Kitabı oku: «Temptation»

Selected praise for New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Brenda Jackson

“Brenda Jackson writes romance that sizzles and

characters you fall in love with.”

—New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Lori Foster

“Jackson’s trademark ability to weave multiple

characters and side stories together makes shocking

truths all the more exciting.”

—Publishers Weekly

“Possibly [the] sexiest entry in the Westmoreland

series … Jackson has the sexiest cowboy to

ever ride the range.”

—RT Book Reviews on A Wife for a Westmoreland

“Jackson’s characters are wonderful, strong, colorful

and hot enough to burn the pages.”

—RT Book Reviews on Westmoreland’s Way

“.The kind of sizzling, heart-tugging story Brenda

Jackson is famous for.”

—RT Book Reviews on Spencer’s Forbidden Passion

“This is entertainment at its best.”

—RT Book Reviews on Star of His Heart

Dear Readers,

I am honored to once again participate in a MILLIONAIRE’S CLUB continuity.

No two people needed each other more than Zeke Travers and Sheila Hopkins, and getting the couple to realize that fact was both a challenge and a joy. Zeke and Sheila’s story is a special one, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. And I’m always excited when I can reunite my readers with characters from past books, such as Darius and Summer from One Night with the Wealthy Rancher.

I want to thank all the other five authors who are a part of this continuity. I enjoyed working with each of you.

Happy reading!

Brenda Jackson

About the Author

BRENDS JACKSON is a die “heart” romantic who married her childhood sweetheart and still proudly wears the “going steady” ring he gave her when she was fifteen. Because she’s always believed in the power of love, Brenda’s stories always have happy endings. In her reallife love story, Brenda and her husband of thirty-eight years live in Jacksonville, Florida, and have two sons.

A New York Times bestselling author of more than seventy-five romance titles, Brenda is a recent retiree who now divides her time between family, writing and traveling with Gerald. You may write Brenda at PO Box 28267, Jacksonville, Florida 32226, USA, by e-mail at WriterBJackson@aol.com or visit her website at www.brendajackson.net.

Temptation

Brenda Jackson

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To the love of my life, Gerald Jackson, Sr.

To the cast and crew of Truly Everlasting—the Movie, this one is especially for you! Thanks for all your hard work!

Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly.

—Job 8:7 KJV

One

Some days it didn’t pay to get out of bed.

Unless you had a tall, dark, handsome and naked man waiting in your kitchen to pour you a hot cup of coffee before sitting you in his lap to feed you breakfast. Sheila Hopkins smiled at such a delicious fantasy before squinting against the November sun that was almost blinding her through the windshield of her car.

And the sad thing was that she had awakened in a good mood. But all it had taken to spoil her day was a call from her sister that morning telling her she wasn’t welcome to visit her and her family in Atlanta after all.

That message had hurt, but Sheila really should not have been surprised. What had she expected from her older sister from her father’s first marriage? The same sister who’d always wished she hadn’t existed? Definitely not any show of sisterly love at this late stage. If she hadn’t shown any in Sheila’s twenty-seven years, why had she assumed her sister would begin showing any now? Not her sister who had the perfect life with a husband who owned his own television station in Atlanta and who had two beautiful children and was pregnant with her third.

And if that very brief and disappointing conversation with Lois wasn’t bad enough, she had immediately gotten a call from the hospital asking that she come in on her off day because they were shorthanded. And of course, being the dedicated nurse that she was, she had agreed to do so. Forget the fact she had planned to spend the day working in her garden. She didn’t have a life, so did it really matter?

Sheila drew in a deep breath when she brought her car to a stop at a traffic light. She couldn’t help glancing over at the man in the sports car next to her. She couldn’t tell how the rest of him looked because she could only see his profile from the shoulders up, but even that looked good. And as if he’d known she was checking him out, he glanced her way. Her breath caught in her throat and her flesh felt tingly all over. He had such striking features.

They were so striking she had to blink to make sure they were real. Um … a maple-brown complexion, close-cut black hair, dark brown eyes and a chiseled jaw. And as she continued to stare at him, her mind mechanically put his face on the naked body of the tall, handsome man whom she would have loved to have found in her kitchen this morning. She inwardly chuckled. Neither she nor her kitchen would have been able to handle all the heat her imaginary lover would generate.

