Taming A Texas Charmer (Bad Boy Ranch Book 3) Read online

  “I can help you paint. Hell, if you write up a contract that will keep Emma from ordering things we don’t need, I’ll paint the entire barn myself and throw in the paint for free.”

  “You’re not giving away paint, Boone Murphy.” Emma came in from the back room struggling to carry two five-gallon buckets of paint. “Are you crazy?”

  “Not as crazy as some,” Boone took the paint from her and set it on the counter. “And I’m only giving Holden paint in exchange for writing up a contract that outlines each of our jobs so we don’t get into so many fights.”

  Emma perked up and looked at Holden. “You’d do that? Boone is constantly forgetting exactly what his jobs are.”

  Since it looked like he’d painted himself into a corner, all Holden could do was smile weakly and nod. “Sure. Why not?”

  Once Boone helped him carry the paint to his Jeep, Holden decided to head over to the pharmacy soda fountain for some lunch. It was a mistake. It seemed word had gotten out at the wedding that he was an attorney. He quickly found out that there were a lot of people in Simple who needed legal advice.

  As soon as he stepped up to the counter of the soda fountain, Luanne Riddell waved him over to booth where she was sitting with Raynelle Coffman and asked him about incorporating her bracelet-making business.

  “My Ten Commandments bracelets are selling like lemonade on a hundred-degree day,” Luanne said as she jangled the numerous bracelets on her arm. “And I need to make sure I’m getting all the tax benefits I can get. Devlin McMillian even bought one.” She exchanged a sly look with Raynelle. “Although I bet you two weren’t Xing sex when she spent the night with you out at the Double Diamond.”

  Before he could get over his surprise and ask how she knew Devlin had spent the night at the ranch, Raynelle jumped in. “Hush up, Lulu. Can’t you see you’re embarrassin’ the man? And Reba didn’t mean for you to spread gossip when she told us Devlin didn’t come back to the boardinghouse last night. She was just worried about her and wanted to know if we’d seen her.”

  Luanne flapped a hand. “I’m not spreading gossip. Especially when Holden was who she was with.” She smiled at him. “Ain’t that right?”

  Holden could tell by the gleam in her eyes that Luanne was hoping for some juicy tidbit of information that she could spread around town. He wasn’t about to give it to her. “You’re right, Ms. McMillian did stay the night at the Double Diamond. She twisted her ankle and Lucas invited her to stay in the guest room until she feels better . . . by herself.”

  Raynelle looked totally disappointed, while Luanne just looked confused. “So my makeover didn’t work. I don’t understand it. Maybe I should’ve done the smoky eye.”

  Holden didn’t have a clue what the smoky eye was, but he needed to make it clear that whatever matchmaking they had in mind, it wasn’t going to work. “I’m not interested in Devlin McMillian.”

  “Well, that’s a shame,” Raynelle said. “I sure do like Devlin and it’s obvious that she has set her sights on you.”

  “On my land maybe, but not on me.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with setting your sights on a man with property,” Luanne said. “I certainly wouldn’t have married Bud if not for his two hundred acres of fine grazing land. Having good assets isn’t just about having a nice ass.” She glanced out the window and her eyes widened before she ducked down in the booth.

  “What in the world are you doing, Lulu?” Raynelle asked.

  “It’s Miss Gertie. If she sees me, she’ll give me another lecture about my Ten Commandment bracelets being sacrilegious.”

  Using the opportunity to exit, Holden tipped his cowboy hat and made his excuses. “It was nice visiting with you ladies.”

  “Wait,” Raynelle said. “I was going to ask you if you knew of any legal way to get my deadbeat son and his girlfriend out of my house. They keep saying they’re going to get a place of their own, but I don’t see that happening when neither one of them is willing to get a job.”

  “I’m not really familiar with the eviction process.”

  “I thought you were a lawyer.”

