by Sara Orwig
“Gabe, it’s none of your damn business what I do with Caitlin and if I decide to sell the land back to her, we still have rights to drill and you know it.”
“It would sure as hell complicate things though in a lot of ways. They won’t like the trucks, the noise, the drilling. Not to mention if we want to drill close to that shrine of a house she has. Look at the maps I brought you. You’re going to let some sentiment interfere with your business sense and a lot of money?”
“There’s a lot of land. You know it wouldn’t have to be right in that one place.”
“Jake, if we’re close, it’ll be just as bad. What’s the deal? You know plenty of good-looking women and you barely know Caitlin Santerre. Dump her and go out with someone else. Someone you know and like.”
“Thanks for the keen advice, Mom,” Jake remarked dryly.
Gabe leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees and stare at his brother. “She probably slept with you just to get you to sell to her. You sell and she may disappear just as quickly out of your life. Knowing your luck with women, you probably can’t even imagine such an event.”
“Gabe, you’re getting on thin ice,” Jake said, trying to hang on to his temper. “Drop the subject of Caitlin.”
“I can’t believe this. You’re letting a Santerre cloud your judgment. After you had already reached a decision about what you would do. She must have been really hot.”
Jake stood, his fists clenched, and took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll make a decision and you’ll have to live with it, which you can do. Now you’re pushing me, Gabe. If I want to sleep with someone, that’s my business and selling land back to her is not the end of the world or even a dime out of our pocket. I’ll put a steep price on it because she’ll pay it, but you stay out of my private life. No more remarks about Caitlin, either.”
“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation.” Gabe leaned back and put his hands behind his head, studying Jake. Jake was angry, fighting it because part of the anger was with himself, part with Gabe, and part with Caitlin for getting him tangled up in her life.
“Want me to tell her?”
“What do you think?” Jake asked.
“Tell her no, Jake. By a month from now, you will have forgotten all about this. You let her keep that land, you’ll have nothing but trouble and she could will it back to her half brother.”
“She won’t do that. There’s no love between Will and Caitlin.”
“You care about her. Damnation, Jake, you care about a Santerre. You’ve hated them all your life. What the hell happened?”
“I got to know her and I like her. I feel sorry for those people who’ve worked for her grandmother—”
“Oh, no. No, no,” Gabe said. “You didn’t feel sorry for them last week when you were planning on giving them the boot. Oh, no. That has nothing to do with it and don’t tell me it does.”
“All right,” Jake snapped, his temper rising again. “It’s Caitlin. It’s land I acquired. The company is drilling on it, but I, personally, bought it and own it, so I can do with it as I damn well please,” he told Gabe.
They stared at each other a long, tense moment. Jake could feel the clash of wills that sparked the air. Then Gabe stood.
“I have to get going. You’re right of course. It is your land to do as you please. So we just go from there and see what we can do. In the meantime, we’ll make a tidy sum on this well.”
“Good deal, Gabe. Thanks for what you’ve done.”
Gabe shook his head. “You’re loco, Jake. A Santerre is nothing but trouble. You’ll see. She’s just using you.”
Jake shrugged, curbing the flash of anger he felt. “Time will tell, Gabe.”
“Yeah, twenty-four hours of time. Well, it’s your choice. You’re all grown up now and know what you want to do.”
“Thanks for coming by,” Jake said.
“Sure. You keep thinking about it. You’ve had a complete turnaround.”
“I’ll think about it,” Jake said, wondering if there would be a moment when he could let go thinking about it.
Gabe left and Jake closed the door behind him. He picked up the papers Gabe had brought and sat to read them, finding his mind wandering to Caitlin often.
Finally he pushed the papers aside and reached for the phone, wanting to talk to her, missing her and longing to hold her. He released the phone and sat back, thinking about tomorrow. He should tell her no. He had been all set to do so.
She had been a virgin—he was the first man in her life. He felt a mixture of emotions about that. She had to care about him and to have wanted to sleep with him to give up her virginity to him at age twenty-eight.
Had she done it purely to get him to sell to her? He didn’t think she had. If he sold to her, would she get out of his life and not want to see him? As a Santerre, would she try to run the drillers off the property?
The logical thing was to refuse to sell and go on with life.
Each time he reached that conclusion, he couldn’t face carrying it out. He wasn’t any happier with the choice of letting her keep the land because he had looked at the maps Gabe had given him. Her house would more than likely end up in the middle of oil rigs. She wouldn’t be happy. By then she might have to move anyway. He should tell her no and he could explain why.
He paced the room restlessly, arguing with himself for another hour before he left to work out and hoped to forget for a few minutes the problems looming in his life.
More than anything, he missed Caitlin and wanted to talk to her.
Monday morning Caitlin dressed with care, trying to look sophisticated, appealing and all business. It hadn’t been twenty-four hours since she’d seen Jake but she missed him, missed his company, his kisses, his humor, his flirting, his sexy loving. Today his answer would be no and she had already started doing what she could to find places for Kirby, Cecilia and Altheda.
