Texas Temptation (Making a Family #1)

Chapter Four

By dinnertime, Jordan’s spirits were high. She’d worked a couple of hours in the office after lunch, arranged to visit the doctor with Caleb the next afternoon and taken a nap at Amelia’s insistence.

She was feeling resigned to staying at the Everett Ranch until Cade’s PA returned and falling in with Amelia’s desires to watch Caleb. She had mixed emotions—not wanting to be beholden to strangers, and yet incredibly grateful for the chance to have Caleb’s eyes operated on sooner than she’d thought possible.

She wished she’d brought more than just a couple of changes of shorts and slacks, but hadn’t expected to spend any more time with Caleb’s father than it took to have him meet Caleb and agree to help with the operation.

Amelia always wore flowery dresses, which were a bit excessive, Jordan thought privately, but at least she dressed up for dinner. Jordan had to wear her same old slacks and shirt.

Still, Jordan’s clothes were freshly laundered, thanks to Rosita. And Caleb was clean from a bath and a change of clothes.

When they entered the dining room, Amelia had already taken her seat at the foot of the table.

“There you two are. Do sit. I thought one on either side, to balance the table. Cade will be here soon. We’ll begin once he arrives. I hope you have an appetite tonight. Rosita has been cooking all afternoon. Did you sleep well, dear?” she asked Jordan.

“The nap was lovely, thank you,” Jordan responded, helping Caleb into the indicated chair, then going around the table to take her seat.

The dining room was more formal than they were used to. Jordan hoped Caleb’s manners would hold up. Sometimes a four-year-old forgot.

Cade entered at that moment, hesitating in the doorway as he looked at the three people already there. For a second, Jordan thought he might turn and leave. Should she have eaten in the kitchen with Rosita?

He moved swiftly to the place at the table’s head and sat, to her relief. She’d hate to cause dissension in his household.

“I didn’t realize we’d all be eating together,” he murmured with a look at his aunt.

“Now that Jordan’s out of bed and feeling so much better, I knew you’d want us all to have our meals together. It’s fine for Caleb to eat with Rosita from time to time, but there’s no need now that his mother’s no longer sick. He needs to eat with family. I think Jordan looks much better, don’t you? She was so pale the afternoon they arrived,” Amelia said gaily.

She was obviously pleased at the dinner arrangement.

Jordan felt warmth steal into her cheeks as Amelia continued. She darted a glance at Cade to find his dark eyes studying her gravely as his aunt talked about Jordan’s recovery. Her heart beat rapidly, and she wondered if she’d made a mistake accepting this man’s hospitality. She couldn’t deny the spark of attraction she felt anytime she was in proximity to him. Not that she’d let that influence her behavior. She wasn’t looking for any kind of relationship. Been there, done that. Now she had Caleb to think about as well.

Rosita entered, carrying bowls of vegetables and potatoes. Placing them in the center of the table, she returned in moments with a huge platter of fried chicken and a basket of fluffy biscuits.

Jordan remained feeling awkward after Cade’s comment. She hoped they could eat quickly and leave him in peace.

He ate without comment, as if as eager to get finished and away from the table as she was. Tomorrow she’d suggest she and Caleb eat in with Rosita.

Amelia seemed to find nothing amiss with dinner and smiled at Caleb as he worked his way through the dinner.

“Tell us what you did today, Caleb,” Amelia said. “I know we went to see the horses, but what else did you do?”

“Mr. Murray said I could watch the cat in the barn and he let me pat the dogs, but I can’t play with them because they’re working dogs and he doesn’t want them spoiled,” Caleb said solemnly.

“Oh pooh, those dogs know their jobs. A bit of fun with a little boy won’t spoil them, will it Cade?” Amelia said.

He glanced at her. “Jack handles that Amelia.”

“But you could tell him to let Caleb play with the dogs when they aren’t working. Vicki did. A little boy needs to have a dog.”

The tension at the table rose dramatically. Jordan held her breath at the change, looking at Amelia in dismay. From the little she’d learned from the woman that morning, Cade had taken his daughter’s death hard and didn’t speak of her.

It almost seemed as if Amelia was pushing Jordan and Caleb at Cade—to replace his lost family. Jordan hoped she was misreading the situation. Nothing could be farther from her own reason for being here.

If Amelia became too pushy, she and Caleb would have to leave.

Cade pushed back his chair and rose.

