CHAPTER ONE

Alec Standing stared speechless at his cousin for a moment. Had Drake actually said what Alec imagined him saying? Alec was all set to dismiss it as preposterous until he spotted the serious expression on Drake Everette’s face.

“You’re doing what? Drake, please tell me you’re not seriously considering this.” But as he looked at Drake’s defiant expression Alec knew that he was.

“Of all the crazy, lame brain, off-the-wall schemes you’ve come up with in your lifetime, this one has got to top them all. What about Jackie? Have you even thought about how she’s going to feel about this? You and Jackie have been crazy in love with each other for about as long as I can remember—since you were teenagers. Are you going to stand here and try to tell me she’s going to be okay with you marrying another woman? Have you finally lost your mind Drake? Just how important is being governor of Texas to you, anyway? Surely not so important that you’d actually be willing to sell out the only woman you have ever claimed to have loved just to win?”

Drake Everette, one of the brightest and youngest superstars of the Texas political arena right now, read the condemnation in every single word that his best friend and the man who was closer to him than just a mere cousin. Alec Standing was like a brother to Drake and even though Drake couldn’t admit it—ever, he had looked up to Alec as something of a hero for most of his life.

“Look Alec, Jackie understands how important this is to me. I’ve worked all of my life to get where I am today. Jackie knows how I feel about her, but she also accepts that right now she’s like a political death sentence to me because of her family history. Besides, I don’t plan on actually marrying anyone—well except for Jackie someday. I just want to pretend to be engaged to this girl long enough to win the election and then I’ll find some nice discreet way to break it off with her. You know, end the whole thing gracefully. Something hopefully, that will help me get reelected.”

At his cousin’s less than flattering answer to that, Drake continued on a little more carefully this time. Alec just didn’t understand the game of politics. Especially politics in Texas. It was do or die at the very least most of the time.

“Look, I don’t expect you to understand or agree with me on this Alec—after all you’ve never had any political ambitions yourself. Which is a shame considering who you are, but we won’t go there. Besides, you don’t need run for governor. You own most of the state of Texas already. My side of the family, on the other hand, well, we’re just the poor relations compared to the mighty Standings. I mean you have a whole town named after you for crying out loud.”

Drake watched his cousin closely for the usual reaction to that statement but it wasn’t there. But the disapproval was. Drake decided for the moment to ignore it. He was hoping to try to convince his cousin that he had everything under control. This plan had to work, after all. His advisors had assured him it was foolproof and guaranteed to win him the election. He’d made sure to hire the best in the business. They should know. So why was he suddenly so uncertain? Just Alec’s usual smug expression had him thrown.

“Alec, you know that I have the name to get me into the right playing field. I mean Dad was almost elected to the same office himself twenty years earlier. I just need that little extra punch that she can give me. I’m doing this for my father as well as myself, Alec. I want to make his dream a reality. I can’t do it, my consultants tell me, with a wife or a fiancée who has a convicted murderer for a father. Jackie will understand this is necessary. Just part of the game. She knows how important it is to me after all. She always understands.”

At that remark, Alec let out a loud, unpleasant snort, his cousin’s best attempt at laughter, forcing Drake to wonder just what part of that statement he was finding so damn amusing. The reference of Drake’s family being nothing but the poor relations or the idea of Jackie being understanding about anything.

Jackie, the dark-haired beauty that had captured his heart when he was still just a boy, made it clear to him throughout their relationship that she had quite a temper when things didn’t go her way. Not to mention she was equally impatient when it came to some of the things Drake considered important in life, namely politics.

The Everette’s may not have possessed the power or influence the wealthier Standing family branch had, but Drake’s father had managed to keep from spending most of the family’s small fortune on his political aspirations and to leave his son pretty much financially set and able to pursue his own political dreams. It was the legacy his father always wanted for himself that Drake stumbled into and found, much to his surprise, he excelled at the game.

Drake ran an anxious hand through his recently highlighted to perfection chestnut locks.

The team of stylists he’d employed at the request of his advisors did a random polling of female voters between the ages of twenty-three and forty-five and came up with the need for said highlights along with some minor fashion changes. Instead of his normal somber business suits, which was perfectly fitting for a CFO of one of the largest Austin banks around, the women polled wanted to see their candidate in something more fitting to his ranching background. Namely cowboy boots, jeans and western shirts, something like what Alec was used to wearing. Only Alec preferred the basic white T-shirt like the one he wore today compared to western shirts. Alec would make the perfect gubernatorial candidate should he ever choose to run for the office, which was highly unlikely because Alec hated politics. Not that Drake minded much, this was his dream after all. So yes, Jackie would understand because she loved him and he had a way of getting her to do whatever he wanted. All he had to do was promise her the inevitable diamond ring.

