That Night with the Rich Rancher
Sara Orwig
One
Tony Milan felt ridiculous. Standing in the wings of the wide stage of the elegant Dallas country club ballroom, he promised himself that next time, he would be more careful making bets with his oldest brother. Losing at saddle bronc riding in a rodeo last April had put him backstage tonight at this gala charity event, which included a dinner dance as well as an auction. One that would auctionhimoff. At least it was all for a good cause, he reminded himself. The funds raised would go to Parkinson’s disease research.
As he’d made his way to the stage earlier, he had seen some of the attendees: beautiful women dressed in designer gowns accompanied by men in tailored tuxedos. The highest bidders would win a night with “Texas’s most desirable bachelors,” according to the brochure that had been mailed to a select group wealthy enough to afford the event. He couldn’t imagine any woman bidding much for an evening out with a guy she won in an auction, but after the opening bid, he realized he was wrong. The Texas ranchers who’d gone before him had stirred up high prices.
Looking out at the latest bachelor who now pranced offstage, Tony could not recall ever feeling more out of place. And then he heard his name called.
Taking a deep breath and forcing himself to smile broadly, he stepped forward, striding out of the darkened shadows into the blinding spotlights in front of a glittering audience. Applausewas loud as he waved at the audience, most of which he could no longer clearly see because of the spotlights shining in his eyes.
After a spiel about his bachelor status, the master of ceremonies opened up the bidding. Tony was startled by the number of women who jumped into the bidding, but as the amount climbed, first one and then another dropped out until only three women were left.
Shocked yet pleased by the amount he was going to draw, he grinned and walked around the stage as the bidding climbed.
When a woman in a front table bid, he glanced down and saw it was an ex-girlfriend. He hoped she didn’t win. As far as he was concerned, he’d said a final goodbye to her when she’d started getting serious. No long-term relationships for Tony Milan. He liked to flirt, play the field, just have a good time with no strings attached. Thankfully, after a flurry of bidding, his ex-girlfriend dropped out and only two women were left.
Tony couldn’t see either one of the women, hidden by the blinding lights, but he heard their competitive bids. They were calling outrageous sums of money—all for an evening with him. When one graciously dropped out, the MC brought down the gavel.
“We have a winner,” he said, not able to hide his outright glee at the final amount for the charity. “Would our lucky woman please come up onto the stage?”
Tony couldn’t contain his curiosity. He scanned the audience for a glimpse at her, and then a spotlight found her at a table off to the right. His pulse jumped when a stunning blonde stood up. Her hair was piled atop her head with a few spiral curls falling about her face, and she wore a fiery red dress as she threaded her way to the stage. Even from a distance he could see the dress clung to a breathtaking figure. Jeweled straps glittered on her slender shoulders and her full breasts pillowed above the low-cut neckline.
One of the auction’s ushers took her hand as she climbed the steps to the stage and Tony’s gaze finally swept over her from head to toe, taking in her long, shapely legs revealed by a high slit in the skirt. Instantly Tony began to feel immensely better about the entire auction and the upcoming evening.
As the blonde crossed the stage, his gaze swept over her features. She wasn’t a local resident, he thought, because he didn’t recognize her. But then as she neared center stage to give the MC her name, he had a niggling feeling that he did indeed know her. He looked at her again. Something about her features seemed familiar. Perhaps... There was a faint resemblance to a local—his neighbor and lifetime enemy, Lindsay Calhoun.
He shrugged away that notion. The woman talking to the MC could not be Lindsay Calhoun. For one brief moment, a memory flashed through his mind of Lindsay dressed in skintight jeans and driving her muddy pickup, her long sandy braid bouncing beneath her floppy old hat. That was followed by another memory—Lindsay wagging her finger at him and accusing him of taking her ranch’s water—something unethical he would never do to any neighbor, even Lindsay. She was mule stubborn, never took his advice and wouldn’t agree with him if he said the sun set in the west.
Most of all, she was serious in every way, all business all the time. With their many confrontations, he had wondered if she’d ever had any fun in her life. So there was no way on earth that the vision who had won an evening with him was Lindsay.
Curiosity ran rampant as the MC took the mystery woman’s hand and she turned to the audience, shooting a quick glance at Tony and then smiling at the audience while the MC held her hand high like a boxer at a heavyweight fight.
“Our winner—a beautiful Texan, Miss Lindsay Calhoun!”
Tony was stunned. His gaze raked over her again. Why had she done this? Their families had maintained a perpetual feudsince the first generation of Milans and Calhouns had settled in Texas, and he and Lindsay kept that feud alive. Besides, she didn’t even date. Nor would she spend a dime for an evening with him. She never even spoke to him unless she was accusing him of something.
He squeezed his eyes shut as if to clear them, and then looked at her again. Actually, he stared, transfixed. Not one inch of her looked like his neighbor.
She turned as another man in a black tux came forward to escort her toward Tony while the MC began to talk about the next bachelor.
“Lindsay?” Tony’s voice came out a croak. The woman he faced was breathtaking. He wouldn’t have guessed all the makeup in Texas could have made such a transformation.
Her huge blue eyes twinkled and she leaned close, giving him a whiff of an exotic perfume—another shock.
“Close your mouth, Tony,” she whispered so only he could hear. “And stop staring.”
The tuxedo-clad man stepped forward. “Lindsay, it seems you’ve already met your bachelor, Tony Milan. Tony, this is Lindsay Calhoun.”
“We know each other.” Tony hoped he said it out loud. His brain felt all jumbled and he couldn’t force his gaze from Lindsay. He still couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He had known her all his life. Not once had she even caused him to take a second glance. Nor had he ever seen her as anything except a colossal pest. Saying she wasn’t his type was an understatement.
But was there another side to her? Why was Lindsay here? Why had she bid a small fortune to get the evening with him? No doubt she wanted something from him— and wanted it badly.
Would she go to this length to get water? He ruled that out instantly, remembering her fury and harsh words when she had accused him of buying bigger pumps for his wells to take moregroundwater from the aquifer they shared. He had told her what she should do—dig her wells deeper. She had charged right back, saying she wouldn’t have to go to the added expense if he wasn’t depleting her water with bigger pumps. And there it went. Once again her usual stubborn self refused to take his advice or believe him.
Then she had started calling him devious, a snake and much worse. She pushed him to the edge and he knew he had to just walk away, which he did while she hurled more names at him.