Oregon Outback (28 page)

Darrow Kincaid stared at the gorgeous wedding dress in the bridal catalog and released a dreamy, but heavy sigh.

She might run her own business, but that didn’t mean she could afford a wedding dress with a $4,000 price tag. What was she doing looking at this anyway?

Just because Smit had called her on Monday and asked if she was busy on Friday, adding he wanted to take her somewhere special, didn’t mean he was going to propose.

Yes, it did. Darrow just knew it.

But she’d die if anyone saw her looking at the wedding catalog she’d picked up a month ago to add to her stack of others. It was presumptuous on her part. She’d given Trace the afternoon off, which put her standing at the front desk during a pause in activity, or she’d not have the chance to browse the pages filled with exquisite gowns. Darrow sighed again.

Someone cleared his throat and rang the desk bell. She froze, her fingers pressed against the slick pages of the catalog. Heat swam up her neck. She flipped the magazine shut and yanked her face up in one fluid motion. Smoky gray eyes bore into her, intense and unforgiving. The dark-haired man worked his stubbled, strong jaw a full ten seconds before his lips formed the hint of a smile.

Had he seen the dress she was looking at? Unfortunately, she cared.

Darrow realized she was staring. She was accustomed to the gruff hunters who frequented the lodge, especially this time of year, but this one was different. “Can I help you?”

“I need a room.” His eyes flicked from her to the catalog.

Darrow slid it from the counter and thrust it on the shelf beneath. “Do you have a reservation?” The way he’d said he needed a room, she knew he didn’t.

“Do I need one?”

She frowned. “We’re usually booked solid this time of year. Without a reservation, I can’t make any promises.”

The man glanced behind him at the empty lobby. He tugged his cell from his pocket and glanced around the counter. “What’s the number here?”

“Huh? Oh.” She pointed at a pad of paper with the number then scanned the computer screen. She had a couple of vacant rooms, but they were reserved for a group arriving in two days. Her lodge plus a few cabins didn’t accommodate a lot of people, but it was enough to keep her busy. Truthfully, it probably didn’t require software to manage, but it made her feel official.

The phone rang, and Darrow answered. “Ridgecrest.”

“I’d like a reservation.” Darrow slowly looked up from the computer screen at the lone man before her. He held his cell to his ear. “Hello? Can I get a room, a cabin, anything?”

What was with this guy? Darrow allowed a mischievous grin. She’d bite, and she’d play his little game better than he. “Please hold.”

She put him on hold and began typing away on the computer screen. He was a potential guest at her lodge and she shouldn’t treat him rudely, but somehow she knew he wouldn’t mind. He’d started it, after all. When she thought he’d grown impatient enough, she picked up the phone. “What is the date of your arrival?”

An incredulous laugh escaped through the phone and from the man across the counter. He hung up. “All right. I admit, I was being a little ornery. I’m sorry. By the way, you give as good as you get, but you should be glad I don’t tell your manager. Do you have a room for me or not?”

Darrow smiled. He wasn’t as standoffish as she thought. “First, I
am
the manager, and the owner.”

“You?”

She stifled a grin at his stunned reaction. That would be just plain wrong. “I have a room available for two nights, but then it’s booked. How long do you need to stay, Mr. …?”

“Justin … Love.”

Darrow arched a brow. “Really?”
A tough guy like you?

He pursed his lips, glanced behind him, and ran a hand over his face.

“How long do you intend to stay, Mr. Love?”

“As long as it takes.” His eyes grew intense again.

Whatever that meant. “Well, then, if you don’t mind moving around as lodge guests with reservations come and go, then you could probably stay here forever.” She smiled, hoping to warm the suddenly cold atmosphere.

After taking his pertinent information and payment for the room, Darrow slid the key across the counter. “Your room is on the second floor, up the stairs.” She indicated the staircase across the lobby.

Too eager for the key, he grabbed her hand, too. A jolt of … something … rushed up her arm. Darrow lifted her gaze to the mysterious man, but he was staring at her hand. Finally he withdrew the key and slid it across the counter.

“The bridal catalog you were looking at earlier. You’re getting married?”

Taken aback at his words, Darrow searched for the right answer as her heart raced. “I … uh …”

“I didn’t see an engagement ring. But it’s none of my business.”

Mysterious Justin Love turned away, lifted his duffel bag over his shoulder, and stalked across the lobby.

Darrow turned her back on the sight and swallowed the thick lump in her throat.

He might be as handsome and sturdy a specimen as she’d seen, and have a sense of humor, but his heart was stone cold. Either that or he’d erected a wall of ice around it. At any rate, he was a stranger and all her thoughts were conjecture. It bothered her that she cared.

White picket fence, a dog and cat, two point three children. That was all she ever wanted. Maybe Smit Cooper wasn’t the most handsome of men, and maybe he didn’t make her laugh very often, but Darrow had dated Smit for eight months now. He was as solid as they came. At least, solid enough for her.

Like her, Smit ran his own business. Tire sales. Everyone needed to buy a new set of tires or have their old tires balanced and rotated, or have their flat fixed now and then.

That might not be exciting enough for some, but Darrow wasn’t interested in excitement.

L
ater that evening, after Justin had settled into the rustic room he’d have for the next two days and made a few phone calls, he made his way to the lobby in search of food. Dinner was served at five o’clock, and he didn’t want to miss it.

Plenty of guests milled about in the lodge now—a lot of them hunters coming in for a hot meal, or preparing to head out. He followed three men down a wide hallway decorated with photographs of bird-watchers, fishermen holding up their colossal catches, and men standing next to an eight-point stag.

