Read Online World's Most Eligible Texan by Sara Orwig - Free Book Online
Authors: Sara Orwig
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in her bedroom windows, escaping around the edges of the blinds. The dark silhouette of a tall man in a cap showed against the windows.
As Aaron moved forward, the man spun around and burst into a run.
Furious the bastard was window peeping or spying on Pamela, Aaron stretched out his long legs, but the man had a head start. Aaron was a runner, and he was closing the gap swiftly when the man vaulted a fence. As Aaron leaped over the fence after him, the man jumped into a black car parked only yards away on a driveway.
When the motor roared to life, Aaron was just steps away. He lunged for the car, sprawling across the front fender.
The car raced backwards and Aaron couldnât get a grip, his fingers sliding over the smooth hood before he spilled off to the ground, but he saw two faces, one narrow with a long nose. The other face was a pale blur, much more square-shaped. The car whipped down the drive, turned into the street and, with a squeal of tires, was gone.
Aaron stood, brushing off his suit. He was certain it had been the same black car that had been following him before, and heâd got a dim glimpse of the two men inside. Total strangers. He worried about Pamelaâs safety. Someone was watching her, but who? And why?
Lost in thoughts about her and about the man he had chased, Aaron drove home, checking his rearview mirror for a tail, butseeing no car trailing after him. Tomorrow he would trace the tag number on the car that had tailed them. It was Pamela who was being followed, and she obviously didnât have an inkling why.
At his Pine Valley house, Aaron stripped down and stretched out in his king-size bed. It would soon be time to get up, but sleep was as elusive as ever.
Lying awake in the dark of the large master bedroom, he wondered about the men following Pamela. Midmorning tomorrow, actually today, he had an appointment to meet with his friends, other members of the Texas Cattlemanâs Club. He thought about the old legend of Royal.
Â
During the War with Mexico, jewels had been found and hidden in Royal. In 1910 when Tex Langley decided to establish the Texas Cattlemanâs Club, he and the founding members made a pact that only members of the Cattlemanâs Club would ever know of the jewelsâ true existence and members of the club would be the guardians of this town treasure, jewels that, according to the legend, were supposed to be the reason Royal prospered. The stones were kept in a treasure box, accessible to the club members via a secret passage under the original adobe mission built when Royal was founded. Now the mission was in Royalâs large park by the Cattlemanâs Club.
Shortly after the Asterland jet had had to make the forced landing, four members from the Cattlemanâs Club had gone to the crash site, and Justin Webb had found two of the jewelsâthe black harlequin opal, the most valued of opals, and a two-carat emerald. All three jewels had to have been on that plane, but the third and most valuable, a red diamond, was still missing.
So far, the club members had kept things quiet, giving some of their information to Winona Raye, who was marrying Justin. A policewoman who worked with juveniles, Winona had agreed to be their contact with the authorities so they could keep things as quiet as possible and out of the media. The facts marched through Aaronâs thoughts, taunting him withpuzzle pieces that needed to be put together as quickly as possible. Someone out there was desperate. A trusted bartender, Riley Monroe, had been found dead near the mission where the jewels had been hidden. A scrap of a burned note found at the landing site didnât have enough written on it to piece together answers to questions. Robert Klimt, an Asterland cabinet member on the plane, was in a coma in the Royal Memorial Hospital, and the Cattlemanâs Club members wanted to talk to him to find out what he knew.
The priceless red diamond entrusted to the
As Aaron moved forward, the man spun around and burst into a run.
Furious the bastard was window peeping or spying on Pamela, Aaron stretched out his long legs, but the man had a head start. Aaron was a runner, and he was closing the gap swiftly when the man vaulted a fence. As Aaron leaped over the fence after him, the man jumped into a black car parked only yards away on a driveway.
When the motor roared to life, Aaron was just steps away. He lunged for the car, sprawling across the front fender.
The car raced backwards and Aaron couldnât get a grip, his fingers sliding over the smooth hood before he spilled off to the ground, but he saw two faces, one narrow with a long nose. The other face was a pale blur, much more square-shaped. The car whipped down the drive, turned into the street and, with a squeal of tires, was gone.
Aaron stood, brushing off his suit. He was certain it had been the same black car that had been following him before, and heâd got a dim glimpse of the two men inside. Total strangers. He worried about Pamelaâs safety. Someone was watching her, but who? And why?
Lost in thoughts about her and about the man he had chased, Aaron drove home, checking his rearview mirror for a tail, butseeing no car trailing after him. Tomorrow he would trace the tag number on the car that had tailed them. It was Pamela who was being followed, and she obviously didnât have an inkling why.
At his Pine Valley house, Aaron stripped down and stretched out in his king-size bed. It would soon be time to get up, but sleep was as elusive as ever.
Lying awake in the dark of the large master bedroom, he wondered about the men following Pamela. Midmorning tomorrow, actually today, he had an appointment to meet with his friends, other members of the Texas Cattlemanâs Club. He thought about the old legend of Royal.
Â
During the War with Mexico, jewels had been found and hidden in Royal. In 1910 when Tex Langley decided to establish the Texas Cattlemanâs Club, he and the founding members made a pact that only members of the Cattlemanâs Club would ever know of the jewelsâ true existence and members of the club would be the guardians of this town treasure, jewels that, according to the legend, were supposed to be the reason Royal prospered. The stones were kept in a treasure box, accessible to the club members via a secret passage under the original adobe mission built when Royal was founded. Now the mission was in Royalâs large park by the Cattlemanâs Club.
Shortly after the Asterland jet had had to make the forced landing, four members from the Cattlemanâs Club had gone to the crash site, and Justin Webb had found two of the jewelsâthe black harlequin opal, the most valued of opals, and a two-carat emerald. All three jewels had to have been on that plane, but the third and most valuable, a red diamond, was still missing.
So far, the club members had kept things quiet, giving some of their information to Winona Raye, who was marrying Justin. A policewoman who worked with juveniles, Winona had agreed to be their contact with the authorities so they could keep things as quiet as possible and out of the media. The facts marched through Aaronâs thoughts, taunting him withpuzzle pieces that needed to be put together as quickly as possible. Someone out there was desperate. A trusted bartender, Riley Monroe, had been found dead near the mission where the jewels had been hidden. A scrap of a burned note found at the landing site didnât have enough written on it to piece together answers to questions. Robert Klimt, an Asterland cabinet member on the plane, was in a coma in the Royal Memorial Hospital, and the Cattlemanâs Club members wanted to talk to him to find out what he knew.
The priceless red diamond entrusted to the
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