Inseparable
“No trouble. Just let me handle everything. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.”
She handed the phone back to Reese. “That’s nice of her to do that.”
Reese didn’t say whether he thought it was a nice gesture or not. Instead, he said, “Go ahead and sit down. A couple of PBJs with cookies and milk are coming up.”
Kenna smiled as she eagerly plopped down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. At heart she was a simple girl who liked simple things. Though most women preferred gourmet food, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich topped off with cookies and milk hit the spot better than anything. The same was true for Reese. That was one of the first things they’d discovered they had in common.
She watched Reese as he made the sandwiches and thought the same thing now that she did whenever she saw him, no matter what he was wearing. He was more good-looking than any man had a right to be—gorgeous beyond words, ruggedly handsome and sexy to a fault. Plus he was the most wonderful friend in the world.
When other women saw him, they only looked at what was on the outside. She knew him inside and out. He was hardworking, honest and caring. He had this protective side when it came to her that set her teeth on edge one minute and made her feel like the most adored woman on earth the next.
She studied his hands as they spread peanut butter across the slice of bread. They were large hands—callused, even scarred in some places. She had begun imagining those same hands touching her in places a friend’s hands didn’t dare go. She probably should have hung her head in shame. But right now, she preferred sitting there and watching him through the lustful eyes of a woman who wasn’t his best friend.
He was humming one of Drake’s songs in a deep, velvety voice. He was certainly in a good mood. Had Alyson’s phone call done that to him? She knew she shouldn’t be envious of her if it had. Kenna knew she needed to put her feelings for Reese in check over the next few weeks and stop dreaming about something that wasn’t going to happen, something that could end their friendship if Reese ever found out. She wasn’t going to let her out-of-control libido jeopardize her relationship with the best friend she’d ever had.
She turned away and looked outside the window, instead. He had insisted that she stay here while her town house was being finished. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so quick to jump at his offer. But then, she always stayed with him whenever she came to Houston. But a month was a long time to live under someone’s roof. They’d never been together that long before. Was he up for it? Was she? He liked his space and she liked hers. But for some reason they had no problem sharing with each other.
Moments later, Reese brought the sandwiches to the table along with a plate of chocolate chip cookies and a pitcher of milk. She glanced over at him when he sat down. “You never did say why you and Alyson broke up,” she asked as she poured a glass of milk.
He glanced over at her. “You never asked.”
Point taken.
Had she asked, he would have told her, since there were no secrets between them. The fact that he didn’t know that she was attracted to him didn’t count. “Okay, I’m asking now.”
He poured a glass of milk. “She was becoming too possessive, and after a while she became jealous of you.”
Kenna winced. “Of me?”
“Yeah. She started questioning our friendship. Said she didn’t believe we were just friends.”
Kenna nodded. “But she does now?”
“We’ll see.”
For a moment Kenna couldn’t do anything but stare at her milk. Did that mean Reese was giving Alyson another chance? Was she going to reclaim the spot she’d once held with Reese? He had hung in with Alyson longer than any of his past girlfriends. A part of Kenna knew she should be glad he was on the verge of possibly getting back together with Alyson, but…
“I need to meet with Dex later today at the office. Do you want to come with me?” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
A few years ago Reese had accepted a position with his cousin Dex’s company, Madaris Explorations, and a couple of months ago he had been promoted to foreman. He had been ecstatic, elated and honored. He also knew he had big shoes to fill—those of Trevor Grant, the previous foreman. Trevor and two of his Marine buddies had decided to open a tactical operations firm.
In college, Reese had followed in Dex Madaris’s footsteps and had gotten a degree in geology. And like Dex, he began working with Remington Oil right out of college. He’d traveled extensively when he’d worked for Remington, and had gotten the chance to work alongside some of the world’s most renowned scientists and researchers.
Kenna glanced up and couldn’t help but stare at how his mouth had widened to take a bite of his sandwich. She could just imagine that mouth touching her body in a number of places. She took a sip of her milk, not liking the way her thoughts were going. But how could she make them stop moving in that direction?
