One Night with the Wealthy Rancher
Auteur
Brenda Jackson
Lezers
19,7K
Hoofdstukken
11
One
“What are you doing here, Summer?”
Summer Martindale’s eyes froze on the document in front of her at the sound of the husky voice. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in almost seven years, yet she distinctively remembered the sensuous timbre and how every audible vibration could stir her senses in a way that even today she could not explain.
In a way she wished she could forget.
She inhaled deeply and after a moment, she lifted her eyes and stared into Darius Franklin’s dark and intense gaze. It was a gaze that was emitting a chilling glare.
Summer could just as easily glare back but refused to let him know how disturbing it was to see him again. What had once been between them was over and done with. He had made sure of that in the worst possible way, which she could never forgive him for. His actions had caused her pain—a degree of pain she vowed never to experience again.
“I could ask you the same thing, Darius,” she finally responded. Her tone was just as sharp as his had been.
He stood tall, all six foot one inches of him, as he leaned in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest and his gaze fixed directly on her. She thought at that moment the very same thing she’d thought when she’d first laid eyes on him. Darius Franklin, with his pecan tan complexion, close-cut black hair, charcoal gray eyes and neat pencil-thin mustache, was an extremely handsome man. But there were other noticeable changes. His cheekbones appeared more pronounced and his lips seemed firmer.
His dark stare, as well as the way a muscle seemed to twitch in his jaw, were all the evidence she needed that he wasn’t happy to see her and if truth be told, she wasn’t happy to see him, either. It would be a lie to claim she hadn’t thought about him over the years, because she had. Yet at the same time, the memory of what he’d put her through—the humiliation, heartbreak and pain—made her regret ever lowering her guard and letting him into her life.
He stepped away from the door and she watched his every move, wishing she weren’t drawn to how fit his body was, and wishing a tug of desire had not invaded her stomach. Although he wasn’t as lean as he used to be, he wore his masculinity well. Well-toned muscles outlined his chest and shoulders—muscles she could easily see through the material of his chambray shirt. And then there were jeans that hugged his firm hips and strong thighs. They were thighs that could keep a tight hold on hers as he thrust deeper and deeper inside of her.
She forced the turbulent memories away. Her gaze moved back up to his eyes and she tried not to flinch at the cold look in them. Something inside her shivered and she wondered how a man she had once fallen in love with so deeply could end up treating her so shabbily.
“I live here in Somerset.”
His voice cut through Summer’s thoughts. He lived here in Somerset? Maverick County? That information immediately filled her with apprehension and dread, as well as curiosity. When had he left the Houston Police Department and why?
“I live in Somerset, as well,” she heard herself say. “I moved to town last month to work here at Helping Hands as a social worker.”
Surprise lit his eyes. “A social worker?”
“Yes.”
She understood his surprise. When he’d last seen her seven years ago, he’d been twenty-four years old and a detective with the Houston Police Department. And she’d been a nineteen-year-old trying to escape the clutches of an abusive fiancé by the name of Tyrone Whitman. After she had broken off their engagement, Tyrone had refused to get out of her life, to leave her alone. He had stalked her for months before he’d finally caught her alone in her apartment, and for three hours he had held a gun to her head, threatening to blow her brains out.
While the SWAT team had been trying to talk Tyrone into surrendering, Darius had broken into the apartment by coming through a bathroom window. He’d apprehended Tyrone and saved her. That night, Darius Franklin had become her knight in shining armor.
He was the same man who had stopped by her apartment the next day to repair the window, and the same man who, after learning that a not-too-smart judge had posted bail for Tyrone, made it his business to become her protector until the trial. After that, he was the same man who she began seeing on a daily basis, who would drop by when his shift changed to spend time with her, to show her how special he thought she was.
The same man who during that time, for one night, had been her lover.
“So, you went to college and got your degree?” he asked, and for a split second she could have sworn she detected a degree of admiration in his voice, but the look in his hard gaze told her she’d been wrong.
