The Reluctant Texas Rancher (Harlequin American Romance) (15 page)

He lifted his hand and gave her a high five.

She sashayed closer and smacked her palm against his again. “As have the ethics and malpractice charges with the state bar of Texas.”

Travis grinned. “That’s great.”

Liz twirled around, grabbed his hand and hauled him to his feet. “HB&R has offered their sincerest apologies for any misunderstanding that may have occurred. And they are offering you your old job back, with an immediate salary increase of fifteen percent.”

Travis slung an arm around her waist and pulled her close.

“Should you choose not to take it—” still holding his hand, Liz spun away from him again “—they are prepared to offer you a very generous settlement, in exchange for you dropping your unlawful-termination lawsuit.” She finished her announcement with a playful curtsy.

He gave Liz her due and bowed in respect.

When he rose again, he was grinning from ear to ear. As was she. Their glances met, held. Something joyous simmered between them. “We got everything we wanted,” he told her softly.

Liz closed the distance between them and draped her arms about his neck. “You got your life back.”

“I will,” Travis promised gruffly. “Just as soon as I do this.”

He lowered his head, and all the stress of the day—of the last few weeks—faded away. He was free again, free to pursue Liz the way he had wanted to ever since they’d met up again. Free to make her his in every way that counted. And as he dropped his head and kissed her, he knew what it felt like to belong with someone. Heart and soul.

And she longed for him, too. He felt it in the heat of her skin and the twining of their tongues, and the arch of her back as she pressed against him. The way she shifted close, went up on tiptoe and wreathed her arms about his neck told him she wanted and needed exactly what he did. A night filled with nothing but the two of them. A night based on passion and desire. Seduction and need… Intimacy and warmth.

Emotion spread through him. The only sounds in the room were their heavy breathing and her sudden gasp of pleasure as he opened her suit jacket and touched her breasts.

She moaned softly, her nipples pebbling against his palm. “I can’t wait.”

He nibbled her ear, then pulled back to look into her eyes. “You’re going to have to, at least until we can get our clothes off....”

She seduced him with her laugh. Flushing, she pushed him away and reached back to undo the zipper on her skirt. It fell to floor, revealing beautiful hips and long sexy legs, and a thong that invited further inspection. His heart thudding, his body hard with anticipation, he murmured, “Allow me.”

She smiled again, surrendering to him completely as he dropped to his knees and peeled off the panty hose, then the tiny scrap of lace.

“You’re driving me crazy,” she whispered in a hot, hungry voice.

“Exactly the point.” He pressed his mouth between her breasts and kissed his way over warm flesh to the lace-covered nipples that had already tightened in arousal. She whimpered and caught his head between her hands. When he stroked his thumb through the auburn curls at her core, she trembled again and let out a cry that went straight through him.

“Then here’s the next point.” She gasped and moved away. “I want you naked, too. So…” she smiled at him wickedly “…allow me.”

He shook his head. “Ladies first.”

Still holding his gaze, she shrugged off her jacket. Let it fall.

“Only one piece left.” He rose ever so slowly and stood before her once again.

Her emerald eyes darkened as he reached behind her and unclasped her bra. Drew it slowly off.

Quivering, she stood before him.

Damn, but she was beautiful. So beautiful he knew he would never tire of looking at her, being with her, making love with her.

Her eyes luminous, she murmured, “My turn.”

He kissed her again, because he couldn’t seem to stop, and she kissed him back just as avidly. Travis loved her like this, reckless and a little smug, determined to have what she wanted, when she wanted it, how she wanted it.

His hands went to her hair, loosening the complicated twist at the nape of her neck.

Her hands went to the buttons on his shirt. She undid them one by one, taking her time. Caressing his abs as she went.

Her hair fell to her shoulders. Slowly, his shirt came off and fluttered to the floor, next to her skirt.

She smiled again as she reached for his belt, then his zipper. She spread open his fly, slid her hands inside and wrapped her fingers around him, her palm closing knowingly over his erection.

He found her, too, and when she came apart for him, murmuring his name, his already racing pulse kicked into high gear. Catching her by the hips, he lifted her onto the bureau. Shifted her toward the edge. He kissed her again, his fingers caressing her gently before sliding into wet, hot silk.

“Now,” she said, clutching at him. “I want you now, Travis.”

He parted her thighs and stepped in close. She took all he had to give, rocking toward him, and he slid home. She wrapped her legs around his waist, encouraging him to go even deeper, to claim her as his for all time, and she exploded in pleasure.

