Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger

BOOK: Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger

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Page 7

Playing for Keeps & A Tempting Stranger

Lori Copeland

Page 8

A LEISURE BOOK
^®

January 1993

Published by

Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.
276 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10001

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as ''unsold and destroyed" to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this "stripped book."

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law.

The name "Leisure Books" and the stylized "L" with design are trademarks of Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc.

Printed in the United States of America.

Page 9

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

Page 11

Chapter One

The sound of a lone rooster loudly crowing its good morning to the world filtered slowly into the bedroom of the old two-story armhouse as Jessica Cole nestled between the light sheets on the bed that had been hers through all her childhood years. She drowsily opened her eyes to see the faint streaks of dawn breaking gently over the horizon. Her eyes moved languidly around the old familiar room, stopping to rest lovingly on the small photograph sitting on her dressing table. The clear images of Uncle Fred, Aunt Rainey, and herself as a child laughed happily back at her. Tears filled Jessica's eyes as she allowed herself to think about why she had been summoned home once again.

Page 12

It was still hard for Jessica to realize that Aunt Rainey had followed Uncle Fred so swiftly in death. Just six months ago Jessica had come home to help Aunt Rainey bury Uncle Fred under that same old spreading oak where they had laid Aunt Rainey to rest just two short days ago. Jessica sighed softly as she turned on her side, the faint light in the room growing ever brighter.

Uncle Fred and Aunt Rainey had been well loved in this small Texas town. Of that Jessica had been assured the morning of Aunt Rainey's funeral. Jessica had sat at the small grave site, her eyes roaming slowly over the old familiar faces that had been so much a part of Jessica's life ever since Uncle Fred and Aunt Rainey had taken her into their home as the child they were never able to have, following the death of her own parents in an automobile accident when she was only four years old.

She could still hear Aunt Rainey's weak voice, two days before her death, saying to her, ''You were ours as surely as if I had given birth to you myself. Fred and I were never blessed with the children we always wanted," she whispered in a tired voice. "Not that the Lord hasn't been real good to us," she hastened to add. Her eyes took on a soft misty look as she continued. "We had each other, and I've thanked the good Lord every day for that, but there's just something special about a child in a man's life. It just kinda completes things. So when God seen fit to send you to us, well . . . You've been a good girl, Jessie, and we loved you," she finished.

"Oh, Aunt Rainey," Jessica murmured. "I loved both of you so much!" A tear slid silently down her cheek as the old rooster crowed once again. Was it only a few days ago that they had talked and held each other's hands, trying to give some small measure of comfort to each other?

Jessica shifted restlessly as she recalled the group of mourners, her mind unwillingly focusing on the tall man

Page 13

who had stood just to the left of the old tree, his hat in his hand, his head bowed. The sun glistened brightly on his thick golden-brown hair, causing Jessica to catch her breath momentarily. He was just a little over six feet tall, his tanned skin gleaming a dark bronze against the pale green of his western-cut suit. His shoulders were straight and broad. His massive chest tapered down to a lean waist and slim hips, where his perfectly tailored trousers were molded to his muscular legs and thighs.
There should be a law against anyone looking that good,
Jessica thought resentfully. Why was it her rotten luck to see him, on top of all the other painful old memories? Her eyes traveled slowly back up his perfectly proportioned body, and she blushed deeply as his brilliant jade-green eyes locked with her soft violet ones. She lowered her eyes quickly back to the grave.

Her attention snapped back to the comforting voice of the minister. As she heard his voice saying the amen she lifted her head once again and encountered the unwavering gaze of Jason Rawlings. The moment passed fleetingly as the mourners began moving away from the grave. Several stopped by the chair Jessica was sitting in to offer soft condolences, a gentle pat on the arm, words of sympathy. Pastor Franklin stepped to her side, taking her arm as they started slowly toward the long black limousine waiting at the side of the road. Her good-byes had been said the night before at the funeral home. Now it was simply a matter of getting to the car and driving away. Somehow it didn't seem to be enough. Her misty eyes rested on the light-gray casket one final time as the long black car pulled out of the cemetery onto the dusty road.

