“I do have a few things to take care of at the ranch, but then afterward I’ll be free for the rest of the day. How would you like to spend the day with me?”
Diamond arched an eyebrow. “Is that a sneaky way of getting me to help you with your chores, Jacob?”
Jake chuckled as he pushed his chair out from the table. “You’re too smart. I didn’t think you’d figure that part out until much later.”
“Oh, Jacob, he’s such a beauty,” Diamond said as she gently stroked the four-day-old calf’s smooth hide. After breakfast she had returned to the ranch with Jake and upon entering the barn she had immediately seen the animal. It was standing in the same stall as its mother, trying to retain its equilibrium while glancing around the barn as if trying to sort out everything in its newborn mind.
Jake, who was busy spreading hay around the stall, stopped what he was doing and looked at the calf thoughtfully. “Yeah, he’s a beauty all right. In a couple of years, he’ll be a real nice piece of T-bone on someone’s dinner plate.”
Diamond gasped. “Jacob!”
Jake shook his head, grinning at the shocked look on Diamond’s face. “You look surprised. I run this ranch for the sole purpose of raising the highest-quality Texas Longhorn cattle for the buying public. I’m sure you’ve appreciated a good steak every now and then.”
Diamond stared down at the calf, then back up at Jacob. “But he’s so precious, Jacob. He’s just a baby. How can you even think of him being a part of anyone’s menu?” She looked back down at the calf.
The smile vanished from Jake’s face when he became fully aware that the knowledge of what would eventually become the calf’s fate bothered Diamond. He dared not tell her that sometime next week his men would take a hot iron to the critter and place Whispering Pines’s brand on the animal’s rump. She would probably see it as unnecessary torture to the poor beast.
He placed the pitchfork aside and walked over to her. Catching her chin, he urged her to meet his gaze. “I’m a rancher, sweetheart. I run a business here at Whispering Pines,” he said, trying to get her to understand. “The day I begin feeling sentimental about my breeding stock is the day I stop being a rancher and become a pet shop owner.”
“I know you’re right, Jacob. I guess I’m making a big deal out of things.”
“Only because you’re a caring person.” A sense of admiration flowed through Jake for her. Although sentimentality was the last thing needed on a cattle ranch, he understood. He’d had to deal with those same feelings from one of his nieces. When Christy had turned ten, she had adopted one of the calves for a pet and named him Shadow. She had carried on something awful when she’d discovered the animal’s fate some years later. To keep his niece from going into early cardiac arrest, he’d let her keep the blasted animal. Now Christy was in her third year of college, and Shadow was still alive and enjoying life. Even today, as far as Christy was concerned, Shadow belonged to her.
He pulled Diamond closer. “It’s past lunchtime. How about going on a picnic? It shouldn’t take Blaylock long to throw something together in a basket for us. How does that sound?”
Diamond’s smile returned. “Wonderful.”
“Are you sure?” Diamond asked as she gave a searching glance around the creek. Although the creek was surrounded by heavily wooded green lands, she wasn’t sure it would be safe for her and Jacob to go swimming. At least not the way he wanted them to.
Jake laughed. “I’m positive. This area is just as private as my secret hideaway.” He saw her flushed face at the mention of his hideaway. He knew the memories were just as vivid for her as they were for him.
“Okay, let’s plan to go swimming another day. How about if we just continue to relax here on the blanket and talk off lunch. I think Blaylock outdid himself, don’t you?”
Diamond bit her lower lip to hide her grin as she lay back down on the blanket next to Jake. Blaylock had packed fried chicken, rolls, a container of potato salad, coleslaw and a couple of large red apples in the basket. And they had consumed all of it.
“Yes. I’m going to have to go on some sort of weight-loss program when I get back to California,” Diamond said, rubbing her stomach.
Jake turned his head and looked at her. Thankfully she had closed her eyes. He was grateful she hadn’t seen the sudden jolt that passed through his body at the reminder that in a week, she would be leaving. For some reason, that was the last thing he wanted to think about.
“Tell me about your life as a movie actress,” he said calmly, forcing his feelings of regret aside. He watched her eyes open as she stared up at the sky. She lifted the corners of her mouth, but for some reason the movement did not come across to him as a smile.
“Acting is one of the things I can truly say I’m pretty good at. Having Jack Swain as a father made it so. I had no choice in the matter.”
Jake watched as she took a deep breath and began chewing on her lower lip. He stared at her for a moment before asking, “Why do you feel that way?”
Diamond angled her head to look over at him. “Because I was his daughter, his only child. That made the expectations high,” she said softly. “Early on, everything I did was done to please my father. Carrying the Swain name wasn’t an easy task. It still isn’t. I try not to worry about pleasing my father since it seems I never can. There’s never a performance where I’m good enough for him. As far as he’s concerned, my acting can always be improved.”
Diamond sighed. “It used to really bother me that he felt that way. Now I try not to think about it. Over the years, I’ve tried focusing on pleasing me and believing that I’m good at what I do. Hollywood is finally recognizing and respecting me not because I’m Jack Swain’s daughter but because I’m a really good actress. But it’s taken me a long time to reach that point.”