T
EN
HOURS
,
TWO
CALLS
to room service and five bouts of lovemaking later, Liz and Travis were finally spent. “I wish we could stay like this forever,” she murmured wistfully as they lay together, still wrapped in each other’s arms.

Travis stroked a hand through her hair, pressed a kiss on her temple. In a low, confused voice, he asked, “Why can’t we?”

The practical side of her knew the heartbreaking truth. A shuddery sigh escaped her, but she refused to cry. There was too much emotion on her part already. Too much involvement for what had always been just a fling.

Liz swallowed, pulled herself together and sat up.

Needing cover, she slipped from the bed and went to find the white hotel robe. “We’ve got responsibilities,” she said as she knotted the belt about her waist. She looked at the hotel coffeemaker and decided against starting it. Instead, she leaned against the bureau, bare legs crossed at the ankle, hands braced on either side of her.

Feigning an inner cheer she couldn’t begin to feel, she said, “You have to decide what you’re going to do with your life. I’ve got to go back to the ranch.”

Travis shoved back the sheets and strode toward her in all his naked glory, flashing his bad-boy grin. He laughed at the look on her face, then dipped his head so that his mouth brushed her ear. “I know what I want to do with my life.”

Realizing he wasn’t as spent as she’d thought, she edged away. “Are you going to go back to HB&R?”

“Nope.” His eyes were lit with heat, pleasure, and something even better—pride. “I’m taking their severance package and glowing recommendation.”

Time seemed to stand still as their gazes collided. “And looking for a job with another big city firm.”

Slowly, purposefully, he invaded her personal space. “No to that, too.”

Liz slid a hand over his shoulder, ostensibly to hold him at bay. Although it felt more as if she was keeping him close. “Working for your grandfather, then?” Something else that would take him from Laramie County…and utilize his talents in a way he deserved?

Travis shook his head and leaned in, palms flat on the bureau on either side of her, trapping her in place. Then he kissed her, his tongue tantalizing hers softly, until she moaned.

She leaned back, knowing it was time—past time—that they were straight with each other. And themselves. “What then?”

His eyes grew shuttered. “I’m going back to the Four Winds.”

Liz struggled against a myriad of emotions, none of which she really wanted to analyze. “For a few days.”

He ran his thumb over her jaw. “For as long as you-all will have me.”

With a gasp, she pushed free, then she stalked away, knowing she needed room to think.

Swallowing hard, she swung around once again. “You can’t be serious.”

He watched her tighten the belt on her robe. The heat of his gaze reminded her she was naked beneath.

“Why wouldn’t I want to go back?” Travis countered in a low, husky voice. He waggled an eyebrow playfully, suggestively. “I’ve been happy there.”

Heaven help her…so had she. “For a few weeks,” she pointed out.

Travis shrugged his shoulders complacently. “I could be happy there the rest of my life.”

If only,
Liz thought with a disgruntled sigh. Unfortunately, she knew better. “I don’t think so.”

He blinked and stared at her, as if she were a stranger.

“We won, Travis. You got your life back.” She drew a deep breath and forced herself to be as strong as they both needed her to be. “You can go back to the life you built for yourself and the career you love.”

He studied her, his expression inscrutable. “And leave you behind.”

Surveying him just as cautiously, she shook her head. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

He tensed. “Then what
are
you saying?”

Liz shoved her hands through her hair and spun away from him again. “That we’ve been through a crisis together. A lot of emotions were involved.”

He clamped a hand on her shoulder and turned her back to face him. “You bet they were involved,” he exclaimed with exaggerated patience.

“It would be easy to mistake the closeness we felt while we worked toward a common goal as something else.”

“Are we talking about you and me now?” His hold on her tightened possessively, then he dropped his hand. Stepped back. A muscle worked in his jaw. “Or you and your ex?”

Liz grasped the edge of the bureau to steady herself. “I’ve been down this road before. I know it feels like nothing has changed, but that’s because we’re still on a high after our victory. As days pass, things will calm down. What seems exciting and thrilling now may not feel quite so right then.”

Travis folded his arms across his bare chest, not trying to conceal his irritation. “You’re breaking up with me? And firing me, all in one fell swoop?”

Liz went on as if he hadn’t spoken. “I’d like you to do as your family wants and take some time to really consider your options.” Tears burned behind her eyes. “I want you to figure out how you’re going to pick up your career where you left off.”

