Texas Ransom

by Amanda Stevens

“You’re not doing so badly yourself,” Graham said, his gaze still on the crowd. Where the hell was Kendall? She’d gone to freshen up as soon as they came down from the roof, and he hadn’t seen her since. That had been several minutes ago. He didn’t know why, but her absence made him uneasy.

  Or maybe his apprehension that evening had more to do with the argument he’d had with Terrence that morning. He hadn’t told Kendall about their latest disagreement because he knew how much she hated the combative relationship he had with his older brother. Terrence always knew how to push his buttons, and Graham should have known better than to let him get to him. After all this time and all the success he’d achieved, he certainly had no reason to feel intimidated.

  But somehow in Terrence’s presence, Graham always reverted to the insecure geek who’d grown up in the shadow of his football-star brother.

  “Oh, don’t get me wrong.” Michael deftly plucked a champagne glass from the tray of a passing waiter. “I’m living the good life, too. It’s just that my career has taken a few unexpected turns. Not you, though.” He took a long sip of his drink. “You’ve had the same goal since we were roommates in college. You always said you were going to design the tallest, grandest building in Houston, and by damn if you didn’t pull it off. I admire your focus, Graham. I really do.”

  Graham tried not to wince at the accolade. Sometimes he wasn’t so sure his dedication was anything to be proud of. Career tunnel-vision had almost cost him his marriage, but ever since he and Kendall had reconciled five years ago, he’d made a promise to her and to himself that their relationship would come first no matter what.

  He’d been worried when he first took the PemCo contract that it would put too much stress on their marriage. From inception to completion, the project had consumed nearly two years of his life, requiring endless meetings and arduous hours at the computer drafting version after version of the building until a design was finally accepted by the team.

  And then came the politics, the disagreements, the costly delays and untold man hours that were inevitable with such an ambitious project. The tension had only escalated once the alliance between Houston-based PemCo and Pemex, the Mexican state-run petroleum company, became public. One of PemCo’s refineries had been firebombed in protest, and the mastermind, a former head of the oil workers’ labor union named Joaquin Galindo, had been arrested in Mexico City and sent to prison.

  There were times when Graham wondered if the project would ever be completed under such volatile conditions. But through it all, Kendall had been supportive in a way he could never have imagined before the accident. The near-death experience had changed her, softened her, made her reevaluate her priorities just as it had Graham.

  He really was a lucky guy, Graham thought, taking a sip of his own champagne. He had everything any man could ever want.

  “I just never thought I’d find myself working for your brother,” Michael was saying. “Let alone occupying the office that should have been yours. That wasn’t my plan when I first passed the bar.”

  Graham shrugged. “You’re a better vice president than I ever would be so it all worked out for the best.”

  “Maybe. But I still say if your old man had lived, he would have eventually worn you down.”

  “Not a chance. I’ve never wanted to do anything but design buildings. Dad would have finally accepted that fact. Besides, there’s no way I could work with Terrence. One of us would kill the other.”

  Michael scowled. “This is none of my business, but we’ve been friends for a long time so I hope you won’t take my advice the wrong way. You need to cut Terrence some slack. The company’s going through a rough time, and he’s got a lot on his plate. That knockdown-drag-out you two had earlier didn’t help.”

  Graham frowned. “What are you talking about? Hollister Motors has always been financially sound.” The company his father founded nearly forty years ago had given them all the kind of lifestyle most families could only dream of. Graham was well aware of the fact that his inheritance had allowed him to open his own architectural firm in Austin at a time when many of his contemporaries were still struggling to pay off school loans.

  “And it will be again,” Michael said adamantly. “But there’s a lot of new competition for the kind of specialized engines we build, and to stay ahead of the game, we’ve got to become more innovative with our designs. Research and development is expensive. We need an infusion of cash right now, which is why Terrence is proposing selling off some of the family assets rather than incur more debt.”

  “We own property besides Dad’s ranch. The downtown warehouses have got to be worth a small fortune.”

  “Only if you hold out long enough to find the right buyer. Terrence already has someone interested in the ranch. These guys will fork over a check as soon as the papers are signed. We could have that money in a matter of days.”

  “I’m not trying to be difficult about this, but—”

  “But what?” Michael cut him off impatiently. “The deal makes sense and you know it. Hey, I like playing cowboy as much as the next guy, but we’re all adults now with busy lives. When’s the last time you drove out there?”

  Graham couldn’t remember the last time. Still, he was hesitant. “Dad loved that ranch. I don’t feel right selling off something that he put his heart and soul into.”

  “The ranch was a hobby at best. He put his heart and soul into Hollister Motors. He’d be all for this plan and you know it.” Michael’s gaze hardened. “The company needs that money. If you’re holding out just to spite your brother—”

  “Give me a little more credit than that,” Graham said angrily. “I was blindsided this afternoon. I had no idea Terrence was even considering selling off assets, let alone the ranch. Maybe if I’d been given some warning instead of having papers shoved under my nose and ordered to sign, I might have been a little more agreeable.”

  “He went about it the wrong way, no question. But what else is new? Terrence is a straightforward kind of guy. Forget how it was put to you. You’ve had time to mull it over, and you know what’s at stake if we don’t sell.”

