Lone Star Rancher. Laurie Paige

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СКАЧАТЬ course,” Lacey said in a very interested manner. “So you’re protecting her?”

      “At Violet’s insistence,” he admitted.

      “Good,” she said. “I’m proud of you for helping out. But try to be a bit more cordial to Jessica, won’t you? Even if she is an unwanted burden you’ve taken on.”

      Jessica’s ears burned at this last assessment, but she’d known it was true from the beginning. She’d never wanted others to know and feel sorry for her. That was why she was angry and embarrassed.

      Slipping from the chair, she went the long way around the room and approached Clyde and Lacey from a different direction so they wouldn’t suspect she’d overheard their conversation. She smiled as cordially as she could.

      “Ready to go?” he asked.

      She nodded and bid his mother goodbye.

      While Clyde went to say his farewells to his father and Mr. and Mrs. Jamison—Emmett had already gone—Lacey laid a hand on Jessica’s arm. “Clyde was engaged when he was twenty-two. Sadly she died. He’s slow to open up, but once he gives his loyalty to someone, he’s a friend forever.”

      “How admirable,” Jessica murmured, keeping her tone neutral. “It was wonderful seeing you and your husband again. Give my regards to Violet when you see her.”

      “Didn’t she tell you?” Lacey asked in surprise. “She went on a cruise and will be gone for a couple of weeks.”

      “She’s mentioned getting away before, but I didn’t realize she’d already gone.”

      “It was very sudden,” Lacey confided.

      “There was a case…the mother and child died. It upset Violet very much,” Jessica told the other woman. “I was worried about her and tried to get her to come to the ranch with me. I think she needs some time alone.”

      Lacey nodded, but worry still lurked in her eyes. “At least Steven is settled with someone he loves. They’re getting married soon. Did Clyde tell you?”

      “No, but Violet did,” Jessica said. “I understand his fiancée has been helping the governor plan charity events. That puts Steven into some pretty lofty circles here in Texas.”

      “As long as they love each other, I don’t care if Amy plans shows for prize pigs.”

      Jessica laughed with the other woman. She liked Clyde’s parents. They had never been pretentious or uppity about their wealth and social position.

      “Ready to go?” Clyde asked, returning to the two women.

      His mother kissed his cheek, then did the same to Jessica. “Be careful on the road,” she cautioned in the manner of mothers everywhere.

      “I’m always careful,” he said with a rather rakish grin, then he turned to Jessica. “Let’s hit the road before some other male makes a beeline for you.”

      In the station wagon, she buckled up and waited until they were on the road. “It’s because I’m so sweet,” she said.

      “What?” He gave her a puzzled glare.

      She flashed him her sweetest smile. “That’s why I attract so many admirers. Because I’m so sweet.”

      “Huh,” he snorted.

      She smiled and slid deeper into the seat to enjoy the silent ride back to Red Rock and the Flying Aces spread. Not having grown up with brothers, she hadn’t realized how gratifying it was to annoy the heck out of an arrogant male.

      Four

      A drizzle began to fall on the return trip. Clyde glanced at Jessica, silhouetted by the blackness of the night and dimly illuminated by the dashboard lights. The rain wouldn’t do that silky outfit any good.

      “Wait,” he said when they arrived at the ranch. “I think there’s an umbrella in the car.”

      He fished the old umbrella out of the back of the station wagon and held it over Jessica’s head when he opened the door for her. He’d parked as close to the porch as possible so she wouldn’t get wet.

      There, that ought to prove to his mom that he was considerate.

      He frowned as he opened the front door and flicked on the lights inside, brightening up the length of the foyer with wall sconces and a lamp in the living room.

      The air inside the house felt cold compared to the muggy ambiance outside. He saw Jessica shiver and wrap her arms across her middle.

      “How about a cup of hot chocolate?” he asked, putting on a jovial air.

      “You don’t have to be nice to me,” she told him, giving him one of those dead-level stares she was so good at.

      Since she was nearly his height, it was effective. With other men, it must be damned intimidating to be so calmly and unemotionally looked down on by a beautiful woman.

      Correction—a striking woman.

      Either way, she attracted a man’s eye. It hadn’t even occurred to him that she would arouse all his primitive instincts when he’d okayed her visit. However, he’d been expecting his kid sister’s friend, not this…this…poised, silky smooth, graceful female.

      “Yes, I do have to be nice to you, or else my mother will pin my ears back,” he said, tossing his suit jacket and tie on the nearest dining room chair and heading into the kitchen.

      Jessica, he noted, had stopped by the stairs.

      “Why don’t you change out of those damp clothes while I make the hot chocolate?” He managed to speak in a casual tone, but blood pumped hard through his lower regions at the images that sprang into his mind.

      He could imagine those long slender legs tangled with his, wrapped around his hips, straddling his body….

      “All right.” She disappeared up the stairs.

      By concentrating on the task, he got the warm drink made without spilling milk and cocoa all over the counter, but it wasn’t easy. His hands were actually trembling.

      He muttered a word he couldn’t use in polite company.

      “I beg your pardon?” Jessica entered the kitchen and gave him a questioning look.

      “Nothing.” He forced his eyes to stay on the cups he carried to the island counter. But part of his mind had already taken in the long blue nightgown that peeked out from the lacy blue robe with each step she took. The color was a knockout with those blue eyes of hers.

      She slid onto one of the three stools and took a sip of the cocoa and declared it “delicious.”

      He sat down, keeping one stool between them, and tried to think of something pleasant to say.

      “The rain is getting heavier, and the wind seems to be picking up,” she remarked, her eyes on the windows. СКАЧАТЬ