Heart of Steele (4 page)

“Thank you, Grace.” Steele nudged Tracy.
“Ready?”

“Yes.” She winked at Grace. “Thank you so
much.” Tracy shivered with anticipation as she walked beside Steele
along a side wing of the resort. The brick and wood theme carried
through, and intimate seating areas appeared at intervals along the
way, each near a large window facing the lake. She was going to
have so much fun here.

He stopped at a wide wooden door, punched in
numbers on the keypad, and opened it as it unlocked. It was an
elevator.

“You have your own suite?”

“Uh huh.” He followed her into the large
room.

“Of course you do. What rich bad boy
wouldn’t?” She noticed only three buttons. “And I bet this is a
private elevator.”

He pulled the door shut behind them. “Yeah,
but we’re not staying here.” He pressed the down button and the
elevator started to drop.

“What?” Her heart dropped, too.

“Sorry.” He let out a breath. “This was just
a diversion, in case we were followed.”

“But...” She showed him the brochure. “It’s
complimentary.” It was like handing a child the perfect gift, then
taking it away. She had to swallow down the urge to pout like a
three-year-old.

“I’m sorry. When all this is over, you can
come here and stay in my suite for a month.”

She stuffed the brochure in her purse. “Can I
get that in writing?”

He leaned back against the elevator wall,
grinning. “Sure. When we get to Big Bear, I’ll make it legal.”

“Big Bear?” She’d never been up in the
mountains. Especially in late fall. “I’m definitely going to need
to pick up some warmer clothes.”

“My assistant called and arranged for the
caretakers to buy some basics for you while they were picking up
groceries for us. My sister’s snowsuit and boots should fit if we
go sledding.”

“Sledding?” How had she gone from a deep
tissue massage to racing down an icy slope on a toboggan?

“Skiing?” A bell rang and the elevator
stopped. He opened the door and held it for her to go ahead of him.
“I haven’t skied in a couple years.”

“Isn’t it too early for snow?” She stepped
past him into a big, bright room.

“Not in the mountains.”

Under her feet, a speckled blue floor ran
wall-to-wall, spotless. A rack on one wall held three adult
bicycles, a child carrier for behind the bikes, and the cutest
little red and black bike with training wheels. She could just
imagine Steele helping his brother-in-law teach little Gage to
peddle.

She walked to a wooden form holding a western
saddle. “You’ll ride anything, huh?”

He stepped around her to his big, black
four-door pickup truck, and set their bags in the back seat. “Just
about.” He pointed to the corner where a red motorcycle, a blue
dirt bike, and a golf cart sat lined up and shining under the
bright lights.

“You’ve got all the toys.” Tracy looked
around. “Where’s your boat?”

He shook his head and opened the passenger
door for her. “The reservoir’s not big enough for a speed boat, but
there’s a pontoon and some fishing boats at the marina that members
can use.”

Stepping way up into the truck, she nestled
into the gray leather seat and set her purse on the floor. “I will.
I’m going to do everything when I come back here.”

He chuckled as he closed her door and walked
around the front of the truck. Pressing a button, he stood watching
the garage door roll up, then stepped outside, looking around. He
strolled back and jumped into the truck, started it, and drove out
of the building.

She could almost feel the tension in him. As
if he expected to be ambushed at any time. “Are all the suites
private like that?”

He turned the truck the opposite way from
where they’d come into the valley. “Just the owners’ suites.”

“You own the place?” She couldn’t even
pretend to imagine what it must be like being that wealthy.

“Part owner. The original five were having
financial difficulties, and asked me and four other... economically
secure members to jump in.”

“Economically secure. I like that.” She’d
also like to
be
that someday. “So, when you have this
exclusive resort to come to, why do you have a place in Big Bear,
too?”

“Sometimes I need to be completely alone.
Like when I’m writing songs.” He drove up to another big gate,
punched in a code, and waited for it to open just wide enough
before he drove through.

“And evidently your sister and her family go
there, too?” She pressed buttons to adjust the temperature on her
side of the truck. She’d never seen anything quite that
complicated.

