by Francis Ray
Praise for Francis Ray
YOU AND NO OTHER
“The warmth and sincerity of the Graysons bring another book to life . . . . delightfully realistic.”
—Romantic Times
“Astonishing sequel . . . the best romance of the new year . . . . The Graysons are sure to leave a smile on your face and a longing in your heart for their next story.”
—ARomanceReview.com
“There are three more [Grayson] children with great love stories in the future.”
—Booklist
SOMEONE TO LOVE ME
“Another great romance novel.”
—Booklist
“The plot moves quickly, and the characters are interesting.”
—Romantic Times
“The characters give as good as they get, and their romance is very believable.”
—All About Romance
UNTIL THERE WAS YOU
“Her crisp style, realistic dialogue, likable characters, and fast pace make Ray one of the better, more popular writers in the Arabesque line.”
—Library Journal
ALSO BY FRANCIS RAY
You and No Other
Like the First Time
Someone to Love Me
Somebody’s Knocking at My Door
I Know Who Holds Tomorrow
Trouble Don’t Last Always (formerly The Turning Point)
Rockin’ Around That Christmas Tree (with Donna Hill)
ANTHOLOGIES
Rosie’s Curl and Weave
Della’s House of Style
Going to the Chapel
Welcome to Leo’s
Gettin’ Merry
Dreaming
of You
FRANCIS RAY
St. Martin’s Paperbacks
NOTE: If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
DREAMING OF YOU
Copyright © 2006 by Francis Ray.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
ISBN: 0-312-93973-6
EAN: 9780312-93973-1
Printed in the United States of America
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / September 2006
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my mother, Venora Radford,
who always believed in me.
To my daughter, C. Michelle Ray,
who listens to the retelling of my plots
each time as if it were the first time.
To Bette Ford and LaRee Bryant,
good friends and good listeners.
THE GRAYSONS OF NEW MEXICO–THE FALCONS OF TEXAS
cousins by marriage—friends by choice
Bold men and women who risk it all for love
Prologue
Brandon Grayson had cheerfully defied speculations and beaten the odds. He’d accomplished what his two older brothers had failed to do . . . remain single and unenamored despite being next on his mother’s infamous marriage hit list.
Five months had passed since his second-oldest brother, Morgan, had married, yet to the amazement of Brandon’s four siblings and many of the townspeople of Santa Fe, New Mexico, he remained, in his opinion, blessedly single. To top things off, the Red Cactus restaurant, his pride and joy, was thriving, he had a host of friends and a loving family, and tonight he was surrounded by some of the most beautiful women in the country.
Life was good.
That his mother and many of the other women in the ballroom in Casa de Serenidad Hotel in downtown Santa Fe who had come to help him celebrate his thirty-first birthday wanted to change his marital status was of no consequence to Brandon. He was more than willing to enjoy the women’s company while they tried. It wasn’t often that one of Ruth Grayson’s five children got the best of her. Her middle child planned on enjoying every glorious second.
A wide grin split Brandon’s handsome face as he sent his current dance partner, Andrea Cummings, in a double reverse spin on the hardwood floor, then pulled the willowy redhead back into his waiting arms. Pressing closer, she smiled seductively up at him, telling him without words that she was his for the asking. Brandon didn’t even consider taking her up on her offer. He’d never gone in for casual sex, and for the time being he wasn’t getting involved in anything serious.
He only had to glance around the room decorated in a southwestern theme of cowboy hats and boots and of course his favorites, cacti and chili peppers, and see his two married brothers to know that a woman in a steady relationship meant trouble. His smug smile faded.
His older brothers, Luke and Morgan, as they’d done most of the night, had their arms wrapped around their wives, blatantly ignoring the fast tempo of the music as they barely moved on the dance floor.
Before he married, Luke never danced in public, claiming he had two left feet. After his marriage to Catherine almost nine months ago, all she had to do was smile at him and he was on the dance floor. He’d walk through hell with a smile on his face to please her.
Morgan was the same love-smitten way about his wife, Phoenix. As next to the oldest, Morgan had cut a wide path among the ladies and was no slouch on the dance floor. He had vehemently declared that he had no intention of becoming serious about any woman, let alone getting married. Yet he’d caved faster than a marshmallow in a hot oven when Phoenix walked into his life. They’d hit a rocky patch in their courtship, but a tenacious Morgan hadn’t given up until Phoenix accepted his proposal. A month later they were married.
Brandon admired his brothers and adored their wives; he just didn’t want to be like them. He enjoyed his single lifestyle just the way it was. But if his matchmaking mother followed true to form, and there was no reason to suspect she’d divert from her plan, especially since she’d been so successful thus far, as the middle and next offspring he was next on her hit list.