She hurt because she was in love with Jake, furious with him at the same time, yet she could see from a business standpoint why he would want the old house, buildings, people and animals out of the way. She ached, wanting to be with him. She felt torn in two.
She had rearranged her calendar and booked a hotel room in Dallas since she would be dealing with Realtors over the next couple of days. She intended to spend the afternoon trying to locate a suitable place to move Cecilia and Altheda. Kirby already had job offers from other ranchers. Most likely, Altheda might. They were all comfortably set from the money left to them by her grandmother, but Kirby and Altheda both liked to keep busy.
She pulled on the jacket of her charcoal suit. She wore a matching silk blouse and matching pumps and had her hair pinned on her head. She had already had one call from Cecilia to reassure her to not worry about them. Kirby had received two job offers.
She gazed in the mirror and fought back tears. She was holding on to Cecilia, Kirby and Altheda because they were a substitute family for her—the only one she had. They had been there for her all her life, Kirby teaching her to ride, to care for her horse and later, to develop an eye for a good horse. She couldn’t ever let go or lose her love for the three of them and now they were all older with physical problems beginning to be part of their lives. She didn’t want them worrying about jobs or income or having to lose each other. Kirby’s wife had died ten years earlier. The other two had lost husbands years earlier, before they came to work for her grandmother.
Jake could never understand her close relationship with them because he had a big, close family, even if he did fight with his father on occasion.
She thought about how Jake spent money and the fortune he was giving up because he was too stubborn to do what his father wanted. That didn’t bode well for her.
She gave one last look at herself, picked up her briefcase and purse and headed to the airport for her flight to Dallas. She would be in Jake’s office in only a few hours. She just wanted to get the meeting over and get away. She was determined to keep control of her emotions becau
se she never wanted Jake to know how deeply she felt for him. Hopefully, after today, all those feelings for him would vanish because it hurt to be torn in two over him.
If he could turn down his father’s fortune without hesitation, he could just as easily turn down selling land back to her.
When she landed in Dallas, she rented a car and drove to Jake’s office. Taking a deep breath, she walked into his office after his secretary had announced her.
Jake stood and closed the door behind her. She barely glimpsed a luxurious, spacious office with a balcony, walls of books, leather furnishings, a big-screen television and bar. All she saw was the tall, brown-haired man at the door. His riveting gaze met hers and held. Her heart thudded and her first reaction was to want to walk into his arms and kiss him. He was breathtakingly handsome in a navy suit that made his eyes appear a darker blue.
“Come in and have a seat,” he said and his greeting confirmed her guess that he would refuse to sell. His coolness hurt as if nothing had happened between them and the past weekend hadn’t existed.
She fought back tears that threatened, determined to avoid letting him see how upset she was over his cold reception. This morning he was all business. She still wondered how much was revenge against the Santerres, driving them totally out of the county and away from him.
Had he seduced her to amuse himself? Or to add his own touch of Benton success over the Santerres?
She sat in a leather chair in front of his desk and crossed her legs. He pulled a chair to face her.
“Let’s get this over with, Jake,” she said, glad her voice sounded as calm as if she discussed the weather. “Kirby called me as soon as I got home. He had been trying to reach me over the weekend, but of course I didn’t take my calls. One more mistake. He told me about the oil. Congratulations to you and Benton Drilling and your brother who predicted this.”
“Thanks. My brother is delighted to see that he was right when he said he would find oil.”
“That makes your victory over the Santerres so much larger. You found the oil when my father couldn’t. I know you are not selling back to me.”
“Caitlin, would you want to buy the house knowing we’re drilling right by it? With all the machinery, smells, noise and men working? I’ve thought about other possibilities. I can get the house moved.”
“I’ve looked into that. It’s a three-story old home—over a hundred years old. They’ve told me it would damage it structurally to move it. There may be a company out there who will tell me something different, but that possibility exists. I’m not moving it,” she said, mollified slightly that he was looking at an alternative and trying to work something out. Maybe he cared more than she had realized. “Maybe before the past weekend together, but now I want more from you, a real commitment that you could best show by allowing me to buy the place.” She took a deep breath.
“Caitlin, dammit,” he said, placing his elbows on his knees and gazing intently at her. “That’s moving where I’m not ready to go. I’m offering you hope of saving the house by moving it. I know what this means to you.”
“I’m not surprised, Jake. When you put me off so long, I figured this was where we were headed. Then when your brother found oil, I knew the answer. I know you’re giving me the best business answer, the most practical one from your standpoint. At one point, a compromise of moving it would have been acceptable. But now I want more from you. More than you can give me. I don’t see any point in discussing it further.” She stood, feeling a sensation of suffocating in his office that had sunlight streaming through glass, one sliding glass door open with cool fall air pouring in.
He stood, too. She gazed into darkened blue eyes.
“This isn’t what I wanted and this isn’t the way I want things between us to end,” he said in a tight voice. He moved closer to her, placing his hands on her shoulders.
