Only You

by Francis Ray

  As Sierra stood on the sidewalk, her hand clamped and undamped on the bamboo handle of her Gucci croc bag. Inside was the diamond comb. It had been waiting for her when she checked out an hour ago. Just the comb inside a black silk pocket square.

  No message. Nothing.

  When her brothers moved away to help supervise their mountain of luggage, she’d foolishly asked the clerk if there had been a message. When Sierra was told that there was none, she had to make herself leave before asking if the woman had been on duty at the time.

  Sierra wasn’t the needy type. She would be annoyed with Blade for making her so if she didn’t know that whatever it was between them was causing him as much turmoil as it was her. She’d never been surer of anything in her life.

  Dodging pedestrians, she headed for the open door of the limo waiting to take them to the airport. She was about to get inside when she felt a tingling sensation. She glanced around and straight into Blade’s enigmatic gaze.

  He stood less than twenty feet away beside the open back door of the Rolls. His scorching gaze roamed greedily over her. Her heart thumped. Her body heated, shamelessly yearned.

  Do something! Say something!

  She thought she saw him make a motion as if to come to her, but the movement was abruptly checked. He turned sharply to reenter the car. As soon as a clanking cable car passed, the Rolls pulled away from the curb and sped off. Sierra watched as it passed, hoping Blade was looking so he could see her lips pursed in annoyance.

  Men. Why did they have to make things so difficult?

  “Sierra, come on,” Pierce called. “The bellhop and driver finally managed to store the extra luggage needed for all the clothes you purchased.”

  “Pierce, I seem to recall a couple of Brioni suits belonging to you,” she tossed back.

  Her brother ignored her jab. All of them except Luke and Brandon enjoyed wearing stylish clothes. “She’s probably dreading the lineup of men Mama has waiting,” Brandon said.

  Sierra slipped inside the car. “All of them have been pitiful. I forget them before they’re out of the room.”

  Brandon hugged Faith to him. “She’s tricky. The real man she’s picked out will probably be waiting for you when we get back.”

  “Yeah. Mama likes to blindside you, but she has good taste.” Pierce kissed Sabra. At their feet Isabella barked.

  “It won’t do her any good. No man in Santa Fe will interest me.” Because Sierra had already met him in San Francisco.

  The problem was, she might never see him again.

  THREE

  “Mama is driving me insane.” Sierra sucked the last of her diet cola through a straw, then banged the glass on the table.

  She’d been back from San Francisco for two weeks and was seriously considering taking another trip just to have some peace. “Everywhere I turn there’s a man. Even my mechanic tried to hit on me yesterday when I dropped the SUV off for an oil change.”

  Catherine, the wife of Sierra’s oldest brother, Luke, patted Sierra’s shoulder in sympathy. “I think she’s topped the record she set with the number of women she paraded before Luke.”

  “Twenty-eight has been my lucky number ever since.” Luke smiled down at Catherine sitting beside him at the Grayson family table in Brandon’s restaurant, the Red Cactus.

  “Try forty-seven and counting … if you include the vice president of the bank this morning. Although I’m not sure, since he’s pushing fifty and bald.” Sierra crunched on a nacho chip.

  “At least it hasn’t put you off food,” Brandon teased as he placed a large sampling of chicken quesadillas, steak nachos, and chicken flautas on the table.

  “That will be the day.” Sierra reached for the fluffy chicken-filled flour tortilla and thanked Marlive, the waitress, who refilled her glass of diet cola.

  “I don’t suppose it would make you feel better if I pointed out she’ll be dead-on with her real choice.” Morgan gazed down into his wife Phoenix’s upturned face.

  “Right the first time.” Sierra’s sharp white teeth tore into a quesadilla.

  “For you, it would be someone special and unique,” Phoenix said quietly.

  A picture of Blade—proud, magnificent, powerful—flashed before Sierra. She felt her body soften and wanted to curse. Stay out of my mind. If you can forget me, I can forget you.

  “Sierra.”

