Texas Wildcat Read online

  TOO HOT TO HANDLE!

  A blowout in the oil fields was bad news for everyone—a loss of time and money for the owners, day and night danger for the men who fought valiantly to cap the raging flames.

  Sam Tyler was one of those men, cool-headed in the midst of bedlam, unafraid even when he risked everything in the fight against the towering column of smoke and fire. But when an accident in the oil fields sent him storming into Kelly Blanchard’s office, he learned there was one kind of fire even he wasn’t equipped to handle.

  WESTERN LOVERS™

  LINDSAY

  McKENNA

  TEXAS WILDCAT

  Dedicated to Boots Hansen and Coots Matthews, blowout specialists, who are genuine Texas heroes in the finest sense. And to Alvin Moody, whose knowledge and friends provided further insights into the Texas gas and oil industry, and Jeanne Long, surely a Texan at heart, for her friendship, creative ideas and enthusiasm.

  A LETTER FROM THE AUTHOR

  Dear Reader,

  My good friend Jeanne Long invited me down for a week to Houston, where I was wined, dined and shown everything “Texas-style,” which, to say the least, was bigger than big.

  At one of the parties I attended I met Boots Hansen and Coots Matthews, oil-well-fire “blowout” specialists. They’d worked with Red Adair, the original granddaddy who had figured out how to snuff out oil-well fires, and eventually formed their own company, Boots and Coots of Houston, Texas.

  I had such a great time with these two Texas wildcats that they invited me over to their company to show me videos of blowouts they’d extinguished around the world. They showed me a royal good time at their facility, and being a volunteer firefighter for West Point, Ohio, I understood what they did, how they did it and how dangerous their job really was.

  So, with their technical help and guidance, Texas Wildcat was born in Houston, Texas, at a Texas-size party with Texas-size men and women-all larger than life. I hope that you enjoy reading Texas Wildcat as much as I did writing it, and as much as I enjoyed the people who inspired me to create this novel.

  Dear Reader,

  I don’t know about you, but I thought running my late father’s company, a Texas one at that, was an awful lot of work and responsibility. Plus, my father really hadn’t wanted me nosing around in what had made him a millionaire. Daddy thought a woman’s place was anywhere but the office, but being a Texan by birth, I felt it my duty to know his business.

  It was a good thing I did, because when he died unexpectedly, the whole company fell on my shoulders. And when Sam Tyler, the number-three man in the company, came marching into my office accusing my company of making shoddy equipment-well, there was a Texas-size blowout right then and there!

  Sam Tyler is a typical arrogant Texan-he knows he’s not only good-looking but he’s the best at his job. I wanted to hate him on sight for accusing my recently deceased daddy of making bad equipment that put two of Sam’s men in the hospital.

  Sam met his match in me. I’m no out-of-stater come to live in Texas. I was born here! And Texas women have a backbone of steel, even though we have that sweet, sugary Southern diplomacy, too. We’re called steel magnolias. He called me a Texas Wildcat. To tell you the truth, Sam is terribly good-looking and I really liked him the instant our eyes met. There was something so proud and strong and capable in him. Little did I realize that my own stiff-necked, hot-tempered ways would get me into more trouble than a Texas frog strangler!

