Texas-Sized Temptation

by Sara Orwig

  “I hope you mean that,” Kirby said.

  “I’m going to look at assisted living places this afternoon for Cecilia and Altheda. Is there anything I can do for you?”

  “Thanks, no. I’ve had four good job offers. Caitlin, one is down near El Paso. I won’t see any of you as often, but I’m thinking about it, because it’s a great job.”

  “Kirby, do what you want. We’ll see each other. We don’t see each other for months at a time now. Just don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.”

  “I know you will. I’ll go check on Cecilia and Altheda and see that they’re okay after you break the news. Cecilia is as sentimental about that house as you are. Maybe even more. You’d think she had grown up in it.”

  “I know. This won’t be easy.”

  “Caitlin, you forget Jake. Go on with your life.”

  “I will,” she said.

  “I’ll get back with you,” Caitlin said and broke the connection. She dreaded telling the women, debating whether to go to the ranch to let them know. Finally she made the call, hurting and crying when Cecilia started to cry. In minutes they concluded the call and Caitlin shed more tears, but she was relieved by Kirby’s positive outlook and knew she could count on him to cheer Cecilia and Altheda.

  Making a string of calls, Caitlin set up appointments, feeling the only hope for getting over her unhappiness was to immerse herself in work and in getting everyone off the ranch as soon as possible.

  Her thoughts shifted to Jake. Was he going out tonight to celebrate with his brother? Or with a woman? How soon would another woman be in his life? For all Caitlin knew, there could have been one in his life all along.

  The phone rang. She had told few people where she was staying, giving her cell number to the Realtors. She was surprised to hear her friend’s voice. “Ginny, hi. I suppose you called to learn the outcome. It was what I expected.”

  She received another surprise to hear Ginny say she was in the hotel and wanted to come up and see her.

  In minutes Caitlin let her tall, blonde friend into the room. Ginny carried two frosty malts and handed one to Caitlin. The minute she closed the door, Ginny gave her a hug.

  “I’m sorry, Caitlin.”

  “Thanks. Come sit and we’ll talk. What are you doing in Dallas? I thought you were at home in Houston.”

  “I wanted to be with you. I thought you’d need a friend this morning.” Worried brown eyes gazed at Caitlin who smiled at her closest friend.

  “You’re the best. Thanks for the malt.”

  “You look as if you need it. It was worse than you expected, evidently. When do you have to get everyone off the ranch?”

  “There’s time. I have one more month. They struck oil and that’s that. My house could eventually be in the middle of an oil field. It would be bad even if he sold it back, but he doesn’t want to do that, of course. I don’t think he ever intended to. I think he was just stalling because he wanted to go out with me.”

  “You had a good time with him.”

  “Yes, I did, but now I wish I’d never gone to his ranch. I gained nothing.” Except memories and a broken heart, she added silently.

  “You would have had regrets if you hadn’t tried,” Ginny said.

  “You’re right. I would have. If it hadn’t been for the oil, I might have had a chance. On the other hand, he’s a Benton and he’s bitter about Will and his sister.”

  “I remember that and all the wild stories, that Brittany Benton was carrying Will’s baby and he wouldn’t marry her. That Will murdered her. That she tried to run him off the road and lost control and was killed. No one will ever really know what happened. I’m sure Will won’t ever change his story. He was under oath.”

  “Will swore to my grandmother that he was telling the truth. He always told her the truth. He feared Grandmother.”

  “He might have feared prison more,” Ginny remarked dryly and for a moment was silent. “Will you see Jake again?”

  “No. I don’t ever want to see him again,” Caitlin said and Ginny studied her.

  “Caitlin, when I talked to you before you went out with him last weekend, you sounded happy, really happy. Did you fall in love with him?”

  Caitlin looked up to meet Ginny’s curious stare. “I cared, but I’ll get over it,” she said, unable to deny the truth to her closest friend.

  “You did fall in love with him,” Ginny said. “I knew it. Oh, my. That makes everything so much worse.”