She saw his head move and realized he had nodded over at her. Instinctively, she nodded back. When his lips curved into a sensual smile, she quickly forced her gaze ahead. And when the traffic light changed, she pressed down on the gas, deciding to speed up a little. The last thing she wanted was to give the guy the impression she was flirting with him, no matter how good he looked. She had learned quickly that not all nicely wrapped gifts contained something that was good for you. Crawford had certainly proven that.

As she got off the exit that led to the hospital, she couldn’t get rid of the thought that she didn’t know there were men who looked like him living in Royal, Texas. Not that she knew all the men in town, mind you. But she figured someone like him would definitely stand out. After all, Royal was a rather small community. And what if she had run into him again, then what?

Nothing.

She didn’t have the time or the inclination to get involved with a man. She’d done that in the past and the outcome hadn’t been good, which was why she had moved to Royal from Dallas last year. Moving to Royal had meant a fresh start for her. Although, Sheila knew that where she lived was only part of the solution. She had reached the conclusion that a woman didn’t need to be involved with a no-good man to have trouble. A woman could do bad all by herself. And she of all people was living proof of that.

Ezekiel Travers chuckled as he watched the attractive woman take off as though she was going to a fire or something. Hell, she wasn’t the only one, he thought as he watched her car turn off the interstate at the next exit. Whoever was trying to ruin his best friend, Bradford Price’s, reputation had taken things a little too far. According to the phone call he’d received earlier from Brad, the blackmailer had made good on his threat. Someone had left a baby on the doorstep of the Texas Cattlemen’s Club with a note that Brad was the baby’s father.

Grabbing his cell phone the moment it began to ring, he knew who the caller was before answering it. “Yeah, Brad?”

“Zeke, where are you?”

“I’m only a few minutes away. And you can believe I’ll be getting to the bottom of this.”

“I don’t know what kind of sick joke someone is trying to play on me, but I swear to you, that baby isn’t mine.”

Zeke nodded. “And a paternity test can prove that easily, Brad, so calm down.”

He had no reason not to believe his best friend about the baby not being his. Brad wouldn’t lie about something like that. He and Brad had gotten to be the best of friends while roommates at the University of Texas. After college Brad had returned to Royal to assist in his family’s banking empire.

Actually, it had been Brad who suggested Zeke relocate to Royal. He’d made the suggestion during one of their annual all-guys trip to Vegas last year, after Zeke had mentioned his desire to leave Austin and to move to a small town.

Zeke had earned a small fortune and a great reputation as one of the best security consultants in all of Texas. Now he could live anywhere he wanted to, and take his pick of cases.

And it had been Brad who’d connected Zeke with Darius Franklin, another private investigator in Royal who owned a security service and who just happened to be looking for a partner. That had prompted Zeke to fly to Royal. He’d immediately fallen in love with the town and he saw becoming a business partner with Darius a win-win situation. That had been six months ago. When he’d moved to town, he hadn’t known that his first case would begin before he could get settled in good, and that his first client would be none other than his best friend.

“I bet Abigail is behind this.”

Brad’s accusations interrupted Zeke’s thoughts. Abigail Langley and Brad were presently in a heated battle to win the presidency of the Texas Cattlemen’s Club.

“You have no proof of that and so far I haven’t been able to find a link between Ms. Langley and those blackmail letters you’ve received, Brad. But you can bet if she’s connected, I’ll expose her. Now, sit tight, I’m on my way.”

He clicked off the phone knowing to tell Brad to sit tight was a waste of time. Zeke let out a deep sigh. Brad had begun receiving blackmail letters five months ago. The thought nagged Zeke’s mind that maybe if he had been on top of his game and solved the case months ago, it would not have gotten this far and some kid would not have been abandoned at the club.

He of all people knew how that felt. At thirty-three he could still feel the sting of abandonment. Although his own mother hadn’t left him on anyone’s doorstep, she had left him with her sister and kept on trucking. She hadn’t shown up again until sixteen years later. It had been his last year of college and she’d stuck around just long enough to see if he had a chance in the NFL.

He pushed that hurtful time of his life to the back of his mind to concentrate on the problem at hand. If leaving that baby at the TCC with a note claiming she was Brad’s kid was supposed to be a joke, then it wasn’t funny. And Zeke intended to make sure he and Brad had the last laugh when they exposed the person responsible for such a callous act.