“If you will excuse me.” In two seconds, he had left the room.

“Oh dear, I shouldn’t have said that. Cade’s still so touchy about Marissa and Vicki. But I wanted Caleb to have the fun of playing with the dogs while he’s here. Sophie is the dog Vicki used to play with. I think they have a couple of new ones that she never saw. But it doesn’t matter. The dogs wouldn’t hurt the boy and he couldn’t possibly untrain them.” Amelia shook her head, staring after her nephew. “He acts as if Vicki and Marissa never existed. I miss them, too. We all do. But I remember the good times, and wish I had someone to share them with,” she said sadly.

Jordan knew staying would be impossible with the situation the way it was. Kind as Amelia had been, she couldn’t remain. She’d have to find accommodation on her own, preferably before Cade asked her to leave. She only hoped that he’d let her keep the job. She couldn’t bear it if he snatched that away just when she thought he could help Caleb.

Once they had finished dinner, Jordan took Caleb to his bedroom.

“In the morning, we’re going to look for a nice apartment in Tumbleweed,” she said, sinking on the edge of his bed. He’d been given the rose room. She looked around, admiring the decorations, knowing a small boy would be happier with fewer things to knock against or stay away from.

“Can we get a dog?” he asked, leaning against her leg.

Jordan brushed back his light brown hair and shook her head regretfully.

“No, we won’t be here that long. When we go back home, I’ll see if the apartment manager will let us get a dog. How’s that?”

“And a horse?”

Jordan laughed and hugged her son.

“Not a horse. Goodness, it’ll be crowded in our apartment with a dog. Where would we put a horse?”

Caleb laughed at her nonsense and offered several suggestions, each more outlandish than the other. Soon they were laughing together, as they often did. Love surrounded them.

Jordan savored the happy moment. She loved her son so much. How much of his life his father was missing. She wished she had found the man after searching for so long.

When she put him to bed sometime later, she kissed him and tucked him in.

“Sleep well, sweetie,” she murmured, imagining how Cade must feel having lost his little girl.

For a moment, Jordan wanted to snatch Caleb up and hold him tightly away from harm for the rest of their lives. The worst nightmare—losing a child. How did Cade stand it?

She went back downstairs. The house was quiet. Lights were on in the living room and down the hall in the study. Jordan peered into both rooms. They were empty.

She turned to go back upstairs when something had her push open the front door and step out into the wide veranda.

Cade sat in one of the chairs on the right, his legs stretched out, hands tucked into the pockets of his pants. It was dark, only the light from the living room spilled out to provide illumination.

“Are you asleep?” she whispered.

If he was, she’d tiptoe away.

“No.”

The short answer wasn’t very conducive to conversation. But what she had to say couldn’t be delayed.

She walked closer, leaning against a column, gazing over the dark landscape. The lights were on in the bunkhouse and the barn, otherwise the ranch was cocooned in the velvet night. Stars shone as pinpoints of lights in the vast expanse of the black sky.

“I apologize for the awkwardness at dinner,” Jordan started.

She wanted him to know it hadn’t been her idea, without feeling she was trying to accuse Amelia.

“Aunt Amelia may invite whomever she wishes to dinner,” he commented.

“We’re leaving in the morning.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, rising.

In two steps he stood beside her.

Jordan looked up. His face was planes and shadows, but she knew he was staring down at her. Her breath caught in her throat, but she held firm.

“I’ll still work for you, if that’s what you want. And I’ll be so grateful for the operation. I’ll pay you back every cent.”

“Unnecessary.”

“But we can’t stay here. It isn’t fair to you.”

He was silent for a long moment.

“I can decide what is fair for me. Stay.”

She shook her head.

“I can’t. We can’t. It’s too awkward, too painful.”

“How?”

“I can see it in your eyes. You don’t want Caleb around, no children. Amelia said you disappear when your sister and her children come. You’ve asked your cousins not to come to visit. It’s because of Vicki. I understand, truly I do, which is why we need to leave. That way you won’t be constantly reminded, won’t have a rambunctious four-year-old underfoot all the time.”

He turned and glared off into the night. The silence stretched out. Jordan wished she could ease the man’s anguish, but there was nothing. She was about to turn to reenter the house when he spoke, his voice low and pain fulled.

“She was eight. Eight . She should have had another eighty years.”

