While Jessie gave her statement, Jake called his housekeeper at the ranch to let her know they’d be arriving. He also had one of the ranch hands drop him off another car, since the cops wanted to keep his to recover any bullet fragments.
“Where do you think you’re taking me now?” Jessie asked, when they left the station. She glanced at the grip he had on her arm and pushed his hand away.
“To my ranch. It’s north of San Antonio. You’ll be safe there.”
She didn’t argue. Probably because she was worn-out. He remembered Anne being tired early in her pregnancy and guessed that Jessie was going through the same thing. With reason. She wasn’t just experiencing the symptoms of pregnancy; it seemed there was someone who wanted her dead.
He started the half-hour drive to his Hill Country ranch. Somewhere along the way, Jessie fell asleep. He wouldn’t have known if he hadn’t actually looked at her. There was no noticeable change in her breathing pattern—she merely leaned her head against the window and slept. Jake was thankful for it because it gave him some time to try to figure out the next step.
He could just turn the whole matter over to the police. Maybe they would even provide Jessie with adequate protection. That way, if this was some kind of plot to ruin him politically, then the investigation would be official and aboveboard. Hopefully, the cops would look at Abel Markham first.
There was just one problem with that plan—Markham might get to Jessie before the police could gather enough evidence on him. He might even kill her.
“Hell,” he mumbled under his breath. The woman might be a smart-mouthed pain in the butt, but he didn’t want her dead. Especially if she was a pawn in Markham’s plot.
There was also the baby to consider. He just didn’t know what to do about it, and it was best that he kept it that way. Jake didn’t even want to think about the possibility that she’d told him the truth about the baby. He’d just be setting himself up for more pain. No, the child wasn’t his.
It couldn’t be his.
He glanced at Jessie again. Even in sleep she wasn’t resting. The muscles in her face were tense. Her fists were clenched. She had her teeth clamped over her bottom lip, as if afraid she might say something she shouldn’t. What kind of demons did she wrestle now? He knew a lot about demons, had wrestled them for years. And he recognized all the signs.
Jake used the remote to open the security gates that fronted his property, and drove inside. The trio of Dobermans shot out from the darkness and began to bark. The sound must have jarred Jessie because her eyelids flew open.
She jerked toward him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. It’s just the guard dogs. They’ll stop when they realize it’s me.” And they did a moment later, even though they continued to race alongside the car.
Jessie rubbed her eyes and looked out the window at the ranch. “This is some place you’ve got here.”
Sprawling was the word most people used to describe it, and it was. He owned about two thousand acres, and the main house was right in the middle of it.
When his mother had designed the place nearly twenty years earlier, she’d said she wanted space. Jake figured there was about ten thousand square feet of it inside the three stories of natural white limestone and ponderosa pine. It had always reminded him of an intricate tree house with decks and balconies. Still, it fit perfectly in the Hill Country setting. And it fit him perfectly.
He got out, sent the dogs on their way and opened the door for Jessie. “Would you like for me to carry you in?”
She gave him another of those flinty looks. “No, thanks. If I go anywhere, I’ll walk.”
And she did, even though Jake noticed she gripped on to the railing when they went up the steps to the house. “You have a security system?” she asked.
“State of the art. The grounds are rigged with surveillance detectors and the dogs are out at all times.”
“Pretty serious equipment for a cattle ranch.”
She made the remark sound off-the-cuff, but Jake knew she had to be concerned about her safety. “We had a problem here late last year, so I upgraded the whole security system.”
Jessie paused on the top step and looked back at him. “You mean the death of that woman who worked at Ray’s Cantina?”
“Yes. She was part of the catering staff I’d hired for a party. Did you know her?”
Even in the darkness, he saw something flicker in her eyes. A look of tired sadness. But she quickly glanced away.
“Not really,” she finally answered. “She died before I started to work for Ray.”
