The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter (19 page)

“Okay, let's go for it,” she said at last.

At the same time, she swore that she would do everything in her power not to take advantage of him. Lunch was one thing. A party outfit was something else entirely. She would buy that for herself, if she could convince herself that one of the dozens of cocktail dresses already in her closet from what seemed like another lifetime wouldn't do.

* * *

For a man who claimed not to know much about shopping, Harlan guided her around the best shops in Dallas with the ease and familiarity of an extravagant
tour guide. He seemed to have his heart set on a particular kind of dress and, after trying on dozens, all she knew for certain was that it wasn't baubles, bangles or beads he was looking for.

“I think I know just the place,” he said at last, and led her to a boutique carrying designer Western wear. He gazed around at the fancy Western-cut shirts and rhinestone-studded jeans and nodded in satisfaction. “Yep, this is it.”

Janet shook her head. “You knew all along this was what you wanted me to wear, didn't you?” she accused.

“I wasn't sure,” he claimed.

“Harlan, there is no comparison between those cocktail dresses and this,” she said, gesturing to the displays. “Why'd you waste three hours taking me to those stores, so I could try on silk and lace?”

“I thought all women liked to dress up in pretty clothes. Besides, I thought you might find something you couldn't resist.” He shook his head. “You're a tough nut to crack, though. I never once saw a glimmer of longing in your eyes.”

“Because I wore those kinds of dresses to more social functions than I care to recall back in New York. My closet is crammed with them. If I never wear another one, it will be okay with me.”

He chuckled at that. “That's another thing I love about you. You've long since figured out who you are.”

Janet denied his assessment with a quick shake of her head. “You're wrong. I know who I don't want to be anymore. I don't want to be a big city lawyer, living in a pressure cooker. I don't want to go to
parties because I might meet someone important,” she said pointedly, then added with a touch of wistfulness, “But I'm still discovering who I am.”

Harlan listened to all that intently, then asked softly, “Any room in the picture for a rancher?”

The direct question took her by surprise. Her heart thumped unsteadily as she considered all the implications of what he was asking. “Maybe,” she said eventually, her gaze locked with his.

“That's good enough,” he said quietly. “For now.”

She finally forced herself to break eye contact by feigning a sudden interest in a fancy denim outfit.

“Janet,” Harlan said, drawing her attention back to him. “If there's one thing I've learned the past few years it's that life is unpredictable and often far too short. Don't get the idea I'm going to leave you much room to maneuver for long.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the silky tone. “Is that a threat?”

He touched his fingers to her cheek in a light caress that set off fireworks in her midsection.

“It's a promise,” he declared, then winked. “Now, try on that outfit you've been eyeing since we walked in the door. And while you're at it, take a look at that skirt and blouse with the sparkly doodads on it.”

“Rhinestones?” she teased.

“That's the one. Looks perfect for square dancing.”

“We're going to be dancing on Saturday?”

“Darlin', you can't have a big to-do in this part of the world and call it a party, unless there's dancing.”

“I had no idea.”

“That's why you have me,” he reassured her. “I'm going to see to it that you fit right in in no time.”

“I do so admire a man with a mission,” she said as she grabbed the selected clothes off the racks and carried them into a nearby dressing room.

Inside the room, she shut the door and leaned against it, drawing in a deep breath. With every single minute she spent in Harlan Adams's company, she realized she was coming closer and closer to losing her heart. The day when she would have to choose between that and her own personal mission was clearly just around the corner.

* * *

On Saturday, Harlan fussed over every detail as the time for guests to start arriving neared. Maritza was beginning to mutter in Spanish, her tone suggesting it would be far better if he didn't try to translate. Her cousin Consuela, who'd been the original housekeeper at White Pines until Luke had lured her off to his ranch, finally backed him out the kitchen door by waving a dish towel in his face.

“Go, go. You stay out now,” she ordered, barring the doorway. “You are only in the way in here.”

“Damn, but you're bossy,” he grumbled affectionately. “Who's running that house of Luke's? You or him?”

Her dark eyes flashed fire. “You remember that I can walk out before this affair of yours begins,” she threatened, her own tone just as fond. “I will take Maritza and the others with me. How will you manage then,
señor?
”

“With my charm,” he quipped.

She turned her gaze toward heaven as if praying for patience. “It will not feed this crowd you have
invited,” she reminded him. “Now, go and talk with your sons or play with your grandbabies.”

“I'll go out and check to see if the tent's set up right,” he said.

“No,” she ordered at once. “The men have everything under control.” She tilted her head at him. “I do not recall you making such a fuss over details in the past. This party is important to you?”

He nodded, feeling sheepish. “Silly, huh? We must have thrown a hundred parties in this house, but this is the first time I've ever been a wreck.”

Consuela's expression sobered at once. “It is because you no longer have Mary by your side,” she said sorrowfully. “I should have thought, Señor Harlan. You must miss her very much at a time like this.”

That was part of it, he supposed. But he'd come to terms with his loss in the past few months. Though he was likely to miss Mary until the end of his days, he had moved on. No, this sense that he was standing at the edge of a precipice and that the slightest misstep would send him over was due to another woman entirely.

“No,” he corrected softly. “It is because I want everything to be perfect tonight.”

Consuela's eyes widened. “For the
señorita,
yes?” At his startled look, she explained, “Rosa told me she has seen you together in town many times and then Luke and Jessie described meeting her. They say your eyes light up when you are in the same room. You care for this woman?”

He nodded, even though that was a pale description of his feelings. “Deeply,” he admitted.

“Then Maritza and I will see that this party impresses her. Leave it to us, okay?”

He grinned. “Do I have any choice?”

“No,” she conceded, and disappeared into the kitchen from which she had just banished him.

