Kitabı oku: «The Wedding Wager»

One

June

That old saying about a woman scorned was too damn true, Jared Dalton thought.

He thought back to when he’d first learned that old man Sorenson had died and that Megan had no apparent interest in keeping the family ranch. Jared assumed he could buy it easily. To his surprise, the minute Megan had learned who intended to buy the ranch, she’d withdrawn it from the market. Now he was here to get her to sell.

With a disturbing skip in his heartbeat that overrode a simmering anger, he saw Megan emerge from the Sorenson barn, carrying a saddle to the corral. She was too far away for him to see if her looks had changed. Her red shirt was as noticeable as her long-legged, sexy walk, which still revealed the years she had studied dance before she’d left for college. Her black hair was in a thick braid that lay on her back. Setting the saddle and blanket on the fence, she turned to the approaching horses to give each a treat. Within minutes she had saddled and mounted a sorrel.

The sight of her brought back too many hurtful memories. Vengeance was sweet. He just wished her father had lived to be part of the intended payback.

Jared intended to encounter her out on the ranch, where she would have to talk to him. He’d spent the night in a comfortable log guesthouse on her ranch without her knowledge in order to watch for her this morning. Before dawn he had dressed in jeans, a blue Western shirt and a wide-brimmed black Stetson.

Now he went to the barn to saddle a bay to follow her without haste.

The vast, grassy land made it easy to see in all directions except along the river, where trees could hide a rider from view. He knew he could catch her when she stopped at the river to let her horse drink. Until then, he didn’t want to alert her that he was trailing behind. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and a glance at gathering clouds told him rain seemed imminent.

As soon as she reached the line of trees, she vanished from view. Watching, he could remember meeting her at the river—and their steamy kisses. Since their split, he rarely thought of her without bitter feelings surfacing.

Unwanted memories enveloped him. He had known her all his life. Even as their dads battled over water, he’d paid no attention to her because she had been six years younger—the skinny little kid on the neighboring ranch. The first time he’d ever noticed her was when he was getting his master’s degree and she’d entered his same university in Chicago.

Too clearly he could recall that initial encounter. Her black hair had cascaded in a cloud over her shoulders and her startling turquoise eyes sped his pulse. She filled out a white cotton blouse that tucked into the narrow waistband of a tan skirt. When she’d smiled broadly at him and said hello, he’d thought he was looking at a stranger. If a beautiful woman greeted him, however, he had no intention of not responding.

“You don’t know me, do you, Jared?”

Surprised, he’d stared at her and frowned, trying to recollect. “Did you go to UT?” he asked, referring to the University of Texas, where he’d gotten his undergraduate degree.

She laughed and stuck her tongue out at him and he sucked in his breath. All her pink tongue had done was make him think about kissing her. He was getting turned on and he didn’t have a clue how he knew her.

“Jared, for heaven’s sake!” she said. He shook his head, touching a lock of her soft hair.

“Okay, I give. I can’t believe I don’t remember a gorgeous woman. Where have we known each other?”

“I’m Megan Sorenson,” she’d said, laughing at him. He stared in astonishment, seeing it now in the turquoise eyes. But that was all. Gone was the skinny little kid, replaced by a luscious, curvaceous woman.

“You grew up,” he said, and that sparked a fresh burst of laughter.

“I didn’t know you’re going to school here,” she said. “I thought I’d heard you’d graduated.”

“MBA,” he said slowly. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

She tilted her head to study him. “You know how our dads fight. You and I should keep a distance.”

“C’mon, Megan. Their fight isn’t our fight. I’ve never in my life had anything against you.”

“Oh, liar, liar!” she accused with amusement again dancing in her eyes. “You thought I was a pest. You wouldn’t even say hello if you saw me.”

He felt his face flush. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise to give you my full, undivided attention,” he said, and saw a flicker in her eyes. The moment between them sizzled and his heart raced.

“Dinner it is,” she said breathlessly.

