The Texas Rancher's Family

by Cathy Gillen Thacker

  ERIN HAD KNOWN this kiss was coming. Known it long enough to avoid being alone with him. But she hadn’t.

  Instead, she had invited it.

  Why?

  Because something about him attracted her and made her want to lose herself in him. In this.

  And lose herself she did, as she opened her mouth to the inviting pressure of his.

  He tasted so good. So dark and male. The strength of his chest pressed against hers. His thighs were rock hard, the rest of him just as impatient for more.

  And that, above anything, told Erin she needed to stop this. Now.

  Only she couldn’t.

  This was the most alive she had felt in a very long time.

  And had it not been for a sudden beam of light flashing across their bodies, who knew how long it would have gone on?

  * * *

  THE LAST THING MAC EXPECTED when he took Erin in his arms was to be busted by the intrusive beam of a flashlight.

  But that was what happened as Gavin walked into the kitchen and caught them pressed up against each other in a steamy lip-lock.

  Reluctantly, Mac broke off the kiss and lifted his head from hers.

  Dropping her hands from his chest, Erin stepped away.

  Gavin looked at his sister, his brow lifted in silent inquiry.

  She gazed back, angry and defiant. Not to mention embarrassed.

  “Everything okay here?” Gavin asked finally, shifting the plastic casing so the flashlight became a lantern.

  It was a minute ago, Mac wanted to say.

  Figuring this was family business—and he should stay out of it—he remained silent.

  “Do you know where the rest of the flashlights are?” Erin asked, her gaze averted from Gavin’s probing look.

  His body tense with a disapproval mostly directed at Mac, he nodded. “There are two in the cabinet above the washing machine. The rest are upstairs in the boys’ rooms, next to their beds.”

  Erin disappeared into the laundry room, then returned with two flashlights in hand. She handed one to Mac.

  “Are all the kids still asleep?” she asked Gavin.

  “So far. I even looked in on Nicholas. He’s snoozing away.”

  “Well...” Erin inhaled deeply, then turned and looked at Mac. “I’m going to call it a night.”

  He nodded. “See you tomorrow.”

  After she headed up the stairs, Gavin continued staring at him. “I gather you’ve got something to say?” Mac asked.

  “You guessed right.” A muscle worked in his cheek. “My sister’s been through enough. The last thing she needs in her life is another guy who’s not going to be around for the long haul.”

  Much as he hated to admit it, Mac knew Gavin had a point.

  “It was just a kiss.”

  Gavin’s jaw tightened. “Maybe to you. She hasn’t given any guy the time of day since her ex left.”

  Mac hadn’t dated in a very long time, either. And he sure as hell hadn’t taken any woman in his arms and kissed her soundly.

  He swallowed. “It’s not my intention to hurt your sister.”

  Gavin shook his head. “Then I suggest you stick to business, and leave it at that.”

  Reluctantly, Mac gave ground. “You’re right. No sense starting something that can’t go anywhere. So maybe it’s best we get down to business.” Mac looked at Gavin, man to man, figuring the sooner he achieved his goals, the better. “Hopefully, you can help me with that.”

  * * *

  ERIN STARED AT GAVIN just after eight the next morning. She’d been out taking care of the horses. By the time she got back to the house, Mac and his daughter had already left. They’d gotten directions back to town via an alternate route that avoided any flooded crossings. Erin’s boys were upstairs brushing their teeth.

  Nicholas had gone on to school.

  Erin wasn’t sure how she felt about missing Mac’s departure. Seeing him probably would have been awkward after the sizzling kiss they had shared. Especially since she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it all night. Even when she’d finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, she had woken up reliving the emotion of that moment.

  She hadn’t felt so aroused in what seemed like forever. Hadn’t even been sure she could feel desire like that again.

  Now she knew.

  She still had plenty of untapped passion, ready and raring to go. And now Mac Wheeler knew it, too. As did her brother Gavin.