Jordan swallowed, longing to reach out and offer sympathy, not knowing if he would accept it. Words were so inadequate at a time like this.

“It’s so tragic,” she murmured. “I’m sorry. I wish I could change things.”

“A senseless waste of two good lives.”

“I know.”

Tentatively, she reached out to touch his arm. He turned, hesitated a moment. Even in the dim light, she could see the intensity of his gaze. He leaned closer and Jordan held her breath. Was he going to kiss her?

Her heart raced. For the first time in years, she longed for the touch of a man’s mouth against hers. She had dated only casually since her Cade Cullen Everett had left her life. None of the men had interested her long enough for a second or third date.

But this attraction that flared had her wishing for things that couldn’t be. She almost leaned forward, just a few scant inches, to meet him halfway. To offer her mouth to his, hoping he’d kiss her and find some solace in the contact.

Startled at the thought, Jordan did nothing for several minutes, conscious of the tension that rose until she could almost reach out and touch it.

Finally, he turned with an expletive and headed out to the barn. Slowly she drew in a breath, unaware she’d been holding hers until he left.

She watched as he strode across the dark grass, his back ramrod straight and taut. He’d wanted to kiss her. She was sure of it. And she’d wanted him to.

Hadn’t she learned anything from Cade Cullen Everett of South Beach?

Shivering with the closeness of the contact, she turned and fled into the house, afraid of the sensations that filled her, of the yearning for that one man that filled her. She had no business thinking of anything between them except business—and then only to repay the magnificent gift he was giving her.

“Blame it on the night and the company and the memories,” she tried to tell herself as she got ready for bed. “He’s a man, you’re a woman, it was proximity, or the romantic feel to the night. He wasn’t going to kiss you personally, just any woman to forget the pain he lives with every day. Men don’t feel the same emotional ties as women,” she reminded herself.

When she slipped between the sheets of her bed, she tried to convince herself. But a part of her still craved a kiss from Cade Everett.

“No harm done,” she said. No harm? Maybe not, but for a brief moment she’d felt she was in reach of paradise. It made her sad to know it meant nothing to Cade. And that it wouldn’t happen again.

Cade heard the door shut from the corral. He leaned against the top rail and watched the horses resting for the night. The silence was deafening. What had he been thinking, trying to find relief from the constant ache of Marissa’s passing, of Vicki’s death, by kissing a stranger? He wasn’t into such activities.

He hadn’t been with a woman since Marissa. Had kissed no one since her death. He certainly had no business thinking of Jordan that way.

He rubbed his face with both hands and shook his head in disgust. If her reasons for leaving hadn’t already been strong enough, he’d just made sure she had a few more. She was a guest on the property, deserving of his care and protection. Not have to worry she’d have to fight off his advances.

He slammed the heel of his hand against the post, startling the horses. He couldn’t deny the feelings in his gut—the desire he had for closeness, for a woman’s touch. But it also felt like a betrayal to Marissa. Blast it all, why had Jordan stumbled onto his ranch? And who had been impersonating him five years ago?

Getting no answers, he turned and headed for the office. He’d get some work done, try to forget the way his life was going by reviewing every bit of information he had on the Hollister situation. And just maybe tomorrow he’d head for Los Angeles and take care of things himself.

He certainly couldn’t make a bigger mess of that situation than he had with Jordan Carhart and her son.

By the time dawn broke on the horizon, Cade had consumed three pots of coffee, found a glitch they’d overlooked on the Hollister deal, and was dog tired. He left a batch of papers for Jordan to scan and send.

Before showering for the day, he’d take a ride to clear his head. And decide just how much he was willing to unbend to keep his temporary assistant and her son on the ranch. Maybe it’d be best for them to find accommodations in town.

But he knew he couldn’t have her that far away.

Saddling his favorite horse, Cade rode away from the main barn. As he passed the house, he glanced at the room Jordan slept in. For a moment, he could swear he could feel her slim body against his. Would she be soft and sweet, her womanly curves fitted against his own harder body? He spurred the horse, trying to quell the image that wouldn’t go away.

When Jordan entered the kitchen sometime later, she was surprised to see Caleb already dressed and eating breakfast.

“I didn’t hear you get up,” she said, leaning over to give him a kiss on his cheek as he shoveled cereal into his mouth.

“Hi Mommy. I was hungry.”

“I can prepare your breakfast, Miss Carhart,” Rosita said, turning from the stove. “What would you like?”

