Rocky Mountain Valentine (8 page)

Adam wasn’t at all happy with the pull he kept feeling toward Lisa. He didn’t need someone in his life, and Lisa didn’t want to settle down.

The wind chilled Adam’s neck and snow pelted his skin. He glanced at the cars as he rushed past. Windshields were iced over. A good inch of snow had fallen since he’d gone into the church.

When he arrived at the pickup, he wiped the snow from the windshield with his leather glove. She had to be freezing cold and madder than—

He swiped his hand over the passenger’s side window....

She was gone.

He took off his glove, pulled his keys from his pocket to unlock the doors and searched the interior of the truck for an explanation. She’d left her camera bag, but no note. He slammed the door and looked around.

The snow had been packed down around his truck, leaving no hope of following her footprints. He ran back into the building and looked around, hoping that Lisa had gone inside, if for no better reason than to stay warm.

After striking out, Adam finally called his brother’s house. “Hey, Alex. Did Lisa find you as you were leaving?”

“No. I thought she was with you.”

“I thought so, too, but she’s...” He felt a pang of guilt, remembering the way he’d spoken to her before he abandoned her. “She’s not out here. I left her in the truck, but when I came back she wasn’t there. I don’t have her phone number, so I can’t call her.”

His brother’s voice lowered to a near whisper. “Where could she have gone?”

“If I knew, would I be calling you?” Adam snapped. “Never mind, I’ll find her.” He dropped his phone into his pocket and headed back outside.

CHAPTER EIGHT

A
DAM LOOKED DOWN
the street. Most of the stores were closed. He glanced the other direction toward a school and a beauty shop, both of which would be closed on a Sunday. He headed toward the business district, zipped his coat and unfolded the collar.

He found her sitting in a coffee shop a block away, reading the newspaper.

“Ahem.” Adam leaned one hand on her table.

She lifted her gaze to his gloved hand and quickly followed his arm up to his face. Her eyes widened. “Adam!” Lisa looked at her watch. “You said two hours. I didn’t think you’d be so quick and I was craving a latte. Would you like one?” She motioned toward the barista and smiled at him.

“No, thanks. I—Katarina...” he stammered. “This storm is getting worse. I need to head back to the ranch.”

She grabbed a lid from the nearby island. “I’m sorry. I didn’t dream you’d be done so soon.” Lisa yanked her coat from the back of her chair and Adam held it while she put it on. “I’m so sorry, I planned to meet you back at the truck at ten-thirty.”

Despite his anger, he remained calm. “I was afraid I’d said something to send you running.”

She turned toward him and her eyes brightened with merriment. “It takes a lot more than a little growling to chase me away. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” She zipped her coat and pulled the hood over her head.

“I guess you’ve made that clear. Haven’t you?” Adam wasn’t sure whether to be angry at her or himself. At Lisa for not giving up on the story, or himself for being cowardly enough to wish she would.

A few minutes later, Adam pulled into Katarina and Alex’s driveway feeling more unsure of himself than he had in years. He wondered if it would be terribly rude to drop her off and head home. Right now he didn’t even care if it was. He just wanted to wake up three days earlier, before Lisa walked back into his life and rekindled dreams he thought he’d put to rest permanently.

While Katarina eagerly escorted Lisa inside, Adam slipped his boots off on the front porch to keep from getting their brand-new house muddy. Kevin met Adam at the door and handed him a stack of clothes. “Alex thought you might need these,” Kevin said, examining Adam’s pants. “Where in the world did you and that tire have the run-in anyway?”

Adam tucked the bundle under his arm. “South of Elk Creek Draw. Thanks for bringing these. I’ll be right back.” He tiptoed through the kitchen to the mudroom and closed the door, shutting out the joyous sounds of the family reunion.

Walking up to the house, Adam wished he and Lisa had met in another time, another place. He wished family connections weren’t so strong. Even showing a casual interest could lead to a lifetime of awkward family gatherings. In that regard, he had probably already blown it last night when he’d almost kissed her.

When he’d finished dressing, Adam considered asking Alex for a different pair of jeans. Surely he had a pair that wouldn’t be so snug, even if Adam did have to roll the legs like a kid wearing hand-me-downs.

