Temptation - Brenda Jackson [9]
“That’s good to hear, Sheila,” Zeke responded.
There was another tingling sensation in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t help it. It did something to her each and every time he pronounced her name. He said it with a deep Texas drawl that could send shivers all through her.
“So how long have you been living in Royal?” he asked.
She glanced over at him. “A year.” She knew from his conversation with Dr. Phillips that he had moved to town six months ago, so there was no need to ask him that. She also knew he’d come from Austin because he wanted to try living in a small city.
“You like it here?”
She nodded. “So far. The people are nice, but I spend a lot of my time at the hospital, so I still haven’t met all my neighbors, only those next door.”
She switched her gaze off him to look out the window at the homes and stores they passed. What she decided not to add was that other than working, and occasional trips to the market, she rarely left home. The people at the hospital had become her family
Now that she’d agreed to a fourteen-day leave of absence, she would have her hands full caring for Sunnie, and a part of her actually looked forward to that. “You’re smiling.”
She glanced back at him. Did the man notice every single thing? “Is it a crime?”
He chuckled. “No.”
The deep, husky rumble of his chuckle sent shivers sweeping through her again. And because she couldn’t help herself, when the car came to a stop at the traffic light she glanced back over at him and then wished she hadn’t done so. The slow smile that suddenly curved his lips warmed her all over.
“Now you’re the one smiling,” she pointed out.
“And is that a crime?”
Grinning, she shook her head. He’d made her see just how ridiculous her response to him had been. “No, it’s not.”
“Good. Because if I get arrested, Sheila, so do you. And it would be my request that we get put in the same jail cell.”
She told herself not to overreact to what he’d said. Of course he would try to flirt with her. He was a man. She’d gotten hit on by a number of doctors at the hospital as well as several police officers around town. Eventually, they found out what Zeke would soon discover. It was a waste of their time. She had written men off. When it came to the opposite sex, she preferred her space. The only reason she was with him now was because of Sunnie. She considered Zeke Travers as a means to an end.
When he exited off the expressway and moments later turned into a nice gated community, she was in awe of the large and spacious ranch-style homes that sat on at least thirty acres of land. She had heard about the Cascades, the section of Royal where the wealthy lived. He evidently was doing well in the P.I. business. “You live in this community?” she asked.
“Yes. I came from Austin on an apartment-hunting trip and ended up purchasing a house instead. I always wanted a lot of land and to own horses and figured buying in here was a good investment.”
She could just imagine, especially with the size of the ranch house whose driveway they were pulling into. The house had to be sitting almost six hundred or more feet back off the road. She could see a family of twelve living here and thought the place was definitely too large for just one person.
“How many acres is this?” she asked.
“Forty. I needed that much with the horses.”
“How many do you own?”
“Twelve now, but I plan to expand. I’ve hired several ranch hands to help me take care of things. And I ride every chance I get. What about you? Do you ride?”
She thought of her mother’s second and third husbands. They had owned horses and required that she know how to ride. “Yes, I know how to ride.”
He glanced at his watch. “It won’t take me long to switch vehicles,” he said, bringing the car to a stop. “You’re invited in if you like and you’re welcome to look around.