  Erin went to the sink to wash her hands. “What did you and Mac talk about last night?” She had heard them conversing long after she had turned in. Their tone had been cordial, matter-of-fact, whereas she had still been in turmoil.

  “I told him to stay away from you.”

  Erin squirmed. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I was being sarcastic.”

  “Noted.”

  Erin folded her arms. “What did Mac say?”

  “He agreed kissing you was a bad idea.”

  Her lips quirked. “Let me guess... And promised not to do it again?”

  “We agreed, since he’ll be leaving soon, and you have enough on your plate, that the two of you should stick to business. Which is why we have a family meeting tonight. Adults only, so you’ll need to get a sitter for your boys, and it’d be nice if Mac’s daughter could hang out with them, too.”

  Not sure she liked the idea of the two men joining forces, Erin asked, “Why is Mac going to be at our family meeting?”

  Gavin filled his travel mug with coffee. “He wants to talk to us all about putting a wind farm on our ranch. He wanted to do it over dinner at one of the restaurants in town, but I said that wasn’t necessary. So we’re going to meet at Travis Anderson’s law office instead.”

  Erin blinked. As the oldest, she considered herself the head of the family. And therefore used to calling the shots. “You asked our family attorney to sit in on this?”

  “Travis is an expert in energy and property law.”

  Erin wasn’t arguing that. She just didn’t see the necessity of any of this, whether Mac Wheeler wanted it or not. “I’m not interested in selling the ranch.”

  “Well, the rest of us are, which means you owe us the courtesy of hearing Mac out.”

  * * *

  ERIN CAUGHT UP WITH MAC early that afternoon, when she saw him coming out of the Wagon Wheel Restaurant with four of the county commissioners.

  The two women and two men were deep in conversation with him, and appeared to be listening intently to what he had to say. All were smiling when they shook hands and parted ways. Mac was really making inroads, even in khakis, a button-down oxford-cloth shirt and loafers.

  Not wanting to think what he could accomplish if he ever fully assimilated into a bona fide Texan, Erin continued down the sidewalk toward him. She inhaled a jerky breath, trying not to self-combust. Not easy, when all she could seem to do, now that they were within touching distance, was remember their kiss.

  She couldn’t help wondering if he was thinking the same thing.

  She lifted her chin. “Got a minute?”

  He favored her with a half smile. “Actually, you’re just the lady I was hoping to see. I was headed to the store to give you a check for the down payment on the boots.”

  Erin glanced across the street. Some roughnecks from Prairie Natural Gas, the company that supplied gas to the power plant, were standing in front of several beat-up trucks, talking and looking their way. Not surprisingly, they seemed as interested in Mac as everyone else in the area was. Probably because their company would expand their business in Laramie County if he failed, and lose ground if he was successful. Aware that none of the men looked familiar, Erin turned back to Mac with a cool smile. “I’d rather talk privately.”

  He shrugged, his manner not nearly as businesslike. “You want to sit in my SUV?”

  What speculation that would bring! Erin glanced around, assessing the options. “Let’s walk over to the park across the
street.” She could pretend she was showing him something.

  Mac glanced behind him, and his brow creased with concern. “Have those men been bothering you?”

  His protectiveness rankled. “No. Why do you ask?”

  He slid a hand beneath her elbow, ready to take care of her, anyway. “You seemed...a little on edge when you were looking at them.”

  She let him grasp her arm for a moment, so as not to look like an overreactive idiot to anyone watching, then casually pried herself loose, her skin still tingling from his touch. “I was wondering if they were following you around.”

  “Maybe. Then again—” Mac mimicked her Southern drawl as his handsome face took on a Texas-size grin “—maybe we’re all just going to the same places. We’re definitely all bunking at the Laramie Inn, at least since I got back.”

  Texas was a friendly place, Laramie County even more hospitable. Yet Erin knew things could get ugly fast when large sums of money were involved, no matter what state you were in. Luckily, Mac looked like he could take of himself, and then some.

