The Reluctant Texas Rancher (Harlequin American Romance) (12 page)

She tipped up her head and met his gaze, seeing both the heat and the tension there, and her stomach quivered.

“Had I not agreed to hide my involvement with Olympia before she signed on as a client, at least half this mess I am in would be a nonissue.”

“It’s not the same,” Liz argued, her voice far too unsteady to convince herself, never mind him.

He slid an arm around her and pulled her close, brushing his lips across her temple. “It’s exactly the same.” He dipped his head and lightly pressed his mouth to hers.

Liz moaned in dismay. “You make it impossible for me to think when you do that.” But she didn’t step back. Not yet anyway…

He tugged her even nearer, leaning his body into hers. “Actually, I believe it’s the other way around,” he murmured. “I think when we’re
kissing
—” he emphasized the word with a quick, breath-stealing caress “—is the only time either of us think clearly.”

Without warning, Tillie appeared in the kitchen doorway. She was followed by other family members. “There you are! What did the vet say?”

Briefly, Travis caught the ladies and J.T.—who was still there, playing cards with them—up on the latest with the goats.

“I’m about to take the molasses water out to the sick goat now,” Liz said.

“Before you go…” Tillie rushed out of the kitchen and returned with a FedEx envelope. “I’m so sorry, Travis,” she said, her cheeks pink with embarrassment. “I’ve been so busy this completely slipped my mind. This came for you earlier today.”

“Thanks.” He looked at the return address. Liz could see it, too. It was from the human resources department at Anderson Oil. His grandfather’s company…

“Do you-all want to play cards with us when you finish in the barn?” Reba asked.

Liz lifted a hand. “Thanks, Mom, but we still have some strategizing to do.”

Her announcement was met with a quartet of speculative looks. Feeling as if she had been under the microscope long enough, she picked up the pitcher of molasses water. “Let’s get going....”

Travis tipped his hat at J.T. and the ladies and ambled out after her.

Once on the porch, Liz paused as he opened the envelope. The look on his face was not promising.

Liz set the bucket down. “I hope it’s good news.”

Travis looked at her. “Depends on who’s doing the deciding.”

Her heart went out to him and she moved closer, glancing at the open V of his shirt and the strong column of his throat. “Feel like sharing?”

Travis gave her a thoughtful once-over. Wordlessly, he handed her the top sheet of the stack of papers.

Liz scanned the letter from human resources. “Wow,” she said. “Seven figures plus a signing bonus and the title of vice president.” She swallowed around the sudden constriction in her throat. “Your grandfather is pulling out all the stops.”

“Don’t forget the corner office on the top floor of the Anderson Oil building in downtown Houston,” he responded drolly.

An office that would take him far away from her, Laramie County and the Four Winds Ranch. But wasn’t that the goal here? Forgetting that would lead to nothing but heartbreak, and Liz had suffered enough heartbreak at the hands of Travis Anderson.

She picked up the bucket again and headed across the yard. Travis fell into step beside her even as she forced herself to conclude practically, “It’s a great offer.”

He reached over and took the bucket from her, easily carrying with one hand what it had taken her two to tote.

“If that was what I wanted to do,” he agreed, his warm breath brushing her ear. “It isn’t.”

Silence fell as they continued to the barn. Trying not to think about what the future held—it was enough just to get through the present—Liz grew pensive as they went inside. Travis mixed probiotic powder into goat feed and filled a syringe with Nutri-Drench, an electrolyte, vitamin and mineral concoction.

Together, they found the ailing goat curled up in the corner where they had left her. Liz held her jaw while Travis emptied the syringe. When the goat had swallowed, they offered the feed, and filled a small water bowl with the molasses and water mixture. They stayed by her side until they got her to drink and eat. Satisfied she was doing okay, the two of them then offered the rest of the goats the same additional nutrition, as a precaution.

When all had finished, Travis and Liz locked up the barn for the night, and headed back toward the homestead, to continue preparing for the deposition.

“What are you thinking?” Travis asked later, when they took a much-needed break.

“That doing ranch work for hours on end after putting in a full day, and still having a lot of legal work to finish up really wears a gal down. And,” Liz continued, refusing to admit what was really bothering her—the fact that Travis might leave a lot sooner than she had realized, “I also think the position your grandfather has offered you is one fine backup.”