But she’d obviously heard some things. Gossip that no doubt implicated him. “The woman wandered away from the house and accidentally drowned in the pond,” he explained, wondering why he felt he owed her any explanation. “After that, I decided I didn’t want anyone to take impromptu walks around the place unless I knew about it.”
Jessie didn’t utter a word. She simply stared into the darkness. But he heard the shudder of her breath.
Jake caught on to her arm again. “Come on. Let’s get inside.”
As he expected, his housekeeper, Ellen, met them at the door, and he introduced the women to each other. “Ellen will fix you something hot to eat and then show you to your room.”
“Thank you,” Jessie answered softly.
Again, he noticed how pale she was and wondered if he should call the doctor. If she didn’t look better by morning, he would. “I have some calls to make and then I’ll try to get some sleep. You do the same, okay?”
She gave him a weak nod and followed his housekeeper out of the room. Jake stood there for a minute, his gaze still on the spot Jessie had just occupied.
He cursed himself for being so concerned about her. He didn’t need to make any kind of emotional investment in a woman who was bound to be nothing but trouble.
The sooner he got her out of his life, the better.
SOMETHING WOKE HER UP in the night. A soft swish. On a ragged gasp, Jessie snapped to a sitting position and listened to make sure someone hadn’t broken in. She looked around the unfamiliar bedroom, got her bearings and took a deep breath of relief. She was alone.
No one had come for her tonight.
There would be no scuffle. No one to grab her and shove a chloroform-soaked rag against her face. No warehouse. No kidnappers. Tonight, there was just the sickening memories and the uncertainty to disturb her.
She glanced at the clock. It was two in the morning. Outside, the wind kicked up as if a storm was on the way. Tossing back the covers, she got up, walked to the balcony doors and looked outside. No storm. Just a clear sky, speckled with stars and a thumbnail moon. The view was breathtaking.
She eased open the doors and stepped onto the balcony. The wood was cool beneath her bare feet. Jessie pushed her hair away from her face and let the breeze wash over her.
The scent of the cedars and mesquites was all around, but she also thought she detected the faint smell of smoke. And maybe whiskey. Since she didn’t see any indication of a fire on the grounds, she figured that someone had burned brush earlier and the wind had blown it in the direction of the house.
Jessie prayed that was all there was to it, anyway.
From the corner of her eye, she caught some slight motion, a small flicker of light. She reeled toward it, reaching for a gun that wasn’t there. But a gun wasn’t necessary. At least, she didn’t think it was. It was Jake. Jake, watching her. He was smoking a thin brown cigar.
He stood on the other side of the balcony, facing her, only five yards or so of empty space between them. His bare feet were crossed at the ankles. He had his back casually propped against the thick pine railing. And he was naked.
Jessie blinked and looked at him again. Not quite naked. But he wore only a pair of tan-colored boxer shorts. The breeze molded them to his body, revealing everything the fabric covered.
He calmly crushed out the cigar in the empty shot glass he held. “Is there something I can do fo
r you, Jessie?”
As questions went, it was the most leading one she’d ever been asked. She forced herself to remember that she really didn’t trust him. Hard to do, considering her body went all warm and golden when she looked at him.
Physically he was, well, close to perfect, from his chiseled chest sprinkled with hair to his washboard stomach. And his body was something she shouldn’t gawk at.
“You smoke?” she asked.
She winced at the trivial question. Now that was true genius coming up with that. Why hadn’t she just said a hasty good-night and gone back in? She didn’t need to be out there. She didn’t need to be within a mile of him while he was undressed like that.
“Not really,” he answered.
Confused, she tipped her head to the cigar butt in the shot glass. “But you just finished one.”
He shrugged. “I needed something to calm my nerves, I guess.”
It’d worked. He looked calm. Well, except for that one tight muscle that ran the length of his jaw. And maybe his eyes were narrowed just slightly.
Jessie looked closely. She didn’t want to notice it, but he was aroused. Hard not to notice that. She’d obviously interrupted some very private…thoughts.