Once Sheila had reached her floor at the hospital, it became evident why they’d called her in. A couple of nurses were out sick and the E.R. was swarming with patients with symptoms ranging from the flu to a man who’d almost lost his finger while chopping down a tree in his front yard. There had also been several minor car accidents.

At least something good had resulted from one of the accidents. A man thinking his girlfriend’s injuries were worse than they were, had rushed into the E.R. and proposed. Even Sheila had to admit it had been a very romantic moment. Some women had all the luck.

“So you came in on your off day, uh?”

Sheila glanced at her coworker and smiled. Jill Lanier was a nurse she’d met on her first day at Royal Memorial and they’d become good friends. When she’d moved to Royal she hadn’t known a soul, but that had been fine. She was used to being alone. That was the story of her life.

She was about to answer Jill, when the sound of a huge wail stopped her. “What the heck?”

She turned around and saw two police officers walk in carrying a screaming baby. Both she and Jill hurried over to the officers. “What’s going on, Officers?” she asked the two men.

One of the officers, the one holding the baby, shook his head. “We don’t know why she’s crying,” he said in frustration. “Someone left her on the doorstep of the Texas Cattlemen’s Club and we were told to bring her here.”

Sheila had heard all about the Texas Cattlemen’s Club, which consisted of a group of men who considered themselves the protectors of Texas, and whose members consisted of the wealthiest men in Texas. One good thing was that the TCC was known to help a number of worthwhile causes in the community. Thanks to them, there was a new cancer wing at the hospital.

Jill took the baby and it only screamed louder. “The TCC? Why would anyone do something like that?”

“Who knows why people abandon their kids,” the other officer said. It was apparent he was more than happy to pass the screaming baby on to someone else. However, the infant, who looked to be no more than five months old, was screaming even louder now. Jill, who was a couple of years younger than Sheila and single and carefree, gave them a what-am-I-supposed-to-do-now look as she rocked the baby in her arms.

“And there’s a note that’s being handed over to Social Services claiming Bradford Price is the father.”

Sheila lifted a brow. She didn’t know Bradford Price personally, but she had certainly heard of him. His family were blueblood society types. She’d heard they’d made millions in banking.

“Is someone from Social Services on their way here?” Sheila asked, raising her voice to be heard over the crying baby.

“Yes. Price is claiming the baby isn’t his. There has to be a paternity test done.”

Sheila nodded, knowing that could take a couple of days, possibly even a week.

“And what are we supposed to do with her until then?” Jill asked as she continued to rock the baby in her arms, trying to get her quiet but failing to do so.

“Keep her here,” one of the officers responded. He was backing up, as if he was getting ready to make a run for it. “A woman from Social Services is on her way with everything you’ll need. The kid doesn’t have a name. at least one wasn’t given with the note left with her.”

The other officer, the one who’d been carrying the baby, spoke up. “Look, ladies, we have to leave. She threw up on me, so I need to swing by my place and change clothes.”

“What about your report?” Sheila called out to the two officers who were rushing off.

“It’s completed already and like I said, a woman from Social Services is on her way,” the first officer said, before both men quickly exited through the revolving glass doors.

“I can’t believe they did that,” Jill said with a disgruntled look on her face. “What are we going to do with her? One thing for certain, this kid has a nice set of lungs.”

Sheila smiled. “Follow procedure and get her checked out. There might be a medical reason why she’s crying. Let’s page Dr. Phillips.”

“Hey, let me page Dr. Phillips. It’s your turn to hold her.” Before Sheila could say anything, Jill suddenly plopped the baby in her arms.

“Hey, hey, things can’t be that bad, sweetie,” Sheila crooned down at the baby as she adjusted her arms to make sure she was holding her right.

Other than the times she worked in the hospital nursery, she’d never held a baby, and rarely came in contact with one. Lois had two kids and was pregnant with another, yet Sheila had only seen her five-year-old niece and three-year-old nephew twice. Her sister had never approved of their father’s marriage to Sheila’s mother, and Sheila felt she had been the one to pay for it. Lois, who was four years older than Sheila, had been determined never to accept her father’s other child. Over the years, Sheila had hoped her attitude toward her would change, but so far it hadn’t.

