Her Prada Cowboy: McCulloch County Series #1 (9 page)

Jarrod
woke up a few hours later when Shannon scrambled over him and ran to the
toilet.  He heard her hurling and was immediately concerned, thinking back on
what she ate at the restaurant that could have made her sick.  He followed her
and leaned behind her to grasp her hair and held it out of the way.

She hurled again and moaned when she
felt Jarrod stroking her back.

“Go away … !”

He of course ignored her and waited
until he was sure she was done.  He picked up a cloth, ran it under hot water
and wiped her face tenderly, ignoring her protests.   She was leaning weakly
against the bathtub.  He picked her up and carried her to the bed.  Settling
next to her, he pulled her back into his arms.

“Are you feelin’ better, doll face?”

“Yes. I don’t understand.  I never get
sick.  I have never thrown up like that befo …”

She sat up suddenly and scooted away
from him.  She glowered at him.  Her mind calculating furiously.

Oh Lord!  Oh Lord!

“Why are you glarin’ at me?”

“I … er … I’m not glaring.  I just
remembered that Sheila asked me to go shopping for them.  They should arrive
around noon and it is already nine.”

His eyebrows rose and he looked at her
speculatively.  Something was wrong.  He could feel it in his gut.  He sat up
and ran his hands through his hair.  Shannon disappeared into the walk in
cupboard and returned wearing a pair of shorts and a tee-shirt. 

“You’re welcome to shower.  I’ll make
us some breakfast so long.”

“Shannon … come here.”

“Jarrod, it is ge …”

He rose and walked towards her, as
naked as they day he was born.  She swallowed and forced her eyes to remain on
his.  Praying she could remain expressionless.  He stopped in front of her and
tilted her head for his kiss, which was short and sweet.

“You’re runnin’ away again, doll
face.  What is wron’?”

“Nothing!  I … we … can’t just jump in
bed every time we meet.  I refuse to be your latest … floozy!”

“Ah, honey. If you were my latest floozy,
you would have seen my heels the first time we were together.  Don’t fool
yourself, Shannon … you and I … we have somethin’.  Somethin’ that does not
come alon’ just every day.  I, for one, am goin’ to explore it to the fullest.”

“Fine … just explore it somewhere else
than between the sheets!”

She managed to untangle herself from
his grasp and headed towards the kitchen, wincing with every step she took. 
She deliberately kept her mind blank, refusing to think.

Ignoring it is not going to make it go
away, you know.

I know that!

The quicker you deal with it, the
better.

I said I know that!

Just
saying. 
 

“This
house is beautiful!  I can’t believe that it is part and parcel of William’s
salary package!”

The house was situated in Rainbow Ends
Estates, close to the Colorado River.  It was a luxurious two storied house
with a swimming pool that had automatic roller shutters to cover it.  The
garden was beautiful and well maintained.

Shannon bit her lip as she walked from
room to room.  Now she felt beholden to him!  She was relatively sure a house
was not a normal addition to the other Architects salary packages.  Especially
not such a luxurious one!

“Dammit Jarrod Parker!  Why are you
doing all of this?  How am I going to keep you at a distance?”

She sank down on the bottom of the
stairs, her mind blank.  She glanced at her watch and realized it was already
four in the afternoon.  It is close to a three hour drive to her apartment … and
she still wanted to stop at a drugstore on the way home.  She found the happy
family in the den and smiled when Beatrice chuckled when William threw her in
the air.

“Non, I nearly forgot to tell you. 
Mom phoned yesterday.  You are not going to believe this.  She lives in Brady.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope.  She wants to come and visit. 
You know she has never even seen Beatrice.  Seems her new husband has changed
her priorities.  She wants us to become a family again!”

“Good for you.”

“You too, Non!  She asked about you
too!  She always does!”

“You know what they say, Sheila.  A
little too much a little too late.  It can’t be truer in my case.”

“Won’t you at least try?”