“About seven,” he’d replied. And from that moment on, he’d thought he was in love. He’d hoped to marry her. They’d talked about it and planned on it, and then that summer after her freshman year, when Megan had gone to Sioux Falls to stay with her aunt and uncle, Olga and Thomas Sorenson, her dad sent one of his hands to summon Jared.

The old man had run him off by threatening harm to Jared’s dad. He’d always wondered how much Megan had known about what her father was doing. For over a year he’d hurt, pain turning to anger that had grown when she wouldn’t answer his letters. It pleased him enormously to buy her ranch. This payback was long overdue, and again he wished he’d offered to buy the ranch when Edlund Sorenson had still been alive, just to watch the old man’s face.

Most obstacles weren’t insurmountable, he’d discovered. Not with the wealth he had accumulated. He didn’t expect this one to be, either.

He heard her horse before he rode into a clearing at the river’s edge, and then he saw her. His insides clenched. Longing, hot and intense, rocked him. He rarely spent time on regrets but briefly, the thought that he never should have left her tore at him. Surprised, he shook aside his uncharacteristic reaction as she whirled around.

Color drained from her face. Her eyes widened until they were enormous and she swayed, making him wonder if she were about to faint. “Jared!” she exclaimed, as if he were an apparition.

“Megan, I didn’t intend to startle you.” He dismounted, dropping to the ground.

She drew herself up. As abruptly as she had looked on the verge of fainting, she pulled herself together.

Jared’s heartbeat quickened at the sight of her. “You’re more beautiful than ever,” he said, and cursed himself with his next breath. Anger flashed in her turquoise eyes, those crystal-clear blue-green eyes that were astonishing when he first looked at her.

“Why are you trespassing?” she asked, her composure obvious. He’d surely imagined her terrified reaction to the first sight of him. “This isn’t your ranch, nor will it be. You get off my land.”

“Whoa, give me a chance,” he replied in amusement, reassessing changes in her. “Seven years was a long time ago.”

“Not long enough. Your people were told this ranch is no longer on the market. I’m not selling. You’ll never own this land.” While thunder rumbled overhead, she withdrew a cell phone. “I don’t know how you got one of my horses, but leave it where you found it and go. You’re trespassing, and if you don’t get off this ranch, I’m calling the sheriff.”

“Don’t be so emotional,” Jared said, wishing he could unfasten her thick braid. “At least listen. You have nothing to lose.”

Thunder boomed again, and she glanced skyward.

“I think, unless you don’t mind getting soaked, you’ll have to ride back to the barn with me,” he added.

Without saying a word, she glared at him and then turned to mount her horse. Observing her tight jeans that pulled across an enticing bottom, Jared swung into the saddle as well, and waited for her to lead the way through the trees.

As the first large drops hit leaves overhead, they rode into the clearing. A jagged bolt of lightning flashed, and Jared knew they should get out of the open field and back to shelter.

He urged the bay he’d chosen, Jester, hoping she could keep up. Drops were coming faster by the time the barn loomed in sight.

As they galloped into the barn, the heavens opened. Jared dismounted, dropping to the ground while both horses shook their heads, sending drops flying.

To the accompaniment of the steady hiss of rain, they unsaddled and rubbed down the horses. Once the animals were in stalls, Megan strode to the open door and watched the rain.

“Probably a summer shower. It’ll move on,” Jared said, standing close enough to catch the scent of an exotic perfume, not the rose perfume she once wore. “Why don’t you listen to my proposition? I know you don’t intend to retire to the ranch.”

“You don’t know that,” she said, glancing up at him with hostility simmering.

“So you are?” he probed, and saw another flash of anger, knowing he had been correct.

“I am not selling my ranch to you,” she said slowly and clearly. He looked at her mouth, remembering their kisses. She’d been eighteen years old then. What would it be like to kiss her now? “Why do you even want it? There are other ranches.”

“I have a bet with my cousins, Chase and Matt, to see which one of us can increase his net worth the most during the coming year.”

