His for the Taking

His for the Taking
Ann Major

Years ago, when Maddie Gray ran away from Yella, Texas, pregnant and alone, she left behind her lover, rancher and oil heir John Coleman.Now, she’s on the edges of his sophisticated world once again, determined to keep all of her secrets.But John will stop at nothing to get at the truth – even if that means making her his wife.

Why couldn’t he forget her?

Why did he care if she was back in town?

She doesn’t matter anymore. Hell, she never should have mattered.

So why did every nerve in his body feel taut? Why was his heart racing at the possibility of seeing her again?

Why was he standing up and slinging his jacket over his broad shoulders?

Cole had things to take care of. He didn’t have time for an unscheduled trip back home. Nevertheless, he scooped his cell phone and the keys off his desk and set off for Yella.

All he needed was closure. Something about the way Maddie had left him six years ago—without even so much as a goodbye—still bothered him.

He had to know…Was she the bad girl the town claimed she was? Or the sweet, pure girl he’d fallen in love with?

He hoped to hell he wasn’t fool enough to chase after a dream again.

About the Author

ANN MAJOR lives in Texas with her husband of many years and is the mother of three grown children. She has a master’s degree from Texas A&M at Kingsville, Texas, and is a former English teacher. She is a founding board member of the Romance Writers of America and a frequent speaker at writers’ groups.

Ann loves to write—she considers her ability to do so a gift. Her hobbies include hiking in the mountains, sailing, ocean kayaking, traveling and playing the piano. But most of all, she enjoys her family. Visit her website at www.annmajor.com.

His for the Taking

Ann Major

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

To Ted

One

The last thing John Coleman had planned to do when he woke up to the stench of petroleum and the roar of his oil rig was to go chasing after Maddie Gray.

Jamming the phone against his ear, Cole—as everybody from Yella, Texas, called him—leaned back in his leather office chair and rubbed his throbbing temple. “What do you mean Maddie’s come back to Yella and she’s nursin’ Miss Jennie?”

Miss Jennie had been their beloved high school English teacher.

Cole knew his soft drawl sounded mild, even disinterested, as he spoke to Adam, his older half brother, yet Cole was anything but calm.

During his marriage to Lizzie, which had ended when she’d died almost a year ago, he’d dreaded the thought of his childhood sweetheart coming back to town. Because he’d feared how he might react. But he was a widower now, and he’d been thinking about Maddie of late, thinking he might just drive to Austin and look her up. So far he’d always managed to talk himself out of it.

What kind of sap carries on a secret teenage affair with the town’s bad girl and then can’t move on after she treats him like dirt?

Hell, six long years had come and gone. And still his mind burned with memories of Maddie’s fine-boned face, her heart-shaped lips, her violet eyes and ebony hair, and ample breasts. Why couldn’t he forget how radiant her face had been every time she’d lain beneath him? Because she’d been more than beautiful. She’d been smart and gifted, especially with contrary horses.

But she had bad genes. Maddie’s mother had stolen husbands, fathers—indeed any man who would have her. And in the end, her own daughter had turned the tables on her by stealing her boyfriend and running off with him, leaving Cole behind.

“Miss Jennie fell over a garden hose and cracked her pelvic bone,” Adam said, interrupting Cole’s thoughts. “Maddie’s here to take care of her until Miss Jennie’s niece from up in Canada can get down here. Nobody in town can stop talking about Maddie. About how well educated and classy she is now. About how’s she’s got herself a college degree and all. Cole, she’s so damn beautiful she takes your breath away.”

“You’ve seen her?”

His half brother hadn’t moved to Yella until after their dad’s death, which had occurred shortly after Maddie had run off, so Adam hadn’t known Maddie when she and Cole had been together.

“I dropped by first thing this mornin’! All the guys have been stopping by Miss Jennie’s place to check on her, so I figured I’d better check on her myself.”

“Right.”

“Just to make sure she’s gettin’ proper care and all. Oh, is Maddie ever beautiful. All curves and creamy skin. She has the softest voice and the sweetest smile—one that lights everything up.”

“Enough!” Cole growled.

The brothers’ telephone call had centered on ranch business until this last bit of local gossip. When Cole was away from Yella, Adam usually ended their calls about the family business by filling him in on the latest scuttlebutt.

“Well, don’t you be going back there just to see Maddie, you hear.” It was strange how much more annoyed than usual Cole suddenly was with his older brother. “You’re to steer clear of Maddie Gray. I don’t care how polished she is now, she’s no good. Never was. And never will be.”

“Something’s sure got you riled this morning.” There was an edge in Adam’s voice now, too.

“Pressure here on the rig. You know how I was telling you this damn drought has shale frac water in short supply? Well, I’m facing the possibility of having to drill a deepwater well. All the drillers are overbooked except for one bandit who says he’ll put me first, but only if I make it worth his time by paying him triple. And now you’re distracting me with idle gossip about a no-good woman like Maddie.”

“She’s the interim CEO of some nonprofit in Austin called My Sister’s House. She’s worrying herself to death over some fundraiser she’s in charge of in a couple of weeks. Sounds like she’s trying to do some good, at least, doesn’t it?”

“Camouflage! It’s an ancient trick.”

“Well, I liked her. Oh, and she’s got a little boy she left back in Austin at camp. He’s six years old. Noah. Miss Jennie’s got loads of pictures of him. He’s cuter than a bug. Black hair…green eyes. He reminds me of someone.” There was an odd note in his brother’s voice. “All in all, Maddie didn’t seem the least bit bad. She’s nothin’ like her mother.”

The last thing Cole wanted to hear was praise for Maddie, or her son. Especially not from his half brother, who often resented him because of their father’s mistakes, so he told Adam he was a fool to fall for anything Maddie Gray said and ended the call.

So, Maddie was back, dazzling the town, even his brother. And she had a kid. Who was the father? Vernon? The timing would be about right. Cole had always been careful to protect her, so he knew the boy wasn’t his.

Cole pushed his mug of strong black coffee aside so roughly, the steaming liquid sloshed onto several important drilling leases. With thoughts of Maddie stirring his blood, he didn’t need more caffeine.

Edgily he shoved the papers aside and stared out the window. He slid his jean-clad legs onto the top of his desk and stacked one scuffed, black, ostrich-skinned cowboy boot on top of the other. It was early yet, but already a brilliant sun blasted the desolate Texas landscape. Thanks to his air conditioner, the interior of his trailer was icy. That was the only thing he liked about living at the drill site for weeks on end while he worked a field. But even the chilled air couldn’t keep out the hot memories of Maddie.

Too well he recalled the first time he’d actually spoken to Maddie, who’d been younger and poorer than him, and hadn’t run in his social circle.

He’d driven home from the University of Texas on a Friday and had gone looking for his girlfriend, Lizzie Collier, over at her daddy’s ranch. It had been spring and the pastures had been filled with bluebonnets.

When Cole had stepped inside the barn and hollered for Lizzie, one of the horses, Wild Thing, had gone off like dynamite, neighing and kicking his stall door. Cole thought Wild Thing was too dangerous to fool with but Lizzie had the softest heart in the world. When she’d found out Old Man Green was starving Wild Thing and beating him, she’d talked her dad into buying the horse. Her father had hired more than a dozen horse whisperers to save the animal, and when they’d failed, Lizzie’s father had wanted to put him down. Lizzie wouldn’t hear of it.

Cole hadn’t thought too much about the ruckus the horse was making until he heard a crooning voice inside the stall. Thinking Lizzie might be trapped, Cole had rushed toward the stall door.

“Lizzie?”