Texas-Sized Temptation Read Free

your grandmother raised you. She was a Santerre, actually, your father’s mother.”
    â€œYes, but unlike him in so many ways. I loved her deeply and she was good to me. Because of her, I’m recognized as a Santerre by everyone except Will.”
    Jake recalled lots of gossip regarding the Santerre family history—how Caitlin’s mother had been a maid for the Santerres, the brief affair…and the resulting baby. And how the baby had been unacknowledged and cut off by Titus Santerre, yet adopted and raised by her paternal grandmother. How Titus Santerre had remained married to Will’s mother until her death and did not remarry.
    â€œWhy do you want to buy any of the ranch back?” he asked. “You don’t live here any longer and you’re not a rancher.” His gaze drifted over her thick auburn hair that was pinned loosely on her head with a few escaping strands. Looking silky, her hair was another temptation, making him think of running his fingers through the soft strands.
    â€œI adored my grandmother and I loved growing up in her house. The people who worked for her closely were included in her will. Our foreman, Kirby Lenox, Altheda Perkins, who was our cook and now also cleans, and Cecilia Mayes, Grandmother’s companion—they all stayed on. Kirby and two who work for him, still run the ranch. They care for the horses and the few cattle we have. Altheda maintains the house, cooking and overseeing the cleaning. Cecilia is elderly now. She devoted her life to Grandmother, first as her personal secretary and later as companion.
    â€œI knew people were still staying there.”
    â€œAs owner, you could have evicted them.”
    â€œI’m not in a rush. I figured they would leave before long. If they didn’t, then I planned to tell them they had to go. It is my property.”
    â€œI love all of them because they were there when I grewup. I wanted to keep the house, barn and animals for them as long as they live. I wanted to be able to return occasionally to the ranch house—just as you must do here.”
    Jake nodded. “Why didn’t you tell Will?”
    She looked away but he had seen the coldness in her expression that came with his question. “I did tell Will. He just laughed at me and reminded me that my father barely acknowledged my existence so I had no say in what he did with the ranch. He said he would tell me if it looked as if I could come up with more money to buy it and make a better offer than anyone else who bid on it. When the time came, he didn’t. I knew nothing about the sale. He didn’t legally have to notify me because I had no more part of ownership of the ranch than a stranger.”
    Jake felt no stir of sympathy for her. Even though she and Will were alienated, Jake couldn’t forget that they were both Santerres. The same blood ran in her veins as in Will’s.
    â€œYou know I can’t work up much sympathy for a Santerre,” Jake admitted, voicing his thoughts aloud. “Not even a beautiful one.”
    One dark eyebrow arched as she gave him a level look. “You’re honest. I’m not asking you to like me or even see me again in your lifetime. I just want to buy the house and part of the land. Grandmother never owned it. There was a stipulation in my father’s will assuring her she could live there the rest of her life and then it would belong to Will. All I want is a small part.”
    â€œWhat advantage for me would there be in doing any such thing?” he asked. “It would mean keeping a Santerre for a neighbor. You surely heard the family histories and know what kind of past we’ve had.”
    â€œOh, I’ve heard,” she replied lightly as if discussing the weather. “The first Benton killed the first Santerre over water. The river meanders and thus the argument continuesabout each family’s rights and boundary. Our great-great-grandfathers were