Serenity's Deception (Texas Sorority Sisters Book 1) (4 page)

F
rom the minute he’d walked through the door ... No, if he were truthful, the whole thing began the moment he got the call from Hampton and heard the words—
Billy Jo Spencer will be at the reading of your aunt’s will
. That’s when the fire sparked to life in his gut and the blaze hadn’t stopped burning since.

Hampton wouldn’t explain why
she
had to be here for the reading. Even a threat didn’t move the man … but now no mystery. And here he stood, looking down at the same irritatingly beautiful woman less than a foot away, who had heaped a truckload of misery on him by leaving town years ago.

Aunt Maddy’s will? Much like a range stew sitting out
way
too long. After one bite you knew you’d live to regret it, but it was too late to do anything to stop the effects.

When he entered the room, he had decided to hate her, or at the very least, treat her with indifference. One look at her, not a teen any longer but a woman, and his resolve proved near impossible. He figured he would goad her, see if he could make her half as miserable as her being here had made him, and it had worked some. But each time he felt horrible for picking on someone who looked so vulnerable and defenseless and so … overwhelmingly gorgeous.

One thing he hadn’t expected, his heart to constrict at the sight of her looking so defenseless. All the old feelings rushed back, smacking him full force with the realization he wasn’t as finished and done with her as she was with him. All the old thoughts of what they had as teens, how her sweet irresistible charms could bend him into doing her bidding. But that had all changed. Now the knife she wielded was gutting him like he would a deer.

He had loved her from the first day he’d set eyes on her.

First grade. The opening bell hadn’t rung yet, and one of the Rueger twins was getting his kicks out of pestering anyone in sight. When Rueger’s gaze landed on the silent little girl with golden pigtails streaming down her back, lunch sack in hand, Rueger began to jab her with his finger. In a tantalizing, sing-song voice, he yelled,
little Orphan Annie. Little Orphan Annie.
Over and over, Rueger taunted and laughed, gathering a crowd of kids around her to add to the chorus, until Jason had enough.

At the time, Jason didn’t know who Orphan Annie was, let alone what the word orphan meant, just knew he didn’t like the Rueger twin teasing and calling her names.

When he saw Billy Jo’s determination not to cry, but couldn’t hold back the quiver of her chin, he plowed into Rueger shoving him to the ground. He told him …
hush your mouth or you’ll get more where that came from.
Afterward, he went and stood by her, trying his best to get her to talk, but she wouldn’t. Now the woman seemed to have plenty to say.

Aunt Maddy, what were you thinking when you wrote your idiotic will?

All his troubles had come to roost in this one dynamite package sitting in front of him. If he didn’t handle the bundle with kid gloves, everything just might explode in his face.  

“I’m sure I don’t know the half of your problems—” Billy Jo paused glancing down at her hands.

Trust me you don’t.

“—but the children stand to lose the most.” She released a heavy breath looking up at him. “Please. Would you mind sitting down? I’m getting a crick in my neck, and I’ve always had an aversion to someone towering over me. And at my height, most people do.” A soft smile rested on her lips as she motioned toward a chair. Not the one he’d vacated earlier.

A grin tugged at him over her little quip and that she was doing her best to move him out of her personal space. He wondered what she’d do if he didn’t comply. Logical thought didn’t come easy in close proximity to Billy Jo and his non-compliance would appear like he didn’t want to cooperate. Relinquishing his urge to goad her more, he moved to his original seat, one chair away, his full attention on her face.
Bad move.
Be alert.

Her brow wrinkled, she was doing that thing with her teeth—gnawing on the inside of her lip. “Let’s think about this logically.”

He wanted to shake her. She could push his buttons like no other woman could. “You’re one exasperating woman. What do you think I’ve been trying to do?” He heard a small chuckle, then witnessed her resignation.

“I know. And—I—I apologize.”

He narrowed his eyelids wondering what she was up to. Filled with doubt, he gave a nod. “Accepted.”

“Thanks. The way I see it, we have two choices.”

“Yes. And I like neither of them.”
Especially when it involves you in the mix.

“I agree. But there aren’t many avenues open to us. Only two.”

Again he noticed her slight hesitation. Was she playing him? Seeing if she could make him vulnerable? She’d see. He couldn’t be easily duped by a woman. Billy Jo and his late wife Lindsey had done their work well. Trusting the fairer sex wasn’t something he did any more.

Still not convinced the children’s welfare was the inducement to Billy Jo’s willingness to come back to a place obviously abhorrent to her. He figured the money had done the trick. Who in their right mind would give up five hundred mill and change.

“I’m listening.”

With determination in her eyes, she apparently was willing to give one last grand heave-ho to persuade him. What she couldn’t know … he didn’t need persuasion, he needed the inheritance and would do what he must to save his property and livelihood.

“We can each either walk away or compromise. Act like the adults we are. Move into Rose Mansion—separate wings, of course.” He saw a look flitter across her face, but she banked her eyes to hide her thoughts. “I don’t see why this can’t work as long as we both stick to a plan.”

