One Summer Evening - One Summer Evening Part 21
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One Summer Evening Part 21

His smirk deepened.

"You really believe-that shit?"

"Damn you! I don't like this situation any better than you do. But I can

and will handle it."

Austin's eyes ran up and down her body while his brows arched mockingly.

"I hope the hell you know what you're doing."

"Get out of, here."

"My pleasure."

He turned then and stomped out the door.

t irr rley, boss, those two colts are due to be delivered tomorrow."

'"Bout damn time," Austin said to his trainer. Robb grinned, and when he did, Austin could see a piece of tobaccolodged between his two front teeth. He averted his gaze. If there wasanything about Robb that irritated him, it was his penchant for chewing tobacco, especially when he didn't keep his teeth clean. That dark, wetstring looked worse than a piece of spinach. "You want me to do anything else before I hightail it outta here?" Robb asked.

Austin shook his head.

"You've earned a Saturday afternoon off. Get going."

Robb gave a careless wave.

"See ya Monday."

"No, you won't. I'll be tied up all day. Call on the cell if it's an

emergency."

"Will do."

Once Robb had sauntered off, Austin nudged Bluebonnet into action.

He'd been at the farm all morning, ; mending fences along with sundry

other things. Even with Robb and another part-time hand, all the work{ never seemed to get done. A But that was all right. Austin enjoyeddoing as much I of it himself as he could. It continued to be hispanacea for forcing the kinks out of his body and mind. Lord knows, ifhe'd ever needed the latter, it was now.

He hadn't bothered to stop by the hotel this morning. Hell, if Cassiewas going to take over the Jasmine, then let her run with it, sink orswim.

Of course, nothing terrible was going to happen. First, he wouldn't letanything or anyone endanger the hotel. Second, she was just afigurehead.

She didn't know diddly-squat about overseeing a major hotel.

To his way of thinking, Wilma had used the hotel as a ploy to keep herdaughter in town, which he could understand, her being so gravely ill.

Austin flinched, thinking about Wilma and her condition. Poor James.

Ill though she might be, Wilma remained very much in charge of herfaculties.

He would miss her sharp mind, her ability to come up with new andinnovative ideas that would keep their small, independent chain frombeing gobbled up by the super hotels Maybe Cassie had that same knack. Austin snorted. No such luck. Shewould just be a nuisance. Still, he understood and didn't fault Wilma.

He had a solution in mind for side-stepping the explosive situation.

He would spend more time at the other hotels and at the farm. Cassiedidn't want to be around him any more than he did her. She had made thatquite plain yesterday.

On the surface, she had appeared as if all her emotions were intact,that she could handle anything, especially him.

Bullshit.

She wasn't as immune to him as she would like him to think. He had seen the way she reacted when his eyes dropped to her breasts, despite herdisplay of icy hostility.

Maybe that was what had gotten into him. Maybe he'd wanted to shatterthat ice around her. He couldn't deny that he was attracted to her,which was his own sexual hang-up, pure and simple.

Simple, hell! When it came to Cassie, nothing was simple. He was gettingblamed for that forbidden romp in the sand when it had been her fault.

Suddenly his conscience kicked him.

It hadn't been all her fault, not by a long shot. He had been thegrown-up, the supposedly responsible party, who should have been able tocall a halt instead of giving in to her sexual advances.

She had a right to despise him. But it rankled, nonetheless, when she looked at him as if he were contaminated, all the more reason why itdumbfounded him that she had agreed to stay in Jasmine.

He figured her motive was the kid. Austin felt a sudden pinch in hisgut.

Tyler. Nice name for a kid. He hadn't seen him yet, but he knew that wasbound to change, because James had bragged that his grandson had becomehis shadow.

Ah, to hell with further thoughts about her. Too many mind games coulddrive a sane man nuts.

Austin kicked his horse into a canter, then felt the animal ease into asmooth gallop. Ah, this was the life, he told himself, raising his head.

Soon the sun would be swallowed by the clouds already gathering aroundit.

He almost smiled as he watched the scene play out above. By nightfall itwould more than likely be raining.

When that happened, he would go inside, take a cool shower, then weedthrough the chef applications he'd brought with him. Afterward, surelyhe would be so tired he would sleep like the dead.

He grimaced, thinking that hadn't been the case since Cassie hit town,which was why he had to get a grip on himself.

Later, long after those clouds had indeed gobbled up the sun, Austinheaded back to the barn, where he fed, watered and brushed down hishorse.

It was when he rounded the corner headed toward the house that he saw the car. Groaning, he stopped in his tracks. What was Sherry doing here?He hadn't invited her. Perhaps she felt she didn't need an invitation,that a surprise visit was in order.

That wasn't how he felt. Right now, she was the last person he wanted tosee. Still, he trudged up the hill toward the house that at one time hadbeen so rundown and filthy inside it had gagged him.

He'd hired a cleaning crew to come and haul off all the garbage.

Following on their heels, he'd hired a carpenter to redo the kitchen andthe one bathroom.

Then, out of the blue, he had met Sherry. When he learned she was aninterior designer, he'd hired her on the spot to make the insidelivable, keeping it simple, uncluttered and masculine.

However, it wasn't until six months later that he'd begun seeing her.

To date, nothing serious had developed between them, despite her pluses.She had a well- paying Job and was voluptuously attractive, not thatthat mattered. What did matter was that she was quiet, dependable andeasy to be with. And though she had two children, they were grown and gone.

He knew that if he popped the question, she would marry him in a minute.

A few days ago that thought might have appealed to him.

Thanks to Cassie, that had changed.

Frowning, he walked into the brightly lighted kitchen, where something

delicious simmered on the stove. However, his uninvited guest was

nowhere in sight.

"Sherry?" he called, heading for the living room. It was as empty as the kitchen. Yet he didn't move, his gaze wandering over the beamed high ceilings back down to the stone fireplace that covered one wall.

Bookcases bordered the fireplace and were filled with books and other mementos that he'd collected over the years. The furniture also matched his taste. A burgundy leather sofa and matching chairs were the other dominant items. They were as soft, lush and inviting as they appeared.

Austin cast a longing eye in the direction of a chair, only to sigh and head for the bedroom, the only other place his guest could be, a thought that didn't set well with him.

"Sherry," he called again.

Still no answer.

What the hell was that woman up to? Austin clamped his jaws together

when he strode down the hall and saw that the bedroom door was closed.

Without knocking, he pushed it open.

"I'd about given you up," Sherry said in a purring voice as she stood by the bed dressed only in a thin, black negligee.

Austin stood transfixed in the doorway.

She smiled.

"I thought it was past time the two of us got better acquainted." She

paused, cocked her head, then smiled.

"Don't you?"

Randall Lunsbury wished he could stop sweating. He ; couldn't; the

sticky moisture trickled down his face and saturated his silk shirt.

But then he had enough worries to make him sweat like a stuck pig.

"How the hell did you get this number?" he whispered into the receiver, all the while keeping an eagle eye out for his wife.

He was in the foyer of their opulent home, having been on his way intothe family room when the phone rang. His mind elsewhere, he'd answeredit.

Thank God he had.

"I told you not to call me at home."

"I know," his latest bimbo whined, "but I haven't seen you in over a

week, and you won't return my calls."