“I told you.” His voice was as raw as the tension between them. “I don’t want that.”

“And I’m telling you if you walk away now, with some misguided notion of wanting to be with me, instead of pursuing what you’ve always wanted in a career, you will regret it. And when you do, you’ll also blame me.”

“So you’re doing the noble thing and pushing me away first.”

Giving him the space he needed was the best thing she could do for him. She cared enough about him—heck, she loved him enough—to make the sacrifice. “It’s not like that.”

“You’re correct, Counselor. It isn’t all about me and what I should have or what I want.” He sounded as devastated as she felt. “This is about you, too, and your inability to make a real heart-and-soul commitment.”

Liz clasped her hand to her chest. “That’s not true.”

“Right.” Travis found his boxers and tugged them on. Then his pants. “You’ve got your law practice. You seem pretty devoted to that.” He glared at her. “But as for anything else, like the ranch—or us—you can’t seem to make a decision. One day you’re in. The next day you’re looking for a way out.”

He snatched his shirt up off the floor and shrugged that on, too, then grabbed his tie. “You do just enough to avoid real conflict, and keep all your options open. Well, I’m not one of the fence sitters, Liz.”

Travis sat down to put on his socks and shoes. “I don’t want to think about it. I want a relationship with you.”

When he was done, he stood up, towering over her once again. “I want us to be together and maybe even have those babies your mother keeps hoping for.” He touched her face as if for the very last time. “But it’s not what you want.”

He was right about that, Liz thought, bitterness welling up inside her.

She wanted a love that would last. Not the kind that felt good in the moment, under a special set of circumstances. Not a love that was destined to fade away. “So either I say yes to all that…?”

Travis dropped his hand and backed away. “Or it’s over,” he said very softly. “Plain and simple. You and I are history.”

Liz caught her breath. She marched over and swung open the door. “Then you’ve got it,” she told him furiously. “You and I are done.”

Chapter Fifteen

Liz checked out of the hotel and returned to Laramie County the same way she had left it—alone. Reminding herself that this was what she had expected to happen all along, she stopped at her office and checked her messages. It seemed much had happened in her absence. Several new clients had called for appointments. Her mother had left a message, asking for a review of a contract at her earliest possible convenience. And the town’s most irascible widower had phoned her, too.

“You’re sure this is what you want to do?” Liz asked J.T. when she went over to his house a short while later to settle up with him and give him a ride.

J.T. carried his suitcase to the curb. In a boldly printed tropical shirt and shorts, walking shoes and a straw hat, he looked ready for the vacation he was about to embark upon.

He put his suitcase in the back, then climbed into the passenger seat and handed her a check for services rendered. “I think it’s time I visited Hawaii. Don’t you?”

Liz slid behind the wheel. “It probably makes more sense than putting in a lagoon-style swimming pool that may or may not get a lot of use.” She started the engine. “How long are you planning to stay?”

J.T. shrugged affably. “I’m not sure. I rented a house on the Big Island for the next six months. If I like it, I’ll probably put my home here up for sale, and move there permanently.”

Liz drove down Main Street and parked in front of the bus stop, next to the community center. “It’s a big change.”

“Your mother helped me realize that if I was ever going to recover from my loss, I’d have to get out of my rut and reinvent my life. It doesn’t mean I love my late wife any less. I can honor her every day for the rest of my life, in my heart. It just means it’s time to push on.”

For all of us,
Liz thought.

She offered J.T. her hand. “I hope it works out for you.” She had a feeling it would. The widower seemed ready now to face the emotions he’d kept pent up inside. She wondered when she would be.

He clasped her palm warmly. “Thanks for all your help.”

The bus that would take him to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport rumbled down the street.

Liz and J.T. said goodbye. She waved as he boarded, then headed back to her car.

By the time she reached her office, her mother was waiting for her, contracts in hand.

Reba took one look at her and held out her arms. “Oh, honey,” she said.

Liz accepted her mother’s hug, sinking into the warm maternal embrace.

“You won his case for him. And now he’s not coming back.”

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes, adding to the pain in her heart. Damning her weakness where Travis was concerned, Liz choked out, “We knew it was only temporary.”
That a relationship between us was never the goal.

“Yet you hoped…” Reba said sympathetically.

