TEXAS! SAGE

by Sandra Brown

  "No kidding? How do they sound?"

  "They were jabbering like magpies, neither making much sense. Like newlyweds, I guess."

  Harlan chuckled. "That's good."

  "Devon insisted on having everybody out to supper to hear all about their trip."

  "All about it?"

  "The stuff they can tell." Her insides responded warmly to his naughty inflection. "The boys are picking up babyback ribs from Sammy's Smokehouse. Marcie's bringing baked beans. Devon's making potato salad. I baked a batch of brownies before I left."

  "I'm impressed."

  "Don't be. I used a packaged mix and prechopped nuts."

  "What can I bring to supper?"

  "Just yourself. Devon was afraid you'd stay out here working and miss the party altogether, so she sent me to get you."

  He sauntered forward, moving to stand directly in front of her. "I'm glad she did."

  Her resolution to begin withdrawal procedures evaporated in the heat of his gaze. She missed being with him day and night. She even missed his annoying penchant to tease. She missed his kiss, his touch, and ached to have them again.

  Damned if she'd let him know that though.

  "Well," she said, scooting forward so she could jump from the tailgate, "I guess we'd better get on our way."

  Before she could deflect his hand, he pulled the loose rubber band from her ponytail and plowed his fingers through her tumbling hair. His mouth was hot and masterful as it covered hers. She returned the kiss for several seconds before pushing him away.

  "Harlan, I'm still mad at you."

  "And the madder you get, the better you look. Put that energy to good use and kiss me like you mean it."

  She did. For one thing, she couldn't resist meeting the challenge in his eyes. For the other, she was dying to gobble him up. She threw her arms round his neck and arched her body into his.

  Awkwardly, keeping their mouths cemented, he climbed into the pickup's bed, dragging Sage with him. Once he was sitting against the cab, she lay on her back across his lap and reached for his mouth with her own.

  "Damn, Sage, I gotta breathe sometime," he said, finally tearing his lips free.

  "You said for me to kiss you like I meant it. I only did as I was told."

  "That's a switch." Grinning, he whisked his thumb over her moist lips. "You're the damnedest woman I ever met."

  "Half the time I don't know whether to slap you or kiss you."

  Chuckling, he parted her faded Levi's jacket and lowered his head to nuzzle her breasts. She tugged his shirttail from his waistband far enough to get her hands underneath it and onto his bare skin.

  His lips caressed her breasts through the weave of her sweater. Breathlessly she said, "I could kill you for doing this to me."

  "What, this?" He rubbed his open mouth over her nipples.

  "No," she sighed raggedly, "for making me want you when I can't have you."

  He continued kissing her through her sweater while he unfastened her jeans. He pulled down the zipper and slid his hand inside. "I almost wish there was."

  "What? You almost wish there was what?"

  He placed his hand low on her abdomen. "A baby."

  She drew a sudden breath of chilly air and lay very still within his embrace. "Don't lie to me like that, Harlan Boyd. You'd run like a jackrabbit."

  He squinted one eye, as though considering it. "No, I think that might give me a damn good reason to stick around." He gazed down at her tousled sexiness. "Not that you're not reason enough, Sage," he added hoarsely.

  "I know you've had lots of women. You've left them by the dozens." Beneath his shirt, her fingers curled into his chest hair and pulled tight. "Sage Tyler is going to be the one you find hard to leave and even harder to forget."

  "You're right about that." His fingers probed her intimately, finding her soft and moist. Gruffly he added, "You're going to be hell to leave and impossible to forget."

  * * *

  Looking flushed, flustered, and windblown, they arrived at the ranch house just as everyone was convening in the dining room. Sage was immediately smothered in Laurie's embrace.

  "Oh, I'm glad to see you looking so well. Doesn't she look wonderful, Pat?"

  "Sure does. Like her old self."

  Laurie set her daughter away from her and gazed into her face. "You finally got the sparkle back in your eyes and the color back in your cheeks. Whatever you're doing has been very good for you."

