spouse his full partnership in return. A win-win for them both.
Once he found the right candidate.
Stopping by the passenger side of his dual-cab truck, he set the woman on her feet carefully, ensuring the ground beneath her was safe before he let go. The rain was coming down in buckets.
He opened the door for her, offering a hand as she stepped on the running board. Damn, those dainty shoes of hers were mighty mangled. She hadn’t been prepared. The clasp of her cold fingers in his hand reminded him of how badly this stormy evening could have turned out for her.
And it still could if he didn’t get his butt in gear and drive back to the house. He braced a hand on the hood as he jogged around to the driver’s side. Once behind the wheel, he slammed his door closed against the wall of rain being blown inside.
At least the heater was still blasting, since he’d never turned the vehicle off. He swept aside his Stetson, flinging it to the back seat beside a horse blanket and a thermos.
“I’m so glad you came along,” she said, her teeth still chattering. She kicked off her broken shoes and wriggled her toes under the blast of warm air circling at the floorboard.
“And I’m glad I saw you out there.” He started to ask her name, but the rain picked up pace on the roof. It could wait. “I hate to think what could have happened to you if those waters swept your car away.”
As she’d said right away, she knew who he was. So he didn’t have to worry about reassuring her she was safe to come with him.
“You were right to question the wisdom of my driving into this storm,” she conceded. “I was so eager to get here, I just kept thinking I could outpace the weather.”
She shook her head, laughing softly. The husky melody of her chuckle filled the truck cab, stroking his senses. That matchmaker sure had a knack.
He cleared his throat. “And the weather still might win if we don’t get moving.”
Jesse eased the four-wheel-drive vehicle out of Park and accelerated carefully. The tires spun, then caught, the truck surging forward, toward the dim twinkling of Christmas lights strung along the split-rail fence. The storm smudged the glow until it was just a smear of green, red and white.
“I’m sorry to inconvenience you so late,” she said. “I certainly intended to arrive earlier.” The truck jostled along a rut in the road and she braced a hand against the door.
“You’d have had better luck with a utility vehicle instead of that sports car of yours.”
“It would appear so.” She squeezed excess water from her ponytail, her wet hair clearly blond now in the glow of the dash.
But he wasn’t any closer to identifying which of the matchmaker’s candidates she might be.
“I’m Jesse Stevens, as you already seem to know. And you are?”
“Esme Perry. Nice to meet you, Jesse.”
He looked over sharply in surprise at her name. She was not one of the three women the matchmaker had provided. Surely he couldn’t have forgotten a recommended candidate. Perhaps he’d missed an email from the matchmaker?
Except… Wait… Alarms sounded in the back of his mind. There were plenty of Perrys in Texas. But one branch in particular was heavy-duty on the radar of the Royal branch of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. “Perry, as in…”
“Yes, my father is Sterling Perry. We’re very excited about the new branch of the Texas Cattleman’s Club opening in Houston. My father sent me here to talk to you. To do a little recon,” she said with a sassy smile.
Disappointment churned. She hadn’t been sent by the matchmaker. He focused on the path ahead, a back road on higher ground to his home.
“A spy in our midst,” he said dryly. Granted, one helluva sexy Mata Hari.
“Not anything so nefarious.” She tugged at the belt of her trench coat. “I’m just here to see how you run things at the Royal branch.”
“Or to curry favor for your dad.”
She straightened in the seat, clearly bristling at the criticism of her father. But it wasn’t any secret that Sterling Perry had a sketchy past and a quest for power.
A quest that was currently playing out in a battle with Ryder Currin as they vied for control of the new Houston branch, to be opened in a historic building site, a former luxury boutique hotel. Ryder Currin was a self-made man. Whereas Esme’s family was led by the old-money, charming, larger-than-life patriarch Sterling Perry, who continued to grow the Perry fortune in banking, real estate and property development.
Jesse’s impression of the man? All show but little substance.
Was this woman like her dad? It seemed so, judging by her car and her clothes and her defense of her father.
He pulled up to his ranch home. More lights glimmered in the trees lining the driveway, and a wreath glowed on the front door of his white two-story house. A sprawling place he’d had built with hopes of one day having a family of his own. His parents were dead. He only had one sister, and while he loved her, she had her own life.
Now he was ready to build a future for himself.
Keeping his eyes off the woman beside him, he steered off the path and onto the driveway, circling around back. More twinkling lights marked the way. He’d arranged for decorations outdoors to make his place more welcoming, but hadn’t gotten around to the indoors. His life definitely needed a woman’s touch.
He activated the garage door opener, steered into the six-bay garage, and turned off the truck as the automatic door closed behind them. “You can stay at my place until morning…or until the weather blows over.”
“I appreciate the offer. Clearly, I’m in no position to turn you down.” She gestured to her bare feet and soggy clothes.
“Call it club loyalty. It would be irresponsible of me to send you back out into this weather.” He draped a hand over the steering wheel and allowed himself an unrestrained look at the bombshell beside him. “But I don’t talk about club business in my off-hours, so I won’t be discussing your father or the Houston chapter.”
“Fair enough. I just have one question, nothing about the Texas Cattleman’s Club.” She tipped her head to one side, her raincoat parting to reveal the curve of her breasts in the soaked silk shirt. “Who did you think I was?”
Toying with her seat belt and not in any hurry to leave the truck just yet, Esme waited for Jesse’s answer, more curious than she would have liked to admit about what mystery woman he was expecting. Even knowing that cowboys weren’t her type, she couldn’t deny the appeal of those piercing green eyes.
He cocked an eyebrow as he reached for his Stetson. “I certainly didn’t think you were one of the infamous Perry family.”
She bristled at the censure in his voice. “Infamous?” she repeated, the bubble
