Читать книгу Texas Wild - Brenda Jackson - Страница 9

Megan tried to downplay her nervousness as she continued to cut up the bell pepper and celery for the potato salad. According to Pam, Rico had been invited to dinner and would probably arrive any minute.

“Has Rico found anything out yet?”

Megan glanced over at her cousin-in-law. She liked Pam and thought she was perfect for Dillon. The two women were alone for now. Chloe and Bella had gone to check on the babies, and Lucia, who was in the dining room, was putting icing on the cake.

“Yes, there’s a lead in Texas he’ll follow up on when he leaves here,” Megan said. She didn’t want to mention anything about Clarice. The last thing she wanted to do was get anyone’s hopes up.

“How exciting,” Pam said as she fried the chicken, turning pieces over in the huge skillet every so often. “I’m sure you’re happy about that.”

Megan would be a lot happier if Rico would let her go to Texas with him, but, in a way, she had solved that problem and couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when he found out how. Chances were, he thought he’d had the last word.

She sighed, knowing if she lived to be a hundred years old she wouldn’t be able to figure out men. Whenever they wanted a woman they assumed a woman would just naturally want them in return. How crazy was that bit of logic?

There was so much Megan didn’t know when it came to men, although she had lived most of her life surrounded by them. Oh, she knew some things, but this man-woman stuff—when it came to wants and desires—just went over her head. Until she’d met Rico, there hadn’t been a man who’d made her give him a second look. Of course, Idris Elba didn’t count.

She lifted her gaze from the vegetables to look over at Pam. Megan knew Pam and Dillon had a pretty good marriage, a real close one. Pam, Chloe, Lucia and Bella were the older sisters she’d never had, and, at the moment, she needed some advice.

“Pam?”

“Hmm?”

“How would you react if a man told you he wanted you?”

Pam glanced her way and smiled. “It depends on who the man is. Had your brother told me that, I would have kicked my fiancé to the curb a lot sooner. The first thing I thought when I saw Dillon was that he was hot.”

That was the same thing Megan had thought when she’d seen Rico. “So you would not have gotten upset had he said he wanted you?”

“Again, it depends on who the man is. If it’s a man I had the hots for, then no, I wouldn’t have gotten upset. Why would I have? That would mean we were of the same accord and could move on to the next phase.”

Megan raised a brow. “The next phase?”

“Yes, the I-want-to-get-to-know-you-better phase.” Pam looked over at her. “So tell me. Was this a hypothetical question or is there a man out there who told you he wants you?”

Megan nervously nibbled on her bottom lip. She must have taken too long to answer because Pam grinned and said, “I guess I got my answer.”

Pam took the last of the chicken out of the skillet, turned off the stove and joined Megan at the table. “Like I said, Megan, the question you should ask yourself is … if he’s someone you want, too. Forget about what he wants for the moment. The question is what do you want?”

Megan sighed. Rico was definitely a looker, a man any woman would want. But what did she really know about him, other than that he was Jessica and Savannah’s older brother, and they thought the world of him?

“He doesn’t want to mix business with pleasure, not that I would have, mind you. Besides, I never told him that I wanted him.”

“Most women don’t tell a man. What they do is send out vibes. Men can pick up on vibes real quick, and depending on what those vibes are, a man might take them as a signal.”

Megan looked perplexed. “I don’t think I sent out anything.”

Pam laughed. “I hate to say this, but Jillian can probably size a man up better than you can. Your brothers and cousins sheltered you too much from the harsh realities of life.” Jillian was Pam’s sister, who was a sophomore in college.

Megan shook her head. “It’s not that they sheltered me, I just never met anyone I was interested in.”

“Until now?”

Megan lifted her chin. “I’m really not interested in him, but I want us to work closer together, and he doesn’t … because he wants me.”

“Well, I’m sure there will be times at the hospital when the two of you will have no choice but to work together.”

Pam thought the person they were discussing was another doctor. Megan wondered what Pam’s reaction would be if she found out the person they were talking about was one of her dinner guests.

