Blame it on Texas

by Scott, Tori

  He hoisted another bale and pitched it over the tailgate. Sweat dripped into his eyes and he impatiently wiped it away with the back of his hand. He jumped from the bed of the truck and grabbed his water jug, drinking deeply before pouring some on his handkerchief to wipe his face and neck.

  "It sure is hot out here, isn't it, Cowboy?"

  Logan almost jumped out of his skin. He turned too fast and nearly knocked Nancy off her feet. "What are you doing out here? Didn't Megan tell you to stay in the house?"

  "She might have," Nancy purred as she ran a finger down the buttons of his shirt, "but I don't do what Megan tells me to. I do what feels right for me."

  "Look, this isn't a game. You could get hurt out here." He pointed at her blood-red toenails. "Look at those shoes. No toes, high heels. Nothing but trouble."

  "Worried about me, Cowboy? How sweet. But you don't need to. I'm a big girl."

  He didn't like the way she said that. Maybe he could scare her back to the house. "Do you know anything about coral snakes?"

  The question clearly wasn't the response she expected. "Not really. Should I?"

  "You should if you're going to walk around here in toeless shoes. They inject their poison by latching onto exposed body parts, usually toes. Then they chew until they've injected their venom. Damn near impossible to get them off once they've latched on." He watched her shiver and pull her toes as far back in her shoes as she could.

  "Okay, I can take a hint. You want me to leave. But you and I aren't finished, Cowboy. Not by a long shot." She sauntered back in the direction of the house, her hips swaying and her short shorts exposing an incredible amount of leg.

  Megan met her halfway across the pasture, gestured toward the house, then planted her hands on her hips. Nancy laughed at something she said, then waved at Logan and continued toward the house.

  He watched Megan as she crossed the pasture, Blue bounding at her side. She wore a new pair of jeans and a blue and white checked shirt. His heart jumped at the sight of her and he willed it to settle down. He was not going to get hooked on someone who had her heart set on living in the country.

  When she reached the truck, she climbed in the back and sat down on a bale of hay. "Need any help?"

  It would be a big help if she could drive along while he tossed the bales out, but he still couldn't get used to her working by his side. His response was automatic. "No. I'm doing fine. You just keep that woman away from me and you'll make my life a lot easier."

  Megan laughed and tossed her head, her auburn hair floating on the breeze. "Don't worry about Nancy. She's harmless."

  Logan couldn't hold back a snort. "Yeah, about as harmless as a black widow spider."

  Megan shook her head. "No, she's just testing you. Making sure I'm safe with you. If you'd fallen for her tricks, she'd have hustled me out of here and back to Dallas in a flash."

  Well, that might have been one way to get Megan out from under his skin. But Nancy didn't tempt him at all. Her type made him go cold all over. "How long are they planning to stay?" He kept his voice as neutral as possible. If she knew how badly he wanted the pair gone, she might ask them to stay just to aggravate him.

  "They're staying another night. I tried to shoo them off after breakfast, but Carol talked them into staying. She's invited a few people over for drinks tonight after dinner."

  "That figures. After meeting the blonde bombshell, I'm wondering if my apartment will survive the summer. Is she into wild parties?" He wondered if he could break the lease, maybe find a nice elderly couple to take it over? No, then Megan would have no place to go home to, and Carol would invite her to stay at the farm for the rest of the summer.

  "Of course not. She'll be putting in sixty hours a week at work for a while. She'll be too tired to party." Megan reached out and touched his arm. He'd noticed that she was a toucher, that she seemed to need a physical connection from time to time.

  Sue Ann hadn't liked being touched casually, to have her space invaded. And somewhere along the way he seemed to have lost the ability to connect.

  Megan sighed when he stepped back, and she let her hand fall to her lap. "Are you sure you don't want some help? I'm a pretty good driver." She grinned up at him and he was tempted to take her up on the offer.

  Clouds were building in the west, and he needed to get the hay out before it rained. But she needed to keep an eye on her friends. "No. I can handle it. You go on back to the house. I'll be up for lunch."