Mercy.
Why should his arousal make her feel anything, especially hot and tingly? She reminded her body that it was preparing itself for something it wouldn’t get. Jake and his arousal were not options, no matter how hot and tingly she got.
Frustrated with herself and her reaction, she fluttered her fingers toward her room. “I should go back in. Good night.”
Jessie didn’t wait for him to answer. She turned and caught her reflection in the glass. And her mouth dropped open. After seeing Jake in his state of undress, and arousal, she’d forgotten all about what she was wearing. Or rather, what she wasn’t. She had on exactly what she’d worn to bed—a tiny pair of French-cut bikini panties and her thin camisole. There was far more of her showing than was covered.
Far, far more.
And every inch of her body was tingling.
Chapter Five
“Misfired shots,” Jake repeated under his breath. He gulped down some coffee, hoping it would ease the pounding in his head. “From a robbery attempt nearby.”
Jake hung up the phone, the police officer’s words still ringing in his ears. A wrong place at the wrong time kind of theory. He didn’t tell the detective that he didn’t buy that. Too many things just didn’t make sense about the shooting, and it wasn’t a case of misfired shots.
“There you are.” Willa hurried into the kitchen, where he stood, his gaze still aimed at the phone he’d just hung up. “We heard on the news that someone fired shots at you. Why the devil didn’t you call us?”
“Are you all right, Jake?” Douglas asked, coming in right behind her.
Jake had anticipated their visit, just not quite this soon. “The gunman wasn’t shooting at me,” he clarified. “I think he was shooting at Jessie.”
“Jessie?” Douglas and Willa repeated in unison.
This explanation would have to come eventually. He’d counted on it happening later, after a half-dozen cups of coffee, but there was no reason to put it off. Any minute, Jessie would probably walk through that door. Hopefully, she’d be wearing more than she had been on the previous night. If not, his tongue would land on the floor and he wouldn’t be capable of explaining anything.
One thing was for sure, Jessie Barrett didn’t look like a pregnant woman. That was the fourth thing Jake had noticed about her after she’d stepped onto the balcony the night before. The first three things that had caught his attention were her breasts and trim little butt. He would have had to be blind not to notice those things.
And not respond to them.
She had worn a thin little white top that he supposed substituted for a bra. He’d seen the outline of her breasts and her tightly budded nipples. Her breasts had jiggled a little when she walked and swayed against the tight fabric.
A specific part of him had appreciated the groin-tightening view. Greatly appreciated it. It was his brain that was still giving him some trouble.
She was off-limits. There were just too many things he didn’t know about her. And too many that he did. Like, she was pregnant, for instance.
His body had a strange reaction to that reminder. Jake had suddenly wanted nothing more than to lay her on that floor and sink into her. He wanted to hear Jessie whisper his name. He wanted her scent on him. And his on her. He wanted to feel her shatter around him while he was deep inside her.
All in all, he was disgusted with himself. It was just as well that she’d hightailed it off the balcony. He shouldn’t have those kinds of thoughts about her. Once they figured out who was behind all of this, then…well, he didn’t even know what would happen. But he sure couldn’t fantasize about having sex with her on his balcony. He couldn’t fantasize about having sex with her anywhere.
“Jessie’s someone I met,” Jake explained, giving them the short, sanitized version, which included only a small amount of information. “She’s having a few problems, so she’ll stay here for a while.”
They looked at him as if he’d sprouted feathers. With good reason. He hadn’t brought a woman home since Anne.
“Have we met this Jessie?” Willa asked. Her blue eyes, a genetic match of his own, were wide with concern.
Jake drank more coffee and shook his head. Thank God, he could already feel the caffeine working. “No.”
Douglas shook his head, too, and accepted the cup of coffee that Ellen handed him. After serving Willa some tea, the housekeeper excused herself and left the room.
“This doesn’t sound good, Jake,” Douglas said pensively. “How long have you known this woman?”
