Texas Ranch Justice

by Karen Whiddon

  “Okay.”

  “As you know, my ex is in town—long story—and I need a date for the Halloween ball. Every year, Anniversary does this big Halloween festival, culminated by a costume ball on the weekend before October 31. Since I represent the HG Ranch, I always go.”

  Her first reaction was suspicion. “Did Hal put you up to this?” she asked.

  “Hal?” He frowned. “Not at all. He doesn’t even know Kendra’s in town.”

  “He does now,” she replied. “I just mentioned her in passing.”

  Travis shrugged. “He never liked her anyway. About the ball. Will you go with me?”

  “You’re honestly telling me you can’t find a date from among the women in town?” she asked, crossing her arms.

  “I could,” he replied, again surprising her. “But I need someone spectacular. Someone like you.”

  For a few seconds she allowed herself to bask in the glow of hearing that Travis found her spectacular, but then reality crept in just like it always did.

  “So you’re still hung up on your ex? So much so that you want to try to make her jealous?” That stung, yes it did, though she sure as heck didn’t want Travis to know.

  “Not at all.” Grim-faced, he shook his head. “She’s already stalking me. Apparently, she works for Wave Oil Company now. I just want her to leave me alone. If she thinks I’m in love with someone else, she will.”

  “In love with...” Her knees felt weak. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “No. I just hadn’t worked my way around telling you the rest of the favor I need from you. I need you to not only be my date for the night, but to pretend to be madly in love with me and vice versa.”

  “And vice versa,” she echoed, dazed. “What makes you think I’d be any good at acting?”

  “Because of the way you kiss.” Though his skin reddened slightly, he held her gaze and didn’t back down. “Here.” He handed her a slip of paper. “My phone number. You don’t have to answer right now. Call me when you decide.”

  “Oh,” she squeaked, accepting the paper. She wondered if he realized that with a request like that, there was no way she could turn him down. “I don’t need to think about it. It’s okay, I’ll go with you.” And then she turned and went back inside the house, telling herself she wasn’t retreating. The last thing she needed to do, though sorely tempted, would be to kiss him again.

  * * *

  Jaw clenched, Travis didn’t follow Scarlett back into the house. Damned if he knew how or why he’d managed to make an even bigger fool of himself than he’d thought he would. All he’d planned to do was to invite her to the ball, letting her know the actual reason why and simply leaving it there.

  Instead, he’d not only managed to tell her he found her spectacular—and where had he come up with that word?—but to also admit he’d enjoyed kissing her. And then, to top it off, he’d asked her to pretend to be in love with him. He certainly hadn’t planned that.

  What the actual hell? But then, she had agreed to go with him, so his mission had been accomplished. She’d let him off the hook too. Most women would have taken his comment about kissing as an invitation to kiss him again. He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved or disappointed.

  The Halloween ball. Arguably one of the most important events in Anniversary. If he could have managed to skip out on it, he would have, but the HG Ranch had to have representation.

  Years ago, the ball had been known as the Harvest Ball. Tradition decreed that all the area farms and ranches send representatives. Even after the ball had been changed to the Halloween Harvest Fair and Costume Ball, the long-established custom had continued.

  Until his mysterious illness took away his strength, Hal had always made attending a priority. Who he’d choose as his escort had been anyone’s guess. Sometimes he’d have a woman he’d been dating on his arm, other times he’d let Vivian or even Amber fill in. Travis just knew if Hal had been well enough, he’d have insisted his newfound daughter accompany him this year.

  Instead, she’d be going with Travis. He hoped Hal would approve. Travis figured he would. Next, he’d need to work with Scarlett on choosing their costumes. He suspected if he left it up to her, he’d end up wearing a clown costume or something.

  Back at work, this time driving one of the big trucks pulling a trailer to bring in hay for the winter, he found he couldn’t stop thinking about her reaction to his comment about the way she kissed. For one heart-stopping moment, he’d thought she might kiss him again. Luckily for both of them, she’d fled.

  When he reached the meadow where the hay was being made into huge round bales, he backed his trailer up and got out to watch as a loader placed his hay, bale by bale, until he had two huge stacks covering the entire length of the trailer. Another one of his ranch hands had pulled up with a second truck and trailer and had parked, waiting his turn.

  Travis waved to him as he drove past, heading back to the huge hay storage barn. They kept this filled over the winter, just in case. Though East Texas generally enjoyed mild temperatures during the winter months, some years brought ice storms and snow. Once the grass died, the cattle depended on the hay as a major source of food.

  His cell phone rang just as he’d pulled up to the barn. Amber. “You are not going to believe who showed up at the house a few minutes ago.”

  His heart sank. “Please don’t say Kendra.”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Because she not only called me yesterday, but showed up at my gym. She’s back in town working for Wave Oil and trying to get me to sign that oil lease.”

  Amber swore. “Seriously? I mean, you know I’m in favor of the oil drilling, but not if it benefits her in any way.”

  “Is she still there?” Escorting Kendra off his property was the last thing he felt like dealing with.

  “No,” Amber replied. “I sent her packing.”

  “Thank you,” he said, meaning it. “I’m about to supervise having a bunch of hay unloaded, so can we talk later?”