Adam moved around a bit, then pulled the flannel shirt on and buttoned it, leaving it untucked. Maybe no one would notice. He looked around the adjoining laundry room, picked up a spray bottle then misted the jeans with water and knelt down to stretch them. After rolling his muddy slacks into a bundle, Adam wrapped them inside the less-soiled shirt. He opened the door to the kitchen. “Katarina, do you have a bag for these muddy pants and shirt?”

Lisa was the only one in the room.

She gave him the once-over and bit her lower lip, as if to hide her smile.

“Don’t you dare say a word,” he growled.

“I was just thinking I never have my camera when I need it,” she said in a deliberate whisper. Lisa pulled open one cupboard, then another. Then, her voice louder, she said, “I’m sure Kat has an extra grocery sack around here someplace.” Finally she found the right cupboard and handed him one, a smile blatantly teasing her lips.

“Not a word.” He dropped the clothes inside, then immediately distanced himself, hoping to shake this feeling. Lisa wasn’t his type. Once she had what she wanted, she’d be gone.

Kevin came back inside with his arms full, stomped the snow from his loafers and handed Katarina the salad. “We’d better get dinner on so Adam and Lisa can get back to the ranch. This storm isn’t letting up.”

Adam went to the sliding door and looked to the west. “I’d appreciate it. Why don’t I let Lisa stay and I’ll...”

Emily stood immediately and stopped him. “Nonsense. We’ll have dinner on in a jiffy. Why don’t you and Kevin keep the kids occupied?” Alex finished setting the table and sliced the ham.

In a matter of minutes, dinner was served, and everyone rushed to the table. By the time Adam made his way to the table, there were two seats left. One next to Lisa, or one across from her.

His mother moved past him with the last serving dish and chose the chair across from Lisa, eliminating his options. With lead feet, Adam walked around the table and sat down.

Adam could see Lisa’s discomfort as the awkwardness stretched between them.

He wasn’t sure how he survived the meal, but he couldn’t deny he was more than relieved when it was over.

After they’d cleared the dishes, Millie insisted Adam and Lisa get going. His mother explained that she’d be staying the week to help Katarina finish a large shipment of dolls and help Emily get ready for Alissa’s first birthday. Millie looked at Adam as if daring him to argue.

“If you’d rather stay here...” Adam said.

“Oh, no, I couldn’t...” Lisa rambled on with a full explanation and ended it with a quick goodbye.

By the time they’d reached the highway, Lisa started asking questions as if her entire intention had been to corner him. “What made you open the ranch to the public?”

Adam hedged, instinct telling him to give her as little information as possible. Maybe, just maybe, there was still a chance she would give up. “I was already hosting friends and their friends who wanted a quiet place to get away. They seemed to like having someplace close to home, but away from the city. It seemed natural to make the business official.”

She asked another question, and he gave her a clipped response.

“What activities do you plan to offer? Or do you plan to let guests find their own entertainment?”

“Horseback rides, chuck-wagon dinners, hay rides, fishing. If we have enough snow, sleigh rides, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing... The possibilities are endless.” From the corner of his eye he could see her smile. “What’s so funny?”

She let out a soft husky laugh. “Nothing. Am I making you nervous?”

“What makes you think that?”

“You’re so tense,” she said softly.

Guilt hit him like a hoof in his gut. All the woman wanted was a story and he was treating her like she was out to take him for all he was worth. Adam didn’t need this reminder of Amelia, or the investigation. “The roads are terrible.”

“Would you rather we continue this later?”

Did he detect a flirtatious challenge in her voice? He resented her taking advantage of the slow drive home to bombard him with questions, and doubly resented that she could tell the interview was getting to him. He shoved the reminders of his past to the back of his mind. “No, go ahead.”

She hesitated. “How do you feel about opening your home to strangers? Won’t you miss your privacy?”

He had to hand it to the woman. Her questions teetered on the edge of personal, but the way she asked them, they technically focused on business. He’d deliberately ignored those personal issues. He had no choice. The ranch needed an income besides cattle to cover expenses. Ranching just wasn’t enough nowadays. This was a business move he’d had to make, despite his personal hesitancy.

