“I guess it’s settled, then.” David wanted to look away, but instead found his gaze sliding from her perfectly poised face to her sleek, enticing neck. Her creamy skin begged to be touched, and it was all he could do to keep his hands to himself, which brought another thought to mind.
If he and Tanya both lived at the plantation, how was he going to control his attraction to her? Hell, even after the lawyer had dropped his bombshell, even when David should have been feeling nothing but indignation and resentment, he was drawn to her.
The last thing he wanted was to become involved with Tanya. Melanie had made him wary of his judgment when it came to women. Finding out she had just been using him had been a blessing in disguise.
He’d been humiliated, played for a fool. Since his disastrous relationship with Melanie, he’d done a good job of keeping his distance from any woman who wanted more than a night or two of pleasure. There was no way he was going to let Tanya get under his skin. He’d use the time that he had to be around her to become immune to her. And when the sentence his father had imposed upon him by requiring him to live on the plantation for a year was up, he’d return to his life in Atlanta.
By then, Tanya Winters would be completely out of his system.
Though David had planned on going over the accounts of the plantation first thing the next morning, he’d received a call from his friend and vice president, Justin West, about Taylor Corp.’s latest acquisition, a Japanese computer software company. Upon hearing of his father’s illness, he’d been forced to leave during final negotiations. David had made his apologies and had put Justin in charge, confident that he could close the deal.
Still, there had been a couple of key issues to discuss this morning that neither of them had anticipated, and it had taken more time than David had realized. Once he was done, he’d called Jessica, his personal assistant, and put the wheels in motion to turn his father’s study into a satellite office so he would be able to handle much of his firm’s business from the plantation.
Looking up from the work he’d retrieved from his briefcase, David’s gaze swept his father’s study, taking in his large book collection on shelving that covered one entire wall. Struck with a feeling of disorientation, he sat back and stared at the many volumes, perfectly categorized and alphabetized. And looking as if they’d never been read. As a child, he’d never been allowed to touch them.
Now they’re yours.
His chest tightened a fraction as he got to his feet and walked across the room, stopping in front of the massive wall of books. Scanning the titles, his gaze stopped on an original edition of poems. He hadn’t known his father had liked poetry. The sad truth was that he hadn’t known his father at all.
That wasn’t your fault.
Maybe it was, David thought in the still silence. Tanya certainly thought it was. If he’d been the kind of son his father had wanted, he’d have swallowed his pride and stayed on the plantation. Maybe then he would have known the man.
It wouldn’t have changed anything.
Sadly, he believed that was true. When his mother was alive, they’d been like a family. David could remember, as a boy, tossing a ball around with his father, laughing as they played.
When Eloise Taylor had died, everything had changed. David had become a detail to deal with, rather than a son to love. He hadn’t understood then. He still didn’t. But he’d quickly learned that his father hadn’t wanted or needed his love.
Replacing the book, he glanced around. No, it wouldn’t have made a difference if he’d stayed. He would have been suffocated by his father’s strong will, with neither of them being happy in the end. Edward would never have allowed him to make any decisions concerning the farm or its business. When he’d returned home from college, he had approached his father about updating the plantation’s equipment. Edward hadn’t even given his reasons for change consideration.
Tanya, however, had been able to talk him into a lot more than changing the equipment. Hell, his father had changed his principal crop!
At the thought of Tanya, David glanced at his watch and realized he was late for his meeting with her. Leaving the room, he started in the direction of the storage building she’d pointed out to him after breakfast that morning.
A few minutes later, he walked into one of the large metal buildings that housed the equipment used on the plantation. “I’m sorry I’m late,” he said by way of a greeting. “I got caught up in a telephone conference.”
His gaze ran over her, then came back to her face. Dressed in blue jeans and a soft knit sweater to ward off the morning chill, she looked at home, right down to her worn brown work boots. With her blond hair pulled into a tight ponytail and a clipboard in her hand, she’d apparently been at work awhile.
“That’s okay. I had some things to take care of while I was waiting,” Tanya assured him, not really surprised. She hadn’t expected him to make the plantation’s operation a priority. Clearly, the business of his firm in Atlanta took precedence in his life. Well, that was okay with her. She didn’t need David micromanaging every aspect of her work. Things would run more smoothly between them if he’d just let her continue to run the plantation without interference.
“It really couldn’t be helped,” he insisted, feeling the need to justify his tardiness. His gaze wandered down her body. Her figure had changed over the years. Though still slim, her breasts were fuller, her hips nicely rounded. He shifted his attention to her perfectly shaped oval face, her pert nose and wide amber eyes. As she walked toward him, her body moved with a grace that seemed to contradict her poor upbringing.
What was it about this woman that, after five years, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his system? Apparently his father had seen something special in her, as well, or he wouldn’t have asked David to take care of her. “But I’m all yours now.”
All yours.
