Deep in a Texan's Heart Read online

  USA TODAY bestselling author Sara Orwig returns to the Texas Cattleman’s Club, where cowboys know best…

  As a card-carrying member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, Sam Gordon is conservative to the core. Discovering Lila Hacket—the woman he’d shared a passionate night with—is carrying his baby? Heck yeah, he means to marry her! Never mind that marriage is not what she wants.

  With a budding career, Lila has no intention of changing her life to become Sam’s idea of the perfect wife. So if he wants their baby to wear the Gordon name, he needs to change his ideas about what he really needs from Lila…and just what he’s willing to give her in return.

  Sam Felt As If All The Breath Had Been Knocked Out Of Him.

  He counted back and realized it was a full three months since their night together.

  Lila was going to have a baby. That would explain her contradictory actions, one minute flirting and the next throwing an invisible wall between them and refusing to go out with him.

  Had she come to Texas and expected to avoid telling him? Anger stirred that she would hide the truth. Maybe she was going to wait until she was back in California to let him know.

  She had to realize she couldn’t hide it forever.

  A baby. Their baby. He would marry her.

  * * *

  Deep in a Texan’s Heart is part of the series

  Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul—

  Love and scandal meet in Royal, Texas

  Dear Reader,

  I’m sure you’ve noticed our exciting new look! Harlequin Desire novels will now feature a brand-new cover design, one that perfectly captures the dramatic and sensual stories you love.

  Nothing else about the Harlequin Desire books has changed. Inside our pages, you’ll still find wealthy alpha heroes caught in unforgettable stories of scandal, secrets and seduction.

  Don’t miss any of this month’s sizzling reads.…

  CANYON by Brenda Jackson

  (The Westmorelands)

  DEEP IN A TEXAN’S HEART by Sara Orwig

  (Texas Cattleman’s Club)

  THE BABY DEAL by Kat Cantrell

  (Billionaires & Babies)

  WRONG MAN, RIGHT KISS by Red Garnier

  HIS INSTANT HEIR by Katherine Garbera

  (Baby Business)

  HIS BY DESIGN by Dani Wade

  I hope you’re as pleased with our new look as we are. Drop by www.Harlequin.com or use the hash tag #harlequindesire on Twitter to let us know what you think.

  Stacy Boyd

  Senior Editor

  Harlequin Desire

  Sara Orwig

  Deep in a Texan’s Heart

  Books by Sara Orwig

  Harlequin Desire

  **Texas-Sized Temptation #2086

  **A Lone Star Love Affair #2098

  **Wild Western Nights #2110

  §Relentless Pursuit #2159

  §The Reluctant Heiress #2176

  §Midnight Under the Mistletoe #2195

  The Texan’s Contract Marriage #2229

  Deep in a Texan’s Heart #2246

  Silhouette Desire

  Falcon’s Lair #938

  The Bride’s Choice #1019

  A Baby for Mommy #1060

  Babes in Arms #1094

  Her Torrid Temporary Marriage #1125

  The Consummate Cowboy #1164

  The Cowboy’s Seductive Proposal #1192

  World’s Most Eligible Texan #1346

  Cowboy’s Secret Child #1368

  The Playboy Meets His Match #1438

  Cowboy’s Special Woman #1449

  ^Do You Take This Enemy? #1476

  ^The Rancher, the Baby & the Nanny #1486

  Entangled with a Texan #1547

  *Shut Up and Kiss Me #1581

  *Standing Outside the Fire #1594

  Estate Affair #1657

  ΩPregnant with the First Heir #1752

  ΩRevenge of the Second Son #1757

  ΩScandals from the Third Bride #1762

  Seduced by the Wealthy Playboy #1813

  ΔPregnant at the Wedding #1864

  ΔSeduced by the Enemy #1875

  ΔWed to the Texan #1887

  **Dakota Daddy #1936

  **Montana Mistress #1941

  **Wyoming Wedding #1947

  Tempting the Texas Tycoon #1989

  Marrying the Lone Star Maverick #1997

  **Texas Tycoon’s Christmas Fiancée #2049

  ^Stallion Pass

  *Stallion Pass: Texas Knights

  ΩThe Wealthy Ransomes

  ΔPlatinum Grooms

  **Stetsons & CEOs

  §Lone Star Legacy

  Other titles by this author available in ebook format.

