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Dex suddenly stopped talking when his ears picked up the sound of the music being played. It was the song that had been playing the last time he and Caitlin had danced together. Even after four years, he could still remember the warm, soft feel of her in his arms; her body so close to his as he held her tight, not ever wanting to let go.
“Dex? Is something wrong?”
Dex took a deep, calming breath before answering, forcing the memory to pass. “No, there’s nothing wrong. Let’s go ahead and order. I need to make a stop by the office tonight. There’s some work I need to finish up.”
Long hours and hard work helped him to forget the things he didn’t want to remember.
200 miles away
Caitlin Madaris stood near the window gazing at the beauty of the skyscrapers that spanned the moonlit sky. In the distance below, specks of light could be seen reflecting from the blue waters of the San Antonio River.
A tremor shuddered through her as she desperately tried to appreciate the night’s allure. It was useless. Her thoughts were miles and miles away. Drawing in a deep breath, she inhaled the disinfectant smell of the visitors’ waiting room and swallowed the lump in her throat.
Fear and grief surged through her. Biting her lower lip, she clenched her hands together. She wanted to scream out her pain, yell out her anguish and tear the inner turmoil from within her. Unfortunately she couldn’t. She could not lose control. Not now, not ever. She had to be strong. There were no family members she could turn to. Both of her parents had been the only child of their parents. There weren’t any grandparents, aunts, uncles or cousins. There was no one to share her anguish.
The sound of footsteps echoed softly on the tiled floor. “Caitlin?”
Bracing herself, she turned around. Fighting back tears, she faced Dr. Flores. “How is he?” she asked, her voice remarkably steady. She searched the face of the gray-haired man wearing a white lab coat. He was not only her father’s physician, but an old family friend, as well. Seeing his sullen expression, any hope she harbored vanished. Nevertheless, she willed herself not to panic.
Dr. Flores placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Your dad’s condition is stable for now, and he seems to be resting comfortably. Although his medication has worn off and he’s in pain, he refuses to swallow another dose until he speaks to you.”
A terrifying weakness paralyzed Caitlin. Her father had always been a healthy man, except for a light heart attack a few years back from which he’d fully recovered.
“You can only visit him for a few minutes, Caitlin. Then I need to sedate him so he can rest comfortably through the night.”
A sense of despair washed over her. Her dark eyes burned with fatigue brought on by a sleepless night. “So nothing has changed.” It was more a statement than a question.
Dr. Flores hesitated before answering. “As I explained over the phone this morning, we diagnosed his condition over eight months ago. Since the tumor was discovered, its malignancy has spread very rapidly. Chemotherapy would have been useless. I advised him to tell you about his condition but he refused. He didn’t want you to know he had prostate cancer until it became absolutely necessary.”
Caitlin nodded, then asked the dreaded question she had to have answered. “How much longer?”
Louis Flores shrugged. “A matter of days, maybe a week. It’s hard to say at this point. There’s really nothing we can do for him, other than making him comfortable. He doesn’t want you to see him this way, but has no choice.”
Dr. Flores paused and then went on. “And another thing, Caitlin. Don’t question anything he tells you. The reason he won’t let me sedate him just yet is because he wants to be completely coherent when he talks to you. Don’t think what he’s saying is prompted by the medication.”
Caitlin’s instincts sensed a warning in Dr. Flores’s words; a warning that went beyond mere medical advice. She lifted her eyes to his face, letting her gaze run over the distraught features he arduously shielded behind a cloak of professionalism. “Dr. Flores—”
“No, Caitlin. Whatever Halston has to say, he’ll tell you himself.” An expression of tenderness softened his face. “Let’s not keep him waiting.”
A short walk down the hall brought Caitlin to her father’s room. Inhaling a deep breath, she walked over to the bed where he lay with his eyes closed. Taking a seat in the recliner next to the bed, she studied her father’s pallid face. As if sensing her presence, a weak smile touched his mouth. His eyes opened slowly.
His gaunt appearance looked nothing like the robust man she’d always known and loved. Sickness had aged him beyond his fifty-eight years and he’d lost an enormous amount of weight. Caitlin had to bite back a strong urge to cry out in agony. Instead she remembered Dr. Flores’s words and took her father’s hand in hers. Immediately she sensed his loss of strength. Her heart ached.