“Kenna?”
She glanced up at Reese. “Yes?”
“Do you want to go with me to the office?”
She shrugged. “Sure. I can unpack later. Besides, I need to stop by and see Clayton and Syneda. Now that I’m living in Houston, I want them to handle all my legal affairs, especially the foundation I’ve established in my grandmother’s honor.”
“Okay. I have a couple more things to do around here and then I’ll be leaving around three,” he said.
“I’ll be ready.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked at her with his deep, piercing brown eyes. “Something is bothering you, Kenna, I can feel it. And I want to know what it is.”
Kenna swallowed hard. There was no way she was going to come clean and tell him what was really on her mind. It was her problem and not his. And truthfully, it shouldn’t have been her problem either. He wasn’t a fantasy she should be entertaining. She decided to feign nonchalance. “Nothing is wrong with me, Reese, other than I’m anxious about my job. You know how I am about starting something new.”
She saw his body relax a little. “But that was one hell of an offer the HPD made,” he said.
“I know,” she said with a heavy sigh. “But still, change isn’t easy for me, and other than you and your family I don’t know anyone here.”
He nodded slowly. “That’s why Alyson thinks the party is a good idea. Are you sure you want one?”
She shrugged. To be perfectly honest, she didn’t, but she wouldn’t tell him that. He worried about her enough as it was and she didn’t want to come off as ungrateful. “I don’t want to put anyone out by having them throw a party for me. But if that’s a way to meet people, then yes, I’m fine with it. It might be fun.”
“First of all, you aren’t putting anyone out. I should have thought of doing it myself, but I didn’t. So maybe Alyson has the right idea after all.”
She took a sip of her milk. If for one minute he thought Alyson wanted to throw this party for anything other than her own selfish reasons then he needed to think again. And now that she knew why Alyson and Reese had split, Kenna figured the woman had a good reason for wanting her to meet other people.
Fortunately for Alyson, her little plan just might work. In order for Kenna to rid herself of all these crazy, far-out fantasies she’d been having about Reese, she needed to meet someone, and the sooner the better.
She glanced up at him. “Yes, maybe she does have the right idea.”
Reese bit into his cookie. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that Kenna was having second thoughts about moving to Houston, even though, like he’d said, the offer had been a good one.
He of all people knew how Kenna felt about change. When she’d told him about the offer, he had all but talked her into taking the job, mainly for his own purely selfish reasons. She was his best friend and he wanted to have her close by. Why? So he could look after her, of course. Without him around, she would work fifteen-hour days and not take care of herself. Being only a few miles away and in the same city was a lot better than being a hundred-fifty-plus miles away in another city. He’d never regretted the times he’d made the drive or took a flight to Austin to see her. But still…
“Want some more milk?”
He glanced over at her. “Yes. Thanks.”
He watched as she lifted the pitcher and poured the milk into his glass. “So what about that guy you were seeing, Curtis Purcell?” he asked. “The two of you didn’t want to do the long-distance romance thing?”
He wondered why he was asking her about it when he hadn’t asked about him for months. She hadn’t brought up Purcell either, which had been just fine with Reese, since he didn’t care for him. Come to think of it, he’d stopped liking him the night when he had shown up at Kenna’s house to surprise her, only to discover she was out on a date with Purcell. Reese had let himself in, made himself at home and had been there when Purcell had brought her home.
The man had kissed Kenna good-night when she got out of the car, but hadn’t bothered walking her to the door. How tacky was that? As far as Reese was concerned, a gentleman not walking a woman to the door after a date was downright disrespectful.
She glanced over at him. “No. Why do you ask?”
“Just wondering.” It was on the tip of his tongue to ask why, but he decided he would ask another time. He finally realized that for the first time in eleven years, neither of them was involved with anyone else.
He glanced at his watch as he stood. “I’ve got a few things I need to take care of before we leave for town.”
“All right. I see you’ve got a new guy working for you. I looked out the window and saw him earlier.”