  He was about to explain the different forms of law, but then decided it would be easier to just help her out. “I’ll do a little research and see what I can find out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll let you get back to your lunch.”

  While ordering a hamburger to go, he was approached by three other town residents about legal issues, including a man who wanted to know if he could sue the mayor for wanting to change the name of the town.

  Cru had told Holden about the upcoming vote to change the name of Simple. While Holden found all the crazy names people had come up with amusing, he also felt the name should stay the same. Simple would always be Simple to him. Although he was finding out that it wasn’t all that simple.

  By the time he left the pharmacy, he had a long list of legal work he’d agreed to do. Hoping not to get any more, he tugged his hat lower and headed to his Jeep. He had almost reached it when a man’s voice stopped him.

  “Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if you could help me.”

  Holden turned and saw a man dressed in a black suit standing by a black limousine. “What did you need?” he asked.

  “Directions. My GPS doesn’t seem to be working outside of town and my client is getting a little . . . testy.”

  As if on cue, the back door of the limo opened and a woman got out. A woman who belonged on the main street of Simple as much as a Hereford cow belonged on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Her dark designer sunglasses covered half her face and her high-heeled shoes cost more than Holden’s monthly rent. He knew this because he knew the woman. Knew her quite well.

  “Mother?”

  Chapter Seven

  After Holden left, Lucas found Devlin some clothes to wear and she took a nice long bath and soaked her foot. The swelling had gone down, and she really didn’t need the orthopedic boot. But she put it on anyway. She felt bad about carrying on the charade . . . just not bad enough to give up and leave. Now that she had Lucas on her side, she was sure she could convince Holden to let her lease his land to drill for oil.

  The t-shirt and jeans Lucas gave her were a little big, but extremely comfortable. In an effort to prove her professionalism to her family, for the last few years, she’d worn stiff button-down shirts, uncomfortable business skirts, and painful high heels. She knew she probably looked ridiculous wearing baggy clothing with a black orthopedic boot on one foot and a turquoise cowboy boot on the other. But the soft cotton of the t-shirt and the worn denim of the jeans felt divine.

  And a little erotic.

  It probably would’ve been better if Lucas hadn’t mentioned the clothes were Holden’s. Every time she moved, she couldn’t help thinking about his body touching the same cotton that shifted and brushed against hers.

  After getting dressed, she headed to her rental car to get her cell phone and glasses. She sat in the car and checked her email and phone messages. Mostly they were from her family urging her to come home. Her parents and brothers didn’t say it, but it was obvious they’d lost all faith in her belief that the Double Diamond ranch had oil. And she had to admit she was losing faith too. What if she was wrong? What if she’d read the satellite images incorrectly and there wasn’t a drop of oil here? She wished Holden would let her run a few tests or even just take a soil sample to confirm her findings, but he seemed to be too stubborn to let her take even a rock from his property.

  She stared out the windshield at the spot where Holden’s Jeep had been parked.

  Unless she took a soil sample without asking him.

  What would it hurt if she took a few shovelsful of dirt and a couple of rocks? He wouldn’t be the wiser, but she certainly would. She’d know whether she needed to keep up the charade or quit and go home in defeat.

  Making up her mind, she quickly got out of the car and went to tell Lucas and Chester she was going for a drive. But when she got inside, she found both men soun
d asleep in their recliners. She left a note on the refrigerator, then searched in the pantry until she found a box of large plastic Ziploc bags before heading to the barn to look for a shovel.

  She knew it was unethical and completely unprofessional to run tests for oil without permission from the landowner, but she just had to know if she was on the right track or completely wasting her time. If Holden caught her, sprained ankle or not, he’d kick her off the ranch and she’d ruin any chances of getting him to change his mind. She just needed to make sure she didn’t get caught.

  Once she got to his land, she didn’t find any surface indications of oil seeps or petroleum residue, but that didn’t always mean there wasn’t oil beneath the surface. She dug up a few soil samples from different areas and put them in the baggies before she took refuge from the sun’s heat beneath a huge oak tree that looked like it had been struck by lightening. A charred stripe ran down the center of the trunk as if it had once been on fire.