“My ranch is to help you win a bet?” she asked, glowering at him.

“That shouldn’t make any difference to you.”

“One more thing that you want for your own purposes,” she said in a clipped tone.

“Whoever buys the place will purchase it for his own purposes,” Jared said.

“I don’t see how acquiring my ranch can put you over the top,” she observed.

“That alone won’t. It’ll be one of several projects,” he answered easily.

“How’d you get here and where did you get my horse?” she asked.

“If I had called you, I didn’t think you’d take an appointment to talk to me about the ranch, so I sent one of my lawyers, Trent Colgin,” Jared answered, and she compressed her lips.

“I should have known,” she said. She rushed to yank up a horse blanket. “I’m going to the house. It could rain all day, and I don’t intend to stay here. You get off the ranch however you got on it. Don’t spend another night here, or I truly will call the sheriff.”

“You’re going to get soaked.”

“That’s better than staying here with you,” she said and turned to dash for the sprawling ranch house. Jared ran easily beside her, not caring if he got wet as long as he could try to convince her to listen to him. They rushed up the back steps and across the wrap-around porch. While she draped the dripping blanket over a rocking chair, he pushed his hat to the back of his head.

In spite of the blanket, her jacket was soaked in the front and she shed it to hang it on another chair. Her damp shirt clung, revealing lush breasts that stirred erotic memories of kissing her as he caressed her breasts.

As she started to turn away, he looked into her eyes and suspected she guessed what he was thinking. His gaze trailed leisurely over her. Her quick breaths made her breasts thrust out more. When he looked up again, sparks flashed between them.

Raising her chin defiantly, she placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not inviting you inside.”

“Megan, listen to what I have to offer. You may be losing a huge fortune. One you could make easily by getting rid of something you don’t want anyway. You’re letting emotion get in your way.”

“I know what I want,” she said with a frown.

“Try to keep an open mind. Come to dinner at my house tonight and let’s discuss the sale.”

“In this weather? I think not, thanks,” she said, shaking her head.

“According to the paper, this rain is supposed to stop before noon and it won’t rain again until tomorrow afternoon. Now quit spiting yourself and come have dinner with me. Why don’t we discuss a deal? You have nothing to lose.”

“I won’t sell to you at any price,” she snapped as she yanked a key out of her pocket and put it into the door.

“Scared to eat with me?” he asked softly in a taunting voice.

Her head came up and she faced him with anger blazing in her eyes, making them look more green than blue. “I’m not the least bit afraid of you,” she replied in a haughty tone. “All right. I’ll come to dinner, but you should know you won’t change my mind.”

“How’s seven?”

“I’ll be there.”

“You know the way,” he said, and her cheeks turned a deeper pink. “See you then.” He left for his cabin, fighting the urge to glance to see if she stood watching him. He hadn’t heard any door slam, but then in the rain, he probably wouldn’t have.

She was coming for dinner, so there was hope. When hadn’t he been able to talk a woman into something he wanted? She was beautiful, more poised than she’d been as a teen. Then, she had been friendly and warm as a kitten. Now she was a hellcat. Despite her anger, her self-confidence showed. She was not the naive, starry-eyed eighteen-year-old he had fallen in love with years ago.

Anticipation bubbled in him. How long before he could seduce her? he wondered. He planned to keep a clear sight on his goal of acquiring her ranch, but this new Megan was an unbearable temptation.

He packed his few things and drove back to his ranch to make arrangements for dinner. As if nature were cooperating, the rain ended by noon and sunshine broke out with a magnificent rainbow arching in the sky.

When he caught some news on the television, he went to his office to make a phone call to his cousin.

The minute Chase Bennett answered, Jared could picture his green eyes and easy smile. “Hi, Jared here. Just caught you on the news about oil you’ve found in Montana.”

“Hope to find,” Chase corrected. “If it pans out like I expect, it’s going to be a tidy discovery.”

“A bonus that it’s in your home state,” Jared remarked dryly.

