Читать книгу Expecting The Rancher's Baby? - KRISTI GOLD - Страница 9
ОглавлениеThe comment robbed Jill of her speech, but only momentarily. “If you’re about to proposition me, you can—”
“Do you want me to proposition you?”
She didn’t intend to hesitate even a split second, but she did. “Of course not.”
“Hey, relax. I have a proposition for you, but I promise it doesn’t involve scooping you up and carrying you into the motel for a little predawn delight.”
That stirred up a few inadvisable images in her muddled mind. “What a relief.”
“Besides, that would be tough to do with my hand in a cast,” he said, topping off the comment with a wily wink. He leaned back against the car, as if he had no intention of going anywhere. “First, a couple of questions.”
So much for getting that snooze any time soon. “All right.”
“Where is your home base?”
“Actually, I don’t really have one. At least not a place of my own. I list my permanent address as my parents’ house in Florida.”
“You travel that much?”
“Most of the year. I live in hotels and motels and the occasional corporate apartment. I don’t even own a car, so I have to rely on rentals, like that sedan you’re polishing with your behind. Why?”
He shifted his weight from one leg to the other. “When you were gone earlier, I called Dallas. And when he found out you were with me, he suggested you might be a good candidate for the medical position at Texas Extreme.”
That threw her for a mental loop. “He’s offering me a job?”
“He wants to interview you first. It’s my understanding you’d have full control over the medical program, hire anyone you want and make all the decisions.”
She considered several problems with that setup and prepared to bat all his arguments away like a practiced tennis player. “Thanks, but I like the job I have.”
“You’d have your own apartment. A brand-new apartment.”
“I have no problem traveling. Makes life less boring.”
“He’ll double your salary.”
He’d just served up a surprise backhand. “How can Dallas promise that if he doesn’t even know how much I get paid?”
He pushed away from the car and smiled. “Doesn’t matter. We can afford it.”
That she didn’t doubt. Still, she realized one serious obstacle remained, and she planned to lob it right to him. “No offense, Houston, but I’m not sure I could work for you.”
“Not a problem. You wouldn’t be working for me. You’d be working for Dallas. Besides, I’ll be back on the circuit before you know it and you won’t have to deal with me.”
Having Houston’s brother as a boss could be a major concern if Dallas Calloway happened to be as stubborn as his younger sibling. And she would still encounter Houston on a regular basis until he took off again for the next rodeo. That wouldn’t be for another two to three months.
But double the salary? She’d be foolish not to give it some thought. She might be a bigger fool if she accepted without knowing all the particulars. “Look, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t tempted, but—”
“I can tempt you even more.”
Jill reacted to the deep grainy quality of his voice with unwelcome goose bumps. One more reason she should walk away from him and his blasted offer. Maintaining complete professionalism in his presence could be difficult outside the rodeo circuit considering his persistence, the fact that he wouldn’t be her patient and this idiotic attraction to him that had begun to rear its ugly head. “I believe I have enough to make an informed decision, and my answer is—”
“A ride on a decked-out plane, complete with a fully stocked bar, in case you’re nervous about flying.”
“I’m not nervous.” The slight tremor in her voice betrayed her, but it had nothing to do with the flight. “I can’t count the times I’ve been on a plane.”
“A private plane?”
If he only knew. “Actually, I have.”
He cracked a crooked smile. “Yeah, but you haven’t been on mine.”
Why did everything that spilled out of his mouth sound suggestive? “And your point?”
“I just thought that since I’m done for the season, and you don’t have to be anywhere until this weekend, we could mosey on down to the ranch so you can take a look around before you decide. We have plenty of places for you to stay overnight.”
Overnight? No way. “I believe I’ve heard enough and I really don’t think—”
“Pack an overnight bag, and I’ll see you at four in the lobby,” he said as he started across the lot toward the motel. “And FYI, I won’t take no for an answer.”
Wouldn’t take no for an answer? Ha. Maybe that worked for most women, but Jillian Elizabeth Amherst wasn’t just any woman, a fact he would soon learn. She’d spent a good deal of her adulthood telling people no, from pesky men to her own parents.
Come on, Jilly. Take a chance, for once in your life.
Jill shoved aside her onetime best friend’s words and allowed caution to come into play. She had a decent life, a satisfying job. She liked the travel even if she didn’t care for the solitude at times. She didn’t really desire to have a permanent home or a larger salary, although she wouldn’t reject extra money in most cases. But she surely didn’t need the hassle of trying to avoid a cowboy who had begun to capture her fancy, and imagination. She worried she might not want to turn him down, if the opportunity presented itself.