  Sierra brought her head up sharply at the sound of Luke’s worried voice. “What?”

  “You looked … different for a moment,” he told her.

  Caught, she did what she was good at. Evaded. “Thinking of being married to some man who wants me to cook his meals and wash his clothes does that to me.”

  “Not if he doesn’t want to spend a lot of time in the emergency room after eating your food or buying new clothes that you’ve ruined trying to wash,” Pierce said, joining the group with Sabra.

  Sierra brightened. “Thanks. I’ll tell the next man who tries to ask for a date what you said.”

  “That might work, but some men are self-sufficient.” Sabra slid in beside her husband.

  Sierra’s lips twitched. “Too bad you didn’t marry one of them.”

  “She loves my other qualities.” Pierce winked and filled a plate with soft nachos and flautas for himself and Sabra.

  “Finally.” Brandon jumped up to meet Faith halfway. Curving his arm around her waist, he came back to the table.

  Sierra had seen that wide, happy grin on Brandon’s face numerous times. She’d seen the same blissful expression on all the Grayson men. They loved completely and didn’t care who knew it. Even Luke and Morgan, the two oldest, who were the most serious of all of them, lit up around their wives.

  Her thoughts veered to Blade again as Faith took her seat. Could a woman make his face light up? Could she?

  “Sorry I’m late,” Faith said.

  “You’re here now.” Brandon grinned. “We were just telling Sierra that her days might be numbered.”

  Sierra scowled at him. He laughed.

  “Hello, Sierra.”

  Sierra whipped her head around to see Ned Banks, the mailman. Not sweet Ned, too. She’d always liked the shy, lanky man. “Hello, Ned.”

  He swallowed, causing his Adam’s apple to bob. “You weren’t at your office. They said you’d be here.”

  “Yes,” Sierra answered, trying to figure out how to turn him down gently. They’d gone to high school together. Some of the other students had teased him until she and Pierce had befriended the quiet transfer student from Albuquerque. While he’d never been popular, the teasing had stopped.

  Ned swallowed again. He did a lot of that around women. “I thought this might be important.”

  Sierra noticed the express envelope clutched in his trembling hand. She relaxed, her smile full of relief. Ned was here on business, not to hit on her. She scooted out of the booth and hopped to her feet. “Thank you, Ned. That was sweet of you.”

  His head bobbed. “You … you’re welcome.”

  Sierra held her hand out and waited patiently for Ned to give her the envelope. Not for the first time, she toyed with the idea of trying to help Ned overcome his shyness around women. She lifted her hand a little higher so as not to embarrass him.

  He looked at her hand as if he hadn’t seen one before, then started and shoved the envelope at her.

  “Thank you again, Ned. Would you like something to drink? Brandon could put it in a to-go cup.”

  “Sure. No problem, Ned.” Brandon stood as well.

  “No. No thanks. I have a Thermos in the truck.” He turned away, then turned back. “Sierra?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would … would you like to go to a movie sometimes?” he rushed out. His eyes widened. He seemed to shrink, then steel himself. In his haste he had almost shouted the words. Half the people in the restaurant probably heard him. And many of them were locals.

  Sierra didn’t have to think of an answer. “I’m free tomorrow night. Say around eight?�
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  Ned’s jaw became unhinged; then he snapped it shut as a wide happy smile spread over his thin face and his slender shoulders straightened. “I’ll be there. Thank you.”

  Smiling, Sierra took her seat. There was definite hope for him. Ned had forgotten to stutter.

  “You make me proud,” Luke said.

  From the looks around the table, the other family members felt the same way. “I like Ned. If he could stop being shy, he might find himself a girlfriend.”

  “Looks like Mama isn’t the only Grayson woman who wants to be a matchmaker,” Morgan said.

  Sierra’s happiness vanished. “The difference is that I won’t be forcing Ned.” She ripped open the envelope, expecting to see the title transfer that was being sent overnight to her. Instead she pulled out an envelope. Shocked, she stared at the return address. Navarone Resorts and Spas in Tucson, Arizona, Blade’s corporate headquarters. Her hands shook.