Halston Parker forced out a ragged breath. “Caitlin?”
“Yeah, Dad. It’s me. Don’t try to talk now. I’m here, and I’m not going anyplace.”
He closed his eyes, then reopened them. A hint of a smile barely touched his mouth. He stared at her. Caitlin wondered if he saw her or was visualizing her mother whom she favored, his beloved Catherine, who’d died eight years ago. He had taken her mother’s sudden death from a ruptured appendix extremely hard, never fully recovering from it. It had been during that time their already close relationship had become even closer. He had devoted all of his time and attention to his only child. It was as if Caitlin had become the only thing that had kept him going in a world filled with extreme loneliness.
Caitlin sighed, remembering how, six months ago, he had encouraged her to accept a job offer that required a move to Fort Worth. He’d known about his condition and had sent her away to spare her the anguish of seeing him suffer. If only she had known…
She reached out and, with an unsteady hand, wiped beads of moisture from his forehead.
“Dex.”
Caitlin’s hand stopped moving, hanging in midair. Her eyes widened. Surely her mind and ears were playing tricks on her. Her father couldn’t have spoken the name of the only man she’d ever known him to despise…and the only man she’d ever loved. “Dad?”
Halston Parker stared at his daughter through glazed, dark eyes. “Call Dex. I need to see him.”
His words, although wrested from his lips, sounded clear and precise. Silently, Caitlin stared at him. She moistened her dry lips remembering Dr. Flores’s words— Don’t question anything he tells you— but with her father’s strange request, she couldn’t help asking, “Why would you want to see Dex, Dad?”
Pain clouded Halston Parker’s eyes, making them appear more deep set. His craggy jaw was covered lightly with a day’s growth of gray whiskers. His once-rugged features now looked muted and frail. New lines, a result of some emotion Caitlin couldn’t name, creased across his cheekbones. His nostrils flared slightly from labored breathing. “Tell him to come before…”
His words drifted off as his eyes closed slightly. He forced them back open to gaze at her. “Call Dex, Caitlin,” he pleaded raggedly in a voice so low Caitlin had to lean over to catch the words. He closed his eyes again.
Caitlin forced back a rush of tears. Why would her father want to see her ex-husband? She’d decided four years ago Dex would no longer be a part of her life. Since that time she’d managed to move ahead and not dwell on the love she’d given up. She couldn’t say she hadn’t looked back, because a few times she had. No, she confessed, more than a few times. A familiar twist of pain unfolded within her. It had been a decision she’d made and stood by.
Seeing that her father had lapsed into a deep sleep, she rose from the chair and went to the window. Could she do what her father had asked? Could she handle seeing Dex again? Would he come even at a dying man’s request?
She took a deep breath as numerous questions flowed through her mind. No matter what her father’s reasons were for wanting to see Dex, no matter what the chances were of her wounds being reopened, she would do as her father had asked. Telling Dex her father wanted to see him didn’t necessarily mean he would come. Why should he?
Walking out of the room, she went to use the pay phone in the lobby. She wasn’t even sure if Dex was in the States. The last she’d heard, he was still out of the country. Minutes later she dialed the residential telephone number in Houston that had been given to her by the operator.
After three rings she found herself listening to Dex’s answering machine. The sound of his deep, masculine voice nearly made her jump. It had been four years since she’d heard it. A sensation she thought had dissolved long ago crept down her spine. Even over the phone lines Dexter Madaris had the ability to make her knees weaken, her pulse escalate and her breathing thicken.
She quickly hung up the phone, deciding not to leave a message. She would try contacting him again later. A sigh whispered through Caitlin’s lips. Time hadn’t totally destroyed the effect Dex had on her. This unexpected revelation struck her suddenly. After four years she still couldn’t force the strong-jawed, dark handsome face with its sensuous voice out of her mind…and completely out of her heart.
But she had to. She couldn’t afford to go back and dwell on the past. But still, she couldn’t stop her mind from drifting back to that beautiful day in late May four years ago, when she and Dex had met…
Caitlin Parker had a hard time believing her eyes when her gaze settled on the handsome man who’d just entered the café. He moved with the grace of a black leopard, reflected in the powerful movement of his shoulders and muscles. There was a smooth leanness in his tall form, reminding her of a spirited athlete combined with a laid-back silent manner.
