Tempted by the Texan

How was she supposed to know what she needed in the kitchen when she didn’t know how to cook?

Deciding it was time for a change of subject, Mariah rose to clear the table. “Besides cooking, cleaning and shopping, is there anything else I’m supposed to do?”

He stared at her for a moment before he slowly shook his head. “Not that I can think of. Why?”

“I’m just trying to make sure I understand the job description,” she said, rinsing their plates and loading them into the dishwasher.

“You didn’t say, but what happened with your job?” he asked, his tone a little hesitant.

“Cutbacks,” she answered as she wiped off the table. “The company decided to concentrate on the more lucrative rental properties in cities like Dallas and Houston than smaller towns like Shady Grove.”

“Were you offered a job if you were willing to relocate?” he asked, frowning as he leaned back against the counter.

“They offered, but I turned it down.” She shook her head. “I didn’t want to move that far away from Bria, Sam and little Hank. They’re the only family I have.”

Walking over to stand beside her, he raised his hand as if he intended to touch her cheek, then quickly lowered it to his side. “That’s not true, darlin’. You have the rest of us.”

A shiver of excitement slid up her spine when she realized he was fighting the urge to touch her. But she did her best to ignore it. He was probably trying to make her feel better and nothing more. “Thanks.”

“It was pretty rough losing your parents in that car accident in your junior year in college, wasn’t it?” he asked, his tone sympathetic.

Nodding, she had to clear her throat before she could answer. “It was pretty rough, but it would have been worse if I’d been younger.”

“Yeah, I lost my mom when I was six,” he said, surprising her. In all the years she had known him, she had never heard him mention his biological family before.

“What happened?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” He stared at her a moment, then shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. One day she was gone and I knew I’d never see her again.”

“I’m so sorry, Jaron,” she said, placing her hand on his arm. “At least I got to have my parents with me until I was grown.”

He shrugged. “I survived.”

“What about your father?” she asked.

His jaw tightened a moment before his expression turned to blank indifference. “He...went away when I was thirteen and I haven’t seen him since.”

She could tell it bothered him more than he was letting on, but she wasn’t at all surprised that he dismissed losing his parents as if it wasn’t a big deal. If there was one thing she had learned over the course of the past several years it was that Jaron Lambert didn’t talk about himself. Ever.

As they stood there staring at each other, she realized her hand still rested on his arm. But it was the spark that had ignited in his striking blue eyes that took her breath away.

“I...um, probably should get back to putting my things away,” she said, thinking quickly as she started to pull away from him.

He placed his hand over hers to hold it in place as if he had found comfort in the gesture. “You’ve got all day tomorrow to get your things organized,” he reminded. “I’m sure you’re tired from packing the past few days and all the other things you had to do to get ready for your move to the ranch. Why don’t you take the evening off and we’ll catch a movie on one of the satellite channels?”

His suggestion surprised her, but what shocked her more was the tension surrounding them. The slight abrasion of his callused palm on her skin and his heated gaze holding her captive was more sensual than she could have ever imagined. But she did her best not to show she was affected by it in any way. If she did, it would give him the perfect excuse to shut her out the way he’d done the morning after they’d made love.

“I think you might be right about taking a break.” She laughed to cover her reaction to him. “There was so much to do the past few days, I am pretty tired. I just hope I can stay awake long enough to watch the entire show.”

He suddenly dropped his hand and took a step back as if he realized he was still touching her. “In other words the movie needs to be fast paced?”

“Yes, but I’m not a big fan of movies that will scare the stuffing out of me,” she admitted.