Megan heard loud male voices and recognized all of them. One stood out, the sound a deep, husky timbre she’d come to know.

Rico had arrived.

Rico paused in his conversation with Dillon and Ramsey when Megan walked into the room to place a huge bowl on the dining room table. She called out to him. “Hello, Rico.”

“Megan.”

If his gaze was full of male appreciation, it couldn’t be helped. She had changed out of the scrubs he’d seen her in earlier and into a cute V-neck blue pullover sweater and a pair of hip-hugging jeans. She looked both comfortable and beautiful. She had spoken, which was a good indication that he hadn’t offended her by what he’d told her. He was a firm believer that the truth never hurt, but he’d known more than one occasion when it had pissed people off.

“So, you’re on your way to Texas, I hear.” Dillon Westmoreland’s question penetrated Rico’s thoughts.

He looked at Dillon and saw the man’s questioning gaze and knew he’d been caught ogling Megan. Rico’s throat suddenly felt dry, and he took a sip of his wine before answering. “Yes. I might have a new lead. Don’t want to say what it is just yet, until I’m certain it is one.”

Dillon nodded. “I understand, trust me. When I took that time off to track down information on Raphel, it was like putting together pieces of a very complicated puzzle. But that woman,” he said, inclining his head toward Pam when she entered the room, “made it all worthwhile.”

Rico glanced over to where Pam was talking to Megan. He could see how Pam could have made Dillon feel that way. She was a beautiful woman. Rico had heard the story from his sisters, about how Dillon had met Pam while in Wyoming searching for leads on his great-grandfather’s history. Pam had been engaged to marry a man who Dillon had exposed as nothing more than a lying, manipulating, arrogant SOB.

Rico couldn’t help keeping his eye on Megan as her brother Ramsey and her cousins Dillon and Riley carried on conversations around him. Thoughts of her had haunted him ever since they’d met back in June. Even now, he lay awake with thoughts of her on his mind. How could one woman make such an impression on him, he would never know. But like he told her, he wanted her, so it was best that they keep their distance, considering his relationship with the Westmoreland family.

“So when are you leaving, Rico?”

He turned to meet Ramsey Westmoreland’s inquisitive gaze. The man was sharp and, like Dillon, had probably caught Rico eyeing Megan. The hand holding Rico’s wineglass tensed. He liked all the Westmorelands and appreciated how the guys included him in a number of their all-male get-togethers. The last thing he wanted was to lose their friendship because he couldn’t keep his eyes off their sister and cousin.

“I’m leaving on Thursday. Why do you ask?”

Ramsey shrugged. “Just curious.”

Rico couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was more than just curious. He frowned and stared down at his drink. It was either that or risk the wrath of one of the Westmorelands if he continued to stare at Megan, who was busy setting the table.

Dillon spoke up and intruded into Rico’s thoughts when he said, “Pam just gave me the nod that dinner is ready.”

Everyone moved in the direction of the dining room. Rico turned to follow the others, but Ramsey touched his arm. “Wait for a minute.”

Rico nodded. He wondered why Ramsey had detained him. Had Megan gone running to her brother and reported what Rico had said to her earlier? Or was Ramsey about to call him out on the carpet for the interest in Megan that he couldn’t hide? In either of those scenarios, how could he explain his intense desire for Megan when he didn’t understand it himself? He’d wanted women before, but never with this intensity.

When the two of them were left alone, Ramsey turned to him and Rico braced himself for whatever the man had to say. Rico was older brother to two sisters of his own so he knew how protective brothers could be. He hadn’t liked either Chase or Durango in the beginning only because he’d known something was going on between them and his sisters.

Ramsey was silent for a moment, doing nothing more than slowly sipping his wine, so Rico decided to speak up. “Was there something you wanted to discuss with me, Ramsey?” There were a couple of years’ difference in their ages, but at the moment Rico felt like it was a hell of a lot more than that.

“Yes,” Ramsey replied. “It’s about Megan.”

Rico met Ramsey’s gaze. “What about her?”

“Just a warning.”

