скачать книгу бесплатно
“I think it’s important, and it’s the first break I’ve had,” he responded. “I was finally able to find something on Clarice Riggins.”
A glimmer of hope spread through Megan. Clarice was rumored to have been her great-grandfather’s third wife. Megan leaned forward in her chair. “How? Where?”
“I was able to trace what I’ve pieced together to a small town in Texas, on the other side of Austin, called Forbes.”
“Forbes, Texas?”
“Yes. I plan to leave Thursday morning. I had thought of leaving later today, after this meeting, but your brothers and cousins talked me out of it. They want me to hang out with them for a couple of days.”
Megan wasn’t surprised. Although the Westmorelands were mostly divided among four states—Colorado, Georgia, Montana and Texas—the males in the family usually got together often, either to go hunting, check on the various mutual business interests or just for a poker game getaway. Since Rico was the brother-in-law to two of her cousins, he often joined those trips.
“So you haven’t been able to find out anything about her?” she asked.
“No, not yet, but I did discover something interesting.”
Megan lifted a brow. “What?”
“It’s recorded that she gave birth to a child. We can’t say whether the baby was male or female, but it was a live birth.”
Megan couldn’t stop the flow of excitement that seeped into her veins. If Clarice had given birth, that could mean more Westmoreland cousins out there somewhere. Anyone living in Denver knew how important family was to the Westmorelands.
“That could be big. Really major,” she said, thinking. “Have you mentioned it to anyone else?”
He shook his head, smiling. “No, you’re the one who hired me, so anything I discover I bring to you first.”
She nodded. “Don’t say anything just yet. I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up. You can say you’re going to Texas on a lead, but nothing else for now.”
Presently, there were fifteen Denver Westmorelands. Twelve males and three females. Megan’s parents, as well as her aunt and uncle, had been killed in a plane crash years ago, leaving Dillon and her oldest brother, Ramsey, in charge. It hadn’t been easy, but now all of the Westmorelands were self-supporting individuals. All of them had graduated from college except for the two youngest—Bane and Bailey. Bane was in the U.S. Navy, and Bailey, who’d fought the idea of any education past high school, was now in college with less than a year to go to get her degree.
There had never been any doubt in Megan’s mind that she would go to college to become an anesthesiologist. She loved her job. She had known this was the career she wanted ever since she’d had her tonsils removed at six and had met the nice man who put her to sleep. He had come by to check on her after the surgery. He’d visited with her, ate ice cream with her and told her all about his job. At the time, she couldn’t even pronounce it, but she’d known that was her calling.
Yet everyone needed a break from their job every once in a while, and she was getting burned out. Budget cuts required doing more with less, and she’d known for a while that it was time she went somewhere to chill. Bailey had left that morning for Charlotte to visit their cousin Quade, his wife Cheyenne and their triplets. Megan had been tempted to go with her, since she had a lot of vacation time that she rarely used. She also thought about going to Montana, where other Westmorelands lived. One nice thing about having a large family so spread out was that you always had somewhere to go.
Suddenly, a thought popped into Megan’s head, and she glanced over at Rico again to find him staring at her. Their gazes held for a moment longer than necessary before she broke eye contact and looked down at the calendar on her desk while releasing a slow breath. For some reason she had a feeling he was on the verge of finding out something major. She wanted to be there when he did. More than anything she wanted to be present when he found out about Clarice’s child. If she was in Denver while he was in Texas, she would go nuts waiting for him to contact her with any information he discovered. Once she’d gotten her thoughts and plans together, she glanced back up at him.
“You’re leaving for Texas in two days, right?”
He lifted a brow. “Yes. That’s my plan.”
Megan leaned back in her chair. “I’ve just made a decision about something.”
“About what?”
Megan smiled. “I’ve decided to go with you.”
Rico figured there were a lot of things in life he didn’t know. But the one thing he did know was that there was no way Megan Westmoreland was going anywhere with him. Being alone with her in this office was bad enough. The thought of them sitting together on a plane or in a car was too close for comfort. It was arousing him just thinking about it.
He was attracted to her big-time and had been from the moment he’d seen her at Micah’s wedding. He had arrived late because of a case he’d been handling and had shown up at the reception just moments before the bride and groom were to leave for their honeymoon. Megan had hired him a month earlier, even though they’d never met in person. Because of that, the first thing Rico did when he arrived at the reception was to ask Zane to point her out.
