The Barons of Texas: Tess

by Fayrene Preston

  Table of Contents

  Cover Page

  Excerpt

  Dear Reader

  Title Page

  About the Author

  Dedication

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Epilogue

  Copyright

  She Loved Nick.

  The idea astounded her. She didn’t even know how to love, perhaps because she’d never been truly loved. Yet there was no doubt. She was definitely in love with Nick.

  Right from the first, the signs had been there—all of them in big, bright, red neon letters. How could she have missed them?

  There was the way he’d mesmerized her on the night of her birthday and the way her body had melted against his when they’d danced. There was the way she’d so easily acquiesced to the idea of flying to some unknown destination for dinner and the stunning fact that she’d turned down Des’s offer for her.

  Drops of rain began to fall. She didn’t care.

  The rain was cool. Her skin was hot. She wanted Nick.

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to Silhouette Desire—where you’re guaranteed powerful, passionate and provocative love stories that feature rugged heroes and spirited heroines who experience the full emotional intensity of falling in love!

  Wonderful and ever-popular Annette Broadrick brings us September’s MAN OF THE MONTH with Lean, Mean & Lonesome. Watch as a tough loner returns home to face the woman he walked away from but never forgot.

  Our exciting continuity series TEXAS CATTLEMAN’S CLUB continues with Cinderella’s Tycoon by Caroline Cross. Charismatic CEO Sterling Churchill marries a shy librarian pregnant with his sperm-bank baby—and finds love.

  Proposition: Marriage is what rising star Eileen Wilks offers when the girl-next-door comes alive in the arms of an alpha hero. Beloved romance author Fayrene Preston makes her Desire debut with The Barons of Texas: Tess, featuring a beautiful heiress who falls in love with a sexy stranger. The popular theme BACHELORS & BABIES returns to Desire with Metsy Hingle’s Dad in Demand. And Barbara McCauley’s miniseries SECRETS! continues with the dramatic story of a mysterious millionaire in Killian’s Passion.

  So make a commitment to sensual love—treat yourself to all six September love stories from Silhouette Desire!

  Enjoy!

  Joan Marlow Golan

  Senior Editor, Silhouette Desire

  Please address questions and book requests to:

  Silhouette Reader Service

  U.S.: 3010 Walden Ave., P.O. Box 1325, Buffalo, NY 14269

  Canadian: P.O. Box 609, Fort Erie, Ont. L2A 5X3

  The Barons of

  Texas: Tess

  FAYRENE PRESTON

  FAYRENE PRESTON

  published her first book in 1981 and has been publishing steadily ever since. The Barons of Texas: Tess is her first novel for Silhouette Books, and she is delighted to be on board. Fayrene lives in north Texas and is the mother of two grown sons. She claims her greatest achievement in life is turning out two wonderful human beings. She is also proud to announce the arrival of her first grandchild: a beautiful baby girl. Now she has even more to be thankful for.

  This book is dedicated

  with many, many thanks to:

  R. G. Font, Ph.D., CPG, PG,

  EurGeol President, Geoscience Data Management

  One

  Tall, lean and bronzed, the man stood at the edge of the terrace watching her, just as he had for the last fifteen minutes. Tess Baron tried to ignore him and focus instead on her party guests, but she found it virtually impossible.

  Something about his stillness compelled her attention. It was like lightning caught in a bottle, an electric tension that would be safe only as long as it was contained. And he didn’t strike her as the type of man to contain his energies for long.

  This was her birthday party. She knew everyone here. Everyone, that was, except him.

  She skimmed the crowd, wondering who had brought him, but everyone was either dancing or mixing. No one looked as if they’d brought a guest, then forgotten him. Besides, she reflected ruefully, it would be impossible to forget him.

  Behind him, the sun was slowly setting into the Gulf of Mexico, its great orange ball searing the water with its heat as it dipped lower and lower. Silhouetted against the elemental tableau, with the sun surrounding him, the man looked larger than life—a sun god.

  At that moment she wouldn’t have bet money against the possibility that he had lassoed the sun down from the sky.

  She exhaled a long breath, reminded herself that she didn’t have a quixotic bone in her body, and forced her focus elsewhere. At least everything else about her party was going well.

  A warm breeze from off the Gulf waters somehow matched the band’s sensual bossa nova beat. Icy margaritas and long neck beers were being served, along with mounds of jumbo Gulf shrimp and oysters harvested fresh that day. Out on the lawn, barbecued cabrito turned on a spit.

  He ate or drank nothing, though she’d seen waiters offering him his preference of drinks.

  “Happy birthday, Tess.”

  The voice of a longtime friend snapped her mind back to her party. “Thanks, Becca.” She kissed the cheek of the pretty young woman, then reached up to hug Becca’s college sweetheart and husband, Mel Grant. “I’m so glad you two could come.”

  Becca laughed. “Are you kidding? Your birthday parties are way too much fun to miss. Besides, Corpus Christi is a pretty cool city.”