  "I, uh, well, I've been working very hard. And I went riding out to get Harlan. M-my horse picked up a pebble, so I rode back with him in his truck. We, uh, we left the windows down. Then when we got back, we had to take care of the horse before coming inside." She paused for breath. "Welcome home, Mother, Pat. How was your honeymoon?"

  Chase, who had been closely observing his sister and Harlan, cut his eyes toward Lucky, who was also watching the new arrivals with ill-concealed suspicion.

  "We put the ribs in the oven to keep them warm," Chase said. "I'll get them."

  "I'll help." Lucky instructed Devon to get everybody seated, then followed his brother from the dining room.

  When they were alone in the kitchen, Chase posed a silent question with one arched eyebrow.

  Lucky nodded soberly.

  * * *

  "I love you, Sage."

  Her eyes flew open as a hand closed over her mouth. She panicked for an instant before recognizing Harlan who was bending low above her.

  Beneath his hand she tried to ask what in the world he was doing sneaking into her room in the middle of the night. The words came out a garbled mass of unformed syllables.

  "Shh! If Lucky catches me in here with my hand over your mouth, he'll skin me alive and ask questions later." She frantically bobbed her head up and down. "Okay, so lie still and listen." He lay down beside her, but kept his hand cupped firmly over her mouth.

  "Did you hear what I said? I love you, Sage. You're exasperating as hell. Bullheaded. Impetuous. A spoiled brat. A frequent liar." She glared at him murderously. His white smile showed up in the darkness. "But you're also a hell of a lot of fun, as exciting and unpredictable as whitewater. You kiss like a high-priced call girl, and those brownies you baked for supper weren't the worst I've had.

  "What I'm leading up to is, if—and that's a big if—if I asked you to marry me, would you say yes?"

  Lying perfectly still, she stared up at him over the back of his hand. Someday, she thought irrationally, she would be able to tell her grandchildren the crazy manner in which their grandpa had proposed to her.

  Slowly, she nodded her head.

  "Aw, damn!" he cursed. "I was hoping you'd say no. Then I could just thank you kindly for your time and a couple of terrific rolls in the hay and be outta here once Tyler Drilling was turned around.

  "Now…" He made a regretful sound and shook his head. "Since you've said yes, that means we've each got some heavy thinking to do. I guess you love me, too, huh?"

  She nodded.

  "I'm not what you want, Sage."

  She nodded, making guttural protests.

  "I'm not ever going to be a society doctor who drives a fancy car. I'll never be city slick. What you see is what you get."

  She nodded vigorously.

  "But you wanted the other and all the trappings that went with it."

  She shook her head no.

  "You know how I live. I mean, I wouldn't ask you to live in the trailer. We'd get a house around here somewhere, but it wouldn't be a mansion like Belcher's." His eyes probed hers. "I wouldn't stock our house with things we didn't need just to impress the neighbors."

  She shrugged.

  "But I promise you this." He scooted closer, half covering her body with his. His voice turned soft and sexy. "I'd be faithful to you, Sage. I'd make good love to you every night. And sometimes during the daytime, too. I'm not squeamish when it comes to making love. I do it all, baby. Whatever you want. There's nothing I wouldn't do if it made you feel good."

 
She swallowed visibly.

  "When I left for work every morning, you'd know that you were the most important thing on my mind. Not making a buck, not chasing a dollar, not getting ahead of the next guy."

  The fingers of his free hand slid up into her hair, then closed into a fist next to her head on the pillow. "You'd better give this careful consideration, Sage. You're an executive in a company that's on the brink of busting wide open. You would be marrying the hired help."

  She rolled her eyes as though saying, "Oh, please."

  "What the hell do you know? You're just a bratty kid."

  She shook her head.

  "You're smarter than I am."

  She shook her head again.

  "Prettier."

  Another shake of her head.

  "Sexier."

  A vehement no.

  "Yeah?" he asked, pleased. "Well, softer, anyway."

  He ducked his head and used it to work the covers off her shoulders. He kissed her there, then on her collarbone, then lower, moving the linens down as he went. When his lips reached the top curve of her breast, he raised his head.

