One Steamy Night
Autore
Brenda Jackson
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Capitoli
21
Prologue
Jaxon Ravnel threw out a card before glancing around the crowded room. Including himself, there were over fifty men in attendance at the first ever Westmoreland Poker Tournament. Some were men who were born a Westmoreland or who, like the Outlaws, were cousins of the Westmorelands. Then there were those who’d married into the family. All were accounted for and all but four players had been eliminated from the game. Those were the ones who were either sitting around observing or hanging out at the bar. An assortment of whiskeys were in decanters and everyone was helping themselves. There was also beer in a huge refrigerator.
The room was quiet for now. Storm Westmoreland was no longer cursing, which meant he was either holding a good hand or he wanted the three others seated at the table with him to assume he was. The room where the game was being played was the spacious poker room, located on the third floor of Westmoreland House.
Westmoreland House was the three-story building Dillon Westmoreland had built on his property, located in what the locals in Denver referred to as Westmoreland Country. Because the Westmorelands were big on family and enjoyed get-togethers, the building contained a humongous kitchen on the ground floor and a huge banquet room with the capacity to seat anywhere from two to five hundred people.
There was also a theater room for the ladies to watch movies, as well as a huge playroom for the younger children that resembled an indoor playground. Not to be overlooked, the teens had their own game room equipped with arcade consoles, mounted televisions, pinball machines, pool tables, board games and a refrigerator stocked with energy drinks.
The entire third floor belonged to the men. That’s where the bar, pool tables, man cave and sleeping quarters for overnight poker games were located. Jaxon thought this was a nice setup. The beginning of the tournament required several games going on at once and this room was spacious enough to accommodate everyone. There was a men-only rule and food had been catered by a restaurant in town.
It was close to midnight now, and this was night two of the tournament. Over the past year he’d gotten to know all the Westmorelands, those based out of Atlanta, Montana, Texas, California and Denver. And he was building a bond with his newfound cousins, the Outlaws.
Since the Outlaws and their Westmoreland cousins were such a close-knit group, Jaxon had been included as an honorary member of the Westmoreland family. As an only child, he wasn’t used to a huge family, but he was finding out just how such a family operated, thanks to the Westmorelands and the Outlaws. Getting to know all of them, which included the wives and husbands who’d married into the family, had been overwhelming at first. Now he felt comfortable and at ease around them.
More than anything, he appreciated their acceptance of him as one of them. That was the main reason he figured here at the tournament was just as good a place as any for the announcement he needed to make. He wasn’t sure how the men would take what he had to say, but he wanted to be up front and honest with them, and then let the chips fall where they may.
Another hour passed before the intensity of the game lessened as King Jamal Yasir of Tehran, who was married to Delaney Westmoreland, told everyone about the new school that had been built in his country. When he’d finished talking, Jaxon decided to make his announcement in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone.
“Just so all of you know, I plan to marry Nadia.”
Like he figured it would, the room became quiet. More than fifty pairs of eyes stared at him. At first no one said anything, and then his cousin, Senator Jess Outlaw, the only one who’d been privy to Jaxon’s plan, made sure everyone’s mind was free of confusion by asking, “Nadia Novak?”
Jaxon fought back a grin. That was the only Nadia he knew and would guess that was the only one the others knew as well. “Yes, Nadia Novak.”
“I didn’t know you and Nadia were seeing each other,” Zane Westmoreland said after taking a sip of his brandy.
“We aren’t.”
“Then how are you going to marry her? What’s your plan of action?” Derringer Westmoreland asked.
A slow smile broke across Jaxon’s lips. “A very serious courtship.”
“Good luck with that,” his cousin Maverick Outlaw said. “I think all of us have heard Nadia say more than once that she plans to stay single for a long time. Possibly forever.”
“Hey, that’s what Gemma claimed,” Callum Austell said in his strong Australian accent. “It took me three years, but I eventually won her heart.”
Jaxon had heard the story of how Ramsey Westmoreland’s best friend from Australia had come to Denver to help Ramsey start his sheep farm. One day he had seen Ramsey’s sister Gemma and what had been intended as a one-year trip to America for Callum had become three. It had taken the man that long to win Gemma over.
“I don’t have three years,” Jaxon said. “I want to marry Nadia before New Year’s.” He knew that was a big initiative given this was August.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Nadia doesn’t like overconfident men,” Canyon Westmoreland said, grinning.
Jaxon noticed several others nodding their heads in agreement. “I don’t consider myself an overconfident man. Just a self-assured one.”
“You’re also a very disciplined one, but with Nadia it won’t matter,” Stern Westmoreland piped in to say. “I suggest you think things through, Jaxon. Trying to win Nadia over might be taking on a little too much. I love her to death but she’s a renegade. She’s headstrong, opinionated and sassy.”