  Mel smiled at her. “It’s become a party game to try to guess where you’re going to hold your parties each year. The year you threw your party in Kuala Lumpur is now legendary. But last year I felt a little let down.”

  She grinned. “Oh, yeah?”

  “Southfork?” He shook his head. “Not very original, Tess, and way too close to home.”

  She laughed. “Sorry, but the location of my parties depends on where I’m working, and last year I was working at home.”

  “I know, but personally, I was hoping for an oil rig in the South China Sea.”

  “An oil rig is no place to throw a party—which you very well know. Too much chance for harm on either side.”

  Mel worked for Coastal Petroleum, one of the world’s major oil companies. Nevertheless, he sighed dramatically. “Okay, okay, I’ll give you that, plus a big thumbs-up for this year.”

  “What a relief,” she said dryly.

  “Yep. This is a great house, right on the beach and with a fabulous view. I’d say you made up the points you lost last year.”

  “Ignore him, Tess,” Becca advised.

  “He’s much too entertaining to ignore. Besides, he’s right. This is a great house. I leased it because my new offshore drilling site is straight out there.” She pointed toward the Gulf. “And because there’s a great helipad at the side of the house.”

  Mel nodded. “By the way, congratulations. Word is you think the reservoir you’ve found out there will be your richest oil discovery yet.”

  She grimaced, and her hand automatically went to cover her stomach, where a heavy dread appeared every time she thought of what she was gambling on this one site. “Do me a favor and don’t congratulate me yet. I’m superstitious. The initial tests were very encouraging, but in the end, we both know that could mean nothing. I won’t celebrate until we strike that first oil and the well actually starts to produce.”

  Becca waved a dismissive hand. “You’re like a bloodhound when it comes to oil. I’d back your instincts before I would all those sophisticated tests they do. If you
like what you’ve seen out there, then the oil is as good as in the pipeline.”

  Tess gave Becca a quick, grateful hug. “Thank you.”

  Her instincts had always been solid; Becca was right about that. Yet the stakes were so high on this particular venture that she couldn’t be sure her instincts hadn’t been tainted by her need for this well to come in big, not to mention quick.

  “Word is also out that you’ve been having some problems,” Mel continued. “In case you decide you need some help, just remember, my company is always interested.”

  Unfortunately, it was very hard to keep secrets in the oil business. “You know how I feel about my oil ventures, Mel.”

  “I know, I know. They’re your babies, and you keep them until they’re raised and well into old age.”

  She nodded. “It’s a family tradition.” She’d hoped this party would help her relax and have a good time, something she hadn’t been able to do in a long time. Unfortunately, though, her nerves were tighter than ever. Between Mel and his well-meaning talk of her problems and the man… He hadn’t moved, and he was still looking at her with that laser gaze of his. Beneath his stare, her skin felt just like it was being sunburned.

  “Listen, do either of you know that man standing over there, leaning against the balustrade?”

  Both Becca and Mel glanced over their shoulders. “No, but if I weren’t with Mel tonight, I would love to.”

  Mel frowned at his wife. “Excuse me, but I don’t think that’s funny.”

  “No?” With her eyes twinkling with laughter, she reached for her husband’s hand. “Then how about dancing with me? Maybe it will come back to me why I love you so much.”

  “That sounds like a challenge and I’m definitely up for it.” With a wink at Tess, he pulled his wife onto the dance floor. “See you later.”

  “You bet.” Surely there was a simple explanation for the man’s presence. Tess pondered. One of her guests must have brought him, but if so, why weren’t they with him? Why hadn’t they introduced him to her? And most of all, why did he keep looking at her?

  And, damn it, where was Ron? He might be able to tell her the identity of the man. Ron Hughes was a bright, competent young man in his late twenties. As her assistant, it was his job to know everything and everyone, and he usually did. But he was probably still in the house, working in the two-room suite they’d appropriated as their offices for the time they would be there.

  Someone lightly clasped her elbow. “Dance?”

  She started, then inwardly laughed at herself. No, she reflected wryly, there was nothing at all wrong with her nerves. She looked around. “Colin! Oh, great, you made it.”

  “Did you doubt it for a minute?”

  She smiled. “No.”

  Colin Wynne, tanned, suave and incredibly goodlooking, was one of Dallas’s most eligible bachelors. He was also one of her favorite people, though they’d never dated. She’d never had the desire to go out with him other than in a group, and she knew the feeling was mutual. Over the years, she’d found friendships to be much more satisfying than a love life. He held out his hand to her.

  “Thanks,” she said, “but not right now. I still have some details to see to. The party’s really just beginning.”

  “Nonsense. I’m here. You’re here. The party has officially started.”

  She grinned. Few people possessed the self-confidence Colin did. He made everything he did look easy, yet he was one of the hardest-working people she knew. “Who did you bring tonight?”

  “I didn’t bring a date, if that’s what you mean—just a planeload of the usual suspects.”

  “Oh, that’s right. I heard you were going to fly down some of the group in your new jet. Thanks.”

  “No problem at all.”

  She leaned closer to him. “Do you know that man standing over there by the edge of the terrace?”

