Beyond the fenced-in pool stood a five-sided pool house nestled against an even higher privacy fence. In the other corner stood a hot tub. Walking along the length of the rectangular pool, she lifted her face up to the snowflakes, and one fell on her nose. She was getting chilled. The cedar-sided pool house drew her attention and she went toward it, thinking it was big enough to be a guest house. She really didn’t expect the door to be open, but when she turned the knob, it was. Flicking a light switch by the door, she found the space illuminated by a table lamp.
There was a partition dividing the equipment part of the pool house from the sitting area. In the latter was a cast-iron stove. From the controls, Lisa figured it was fueled by gas. Across from it sat a leather love seat and club chair in a beautiful shade of teal. The wrought-iron table held a Tiffany lamp.
Crossing to the stove, Lisa could see the pilot was lit. She pressed the starter button and the stove came to life, the fire burning behind the ceramic logs. The chill diminished and she opened her jacket and slipped it off. Then she sat on the love seat and watched the snow fall through the glass window in the door.
Suddenly she wasn’t just looking at the snow, but at a tall figure of a man. Her breath caught until she realized it was Alan. He knocked lightly, then turned the knob, stepping inside. He wasn’t wearing a coat, just jeans and a flannel shirt that he hadn’t tucked in.
“I heard the door in the dining room open and close,” he said by way of explanation for his presence. “Is everything all right?”
“I couldn’t sleep. I hope you don’t mind me wandering.”
Approaching her now, he smiled. “The pool house is for guests.” He motioned toward the hot tub on the other side of the pool. “If you want to get in the tub for a soak, it’s an experience with the snow falling. There are extra suits in that small chest over there. I’m sure one of Christina’s would fit you.”
If Lisa was in a bathing suit, Alan would see her tattoos. In a bathing suit, she’d feel practically naked. Being naked—even semi-naked—around him would only be asking for trouble. “I think I’ll skip the hot tub tonight.”
“It might relax you so you can sleep.”
“I’m relaxed. I’m sure when I go back to my room I’ll fall asleep.”
He lowered himself beside her on the love seat. “You don’t look relaxed. Your spine is as straight as a rod. You look like you’re ready to bolt.”
“You’re imagining things. I was cold. I’m getting warm now.” She willed herself to loosen up.
“I don’t understand you, Lisa. One moment you seem adventurous and free, the next you’re guarded and withdrawn. What’s up with that?”
“Are you the same all the time—with everybody you meet, with everyone you spend time with?”
“I thought I was until I met you. Around you, in some ways I feel like a teenager again.” His hair fell rakishly over his brow. With his flannel shirt open at the neck, the flaps hanging out over his jeans, he looked younger.
“Do you think I make you feel younger?” She was searching for a reason for his attraction to her.
“When I’m around you, I feel an excitement about life I haven’t felt in a long time, a sort of buzzing in my blood.”
She knew about the buzzing because she was experiencing it, too. “Certainly you’ve felt that way about other women since your divorce.”
“Actually, no, I haven’t. I’ve wanted to. I think I might have even pretended I did. I might have convinced myself that I felt sparks when there weren’t any there.”
“Why did you do that?”
He shoved his hand through his hair and frowned. “It’s complicated.”
“Tell me,” she suggested, wanting to hear what he had to say.
“You don’t want the long, drawn-out history of my love life.”
“I want to know if any of what we’re feeling is real.” After all, maybe kissing her had been a rush. Maybe now he didn’t really feel anything except an inkling of sexual interest he might feel with any woman. If that was the case, she’d push him away fast and run hard.
He shifted a bit, his knee brushing hers. He didn’t move it away. Maybe he saw that she needed some real honesty from him, some real sincerity, so she could figure out what she wanted to do next.
“It’s an old story, really,” he began. “I was in college at the University of Oregon. I wanted to know what kind of world was out there, outside the boundaries of Texas and the Lazy B. I went to Oregon because I could find things I’d never experienced in Texas—the rock climbing, the boating, the ocean not that far away. When I went to college, I was thinking about escaping my roots. Neal had already graduated and was taking over the reins of the ranch from my dad. Before I returned to manage it with him, I wanted to taste life somewhere else.”
“That’s normal for any kid trying to find his wings,” she commented.
“I suppose so. I dated, but nothing serious. Then Christmas of my junior year, I met Sherri at a family party when I came home for the holidays. It sounds terrible to say it, but I was bored and didn’t really want to be back home. She’d moved to Rocky Ridge from Oklahoma, and taken a job with her uncle at the home improvement store. She was trying to escape her roots, too, I guess. We dated over the holidays and one night, things went too far. She told me she was on the pill and I believed her.”
“She wasn’t?”
“She was, but I don’t know if she remembered to take it regularly. She didn’t tell me that. When I came home at Easter, I found out she was pregnant. There was never any question in my mind what I had to do. I asked her to marry me so we could raise our child together, but we never had real feelings for each other.”
