Karen Whiddon - Texas Ranch Justice

“What is wrong with you people? Why do you all find the idea that Hal could have a daughter—me—so threatening?”

“As if you didn’t know,” Amber drawled, barely looking up from her phone.

“I don’t.” Scarlett crossed her arms. “So please, someone enlighten me.”

“This is ridiculous,” Vivian put in. “Young lady, who do you think you are? How dare you perpetuate a scam like this on a dying man?”

“For the last time,” Scarlett said, a thread of steel hardening her voice. “I am not scamming anyone. Or joking. Hal Gardner is my father. I just learned about him after my mother died. Now if any of you want to tell me why that’s a problem, I’m all ears. If not, I need to get back to the main house.”

Despite himself, Travis admired her backbone. His mother could be intimidating to people, especially those she didn’t like.

Vivian opened and closed her mouth with a snap. Without saying another word, she spun around and strode back to her room, her huge dangling earrings swinging.

Staring after her, Amber laughed. “I think I like you, Scarlett,” she said. “You’re the first person I’ve met who can get Mama to stop talking.”

Clearly not sure how to respond to that, Scarlett nodded.

“I like you too,” Will declared, coming out from behind Travis and bestowing a quick hug. Scarlett smiled down at the little boy, her expression somewhere between enchanted and uncertain.

“Thank you,” she said, once Will had released her and stood staring expectantly up at her. “You’re very nice.”

Will beamed at the compliment. He went and grabbed one of his favorite toys, a large plastic dump truck, and brought it over to her. “Do you wanna play?”

Scarlett looked at Travis, clearly asking for help. He could venture a quick guess that she didn’t have a lot of experience around children.

Finally, Travis took pity on her. “Come on,” he said. “I’ll take you back. We’ll try introductions again later when everyone isn’t acting like they’ve lost their minds.”

“Hey,” Amber protested. “Just because Mama went off on a tear, don’t lump me in that category. Scarlett, there aren’t a lot of women our age out here in the country. I think you and I could become friends.”

Travis shook his head. “She’s probably not going to be here that long,” he told his sister, which earned him an angry glare from Scarlett.

“Thanks, Amber,” Scarlett said. “And despite what your brother thinks, he has no idea about any of my plans. Hal gave me an open-ended invitation, which means there are no time constraints on my visit. So yes, we should hang out. There’s no such thing as too many friends.”

Amber’s answering snort of laughter made Travis frown, which she ignored. “Good for you, Scarlett. I like that you refuse to let my big brother intimidate you.”

“Intimidate?” Travis protested. “Your choice of words wounds me. I’m just trying to help.”

“You’re just trying to control the situation,” Amber shot back, her eyes still sparkling with humor. “Lighten up, Travis. You’ve been taking care of everyone for so long, you’ve clearly forgotten how to act toward a guest.”

He shouldn’t have been surprised when Scarlett nodded. “You’re right about that. Your brother hasn’t been the slightest bit welcoming.”

“He doesn’t like change.”

Travis rolled his eyes. “Enough already. Scarlett, are you ready to go?”

When her gaze locked on his, again he felt that tingle of awareness. “I guess so,” she said, her voice full of reluctance.

“Don’t worry,” Amber interjected. “Both Mom and I are frequent visitors up at the main house. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Scarlett immediately brightened. “Okay. That sounds great.” She started for the door, glancing back over her shoulder at Travis. “Are you coming?”

He couldn’t keep from grinning as he followed her out. Best to keep his distance, because if he got too close to her, he’d do something stupid, like kiss her.

As she trudged outside back to Travis’s truck, stunned and a bit shell-shocked, Scarlett had to bite the inside of her mouth to keep from demanding answers from him. She couldn’t help but feel like he’d enjoyed himself a bit too much in there.

Kind of like his mother was a piranha and Scarlett newly trapped bait he’d hung dangling above the water for Vivian to snap at.

But since he’d already made it clear he didn’t trust her, she kept her thoughts to herself.

At least his sister had been friendly.

Everyone else’s reactions were far too weird, with the exception of Delilah and Hal himself. She could understand her presence was a shock and they’d need time to adjust, but still. Why no one could even pretend to be happy that Hal had a long-lost daughter, she didn’t understand.

Whatever she had expected, it hadn’t been this. She’d entertained dreams of being welcomed into a new family; a bit naive, clearly. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought much beyond getting to know her father and, while she’d never expected to find him with a terminal illness, she saw no reason for Travis and his kin to doubt her.

Maybe she should have expected some resistance. After all, to these well-established existing members of Hal’s family, she’d just come up out of the woodwork. Clearly, Hal hadn’t even known Maggie was pregnant when she’d walked out on him. Though nothing could make up for the years without a father, knowing he hadn’t deliberately ignored her all this time felt like salve upon her wounded heart.

Still, Vivian was Hal’s ex-wife. Why would she care if Hal had a daughter from a prior relationship? Why would this bother anyone? They all acted like Hal was a multimillionaire whose fortune Scarlett had come to steal. What they didn’t seem to understand was, if she’d truly been a gold digger, she’d have taken one look at Hal’s worn and battered furnishings and turned around to beat a retreat as quickly as she could.

These people didn’t know her, but if they’d take the time to try, they’d realize money was the last thing she cared about. Her mother had left her enough to ensure her comfort. And even before Scarlett had left the art gallery where she worked to care for her mother, she’d been able to save a significant amount with the goal of eventually opening her own gallery someday.

She’d temporarily put that dream on hold. What she wanted more than anything was a relationship with the man who’d sired her.

Bittersweet now too, as his time on this earth was apparently limited. She’d be damned if she’d let anyone take that away from her.

“Wait,” Travis said, just as she reached the side of his truck.

She spun around to find him right there, mere feet away from her. Handsome as sin and sexy as hell. She reached up, cupped her hand along the side of his ruggedly chiseled cheek. Desire flared. It must have shown in her eyes or on her face because he muttered her name and then hauled her up against him, covering her mouth with his.

Too stunned to react at first, she froze, heart pounding, blood pumping. As he slanted his lips over hers, a jolt of fire shot through her. In the same way that had compelled her to touch him, he acted as if he couldn’t help himself. She could relate. Punishing and angry, true. At first. Opening her mouth to him, she kissed him back with a hunger that surged up from deep within her and surprised the hell out of her.

When he finally lifted his head from hers, her entire body quivered.

“Let’s go,” he rasped, releasing her so quickly she stumbled backward.

What the actual hell? Yanking open the truck door, she swung up and clicked the seat belt into place without saying a word.