That reason alone led her to the appropriate decision. When Houston Calloway walked into that lobby this afternoon, he wouldn’t find her there.
* * *
Houston was kind of surprised to see Jill standing there, a blue canvas bag hanging over her shoulder, a larger suitcase at her feet and a ticked-off look on her face. She struck him as one of those organized people, and she probably didn’t appreciate the fact he was ten minutes late for the rendezvous.
“Not much on punctuality?” she said as he approached her, confirming his suspicions.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I overslept.”
“I didn’t sleep at all.”
She’d said it like that was his fault. “Why not?”
“Aside from having to turn in my rental car, I kept rolling your offer around in my mind, weighing the pros and cons. Instant insomnia.”
No shock there. “Fair enough. Now follow me.”
After picking up her suitcase, Houston escorted Jill out of the lobby to the black limo waiting at the curb. The driver opened the rear door and took the suitcase while Jill climbed inside. She claimed a spot on the lengthy seat on the far side of the limo, while he sat opposite her to maintain a wide berth between them. Otherwise he’d be battling the urge to coax her down onto the gray leather.
Like she’d be open to that. And he sure as hell didn’t understand why he’d suddenly become so damn attracted to a woman who’d been a burr in his butt for two years. Maybe it was just the challenge and the chase. Maybe he’d gone too long without female attention. Maybe it was those dimples and that shiny auburn hair and the way that peach-colored T-shirt enhanced her finer attributes. And damn she smelled good, like the lavender his stepmom, Jen, planted everywhere she could find a scrap of dirt. Jillian’s finer qualities, coupled with her no-BS attitude, presented a mighty fine package. He could so take her on one, hot ride...
“Nice ride,” she said, breaking through his fantasies.
“Only the best. The bar’s fully stocked if you want a drink.”
“No, thanks. When I drink, which is extremely rare, I don’t ever do so before seven.”
He could use a shot of whiskey, but he’d refrain in order to maintain some control over his libido. “Did you have any lunch?”
“I grabbed a sandwich a couple of hours ago.”
When she flipped that thick hair over one shoulder, he wanted to grab a cab and get out of there before he forgot his manners. “We’ll have dinner with the family tonight,” he said.“That would be a welcome change of pace. I tend to have a lot of fast food.”
“I hear you. Nothing better than a home-cooked meal.”
“I agree,” she said before glancing out the window.
Houston still couldn’t quite get a grip on the fact she’d agreed to accompany him in light of all her earlier arguments against it. He sensed Jill might be questioning that decision when she shifted and turned her attention onto the smoky glass partition separating the front from the back. The conversation died during the twenty-minute drive to the private airport and didn’t resume even when they boarded the D Bar C corporate jet.
They settled into the beige leather seats kitty-corner from each other in the main cabin near the onboard bar. Jill stared out the window without speaking, leading Houston to wonder why she would find a hangar so damn interesting.
He snapped his seat belt closed and cleared his throat. “How does this plane compare to the others you’ve been on?”
She tore her gaze from the tarmac and looked around. “About the same,” she said before finally looking directly at him. “Plush seats. Full kitchen with white marble counters. The ultimate in technology, right down to the WiFi. I assume the sleeping quarters are in the back.”
“Yeah. Feel free to stretch out after we take off.”
She rifled through her bag, took out a magazine and began to flip through the pages. “No, thanks. I’m fine right here.”
All talk ceased as they taxied down the runway, and once they leveled off midair, Houston got up and grabbed a beer from the bar fridge. “Want anything to drink? I make a mean gin and tonic.”
“No, thanks,” she said without looking up.
“Glass of water?”
“No, thanks again.”
Jill seemed bent on ignoring him, and that royally ticked Houston off. He took a swig before settling back in the seat. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
She sent him a fast glance and went back to flipping. “Not today.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
After closing the magazine, she looked at him straight on. “I’m sorry. I’m tired. I didn’t intend to take it out on you.”
He suspected there was more to it than fatigue. “Are you sure something else isn’t bugging you?”
“If you must know, my mother left me a voice mail and I listened to it right before I left the motel room. She reminded me that my sister is getting married next weekend and I’m expected to attend. Sometimes her demands rub me the wrong way.”
Houston decided Ms. Amherst had some serious mama issues. “You don’t sound too excited about the nuptials.”
