Cougar Bounty Read online

  Scanning, uploading and/or distribution of this book via the Internet, print, audio recordings or any other means, without the written permission of the Publisher is illegal and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  Except for select brand names, locations and businesses, this book is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and characters are fictitious. Any similarities to actual events or persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental.

  Cougar Bounty

  © 2009 J.A. Rawls

  ISBN 978-1-934446-54-6

  Cover Design by Viper

  All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Published by

  Romance Divine LLC

  www.romancedivine.com

  Dedicated with love to my family, who make the twists and turns in each of my stories more in tune with life’s drama.

  I only like two kinds of men,

  domestic and imported.

  Mae West

  Cougar: “A new breed of single, older

  women. A cougar is a beautiful animal:

  sleek, powerful and in control. Being a

  cougar is an attitude, not a number.”

  (Valerie Gibson, author of Cougar: A Guide

  for Older Women Dating Younger Men)

  Cougar

  Bounty

  J.A. Rawls

  One

  Jana moaned and arched her back. The flickering candles cast her surreal silhouette on the cave walls, her flowing hair, her proud breasts. She grabbed his long black hair in her hands, twisting it, pulling herself to him. She rose-and descended-again, riding a wave of passion. He was not the first and would not be the last. She looked down on him, and watched in horror as her hands changed, from the creamy skin, to something brown, tawny, her fingers contracting, the nails becoming claws. Her golden eyes blazed and she snarled...

  SHIT! Jana threw off the covers and sat straight up in bed. The room was black, save for the soft green glow from the clock, 3:30 a.m. She shook her head, a dream, I was...when she rubbed her eyes her hand came back wet. She looked at her night gown; it clung to her damp body. Damn, that was weird.

  *****

  It was noon and in spite of the time of day, the airport was quiet, very few people meandering around the entrance. Jana approached the waiting area watching passengers funnel through the access gate with no sense of hurry in their step. She scanned the faces, looking for Liza. As she waited the week’s events played over and over in her mind. Craig had cancer and Liza was coming to help with her dad’s care. There she is, as beautiful as ever.

  Jana approached, hugging her tightly. “It’s great to see you honey; how was your flight?”

  “Crowded, seems like every red-neck in the country was on that flight.” That slanted grin her daughter was famous for eased the corners of her mouth into a welcome. “How’s dad?”

  “He’s good; we can only assume no news is good news. He’s going to be surprised to see you.”

  “No he won’t; I told him I was coming, even though he said it wasn’t necessary.”

  “Really! Obviously he didn’t know what he was talking about, as usual.”

  “Mom, you need to behave. We need to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.”

  “Oh no you don’t; he’s not getting off that easy.” Jana proceeded to baggage claim, “Let’s get your luggage.”

  Liza stopped short, “Mom, this is all I have.”

  “It can’t be; I thought you were going to stay for a while.” Jana placed her hands on her hips, turning to Liza in her ‘I’m your mother’ stance, demanding answers.

  Liza rolled her eyes, “Don’t worry Mom; the rest of my stuff will arrive by UPS the first of next week. I saw no reason to drag all that through the airport.” Liza caught their reflection in the mirror above the rental car company. They were very similar and could pass for sisters versus mother and daughter. Though Liza’s hair was longer, reaching her waist, the dishwater blonde color was the same. They were the same height, five seven, with voluptuous yet curvy female figures. The most noteworthy trait they shared was their dazzling green eyes.

  “You had me worried; I thought you’d changed your mind about helping out. What are you looking at?”

  “Us,” Liza shook her head, “never mind, let’s go.” Back in sync with her mother, Liza grumbled as she approached the exit. “I would’ve preferred bringing everything with me, but this was easier. By the way, thanks for the ticket, though it would have been nicer if it’d been first class.”

  “Stop, with the last minute purchase that wasn’t possible.”

  “Do you think I’m getting snobbish, mom?”