Liz stifled the mixture of sadness and defeat welling up within her. She thrust her hands in the pockets of her jeans and stubbornly pushed on, forcing herself to be practical. “If all else fails, and given where we are with your legal situation, it just might—”

Travis caught her arms and, pulling her hands from her pockets in the process, turned her to face him.

Her heart racing, Liz looked deep into his eyes. “I’d understand if you wanted to take the job.”

“I don’t want you to understand,” Travis said gruffly, gathering her into his arms for a brief, searing kiss. He ran his fingers through her hair, kissed the sensitive spot on her neck. “I don’t want you to want me to leave.”

Liz drew a shaky breath. “I don’t!” Desperate to protect her heart, to keep from harboring false hope, she pushed him back. “But I’m also a realist, Travis. And common sense says…” Her voice trailed off. She shook her head, afraid if she said anything more she would burst into tears.

Travis pressed a finger to her lips and finished the sentence for her. “Common sense says…that we keep fighting for what we want, when we want it, until we get it.”

Liz couldn’t help but agree with that.

Unfortunately, she had the feeling that when the dust settled, and his legal troubles were over, they would still be talking about two distinctly different things.

Chapter Twelve

“Why the glum face?” J.T. asked Liz late the next afternoon, when he walked into her office.

“I can’t find the pattern of behavior I’m looking for on a case.” And without it, she saw no way she could win....

“And yet,” he guessed, “you know it’s got to be there.”

She nodded. “Once a person starts wanting, or feels entitled to, special treatment, it’s an attitude that usually stays.”

J.T. flashed a wan smile. “Are we talking about someone else now—like my tropical-lagoon-style swimming pool?”

“Yours is a special case, J.T. We all know that. Which is why we’ve all been working so hard to come up with a solution.” Liz ushered him to a seat at the conference table, where plans were spread out for him to peruse.

J.T. studied them in silence. “This pool is awfully small.”

“But it fits in the backyard. You can easily put up a privacy fence, for safety’s sake. And best of all, it’s a design the zoning and planning commission has agreed to approve immediately, so construction on it could begin right away.”

J.T. continued to survey the plans, along with the sketches and photos the landscaping company subcontracting on the job had supplied.

“It would be a good compromise,” she continued.

He rubbed his jaw. “I’m going to need to think about it for a few days.”

Liz smiled in encouragement. “While you’re doing that, please promise me—no more picketing or threatening to get out there yourself with a shovel.”

“I promise. May I take these with me?”

“Absolutely.” Liz walked J.T. out. “How did the guard donkey shopping go today?”

“Not well. The ones we found weren’t all they were advertised to be, so your mom passed and decided to keep searching.”

Liz groaned. “Oh, dear. That means we’re going to have to coop the goats up in the barn again tonight.”

“Guess they were pretty noisy last night.”

“An understatement and a half,” Liz murmured drily.

Queenie and Buck were jockeying for dominance, which in turn riled up all the other animals. Travis hadn’t been happy. Nor had anyone else. No one had slept well. All she had been able to think about when she awoke was Travis, and how much she wanted to help him, and how much she wished she was still in his arms....

But common sense—and the need for privacy—had kept her firmly in her own bed in the ranch house, while he bunked down at the homestead.

As a consequence, it had been a long, lonely night. Fraught with fantasy and regret, worry and hope.

“Well, maybe it will be better tonight,” J.T. said optimistically.

“I’ll find out later.” Liz squared her shoulders. “Right now, I’ve got another client coming in....”

“Good luck with that. I’ll be in touch.” J.T. took off, looking happier and more relaxed than she had seen him since his wife died.

Fifteen minutes later, the outer door to her office opened again and Travis walked in, with his expensive leather briefcase slung over one shoulder. He was dressed in a tan twill shirt, snug-fitting jeans and boots suitable for ranch work, but he looked like a lawyer striding into court. Strategically ready. Sexy. Confident. And determined to win.

Getting an idea what he must be like in negotiations, Liz watched him take out several fat files. “You’ve been busy,” she said admiringly.