He looked straight ahead as if he were looking back and seeing what had gone wrong. “We tried to make it work for ten long years. It just didn’t. When Christina was in fifth grade, her grades began falling and the teacher questioned whether there were problems at home. We’d thought we’d covered them really well, but kids…they just soak in everything. And Christina could feel that her mom and I didn’t love each other. I was away on business more and more, so I didn’t have to be home. Sherri was constantly complaining when I was at home. So we let go of the marriage and concentrated on our daughter.”
Once again Lisa’s heart thumped unbearably hard. Alan had dropped out of college to make a life and accept responsibility. She had left responsibility behind to go to college. In so many ways, they were opposites.
So why was she breathless every time she looked into his eyes? “And you really haven’t been involved with anyone since your divorce?”
“Not seriously.”
Maybe that meant he couldn’t commit. Maybe he was still trying to escape his roots. Maybe seeing what was beyond the Lazy B was still more important than settling down in one place to be with someone he loved.
When Alan moved a little closer, when he slipped his arm around her shoulders, she kept perfectly still. They’d shared one kiss. What were the chances a second one would be just as potent? And if it wasn’t, wouldn’t that prove there was nothing special here?
“I feel so alive when I’m with you,” he murmured, a breath before his lips captured hers.
It didn’t even take a second until she was tipsy from the intoxicating rush of desire that went straight to her head, and her heart, her soul and her body. When his tongue coaxed her lips apart and began an erotic invasion, there was no doubt that this chemistry she had with Alan was special. He took the kiss deeper and his hands slipped to her breast. He groaned when he realized she wasn’t wearing a bra. Their passion escalated so fast, she hardly realized she was unbuttoning his shirt, touching his skin, sifting her fingers through his chest hair. All of it felt so good that she just wanted it to go on and on. She wanted Alan to touch her everywhere and make love to her and—
Make love.
Love didn’t happen in an instant. It didn’t happen because two people had chemistry and couldn’t keep their hands off each
other. She thought of Thad and the lines he’d fed her, the things he’d told her, the feelings she’d thought were mutual.
Mutual.
Did she even want anything mutual? Didn’t she have a life to find? Hadn’t she given up Timothy so that he could have the best of everything?
That meant the best of her, too. She wouldn’t move away from him. She wouldn’t find a life outside of him. She was his backup, his in-case-something-happened-to-Brian-and-Carrie security. Nothing would ever change that. She had no right kissing Alan like this, endangering everything she was trying to build.
She pulled away from him, gasping from the loss, knowing she was doing what was right, yet wanting him so keenly, she was confused about everything.
To her surprise, he wasn’t angry, he just looked perplexed. “This isn’t what you want?”
In essence, he was asking, Am I not what you want? He was everything she wanted, possibly, but not right now. Maybe not ever.
Sitting up, she didn’t answer him, just reached for her jacket. “I’m sorry, Alan, I really am, but I can’t—”
She couldn’t get out any more words or she’d cry. She wouldn’t cry in front of him. She didn’t want to cry in front of anyone.
She left Alan in the pool house. When she looked back over her shoulder, he was sitting on the love seat, staring into the fire.
Tears came then, whether she wanted them to or not. She swiped them away as she hurried back to her room.
Chapter Seven
Whenever Alan looked at Lisa, she glanced away. He had a terrifically difficult time keeping his attention on the breakfast conversation Friday morning. After another glance at her, during which their gazes met for an interminable moment, he focused on what his daughter was saying to Brian.
“It absolutely purrs. I can give you a ride later if you’d like,” she added. “You, too, Uncle Neal. Maude can sit in the back seat because she’s got short legs. She’ll fit.”
Christina had today free from school because the teachers had in-service meetings. He knew in her excitement over her car she was oblivious to how quiet everyone was this morning, including his ex-wife, who’d joined them.
Neal nudged Sherri. “Since Christina is staying, I’ll give you a ride home when you’re ready.”
Christina explained to Lisa, who was sitting beside her, “I’m staying overnight so I can see Dad off tomorrow morning. I know you and Dad and Mr. Summers have a meeting at one with a client. I can occupy myself in the barn. I always find something to do here.”
“As opposed to not being able to find things to do at home?” Sherri asked, looking a bit hurt.
“Oh, Mom. You know what I mean.”
Although Sherri had been practically monosyllabic this morning—Alan didn’t know what her problem was—he did know what was bothering Lisa. He should never have kissed her again. He should never have let the kiss get out of hand. Apparently she was too young to even think about a serious relationship yet she’d made it clear an affair wasn’t what she was looking for, either. Was she going to isolate herself from men until she was successful? That didn’t make much sense. There was more going on beneath the surface with Lisa than he knew about. He was sure of it.
Or else maybe she lacked the maturity to handle a relationship and a commitment.
What was he thinking about? A commitment? He’d just met her!
But you’ve never felt like this before, an inner voice whispered.
Every once in a while, Brian shot a glance his way, too, with a message that told Alan his friend was watching out for Lisa in a protective way. Why did she need to be protected? Simply because she was young? Or for some other reason? Red flags were going up all over the place, but Alan couldn’t decipher what they meant.
After finishing the last of her pancakes, Christina wiped her mouth with her napkin. “Do you want to go out to the barn with me?” she asked Lisa. “We could go for a ride. You don’t need her right now, do you, Dad? Mr. Summers?”
