After Tex by Sherryl Woods Page A

new stores since the last time you were here.”
    â€œI suppose that makes sense,” Megan conceded grudgingly. “Tess, would you like to come along?”
    â€œNot really,” the girl grumbled, but at a sharp glance from the housekeeper, she shrugged. “Might as well. I ain’t got nothing else to do.”
    â€œWorking on your grammar might be one alternative,” Megan muttered, but she forced a smile. “Terrific. We’ll leave in an hour.”
    But in an hour, there was no sign of Tess. If it hadbeen up to Megan, she would have left without her, but Mrs. Gomez seemed to be determined to send the two of them off on some sort of bonding experience.
    â€œShe will be in the barn,” she told Megan. “There are kittens there. They seem to give her some comfort.”
    Thinking of Tess turning to a litter of helpless kittens for consolation shamed Megan sufficiently that she walked to the barn in search of the girl. Sure enough, she was hunkered down with kittens scrambling all around her.
    â€œThey’re cute,” Megan said, drawn to them despite herself.
    â€œI’m not giving them away,” Tess stated defiantly.
    â€œDid I ask you to?”
    â€œNo, but you will.”
    Megan imagined that was what Tex had insisted on. He’d always allowed a single cat to wander the barn in search of mice, but no more, and never one in the house as a pet. She had longed for one of her own, a warm ball of fluff who would curl up in her lap and sleep on her bed, but she had dared to ask only once. Tex’s curt refusal had kept her silent about wanting a pet from then on.
    â€œYou could bring them up to the house, if you like,” Megan suggested casually. “When they’re a little bigger and the mother won’t mind.”
    Tess stared at her with wide eyes. “I could?”
    The longing in her voice brought a lump to Megan’s throat. She nodded. “I don’t see why not.”
    â€œJake thought it might be okay, too, but I figured you’d never go for it.”
    â€œI will on one condition,” Megan said.
    Tess frowned. “I knew it! I knew there’d be a catch.”
    â€œNo catch, just a condition. I want one of the kittens for my own.”
    Tess simply stared, clearly too shocked for words.
    â€œIs it a deal?” Megan asked.
    â€œYeah!” Tess said excitedly, then caught herself. “I mean, I suppose that would be okay.”
    Megan held back a grin. It wasn’t much, she concluded as they walked to the car, but it was a start. If only the next ten years or so would go as easily, maybe they would survive them.

6
    J ake was at loose ends. With his biggest—okay, his only—client dead and buried, his workload was back to zip. That was exactly the way he wanted it, or so he’d thought. Rather than relaxing, maybe going off on a long horseback ride through the countryside, however, he was restless. He knew exactly where to lay the blame for that: Megan.
    He’d pushed aside a lot of old resentments the past few days. He wanted to go on hating her for thinking the worst of him all those years ago. He wanted to steal Tex’s ranch right out from under her just to get even. But for some reason, he couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for the all-out war he’d once envisioned. It was probably because of that sad, lost look in her eyes. He’d always been a real sucker for vulnerability, especially in a woman normally as tough as Meggie.
    The smart thing would be to steer clear of her. Even if she made a halfhearted attempt to comply with Tex’s wishes, it wouldn’t be long before she found some way around the terms of the will and hauled Tess back to New York with her. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind that was what she desperately wanted to do. He’d seen the wheels clicking away the instant she’d realized what Tex’s will meant.
    Somehow Megan had turned into a city