  “Yes, it does, but I’ll get over it,” she repeated more firmly, wondering how long it would take to stop hurting.

  “Next weekend I’ll make plans and we’ll keep so busy, you won’t have time to think about Jake Benton.”

  Caitlin had to smile. “You do that. I may be busy anyway, trying to get everyone moved.”

  “All right. Let’s see how I can help you get places lined up.”

  “Ginny, what a friend you are,” Caitlin said, feeling slightly better, knowing Ginny would help take her mind off Jake for a while. “I know you’re taking time from your work.”

  “I can do it. I took a few days off. Let’s see your list of things to do and what I can help with.”

  As they went over tasks, Caitlin stared at the phone numbers, scratching out Jake’s, recalling this morning and his fiery kiss.

  “Caitlin—”

  Startled, she looked up and saw Ginny frowning. “I’m sorry, what?”

  “You haven’t heard anything I’ve said to you for the last ten minutes. You’re worse off than I thought.”

  Caitlin felt her cheeks burn and hated the blush that caused it. “My mind drifted, sorry.”

  “Drifted to one Jake Benton. You’re really in love with him.”

  “No, I can’t be, Ginny. When I talk to Kirby and Cecilia—no, I’m not,” she said, lost again thinking about Jake with a tight knot in her throat.

  Was he celebrating now? Was he going to forget her easily and go right on with his life, jubilant with the discovery of oil, never even thinking about what he had done that had been hurtful?

  Had their time together meant anything to him?

  Ten

  Jake had a busy morning. At noon he planned to leave for an hour workout at his condo because he didn’t feel like eating lunch. He had made mistakes during the morning—not heard things that were said to him, lost his train of thought in the middle of a meeting and stopped listening several times on business calls.

  He had to get a grip on his feelings. Never in his life had he minded a breakup. He had never intended to sell the land back to Caitlin. At first, he had just wanted to go out with her to make love to her. Then he had liked being with her and he admired her. She became someone he enjoyed, someone who set him ablaze and the mutual attraction had been intense.

  He had known it would be bad when he turned her down and he had expected her anger, but never had he thought he would care to this extent. He didn’t even understand his own reactions. He’d told women goodbye before. A couple had walked out on him, but it hadn’t disturbed him greatly. Or even a little. He had simply moved on.

  That wasn’t happening this time.

  He reminded himself it had only been a few hours since she had walked out of his life, but that shouldn’t make any difference. He wanted her back. He missed her. He wanted to look forward to going out with her again. When had she become important to him?

  Why had she been so damned unforgiving? He already had the answer to his own question. Those people in the Santerre house were the only people she had. She had no family left except Will and she couldn’t count Will Santerre as family. He treated her as if she didn’t exist. Jake mulled over her remarks about wanting more now. She had been talking about love, not land or house or money. He drew a deep breath. How important had she become in his life?

  As Jake left the building to drive to his condo, Gabe approached.

  “I was just coming to see you,” Gabe said. “Want to go to lunch? We can talk then.”

&
nbsp; “I’m going home and for a workout.”

  Gabe’s eyes narrowed. “It must have been bad this morning. You don’t skip lunch for exercise. Let’s go talk. You can run a little later.”

  Jake nodded and walked beside his younger brother. They both went to the car in silence that was unbroken until they were seated on the patio of a restaurant.

  “All right. You look as if you got kicked by a horse. What happened?”

  “Dammit, Gabe. What do you think happened? I wrecked Caitlin’s life this week. Well, not hers exactly, but she has to put those people out of the only home they’ve known for the past—I don’t know how many—years. Long before she was born. She loves them because they are the only family she has.”

  “She can love them on another ranch. Let them move. She’s got money and Kirby has a reputation in the area as being the best foreman, bar none. We’ve got a damned good one, but people say that about Kirby. The man knows horses. They still have two fine horses Kirby bought for them. She’ll survive and she’ll get over this and so will they.”