“Could I just eat here? With Caleb?” Jordan asked.

She wasn’t sure of the protocol, but breakfast would be very comfortable in the sun-filled room and she wanted to spend time with her son, rather than in isolation in the dining room.

“Certainly. What would you like this morning? I have eggs ready to go, sausages warming, biscuits, and grits.”

“All the above,” Jordan said, slipping into the seat next to Caleb.

She was starving—must be from not eating much over the last few days.

“Maybe you can help me, Rosita. I need to find an inexpensive place to stay in Tumbleweed while we’re here. But I don’t want a lease. We’ll only be here long enough for Caleb to have his operation and until Penny returns.”

Rosita frowned.

“I thought you were staying here in the house. Miss Amelia told me so yesterday.”

“I think it best if we stay in town.”

Rosita raised her eyebrow in question.

“It is not extra work for me,” she said slowly. “This is a big house. It’s nice to have more rooms in use, more people to look after. Sometimes I have little to do.”

Jordan looked at Caleb, then back at Rosita.

“I think it’s not as nice for Cade. We’re invading his privacy, forcing him into situations he’d rather avoid.”

“Ah.” The older woman nodded gravely. “Perhaps because of the child, but time moves on. Maybe you and the boy are what Se?or Everett needs to help him move on, as well.”

“He’s already doing so much for us. I hate to make things awkward,” Jordan said.

“I’ll give you the address for my friend Samantha Billing. She works in the real estate office in town. If there are any short-term rentals, she’ll know of them. But you must check with Se?or Everett first.”

“Thank you. I’m sure he’ll have no problem with you giving me your friend’s contact information.”

Glad to have that settled, Jordan ate quickly, asking Caleb how he got himself dressed.

“Aunt Amelia said a big boy like me could probably do it all by myself, and I did when you were sick. Now I can do it every day,” he said proudly.

So that was who took care of him while she’d been out of it. She’d wondered if it had been Amelia or Rosita. Both women seem happy to have Caleb around. She only hoped they were up to his endless energy.

Bracing herself when she entered the office a little later, Jordan was momentarily disappointed to find Cade hadn’t arrived. Or had he? There was a pile of papers on her desk, with cryptic notes attached to two stacks, and a separate note for her. With her work outlined, she had plenty to do.

Jordan felt a warmth invade her heart when she saw the first item on the note to her was he would be back by the time she needed to leave for the doctor’s appointment he’d arranged.

He hadn’t forgotten, but she had. No looking for an apartment today.

It took more than ten minutes for her to figure out how to use the printer to scan the pages he had put out for her. Jordan kept trying different buttons and sequences until the paper she’d stacked in the bin began feeding through.

In the meantime, the phone rang several times. Buoyed up by her success yesterday, she soon felt confident in not disconnecting people, and in getting the messages down as clearly as she could.

Cade strode into the room as the last page of the second stack was feeding through the scanner. For a moment, Jordan felt a flare of panic. Should she say something about last night or ignore it? After all, nothing had really happened. It only felt like her life had been on the edge of a precipice and she wasn’t sure if she had fallen or not.

“Good morning,” he said.

“Good morning.”

Her heart fluttered, and she knew color rose in her cheeks. She’d always hated how that happened. Would she never outgrow that childish reaction? He didn’t seem to notice, however, striding quickly through the outer office into his own.

He left the door open, and Jordan watched him sit behind the desk. He and Penny probably set the office up so they could talk back and forth if needed.

The phone rang again, and she answered.

“It’s for you, a Joel Brady,” she called.

She turned back to the files he’d left on her desk. She’d put them away and see what else he wanted done. He’d mentioned yesterday he was sending dictation tapes into the office in Dallas for his secretary there to transcribe.

When the phone rang again, she picked it up, noticing Cade was still on the first call.

“This is Harry in LA. Tell Cade I’ve heard of being cryptic before, but to send an email with eleven pages of blank paper is over the top. What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Blank? But there was writing on every sheet,” she said, looking at the stack in front of her. “Who is this?”

“Harry in Los Angeles. This isn’t Penny, is it? Where’s Penny?”

“She’s away. I’m filling in.”

And not doing a very good job, Jordan thought guiltily. She looked at the two stacks. One had only five sheets, so she knew instantly which stack she’d have to redo.

“I’m new at this. I thought I scanned each page and saved it to the drive. Each page went through the machine.”

