Sarah's Surrender (Ranchers of Chatum County 2)

“Do you own the farm free and clear?”

“Yes, but I still need money to live. For utilities, food, taxes, you know.”

“Come work for me.”

“What?” Sarah asked in a stunned voice. He had said the words so quickly she didn’t know if she had understood him correctly.

“Yeah.” He said it like he was getting into the idea. “Come work for me.”

“No.” She responded automatically and then thought better of it and asked, “Doing what?”

“I’ve been advertising for a foundation manager. I haven’t gotten any bites yet.”

“What kind of foundation?”

He gave her a pointed look as if she should know what kind of foundation. “I’m going to set up and fund a philanthropic foundation and I need someone to run it for me. I don’t have time to deal with all the requests I get for money. I don’t want to deal with it. You’d be perfect. I’d pay you well.”

He named a figure that was three times what Sarah earned in a school year. “Is this a trick?”

“No. I’ll show you the ad if you don’t believe me.”

“Where would I work?”

“You can work from your house. You’d like it. You’re all into being nice and shit. You’d make the decisions. We’ll get some cards printed up, and when people approach me, I’ll give them a card and refer them to you. You’ll decide who gets the money, how much they’ll get, that kind of stuff.”

“I’ve never done anything like that before. How do you decide who gets the money?” Sarah was really starting to think about the possibility.

“You go with your gut, babe.”

“When would I start?”

“Now,” he said in a voice that implied it was a done-deal.

“Now?”

“Well, Monday. We can set you up a computer system, record-keeping system, go to the bank and put your signature on the account, all that stuff.”

“But I have school in the fall.” Her mind was in a whirl.

“Are you locked in?”

“They have my tentative consent. The contract comes a couple of weeks before school starts. So I’m not technically locked in yet. At least that’s the way my district does it.”

“So you’re free to say yes.” His tone sounded pleased.

“I suppose. But I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Why is that?” he asked.

She thought of all the roadblocks that should stand in her way. “There are several reasons. The first is that I’m scared. Teaching jobs are hard to come by these days and it might not work out. And then there is the conflict of interests—I already know what I want to spend your money on. And on top of that, there is—the first issue.” She looked away from him when she said that and took a drink of her Screwdriver. She so needed some extra courage right about now.

John reached out and put his hand under her chin and lifted her face until she had no choice but to look into his eyes. “The first issue isn’t going to go away. That won’t change. So understand now that you’re going to be sexually harassed on a daily basis.” His tone was only slightly humorous. “That’s a given, babe.” He paused to see if she understood him completely and then continued, “The money for the retirement home is different. It won’t come from what I’m putting aside for the foundation. It would be an added expense.” John watched her as he tried to spell out how it would be. He hadn’t really taken the time to think it through before the offer had left his mouth. But the more the idea took hold, the more he liked it. The fact was, he did need someone and as far as he could tell, she’d be perfect for the job. But it would also keep her within his radius. It would throw them together, and if he could convince her to give up the job in Dallas, she’d be dependent on him for her income. It was a highly erotic thought. He’d like to have her dependent on him for just about everything. Her income, her security, her orgasms.

Sarah noticed he said ‘would be’. As if he was still considering funding her project but hadn’t committed yet.

John continued to try to convince her to come around to his way of thinking. Getting her to agree would be the first step. “And as for being scared—why don’t you try it for a few months and see if you like it? You’ve got almost the whole summer to decide for sure. If nothing else, I’ll pay you for a few months and you can beef up your savings account.”

He made it sound so simple and perfectly logical. Sarah thought of her practically non-existent savings account. He was right, this would be the perfect opportunity to grab some savings if she could. What did she have to lose? She didn’t have anything more pressing to do with her time this summer. She could take a few months and see if they got along, see if she enjoyed the job and mostly, see if she could stand working for him. It could blow up to be a dangerous situation, but if she didn’t actually give up her teaching job come the fall, what did she have to lose?

“Are you sure?” she asked him.

“Yep.”

“Okay, I guess I can try it for the summer. But I think it should just be on a trial basis, you know? To see if we get along and all that.”

Oh, yeah, he almost had her. With a sudden flash of insight, he decided to let her get her way tonight. He wouldn’t pressure her to stay the night, he wouldn’t do anything at all to scare her off. He was close. So close to getting what he wanted from her. He’d feed her, talk to her, give her ease from conversation that would help her become comfortable with him.

And after he had her working for him and more secure in their relationship, he’d make his move.

It shouldn’t take more than a few days.

He could hardly wait.

Chapter Five

Two weeks later, and John was slowly going out of his mind. How in the hell she always managed to dance out of his reach, he hadn’t figured out. But keep him at arm’s length, she did.

He’d helped her set up her home office and her filing system. They’d gone to the bank and he opened an account with enough money in it to fund the foundation for a full year. He came close to letting her be able to sign the checks, and the reason he refrained from it wasn’t because he didn’t trust her. It was because it would be a reason he’d get to see her. If she needed his signature on the checks, it would put her within touching distance.

And he wanted to touch her. The compulsion to have her wasn’t easing up with familiarity. If anything, it was only getting worse. Every time he saw her, her skin became smoother, her hair became silkier, and her lips became sexier. If he didn’t get some relief soon, he was afraid he was going to crack.

Other than the sexual tension he was feeling twenty-four-seven, everything else was going fine. He had been absolutely right, having someone take care of the myriad details and dealing with all the people was exactly what he needed. He couldn’t believe how simple it was. Someone would approach him directly; he would hand out her card. If someone emailed him, he simply forwarded the email to her. It was a win-win situation. His conscience was quiet because he was donating a significant amount of money, but he didn’t have to deal with any of the shit or any of the people.

Or so he thought until he walked into the veterinarian clinic to pick up the inoculation supplies for his cattle. The moment the receptionist greeted him familiarly, she asked him to wait and then she ran to the back office. Moments later, Dr. Hammond came out to talk to him personally. John liked Daniel Hammond, they had gone to high school together and the man was professional and ran a tight business.

They shook hands and after a couple of words of greeting, the vet gone down to business. The man immediately began talking about his sister, and how she was working at an animal shelter in San Antonio.

John saw immediately where the conversation was headed and he knew that this was the time to pull out one of Sarah’s cards and set it on the counter.

But he couldn’t do it.

He studied the other man, and he saw things he’d never noticed before. Sure, he knew the basics. T

he guy was single and the same age as he was. But what he’d never noticed or even begun to think about, was that the other man was good-looking. The doctor was well educated, and made more than a decent living. John glanced at the young receptionist and saw immediately that she was having trouble deciding which of the two of them to focus on. Her eyes kept moving between the two of them as if she was trying to decide which flavor she liked best.

John frowned as he realized there was no fucking way he was giving the dude Sarah’s card. He quickly made up his mind to handle this one himself. “How much would help?” He cut to the chase.

Hammond named a figure that was acceptable to him.

John shook the guy’s hand, grabbed his supplies off the counter and turned to leave. “I’ll bring a check by later in the week.”

****

John faced Sarah later that day across her kitchen table.