* * * *

Of all things to be consumed with in life, his cousin has to choose politics, Alec thought. He didn’t understand Drake’s attraction to that field at all.

The upcoming governor’s election was still two years away but already Drake was in the lead for his party’s nomination, if all the preliminary polls taken by the hoard of advisors he’d hired were correct.

Even though his cousin was predicted to be a shoo-in against an aging incumbent, Drake wasn’t nearly convinced, especially after the way things ended in defeat for his father’s gubernatorial campaign years earlier. This was Drake’s lifelong goal – to accomplish what his father could not and he wasn’t taking anything for granted. As an overachiever, Drake would never be able to accept defeat.

So when the inevitable questions about Drake marital status arose, his advisors felt he needed to be involved in a serious committed relationship to gain the votes of some of the remaining party holdouts. While Drake loved Jackie and was committed to her in his own way, he wasn’t ready to announce their romantic involvement. According to his political advisors, letting the voters know of his relationship with Jackie Rodriguez who came from the wrong side of the tracks and had the worst possible family pedigree would be the equivalent of committing political suicide.

So far, there had been rumors of a relationship for a long time, but Drake made it a point of never being seen in Jackie’s company without Alec. Since the three of them grew up together, most people accepted that they were simply friends. Well, at least for the time being, but once the election began to heat up, it wouldn’t be long before the press focused their attention of Drake’s personal life, which was apparently why Drake was looking to squash any rumors by producing another more suitable woman.

“I can’t believe you’d let them talk you into doing this Drake? I thought you wanted to win this election honestly not, by whatever means necessary? After all that was your father’s biggest campaign platform wasn’t it? Honesty. There are enough dirty politicians in office as it is, Drake. Why not try something different? I thought you cared more about Jackie than that? And what makes you think they’ll be any more accepting of Jackie once you’re in the office?”

Alec deserted his restless prowling around his cousin’s home office and plopped down on the chair across from him, propping his dusty seen-better-days boots on the edge of the desk and dropping his white, trademark Stetson on the wood floor next to his chair.

In spite of Drake’s reassurances that Jackie would understand, Alec knew how hurt not to mention angry the girl they had both grown up competing for would be.

“My advisors believe once I’ve had a chance to prove myself with the voters, they’ll be willing to accept just about anything, especially when they see how much I love Jackie.”

“And what makes you think they wouldn’t accept her now? Maybe you should give the citizens of Texas a little more credit.

Jackie Rodriguez was six years Drake’s junior and only five years old when her dad had been released from prison, and Alec’s own father hired him to work on the ranch tending cattle and doing odd jobs. Unfortunately, Alec had to agree, in spite of Drake’s love for Jackie and that she was completely removed from her father’s crimes, the stigma of having her father kill her mother in a jealous fit of rage had stuck with Jackie all of her life. And all through Jackie’s life, first as a child tagging along behind the mostly annoyed older cousins and then later as a teen, when Drake’s eyes had been opened to her dark beauty, she and Drake had been inseparable. For a time Alec who was two years older vied for Jackie’s affection as well, but it hadn’t taken him more than a few weeks to concede the inevitable.

Drake and Jackie were soul mates. Even in spite of the fact that Drake had gone through a wild spell during his university years and dated other women. He always came back to Jackie, and he’d finally stopped looking any further. That’s why it was so hard for Alec to understand how Drake could even entertain this crazy scheme put into his head by all those political advisors that he hired at exorbitant prices—much less actually go through with it?

“So who’s the lucky girl? How did you meet her?” Alec asked. He could hardly wait. If this little scheme went along the same lines as most of Drake’s others, then no doubt it was going to be a doozy.

“Do I know her? Does she even know she’s about to become the fiancée of Drake Everette, candidate for the next governor of Texas?”

Drake at least had the good presence of mind to look slightly sheepish and every bit the guilty boyfriend.