“Nothing came through. Did you have the pages backward in the feeder? Try flipping them over and send again.”

“I’ll resend right away.”

“Fine. Have Cade call me when he’s free.”

Jordan quickly recopied the pages, saving to a new file on the computer. This she attached to the email to the LA employee.

She wanted to do a good job to justify Cade’s helping her with the operation, but she felt foolish not being able to handle a simple thing like scanning a few pages. With such incompetence, would he reconsider her working for him?

She wrote up the message and added the pink note to the growing stack. How did he have time to talk to all these people every day and still get other work done?

She looked up from her work and studied the man. He seemed tired, though he was still immaculately turned out. He glanced up just then and caught her gaze, holding it for a full minute. Jordan’s heart pounded. She felt a fluttery awareness rise just as it had last night.

It was after eleven when Jordan tidied her desk to prepare for leaving. Through Cade’s Dallas office, an appointment had been made with the specialist at two o’clock in downtown Dallas. Jordan wanted plenty of time to locate the doctor’s offices.

Cade hung up the phone and walked out to the outer office, checking his watch.

“We should leave soon. We can grab a bite of lunch on the way.”

“What?”

Was she missing something? Where was Cade going?

“I’m driving you and Caleb into Dallas.”

Jordan was confused.

“I can manage. You have work to do.”

Besides, she almost added, you want nothing to do with my child, or any child, you’ve made that clear.

“I worked last night, caught up on everything important. The phone calls can wait. I’ll drop you off, pick you up when you’re ready to leave. Paul said the exam and tests would take about two hours. I’ll stop by the Dallas office while you are at the doctor’s.”

“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

His driving would mean she didn’t have to chance her old car, didn’t have to figure out where to go in a strange city, didn’t have to worry about parking.

It also meant she could devote her attention to Caleb if he became nervous or upset. She was grateful to Cade for his offer.

Even more grateful when she was settled in the front seat of the luxury sedan he drove. Despite the humid heat, the temperature remained cool thanks to the environmental control. The tinted windows made it easier to watch the unfolding scenery as they sped quickly toward the city. The sun shone in a cloudless sky. It was such a difference from the rainy day she’d arrived. She took advantage to watch the landscape as it flew by.

Caleb had brought one of his books and was buckled into his car seat, happy to look at the pictures.

Jordan knew it’d take a while to reach Dallas. Was she supposed to keep quiet or make small talk? She fidgeted with her purse strap, uncertain how to behave. Normally, she was friendly and found it easy to talk with people, but Cade was different.

“How far from the doctor’s office are your Dallas offices?” she finally asked, the silence too much to bear.

“Only a few blocks. I’ll give you the office phone number. If you finish earlier than expected, call me. I can be there quickly.”

“We could walk to the offices, give us a chance to see something of Dallas.”

“No need. It’s going to be hot, and your son would probably wilt in the heat.”

“His name is Caleb,” she said, wondering if she’d ever heard Cade call him by name.

“Caleb. He’s five?”

“He’ll be five his next birthday, but he’s only four right now.”

“Tall for his age.”

“His father was tall.”

Cade flicked her a quick glance.

“It must be tough, raising a child on your own.”

“It has its rewards,” she murmured.

It had it drawbacks as well, which is why she’d been trying to find Caleb’s father since she’d first found out she was pregnant. All children should have both parents—even if they didn’t live together. But she’d never found the man she’d searched for over the years.

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-three.”

Cade looked startled. “That young?”

“How old did you think I was?”

“Older, though you don’t look it. You were eighteen when you got pregnant?”

“Seventeen, almost eighteen.”

He uttered an expletive. “What was the guy thinking?”

She sighed.

“In retrospect, I suspect he wasn’t thinking at all, just out to have fun. Spring break is wild in South Beach.”

“How did you meet him?”

Jordan wondered why all the questions. Had the quietness of the drive bothered him as well? She doubted it—nothing seemed to bother Cade Everett.

“I was waiting tables for some extra money. I was a senior in high school and wanted a particular dress for the prom. I had to earn the money myself.”

“Parents couldn’t help? Or at least warn you about randy college guys?”

“My parents died when I was eight. I lived with my Aunt Maggie, who warned me, time and time again. But I thought I was in love. I’d never felt like that before. And he was very—attentive, I guess. It wasn’t until he left I realized it had been only a fling on his part.”