  SARA ORWIG

  lives in Oklahoma. She has a patient husband who will take her on research trips anywhere, from big cities to old forts. She is an avid collector of Western history books. With a master’s degree in English, Sara has written historical romance, mainstream fiction and contemporary romance. Books are beloved treasures that take Sara to magical worlds, and she loves both reading and writing them.

  Dear Reader,

  Once again we return to Royal, Texas, a town of larger-than-life Texas millionaires and beautiful women, of mystery and love affairs.

  This story involves two vastly different people who are unable to resist the fiery attraction between them. Gorgeous auburn-haired Lila Hacket intends to escape life in Royal, the life her mother has had, and pursue an exciting career as a set designer in Los Angeles, far from Royal in every way. Handsome millionaire builder Sam Gordon has other plans for Lila.

  It is a clash of two strong-willed people against a backdrop of the exclusive Texas Cattleman’s Club and the passions and lives of its members. One member has gone missing and new evidence complicates his disappearance, setting people’s nerves on edge.

  Please open the pages and visit Royal again, meet the new characters, and follow the excitement and changes in their lives.

  Sara Orwig

  Thanks to Charles Griemsman, Stacy Boyd and Allison Carroll.

  Thank you to a special group of writers: Maureen Child, Kathie DeNosky, Tessa Radley, Yvonne Lindsay, Jules Bennett, Janice Maynard, Sarah Anderson and Charlene Sands.

  Thanks to readers for their support, enthusiasm and friendship.

  * * *

  Special thanks and acknowledgment to Sara Orwig for her contribution to Texas Cattleman’s Club: The Missing Mogul miniseries.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Excerpt

  One

  When Sam Gordon idly glanced over the crowd at the annual Hacket barbecue, a head of straight auburn hair caught his attention. It could be only one person. Lila Hacket’s silky hair was a unique color, a deep auburn shot through with red strands as natural as the rest of Lila. She was back in town and his pulse jumped over the prospect. Had she come home for the barbecue? Memories of Lila heated Sam’s insides while the horse conversation faded, replaced by memories of holding Lila’s warm, naked body against his.

  The ranchers around him laughed over something Beau Hacket said, so Sam smiled, trying to pick up again on the conversation. B
eau proudly pointed out his latest acquisition, a three-year-old sorrel, to the Texas Cattleman’s Club members gathered beside the corral.

  Standing with her back to him, Lila chatted with another group of guests. She was taller than several women around her. She wore a turquoise sundress that had narrow straps and a top that came down over her hips, hiding her tiny waist. Her feet were in high-heeled sandals and she looked luscious. Certain he would talk to her before the evening was over, Sam attempted once more to focus on those around him. Local cattle rancher Dave Firestone and gray-haired energy magnate Paul Windsor quizzed Josh, Sam’s twin, on horses. Josh loved horses, one more thing Sam didn’t share with his twin.

  “Beau, did you get that horse around here?” Chance McDaniel asked.

  “No. I drove to a sale in Cody, Wyoming. But that isn’t the kind of horse you need on your dude ranch.”

  “My place is a working ranch, too, and I’d like to have another cutting horse,” Chance replied, his green-eyed gaze roaming over the horses.

  “Chance, you need some horses like the little mare I have for Cade. Something gentle even a four-year-old can ride,” Gil Addison, another local rancher, added.

  Sam was not involved with horses but most of the men in his circle were horsemen one way or another, from Ryan Grant, now retired from the rodeo circuit, to rancher Dave Firestone. All belonged to Royal’s elite Texas Cattleman’s Club and Sam saw them often enough that he didn’t mind breaking away from the group.