  “What is it?” Luke asked.

  Blade. He’d written. The thought had barely formed before she knew writing wasn’t Blade’s style.

  “Sierra?” Luke asked again in a voice that said he wanted an answer.

  “Just a minute.” She tore into the envelope with undue haste. A quick glance at the signature confirmed the letter wasn’t from Blade, but as she read it, excitement grew.

  She lifted her head. “I’ve been invited by the executive director of human resources of Navarone Resorts and Spas to fly to Dallas to view Navarone Place and interview to be the exclusive broker.”

  “No!” Brandon snapped out.

  He was quickly joined by Pierce. “No way.” Only Morgan and Luke remained quiet. But Sierra didn’t like the way they were looking at her.

  “How were you selected?” Luke asked. As a former FBI agent and owner of a private investigation firm, he never missed the small details.

  “I applied,” she answered, knowing that wasn’t the end of it.

  “When?” Morgan wanted to know.

  “After he came here and I read about the possibility of a new venture,” she answered.

  “That was months ago,” Pierce pointed out. “Why now?”

  “Navarone Place is nearing completion,” she told them, trying to keep her gaze off Faith.

  “And your application just happened to be picked after all this time,” Luke said mildly. “Doesn’t wash for me.”

  “Me, either.” Morgan leaned across the table. “Care to tell us what the missing piece is?”

  Morgan was a top defense attorney and could interrogate with the best of them. Sierra could evade, but the end results would be the same. She didn’t lie to her family, but none of them were going to like her answer. “I met Blade Navarone when I was in San Francisco.”

  You could have heard a pin drop. Then Faith said, “Blade is a friend of mine, and I introduced them. He’s a wonderful man.”

  Brandon’s eyes narrowed. “You’re too trusting. The man is ruthless.”

  “Brandon, I love you, but I’m not stupid,” Faith said so sweetly that sugar could have dripped from every word. Being no fool, he got the message.

  Brandon blinked and quickly backpedaled. “Of course not!”

  “Sierra hasn’t said she’s going yet,” Catherine said, always the voice of calm, probably because she was a psychologist.

  “But she’s thinking about it.” From the annoyed way Pierce spoke, he didn’t like it one bit.

  “If I were selected, the commissions would be awesome,” Sierra told them. “I could open my brokerage office in style. And the association with Navarone Resorts and Spas would be invaluable.”

  “Your association with Navarone is what worries me.” Brandon loved his wife, but he wasn’t a pushover.

  Sierra was pleased to see Faith hug his arm to show she understood. Love, when it was right, had nothing to equal it.

  “I bet Blade was behind Shane’s thirty-thousand-dollar bid at the auction,” Pierce said.

  Sierra barely kept from squirming as Luke pinned her with another look. The entire family had teased her about the exorbitant amount, but since it was for charity and she’d come home safely, they had let it drop.

  “Who did you have dinner with, and where?” Luke asked.

  “Blade, at his home,” she answered.

  From the muttered words and angry faces, her brothers weren’t pleased.

  “What does he look like?” Luke asked, watching Sierra closely. She flushed. Faith bit her lip. Brandon muttered under his breath. “I see,” Luke said. “Sierra, you’re a grown woman. You’ll do what you want, but remember, we’re always here.”

  “You’re going to let her go?” Brandon almost shouted.

  “Short of locking her up, we can’t stop her.” Luke sighed. “She’d probably find a way out in any case. She has a good head on her shoulders.”

  “She’s also headstrong and reckless. She doesn’t know fear.” Pierce pursed his lips. “She’s never met a ruthless man like Navarone.”

  “She handled herself with Mitchell Shuler,” Phoenix reminded them. Sierra had put the man down when he tried to manhandle her.

  “Blade is nothing like that man,” Faith defended. “Women chase him, but it doesn’t do them any good.”

  All eyes trained on Faith. As if she realized she might have spoken too much, her chin lifted. “I’d trust Blade with my life.”