Shannon just shook her head and kissed
the adorable little girl who was fisting the air.

“I have to leave if I want to reach
Houston before it is completely dark.  I am so happy you are here.”

“Will we see you over the weekend?”

“Of course.  How about I stay over on
Saturday?”

They walked her to her car and she
smiled watching them wave as she drove away.  Her mind was in turmoil and
before she knew it, she was entering the outskirts of Houston. 

Her cell phone rang, but she ignored
it.  She had a pretty good idea who it was and did not have the strength to
talk to him just yet. 

She drove to a shopping center close
to her apartment block and was relieved to find the drugstore still open.

An hour later Shannon sat on her bed, looking
at the two white plastic shafts in her hands.  One with two stripes and one
with a positive sign.  Both testimony to what she has tried to deny to herself.

She was pregnant.

Shannon
had set up the project plan for the campaign with Damien and Chris over the
past two weeks.  The agreement was that she would spend two days per week at
Perfecto offices and the rest of the time at the new Regional offices they were
setting up.

She was relieved that she only needed
to go to Perfecto on Wednesday and Friday.  There was a lot to do at Global
Media.  The offices had been set up and furnished. So far they have made four
appointments. 

Jonah Shuler, one of the founders of
Global Media accepted the position to be in charge of the Regional office and
mentor Shannon.  His only daughter lived in Houston with her husband and three
children.  He wanted to spend more time with them and it was the ideal solution
as he was only a few years away from retirement.

They have appointed an Executive
Assistant that would be shared by Shannon and Jonah, a frontline Receptionist
and a Sales Manager.

Shannon’s priority for the following
week or two, would be to find and appoint suitable candidates for the balance
of the positions.  The sooner they had all the positions filled, the sooner
they would be able to start working on the projects the Dallas office were
ready to hand over to them.

She called Desire, the assistant into
her office and they discussed all the Agencies she wanted to meet, to start
sourcing candidates for them.  By eleven she went into her first meeting.  She
picked up her cell phone for the first time around four in the afternoon. 
There were four missed calls from Jarrod.  She sat down behind her desk.  She
sighed and closed her eyes. 

You’re only making it worse to ignore
him.

I can’t tell him.

It is his baby.

I am well aware of that!

Shannon took a deep breath and dialed
Jarrod’s number.  It barely rang when he answered.  His voice more raspy than
ever.

“Shannon.  How nice of you to phone
me.”

“I have been busy, Jarrod.  We are
busy setting up a whole business here, as you know.”

“Have you given my proposal any
thought?”

“I … am not going to change my mind.”

He sighed and was silent for a while.

“Has your sister settled in well?”

“Yes … why the house, Jarrod?”

“They needed a place to stay.  I never
use the house anymore and it has become a burden.  At least this way, it is
looked after.”

“Thank you.”

“Shannon, I gave William the job
because he is goin’ to be an asset to the company.  Chris interviewed him and
he was not aware of his association with you.  So stop thinkin’ he was given a
job because of you.”

Desire popped in, indicating her next
appointment arrived.  She nodded.

“I have to go.  My next appointment
has arrived.”

“Are you feelin’ better?  No more
nausea?”

Shannon startled. Oh yes, definitely
more. But not as bad as the day before. Maybe because she hardly ate anything
the whole day.

“I’m fine.  Must have been something I
ate.  I really have to go.  Thanks for caring.”

Shannon ended the call and leaned her
head on the back of the chair. 

“Shannon?  Are you okay?  Do you want
me to cancel the meeting?”

Shannon rose and smiled at Desire.

“I’m
fine.  It has just been a long day.” 

The
moment Shannon ended the call, Jarrod’s phone started ringing again.  His
cousin, Reed’s name flashed on the screen.

“Reed, how are you?”

“Smokin’ cuz.  How are Uncle Dylan and
his new wife?”

“Just returned from their trip. 
Hopefully he is goin’ to put some hours in to help with the breedin’ now.”’

