The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter

by Sherryl Woods

  On Friday morning he enlisted Cody’s help. “How about taking Jenny with you this afternoon? It’s about time she got a real look at the workings of this place.”

  If Cody guessed his father’s intentions, he didn’t let on. “I won’t be back until dark,” he warned.

  “That’s okay.”

  “Won’t Janet be expecting to pick her up at five as usual?”

  “I’ll keep Janet entertained.”

  Cody grinned. “If you say so. I’ll come back for Jenny at lunchtime.”

  “Thanks, son.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  Jenny rode off with Cody just after noon, looking as besotted as if she’d just been granted a date with her favorite movie star. Harlan spent the next few hours catching up on paperwork in his office, then dressed for his meeting with Janet as eagerly as if they were going out on a date. His sons would have laughed their fool heads off if they’d seen him debating what to wear, only to end up in a pinstriped dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and his best boots. A pile of discards worse than any Mary had ever left strewn around covered the kingsize bed.

  Promptly at five he took a pitcher of iced tea, two tall glasses, a bowl of Maritza’s pico de gallo and some tortilla chips onto the porch. Leaning back in a rocker, his boots propped on the porch railing, he settled back to wait. He wondered how long it would be before Janet guessed that he wasn’t bringing Jenny to the end of the lane and resigned herself to driving to the house to pick her up. He figured fifteen minutes.

  He was off by five. At ten minutes past five she came flying up the lane, sending up a cloud of dust. She leapt out of the car, her expression half frantic.

  “Where’s Jenny? Has something happened to her?”

  “She’s fine,” he soothed. “She’s off helping Cody this afternoon. She won’t be back for a while yet. Come on up and join me.”

  Janet regarded the tea and tortilla chips suspiciously. “What’s all that?”

  “Just a little something to tide us over while we wait. Figured you might be thirsty and hungry this time of day.”

  “Exactly when are you expecting them back?”

  “Seven or so.”

  She stared at him incredulously. “Seven? Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I just did,” he said, holding out the glass of tea.

  Janet ignored it. Hands on hips, she stared him down, practically quivering with indignation. “What kind of game are you playing, Harlan Adams?”

  “I could ask you the same question. You’ve spent the past five days avoiding me. Whose idea was that? Yours or Jenny’s?”

  She sighed and sank down onto the top step. She finally accepted the glass of tea and took a long swallow. “A little of both, I suppose.”

  “Shouldn’t you have told me?” he said, mimicking her tone.

  “I just did,” she said, and chuckled. “I’m sorry.”

  “No need to be sorry. For a pair of grown-ups we are pretty pathetic, aren’t we? Seems to me we should be past resorting to games or letting a teenager rule the way we live our lives.”

  “We should be,” Janet concurred. “It’s my fault. I should have insisted on bringing Jenny all the way to the house on Monday, but she was still so upset I gave in and dropped her at the end of the lane. After that, it became a pattern, I suppose. I couldn’t seem to break it.”

  “Don’t go taking all the blame. I’m the one who put you in an awkward position in the first place.” He looked her over, admiring the creamy silk blouse she wore with a pair of tan linen slacks and a few pieces of expensive gold jewelry. She was all class, there was no mistake about that. “You haven’t dated much since the divorce, have you?”

  “Not at all.”

  “So Jenny’s still very protective. Is she hoping you’ll get back together with her father?”

  “No, she knows better than that. He doesn’t have time for either one of us anymore. I think that’s really the problem. She needs all of my attention right now.”

  Her expression turned speculative. “It may be that she needs all of yours, too. You’re providing a father figure for her. Maybe she’s not ready to share you.”

  “But what do you need?” he inquired softly. “Do you need a man in your life?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not in my plans right now.”

  He thought of his sons and how hard they’d fought falling in love. In the end, when the right woman came along they hadn’t had a choice, any more than he had when he and Mary had met.

  “I wasn’t aware you could plan for a thing like that,” he said.