  Kelly Blanchard

  Ranch Rogues

  1. Betrayed by Love

  Diana Palmer

  2. Blue Sage

  Anne Stuart

  3. Chase the Clouds

  Lindsay McKenna

  4. Mustang Man

  Lee Magner

  5. Painted Sunsets

  Rebecca Flanders

  6. Carved in Stone

  Kathleen Eagle

  Hitched in Haste

  7. A Marriage of Convenience

  Doreen Owens Malek

  8. Where Angels Fear

  Ginna Gray

  9. Inheritance

  Joleen Daniels

  10. The Hawk and the Honey

  Dixie Browning

  11. Wild Horse Canyon

  Elizabeth August

  12. Someone Waiting

  Joan Hohl

  Ranchin’ Dads

  13. Rancher’s Wife

  Anne Marie Winston

  14. His and Hers

  Pamela Bauer

  15. The Best Things in Life

  Rita Clay Estrada

  16. All That Matters

  Judith Duncan

  17. One Man’s Folly

  Cathy Gillen Thacker

  18. Sagebrush and Sunshine

  Margot Dalton

  Denim & Diamonds

  19. Moonbeams Aplenty

  Mary Lynn Baxter

  20. A Home on the Range

  Judith Bowen

  21. The Fairy Tale Girl

  Ann Major

  22. Snow Bird

  Lass Small

  23. The Countess and the Cowboy

  Linda Randall Wisdom

  24. Heart of Ice

  Diana Palmer

  Kids & Kin

  25. Fools Rush In

  Ginna Gray

  26. Wellspring

  Curtiss Ann Matlock

  27. Live-In Mom

  Laurie Paige

  28. Kids, Critters and Cupid

  Ruth Jean Dale

  29. With No Regrets

  Lisa Jackson

  30. Family Affair

  Cathy Gillen Thacker

  Reunited Hearts

  31. Yesterday’s Lies

  Lisa Jackson

  32. The Texas Way

  Jan Freed

  33. Wild Lady

  Ann Major

  34. Cody Daniels’ Return

  Marilyn Pappano

  35. All Things Considered

  Debbie Macomber

  36. Return to Yesterday

  Annette Broadrick

  Reckless Renegades

  37. Ambushed

  Patricia Rosemoor

  38. West of the Sun

  Lynn Erickson

  39. Bittersweet

  DeLoras Scott

  40. A Deadly Breed

  Caroline Burnes

  41. Desperado

  Helen Conrad

  42. Heart of the Eagle

  Lindsay McKenna

  Once A Cowboy…

  43. Rancho Diablo

  Anne Stuart

  44. Big Sky Country

  Jackie Merritt

  45. A Family to Cherish

  Cathy Gillen Thacker

  46. Texas Wildcat

  Lindsay McKenna

  47. Not Part of the Bargain

  Susan Fox

  48. Destiny’s Child

  Ann Major

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  One

  “All hell’s broken loose, Kelly!”

  Kelly tiredly raised her head. She stared blankly at Jake for a moment. Her office manager’s face was drawn. Her heart plummeted. What now? she wondered miserably. What else could go wrong? Brushing an auburn strand of hair away from her forehead, she sat up a little straighter in the huge leather chair.

  “What’s wrong?” Her voice sounded tired and strained after the events of the past week.

  Jake grimaced, giving a sorrowful shake of his head. “Boots and Coots’s
office just called. Two of our monitor pipes blew up on them.”

  “Oh, no!” Kelly groaned, slumping back into the chair. “How? I mean…”

  Jake came inside the door and shut it softly behind him. “They’re sending Sam Tyler over to tell us about it.”

  She frowned, pushing aside the mountain of paperwork. “Who’s he?”

  “Number three man in the outfit, that’s who. They’re angry, Kelly. We’re gonna lose the account.”

  Kelly made an agitated gesture, then got to her feet. “Dad never made bad pipe. What’s going on, Jake? I don’t understand it,” she muttered, walking around the large square desk. She fought back tears of remembrance. Tears of grief. Only a week ago her father, a Texas wildcatter as well as the president of Blanchard Pipe, had been sitting in his office. Now, he was dead. Dead because of a senseless automobile accident. A drunk driver had ended the life of the person she loved more than anyone in the world. Kelly’s green eyes narrowed with pain as she stared over at Jake. She chastised herself for not knowing more of her father’s business. Now, it was up to her to run the multimillion-dollar company, which made a variety of pipe for the oil and gas industry around the world.

  Placing a slender hand on her brow, she massaged her temples. She had to think coherently regardless of the circumstances. Boots and Coots were one of their major buyers. They used Blanchard pipe at oil and gas well blowouts to spray water on the raging inferno while their men worked to put the fire out.