“Sounds like she hung around Bailey too long.” Walker Rafferty grinned, commenting on his wife. “At least I’ve never heard Nadia use any curse words.”
Jaxon raised a brow. “Bailey curses?” He couldn’t imagine such a thing of the woman he’d gotten to know.
Laughter broke out around the room. Hilarious laughter. “Worse than a sailor,” Ramsey Westmoreland said, taking a sip of his drink. Jaxon figured Ramsey should know since he was Bailey’s oldest brother. “Bailey would use curse words not even in the English language,” Ramsey kept on. “You wouldn’t believe how many times Dillon and I had to wash her mouth out with soap. Now we let Walker deal with it.”
Jaxon had heard how the parents, the aunts and uncles of the Denver Westmorelands had died in a plane crash over twenty years ago, leaving Dillon, the oldest cousin and Ramsey, who was next to the oldest, with a family of fifteen. Several of the siblings and cousins had been under sixteen at the time. When the state of Colorado tried forcing Dillon to put the youngest in foster homes, he had refused.
Walker chuckled. “Now that we have kids of our own, Bailey’s gotten a whole lot better and rarely says a curse word. Thank God.”
“So, in other words,” Sloan Outlaw said, “Nadia will be a challenge you might not want to take on, cuz. We’ve seen her give more than one guy the boot. We’d hate for you to be the next.”
Jaxon didn’t say anything for a minute as he glanced around the room and met each man’s gaze. “I am very much aware that Nadia has a strong personality. However, I don’t have any choice about taking Nadia on. I’ve fallen in love with her.”
Words like “damn,” “crap” and “shit” escaped several of the men’s lips.
“Have you taken the time to get to know her?” Riley Westmoreland asked.
“No, but it doesn’t matter. I fell in love with her the moment we were introduced. But then that’s how things work in the Ravnel family.”
“They work that way in the Austell family, too, so I know where you’re coming from,” Callum said, grinning. “Falling in love for some men might be a slow and reluctant process, but for me it was automatic. I fell in love with Gemma the moment Ramsey introduced us.”
“It was that way for me, as well,” Dylan Emanuel said. He’d become the most recent addition to the Westmoreland family when he’d married Charm Outlaw ten months ago. “I’m a firm believer in love at first sight.”
“That’s all well and good, but I’m not sure five months will give you enough time to grow on Nadia. She can be stubborn,” Reggie Westmoreland, the other senator in the family, said.
Jaxon leaned back in his chair. “I believe it can be done...without any interference from any of you.”
“As long as you don’t plan to do anything illegal or break her heart.”
It was the first time Dillon had spoken. Any input from Dillon meant a lot since Nadia was his wife Pam’s youngest sister. Jaxon knew Nadia was not just Dillon’s sister-in-law, but that he also considered her the baby sister he never had since his parents had had six boys.
“I won’t do anything illegal, and I won’t break her heart. I just need all of you to know my intentions. And like I said, I prefer no interference.”
“That means we can’t tell our wives,” Thorn Westmoreland said. “That shouldn’t be a problem. We abide by the rule that whatever we say in this room stays in this room.”
All the men agreed. However, Dillon said, “I’m telling Pam. Nadia is her youngest sister and I feel she has a right to know. Don’t worry about her interfering because she won’t. She knew about Aidan and Jill and didn’t interfere with them.”
Jill was another of Pam’s younger sisters. Jaxon had been told of Aidan and Jill’s secret love affair during medical school. Little had they known that Pam and Dillon had been fully aware of what was going on between them.
“You and Pam were too perceptive,” Aidan said, grinning over at Dillon.
“Some things just can’t be hidden,” Dillon responded. He glanced back at Jaxon. “I’m trusting you to do the right thing by Nadia.”
“And I will, I promise you. Like I said, I want her to be my wife and will do my best to win her over.”
“Well, just be prepared that with Nadia, your best might not be good enough,” Durango Westmoreland said, shaking his head. “To be honest, Nadia isn’t the one I’m worried about.”
“Same with me,” Stone Westmoreland said, laughing. “In other words, Jaxon, we’ll be here to help tend to your bruises when Nadia gives you the boot.”
Jaxon actually saw a look of pity in a number of the men’s eyes. Even Dillon’s.
“You guys aren’t scaring me any,” Jaxon said, laughing and tossing out another card.
“Don’t say we didn’t warn you,” Jared Westmoreland said, smiling.
At that time, King Jamal Yasir, who’d acted as dealer, went around the table to ask each player if they wanted to bet or call. No one raised the bet, and they began showing their hands.
Everybody groaned loudly when Jamal proclaimed Storm Westmoreland the winner of the tournament.