Pushing thoughts of Lois from her mind, Sheila continued to smile down at the baby. And as if on cue the little girl stared up at Sheila with the most gorgeous pair of hazel eyes, and suddenly stopped crying. In fact, she smiled, showing dimples in both cheeks.

Sheila couldn’t help chuckling. “What are you laughing at, baby-doll? Do I look funny or something?” She was rewarded with another huge smile from the baby. “You’re such a pretty little thing, all bright and full of sunshine. I think I’ll call you Sunnie until we find out your real name.”

“Dr. Phillips is on his way and I’m needed on the fourth floor,” Jill said, making a dash toward the elevator. “How did you get her to stop crying, Sheila?” she asked before stepping on the elevator.

Sheila shrugged and glanced back at the baby, who was still smiling up at her. “I guess she likes me.”

“Apparently she does,” a deep, husky male voice said from behind them.

Sheila turned around and her gaze collided with the most gorgeous set of brown eyes she’d ever seen on a man. They were bedroom eyes. The kind that brought to mind silken sheets and passion. But this wasn’t the first time she had looked into those same eyes.

She immediately knew where she’d seen them before as her gaze roamed over his features. Recognition appeared in his gaze the moment it hit hers as well. Standing before her, looking sexier than any man had a right to look, was the guy who’d been in the car next to hers at the traffic light. He was the man who’d given her a flirtatious smile before she’d deliberately sped off to ditch him.

Evidently that hadn’t done any good, since he was here, standing before her in vivid living color.

Two

This was the second time today he’d seen this woman, Zeke thought. Just as before, he thought she looked good … even wearing scrubs. Nothing could hide the wavy black hair that came to her shoulders, the light brown eyes and luscious café-au-lait skin.

He wondered if anyone ever told her she could be a very delicious double for actress Sanaa Lathan. The woman before him was just a tad shorter than the actress, but in his book she was just as curvy. And she was a nurse. Hell, she could take his temperature any time and any place. He could even suggest she take it now, because there was no doubt in his mind looking at her was making it rise.

“May I help you?”

He blinked and swallowed deeply. “Yes, that baby you’re holding …”

She narrowed her eyes and clutched the baby closer to her breast in a protective stance. “Yes, what about her?”

“I want to find out everything there is about her,” he said.

She lifted an arched brow. “And you are …?”

He gave what he hoped was a charming smile. “Zeke Travers, private investigator.”

Sheila opened her mouth to speak, when a deep, male voice intruded behind her. “Zeke Travers! Son of a gun! With Brad Price as quarterback, you as split end and Chris Richards as wide receiver, that was UT’s best football season. I recall them winning a national championship title that year. Those other teams didn’t stand a chance with you three. Someone mentioned you had moved to Royal.”

She then watched as Dr. Warren Phillips gave the man a huge bear hug. Evidently they knew each other, and as she listened further, she was finding out quite a lot about the handsome stranger.

“Yes, I moved to town six months ago,” Zeke was saying. “Austin was getting too big for me. I’ve decided to try small-town life for a while. Brad convinced me Royal was the place,” he said, grinning. “And I was able to convince Darius Franklin he needed a partner.”

“So you joined forces with Darius over at Global Securities?”

“Yes, and things are working out great so far. Darius is a good man and I really like this town. In fact, I like it more and more each day.” His gaze then shifted to her and her gaze locked with his as it had done that morning.

The clearing of Dr. Phillips’s throat reminded them they weren’t alone.

“So, what brings you to Royal Memorial, Zeke?” Dr. Phillips asked, and it was evident to Sheila that Dr. Phillips had picked up on the man’s interest in her.

“That baby she’s holding. It was left abandoned at the TCC today with a note claiming Brad’s the father. And I intend to prove that he’s not.”

“In that case,” Dr. Phillips said, “I think we need to go into that private examination room over there and check this baby out.”

A short while later Dr. Phillips slid his stethoscope into the pocket of his lab coat as he leaned back against the table. “Well, this young lady is certainly in good health.”

He chuckled and then added, “And she certainly refused to let anyone hold her other than you, Nurse Hopkins. If you hadn’t been present and within her reach, it would have been almost impossible for me to examine her.”