  “Who spoke to you, Jake?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Boots Hansen did.”

  “What happened?”

  Jake released a heavy sigh. Coots Matthews and Sam Tyler were up on a call in Canada. They trucked in a load of our pipe for the job. Their men had set up the unmanned water monitors close to the gas fire to protect the crew working beneath it. When Sam went in to help with the welding on the blowout preventer our pipe failed on two out of the six water monitors.” Jake shook his head, stealing a glance over at Kelly. “That type of fire can reach temperatures of twenty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit. A heavy water fog pattern is used so the men can work at the mouth of the well.”

  Kelly’s full lips thinned. “Don’t tell me they were injured?”

  “’Fraid so, Kelly. They put Slim Hudson in a burn unit up in Canada. Tyler was burned too, but apparently not as badly. The team just landed at the airport and he’s on his way over here right now.”

  It was far more serious than she had first thought. Blanchard pipe was designed to withstand thousands of pounds of water pressure hurtling through it for months on end without failure. This was the third time within a month that their pipe had buckled during a critical phase. Word was getting around. The business her father had started twenty years ago was in danger of failing because of it.

  Tears glittered in Kelly’s green eyes as she lifted her chin. “Okay, Jake, bring Mr. Tyler to me when he gets here. I want to deal with this one personally. Boots and Coots have been good customers for too long. This has to be investigated.”

  “Man, you’re telling me. I feel bad about this one.”

  “Is Slim going to be all right?”

  Jake managed a sliver of a smile. “You know Texans, Kelly. We’re all tougher than horseshoe nails. Yeah, he’ll make it.”

  “Have Susan get more information. I want to know when they’ll transfer Slim back to Houston,” Kelly ordered.

  Walking dejectedly back to the leather chair, Kelly stared at the floor. Normally, her shoulders were straight and proud. Today they slumped. The guilt bore down on her. Why hadn’t she gotten more involved in her father’s business this last year before his death? The answer was simple: her crumbling marriage had finally fallen apart. This past year she had been picking up the bits and pieces of her psyche and she had thought it best not to return to the business world full time until she had her life under control.

  Todd, her ex-husband, had always opposed her working. He wanted no wife of his to be a corporate executive. Kelly had relinquished her position as vice-president when she left Houston to marry, but she had insisted on helping her father as a regional director. Her involvement with the business had led to one horrible argument after another. After five years of quarrels, Kelly had given up on the faltering marriage, unwilling to suffocate beneath Todd’s restrictions. But she was still suffering from the effects of the divorce.

  Before she had time to consider all those effects, the door of her office was jerked open. Kelly’s eyes widened as she met the angry blue gaze directed at her. She froze, fingers resting on the desk, facing her adversary. He wore the white coveralls that were synonymous with Boots and Coots Company. Over the left pocket was the name, Sam, in blue embroidery. Kelly’s heart leaped. He wasn’t a huge man, but the animal power within him took her breath away. She had never met him before, yet her senses were instantly affected by him. His blue eyes narrowed on her. The face, darkly tanned by the Texas sun, was square, the jaw uncompromising. His black hair was neatly trimmed and hidden beneath a white baseball cap with the Boots and Coots symbol upon it. Involuntarily, Kelly took a step back, her legs brushing against the chair. If it weren’t for his mouth, she would have been completely intimidated by him. But it was a kind mouth, though it was drawn now into a thin line.

  “I’m Sam Tyler. Where’s Blanchard?” he ground out. Sam Tyler was feeling irritated with the fact that his left arm had to remain in a sling for the next week. He glared at the woman in front of him. “We’ve got a score to settle with him.” He halted at the desk and unceremoniously dropped a piece of aluminum pipe on it. “Blanchard integrity!” he snarled. “Take a look, honey. The old man’s company can go to hell for this,” he continued, jabbing his square index finger down at the pipe. One end was blown completely apart, its normally smooth exterior now jagged, razor sharp splinters.