Rico tensed. “I think I know what you’re going to say.”

Ramsey shook his head, chuckling. “No. I don’t think that you do.”

Rico was confused at Ramsey’s amusement. Hell, maybe he didn’t know after all. “Then how about telling me. What’s the warning regarding Megan?”

Ramsey took another sip of his drink and said, “She’s strong-willed. She has self-control of steel and when she sets her mind to do something, she does it, often without thinking it through. And … if you tell her no, you might as well have said yes.”

Rico was silent for a moment and then asked, “Is there a reason you’re telling me this?”

Ramsey’s mouth curved into a smile. “Yes, and you’ll find out that reason soon enough. Now come on, they won’t start dinner without us.”

Megan tried drowning out all the conversation going on around her. As usual, whenever the Westmorelands got together, they had a lot to talk about.

She was grateful Pam hadn’t figured out the identity of the man they’d been discussing and seated them beside each other. Instead, Rico was sitting at the other end of the table, across from Ramsey and next to Riley. If she had to look at him, it would be quite obvious she was doing so.

Riley said something and everyone chuckled. That gave her an excuse to look down the table. Rico was leaning back against the chair and holding a half-filled glass of wine in his hand, smiling at whatever the joke was about. Why did he have to look so darn irresistible when he smiled?

He must have felt her staring because he shifted his gaze to meet hers. For a moment she forgot to breathe. The intensity of his penetrating stare almost made her lips tremble. Something gripped her stomach in a tight squeeze and sent stirrings all through her nerve endings.

At that moment, one thought resonated through her mind. The same one Pam had reiterated earlier. It doesn’t matter if he wants you. The main question is whether or not you want him.

Megan immediately broke eye contact and breathed in slowly, taking a sip of her wine. She fought to get her mind back on track and regain the senses she’d almost lost just now. She could control this. She had to. Desire and lust were things she didn’t have time for. The only reason she wanted to go to Texas with Rico was to be there when he discovered the truth about Raphel.

Thinking it was time to make her announcement, she picked up her spoon and tapped it lightly against her glass, but loud enough to get everyone’s attention. When all eyes swung her way she smiled and said, “I have an announcement to make. Most of you know I rarely take vacation time, but today I asked for an entire month off, starting tomorrow.”

Surprised gazes stared back at her … except one. She saw a look of suspicion in Rico’s eyes and noted the way his jaw tightened.

“What’s wrong? You’re missing Bailey already and plan to follow her to North Carolina?” her cousin Stern asked, grinning.

Megan returned his grin and shook her head. “Although I miss Bailey, I’m not going to North Carolina.”

“Let me guess. You’re either going to visit Gemma in Australia or Delaney in Tehran,” Chloe said, smiling.

Again Megan shook her head. “Those are on my to-do list for later, but not now,” she said.

When others joined in, trying to guess where she was headed, she held up her hand. “Please, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“It’s a big deal if you’re taking time off. You like working.”

“I don’t like working, but I like the job I do. There is a difference. And to appease everyone’s curiosity, I talked to Clint and Alyssa today, and I’m visiting them in Texas for a while.”

“Texas?”

She glanced down the table at Riley, which allowed her to look at Rico again, as well. He was staring at her, and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to see he wasn’t pleased with her announcement. Too bad, too glad. She couldn’t force him to take her to Texas, but she could certainly go there on her own. “Yes, Riley, I’m going to Texas.”

“When are you leaving?” her brother Zane asked. “I need to, ah, get that box from you before you leave.”

She nodded, seeing the tense expression in Zane’s features. She wondered about the reason for it. She was very much aware that he had a lock box in her hall closet. Although she’d been tempted, she’d never satisfied her curiosity by toying with the lock and looking inside. “That will be fine, Zane. I’m not leaving until Friday.”

She took another quick glance at Rico before resuming dinner. He hadn’t said anything, and it was just as well. There really wasn’t anything he could say. Although they would end up in the same state and within mere miles from each other, they would not be together.

Since he didn’t want her to accompany him, she would do a little investigating on her own.