“Adam?” She looked at him with wide blue eyes.

Keep your mind on business, old boy.
If he could just find a way to tighten the reins on his attraction, they could both get on with their lives. Knowing the problem had to be half the battle, he reasoned. If Lisa wasn’t interested, why was he? “What does my privacy have to do with your article? Maybe it’s time I ask your plans for this story.”

She grimaced. “Well...”

“‘Well’ isn’t a good bargaining chip right now, Lisa.”

She snapped her notebook closed. “Why don’t we finish this later?”

“Why don’t you answer
my
questions this time? I deserve to know. After all, this is about my ranch.”

Lisa stalled. “I want you to understand, this isn’t my idea. I can show you her email to prove it.”

“‘Her’?” Adam took a quick glance at Lisa. “Give it to me straight. What does ‘she’ want?”

“My editor wants to focus on the romantic getaway, and...you. About why a single cowboy—”

“Hold it right there.” Adam slowed to a stop at the traffic light, holding his temper in check. Why was it that he kept getting thrown into situations where business and romance repeatedly became twisted as tight as jute rope? Adam thought he’d finally found a way to avoid getting his professional life all tangled up with his personal life and along came Lisa Berthoff. “Romance is out, and while you’re at it, you can leave me out of it, too.”

“But...”

He flashed her a firm but gentle warning. “Those are my terms. Take them, or leave them.”

Lisa’s gaze didn’t stray. “I’ll make it work.”

* * *

L
ISA SPENT THE
remainder of the afternoon trying to figure out just how to satisfy both Adam and her editor. She knew Adam wouldn’t like any article that put too much emphasis on him, yet her editor wanted a story about the romance of the ranch setting and the single cowboy owner. What a mess.

As soon as they’d arrived, Adam had changed clothes, started a load of laundry, then disappeared.

She found a cozy seat in the corner of the great room and tried to work. She scribbled a few notes, then erased them and gazed out the window. Every now and then, she caught a glimpse of Adam. Whether tossing bales of hay from the back of his truck or giving Toby commands, his every movement exuded masculinity.

He was a man at peace with himself. Everything seemed to go the way he wanted. Did Adam have any clue of the treasure he had here in his retreat from the world? A whiff of burning pine and one look around the spacious lodge, and she realized she was in trouble.

Lisa shook off the sensation of envy that tended to creep into her consciousness whenever she slowed down for too long. She couldn’t cave in now. She had to stay strong. Had to prove to her mother and sisters and her louse of a father that she had what it took to succeed. She wouldn’t ever let herself depend on anyone else for support.

Lisa paced, trying to deny the fact that Adam held her future in his hands. The article had the potential to go to several markets, not just for romantic getaways. The key to success in freelancing was to cover every angle in one interview. A little tweak, and the piece was salable to at least a dozen markets, a fact she didn’t dare share with Adam right now.

Just thinking of him, her heartbeat quickened. She recalled his arms around her, and her face warmed. Much as she tried to tell her emotions that he had only been doing what anyone would have if his dog was mauling someone, it wasn’t working. There was something dangerously different about Adam.

Despite girlish dreams, Lisa knew better than to think there was a man on the face of the earth who wouldn’t leave her brokenhearted. Dale had. And even her own father had turned his back on her. She pulled her knees close to her body and much as she resisted, the tears seeped through.

The phone at the check-in counter rang, and Lisa hesitated. When it rang the fifth time, Lisa finally answered. “Whispering Pines Guest Ranch.”

“Millie?” The feminine voice sounded concerned.

“No, she’s not available. May I take a message?” Lisa wiped the tears onto her sleeve and dug through the train conductor’s stand for paper and pencil.

“Well, then, who is this? Adam’s sister?” The voice turned from irritated to sweet, as if the caller was suddenly trying to make a good impression.

Lisa tried to hold on to her patience while her irritation continued to grow. Adam hadn’t mentioned a girlfriend. “No. How may I direct your call?”

“Oh,” the caller said snippily. “I must have missed your name.”

Now Lisa was feeling an uncommon twinge of orneriness. The woman was jealous. Lisa wanted to laugh. “No, you didn’t. May I tell Adam who called? He’s busy at the moment.”