  “Definitely.” A note of mischief had crept back into his sister’s voice. “I really want to talk about what you and Scarlett are going to dress as for the ball.” She hung up before he could reply.

  He could only imagine how his inviting Scarlett had started everyone talking. Since, he couldn’t tell them the truth, he had no choice but to let them believe what they chose.

  For the first time, he wondered if Kendra would be tactless enough to attend. But he already knew the answer to that. Brazen and shameless, Kendra would enjoy trying to make him or Scarlett squirm in front of the entire town. He’d have to make sure that didn’t happen.

  Part of him couldn’t help but wonder how it had come to this. Kendra wasn’t a bad person, she’d just chosen a different lifestyle and they’d gone their separate ways. Sure, there’d been pain on both sides, and bitterness. But time had helped him heal and he’d always supposed it’d been the same for her.

  So why was she acting like this? Skirting the edges of outright stalking him. And for what? No matter how badly she wanted to be successful at her job, she had to know such behavior wouldn’t make him more inclined to sign on the dotted line.

  For the first time, he wondered about the timing of Kendra’s arrival in town and the strangely vague note someone had sent to Scarlett. But that made absolutely no sense.

  After he finished working for the day, instead of going home, he texted his friend Mike to meet him for a beer in town.

  When he arrived, Mike had already claimed a barstool and ordered them both a tall glass of draft beer.

  Sliding onto a stool, Travis greeted his friend and thanked him for the beer.

  “How’s Hal doing?” Mike asked. “Lots of people are praying for him.”

  “He’s about the same.” Though it pained him to say those words, he managed to keep his tone light. “My mothe
r is looking into getting him into some specialty diagnostic place in Dallas. Not a single doctor has been able to pinpoint what’s ailing him. One guy even went so far as to suggest it was all in Hal’s head.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “I agree.” Travis shook his head. “But some of those doctors get pretty defensive when you question them.”

  “Speaking of questioning...” Mike nudged him with an elbow. “Why didn’t you just tell me you’d staked a claim on that woman from Georgia when I asked for her number?”

  Which meant the gossip about him taking Scarlett to the ball had traveled with lightning speed and had already reached town.

  “I didn’t know if she’d agree to go,” Travis replied, wanting to stick as close to the truth as possible, without bringing up Kendra. “If she’d said no, then I might have introduced the two of you. Now, there’s not a chance in hell of that happening.”

  Taking a swig of his beer, the other man laughed. “Can’t say I blame you. She’s a pretty one, that’s for sure. I’ve also heard that someone has been threatening her, trying to get her to leave. Are you on top of that?”

  Instantly alert, Travis wondered if Mike meant that vague note Scarlett had received or if something else had happened. “What exactly have you heard?” he asked, cautiously. “Clearly, I don’t have access to the steady stream of gossip like you apparently do.”

  Mike shrugged. “Hell, I’ve just been talking to Amber. I’m taking her to the ball.”

  “My sister?” Travis wasn’t sure how he felt about that. But Amber was a grown woman recovering from an ugly divorce, so he figured she knew what she was doing.

  “Yep. Amber loves gossip. But I’d heard stuff even before Amber told me. Nothing serious. Just rumors. But you know how it is. Anniversary is a small town and people like to talk. Some of them ain’t got much else to do. Everyone’s fascinated by Scarlett. Her being so damn gorgeous doesn’t help. Women are jealous and the men can’t take their eyes off her. Some people think she might be a scammer, pretending to be related to old man Gardner just so she can take over the ranch.”

  To Travis’s surprise, hearing this from someone else made him feel oddly protective of Scarlett. Despite initially wondering the same thing himself, he realized he didn’t like outsiders thinking or speaking ill of her.

  “Eh.” Waving away Mike’s concern, Travis sipped his beer and tried for nonchalance. “She seems genuine. You used the word threat, though. Is someone making threats against her? If so, I need to know about it.”

  Mike mentioned the note and when Travis commented on the vagueness of it, the other man agreed. He hadn’t heard anything specific, he said. Just a lot of speculation on who might want her gone. By the end of the conversation, Travis got the impression that other people tended to take the note more seriously than he did.

  Should he be worried? While he pondered the question, Mike got up went over to chat with the blue-eyed blonde who’d been eyeing him. Her friend had been trying to flirt with Travis, but he ignored her. He already had his hands full dealing with Kendra and Scarlett. The last thing he needed was to bring another female into the mix.

  Plus, truth be told, no one could hold a candle to Scarlett. Mike had been right—she was gorgeous. And kind and funny and compassionate. No. He cut off his thoughts. If he kept on like this, he’d be inventing excuses to be near her.

  Finishing his beer, he waved a quick goodbye to Mike, who still stood next to the blonde woman, and climbed into his truck.

  His phone rang as he drove home. Kendra. Perfect. Time to put a stop to this once and for all.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were involved with someone?” The pique in Kendra’s voice made her sound shrill. “All I’m hearing about from everyone in town is this Scarlett person.”

  “I didn’t mention it to you because it’s none of your business,” Travis replied. “And please, stop calling me. I have nothing to say to you.” With that, he ended the call. If Kendra kept on calling him, he’d block the number.

