ELEVEN

When Avery awoke the next morning, expecting to find Reese lying next to her, or at the very least, bathing that gorgeous masculine body of his in her shower, and didn’t find him anywhere, she nearly cried. At first, she blamed herself, trying to think of what she may have said to drive him away. When she’d gone over their relatively few conversations, she focused on the sex, but dismissed that completely. She knew enough about men and sex to know that Reese Cooper Jr. had one hell of a good time.

So had she, once Reese calmed down.

The first time they’d had sex, it was just that . . . sex. No real emotion. Truth be told, although it had been a real turn on, she hadn’t truly liked it. She’d found his touch somewhat cold and calculating, as if he knew all the right moves and all the right things to say, but his heart wasn’t into it.

The second time in the shower was at least more fun to start with, but then the same thing happened. He’d demanded things from her instead of asking. She’d gone along with his demands simply because there was a certain excitement to it, but when he’d gotten even more demanding the third time, it wasn’t fun anymore, and she thought he must have sensed it.

The fourth time, when she decided to take a more active role with his dominance and suggested that he tie her hands to the headboard, he’d backed down at first and she wondered if something had changed inside him.

“Are you doing this for me or because you like it?” he’d asked.

“With the way you’ve been making all the rules, I thought it was time to turn the tables.”

“And you really want me to tie your hands to the headboard?”

He gently pulled her arm up, and wrapped the silk scarf she’d offered around her wrist, then pulled the scarf through the metal rung of the headboard. As soon as he tied the scarf she knew this was way over the top for her, and part of her wanted to back out, but she took a deep breath and calmed down.

He gazed deep into her eyes, and something happened, something that changed his entire demeanor, and he immediately untied her hand and tossed the scarf on the floor.

“This isn’t right. Not for us.”

“I thought you would like it,” she’d whispered.

“Do you?”

“I’ve never done it before, but we did a lot of things today that were new to me,” she said. “You’re a forceful lover, Reese Cooper.”

“What do you want?” he asked, his voice sincere and tender, as if he seriously wanted to know what she wanted, what she needed.

Everything changed after that.

She slid closer to him on the bed. “This,” she said, kissing him gently. “And this.” She lovingly took his hand and placed it on her breast. “And more of this,” she told him as she kissed his shoulders, then moved toward his chest.

And within the blink of an eye, his whole disposition changed. That in-charge kind of guy had vanished and a warm and tender lover took his place. The kind of lover she’d always known he would be, the kind of lover she’d wanted him to be.

This time when he’d entered her, it was different, so different that the honesty of it scared her. She didn’t know if she was ready for all the deep emotions that swirled through her thoughts. When they’d both reached their climax, they’d experienced it together, sharing a moment she would never forget. She’d never felt this way before, and she was sure she never would again if Reese had actually walked out on her.

Reese Cooper was all she ever wanted or needed. It felt as if they were meant to be together, but she knew, deep in her heart, that she could never truly have him until whatever demons were jousting with his soul would one day set him free.

Now as she showered and dressed in jeans and a tee, she wondered if perhaps the raw honesty of those last moments had pushed him away, had caused him to feel as though that much personal vulnerability required some sort of commitment.

But she brushed that notion right out of her head knowing full well commitment issues weren’t part of Reese’s playbook. The man was all about commitments, possibly to his detriment, because when she opened her bedroom door to enjoy a cup of tea out on her private porch and found the blue folder still sitting on the chair where he’d left it, frustration mixed with anger erupted deep inside her.

“We’ll just see about that,” she said out loud, grabbing the folder and heading back into the house, then grabbing her purse off the dresser, and her keys lying next to it.

Catherine Cooper had told her, right before the meeting, that she’d be heading home that night. It was time Avery appealed to the one person she knew could change Reese’s mind.

His mom.

“CAN I GET you anything?” Catherine asked, as she and Avery sat in the Cooper kitchen while something that smelled heavenly baked in the oven. The kitchen badly needed updating. The counters, a dark brown laminate, looked as though they were part of the original house, and the cabinets had been painted over so many times Avery wondered if the hinges still worked. The white refrigerator looked relatively new, as did the stove. But the dishwasher and the sink, which could barely hold a good-sized frying pan, needed to be thrown out. Clearly, the entire kitchen should be demolished, as should other parts of the forlorn-looking house.