  "Are you naked under there?"

  She nodded her head yes.

  "Lordy." He paused as though weighing his options. To help him make up his mind, she shimmied her shoulders until the covers slipped down to reveal her breasts.

  Groaning, he asked, "Do you think they'd know if we—"

  She shook her head.

  "Okay, then. But you've got to promise not to make those little hiccupping noises you usually make."

  Using only one hand, he stripped off his jeans, his only article of clothing, and slid between the sheets beside her. Sighing, he curved his arm around her waist and drew her against him. His sex was pressed full and strong between their bellies.

  Sage shuddered at the sensations that coursed through her. Her heart overflowed with love and happiness. She rocked her body against his invitingly. Bracing himself above her, he leaned over for a kiss. Only then did he remove his hand.

  "You can open your mouth now," he whispered.

  She did … in order to receive his tongue. As they kissed, he gathered her beneath him. Effortlessly, he slipped into her warm center. The loving was smooth and easy, creating no more havoc than butter melting, with the smallest motions and minimal sounds, only the rustling of their naked bodies among the linens. He stretched into her, reaching higher than before because love propelled him.

  His hands covered her breasts, rubbed them, petted them. He stroked her thighs. When the momentum reached the breaking point, they clasped hands on either side of her head and held onto each other until long after the climax had subsided.

  Finally he eased off her and brushed his lips across her dewy forehead. "I don't want to say good-night, but I've got to."

  "Don't go," she whispered, ensnaring her fingers in his hair.

  Tenderly, he kissed her lips. "You know I have to."

  "Don't go." Her hands slid beneath his waist.

  "Ah, Sage, baby…"

  "Don't go."

  He didn't go until dawn when she finally slept peacefully beside him. Then he slipped from the room as silently as he had come in.

  * * *

  "Good morning," Sage chirped as she entered the kitchen the following morning. Though the weather was inclement, her mood was positively sunny.

  "Hi." Devon was spooning baby oatmeal into her eager daughter's rosebud mouth. "Coffee's ready. Help yourself."

  "Thanks. Where is everybody?" Sage asked casually.

  "He left about thirty minutes ago."

  Sage turned away from the counter and gave her sister-in-law a sharp glance. There were teasing green glints in Devon's eyes. "He said he'd be working on the system all day."

  "In this weather?"

  "That's what he said." Sage joined her at the table. "Sleep well?" Devon asked with phony innocence. She was barely suppressing her laughter.

  "I take it you know."

  "Um-huh."

  "Does Lucky?"

  "No. I wasn't spying on you, Sage. I swear. I happened to wake up and went across the hall to check on Lauren."

  Swamped with embarrassment, Sage cast her eyes downward.

  Devon reached for her hand and squeezed it. "You love him, don't you?"

  "So much it hurts."

  "I know what it's like."

  "Do you?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Then you don't think I'm cheap or trashy for letting him sneak down the hall and climb into my bed?"

  Devon gave her a smile that was tinged with sadness. "How can you even ask me if I judge you? The first night I met your brother we made love."

  The two women smiled at each other with complete understanding. "When people find out," Sage said, "they're going to think I'm crazy. I just came out of a near engagement to Travis."

  "If I had let public opinion bother me, I would have stayed married to a convicted felon, ruining my life and Lucky's in the process. Marcie would tell you herself that people were shocked when Chase married her. She didn't let that stop her."

  Devon tightened her grip on Sage's hand. "You have to go with your instincts, Sage. Follow your own heart. Do what's best for you and Harlan. To hell with what an outsider thinks about it."

  Sage laid her hand over Devon's. "Thanks." Before they could yield to the tears that threatened, the telephone rang. Sage sprang up to answer it.

  "Hi, Lucky. Devon's right here. Need to talk to her?"

  "No, actually I'm calling you." His voice was laced with excitement. "One of your prospects came through. He's on his way now to talk terms. Chase said for you to haul tail over here to the office. Is Harlan around?"

  "He told Devon he was going to work in the field all day."

  "Too bad. Chase wanted him here, too, but said for you not to waste time rounding him up.