“I’ve got some news and I’m afraid
it’s not good.  Whoever has sent you those emails, must have some IT skills.  We
can’t find any IP addresses, nada.  I am lookin’ into anyone that might have a
grudge against you, but so far … no luck.  Do you think it might have anythin’
to do with the new software line you’re workin’ on?”

“It is possible.  There are a few
other companies that jumped on the bandwagon when I introduced the first
program, but none has been very successful.”

“Any programmer than might believe
you’re doin’ him in?”

“No.  I have designed all of the
software myself.  Keep diggin’ cuz.”

“Will do, but I suggest you tighten
security at the ranch and the company.”

“I did not even consider anyone else
might be in danger.  Thanks for mentionin’ it.”

They rang off and Jarrod immediately
went looking for his father.  He found him in the training paddock, busy working
with one of the wild stallions.

“I’m glad to see you’re done
holidayin’, Dad?  Do you even remember how to train?”

“Careful, boy.  You’re not too old for
a hidin’.”

“Yeah … but you still have to catch
me!”

Dylan chuckled, handed the stallion to
James and walked closer.

“You look worried.”

Jarrod quickly told him what has
happened and they agreed to increase security around both houses.   They also
called all the ranch hands together and warned them to take note of anything
untoward.  He made a call to Chris the moment he walked into the house.

“Jarrod.  How is the breedin’ program
going?”

“We’re on track so far.  I need you to
sharpen our security around the buildin’, Chris.  I’ve been receivin’ threats
on my personal email.  Reed can’t find anythin’ and I’d rather be safe than sorry. 
You don’t have a copy of the new software anywhere?”

“No, it is all with you.  Do you think
that is what they’re after?”

“Might be.  I’m goin’ to put it in a
safe place until we are ready to launch.  We might have to tighten the launch
date.  The quicker it is done, the better.”

“I’ll chat to Shannon.”

“No.  I’ll be there on Friday.  We can
discuss it then.”

Jarrod leaned back in his chair behind
his study desk.  He ran his hand over his eyes.  A thought crossed his mind and
he stiffened.  What if whoever it was knew about Shannon?  Saw them together
when they had dinner and followed them.  She might also be in danger.

He frowned thinking back over the past
two days.  She was suddenly very reserved.  Not her usual cheeky self.

Damn women.  Why can’t they just tell
us when something is wron’?

He phoned Reed again and asked him to
put security detail on Shannon.

“Hey, backup there, cuz!  Who is
Shannon Davis and what is she to you?”

“Just do what I ask, Reed and stop
bein’ so nosy!”

“Send me a picture and all her
details.”

“Thanks
cuz.” 

Shannon
was already in the office before seven on Friday.  She has not been sleeping
well and has spent a lot of time at work.  The nausea seemed to have lessened
somewhat since the day before.

I need to make an appointment with an
Obstetrician.

I second that!

Yes okay.  I keep forgetting!

Or hoping you’re wrong and your period
will start.

Oh, butt out!

She opened the shared project file and
started reviewing the progress, making notes as she went.  She frowned.  She
was not happy with some aspects of the advertising campaign and went over the
original instructions she had noted on her iPad.  Numerous entries have been
changed on the project plan.  She frowned and worked through the teasers
section and then the competition.  There have been substantial changes made on
all of them.

Someone was sabotaging the campaign. 
If she had not pick this up now, they would have wasted over two months to get
back on track and wasted thousands of dollars in the process.  It would have
meant postponing the launch by another two to three months.  She glanced at her
watch and growled.  Damien would only arrive in another hour.  She became
angrier by the minute. She made detailed notes of who did what and when on the
project.  Maybe the IT department would be able to pinpoint inconsistencies on
the entries.

Her hair tingled at the back of her
neck and she knew Jarrod stood in the door, before she even lifted her head. 
Their eyes met and Shannon drew a deep breath into her lungs.  They’ve spoken
on the phone every day, but it is the first time she’s seen him since Sunday.