“Of course.” He could give her many reasons why, even with the separation of the east and west wings, it wouldn’t work—mainly her and him. No way in heaven or earth could he live under the same roof with Billy Jo. He couldn’t do this.

But he had to.

He’d give it one more try. “Okay. I want your promise if we agree, and hear me straight, I said
if.
I’m still not convinced this foolhardy idea will work. But,
if
we are going to move into the house together—” He saw her raised brow. “—separate wings of course.” His voice sounded harsher than intended. He tamped down the need to lash out. “We will have to respect each other’s privacy. A strictly business arrangement. One year and we go our separate ways. Agreed?”

He saw uncertainty looming in her eyes, he wanted to reassure her everything would work out—together they could make it so. But he wasn’t convinced himself. The combination of his renewed attraction to Billy Jo and her apparent indifference had a war going on inside him—a fight to stay his distance and a fight to win her back. The only thing, if he allowed her into his heart once more and she left again, he knew he wouldn’t survive this time around.

A
greed.” BJ felt like she’d just wagered her soul. But there was no going back. People depended upon her, and Jason was one of them.

He stuck out his hand. “Deal then.”

Reluctantly, she slipped her fingers into his. The warm touch of his callused but gentle grip melted away the years … Jace, her friend, companion, her. …
This won’t work
. “Okay.” She nodded, feeling like a small rabbit with a hungry lion between her and freedom.

Jason dropped her hand as if he’d picked up a hot branding iron. His action broke the spell surrounding her that had pulled her into a place she didn’t want to go. Second thoughts roamed freely whether she could actually go through with the move, regardless how enticing the sum of money and how needy the dependents. With her attraction to him unbelievably strong, how would she survive a year? She couldn’t afford for her emotions to get involved. Love and marriage had nothing to do with her future.

Jason rubbed his right temple.

“Headache?”

He nodded.

 
Humph
rolled across her lips before she could stop the sound from happening. “It’ll be nothing like we’ll both have if we share a house together.” She released a small humorless laugh. “I’m curious as to the why—as you so succinctly put it—
this idiotic idea
. Do you think there might have been insanity in Madelyne’s bloodline?”

Jason emitted a chuckle with a sparkle in his eyes, causing a quiver all the way to her pink polished toenails. She did her best to calm the excitement of her heart and then wondered if she could survive Jason, even with distance.

“Jason, I … we both need time to give thought to our situations. Moving back to Serenity for me, well—” She glanced down at her woven fingers, her thumbs nail to nail. This would be difficult, if not impossible. All the old hurts would rise up to make her life miserable. Even now her old insecurities were surfacing.

“Oh, sure, the money isn’t something to sneeze at, and it would certainly make my life easier. And I don’t want to see Heritage House shut down and the children dealt out like a deck of cards all over the country. But, same as you, I also have responsibilities, people who depend on me.” When she saw his stormy brow she hastened to add, “Why don’t we take a week to decide? I’ll let Mr. Hampton know my decision. And you do the same. How does that sound?”

B
J didn’t wait around for idle chit-chat. When Horace T. handed her the thick manila envelope, she grabbed the package, told him he’d have his answer in a week. Without a backward glance, she walked out the door and as soon as it closed, nearly ran down the stairs as if the hounds of Satan’s were nippin’ at her heels.

A truck load of thoughts charged through her—Jason, Heritage House, her gallery, the town’s folk of Serenity utmost in her mind. To be uprooted from a place she loved, leave her business in the hands of others, and stay in a town she didn’t hold in warm regard, wasn’t high on her priorities. But the children—a constant in the back of her mind—made her aware she had no other choice than to live in Serenity, at least for a year.

She dealt with abject kids each week in her after school program in Galveston. However, it wasn’t the same as being responsible for running a home for needy, unwanted children twenty-four hours a day. Yet running an orphanage wasn’t quite the same. A stop by the home before leaving town was a must.

Outside, the warm, late spring air blew her hair about and into her face as she descended the four concrete steps from the sidewalk down to the street. She lifted her hand to brush back the errant strands and came to an abrupt stop.

“Oh, for Pete’s sakes.” Her free hand pounced on her hip as her face turned skyward. “What more?”

The Jeep listed to the driver’s side. Both the front and rear tires were flatter than a fritter. She could change one flat, but two?
No way
. Only one spare.

She rummaged around in her handbag as her cell phone played hide-and-seek evading her fingers. With an aggravated huff, she unlocked her car door and a burst of hot air rushed out from the inside of the car. She shoved the keys in her pocket and unceremoniously dumped the contents out onto the front seat. The last item to drop out onto the pile of miscellaneous junk … her Blackberry.

“Looks like you’ve got a little problem here.”

The familiar deep, husky voice tinged with laughter caused her to nearly jump out of her skin while goose bumps proceeded to fill every inch of skin. A delicious chill went straight through her bones. Her quick turn caused the phone to pop out of her hands. She began a juggling act trying to catch the thing before it hit the pavement and smashed to smithereens. Just when she thought her cell was a goner, a large, tan hand caught the little rascal.

Jason stood there, a silly grin on his lips, twinkling eyes mocking her, his cowboy hat perched attractively on his head. “I do believe this little pink thingy is yours?”

