Thane’s dad slipped his arm around Jake and hugged him. “Thank God you made it home. It was bad losing Thane. I’m glad I didn’t lose both of you,” Ben said, and Jake hurt even more because this brought back painful memories. He hurt for Thane’s parents, who had lost their oldest son, a son who had been unique and a super guy.
“Come sit and talk to us,” Ben said, turning to sit in a leather recliner.
“Are you getting settled in now that you’re back?” Celeste asked.
“Yes,” Jake said. “I’m just glad to be home.”
“We’re glad you’re here. What are your plans—a ranch or back to the family investment firm?” Thane’s dad asked.
“Before I was in the army, I lived in Dallas and went to the investment office every day. Now I want to be a rancher. I’m ready for some open space and the challenges of ranch life. I’m still on the investment firm board and a couple of other boards, so I’ll be in Dallas often. I’ll be around.” He settled back in the chair to talk to them. “I hear you are grandparents.” Thane’s sister, Camilla, had a seventeen-month-old.
“Yes, here’s Ethan’s picture. He’s the image of his daddy,” Ben said, handing a framed picture to Jake.
Jake looked at the little boy with his mop of black curls. “He does look like his dad.” Jake knew his dad well. Noah Grant was one of the rangers he’d served with, and one of the buddies who had made promises to Thane. Noah had been charged with bringing important packages to Thane’s sister and his nephew, and in the process he reignited his romance with Camilla and came face-to-face with the son he never knew he had.
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
