Page 41 of One Texas Night...
“I’m sure. This has nothing to do with paying you for the job. I’m doing what I want to do.”
Jared gazed back while Herman Tyler stared at him with curiosity in his expression. Finally Herman nodded. “Very well. I’ll tell you what she wants. I have the pictures I’ve pulled anyway, so we can watch for these two items through the sale. I’ll get the pictures.”
Jared waited, even though he didn’t particularly care which things she wanted. He had already selected what he liked. But he had a feeling it was important to Herman.
Herman returned with two pieces of paper in his hand, which he handed to Jared. One item he recognized immediately as a library table he had given some thought to and decided to let go. The other was a gilt wood mirror with gryphons at the top.
“This is an expensive mirror, Jared,” Herman said. “That’s a sizable item to give as a gift, and I suspect she will return it to you.”
He smiled at Herman. “I’ll convince her to keep it. I’ll get a truck to pick them up as soon as she leaves Houston and then have them delivered to her condo.”
“I’ll be amazed if you get her to keep them.”
“Mr. Tyler, is there anything you would like? I’d be very honored, sir, to give it to you.”
“No, there isn’t, Jared, but thank you. That’s a touching offer.” He looked around and waved his hand at all the antiques in the study. “I’ve already had one heart attack that was serious enough to make me stop and look at what I have. I’ve been trying to thin things out, because this house is filled with the accumulation of a lifetime. Thank you, though, for your generous offer.”
“If you change your mind, please let me know. I’d make the same offer to Sloan, but I’ve seen pictures of his contemporary house, and he and his wife are definitely not into this type of furniture.”
Herman chuckled. “No, they’re not. My daughter-in-law just looks at my home and shakes her head. I think she would be happy to help me get rid of half my possessions, and she doesn’t understand Allison liking old furniture at all.”
“Well, it keeps the world an interesting place. Does Allison have these two pieces tagged in any way?”
“I’m sure she did tag them. She put her name on them instead of mine, and they each have an identifying number. The library table is 142 and the mirror is 207.”
“That’s all I need,” Jared said, sitting down again to talk to Herman for the next half hour. Finally, he stood. “Thanks so much, Herman, for the help. I really want to do this for Allison.”
“It’s extremely generous. Almost too generous.”
“No, sir. She earned it. I’m real happy to be able to do this. Now, it’s our secret for the time being.”
“Sure. Want another beer?”
“Thanks, but no. I should go.”
Herman followed him outside and stood on the front step. As Jared started down the driveway, he turned back to wave. When he got in the car, he glanced at his phone in a pocket between the car seats. He couldn’t help the disappointment when he saw there had been no call from Allison.
Jared thought about their night together in Wyoming. He wanted Allison with him all the time. Could he get her to move in with him? Until their night in Wyoming, he hadn’t thought he had a chance of that, but now he wondered. She seemed as eager to make love as he was. He wanted her with him, in his arms, in his bed every night. He missed her all through the day now, and the nights were empty and lonesome, something he had never felt before in his life. How had she become this important to him? Why was she so different from other women he had known?
She would be home tomorrow night. Jared’s pulse sped up at the thought, and he wished she could be here tonight. He couldn’t wait to see her. When had he become so ensnared by her that he couldn’t wait for her to appear?
* * *
Allison ran to pick out what she would wear home, finally selecting jeans and a pink shirt. Anticipation hummed while she grew more eager to see Jared with each passing hour.
When the plane left Houston, she never looked back. Finally it taxied to a stop in a Dallas hangar. A black sports car was parked inside, and Jared came forward while her heartbeat raced.
She stepped out of the plane and walked to meet him as he came toward her. She forgot their surroundings or that anyone else was in the hangar. She let him sweep her into his embrace, leaning close to kiss him, a devouring kiss that made her want to be alone with him more than anything else.
“Come on,” he said, his voice sounding hoarse. “Let’s get out of here. Someone is getting your things.”
The drive seemed like it took forever, and she kept her hand on his knee while she told him about finishing, and the most interesting pieces of furniture or items she had found the past few days.
Truthfully, she wasn’t even certain what she said to him. Her joy over seeing him shocked her because she hadn’t expected this bubbling excitement to grip her. An undercurrent of worry dimmed with each second. Jared was here, bigger than the threats to her peace of mind right now. She wanted him, and desire, hot and constant, overrode caution. That could come later.
At her condo, the moment they stepped inside and closed the door with the lock clicking into place, Jared pulled her into his arms to kiss her.
They made love through the night. As the sky grew lighter with dawn, Jared tightened his arm around her. She lay with her head on his chest, her hair spread over his shoulder. “Move in with me,” Jared said in a husky voice. “I want you with me like this.”