“Not long.”
Douglas swore under his breath. “And you brought her home with you?”
“Like I said, she’s having some problems—”
“Problems you don’t need. We’re three-and-a-half months from election day, for Christ’s sake. You don’t need this kind of distraction from some woman.”
For some reason, that remark riled Jake. “Funny, a few days ago you encouraged me to bed Rawley Emmett’s wife.”
Douglas caught Jake’s arm. “So that’s what this is about—sex?”
“Hell, no.” He would have denied it more adamantly if at that exact moment Jessie hadn’t walked into the room.
She paused at the doorway, eyeing Douglas and Willa much as she’d eyed the guard dogs the night before. “I’m sorry. I’ve interrupted a family meeting.”
“Jessie?” Willa questioned. And there was more than just enquiry in her voice. Jake detected some jealousy, as well. It was a knee-jerk reaction on his sister’s part. She’d learned the hard way to be jealous of any attractive woman within a hundred yards of her husband.
But there was nothing lascivious in Douglas’s gaze. He just stared at Jessie, using an abrasive scowl that Jake had seen him toss at anybody he thought might get in his way or the way of the election. Douglas was a tenacious campaign manager, but he could be brutal with contingencies. Jessie was the ultimate contingency.
Or she easily could be.
Jake glanced at Jessie. She looked ready to faint. Obviously, she hadn’t intended to face anyone but Ellen and him this morning. Maybe she wouldn’t blurt out anything about the kidnapping and insemination before he could stop her. Knowing he needed to do something, anything, he crossed the room to her.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I didn’t know they would—”
Jake lowered his head and put his mouth on hers. It was quick, a borderline peck, and he pulled back fully expecting that Jessie might slap him into the next county. She didn’t. A soft breath rumbled in her throat.
“Why did you do that?” she whispered, her voice a strangled protest.
“Because we’ll have to pretend we’re lovers or else answer a ton of questions I don’t want to answer. Understand?”
She
paused. Blinked. “Yes.”
Finally, Jake heard some grit in her voice. She wasn’t as pale this morning, either, but there were still faint circles under her eyes. No makeup. Just a scrubbed-clean face that made Jessie look wholesome. Well, except for that hair. It seemed to jut out in every direction.
Her clothes were different. She had on jeans, slim and snug, and a white shirt she had knotted at the waist. Ellen had probably come up with the outfit. He wouldn’t exactly thank his housekeeper for it. Underneath the white shirt, he could tell Jessie had on a little top similar to the one he’d gotten a good look at the night before. It was somehow sexier than all the flimsy undergarments he’d ever seen.
Jessie leaned closer and kept her voice at a harsh whisper. “Just don’t kiss me again.”
“Even if it’s all for show?”
That seemed to annoy her. Or something. Jake couldn’t figure out why she wrinkled her nose and frowned. “My hormones are all out of whack, I guess.”
“Beg your pardon?”
Her gaze darted uncomfortably around the room before it returned to his. She cleared her throat, and for the first time since he’d met her, Jake saw some vulnerability in her pale gray eyes. Strange, he hadn’t seen that when the gunman was firing at them.
“Uh, my hormones haven’t figured out it’s all for show, okay?” Her voice actually cracked. “So just leave the kissing out of this.”
Speechless, Jake stared at her for a moment. She had actually responded to that little kiss? And she’d admitted it? To him, no less. Well, he wouldn’t dwell on the fact that the kiss had sent certain parts of his body into overdrive, either. No. This attraction that simmered between them would just have to quit.
He circled his arm around her, felt her body tense and brought her into the kitchen for introductions. “Jessie, this is my sister, Willa, and her husband, Douglas Harland. Douglas is also my campaign manager.”
No one commented for several snail-crawling moments, but some uncomfortable glances passed between Willa and Douglas.
Jessie finally stepped closer. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ll just make myself a cup of tea or something and then get out of your way.”
His Child Page 6