The Price of Passion Read online

  But he was older now. Wiser, too, by a long shot. There was no way in hell he would allow Beth to tear his future apart as she had his past.

  * * *

  Beth couldn’t stop shaking.

  For the last week, since she’d heard he was back in Royal, she’d been preparing herself to see Cam Guthrie again. And all of that preparation had gone right out the window the minute his eyes had met hers. Sitting there at the bank president’s desk, she would have sworn she’d felt the temperature in the room rise a few degrees, just from Cam’s presence. She’d felt his gaze on her as strongly as she would have a touch, and the instant she’d seen him her heartbeat had jumped into a wild gallop.

  His dark brown eyes were filled with shadows. His black hair was cut shorter than she remembered, and he wore a well-tailored suit as easily as he had worn jeans and scuffed boots back when he was the center of her world.

  Beth took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. It should have been easy. More than a decade since she’d laid eyes on Cam should have meant that seeing him would be like running into an old friend.

  But she’d been fooling herself. Cam hadn’t been her friend. He’d been everything. Until that last night. When she’d discovered that what a man said and what he did were sometimes two different things.

  Now he was home and she’d be dealing with him all the time. How was this fair? Why hadn’t he stayed in California? Then she thought that maybe his wife’s death had been enough to drive him from the state that was no doubt filled with memories of the two of them together. Had he missed Julie so much? Had he loved her more than he’d ever loved Beth? Because he’d come back to Texas, where he had to face her every day and that apparently didn’t bother him.

  God, she had a headache. Rubbing at the spot between her eyes, Beth reminded herself that nothing had to change because he was here in Royal. There was nothing between them but for the bittersweet memories they shared of being too young and reckless to realize that love wasn’t always enough.

  “Fifteen years, Beth. Neither of you are the same people you used to be.” Wise words. Now all she had to do was listen to her own good advice.

  The early summer sun blasted down on her until she felt as though she was about to combust. Internally, fires were burning while, externally, the Texas heat was only making things worse. She stopped under a bright blue-and-green awning stretched over the florist shop window and hoped the shade would help lower her body temperature.

  “It would take more than that,” she muttered, and shot a quick glance around to make sure no one had overheard her.

  On the busy Main Street, she was alone and she wondered how everyone in town could be going on about their business as if the world hadn’t just shifted. Cam was back. He was gorgeous. And treacherous. Sexy. And faithless.

  Looking into his eyes had cost her every ounce of self-control she’d worked so hard to develop.

  “Hi, Beth!”

  She jolted, looked up and nodded at Vonnie Taylor as she pushed her twins past in a double stroller. Beth ignored a twinge of envy as she watched the woman hurry down the sidewalk and reminded herself that she had a rich, full life and she didn’t need a man or children to fulfill her. It was true of course, but a part of her still yearned.

  Not for Cam, though. That was over and done a long time ago. A few stray thermonuclear hormone reactions notwithstanding, she was fine on her own. Hadn’t she just a month ago told Justin McCoy that she wasn’t interested in a relationship? Not that the man listened at all. They’d been dating for months and Justin was pushing for more of a commitment. Which was exactly why she’d told him they should take a break from each other.

  Having zero men in her life had to be less complicated than what she was dealing with now. With that thought firmly in mind, she started walking again and didn’t stop until she came to the Royal Diner. She stepped inside and a wave of air-conditioned air slid across her skin. Grateful, she sighed a little, looked around the room and spotted her friend and assistant, Gracie Diaz. Thankful to get her life back to normal, Beth smiled and headed toward the booth in the back.

  The Royal Diner hadn’t changed in decades. Well, that wasn’t quite true. There had been updates of course, but when the work was done, the color scheme and feel of the place remained the same. Black-and-white checkerboard-tiled floor, red faux-leather booths and even a working juke box on one wall.

  Sooner or later, everyone in Royal stopped in at the diner, and so naturally it was the gossip hub. Anything you wanted to know, you could discover here. She couldn’t help wondering how long it would be before she and Cam were the latest hot topic of conversation.