The Coopers were like a lot of ranching families that were experiencing hard times. The livestock was their lifeblood and everything else was simply relegated to the very bottom of the list . . . if there even was a list.

The house itself was clean and orderly, and some of the pieces of furniture were rustic looking and obviously antique, but for the most part, Avery could tell the Coopers had been in a financial crisis for quite some time.

“Thanks, if you have tea, I would love a cup,” Avery told her.

“Sure, black or herbal? And do you take sweetener, sugar or honey? Milk, cream or lemon? And do you prefer a cup and saucer or a mug?”

Avery figured Catherine Cooper must be a tea drinker, even though she saw her drinking coffee during the meeting with Chuck. Only a true tea drinker would know to offer such a myriad of accompaniments.

“So many choices. I love it. Thank you. Honey, milk, black tea and I would love a cup and saucer, just not too fancy.”

Avery sat at the large round oak table that dominated the room. A medium-sized white lace doily adorned the middle of the table and fresh flowers in a glass vase sat in the center. Somehow, they seemed out of place in this otherwise drab kitchen and she wondered if friends or family had sent them in memory of Catherine’s husband.

It was a stark reminder of the loss Catherine and the rest of the Coopers were dealing with.

Catherine busied herself with gathering everything for Avery’s tea on a pretty white tray while the electric kettle hissed and popped as the water began to boil.

Avery loved an actual table in the kitchen instead of a counter with bar stools. There was something warm and inviting about a real kitchen table. It conjured up kids and homework, family breakfasts and long lunches, a safe place where a family came together both when happy or in crisis. She could only speculate what had transpired around the Cooper table in the last few weeks, and some of it couldn’t have been good.

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here,” Avery said, sitting forward in her chair, then pulling the blue folder out of her large purse and resting it on the table directly in front of her.

Catherine sat one chair over, in the only chair with a cushion, and Avery had the impression that this was Catherine’s favorite chair at the table.

“Not really,” Catherine said with a lilt to her voice. “As soon as I saw you standing outside my door, I knew you were here about Reese’s offer. He hasn’t signed anything, has he?”

Avery shook her head as the teakettle bubbled then clicked off. Catherine immediately poured water into an ornate deep blue teapot. Then she added an infuser filled with black tea leaves, placed the lid back on the pot, and draped it with a thick dishtowel to keep the tea hot as the aromatic leaves steeped.

Yep, a true tea drinker, Avery thought.

“No. He didn’t even take it with him.” Avery wasn’t about to add any of the details on why she hadn’t known this information until she’d stepped out on her private porch that morning. Some things were best left unsaid.

“And you think that by talking to me, I can convince him?”

Catherine removed the towel from the pot and poured the now dark tea into two lovely dark blue matching cups. She added milk and honey to one cup, presumably for Avery, then she picked up the cup by its saucer and handed Avery the steaming tea. Once Avery took it, Catherine prepared her own tea by also adding milk and honey, stirring it around, then took a sip to make sure it was perfect. She gazed over at Avery with a satisfied grin.

“Something like that, yes,” Avery said after she’d taken a sip of her own richly flavored tea. It was hot and strong, exactly the way Avery liked it.

For some inexplicable reason, Avery hoped that Catherine still had some feelings for Chuck, and if she did, Avery thought she might be able to play on those emotions and get her to talk to Reese about the offer. All Avery wanted was for Reese to read the documents. If he would take that first step, he might take another . . . and another . . . and eventually the two men would come to terms.

“I haven’t been able to get the men in this house to do anything they don’t want to do since my husband carried me over the threshold,” Catherine said, as she added a dish of assorted cookies to the table that looked homemade. Then, she finally sat down again. “I can get them to do personal things for me, but when it comes to anything else, especially if they think it might somehow hurt the ranch, they don’t want any part of it.”