  “Maybe. I still felt like a heel.”

  Gabe waved his hand. “When trucks get to rumbling across that ranch at all hours, she won’t be sorry. I don’t think she’ll be there much anymore, anyway. She’ll forget her anger with you after they get settled into a new place.”

  “I don’t think so, Gabe. That old house means something to her. They’ve got a month to vacate, but leave it standing until I say otherwise.”

  “What the hell for?” Gabe asked, studying his brother. “Are you going out with her this weekend?”

  Jake had a stabbing pain in his middle. “No,” he answered. “I don’t know why I let you talk me into this lunch. I’m not hungry and I don’t want to talk about it.”

  Gabe stared at him until Jake looked away. “That’s what this is about. You’re not angry over having to say no to her. You’re undone because she won’t go out with you again. You want to see her and she won’t agree to it.”

  Jake clamped his jaw closed and wished he had gone ahead with his exercise and stayed away from Gabe who was making him feel worse.

  “Lord, help us,” Gabe said. “You’re in love with her.”

  Jake jerked around to look at Gabe sharply. “I am not in love.”

  “Could fool me. You don’t want to eat. You were out of it when you talked to Fred this morning because he told me that he got an answer from you, but that it didn’t make sense. Didn’t to me, either. I told him to call you back and get it straightened out between you. He said he would this afternoon by two at the latest. Has he already called?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  “Damnation, you’ve fallen in love with her.”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “You wouldn’t know. You’ve never really been in love in your life. In love with a Santerre. Jake, that’s terrible.”

  “Thanks for your vote of confidence in this. Get off my back. I’m not in love with Caitlin. I’m not even going to see her again. She doesn’t ever want to see me.”

  “Uh-huh. I’m willing to bet on that one. Unless she was faking interest to get the sale out of you.”

  “She wasn’t faking interest,” Jake said, his thoughts more on Caitlin than his conversation with his brother. Was he in love with her? Was this what love was like? This all-consuming need to see and be with someone? “Let’s drop this subject because I’m tired of hearing about it.”

  “Sure, okay by me,” Gabe said, switching to talk about a purchase of land they had made in New Mexico.

  Relieved to get his mind on something else, Jake tried to focus intently on his brother’s conversation only to drift back to thoughts of Caitlin and wishing he would see her after work this week. Was he in love? If he was, what would he do to get over it? How long was the hurt going to last?

  By the following week Jake was in a sour mood, quiet at the office, burying himself in work in an effort to shut Caitlin out of his thoughts, but he couldn’t do it. He thought about her constantly and he missed her more with each passing day. The empty weekend had been hellish. He had asked someone out Saturday night, hoping to take his mind off Caitlin. Instead, he could barely remember to be courteous and he had ended the evening early. Now he couldn’t even remember which woman he had called to go out. To Jake’s relief, Gabe hadn’t mentioned Caitlin after that first day at lunch.

  He missed her, wondered about her and what she was doing. He had reached for his phone to call her repeatedly, each time stopping because there was no point in it and she wouldn’t want to talk to him.

  Late Thursday afternoon the first week in November, over a week and a half since he had last seen Caitlin, Gabe came by with papers for him to sign.

  “You could have sent these over and not brought them yourself,” Jake said as he signed them.

  “I didn’t want you to lose them. I want them signed and back promptly.”

  “Since when have I lost papers?”

  “Since you’ve been in love with Caitlin Santerre,” Gabe snapped. “Where is that Turner contract I sent over Tuesday?”

  Startled, Jake stopped signing. “Tracie asked me about that and I told her to find it and get me to sign it. I don’t recall hearing from her again.”

  “Tracie isn’t forgetful and you know it. Don’t lay this one on her. You’ve lost it. I can get another contract, because it originates with us. I’ll bet it’s in your basket or somewhere around your desk.”

  “I’ll get her to look for it,” Jake said, making a note. “Then I’ll get it to you.”

