Do You Take This Enemy? (4 page)

“I might manage to stand to be around him,” she answered quietly, thinking how sparks flew between them when they were together.

Her father swore softly and she felt torn between conflicting needs. “I can't stop you,” he admitted.

“It's just a dinner. Only a few hours and I'll be back home.”

Her father stared beyond her and shook his head. He tossed down his napkin. “I have to get outside and walk around while I think about this.”

“Please don't worry. Forty-eight hours from now the time with him will be history.”

As Quinn left the room, Ashley rubbed her pounding head. She was half tempted to cancel the dinner date, but then she thought about her dad's health, the debt that was accumulating, and she knew she had to go out with Gabe.

After breakfast the next morning she went to her room and looked at her clothes. She waded through her dresses and finally decided on a dark blue, high-waisted sheath dress. Something simple and dark. She wanted to wear a hood over her head. The world grew smaller daily and the chances of running into someone they knew loomed large to her.

She was on edge most of the day, and her nerves still jangled when she finally went to her bedroom to get ready for her date. Closing the door behind her, she looked at the room where she had grown up. It still held her maple four-poster bed, maple furniture with a rocker covered in blue cushions. An oriental rug covered the floor. As a girl, how many nights had she slept in that bed and dreamed of Gabe
Brant, fantasizing about a date with him? Well, she finally was going on that date.

He had lost his parents and wife all within the past few years. She knew he had to hurt over those losses. Whether he grieved or not, Gabe was tough and ruthless.

She kept thinking about Julian. The little boy was adorable. Marry the father and she would have a son. She drew a deep breath. She shouldn't marry him because of his little boy.

Was she setting herself up, too, for another heartache like Lars? Trusting a man again when she shouldn't?

She bathed and pulled on the simple, dark-blue sleeveless cotton dress. With care she pinned her hair behind her head. She put on her diamond stud earrings and watch. She studied herself in the mirror, turning first one way and then another. She was seven months pregnant and that was that. She couldn't change her shape.

With one last glance at the mirror, she prayed to herself that her father didn't come home until after she was gone. He had argued with her about the dinner date, but had finally accepted that she wanted to go.

To her dismay, when she entered the family room, her father sat in his leather recliner, reading a magazine. She saw he had cleaned up for the occasion. He wore a fresh blue shirt and jeans. His hair was damp and recently combed and he scowled slightly as he read. When she stepped into the room, he looked up.

“Don't you look nice,” he said.

“I look big.”

“Well, that's the way you should be and you really aren't very big to be ready to deliver in two months,” he said reassuringly. “Sure you don't want to change your mind about tonight? I can go out and run Brant off when he gets here.”

“I want to hear what he has to say. You know I'm not going to do anything to hurt the ranch or you.”

“That's what's worrying me. I think you're doing this for me and for the ranch. All the wrong reasons.”

The doorbell interrupted their conversation. “He's at the front door,” she said. “I'll bring him in and introduce you.”

“We've met. I'd still like to get my shotgun and run him off.”

“Just hang on to your temper.” She headed to the door, feeling butterflies in her stomach that didn't have a thing to do with her pregnancy or her father's anger.

She swung open the door to face Gabe Brant.

G
abe looked handsome in his dark-blue suit, a white shirt and dark-blue tie. “I'm here,” he said, his gaze sweeping over her, sending tingles racing over her nerves.

“Great. I told Dad I'd bring you back to say hello. He isn't looking forward to it, and I'm sure neither are you.”

Gabe entered and closed the door behind him. “Maybe it's time for the Brants and the Ryders to bury the hatchet.”

“I rather agree, but when it's a more-than-a-hundred-year-old family history, you can't switch feelings off like turning off a light,” she said.

“I don't know,” he drawled. “You're going to make it easy for me to forget the feud.”

Ashley looked up at him and was caught in another intense, solemn gaze that made her heart skip a beat. “I don't know how
I'm
going to make it easy for you to do that.”

“Oh, yes, you do, but we'll pursue that later. Let me see your dad.”

She led the way to the family room. “Dad, you know Gabe Brant.”

“Evening, sir,” Gabe said, extending his hand. Both men looked as if they were ready to fight, and she wanted to hurry things along and get out of the house.

“This is a bunch of damn foolishness, Mr. Brant,” her father snapped, refusing to shake hands. Gabe's eyes narrowed, and she could feel the animosity sizzling between them.

“I hope not. I have a proposition, actually a business offer. If you want to meet with me and let me talk to you about it, too, I'll be glad to anytime.”

“No, I don't. I don't know why Ashley is going with you now. It's by the grace of her arguments that I'm not running you off our property.”

Gabriel Brant was withstanding her father's wrath without a flinch. She just wanted to get the two separated.

“Can we go now and get this over with?” she asked.

“Fine,” Gabe replied. “We'll be back early.”

“You better be. My daughter is seven months pregnant.”

“I know that, sir. I'll take good care of her.”