  "Who is it, Lucky? What's the client's name?"

  "Hardtack and Associates. Big, bad Grayson Hardtack himself flew in to negotiate the deal."

  * * *

  Chapter 18

  The silver Mercedes limousine looked odd parked outside Tyler Drilling Company between a company truck and a pickup. To keep out of the rain, the uniformed chauffeur was sitting behind the wheel. Disinterested, he barely gave Sage a glance when she alighted from her car.

  There was no sign of Harlan. She sent up a little prayer of thanksgiving that he had been unavailable when Grayson Hardtack put in this unexpected appearance. It was still a close call, however. She prayed they could conclude their business quickly, and she could contrive some sort of explanation before she saw Harlan. Her legs were rubbery as she went up the steps and pushed open the door.

  From across the room, Hardtack said, "Hello, Ms. Tyler."

  Sage froze on the threshold. The blood drained from her face. Her brothers, expecting her to be effusively glad to see their guest, looked at her with puzzlement, but she simply could not move or speak.

  Her eyes had immediately been drawn to the woman. Sitting quietly in a scarred, scratched straightback chair, she looked as out of place as a masterpiece in a paint-by-number box.

  Her clothes, makeup, hair, and the way she held herself were impeccably correct. The back of the chair had been draped with a white mink coat, its pastel satin lining facing out. A pair of kid gloves, which perfectly matched her mauve shoes and suit, were lying in her lap along with a matching handbag.

  The breathtaking portrait in Hardtack's office hadn't even done her justice. She was more than beautiful; she was exquisite. Although, Sage thought with a tiny grain of gratification, Marian Hardtack was older than she had expected her to be.

  Sage finally regained her composure. She moved inside and extended her unsteady right hand to her client. "Good morning, Mr. Hardtack. It's so nice to see you again."

  "Likewise. This is my wife, Marian. Marian, Sage Tyler."

  "Hello, Mrs. Hardtack." The woman raised her well-manicured hand. Surprisingly, it felt soft and warm. Sage w
ould have expected it to feel cool. Mrs. Hardtack was so immaculately groomed that, by comparison, Sage felt tacky and disheveled, though there was certainly nothing wrong with her own grooming and attire.

  Mrs. Hardtack's smile was warm, too, and that came as another surprise. Her expression was gracious, a tad curious, and as gentle as her voice. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Tyler."

  Sage wondered if she would think so if she knew who she'd been sleeping with the night before.

  Remembering her manners, she asked, "Did my brothers offer you coffee?"

  "They did, but we drank several cups on the flight over," Hardtack said.

  "Oh, you flew from Dallas. I thought…" She gestured toward the door.

  "The limo? It's only hired for the day to get us around Milton Point." Hardtack resumed his seat. "Let's get down to business."

  "While we were waiting on you," Chase said to Sage, "we showed Mr. Hardtack the contract our attorney drew up."

  "I think you'll find it's standard," she said.

  Hardtack grunted noncommittally. His wife said nothing, but Sage was uncomfortably aware of her unwavering stare as she sat down in the chair Lucky brought for her.

  "We guarantee all the parts on the machinery for five years."

  "That's at least three years longer than most companies guarantee either their equipment or their work," Lucky said. "We firmly stand behind both and are willing to put our reputations on the line to guarantee them."

  Sage had never seen her brothers looking so intense or well behaved. They realized the importance of making a sale to Hardtack. Using his name as a reference would give them instant credibility. Additionally, because he had so many business interests, one job with him could lead to several.

  "As I told your sister the other day," he said, speaking to Chase and Lucky, "I can get a sprinkler system anywhere. She sold me on herself. She piqued my interest in your small company. I wanted to come over and personally meet the rest of the family."

  He leaned back in his chair. "You know, not everybody in the oil industry is suffering these days. If you know where to get operating capital, there's still money to be made."

  Chase's Adam's apple slid up and down. Sage could tell that Lucky was having a hard time keeping his exuberance in check. She hoped he wouldn't leap up and execute one of his infamous backward flips.