“After you knew you were pregnant?”

“I tried to find him. But never could.”

“Until you saw the article.”

“Yes, though I still haven’t found my Cade Cullen Everett. You’re nothing like him. Older for one thing.”

And eons more mature. He had a presence that other men would envy. And probably had women yearning after him like love struck teenagers.

It was a good thing she was immune to his attraction. She wouldn’t be caught fantasizing a second time about romance and happily ever after. Reality was hard, and Jordan had learned that lesson well.

“Did you try private investigators?”

She laughed softly.

“I don’t have that kind of money. I considered giving him up,” she whispered, so her son wouldn’t hear her. “But I just couldn’t. Aunt Maggie wasn’t keen on my keeping the baby, but she ended up being a terrific help. She loved him to bits.”

“Past tense?”

“She died two years ago in a freak accident. A bus jumped the curb, slamming into several people waiting. She and another were killed, three more were badly injured. I miss her a lot.”

What an understatement. Jordan had lost her mainstay when her aunt had died. But she had no choice but to move on. She had her son to care for.

“So it’s just you and Caleb?”

Jordan nodded, pleased he’d said her son’s name easily enough this time.

“So I know what it’s like to lose someone you love,” she added softly. “Life eventually moves on.”

“Two someones it sounds like, your aunt, and Caleb’s father.”

“I guess,” she said.

Cade flicked a glance her way. She was gazing out the window, apparently lost in thought. Thinking about Caleb’s father? How could the man have disappeared without considering the consequences of his actions?

Did she still miss him with the intensity he missed Marissa?

Maybe he and Jordan had something in common. The other man wasn’t in the picture, but he was. He frowned. Not that it meant anything. But he couldn’t help feeling protective toward her.

She had come up against terrific odds, yet seemed content in her life, plunging ahead with the courage he admired. She hadn’t asked for anything from anyone.

Yet she never gave up hope of finding Caleb’s father. Was there anything he could do? Hire those private investigators she couldn’t afford?

As the traffic grew heavier, Cade tried to ignore the spark of protectiveness that rose. He didn’t owe Jordan or her son anything. The best thing would be to step back, distance himself from them and their situation before they grew to depend upon him. He knew that way lay danger.

He hadn’t been able to keep his wife and child safe.

He could help a little, just enough to make things easier—not become involved.

When Cade dropped Jordan and Caleb off at the high-rise building which housed the doctor’s office, he handed her his business card.

“Remember to call if you get out early. Otherwise, I’ll be here at four.”

“Thanks.”

She gripped Caleb’s hand and headed into the building without a backward glance. Cade ignored the urge to follow them, to be with her while she waited for the tests. He had work to do, and nothing to offer his uninvited guests.

At four exactly, Jordan and Caleb walked out onto the hot sidewalk. Her head was spinning.

“There’s Cade.” Caleb said excitedly, pointing to the car parked at the curb part way down the block.

“You should call him Mr. Everett,” she admonished, following his finger and spotting the car.

She clasped his hand as they hurried toward it.

“Aunt Amelia calls him Cade. So do you, I’ve heard you.”

“Unless he asks you to use his first name, it’s more polite for a little boy to use a person’s last name.”

She opened the back door and fastened him in his car seat, then slid into her place in the front. She felt shaky and relished the comfort of the soft seats.

“How did it go?” Cade asked, not yet moving from their spot.

Dazed, Jordan looked at him.

“They can do the procedure on Friday and if it all goes well, he’ll be able to go home on Monday. The bandages will remain for a couple of weeks, though, and he has to keep quiet. No running around.”

She couldn’t believe things were happening so swiftly. She knew it was because of Cade and his influence. Gratitude rose.

“Thank you. I never thought we’d have it done so soon.”

“That’s good, then,” Cade said. Paul had come through. Cade had told him to pull any strings he could to expedite the procedure.

Jordan simply smiled as she nodded, tears filling her eyes.

“It’s terrific. I can’t thank you enough.”

He frowned and started the car, pulling out into traffic before speaking again.

“No thanks needed. You’re the first one who didn’t dash out of the office the minute I complained about something, or yelled about a missing file. At least I have help until Penny returns.”

Jordan nodded, blinking away the tears. To her, it was a wonderful gift. To Cade, it was merely an exchange for someone to help in his office at home.

But couldn’t he have had one woman from the Dallas office drive out every day?