“I doubt it, although her parents were from Texas originally and very politically active for a while on a much larger scale than just herein Texas. In fact, her father was the attorney general a couple of presidents back. Unfortunately, both he and his wife were killed in a plane crash just a few weeks ago. Edward and Rebecca Richmond were good people. Dad knew them both well. That’s how I met them originally. I would have loved to have Edward’s support in this race, but I’ll have to settle for his daughter’s instead. Thank God, Grace didn’t accompany them on that final trip. She was in Colorado attending the university there. I’ve asked her to stay for a while. Her father was originally from Texas.”

While Drake spoke, something began to dawn on Alec. He started laughing at the sheer ludicrousness of the whole scheme.

“Grace Richmond? How old is this girl, anyway? I thought she was just a little thing. Surely you’re not thinking . . . wait, she doesn’t know what you have planned for her, does she Drake? She has no idea why you’ve invited her here,” Alec said, astonished.

“She’s twenty-two Alec—not exactly a child, but certainly not as old as I would have liked. But given the popularity her father once had here in Texas, and then there’s her parent’s recent, tragic deaths, she’s old enough. She’ll do just fine, and I would thank you not to try and interfere in this.”

Alec held up his hand tiring of the ridiculous game already. “Oh, don’t worry. Why would I interfere? I can’t wait to see how this is all going to play out. Twenty-two years old? How can those fat cat advisors of yours possibly think the people of Texas would warm to having a child as the future first lady of Texas? Or maybe I should say the first child of Texas, even if it’s only pretend over someone like Jackie? Think about what you’re letting them talk you into Drake. Think of Jackie. Surely someone who has been dealt a rough hand in life and has made something of herself regardless of her family history would be more acceptable as a partner than this child who doesn’t even live in Texas.” Alec caught sight of the return of Drake’s stubbornness and held up a hand.

“I’m just saying think about it. Do you realize that you’re fifteen years older than this kid? No one is going to buy you’ve suddenly fallen in love with a very politically correct woman who just happens to have just the right pedigree to get you elected governor. And most people around these parts have known about your relationship with Jackie for a long time now. So, how are you going to get out of that one cousin?”

Alec couldn’t quietly sit by and watch his cousin throw away the love and trust that he shared with Jackie, just on the off chance this crazy scheme of his would work or that he even needed it to become governor. Why couldn’t he just lay out his platform to the voters and trust the people of Texas to elect him on his merits. Drake was a good man even though he was obsessed with becoming the next governor of Texas—a thankless position at best.

Alec never understood Drake’s obsessive drive to accomplish what his father, Warren Everette, hadn’t been able to do in his lifetime. After all, Drake had only been a boy when his father ran for governor and failed. He knew of course that it was mostly because Drake idolized his father, even though Warren had never been a good father to his son. He was too busy trying to build a political name for himself and become Governor of Texas. He’d lost the election for one reason alone--he and Drake’s mother were divorced.

Warren never recovered from the loss and dropped out of politics entirely. When Warren died a few years later, before Drake’s tenth birthday, it broke his son’s heart. Drake deserved better than that. He was a good kid and a far better man than his father ever had been.

“Alec—look, I know you don’t like all of this but I need you to help me out with one little thing. And I promise I won’t ever ask you to get involved in anything again, okay?”

“What is it?” Alec asked slowly, dreading his cousin’s answer.

“I was hoping that you could kind of keep an eye out for Jackie when things begin to get crazy around here over the next little while. I don’t want her to feel neglected and you two have always been good friends. . . .”

Drake stopped suddenly, looking away from the dawning expression on his cousin’s face. “Oh no, you don’t. You’re not going to use me to try to convince everyone Jackie and I are an item, leaving you free and clear to go after this Richmond girl. No way. Even you wouldn’t sink that low. Don’t even think about it Drake—not unless you’re extremely serious because you know how special Jackie is to me. I won’t see her hurt by you or anyone else. And that’s a promise.”

“I’m not going to hurt Jackie, Alec!”

Drake began to pace the room anxiously as his cousin’s words hit too close to a nerve for comfort. He stopped as he reached the end of the room next to the door and turned back to Alec. “You know I happen to love Jackie, Alec. And I do plan to marry her, so just keep your hands off her! I know you’ve always been secretly in love with her.”

Alec smiled a slow maddening grin watching Drake’s frustration build even more at the sight of it. Good he thought to himself. It did Drake good to think that he might lose Jackie to his cousin. Maybe it would make him realize how important she was to him and treat her with more respect. Hopefully, he’d let go of this crazy scheme once and for all.