“They come as often as they can, and bring
Dad sometimes. I just send the jet for them, so it’s an easy
trip.”

The jet. Would she ever reach that level of
stardom? Time was running short for her. At 27, she’d hoped to be
further along in her career by now.

“The cabin is registered in her name. Well,
in the name of a company her husband created so the media can’t
trace it to me.”

“Lots of security and privacy issues.” What
would it be like to live that way?

“Get used to it.” He eased his seat back and
rested his right forearm on the middle console.

“What do you mean?” He wasn’t thinking they’d
be dating, was he? That she’d be attending functions with him,
traveling with him, living with...

He laughed as he watched her. “You’re lookin’
like a frightened rabbit over there. What part of the lifestyle of
a celebrity actress are you freaking out about?”

She blinked to clear the scared look from her
face. “You mean, you actually think I have a chance of becoming a
celebrity after what I just did to you today?”

“Hell, yes.” He touched his lip. The swelling
had gone down a bit, and the side of his face hadn’t bruised much
at all, though it was still red. “That’s the stuff that makes a
career.”

“Makes a career? Like the celebrities gone
bad videos?” She dropped her head back onto the headrest. “This is
not the way I wanted to jump-start my career.”

“Why not?” He reached in the back seat and
grabbed two bottles of water from a pack and set them in the drink
holders. “What does it matter how your career takes off?” He
glanced sideways at her.

Was he testing her? Or was he just that
jaded? “It matters a hell of a lot, Steele.” She rolled her head to
look out the window at the changing variety of trees. They were
taking a back road, the elevation increasing and decreasing
noticeably as they wound through the mountains. “I want to be known
for my ability to emote and project a character’s life in an
unforgettable portrayal.”

“That’s pretty deep.”

She laughed and turned her head to look at
him. “When I first started acting classes, we had to write our
style theme and our goals.” She hadn’t written any goal about
having to change vehicles at a pricey resort just to get away from
the media for a few days. “How do you stand it?”

He took a breath and let it out slowly.
“Sometimes...” He drove, tapping his left boot on the driver’s
door. “I don’t know.” He reached to the middle of the dashboard and
pressed a dozen buttons until country music poured from the
speakers. “You like country?”

“It’s okay.” She caught the stink-eye he gave
her. “I love country.” She smiled and he turned his gaze back to
the narrow road. Did he still like country? Was he getting fed up
with the lifestyle?

The music and the rocking of the truck slowed
her mind, and she closed her eyes. Just for a minute...

****

Out of the corner of his eye, Steele saw
Tracy’s head loll to the side. She’d had a rough day. So had he.
This unplanned trip took him from things he should be doing in LA.
People he needed to meet with, and projects he had to check on.

“Aw, hell.” He said it quietly and turned
down the volume on the radio. He hated feeling leashed to the city.
He hadn’t been back to the ranch in a few months, and things there
needed his attention.

Her question, how did he stand it? He just
did. At first, he’d wanted to make enough money to update the
ranch, make it more profitable, easier for his dad to run. He
hadn’t counted on hitting star status.

Now, he had musicians, technicians, roadies,
a production company, and assistants depending on him for their
living. How could he just stop? And what would he do with himself?
When he’d hit it big, he’d envisioned retiring at thirty to start a
family. That hadn’t worked for shit, and he was getting close to
turning thirty-two with no prospects.

He glanced at Tracy. Sex was going to be
rowdy when it finally happened, but was there more? He didn’t get a
real sense of interest from her. Sexually, yes. More so before
she’d slugged him and he’d hauled her off to his mountain lair. But
it was there, hot and thick between them. The looks they shared,
the way her eyes darkened and her nipples puckered when they
talked. The way her breath came faster but her words slower, as if
lust had muddled her brain. Could he coax her to share her secrets
with him?

Shit, that’d mean he’d have to share his with
her. And that didn’t sound like fun.

His phone buzzed. A text from his assistant.
Cabin is ready. Cleaned and stocked. Anything else?