“Yes, I got my degree,” she responded, proud of her accomplishment and quickly remembering he was one of the few people who’d encouraged her to do so, and convinced her that she could. He had made her believe in herself. And a part of her had believed in them, in a future together. He had proven her wrong.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” she said briskly, putting aside the document she had been reading. “So, why are you here, Darius? Although we’ve established the fact that we’re both living in Somerset, I’m sure this town is big enough for the both of us. What brings you to Helping Hands?”
“I’m here to install the security system as well as the billing account for the shelter,” he said, as if that explained everything.
She nodded. “I was told the Texas Cattleman’s Club would be sending someone over to do those things,” she said, finding it hard to concentrate.
She had heard a lot about the Texas Cattleman’s Club, a group of men who considered themselves the protectors of Texas and whose members consisted of the wealthiest men in Texas, mostly from old money. The TCC was known to help a number of worthy causes in the community and Helping Hands, a newly opened women’s shelter located in the small, impoverished section of wealthy Maverick County, was one of them. They provided all the shelter’s funding.
Summer had interviewed for the position at the shelter and once she had been offered the job, had decided it would be a good way to have a fresh start. She had made the move from Austin, where she had been living for the past six years.
“How did you get the job?” She couldn’t help but ask.
He shrugged. “I own a security company.”
She raised a brow, surprised he had gotten out of law enforcement. He’d made a good police detective and she’d figured it would be his career. “How long have you been living in Somerset?” she asked.
“Around six years.”
It was the same amount of time she had lived in Austin. He had moved here a year after they had broken up. She quickly recalled that they really hadn’t broken up since they had never truly been together…at least not like she’d assumed they had.
“If you’re through with your interrogation, I’d like to get to work,” he said.
“Fine. I’ll get out of your way if you need to work in here for a while,” she said, getting up from her desk. Seeing him again after all this time was just a bit too much. Bittersweet memories were trying to invade her brain and she was determined to fight them back.
“If you need anything, just let the shelter’s secretary, Marcy Dillard, know. I’ll use this time to go to lunch.”
She grabbed her purse out of her desk drawer and quickly moved past him toward the door.
“Summer?”
She paused just before reaching the door and turned around. “Yes?”
He still had a hard look in his eyes. “I would say welcome to town, but I wouldn’t mean it.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Then I guess that means we’ll have to learn to tolerate each other, doesn’t it?”
Without waiting for him to respond, she turned and continued walking out the door.
Darius leaned back against the desk and watched Summer until she was no longer in sight. It was only then that he made an attempt to begin breathing normally again. But it was hard because although he couldn’t see her, he still managed to feel her presence.
Seven years was a long time, yet today when a startled Summer had looked up at him and met his gaze, he’d felt a sensation that was like a swift kick in the gut. Potent memories had flooded his mind, forcing him to recall what she had come to mean to him in such a short period of time, and just how deep her betrayal had cut.
He hit his fist on the desk, angry and frustrated. How could he still find her so desirable after all this time? After all she’d done? Why had seeing her sent sensuous shivers down his spine? She was seven years older, no longer a mere nineteen-year-old who hadn’t decided what she wanted out of life other than to be free of an obsessive ex-fiancé. She was just as stunning as he remembered. Even more so.
She had matured beautifully. She was about five-eight, tall and slim with shoulder-length straight brown hair and hazel eyes he could always drown in. Her skin tone, the color of café au lait, had always tempted him to lick her all over.
Darius bowed his head momentarily as even more memories he had tried so hard to forget resurfaced.
After college, he’d gotten a job with the Houston Police Department as a detective with aspirations of moving up the ranks. Authorities had been called to the scene regarding a domestic dispute, and Darius and his partner, Walt Stewart, had been the first to arrive.
A young woman who had obtained a restraining order against her ex-fiancé was in danger. The man, named Tyrone Whitman, had broken into her apartment and was holding a gun to her head, threatening to kill her unless she took him back.
While Walt tried talking him into surrendering, Darius was able to get into the apartment through a rear bathroom window, overtake Whitman and free Summer.
Concern for her safety when Whitman was released on bond allowed Darius to convince himself that it was important to keep checking on her. But then it became obvious it was a lot more than that. Point-blank, he had been attracted to her and thought she was a special woman who’d gotten mixed up with the wrong guy, and was trying to get her life together. Against his better judgment, although he’d been warned by Walt that Summer wasn’t really what she seemed, he had fallen for her, and fallen hard.