She inhaled, wanting him in spite of her anger and hurt, while at the same time furious with him and wanting him out of her life. “I wish I had never gone to your ranch and tried to get you to sell the land back to me,” she said, fighting more than ever to keep from letting tears come. “Get out of my way, Jake. Out of my life. We don’t have one thing to say to each other now except you won. The Bentons wiped out the Santerres and you did it single-handedly, seducing a Santerre in your dealings.”
That was all their “relationship” had been to him. A game of seduction. And he’d won.
She brushed past him. Before she could reach the door, he caught her, spinning her around to wrap her in his arms. Her protest was destroyed by his mouth covering hers as he kissed her, bending slightly so she had to cling to him.
His tongue thrust deep in a passionate kiss that stormed her senses and brought the weekend swirling back.
The hurt she had experienced all morning skyrocketed. The man she loved was kissing her as if she was totally essential to his life. She wanted him physically, aching for his hands, his kisses and his loving. At the same time, she was enraged with him, wanting to get him out of her life and never see him again no matter how much she hurt in doing so.
He kissed her passionately while one hand caressed her nape, drifting down her back to cup her bottom against his hard arousal.
“No, Jake,” she said, twisting out of his arms.
They both gulped for air as they stared at each other. Passion had been hot and desperate.
“Stay out of my life,” she said. “I’ll get everyone off your ranch and may you enjoy your millions you’ll make from the oil discovery.”
While her words poured out, she shook with rage and pain.
“Do you really want me to sell it back to you and you and your people will live in the center of an oil field? Kirby can’t run his cattle there. There will be lights and noise and trucks at all hours of the day and night, not to mention the smell. Have you even thought this through?”
“I’ve thought it all through and faced up to my mistakes in succumbing to your seduction, which I hope to blank out of my memory. Stay away from me, Jake, although I should save my breath. I suspect you have done exactly what you set out to do and you have no further use for me.”
“That’s damn well not true and you know it. The kiss we just shared makes that plain.”
“Get out of my way. We don’t have one thing to say to each other now except you won. The Bentons wiped out the Santerres and you did it single-handedly, seducing a Santerre in your dealings,” she said, striking out blindly because she hurt.
“Take the time you need,” he said gruffly.
“Thank you for your generosity,” she couldn’t resist replying. “I’m going. You can celebrate your victory, your fortune and one more meaningless seduction. I hope we never see each other again.”
She rushed past him wanting to get out while she still had shed no tears. In the elevator, the tears came, blinding her and making her angrier at herself for succumbing to Jake, for falling in love with him, for ever hoping for any concession from a member of the family that had fought with hers for generations.
In the car she tried to gather her wits and get over the emotional upheaval in order to drive to her hotel. Taking deep breaths, she finally got control, wiping away her tears. She tried to shift her thoughts to what to do next.
When she felt she could focus on her driving, she left. Jake had never intended to sell one inch of the ranch back to her and had played her along until he could seduce her and then toss her aside.
She thought of the fiery kiss. Had he hoped for another quick lovemaking in his office? Or that she would let him stay in her life and sleep with him until he tossed her out?
She had no idea what his intentions were, only her own. No matter how badly it hurt, she would get over him. Determined to focus on her problems, she attempted to shove thoughts and memories of Jake out of mind. Jake could live with his conscience now.
The thing she dreaded was telling Cecilia who was an optimist, always hoping for the best and giving everyone the benefi
t of the doubt. Kirby already expected the inevitable outcome and Altheda was as much a pessimist as Cecilia was an optimist, so she expected the refusal from the start.
As soon as she let them know, she would make her plans, deciding to look into some kind of senior assisted living for Cecilia and Altheda.
The minute she closed the door to her hotel room and was alone, Caitlin gave in to her emotions once more, putting her head in her hands to cry. She loved Jake and she wasn’t going to stop loving him any time soon no matter how angry she was with him. His rejection hurt badly and memories were a torment that would only grow worse as she began to miss seeing and talking to him. Had their time together meant even the slightest thing to him? Or had he just been another Benton getting even with a Santerre for past history? Jake hated the Santerres because of his sister. He could easily have done everything in revenge, but it was Will the revenge should have been directed against. Not her. She had been an innocent bystander.
Shocked when she looked at the time, she saw she had cried for an hour. She tried to ignore a pounding headache as she went to the bathroom to wash her face and place a cold cloth on her temple and then at her nape.
She picked up the phone to call Kirby because he would be the easiest call to make of the three. He expected the refusal and had already been thinking about the future.
“Kirby, I’m back at the hotel,” Caitlin said, seeing Kirby, probably with his phone while he sat on a bale of hay or perched on a fence.
“He refused, didn’t he?”
“Yes, just as you thought he would.”
“I don’t know why he strung you out, Caitlin. Well, I do know. He wanted to go out with you because you’re a beautiful woman now. You probably won’t see him again.”
“I definitely won’t. I told him as much—to stay out of my life.”
“Is that what you want?” Kirby asked and she thought she detected curiosity in his tone.
“Definitely. I don’t want to see him again,” she said, the words hollow and making her hurt more.
