smiling at him and getting up to follow him to the bar. She slid onto a high bar stool and watched as he filled another glass of water and sat on a bar stool facing her.
With their knees lightly touching, the temperature on the patio rose a notch in spite of the rain-chilled air.
“Now what can I do to get you to pay attention to me?” she asked.
He smiled. “You have my full attention right now,” he said. “Should it wander, you’ll figure out some way to capture my notice again. Some way as clever as getting into my house and spending the evening with me. You managed that easily.”
“Right now we’re captives of the storm. We both have to be here.” She leaned forward, her face closer to his. “I don’t know whether I can ever get you to see me apart from my family.”
“I promise you,” he replied in a huskier voice, “that I see you as Caitlin, a beautiful woman.”
Something flickered in the depths of her eyes and she got a sensual, solemn expression that made his heartbeat race. As his gaze dropped to her mouth, his desire to kiss her grew. He wondered about her kiss, resolving to satisfy his curiosity before the night was out.
“Now we have the whole evening to get to know each other. Do you work, Caitlin?”
She nodded. “I’m a professional photographer.”
“You must be good if you’re earning a living at it.”
Swirling her glass of water, she replied, “I freelance and I do earn a living at it.”
One dark eyebrow arched. “Why do you want to stay out here when you have a busy life elsewhere in the world?”
“Same reason you’re here, probably,” she replied. “I can relax, get away from everything else and have solitude.”
He sipped his drink and nodded. “You’re right,” he admitted. “This is an escape for me.”
“What do you need to escape from? Business decisions? Women?”
He laughed. “Never women.”
“You think about it—I’ll make a nice neighbor and the old feud will die with us. I won’t fight with you over the boundary, over water, never over the mineral rights, which I’m certain you won’t sell back to me, but that’s not my purpose here. I want to keep the home for all those people I told you about. Selfishly, also for my own memories and pleasure.”
She sipped her water and turned to watch the rain that still came in torrents. “We’re having a record breaker.”
“Maybe it’ll be a night to remember,” he said softly. She gave him a sultry look. He wondered if she hadn’t wanted the ranch from him if she would have been far less friendly. She had a convincing act to get what she wanted.
“It already has been,” she replied. He took her chin in hand to hold her face so he could look into her eyes.
“Are you playing with me to get what you want, Caitlin?” he asked.
“Perhaps, but you’re doing the same thing.”
“I didn’t come to the ranch wanting something from you.”
“You do now,” she replied, and his heart drummed. He wanted to close the last few inches between them to kiss her. As if she guessed his intent, with a deft move, she twisted away from his light grasp and sat back, smiling coyly at him.
“What would it hurt to sell a piece of the ranch back to me? You could still search for oil and reap the rewards if you find it. The little parcel you’d sell to me, you’d really never miss.”
“You could turn right around and give it to Will. As a matter of fact, how do I know that he hasn’t had a change of heart and sent you to buy a piece of the ranch back for him? If I sell to you, it’s yours to do with as you see fit.”
“You can write it in the contract. I’ll swear in front of a judge if you want—I absolutely am not doing this for Will,” she said and her expression frosted. “Will and I speak only when necessary. Our father barely recognized me. Will has snubbed me on the street in town before. There’s no love lost between us.”
“I’d think you’d be glad to be rid of the house and the land that belonged to your father and that Will inherited. That would be a constant reminder of your status in the family when you’re here. And a reminder your grandmother couldn’t own the house she lived in. The Santerres were not considerate of the women in the family.”
“No. When I’m in the house where I grew up, my blood father and Will are an insignificant part of it. My father and Will were at her house for family get-togethers, rarely any other times. Grandmother couldn’t own the land or the house, but she had other assets. She left Will a token $25,000, otherwise all her money, savings, stocks, bonds, went to me. One thing, Will had to mind Grandmother and he hated that. Will never took orders well from anyone except Grandmother and sometimes his father. Grandmother made him mind and it irritated him no end, but she was the one person on this earth Will truly feared. He feared and cooperated with his father just to the point to keep in his good graces. Will’s mother spoiled him terribly. She may have contributed greatly to Will being the selfish, self-centered person he is.”
“Did you ever go to your father’s house?”
She shook her head and stood, watching the rain. “No, except for Christmases when I was young. Later my father and Will would travel to exotic places to celebrate. I think they were both frightened of Grandmother. They didn’t mess with her. I haven’t seen Will since my father’s funeral. We talked on the phone after I learned about the sale of the ranch. That’s how I know Will is living in California and Paris. I’m my father’s daughter by blood only. Since I didn’t grow up with him, he had little influence on my life. Grandmother raised me to think for myself and form my own opinions. I keep telling you, please don’t categorize me with Will.” Caitlin tilted her head, studying Jake.
“I haven’t. I can keep you and Will separate in my mind.” Jake reached out to touch a stray lock of her hair. “I have a suggestion. Let’s set aside business so we can enjoy the next few hours. For a while, let’s forget that I’m a Benton and you’re a Santerre. We can get to know each other on another level that doesn’t involve the past, but is the present. If we’d just met, we wouldn’t be into all this family history. I think we’ll have a better evening that we’re compelled by rain to share.”
She smiled. “You feel compelled to share this evening with me?”
“You’ve already said we’re captive for tonight and I never said the time together was a bad thing. I’m just trying to make it better by removing some of the remnants of the family feud for a few hours. We can always return to swords’ points.”
She laughed softly. “Deal. At least we can try. We’ll see how long it lasts.”
“Excellent,” he said, smiling at her. Again, there was a flicker in the depths of her eyes and his insides tightened. She was responsive to him, willing to flirt. She wanted to kiss, he was sure of it, but he was determined to wait until the right moment.
“So, Caitlin, tell me about professional photography. Do you have a studio somewhere?”
“Yes,