Ashley wanted to shake her fist at him. “You don't have to take care of me,” she snapped under her breath.

He shot her a glance before he nodded to her father. “Good night, Mr. Ryder. I appreciate the time Ashley is giving me.”

As they went out the front door, she knew her father was trailing after them. He stood in the doorway watching them as they drove away in Gabe's black car.

Gabe glanced at her. “Well, we got through that without anyone being any worse for the exchange. Your dad held his temper mighty well. And I held mine.”

“You'll hold your temper because you're the one after something.”

“True.” He glanced at her. “You look pretty.”

“Thank you, but you can skip the compliments,” she replied coolly.

“Don't sound so huffy. I'm still amazed how much you've changed since you were a kid.”

“You told me how you remember me—skinny, braces,” she remarked dryly.

“I'll bet you remember me the same way.”

She cocked her head. “No, actually, I had a crush on you for a few years there. Does that surprise you?”

“Yes, it does,” he answered.

“It was a long time ago. Just figure—you were exciting because you were forbidden. And you were older.”

“Don't rub it in. I'm thirty-three. How much younger are you?”

“I'm twenty-eight. Plus, you were captain of the football team—you and Wyatt Sawyer were chosen by the girls in my class as the best-looking guys in Stallion Pass High School.”

“Maybe tonight won't be so bad after all.”

“Don't get your hopes up,” she said, laughing. “I grew up. I've dated and my values have changed, and you're no longer forbidden.”

“For a minute there my hopes were soaring.”

“We've got a long drive into town. Why don't you start telling me your plans now?” she suggested.

“Relax, Ashley,” he said. “I won't bite. Let's get to know each other. Tell me about your job in Chicago.”

“Well, if you really want to know, it was just typical ad agency stuff. I was involved with thinking up ideas and dealing with clients.”

“Do you miss it?”

“Terribly sometimes, but I'm needed here.”

“Do you plan to go back to it?” he asked, half thinking about their conversation and what she had just told him. She had had a teenage crush on him. That meant she hadn't always hated him. And she thought he was good-looking. Sparks danced in the air when he was around her, and he was drawn to her in a way he hadn't been for a long time. Maybe there really was some hope for his proposal. And
yesterday morning with Julian…Ashley and Julian had taken to each other instantly. That was a bonus that made this union far more important to him.

“Ashley, I was thinking about that crush you had—”

“Don't let that go to your head. I was a kid.”

“Well, I wish I'd paid more attention then—”

“No, you don't. Remember, skinny, braces, five years younger. I don't think so.”

He shrugged a shoulder. “You're right. You were a scrawny little squirt. But you aren't now.”

“Thanks for that bulletin,” she snapped with sarcasm. “Seven months pregnant is far from scrawny.”

“I meant that in a nice way.”

“Then thank you,” she answered quietly, wondering whether she could really trust his answer, yet liking his compliment.

“So are you going to take over running your ranch now?” he asked.

“I've taken over the books—but I don't know the things my Dad does about breeding or training.”

Gabe studied her intently. “I'm surprised you're not dating.”

“No, I'm definitely not interested in anyone around here.”

“Are you still in love with some guy in Chicago?”

“No, I'm not,” she answered in a frosty tone. He was surprised to find her so self-possessed and cool. He shot another glance her way, looking at her profile. He had started this to acquire land, but now he was more intrigued with the woman sitting beside him, a turn of events that stunned him because he was still in love with Ella. He didn't want to be caught up in a situation where Ashley expected love. Whenever he thought of Ella, he hurt and he knew that wasn't going to change. Gabe realized Ashley had been speaking to him.

“I'm sorry,” he said. “What did you say?”

“Where are we going to eat?” she asked. “We could still run into someone we know in San Antonio.”

“I've thought about that. It seems to me that the least likely place is a sort of generic hotel. It might not be the best dinner you've ever eaten, but it will be private. Not many locals will eat in the hotels and it's unlikely we'll know the out-of-towners.”

“You're probably right.”

“Now if you want real seclusion, I can rent a room in the hotel and have dinner sent—”

“Not in the next two lifetimes will I go to a hotel room with you! Nice try.”

He shrugged. “Fine with me. You're the one who's more worried about who will see us.” He glanced at her. “Are you scared to go to a hotel room with me?”

“Hardly.”

“I swear I won't make a pass.”

“I'm sure you won't,” she snapped, and he could hear the annoyance in her voice. Gabe knew he needed to quit teasing her, but when he could get such a passionate reaction out of her, he couldn't resist. He wondered how passionate she would get over long, steamy kisses. He drew a deep breath and knew he'd better stop following that line of thought.

“I do not, now or ever, want to go to a hotel room with you.”

“Why does that come out as another inviting challenge?”

“I was thinking more as a threat. You're not helping your case.”

“Okay. Back to a neutral subject. Where would you like to eat?”

“A hotel dining room sounds fine.”