He’d assumed he had gotten to know her, and thought she felt the same way after a night they had spent together filled with so much sexual chemistry that it could only end one way: they had made love. Deep, passionate love. Shudders passed through him just remembering that night and the effect it had on him. It was a night he could never forget, although over the past seven years he had tried like hell to do so.
And it was a night that apparently had meant more to him than it had to her.
The following day he had left town when he received word of his brother Ethan’s near-fatal car accident. He’d had to leave immediately for Charleston and when he couldn’t reach Summer, and had been unable to leave her a message because her voice-mail box was full, he’d left word with his partner to let her know what happened. When he had returned to Houston a week later, he discovered that Summer had packed up and left town without leaving word as to where she’d gone. She’d told Walt to tell him that she wanted to build a new life for herself and was leaving town with an older man. A very wealthy one—something Darius was not.
After nearly losing his brother, it had almost destroyed him to find out that he had lost her, that she had turned her back on what could have been between them to take up with a man with money.
A hard smile formed on his lips and he wondered what she would think to discover that he was now a wealthy man, thanks to smart investments and the success of his security firm. She thought he’d been hired as a laborer for the TCC—he could just imagine her reaction when she discovered he was a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club. The same club that was funding the shelter, including her salary.
Another thought crept into his mind, one that made his skin crawl. What if she knew already? What if the reason she was in Somerset was because she’d heard about his success and assumed after all this time she could ease her way back in his good graces? A woman looking for a wealthy husband would do just about anything. He’d been gullible before and wondered if she thought he would be gullible again. Considering her actions seven years ago, he wouldn’t put anything past her.
He leaned against her desk as those thoughts filled his mind. She wasn’t wearing a ring on her finger, which was a good indication that she wasn’t married. And she had acted surprised to see him. But then it could have very well been an act. He had found out the hard way just what a good actress she was. One thing was for certain: he wouldn’t be letting his guard down. She had taken advantage of his heart before but she wouldn’t be doing so again.
He was about to begin the work he’d come to do when his cell phone went off. Recognizing the special ringtone, he pulled it off his belt and clicked it on. “Yes, Lance?”
“Hey, man, sorry I missed your call earlier.”
“No problem. I just wanted you to know that I heard from Fire Chief Ingle. I’m meeting with him tomorrow evening to go over some things. He indicated that he’ll have the official report ready in a week and that it contains proof that the fire was deliberately set.”
Lance Brody was Darius’s best friend from college at the University of Texas, where the two of them, along with another good friend, Kevin Novak, had been roommates. The three had forged a bond that would last a lifetime. There was nothing one wouldn’t do for the other and Darius could rightly say that he could give his two friends credit for his financial success.
Lance, along with his younger brother Mitch, had come from old money and together they owned Brody Oil and Gas Company. The two had included Darius in a number of successful investment opportunities. So had Kevin, who’d made his fortune in real estate development.
Lance and Kevin had grown up in Somerset and had tried convincing Darius to move there after college but he had opted for the job in Houston instead. Then, shortly after that incident with Summer, he’d decided he would move to Somerset to start a new career and a new life.
He worked closely with his friends, and Lance had hired him to investigate a fire at the Brody Oil and Gas refinery a few weeks ago. Although there was significant damage, no one had gotten seriously hurt. Darius had no doubt the fire had been the work of an arsonist, and now Chief Ingle had confirmed his suspicions.
“I can’t wait until we nail Alex. I intend to make sure that he rots in jail,” Lance was saying.
Lance and Mitch were certain they knew the identity of the arsonist. He was the long-time hated rival of the Brodys, a man by the name of Alejandro “Alex” Montoya.
“Calm down, Lance. The man is innocent until proven guilty,” Darius said.
“Wait until the report comes out. Mark my word, Alex Montoya is the person behind that fire.”
“That may very well be the case,” Darius said, knowing just how convinced Lance was of Alex’s guilt. “But it has to be proven. How’s Kate?” Darius asked, trying to change the subject. Lance and Kate had eloped to Vegas a few weeks ago.
“Kate’s fine and I know what you’re trying to do, Darius.”
