TEXAS FIRE
by Gerry Bartlett
Pub. Date: 5/2/2017
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Her father’s dream. Her crossroads. And a man
who sees just her . . .
Megan Calhoun doesn’t stick with anything
long. She’s the daughter of a billionaire—why pretend to be
somebody else? Until she finds out her father’s will says she has
to. She has to last a year in the oil patch, in the dust and heat of
West Texas, working for her daddy’s company. Otherwise she’s cut
off without a cent—and no way to earn one.
The only upside is her new pal Rowdy Baker,
ex-football star, Calhoun engineer, and grade-A stud. If she has to
live in a trailer, his doesn’t sound so bad. Rowdy knows the
roughnecks running the rigs won’t take kindly to a smartass blonde
rookie whose last name matches their paychecks. He can’t control
his attraction to her. And with everyone from the foremen to the
stockholders spitting mad at the Calhouns, he expects trouble ahead.
But Megan has never been scared in her life.
And with Rowdy to help her plot, she has the chance of a lifetime: to
find her calling, to fix her company, and, if she doesn’t screw it
up—to capture a heart. . .
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Megan Calhoun paid the driver, stepped out of
the car, and rolled her suitcase over the gravel parking lot. Her hand slipped
on the handle when she hit a pothole. Sweaty palms. Then her stomach rumbled.
No, she refused to be nervous. She put on her “I don’t give a damn” face, and
stared down a man slouched next to a pickup truck who made a comment about her
butt in snug jeans. She kept going toward the building that housed the offices
of CWC Industries.
This was all her daddy’s fault. Conrad
Calhoun’s will spelled out the terms: she had to work in the oil fields for a
year if she wanted her inheritance. It had been her own bright idea to pick the
man who’d be stuck with her for the next twelve months. She’d already scanned
the parking lot filled with dusty pickup trucks. No sign of him. If he was as
thrilled as she was about what was coming, he was probably hiding out.
Who could blame him? Except for one summer
when she’d humored her father and gone along for the ride, she had no clue what
went on in the oil fields. All she really knew was that those dirty, noisy
places had always paid for her cushy lifestyle.
Megan stopped in front of the office. It
wasn’t much, just a lowslung building that had seen better days. Not like the
high-rise where the Calhoun Petroleum Headquarters reigned supreme. This
subsidiary of Calhoun obviously didn’t rate funding for frills. She wrestled
her suitcase up the steps, then pushed open the glass door and cold air hit her
face. It was hot outside, typical for Texas in early September. At least
air-conditioning was in the budget here.
The man at the counter had those wide
shoulders she recognized. Former football player. “Rowdy, I was looking for you
outside.”
Rowdy Baker turned and looked her over. “I’m
signing us in. Why the hell did you do it, Megan? Request me to be your partner
for your playtime in the field?” He threw the clipboard he held down on the
worn Formica counter. “I’m used to working alone.”
“I’m not used to working at all.” Megan let go
of her suitcase. Of course it flopped over, landing on her foot. “Damn it.” She
left it there and looked around, making sure no one was close enough to
overhear them. A couple of clerks were nearby, but one was on the phone and the
other was in an office behind a glass wall.
“I wanted someone I knew. My sister says
you’re a decent guy. Was she wrong?” She grabbed the clipboard and checked
their names.
“Am I supposed to be flattered?” Rowdy looked
like he wanted to pound the counter. “‘Decent’. Wow, I’m overwhelmed. Thank Cassidy
for me. Now, go outside and pick someone else. Anyone else.”
“No.” Megan breathed a sigh of relief when she
saw her fake name on the list. “Listen, we’re stuck with each other. You need
to adjust your attitude. She’s probably going to wind up running Calhoun
Petroleum, you know. Cassidy is showing everyone at Headquarters that she’s got
Daddy’s business sense.”
“Whoop-de-do. So I could get a promotion out
of this?” Rowdy got close to Megan and she almost backed off.
He was big and, at the moment, intimidating.
Maybe this had been a mistake. Cass had broken it off with him. Maybe he was
mad and would make Megan’s life a living hell. But then the devil you know . .
.
“At the end of the year, all four of the
Calhoun kids could be in a position to help you out. If we get good evaluations
and get our inheritances.” Megan smiled. Rowdy clearly wasn’t impressed.
“I’m sure Cass will do well and end up running
things. Wouldn’t surprise me at all.” He finally backed off. “She called me
personally to break the bad news that I’d be dragging you along with me.
Begged me to take you on, because you can
imagine how I feel about dealing with another Calhoun woman about now.” He
glanced around the room this time. No one seemed to be listening to them. “I’m
sorry.” Megan really was. Rowdy had been with Cass until recently. He was
probably still aching over their breakup.
“Sure you are, Ms. Cochran. An assumed name.
Really? What’s the matter, afraid the roughnecks wouldn’t like Daddy’s little
girl coming by to check on them?” He picked up the clipboard and a pen from the
counter.
“It could cause problems. I’m not naïve,
Rowdy.” Megan ignored his sarcasm. “I’ve got to succeed this year. A lot’s on
the line. You get that? You going to help me swim? Or sink me like the Titanic?”
“I don’t know.” He looked her over, his dark
eyes skimming down her body until she wanted to tug at her T-shirt. “You going
to work this year or float through it and then expect me to lie so you can get
your big payday at the end?”
Megan wondered if a smart woman would leave
right now and pick a stranger, someone more intimidated by the Calhoun name— or
at least respectful. But Rowdy was still standing there, looking like he
expected her to cut and run.
She picked up her suitcase off her foot and
raised her chin. “I’ll work if you’ll give me a chance. Will you? Or am I going
to get the fallout because I’m Cassidy’s sister and you’re mad at her?” Megan
saw she’d struck a nerve when he signed the clipboard and threw it down again.
Good. Let him prove he wasn’t still smarting from Cassidy’s rejection. Too bad
Megan couldn’t help noticing that her sister did have great taste. She’d always
been a sucker for big men with dark eyes and washboard abs.
“Cass and I are history. The question now is
your attitude. I heard you never stick with anything more
than a week or two.” Rowdy strode toward the door, then turned to look at her.
“Someone’s been talking too much. My sister
claimed you were a nice guy. Guess she overstated that.” Megan wanted to storm
out of there and slam the door in his face. But what choice did she have with a
three-hundred-million-dollar inheritance on the line? One year. She had to
stick with this and Rowdy for three hundred and sixty-five days.
Gerry Bartlett is
a native Texan who lives halfway between Houston and Galveston. Her
antique business is on the historic Strand on the island. When she's
not treasure hunting, she loves heading to the Texas capitol of
Austin where she imagines her vampire Glory St.Clair of the Real
Vampire series has her own vintage clothing shop. She also loves
writing about the big city of Houston and the oil business in her new
contemporary series, Texas Heat.
Gerry
has over a hundred cookbooks but would rather read them than cook
these days. She also has way too many purses and posts pictures of
her latest finds on Pinterest. This former elementary school teacher
is working on her twentieth published novel. Her first three were
written as Lynn McKay and can be found on Amazon for a penny. Now
she's out of the classroom and happy to write under her real name.
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