  “Jake, you’re in a fog and I know it’s over Caitlin. Have you called her?”

  “No, and it wouldn’t do any good to do so.”

  “Maybe. You don’t know until you try. She may be suffering as much as you.”

  “She’s too angry to go out with me.”

  “Call her and see. You’re going to mess up some big business deal if you keep on this way.”

  “No, I won’t,” he said, wondering if he could keep his promise. Call her, he told himself. He longed to hear her voice.

  To his relief Gabe finally left him alone. Jake sat in his empty office with his thoughts on Caitlin. Was he really in love? Should he call her? What did she feel for him? If this was love, under the circumstances, what could he do about it?

  For the next four days, he debated with himself whether to call her or not. Finally he decided he would fly to West Texas to look at the new well.

  While he was there, he met with Kirby. Then he visited both Cecilia and Altheda. He returned to his ranch, spending a quiet, solitary night thinking about Caitlin and the future. The next day he flew to Houston to go to her office, a public place where she would have to be civil to him.

  He learned she was at her gallery. When he drove up to the gallery, which held a bronze statue outside in a landscaped bed, he looked at two black-and-white pictures on easels inside the shop window. One black-and-white was of two small girls. The picture held a bit of whimsy with kites in the background. The girls each had an ice cream cone. Their features were clear and they looked filled with happiness and the innocence of childhood on a summer day. He moved on to the next picture, which was artistic with interesting textures and shapes. It was a building from the French Quarter of New Orleans, he was sure.

  Reminding him of time spent with her. Of how he felt about her.

  He pulled out his cell and called her.

  Caitlin looked up from a ledger on her desk as her cell phone rang. Her pulse jumped when she saw the number. Instantly, anger followed. She was tempted to not even take the call, but curiosity won and she raised the phone to her ear.

  “Caitlin.” Jake’s deep voice was clear. She hated the reaction she had to the sound of his voice. Her pulse raced and she wanted to end the call, but she didn’t have the willpower to do so.

  “What is it, Jake?”

  “I’m in front of your gallery. I want to see you.”

  Startled, she l
ooked up. She was in her office and couldn’t see the large windows out front. “Why? We don’t have anything to discuss.”

  “We might. Do you want to go somewhere or do you have a place where we can talk?”

  “Come in, Jake. I’m in my office.”

  Her heart raced and she glanced down at the blue shirt and slacks she wore. Her hair was in one long braid. It didn’t matter how she looked, she reminded herself. Then Maggie, her receptionist, showed Jake into the office and she gazed into his blue eyes, feeling as if she had been struck by a lightning bolt.

  Jake wore chinos, a white shirt open at the neck and Western boots. He took her breath and her heart raced and she hated her reaction more than ever.

  He glanced around only briefly, gazing intently at her as he closed the door. “Nice gallery and nice pictures in front.”

  “Have a seat. Why are you here?”

  “I want to see you and I want to talk to you.” He crossed the room and sat in a chair facing her across her desk. She was happy to keep the desk between them, wanting barriers, hoping to get him out of her office quickly. She didn’t want him to know the effect he still had on her and her fury was difficult to keep in check. Beneath the fury was her galloping heart that still melted at the sight of him.

  “How’ve you been?”

  “I’m fine. Why are you here?” she repeated, wanting the visit over and done.

  “I’ve been to your ranch to talk to Kirby, Cecilia and Altheda.”

  Another jolt of surprise hit her. “You have?” she said without thinking, so startled by his statement. “Whatever for?”

  “I’ve hired Kirby to work for me. It seemed a simple solution. He can stay right where he is.”

  “Kirby agreed to this? And he hasn’t even told me?” She stared at Jake in shock.

  “He agreed and I asked him to let me tell you. I talked to him yesterday. I went to see Cecilia and Altheda and told them they could stay in the house, that it would not be torn down. It will still be near oil wells and drilling and there will be noise and everything that goes with the drilling, but they can stay where they are.”