  “Why didn’t Terrence tell me all this himself?”

  Michael drained his champagne and reached for another. “Because he’s as mule-headed as you are. And he probably didn’t want to admit that the company’s hit a rough spot. Not to you. Not after all this.” He turned toward the windows and gestured with his hand at the twinkling lights of the Houston skyline. “You’ve got it all, Graham. You’ve won. Now you can afford to be generous. Especially when it comes to family.”

  Graham shoved his glasses up his nose as he studied the skyline. He didn’t feel as if he’d won anything. He’d busted his ass to get where he was today. And, yes, Hollister money had helped him get there faster, but he didn’t appreciate Michael’s implication that his success was the result of some kind of contest with his brother.

  “I just wish someone had told me before now how bad things were at the company,” he muttered.

  Michael glanced over at him. “Does that mean you’ll sign the papers?”

  “Of course, I’ll sign. The company means a lot to our family.”

  Michael let out a breath of relief. “We never had this conversation.”

  Graham shrugged. “Fine. Then I guess you’ll want me to tell Terrence the news.”

  “What news?”

  Graham turned in surprise. He hadn’t expected his brother to show up tonight even though he and his wife, Ellie, had been issued invitations weeks ago.

  Graham felt the same old pang of resentment he always experienced in his brother’s presence. Terrence was three years older, and, right up until Graham had turned eighteen, he’d been at least three inches taller. A late growing spurt had put Graham at eye level with his brother, but somehow he still had the impression of having to look up to him.

  Growing up, Terrence had been everything that Graham was not. A star athlete with almost palpable charisma, he’d been
big man on campus in both high school and college while Graham had been hardly more than his quiet, more intellectual shadow.

  Terrence was just like their father and Graham had always envied their closeness. But no matter how hard he tried, there had always been a distance between him and the old man.

  Rugged, handsome, and gregarious, Nate Hollister had been a real man’s man. He hadn’t known how to relate to a son who didn’t excel at sports and who spent most of his free time in his room studying and reading.

  Graham swallowed past his resentment and smiled. “I’m glad you guys came tonight.”

  “We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Ellie stood on tiptoes to brush her lips against Graham’s cheek. “This place is amazing. I’ve watched it go up from the day the slab was poured, but seeing it now all lit up against the skyline and knowing that you designed it…” She trailed off with a shiver and held up her arm. “See? I’ve got goose bumps.”

  Graham laughed and gave her a light hug. No matter how awkward and uncomfortable he often felt in his brother’s presence, Ellie had a way of making him relax. She was seven months pregnant with their third child and it obviously agreed with her. Her eyes and complexion glowed as she beamed up at him. Tiny and blond, she was still as lovely at thirty-eight as she had been back in high school when she and Terrence had been voted the most popular couple.

  “I didn’t exactly do it on my own,” Graham said. “I had a little help.”

  “It was still your vision. We’re all so proud of you. Aren’t we, Terry?”

  His brother’s gaze didn’t quite meet Graham’s. “I’m just sorry Mom couldn’t be here tonight.”

  “She’s where she needs be.” Their grandmother had fallen a few days earlier and broken a hip. Their mother, Audrey, had driven up to Lufkin to be with the older woman while she underwent surgery and physical therapy.

  Michael placed his hand on Graham’s shoulder, a friendly reminder of their earlier conversation. “I need to mingle. I’ll see you later.”

  After he was gone, Graham and Ellie chatted for a few minutes while Terrence watched the crowd with a brooding scowl. When there was a lull in the conversation, Graham said, “I’ve had time to think about our earlier discussion. I’d like to drop by and sign the papers in the morning before Kendall and I head back to Austin. That is, if you’ve got time to see me.”

  Terrence’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you want to do this? Once those papers are signed, it’ll be a done deal. I don’t need you coming back in a few days accusing me of having railroaded you into this.”

  “I’m sure,” Graham said, trying to tamp down a spurt of anger at his brother’s tone. “I don’t know why I was so resistant this afternoon. It just made me think of Dad—”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  Their gazes finally met, and for the first time in a long time, an unspoken understanding passed between them.

  Ellie, who was never one to allow a silence to grow awkward, slipped her arm through her husband’s. “I’m dying for a drink, honey, and I haven’t seen anything all night except champagne.” She patted her stomach. “Do you think you could find me a ginger ale?”

  “Sure. Be right back.”

  Once Terrence disappeared, Ellie moved closer to Graham. “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “You know for what.”

  He shrugged. “Like I said, I should never have been so resistant.”

  “And Terry shouldn’t have been so pushy. I know how he gets. Especially with you. He’s like a bulldozer.”

  “It’s not just him. We rub each other the wrong way. Always have and probably always will.”

  “That makes me so sad.”

  Graham smiled. “Don’t let it get to you. It’s just the way things are.”

  “But it shouldn’t be that way. You two are brothers. You should be closer. Especially now that—”

  “Now that what?” Graham asked curiously.

  She hesitated, her gaze scanning the crowd. “Now that you have a new niece or nephew on the way,” she murmured.