“I won’t deny that I’m crazy about Jackie, Drake. I always have been. So far, she’s still in love with you, but after this little shenanigan, well who knows . . .”

“Alec—I’m serious! Don’t you even think about going after Jackie! I’ll never forgive you if you do that. You’re my cousin for God sake!”

“That’s certainly true enough, Drake. But then—all is fair in love in war, cousin. Keep that in mind.” Alec stood, stretched his legs, and retrieved the Stetson before heading toward the door. “Just remember I warned you about this when the whole thing falls apart and everything that is really important to you disappears. Got it?”

“Alec wait!” If possible, Drake looked even more uncomfortable when Alec turned to look at him expectantly with those piercing blue eyes, the one thing they’d both inherited from their family connection.

“I almost forgot the real reason I asked you here. I need a favor. I’d do it myself but for the time being, well it wouldn’t look right.”

Alec took a step back inside the room watching as his cousin’s nervous fingers reached idly to straighten the papers on his desk, not quite able to make eye contact.

    “What is it that you’re trying so badly to ask me Drake?”

“I, well I need you to pick up Grace at the Bergstrom International Airport this afternoon and bring her back into Standing to the hotel I’ve reserved for her. She’ll be staying in town. I want to keep the press in the dark about Grace for a while. And if she was staying here and my opponent got wind of it, well, you know what an ultra conservative he is. I swear he has people spying on me on every corner looking for dirt. I don’t think it would be a good idea to have her stay here and give him any more fuel for his campaign.”

“No way, Drake. I’m not helping you with this disaster. You’re on your own.” At his cousin’s, flat out refusal Drake tried a different angle.

“Look, Alec where’s your heart? The poor girl’s parents were just killed in a plan crash . . . no wait there’s more to the story than that. She is almost penniless, and she has nowhere to live—at least as far as I know. I’m working on arranging an apartment for her in Austin, so that she can stick around for a while, but well I just need to divert the press for now, not to mention keep my opponent’s watchdogs off me for a while longer. I need a little more time, Alec. I’m not ready to bring this all out in the open just yet. I have to talk to Jackie about this before she hears about it from someone else. You don’t want to see her hurt, do you? You know how upset she’ll be if she reads about me and another woman in the papers. And you were right, Alec. Grace doesn’t know what we have in mind for her just yet, but I don’t think she’ll protest much. After all, she really doesn’t have a choice in the matter. She won’t refuse.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Drake.” Alec didn’t know the girl and had no desire to, but he couldn’t believe anyone would be naive enough to go along with such an insulting plan for their future. “Get someone else to do your dirty work, I’m not interested in getting involved in this little disaster, and I would advise you not to as well. It won’t work, Drake. It has all the makings of one of the worse mistakes politically or otherwise that you’ve ever made! And your relationship with Jackie is what will end up damaged when this all blows up. Remember that.”

Alec started once more to leave when a desperate Drake turned on all his popular boyish charm that proved why he was in the top running for governor.

“Alec—please. Just this one thing, and I promise you that I won’t ever ask you to get involved in any of the rest of it. I swear. I just need you to pick her up at the airport and drop her at the hotel. That’s all. You don’t even have to talk to her if you don’t want to—I mean after you apologize and explain why I’m not able to be there to meet her, that is. Really, Alec, I wouldn’t ask you if I didn’t need your help desperately. Okay?”

Alec let out the slow frustrated sigh that told his cousin in spite of his thunderous expression that he would do, as he wanted. Immediately Drake’s expression cleared.

“All right . . . what time does her flight arrive and what’s her fight number. But I warn you Drake—this is it. Just this once and that’s it. I don’t want to hear another word about this whole mess ever again. Got it?”

* * * *

Two hours later, as Alec stood close to the arrival gate waiting for Grace Richmond’s flight, which was already forty-five minutes late he wondered how on earth he ever let his cousin talk him into being a part of such a ridiculous scheme in the first place?

It dawned on him that he had no idea what the girl even looked like. Drake hadn’t bothered to tell him that little detail in his haste to convince him to help.

    Alec’s patience for the situation as a whole was gone. He heard her flight’s arrival announced at last and swore softly to himself. He had been so close just to walking out the door and leaving without sticking around any longer. Now he felt committed.

