“Stop that, Jake. No flirting, no more remarks that are personal.”
“Aw, shucks,” he drawled, making her chuckle. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Humor me. I caused the last crisis, but we can avoid future ones.”
“If my kisses are a ‘crisis,’ then I have no intentions of avoiding flirting with you.”
“Go get the beer and lemonade,” she said quietly, wanting to end the volatile conversation that could put them back in each other’s arms easily.
She watched him walk away, a masculine stride that was purposeful, hinting of the excellent physical condition he must be in.
Her thoughts were filled with guilt. Why, oh, why had she flirted with him so openly when she had known what the consequences would be?
She couldn’t understand her reaction to him, couldn’t explain it. It didn’t happen with other men, but that definitely did not make Jake “Mr. Right.” He was Mr. Wrong in so many ways.
She thought about her grandmother who would be shaking her head and frowning at the idea of spending an evening in the company of a Benton. She never could have explained a relationship with a Benton to her grandmother. Grandmother had been furious with Will for going out with Brittany Benton.
If Will knew she was with Jake tonight, he would be disgusted because of the lifelong competition between the two in school and sports. Then again, perhaps he would shrug it off that she was spending time with Jake because Will also held a low opinion of her, as well. She thought Will had been dazzled by Brittany at first. She also suspected he liked sneaking around, getting away with something that would annoy both families because it stirred talk and envy among his peers.
Jake returned with a cold bottle of beer for himself and a tall, frosty glass of lemonade for her, placing the drinks on a table in front of the sofa.
Only a few feet away, he sat, facing her, and taking a drink of beer.
“The lemonade is delicious.”
“I can’t take credit. I have a cook.”
“Does your cook live in town?”
“Nope. His wife cooks for the men on the ranch and they live in a house here on the ranch. Our foreman also has a house of his own. We’ve got a big complex with several homes.”
“I noticed when I came in.”
“I meant it when I said you could have been arrested for trespassing if you had been caught.”
“I figured since I obviously wasn’t coming to steal livestock and I’m a woman, they would give me time to explain what I was doing and at worst, run me off your property. I really didn’t expect to get arrested. Besides, the sheriff is a cousin of my foreman.”
Jake smiled. “You’re probably right then. It’s a long ride by horseback.”
“Whatever it takes to talk to the untouchable Benton.”
“Definitely never untouchable to you. I’ll be happy to convince you just how ‘touchable’ I am,” he teased.
“Don’t you dare,” she answered, smiling at him. He caught a lock of her hair, twisting it in his fingers and causing slight tugs on her scalp that were as noticeable as every other physical contact.
“So, Caitlin, what do you want in your future?” Jake asked.
“To continue my photography. To marry and have a family.”
“What happens to the photography when you marry and have a family?”
“I’ll juggle them the way others do. I have leeway to set my own hours for a lot of my work. What’s your future, Jake? No marriage, no family, continue to make money.”
“Right. No change, really.”
“You’ve grown up in basically the same surroundings I have, yet our families have been totally different. You have a controlling father and siblings. My father didn’t want to acknowledge my existence and my grandmother raised me. I have a half brother, but I might as well be an only child, because Will cared nothing for me.”
“That must have hurt.”
She gazed into blue eyes that hid his feelings. He looked as impassive as if talking about the weather. “I was adopted when I was only weeks old, so I have had my grandmother all my life and she showered love on me. I was happy with her and loved her totally. It hurt to be snubbed and rejected, but not deeply. I don’t feel scarred from it. I just don’t want it to happen again to a child of mine,” she said, facing Jake and getting a strange feeling inside. Seduction could lead to an unexpected pregnancy, a baby born out of wedlock, just as she had been. She didn’t want that to happen to a child of hers and the one way to ensure it didn’t, was to stay out of any man’s bed.
“So seduction is out of the question tonight,” Jake remarked lightly as if teasing her, but she was certain the remark was made in earnest.
“Most definitely,” she answered quickly. How easily she answered, yet how difficult it was to stick by her resolution.
They sat and talked with Jake touching locks of her hair or her shoulder or lightly caressing her nape. Casual touches that she didn’t care to draw attention to, yet they were fanning flames. Finally, she stood. “Jake, it’s late. I should turn in.”
“Sure, I’ll show you a guest bedroom.”
When she walked with him down a long hall, he pointed out different rooms. She stopped to look at an enormous dining room with a table that would seat thirty, a cathedral ceiling and a stone fireplace. “Do you ever have this many guests to fill this table?”
“Yes. Parties. There are times I have a lot of company out here. Gabe and I will have things together. There are family parties, too.”
“Do your parents spend much time here?”
“Nope. Dad has a ranch in the Hill Country where the area is green and scenic. This place was our family ranch, but Dad deeded it to me and gave Gabe another one he owned.”
She nodded. “How nice. A father who passes things on to more than the oldest child. Of course, mine wouldn’t have passed anything on to me if I had been the oldest child. I told you, I never dreamed Will would sell the place. Neither did our father who would have put binding stipulations on Will had he known. I’m sure he assumed Will would always live there. He left money to me, but nothing else. No part of the ranch.”
“I’ll have to admit, I’m glad Will sold out. Our family has wanted that ranch for generations. The sale has brought you into my life, which is a bonus.”
They strolled down the wide hall again until he turned into a suite. “These are my rooms. You’ll be nearby, but I wanted you to see where I am.” She looked at the living area that held a desk, an entertainment center, comfortable sofas and chairs, a wall of bookshelves. On a nearby table she noticed a picture of a beautiful brown-haired woman standing beside a horse.
“That’s my sister,”