The moment his and Megan’s gazes locked he had felt desire rush through him to a degree that had never happened before. It had shocked the hell out of him. His gaze had moved over her, taking in every single thing he saw, every inch of what he’d liked. And he’d liked it all. Way too much. From the abundance of dark curls on her head to the creamy smoothness of her mahogany skin, from the shapely body in a bridesmaid gown to the pair of silver stilettos on her feet. She had looked totally beautiful.
At the age of thirty-six, he’d figured he was way too old to be that attracted to any woman. After all, he’d dated quite a few women in his day. And by just looking at Megan, he could tell she was young, that she hadn’t turned thirty yet. But her age hadn’t stopped him from staring and staring and staring … until one of her cousins had reclaimed his attention. But still, he had thought about her more than he should have since then.
“Well, with that settled, I’ll notify my superiors so they can find a replacement for me while I’m gone,” she said, breaking into his thoughts. “There are only a few surgeries scheduled for tomorrow, and I figure we’ll be back in a week or so.”
Evidently she thought that since he hadn’t said anything, he was okay with the idea of her accompanying him to Texas. Boy, was she wrong. “Sorry, Megan, there’s no way I’ll let you come with me. I have a rule about working alone.”
He could tell by the mutinous expression on her face that he was in for a fight. That didn’t bother him. He had two younger sisters to deal with so he knew well how to handle a stubborn female.
“Surely you can break that rule this one time.”
He shook his head. “Sorry, I can’t.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Other than the fact that you prefer working alone, give me another reason I can’t go with you.”
He crossed his arms over his own chest. “I don’t need another reason. Like I said, I work alone.” He did have a reason, but he wouldn’t be sharing it with her. All he had to do was recall what had almost happened the last time he’d worked a case with a woman.
“Why are you being difficult?”
“Why are you?” he countered.
“I’m not,” she said, throwing her head back and gritting out her words. “This is my great-grandfather we’re talking about.”
“I’m fully aware of who he was. You and I talked extensively before I agreed to take on this case, and I recall telling you that I would get you the information you wanted … doing things my way.”
He watched as she began nibbling on her bottom lip. Okay, so now she was remembering. Good. For some reason, he couldn’t stop looking into her eyes, meeting her fiery gaze head on, thinking her eyes resembled two beautiful dark orbs.
“As the client, I demand that you take me,” she said, sharply interrupting his thoughts.
He narrowed his gaze. “You can demand all you want, but you’re not going to Texas with me.”
“And why not?”
“I’ve told you my reasons, now can we move on to something else, please?”
She stood up. “No, we can’t move on to something else.”
He stood, as well. “Now you’re acting like a spoiled child.”
Megan’s jaw dropped. “A spoiled child? I’ve never acted like a spoiled child in my entire life. And as for going to Texas, I will be going since there’s no reason that I shouldn’t.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Okay, there is another reason I won’t take you with me. One that you’d do well to consider,” he said in a calm, barely controlled tone. She had pushed him, and he didn’t like being pushed.
“Fine, let’s hear it,” she snapped furiously.
He placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans, stood with his legs braced apart and leveled his gaze on her when he spoke in a deep, husky voice. “I want you, Megan. Bad. And if you go anywhere with me, I’m going to have you.”
He then turned and walked out of her office.
Shocked, Megan dropped back down in her chair. “Gracious!”
Three surgeries later, back in her office, Megan paced the floor. Although Rico’s parting statement had taken her by surprise, she was still furious. Typical man. Why did they think everything began and ended in the bedroom? So, he was attracted to her. Big deal. Little did he know, but she was attracted to him as well, and she had no qualms about going to Texas with him. For crying out loud, hadn’t he ever heard of self-control?
She was sister to Zane and Derringer and cousin to Riley and Canyon—three were womanizers to the core. And before marrying Lucia, Derringer had all but worn his penis on his sleeve and Zane, Lord help him, wore his anywhere there was a free spot on his body. She couldn’t count the number of times she’d unexpectedly shown up at Zane’s place at the wrong time or how many pairs of panties she’d discovered left behind at Riley’s. And wasn’t it just yesterday she’d seen a woman leave Canyon’s place before dawn?