  He threw a casual glance over his shoulder. “Nope. Who is he? A party crasher?”

  She shook her head. “He must have come with someone. I just can’t figure out who yet.”

  “You want me to go over and check him out?”

  “No. I’ll do it in a minute.”

  “Happy birthday, Tess.” A cool voice slipped between them and they both turned.

  “Jill.” She gave her sister a quick, automatic hug. If the hug lacked the spontaneity and ease of the hug she’d given Becca, she prided herself on her belief that no one could tell. No one except maybe Jill. And Colin, who knew them both well.

  Just as quickly, she released her middle sister and stepped back. Jill was wearing a short black Armani sheath that emphasized her inherent elegance and sophistication. Until Tess had seen Jill, she’d thought she looked pretty good in her short, ivory silk dress with straps that skimmed over her shoulders and crisscrossed several times in the back until reaching her waist.

  But then, it was Jill who had inherited the classical beauty and elegance of their mother, not her nor Kit. Even Jill’s dark hair was styled into an elaborate French twist from which no hair would dare escape.

  Annoyingly, Tess could feel the wind blowing at the untidy blond tendrils of her hair, which had already managed to elude the containment of the ivory silk scarf she’d tied at the nape of her neck. “You’re late. What happened? I expected you earlier.”

  “My ride took off without me, and I had to make other arrangements to get here.” Jill’s bourbon-colored gaze flashed at Colin.

  The very picture of innocence, he spread out his hands. “I had a schedule to meet.”

  “You weren’t running a bus, Colin.” Jill’s words dripped with ice. “You were flying your own plane.”

  “Ever heard of a little thing called a flight plan?”

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. And I know they can give you a certain leeway.”

  He shrugged. “Everyone else was aboard. I didn’t see why they should be punished just because you couldn’t arrange your day so you could get to the airport on time.”

  Tess rolled her eyes, though neither Jill nor Colin saw her, so intent were they on squaring off against each other. But she’d grown used to their behavior. For whatever reason, whenever the two of them got together, some type of sparks usually flew, and more often than not, it was sparks of anger.

  “I have an idea,” she said. “Why don’t you two go dance and I’ll see you both later?”

  Colin looked at her, then at Jill. After a moment, he slowly held out his hand to her. Jill hesitated for several seconds, then glanced at Tess. “Have Uncle William and Des arrived yet?”

  “Uncle William isn’t feeling well, so he won’t be coming.”

  Jill’s perfect forehead creased in a frown. “Is it serious?”

  Colin dropped his hand.

  “He didn’t give me any reason to believe that it was. Besides, you know Des would let us know if something was seriously wrong.”

  Jill nodded. “What about Des?”

  Good question, Tess thought wryly. It was the eternal question that kept her and her sisters occupied. “I have no idea if he’s even coming.”

  “You haven’t heard from him?”

  “You know he rarely lets us know what he’s up to.”

  “Right.” Jill chewed her bottom lip for perhaps three seconds, then stopped. It was a habit left over from her childhood. “Well, let me know if Des arrives, okay?”

  Sure she would, Tess thought. When pigs flew.

  Jill switched her attention to Colin. “Well?”

  “Well, what, Jill?”

  “Do you or don’t you want to dance?”

  This time it was Colin who hesitated. “Maybe later,” he finally said and walked off.

  Tess hid a smile. If looks could kill, Colin would now be dead. Jill stared after him for a moment longer, then turned and went in the opposite direction.

  The Des in whom Jill had been so interested was their uncle William’s elusive stepson, a high-powered lawyer. Women flocked to Des like bees to honey,
but he was much more than a highly eligible bachelor to her and her two sisters. She, Jill and Kit had each inherited one-sixth of their family’s business upon the death of their father, conditional upon each of them meeting a certain criterion. But Des was due to inherit fifty percent of their family company upon Uncle William’s death.

  That fact put Des smack in the center of the collective crosshairs of her and her sisters. In theory, if one of them married him, they would gain control of the family company. And there wasn’t one of them who wasn’t hungry for that control and more than willing, able and raring to go after him. Too bad for her sisters that she planned to be the one who got him.

  However, pursuing Des was frustrating as hell. Though she was no expert on love, it seemed to her that the only way to get Des to fall in love with her was to arrange it so that they could spend time with each other. But time was something Des rarely gave any of them on an individual basis.

  Still, she wasn’t deterred, nor, she knew, were her sisters. Winning control of the company was too important for each of them. If Des showed up tonight, Jill would go after him like a heat-seeking missile, but she would have to stand in line behind Tess. And then, of course, there was Kit.

  The three of them had been competitive with each other since birth, encouraged and egged on by their father, who pounded into each of them the importance of being the best at whatever they did. One of their competitions involved fighting to be the one who, at the end of the company’s fiscal year, had made the most money for the company, and there wasn’t much they wouldn’t do to earn that yearly honor. Or to win Des’s agreement to marriage.

  But this year, she, even more than Kit and Jill, had a tremendous amount to prove.