  She waved to Amanda Battles, who owned the diner along with her sister, Pam.

  When Beth was halfway to her booth, Pam called out, “Hi, Beth! The usual?”

  “Yes, thanks. You’re a lifesaver.” She slid into the seat opposite Gracie and set her cream-colored bag beside her on the bench seat.

  “Rough morning?” Gracie quipped and smiled.

  “You have no idea.” A wry smile curved her mouth briefly. She really needed this time with a friend. To cool down. To regain some sort of stability after that quick, devastating encounter with Cam.

  Looking across the table at Gracie, Beth saw warm brown eyes, long, straight dark hair that fell, as Beth’s did, straight down her back. She wore a pale yellow sleeveless summer blouse and khaki slacks with a pair of sandals that Beth had coveted since the first time she had seen them.

  Gracie had grown up on the Wingate ranch, since her parents had worked for Beth’s parents. As kids, they’d played and run wild on the ranch. In school, they hadn’t really hung out because Beth was three years older than Gracie. But at the ranch, they’d been close and supported each other through the inevitable crushes on boys. And when Gracie had graduated from college, Beth had hired her as an administrative assistant. Best move she’d ever made, since Gracie was as organized as Beth, and together they kept the many different charities Beth managed straight and growing.

  Gracie studied her for a long minute, then said, “Okay, something is really going on. Tell me.”

  Beth waited as Pam served her the usual. A club sandwich and a tall glass of unsweetened black ice tea. “Thanks, Pam.”

  “You bet.” She turned to Gracie. “Can I get you another soda?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good.” To prove it, she took a sip, then idly picked up one of the french fries that accompanied her burger.

  “Okay then,” Pam said. She looked at both women and added, “Need anything, just ask.”

  There was comfort, Beth thought, in the ordinary. In the routine of life in Royal. Of knowing the people in town and realizing that they knew and cared for her, too. So she’d just cling to that mental comfort while she thought about the discomfort of seeing Cam.

  She took a sip of tea and blurted, “I just ran into Camden at the bank.”

  Gracie, being the excellent friend she was, didn’t need more. “Oh, my God! That had to be awful. Everyone watching...”

  “Exactly.” That had actually been the hardest part of the whole thing. Beth had felt the curious gazes locked on the pair of them, as if everyone at the bank had been waiting for a big scene. Heck, she’d half expected one herself. The last time she and Cam had talked, it hadn’t gone well.

  “How’s he look?” Gracie asked.

  “Delicious,” Beth muttered.

  “Uh-oh.”

  Beth’s gaze shot to her friend’s. “Oh, no. No worries there. He’s gorgeous and tall and sexy and—” She stopped and took a breath. If she really wanted her hormones to die down, she had to stop thinking about just how good Cam had looked. “It doesn’t matter. I made my choice fifteen years ago.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  It was Gracie’s sarcastic tone more than her words that caught Beth’s attention. “I’m sorry? W
hose side are you on again?”

  “Yours, but,” her friend added, “I know bull when I hear it, too.”

  Like a balloon meeting a sharp pin, Beth simply deflated. Shoulders slumped, she took another sip of her tea and admitted, “Fine. I’m still susceptible to the Guthrie magic.”

  “There you go. The first step is admitting you have a problem.”

  Beth laughed shortly. “Is there a Getting Over Cam Guthrie meeting I could attend?”

  “You’re there already,” Gracie said. “I’m here to help you be strong. To avoid all thoughts of sexy Cam and remember just how badly it all went back in the day.”

  “Not like I could forget it,” Beth mumbled, and picked up a triangle of her sandwich. Taking a bite she didn’t really want, she methodically chewed, and as she did, she remembered the last time she’d seen Cam. Back when he was all she could see. Back when she believed he loved her. Back before he left town with Julie Wheeler, never to be seen again.

  Her heart thudded in her chest, and what felt like an ice-cold stone dropped into the pit of her stomach.