  “Y’all excuse me,” Sam said. “I’ll be back.” He strolled away in an easy stride that belied the anticipation bubbling in him. When Lila had not returned his call the morning after their one-nighter, he had let it go. There were other women in his life. That had been three months ago—three months in which he couldn’t shake her out of his thoughts.

  Why was she back in town? Laughing, she moved away from the people standing around her. Determined not to lose her, Sam walked a little faster through the crowd.

  It took only another minute to catch up. “Lila, welcome back.”

  When she turned, there was an almost imperceptible flicker in the depth of her crystal-green eyes. “Sam,” she said. In spite of her smile, there was no warmth in her voice. “I hope you’re enjoying the party,” she said, sounding as if they were polite strangers and had never shared a night together. This was not a reaction he usually had with women.

  “This is a great party, as usual. Better now that you’re here. Did you come home for the barbecue?”

  “No, as a matter of fact. I’m in town to set up for a movie that’ll be filming on ranches here at the end of the month,” she said. “It’s nice to see you again. Enjoy yourself at the party.” She turned slightly to greet her longtime friend Shannon Fentress, still thinking of her as Shannon Morrison, instead of Mrs. Rory Fentress since her recent marriage.

  “Hi, Shannon. Just welcoming Lila back to town,” he said.

  “It’s the first of August, just in time for her family’s big annual party—who would miss this? I think all of Royal is here,” Shannon said. “Lila, that barbecue is the most tempting smell ever. Too bad they can’t bottle and sell it like perfume.”

  Lila laughed. “C’mon. We have a new chef. You can meet him. ’Course, my dad is going to supervise. Excuse us, Sam,” she said sweetly, motioning to Shannon to follow her.

  Sam watched them walk away, his gaze raking over Lila’s back. Her cool reception had been a first for him. He didn’t get that reaction from women. He frowned as he watched the slight flare of her hips, the sexy swing to her walk. As he studied her, he wanted to go out with her.

  He shook his head and turned to go get a cold beer. Lila didn’t take after her dad. She didn’t even seem much like her mother, who was friendly, always happy to stay in her husband’s shadow, to be the wife in the background. In her own quiet way, Barbara Hacket kept Beau happy, entertained constantly and had charity projects without ever showing the streak of independence Lila did—that need to get away from Royal, to have a fancy job. Lila and her brother, Hack, were light-years apart.

  As if his thinking about Hack had conjured him, Sam greeted her brother as he approached. “Great party, as always, Hack.”

  “Dad knows how to have a barbecue. Saw you talking to my snooty sister,” Hack said.

  “Snooty is okay. At least your sister’s kind of snooty is. It may not run deep,” Sam replied, still watching Lila as she disappeared into the house with Shannon.

  “Like a challenge, huh?” Hack said, rocking on his heels and hooking his thumbs over his hand-tooled belt. “Guess you’re right. Chicks are easy. Sometimes it’s sweeter when there’s a challenge because most chicks are so eager they’re boring.”

  Lost in thought about Lila, Sam barely heard Hack.

  “My hotshot sister is home from L.A., where she thinks she’s setting the world on fire with her highfalutin movie job,” Hack continued. “She’s living alone out there—or so she says—probably because no one will live with Miss Snooty. It gives me more money from the old man. My sister can just stay in California. It’s a good place for her. Royal, on the other hand, does have the hot chicks. Think so, Sam?”

  “There are fine people in Royal, Texas,” Sam said, his thoughts still only partially on Hack.

  “Speakin’ of hot chicks, I see Anna June Wilson. If you’ll excuse me,” Hack said, walking away.

  Sam took a deep breath, glad Hack had moved on. At seventeen, the kid was spoiled rotten by Beau. Sam had seen Hack around his dad. The kid was smart enough to keep on Beau’s good side most of the time. The rest of the time, Beau bailed him out of trouble.