“Yes, his name is Clark Lovell and he started today,” Reese said. “Already I can tell he’s one that keeps to himself. He doesn’t have much to say, but he can handle a horse and can rope a cow and that’s what Joe needs.”
He paused a moment. “And just so you know, Joe is going to ask you about fixing Sunday dinner.”
She smiled. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
He chuckled. “I figured you wouldn’t. You’re such a soft touch when it comes to the ranch hands. I’ll be back to pick you up at three.”
“Okay.”
He headed for the door and then turned back after grabbing his Stetson off the rack. “I know you’re still wondering if you did the right thing moving to Houston, Kenna. If you ask me, I think it was the right decision.”
He walked toward the door, hoping that on that particular subject she believed him.
Chapter 4
“I’m ready, Reese.”
Reese turned around, and Kenna’s knees nearly buckled from the force of his gaze. Why was he looking at her like that, she wondered, as his eyes roamed over her from head to toe. “Is anything wrong, Reese?”
His gaze returned to her face. “No, nothing’s wrong. Is that a new dress?”
“No.”
He inclined his head. “I’ve never seen it before.”
Kenna chuckled as she reached for her purse off the table. “Probably not. You don’t go shopping with me, so you’ve never seen my entire wardrobe. Is something wrong with it?”
“No. It looks nice on you.”
Her heart thumped in her chest at his compliment. “Thanks.”
Her heart kept right on thumping as she followed Reese to his SUV parked out front. She breathed deeply, trying to get a grip. It wasn’t her that had attracted Reese’s attention, but the dress itself. Usually she wore slacks, and that was probably the reason he’d been taken aback by the dress.
He opened the door and she eased inside. When he hesitated, she glanced up at him. “Okay, Reese, what’s wrong now?”
“Nothing.”
Kenna frowned slightly when he closed the door and then walked around the front of the SUV to get inside. He backed up and pulled out of the driveway without saying a word.
“I’ll introduce you to the new guy when we get back,” he said, interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced over at him. He had changed his shirt and was wearing another pair of jeans. As always, he looked good. “Okay,” she said. “I went out to the bunkhouse earlier and got a chance to talk to Joe a little, but he wasn’t there.”
“Who?”
“Your new guy.”
“Oh. I guess he was out tending the herd or something.”
Usually when Reese wasn’t attentive it meant his thoughts were elsewhere. She decided to give him time to sort out whatever was bothering him. There was probably something going on at the ranch that needed his undivided attention.
While he was quiet, she would use the time to think about the phone call she’d gotten from Leon, one of the police officers she’d worked with in Austin. According to him, Curtis Purcell had shown up at the station looking for her. He claimed he had dropped by her house and found it empty and wanted to know if she’d left a forwarding address. She had, but Leon wouldn’t give it to him, not until he checked with her first. She instructed Leon not to give Curtis her new address or her new cell phone number if he returned. How long had it been? Three months? He hadn’t tried contacting her in all that time. Why did he suddenly want to see her now?
“You okay? You keep sighing over there.”
Kenna glanced over at Reese. “Yes, I’m fine. But a friend of mine, a police officer back in Austin, called to let me know someone was looking for me today. He went by my place and saw that I’d moved out.”
Reese’s brow lifted as he glanced over at her. “Who?”
“Curtis.”
Reese trained his eyes on the road ahead, but not before Kenna saw his expression tighten. “What did he want?”
“Not sure” was her response.
“Let me guess. He wants to be the comeback kid.”
Just like Alyson. She bit down on her lower lip. “I’m not sure what he wants, Reese, and I don’t plan to find out. I told Leon not to tell him anything. Besides, if he really wants to find me you’ll be the next person on his list. He knows how close we are and that you’ll know where I am.”
“I would just love for him to contact me about you.”
Kenna frowned slightly, tilted her head and looked over at him. “What did Curtis ever do to you?”
“Nothing. But he treated you like crap.”
“He did not! He didn’t walk me to the door that one time and you were ready to hang him up by his toes for it.”
“Damn right. And you never said why the two of you called it quits,” he continued, bringing the SUV to a stop at a traffic light.