Sheila laughed as she held the baby to her while glancing down at the infant. “She’s beautiful. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to abandon her.”

“Well, it happened,” Zeke said.

A tingling sensation rode up her spine with the comment and she was reminded that Zeke Travers was in the examination room with them. It was as if he refused to let the baby out of his sight.

She turned slightly. “What makes you so sure she’s not Bradford Price’s child, Mr. Travers? I recall running into Mr. Price a time or two and he also has hazel eyes.”

He narrowed his gaze. “So do a million other people in this country, Ms. Hopkins.”

Evidently he didn’t like being questioned about the possibility. So she turned to Dr. Phillips. “Did that social worker who came by while you were examining the baby say what will happen to Sunnie?” she asked.

Dr. Phillips lifted a brow. “Sunnie?”

“Yes,” Sheila said, smiling. “I thought she was a vision of sunshine the moment I looked at her. And since no one knows her name I thought Sunnie would fit. Sounds better than Jane Doe,” she added.

“I agree,” Dr. Phillips said, chuckling. “And the social worker, Ms. Talbert, is as baffled as everyone else, especially since Brad says the baby isn’t his.”

“She’s not his,” Zeke said, inserting himself into the conversation again. “Brad’s been receiving blackmail letters for five months now, threatening to do something like this unless he paid up.”

Zeke rubbed the back of his neck. “I told him to ignore the letters while I looked into it. I honestly didn’t think the person would carry out their threats if Brad didn’t pay up. Evidently, I was wrong.”

And that’s what continued to bother him the most, Zeke thought as he glanced over at the baby. He should have nipped this nasty business in the bud long ago. And what Ms. Hopkins said was true, because he’d noted it himself. The baby had hazel eyes, and not only were they hazel, they were the same shade of hazel as Brad’s.

He’d asked Brad if there was any chance the baby could be his, considering the fact Brad was a known playboy. But after talking to Brad before coming over here, and now that he knew the age of the baby, Zeke was even more convinced Brad wasn’t the father. Warren had confirmed the baby’s age as five months and Brad had stated he hadn’t slept with any woman over the past eighteen months.

“To answer your question, Nurse Hopkins,” Dr. Phillips said, breaking into Zeke’s thoughts, “Ms. Talbert wants to wait to see what the paternity test reveals. I agreed that we can keep the baby here until then.”

“Here?”

“Yes, that would be best until the test results comes back, that is unless Brad has a problem participating in the test,” Dr. Phillips said, glancing over at Zeke.

“Brad knows that it’s for the best, and he will cooperate any way he can,” Zeke acknowledged.

“But it doesn’t seem fair for Sunnie to have to stay here at the hospital. She’s in perfect health,” Sheila implored. “Ms. Talbert has indicated the test results might take two weeks to come back.”

She then glared over at Zeke. “Whether the baby is officially his or not, I would think your client would want the best for Sunnie until her parentage is proven or disproven.”

Zeke crossed his arms over his chest. “So what do you suggest, Ms. Hopkins? I agree staying here isn’t ideal for the baby, but the only other option is for her to get turned over to Social Services. If that happens she’ll go into foster care and will get lost in the system when it’s proven my client is not her father.”

Sheila nibbled on her bottom lip, not having a response to give him. She glanced down at the baby she held in her arms. For whatever reason, Sunnie’s mother hadn’t wanted her and it didn’t seem fair for her to suffer because of it. She knew how it felt not to be wanted.

“I might have an idea that might work, Nurse Hopkins, granted you agree to go along with it,” Dr. Phillips said. “And I’ll have to get Ms. Talbert to agree to it, as well.”

“Yes?” she said, wondering what his idea was.

“A few years ago the wife of one of my colleagues, Dr. Webb, was hit with a similar incident when someone left a baby on her doorstep before they were married. Because Winona grew up in foster care herself, she hadn’t wanted the baby to end up the same way. To make a long story short, Winona and Dr. Webb ended up marrying and keeping the baby to make sure it didn’t get lost in the system.”

Sheila nodded. “So what are you suggesting?”

Dr. Phillips smiled. “That you become Sunnie’s emergency foster parent until everything is resolved. I believe I’ll be able to convince Ms. Talbert to go along with it, and given the fact the Prices are huge benefactors to this hospital, as well as to a number of other nonprofit organizations, I think it would be in everyone’s best interest that the baby’s welfare remain a top priority.”

