Texas Heat by Bárbara McCauley Page A

radiate from his body into hers. She stiffened when his breath fanned the back of her neck.
    â€œYou have someone in Atlanta?” His voice deepened.
    Jake was staring at her mouth, Savannah realized, and her heart began to beat heavily, like a bass drum. “Not at the moment, but I’m sure something will come up.”
    So there was no one waiting for Savannah back home. Jake hated to admit it mattered to him, but for some reason, it did. The smell of peaches drifted to him and he breathed in deeply, dragging the scent into his lungs and holding it there. When he slowly released it, he watched her reach up and gracefully rake her fingers though her hair. Desire pulsed through his veins as he wondered what those fingers would feel like on his body. On his skin.
    Damn, but it was getting hot.
    He swiped the back of his hand over his temple and tipped his hat back. Something told him it was going to get a hell of a lot hotter.
    At the sound of Emma’s laughter, Jake glanced up and watched as Emma gathered more wildflowers.
    â€œIs that how you do it in Atlanta?” he turned back to Savannah and asked, curious at her choice of words for finding a husband. “Wait for something to ‘come up’?”
    Savannah lifted one eyebrow and cast a sideways glance at him. “And I suppose you have a better way?”
    â€œI have a better way, all right. Avoid the situation entirely.”
    Does he really mean that? Savannah wondered. He’d told her that lonely men make mistakes, and obviously he’d meant not only his father, but himself. “Would you really spend the rest of your life out here alone?” She waved a hand toward the mountains. “You wouldn’t want to share all this with someone?”
    â€œI never said anything about being alone. If the right woman came along, I’d be more than willing to share everything I have.” Savannah felt Jake’s intense gaze skim over her, and the look in his eyes brought a swirl of heat low in her stomach. “Especially my bed.”
    The deep sensuous tone of Jake’s voice was like an electric current rippling over her skin. She realized she’d stopped breathing when he leaned back and said coolly, “Marriage just isn’t part of the deal.”
    Stunned, Savannah stared at him. Did he think she’d be interested in that kind of arrangement? A mixture of hurt and outrage coursed through her. And another feeling, though she hated to admit it.
    Disappointment.
    Hands tightly gripping the bag in her hand, she stood and looked down at him. “I expect that’s something similar to the deal J.T. offered Angela.”
    Eyes narrowed, Jake sat up straight. “We don’t know anything about what my father offered your sister.”
    â€œMaybe not. But I do know what I can offer their child, besides love. A stable home life, a good education and someday a father figure she can look up to.”
    Father figure? Anger, as unreasonable as it was unexpected, surged through Jake. “Emma has two big brothers. She doesn’t need any more of a father figure than that.”
    She laughed harshly. “I’ll call and you can reprimand her over the phone when she misbehaves, or better yet, maybe you can videotape a weekly advice and lecture and mail it to me. We’ll make popcorn every Friday night and watch it.”
    He rose stiffly, hands on his hips as he moved closer to her. “We’ll work something out.”
    She faced him, arms folded. “There is no ‘we,’ Jake. It’s Emma and me. We came here so you could get to know each other, not for you to tell us how to run our lives. We managed just fine before you and when we leave we’ll continue to do so.”
    â€œDammit, Savannah, for once can’t you just—” He stopped and jerked his gaze upward. Eyes narrowed, he froze.
    â€œWhat is it?” Savannah followed Jake’s gaze.
    She saw it then. In