  On the way to his house, he decided to stop in and check on Hal. The possibility of seeing Scarlett might have been a secondary factor.

  When he pulled up, he saw her sitting in one of the large wooden rocking chairs on the front porch. He sat in his truck awhile and watched her. She’d seen him pull up and had straightened, clearly waiting for him to get out.

  Apparently, he moved too slowly for her. She pushed to her feet and took the porch steps two at a time, before hurrying over toward him.

  He had an instant fantasy flash of him opening his door, climbing out and crushing her to him for a deep, soul-searching kiss.

  This foolishness only confirmed his suspicion that being around her any more than he had to would only cause trouble.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” Scarlett declared, skidding to a stop mere inches from him, sending his heart rate into overdrive.

  “Have you?” he drawled. “Why?”

  “Because I just had the strangest phone call.” Scarlett glanced up at him, through impossibly long lashes. “From your ex-fiancée, Kendra, though I have no idea how she got my number.”

  He swore. “I’m sorry. She called me a few minutes ago as well. I’ll speak to her and tell her to stop harassing you.”

  “Oh, it wasn’t like that.” A hint of a grin teased the edge of her lips. “She wants to meet me for a drink. So we can be friends. And she can fill me in about you.”

  Staring, he wasn’t sure how to respond.

  “Don’t worry,” Scarlett continued. “I declined. And then I blocked her number so she can’t call me again.”

  This made him laugh. “You know what? I think I like you.” He spoke impulsively, but meant every word.

  She smiled back, a slow, sexy smile that made her eyes sparkle. “I like you too,” she replied, meeting his gaze.

  Just like that, electricity crackled between them. He actually took a step toward her, every nerve ending alive, before realizing if he kissed her right here, right now, he’d never stop.

  Chapter 7

  Breathless with anticipation, Scarlett just knew Travis was about to kiss her. Even though they’d both kind of agreed there could be none of that kind of thing between them, she didn’t care. She wanted him, needed him—okay, craved him.

  Behind her, the front door opened with a crash and Delilah rushed out. “Come quickly,” she hollered. “Something’s wrong with Mr. Hal.”

  Travis sprinted for the house, with Scarlett right on his heels.

  Though still in his wheelchair, Hal appeared to be convulsing.

  “He’s having a seizure,” Delilah stated. “He’s never done this before.”

  “Did you call 911?” Travis demanded.

  “I did,” Delilah answered, clearly on the verge of tears. “They’re sending an ambulance, but because we’re so far out, it’s going to be a while.”

  Scarlett knelt down next to Hal. She had no medical training, so stroking his arm softly and murmuring reassurances were the only things she knew to do. Somehow, that must have worked, because Hal grunted, before slumping back in his chair with his eyes closed. She had the random, panicked thought that she needed to do a DNA test before something happened, so no one would have the slightest doubt that Hal was her father.

  After the paramedics arrived and ran through his vitals, they wanted to transport him to the hospital so more in-depth tests could be done. Hal, who’d regained consciousness and appeared both flustered and angry, refused. When Scarlett and Delilah both protested, the EMT informed them he couldn’t take an adult against his will.

  Travis, who’d remained silent, walked over and knelt down by Hal. “We need to find out what this is,” he said softly. “Especially since this is something new. Let them take you to the ER. Maybe this time, the doctors will be able to figure out what’s wrong.”

&nb
sp; Hal sagged in his chair. “I’m tired of being poked and prodded. Those fools don’t have a clue. What makes you think it will be any different this time?”

  “You won’t know unless you try.” Travis clapped his large hand on the other man’s frail shoulder. “I’ll go with you and I’ll stay until they say you’re okay to go home.”

  “I’ll go too.” Scarlett moved closer. “I can be there in case Travis has to attend to something here at the ranch.”

  Heaving an exhausted sigh, Hal looked from one to the other. “Neither of you are going to let me get any rest unless I agree, are you?”

  They both shook their heads.

  “Fine.” Hal gestured at the paramedic. “Load me up and we’ll go.”

  Once at the hospital, Travis handled the paperwork while Scarlett told the triage nurse what had happened. An orderly immediately came out and wheeled Hal back.

  “Stay with him,” Travis ordered. “I’ll be right there as soon as I finish this.”

  Once they had Hal inside a small ER room, the orderly transferred him from the stretcher to the bed. Eyes closed, Hal didn’t resist. Another nurse came in and began peppering him with questions, to which he gave monosyllabic answers, mostly yes or no. She hooked him up to a blood pressure machine and put something on his finger to monitor his heart rate.

  By now Travis had joined them, crossing over to stand next to Scarlett. When he took her hand, wrapping his larger one around hers, she nearly sagged against him. Struggling to hide her worry and fear, she managed a small hopeful smile.

  “The doctor will be in soon,” the nurse finally said briskly.

  Once she’d gone, Hal opened his eyes. “I told you this was a waste of time,” he grumbled. “I guarantee they’re going to say they have no idea what’s wrong with me and send me home.”

  “But you had a seizure,” Scarlett said. “Surely they’ll at least order a CT scan or an MRI or something.”