Dad's E-Mail Order Bride (15 page)

Courtney had a body made for every man’s fantasies.

“Ready, Courtney?” Clark asked, beaming.

Graham looked over at Courtney. “Ready for what?”

She glanced fondly at the twins. “Mark and Clark have invited me to go to Point Baker with them tonight while they play a little music.”

“Dressed like
that?
” Graham boomed.

Courtney glanced innocently at her clothing, then back at the twins. “What about it, boys? Am I dressed okay for The Hitching Post?”

“Oh, yeah,” they said in unison.

Their answer received a warning look from Graham.

Clark quickly looked away.

But Mark gulped and said, “Don’t worry, Graham. We’ll take good care of her.”

“See?” Courtney said with a satisfied smile. “I have my own personal bodyguards. I’ll be perfectly safe.”

She grabbed her fur-trimmed parka from the counter and sauntered to the door. It didn’t surprise Graham when her so-called bodyguards scurried through the door ahead of her before Graham could get his hands on them.

Courtney stopped suddenly and turned back to face him.

“Oh, and Graham,” she said sweetly, “since Rachel’s already gone home, would you do me a big favor and lock up?” She smiled and patted her coat pocket. “And yes, I have my door key.”

The door slammed shut behind her.

“Son of a bitch!”

Broadway whimpered at that comment.

“I’ve been worrying about the wrong kind of wildlife,” Graham told the dog. “She’ll see true wildlife when she gets to The Hitching Post. And dressed like that? She’ll probably be mauled the second she walks through the door.”

Broadway looked up at Graham, then back at the door. In fact, they both kept watching the door rather wistfully, as if they expected Courtney to rush back in at any minute to say she’d changed her mind.

She didn’t.

“Fine,” Graham said when he heard the familiar sound of a boat motor start up and roar away. “Let her go. It’s nothing to me. If I’m lucky, she’ll meet a guy she likes and get the hell out of
my
life.”

Broadway whined in sympathy. But the dog’s plaintive stare called Graham a liar.

“Don’t look at me like that, you traitor,” Graham warned. “You’ve already cost me a hundred bucks.”

Broadway’s ears instantly flattened against his head.

But the dog followed Graham’s every step as he made the three trips it took to load his groceries into the skiff. When Graham made the last trip, Broadway entered the store, ready to take up his dutiful watch.

“See what you get for letting Rachel talk you into staying?” Graham scolded. “You’ll be lucky if the woman you’re supposed to be protecting makes it home by morning.”

Broadway flopped down, his head resting on his paws.

“But if Rachel’s right and you really do understand what I’m saying,” Graham told the dog, “you have my permission to run those idiot twins out of here if they try any funny stuff later. Okay?”

Broadway sat back up and barked twice in agreement.

“Now, that’s
my
idea of man’s best friend,” Graham told the dog as he flipped the door lock into place.

He walked to the dock, shaking his head in wonder at what Courtney was thinking, agreeing to go to some dive bar with the Barlow twins. Didn’t she realize when a woman walked into a bar dressed the way she was, every guy there would automatically assume she was asking for it?

Graham suddenly stopped walking.

Maybe Courtney
was
asking for it. This time from a guy who would be willing to finish the job.

Graham cursed and stomped to the skiff.

As he sped away from The Wooden Nickel, there was one thing he did know for certain. It was going to be a long, hot summer for him despite Port Protection’s usually mild weather.

Courtney’s red-hot low-cut top.

Courtney’s red-hot spike high heels.

And
his
red-hot reaction at the thought of someone else finishing what
he
hadn’t been willing to do.

She’d kept her parka zipped all the way up to her eyebrows, but it hadn’t changed a thing. There wasn’t a man in the bar who hadn’t already undressed her with his eyes at least once.

Courtney was thankful no one seemed to know what to do about her, except stare. Not one man had approached her yet. And as far as Courtney was concerned, that was fine by her.

But if the twins didn’t finish their last set soon, she might be forced to start walking back to The Wooden Nickel. Even meeting up with a bear had to be better than this.