“I’m not. I’ve never been that close to Pamela. She’d didn’t even invite me to be in the wedding party. But I’m five years older and let’s just say she’s always been the favored child.”
He sensed a sorry story there. “Why is that?”
“Pamela is a conformist. She went to college at my parents’ Ivy League alma mater, and she had the good fortune to find the perfect, wealthy, shallow guy. I’m sure she’ll go on to be surrounded by lots of socialites and have two point five children and a membership to the best country club in the country.”
The resentment in her tone took him aback. “Not your scene, huh?”
“Not hardly. I’m the rebel of the family. I went to school in Sin City and didn’t take the time to meet any guys, let alone get engaged to one.”
That was one helluva bombshell. “You didn’t date a single soul in college?”
“I was focused on my career, although I did consider seeking out a professional poker player just to add fuel to the family fire.”
They both laughed for a few seconds before Houston posed another question to keep the mood light. “Don’t you think bringing home a cowboy would’ve done the same thing?”
She mulled that over for a moment. “I wish I’d thought of that. My mother would have been completely beside herself, but at least she might have stopped trying to set me up with some rich, boring, misogynistic narcissist every time I went home.”
Man, she didn’t mince words. Big words. But he’d started to relate a little more to the always serious athletic trainer. He wasn’t a stranger to complicated family dynamics, and he was curious to confirm if they shared another aspect in their background. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds to me like you come from money.”
She folded her arms beneath her breasts and sighed. “Yes. A lot of money. I had a trust fund that I didn’t bother to touch because it came with conditions.”
That explained why she worked her way through school. “Conditions as in Ivy League schools and no cowboys?”
“Exactly.”
A short span of silence passed before Houston decided to end the quiet for a second time. “I’m glad you let me in on the family problems. For a minute there I thought you were mad at me for forcing you onto a plane.”
Her smile came back out of hiding. “You didn’t force me, and no, I’m not mad at you. I am a little mad at myself for not declining the invitation. This could be a total waste of both our time if your brother isn’t interested in hiring me. Provided I actually want the job.”
“Or it could be a win-win situation. You’ll have a better salary and a permanent place to land, and I’ll earn some points with Dallas.”
She frowned. “Are you holding some sort of competition?”
“Yeah. See who can find the prettiest prospective employee.”
“That’s rather sexist, Calloway.”
“I’m kidding, Amherst. Dallas thinks I haven’t been doing enough for Texas Extreme, so I figure finding someone as qualified as you to head the medical team will help prove my worth.”
“Ah. Now I know your true motives. I could be a notch in your bedpost. I meant notch in your belt buckle. Or is it just belt? Never mind.” Her face looked a little flushed. “What is Dallas like?”
“I thought you’d probably met him.”
She shook her head. “No, but I do know his reputation as an all-around champion cowboy.”
“Do you know Austin?”
“Again, only by reputation. I did catch a glimpse of him during the national finals when I was interning, but I never had the chance to meet him.”
“Is that his rodeo reputation or his reputation with the ladies before he got hitched?”
“His rodeo reputation. With you, I’d say both.”
Ouch. “Aw, come on now. I’m not a player.”
She narrowed her eyes and smirked. “That’s not what I’ve heard.”
“You can’t believe everything you hear in the rodeo world. People like to exaggerate.”
“I’m sure.”
He didn’t care for her cynical tone, or that she believed he was some skirt-chasing cowboy. That would be his half brother Worth, and the minute she met him, she might change her tune. Compared to Worth, he’d look like a saint. “To set the record straight, I had a girlfriend for a couple of years.”
She leaned back and crossed her jeans-covered legs. “Really? What happened to the relationship, if you don’t mind my asking?”
He did mind a little bit. “She got tired of me being gone all the time.”
“She wasn’t into rodeo?”
“Nope. She was a city girl from Dallas. She lived in a downtown loft and unfortunately tennis was her sport.”
Her green eyes went wide. “Unfortunately? What’s wrong with tennis?”
Open mouth, insert boot. “I take it you play.”
“Yes, but not much since my boarding school days.”
That nearly shocked him speechless. His family had always been well off, but they’d never shipped him off. “Like a live-in school?”
Jill looked like she wished she could take it back. “Yes. All-girl college prep academy, thanks to my mother’s insistence. I concentrated on my studies, and not on boys.”
He’d begun to wonder if she’d never had any exposure to the opposite sex. Nah. Not possible with her looks and smarts. “Surely you had a boyfriend at some point in time.”