Liz inhaled a jerky breath. Doing her best to pull herself together—she was a Cartwright woman, after all, and they were used to ill-fated romances—she straightened and blotted the moisture from her eyes. “Foolishly.” Even though everything she had said and done had been to the contrary.

Reba took Liz’s hand and guided her onto the waiting room sofa, then sat down beside her. “Just as I hoped you would one day take the reins managing the Four Winds.”

Liz gulped, feeling a lump in her throat. It was past time for a heart-to-heart. “About that…”

Her mom held up a hand. “All your grandmothers or I have ever wanted is for you to be a cowgirl, just like us. For the longest time, we thought that meant doing what we had and taking over the running of the ranch.” Reba paused. “But J.T. helped us see that we were in just as much of a rut as he was, and that we needed to reconfigure our way of thinking about the future, too.”

“And what did you-all decide?”

“That the legendary Dale Evans was right. ‘Cowgirl’ is an attitude. It’s about growing up proud and strong and having the courage to go after what you want, despite expectations to the contrary. A cowgirl faces life bravely. She follows her own heart and lives by her own rules.”

Liz had done that, professionally. Her love life was another matter....

“My heart is in my law practice,” she told her mother sincerely. “But my home is on the Four Winds.”

Reba searched her face. “Are you sure about that?”

Liz nodded with conviction. “I’ve lived in the city, Mom, remember? All that traffic, the people, the noise…it just wasn’t for me. And there is no way I am moving back to town to be close to my office, so don’t even suggest it. The ranch is my home. You are my family. The Four Winds is where I want to be.”

“And where you’d like Travis to be, too.”

Misery engulfed her. “I can’t ask him to give up everything he fought so hard to get back.”

Reba met her gaze. “So you’re going to do what you did before. And just let him walk away, without a fight.”

Liz lifted her chin proudly. “I can’t make him want to stay.” If he had, he would have already done so. No matter what she’d said or done.

I can’t make him fall in love with me, the way I’ve already fallen in love with him.

Reba shook her head. “So instead you’re pushing him away.”

The ache in Liz’s throat worsened. She had taken his case—and made love with him—to prove that she had gotten past the crushing hurt of their breakup. To demonstrate that she had moved on to a happy, defiantly single and bulletproof way of life. Only to discover she was even more vulnerable, and more in love with him, than ever.

Whereas Travis… He was still focused on his goals, and a future without her.

Liz swallowed. “It’s the right thing, for both of us.”

“Life has plenty of heartache without making more, out of fear and stubbornness. Cowgirl up, honey. If you want that man, go after him.”

I
T
WAS
FUNNY
, Travis thought, as he walked into his grandfather’s office on Monday afternoon, carrying a box of Hargett’s favorite cigars and a bottle of whiskey. He’d thought redemption would feel a whole helluva lot better.

Instead, all he could think about was what he’d had—and lost. It had seemed as if he and Liz were getting a second chance. That his priorities, and her willingness to open herself up and let go, were finally in place. He’d thought they were going to do it right this time.

And they had.

It just hadn’t lasted.

Hargett stood up from behind his desk and extended his hand with the vigor and strength of a much younger man. Behind him was the breathtaking view of downtown Houston.

“Liz phoned me earlier. I take it congratulations are in order?” Hargett asked, no small amount of pride in his voice as they greeted each other with a clap on the back and a firm handshake.

With gratitude welling up inside him for what his grandfather had done, Travis gave his palm an affectionate squeeze. “As well as a big thank-you.”

“Don’t thank me. Thank Liz.” Hargett gestured for him to sit down. “In the beginning, I have to admit, I didn’t understand why you hired that young woman to represent you.” The oil man moved around his desk. “Now I know.” He paused, looking Travis in the eye. “She’s one hell of a good lawyer. Smart. Savvy. And determined to protect you and your interests.”

“Which she did.” Travis explained in detail what had happened at the deposition, as well as the settlement that had been reached.

Hargett nodded in approval. “Where is she now?”

Travis ignored the stab in his heart. “Back in Laramie County, I think.”

His grandfather stared at him in amazement. “You don’t know?”

“She left Houston yesterday.” In fact, couldn’t wait to get away.

Hargett settled in his chair thoughtfully. “Left the city or left you?”

Travis frowned, still hating it when the imperfections of his life were revealed. “What makes you think—?”

“C’mon, son, I know a woman whose heart is taken, even when she tries to hide it from me, like Liz did.”