He waited, as the stream of passengers filed past him—mostly couples and a few business travelers. But so far, no one he might have thought would be the girl he was there to pick up. Alec had just started dialing Drake’s phone number when the last few passengers came through the gate, and he spotted what had to be his girl.

First glance had him struggling to keep from laughing out loud at the sheer ridiculousness of Drake’s future plans. This kid wasn’t going to help him win any political office, but it might get him landed in jail for statutory rape. Alec wasn’t sure where Drake got his facts, but the girl was close enough now for him to realize she looked barely a day over fifteen, if that.

She was dressed in jeans that looked as if they had seen better days and a simple gray T-shirt that had some logo on it—probably some designer that seemed to be the fashion with the younger kids around town. Nothing about Grace Richmond would have him believe she came from the illustrious political stock that Drake was counting on so desperately.

She wore no makeup at all—none. Her pale clear skin only emphasized huge hazel eyes beneath smoky-colored lashes. Short blond hair only a few shades lighter than his own dark blond hair. She wore it pulled up into a clip, part of the curls were escaping.

This girl was going to win Drake the governor’s office over a woman like Jackie that he loved. Alec found it hard to credit Drake for being that much of an idiot in believing those who obviously had no clue what they were talking about.

She stopped just a little past him and looked around. Upon a second look, Alec decided she definitely wasn’t a child. Not by a long shot. She had all the right curves, enhanced by the tight jeans and snug fitting T-shirt. Okay, so she had something going for her, but she couldn’t compare to Jackie’s dark, sultry Latin looks surely.

“Grace?” Alec took a step toward the girl who swung around at the sound of her name, her startled eyes meeting his with uncertainty and two things became clear to him at that moment. Grace Richmond was very, very young, no matter what her birth certificate or her curves declared, and she was way out of her element here.

“Yes, I’m Grace Richmond. Who are you?” Hazel eyes slipped over his faded jeans, white T-shirt, and seen-their-better-days cowboy boots. Alec was surprised and more than a little amused to see a delicate flush spread over her cheeks when her glance collided with his once more before focusing somewhere around his chin.

Was Drake out of his mind? Not only was she still a baby, but she was timid as well. Both things Alec couldn’t relate to nor had patience for. He didn’t bother holding out his hand, but tapped his Stetson impatiently against his leg. He just wanted to be done with her.

“I’m Alec Standing—Drake’s cousin. He asked me to meet you and take you to your hotel. He was detained and unable to come himself.”

Alec spotted Grace’s reaction to this news and it wasn’t good. She looked heartbroken. It occurred to him for the first time that Grace actually knew Drake. For some reason his cousin had given him the distinct impression that they never actually met.

“Oh no, that’s too bad. I was looking forward to seeing Drake again. It’s been a long time since we saw each other. It was very kind of him to invite me here.” Her words confirmed Alec’s belief as she spoke, still not making eye contact with him, but giving him the impression that something about his presence here made her uneasy.

“So you and Drake have met before? I’m sorry I was under the impression that you two hadn’t actually met . . .”

“Oh yes, we’ve met on several occasions. Drake was a good friend of my father’s and supported many of his causes. Will he be joining up with us later?” she asked eagerly.

Something even more disturbing than the fact that Drake had lied about meeting the girl before occurred to Alec then. This girl was in love with Drake. He could hear it in her voice, see it in her face. In love or infatuated, it didn’t matter. It was all the same as far as he was concerned. Alec would have found the situation more than a little amusing if he wasn’t all too aware of Jackie’s feeling and how badly she was going to be hurt by this whole mess. For that reason, he found himself only annoyed by this girl’s obvious feelings for his cousin and angry with Drake for using those feelings that he had no doubt been more than aware of.

“I have no idea. I’m just delivering you to your hotel. Where are the rest of your things, Miss Richmond?” Alec asked impatiently. He took the overnight bag from her not missing the wounded expression that touched those hazel eyes at the hardness in his tone. Too bad, he thought. He wasn’t in the mood to baby sit, and he had already grown tired of this sordid affair. The last thing he wanted to do was try to figure out who was lying to whom. He just wanted to dump this girl at the hotel and then head for the ranch.

“I don’t have any other bags. This is everything—”

“Good. Then let’s go.” Alec cut off Grace’s somewhat confused answer before turning and walking away.

Drake told Alec he didn’t need to talk to the girl. Well that was exactly what he intended to do. She could figure out what she needed to know on her own.

