by Mary Leo
“Maybe so, but I was always a threat. Still am, in your eyes. I’m not trying to take his place, Reese. I know that could never happen.”
For once Reese heard genuine candor in Chuck’s voice. Maybe, just maybe, a crack had formed in Chuck’s bullshit armor. Reese decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Then what do you want, Chuck? I mean, underneath all the bravado, what are you hoping to achieve? Now’s your chance to be honest, to bare your soul, so to speak. You’ve offered me half your fortune for doing essentially nothing to deserve it other than simply being born with your genes. Money won’t make you my dad. That role went to the man who was there for every major and minor moment in my life. Who worked alongside me, who stood by me, who had my back, and who loved me unconditionally. You can’t compete with that. Knowing all of that, where do you think you can fit in?”
“As your business partner, and perhaps in time, your friend.”
Reese stared into Chuck’s deep green eyes, trying to understand this man . . . his biological father. Was he on the level? Was he worth the effort? Could Reese ever forgive him for all the stress he’d caused his family, and more importantly, his dad?
“I expect a lot from my friends: loyalty, reliability, and above all, honesty,” Reese told him, his voice purposely terse. “I can try to deliver my part. Can you?”
Reese felt a renewed sense of purpose. As if he’d just laid everything on the table and it was time for Chuck to uphold his end of the deal. If he didn’t, Reese intended to move on.
“I’ve been waiting for this chance all your life, Reese. You won’t be disappointed. You have my word.”
Chuck looked different, somehow. Sincere. Open. Genuine. Without giving it another thought, Reese stuck out his hand.
Chuck took it and Reese instantly felt the weight of that tight, brief handshake. Not only was Chuck’s hand smooth and soft, not unlike someone who worked at a desk all day, but his handshake seemed practiced rather than sincere. Still, Reese decided to let it go, understanding that flushing out his past skepticism would take time. All Reese knew for sure at the moment was that he wasn’t going to sign anything until all those reports came in that his dad had run. Until that happened, all the handshakes in the world wouldn’t get Reese to sign anything . . . his daddy didn’t raise a fool.
Without hesitation, Chuck slapped Reese on the shoulder like they were old pals and hadn’t seen each other in a while, then he let go, as a wide grin spread on his wizened face. It took every ounce of fortitude Reese had to not recoil in self-doubt and shame. Somewhere deep inside of him, he felt as if he’d just shook hands with the devil.
He quickly tossed that thought away, because when he realized what that made him, he shuddered.
“You won’t be sorry, Reese,” Chuck declared. “I give you my word.”
“Good to know,” Reese answered, but he couldn’t quite shake the bad taste that lingered in his mouth.
BY THE TIME Reese left the Circle Starr, he’d been loaded down with not only a thermos of coffee, but also an assortment of Kaya’s muffins. Plus, both Reese and Chuck had worked out a list of compromises that Chuck had agreed to incorporate into yet another partnership agreement. The number one compromise was for the Cooper ranch. Although Chuck’s lawyers had already made some changes to the new agreement, they still weren’t enough to suit Reese. As it stood now, the Cooper ranch would be under the umbrella of Circle Starr Enterprises, but Reese and his mom would have the final say on any and all business that transpired on the ranch.
That wasn’t quite enough of a compromise, especially when the mineral rights would also be under the Circle Starr umbrella. Not knowing exactly what those minerals were under the Cooper Ranch, Reese couldn’t agree to this, at least not until he had some real answers. Chuck was quick to assure him that signing now wouldn’t impact the Cooper’s mineral rights. Besides, Reese still would own half of whatever was under the Cooper land. That part remained the same.
Not exactly the terms Reese had hoped for, but so far, what was already written down would afford Reese the ability to continue to run the family ranch the way he saw fit. Another big compromise was their brand. Reese had negotiated to legally keep the Cooper Ranch brand. However, Circle Starr Enterprises would absorb and pay off all the Cooper Ranch loans, and pay for any repairs and upkeep on the ranch, which included the ranch house. Reese knew his mom would be in favor of those terms, especially since she’d wanted a new kitchen for several years. He looked forward to telling her these new terms.
Reese hadn’t signed any of the documents yet, but at least he and Chuck were now taking the time to painstakingly go over Reese’s concerns. What made the terms even sweeter was Chuck’s willingness to compromise. In all the years Chuck and his dad had tried to work together, Chuck had never been willing to give an inch . . . a trait Reese’s dad had all but refused to deal with.
Reese wondered what his dad would think now. Would he believe this new compromising Chuck Starr, or would he still be cynical? Reese could almost hear his dad telling him to tread lightly, remain wary, and proceed with extreme caution.
Reese intended to heed his dad’s warnings and test the waters first, making sure the Cooper family came out ahead in this game.
Chuck’s lawyers would work up the new agreement and deliver the documents to the Cooper family lawyer sometime in the next few days. Then Reese and his lawyer would make sure everything worked in favor of his family before he put pen to paper. He refused to sign anything without his lawyer’s approval.