Travis set his jaw, stared out the window at the skyscraper across the street. Sunlight glinted off the black glass, as sharp and potent as the hurt inside him.

He exhaled and met his grandfather’s probing gaze. “I think she cared about me, the way you care about a friend....”
I think she desired me, the way you desire someone you want to take to bed....

Hargett scoffed. “Bull. The woman’s in love with you.”

Resentment tightened Travis’s gut.
He wished.
“Not to hear her tell it.”

The old man’s eyebrows lifted in disbelief. “What’s the problem? She doesn’t want to leave Laramie County? ’Cause last time I checked there’s plenty of space to land a helicopter on the Four Winds Ranch. And since the job of CEO of Anderson Oil comes with a chopper and pilot at your disposal…technically, you could live anywhere.”

Travis grinned. The old guy could make quite a sales pitch when he wanted something. “Thanks for the offer,” he replied genially.

Disappointment etched the craggy lines of his grandfather’s face. “But you’re not accepting,” he guessed. “Even given the very nice formal offer I made.”

Travis had to be honest. “Running a large corporation is not for me. It might be for one of my siblings, however.”

Hargett sighed in regret. “I figured as much.” He leaned back in his chair, rocking soundlessly, before straightening once again. “So what does this mean?” He propped his fingertips together. “You’re going back to Haverty, Brockman & Roberts? Or on to greener pastures?”

Restless, Travis stood. “I’m not going backward. That never works.” If it had, he and Liz would still be together. He wouldn’t be standing here, feeling hurt and vulnerable as all get-out.

“But you are going back to the law?”

Travis strolled to the window and stood looking down at city streets that had lost their allure. “At least part-time.”

“Planning to follow your parents’ footsteps and start your own ranch, too?”

Travis shrugged and then slowly turned back around. More than anyone, his grandfather understood his need to be his own man. “I’d like to find a way to incorporate both in my life.” Just as Liz had.

Hargett sent him a knowing look. “And you think working two jobs will make you happy.”

Sliding his hands in his pockets, Travis inhaled deeply. “If my recent mistakes and the resulting crisis have taught me anything, it’s that I want a more well-rounded life.” A home and a woman to love, and love him back, and a family of his very own to come home to at night.

“Then,” Hargett announced, smiling slowly, “there’s only one way to get that.”

L
IZ
SPENT
THE
NEXT
FEW
days getting caught up on work, meeting with clients and thinking about what to do regarding her love life. Or current lack thereof. And she was still thinking about the best way to remedy the mistakes she had made when she parked her car in the drive, grabbed her briefcase and walked into the Four Winds ranch house.

Her mother greeted her in the foyer. Faye Elizabeth and Tillie were right behind her. All beamed with an unusual degree of excitement.

“Put your boots on, honey!” Reba ordered cheerfully, engulfing her in a warm hug. “And ride out to see our new guard donkeys. They’re in pasture 23 with the goats.”

Liz barely had time to draw a breath, never mind formulate a response, as Tillie clapped her hands in excitement. “They really are a sight to behold.”

Faye Elizabeth nodded, a twinkle in her eyes. “They’re all just darling. You don’t want to miss it.”

Relieving Liz of her briefcase and purse, Reba directed, “And ride your horse! You look like you need some R & R. And so does your mare.”

Liz could have refused, in favor of going after Travis first via heartfelt letter, then a phone call, and finally a weekend-long date. But she couldn’t ignore the needs of her pet, after the days away. She winced guiltily, then said, “You’re right. My horse does need the exercise.” And the time outdoors would give her a chance to better formulate a plan.

Travis was big on well-executed plans.

“Tell you what,” Reba offered, oblivious to Liz’s real focus. “I’ll saddle her up for you while you change clothes.”

Liz pushed the image of Travis—so handsome, and hurting—away.

“I’ll pack you a picnic,” Tillie offered.

Travis would forgive her.

Liz hadn’t lost her chance.

Not this time.

Not if she had anything to say about it.

“As long as you’re taking a break, it never hurts to have a little music, and a blanket for chilling out,” Faye Elizabeth declared with enthusiasm.

Liz lifted her hand, with a grin. “Hold the wagon, ladies! I’m going, I’m going!”

By the time she got back downstairs, in her favorite old jeans, flat-brimmed hat, boots and calico shirt, her gear was ready to go. “Aren’t any of you coming with me?” she asked.

Tillie waved her away. “We have too much to do here.”

Reba nodded. “You enjoy yourself, though.”