Alan let Brian answer.
“She’s free until our meeting at one.”
“I’d love to go riding again,” Lisa replied, as if the thought provided some relief from hanging out at the house with Alan and Brian.
“Give her Blue or Buttercup,” Alan warned his daughter.
“I know, Dad. I wouldn’t do something stupid like giving her Stormy.” Then Christina was on her feet, hugging her mother, telling her she’d see her the next day.
Saying “I’ll be back in a little while,” Lisa grabbed her coat from a peg on the wall and followed Christina out the door. Soon Neal left, too, and Brian went to his room to take care of e-mails on his laptop.
Maude was quietly clearing the table when Sherri frowned. “So was the car Christina’s idea or that secretary’s?”
The question surprised Alan. “Christina knew exactly what she wanted. When she makes a decision, she doesn’t let anyone sway her, you know that.”
“I know I don’t want the wrong people influencing her.”
“Define ‘wrong people.’” Alan was trying to keep from getting irritated.
“People who don’t really know her, who don’t have her best interests at heart. That secretary is only making nice with Christina to get on your good side. Men are so blind.”
Instead of rising to the bait, Alan stood. “The fact that Christina and Lisa hit it off, that they talk the same music, like the same clothes and seem to have much in common, shouldn’t upset you.”
“If they have anything in common, it’s because of their age, which is considerably younger than yours.”
“I’m well aware of how old I am. I’m also aware that Christina is still a minor, while Lisa is over the age of consent.”
Now Sherri stood, too. “So something is going on with you two.”
Whatever the chemistry between him and Lisa, he wasn’t about to discuss it with his ex-wife. “Lisa is assisting me and Brian on this deal.”
“And when you go back to Portland, you’re going to have nothing else to do with her?”
“I told you before, this isn’t any of your business.”
“If she’s going to be around Christina at all, it is.”
“I doubt if she’ll be around Christina after tomorrow. You know, don’t you, that once Christina goes off to college, we’ll be lucky if she comes back to visit us?”
Suddenly Sherri’s eyes became bright with emotion. “I hate the thought of her going so far away. I still don’t agree with her majoring in animal sciences. She should be going into premed. The only consolation is that when she’s finished with her schooling, she might come back here to work.”
He’d wondered why Sherri had accepted so easily the fact that Christina wasn’t going to be a doctor. Now he realized she’d had an ulterior motive. She always had an ulterior motive. Truthfully, he’d never been sure if she hadn’t planned to get pregnant, marry him and inherit the Barretts’ way of living.
“I’m dating, too, you know,” she said as if some kind of competition was going on.
He could state he wasn’t dating Lisa…and he wasn’t. The way things were going, they’d be lucky to have a civil working relationship. But Alan believed silence was the best policy with Sherri.
She added, “He’s a stockbroker.”
Christina had mentioned her mother was dating a stockbroker, but she hadn’t told him much else. Alan wouldn’t pump her for information. “How did you meet?” he asked, because Sherri hadn’t dated much since their divorce.
“I met him at one of those career fairs the high school held.”
“What does Christina think of him?” He wanted Sherri’s take on it.
“She likes Russ. She thinks he’s a little stiff, but he isn’t really. He’s just very polite with her.”
That was good, Alan supposed. “Is it serious?”
Sherri gave a little shrug. “I don’t know yet. We’ve only been dating a couple of months and I certainly don’t want to rush into anything.
Neither should you.”
“I’m glad you’re letting me know what’s going on in your life, but I don’t have any more say in yours than you have in mine. If I don’t like this Russ, it doesn’t mean you’ll stop seeing him, does it?”
“No, of course not.”
“My point exactly.”
“She’s too young for you, Alan.”
He’d had enough of this. “I’ve dated women since our divorce and you’ve never commented. Why now?”
“Because I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
That shook him up. “I think you’ve been watching too many romantic comedies.”
“Turn cynical on me if you must, but I’ve seen you with women you’ve dated before. We’ve gone to the same charity functions and I’ve spotted your picture in the paper with them. In the past, I got the idea you didn’t care who you were with. You just wanted a warm body for some fun. That’s what you wanted from me when we met, wasn’t it?”
“We were twenty. I thought that’s what we both wanted.”
“If I hadn’t gotten pregnant, we wouldn’t have lasted.”
“No, we wouldn’t have.”
After a heavy silence, she admitted grudgingly, “You’ve been a good father.”
But not a good husband, he noted to himself, knowing it was true. He’d never regretted having Christina, but he’d resented Sherri for the way it had happened—for either her naivete, or her manipulation of the situation. Still, he had to give her her due. “You’ve been a good mother.”
“Once Christina’s on her own, things will change,” Sherri said wistfully.
“Maybe. But we’ll always have her best interests to think about first, no matter what she makes of her future.”
“If one of us hooks up with someone, that will change things, too.”
“We’ll deal with it, just as we’ve dealt with everything else.”
Without rancor this time, Sherri asked, “Is there ever a time when you aren’t confident you can handle your life? You’re always so in control of everything. I’ve always envied that.”
Falling for the Texas Tycoon Page 9