“Then you and I will work on it together, but I’ll bet you’ll look at the map and come up with some possibilities for the area.”
She thought about what he was telling her as she put down her fork, her appetite suddenly gone. She wondered what she could do to make sure she didn’t get cheated.
“You didn’t eat much,” he observed a few moments later.
“It was delicious, but I don’t eat much most of the time and I’ve been busy thinking about your proposition.”
“Take all the time you need. You don’t have to give me an answer tomorrow night for that matter. I can wait. Want to go dance?”
“No, thanks,” she replied, smiling at him. “This is sort of a business dinner and I have no interest in dancing. Too much on my mind. I’d step on you,” she added, broadening her smile.
“I wouldn’t mind, but we can sit out the dancing.” He leaned forward, reaching across the table to take her hand. The instant her fingers touched his warm ones, she couldn’t get her breath. The air around her heated and her body tingled. That slight contact sizzled from her head to her toes and then settled low in the center of her being, a hot torment that made her ache to be in his arms and brought back memories of Jake holding her close, kissing her passionately, making torrid love to her that drove her wild.
“Truce?” he asked and she barely heard what he said as she stared at him. Something flickered in the depths of his eyes and for one brief instant, his fingers tightened around hers and his thumb ran over the back of her hand.
“You always did have the smoothest skin ever,” he whispered, his voice husky, a thick whisper, while his eyes blazed with such hot desire that she felt as if she would melt. At the same time, she wanted him to pull her toward him, to take her on his lap while he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her senseless. Closing her eyes momentarily, she tried to stop thinking about the past with him, the love she had thought they had shared. Love that he had smashed the way someone would break a crystal goblet by throwing it down.
She yanked her hand free and looked away, gasping for breath and hating that she had lost control so obviously that he could not avoid knowing exactly what she was feeling and thinking. He could see how much he could still affect her and she hated it.
“I guess we have a truce,” he said. His voice was raspy and she realized she still had an effect on him, too, giving her both satisfaction and annoyance.
“Truce for now,” she replied without looking at him.
“When you’re finished, we can head home. You can think about what I’ve offered.”
She nodded. “Then I’m ready to go back,” she said, wondering if they would say goodbye at her door and if she turned him down, if they wouldn’t see each other again. She didn’t care and she wasn’t too interested in accepting his proposition, except there were possibilities that would be good for her family.
She continued to think about all he had told her while he paid the bill and they returned to the airport. They barely talked, which seemed so odd in some ways. Long ago, she could talk to him endlessly and never tire of it.
Finally, as they flew back to Verity, she turned to him. “I think I would like to have our ancestors’ remains have a proper burial, also. If you remember, I’ve always been interested in our family tree and our history. The treasure—that seems a tall tale to me, but who really knows? It’s a generous offer to turn the treasure over to me if we find one.”
“Somehow, I think we might be more likely to find bones than treasure. If we do find treasure, that’s a good payment for your agreement to this,” he said. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, his booted feet near her. When they had boarded the plane, he had shed his jacket and tie and unbuttoned his collar. He looked relaxed and he still appeared open and straightforward, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that in some way, he was slipping something past her.
After another lapse of silence between them, she sat up straighter and turned slightly to face him. He sat watching her.
“If we do this and do find bones, how will we know whose bones are Milans and whose are Calhouns?”
“Take them to the county medical examiner. We can get some kind of DNA test and they can sort out the two families.”
She nodded. “That sounds reasonable. And I walk away with the treasure?”
“Absolutely.”
She lapsed into more silence before she broached the topic. “I know you want to lease some of my land for your energy company. Why not go elsewhere? It’s a big world.”
“So it is, but your land looks promising and is an area that we think may be a big play. It’s also cheaper and easier for us because it’s close to our headquarters. Labor is available here. Trained men who do this if we need to hire more. It’s dollars in the bank instead of going off a long distance.”
“That sounds reasonable. Suppose we put a high, high price on this.”
“You can price yourself out of the market, but energy companies, I think, are generous when they want something. Are you going to give us a chance?” he asked, looking at her and smiling, making her heart turn over again. Longing swamped her again. Too easily he could trigger those feelings.
“Don’t push me, Jake,” she said and he became silent again.
She thought about his original offer, still trying to look at it from all possible angles. When they stopped in front of her house, the driver came around to hold the limo door. Jake accompanied her to her door.
“Want to come in a few minutes? Would your driver mind?”
“No, he’ll wait. He’s getting paid for whatever he does.”
She unlocked the house and turned off the alarm. “We’ll go into the study,” she said, glancing at Jake to see him looking around.
“I forgot—you’ve never been inside this house. Seems ridiculous in some ways, but understandable in others. My ancestors would be turning over in their graves if they knew I’d invited a Calhoun inside.”
Jake smiled again. “I still feel the feud is arcane, ridiculous. Come into the present.”
“I agree, but we decided long ago to stop fighting it,” she said. As he walked beside her, he looked around. “Is any of this art hanging on the walls yours?”
“Not in the hallway, but in here it is,” she said, leading him into a study that held a large wet bar. “The painting over the mantel is mine,” she said and he crossed the room to look at the large painting of a field of bluebonnets, a tall oak in one side of the field and a stream running through it. “You’re not a contemporary artist. This is a beautiful painting and you’re very good.”
“Thank you. The painting on that wall by the window is mine, too,” she said and he crossed the room to look at the painting of three horses in a field, a cowboy holding the reins and standing by one. “That’s good, Madison. Very impressive. I can see why you’ve been a success.”
“Thanks. Would you like a drink?”
He shook his head. “No, thank you. Let’s just talk.”
She motioned with her hand. “Have a seat,” she said, sitting and crossing her legs, pulling her skirt to her knees and catching him watching her.
“I’ve been thinking about this all evening, Jake,” she said slowly, watching him intently. “I will in fact give you a final word tomorrow night....” She wouldn’t commit until she talked to her brothers; after all, she had to protect Milan interests. “But I’m thinking about accepting your proposal.” She speared his eyes with her own. “Under one condition.”
Three