  "Okay." She stood and brushed at the hay stuck to her jeans.

  Without thinking, he reached over the side of the truck and brushed at a few stray strands. As soon as his hand connected with her softly rounded backside, he realized his mistake. Megan's gaze shot up to his and he froze, his hand still on her bottom. He couldn't look away from the blatant desire in her eyes, and his hand didn't seem to want to move away from her derriere, either.

  After a long moment, she stepped back, her cheeks pink. "Um, thanks. I'll, um, just go on back to the house." She sat on the side of the truck and swung her legs over, preparing to jump to the ground.

  Before she could jump off and hurt herself, he placed his hands around her waist and lifted her off the truck. He let her slide slowly down his body, memorizing the feel of every inch of her on the way to the ground.

  She looked up, her eyes questioning. "Logan?"

  "Shh." One kiss, then he'd leave her alone. But he needed to see if she still tasted as sweet as he remembered. He lowered his mouth to hers for a quick sample. That's all he wanted, all he needed. But as soon as his mouth touched hers, he was lost.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close when he would have kept some distance between them. Her mouth opened beneath his, inviting him to explore more deeply, more intensely than he'd planned. Her breasts were soft against his chest, her skin warm where it touched his.

  She smelled of lavender. No doubt Carol had given her some of her special soaps. Mixed with the flowery fragrance was a scent that belonged to Megan alone. He struggled not to give in to the desire to bury himself in her sweetness. Wrong time, wrong place. Wrong woman.

  He reminded himself once again that they were too different, their goals and needs and desires were too far apart for anything but heartache. He ended the kiss, but not without a twinge of regret.

  When he lifted his head, she collapsed against his chest, breathing deeply. He could feel her heart pounding against his. He laid his head on top of hers, just for a moment. Just long enough to inhale the sweet scent of her shampoo. Just long enough to feel the soft strands of hair against his cheek. Just long enough to miss once again what he hadn't had for so long.

  "I'd better get back. The others will wonder what we're doing out here." Megan stepped out of his embrace, but he could see the regret on her expressive face.

  "Yeah. But one of these days we're going to have to finish what we start." He grinned to let her know he was teasing. Sort of.

  She smiled, but didn't reply. She reached a hand up and caressed his cheek, then turned and headed for the house. Her touch was gentle, but he felt like he'd been branded. He still felt it an hour later as he drove toward the house, racing ahead of the storm churning the sky overhead.

  ***

  Megan watched the rain sheet down the window and sighed. She was stuck in the house when she wanted to be outside. Nancy prattled on a mile a minute about Logan, making suggestive remarks about Megan's plans to stay for another couple of weeks.

  Jean made herself useful, helping Carol dust the furniture in preparation for the other guests who were due to arrive any minute. Logan was hiding out in the study, safely out of Nancy's reach. At least for the moment.

  "Look, that's enough of that kind of talk. I'm staying to help out while Carol's gone. That's all there is to it. When she comes back, I'll come home." Megan blew out an exasperated breath. "I'm going to go check on Charlie. Why don't you see if Carol needs any more help, okay?"

  She retreated down the hall and w
ent into Charlie's room. "How are you doing?" she asked, pulling a chair up beside the bed.

  He looked much better today, alert and somewhat content. He had something on his mind, though, and Megan asked him what it was.

  He wanted to know what was going on. He'd picked up on the excitement, could sense something was up. When Megan told him about the impromptu party, he looked wistful. "Do you want to go out to the living room?" she asked. "There's no reason for you to stay in this bed all the time."

  Charlie nodded and his eyes lit up.

  "Okay, let's get you shaved and dressed, then I'll get Logan to carry you out there." She found a razor and shaving cream in the bathroom, got a towel from the linen closet, and brought a bowl of water from the kitchen. When she'd shaved his face and combed his hair, she helped him into a clean shirt. Then she went to find Logan.

  She knocked on the office door and pushed it open. Logan stood at the window, looking out at the rain. She stepped inside and walked across the room.

  "Is it time for the party already?" He glanced at his watch.

