Free Texas Heat by Bárbara McCauley Page B

wondered. Couldn’t he see she was trying to be civil? Not that Jake would recognize “civil” if it bit him on the nose. Ignoring him, she turned back to his stepmother.
    Myrna went on. “Why don’t you and your niece come out to my place for lunch next week? I can have my cook put something special together for us.”
    Jake took a step forward. “I hardly think that’s a good—”
    â€œWe’d love to.” Savannah cut Jake off. She probably would have turned the woman down if he hadn’t interfered.
    â€œWonderful.” Smiling, Myrna rose and picked up her navy blue designer clutch purse. “William can pick you up early so we’ll have time for a nice long chat.”
    Savannah offered a weak smile, already regretting her impulsive acceptance. “I’m sure that would be lovely.”
    Myrna walked by Jake. “Daddy always taught me not to let my sentiments get in the way of good business, Jake. Think about what we discussed.”
    He nodded stiffly, but did not answer her. After the woman let herself out, Jake turned to Savannah. Frustration etched lines around his eyes. “Why in the hell did you agree to have lunch with her?”
    Savannah lifted her chin and leveled her gaze to his. “Let’s just say it’s my day to make mistakes.”
    Her verbal jab hit him square on the chin. His scowl deepened. “Myrna uses people to get what she wants, Savannah. That includes you and even Emma.”
    Was he any different? she wondered. “What could the woman possibly want from me or Emma? She knows nothing about us.”
    His expression hardened, but he said nothing, just turned his back to her and stared out the window.
    â€œThere is something, isn’t there?” she asked, almost afraid to know. She took a step toward him, but knowing that she’d miscalculated the magnitude of her reaction to him before, she kept her distance. Still, she was close enough to smell the musky scent of his after-shave, and an involuntary shiver prickled her skin. “Jake, I think it’s time you told me.”
    He turned to face her. “She wants land.”
    Savannah furrowed her brow. “What land? I don’t have—” She stopped suddenly, remembering something that had made no sense to her before. “That first day we met you accused me of wanting land. I thought maybe you meant your ranch, but that isn’t what you meant at all, is it?”
    He shook his head. “When J.T. died, he divided Stone Creek in his will. Myrna got Stone Manor, but no land. The ranch went to me, an oil well to Jared, and a ghost town to Jessica.”
    Oil well? Ghost town? Savannah’s eyes widened.
    â€œThere’s another parcel,” he went on. “It adjoins the ranch and backs up to Myrna’s house. J.T. left that to Emma.”
    To Emma? J.T. left property to Emma? “But, how—” her voice faltered “—I mean, why would he do that?”
    â€œEmma is J.T.’s daughter, but he was never able to be a father to her. The land was all he could give her.”
    She shook her head in bewilderment. “But he’d never even seen her. How could he know for sure that Emma was his?”
    â€œHe knew,” Jake said with certainty. “He never would have left her the land if he didn’t.”
    Savannah still couldn’t believe it. Emma owned part of Stone Creek. “Exactly how much land are we talking about?”
    â€œTen thousand acres.”
    â€œTen thousand acres!” She couldn’t even comprehend that much land. Then the realization hit her. He’d known all along. But he’d said nothing, not one word. “When were you going to tell me this?”
    Jake saw the distrust in Savannah’s eyes as she stared at him. Damn Myrna. His stepmother had known exactly what she was doing when she came out here. “I’d planned on taking you and Emma out there