  She didn’t want to see anyone go after him. And there was his adorable little daughter to consider, too.

  “Where is Heather this morning?” Erin had expected to see her with Mac.

  “School. She was enrolled in a Montessori program in Philadelphia, so it was easy enough to get her transferred into the one here. Because it’s a self-paced curriculum, she should be able to finish out first grade here in Texas, before we head back to Philly.”

  If Erin ever needed another reminder he was leaving again, this was it. Which was another reason she shouldn’t get involved. Last thing she needed was to fall for another man who would leave her in the dust.

  “I’m still looking for a furnished house or apartment to rent,” Mac continued as they walked over to the park, “but that’s not so easy. Seems no one wants to rent for one to two months. If you hear of anything...”

  Erin nodded. “I’ll put the word out, let you know if anything turns up.”

  “There it is. That legendary Texas hospitality again.”

  Erin returned his smile. It would be so easy to get lost in that charm. In him.

  “So what did you want to discuss with me?” Mac asked.

  Erin stopped short of the stone-and-glass monument that contained the framed map of the downtown Laramie historic district as well as directions to other popular tourist destinations in the area. She pretended to show him something. “Why did you kiss me last night?”

  He studied the flush in her cheeks. “Do I need a reason, beside the obvious?”

  “That’s not an answer,” she said stiffly.

  Mac’s blue eyes took on a mischievous gleam. “Okay, then. Why did you kiss me?”

  Because, Erin thought, I had been wanting to kiss you all evening, and it seemed like a good idea at the time. And because you make me feel incredibly reckless and alive whenever I’m near you. After years of feeling numb inside, I suddenly want to feel like a woman again. I want to feel desired. And that scares the heck out of me, even as it appears to energize you.

  “Did your hitting on me have anything to do with selling me on the wind farm idea?” Because if that was the case...

  Mac’s consternation quickly turned to pique. “I haven’t slept my way up the ladder, if that’s what you’re intimating.”

  “What about to a specific deal?” Erin persisted. Mac was ambitious, charming and oh, so good-looking. He oozed testosterone. Not to mention being single and in a very competitive field. Erin knew there were sales execs who would use whatever they had at their disposal to close a deal, and then move on to the next. Her ultrasuccessful ex-husband had been one of them.

  Mac scoffed. “Let me get this straight. You think I need to bed a woman to persuade her that dealing with me and the company I represent would be good business?”

  I think, given the way you kissed me, you could persuade a woman of damn near anything if you ever got her into bed.

  Erin struggled not to flush. “I’m just saying there are better ways to get what you want around here than by bolstering someone’s ego.”

  “And here I thought you were a straight-talker,” he teased.

  “I am very direct.”

  “Then maybe you can answer this for me.” He looked her square in the eye. “If I were to pursue you romantically, would it make you more inclined to listen to me? Or less?”

  “Neither.”

  “Sure about that?” Mac asked.

  She propped her hands on her hips. “Why do you keep answering a question with a question?”

  “I want to know more about you. What you’re thinking, feeling, wishing for.”

  Now she was really in trouble. How long since it had been since anyone had cared about her in that way?

  “And because your questions are all so foolish,” he added.

  They were, Erin thought indignantly, if his feelings were aboveboard and he could totally separate attraction and desire, and the process of closing a business deal. But if, as she half suspected, his emotions were as tangled as hers, they should run as far and fast from each other as they possibly could.

  Unfortunately, she couldn’t get a good reading from him, courtesy of his calm, inscrutable expression. “Look, I just want to know why you kissed me.” I want to know, she added silently to herself, if it meant anything.

  The look in his eyes became even harder to decipher. “It was dark. You’re pretty. You smelled good. And felt amazing. And,” he finished huskily, “you tasted pretty nice, too. Like that cup of peppermint tea you’d been drinking, before I came back downstairs. And like, for lack of a better way of describing it, you.”

