The Sheikh's Scandal

by Holly Rayner

  Anne-Marie stood, pacing around the house and glancing at the photos on the walls. There were pictures of her grandparents, even paintings of her great-grandparents. This ranch had been in her family for so long, but how long could she maintain it by herself?

  Kaled hadn’t been wrong on that point, either. The place was dilapidated, and she was struggling to keep it afloat. How long before something broke that she couldn’t afford to fix? How long before she couldn’t afford the hay for her horses to live on?

  Sighing, Anne-Marie looked at an old clock on the wall. Somehow, the afternoon had melted away, and it was time to prep the horses for the night.

  Stepping out onto the porch, she could feel the air cooling ever so slightly as she headed down the steps and out toward the fields. It would take some time to round them all up, but to Anne-Marie, it was worth it. Many of the animals had been locked up for so long, they deserved to have as much freedom to roam as possible. If that meant a little extra searching on her part, so be it.

  “Meow!”

  Buckle darted out from the barn and trotted over to her, rubbing himself around her legs as she went to find a bridle to bring the horses in with.

  “Long time no see, little buddy! You have a good day napping in the hay?”

  Buckle’s green eyes blinked blearily in the sunlight, and Anne-Marie grinned.

  “What do you say to spending the night in the big house with me tonight, eh?”

  Buckle continued his purring as he sought more affection, and Anne-Marie finally had to stop, pick him up, and pet him for a few minutes before he would allow her to go about her business.

  “Nah. You’re not the type, are you? You need that freedom, too.”

  Buckle closed his eyes and purred loudly as she scratched under his chin one more time before finally setting him down.

  She sighed. “Looks like it’ll just be me in the house again.”

  Scooping up a bridle, Anne-Marie spent the rest of the afternoon tracking down horses, cleaning out their shoes, giving them a good brush, and putting them in their cozy stalls for the night. After a thirty-minute search for her last tenant, she was able to make sure everyone was in and ready to sleep just as the sun began to set.

  Anne-Marie’s legs were aching, and her mind was weary from thinking so much about Kaled and his offer. She plopped onto the old rocking chair on the porch and watched the sun set, knowing she would be asleep within the hour, ready for another early start, and another, and another.

  FOUR

  Anne-Marie was sitting at her kitchen table when she heard the car pulling up the road. Her stomach erupted in butterflies, and she reminded herself that there was no reason for them. Just because Kaled was handsome and seemed nice was no reason to buy into his game. He was very likely playing her, and today she was ready to call his bluff.

  Palming her mug, she stepped toward the front screen door and pressed it open as a solitary black car pulled up in front of the house. With the windows still blacked out, it was impossible to see where Kaled was until the driver’s door opened and he stepped out, once more immaculate in a tailored, pressed suit. Shielding his eyes from the glaring sun, he saw her and gave a small wave before heading up the stairs.

  “Ready to reopen negotiations?” he asked, his lips twitching ever so slightly.

  This was a game to him, wasn’t it? Anne-Marie was convinced it was one she could play.

  “I believe so. Please, come in. Are you hungry?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” he said.

  Anne-Marie noticed that was the second time he had refused food she had offered. She wondered if he skipped meals, and that was why he was so lean and strong. She felt a strong urge to feed him, to take care of him, but she knew that was just her motherly instincts talking. She had always wanted to care for others. It was why she loved having all the animals at the ranch, and why she didn’t mind all the work that went into running it.

  Most of the time, anyway.

  Anne-Marie led the way back to the living room, which she had dusted the night before. Not that it had done much good. The room was still deeply aged, but it had a homey feel to it that still left one feeling comfortable.

  Kaled took a seat exactly where he had the day before, and Anne-Marie followed suit. There was a pause as they both considered how to open the conversation.

  “I trust you slept well?” Kaled said.

  Anne-Marie laughed. “I run a horse ranch by myself. I always sleep well.”

  “Is it that exhausting?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “It’s a lot of work; I won’t deny that. Still, it’s a labor of love.”

  “Have you ever considered doing anything else?”

  She shook her head.

  “These horses need me. Some of them have led terrible lives, and this is the first freedom and joy they know. I have one mare that’s just about to foal, and she was given up when it was discovered that the stud was the wrong breed. People don’t think about the fact that these animals have lives, too, and they need to be cared for.”

  Kaled had been studying her face as she spoke. He seemed to do that a lot, like she was a puzzle he was trying to solve. He thought on her words for a moment before speaking.

  “You know they could travel with you. I’m offering more than enough for you to transport them to another location.”

  “Ah, straight to business then, is it?” Anne-Marie said, tilting her head at him. “Very well. I did take some time to consider your offer, and I have to ask myself why a man would throw so much money at me over something trifling like governmental interest. Don’t you think that sounds a little weak? Almost like a lie?”

