Children of Destiny Books 1-3 (Texas: Children of Destiny Book 9) by Ann Major

Author:Ann Major [Major, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Major Press
Published: 2016-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Eight

At the top of the stairs Megan hesitated, feeling ridiculously awkward and out of her depth as she waited for Byrom to park the car. In one hand she clutched a small, brightly wrapped birthday present. The elegant party had already started, and she was thankful that Wayne and Mercedes Jackson had finished receiving guests and that their places beneath the glittering chandelier in the foyer stood empty.

Byrom rushed up the stairs and pressed Megan’s clammy hand in his. “Thought I’d never find a parking place.”

Megan tried to smile at him and felt only a painful pulling at the corners of her mouth.

A chattering group of young women in silks, chiffons and flashing jewels flew past them and disappeared into the house. Kirk was already inside.

Brilliant floodlights lit the house so that the red-roofed Spanish mansion stood out like a radiant ruby set with diamonds against the velvet blackness of the night. A constant stream of helicopters and limousines had ferried wealthy guests from the airport.

Unlike everyone else on the ranch who had been filled with anticipation at the thought of a party, Megan had dreaded tonight all week. The house was filled with caterers and bartenders and extra help hired to serve. White party tents had been erected beside the pool.

Mariachis stood outside strumming their guitars, and the hauntingly melodious Mexican music filled Megan with an aching nostalgia for other evenings, simpler evenings when she had danced until dawn with the vaqueros in their sharply pressed, razor-edged khakis and laughed and talked with their dark-skinned women and children.

It was the Jackson Ranch custom to give two parties simultaneously in celebration of all grand occasions. Thus, whenever there was a party at the Big House, there was one given outside for the ranch hands, too. Usually it was the ranch-hand party that Megan attended, instead of the more formal affair at the Big House. Tonight, more than ever before, she would have preferred the outdoor party.

As she stepped inside the door, Megan heard the strains of the orchestra from the ballroom, and her heart tightened with a feeling of queer, almost painful expectancy as she thought of seeing Jeb again. She had bought a new dress, a bright emerald-green gown with long, swirling skirts that seemed to float at her every turn. Nestled against the flyaway tendrils of her flame-red hair was a yellow blossom that Kirk had picked and given to her from the vine of climbing roses that grew beneath her bedroom window.

She remembered his hushed words, velvet soft in the darkness. “Be happy tonight, Megan. For me.”

She had nodded, unable to speak.

“And try to be nice to Jeb. He cares more about you than you know.”

She had turned away.

Megan felt uneasy surrounded by the opulence of Jeb’s house and the glamour and sophistication of his guests. There was nothing like one of Mercedes’s elegant parties to show Megan the gulf that separated the Jacksons from their employees.

Elegant gifts with golden labels from fancy stores completely covered the vast, polished library table in the foyer beneath the dazzling chandelier.

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