She turned and looked back up at the sky. “So I guess my life as a movie actress has been a lot of hard work, but it’s enjoyable work that I love doing. It’s going through script after script after script trying to find the one that you feel is right for you, the one that will earn you an Oscar.”
Jake remained silent for a few minutes before asking, “Is that what drives you? Your quest for an Oscar?”
Diamond shook her head. “I guess in a way it does, but that’s no different from an athlete working sunup to sundown to one day go to the Olympics and win the gold. In every line of business there’s this goal we’re working hard to achieve, and a prize we’ll get when we get there.”
Diamond pulled herself up and sat cross-legged on the blanket. “Don’t you agree, Jacob? Aren’t you working each day from sunup to sundown to make your ranch the best it can be while seeking some material form of satisfaction and recognition for doing so?”
Jake looked at her solemnly, knowing she was right. For years he had worked hard to make Whispering Pines a success, and he had done so. He would be the first to admit he had enjoyed all the kudos, accolades and recognition he had garnered each year from the Texas Cattlemen Association for his hard work. Last year he had been selected nationally as Rancher of the Year. It was the highest honor he could have ever received in his profession.
“So winning the Oscar means everything to you?” he asked. For some reason, a part of him just had to ask.
Diamond nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She feared she would admit to him that until she had met him, she could answer that question with complete certainty. Until she had met him, making it to the top was the only thing she cared about it. But now…
“Then one day you will,” Jake said, sitting up and lightly squeezing her shoulder. “I have all the faith in the world that you can and that you will do it.”
Diamond fought back the tears that threatened to cloud her eyes. She swallowed, feeling at odds and not knowing what she really wanted anymore. “Thanks, Jacob,” she whispered. He’d known her for only two weeks and he had more confidence in her abilities than her own father, who had known her all her life. Jack Swain was a perfectionist and
he had expected no less of her.
She smoothed her hair back and glanced around, not wanting to think of her father any longer. “This is such a beautiful place. I don’t think I’ve seen anyplace on Whispering Pines that doesn’t leave me completely breathless. I’m really going to miss it here, Jacob.”
He gazed at her. “Are you?” he asked, wanting desperately to believe that she would, and that she did care something for the land he loved.
“Yes,” she replied. And most assuredly I’m definitely going to miss you, she wanted to say.
Jake reached out and traced a finger alongside her face. He felt her body tremble beneath his touch. He didn’t want to think about her leaving. He refused to do that. For now, he wanted to think about kissing her, loving her and being an intimate part of her. He didn’t want to think about why he was feeling that way, but the truth of the matter was that he was. He shook his head as if to clear it, but it didn’t work. Leaning toward her, he captured her lips with his, searching for some way to exorcise her from his mind before she wiggled her way into his heart.
Jake and Diamond spent the next couple of days together at the cabin or riding the range of Whispering Pines land. The more she saw of it, the more she fell in love with it. Whenever he had to leave to take care of things at the ranch, she would go with him. With all the men gone, the ranch looked deserted. Blaylock had taken advantage of the men’s short vacation to go and visit his sister, who lived in Waco.
The more time Jake and Diamond spent together and the more they got to know each other, the more their protective layers began peeling away. Both had had what seemed like a lifetime of protecting themselves against hurt and pain.
Spending time with Jake also had its drawbacks for Diamond. The more times they were together, the more she was challenged to care more deeply for him and not to concern herself with making it to the top of her career. For the first time in a long time, she thought about having children and watching them grow under her and their father’s watchful eyes. In her thoughts, that man, the father of her children, would always be Jacob.
Each and every time those thoughts surfaced, she would push them away. She knew she had to be realistic. Both of them had endured former marriages that had left a bad taste in their mouths. They had suffered pain that they were both still trying to get over and deal with.
And then there would be the prying eyes of the world that would be fed by the gossip-hungry tabloids. They would never have a normal marriage. Diamond knew the only thing they could do was enjoy the time they had together and treasure the memories. And they were both content to do just that.
One afternoon Jake and Diamond had returned to the ranch after riding the range. They sat in his kitchen, sharing cups of tea that he had made. Dusk began covering the earth and silence surrounded the ranch. Blaylock and the men were still away.
“Jacob, this tea is delicious. What’s in it?”
Jake smiled. “I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.”
“A secret?”
“Yes,” Jake said, pouring more tea into their cups. “It’s an old family secret that can be shared only with the men in the Madaris family, and only after they’ve reached the mature age of thirty-five.”
Diamond became intrigued as she always did whenever he spoke of his family. There was always warmth and love in his voice whenever he discussed them. “And just whose idea was it to exclude the women from this secret?”
“My great-great-grandfather. He made that decision after finding out his money-hungry wife had plans to sell the family secret to some major tea company and run off with the proceeds and with one of his cowhands.”
The aroma of the succulent brew of herbs and spices filled the room. Diamond lifted a brow as she took another sip of her tea. “And from then on it was felt that the women in the Madaris family couldn’t be trusted,” Diamond concluded.
Jake smiled. “I won’t go that far, but the men in the family figured why dangle a carrot in front of them when they knew they were better at keeping secrets than the women.”