  Jana hooked her arm in Liza’s and walked to the limo. “Not snobbish, maybe spoiled.”

  “Look who’s talking,” Liza wagged a finger at the long black car, “a limo mom, really.”

  “I could’ve brought Charlie’s Mini.”

  “Yea right, like that was a possibility. Charlie would never let you drive his baby.”

  “That’s true.”

  As she slid into the limo, Liza turned, “Mom, I’m glad you came to pick me up. Are you off the rest of the day or do you need to go back to the office?”

  “I’m the boss; I gave myself the rest of the day off. If you want, we can drive over and see your dad, or we can go over tomorrow.”

  “Let’s wait until tomorrow.” Liza placed her duffle bag at her feet. “Nothing’s going to change that fast, besides I wanted to get your opinion on a couple things first.”

  “Like what exactly?”

  Liza took a deep breath, “I want to run dad’s company.”

  “You know your dad’s not going to understand you wanting to be boss.”

  “I know, but if I have a solid plan, one he’ll agree to, then I know I can convince him this is the right answer.” Liza ran her hand across her stomach as it grumbled, “I’m starving; can we stop and get something to eat?”

  “Sure what are you hungry for?”

  “I’d really like a nice green salad with fried chicken on top. I know, not too healthy but it sounds good. Dad was telling me that there were a lot of new restaurants around the Mall. Are any of them good?”

  “Yes there’s one called Brava and they make an excellent Romano-Crusted Chicken salad.” Jana lowered the window to her driver, “Please take us to Brava.”

  Liza relaxed into the leather seats, “Charlie said you were getting out, seeing younger men.”

  “I did go out a few times with a young man.” Jana removed her glasses and repeatedly cleaned the lenses. “And what is Charlie doing discussing my personal life with you? I’m going to have a talk with that young man.”

  “Leave Charlie alone, he did nothing wrong.”

  At their destination the driver opened her door. “We’re here Ms Gates. Do you want me to wait, or do you want to call me when you’re ready?”

  “How about you come back and get us in an hour?” Jana said. “That should give us plenty of time to relax, have a couple of drinks and a nice lunch.”

  The waiter guided them to a secluded booth. Once seated Jana saw the worry in her daughter’s eyes, “I guess I’m just worried. Come on, Liza; I’m not that bad.” Jana looked at the menu, “What looks good to you?”

  Liza grinned at her mother’s antics. She was avoiding discussing whatever was bothering her. Okay I can wait. “I’ll have a salad, then I won’t feel guilty when I have desert; how about you?”

  “I think I’ll do the same.” When the waiter returned with their drinks, a martini for Jana and soda for Liza, Jana ordered two salads.

  “Okay mom; start talking, what’s goin
g on with you?”

  Jana glanced around the room, avoiding her daughter’s gaze, “I know this is selfish, and I’m only thinking about myself, but I hate this thing with your dad.”

  “You mean the cancer? That’s not dad’s fault.”

  “No, I don’t mean the cancer; I realize he has no control of that. What I hate is all the legal documents he had drawn up without talking to me-or you. And then me, dumb me, I agreed to everything, which he knew damn well I would. He played on my sympathy just like he always has.” She slammed her hand on the table. “The fact that I let him manipulate me yet again infuriates me.”

  “I know mom,” Liza reached over and laid her hand on Jana’s, “I wasn’t happy about it either. I have a solution. Let’s have all the papers redone-with me in control. What do you say?”

  “I say yes. That’s exactly what needs to be done. It would leave you in full control and if, and only if, you need help, you can call me; how does that work for you?”

  “Actually, I like that arrangement. Now all we have to do is convince dad.” Liza sighed; she knew it would take a major offensive to convince her father. “But mom, I’d get really pissed if every time we talked you billed me for the conversation.”

  Jana laughed, “As lucrative as that might be, I wouldn’t do that.” She sipped her pomegranate martini, “When do you intend to start working?”

