One Stubborn Texan

“I didn’t mean this was substandard,” she said, wishing she hadn’t been so critical of this place earlier. “I was referring to the other meals I ate here. This is good chili, nice and spicy.”

“That’s one thing we have in common. I love spicy food, the hotter the better.”

“Well, you’d be a mighty strange Texan if you didn’t like hot food. Aren’t you native Texans born with hot sauce running through your veins instead of normal blood?”

“Oh, but I wasn’t born in Texas. I spent the first-” He abruptly cut himself off, the look of panic in his eyes unmistakable.

RUSS COULD NOT BELIEVE he’d made such a hideous blunder. But subterfuge didn’t come easily to him. Sydney was right that he was a bad liar. He was just too damn honest for his own good. Of course, he’d decided it would be better to tell her the truth. But deciding and actually doing it were two different things. He’d wanted to pick the time.

“Where were you born?” Sydney asked innocently.

“Um…” Until now, he’d consoled himself with the fact he hadn’t lied outright to her. But now he was either going to have to lie or she would know he was the Russ Klein she was looking for.

“Russ? Cat got your tongue?”

“Let’s just say I’m not a native Texan. But my mom’s family is from Texas-right here in the Hill Country.”

“And you moved back here to be closer to them?”

“Yeah.”

“Where did you move from? I have noticed you don’t talk like a Texan.”

Hell. He was sunk. Even if he lied, she would probably know he was lying, which would only make things worse. He felt guilty enough about luring her up to this cabin under false pretenses and letting her injure herself. If he didn’t come clean now, he’d dig his hole even deeper-not that he wasn’t already so deep he’d need an elevator to get out of it.

“Russ, are you going to tell me where you were born?”

He blew out a breath, resigned. “Nevada.”

“Las Vegas?”

“Yes.”

“Was your father Sammy Oberlin?”

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Sydney went very still. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God, you’re him, you’re really him. I knew my instincts were right about you.” Then she paused, staring at him with an uncomprehending look on her face. “Why did you lie to me?”

Chapter Nine

“I didn’t exactly lie,” he tried, but she was having none of it.

“You knew I was looking for you and you did everything in your power to convince me I was on the wrong track, including letting me waste two days hiking up to this godforsaken place-”

“I know, I know. I shouldn’t have done it. But if you’d stayed in Linhart you eventually would’ve met someone who knew the truth. I had to find a way to get you out of town.”

“You could’ve sent me on a wild-goose chase somewhere besides here,” she said. “Maybe to a spa, or a resort.”

“This was the first thing I thought of. I figured all the papers and letters and pictures upstairs would keep you busy.”

“But not forever. Or were you planning for me not to come back…ever?”

He hoped she was kidding. “I was going to send my mother to the spa, actually. But that didn’t work out like I planned.” His mother had simply called the spa and rescheduled her visit for next month, easy as pie.

He braced himself for Sydney’s explosion. Whatever she threw at him, he deserved it. If he ended up without the chili pot over his head, he’d be lucky.

But the explosion never came. She was studying him as if he were some new species of insect she’d never seen before.

“I really don’t understand. I’ve seen people lie, cheat and steal to try to inherit money that didn’t belong to them. But I’ve never seen anyone work this hard not to inherit money.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Enlighten me.”

“I don’t want to be rich. I’ve seen what extreme wealth can do to people. How much do you know about my father?”

“Sammy? Not a whole lot, other than that he owned a very profitable casino and had ties to organized crime. That part isn’t my business. His will is my business. He left you half of his estate-he must have loved you a great deal.”

Russ laughed. “You gotta be kidding.”

“Well, something caused him to write his will that way.”

“Maybe he wanted to get revenge on his wife by cutting her out of her inheritance.”

“She received more than ten million, as well, so it wasn’t that.”

“Then the gesture was born out of pure guilt.” That was the only thing Russ could figure.

“Who cares why he did it? He did-it’s ten million dollars. You can’t just pretend it doesn’t exist.”

“That’s exactly what I have in mind. The poor bastard thought anything could be bought or sold with cold hard cash. Well, not me. He can’t buy my forgiveness for what he did, not with any amount.”

Sydney was silent for a while. She ate some of the potatoes, chewing thoughtfully. “What did he do that was so horrible? Did he abuse you?”

“Maybe I could have dealt with that. What he did was almost worse. To Sammy Oberlin, I was invisible. I didn’t exist. He wanted my mother in his bed, but he certainly didn’t want to marry her or take any responsibility for the consequences.”

“He didn’t pay child support?”

“He always handed my mother money for whatever she claimed she needed, but there were never any formal payments.”

“So this whole thing is a gesture of defiance,” Sydney concluded. “A grudge match between you and your deceased father. Who do you think is winning?”

When she put it like that, it sounded ridiculous. “There’s more to it.”

“So keep explaining.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation. My reasons are my own. Let’s just leave it at that.”

She sat there silently for a while, pondering. “All right,” she finally said. “If you’ll help me carry the dishes to the sink, I’ll wash them.”

“You don’t have to-”

“You cooked, it’s only fair I clean.”

He had to give her credit, she was trying to honor his wishes. But try as she might, it was clear she was confused and upset by his decision. He supposed he couldn’t blame her. No one liked being duped. “I’m sorry I can’t be more accommodating.”

She shrugged. “It’s just a million-dollar commission. Easy come, easy go. You brought me up to this cabin under false pretenses. I almost froze to death, I had to use that disgusting outhouse because you neglected to tell me there was a marginally adequate bathroom, I ate the grossest meals imaginable because you didn’t tell me the can labels were on the bottom, but, hey, you don’t owe me anything. And I’m not the kind of person to carry a grudge.” She managed to get herself upright and hobble to the kitchen sink without his assistance. “Just bring me the dishes, okay? I can lean against the counter. It’s probably best if we don’t talk about this anymore.”

She was probably afraid she’d do him violence if they talked any more. They were stuck with each other and isolated from any witnesses.

Russ decided he better do as she asked and consider himself lucky she wasn’t throwing dishes instead of