Page 7 of Sweet Temptation (Honeysuckle, Texas #3)

Seated with her back to the rest of the patrons, Jackie tried not to think about all the people who might be watching them.

“Don’t let them unsettle you.” Garret smiled.

“Them?” She brushed at a nonexistent piece of dust on the tabletop. “Is it that obvious?”

“That you noticed the place staring at us as we walked in? Or that it made you nervous?”

She shrugged. “Both, I guess.”

“I teach junior high, when something is obvious, it’s easier to just go with it.”

This man was so relaxed and easy-going, that no matter how off kilter she might feel, he seemed to be able to put her at ease.

Or maybe two meals together wasn’t enough to draw such sweeping conclusions and her observations were nothing more than wishful thinking.

The same wishful thinking that had gotten her in trouble with Brad.

“When do you leave for Houston?”

Jackie hesitated. Should she share that she’d actually been thinking about looking on that bulletin board for work in town? “I need to return the car to the airport tomorrow. I was supposed to return it in Millers Creek since I thought, well, you know what I thought.”

He nodded but didn’t speak.

“But I couldn’t bring myself to actually buy a ticket to Houston, so I’ll probably hop on the next available flight after I return the car.

Maybe Midland will be more interesting than I remember and I’ll stick around a bit.

” She forced a relaxed smile. “Or, who knows, maybe I’ll wind up someplace exotic, like Paris. ”

“I sure hope you don’t mean Paris, Texas.”

“No,” she laughed in earnest, “I don’t. But I’ve pretty much reached my limit on spontaneous adventures. Like it or not, it will be a flight to Houston. I just hate admitting defeat. And boy did I bomb.”

“Some people might consider your new perspective on life a chance at a fresh start. Even in Houston.”

She was right. It wasn’t just coincidence. The man had a way of making things feel better. “Somehow it would feel fresher if I weren’t starting out with my tail between my legs and sleeping on a friend’s sofa. Not exactly starting from a position of strength.”

“You’re stronger than you think.”

Wow. After all he’d seen her do, all he knew she’d done, did he really think of her as strong?

Before he could say anything else, Agnes came up to them with a couple of glasses of water, silverware, and a cup of coffee for Garret that he hadn’t asked for.

“You’re a life saver, Agnes.” Garret grinned up at her. “The lady will have a diet cola and then we’ll need a few more minutes to order.”

“Got it.” Agnes winked at him and walked away.

That he remembered what she’d ordered to drink the other day had her stomach fluttering.

She doubted Brad ever noticed anything she did, and if he did, there was little hope he’d remember her favorite anything.

Fiddling with a fork, she shook the thoughts away and lifted her gaze to meet his. “Did you want coffee?”

“Agnes knows if I stop in after school instead of heading straight home that it’s been a long day and I need her coffee.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “Don’t tell my mother, but Agnes makes the best coffee in town. Probably in the county, and very possibly in the state.”

That made her laugh. He seemed to do that to her a lot.

Could she bring herself to look at the job board?

To turn the car in at the Midland airport and instead of going to Houston, return to Honeysuckle?

That could be a true fresh start. If she hated it, at least she’ll have given something new—and safe—a try.

“Something wrong?” Garret had been studying her.

In for a penny, in for a pound. He already knew everything about her, what was one more thing. “Your aunt mentioned a board with work opportunities.”

“Yes. There’s a lot of word-of-mouth in a small town, but the bulletin board helps folks connect faster.” His eyes softened. “So, does this mean that maybe you’re thinking of looking for a fresh start here? In Honeysuckle?”

She shrugged. “Bizarre, I know.”

“Not necessarily. Here no one knows anything about you. Not your past. Not your problems. It would be a truly fresh start. No judgments.”

A smile tugged at her lips. “That does hold a certain appeal.”

“What did you do in Houston?”

“Despite having a degree in psychology, I worked as a manager for a small family owned insurance business.” She couldn’t stop her smile from growing wider. Just thinking about the sweet job she had put her in a happy place. As long as she didn’t think about how stupidly she threw it all away.

“Managing a business sounds industry agnostic. There’s probably more than one business in town that could use a good manager.”

Wouldn’t that be nice? If a little hopeful. “Of course, I’d have to find a place to live. Are there are a lot of apartments in town?”

His expression grew more serious. “Not really. A few years back they converted an old warehouse into apartments not far from here. My brother Preston had a place there, but it burned down and they haven’t rebuilt yet.

Though some folks have turned attics into apartments.

A few have done like the northeast and turned larger homes into multifamily units, but not a whole lot. Yet.”

“That’s what I was afraid of.”

His gaze drifted off somewhere, his eyes cooling. She could almost see the wheels turning in his mind, but didn’t have the foggiest idea what had him thinking so hard.

Nodding softly, as if trying to convince himself of something, he blew out a soft sigh. “I may have an idea.”

If anyone else on the planet had said that to her, she might be grabbing her purse and heading for the nearest exit, but from Garret, the honorable man who had rescued her from herself, what could she lose by hearing him out?

Where to begin? Right about now, Garret wasn’t so sure he hadn’t lost his mind. Odds were pretty good that if he proposed what he was thinking, Jacqueline would certainly think him certifiable.

Then again, what was he always telling his students: the worst anyone can say is no, but if you don’t ask, you’ll never know? “I have an idea, but before you say no, hear me out.”