  “As soon as dad gets all the papers changed. Until then I’m just visiting. You know as well as I do if I start work under the current arrangement, he’d never change a thing; there’d be no reason to.”

  “Boy, do you have him pegged,” Jana teased. “I can’t wait; can I be there when you tell him?”

  Liza took a deep breath, “This isn’t going to be easy for him.” She paused and a silence fell over the table as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass. Looking her mother in the eye, she softly voiced her father’s wish. “Dad told me the other night that he’d made a mistake in divorcing you. He wants you to come back to him and I’m thinking he feels because he needs you now that you will.” Liza watched the turbulent emotions cross her mother’s face.

  Jana took Liza’s hand. “Honey, you know that’s not going to happen don’t you? I don’t want to be married, and I definitely don’t want to be married to your father.” She watched Liza take a deep breath. “Stop that, it’s not that I don’t care about his health, I do, but I’m not sacrificing my health for his.”

  Liza squeezed her hand, “I’m fine mom; we have a solid plan. Do you want to drive over to dads after lunch and discuss it with him, or wait until tomorrow?”

  “I think tomorrow’s soon enough, in fact I’ll call your dad’s attorney when we get home and have him meet us at dad’s with all the paperwork. You’ll have to convince him this is the right thing to do; think you can do that?”

  “Me?” Liza’s eyes widened, “You’re going to help me aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I’ll help you, but you need to let him know that you won’t stay and help him unless he makes these changes. If you don’t hold firm he won’t change the documents, or he’ll keep putting it off thinking you’ll change your mind.”

  “I can do this mom, I can run dad’s firm.”

  “I’ve no doubt; otherwise I wouldn’t have called you. Let’s talk about something else. What do you hear from Jake?”

  “He’s doing fine, counting the months until he comes home. He was glad to hear I was going to move back here. He wanted to come and work for dad when he got out of the service and me moving here begins that process.”

  “I need another drink, how about you?”

  “Sure, fine I’ll take another soda.”

  “I need something stronger.” Jana raised her hand to get the waiter’s attention. “He’s cute don’t you think?”

  “Who? The waiter? Yea, I guess he’s okay.”

  “He’s more than okay, take a closer look. Wouldn’t you like to just eat him up?”

  Liza took Jana’s drink, “That’s enough alcohol mom; you’re acting crazy. You remind me of one of those cougars I used to work with.”

  “Cougar,” Jana paused and leaned back in the booth, “interesting word; that’s what Charlie calls me.”

  “Mom, I thought Charlie was pulling my leg, but you really are dating younger men, aren’t you?”

  Jana’s eyes twinkled, “Define younger.”

  “I’ll take that as a definite yes. I guess conceptually I don’t have a problem with it. Hell dad’s been living with Bambi, right? I don’t see why you can’t do the same thing.”

  “Her name is not Bambi. It’s Candice, you sound like Charlie. I think he called her Calamity the other day. And Candice split with the arrival of your dad’s medical problem.”

  “Whatever mom, it doesn’t really matter what her name was, right? She’s split so it’s not something I have to remember.”

  “Liza, I did date a very nice young man, he was about your age. He left for a job in Vegas. So I’m not exactly like your dad, I haven’t moved anyone in with me. But I’ll be honest; I didn’t realize how much I truly missed not having a man in my life.” Jana laughed when she saw Liza’s pained face, “Okay, I won’t talk about my sex life anymore; I know that makes you crazy. But I do have a question. You don’t think less of me, do you?”

  “No mom, let’s pay the bill and go home. I’m sure the driver’s waiting for us.”

  As they entered the condo Jana walked to the phone. “I’ll call the attorney and then I need a nap.” She dialed the number from memory. Liza listened to the one sided conversation.