Alec headed through the terminal’s doors out into the late afternoon as the hot September sun blasted them with a gust of scorching humid air. The temperature was predicted to reach over a hundred today. Unusually warm, even for September in Texas. The heat waves rising above the black asphalt told him it was that and more.

He could hear the girl struggling to keep up, but Alec didn’t slow his pace one little bit. He ignored the little voice inside his head that told him he was only proving everyone right and confirming his reputation all over again as being one of the most impatient people around Standing. Not that he cared. This certainly wouldn’t be the worst of his sins.

He slicked back his collar-length hair with his hand and put on the hat. Right now, he only wanted to get rid of her as soon as possible so that he could let his cousin have the full extent of his anger without Grace Richmond forming any further opinions of him. He had a sneaking suspicion he wouldn’t be on her most favorite list anytime soon.

Alec unlocked the truck and threw her bag in beside him not bothering with opening the door for her. By now, she was probably beginning to figure out he wasn’t thrilled to be her escort. She could save her little fantasies about Texas men for Drake. He certainly didn’t do knight-in-shining-armor for anyone.

She glanced nervously in his direction, but she didn’t say a word as she climbed inside the truck. They left the parking lot heading in the direction of the expensive hotel that Drake had registered her. The scent of her cinnamon perfume reminded him of how long it had been since he’d been this close to a woman who wasn’t part of his business or Jackie. After his last disastrous relationship ended a few years back, Alec decided serious love relationship weren’t his style. He’d taken a much-needed break from dating then. So far, he hadn’t run into a woman yet who made him want to take another shot at love again.

Alone in the interior of the cab, Alec glanced at the girl close to him once more. She sat looking out the side window, but he could tell that she was aware of him watching. She was blushing to her blond roots again. Alec couldn’t keep from laughing out loud at this whole ridiculous little scenario. Her startled expression focused on him once more.

He wouldn’t let himself to acknowledge the questions in those startling hazel eyes. Alec shook his head, his gaze holding hers. She turned away, choosing instead to ignore his bad behavior. For once—something about her bothered him. Not in an annoying way like before, not this was something far more disturbing. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Alec gave himself a mental shake. Best to leave those feelings unexplored because he would only despise himself if he let his imagination go there. Especially knowing what lay in store for her.

Standing, Texas had been named after its founder and Alec’s great-grandfather Redmond Standing. It was a small town built around the wealth of its more illustrious oil booming days. In later years, it was considered close enough to Austin, Texas to become something of a retreat for the rich city dwellers that wanted to play weekend ranchers and had the money to make that little fairy tale happen.

Alec stopped the truck in front of her hotel and waited. His patience was quickly deserting him. He needed to get rid of her before he said or worse yet, did something he would regret for the rest of his life.

“This is it. This is where you get out. End of the road, honey.”

“I don’t understand? You’re just leaving me here. When will I see Drake?”

Again, Grace paused, and then turned away from him, but not before Alec saw the fear in her, and he closed his eyes counting to ten. He wasn’t going to feel sorry for her—no way. She’d brought this all on herself. What type of woman travels thousands of miles to be with a man that she barely knows anyway? And what exactly was she hoping to happen between Drake and she.

“Don’t know, he didn’t say.”

“It’s just that I don’t know anyone here—and I thought Drake would be here to meet me and. . .”

“Look kid, I’m sure he’ll give you a call sometime later, once things have settled down. He just couldn’t get away to meet you now, so relax. Go inside, get checked in, and enjoy the extravagance that I’m sure won’t be wasted on you.” Alec couldn’t quite keep the sarcasm from his voice as his eyes swept over her somewhat shabby appearance. “Look,” he said more frustrated with his own reaction to her than her obvious infatuation with Drake. “I’ll tell him to give you a call so that you don’t feel so alone okay? Now if you don’t mind I have places to be.”

Grace shook her head and reached for her bag. She didn’t look at him again as she got out of the truck, but Alec couldn’t take his eyes off her as she walked with head held high inside the hotel.

She was beautiful, he thought. Oh, not in the same way the women he normally dated were, drop-dead, sophisticated beautiful, but there was something about her. Maybe it was all that innocence he didn’t trust for a second. She looked sweet—untouched almost. A trait that he’d never found himself attracted to before. Gullible was more like it. She’d fall in with Drake’s plans for her future without a second thought. Somehow, that thought didn’t sit so well with Alec.