  “Something tells me he’s behind this invitation,” Luke said quietly. “Can you trust him not to take what he wants?”

  This time Faith did tuck her head. Sierra lifted hers and stared at Luke, her confidant, her protector. All her brothers had teased her about her mother’s matchmaking, but none of them were ready to see Sierra cross the threshold of womanhood.

  “As Catherine said, Sierra hasn’t said she is going, but if she does go, she’s intelligent, intuitive, and professional enough to get the job and make the experience work for her.”

  Sierra smiled at Sabra. “Thank you.”

  “She’ll also make some salespeople very happy with their commissions,” Faith put in, trying to help as well. “There are some great stores and boutiques in Dallas.”

  “Please say hello to Dominique and Trent,” Phoenix added. “They came to my opening at the African American Museum in Dallas and afterward took us to dinner. You’d better take plenty of sunscreen. The sun is merciless there.”

  “I will,” Sierra said. Dominique was Daniel’s younger sister. Trent was her adoring husband. They’d met in Dallas when Dominique was living incognito with her godmother and trying to establish herself as a photographer. Trent had lived next door. The attraction and annoyance had been instant on both of their parts. They were two more people who had found that special connection.

  “Dallas is a wonderful city.” Catherine turned to Luke. “Did I tell you I was considering accepting an invitation to give a lecture at Southern Methodist University next month?”

  “You know you didn’t,” Luke said. “I remember everything you’ve ever said to me.”

  Catherine’s hand trembled as she cupped the side of Luke’s face. “I love you.”

  His hand tenderly covered hers; then he spoke to his brothers: “Looks like we’re outnumbered, but I’ve got a feeling we’re about to even the odds.”

  Sierra saw her mother winding her way through the restaurant and groaned.

  “Sierra, are you considering going because of me? If so, I’ll stop putting prospective husbands in your path immediately,” her mother, Ruth Grayson, promised. She remained beautiful and slim in her sixties and loved her children unconditionally.

  Sitting beside her mother on the sofa in Brandon and Faith’s apartment over the restaurant, Sierra blinked. It had been Luke’s idea for them to discuss the invitation alone. He’d known that ganging up on Sierra would only make her stubborn.

  Ruth’s hand covered her daughter’s. “I mean it.”

  Sierra loved her mother and wouldn’t have her worried for the world. Ruth Grayson had left he
r family in Oklahoma after the death of her husband and traveled to Santa Fe to teach at St. John’s because the college offered free tuition to children of the instructors. There was no sacrifice too great for her to make if it would benefit her children. She had always put them first, and they loved and admired her for doing so. They were blessed to have her as their mother. “It’s a wonderful opportunity.”

  “But would you be considering it if I wasn’t trying to marry you off?”

  Again her mother surprised her. Nothing any of her brothers had done had veered Ruth from her path. “I applied for the job months ago.” Sierra smiled. “Long before I was next on your marriage hit list.”

  “Your brothers and their wives are happy,” Ruth pointed out.

  “But they’re not me. Luke dated the least, but all of them had women in their lives. There’s never been a special man in my life, and I like it that way.” Sierra squeezed her mother’s hands. “I like my space and independence.”

  “Afraid he wouldn’t understand some of those costly items in your closet, or the empty cupboards,” Ruth said knowingly.

  “There is that, but the men I’ve met don’t …” Her voice trailed off as Sierra sought a word that wouldn’t sound sexual.

  “Move you,” her mother furnished.

  Sierra blinked again, then laughed. “Oh, Mama.”

  Ruth returned the smile. “I know what love feels like, that special connection. How his touch, his voice, can move you.”

  Sierra thought of Blade, but there was also another man. “Daddy.”

  “There was never a man like him.” Her mother took both of Sierra’s hands in hers. “That is what I wanted for all my children. A love that transcends.”

  “I wish I could remember him.” Sierra had been a toddler when the commercial airplane he’d captained went down in the Brazilian jungle.

  “I see him in each of you. He would have been so proud of you.”