His jeans molded to his firm thighs and long legs, while his white shirt stretched tautly across his broad chest. When he removed the Stetson from his head, she saw that his naturally wavy black hair was cut short in what she considered a blatantly masculine style. His nut-brown features, bluntly strong and sensuous, seemed carved into his firm jawline, high forehead and straight nose. However, it was his eyes that took Caitlin’s breath away. There was something very cryptic about the charcoal-gray eyes scanning the room before coming to rest on her. After mumbling a few words to the waiter, he moved in her direction.
Caitlin was caught up with the handsome man’s approach to her table. Her grip tightened nervously around the glass of iced tea she held, attempting to control the trembling in her body, beginning with her fingers. It didn’t work. All attempts at control failed when he stood before her.
“Caitlin Parker?”
The sound of his deep voice nearly undid Caitlin, causing her to nod in mute silence.
“I’m Dexter Madaris. My uncle, Jake Madaris, had planned to meet with you but, unfortunately, he had to fly to Wyoming unexpectedly on business. He won’t be back for several days. As a favor, he asked me to come meet with you to discuss the summer job you’ve applied for. May I sit down?”
Caitlin could only stare, hypnotized by the man standing before her. He had to be, without a doubt, the sexiest man she’d ever seen.
“Miss Parker?”
At that moment Caitlin realized she hadn’t answered his request. Heat flushed her face and her lips trembled slightly with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Mr. Madaris. Yes, please have a seat.” She watched as he settled his lithe frame into the chair.
“How old are you, Miss Parker?”
“What?” Caitlin whispered, caught off guard by the question. His voice echoed a Texas drawl that made her breath lodge in her throat. Masculine and distinct, it conveyed a strength and an endurance all its own. Together, his eyes and voice were a deadly combination.
Dex smiled in a way Caitlin thought enhanced the fullness of his sensual mouth. “I asked how old you are?”
Caitlin cleared her throat. “I’m twenty-one. Why?”
“Because you look rather young for the job. By the way, you can call me Dex. Do you mind if I call you Caitlin?”
“Not at all.” She nervously lifted the glass of tea to her lips and asked, “And how old are you, Dex?”
He shot her a surprised glance before answering. “I’m thirty-two.”
The waiter came and took Dex’s order. Caitlin used the interruption to contain her breathing. Dex’s presence had her heart beating at an alarming rate.
“What about you, Caitlin? Can I order something for you?”
“No, thanks, I’m fine.”
Dex nodded then dismissed the waiter. “I understand you graduated from college a few days ago. Now that school’s over, why do you want to spend your summer working when you could be celebrating by heading for the beach, or the border like most of the other graduates?” he asked.
Caitlin looked away then returned her gaze to his. “In the fall I’m going back to college to begin a masters program. I really don’t consider what I’ll be doing this summer as work. I’ll get to do something I enjoy.”
“Working with computers?”
“Yes,” Caitlin replied, tensing under Dex’s direct stare. Somehow she managed a smile. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to spend some time on a real ranch.” She didn’t add that she’d often heard about the handsome cowboys and broncobusters that worked there. If he was a sample of what the place had to offer, then what she’d heard had been true.
“Oh?” Dex laughed softly. “And how does your family feel about that?”
“My mother died a few years ago, so it’s just me and my father. Although he’s not thrilled with the idea, I convinced him it would benefit me in the long run to gain a degree of experience in my field of study. But to pacify him, I’ve agreed to return to San Antonio for a while before going back to school in September.”
“San Antonio? Is that your home?”
“Yes.”
He studied her intently. “Do you always give in so easily?”
Caitlin lifted her brow, unsure whether he was referring to the incident with her father or something else. “No. I’ll stand my ground when I believe what I’m doing is right.”
The waiter interrupted them when he served Dex his drink. Caitlin watched as he took a sip and thought it was the most sensuous gesture she’d ever seen. She tried to submerge the heat flaring in her stomach as she watched the way his mouth touched the rim of the glass of wine, tipping it up to his lips, savoring the taste as it slowly slipped down his throat. She felt a strange ache in her limbs when he ran his tongue over his lips in appreciation of the wine’s fruity taste.