Lord this man looks yummy in a suit!

“What are you doin’ here so early?”

“Good morning to you to, Mr. Parker.”

He smiled briefly and sauntered
closer, clicking the door closed behind him.  Shannon’s eyes narrowed, her
stomach quivered and her heart started a rat-tat-tat race in her chest.

“Mornin’, doll face.”

He kept walking until he stood next to
her chair.  He swiveled her chair and pulled her into his arms in one motion. 
Before she could protest, his lips covered hers.  He started slow, savoring the
softness of her lips, the sweetness of her tongue and then he went deep. 
Drawing at her lips, drinking from her with drugging sensuality.

He lifted his head and traced the
shape of her lips with a rough fingertip, watching her eyes flare.

“You taste like my dream, doll face.”

She chuckled.  “You dreamt of me?”

“I dream of you every night, honey.”

“Before or after you fall asleep?”

This time he chuckled and rapped her
on the nose.

“Oh, then she says I am vain!  You
look pale.  Are you workin’ too hard?”

“I’m fine, just been battling to
sleep.  I am also worried.  I found some unauthorized changes made to nearly
every aspect of the campaign.”

“What type of changes?”

“Time and money wasters.  Time would
be spent on unnecessary and incorrect designs, statistics and advertising
placements.”

“Resultin’ in?”

“Wasting thousands of dollars and a major
postponement of the launch of the software.  I made some notes that I want IT
to look at.  Maybe they can find who is behind this.”

“I’d rather do it myself.”

“You … oh no!  Don’t tell me on top of
everything you’re a computer fundi too!”

“Who do you think designed all the
software, doll face?”

She just stared at him and frowned.

“With all these accolades, why do you
spent so much time at the ranch and not here?”

“This was my passion when I was younger. 
Now I prefer the ranch.  I do most of my work from there and only come to the
office once a week.  I can relax and breathe there.  I want to brin’ my
children up there.  Not in the middle of a concrete jungle.”

Shannon’s heart jumped.

“Children?  You, the womanizer, the
gigolo wants children?”

He turned and scowled at her.  His
voice was rough and angry.

“Maybe if you keep repeatin’ it all
the time, you might one day believe that is what I am.  Does it make it easier
to stay away from me thinkin’ like that, Shannon?”

“I … you don’t have to jump on your
high horse!”

“Yes, Shannon.  I do want children. At
least three or four.  And before you ask, no, there are no illegitimate
children of mine runnin’ around and there never will be.  My children will all
be born legitimate!”

Oh dear Lord!  You’re in trouble doll
face.

I am well aware of that!

Tell him!  Now is the ideal time!

“Jarrod, I have something to te …”

Damien walked in after a brief knock
on the door.

“Oh, my apologies.  I should not have
barged in like that.”

“Its fine, Damien.  Shannon and I were
on our way to my office to look into somethin’.  Brin’ everythin’ to my office,
Shannon.  I just need to pop in at Chris’s office.”

Hours later, Shannon, Jarrod and Chris
sat back in their chairs.  They have been scouring every aspect of the campaign
entries.  Whoever was doing this, was clever.  The changes were made randomly
and always from a shared computer base.  It was impossible to pinpoint one
single person.

“I just don’t understand why anyone
would do this?  What are they trying to achieve?”

Jarrod sighed and rubbed his eyes
wearily.

“I have been receivin’ some threats. 
At first I ignored it, then they started sendin’ them to my private email. 
Also untraceable.  We believe it might have somethin’ to do with the launch of
the software.  Someone is clearly tryin’ to delay the launch with the hope to
jump in ahead of us.”

“With what?  Your software is unique
and aimed at future development of the trade and industry.  Everyone would
benefit from it.”

“Exactly!  It would also catapult us
higher on the rankin’ as the most equitable company to work for.  Some
companies built their whole reputation on that and do not like to be usurped. 
There are many possibilities.”  Chris clarified with a frown still paging
through Shannon’s notes.