Tanya swallowed hard at the thought. Dressed in khaki-colored dress pants and a pale blue dress shirt that looked like they cost more than she’d spent on clothes in the last year, David was one very handsome man. Yet, there was little about him that reminded her of the young man she’d lost her heart to when she was seventeen.
The past five years had been more than kind to him. His shoulders and chest had filled out with well-toned muscles. His face, more chiseled and angular, made him favor his father more than she realized. He was enough to turn any woman’s head twice.
But his piercing blue eyes drew her to him. There was an emptiness in them that she longed to fill, a sadness that she wanted so much to ease.
“Tanya?”
Realizing David was speaking to her, Tanya started. Getting her thoughts back on the business at hand, she said, “Um, all right. Let me show you around.”
As Tanya talked, David listened attentively, and he had to admit he was impressed with her thorough knowledge of the workings of the plantation and the equipment used to run it. Apparently she’d been telling the truth when she’d said she’d been in charge for some time.
However, he was still stunned by Edward’s decision to change crops. It was a decision that David just didn’t understand. “What made my father decide to stop growing peanuts?” he asked as he examined the drill used to break the ground and seed it.
Biting her lip, Tanya glanced briefly at him. Knowing her answer wouldn’t make things between the two of them any smoother, she had to be honest. “Several years ago, I did a study on the production of peanuts in the state of Georgia and in other states where peanuts are main crops. Production costs were on the rise, and Cottonwood’s profits had begun to slip.”
“That’s part of the business, isn’t it?” David reasoned, studying the apprehensive expression in her amber eyes, and wondering what caused it. “Supply and demand and all that.”
Tanya’s brows wrinkled. “That’s simplifying it quite a bit,” she answered, her tone taut. “The future earnings of peanuts was looking bleak. Changes in government regulations have hurt peanut farme
rs tremendously. Many growers have had to make adjustments in their crops and a lot of independent farmers have gone under.”
“Was the plantation in danger of that?” David asked, realizing he’d inadvertently insulted her. That’s what he got for letting his mind wander. If he hadn’t been thinking about what was going on behind those expressive eyes, he wouldn’t have said something so stupid.
Obviously, he’d been away from the agriculture industry too long. Busy running his own business, he hadn’t even thought about the peanut market.
“I don’t think it was that bad, but the plantation would never have been as profitable as it had in the past. Your father seemed worried. I began to research soybeans and pitched the idea of going into the soybean market to him.” She gestured toward the door. “Do you want to take some time now to look over the accounts?”
David nodded casually, but inside his chest ached. His father would never have accepted such an idea from him. He reminded himself that it wasn’t Tanya’s fault that he’d never gotten along with his father. “Why soybeans?” he asked, opening the door for her. She walked out and he followed.
“The demand for soybeans has increased as people have become more health conscious. They’re used for an array of foods, such as veggie burgers, granola bars, potato chips and even chocolate.”
“Chocolate? You’re kidding!”
She smiled, but the expression never reached her eyes. “They’re used in many non-food products, as well,” she continued as they walked the footpath to the house. “Like lipstick, plastic and paints. It just seemed like the right time to switch the farm over to a growing, marketable crop.”
David still hadn’t seen the accounts, so he reserved his opinion until he’d had a chance to study them. “I have to admit that I’m stunned you were able to convince my father to make such a drastic change,” he stated, his eyes drawn to her face, which showed signs of strain. He knew his father’s death hadn’t been easy for her, but other than that one incident yesterday, she hadn’t shared her feelings with him.
“At first, Edward wasn’t exactly excited about the idea,” she admitted, a little surprised that David actually seemed interested in what was happening on the farm. “We discussed it for months. I had to show him massive amounts of documentation, including detailed earning projections. Your father could be very stubborn.”
“You’re telling me.” As they arrived at the back of the house, he opened the door, then followed her inside. “After college, I tried to convince him to make some changes on the farm, newly developed techniques that would have increased production, but he wouldn’t listen to me.” After that, David had been convinced that he and his father would never have been able to work side by side.
Tanya hadn’t known that. Edward had never mentioned David’s ideas concerning the farm. She wondered if he would have stayed if his father had listened to him. David’s honest admission caused Tanya to stop and think. Though he spoke without emotion, she could see the sadness in his eyes. His resentment toward her was understandable. Even expected. Which was going to make working with him even more difficult.
“I remember the two of you quarreling,” she admitted softly as she paused just outside the door of the study. “I’d always hoped you could mend things between you.” Looking up, she met his gaze. “Despite how you got along, your father did care about you.”
He didn’t reply, which disheartened her. Perhaps her own grief would have been easier to handle if she could have shared her feelings with David. But she hadn’t dared to talk to him after the reading of the will.
He’d been angry. She didn’t blame him. Nothing she could have said would have changed the way he felt. He resented her, and he didn’t want to be her friend. Despite her attraction to him, she had to accept that he was merely tolerating her presence. Not that she didn’t hold her own anger toward him. His accusations of her being intimate with his father had been uncalled for. That he could even think such a thing told her how callous he’d become.