It was the first time Avery had a chance to really study Catherine, a slender woman, with a round face and very few lines. She wore a small amount of makeup, mascara, some blush on her cheeks and a pale pink lipstick. Her salt and pepper hair was cut in an easily manageable bob that dusted her shoulders. Avery suspected that the waves in her hair were natural. She didn’t seem like the type of woman who would take the time to use a curling iron or extra hair products of any sort.

The one thing that stood out about her was her strong chin, as if once she made up her mind, she wasn’t about to change it, no matter what came her way.

That thought scared Avery. She knew she’d have to choose her words wisely from here on out or Catherine might turn into an enemy instead of an ally, which Avery was praying for.

“Then maybe we need to make this about you, instead of about Reese,” Avery told her while trying to sound sincere . . . which she was.

She sipped her luscious tea, and enjoyed the flavor on her tongue as she waited for Catherine to respond.

“But this is all about Reese and Chuck,” Catherine finally said. “It has very little to do with me.”

“I think it has everything to do with you.” Avery carefully placed her cup back down on the saucer, then looked over at Catherine. “For one thing, the partnership will benefit the entire Cooper family. Reese will have the most to gain, that’s certain, but as soon as the Cooper ranch is folded into the Circle Starr Enterprises, all your debts will be paid in full, which will free you and your family from your current financial responsibilities. Plus, with your generous shares of stock in Chuck’s company, you could upgrade your kitchen, which, if you’re anything like me, you’ve been thinking about for quite some time. I love a beautifully appointed kitchen, with a great stove and double ovens and all the right appliances to make my life easier. When I’m at home in Phoenix, I like to entertain on occasion, and being able to work in a great kitchen is the best thing ever.”

Avery may have embellished that last statement, she rarely entertained, but she needed to get Catherine on her side.

At once Catherine’s forehead furrowed, and her jaw clenched as if what Avery had just said offended her in some way. Avery hadn’t meant to offend her. She’d only wanted to sweeten the pot, look at this thing from a different angle.

“This kitchen has served me well for . . . ” She paused as she topped off both their cups of tea. Then she poured a little more milk into her cup and took several sips. “Truth?” she finally said. “I’d kill for a new kitchen.”

Avery felt the grin surge up from her toes. “Then you’ve got to urge Reese to read over these documents.”

“I think what’s holding him back is the fact that Chuck wants the last of the Cooper ranch. Reese will do anything in order to keep this ranch under our family name. I think he’d sell his soul to the devil in order to keep it out of Chuck’s hands.”

“Okay, then I’ll have to get Chuck to renegotiate that aspect of the partnership. I think Chuck was just trying to take the burden of the bills off of Reese’s back. There has to be something they can work out.”

Catherine sipped her tea, holding the saucer in one hand and the cup in the other. “You don’t know what’s been going on around here, do you?”

“I know Chuck’s version. Why don’t you tell me yours?”

She carefully placed the cup and saucer down on the table, folded her arms on the table and leaned into them.

“Where did he start?” Catherine asked.

“When the two of you were dating.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“He told me that everything he did, all the money he’d ever made was all for you and Reese Jr. He wants nothing more than for you and Reese to share in his good fortune. He also confessed that he still loves you, and you told him at the time that you’d seen him in a dream. That he was your soul mate. Did you use those words? Was he your soul mate?”

Avery didn’t know if Reese Jr. and Catherine ever discussed their dreams, but from the look of shock now in Catherine’s eyes, Avery decided the topic probably never came up.

Catherine’s face paled. “That was simply some ramblings of a silly young woman who didn’t know the first thing about soul mates or any kind of mate, for that matter.” Tears flooded Catherine’s eyes. “My husband was a kind and decent man who was good to me and to my parents. He treated me with nothing but respect and love. I miss him so much I ache.” She stood, just as a bell went off, making it seem as if their entire visit had been timed. “I think you should leave now.”

Avery felt a rush of adrenaline pulse through her body. It was as though that bell had triggered something negative inside Catherine.