Darius couldn’t help but chuckle. “If you know, then humor me. I need like hell to laugh about now.”
“Sounds like it’s been one of those days for you,” Lance said.
“You don’t know the half of it. Summer is here.”
There was a pause. “Summer? Your Summer?”
Darius could have really laughed out loud at that one, since Summer had never truly been his. But at one time he’d thought she was, and he had told Lance all about her. “Yes, Summer Martindale.”
“What’s she doing in Somerset?”
Darius sighed deeply. “She’s a social worker at Helping Hands. I showed up to set up security and work on the billing system for the place, and walked right into her office.”
“Must have been one hell of a reunion.”
“Hey, what can I say?”
Lance chuckled. “You can say you need a drink. Sounds like it, anyway. Meet me at the TCC Café when you’re ready to take a break for lunch.”
Moments later, Darius hung up the phone thinking Lance was right. He needed a drink.
Summer settled into the booth at the Red Sky Café three blocks from the shelter. It was the first week of August and such a beautiful day that she had enjoyed the walk. It had given her a chance to compose herself after seeing Darius again.
She glanced around the café. The Red Sky was a place she had been frequenting for lunch since working at Helping Hands and she had become friendly with the owners. The Timmons had grown up in this section of Maverick County and had been instrumental in approaching members of the TCC about the need for a shelter in the community.
The shelter was a full-service center that provided a safe place for women who’d experienced all types of violence to heal and plan for their future. Helping Hands had opened their doors a few months ago and she’d been hired as part of its counseling team. Summer couldn’t help but appreciate the members of the Texas Cattleman’s Club for funding the shelter. She of all people knew how important such a facility was.
She had dated Tyrone for a few months, but it was only after they’d gotten engaged that she’d discovered his mean-spirited, possessive nature that on occasion would become abusive, both mentally and physically. She had sought the help of a shelter in Houston and there had found the strength to break things off with him. The social worker at the shelter had helped her to see that although she couldn’t control Tyrone’s behavior toward her, she could control how she responded to it and remove herself from the situation.
Her choice to end things was something Tyrone couldn’t accept and he had begun stalking her, which was the reason she’d put the restraining order in place. Months had gone by when he’d appeared at her apartment one night, and forced his way inside, threatening her life. Chills went up her spine as she remembered that time.
After her own horrible experience with Tyrone, not to mention her heartbreak with Darius, she didn’t trust her instincts where men were concerned so she just left them alone. Over the years she had buried herself in her books, getting her degree. After college she had concentrated on her work as an advocate for battered women.
“What are you going to have today, Miss Martindale?”
Summer smiled as she glanced up into the face of Tina Kay, one of the waitresses. Tina had been one of her first clients at Helping Hands and at seventeen, one of her youngest. A runaway after being shifted from foster home to foster home, Tina had become the victim of physical abuse at the hands of her boyfriend, a guy who had convinced her she deserved the beatings he’d been giving her.
Summer couldn’t help but recall her own story. After high school, she had wanted to see the world. Aunt Joanne, who had raised her after her parents had been killed in a car accident when she was thirteen, tried to get her to remain in Birmingham. But she’d left Alabama to work her way to California. Along the way, she ended up in Houston where she found a job as a waitress at a chain restaurant. That’s where she’d met Tyrone. The company he worked for frequently made deliveries to the restaurant. Something told her he was bad news, but she had wanted to believe there was some good in him. Boy, had she been wrong.
“Just the usual,” Summer finally said, relaxing in her seat, looking forward to her grilled chicken salad.
She took a moment to study Tina, who looked so different than the young woman who’d come to the shelter with a swollen eye, cuts around her mouth and bruises on various parts of her body. “And how have you been doing, Tina?” she asked.
Tina’s smile widened. “I’ve been doing fine. The Timmons are letting me use the apartment above their garage. I’ve enrolled to take classes at the local community college next month and thought I’d brush up on my math. That’s always been my weakest subject. I ordered one of those do-it-yourself math books online.”
“And how are those self-defense classes going?” The shelter offered the classes weekly and attendance was always at capacity.
“They’ve been great. The instructor is just awesome. I’ve learned a number of techniques to protect myself.”