  “You can certainly avoid putting yourself at risk,” she countered.

  “Is that what you’ve been doing since you got to Texas, avoiding risks?”

  She nodded.

  “Must have been a lousy plan, since we met anyway,” he observed, grinning. “Or do you suppose fate just had something else in mind?”

  “I don’t know what to think,” she admitted, then gazed at him imploringly. “Harlan, this can’t go any further than it already has.”

  The wistfulness in her voice contradicted the statement and gave him hope. “I think we both know that’s not so,” he said. “But I’m willing to slow down and take things nice and easy, if that’ll give you some peace of mind.”

  “Why is it that peace of mind is the last thing I feel around you?” she asked plaintively.

  He winked at her. “Darlin’, I think that’s exactly what we’re going to find out. Now, why don’t you and Jenny stick around for dinner? Let’s see if we can’t get things on an even keel again.”

  Janet protested, but she didn’t put much oomph in it. After seeing her resort to takeout the Sunday before, he could see why. Any meal she didn’t have to prepare herself must have seemed like a godsend. Just like any meal he didn’t have to eat alone these days was a genuine pleasure for him.

  If he had his way about it, there were going to be a whole lot more evenings starting off just like this one.

  Chapter Seven

  Janet couldn’t quite decide whether or not to be irritated at Harlan’s high-handedness in sending Jenny off to work with Cody. She knew he had done it just so he could end the stalemate she had started following that devastating kiss.

  Jenny’s shocked reaction had been partly responsible for her retreat, of course. But it was her own response that had truly shaken her. She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with a man as strong-willed and compelling as Harlan Adams, a man who made her heart pound and her blood sizzle with lust and temper in equal measure. She resented the fact that he had forced her into confronting the issue by facing him again.

  Still, once dinner was on the table, her exasperation dwindled at an astonishing rate. Apparently she could be bought for a decent meal she didn’t have to cook herself. Tender chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy, a salad, vegetables—it was heaven.

  Jenny wasn’t nearly so easily won over. She sat at the dining room table in stubborn silence, glaring from Janet to Harlan and back again. Apparently she had belatedly guessed that the price of her afternoon with Cody was this unwanted reunion. By the end of the meal Janet’s nerves were raw from the tension in the room.

  “I think we should go,” she said the minute they’d finished dessert. The housekeeper had served a chocolate silk pie that had almost inspired Janet to ask for the recipe until she’d reminded herself what a disaster she’d make of it. “I know eating and running is impolite, but we have things we should be doing.”

  Harlan regarded her with undisguised amusement. “Such as?”

  “Homework,” she retorted automatically. “Jenny’s doing some make-up assignments so she’ll be ready to take advanced English in the fall. She fell behind at the end of the term at home.”

  “Mom, it’s Friday night,” Jenny protested, then clamped her mouth shut the instant it apparently dawned on her that speaking out might mean staying at White Pines longer.

  Janet hid a
smile. “I suppose we could stay a little longer,” she said, her expression innocent.

  Alarm flared in Jenny’s eyes. “No, you’re right,” Jenny contradicted hurriedly. “I should get my homework done. I have a big project due next week. It’ll probably take me hours and hours, maybe the whole weekend. I won’t get any sleep at all.”

  “Sounds like a tough assignment,” Harlan agreed. “What is it?”

  Jenny looked trapped. “A paper,” she finally blurted in a way that said she was ad-libbing as she went along. “On Edgar Allan Poe.”

  Harlan leaned back. “Ah, yes, Poe. Now there was a writer. Pretty scary stuff, it seemed to me when I read him.”

  “You read Poe?” Jenny asked in an insulting tone of disbelief that suggested she was surprised to discover that Harlan read at all.

  “Poetry, short stories, just about all of it, I suppose,” he said, clearly unoffended. “Of course, by today’s standards, I suppose he seems pretty tame. Not nearly as graphic as some writers. It always seemed to me there was something to be said for leaving things to the reader’s imagination, the way Poe did.”