Besides that, Rico Claiborne honestly thought all he had to do was decide he wanted her and he would have her? Wouldn’t she have some kind of say-so in the matter? Evidently he didn’t think so, which meant he really didn’t know whom he was dealing with. The doctors at the hospital, who thought she was cold and incapable of being seduced, called her “Iceberg Megan.”
So, okay, Rico had thawed her out a little when she’d seen him at the wedding three months ago. And she would admit he’d made her heart flutter upon seeing him today. But he was definitely under a false assumption if he thought all he had to do was snap his fingers, strut that sexy walk and she would automatically fall into any bed with him.
She scowled. The more she thought about it, the madder she got. He should know from all the conversations they’d shared over the phone that this investigation was important to her. Family was everything to her, and if there were other Westmorelands out there, she wanted to know about them. She wanted to be in the thick of things when he uncovered the truth as to where those Westmorelands were and how quickly they could be reached.
Megan moved to the window and looked out. September clouds were settling in, and the forecasters had predicted the first snowfall of the year by the end of the week. But that was fine since she had no intention of being here in Denver when the snow started. Ignoring what Rico had said about her not going to Texas with him, she had cleared her calendar for not only the rest of the week, but also for the next month. She had the vacation time, and if she didn’t use it by the end of the year she would end up losing it anyway.
First, she would go to Texas. And then, before returning to work, she would take off for Australia and spend time with her sister Gemma and her family. Megan enjoyed international travel and recalled the first time she’d left the country to visit her cousin Delaney in the Middle East. That had been quite an enjoyable experience.
But remembering the trip to visit her cousin couldn’t keep her thoughts from shifting back to Rico, and she felt an unwelcoming jolt of desire as she recalled him standing in her office, right in this very spot, and saying what he’d said, without as much as blinking an eye.
If he, for one minute, thought he had the ability to tell her what to do, he had another thought coming. If he was that attracted to her then he needed to put a cap on it. They were adults and would act accordingly. The mere thought that once alone they would tear each other’s clothes off in some sort of heated lust was total rubbish. Although she was attracted to him, she knew how to handle herself. It was going to be hard to keep her hands to herself.
But no matter what, she would.
“You sure I’m not putting you out, Riley? I can certainly get a room at the hotel in town.”
“I won’t hear of it,” Riley Westmoreland said, smiling. “Hell, you’re practically family.”
Rico threw his luggage on the bed, thinking he certainly hadn’t felt like family earlier when he’d been alone with Megan. He still couldn’t get over her wanting to go to Texas with him. Surely she had felt the sexual tension that seemed to surround them whenever they were within a few feet of each other.
“So how are things going with that investigation you’re doing for Megan?” Riley asked, breaking into Rico’s thoughts.
“Fine. In fact, I’m on my way to Texas to poke around a new lead.”
Riley’s brow lifted. “Really? Does Megan know yet?”
“Yes. I met with her at the hospital earlier today.”
Riley chuckled. “I bet she was happy about that. We’re all interested in uncovering the truth about Poppa Raphel, but I honestly think Megan is obsessed with it and has been ever since Dillon and Pam shared those journals with her. Now that Dillon has made Megan the keeper of the journals she is determined to uncover everything. She’s convinced we have more relatives out there somewhere.”
Rico had read those journals and had found them quite interesting. The journals, written by Raphel himself, had documented his early life after splitting from his family.
“And it’s dinner tonight over at the big house. Pam called earlier to make sure I brought you. I hope you’re up for it. You know how testy pregnant women can get at times.”
Rico chuckled. Yes, he knew. In fact, he had noted the number of pregnant women in the Westmoreland family. Enough to look like there was some sort of epidemic. In addition to Pam, Derringer’s wife, Lucia, was expecting and so was Micah’s wife, Kalina. There were a number of Atlanta Westmorelands expecting babies, as well.
Case in point, his own sisters. Jessica was pregnant again, and Savannah had given birth to her second child earlier that year. They were both happily married, and he was happy for them. Even his mother had decided to make another go of marriage, which had surprised him after what she’d gone through with his father. But he liked Brad Richman, and Rico knew Brad truly loved his mother.