He held up her BlackBerry between his index finger and thumb as though it might be contaminated or the pink might permanently dye his skin.  

“I’m afraid so.” Her cheeks did a slow burn. She hoped he’d think it was the warm air.

He passed the phone to her, his fingers grazing the inside of her palm. His touch caused a quake that could have rocked the needle right off the Richter scale. She gripped the phone tightly in her palm for fear she would drop it again and cause more embarrassment to her already injured pride.

“Thanks. You’ve saved my bacon. All my contacts are in this
little pink thingy.
”

Jason’s rumble of laughter made her brain turn to mush and her insides; well there was no describing what was happening there.

“Where’s your jack, in the back?”

“What?” She blinked several times before she realized what he asked.

“Honestly, you ought’a have your hearing checked? I’ve had to repeat myself a lot this afternoon.” He shook his head, a crooked smile in place.

“Sorry.”
Lame
. “I’ve had a horrendous day, and by the looks of things—” She gestured at the tires. “—it just got worse.”

For a man who didn’t seem to like her much, she was definitely drawn to him.
Must be a flaw in her DNA.
One thing for sure, he could do unmentionable things to her mind and body. Things she was too mortified to even think about. And to make matters worse, he was capable of turning her into a simpleton.

She cringed. In danger of falling under his spell wasn’t good. She lowered her lashes to conceal her thoughts.

Think acquaintance, BJ. Appealing, heart-shattering, bones-turned-to-jelly, hunk of an acquaintance, but an acquaintance none the less.

“Wouldn’t it be better if I called a tow truck?” She witnessed a look of humorous disbelief.

“You don’t think I’m capable of—”

“Heavens no! You’re more than capable.” Again the heat rushed to her skin flustering her all the more. “What I meant … with two flats well … I only have one spare. I need someone who’ll fix both and quickly if I’m to have any hopes of getting home before midnight.”

“Boy. You sure have been gone a long time.” He shook his head and uttered a
ffueww
. “I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Serenity’s only tow truck is Pop Weaver’s dually. And he’s gone fishing. So, it’s either me, or—” He shrugged with a glint in his eyes turning BJ insides out. “—you can wait until Pop returns.”

“Which will be?” She hoped in an hour or two.

He pushed his sleeve back, turned his wrist to view his watch, a beguiling smile tugging at his lips. “A week from today.”

“Oh.” She squinted up at him and sputtered, “That soon, huh?”

“’Fraid so.”

Jason’s cocky grin had BJ admitting defeat. “I’ll get my jack.” She hated like everything being forced into this predicament. But since there would be no help coming other than from this infuriatingly handsome man, she’d let him do his thing.

She walked to the back of her car, unlocked the tire rack working the lock free. Her hands wrapped around the warm metal as she released the pieces. Before she could lift the contraption, two tanned arms, sleeves rolled up to the elbows, reached around her, grabbing the devise from her hands.

Why does the mere touch of his arm cause a deep well of wanting and an ocean full of regrets?

She stepped back to give him space, or was she the one who needed space? “This isn’t my first flat, you know. I have changed quite a few due to my off-road shoots.” Two tires?
Never
. But she wasn’t about to mention that little fact to him.

“Well, I don’t know about Galveston, but men in these parts don’t leave a woman to change her own tires.” He looked down. “Whatever you ran over must have been a doozy.”

Her forehead wrinkled in thought. “I don’t remember hitting anything.”

“Could have been nails or screws. There’s quite a bit of construction going on around town right now. Might as well have a seat.” Jason motioned to the concrete steps she’d walked down earlier. “By the way, I like your choice of vehicle. Have one just like it, only a year older.”

“Really?”

He nodded, placed his hat on the hood, then began working.

She decided to take his suggestion and moved to the steps under the shade.
Odd they should both have Jeeps, but then Jeeps are popular especially with guys.
She liked hers because it handled well off road where she did most of her photography.

Her eyes followed his movements, the ripple of his muscles as he labored—
get a hold of yourself
. She averted her eyes, but they kept straying back to Jason.

He made short work of getting the Wrangler up, lug nuts off, and spare in place. The man wasn’t afraid of work, she’d give him that much. And he knew economy of motion. BJ appreciated both in a person. And to watch him, bulging muscles, tight thighs, cute rear … pure delight and torture. With his back to her, she could drink up the delectable sight until she was full, if that were possible.

Get a grip!

Jason’s long drawn out whistle drew her off the steps and heading in his direction.

“What?”

With the tire on the ground, his fingers pushed down then slid across the black rubber then back again. “This doesn’t look good.”

BJ moved closer, squatting next to him, feeling the warm heat radiating from him, causing her to become more fully aware of Jason’s appeal.

On the side of the tire a gash ran lengthwise about eight inches. Jason used his hand to push down the tire giving her a better look at the damage. He stood abruptly, walked to the front flat, and began to run his fingers along the surface of the tire there. Another whistle was emitted through his teeth then he stood. With a disgruntled look, he glanced up and down the street.

 “What’s wrong?” Her words drew his gaze.

 “Your tires have been slashed.”