“I organized copies of all the correspondence I wrote on Olympia’s behalf, just as you asked.”

“Good.”

He handed her another folder, his callused fingers brushing her slightly in the transfer. “The receipts for dinners and lunches out, in chronological order.”

There were so many of them. The affair must have been intense. Liz pushed the twinge of jealousy away. She had no room for that. No room for emotion of any kind. “Also good,” she said in the most casual voice she could manage.

Travis opened a third folder. “Copies of all the text messages we sent, confirming the various engagements and business dealings. Also arranged in the order they were sent.” He held out a fourth. “And all my meeting notes, along with memos summarizing any other discussions we had during the course of my representation of her.”

Liz perused a few of them, noting the attention to detail. Which didn’t surprise her. Travis excelled at everything he did.

In and out of bed…

She swallowed, pushing the thought away.

He sat on the edge of her desk, facing her. Something hot and sensual shimmered in his eyes. “How are things going on your end? Were you able to speak with any of Olympia’s four previous attorneys?”

“Yes, I did. By phone.”

“And?” He lifted a brow.

Reluctantly, Liz admitted, “The first two were not asked for a reduction in billing rate. The third and fourth both were, but elected not to give it to her, since it was not their firm’s policy.”

Travis went still. “What about a relationship?”

“If it happened, no one is admitting it,” Liz said with a sigh.

His lips compressed. “So this pattern of behavior began and ended with me.”

“As far as we know. I mean, we can ask during the course of the deposition if she is still receiving a reduced billing rate from Haverty, Brockman & Roberts. And whether or not she’s dating anyone else in the firm.”

“My guess is yes to the first and no to the second, given what happened to me.”

Liz nodded.

A dejected silence fell.

Travis stood and moved away from the desk. “So, the deposition is in two days. And we’re back to ‘he said, she said.’”

Liz rose and followed him to the shelves containing her law books. “You still have a solid case for unlawful firing and defamation.”

“Part of my job was keeping the client happy.” His jaw clenched. “HB&R can and will argue I failed to do that.”

Liz refused to admit defeat. “And we’ll argue in return that no attorney can keep Olympia Herndon happy for long. Her track record when it comes to representation speaks for itself, and I am ready and willing to call in her previous attorneys and ask them under oath exactly how demanding and difficult a client she was.”

“That will get ugly.”

Liz knew he was thinking about his family, trying to keep them from being involved—by extension—in anything undignified or defamatory. But while she sympathized with that, her job was to protect him.

“It’s already ugly. We just have to hope that, when it comes right down to it, everyone involved will realize this is a can’t-win situation, with the potential to hurt all the participants.”

“It sounds like you’re talking settlement already.” Lines of disapproval bracketed his lips.

“No. I’m talking about a voluntary withdrawal of all charges, with binding confidentiality agreements on both sides. A win-win solution for all of us that will keep the ugliness confined to the deposition room and out of the public eye. It’s quite a different animal.” Liz paused. “Trust me to petition well on your behalf.”

“I do.” Travis took her hand and squeezed it. They smiled at each other, in sync once again. “In the meantime, I have a favor to ask of you…”

“
D
INNER
WITH
YOUR
FOLKS
, at their ranch,” Liz repeated in shock. “Tonight.” They hadn’t even done that when they were dating.

Travis glanced at his watch. “We’re due there as we speak.”

“I’m in a suit.” Or in other words, way overdressed, so at a disadvantage, socially and otherwise.

Travis lounged against the wall and surveyed her head to toe. “You could be wearing Birkenstocks and a toga, with a wreath in your hair, for all they’d care.”

Liz went to the wardrobe and supply closet in her office, where she kept a few emergency outfits. She opened it, and stood looking at the choices.

Travis hovered next to her. “I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t really want you by my side tonight.”

Her heart took a little leap. “Put that way…of course I’ll go.” She removed a white, notch-collared blouse and black slacks. That and her black flats were the best she could do.

She slipped into her private bathroom and shut the door.

Travis called through the panel, “I’ve already told them we can’t stay past dinner, so it shouldn’t be a long evening.”

Liz hurriedly changed clothes. “Any of your siblings going to be there?” He had two sisters and two brothers. All younger.

