closed the door and walked toward Jade. “When I woke him, he growled at me,” she whispered. “His pupils are still the same.” She motioned to Jade to follow her to her bedroom.
The room was painted a blue-green color and was as big as the one Jade had. There was a wrought-iron bed frame painted white and the queen-size mattress was covered with another handmade quilt. No doubt one of Louisa’s creations.
The girl led her to a sitting area in front of a bank of windows. “Since we’re staying up most of the night we might as well get to know each other.” Alisa sat down in a low back chair and motioned for Jade to take the other. “Of course, I feel like I already do. Mom has been singing your praises every time we talked on the phone.”
Jade was glad that Louisa liked her so much. “Your mother has made my job easy. Believe me she’s been doing all the hard work. She’s the one who decided she wanted to get better.”
Alisa curled her bare feet under her. “I know that,and now you have to handle another stubborn Merrick. How do you put up with it all?”
Jade smiled. “You mostly ignore the grumbling, and do your job.”
Alisa laughed. “With my brother, that’s all you can do. He’s been such a grouch these days.”
“And you love him,” Jade surmised. “It’s obvious you all care about each other. And you’re protective.”
The pretty girl studied her. “With my dad’s line of work, we have to be. It’s unbelievable what people will do to get a story. It happened to Sloan, that’s what made him leery of outsiders coming to the ranch.” Alisa smiled. “I’m still wondering how you got past his suspicions.”
Jade knew Sloan had every right to be suspicious of her, too. “Your mother helped,” she said, and added, “Your brother told me a little about Crystal.”
The raven haired Alisa seemed surprised at that. “She was a piece of work. I never thought of her as Sloan’s type.” She shrugged. “So I wasn’t sad when she was gone, but the whole mess changed my brother. Trust doesn’t come easily for him anymore.”
Jade wouldn’t help that. “I can’t blame him, especially when your family is in the public eye so much.”
Alisa shrugged. “We’ve never known anything different. And since I’m seriously considering going into the family business myself, I better get used to it”
Jade was surprised. “Are you talking about politics or ranching?”
Alisa laughed. “I guess they do go hand in hand in this part of Texas, but I’ll let my big brother handle the ranching part. I hope to be busy working on Dad’s reelection campaign, then I’ll see how things go. I needto get some face time, as they say. And who knows what will happen.”
So, someone in the family wasn’t afraid of the spotlight. “So you’re considering running for office?”
Alisa flashed those dark eyes. “Anything is possible, but please don’t say anything. I need a few more years to see how things go. And there’s the fact that I’m young, and a little too inexperienced to be taken seriously. Not yet anyway.”
Jade remembered Sloan telling her about the Merrick tradition. “I’m sure your father will be happy about this.”
Sighing, Alisa sat back. “We’ll see. I know one person who won’t be. Sloan doesn’t like the attention that comes with a public life.”
“But that’s his choice,” Jade said boldly. “Not yours.”
Alisa smiled. “I knew I liked you.”
“I like you, too.” And she did, but she also knew her own news might put a damper on this. “How soon before your father returns home?”
“In a few days.”
Hearing the news, Jade tried to stay relaxed. Things were happening too quickly. Maybe it would be best to leave and not say anything at all. Then she wouldn’t disrupt so many lives.
At three o’clock in the morning, Jade stood just inside Sloan’s bedroom. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight coming through the window before
The room was painted a blue-green color and was as big as the one Jade had. There was a wrought-iron bed frame painted white and the queen-size mattress was covered with another handmade quilt. No doubt one of Louisa’s creations.
The girl led her to a sitting area in front of a bank of windows. “Since we’re staying up most of the night we might as well get to know each other.” Alisa sat down in a low back chair and motioned for Jade to take the other. “Of course, I feel like I already do. Mom has been singing your praises every time we talked on the phone.”
Jade was glad that Louisa liked her so much. “Your mother has made my job easy. Believe me she’s been doing all the hard work. She’s the one who decided she wanted to get better.”
Alisa curled her bare feet under her. “I know that,and now you have to handle another stubborn Merrick. How do you put up with it all?”
Jade smiled. “You mostly ignore the grumbling, and do your job.”
Alisa laughed. “With my brother, that’s all you can do. He’s been such a grouch these days.”
“And you love him,” Jade surmised. “It’s obvious you all care about each other. And you’re protective.”
The pretty girl studied her. “With my dad’s line of work, we have to be. It’s unbelievable what people will do to get a story. It happened to Sloan, that’s what made him leery of outsiders coming to the ranch.” Alisa smiled. “I’m still wondering how you got past his suspicions.”
Jade knew Sloan had every right to be suspicious of her, too. “Your mother helped,” she said, and added, “Your brother told me a little about Crystal.”
The raven haired Alisa seemed surprised at that. “She was a piece of work. I never thought of her as Sloan’s type.” She shrugged. “So I wasn’t sad when she was gone, but the whole mess changed my brother. Trust doesn’t come easily for him anymore.”
Jade wouldn’t help that. “I can’t blame him, especially when your family is in the public eye so much.”
Alisa shrugged. “We’ve never known anything different. And since I’m seriously considering going into the family business myself, I better get used to it”
Jade was surprised. “Are you talking about politics or ranching?”
Alisa laughed. “I guess they do go hand in hand in this part of Texas, but I’ll let my big brother handle the ranching part. I hope to be busy working on Dad’s reelection campaign, then I’ll see how things go. I needto get some face time, as they say. And who knows what will happen.”
So, someone in the family wasn’t afraid of the spotlight. “So you’re considering running for office?”
Alisa flashed those dark eyes. “Anything is possible, but please don’t say anything. I need a few more years to see how things go. And there’s the fact that I’m young, and a little too inexperienced to be taken seriously. Not yet anyway.”
Jade remembered Sloan telling her about the Merrick tradition. “I’m sure your father will be happy about this.”
Sighing, Alisa sat back. “We’ll see. I know one person who won’t be. Sloan doesn’t like the attention that comes with a public life.”
“But that’s his choice,” Jade said boldly. “Not yours.”
Alisa smiled. “I knew I liked you.”
“I like you, too.” And she did, but she also knew her own news might put a damper on this. “How soon before your father returns home?”
“In a few days.”
Hearing the news, Jade tried to stay relaxed. Things were happening too quickly. Maybe it would be best to leave and not say anything at all. Then she wouldn’t disrupt so many lives.
At three o’clock in the morning, Jade stood just inside Sloan’s bedroom. She waited for her eyes to adjust to the moonlight coming through the window before
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