“You never asked,” she said, giving him the same response he’d given her about Alyson earlier that day.
He glanced over at her. “Okay, now I’m asking.”
She looked straight ahead out the windshield for a few moments while nibbling on her bottom lip. She turned back toward Reese. “He pulled a Terrence Fairchild on me.” She hated bringing up the guy who’d been her boyfriend in college. The one she’d assumed she would marry one day.
A deep frown settled on Reese’s face. She knew he was remembering the incident. He had been there for her. “You caught Curtis in bed with another woman.”
She shrugged. “Not exactly.”
His frown deepened. “Then what exactly?”
She paused a second. “I caught him in bed with another man.”
Reese’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tight he felt it might crumble in his hands. When he suddenly hit the brakes to avoid hitting the car in front of them, he pulled off to the side of the road and killed the ignition. At that moment he wished he could kill someone else instead—namely Curtis Purcell.
Furious, he unbuckled his seat belt and twisted around in his seat to face Kenna. “Why in the hell didn’t you tell me? And don’t you dare hand me that crap about me not asking.”
He figured his tone along with the anger etched in his face painted a real good picture of just how mad he was, and that now was not the time to get cutesy on him. He was definitely not in the mood.
She nervously licked her lips and his gaze was automatically drawn to her mouth. Why was his gut clenching and why did he suddenly feel this hard lump in his throat?
“I didn’t want to bother you about it. It was around the time you got your promotion to foreman and I didn’t want to say anything that would rain on your parade, Reese,” she said in a soft voice that pleaded for understanding.
His anger subsided somewhat. “So you went through all that alone?”
She shrugged. “Once the shock wore off, I could have kicked myself for not picking up on it earlier. I ignored all the signs that he was on the down-low. He was a former pro football player, for Christ’s sake. He acted really macho and he had dated lots of women before. I was mad with myself as much as with him for falling for his line. In the end, I asked myself the same question I’d asked myself a number of times before. Why me?”
Reese took in a deep breath. Yes, why her? He could only shake his head as he recalled the men who, over the years, hadn’t appreciated what an incredible woman she was. He would hate to think that more than a few of them had a screw loose, but seeing was believing. He couldn’t understand why any man didn’t appreciate Kenna. She was a good woman—the best. And he wasn’t just saying that because she was his best friend. He knew it was true.
“So you want to give me any dating advice?” she asked.
He snorted. “Dating advice? Hell, I’m not totally together either, when you consider the number of girlfriends I’ve had over the years myself. But then you wear your heart on your sleeve.”
She frowned. “I wasn’t in love with Curtis, nor was I in love with Lamont. I believed I was in love with Terrence during the two years we dated. But the older I got, the more I realized I wasn’t really in love with him. I liked the idea of being in love, if that makes any sense.”
No, it didn’t really, he thought. But he’d talked to enough women in his family to know that they sometimes looked at things differently than men. “What about Lamont? The two of you dated for more than a year. I didn’t ask before, but I’m asking now. Why did the two of you split?”
She did that lip thing again with her tongue and the same as before, seeing her lick her lips did something to him. Crap! What was wrong with him? Granted he hadn’t been with a woman since his breakup with Alyson five months ago, but still, this was Kenna for crying out loud. He’d seen that nervous habit plenty of times over the years, so why was he suddenly lusting over the one woman he shouldn’t have the hots for?
“He was jealous of you. Like Alyson, he didn’t believe the ‘we’re just friends’ line either. The first time he brought it up I gave him the benefit of the doubt, since I’d be the first to admit our relationship is a bit unorthodox. But I warned him that if he accused me again that things were over between us. Unfortunately, he didn’t take me at my word.”
Reese slowly shook his head as he buckled his seat belt again and started the car. He really didn’t know what to say. When he glanced over at Kenna, he immediately knew what she was thinking. He cut off the ignition again.
“Look, Kenna, don’t even think it. We agreed years ago that if we met someone and it got serious, if that person couldn’t deal with our friendship it would be their loss and not ours. Are you having second thoughts about that?”