There were times during the discussions when Reese had to stop and tell himself it was okay to be talking to Chuck. Years of bias had made even being in the same room with Chuck almost impossible. He felt as if he’d been on the verge of a major panic attack the entire time he’d been with Chuck. Now, as he drove onto the Cooper ranch the tightness in his chest began to finally subside, and all he could think about was catching up with Avery.
He didn’t know exactly where she was, or if she had decided to cut her ride short and head back to the Circle Starr. But Reese had a hunch from the direction she’d rode in that morning she might be headed out to his ranch.
Within what seemed like minutes, he saddled up, filled a saddlebag with a few of Kayla’s outstanding muffins and the thermos filled with coffee, grabbed a small blanket, and headed to the one place where he knew he might find Avery . . . the pasture where he’d seen her that very first day.
When the pasture came into view, he couldn’t see her, then as if she’d known he would be there, she appeared and rode towards him . . . red hair streaming down her back, oversized cowgirl hat shadowing her face as she and that gorgeous mare of hers came riding up to him, as if on cue.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as she approached, her face flushed from riding hard. Just the sight of her perched on that horse took Reese’s breath away. Did she know the kind of impact she had on him? Did she know how much he wanted her? How much he thought about her during his day, and how much he longed for her at night?
He wondered if she could see it on his face now, in his eyes.
“Last I heard, this was still Cooper land. What are you doing here?”
“Waiting for you.”
He liked the way that sounded . . . that she’d been waiting for him, thinking about him, maybe lusting for him as he did for her. He liked that a lot.
“How’d you know I’d come?”
“I didn’t, but I was hopeful.”
A smile pulled at her lips as a soft breeze stirred the colored wildflowers and tall grasses that encircled them, as sunshine frolicked with her hair, as he longed to hold her in his arms.
“I brought muffins. I noticed you left without any breakfast.” He dismounted, secured the reins around the horn, pulled down the saddlebags, grabbed the blanket and spread it out on a piece of flat ground where the grass wasn’t too high. The weather couldn’t be better for a picnic and Reese intended to entice her to stay.
She dismounted and the two horses trotted away, then buried their heads in the sweet grass.
“I brought coffee, but if you’re going to be my servant you should know I can be really picky about how my shirts and jeans are pressed. I never leave the house in un-pressed jeans.”
Reese enjoyed teasing her, and getting her to laugh, especially after last night. He knew her mom still weighed on her mind, and he wanted to try to help ease that load.
“This might be a problem.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know how to use an iron. Didn’t have a mom growing up to teach me all those domestic things.” She said it with a smile, but he knew deep down inside she was hurting. He only hoped that whatever Chuck had to say about her mom wouldn’t devastate her, wouldn’t be something she couldn’t handle. He considered being there when Chuck spoke to her about it, but how he would manage that, he didn’t quite know.
“Then you can’t be my servant.”
“Does this mean I can’t have the coffee? Because, if you reconsider, there are other things I’m much more qualified to do.”
“Like what?”
She took his hand and they both sat down on the blanket. Then she leaned in and kissed him. When their tongues met, and her hand pressed down between his legs, causing him to go rock hard, he unbuttoned her shirt and gently caressed her breasts, delighted that she hadn’t worn a bra.
When she pulled back, he said, “That much coffee is bad for you.”
“What coffee?”
“All the coffee I’m planning on brewing up for you.”
His gaze fell to her lovely full breasts, nipples taut and hard, waiting for his touch. He slid her shirt off her arms. He wanted her naked in the sunshine, lying on his blanket while he ravaged her beautiful body.
“Enough to fill a river?” she asked as she yanked off her boots, tossing them aside. He did the same, sliding his boots off into the grass.
“Enough to fill an ocean,” he said as he ran his hand over her breasts, teasing each nipple with his thumb, enchanted by how quickly her body responded to his touch.
“I like the way you think,” she said, while she slid out of her jeans and panties, ready to give herself to him, right there, under the bluest of skies. He loved seeing her naked, all the soft curves of her body tempting him every time she moved. Her skin seemed to glow in the sunshine, as if she was lit from within. He couldn’t keep his hands off of her, her skin soft and smooth as a flower’s petal.
“I like the way you feel,” he said. Then he leaned into her, running his hand down her belly to the center of her body, finding her wet with excitement for him. He couldn’t help the moan that escaped from somewhere deep inside of him as his fingers slid into the very core of her.
She moved away from his kiss, leaning back on the blanket, arms supporting her as she offered all that she had to him. The sight of her so exposed and vulnerable excited him like nothing he’d ever experienced before. It ripped away any and all of his defenses.
“Is that all you like about me?” she teased, bending her legs, then letting her knees drop to her sides. He pushed his fingers in deeper as she tilted her body up so he could feel all the warmth that she had. His thumb danced over her center, and her breathing slowed. He loved how she responded to his lightest touch, as if she’d been waiting for him, anticipating his moves.
“I don’t know where to begin,” he said, as his gaze devoured her. “How about if I show you?”
“Did I happen to mention that I like the way you think?” Her voice was a whisper that mixed with the breeze then floated into his soul.
“Did I happen to mention that I like the way you . . .”