She pushed out her chair and stood. Suddenly everything changed. The tension in the room went up several notches and Avery knew she’d somehow stepped right into it. She hoped she could salvage the moment. “I’m sorry if I said anything to offend you. I certainly didn’t mean to.”

Catherine opened the oven and a rush of heat escaped. She grabbed a kitchen towel and pulled out two loaves of bread cradled inside metal pans. She slammed each one down on the counter, then slid three more loves inside the oven and slammed the door shut. She turned back to Avery, grabbed the folder off the table and held it out to her.

“Take this back to Chuck and tell him he can go to the devil. He will never have the Cooper ranch. Not as long as I’m still breathing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do. I’m sure you know your way out.”

Then she walked out of the kitchen, and out of sight.

Avery shoved the folder into her purse then slung it over her shoulder, and headed for the back door thinking that despite what Catherine had just told her about her husband, she had never once said that she loved Reese Sr.

As she ambled out the front door, Avery realized that after all this time and after everything that had happened, Catherine Cooper may very well still love Chuck Starr just as much as he loved her.

That thought gave Avery another idea, and she immediately turned back around, pulled the folder out of her purse, and left it right there on the kitchen table, next to the pretty blue tea set and the arrangement of sympathy flowers.

REESE COULD HARDLY believe his eyes when he caught Avery coming out of his front door. He couldn’t imagine why she hadn’t called him to let him know she was stopping by. When he called out to her, she kept walking towards her car, as if she hadn’t heard him, then she got in, turned over the engine and drove away.

He started to call her on his phone, but then stopped when he realized that his mom had probably been inside the house, alone. This was her day for baking bread for the week, something she’d been doing ever since Reese could remember. She’d start early in the morning, and didn’t quit until dinnertime.

He and everyone else in the family were grateful that she was home again, mainly because even though they were all well past living under one roof and should know how to feed themselves, none of them could seem to manage anything domestic without her. She was their rock, and now that their dad was gone, they depended on her . . . probably too much.

Chase had already hinted about his desire to move into town, and Shiloh had decided to completely move into the outbuilding where she did all her art. That outbuilding had once been the original Cooper home, where Reese had been born, so all the place needed was a hefty upgrade. Shiloh had already begun by having all new appliances installed. She was on her way to a nice little place of her own . . . at least for as long as Reese could hang onto the ranch.

Draven, Hunter and Reese weren’t quite ready to be kicked out of the nest. Besides, that nest wasn’t ready for them to leave. Reese knew that if something didn’t change soon, their days were numbered, but the thought of folding the Cooper ranch into Circle Starr Enterprises sickened him.

Curious as to what had gone on between Avery and his mom, Reese pulled off his work gloves, shoved them into his back pocket, and headed up to the house. He’d been cleaning stalls all morning and his growling empty stomach reflected his sour mood.

Avery had been on his mind all night and all day. He hadn’t been able to shake her no matter how hard he tried, and seeing her again only brought back memories of their day together in her room.

Just the thought of her kiss, or her arms wrapped around him or her body under his, sent chills down his spine. The woman had a spell on him like no other, and he could no more walk away from her than he could walk away from his own life. She’d gotten hold of him and now he felt helplessly drawn to her. He hadn’t been able to think of anything else and twice had to stop and tell himself to focus on the task at hand or he would surely hurt himself or one of the horses from sheer carelessness.

Still, he tried to convince himself that it could never work between them. She was solidly in Chuck Starr’s camp, and no matter what Reese said, he couldn’t seem to lure her out of it.

He couldn’t give up the Cooper ranch, even if it meant he had to give up Avery, the woman he was falling in love with. He and Chuck were on an endless collision course and short of one of them dying, there wasn’t much he could do to change it.

That was how his dad had raised him.

All or nothing.

Play to win or go home.

Reese certainly wasn’t about to change his beliefs simply because he’d made love to the girl from his dreams . . . the exact girl from his dreams . . . who was even more beautiful and smart and downright audacious than he could have ever imagined.

If only his dad had taken better care of himself, none of this would be happening.

But his dad had been a stubborn man, and Reese knew that trait had been indelibly imprinted on him and it would take one hell of a lot to change his character now.