  She watched his expression carefully. His gaze did the same tiny dart it had the day before, though when he looked back at her, his eyes narrowed minutely.

  “Fair enough. I can tell I’m not dealing with an amateur here, so here it is. It has come to my company’s attention that your little ranch is sitting right on top of a huge oil spring, completely untapped. We would like to get a rig in here as soon as possible so we can make use of that supply.”

  Anne-Marie stared at him for a moment. How had she not put the pieces together before? Kaled Al-Qarali…as in Qarali Oil. It was a sign she’d seen a hundred times and never thought twice about. Oil barons were a dime a dozen in Texas, anyway. How could she not have guessed that was his motive?

  She suddenly had a vision of her house being torn down, replaced with an enormous, chugging oil rig that tore deep into the earth, spewing hot smoke into the air, polluting everything around. The beautiful, clean air turning smoggy, the ground vegetation completely destroyed.

  “I see. And how much pollution will this rig produce, exactly?” she asked.

  Kaled weighed his answer, pursing his lips slightly as he considered how to respond.

  “Some, though it certainly won’t affect you. You’ll have more than enough money to move anywhere in the world you’d like. Heck, I’ll even ensure that you have extra to fund another horse ranch wherever you want, complete with transportation of all your livestock and whatever supplies you desire. Really, this is all entirely in your favor here.”

  “Of course, if you look at it that way. Now let me tell you how I look at it,” Anne-Marie said, standing as she began to pace around the room.

  “This ranch has been in my family for centuries. There is a legacy here, ties deeper than you could possibly imagine. It may not look like much to you, but this land is everything to me. Why would I give that up so a billionaire can add to his already massive pile of money? How can you ask me to destroy this land and the environment as though it’s nothing?”

  “Anne-Marie,” Kaled began, his tone placating, but she held up a hand to stop him, struck by an idea.

  “No. Wait. Hold on a second here. You have no concept of the value of this land. That much is clear. To you, it’s a hole to dig in the ground to make you a profit.”

  Kaled stood, facing her. “Now hold on just one mi
nute—”

  “I will not. I’ve got a counter proposal for you, Mister Al-Qarali.”

  “I thought it was Kaled,” he said.

  “It was, until you lied to me and then tried to buy my land just to destroy it, thinking me a simpleton who couldn’t see past a large check. Now, will you let me continue, or are you going to keep interrupting?”

  Kaled stared down at her in surprise as she stood up to him, unwilling to back down. She might be able to save the ranch and get the help she desperately needed, and not a moment too soon.

  “I want you to come and work the ranch with me.”

  Kaled’s eyes widened.

  “Excuse me?”

  “That’s right. I want you to come stay on the ranch, so you can truly understand what it is you’ll be destroying if you put a rig up here.”

  Kaled watched her in stunned silence, and Anne-Marie wondered if he could see that she was making her plan up as she went along.

  “For two weeks. Stay on the ranch for two weeks, and if you still want to build your rig after that, I will agree to your terms and sell up for the amount you have offered. That is my counter proposal.”

  She had thought about it a little, of course, before she had laid it out. She hadn’t considered asking for two whole weeks, though. Perhaps that would be enough time to change his mind. It would also be two weeks with another human being to talk to, which was something she desperately needed on top of all the help.

  After a moment, Kaled relaxed the shock from his face and grinned.

  “You can’t be serious, Miss Benson. I’m a terribly busy man, if you haven’t picked up on that, and I don’t have two weeks to go on a ranch-style vacation when I have deals to close and work to do. I simply cannot,” he said, swiping his hand across the room as though his statement were final.

  Anne-Marie shrugged and turned away. “Your loss,” she said, heading toward the kitchen where she began to clean up the dishes she’d been too tired to wash the night before.

  She waited as Kaled collected himself in the other room, trying to regain control of the situation. She knew she had taken it from him, and a small part of her celebrated that fact even as she waited to see what he would do next. She could feel him approach the kitchen, the back of her neck tingling at his proximity.

  “I’ll double it.”

  Anne-Marie turned. When she faced him, Kaled’s eyes looked a little wild as he attempted, once again, to solve the problem by throwing money at it. Would the man never learn?

  “Double what, exactly?”

  Kaled’s eyebrows lowered, and Anne-Marie got her first taste of his smolder. It was absolutely stunning. Her heart began to race a little, even as she told herself that all he was doing was pouting handsomely.

  “I have already offered you a sum that far outweighs the value of this land. I will double it.”

  “And yet you just admitted to me that there is an untapped oil supply under the ground. Even by your estimates the money you offered me is a bit low, don’t you think?”

  “Triple, then,” he said through clenched teeth.