  “I can still be a doting uncle, just like I am with Ashley and Caitlin.”

  Ellie and Terrence’s two daughters were ten years apart. Ashley was fifteen going on thirty, a blue-eyed blonde who looked just like her delicate mother but with her father’s propensity for hell-raising. That she was causing Terrence the same kind of grief he’d put their mother through at the same age was completely lost on him. It was strange because when they’d been teenagers, Graham had never been able to relate to Terrence’s rebellion, but now he was often the one Ashley turned to for advice.

  The younger girl, Caitlin, not only looked like her mother, but also had Ellie’s sweet disposition. Nothing ever seemed to faze the five-year-old, even the occasional scream fests between her father and older sister.

  And now they had another one on the way. Graham loved his nieces dearly, but sometimes after they’d all been together for a holiday or birthday, he was left wondering if he was cut out to be a father. He hadn’t said anything to Kendall about his doubts, but he might have to because lately she’d been bringing up the subject of children a lot.

  “Where’s Kendall?” Ellie asked as if reading his mind.

  “I’ve been wondering the same thing. She went to powder her nose a little while ago and I haven’t seen her since.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  Ellie hesitated. “We had lunch today and she seemed—I don’t know—quiet. She said she felt fine, but I thought she looked a little stressed.”

  “She’s probably just worn herself out making all the arrangements for our trip.”

  “Oh, yes, that trip.” Ellie sighed. “I’m so envious. What I wouldn’t give if Terry and I could get away for a whole month. But once you have kids, everything changes. I doubt we’ll be able to manage more than a weekend getaway for the next eighteen years.” She adjusted her beaded jacket over her stomach. “Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking. Then again…thinking had very little to do with it.” She paused with a chuckle. “You know, a trip like that…just the two of you…I wouldn’t be surprised if Kendall came home pregnant.”

  Graham almost choked on his champagne.

  She laughed again. “You’d better get used to the idea of being a daddy, Graham, because I think your lovely wife is ready. More than ready.”

  Graham felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Was that why Kendall had been so emotional recently? “She’s not…she didn’t tell you…”

  “Listen to you stammer! She didn’t tell me she was pregnant, no. But I don’t know why you’re freaking out at the possibility. You’d be a terrific father.”

  “Not every couple wants to have children,” Graham said with a scowl.

  “That’s true. But I’m pretty sure Kendall does.”

  “She said that?”

  Ellie shrugged. “Not in so many words, but I can tell. It’s none of my business, of course…”

  “Oh, come on,” Graham said dryly. “Since when has that ever stopped you?”

  “True. Okay, I’ll just say it. Is everything okay between you two? Is there some reason why you don’t want to start a family just yet?”

  “Everything’s fine. We’ve never been better. And maybe that’s what scares me,” Graham admitted. “Things are so good between us, I don’t want our relationship to change.”

  “It could be a change for the better, you know. I may complain about being tied down, but I wouldn’t take anything for my girls. And Terrence…well, you know how he feels about them.”

  “I’m not Terrence.”

  “No, you’re not.” She gave him an amused look. “I wonder if I should tell you something.”

  Graham groaned. “Why do I feel as if this conversation has led me straight into a minefield?”

  “Relax. It doesn’t have anything to do with having babies.” Her blue eyes sparkled. “Did you know I used to
have a little crush on you in high school?”

  “Oh, right. Your boyfriend’s geeky younger brother.”

  “You weren’t geeky. You were deep. And don’t think I didn’t notice how you looked in that football uniform.”

  “How could you tell? I never got off the bench. Whereas Terrence—”

  “Oh, your brother was something all right and I was crazy about him. But you had something special. A quiet kind of confidence that made me think you’d be the person I’d run to if I were ever in trouble. You still have that quality, Graham.”

  He gave her a rueful look. “You give me far too much credit. Terrence is the hero type, not me.”

  She reached up and patted his cheek. “That’s one of the things I’ve always adored about you. You’re totally oblivious to your appeal. Kendall is one very lucky woman. I hope she knows that.”

  No, I’m the lucky one, Graham thought, his gaze returning to the crowd. And now if he could just find his wife, the evening would be perfect.

  A LITTLE WHILE later, Graham finally spotted Kendall in the crowd. Her red dress stood out like a beacon amidst the sea of black tuxedoes and ball gowns, and his focus vectored in and lingered for the longest moment as he sipped his champagne and tried to hide a sudden impatience.

  He would have preferred to do more than admire his wife from afar, but anything other than a smile would have to wait until they got back to the hotel.

  He shifted restlessly as he continued to watch her. She was tall and elegant and so graceful she appeared to float through the room. Up close, the scars from the accident were still visible, but rather than detracting from her looks, the imperfections gave her a fragile, ethereal beauty that served to remind Graham of how fleeting life could be. How important it was to live each moment as though it were the last.

  Ellie and Terrence had disappeared a few minutes ago, and now Graham stood alone and pensive. He’d lost his enthusiasm for the event and wondered when he and Kendall could slip away. It was all he could do to keep from glancing at his watch, but he told himself that he should just relax. After all, it wasn’t every day a man realized a lifelong dream.