“Well, I’ll let you unpack. We’ll leave for Dillon’s place in about an hour. I hope you’re hungry because there will be plenty of food. The women are cooking, and we just show up hungry and ready to eat,” Riley said, laughing.
A half hour later Rico had unpacked all the items he needed. Everything else would remain in his luggage since he would be leaving for Texas the day after tomorrow. Sighing, he rubbed a hand down his face, noting his stubble-roughened jaw. Before he went out anywhere, he definitely needed to shave. And yes, he was hungry since he hadn’t eaten since that morning, but dinner at Dillon’s meant most of the Denver Westmorelands who were in town would be there. That included Megan. Damn. He wasn’t all that sure he was ready to see her again. He was known as a cool and incontrol kind of guy. But those elements of his personality took a flying leap around Megan Westmoreland.
Why did he like the way she said his name? To pronounce it was simple enough, but there was something about the way she said it, in a sultry tone that soothed and aroused.
Getting aroused was the last thing he needed to think about. It had been way too long since he’d had bedroom time with a woman. So he was in far worse shape than he’d realized. Seeing Megan today hadn’t helped matters. The woman was way too beautiful for her own good.
Grabbing his shaving bag off the bed, Rico went into the guest bath that was conveniently connected to his room. Moments later, after lathering his face with shaving cream, he stared into the mirror as he slowly swiped a razor across his face. The familiar actions allowed his mind to wander, right back to Megan.
The first thing he’d noticed when he’d walked into her office was that she’d cut her hair. She still had a lot of curls, but instead of flowing to her shoulders, her hair crowned her face like a cap. He liked the style on her. It gave her a sexier look … not that she needed it.
He could just imagine being wheeled into surgery only to discover she would be the doctor to administer the drug to knock you out. Counting backward while lying flat on your back and staring up into her face would guarantee plenty of hot dreams during whatever surgery you were having.
He jolted when he nicked himself. Damn. He needed to concentrate on shaving and rid his mind of Megan. At least he didn’t have to worry about that foolishness of hers, about wanting to go with him to Texas. He felt certain, with the way her eyes had nearly popped out of the sockets and her jaw had dropped after what he’d said, that she had changed her mind.
He hadn’t wanted to be so blatantly honest with her, but it couldn’t be helped. Like he told her, he preferred working alone. The last time he had taken a woman with him on a case had almost cost him his life. He remembered it like it was yesterday. An FBI sting operation and his female partner had ended up being more hindrance than help. The woman blatantly refused to follow orders.
Granted, there was no real danger involved with Megan’s case per se. In fact, the only danger he could think of was keeping his hands to himself where Megan was concerned. That was a risk he couldn’t afford. And he had felt the need to be blunt and spell it out to her. Now that he had, he was convinced they had an understanding.
He would go to Texas, delve into whatever he could discover about Clarice Riggins and bring his report back to her. Megan was paying him a pretty hefty fee for his services, and he intended to deliver. But he would have to admit that her great-grandfather had covered his tracks well, which made Rico wonder what all the old man had gotten into during his younger days. It didn’t matter, because Rico intended to uncover it all. And like he’d told Megan, Clarice Riggins had given birth, but there was nothing to indicate that she and Raphel had married. It had been a stroke of luck that he’d found anything at all on Clarice, since there had been various spellings of the woman’s name.
He was walking out of the bathroom when his cell phone rang, and he pulled it off the clip. He checked and saw it was a New York number. He had several associates there and couldn’t help wondering which one was calling.
“This is Rico.”
There was a slight pause and then … “Hello, son. This is your father.”
Rico flinched, drew in a sharp breath and fought for control of his anger, which had come quick … as soon as he’d recognized the voice. “You must have the wrong number because I don’t have a father.”
Without giving the man a chance to say anything else, he clicked off the phone. As far as he was concerned, Jeff Claiborne could go to hell. Why on earth would the man be calling Rico after all this time? What had it been? Eighteen years? Rico had been happy with his father being out of sight and out of mind.
To be quite honest, he wished he could wash the man’s memory away completely. He could never forget the lives that man had damaged by his selfishness. No, Jeff Claiborne had no reason to call him. No reason at all.
Two
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.
