Sara Orwig - The Forbidden Texan

Ben’s eyes softened as he took back the photo. “Camilla and Noah seem so happy and so is their little Ethan. We see them often.”

“Where are Logan and Mason?” he asked about Thane’s younger brothers.

“Logan is president of our drilling company. Mason has taken over for me at the bank. They don’t live far from us and you’ll probably see them when you’re in Dallas. Both are single.”

After about twenty minutes Jake stood and said he had an appointment and needed to go. It took another ten minutes to tell Thane’s mother goodbye and Thane’s dad left with him, strolling back through the mansion, across the stone floor of the entryway and out to the front porch.

Jake turned to shake his hand. To his surprise, Ben hugged him again and stepped away. “I’m so relieved you made it home.”

“Thank you, sir. I’m sorry Thane didn’t. We all did what we could for him.”

“I know you did,” Ben said and wiped his eyes. He placed his hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Come see us sometimes. Please keep in touch. You’re family to us. You’re another son, Jake. You always have been.”

“Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me. You’re the one who’s been a real dad to me. I’m sorry for your loss and I’ll keep in touch,” he said, thinking of Thane. “We all miss him.”

When he closed his car door and drove down the long drive, he let out his breath. He was glad the visit was over. Most of the time he could cope with the loss of his friend, but every once in a while he was overwhelmed with that pain he had felt when Thane died. He was surprised how Thane’s dad had hugged him and wanted him to come back, but then he’d always been surprised by Ben’s interest in him.

He made a mental note to try to see the Warners at least once a month for the next few months. Time would ease their pain, but for now he’d try to visit often. They had Noah and Camilla, the new grandchild, plus their other two sons, and they would help, but he knew the Warners would always miss Thane.

Friday afternoon, when a sleek black sports car stopped at Emily’s store and office, she hurried out. She had dressed in practical sneakers, jeans and a white sweatshirt. Her clothes hid her figure and her hair was in one long braid down her back. She wanted to keep things businesslike with Jake. She hadn’t understood the chemistry that smoldered between them when they’d met, but she hoped it was gone. While he was to-die-for handsome, she didn’t want any kind of attraction. She had to do this job and work for him. He was her boss now, but she didn’t want it to go beyond a boss-employee relationship.

That sentiment fizzled the moment he stepped out of the car. In jeans, boots, a white dress shirt open at the throat and a black Western hat, he was breathtakingly sexy. As she walked out to meet him, Jake didn’t offer to shake her hand as he had the day they met, and she wondered what that implied.

“Ready and eager to go?” he asked, smiling, making her pulse jump with the irresistible curve of his lips.

“Yes. I like old things, antiques, so I’m curious what we’ll find.”

“I can’t even guess. It may be a house filled with trash. We’ll see.”

As they drove away from her Dallas office, he watched traffic. “Did you tell your family what you’re doing?”

“Not yet,” she replied cheerfully. “That will be like dropping a bomb. I’m waiting for Sunday dinner when we all get together at my parents’ house. I think you’ll know when I’ve told them.”

“Will I need a bodyguard?” he asked, smiling again, another dazzling grin that changed her heart rate.

“You better not need one.” She thought for a second, then told him, “Doug will be the worst. I’ll have a private talk with him. He’s calmed down a little since he got married.”

“I know your brothers and I’m not worried. Your oldest brother and I didn’t have the best relationship in school. He isn’t going to be happy to know you’re working for me.”

“No, Doug won’t, but Thane’s gift to me is going to go a long ways toward smoothing things over. That’s a lot of money. Besides, I’ll make it clear that you and I will be together because of business. I’ll be working for you, and my brothers know they better leave me alone to run my business the way I see fit.”

“As I said, I think that’s what Thane intended.”

Jake drove to the airport, where his private plane waited. It was a quick flight to a landing strip at Flat Hill, Texas, a small Texas town with a wide main street, a grocery, a hardware store, a bank, a café and a bar. Jake had a new pickup waiting and he held the door for her.

As she stepped past him, she caught a whiff of his aftershave, so slight, but it heightened his appeal.

She slid into the passenger seat and he closed the door. When he circled the pickup, her gaze ran over his broad shoulders and his narrow waist. She hoped they didn’t work too closely together. Life would be easier if they didn’t, because no matter what she did she couldn’t shake her awareness of him. On the plane, she’d occasionally looked up and caught him staring at her, desire blatant in his dark eyes. When their gazes met, it was as if they had made physical contact. She couldn’t understand the chemistry between them, but it was still going strong.

She had to remember Jake was a playboy. He didn’t want to marry anytime soon—maybe ever. He didn’t want a family. He had women in his life but he didn’t keep them around long. He was all the things she wouldn’t want in a man in her life. And he wasn’t anything like the men in her family.

So why was she aware of his very presence from the second he slid into the driver’s seat and closed his door?

It was three o’clock when they turned beneath a metal arch that read Long L.

“Do you know who the Long L was named after?” she asked and Jake shook his head.

“No, one of the early day Warners, I suppose.” As he drove along a narrow dirt trail that almost disappeared in weeds, high grass and cacti, her curiosity grew. In minutes, she could see a large three-story weathered house on a rise. Tall oaks were on either side of the house, ancient trees that had long spreading limbs.

“That’s not what I’d expected,” she said, gazing at the house.

“It’s impressive,” Jake said. “According to Thane, it was built in 1890.”

“If it’s lasted well over a century, it must be well-built.” The house looked Victorian, with one large turret on the second floor, a dormer on the third floor and three balconies on the second floor, all with fancy balustrades like the porch. “I think I’m going to love working on this old house.”

“I’ll remember to avoid taking you to my condo with a very contemporary kitchen.”

She smiled at him. “I like contemporary, too. Antiques are my first love, though.”

“This ranch house looks more elaborate than I’d expected,” he said, peering at it through the windshield.

“And more charming, because I can imagine how it will look with a new coat of paint and all fixed up,” she said.

“I’ve never been on this ranch before,” Jake said. “Thane’s grandmother died first and his family didn’t like their grandfather, so we didn’t spend any time out here. No telling what we’ll find. Thane said his great-great-grandfather was a horse thief and a bank robber and did plenty the family didn’t talk about.”

As Jake spoke of the ranch’s history, Emily couldn’t help but feel eager to get to work. She hadn’t wanted this job, but she had gotten into the antiques-and-appraisal business because she loved old things, and as she looked at the large ranch home that was over a hundred years old, she couldn’t keep from being curious and excited about what they would find in it. The prospect of living in it, working constantly with Jake, added to the excitement bubbling inside her.