Sighing heavily, she went into the study. Nothing was the same without Edward. The next year promised to be not only physically, but mentally draining. How was she going to get through this on her own?
Tanya’s steps faltered as she walked into the room. Tears crested in her eyes at the lingering scent of Edward’s pipe tobacco. Oh, God. She couldn’t handle this. Not now. She desperately needed to be alone. At least until she pulled herself together.
As she wavered, David came to her aid, grabbing her by the shoulders and offering her support. “Are you all right?” he asked, scrutinizing her features.
“I’m fine,” she insisted. But she wasn’t. Tears ran unchecked down her cheeks. She sniffed, then was mortified when even more tears followed.
“You don’t look it,” he replied, his tone short as he took in her ashen face. “What’s wrong?” He longed to pull her against him and hold her, but considering their earlier disagreements, he wasn’t sure she wanted anything from him.
She shook her head. How could she talk about how very much she missed Edward? David hadn’t shown any anguish over his father’s death. If he was grieving at all, she couldn’t tell. Whatever he was feeling, whatever was going on inside him, he didn’t want to share it with her.
“Tanya, what is it?” he pressed, searching her eyes, wishing she’d talk to him.
“It’s nothing.” Desperately, she brushed at the tears, trying her best to wipe them away.
He frowned, then used his thumb to brush away another tear. “It’s not nothing.”
His tender touch caused her to still. Her heart ached for him to hold her, but instead, she pulled away. “It was, uh, it was just the scent of your father’s pipe tobacco as I came into the room. It just threw me.” Taking a deep breath, she felt a little more in control.
He hadn’t even noticed the smell of tobacco in the room, much less connected it with his father. Yet, it had brought Tanya to tears. “You’re shaking all over.”
“I’m okay, now. Really.”
“Really?” The color had drained from her face, and she looked as though she was about to faint. Dark circles were prominent beneath her eyes. His father’s death had hit her hard. “Why don’t we leave going over the accounts until tomorrow?” he suggested. “You look like you could use a break.”
“I’m okay,” she said again, but knew that she wasn’t. If she didn’t get away soon, she was going to start blubbering and make a spectacle of herself. “I know this is something that shouldn’t be put off.”
“It can wait.”
Tanya hesitated. The past few days had been stressful, and she hadn’t been sleeping well. The dreams she’d been having were becoming more and more intense. There was the face of someone, a girl, she thought, but she couldn’t be sure. When she got up each morning, she felt exhausted, as if she’d just gone to bed. Added to that, she had the pressure of handling her grief and dealing with David. It was becoming too much.
But she didn’t dare show any weakness around David. He already didn’t think she could manage the plantation. “All right. How about if I bring up the files on the computer and leave you to look them over?” she suggested, thinking that would give her a chance to escape to her room and gather herself together.
“If you want,” David answered, watching her.
She gave him a polite smile, then went around the desk. After punching a few buttons on the computer, the screen displayed the file she was searching for. “This file has everything that relates to the plantation. If you have any questions, we can go over them whenever you want.” Crossing to the door, she turned and looked back at him. “I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
Without waiting for his answer, Tanya escaped through the door to the security of her room. Once inside, she threw herself on her bed and allowed the tears to come.
Three
David entered the dining room and took his seat at the large oak table, surprised that Tanya hadn’t yet arrived for dinner.
One thing he’d learned about her since he’d returned was she was punctual to a fault. He grimaced. No doubt his father had been responsible for that. His mother had insisted that he and his father be on time for dinner, and after her death, his father had strictly adhered to that rule.
Had that been one of the ways his father kept his mother’s memory alive? Shaking his head, David figured he was foolish for attempting to analyze his father. Try as he might, he couldn’t equate the unfeeling man who’d raised him with the sad, dying man who had pleaded with him to take care of Tanya. Besides, from what he’d seen, Tanya could pretty much take care of herself.
After examining the accounts of the plantation, David had discovered that she was methodical and efficient and unequivocally honest. Every single expenditure had been meticulously noted and justified. He sighed and sat back in his chair. Her idea to change the farm over to soybeans had been clever. And well-timed. The initial investment had been high, but the money earned after the first two years had covered the cost, plus had returned a nice profit—earnings which had continued to increase.
So he’d been wrong about Tanya.
Again.
First he’d suspected her of having an affair with his father. As if that hadn’t been bad enough, he’d practically accused her of trying to steal his father’s money. If it was possible to kick himself, he would have. The allegation had been just plain stupid. And to be truthful, he hadn’t really believed she’d been sleeping with Edward. He’d been resentful, frustrated over her bond with his own father, a man he barely knew.
And jealous as hell.
But he still wondered if she wanted Cottonwood. Now, to be sure he kept his legacy, he was trapped here for months.
And whose fault was that?
His father’s, he silently protested. The man had been obstinate to a fault.
Terms 0f Surrender (Dynasties: The Danforths Book 11) Page 3