Diamond met Jake’s gaze over the rim of her cup. “You know what they say about keeping secrets, don’t you?”
“No. What do they say?”
“Nothing is safe as a secret forever,” she said softly. She remembered how her ex-husband had found that out the hard way. His secret affair with the young daughter of one of his financial backers had come to light when the eighteen-year-old had gotten pregnant.
Jake stared at Diamond for a long time. “You sound like you know what you’re talking about.”
Her gaze met his. “Trust me, I do.” Diamond suddenly felt the need to switch subjects. Remembering Samuel’s betrayal only brought pain. She stood. “It’s getting late, Jacob. I guess it’s time for me to get back to the cabin.”
A part of Jake wasn’t ready for her to go back. He wanted her to stay here with him and spend the…
He sucked in a deep breath to rid his mind of that thought before it fully formed. He refused to break the “house rule” that he had established for himself. He had made a decision over twenty years ago that no woman would ever share his bed at Whispering Pines in this house that he had built. Any affairs he got involved in would not take place under this roof. This house was his sanctuary, his haven against the wiles of any woman, their demands, their greed, their betrayals. He never wanted the complications that getting serious with a woman caused a man. His bedroom, like his boots and hat, was private. He didn’t want the memory of any woman left there to haunt him.
But the truth of the matter was that Diamond’s memory was already there in his bedroom, and had been ever since Blaylock had informed him that she had taken a nap in his bed.
Jake took another deep breath, deciding to take her back to the cabin and away from the ranch. He had to put a stop to this madness once and for all. Diamond was getting to him. Thoughts of her were consuming his every waking moment. And even while he was asleep, she invaded his dreams. He had thought that making love to her would help rid his body of wanting her, but it had only increased his desire.
“Jacob?”
He looked up at Diamond when she called his name. “Yes?”
“Are you ready to take me back to the cabin?”
Jake opened his mouth to say yes, but instead he said, “No.”
He saw her eyes draw together quizzically. “No?”
“No.”
He slowly stood and walked around the table to stand in front of her. Lifting his hand, he fingered the side of her face, the smooth skin there. As always he was stunned speechless by her beauty. She was everything he should be avoiding—sleek and sophisticated. But then again, she was everything he wanted, and admitted defeatedly that he would willingly break every rule for her.
He leaned down and let his lips hover close over hers. “Stay with me tonight, Diamond,” he whispered huskily. “Stay here. In my home. I want to make love to you in my bed. I want to wake up beside you in the morning, here. Say you’ll stay.”
Chapter 12
Diamond could not respond.
Although she didn’t fully understand what was happening between them, she was intuitive enough to know Jake was asking for more than her to spend the night with him. The relationship they shared had escalated beyond a mere physical attraction. She had acknowledged that for herself in accepting she loved him, but now looking into his dark eyes she saw more than desire there, and what she saw took her breath away. She knew he was inwardly acknowledging some feelings for her, too, although it was obvious that he was fighting them.
She had a gut feeling that spending the night with him would mean more than the two of them satisfying some basic urges. During all the times they had made love, it had always been more than that to her. Oh, there had been the satisfying of wants and needs, but she had always felt there had been more. There were those unspoken and unaffirmed feelings lurking deep down that neither of them had wanted to surface or explore. Whenever they had made love, there h
ad been the tenderness, the sensitivity and the passion. He had made love to her with all the things she had been missing in her life from a man. They were feelings she hadn’t hidden, although a part of her had known revealing them would lead nowhere. Considering everything, there was still no way they could ever have a future together. She knew it and accepted it. But she wanted her memories. She would need them. It would be the memories of her time with him that would sustain her for the rest of her life.
She met his gaze and said, “Yes, I’ll stay here with you tonight.”
Diamond knew in reality that she was offering a lot more and added, “I may be a little late in telling you this, but I feel I need to say it now, to set things straight between us. No matter what you may have ever read about me, Jacob, and no matter what we’ve done together since I’ve been here, I want you to know that I don’t sleep around. I’ve slept with only two men in my lifetime, my ex-husband and you.”
Jake was stunned speechless. Somehow this beautiful woman had retained her traditional values while in an arena of people who were reputed as not having any. He knew that more times than not, the lives of the rich and famous were exploited and degraded unfairly. The majority of the stuff people read in the tabloids wasn’t true. He had been friends with Sterling long enough to figure that out. Half the time when Sterling was reported as being somewhere in seclusion with some beautiful woman, he’d been here at Whispering Pines. And the only thing he’d been romancing was a rod, a reel and his favorite fishing hole.
Jake reached out and traced the tender skin of Diamond’s upper arm, skimming his fingertips and palms over its softness. “So you’re a nice girl,” he whispered teasingly against her cheek. His lips brushed her temple then moved down to capture her earlobe.
“I believe that I am,” Diamond said, trying to disguise the tremble in her voice and the flood of emotions going through her. He knew all the right buttons to push to make her body shift smoothly into overdrive. Sensuous sensations were oozing through her veins. The warmth of his lips against her neck made her breathing thicken. This was first-class seduction, Jacob Madaris’s style.
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