Sheila looked shocked. “Me? A foster parent! I wouldn’t know what to do with a baby.”

“You couldn’t convince me of that, Ms. Hopkins. The baby won’t let anyone else touch her and you seem to be a natural with her,” Zeke said, seeing the merits of what Dr. Phillips proposed. “Besides, you’re a nurse, someone who is used to taking care of people.”

Although Brad swore the baby wasn’t his, he would still be concerned with the baby’s health and safety until everything was resolved. And what Zeke just said was true. He thought the woman was a natural with the baby, and the baby had gotten totally attached to her. He had a feeling Ms. Hopkins was already sort of attached to the baby, as well.

“And if you’re concerned as to how you’d be able to handle both your job and the baby, I propose that the hospital agrees to give you a leave of absence during the time that the child is in your care. My client will be more than happy to replace your salary,” Zeke said.

“I think that would be an excellent idea,” Warren said. “One I think I could push past the chief of staff. The main thing everyone should be concerned about is Sunnie’s well-being.”

Sheila couldn’t help agreeing. But her? A foster parent? “How long do you think I’ll have to take care of her?” she asked, looking down at Sunnie, who was still smiling up at her.

“No more than a couple of weeks, if even that long,” Zeke said. “The results of the paternity test should be back by then and we’ll know how to proceed.”

Sheila nibbled her bottom lip, when Sunnie reached and grabbed hold of a lock of her hair, seemingly forcing Sheila to look down at her—into her beautiful hazel eyes, while she made a lot of cheerful baby sounds. At that moment Sheila knew she would do it. Sunnie needed a temporary home and she would provide her with one. It was the least she could do, and deep down she knew it was something that she wanted to do. This was the first time she’d felt someone truly, really needed her.

She glanced up at both men to see they were patiently waiting for her answer. She drew in a deep breath. “Yes. I would be happy to be Sunnie’s emergency foster parent.”

After removing his jacket, Zeke slid into the seat of his car and leaned back as he gazed at the entrance to the hospital. He felt good about Sheila Hopkins agreeing to take on the role of foster parent. That way he would know the baby was being well cared for while he turned up the heat on the investigation to clear Brad’s name.

He intended to pursue each and every lead. He would not leave a stone, no matter how small, unturned. He intended to get this potential scandal under total control before it could go any further.

Now if he could control his attraction to Sheila Hopkins. The woman was definitely temptation with a capital T. Being in close quarters with her, even with Warren in the room, had been pure torture. She was a looker, but it was clear she didn’t see herself that way, and he couldn’t help wondering, why not? He hadn’t seen a ring on her finger and, when he’d hung back to speak with Warren in private, the only thing his friend could tell him was that she was a model employee, caring to a fault, dependable and intelligent.

Warren had also verified she was single and had moved from Dallas last year. But still, considering everything, Zeke felt it wouldn’t hurt to do a background check on her, just to be on the safe side. The last thing he wanted was for her to be someone who’d be tempted to sell this story to the tabloids. That was the last thing Brad needed. His best friend was depending on him to bring an end to this nightmare, and he would.

Zeke was about to turn the ignition in his car, when he glanced through the windshield to see Sheila Hopkins. She was walking quickly across the parking lot to the car he had seen her in that morning. She looked as if she was dashing off to fight a fire. Curious as to where she could be going in such a hurry, he got out of the car, walked swiftly to cross the parking lot and intercepted her before she could reach her vehicle.

She nearly yelled in fright when he stepped in front of her. “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, covering her heart with the palm of her hand. “You just scared me out of my wits.”

“Sorry, but I saw you tearing across the parking lot. What’s the hurry?”

Sheila drew a deep breath to get her heart beating back normal in her chest. She looked up at Zeke Travers and couldn’t do anything about her stomach doing flips. It had been hard enough while in the examination room to stop her gaze from roaming all over him every chance it got.

“I’m leaving Sunnie in the hospital tonight while I go pick up the things I’ll need for her. I’m going to need a baby bed, diapers, clothes and all kinds of other items. I plan on shopping today and come back for her first thing in the morning once my house is ready.”