Texas Pride by Bárbara McCauley Read Free Book Online Page A

dark-haired child ran back and hugged her. Dylan was stunned at the resemblance between them.
    â€œDylan, this is my half sister, Emma,” Jessica said. “Emma, this is Dylan Grant.”
    The child smiled, then ran off to join the other two girls. From then on, Dylan was busy shaking hands and trying to remember names. Savannah, Jake’s wife, was a blonde with iridescent green eyes and a soft Southern drawl. Annie, Jared’s fiancée, was also a blonde, with expressive hazel eyes and the glow of a woman about to be married to a man she loved.
    Dylan felt a tug of envy, wondering what it would be like to see that look on a woman’s face for him. When Dylan shook Jared’s hand and congratulated him, Jared nodded stiffly. When Dylan glanced at Jessica, he saw her frown at her brother.
    Then there were neighbors and friends. A giant of a man named Hugh Slater, who was Jared’s foreman on his oil rig. A crusty older man named Digger who didn’t speak—he boomed. And a neighboring rancher, Sam McCants, who smiled politely as they shook hands, but never took his eyes off Jessica.
    Not that he blamed the man, Dylan thought. Jessica looked radiant tonight. She had on a deep blue long cotton dress that clung to her curves. The scooped neckline revealed the soft swell of her breasts, but was not so suggestive as to show cleavage. When he’d offered to drive her truck here tonight and he’d helped her into the cab, a brief flash of one long leg had elevated his body temperature several degrees.
    Dylan felt his body tighten when Sam put an arm around Jessica and kissed her on the lips. It wasn’t a long kiss, and it certainly wasn’t passionate, but Dylan decided he didn’t like the man.
    â€œSo, Dylan,” Sam said, his arm still draped around Jessica, “why don’t you tell us your secret?”
    Dylan hesitated. He had the strangest feeling everyone had quieted and was listening for his answer. Jake and Jared watched him intently. “Secret?”
    â€œI understand you’re staying at Makeshift,” Sam said good-naturedly. “I’ve been trying for years to get around Jake and Jared where Jessica is concerned, with no luck. So what’s your secret?”
    Jessica blushed and slipped out from Sam’s hold. “You’re incorrigible, Sam McCants. Room and board is part of Dylan’s pay. It’s as simple as that.”
    â€œRoom and board?” Jake raised one eyebrow and looked at Dylan first, then Jessica. “You mean you’re going to cook, too?”
    Jessica ground her teeth. She hadn’t intended to mention that fact. Her brothers would never let her live it down. She flashed Dylan a scathing look. He smiled back.
    â€œDylan’s managed to put together a crew already,” Jessica said, hoping to change the subject. “We’ll be starting tomorrow.”
    Jared eyed Dylan. “You’re a fast worker.”
    â€œI don’t believe in wasting time,” Dylan returned.
    Jessica was going to kill Jared. Slowly and painfully. He’d been rude from the minute they’d walked in. When were her brothers ever going to learn she wasn’t a child anymore?
    Smiling brightly, Savannah stepped between the two men and pressed a beer into Dylan’s hand. “So has Jessica told you about her ghosts yet?” she asked.
    Dylan thanked Savannah and turned his gaze to Jessica as he took a long swig of the beer. “She mentioned them.”
    â€œWe think it’s romantic,” Annie said. “The idea of two souls so in love they refuse to leave the town where they were to be married.”
    Dylan still couldn’t believe that Jessica actually believed this crazy idea. He wondered if she was putting him on, trying to get back at him for the room-and-board business. He glanced at her, and she smiled sweetly.
    â€œHello, everyone,” a woman’s high-pitched voice interrupted the