“Yeah, but I don’t spend much time back on the ranch,” Chase replied.

“I’ll wager you think you’re going to win our bet,” Jared joked, rubbing his finger on his knee as he talked.

“I hope to. You guys are going to have to get busy.”

“I’m working on an interesting project. Remember Megan Sorenson? I plan to buy her ranch.”

“Nice! That’ll crush her dad. It will be satisfying to let him know you can buy him out.”

“I wish I’d done this sooner. The old man died. As soon as Megan discovered I’m the buyer, she pulled the ranch off the market.”

“Too bad. Making the offer should give you a bit of satisfaction. That would be a good purchase, a prime pheasant-hunting ranch, even though it won’t help you win.”

“Wait and see,” Jared replied, chuckling, unwilling to reveal his plans to Chase. “Better go. Just called to offer congrats and tell you I still intend to collect.”

“Dream on,” Chase replied in a good-natured tone.

“I will,” Jared said, and broke the connection, trying to be the one to get in the last word, a habit of the cousins since childhood. Jared gazed out the window. What to do about the Sorensen ranch …

The day seemed an eternity long, but eventually Jared showered, shaved and dressed with care in a tan knit shirt, chinos and hand-tooled leather Western boots that added to his six-foot-six height.

Promptly upon her arrival at seven, Jared met her on the porch. Watching her get out of her SUV and walk toward him, her slim column of a navy dress swirling around her shapely calves, he sucked in his breath. A large bow held the dress on her left shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare. The material split as it fell from her shoulder, revealing her long legs as she walked. Her hair was rolled and fastened at the back of her head, giving her a sophisticated, self-possessed appearance. Had they gone out in public, she would have turned heads anywhere—the men in appreciation and speculation, women in envy and admiration.

Jared’s pulse skipped, and he wondered if that bow on her shoulder released the front and back of her dress. He desired her with an intensity that shocked him. She was gorgeous, and momentarily he forgot the ranch, his purpose, old hurts, even anger. He saw a ravishing beauty whom he intended to seduce.

“Evening, Jared,” she said. Her greeting brought him back to reality.

“You’re stunning,” he said in a deep, raspy tone, gazing into the cool, thickly-lashed turquoise eyes. “Welcome to my ranch,” he added. “Come inside.”

Without a word, she swept up the steps past him. When she passed, he caught that same exotic scent, a perfume he couldn’t identify. Watching the slight sway of her hips, he followed her through the flagstone-covered entry into the wide front hall with its polished plank floor. She took his breath away with her beauty. He was reminded again that the open, outgoing warmth of the eighteen-year-old had deepened into the fieriness of a beautiful woman.

“I’m grilling steaks. Let’s go to the patio,” he suggested as he caught up to walk beside her.

She strolled in silence beside him outside to the patio, where smoke came from a large state-of-the-art stainless steel cooker. “You have all you need to live out here,” she said, glancing around.

“Can I get you a glass of wine, tea, a soft drink? What’s your preference?”

“White wine, please.” She followed him to the bar, and he turned to hand a glass of pale wine to her. Even though their fingers brushed lightly, the contact was electrifying. He could feel the sparks, as close as he stood to her.

She tilted her head to study him. “You’ll be returning to Texas soon, won’t you?”

“It depends on what happens with you. I’m not in a hurry to go after seeing you again.”

“Stop flirting, Jared. Or is that impossible?”

“Not impossible, but infinitely more interesting when you provoke it. How can I be with you and remain all business?”

“You might as well. The personal touch will get you nowhere.”

He gave her a mocking smile. “Watch out, I might prove you wrong.” He saw her gazing up at gray clouds streaking across the sky.

“When I crossed your river, the water was almost up to the bridge.”

“Scared you’ll get stranded with me?” he asked in amusement.

She whipped around to give him a level look. “No. I’ll leave before I let that happen,” she remarked.

“Here’s to the future and forgetting the past,” he said, ignoring her remark and raising his drink in a toast, even though he doubted he would ever lose all his bitterness toward her.