  "Almost. Your father wants to join us in the living room. Could you come help him into a pair of slacks, then carry him to his recliner?"

  A frown crossed Logan's face. "Are you sure he's up to it?"

  "Of course. Being part of the activity will be good for him. If he gets too tired, you can take him back to his room." Megan reached out and laid a hand on his arm. "If you don't give him something to look forward to, Logan, he'll lay in that bed and wither away. We need to start bringing him out every evening."

  "Okay. Tell Dad I'll be right there." He turned back to the window, seemingly lost in thought.

  Megan wondered what was on his mind that seemed to weigh on him so heavily. His shoulders drooped with weariness. His eyes looked so tired she wondered if he ever slept at night. She knew he was in his office until the wee hours of the morning, because she'd made more than one middle of the night trip to the kitchen when she couldn't sleep and had seen the light spilling out from under the door.

  She was worried about him, but she knew he wouldn't tell her what was on his mind. He kept his troubles to himself, insisting on taking care of everyone else.

  She wondered who took care of him.

  ***

  Charlie held center stage among the group of Logan and Carol's old school friends. The women fussed over him and the men sat and talked to him about breeding methods, cattle prices, and the weather. Charlie responded with grunts and nods, but the men didn't seem to mind.

  Logan watched his father from the kitchen doorway. Charlie nodded in agreement to something Jake Reilly said.

  Megan sat next to Jake, interpreting for Charlie when he tried to speak. Occasionally she'd laugh at something Jake said, and she'd reach over and touch his arm, just like she did to him several times a day.

  Jealousy, as irrational as it was powerful, ripped through him. He'd thought those sweet smiles and tender touches had been special, something she reserved for him alone. Evidently not. Like Sue Ann, Megan turned on the charm for the nearest attentive male.

  Disgusted with himself and his thoughts, Logan returned to the kitchen for another beer.

  He'd drained half the bottle when Megan walked into the kitchen. She smiled as she passed him, then opened the refrigerator and took out two wine coolers. When she closed the door, she leaned back against the refrigerator and opened one bottle. "What's wrong, Logan? You looked upset a few minutes ago."

  He watched as she leaned her head back and took a drink. The long column of her throat beckoned him. He wanted to place his lips at the base, run his tongue up her neck and over her chin. Then he'd take her lips captive, remind her she was his.

  He shook his head to dislodge that thought. She wasn't his. Not now, not ever.

  "I was wondering what Jake Reilly was doing here."

  "Carol invited him. She'd intended to ask him to bring his wife, until she found out he'd never married. I get the impression they used to be close."

  "Yeah, a little too close. What were he and Dad talking about so intently?"

  Megan's eyes narrowed briefly at the change of subject, then she seemed to make an effort to act as though it didn't bother her. "Jake offered to help out if you needed him. Charlie wasn't too keen on the idea at first, but Jake managed to persuade him that he knows what he's doing."

  Logan wondered if his Dad knew Jake and Carol had planned to have sex the night of the Senior Prom. He might not be so impressed with Jake if he did. Then again, that was years ago. Maybe Jake had grown up. "So, what kind of help was Reilly offering?"

  Megan took another sip, choked on her wine cooler, and started coughing. He immediately moved to her side and rubbed her back as she bent over and placed her hands on her knees, still wheezing. When she finally straightened, her face red and tears streaking her cheeks, he asked, "Was it something I said?"

  Megan shook her head. "No, just swallowed the wrong way." Her voice was still strangled, so he moved to the cabinet and took a glass out, filled it with water, and handed it to her. She took a long drink, then averted her eyes as she answered his question.

  "Jake's going to come over and give me some practical experience in artificial insemination, helping your Dad increase his herd at the same time."

  "The hell he is."

  When Megan's jaw dropped, he realized he'd spoken out loud. "The last thing Dad needs is to spend money increasing the size of a herd he can't manage anymore. That bunch of cows out there will eventually be sold off. You and Jake will just be wasting your time and Dad's money."

  Megan put her fisted hands on her hips and, when her chin came up, he knew he was in for an argument. "In the first place, it won't be a waste of my time because it will be good practice. And I don't see how it can be wasting your dad's money when it isn't going to cost him a dime. Not to mention the fact that a pregnant cow will bring more money at the sale."