Brandon shuddered. Not if he had anything to say about it.
A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Brandon considered himself a wise man. His brothers had slipped up by exclusively dating one woman. If they had played the field they wouldn’t have fallen into the marriage trap their mother had set for them. Well, they still weren’t sure she had set Morgan up, but he’d ended up married just the same.
The trouble with Brandon’s plan was that he’d been celibate since Morgan’s marriage. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could resist the soft lure of the women and the increasing needs of his body. He respected women, loved their softness, their smiles, their intelligence, even the odd way they thought, but he had healthy desires and it was becoming harder to control those desires.
“Brandon, you’re not paying attention to me,” Andrea said, her red lips pouting becomingly.
Brandon’s attention snapped back to his dance partner. The music had stopped. Her slim, bare arms remained looped around his neck, her lush body pressed enticingly against him. He could feel the warm, seductive imprint of her body from her thighs to the tempting thrust of her rounded breasts against his chest. Her lips were pouty and mere inches from his. She was beautiful and willing. He could take her home for a wild night of sex with
no recrimination in the morning.
He stepped back. He didn’t use women. “No man could ignore you,” he finally said.
The practiced pout turned into a smile. “Brandon,” she purred his name in one final attempt, and slid her arms slowly from around his neck and down his wide chest.
Brandon took her arm and started from the dance floor. As was true of many of the women in the room, he’d known Andrea since grade school. They’d thought they were madly in love when they were in the tenth grade. Two months later each had happily moved on to someone else.
They’d only gone a short distance when a cousin of Catherine’s asked Andrea to dance. From the flare of interest in Andrea’s eyes Brandon knew that, like in high school, her interest had moved on. Brandon relinquished her without a moment’s hesitation or regret. He had yet to meet a woman he couldn’t walk away from.
Out of habit his gaze roamed the jovial crowd of two hundred plus in the Conquistador Ballroom to ensure that things were going well. Naturally his restaurant wasn’t catering, but as the honoree he saw it as his responsibility to see that his guests enjoyed themselves.
His mother insisted that all her children have a party for their special day, and as usual she had picked the perfect location. The House of Serenity was a picturesque hotel surrounded by beautiful flower gardens and managed by a woman who wouldn’t settle for anything less than perfection, Faith McBride.
He saw the woman he had been thinking about and waved. A strained smile flickered across Faith’s pretty face before she was lost in the crowd. Concerned, he tried to locate her again. Faith could handle an event this size with her eyes closed. So why did she look so worried?
Brandon located her moments later speaking to the chef at the carving station. She quickly moved to the open bar and then to the buffet table to view the ravages caused by the hungry partygoers. Arriving on her heels were three waiters with fresh trays of fruit, raw vegetables, and a delicious array of tidbits. With a brief nod of approval, she was off again.
Thanks to Faith’s guidance the waitstaff was doing an excellent job of keeping the food and drinks flowing. As part-owner and executive manager of Casa de Serenidad, she had taken the hotel from three stars to five in six years. He hadn’t been surprised.
The pretty face and quick smile of the woman who barely came to his shoulder belied the tenacious spirit underneath. Faith wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best. Meticulous and savvy, outgoing and vivacious, there wasn’t a thing she put her mind to that she couldn’t accomplish.
She was the main reason for the hotel’s success. She genuinely cared about people, and it showed. She didn’t need harsh words to reprimand; a raised brow worked just as well. Her staff was extremely loyal and devoted to her. He should know. He’d unsuccessfully tried several times to woo away the executive chef of their famed restaurant, the Pueblo. As at the Red Cactus, the employees here were like a big family. So what was bothering her?
Whatever the reason, he didn’t like seeing her unhappy. He started to make his way through the crowd toward her. A familiar voice pulled him up short.
“How does it feel to be so old?” joked Cameron McBride. He was dressed comfortably in a sports jacket and jeans.
Brandon grinned at the man who’d been his best friend since kindergarten. They matched each other in height at six-foot-two, but while Brandon had broad shoulders and hard muscles, Cameron had a long, wiry build that suited him for his life’s passion, racing for NASCAR. “Since you’re older by a week, you tell me.”
“In a room full of beautiful women how do you think I feel?” Cameron replied, a roguish smile on his handsome face.
“With the McBride curse, it won’t do you any good,” came another voice.
Brandon glanced around to see Duncan McBride, Faith and Cameron’s older brother, approach. Tall and rugged, Duncan had the loose-limbed gait of a man who spent long hours in the saddle and the conditioned muscles and calloused hands of a man who worked his sprawling Montana ranch.
Although Duncan and Cameron had personal reasons to disagree with him, Brandon didn’t believe in the curse that no McBride would ever be happy in love, but the thought brought his earlier concern hurtling back. “Faith doesn’t look happy.”