Thirty minutes later they were seated in a beige-and-green dining room of a hotel half a mile from the River-walk. The room was quiet except for piped-in music that played softly in the background. They were in a corner.
She prayed they would not see anyone from Piedras or Lago counties.

Gabriel ordered wine for himself and water for her. Shortly after their drinks came, they ordered dinner. As soon as the waiter left, Gabe sipped his red wine and studied her. “Ashley, you have the bluest eyes I've ever seen. They're very pretty.”

“Thank you, but that isn't why you asked me out tonight. Get to the point.”

He was amused at her dogged insistence on keeping the evening impersonal. “You know that kind of reaction from you just makes me all the more interested.”

Surprising her, he leaned forward suddenly and took her hand. She tried to pull away, but he held her firmly, his thumb on her wrist. She was acutely aware of his touch and of his dark-brown eyes boring into her.

“Your pulse is racing. I think we should pursue getting to know each other for more reasons than saving your ranch and expanding mine.”

“You're adept at smooth-talking to get what you want,” she answered, realizing that he had admitted feeling an attraction to her and that he was still holding her hand. She was reacting to him in ways she didn't want to, and she found him exciting. Every time he fixed her with one of his piercing looks, his dark eyes took her breath away.

“I'm just observing what's happening here.”

“All right, I'll admit my pulse is racing,” she said, “but I chalk that up to not dating in a long time, my crush on you as a kid, and your sexy looks. We're not friends, and I barely know you, so whatever I feel when I'm with you is not significant.”

“I don't agree. Does it happen with every guy you go out with?” he asked with great innocence.

“That's none of your business! You can cause my pulse to pound, but you also can cause my temper to rise. Now stop flirting with me.”

“You don't like it?”

She took a deep breath, and he grinned.

“Let's talk about getting married,” he said softly.

He made everything sound sexy. There was nothing about his offer that made Ashley feel she was considering an impersonal business decision. “I don't see any way we can work out this marriage of convenience.”

“Sure, we can,” he said, releasing her hand and leaning back in his chair, pushing open his coat while he studied her. He looked dashing in his dark suit, his eyes not missing anything. “I think there are vastly more possibilities here than I imagined. A marriage between us would mean financial help for the Triple R. It would let me get started with expansion. I'll have to admit, it would give Julian a mother and I would be there for you when the baby comes.”

She laughed. “I don't need you when the baby comes. You're not part of me and my baby.”

“I could be.” He paused infinitesimally, then said, “Your dad's health isn't good, is it?”

To hear Gabe say that about her father hurt, and she looked away. “Ashley,” Gabe said in an incredibly gentle voice that surprised her so much it brought her attention back to him. “I don't mean to upset you about your dad. I've lost too many people I've loved, and it hurt to lose them.”

“I'm sorry,” she said, hearing the pain in his voice and seeing it cloud his eyes. A muscle worked in his jaw, and she realized he was still grieving his losses.

“You have to face the truth. Your dad has health problems and he may need more help as time goes by.”

“We have our foreman, Gus,” Ashley protested.

“I've heard that in two years he's going to retire and move to Wyoming where his son and grandkids live.”

The waiter came with their salads, and for a moment they ate in silence.

“I know Dad needs help—that's why I'm sitting here listening to you, but marriage is just impossible,” Ashley
said, wondering if she was arguing with herself more than him as she had done with her father the night before.

“It isn't at all. I wouldn't make demands on you. There wouldn't be anything physical unless you wanted there to be.”

She couldn't keep from raising an eyebrow and giving him a look. “So if I said let's hop in bed, you'd be ready and willing?”

Putting down his fork, he smiled, and she drew a swift breath because it made him even more attractive. “Ashley, you're a beautiful, appealing woman. I'm a guy. That's all it takes.”

She shrugged. “Why should I have been surprised?”

Amusement flashed in his eyes again.

Their entrées came and they were silent a few minutes as they ate, yet her mind was seething with conflicting thoughts. Over it all was the replay of his velvety voice telling her that she was beautiful and appealing.

“Ashley,” he said, lowering his fork, “for the next hour, why don't we just pretend that you're Ashley Smith and I'm Gabe Jones. You'd see me a whole new way.”

“That's like trying to pretend the rattlesnake a foot away from you is a kitten. That's not possible.”

He grinned again, and she wondered how many female hearts he had melted with that smile. The man was wickedly handsome. This whole affair would be easier if she didn't have this constant prickly awareness of how sexy he was.

“A rattlesnake?” he asked with another arch of his brow. He leaned across the table. “Isn't that a little harsh?”

“All right. Maybe not a rattlesnake, but I can't pretend you're not a Brant. I'm far too aware of who you are.”

“And I'm incredibly aware of you.”

“That wasn't what I meant,” she protested with amusement. He was fun to flirt with, exciting to be with. Ashley knew she was on dangerous ground. She barely knew him.
She needed to keep things impersonal and keep her wits about her.

“Will you answer something truthfully?” he asked.

Surprised, she set down her water glass. “Sure, unless it's too personal.”