“No, but a part of me can’t help but sympathize with Alyson. The two of you would still be together if she hadn’t gotten it into her head that I was a threat.”
“Maybe and maybe not. It’s a bad idea for any woman to get it into her head that she can decide who my friends are. And as far as Lamont thinking we had something going on, then he was a fool. I never liked him anyway.”
“Have I ever dated a guy you did like?”
“No.”
He waited to see if she would ask him why and then exhaled slowly when she didn’t. Had she asked, he wouldn’t have been able to give her a reason. He just hadn’t liked them. “So what do you think Purcell wants with you?”
“Who knows? He might want to try to convince me that finding him in bed with another man wasn’t all bad and that we can work things out and get back together.”
Reese snorted. Purcell was really stupid if he actually thought that. He’d heard how some women would accept their man even after finding out they were on the down-low. But he knew for sure that Kenna wasn’t one of them.
“After your meeting with Clayton and Syneda, and mine with Dex, we can stay in town and grab dinner. And if you’re up to it, we can also do a movie. How does that sound?”
“Sounds great,” she said, smiling.
He smiled back at her. “Good.”
Chapter 5
“Mr. Madaris is in court now, but Mrs. Syneda Madaris will see you in a minute,” the receptionist said.
“Thanks.” Kenna sat down in the plush chair and glanced around the office. She had been inside the Madaris Building several times, but this was the first time she had visited the law offices of Madaris, Madaris and Madaris. Since Blade had gotten married, his wife, Samari Di Meglio Madaris, had joined Clayton and Syneda at their law firm. Kenna could just imagine Clayton, the only man, having to deal with his beautiful, opinionated wife, who was a lot to handle, plus his cousin’s gorgeous, exotic-looking wife, Samari, whose hot Italian temper could flare at a moment’s notice. Things could get pretty damn interesting around here.
While she waited, Kenna recalled the conversation she and Reese had shared during the ride over. After asking if she was interested in dinner and a movie, things had got pretty quiet between them. They talked about attending Morehouse’s homecoming in a few months, and about how Luke’s rodeo school, which was scheduled to open in two weeks, was doing. Reese hadn’t invited her to go with him, and she couldn’t help wondering if he intended to invite Alyson.
Kenna had received an invitation to Luke’s rodeo opening before leaving Austin, so if Reese made plans to take a date then she would do the same. There was no way she would be a third wheel with him and Alyson. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to make sure that happened. Having a date was one way to ensure that Reese wouldn’t feel obligated to include her in his plans.
“Mrs. Madaris will see you now.”
Kenna smiled at the receptionist. “Thanks.”
Kenna thought the same thing now that she had the first time she laid eyes on Syneda Madaris. The woman was simply gorgeous. And from what Kenna had heard, in the courtroom she was equally impressive.
Long, golden-bronze hair flowed down her shoulders, and her sea-green eyes always seemed to sparkle with excitement. Her pregnancy was more obvious now than it had been a month ago, and she had a radiant glow about her. Reese had mentioned that Syneda and Clayton had announced that they were having a boy. Everyone was happy, especially the couple’s eight-year-old daughter, Remington, who had been begging for a baby brother or sister, preferably a brother.
“Kenna, it’s so good seeing you,” Syneda said as she hugged her.
“Thanks. Same here.”
That was one of the things she enjoyed most about Reese’s family. They were good people, down to earth and as friendly as could be. “Reese had a meeting with Dex, so I thought I’d tag along and use the time to meet with you and Clayton. I understand he’s in court.”
“Yes, his court docket was changed, but I’ll be glad to help you with anything.”
“It’s about the foundation I established a few years ago in my grandmother’s memory. I would like your firm to take over handling it for me.”
Syneda smiled. “It will be our pleasure. We handle a number of foundations and trusts already, including the one Trask has set up and the one Uncle Jake and Diamond established as well.”
“Wonderful.”
“It will only take a few minutes to complete the paperwork and then a couple of weeks to get everything notarized. We’ll call you back to sign the necessary documents at that time.”
“That sounds like a plan,” Kenna said excitedly.