“Lover boy,” the bartender called out when the door opened.

Out of curiosity, Courtney turned her head.

She found herself staring at the pilot who had brought her to Trail’s End Lodge. Seconds later, Gil was sliding onto the stool beside her at the bar.

“What’s a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?”

Courtney nodded toward her chaperones still playing music on the small stage in back of the bar. “The twins invited me. But I’ve been asking myself that same question from the moment we arrived.”

Gil laughed and signaled to the bartender. “Bring me a cold one, Joe.” He looked back at the bottle Courtney had sitting in front of her—the one she had barely touched all evening. “What about you? Ready for another?”

Courtney shook her head. “I don’t think tipsy is a good thing to be in this crowd.”

“Smart girl,” Gil teased, grinning at her again.

He took a long sip from his beer before he cocked his head in her direction. “So? Would you like me to amuse you with my psychic abilities?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“You being here tells me two things.” He held up the first finger. “One, Graham still has his head up his ass.” He held up finger number two. “And two, you thought a night out with the Barlow twins might dislodge it for him. Right?”

“Close enough,” Courtney admitted.

Gil shook his head. “I don’t get it. Why do women always go for the strong, brooding, silent types like Graham?”

“As opposed to?” Courtney asked.

Gil held his arms out wide. “Guys like me who love everything about women.”

“Did you ever stop to think earning a nickname like
lover boy
might be the reason women run the other way?”

“Trust me, darlin’,” Gil said with a wink, “I’ve never had a problem with women running the other way.” He grinned. “In fact, I think you’re falling in love with me already.”

He was too cocky for her liking. But Courtney could see why women didn’t run the other way. Gil was tall, good-looking and blond. He had impossibly green eyes and perfect white teeth. Gil was the type of guy any woman would want in her bed—until she caught him in someone else’s.

“So, tell me,” Courtney said. “If you’re so popular, what are you doing here all alone on a Friday night?”

“Point Baker’s home for me. And I learned a valuable lesson a long time ago. Always keep your love life separate from your home base. When I’m home, I fly solo.”

“How long have you been a pilot?”

“Now you’re just fishing for my age.”

“Then shall I amuse you with my physic abilities?”

“Absolutely,” he said.

Courtney looked him up and down. “Fifty-what? Five?”

“Now that just plain hurt.”

They both laughed.

But thanks to Gil, Courtney began to relax and enjoy herself. She forgot about the open stares and the curious glances still coming her way. Or the fact that she felt completely out of place being the only single woman in the bar. And as Gil shamelessly flirted with her, Courtney even forgot about Graham.

At least for a minute or two.

It didn’t matter.

She was still the sexiest woman Graham had ever seen.

“Glad to see you’re still alive.”

She yawned. “And you couldn’t have called to find that out?”

“You forgot my coffee,” Graham said.

He walked past her and into the store. But instead of heading to the shelf for coffee, he walked across the store to the short-order grill. Whether Courtney wanted his advice or not, Graham was going to give it to her. The rules were different here. And running around to bars with the Barlow twins would send people the wrong message. She needed to know the score before her actions got her into big trouble.

Courtney climbed onto a stool at the counter, while Graham made coffee. “That was a stupid stunt you pulled going to The Hitching Post last night,” he said, his back to her.

“I agree,” she said. “Going was a mistake.”

Graham turned around. It wasn’t the response he’d been expecting from her. Had something bad happened?

“The twins didn’t try anything with you, did they?”

She put her finger to her lips. “Shush. They’re still sleeping. Threesomes are exhausting.”

Graham immediately glanced toward the loft.

“I’m kidding,” she said. “Of course the twins didn’t try anything. If I even winked at the twins, they’d be climbing over each other trying to get out the door.”

Had feeling foolish been a contest, Graham would have won first prize. “You shouldn’t be so trusting. Not every man around here is as innocent as the Barlow twins.”

She sighed. “What’s your problem, Graham? We both know I didn’t forget your coffee. Why are you here?”