The way she lowered her eyes for a second told Houston he might already know the answer. “I’ve dated a little,” she finally said. “But with my bachelor’s degree, grad school, internships and a demanding job, my schedule hasn’t allowed for much of a social life for the past few years.”
He’d be glad to help her change that, but she probably wouldn’t be game. Then again, if it didn’t work out between them and she did go to work for the ranch, that could cause a lot of issues. “I imagine it would be pretty hard to have much of a social life with all the traveling, particularly in your line of work.”
“Most men don’t seem to have that problem.”
He couldn’t resist yanking her chain. “Isn’t that a little sexist?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Oh, please. That’s the way it is. Men have an uncanny way of finding a woman in every port. Or in your case, arena.”
“You’re jaded.”
“I am not. I only tell it like it is.”
“Nope. You’ve been wronged by someone, most likely a cowboy.”
She raised her hand like she was taking an oath. “I swear I have never been involved with a cowboy. I have been a silent observer during my tenure as an athletic trainer and I’ve seen it all. Broken hearts. Heated arguments. I’ve even treated the casualties resulting from cat fights.”
He chuckled. “Gotta love those cowgirls.”
“Let me add that I’ve also examined more than a few jaws resulting from cowboy fights, even if that’s not in my job description.”
“But not with me.”
She grinned again. “No, not you. You’re more inclined to fall on your head when you fall off a bull and then argue with me when you don’t want to hear my advice.”
He studied her a moment and had a surprising revelation. “I’ve got to be honest with you, Jill. When I first met you, I didn’t like you much.”
She laid a hand above her breasts. “I’m stunned.”
“That’s sarcasm, right?”
“Yes. You didn’t like it when I ran you through concussion protocol.”
“True. And I didn’t particularly like that you seemed to treat other cowboys nicer.” Now he sounded like some jealous jerk.
“You don’t like anyone telling you what to do,” she began, “and most of my patients tend to be much more cooperative.”
Damn if she wasn’t right about that. “Fair enough. But you tend to make a big deal over a bump on the head, at least when it comes to me.”
She unbuckled her seat belt and scooted forward, her hands clasped together in her lap. “Look, Houston, I’m only tough because I care.”
“You do? Well, ma’am, I’m mighty honored to know that.”
“I care about every athlete I treat,” she added quickly.
“Even the annoying ones?”
Her smile traveled all the way to those great green eyes. “Yes, even the annoying ones.”
When Jill yawned, Houston realized he was being selfish by keeping her from sleeping. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to bed?”
“We don’t know each other that well.”
Finally, another glimpse of her sense of humor, although he didn’t find the stirring below his belt funny at all. His “bed” question might’ve been totally innocent, but the images hanging out in his head were pretty damn wicked. “You know what I mean. You’re about to fall asleep where you sit, which you can. Just press the button on the right side and the chair leans all the way back.”
She blinked twice. “I’m fine. Really.”
“You can barely keep your eyes open.” He stood, stepped to one side of her seat and depressed the control, reclining the back of the chair and raising the foot rest at the same time since she refused to do it herself. “There you go.”
He expected her to protest, but instead she muttered, “Thank you.”
For some reason, Houston’s feet remained glued to the floor as he continued to hover above Jill, leaving them in close proximity. She wet her lips and looked like she might want to say something, or do something, but she just sat very still, her gaze locked on his. He seriously wanted to kiss her, long and hard, but his mom’s words about honor kept him from acting on impulse. Jill had been right. They didn’t know each other that well, but if he had his way, that would change, if only to find out if his attraction to her was legitimate. He probably wouldn’t get his way, so he should just stop thinking about that now.
“Have a nice nap,” he said as he moved back to his seat.
“I will,” she answered before closing her eyes completely.
Houston downed the rest of his now-warm beer and continued to watch Jill. He knew by the rise and fall of her chest, her slack features, she was out. She was also a pretty sleeper. Angelic. Sexy. So much for not thinking of her in that way.
He rested his head back against the seat and allowed his imagination free rein, at his own detriment. Every detailed fantasy made him more uncomfortable. Every questionable thought about what he wanted to do with her made him shift on the seat. And every time he tried to stop thinking about it, he met mental resistance head-on.
If he didn’t get hold of his control, by the time they made it to the ranch, he’d have to ride in the pickup bed.
Bed.
Damn. Asking Jill Amherst on this trip was definitely asking for trouble.