“This is pointless, Jared,” she said, sipping her drink.

“Megan, we both did things that hurt. I left here and you married someone else two months later,” he said, hoping he kept his tone casual enough to hide the stab that memory always brought.

“I’m sure you know my marriage didn’t last much more than a month before we filed for a divorce,” she replied with anger in her voice.

He recalled his fury and pain when his parents told him about a reception her father had for her and her new husband shortly after the marriage, and then the next thing he’d heard was that she was divorced, which gave him a degree of satisfaction.

“Where’s your son from that marriage?” he asked, wondering about her child.

“With my aunt and uncle in Sioux Falls,” she replied. A shuttered look had come over her features and he could feel a wall of coldness between them. She looked half angry, half afraid. He tried to curb his emotions and not let his bitter feelings interfere with his goals.

“At the time I couldn’t stay to tell you why I was doing what I was doing,” he said. “I never meant to hurt you like I did,” he admitted quietly, refusing to get into it now, knowing she wouldn’t listen to the truth about her father.

Twisting her shoulders out of his grasp, she strolled farther around the patio while he walked with her. “Jared, let’s not rehash the past. As you said, it’s done. Let go of it.”

“I will if you will. But I know this is why you backed out of the deal we had for the ranch. Admit it, you were ready and willing until you discovered that I was the buyer.”

“I’m not arguing with you about it. My dad would have despised selling to you. I’ll not do it—I promise you,” she said, her eyes wide and almost green again.

“Wait and let me talk to you about it, and what I’m willing to pay,” he said, fully confident he would win her over.

“I agreed to tonight only. In the next hour over dinner you can make your offer and then I’m out of your life.” Her gaze slid away from his, as if there were more she wasn’t saying. She’d hardly been reticent before. He had a suspicious feeling there was something he was missing, but he didn’t know what.

“As far as leaving you alone—I don’t know about that. There’s unfinished business between us.”

“I can promise you, we won’t renew it,” she said with such force he was taken aback. She walked on and he stared after her. Again, he had been mystified by the venom in her quiet tone. Why would she be that bitter now? They had planned to marry, but he hadn’t left her at the altar. He’d never gotten that far—they’d talked about marriage and getting engaged, and he was looking for a ring for her when her father ruined their plans. Her reactions were still strong enough for it all to have happened last week instead of seven years ago.

“I’ll check on dinner,” he said, and went to the cooker.

Jared turned the steaks, watching her between glances at his cooking. He wondered whether she was truly interested in her surroundings or simply trying to avoid him.

After turning the meat, he went into the house to get things ready. Because of the threat of rain, they would eat inside. If they had a real downpour, his bridge would be underwater and the ranch cut off.

Jared hoped to avoid any threat that would send her home early before he could convince her to sell. Revenge was his goal. He didn’t want to return to Texas empty-handed, so he planned the kind of offer she couldn’t turn down. This was a battle he wanted to win. And he hoped to have her in his arms tonight.

As he returned outside to get the steaks, she continued to circle the expansive patio. He observed her for a moment, aware how easy it was to watch her, letting his gaze drift slowly over her, recalling her passion and fire the night he had taken her virginity.

Pushing aside memories, he plated the steaks and joined her. “Dinner is served. I thought we’d eat inside—it’s cozier.”

“Fine,” she said, smiling. “Although, ‘cozy’ isn’t necessary to discuss business.”

“You haven’t smiled much. I like it.”

“A smile changes nothing,” she said, falling into step beside him.

He caught her arm and turned her to face him, holding both arms lightly. It was on the tip of his tongue to blurt out the truth to her about her father. Instead, Jared held back, knowing it might be a misguided sense of honor. Or not wanting to sound like he was making excuses. “Megan,” he said solemnly, “admit it, all your hostility is a grudge because I walked out seven years ago. If that weren’t between us, your father’s fight with my father would no longer matter. It’s solely about us. Right?”