Tempted by the Texan

“I had the chance to tell Bria when she called about the change in plans for Sam’s party, but she wasn’t feeling well and I didn’t want to go into it,” Mariah said, nodding.

Jaron could understand her reluctance. It was his guess that her sister would have the same concerns as his brothers, and if Bria wasn’t feeling well, Mariah probably didn’t want to worry her.

Of course none of them knew that he and Mariah weren’t just employer and employee. Since they’d made love after their Valentine’s Day dinner, she had moved into the master suite with him, and as far as he was concerned that was where she would stay for as long as she wanted.

A twinge of guilt once again settled across his shoulders. He didn’t think he was leading her on. He’d made it clear that he wasn’t making any promises, and she had told him she wasn’t asking for any. But was it really that simple? How long would she be satisfied with that arrangement? For that matter, how long would he?

As he parked his truck by his brothers’ pickups and SUVs, Jaron decided that he really didn’t want to know the answers. He was afraid that if he knew for certain Mariah thought there was a chance something would come of their time together, he wouldn’t have the strength to do the right thing for both of them and send her on her way.

“Time to face the family,” he said, taking a deep breath as he got out of the truck and walked around to open the passenger door for her.

“I...um... I’m not telling Bria or the other women about the nature of our relationship,” she stated. “Only that I’m working at your ranch.”

He nodded. “It’s nobody’s business but ours.”

“I agree.” Her smile caused his heart to thump hard against his rib cage. “Besides, I like the intimate feeling of it being our little secret.”

“I feel the same way,” he said, wishing he could take her in his arms and reassure her.

He held her hand as she got down from the truck, then made sure there was a respectable amount of space between them as they walked side by side up to the house. Even though he would like nothing more than to hold her to his side, if any of his family was watching it would be a dead giveaway that something was definitely going on between them.

“It’s going to be hard as hell keeping my hands off you today,” he admitted.

She laughed. “Can you imagine the look on everyone’s face if you put your arm around me or kissed me?”

“That could be dangerous.” He grinned. “I thought Ryder was going to have to perform the Heimlich maneuver on poor old T.J. that night in the Broken Spoke. And all I did was tell them I’d hired you to be my housekeeper.”

“I can only imagine how he would react if he learned there was more.” She smiled as she reached up to press the doorbell. “Well, here we go.”

“This is going to be one hell of a long day,” Jaron muttered when he heard someone approaching to let them in.

When his brother Lane opened the door, he looked surprised to see Mariah with Jaron. “It’s good to see both of you.” He watched Lane glance at the array of parked vehicles in the driveway before his gaze swung back to Jaron. “Come on in. The guys are babysitting the kids in the game room and the women are in the kitchen.”

“I’ll go see if they need help finishing dinner,” Mariah said, starting down the hall.

As he watched her go, Jaron couldn’t keep from noticing the enticing sway of her blue-jean-clad hips. Damned if he couldn’t look at that view all day long.

“Come on, bro. I’ve got a beer with your name on it, and you’ve got some explaining to do,” Lane said, grinning.

Jaron followed his brother and upon entering the game room saw T.J. down on his hands and knees, giving the kids horseback rides around the pool table. The rest of his brothers were standing at the bar watching the show.

Lane walked behind the bar and uncapped a bottle of Lone Star, then handed it to Jaron. “I think our brother has something to tell us, boys.”

“Is something up?” Nate Rafferty asked, perking up.

The youngest of the Raffertys, Nate and Sam were the only biological siblings of the bunch. But all six of them couldn’t have been closer if they had the same blood running through their veins. Thanks to their foster father, they had bonded into a close family, and Jaron knew that every one of them would have his back when the chips were down—the same as he would have theirs.

Taking a swig of his beer, Jaron shook his head. “Nothing going on that I know of.”