  The smarting pain of the burns on his shoulder and upper arm fueled Sam’s anger. The woman standing before him appeared as tired as he felt. Her eyes were the color of dark emeralds. Was she Blanchard’s secretary? Despite the pallor of her face and the darkness beneath her large eyes, she was damn good looking. Sam squelched those thoughts. “Where is the old—”

  “Dead.”

  Sam’s eyes widened. “What are you talking about? I just talked to him two weeks ago.”

  Kelly’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “I said he’s dead. Does that compute? He was killed last week in an automobile accident.”

  Sam swallowed his anger. A frown formed on his forehead and he reached up, taking off the cap. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. “Then who are you? His secretary?”

  “I’m his daughter, Mr. Tyler. Look,” she began, in a strained voice, “sit down. I’ll have Susan bring us some coffee. I just heard about the pipe blowing. I need more information.”

  Sam’s mouth softened and he took a step back. “Yeah,” he agreed, his voice losing its hard edge. “I guess we could both use a cup of coffee.”

  Kelly tried to still her racing heart. This man was a stranger to her, so why was she responding to him so strongly? I must be closer to exhaustion than I thought. She had to get some sleep soon or…Kelly brushed her thoughts aside and called Susan to bring coffee. Sam had seated himself in the chair before her desk. Her gaze settled on his heavily bandaged left arm and the sling.

  “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “Jake told me you and Slim got burned.” She regarded him gravely. “It shouldn’t have happened.”

  Running his strong-looking fingers through his dark hair, Sam held her gaze. In that instant she looked so damned fragile; a china doll that had been fractured. The anger he had carried all the way home on the plane dissipated. He judged her height around five feet nine. Thick, auburn hair tumbled in graceful abandon around her shoulders, barely brushing her breasts. The simple black dress with its white collar and french cuffs increased her look of vulnerability. Her complexion appeared washed out. Sam’s eyes narrowed as he continued to study he
r. Why hadn’t he seen her around Houston? Where had Blanchard been hiding his daughter? She appeared to be almost ethereal. At that moment he wanted to reach out and touch her to see if she was real. Would she disappear like a cloud on a scorching Texas day?

  “I shouldn’t have come barging in here like a steam roller, either,” he apologized. “It’s just that we’re all pretty upset by Slim’s injury.”

  Susan entered, interrupting the tense conversation. With their respective cups of coffee in hand, they waited until the secretary left the office. Kelly walked over to the desk and sat down. “You had every right to be angry, Mr….”

  “Call me Sam,” he insisted.

  It would be easy to call him by his first name.

  The sudden warmth in his voice eased the tension between them. “Let’s discuss your problem with the pipe,” she suggested, pulling over a notebook and a pencil. “Can you tell me what led up to the pipe’s failure?”

  Sam hesitated, sensing her utter exhaustion. “Look,” he began on a more conciliatory note, “you don’t need this right on top of your father’s death. I could speak to Jake. We’ve dealt with him quite a bit in the past.”

  Kelly shook her head. “No,” she returned, a smile pulling at one corner of her mouth, “I need to be kept busy right now.” The smile disappeared as she stared over at the pipe. “And this incident has top priority.” She was thankful her father wasn’t here to witness this. His pride in producing a quality product was well known; this would have broken his heart.

  Sam leaned forward, resting his one elbow on his long thigh. “You’re taking over his business, then?”

  “Yes.”

  Sam nodded. She had guts. He liked the fire he saw flickering in the depths of her wide, transparent eyes. “Okay,” he agreed, “let me fill you in on the details of the pipe blowing, then.”

  “Fine. Start at the top, Sam.”

  He leaned back, feeling the dull pain from the second-degree burns across his right shoulder and upper arm. He disdained pain-killers because he didn’t want the loss of alertness they caused. “We got a call to cap a Canadian gas well up in the province of Alberta. Coots was available and the three of us flew up.”

  “And the pipe?”