Left at loose ends, he paced. When that failed to calm him, he retreated to his office and fiddled with papers, none of which caught his full attention. He was trying for the third time to add up a simple column of figures when he realized he was no longer alone. He glanced up and found not one, but six pairs of prying eyes studying him with amusement.

“What's the matter with the bunch of you?” he grumbled, staring sourly at his sons and their wives. If he could have kept them away from this event, he would have, but he hadn't wanted to send the wrong message to Janet. He was very aware of how sensitive she was about not being accepted in Los Piños, despite the cavalier attitude she had expressed on the subject.

“We heard you were driving the entire staff nuts,” Luke said. “Consuela thought you might need company.”

“Consuela is a busybody.” He noticed Jordan and Cody rolling their eyes. “And you two can be uninvited, you know.”

“Us?” Jordan said innocently, exchanging a look with his younger brother. “What did we do?”

“We're giving him a taste of his own medicine,” Cody retorted, clearly undaunted by the threat. “Looks like he can't take it.”

Harlan heard the sound of footsteps clattering down the stairs. “Aren't those your little hellions I
hear?” he demanded. “Damn, but they make a racket. Can't you control them?”

“Those are your precious grandchildren,” Luke corrected. “And you're the one who said you wanted this to be a family event. How come, Daddy? You have big plans for tonight? Maybe an announcement of some kind?”

Harlan was startled by the suggestion, even though he could see how they might have leapt to that conclusion. “Don't go getting ideas. This shindig's just to let Janet get to know the family and some of my friends.”

“How big's the guest list?” Jordan prodded, his expression entirely too smug.

“Two hundred, okay?” Harlan retorted, frowning at him. “Once I got started, I figured I might as well invite everybody at once.”

“I hope Janet's not expecting an intimate little gathering,” Jessie said worriedly. “I'll never forget that birthday party you threw for me when I was first married to Erik. I'd never seen that many people gathered together outside of a church revival in my entire life.”

“Well, we'll know soon enough,” Kelly stated. “She and Jenny are just pulling up.” She grinned at her father-in-law. “Did you tell her to come early to play hostess?”

Harlan shook his head in disgust at their teasing. “Never mind what I told her,” he said as he strode past them.

“He must not think we're up to the responsibility,” Kelly said to Jessie and Melissa. “Think we should stage a protest?”

“I'm for it,” Melissa teased.

Harlan turned back and glared at the lot of them. “If you all don't behave tonight, I'm disowning every one of you.”

“I win!” Cody said with a whoop.

Harlan scowled at his youngest. “Win what?”

“We placed bets on how long it would take you to threaten to disown us. I figured less than ten minutes. Luke and Jordan thought you'd hold your temper longer.”

“I was counting on Janet being here to keep him in line,” Luke explained.

“Out of the will, every one of you,” Harlan declared as he walked off and left them laughing.

Only after he was out of their eyesight did he allow himself to smile.

* * *

Harlan must have invited everyone within a hundred-mile radius, Janet decided as she stared at the throng of people filling their plates at the heavily laden buffet tables.

As if he sensed that she might be overwhelmed, he had stuck close to her side ever since her arrival, silencing gossip with a frown, introducing her to people who could bring her their legal business, shielding her from his sons' excessive teasing.

He'd left her just a moment before to greet the governor, promising to bring him back to meet her. The governor, for heaven's sake! At what Harlan referred to as a little backyard barbecue. Obviously he took such illustrious guests in stride.

To her, the sheer size of the event was daunting without even taking into account the importance of
some of the guests. Her ex-husband would have had whiplash from looking this way and that to be sure he didn't miss anybody. The fancy New York parties they'd attended had been nothing compared to this assembly of Texas's rich and powerful.

“A little daunting, isn't it?” Jessie inquired, magically appearing by her side just when Janet was beginning to feel exactly that way.

“It's second nature to him, isn't it?” she replied, watching the ease with which Harlan escorted the governor from cluster to cluster. As many parties as she'd been to, she'd never been entirely comfortable with the small talk required.

“You wouldn't have thought that, if you'd seen him earlier,” Jessie revealed. “He was like a kid throwing his first party and terrified nobody would come. Of course, in his case, I think you're the only guest he's been really worried about.”

Janet couldn't get over the idea that Harlan might have suffered a bad case of stage fright. “He was nervous?” she asked incredulously.

Jessie nodded. “Because of you. He really wanted tonight to be special for you.” She studied Janet intently. “Are you two involved? I mean, happily-ever-after involved.”

Janet evaded a direct answer by asking a question of her own, “What does he say?”

“Not a darn thing, really. It's driving all of us crazy.” She grinned. “I figure it serves Luke and his brothers right. On the other hand, I want to be in on the secret.”

“There is no secret,” Janet assured her.

Jessie's expression turned serious. “If he asks you to marry him, what will you say?”

Janet swallowed hard. It was clear that Jessie felt her question wasn't nearly as premature as Janet hoped it was. “I can't answer that,” she said. To soften the response, she added, “And even if I could, you're not the one I'd be telling. Harlan would be the first to have an answer.”

Jessie nodded approvingly. “Good. Now I know that all the bullying from these Adams men won't force you into a corner.” She grinned. “It takes a strong woman to put up with them. I think you'll do just fine.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Janet said. “But sometimes trying to say no to Harlan is like swimming in quicksand.”

“You ever need a lifeline, just let me know,” Jessie offered. “The same with Kelly or Melissa. We've all been there.” She glanced up and caught sight of Harlan approaching with the governor at the same time Janet did. “Whoops, I'm out of here. I voted for his opponent. I'd hate to have to admit that in front of Harlan.”

Janet was still chuckling when Harlan reached her. She acknowledged the introduction to the governor and his wife with a smile and sufficient small talk to cover her nervousness. Fortunately, the band struck up a slower tune just then.