’d realized the trip here was inevitable, and he’d received a verbal agreement from one of them earlier in the day. “I can take an extra day to work on their account personally, but if you’re not here in forty-eight hours, I’m flying back to Los Angeles.”
Marcus handled the West Coast office. Devon was his copresident in New York. Only their father had outranked them, and he’d been a mostly silent figurehead CEO.
“There’s no need. I—” Devon’s words faded as the connection cut out again “—as an emissary. She can speak for me—”
A loud crackling noise hissed through the device.
“Who?” Marcus strained to hear what his brother was saying, the tinny voice over a loudspeaker drowning out some of Devon’s words and the poor call quality muting even more. “Is someone coming to the ranch for you?”
“—will message you. Sorry about this.”
The connection cut out completely.
Marcus glared down at his phone to see Devon’s social media photo staring back at him. How could Devon have waited until the last minute to get on a flight to Montana? Even on the company jet—and he didn’t have it in Mumbai—the trip would have been eighteen hours, give or take.
Although, having been detained in customs overseas himself, Marcus knew it wasn’t a picnic. Besides, maybe Devon’s guilt over not m
aking their meeting would play into Marcus’s hands in helping him win control of Salazar Media for good. The company had been his brainchild, after all. His father and brother had only signed on for financial support, with their father assuming the CEO position simply because he’d been effective in brokering an accord between his warring copresident sons. With their father’s death, there was a power vacuum that Marcus planned to fill. As the creative founder, Marcus deserved the CEO role, and he planned to have it or he’d leave the company that he’d started.
Jamming the phone in his breast pocket, he urged his mount faster, racing hard toward the main lodge on Mesa Falls Ranch. The retreat had undeniable appeal. The fact that the mountains and the wide-open spaces could distract him from his frustration for even a moment was a testament to the place’s beauty. A consortium of owners—six in all—had maintained the lands and shared the cattle for the last eight years, with each of them having a home on the acreage. But the group had decided to open the land to guests a year ago, in an effort to fund their move to sustainable ranching. Sensing a business opportunity for Salazar Media, Marcus had opened a dialogue with the group, hoping to secure their account. The owners had made a verbal commitment to six months’ worth of social media advertising with Salazar, with an option for extending the contract if they were pleased. Marcus planned to set up a few appointments with key members of the ranching staff—to make his presence felt here—and then head back to LA once the finalized contracts were signed.
His conscience would be clear that he’d at least tried to meet Devon at the retreat. If Devon couldn’t bother showing up, that was on him.
As Marcus reined in behind the stables, he could see a shiny black Escalade pull up to the huge main lodge. A liveried driver hopped out and jogged around to the back, where tinted windows prevented Marcus from seeing inside. His brother’s words floated back to his brain—something about an emissary.
Could Devon have sent someone to the ranch in his place? It galled him to think his brother had managed to arrange for a replacement, because he would have had to make the arrangements hours ago. Clearly, phoning his own brother to let him know he was delayed hadn’t been his first priority.
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