That man was incredible. How he’d done all
that in such a short time nearly gave Steele a headache. He
replied,
No, thanks, take the rest of the week off.
He
didn’t do that for his people often enough.

The reply came.
Thanks!!!! Will be just a
text away if you need me.

Good, loyal employees were hard to come by.
When he did retire, when he stepped away from the stress and
artificiality of stardom, he’d have to think about severance,
bonuses, and letters of reference for his people.

He enjoyed the work, but his heart was always
at the ranch. That was home to him, and he wanted someone to share
it with. He turned to look at the sleeping sweetheart next to him.
Was she the one? He’d scare the hell out of Tracy if he shared that
little thought bomb with her. It fucking scared the shit out of him
that he’d even thought it.

He didn’t want to rush it and scare her away.
It’d be worse, though, if he screwed it up like Chase had done and
pushed Reno out of his life after they’d made commitments to each
other. The damn fool was lucky Reno took him back and had blessed
him with a child.

His niece and nephew were as important to
Steele as any child of his own would be, but the idea of having
kids had never been so strong in his mind as it had the last few
days working with Tracy.

The next two hours, he drove through the
mountains, avoiding towns, and switched to all wheel drive when he
hit icy and snow-packed roads. His thoughts never strayed far from
Tracy. One of the projects she was involved with was a resort in
Montana that dedicated a portion of its cabins to families who were
overcoming domestic abuse.

His buddy Chase had talked about it, how
impressed he was with Tracy’s commitment to the cause, and how
she’d shared information about the camp when she and Chase had
acted in Reno’s movie together.

He glanced at her. Was there something in her
childhood that attracted her to the resort’s mission? Or was it
just that it was in her home state? After all, she’d hauled off and
clocked him one. Chances were good that there was backstory there,
and he’d be ready to hear it any time she was ready.

He entered the Big Bear Lake area from the
north. When he stopped at his cabin’s security gates and pressed
the remote to open them, Tracy woke.

“Oh, gosh, I think I fell asleep.” She
stretched her arms over her head and yawned, pressing her lush
breasts and hard nipples against her T-shirt.

Retirement plans could wait. The sex plans?
They could not. He drove through the gates, checking to be sure
they closed behind him as he planned the perfect seduction. His
quiet piece of God’s country was going to be their own private
heaven.

“Snow?” Tracy hadn’t seen the white stuff in
years, since three Christmases ago in Montana. “You weren’t
kidding.”

“Nope. They’ve had a cold snap, and a foot
and a half in the last couple days.” He switched a dial on the
dashboard and the truck seemed to handle the slick driveway
better.

The pines were thick, and around each curve,
she expected to see the cabin. “How big is this place?”

“Just eleven acres.” He slowed to let a
rabbit dash out of the driveway.

“Just?” Her uncle’s chicken farm was only
ten.

He raised a brow. “Compared to Texas.”

“Oh, right. You probably have thousands of
acres.”

His other brow went up.

“Ten thousand?”

He wagged his brows at her.

“Hundreds of thousands?” That seemed
overwhelming.

“Yep. It’s a big producer. Employs nearly
seventy people.”

“How does your dad do it all?”

Steele’s lips tightened. “He likes running
it. He’s got a good foreman. I get there as much as I can to help.”
His voice had an edge to it.

There was something more behind that, but
she’d put that on the list of things she wanted to talk to him
about.

The cabin came into view. As they rounded the
curve, more of it appeared, then more of it. “Holy heavens, that’s
not a cabin. That’s a whole resort.”

He laughed. “I like a lot of space.”

“I guess.” The setting sun reflected off two
all-window A-frames that had to be three stories high. Connecting
them, a curved building, two stories high, boasted pine logs and
endless windows. “Do I get my own wing?” Past the second A-frame, a
low room jutted out. She couldn’t wait to see the whole thing.

He pulled around back to an attached
three-car garage where one of the garage doors was going up. He
parked inside next to a small, red, foreign convertible. This guy
had every toy they made.