  Beneath the shade of the towering oak, she dug a few more samples. But on the second hole, she dug up something other than rocks and soil. It seemed to be some kind of a box. After she dusted it off, she saw that it was a kid’s plastic lunchbox with pink and purple ponies on the front.

  Devlin smiled. She’d had a lunchbox almost identical to it as a child. Her father had given it to her on her first day of first grade. As she looked at the prancing cartoon ponies, she realized how much she missed her family. She missed her loving father, and her graceful mom, and her brothers who couldn’t help being so perfect. She wanted to go home. But for once, she wanted to go home feeling successful.

  She opened the lunchbox and found a collection of plastic ponies. She couldn’t help wondering whom the lunchbox belonged to and how it had gotten buried. Did Chester or Lucas have a daughter who had lived on the ranch at one time? Had she lost it and, over the years, had it been covered by layers of dirt? Or was it a time capsule? Having buried quite a few of those in her backyard, she decided to rebury the box. But she couldn’t help taking one of the ponies. A bright green one with dark jade hearts on its flanks. She carried it with the samples and the shovel back to the car and put everything in the trunk.

  On the way to the ranch, she called Michael and told him she was sending him some soil samples. He seemed leery, but he agreed to test them and get the results back to her as soon as possible. Then she called her mom.

  “Hey, Sweet Pea!” Just hearing the pet name spoken in her mother’s thick Texas accent made Devlin feel much better and much more homesick all at the same time. “I’m so glad you called,” her mother continued. “I want to hear all about the wedding. Were there any attractive single men there?”

  Devlin rolled her eyes. “I didn’t go looking for single men. I went because Evie and Penny are my friends.”

  “And I’m tickled pink that you found those two girls. They sound like nice young women. But a wedding is a perfect opportunity to meet and dance with respectable young men. Don’t you dare tell me that you didn’t even make an effort to socialize, Devlin Denise.”

  An image of the porch kiss flashed through her mind and she choked a little before she could clear her throat and answer. “I socialized.” She figured reaching orgasm while kissing a man was as social as you could get.

  “With a man?”

  She really shouldn’t lead her mother to believe that she had a boyfriend. But her mom sounded so hopeful that Devlin couldn’t help wanting to make her happy.

  “Yes, with a man.”

  Her mother released a little excited puff of breath. “Well, tell me about him.”

  Thinking there would be no harm in telling her mother about Holden, she started describing him—from his looks to what he did for a living to why he was there in Simple. When she was finished, her mother let out a long sigh.

  “You found a handsome Houston attorney who fights for the underdog and came to Simple to help out two old men with their ranch? Praise be to Jesus.”

  Panic welled up inside of Devlin as she realized what she had just done. She’d just described the perfect man. “Now, wait a second, Mom. We just . . . socialized. I don’t think he even likes me.”

  “Of course, he likes you. Who wouldn’t like you? You’re smart and beautiful and honest—sometimes too blunt and honest. But if your daddy learned to refrain from saying inappropriate things, you can too. Don’t you give up on this man, Devlin. I mean it.”

  “Believe me, I’m not giving up until he agrees to let me lease his land.”

  “I’m not talking about oil. You are way too caught up in finding oil when what you should be caught up in is finding a man.”

  “I’m not ready to get married, Mom.”

  “Who said anything about marriage? Before I married your father, I played the field from one end to the other.”

  Devlin’s eyes widened. “Mother!”

  “Don’t sound so appalled. Not all relationships end with a wedding band. Some are just based on sexual attraction. Just remember to use protection. Now I need to go. Pastor Stanford is heading my way—no doubt, to get my check for the new youth gymnasium. But I expect you to keep me updated about you and your new beau.” She ended the call, leaving Devlin feeling stunned.