But he didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence before they came together on the blanket in a tangle of red-hot heat.
FOURTEEN
By the time Avery rode home late that afternoon, with the sun low in the sky and wreaking havoc on her sun-sensitive eyes, she’d already decided that she could get accustomed to full-time ranch life. Okay, so maybe she hadn’t actually done any real work other than herding a few calves, but she knew she could get used to it, used to the rhythm of a ranch, the pace of new life emerging with each season. Sure, it was hard work. She saw how some of Chuck’s ranch hands looked when they left for the day, but they also looked satisfied. Especially the women—the cowgirls—looked happy with their day.
Not that Avery was seriously contemplating giving up law, but it was nice to dream about other possibilities. After all, if things didn’t go her way, she wouldn’t have a choice in the matter, and she wanted to be prepared for plan B. Avery was nothing if not always prepared . . . at least that was how she’d thought of herself.
Now maybe not so much.
She hadn’t been prepared for that distraught picture of her mom. Hadn’t been prepared for all the hurt and sadness and confusion it had stirred inside of her. Life had thrown her a curve ball, several curve balls all at once, actually, and she needed to try her best to catch them and toss them back into the universe along with what she wanted to do, not with what someone else thought she should do.
As she approached the Circle Starr stables, English Rose at a steady slow ambling gait, gently rocking Avery to the beat of her thoughts, she focused in on Reese Cooper. Getting to know Reese, the time she’d spent with him, laughing with him, arguing with him, talking, and most importantly, making love to him, had somehow restored her faith in herself.
Reese was a genuinely good man, and a lover like no other. Up until she’d slept with Reese, having sex with a man had been just that, sex. Not much emotion had been tied to the act. Sure she’d experienced some nice moments with the other lovers in her life, but she’d never felt the range of deep passion that she’d experienced with Reese.
Their lovemaking had been so powerful today that again she’d cried, and Reese had been there to tenderly kiss away her tears and shed a few of his own. No other man had caused such emotion to swell inside of her before, and she was certain no other man would have been that caring and understanding when he caught her weeping.
She didn’t know exactly what had brought it on. Perhaps part of it was all the secrecy surrounding her mom. Or perhaps it was simply the way Reese made love to her . . . baring his soul, as if it might be his last time. As if he was a soldier going off to war and they might never see each other again. He was tender when he needed to be and a little rough when she’d demanded more. He knew her nuances, and she knew his. They seemed to know each other’s inner desires without either of them having to say a word.
But most of all, he could laugh when a bee nearly scared her to death and she’d screamed like a schoolgirl until he shooed it away, both of them completely naked, running around in the grass like children.
“Did you have a good ride, Miss?” Jackson asked. He was one of the many stable hands who cared for the horses, and Avery’s favorite. Jackson always wore a smile, and had something kind to say.
He took the reins from her as soon as she dismounted.
“Yes, thanks. The best,” she said as she gave English Rose some loving. The horse responded with nudges and head bobs. The two of them had a real friendship going, and it was moments like these when Avery couldn’t help but think of her beautiful mom, and how much she would have loved English Rose as much as Avery did.
Avery could imagine her mom riding English Rose. She loved to ride. It was the one thing she could do on her own without getting lost. Why that was, Avery didn’t know, but no matter how many hours her mom would go out riding, she always managed to find her way back, and she always looked refreshed when she returned.
Avery would be turning thirty on Sunday, a zero birthday, a birthday that required a major change. It was finally time to know the truth, and from what she could tell, Chuck Starr was finally willing to tell her. She texted him that she would be home for dinner,
and would love if he would join her.
She waited for an answer, but none came until she had showered, blown out her hair and gotten dressed. The answer came in the form of a knock on her bedroom door just as she had zipped up a clean pair of black slacks and tucked in a white shirt. Then she slipped the disturbing picture of her mom into her back pocket, intending to confront Chuck with it.
She stepped into a pair of bright pink heels, something she hadn’t worn in weeks. Her feet felt instantly restricted, but they sure looked pretty. As she opened the door, a moment of apprehension gripped at her resolve, but she took a deep breath and steeled her nerves.
“Dinner is almost ready,” Kaya crooned, standing in front of Avery looking somewhat apprehensive, almost as if she knew what Avery was feeling.
“Thanks, Kaya, and thanks for the pictures of my mom,” Avery told her.
“My pleasure, but I think I might have stirred up a bees’ nest.”
Avery sucked in a breath as she followed behind Kaya who seemed to be in a hurry to get back to her kitchen. “Why do you say that? Did you get into trouble for it with Chuck?”
“No, ma’am. Mr. Starr never said a word, but he’ll be joining you for dinner tonight, along with your father.”
Avery thought she must not have heard Kaya correctly. Daniel Templeton hadn’t been back to the Circle Starr in years. And he never, ever left Phoenix unless he’d planned it weeks in advance. Kaya had to be wrong.
“Did you say my father is here?”
“Yes.”
“You must be mistaken, Kaya. He’s the lead attorney in an ongoing trial.”
“That may be, but he’s out there drinking a glass of Mr. Starr’s best scotch, waiting to see you.”