Justin had enough practice at blending in without being noticed. Once he entered the dining room, he selected a small booth in a dark corner without waiting to be seated. A wood-burning stove sat at the far wall, and dimly lit sconces accented wildlife images, both photographs and oil paintings. A glance around the room told him Reed wasn’t there. But then, it could be days before he arrived.

A short pudgy waitress took his order of rib eye steak. She returned with a hot cup of coffee and a carafe. Pouring the coffee she smiled at him, and the next thing he knew, hot liquid was spilling over the table and into his lap.

Justin ground his teeth and slid from the booth, wiping at the steaming brew on his jeans. He’d caught it before it seeped through completely and left him with second-degree burns across his legs.

“I’m so sorry, sir.” Her eyes filled with tears. “This is my first day.”

“It’s okay. No harm done.” The quiet in the room was palpable. A glimpse told him he had an audience. So much for blending in. He waited for her to wipe out the booth and he took his seat again, not wanting to draw further attention. He should probably go up to his room and change, but his steak was on the way and he was hungry.

Justin blew out a breath. He shouldn’t even be in Oregon, but now that he’d made the decision to come, he would see the deed through. After meeting Darrow Kincaid, he’d considered holing up in his room, taking his meals there, but that would hardly put him in a position to see Reed when he showed his face. Reed didn’t share the same last name with his sister because he’d changed it in an effort to change his life, escape his past, according to his wife.

Meeting the sister had thrown Justin off balance. He hadn’t expected that she would catch his eye, or that her smile would knock on a door he’d bolted shut long ago.

For someone who ran a lodge hedging a wilderness area, Darrow appeared delicate and refined, naive even. The shock that coursed through him when he’d accidentally grabbed her hand while retrieving the key still unsettled him. The way she’d played along when he’d called to make a reservation told him she had a good sense of humor. Gazing into the black coffee, he was torn between a smile and a frown.

He’d caught her looking at wedding dresses, which gave him some relief. She was already otherwise engaged, and Justin could more easily ignore her. Standing there engrossed in the happily-ever-after catalog, looking as lovely as any woman he’d seen, she represented everything Justin ran from. Loving someone was dangerous, especially in his line of work. He’d seen it a thousand times.

The heartache … the betrayal.

It ended in disaster, one way or the other. He was already paying the price for his part in a tragedy, the cost more than he could ever repay.

His stomach growled. Where was that steak?

A plate flaunting a steak, baked potato, and green beans, and a side of buttery rolls slid across the table, jarring him from his thoughts. “It’s on the house.”

He knew that voice. Justin looked up at Darrow. He saw now that her dainty yellow flowered shirt was actually a dress. She was a little skinny for his taste, that is, if he were looking. He offered his best leave-me-alone expression. “That’s not necessary.” Justin turned his attention to his plate. He bowed his head and thanked God for the meal, said a silent prayer asking God to make Darrow go away, then began slicing into the juicy, tender rib eye. But Darrow still hovered at the table. He could only ignore her for so long.

Finally, he gazed up at her, steeling himself against her sweet face and golden hair. Though warm and kind, her light blue-green eyes, the color of Summer Lake, searched his. He noticed faint lines around her eyes that told him she was nearing thirty, if he had to guess.

“Do you mind if I join you?” She gestured at the booth opposite him.

He didn’t get it. He acted cold and unfriendly. Why would any woman, especially a woman like her, take an interest in him? But maybe he had it wrong. Maybe his credit card didn’t go through. Maybe he shouldn’t have played with her, using his cell to book a room while standing right there.

“There a problem with my reservation?” He pressed the mug against his lips to hide his wry grin as he recalled their conversation earlier in the day.

She apparently took his question to mean she could sit down. “Your reservation is fine.” She’d emphasized the word
reservation
like it was their little joke. If Justin didn’t want to be something other than a jerk, it
would
be their little joke.

He buttered his potato and seasoned it just right, and continued eating as though she weren’t there. But all he wanted to do was look across the table at her. Did she know that? Was that why his ignoring her didn’t seem to bother her?

“Mr. Love … I wanted to say I was sorry about the mishap. That’s all.” Her warm, soft voice swept over him.

If he wasn’t careful, she could thaw the cold heart he’d worked so hard to maintain. Justin leaned against the seat and sighed. “As I already said, it was no trouble.”

“I’m happy to launder your clothes for you, once you’ve removed them.” Crimson rushed to her cheeks.

Her comment had been innocent in itself, but the resulting blush made Justin shift in his seat. Why wouldn’t she just go away? He’d never had a problem like this, and wasn’t sure how to get rid of her. “I can manage.”

“You’re not here to hunt, are you?” Darrow examined her short nails.

He couldn’t exactly tell her the truth.

Oh, I’m hunting …

Using her lodge like a deer blind—a place to hide while he waited for his prey. “Why do you want to know?” He eyed her over the rim of his cup.

Justin didn’t want to be too unobliging because she could easily deny him a room after his two days was up. But how did he discourage her? Her interest or curiosity, whatever it was that kept her sitting across from him, was unwanted.

“Part of what the lodge offers is resources and information. Usually, people have a reason to stay here. They are here to hunt, hike, explore the petroglyphs, bird-watch, you name it. You caught me off guard earlier today. I should have told you when you checked in, and I’m sorry. If you’re not here to hunt, then what can I help you with?”

He’d only caught her off guard because her eyes were on a wedding gown. “Nothing. Really.”

“On Saturdays, I usually take a group hiking, depending on the interest.”

Hiking, huh?
“Honestly, I’m just passing through.”

Her fishing for information disturbed him. Had Reed contacted her, told her to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious?

Darrow slipped her shaky hands from the table. “I’m sorry to take up your time. I see a lot of the same faces every year. Since you’re new to Ridgecrest Lodge, I wanted to make sure you know about things to do in the area.”