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The Texan's Bride
Linda Warren
Sheltered her entire life, Jessie Murdock has rarely gotten her way. Until her dying father makes a deal with Cadde Hardin. Cadde will get shares of Shilah Oil on one condition–marry Jessie. In love with him for years, Jessie doesn't hesitate to sign the papers. But she didn't sign up for a completely absent husband.Now Jessie has a counter offer. She'll give Cadde controlling interest of the business if he'll give her a baby…the natural way. Only he has a few caveats of his own. When life refuses to follow their written plan, Jessie and Cadde have to decide which is more important: their unspoken love or the family business.
“Jessie, we need to talk.”
Cadde’s deep voice demanded Jessie’s attention.
She looked up, trying to appear as innocent as possible. “About what?”
“You know damn well about what. We spoke last night and you seemed in agreement about the next steps for Shilah Oil.”
“I didn’t promise you my vote.”
“Oh, no, you’re way too smart for that.” Anger now edged his voice. “Do you get some kind of perverse pleasure out of blocking my every move?”
“Actually, no.”
“Then what the hell is it?” He waved a hand around the green-and-white room. “If the oil company goes under, so will all of this. Why are you keeping Shilah stagnant? It’s me, isn’t it? You’re not comfortable with me taking over Roscoe’s position so you’re trying to stick it to me every way you can.”
She shook her head. “No. I think you’re more than qualified to fill Daddy’s shoes.”
“Then what the hell is it, Jessie? What do I have to do to get your support? What do you want?”
“It’s quite simple. I want a baby.”
Dear Reader,
I’m happy to present you with the second book in The Hardin Boys series. Cadde Hardin and Jessie Murdock are two strong-willed people who know exactly what they want. Cadde has worked years toward one goal: owning an oil company. Jessie wants a family. She has the power to make his dream come true and vice versa. But as we all know, life doesn’t come with a blueprint.
As far back as I can remember I wanted to be a nurse. I took all the right courses and worked as a nurse’s aide. My dream was set, but like I said, life’s blueprint is different from our own. In college I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and I had to adjust, regroup and create new goals. Today I write happy-ever-after books for Harlequin. Not too bad of an adjustment.
Cadde and Jessie think their goals are set, but they get derailed for a lot of reasons. Through some heartache the two of them learn a hard lesson—love is not a business arrangement. I have to admit I shed a few tears while writing this book. I have a box of tissues on my desk that is now almost empty.
You know this story has a happy ending, so hang in there. I hope you enjoy The Texan’s Bride. It took a piece of my heart. Please look for the third book in the series, The Texan’s Christmas, Cisco’s (Kid’s) story, in December.
With love and thanks,
Linda Warren
P.S.—It’s always a pleasure to hear from readers. You can email me at Lw1508@aol.com or write me at P.O. Box 5182, Bryan, TX 77805. Visit my website at www.lindawarren.net or www.facebook.com/authorlindawarren. I will answer your letters as soon as I can.
The Texan’s Bride
Linda Warren
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RITA
Award-nominated and award-winning author Linda Warren has written twenty-nine books for Harlequin, including Superromance, American Romance and Everlasting Love. Drawing upon her years of growing up on a farm/ranch in Texas, she writes about sexy heroes, feisty heroines and broken families with an emotional punch, all set against the backdrop of Texas. When she’s not writing or at the mall, she’s sitting on her patio with her husband watching the wildlife and plotting her next book. Visit her website at www.LindaWarren.net.
To Jennifer…may all your dreams come true.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following people
who answered my many questions and
made this book possible:
Vicki, Jennifer, James O., Phyllis, Lauren, Mark,
Laura and Scott.
All errors are strictly mine.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CADDE HARDIN ALWAYS THOUGHT he’d eventually get married. He just never dreamed it would be a marriage of convenience.
And a pain in the ass.
“One of these days I’m going to wring her damn pretty neck.”
He threw his briefcase onto the desk, scattering piles of folders, and slam-dunked his body into a leather chair, which protested with loud, annoying squeaks. He was so angry he could barely breathe.
How many more times was Jessie, his wife, going to stab him in the back?
His brothers, Cisco—known as Kid—and Chance stood in the doorway. “Is it safe to come in?” Kid asked. Cadde nodded.
“What the hell happened?” Kid wanted to know. “You said you had it handled, but once again Jessie shot down your proposal.”
Cadde yanked off his tie. “I’m well aware of that.” For a whole week he’d been telling Jessie how much he needed her vote at Shilah Oil’s next board meeting. The company had to move forward. She had agreed, but evidently she’d changed her mind, voting against expanding drilling outside of Texas. He could feel his blood pressure rising by the minute.