Now, in her bedroom, she closed her eyes for a moment, letting her thoughts drift lazily back to Jason Rawlings. Of course, he would have been there in spite of that one mad, crazy night eight years ago. He hadn't been at Uncle Fred's funeral because he had been out of town on busi-

Page 14

ness. Jason had been like a son to Fred and Rainey. Their property had adjoined his parents', and they had been good neighbors for many years.

Jessica smiled ironically as she pushed the covers back and got out of bed. Heading for the shower, she thought back to all the years she had had a crush on Jason. She had tagged after him, constantly under his feet, when she was growing up. All through high school her heart had leaped in her throat every time he had ridden over to do business with Uncle Fred or just to pay a visit to Aunt Rainey's kitchen, where there always seemed to be his favorite pie or cake.

There were three Rawlings boys, although you couldn't have proven it by Jessica. Her eyes never went beyond Jason. Being the eldest, he always seemed so much more mature, even though he teased her just as badly as Eric and Randall did.

As she stepped into the shower the clear, refreshing water cooled her burning skin. She remembered how as she developed into a lovely young woman Jason had continued to look on her as an annoying child until that one hot summer night when he had stopped by to ask Uncle Fred's opinion of a piece of new machinery he wanted to buy.

At seventeen Jessica had turned into a real beauty, able to hold her own with any rival. She had always been a thin child, but almost unnoticeably her young body had been taking on the softly feminine curves of womanhood. Her slim yet shapely body was a golden brown that summer from all the hours she had spent swimming in the local swimming hole.

Now she smiled with satisfaction as she soaped her body in gentle strokes. She smugly recalled how her high, firm breasts, tiny waist, and shapely sun-darkened legs had turned most of the local boys' heads. Her thick, lustrous raven hair was usually worn loose, which made her eyes, an unusual shade of violet framed by spiky, long lashes,

Page 15

appear larger than they really were. People who knew Jessica could safely judge her moods by the color of those eyesa soft, seductive violet most of the time, turning to an angry, churning dark purple when she was upset. The inability to fully control her temper was really the only flaw in Jessica's otherwise sunny nature. She couldn't help itit just got the best of her sometimes.

She turned in the shower to rinse off and thought back to that particular evening, when she had had a date with Jim Weston, one of the local boys. She had just stepped out of the house while waiting for him to pick her up when she saw Jason ride up on his horse and stop in the barnyard. Her heart jumped into her throat as the tall, lean figure dismounted agilely from his brown and white Appaloosa and shook hands with Uncle Fred. Jessica's eyes lingered on his form, involuntarily drinking in the sight of his handsome face as he talked quietly with her uncle. He glanced up momentarily, catching Jessica's hungry gaze. She blushed hotly as he bestowed one of those cute, sexy winks on her before going on with his conversation. Jessica was embarrassed that he had caught her so openly drooling over him. She slipped inside the small shed where Uncle Fred kept a small calf that had taken ill shortly after birth. Jessica had been giving it special care for the last few weeks, and the calf had shown rapid improvement. Kneeling down to pat the silky head, Jessica talked softly to the animal, marveling at the large brown eyes staring up so innocently into her own compassionate ones.

Shaking her head violently under the water, as if she could rid herself of the memory, Jessica leaned over to turn off the taps. She grabbed a towel and briskly dried herself, then hurried into her bedroom and put on the robe that she had left draped across the foot of the bed.

As Jessica came out of the bedroom she was met by Aunt Rainey's old tabby cat. Rubbing against her leg, Tabby turned sorrowful eyes up to Jessica.

''Poor baby," Jessica said comfortingly, reaching down

BOOK: Playing for Keeps/A Tempting Stranger

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