“Tell me a little more about your background, Caitlin.”
Caitlin tore her gaze from his mouth and directed her attention to the scented candle burning in the middle of their table. She cleared her throat. “I graduated from the University of Texas,” she said, “with a degree in computer technology and a minor in accounting. For the past three years, I’ve been part of the work-study program on campus, working in the computer department.”
Dex swirled the liquid around in his glass. A faint sparkle lit his eyes when he spoke. “Uncle Jake’s business is livestock. He raises cattle and horses and then sells them to farms all over the country. His reputation as an excellent stock breeder has spread, and over the years his business has grown tremendously.”
“I think everyone in Texas has heard of the Whispering Pines ranch and Jacob Madaris,” Caitlin said.
Dex took another sip of wine. “Fortunately he wants to upgrade his billing system. The system he’s using now is really outdated. What he wants you to do is to analyze his present setup and come up with some suggestions on computerizing his business accounts.”
Caitlin nodded. “Smart idea.”
“I agree, however, I may as well warn you that the person who does the bookkeeping, Delane Ormand, has been there for ages and detests change. According to Uncle Jake, she doesn’t feel comfortable working on a computer, since she doesn’t know anything about them. Think you can handle setting up the program and selling the idea of computerized accounting to Delane?”
There was a determined gleam in Caitlin’s eyes. “Yes,” she said with easy confidence. “Once Ms. Ormand realizes how much easier her work will become with a computer, she’ll love it.” Caitlin paused for a moment before asking, “Do you work at the ranch, too, Dex?”
He smiled. “No, I don’t work there, although I used to during summers and vacations while in high school and college. Right now, I’m just visiting my uncle. I’m a geologist in oil exploration. My company has transferred me to Australia for two years. I’ll be at the ranch for the next three weeks for some rest and relaxation before leaving the country.”
Caitlin hoped her face didn’t show her disappointment. She swallowed against the fullness in her throat. The intensity of Dex Madaris’s eyes stirred her insides. He had a way about him she was sure attracted numerous women. He was dangerous, not in the normal sense, but instead dangerous to one’s common sense.
She didn’t doubt for a minute he had the ability to make the most sensible woman throw all caution to the wind for an opportunity to get to know him intimately. Her cheeks heated from her candid thoughts. She twisted slightly in her chair.
“Is there something wrong, Caitlin?”
Her gaze flew to Dex’s face. She felt her body stir under his intense scrutiny. She suddenly realized she was dealing with a man with the ability to strip away any emotional barriers with one smoldering look.
“Caitlin?”
She inhaled deeply and forced herself to shake her head. “No, nothing’s wrong.”
Dex took another sip of his wine. “The pay is twelve dollars an hour and includes your room and board. Uncle Jake figures the project shouldn’t take any longer than four to six weeks. Are you absolutely sure you want the job?”
“Yes, I’m positive.”
“Then it’s yours.”
Joy swept through Caitlin. “Thank you.”
A widened smile touched Dex’s lips. “How soon can you begin—?”
“Caitlin?”
The soft, gentle voice brought Caitlin’s thoughts back to the present. She immediately recognized the person standing before her. “Reverend Timmons. I’m so glad you came…”
By the time Dex crawled into bed that night, he was bone tired. Before returning home from the restaurant, he’d stopped by his office, and he and his project foreman and good friend, Trevor Grant, had worked well past midnight going over an important job proposal.
The ringing of the telephone interrupted what he’d hoped to be the beginning of a good night’s sleep. Reaching over to the nightstand, he picked up the phone.
“Yeah?” When Dex didn’t get a response but heard the faint sound of breathing on the other end, he became annoyed. “Who the hell is this? State your business or hang up.”
“Dex?”
Dex frowned, trying to recognize the voice. “Who wants to know?”
There was a pause. “It’s Caitlin, Dex.”
The words were a hard blow to Dex’s firm stomach. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, finding himself drenched first with disbelief, then a surge of renewed anger. There was a tightness in his throat. “What do you want, Caitlin?” His words were clipped and devoid of any emotion except one. Bitterness.
“I’m calling for my dad. He’s very ill and wants to see you. I don’t know why, but he’s asking for you. Please come, Dex.”