“What did she say when you told her about the proposal?” Chance asked, taking a seat.
Cadde threw the tie onto the desk. “She said it sounded like something her father, Roscoe, would do. He was always a wildcatter, a risk-taker.”
“Did she agree to vote your way?” Kid plopped into a chair and rested his boots on the desk. Usually, Cadde would knock them off, but today he wasn’t in a mood to fight with Kid. Jessie and her about-face was all he had on his mind.
“No,” he muttered.
“Sounds as if she’s still pissed about the marriage,” Kid commented.
“I didn’t force her into this arrangement. Roscoe was dying and he wanted me to protect her, to take care of her, and I agreed.”
“For a piece of the pie,” Kid murmured under his breath.
He glared at Kid. “Don’t start with me today.”
Chance spoke up. “Face it, Cadde, she has to be upset at having her husband chosen for her.”
“She was there when Roscoe made his wishes known. She didn’t object or get angry. She accepted her father’s decision.”
“Still…”
“Dammit, Chance.” Cadde swung out of his chair and stood to gaze at the view of Houston, but all he saw were Jessie’s dark eyes. Swinging back, he said, “Don’t you think I’m aware of that? I’m at my wit’s end on how to handle Jessie.”
“Since I’m an expert on women—” Kid formed a steeple with his fingers and looked at Cadde over the top “—I’d say Jessie wants something…and she wants it from you.”
“What would that be, Kid?” Cadde asked in a sarcastic tone.
“I don’t know, but whatever she’s angry about is aimed at you.”
“That’s for damn sure.”
“Shilah Oil is going nowhere without her support on the board,” Chance said. “So your best bet is to have an honest-to-God talk with her.”
“It might be as simple as a divorce,” Kid added.
Cadde frowned. “You think she wants a divorce?”
Kid shrugged. “What else could it be? I mean, Roscoe sheltered her all her life. She’s probably looking for some sort of freedom. And fun—preferably not with a man handpicked by her father.”
Chance turned on Kid. “You don’t know that. He needs to talk—”
“I’ll see y’all later,” Cadde said, grabbing his briefcase and heading for the door.
“What? No orders?” Kid’s pesky voice followed him.
“Get your damn feet off my desk! Chance, I want the drilling log on the Carver well when I return.” Why had he brought his brothers in on this oil venture? They had a way of getting under his skin. But the truth was he needed their expertise to make Shilah Oil a successful company. Besides, they were brothers who stood together in rough times and in good times.
Right now Cadde didn’t want to think about his siblings. Jessie occupied every corner of his mind.
In record time he was in his truck and driving north out of Houston toward Brenham. Maybe he and Jessie could talk and work things out. The knot in his gut eased a little.
Lord knew he didn’t enjoy the marriage any more than she did. The first time he had dinner at the Murdock estate Roscoe had made it very clear that his daughter was off-limits, so he was shocked when Roscoe had brought up the suggestion of them marrying. He’d told the man he would look out for Jessie, but he didn’t see any reason for a legal ceremony. They didn’t love each other. They were barely more than acquaintances.
He’d never paid much attention to Roscoe’s daughter, and he’d thought she’d grown to be an unattractive old maid without much appeal, except her father’s wealth. As for Roscoe—it had been said that he resembled the back end of a horse going the wrong way. The man wasn’t handsome by any means and Cadde had assumed his daughter favored him. He’d been mistaken.
Roscoe was big and barrel-chested with a booming voice that could make babies cry. Jessie was just the opposite; slim, feminine and beautiful with long dark hair and the blackest eyes he’d ever seen. She obviously took after her mother. Roscoe never spoke about his wife and there were no photos of her in the house.
That first night Cadde had dined with the two of them, he looked everywhere but at the gorgeous woman sitting across from him. No way did he want Roscoe to catch him eyeing his daughter. That would put an end to his oil career. He played the part of cool indifference well, and the status quo remained the same every time he visited the Murdock estate.
He’d spent a lot of years working toward one goal—owning his own company. He, Kid and Chance had roughnecked all over Texas. They knew the oil business. He wasn’t jeopardizing that goal by acting stupid. Jessie was his boss’s daughter and in his eyes that meant she was off-limits.
Then, Roscoe being the gambling wildcatter that he was, sweetened the pot.
“How long have I known you, boy?” Roscoe had asked that day in his hospital room.
“A little over ten years.”
Roscoe nodded. “You roughnecked on a wildcatter well. I saw you had potential and I brought you into the office. You’ve been my right hand since then.”
“Yes, sir. I’ve learned from you and I’ll always appreciate the opportunity you gave me.”
“It’s payback time, boy. Don’t you know that?”