  Jenny’s expression brightened. “That’s what I thought,” she said eagerly, then caught herself. “Never mind. You probably don’t care about what I think.”

  Janet’s breath caught in her throat as she waited for Harlan’s reply. Her ex-husband had never been interested in hearing his daughter’s thoughts on much of anything. For the most part, Barry had believed children should be seen and not heard, unless showing Jenny off had had some professional benefit. He’d enjoyed being perceived as an up-and-coming lawyer and proud family man. When Jenny’s grades had slipped in direct proportion to the amount of arguing going on at home, he’d lost what little interest he’d ever had in her school days.

  For a time, Janet had been fooled by her ex’s superficial evidence of concern and pride. Now that she’d observed Harlan Adams for a couple of weeks, especially when Cody was around to banter with him, she had seen what a genuine family was all about. What she and Barry and Jenny had shared had been a mockery of the real thing, more feigned than substantive.

  She watched now as Harlan fixed an attentive look on Jenny. That was the gaze Barry had never quite mastered, an expression of real interest. Seeing it warmed Janet through and through and further endangered her already shaky determination to keep Harlan at a distance.

  “Of course I’m interested in your opinion,” he assured Jenny. “And if you’re going to be in an advanced class, you must be pretty smart.”

  “My teacher in New York said my short stories and essays are really good,” Jenny admitted, pride shining in her eyes. “She said I could probably be a writer someday, if I want to be.”

  “And do you want to be?” Harlan asked.

  Jenny nodded, her expression suddenly shy as she revealed a dream that Janet knew she’d shared with almost no one. It was a tribute to the fragile trust flowering between Jenny and Harlan that she was telling him.

  Once again, Janet couldn’t help thinking that the theft and subsequent accident that had brought Harlan Adams into their lives was turning out far better than she’d had any right to expect, especially for Jenny. It made her more determined than ever not to do anything to shake the trust the two of them were establishing, even if it cost her a chance with Harlan for herself.

  “I’m going to write about Native Americans,” Jenny said. “I want to tell all the stories that Lone Wolf told Mom.”

  “And who was Lone Wolf?”

  “He was my great-great-grandfather. He died way before I was born.”

  Harlan glanced at Janet. “But you spent time with him?”

  “Just one summer,” she admitted sorrowfully. “My father didn’t want me spending time with my Comanche relatives. He said I’d grow up wild and out of control. One year, though, my mother insisted. She sent me to stay with Lone Wolf on the reservation in Oklahoma. It was the best summer of my life.”

  “Which almost explains why you ended up in Texas when your marriage ended,” Harlan said. “Why here and not Oklahoma?”

  Janet flushed guiltily and avoided Jenny’s knowing gaze. “Because he talked about Texas a lot and the days when our ancestors lived here,” she said, leaving it at that.

  Harlan didn’t appear convinced. “Something tells me there’s a lot more to it,” he said.

  “Not really,” she denied. “I’m just following a little girl’s dream.”

  He shrugged, finally accepting her at her word. “Then we’ll leave it at that for now,” he said.

  There was no mistaking the implication that he wouldn’t leave the topic alone for long. Janet wondered how well her resolve would stand up to any real grilling by this man with the coaxing eyes and persuasive charm.

  And more and more she was wondering whether she’d be able to go on battling the warm feelings he was stirring in her, the kind of feelings she’d vowed never to allow to deceive her again.

  Harlan Adams struck her as a complicated man of many passions. She could only guess how well she would fare if she became one of them. For her own sake, as well as Jenny’s, she hoped the moment of truth would be a long time coming.

  “Maybe you should think about spending the weekend here,” Harlan suggested just then, startling her. Her panic must have shown because he quickly added, “I’ve got a whole library filled with works by Poe. Jenny could do all the research she wants right here.”

  As generous and innocent-sounding as the offer was, Janet was shaking her head before the words were out of his mouth. “No, really, it’s impossible. We’re not prepared for an overnight stay.”