  "Why wouldn't Jake charge him? That stuff doesn't come cheap. I can't believe my Dad would accept charity, either."

  "It's not charity, just good business. Jake will get twenty-five percent of the new calves that are born, in payment for the insemination. Not to mention the fact that he's a nice man who seems to be very interested in your sister."

  That brought his attention back to Megan. "Carol?"

  "Do you have any other sisters I don't know about? Of course, Carol. What, you don't think she's attractive enough for a handsome man like Jake?"

  Megan thought Jake was handsome? For some reason, that irritated him, even though she'd just said the man was interested in Carol. Not in her. "No, it's not that. They have a history, one I thought had blown over a long time ago. I've had hopes that she'd find someone in Austin, a businessman who could provide her with the finer things in life."

  Megan threw up her hands in disgust. The look she shot him would have made a lesser man cringe, but he set his jaw, knowing he was right. His sister deserved better than a rancher. A West Texas rancher at that.

  "You're hopeless. You have some kind of mental block against seeing how wonderful life out here can be. I hope you're happy in your glass tower when you get back to Dallas. But it's a pretty bleak life when you have nothing to show for your effort except dollars in the bank." With that, she turned her back, snatched up the wine coolers, and stormed back to the living room.

  ***

  For the rest of the evening, Megan made an effort to ignore Logan and concentrated on keeping an eye on Charlie. When his eyelids began to droop, she enlisted Jake's help to get him back to his bed. Logan followed them to Charlie's room, then politely but stiffly told Jake he could handle getting Charlie ready for bed.

  Jake shrugged and returned to the party while Logan silently got Charlie into his pajamas and settled for the night. Megan came back in and kissed Charlie's cheek, then tried to squeeze past Logan without brushing against him as she left again.

  Logan turned off the light and followed her out, closing the door behind the
m. When Megan started to walk away, he caught her arm and turned her to face him. "I'm sorry. I've been acting like an ass tonight."

  She lifted her chin, determined not to weaken over one softly spoken apology. "Yes, you have." He blinked and she had to stifle a chuckle. He obviously hadn't expected her to agree with him. "Logan, Carol is a grown woman. She's old enough to decide who she wants to be with, where she wants to live, and how she wants to live her life."

  "I know, but..."

  "No buts. She loves you. She's always looked up to you. Don't make her choose between you and whoever she falls in love with."

  A crease appeared between his furrowed brows. "I wouldn't do that."

  "You might not mean to, but if you show your disapproval every time she gets interested in a man you don't think is suitable, you're forcing her to make a choice." She started to reach out to touch him, but his stiff posture made her keep her hand at her side. "Please try not to interfere between her and Jake."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  It was midnight and way past Katie's bedtime by the time the last guest left. Logan tucked his daughter in and kissed her good night, then went back to his office. He tried to work on the game he was designing, but he was too restless to settle down.

  He shoved his chair back and pushed one hand through his hair. He knew Megan was right about Carol and Jake, but he didn't want his sister to settle for a life of hardship when she didn't have to. She could marry a businessman just as easily as she could a rancher. And her life would be a damned sight better if she did.

  It was obvious he wasn't going to get any work done tonight. He stood up and stretched, then went into the kitchen and took a beer from the refrigerator. The house was quiet, the lights out. Everyone else had gone to bed.

  He left the lights off and went out the back door without locking it, not heading anywhere in particular. Deciding he needed to work off his frustration, he headed for the barn. Blue got up to tag along, but Logan told him to stay, then went back and put him in the house so he wouldn't follow him.

  The stall where Black Bertha had delivered her calf sat empty. They'd been moved outside to the large pen so Big Mac, as Katie had named him, could take a day to get his sea legs and Bertha could have time to recover before they were returned to the herd. Megan wanted to keep and eye on both of them for at least twenty-four hours. Logan shook his head. Megan had fallen hard for the calf, with his big brown eyes and a star in the middle of his forehead.