“I feel responsible for you staying, okay?”

“Well, that’s ridiculous. No one’s responsible for me staying but me.”

“And that line about me changing my mind?” Graham reminded her. “You don’t see why that would make me feel responsible?”

She yawned again. Then she ran both hands over her beautiful face before she raked her fingers through her long, blond, wonderfully disheveled hair.

“You know what?” she said. “I’m really not awake enough to talk to you about this right now.”

Graham turned to the coffeemaker, grabbed a cup from the counter and filled it with the steaming liquid. He placed the cup in front of her. “This should help wake you up.”

She sighed. But she closed both hands around the mug and slowly brought it to her lips. After several sips, she looked up at him. “Okay, I have a question for you. Say I had gone back to New York. But before I got on the plane I told you that you knew where to find me in case you changed your mind. Would you feel responsible for me then?”

“Of course not,” Graham said. “Your home is in New York.”

“No,” she said. “All I have in New York is an apartment. And I have a career that’s been draining the lifeblood out of me for years. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve taken a vacation? The year I graduated from college when I spent three weeks touring Europe. Then I walked through the doors of Woods Advertising Agency and handed over my soul on a silver platter.”

When Graham didn’t say anything, she said, “I stayed for
me,
Graham. I need the time to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my life. So sorry if me staying is a problem for you. I’m not sure why it would be. You’ve made it clear you aren’t interested.”

Graham fixed a cup of coffee for himself. But he took his cup and walked around the counter and sat on the stool beside her. “I’d hoped I made it clear
why
I’m not interested. In anyone.”

“That’s something you have to work out for yourself,” she said. “But I’m not sorry if my being here helps you come to the conclusion that you need to put the past behind you where it belongs. You’re a better man than the one you were five years ago, Graham. Stop beating yourself up over the things you can’t change and give yourself some credit for the changes you have made in your life.”

She can see through your bullshit.

Graham quickly changed the subject.

“I’m sorry I woke you so early,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. And I wanted to tell you to be careful while you’re here, Courtney. You’re a beautiful woman and you’re going to attract a lot of attention.”

She laughed. “You have to be blind to refer to me as beautiful. You’ve caught me looking like a mechanic, and now like some
hausfrau
in my flannel pajamas.
Beautiful
isn’t exactly a word I would use to describe me.”

“You can make light of what I’m saying,” Graham said, “but some of the attention you attract might not be the kind you want. Just remember that.”

“Thanks for the warning. I will.”

She slid off the stool and padded around the counter to fill her cup again. When she turned back around, she said, “I have another question for you. How do you think people would react if I decided to host a community get-together every Friday night here at The Wooden Nickel?”

Graham answered with his first thought. “That could get expensive quick.”

“Not if I kept the food simple. And if everyone brought or purchased what they wanted to drink here at the store.”

“What made you think of that idea?”

“Something Gil said about The Hitching Post being the only place around here to go on a Friday night,” she said. “And the fact that everyone had such a great time at your birthday party. I think it could liven things up.”

Graham’s grip had tightened on the handle of his cup the second Courtney said Gil’s name. “Gil was at The Hitching Post last night?”

“He was nice enough to keep me company while the twins were onstage.”

Nice my ass!

Nice wasn’t the bone Gil had in his body where women were concerned. He was trouble. And if Graham hadn’t already made himself look like such an idiot for grilling Courtney about the twins, he would tell her that.

“Gil’s an expert on getting around. If he says there isn’t anywhere else to go on Friday night, he’s the one who would know.”

“So you think it’s a good idea to host something here?”

“I’m not the best person to ask about livening things up around here,” Graham said, irritated that Courtney had missed his meaning completely. “I like things the way they are. I thought I’d made myself clear about that.”

The minute he said it, Graham wished he hadn’t. He hadn’t meant to bark at her like that. But damn, this unexplained need he felt to protect Courtney—especially from guys like Gil—had overwhelmed him.

Now the damage was done.

And the look on her face said she was
wide
-awake now.