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Chapter 31
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Taken by Surprise Chapter 1
Part One: Taken by SurpriseHow was it possible my life can suck this much?Jessie Coford stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror and asked herself that question for perhaps the hundredth time. Had she pissed off the gods of fate? Was Mercury in retrograde? Had she fallen into an alternate universe? All in all, as far as she was concerned, life was a bitch. Today was just the culmination of a runaway train of bad luck.Six months ago, everything had seemed to be going her way. Her fifteen-year plan was on target to build her reputation and finally open her own place. She'd been saving and scrimping and putting money aside from the day she graduated from culinary school and got her first job. She even knew exactly what kind of place it would be-a trendy café with interesting but excellent food that people stood in line for.She was a talented chef employed in one of Houston's upscale restaurants, with a growing reputation and expecting a significant raise. And in a fantast
Taken by Surprise Chapter 2
Jack Ward pulled his official county SUV into a parking space at the Fort Mavis Sheriff's Office and turned off the ignition. He sat for a moment in the vehicle, staring out at nothing and just enjoying it. He was glad he'd made the choice to leave Houston. As big as the city was, he didn't think it was large enough for both him and Jessie. He found himself looking for her every time he went to some place they'd been together. Like a lovesick idiot, he'd even driven to the restaurant where she worked, sap that he was, and sat outside waiting to get a glimpse of her.It was so not like him and he was driving himself nuts. He had not been able to understand how she could just walk away from him the way she had. Away from what they had. He'd never felt like this about a woman before and he was pretty damn sure her feelings were the same. The more he thought abut it, the angrier he got. He forced himself to think of her as selfish and self-centered, because that made the break easier to b
Taken by Surprise Chapter 3
God, I hope this isn't a disaster.Jessie had been repeating that mantra ever since she'd left Houston-and civilization-behind that morning. This was hardly what she'd seen as her future, but she had no choice. None. Nada. Zip. Whatever she found in Fort Mavis, she had to make it work. She was out of options.Maybe when she saw the restaurant and the house, she thought, she could contact a local realtor and sell them. But who knew how long that would take and who on earth would even buy it? Besides, a relative had left it to her and relatives were scarce in her life. She wanted to know who this woman really was and why she'd left all this to her. And it gave her a place to reorganize her life.She checked her watch. She'd been on the road since seven that morning, stopping only for lunch and bathroom breaks. She'd been driving now for eight hours already and wondered if she'd ever get where she was going. The GPS told her she only had another six miles, but with nothing but ranchlan
Taken by Surprise Chapter 4
As they walked through the house, Jessie could not stop herself from running her fingers over the gleaming polished wood of the furniture, or the silky feeling curtains at some of the windows. The high tech kitchen amazed her the most."I believe she tested new recipes here," the attorney told her. "She purely loved cooking."When they'd finished the tour, Jessie turned to him, excitement wriggling through her. "Are you sure it's really mine?"He nodded, smiling at her. "Not a doubt. In fact, you could even stay here. We got a housekeeper in when we knew you were on the way. You can see the house is clean, linens are clean. Utilities are still in place, although you'll need to get them switched over to you.""Stay here? Really?""It's all yours and ready for you." He handed her a key ring. "House and restaurant. There're two sets on there.""I'll be sure to keep one in a safe place," she assured him.Fort Mavis was a far cry from Houston. In fact, they were worlds apart. But her
Taken by Surprise Chapter 5
Jack stood at the front window of the general store, staring at the people outside. He had to be mistaken. There was no way in hell Jessie Coford would be here in Fort Mavis. He was pretty sure she'd never even heard of it. His stupid mind had to be playing tricks on him. Maybe it was because last night, just when he thought he'd gotten past it all, he had the most erotic dream about the two of them he'd ever had. When he woke up that morning, his cock was so hard and swollen he was afraid to bump into something and break it off. Even taking himself in hand in the shower hadn't done a lot to relieve the raging desire. His balls continued to ache all day, another painful situation.Get over her, asshole. She walked away from you. It's done. Over. Move ahead."Hey, Jack, I thought that was you." Lynne's voice sounded right at his ear.Speaking of moving ahead.He turned to find her close enough that her breath was a soft whisper against his skin. She was grinning at him with her full
Taken by Surprise Chapter 6
Jessie filled a mug with fresh coffee and stood in the back of the kitchen, catching her breath. She had barely slept last night. Sleep eluded her until she searched as thoroughly as possible for a letter from Delfina but nothing turned up. BY the time she got in bed everything was whirling in her brain so fast she had trouble falling asleep.She was, however, determined to start out n the right foot here. She had decided to look at this as a real opportunity, one that came to her when her life was taking a nosedive. And maybe, just maybe, she might like it enough to stay here. She had arrived at the diner promptly at five o'clock, meeting Alton and Rona in the rear parking area. They both looked slightly shocked that she'd actually showed up at this ungodly hour, but she had to show them she was serious. As things stood in her life, she might not have another choice.Oh, she could always find a new apartment in Houston and look for another restaurant to hire her. But she'd be low m
Taken by Surprise Chapter 7
She could tell from the look on his face he was still shell-shocked. The woman with him, a slender strawberry blonde, looked as if she was trying to decide whether to be gracious, friendly, just curious, or pissed off."Uh, Jessie?" He stared up at her. "Is it really you?""Sure is." She was determined to be Miss Bright and cheerful if it killed her. "I'm very surprised to see you here. I didn't think you'd ever leave Houston."He scowled. "I could say the same for you."She shrugged. "Oh, well. You never know when an opportunity will come your way. You folks about ready to order?"Folks? If I said "folks" in my last place of employment, they would have sent me back to culinary school."Jack?" Miss Strawberry Blonde curved her bright red lips into a smile that had little humor in it. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your little friend?"Little friend? Jessie wanted to pour coffee on her head.Jack looked as if he'd rather swallow nails. "Lynne, this is Jessie Coford. She an
Taken by Surprise Chapter 8
Jack had debated with himself about doing this, confronting her, but he wanted to know what the hell she was doing in Fort Mavis. He'd moved halfway across Texas to leave her and the memories behind and here she was, bringing it back like a bad penny. How could she just show up in his life like this when she'd put her fancy career ahead of him and walked away? He didn't know whether to strangle her or kiss her, and that in itself made him mad."Just what the hell are you doing in Fort Mavis?"If he expected her to be intimidated, he was way off the mark. He should have known better. Jessie was a spitfire who wasn't unsettled by anything. At least not that she showed.She glared at him. "I could ask you the same thing.""I have a job here," he growled."And I inherited a business," she snapped.They stared at each other."So you didn't follow me here? Trying to patch things up?" Now that was a stupid thing to say. She was the one who walked away, not him. She didn't even know he
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