She could hear the excitement in Tina’s voice and felt good about it. The man who had roughed Tina up had left town but there was a warrant out for his arrest. Summer’s thoughts shifted to Tyrone, who’d gotten a twenty-year sentence. It would have been less if he hadn’t told the judge just where he could shove it. She shook her head, wondering how she could have ever thought that she loved the man. She could now admit that at eighteen she had been young and rather foolish.
“I’ll be back with your order in a second,” Tina said.
When Tina walked off, Summer settled back in her seat, allowing herself to think about the man she’d left at the shelter. The one man she had tried so hard to forget. She’d thought moving to Somerset would be a fresh start. A new town. New people. A new job. She hadn’t figured on being confronted with a blast from her past.
One thing she told the women she counseled at the shelter was that they could confront and conquer any challenge they were presented with, and she knew she needed to take that same advice. Fate was playing a cruel trick by putting her and Darius in the same town. But she would handle it. And she would handle him.
An irritated and frustrated Darius walked into the TCC Café and glanced around at his surroundings. What used to be a twenty-six-room mansion had been converted into a place where the TCC members could unwind and relax, which was just what he needed.
In addition to the café, the TCC also included a golf course, a state-of-the-art spa, riding stables and an air-conditioned pool house with a retractable roof as well as numerous meeting rooms, game rooms, a well-stocked library and a formal dining room.
Darius, Lance and Kevin, along with Mitch and another friend of the Brodys named Justin Dupree, spent a lot of time shooting pool in the game room. Last fall they were practically glued to the club’s projection television screen during football season.
He saw Lance sitting at a table in the back. The café served both lunch and dinner and it wasn’t uncommon for Lance to meet him here for lunch. However, nowadays Lance was quick to rush back to the office since his new wife Kate had decided to remain at Brody Oil and Gas as Lance’s administrative assistant.
Darius shook his head. Knowing Lance the way he did, he doubted his best friend let Kate get much work done. Hell, he wouldn’t either if he had the woman he loved pretty much underfoot all day.
The woman he loved.
Something twisted in his gut at the thought. Thanks to Summer, he doubted he would ever be able to love another woman again.
“I need a beer,” he said, frowning, sliding into the booth across from Lance.
“I’ve already ordered you one. I was looking out the window when you drove up,” Lance said, studying Darius carefully.
“Thanks. I had hoped to at least get the security analysis completed on most of the computers today so I can decide what software will work best,” Darius said, smiling a thanks to the waitress who placed a mug of beer in front of him.
“So, you’re going to do it instead of one of your men?”
Darius nodded. “Heath left yesterday for Los Angeles to guard some actress who’s been getting death threats, and Milt is still in Dallas,” he said of two of the six men who worked for him. “The others have been assigned to various other projects around town. That means I’ll have to go back over to the shelter when I leave here.”
Lance nodded as he took a plug from his own beer. “It also means you’ll be seeing Summer again.”
Darius didn’t say anything. Yes, that meant he would probably see Summer again today. No telling how many more times he’d see her before he finished up what needed to be done at the shelter.
Because of the nature of what went on at women’s shelters, Helping Hands needed top security twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The TCC had decided to upgrade all the computers to eliminate the risk of getting hacked. The majority of the women seeking refuge at the shelter were the victims of domestic violence, women whose lives could be placed in danger if their batterers discovered their whereabouts.
“Tell me about her, Darius.”
Darius met Lance’s gaze. “I’ve practically told you everything about how we met and how things ended. She went to college and got a degree, and now works for the shelter.”
“Did you mention anything to her about being a member of TCC?”
“No. She thinks my company was hired to handle security at the shelter.”
Lance smiled. “In a way, that’s true.”
“Yes, which is why she doesn’t need to know any different.” Darius felt his face harden when he said, “There can never be anything between me and Summer again.”
Yet he knew making sure of that wouldn’t be easy. Summer was the type of woman who easily got under a man’s skin. Just the memory of walking into that office and finding her sitting behind the desk had the power to make him feel weak and vulnerable.
And that was the one thing he could not let happen. He did not have a special woman in his life and preferred keeping it that way. Desire for anything more had died seven years ago with Summer’s betrayal.