He waited because he found he couldn’t just drive away. He watched her check in and then move in the direction of the hotel elevators. She certainly didn’t move like a child. She had a gracefulness about her that didn’t really fit his image of her. She was all woman in spite of her innocence. Something about her left, him unsettled, uncertain for the first time of what he should do. After all, the poor thing didn’t have a clue, and Drake would eat her alive, that much was clear.

Still it wasn’t his problem. She wasn’t his concern. And from his reaction to her now, he’d best keep it that way. The less he had to do with Grace Richmond the better.

It was only the sound of someone behind him honking that forced Alec out of his thoughts. He put the truck into gear again leaving the hotel behind him.

He was halfway back to the interstate before he was actually able to get Drake to pick up. “Okay, you mind telling me just what kind of game you think you’re playing here anyway, Drake?”

His words met with silence. Alec could almost picture his cousin trying to figure out what he was referring to so that he could come up with the most politically correct answer.

“Oh, Alec . . . good. So I assume you’ve seen Grace. Did you get her to the hotel, okay?”

“Oh, I’ve seen her all right, Drake. And you know what I’m talking about.”

“I’m not sure I’m hearing you correctly, Alec—you’re cell phone is cutting out. What are you talking about?”

Why didn’t you tell me you and this girl actually knew each other? Why’d you lead me to believe you had never met her before? She was more than a little disappointed that you weren’t there to meet her, Drake. What exactly did you promise her, and I thought you said she didn’t know about your little plan? Did you know she’s in love with you?”

More silence followed, which only confirmed that Drake knew only too well of Grace’s misplaced feelings for him and was counting on them to make his little plan work.

“You did know—didn’t you? Don’t bother denying it. I can tell from the way you aren’t saying a thing that it’s true. Don’t you think that’s a little underhanded, Drake? I mean she has a crush on you, and you’re going to exploit that for your own gain. You don’t care at all that this kid’s going to get hurt when you tell her you were just using her name to get yourself elected.”

“Alec, you know I value your thoughts as always. And your concern for Grace is touching, but let me handle this, will you? Yes, I did know Grace but only slightly. We’ve probably met only half a dozen times at best so I doubt that she’s seriously in love with me as you say. Grace has always had a bit of a crush on me. But honestly, Alec, do you really think I would stoop to use those feelings against her?”

“Yes, if it gets you into the office. I have no doubt that you would use them.” Alec stopped the truck in the parking lot next to the local shopping center debating the wisdom of going back to the hotel and putting Grace Richmond on another plane back to wherever she called home.

“Alec you don’t understand what’s at stake here and just how much the Richmond name will help my campaign so stay out of it!”

“The Richmond name? Drake, did you ever stop and consider for a moment that there’s a person with very strong feelings, however misguided they might be, for you attached to that name? What price is she going to have to pay to get you elected to governor? You think she’ll consider it worth it in the end?”

Alec heard the dreaded silence again and knew that once again his cousin was trying to come up with just the right answer to pacify him. Alec couldn’t help but wonder when had the man was who had been so caring as a child, so concerned for others become this stone-cold unemotional politician that he barely recognized as his own flesh and blood anymore. Drake had been everything that Alec was not growing up and as a young adult. But since bitten by the political bug, he had changed so dramatically that he was hardly recognizable as the caring person Alec had grown up with.

“What do you want me to say, Alec? This isn’t a fair fight by any means, but I do have some good intentions in spite of what you think. I have no plans of leading Grace on, but I do need her to help me win this race so that I can do something good for Texas. Something that will make a difference in this state’s future. I just need you to trust me on this.”

“That’s the one thing I won’t do, Drake. You need to straighten this out and make sure that girl is clear on what it is you want from her right now, or I’ll do it for you. Beyond that, you can leave me out of the politics from now on.”

Alec flipped the phone shut and sat with his hands on the wheel, still torn. He hated to admit feeling anything for Grace Richmond—someone who he had just met. But he did. It was just that she looked as if she were all alone in the world. She didn’t stand a chance against Drake and all of his goons. They would have her agreeing to things that she had no idea what it would cost her or what she was letting herself into simply because she had some childish infatuation with his cousin.

He crushed the picture in his mind of just how sweet and innocent she’d really looked to him before those thoughts had a chance to form into other things. This was none of his business, and he was less than interested in what happened to that girl. She’d gotten herself into this mess without his help. She could just get herself out the same way.