Texas Heat by Bárbara McCauley Read Free Book Online

tightening painfully, and he began to realize that a month might, in fact, be a very long time.
    â€œHello? Anybody home?”
    Jake went still at the sound of the voice, as did everyone else in the kitchen. Jake frowned at Jessica, then Jared, but they both shook their heads.
    He counted to three, struggling to control his temper, furious that this special party was being interrupted.
    Myrna had just walked in his front door.

Three
    T he sudden tension in the room closed around Savannah like a fist. Instinctively she put her arm around Emma, who was busy spearing a bite of cake, oblivious to any change in the atmosphere.
    The voice came again. “Jake?”
    He scowled. Jared shook his head and quickly covered Jessica’s mouth. Jessica pushed Jared’s hand away. “In here,” she called out, and punched Jared’s arm.
    â€œThere you are.” An older redheaded woman in a green crepe suit appeared at the doorway. She slipped her sunglasses off. “Are you having a party?”
    Jake stood and faced the woman. “I thought you were in Houston visiting your father this week, Myrna.”
    With a sigh, the woman swept into the room, her gaze directed downward as she tucked the sunglasses into her clutch purse. Her heels clicked loudly on Jake’s tile floor. “I was, but he was in business meetings night and day, so I decided to come home early. You’d think at seventy-three he could pass up at least one land deal and spend a little time with his only daughter.”
    â€œYou usually call me for a ride from the airport,” Jessica said.
    â€œSince that little accident I had, Daddy insisted I hire a driver. So when William came by looking for employment, I took him on.”
    â€œWilliam?” Jake stared at his stepmother. “You mean Billy who used to work for me?”
    â€œYes, that’s him.” She snapped her purse shut and straightened her suit jacket.
    Jake nearly choked. “Myrna, I fired the man because he has a drinking problem.”
    â€œNonsense. William is as dry as—” She stopped, her brow lifting in question as her gaze rested on Savannah. “Oh. You have company.”
    The momentary silence was deafening. Who was this woman? Savannah wondered. And why was everyone acting so strangely? She glanced at Jake, and the tight expression on his face had her holding her breath.
    â€œMyrna Stone,” he finally said, “Savannah Roberts.”
    Myrna Stone. Savannah had heard the name, but where? Myrna Stone...Myrna Stone... Her breath caught as the realization hit her full force.
    J.T.’s wife.
    Before she came here, Savannah had realized that she and this woman might meet. But she certainly hadn’t expected it the first day. Savannah’s fingers stiffened on her niece’s back. Emma. Dear Lord, what about Emma?
    â€œA pleasure.” Myrna extended her hand, then glanced down at Emma. “And this must be your daugh—”
    Myrna stopped short, her smile frozen on her face. She stared at Emma, then Jessica, recognizing the resemblance.
    Savannah stood slowly and faced the woman. “Emma is my niece, Mrs. Stone. Angela Roberts—Emma’s mother—was my sister.”
    A lifetime passed through the heartbeat of silence.
    Emma took hold of Savannah’s hand. “Did she know my daddy, too, Aunt Savannah?”
    â€œYes, sweetheart, she did,” Savannah answered, keeping her gaze on the woman.
    Myrna’s face had paled at Emma’s question, and as she stared at the child, Savannah felt a wave of sympathy for the woman. Of course she’d be in shock at the realization she was staring at the child her husband had fathered as the result of an extramarital affair. Anger surged through Savannah. Anger at Jake. He should have prepared her for the possibility that the woman might drop by, just as he should have prepared his stepmother. But he hadn’t.
    Eyes wide, Myrna continued to