  “There you go.” Gracie gave her a smile. “Cam was the past, and now you have Justin.”

  Oh, she didn’t want to get into Justin McCoy right now. That was over, too, though he hadn’t accepted the fact yet.

  Deliberately she took another bite of her sandwich, chewed and said, “Enough about my pitiful love life. Did you track down the caterer for the Fire Department Open House?”

  “I did.” Accepting the change of subject, Gracie dug into her black oversize leather bag and pulled out a manila folder. “Turns out she’s been in Galveston for a family thing.”

  “That’s nice,” Beth murmured. “But she’s on track and we’re covered for the event this Saturday?”

  “Oh, absolutely. She’s emailed me the finished menu for your final approval. I’ve got it right here.” Gracie handed over a single sheet of paper, and while Beth looked it over, she continued. “She says they’ll be there by ten a.m. to start the setup.”

  “Okay, that should work.” She handed back the paper. “The menu looks great. Finger food, easy to carry around so people can talk and walk or sit down if they want to.”

  “I’ll let her know.”

  Beth nodded. “The open house at the fire station starts at one, and I want to hold the raffle by three. Give us time to get as many people there as possible.”

  “It’s a brilliant idea, Beth.” Gracie shook her head in admiration. “Getting Connolly motors to donate a new truck for the raffle? A nice write-off for them, and raffling it off to raise money for the firehouse is really going well.”

  Beth thought about that for a minute and acknowledged that her assistant was right. By the time the raffle was done, the Royal Fire Department would have enough money to renovate the old station and buy new equipment without dinging the town for it.

  With the catering, the live country music band she’d hired and the guided tours of the firehouse, Beth knew that most of the town would turn out for the event. All of them would be hoping to win that shiny red truck.

  “Well, now that we’ve got that one figured out, let’s talk about the food drive for the local shelter.”

  “Great.” Gracie dipped her head, and her long, dark brown hair fell across her shoulders. “We’ve put up signs at the schools, asking kids to bring in canned or boxed food. Granted, it’s the end of the school year, so that won’t last long. Still, it’s going great, so far. Plus, the grocery store is pitching in, running a special on canned foods. They’ve set up donation boxes at both entrances, trying to make it easy for people to pitch in.”

  “Perfect. It’s only June,” Beth said, opening up her phone and checking through the lists on her notepad. “I want to make sure everyone’s fully stocked long before winter.”

  “You bet. I’ve got Tucker Davis hauling the donations to our storage units.” She glanced up. “The drive ends next Friday, and Tucker said he and his brothers can deliver all of it to the shelter, so we don’t have to hire a separate company.”

  “Awesome.” She made a quick note, reminding herself to call Tucker herself and thank him for his help.

  While Gracie went through the inventory, Beth’s mind wandered. Naturally, it took a sharp turn back to Cam Guthrie. He’d been such a huge part of her life, and then he was gone.

  He’d unexpectedly married Julie Wheeler, a girl from their class, and the “happy” couple had left Royal—all within a month of Beth refusing to marry him.

  He’d turned to Julie so heartbreakingly fast it had forced Beth to admit that Cam had never really loved her. It had all been a lie, and she was lucky that she’d had the sense to end it before she’d married the man.

  Lucky, she reminded herself.

  She was alone.

  And lucky.

  Two

  Beth was beginning to feel depressed and wasn’t going to put up with it. “You know what, Gracie?” she said suddenly, “Let’s eat our lunch and let the rest go for today.”

  Surprise flashed in the other woman’s eyes. “What about the masquerade charity ball at the TCC?”

  Beth frowned a little and nibbled at a french fry. That was a big one. They’d be raising money for the children’s wing of the local hospital. So that ball had to come off perfectly. She smiled to herself. There was nothing to worry about. It was months away and they were both on top of the situation.

  “It’ll be perfect, Gracie, because you and I will make sure of it. But we don’t have to do it today. The ball’s not until October, so we’ve got a little wiggle room. Enough, at least, for us to enjoy the rest of the day anyway.”