  “James, this is Jana-Yes, it’s been a long time-No, there’s nothing wrong-James, you know all the papers you drew up this week for Craig? Well I need you to redo them with my daughter Liza as the primary on all the documents.-Yes, Craig agrees-Can you meet us tomorrow at Craig’s at 1100 so we can resign everything?-Yes Liza is here-See you then, thanks James.

  “He’ll meet us there. He tried to convince Craig to do this originally and was really happy he’d come to his senses.” Jana shrugged, “OK, so your dad hasn’t come to his senses, yet. All you have to do is make that happen before he arrives tomorrow.” Jana hugged Liza and walked to her bedroom. “If I’m not up in a couple of hours wake me, otherwise I won’t sleep tonight.” Closing the door, she lay down and covered herself, falling into a deep sleep.

  Two

  Her feet hit the floor as Jana grabbed her pounding head. Damn, I feel like hell. I only had two drinks. “Liza, are you here?” she called as she walked into the living room.

  “I’m in the den.”

  As Jana entered Liza surveyed her mother’s disheveled appearance. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”

  “Actually, other than a headache I feel okay.” Jana watched the disapproval in her daughter’s look. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”

  “You didn’t mom, I’m fine with you being you.” She handed Jana a scrap of paper with a name and a phone number.

  “What’s this?”

  “That’s the name and number of our waiter. He said you should give him a call.”

  “Oh God, I don’t even remember him.”

  “I recommend you not go back to that restaurant for a while. I’m sure their help turns over rather quickly.” Laughing, Liza stood and hugged her mom. “You’re a trip. So what do you want to do for dinner? Do you want to stay home, order something to be delivered, or do you want to cook.”

  Jana narrowed her eyes at her daughter, “Why, don’t you cook?”

  “That means we’re having macaroni and cheese, or did you forget my cooking skills are very limited.”

  “You’re right; I forgot. Let’s order in; how about Chinese?”

  “I’ll take care of it. Do you want what you usually order, or do you want to try something different.”

  “Same as usual will be great.”

  Jana waited impatiently for Liza to finish dressing. “I know we aren’t on a time schedule, but if you don
’t put it in high, Craig’s attorney is going to get there before we do and that won’t be good for any of us.”

  “Okay, I’m ready, let’s go.” They grabbed their purses and walked to Jana’s limo.

  “Good morning Steven,” Jana said, “we need to go to Craig’s and we’re late, so anything you can do to make up some time would be appreciated.”

  “Yes, Ma’am, we should be there in about ten minutes if traffic cooperates.”

  “That’s great.” Jana turned to face Liza, “Are you ready for this?”

  “Yes, mom, I’ve got a plan. I want to talk to him alone if you don’t mind.”

  “I think I need to be there with you. I promise I won’t say a word. Trust me I know your dad and if he doesn’t think I’m backing you from every direction he’ll keep giving you reasons why everything should stay the way it is.” Jana noted Liza’s doubting expression, “I promise not to say a word.”

  “Okay mom, but I want to do the talking. If I can’t convince him, then it won’t happen,” she looked out the window, “and we’ll have to go to option two.”

  Jana raised her eyebrows, “What’s option two?”

  “Actually I don’t have an option two, so option one has to work.” They both laughed.

  As the car approached Craig’s condo Jana closed her eyes, saying a silent prayer. God, please help Liza, she’s going to need your intervention here to convince her dad. I know if Craig will just listen, he’ll agree. The car door opened and she looked up, Show time.

  Craig rushed out, hugging Liza to his chest. “Oh honey, it’s good to have you here. I’ve missed you so much. Jana it’s good to see you too.” He leaned over and kissed Jana’s cheek. “Come in ladies, I’ve got refreshments on the terrace.”

  “Dad, the gardens are spectacular,” Liza exclaimed as she took a seat at the table.

  “Thanks honey, I take care of the ones by the house, but I have a gardener who handles the beds around the back and along the fence line. Since I own the condo complex, I got to play a role in the garden designs. I’ve really enjoyed working with the landscapers. Do you garden at all Liza?”