Texas Temptation (15 page)

She'd told him once that there was something to be lost, something more precious than what he might gain, if he didn't follow his heart. She'd given her heart to him completely, openly, and he'd been too blinded with pride and guilt to see it.

And now she was putting everything on the line—her job, maybe her entire career—not only for what she believed in, but for him. Because she loved
him.

With a laugh, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down into the mud with him.

“Jared!” she gasped, caught completely off guard. “What are you doing?”

“There's no rule that says you have to run that race standing up, is there?”

Frowning, she pushed away from him. “Well, I didn't exactly see myself sitting in mud as I crossed the line.”

He tipped back her hard hat and moved his face close to hers. “I know what you mean. I never exactly pictured myself proposing to the woman I love sitting in mud, either. Especially with half a dozen other men hanging around and a drill running overhead.”

She blinked slowly. “What did you say?”

He gave her a crooked grin. “I said, I love you, and I want you to marry me.”

“You want me...to marry you?” she said slowly.

After all he'd put her through, he couldn't blame her for sounding confused. Hell, he was still stunned himself. “When I left here earlier, I went to Jonathan's grave. I realized it was Jonathan I'd truly been mad at all this time, not myself.”

“Mad at Jonathan?”

“For dying. For leaving me behind. For not listening to me and going up on the rig. Every irrational reason I could come up with. You tried to tell me all along, but I wouldn't listen. I wanted to blame myself, but you were right—Jonathan did have to make his own choices. Even if it meant he died for them.”

Annie touched his cheek. Neither one of them cared that her fingers were covered with mud. “I'm so sorry for what you've had to go through.”

He shook his head. “We both went through a lot because we loved Jonathan. But like you said, we can't change the past. What we can do is put it behind us and start anew. You and me. The way Jonathan would have wanted.”

He wanted desperately to drag her out of here, to hold her close to him where he could do this right. But it wouldn't wait. He'd waited too long already, and he didn't want to waste one more minute.

“When I drove up and saw the trailer explode and I thought you were inside, I knew in that instant that my life was over.” He tightened his grip and pulled her closer. “I couldn't have gone on without you, Annie. Nothing would have meant anything to me ever again.”

Tears shone in her eyes as she looked at him. “Oh, Jared, I'm so sorry.”

“I was a fool, Annie. First I let my guilt blind me, then my pride. But for the first time in years, I see clearly. And what I see is you and me, a house, a yard and passel of kids.”

She studied his face carefully. “What exactly
is
a passel?”

He thought about that. “A bunch.”

“Well,” she said slowly, “do you think we could start with just one?”

“Sure. One would be...” He went still. His eyes widened and he drew back, his expression questioning. “Are you, I mean, have you...?”

She nodded.

The smile started slowly, then gained momentum and broke into a full grin. He let out a whoop, then pulled her to him and kissed her hard. They both fell back into the mud. The men began to whistle and hoot, but Jared just lifted one arm and waved them off.

When he finally let her back up, she could feel her face burn with embarrassment. She glanced down at her mud-covered body and laughed. “I took the test this morning,” she said. “But this is hardly the setting I would have chosen to tell you you're going to be a father.”

He placed a hand gently on her stomach, then looked at her with an expression so full of wonder she couldn't stop the tear that slipped from the corner of her eye.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Oh, Annie, I love you,” he said, holding her gaze with his.

“And I love you, Jared Stone,” she returned. “Even if you are covered with mud and you have black streaks all over your face.”

It took a moment, but Jared went still at Annie's words.

Both Annie's and Jared's eyes widened as they stared at the mud surrounding them.

Black streaks?
Black streaks!

Oil!

They'd struck oil!

Laughing, she threw her arms around his neck. He kissed her deeply, then pulled away. Desire flared in his eyes. She knew it was a look she'd never tire of seeing in that deep blue gaze.

A shadow fell over them, and they looked up to find Slater standing there. His dark gaze lit up as he noticed the black smeared on them. His grin was also as wide as the state the Texas. “Hey, you two noticed you're sitting in a pool of oil?”

“You have an uncanny grasp for the obvious,” Jared said, and threw a handful of the black mud at his friend.

“Shoot, I know that.” Slater winked at Annie and held out a hand to help to her up. “Looks like I'm going to have to find me another wife, too.”

“Looks like.” Jared stood and tucked Annie possessively into his side. “This one's taken.”

Pandemonium broke loose then. Laughing and hollering, the crew gathered around, slapping each other on the back in their excitement. Annie gasped as one of the men pulled her from Jared's arms and hugged her. Every other crew member quickly followed suit, and she found herself in half a dozen pairs of arms before she came back to Jared.

She hadn't even time to catch her breath before he took her hand and dragged her up to the platform.

“What are you—”

He kissed her. A long deep kiss that left her trembling. When he pulled away and looked down at her, she saw the love in his eyes.

“This would have meant nothing without you. The rig, the oil, even this land.” He made a wide sweep with his hand. “None of it would have mattered if you weren't here with me.”

The raw emotion in Jared's voice brought tears to Annie's eyes. A breeze blew wisps of hair across her face, but she hardly noticed. “I am here, Jared. I always will be.”

He crushed her tightly to him, whispering her name as he buried his lips in her hair. “I love you, Annie Bailey. More than you can possibly imagine.”

He turned her in his arms and pulled her against his chest, holding her close as they stared out at the stark West Texas land called Stone Creek.

Smiling, she laid her head back against Jared's chest and felt the steady beat of his heart. She'd come home at last. This time to stay.

* * * * *

Look for
TEXAS PRIDE
, Jessica's story, the final book in Barbara McCauley's
HEARTS OF STONE
trilogy.

ISBN: 978-1-4592-8681-8

Texas Temptation

Copyright © 1995 by Barbara Joel

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