Although, if anyone could . . .

As he swung open the back door, the house radiated the scent of baking bread and brought back a vivid memory of him and his dad snitching a warm loaf along with a stick of butter. They’d snuck off to the back porch and gobbled it down during a summer rain that pounded on the roof and made everything smell clean and fresh. He couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old and regularly got under his dad’s feet, but not that day. He and his dad must have sat there for a good thirty minutes, sharing that loaf and laughing about their heist. It was one of Reese’s clearest memories of his dad, and especially how happy he’d been for that brief moment when the burden of the ranch wasn’t weighing him down. Before permanent worry lines had marred his dad’s forehead or years of heavy ranch work had stooped his shoulders, and while Reese still believed the man on the porch would never lie to him.

“The first batch of bread will be ready to eat in about ten minutes if you want to snitch a slice before lunch,” his mom said, a gentle smile crinkling her lips.

“No thanks,” Reese told her in a gruff voice. He still couldn’t get past the deception.

She looked crestfallen at his reply, and he knew he had to get past all of this if they were ever going to have a good relationship again. He didn’t want to argue anymore. What was done was done. No going back to change it now.

“Lunch will be ready in a few minutes. I just have to heat it up. I made beef stew. I don’t know what you, Shiloh, and your brothers have been living on. The fridge was nearly empty. I spent almost two hours yesterday at the grocery store trying to restock the house.”

“We essentially lived on burgers and chips or starved. We need you here, Mom. I need you here.” Then he gave her a tight hug and she slipped her hand up to the back of his neck like she always did whenever they hugged. “Let’s talk, Mom, before everyone else comes inside. We need to come to terms.”

She nodded as they stepped apart. “I’m glad you’re finally willing to talk, son. I know it’s been hard for you, Reese, harder than I thought it would be.”

Reese couldn’t seem to help himself. Resentment immediately flared despite his best efforts. “What, losing Dad or learning the truth? ’Cause they were both a kick in the gut.”

He tried to get control over his emotions, but lately despite his strongest efforts, it seemed that everything set him off. He removed his hat, hung it on the hook near the back door, washed his hands in the sink, dried them on paper towels, then took his regular seat at the table, the seat next to his dad’s now empty chair. His mom busied herself setting the table with the usual mismatched dinnerware and silverware. It was the first time he actually noticed what was all around him. Maybe because Avery had just left, he now looked at his surroundings through her eyes or because he was comparing everything to Chuck’s elaborate estate.

Whatever the reason, he knew absolutely that love lived in this house, but maybe it was time he combined that love with a little financial security.

“We should have told you the truth years ago, but I guess we were selfish, and never really wanted you to know. Whenever we considered telling you about Chuck, we’d decide the timing wasn’t right and we’d put it off again. Finally, sometime around your early teens, we’d put it off so often that the subject never came up again and I’m sorry about that, son. I suppose we didn’t want to take the chance of losing you to Chuck Starr and the lure of his money. I think your dad became so frightened that he made Chuck out to be a worse man than he really is. I even bought into the notion that Chuck’s money would pull you away from us, so I made Chuck into a horrible man as well.

“Truth is, Chuck isn’t a monster. He’s just a man. I’m sure he’s both good and bad, but your dad and I made him into the devil himself. Yesterday, during that meeting, and then afterwards when you left, I saw the man I had fallen in love with all those years ago. He was generous with his offer to you, to me, and to our family. Mostly he’d been nervous about every word that he spoke to you.

“Avery was right to come see me today. Even though initially I didn’t react well to what she had to say. Still, after she left, she caused me to really think about everything and finally accept the truth. Maybe it’s time we all changed our attitude about Chuck Starr.” Her face took on a calm look to it. As if she’d given what she was about to say some real thought. “I’d like you to really consider his offer, son. You two might have to negotiate some things, but that’s all part of business. Take your time and read over everything he’s offering. I think you need to start thinking of him not as your father’s enemy, but as the man who had to stand on the sidelines while another man raised his only son.”

Then she handed Reese the blue folder that contained the partnership agreement and this time, without any hesitation, Reese took it.