  Anne-Marie found she was actually quite enjoying winning this battle. Kaled was outrageously attractive, even when he was frustrated, and though she was the object of his frustration, in no way did she feel threatened. For some reason, she knew that no matter what, she was safe with Kaled.

  Leaning back against the counter, she gave him her sweetest smile.

  “No.”

  It looked like it was taking everything in him not to stomp his foot in frustration. Anne-Marie gently crossed her arms, making her position clear.

  “My terms have been stated, Sheikh. Do you accept them or not?”

  Kaled took several deep breaths as he considered his next move. Anne-Marie watched as he slowly came to terms with what would have to happen for him to get what he wanted.

  “Fine,” he said, finally agreeing. “I will be back tomorrow morning for the beginning of my stay. I will not stay a moment longer than the two weeks agreed upon, and I would like your word that once that time has passed, I will be free to make an unquestioned offer on this land.”

  “And you have it,” Anne-Marie said, watching him with a glint in her eye.

  She had scored a victory, though a short-lived one. She focused on the sweetness of it, holding on to it while he was still there. She didn’t want him to catch a lick of doubt on her face.

  Kaled glared at her for a moment longer, clearly trying to finagle another way out of the deal, before he nodded to her and left the house without another word.

  Anne-Marie moved to the front window, observing as he slammed the driver’s door and sped off, kicking back dirt behind him. A couple of the horses whinnied at the disturbance before settling their faces back into the grass.

  As she had done the previous afternoon, Anne-Marie stared after the car until it was long gone, wondering if she had made the right choice. It was a gamble, but she had to give it a try. Kaled believed that her land had no value beyond the oil that pooled beneath it. It was her task over the next two weeks to prove him wrong.

  If she didn’t, her family legacy would be over. And it would be all her fault.

  Ignoring that fact, she turned away from the window and walked down the creaky hallway toward the guest room closest to her bedroom. She stood in the doorway and stared at the plain space, furnished only with a small side table and a twin-sized bed. Would he be comfortable in such a place? Had the Sheikh even slept in a bed smaller than a king?

  Anne-Marie decided it was time Kaled had a lesson in humility, and she pulled the dusty sheets and thin comforter off the bed, ready to be washed as she tidied up the room in preparation for his arrival. She tried not to think of all the fence mending that was going undone while she did so. The truth was, she was in desperate need of help, and any delays she faced in preparing the man’s room could be made up for with an extra pair of hands the next day.

  The afternoon passed much like any other, with Anne-Marie taking Sunshine out to the perimeter to mend the fence on her own. Her fingers were cut so bad that it was nearly impossible to continue on, but she had to. If one of the horses escaped due to a broken fence, there would be no knowing where they would end up. Conversely, were anything to get in, they would all be in danger. She was much more willing to suffer a little pain if it meant keeping her little brood safe.

  The day wore on, and as she worked, she kept her mind busy by thinking of everything she could train Kaled to do while he was there. She probably shouldn’t make his life too difficult, if she wanted him to grow to like the place. Still, what did a sheikh know about getting his hands dirty? It was far more likely that he would see his tiny room and run for the hills. Anne-Marie half expected him not to show up at all.

  Was the power really in her hands this time? Was it ever? He would still be getting his way, even with the slight delay. And what would his lips taste like, after a sip of lavender lemonade?

  Scratching that last thought, Anne-Marie spent the ride back to the ranch telling herself not to think about Kaled, and then doing nothing else. By the time she reached the main house, she knew she was in serious danger of letting herself fall for the man, which absolutely couldn’t happen. They would make their business deal and that would be the end of it. Anne-Marie was sure she could get him to see how beautiful the ranch was, and at the end of it they would shake hands and part as unlikely friends.

  Yes, that certainly would be the way things would go. No kissing necessary.

  FIVE

  Anne-Marie had been up for hours, since well before dawn, when the black car pulled up to the house. She sat sipping her coffee, staring out past the long grasses and smattering of trees. She had spent hours as a child reading beneath those trees, when she wasn’t helping her parents. How long had it been since she’d read a book?

  Kaled’s tires scratched against the dirt, bringing the car to a full stop. His silhouette was visible through the dark glass, though that might
have only been because the sun was shining directly through the windows from the other side. When he opened the door, Anne-Marie choked back a laugh.

  Once again, he was impeccably dressed, his suit perhaps even nicer than the previous two. His sunglasses reflected the sunlight as he opened the back door and pulled out a small suitcase before turning toward Anne-Marie and giving her a nod.

  “Good morning,” he said, his voice rough.

  Anne-Marie wondered if that was the first time he’d said anything that day. She had already had several conversations with no one in particular. She would have to cull that habit, lest this handsome stranger learned how strange she actually was.