  Sam raked his fingers through his hair and strode to the outdoor bar on the large patio. After Lila had returned to California, he’d called her. When she hadn’t taken his calls, he had stopped phoning. Was she cool because he hadn’t continued to pursue her? He should forget Lila Hacket. Trouble was, he hadn’t been able to forget Lila.

  “Dammit,” he said under his breath.

  “Sam Gordon, what are you doing standing by yourself?”

  “Just looking for you, darlin’,” he said, smiling at Sally Dee Caine, the perfect antidote for Lila. Known by every male in Maverick County, Sally Dee was fun and Sam enjoyed her in small doses. He took in her bright pink, low-cut, clinging jersey blouse and tight faded jeans. “You look good enough, Sally Dee, to make me forget about the enticing barbecue that’s cooking. I might find what I want right here,” he said, nuzzling her neck. Giggling, she wrapped her arm in his.

  “Sam, you’re usually a partying fool. C’mon, the fiddler’s wound up and there’s a barn filled with two-steppers dancing the time away.”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, grinning as he draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close against his side. While she slipped her arm around his waist, they headed toward the Hackets’ big brown barn.

  * * *

  “Sorry if I interrupted you if you wanted to stay and talk to Sam,” Shannon said as she walked beside Lila.

  “No, you rescued me. I know you don’t care to meet the barbecue cook. Let’s head for the dining room. We can get some of Agnes’s artichoke dip.”

  “Your parents’ cook is the best in Maverick County.”

  “She’s good, but we have a lot of good cooks around here. Also, I saw her carrying a tray of gorgeous fruit into the dining room.”

  “Yum. I won’t argue that one. It’s great to have you home. As usual, your family’s barbecue is fabulous. Each year, this barbecue seems to be bigger than the year before.”

  “I think it is bigger. Nearly all the Texas Cattleman’s Club members are here. There’s an undercurrent this year, though. I hear people talking about Alex Santiago’s disappearance. That mystery has some on edge.”

  “No one knows what happened to him and they’re
keeping publicity about it to a minimum, I think. Or maybe they just really don’t know anything. It’s odd and it’s scary. No one, much less a member of the Texas Cattleman’s Club, just disappears.”

  “Alex Santiago did.”

  Shannon shivered. “I hope they find him soon. I understand that he’s a wealthy investor—who knows what he’s involved in? What about you? You said you’re on vacation for two weeks?”

  “Yes. I have to be here in two weeks anyway because the studio will be shooting a picture in the area. I took two weeks off beforehand. I’m working a little, trying to select locations, but I’m taking some private time for myself.”

  “Your work sounds like a dream job.”

  “Sometimes it is. It can get hectic, but I’m learning and I like what I do.”

  “You have two weeks’ vacation.” Shannon’s blue eyes focused on Lila. “Why don’t you think about squeezing a little time to help plan the new child center at the Texas Cattleman’s Club? We could use your professional opinion. The construction company is renovating the place, but they want the women’s input about the decor and what we’d like to have for the children.”

  Lila laughed. “My dad would explode. You can’t imagine—well, yes, you can imagine—how he feels about a child center. It almost did him in when women were voted into the club, Shannon,” Lila said with a big grin.

  Shannon laughed. “I love being a member of the club. I still can’t get used to women, including me, belonging to the exclusive male bastion, the sacrosanct male domain for over one hundred years, the exclusive Texas Cattleman’s Club.” She laughed again with Lila. “I better not speak loudly—all the members are here tonight.

  “I know it irritates your dad and some of the others,” Shannon continued. “Your dad and a lot of the older members, but some young ones, too. The Gordon twins. Your brother has made snippy remarks.”

  “I told you years ago to tune Hack out. Dad spoils him until it’s pitiful. I’m afraid Hack is going to turn out as narrow-minded as Dad. If you weren’t such a good friend, I think Hack would make worse remarks to you. He can get really crude.”