One brow rose higher than the other, the look reminding him of his sister Rachel. “Okay, but should I change from a cola to a stiffer drink?”

Chuckling, he wasn’t so sure she was wrong. “Hear me out, then decide.”

“I’m listening.”

“There are a few things about my family, and ranch, that I didn’t share the other day.

” He looked up at her. Her expression blank, but not closed.

So far so good. For the next several minutes, only stopping once to give Agnes their dinner order, he explained to her as quietly as he could about his father’s passing, about Ray robbing them nearly blind, then stopped when she reached out and touched his hand.

“I’m so sorry.” She leaned back and sighed. “Puts a new perspective on quitting a job that I’d only had a few years, and giving up a rented apartment. Even sneaky, lying Brad doesn’t seem so bad after all. At least he didn’t steal my money.”

“Always a silver lining.” He wished theirs was a little shinier.

“And yours?” She picked up her burger again. “Is there a silver lining for your family?”

Here went nothing. “There’s a family trust fund. Set up a couple of hundred years ago by Grover Eugene Sweet.”

“Perfect.” Her concern for him shifted to a smile.

“Not exactly.”

Biting into her burger, she kept her gaze on him.

“The trust only pays out when a Sweet marries.”

She nodded. “And your brothers recently married, right?”

“Preston and Carson. Yes.”

“So the trust paid off?”

“Not exactly. There’s a small up front payment, then a monthly stipend, but the big payoff is on the first anniversary.”

Still chewing, she nodded again.

“Sarah Sue was our next-door neighbor and she offered to marry Preston for the trust. In name only,” he hurriedly added. “Same happened with Carson, only Jess wasn’t a neighbor, she was his college sweetheart. Well, not a sweetheart, more of his college crush, but I digress.”

“So they’re not really married?” Her forehead crumpled with confusion.

“Oh, they’re definitely really married. The bank wouldn’t pay the trust if they weren’t. And the hardest part at first was making my mother believe they were very much in love and that was the hurry to marry.”

The lines in her forehead grew deeper. “I think I’m confused.”

“Let me back up. When Rachel suggested the whole idea of marrying for the trust money, we all agreed Mom would never let us do that for the money, not even if it saved the ranch. So we agreed she would not know about the arrangement. They had to fool Mom, and pretty much the whole town.”

“And it’s worked?” She took another bite, her burger almost finished.

“Better than planned. Everyone is head over heels in love with each other.”

Swallowing, she grinned. “So all is well that ends well.”

“Not exactly.”

“Déjà vu,” she teased.

He glanced down at his own burger; he hadn’t touched it yet, and he wasn’t sure he could. His stomach was rolling and not till this second did he realize how much he wanted her to go for the idea. “We need a lot more money, a lot.”

She nodded.

“So we’re all trying to get married.”

Her hands froze, the burger halfway to her mouth. She’d finally figured out where this was going.

“If you agreed to stay for a year and marry me—in name only—you’d have a place to live, free room and board, I’m sure there’s a job that you would enjoy, or at least not hate, or you wouldn’t have to work at all if you prefer.”

Her burger still frozen in space, the only changes were her mouth had dropped slightly open and her eyes had circled a little wider.

“There could be a bonus paid after the year.”

No sounds came from her.

“I know it’s crazy.”

Her mouth snapped closed, she blinked, and her burger lowered to the plate in front of her. “That’s the first thing you’ve said that makes sense.”

“You’re right. Forget I said anything.” He lifted the burger and wondered if he’d heave if he took a bite.

Letting out a sigh, her shoulders lowered, and she leaned back. “If I say no, you’re going to find someone else, aren’t you?”

“I have to.” He threw up his hands. “We’ll lose the ranch if we don’t come up with a boatload of money and fast.”

“In name only?” she repeated.

He almost dropped his burger. Was she actually considering it? “Yes. Absolutely. No hanky-panky.”

She laughed and he had no idea why. “You know, anyone else and I’d say you were a bold-faced liar, but considering how we met, I think I believe you.”

“It’s the truth. All of it.” He held up two fingers. “Scouts honor.”

“Were you a scout?”

He laughed. “Eagle.”

“Figures you’d say that. It explains a lot.”

“If you knew my mom and dad, it would make even more sense. Old fashioned with a capital O and F.”

“Hence why you can’t tell her you’re marrying to save the ranch.”

“Bingo.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Of course.” She was thinking about it. He wanted to whoop or pump his fist, but a simple smile would have to do.

“How much time do I have?”

Good question, and he was pretty sure, not much wasn’t what she’d want to hear. “I have an idea.”

“Another one?” Instead of shock, or surprise, or confusion, she bit back a laugh. The woman had a sense of humor. Good, she was going to need it moving from Houston to a working cattle ranch.

“You have no place to stay, no money to speak of, and need time to consider. What if you come to the ranch—as a guest for the night—and see for yourself what we’d be up against?”

“The ranch?”

He nodded.

“Now?”

“As good a time as any.” He tried to look calm, cool and collected while she thought. Silently lifting prayers for what looked to be the best solution to a serious problem.

“All right.” She actually smiled. “One night. One visit. And tomorrow, you’ll have my answer.

Hot damn. If all went well, tomorrow they’d be one step closer to saving the ranch—or a year of hell. Maybe he had lost his mind.