  His gaze settled on her in a provocative way that made her pulse race. “The closet’s always filled with extra toothbrushes, if that’s what has you worried,” he said.

  Janet felt her cheeks flame. He knew precisely what had her worried, and it definitely wasn’t toothbrushes or the lack of them. “Thanks for the offer, but no,” she said firmly.

  “Come on back in the morning then,” he said.

  In giving in more gracefully than she’d expected, he almost left her feeling disappointed. Obviously she needed to work a little on her backbone. It was apparently as limp as an overcooked strand of spaghetti.

  “Jenny can do her research and you and I could go riding,” he prodded when she remained silent. “You still haven’t seen all of White Pines.”

  Janet felt Jenny’s wary gaze on her, but she avoided meeting her daughter’s eyes. There were a lot of reasons to accept Harlan’s offer, beginning with the chance it would give her to explore the very land that her ancestors had once hunted on. Jenny couldn’t fault her for that.

  There was also one very big reason to turn him down: he made her stomach do the most amazing flip-flops every single time he looked at her. If he could manage that after a few relatively brief encounters, what kind of havoc could he wreak during a whole day’s outing? In private? Without Jenny’s watchful gaze on them every minute?

  Would there be more of those bone-melting kisses like the one that had thrown her so off stride on Sunday night? Without a doubt. The heated promise was in Harlan’s gaze every time he looked at her. Temptation heated her blood. Longing made her heart thump unsteadily. And the combination had her saying yes before she could stop herself.

  Once the single affirmative word was out of her mouth, Janet wasn’t sure which of the three of them was most stunned. A pleased smile hovered on Harlan’s lips. Jenny retreated into sullen silence. And Janet considered whether a steel rod implant was necessary to stiffen her spine to the degree it needed.

  “Shall we get an early start?” Harlan inquired. “Or are you one of those people who likes to laze in bed on the weekends?”

  There was just enough seductive innuendo in the question to make her voice unsteady when she vowed that she could be there at any hour he liked.

  He grinned. “Brave words,” he taunted. “I’ll give you a break just this once, though. You get here by ten.
I’ll have Maritza pack us a picnic to take along.”

  “For three,” Jenny said, scowling at her mother. “I want to come, too.”

  “Thought you had a big paper to do,” Harlan said, but his eyes were glinting with amusement at Jenny’s obvious ploy to play chaperone once again.

  “I’ll need a break,” she said. “Otherwise, my brain will probably bust.”

  “Then by all means, you’ll come, too,” he replied. “Can’t have a tragedy like that on my head.”

  If he was disappointed, he didn’t let it show. Clearly, he understood how important it was for Jenny to feel she wouldn’t be intruding.

  For that, Janet decided, he would always have her gratitude. And, if he kept up the sweet gestures and the blatant provocation, he might very well wind up with her heart after all. Only time would tell just how terrible or incredible that fate might be.

  * * *

  Janet Runningbear was skittish as a brand-new colt, Harlan decided midway through their ride on Saturday. He’d never met a woman so determined to avoid being alone with a man.

  Of course, Jenny was playing right into her mother’s hands by acting like the overprotective adult, rather than the other way around. He might have found it amusing and rather gratifying, if it hadn’t been so blasted frustrating.

  He wanted to get to know this woman, but whenever he steered the conversation in a personal direction, she scooted it onto some other topic faster than a tornado could rip apart a house. He supposed for the first time in his life he was going to have to learn to be patient. His usual habit of making quick decisions and acting on them wasn’t going to work with Janet. If he pushed too hard, he knew right now he’d scare her out of his life entirely.

  He kept a close eye on her as they rode. She handled herself well in the saddle. Clearly, this wasn’t her first ride on horseback. She didn’t bat an eye when he picked up the pace. In fact, she shot him a daring look, dug in her heels and sent the mare he’d chosen for her into a flat-out gallop.