  She’d always thought her mother was a sweet southern girl who had saved herself for marriage. Obviously, she’d been wrong. While she was surprised, her mom’s revelation did make Devlin feel better about her body’s reaction to Holden. It wasn’t abnormal to be sexually attracted to a man. It had just taken Devlin’s body longer than most to find a man she was attracted to.

  She just wished the man wasn’t Holden Lancaster. As much as she might want him, she wanted to find oil more. And she refused to let a little sexual desire get in the way of achieving that goal.

  When she arrived at the Double Diamond, she found Holden’s Jeep parked in front. She’d hoped she could get the samples and get back before he did. She couldn’t see him believing that she’d just gone for a drive. Thankfully, when she stepped into the foyer, Holden seemed to be preoccupied with someone else. His angry voice rang from the kitchen.

  “I don’t care what your psychiatrist says you need to do, you’re not staying here!”

  “Now, Holden.” A woman replied in a cultured voice. “The two gentlemen who own this ranch don’t seem to have a problem with me staying here. And since there isn’t a five-star hotel in town, and I refuse to stay at a boardinghouse—whatever that is—it doesn’t look like I have another option.”

  “You have another option,” he said. “You can go back to Dallas where you belong, Mother.”

  Mother? This was his mother?

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” his mother said. “Doctor Stasinopoulos is convinced that my insomnia is a result of my guilt about not being a doting mother.”

  Holden snorted. “A doting mother? You weren’t even a semi-interested mother.”

  “Now that’s not true. I was very interested in your achievements. I was just a working mother trying to juggle family and my job.”

  “Funny, but you seemed to be fine dropping your family while you kept all your business pins in the air.”

  “Fine. I will concede that I put the family publishing company first a little too often.”

  Devlin’s eyes widened. Publishing company? Holden’s family owned a publishing company? No wonder he wasn’t concerned with money. It had nothing to do with him being a simple man who hated big corporations and everything to do with him having a huge trust fund.

  “A little too often?” Holden said. “You put your business before your children all the time.”

  “I did it for my children, Holden. The business will be yours one day. If I had known that you wouldn’t want anything to do with the company, I wouldn’t have worked so hard.”

  “I doubt that. You love to work. And you love to make money. The only reason you’re here is because you can’t sleep. Which I’m sure is interfering with your work. Your crazy shrink has convinced
you that meddling in your son’s life will help.”

  “Mothers are supposed to meddle,” she said.

  “Mothers who care.”

  Devlin couldn’t help feeling sorry for Holden’s mother. It sounded like she’d made more than a few mistakes, but it also sounded like she was trying to fix them.

  “I do care about you, Holden. That’s why I’m here. I can’t make you quit that low-paying, dead end job of yours, but I can get you out of the dreadful apartment you live in.”

  “How do you know I’m living in a dreadful apartment?”

  “Mothers know everything. I also know you haven’t dated a woman seriously since college. Are you gay?”

  “If I said yes, would you leave me alone?” Holden said dryly.

  “Of course not. I complied a list of suitable men as well as suitable women for you to choose from. You’re a Lancaster. You can’t marry just anyone. I put the most eligible at the top, followed by the ones getting a divorce in the next few months. Although I probably should cross off Veronica Wilkes. Three divorces mean something isn’t quite right with her.”

  “You’ve been divorced three times, Mother.”

  “Exactly. Now where is my room? I’m feeling a little tired. I didn’t sleep a wink last night.”

  “You’re not staying.”

  “Then I guess I’ll have to find my own way.”

  Devlin suddenly realized she needed to move quickly or get caught eavesdropping. But before she could turn and head back out the door, Holden’s mother appeared.

  The woman looked like she ran a big publishing company. Her blond hair with silver streaks was expertly coiffed and her makeup tasteful. She wore an expensive gray suit that matched her eyes and high heels that made her a few inches taller than Devlin. Which worked out well since she seemed to enjoy looking down her nose.