  He had tasted good, too. And felt so warm and strong and male. She hung on to her irritation with effort. “Gavin said the two of you spoke about us.”

  “Yeah.” Mac let out a breath. “Your brother wasn’t too happy he caught us making out.”

  Though Gavin was a year younger, he had taken on the role of her male protector in the family since their folks died. Just as Erin had assumed the role of mama bear. They acted as surrogate parents to the rest of the brood, which made their sibling relationship a lot more complicated.

  Aware that the Prairie Natural Gas roughnecks were still watching her and Mac, Erin turned her back on the men. “I wasn’t happy about it, either.”

  “The kissing?” Mac studied her. “Or getting caught?”

  “Both.”

  He pursed his lips, clearly not believing her on the first, accepting the truth of the second.

  Erin knew he had a point. Had Gavin not come downstairs, she and Mac could have ended the embrace in a more leisurely, natural way. Said whatever needed to be said then, instead of putting it off until now, when everything was so much more confused and complicated. Mainly because Mac had insisted on bringing his company’s proposed wind farm and her land into the mix.

  She held his gaze with effort. “I think you should know I am not interested in selling the ranch.”

  Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the check for the boots and pressed it into her palm. “And I think you should try having an open mind. At least about a wind farm.” He squeezed her fingers briefly, then smiled again and stepped away. “See you tonight.”

  Chapter Five

  “There’s no reason to be frowning,” Bess told Erin, the moment the twins walked into the conference room at Travis Anderson’s law office. “The meeting hasn’t even started yet.”

  There was every reason, Erin thought, as she took a seat opposite her sisters. She didn’t like feeling as if her life was spinning out of control again.

  And it was, in ways she had never expected.

  “I, for one, am anxious to hear what Mac has to say,” Nicholas stated.

  Gavin agreed. “Why don’t we give the floor to him, so he can get right down to it?”

  And get down to it he did.

  For the next hour and a half, Mac gave all of them a crash course on win
d power. What it could mean to the county, in terms of clean, renewable energy, and to them financially. He concluded by handing out a written offer to all five Monroe siblings.

  Erin blinked at the multimillion-dollar sum. It was a lot of money for a ranch not suited for agricultural purposes. “Does this include the house and barns?”

  “Yes. Although we could take them out, and a small plot of land they sit upon, but with 342 towers—each a hundred feet high—and the massive turbines atop them, we figured you probably wouldn’t want to live there any longer.”

  “How noisy are they?” Bess asked.

  “Each turbine makes the sound of a vehicle going seventy miles per hour,” Mac explained.

  Nicholas grimaced. “We’d have to get rid of our horses.”

  “Or stable them elsewhere,” Mac said. “Perhaps at a new ranch?”

  A thoughtful silence fell, and Erin eventually looked at the family attorney. “What do you think?”

  Travis rocked back in his chair. “The offer is fair, when it comes to the price per acre. But you could also lease the land to NWE, and ask for an ongoing royalty, or percentage of the energy being generated and sold.”

  Mac frowned. “North Wind Energy would prefer to purchase the land outright.”

  “Once the wind farm is up and running, we won’t want to live there,” Gavin interjected.

  “We’re so far from town,” Bridget added. “We’re all eventually going to be living and working elsewhere, anyway.”

  “And I’m going off to college in two years,” Nicholas reminded them.

  Erin stared at her siblings. “So you all want to sell?”

  “It would be sad to let the Triple Canyon Ranch go—especially the house—but it’s time we were practical,” Bess said gently. “Besides, you have to admit...it would be a lot easier on you to live closer to the store. In town, even.”

  “Obviously, you’d all have to agree,” Travis interjected calmly. “And you need time to think about it, really consider, before you decide. I advise you to take a few weeks, at the very least.”

  Erin stared at her four siblings, hardly able to comprehend their attitude. They were all so unsentimental and matter-of-fact. “The Triple Canyon Ranch has been home to Monroes for four generations.”