  “You convinced me,” Gracie said, smiling. She picked up her hamburger and took a bite.

  “That was easy.” Beth laughed, too, and bit into her own sandwich. When she’d swallowed, she asked, “So, did you get your Powerball ticket?”

  Gracie grinned. “You bet. My mom always said if you don’t play, you can’t win. So I buy my ticket once a month, just like she always did—until she decided to save her money instead.” Laughing a little, she added, “If I win, I’m going to buy Mom a big house in Florida near her sister, and then I’m going to start up that event planning business I’ve always wanted.”

  Beth sipped at her tea. “You know, I’m still willing to back you in that. If you won’t take money as a gift, we could call it a loan. Just enough to get you started.”

  Gracie shook her head firmly. “Nope. Thank you though, Beth. I appreciate it. But I’m saving my money, and when I have enough, I’ll apply for a small business loan. I need to do it on my own. But once I’m open I may be ready for investors...” She grinned at that. “And maybe I’ll win the lottery!”

  “God, you’re stubborn.” Beth laughed and picked up her sandwich again.

  “That’s why we get along so well,” Gracie told her. “We have so much in common.”

  Wryly she said, “Good point.”

  For the next half hour, Beth didn’t think about Cam and what him being back in town might cost her.

  * * *

  Cam was still reeling from bumping into Beth at the bank. Hell, it had been ages since he’d seen her. He for damn sure hadn’t expected his body’s instant response to her, and there was no denying it, either. One look into her eyes, and he was back in the past, on hot summer nights, in the bed of his truck, lying on a blanket, tangled up with a naked Beth.

  For years, he’d pushed those memories into a deep, dark hole in his mind. He had been married to Julie after all, and she was the one who had deserved his loyalty. They’d had a good marriage, he told himself. Together, they’d built a house-flipping business that had made them more money than either of them had dreamed possible. They’d been happy. Until Julie got sick. Then it had been doctors and hospitals and a fast slide to the end. In a matter of months, Cam had lost her
and any interest he might have had to keep their business going.

  But with her gone, there was nothing to hold him in California, and the pull of his roots was too strong to fight.

  Now he was back and he’d bought the ranch he and his parents had once worked on. The Circle K... “Have to change that,” he muttered, stepping out of his truck to stand and take a good look around.

  The sun was hotter now, beating down on him until he thought that maybe Texas was planning on giving him a baptism of fire as a welcome home. The air was still, not a hint of wind to rustle the live oaks surrounding the ranch house.

  He turned to look at the place and felt a stir of pride. Buying this ranch was satisfying in a way Cam hadn’t really expected. It was as if coming back to Royal was returning to Texas, but owning this place was coming home.

  He’d only been back in town for a week, but this house... It was as if it had been waiting for him all these years. It needed fixing up, definitely some updates. The kitchen alone made him cringe and ready to grab a sledgehammer. And he had plans for expansion, too. Some of it he’d do himself, because fifteen years of being both entrepreneur and carpenter was hard to shake. But for most of what he wanted done, he’d already hired Olivia Turner and her construction company.

  He leaned back against his brand-new gleaming black truck and took it all in. Two stories, the house was built of river stone, boasted a red tile roof, and its design successfully mixed Spanish and craftsman styles. There was a wide balcony around the second floor of the house and a wraparound porch on the ground floor.

  The view from the front was a wide sweep of ranchland, the corral and, off to the side, a barn that was painted the rich, dark green of young meadow grass. There were outbuildings for the ranch hands, a bunkhouse and a separate house for the foreman, Henry Jordan and his family.

  Cam’s plans to turn this place into a sort of working dude ranch meant that he’d need Olivia’s company to build a dozen cottages for guests and another stable for the extra horses he was going to have to buy. Which meant, he told himself, they’d also require more ranch hands, but he’d leave the hiring to Henry. He’d be working with them and knew practically every cowboy in Texas, so there was no point in Cam sticking his nose in. He was a big believer in delegating. Find the best person for the job and then get out of their way.