Both brothers searched the room until they found their baby sister in a group of mutual friends. “She looks fine to me,” said Duncan.
“Same here,” Cameron agreed.
Brandon threw the brothers a disgruntled look. “How can you say that? There’s obviously something wrong.”
“I don’t see a problem,” Duncan told him. “There’s someone I need to speak with. Bye.”
“Your instincts are usually dead-on about women, but this time you’re wrong.” Cameron slapped Brandon playfully on the back. “Maybe it’s old age.” Brandon glared at him. His best friend laughed harder. “Despite Duncan’s gloomy prediction, I might as well try to break the curse and find myself someone who won’t mind taking a chance on me.”
Brandon caught the sadness beneath the blithe words. “There are other women.”
A shadow briefly crossed Cameron’s pensive face. “Yeah. I keep trying to tell that to my stupid heart. I’ll catch you later.” He walked away.
Brandon wished he could do something to help, but only time or Caitlin’s return would accomplish that. On the heels of that thought came one even more disturbing. Had a man put that look of utter misery on Faith’s face?
“What has upset you?”
Brandon whipped his head around at the sound of his mother’s worried voice. She was a tall, beautiful woman with sharp cheekbones and unblemished golden skin. She had the trim figure of a woman who took care of herself, and onyx eyes that saw too much.
Admitting his concerns about Faith would send the wrong message. “What’s there to be upset about? I’m happy and single and I plan to remain that way for a long, long time.”
“We shall see,” Ruth said, her voice calm and self-assured.
Brandon fought back a frown as he recalled all the other occasions in his life he’d heard his mother utter those words. In each case she’d emerged victorious. He was determined that this time it would be different. If he showed even the slightest hint of weakness or doubt, she would use it to her advantage. She was relentless when it came to doing what she felt was best for her children—even if they disagreed with her. “I’m winning this time, Mama. Admit it.”
“I admit that I love you and only want what’s best for you.”
She hadn’t given up. She stared up at him with utter devotion and steadfast determination. She wouldn’t be satisfied until he was shackled to some woman. It was useless to argue or ask her to stop. Love drove her.
“I make my own decisions,” he told her.
She briefly palmed the smooth line of his jaw with her soft hand. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now, go circulate with your guests.”
Brandon’s black eyes narrowed for a moment. To anyone else his mother’s words might have given the impression she was quitting. He knew better. She had the uncanny ability to use your assets against you. “I’m on to you. This time it’ll be different.” Bending, he kissed her on her unlined cheek, and then he walked away.
Almost immediately Felicia Falcon, Ruth’s sister-in-law, came up beside Ruth. “Is everything in place?”
“Finally. I surmised getting them together would be difficult, but I hadn’t anticipated to what extent.” The irritation in Ruth’s voice turned to undisguised satisfaction. “It begins tonight.”
A pleased smile on her beautiful face, Felicia handed Ruth one of the flutes filled with sparkling cider. Dangling from the stem was an N for nonalcoholic and, in honor of Brandon’s birthday, a second charm of cowboy boots. “I wish I could be here to see them start falling in love.”
Ruth smiled over the rim of her glass. “You are. It’s already started.”
Faith McBride saw the troubled expression on Brandon’s face and immediately excused her
self from the group she’d been chatting with. “Brandon, is there a problem?”
Blowing out a breath, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “Mama is at it again.”
Faith’s gaze jerked to Ruth Grayson standing across the room with her sister-in-law, Boston socialite and art patron, Felicia Falcon. The pleased expressions on their faces were a marked contrast to Brandon’s unhappy one. Faith felt her stomach clench. “You mean—”
“She won’t be happy until there’s a ball and chain around my neck,” Brandon said, gritting his teeth.
“She loves you,” Faith offered. It was the truth and the best Faith could come up with at the moment. She had thought she had more time.
“I know and that makes it worse.” One hand came out of his pocket to swipe across his handsome face. “She’ll never give up because she wants each of her children to be happy. But her idea of happiness isn’t mine.”
“Your brothers are happy,” Faith said, pointing out the unmistakable truth.
“More ammunition.”
True and all the worse for me, she thought, but she’d always known the odds weren’t in her favor. “Smile or people will think you’re unhappy with the services of Casa de Serenidad.” she told him, trying to tease him out of his unhappy mood.
The corners of his mobile mouth tilted. “Next to the Red Cactus, this is the best place to throw a party.”
Her naturally arched brow lifted. “Is that why you keep trying to steal my executive chef?”
Brandon somehow managed to look offended. “Would I do that to an old friend?”
“In a heartbeat,” Faith answered without a moment’s hesitation.