“Nope. I’m not sure whether to be happy about that or sad.”

She ran a brush through her hair, reapplied lipstick and spritzed on a small amount of jasmine perfume, then opened the bathroom door. “How come?”

Travis lifted one corner of his mouth as she approached him. “If they were there,” he admitted with uncharacteristic ruefulness, “they’d take some of the attention away from me.”

Liz shut down her computer, picked up her handbag and keys and turned off the lights. She led the way out. “So you think this is going to be a tense situation?”

Travis fell into step beside her. “Hopefully not, with you there.”

The excitement Liz’d felt began to fade.

So much for presuming this invitation was romantic in nature.

She paused and turned to face him, so suddenly he almost ran into her. “In other words, you’re using me as a human shield?” She kept her voice mild.

He curved his hands over her shoulders, his eyes full of affection. “More like the target of my longing.” He rubbed his thumb across her cheek.

Liz sighed and tried not to lean into his touch. “You think sweet-talking me will you get somewhere?”

He flashed a slow, sexy grin. “One can hope.” Then he bent his head and kissed her. “I’ll make this up to you,” he promised.

He was going to have to, Liz thought. Her emotions were in such turmoil!

Talk once again turned to his legal situation and the strategy they were planning to take.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Travis’s parents’ ranch.

Located on the northeastern side of Laramie County, the former Lockhart Ranch had belonged to Kelsey’s family, until Kelsey Lockhart and Brady Anderson had partnered up to purchase the property and renamed it the Double Deal Ranch.

Over much familial protesting, Travis’s parents had entered into a marriage of convenience—that soon turned into the real thing—in order to get a start-up loan for their two businesses. Thirty-four years and five children later, Kelsey and Brady were happy and prosperous.

Kelsey’s horse-riding operation took up one half of the ranch, Brady’s cattle operation the rest. They employed a half-dozen riding instructors, a dozen full-time cowboys and a dozen grooms, a cook and two secretaries. Everything on the ranch was modern, luxurious and state-of-the-art. Including their very own backyard barbecue pavilion. The spacious entertaining area featured a beautiful limestone floor, polished oak bar and stools, and banquet table. A mammoth grill and Sub-Zero fridge, plus sink and dishwasher, comprised the outdoor kitchen area. Flat-screen TVs and ceiling fans were suspended from the roof.

Liz recalled being intimidated the one time she had come out here to meet his parents, when she was a teenager and dating Travis. They had stayed only a few minutes, but it had still been nerve-racking.

That was nothing compared to the way she felt now, as she and Travis walked across the patio toward his waiting parents.

Brady was behind the polished oak bar, making margaritas. Kelsey was setting a bouquet of flowers on the table. The scents of mesquite-smoked chicken and baking bread filled the air.

The evening was all set to be homey and welcoming, yet she felt as if she was under scrutiny, however polite.

That feeling intensified when they sat down to dinner.

During the meal, the conversation was light and casual. It was only when they were finishing up with pie and coffee that Travis’s parents finally exchanged glances and got down to brass tacks. “Hargett told us about his offer to you,” Kelsey told her son, her freckles standing out against her fair skin.

“Before you decide, your mother and I would like to put in our own offer,” Brady said.

Liz’s discomfort intensified. “Perhaps I shouldn’t be here for this…” She started to rise.

Travis draped a possessive arm around her shoulders and used the pressure to push her right back down in her seat.

He turned to face her, stating simply, “I want you with me.”

The sensation of being needed made her spirits soar.

He regarded his parents steadily. “Liz can hear anything you-all have to say to me this evening.”

Brady wasn’t happy about it, but he nodded and continued with the frankness for which he and his wife were known. “Son, if you want to ranch, we want you to start out right. Not to insult you, Liz, but we don’t want to see our son herding goats and donkeys on someone else’s property when he could be running cattle on his own. Which is why, Travis, your mother and I are prepared to lease you a chunk of our land to get started on. When and if you find a ranch you’d like to buy, we’ll help you with that, too.”

Clearly insulted, Travis removed his arm from Liz’s shoulders and sat up straight. “I appreciate the offer, but…no.”