The Billionaire's Courageous Lover (Bold, Alaskan Men Book 3) (2 page)

She was furious now, and not willing to take this abuse, even from a gorgeous, fantasy-man lumberjack! 

Knox looked down at her again, trying to resist the temptation to kiss her into silence.  “You’re too delicate, Ms. Kingsley.  You won’t last a week here in the Alaska wilds.  Winter is settling in and you’re going to need to get out of town before the snows start to block your exit.”

She huffed again.  “Listen you big bully!  I’m fine!  I don’t know a lot about Alaska, but I’m here.  I’m going to learn!”

He shook his head.  “A week,” he grumbled. 

Her eyes narrowed and she stepped closer.  “Want to bet?”

His eyes widened and he would have laughed if…well, if he wasn’t trying to hold himself back from kissing those perfect, rosebud lips.  They had to be fake, he thought.  A surgeon had done an excellent job.  No scars at all.  He had to focus on the conversation, of which he was losing track of at the moment.  “A bet?”

She nodded that cute little chin.  “That I last longer than a week.”

Nope.  No bet.  Not with this little woman.  He didn’t want to bet her, he wanted to bed her.  Dangerous change of consonants, he assured himself.  “No.  Because I’m going to drive you to your car and you’re going to drive out of town.”

He grabbed her arm and started tugging her towards the exit. 

Andie pulled back, irritated with the man and with the situation.  He really was a big bully.  “Wait!”

He turned and glared down at her.  “What’s wrong?”

She rolled her eyes.  “Shoes!” she huffed, and jerked her arm out of his grip so that she could put them on.

That was her plan, at least. 

“Whoa!” she gasped a moment later. 

Okay, plan B, she thought as he lifted her back onto the bar stool.  She couldn’t believe it when he then knelt down and lifted her foot, sliding first one shoe on and then the other.  And did his fingers slide up her leg more than was necessary?  Had he really just caressed her calf? 

Surely she was confused. 

When Knox stood up, he was about to spin around to leave, but he caught Sarah’s laughing features and took a moment to glare at her as well. 

Knox didn’t understand why he was so angry with the petite lady.  Except that he didn’t like the idea of this woman, this delicate, frail beauty, being hurt here in Alaska.  She could get hurt.  Winter was settling in.  He’d seen too many people think that Alaska was the promise-land during the summer months, only to head out of town as soon as the first snow started to fall. 

The doors to the bar blew opened and then closed again.  Tommy, the local mechanic stepped in and pushed his rain hood off of his head.  “Hey, anyone know who lost a VW Bug on the side of the road a few miles back?”

Andie stepped around the mountain masquerading as an angry bear and smiled.  “That’s my car!  Is it still okay?”

Tommy’s mouth fell open as he stared back. Silence. 

Andie brightened her smile and stepped closer but the rude mountain-man tried immediately to pull her back to his side.  Still nothing. 

Did she have dirt on her face?  She reached up, trying to smooth her hair and button her suit jacket. 

Still silence. 

The twenty-something man with a drooping, dripping raincoat and blond hair simply stared down at her. 

Andie wasn’t sure what was going on so she moved closer, her hands twisting together.  “Did someone steal it?”

Knox watched as the man floundered in the presence of such a beautiful woman.  “Tommy!” Knox snapped, breaking the spell. 

Tommy looked up at Knox, then back at Andie, his jaw opening and closing. 

“Stole it?” he asked, almost as if those words were foreign to him.  He cleared his throat and whipped the knit cap off of his head, messing up that blond hair and making him look like a sweet toddler.  Moving back and forth on his feet, he hemmed and hawed for a moment.  “Nah.  Wasn’t stolen.  But you got a flat tire.”

Andie refrained from rolling her eyes.  “I know.  That’s why I walked into town.  I was hoping to get some help.”

Tommy’s sweet smile burst upon his scruffy face.  “No worries, ma’am.  I towed it into town.  It’s out in the parking lot.”

Andie gasped with delight.  “Really?  You’re serious?”  She even ran to the window and looked out, not believing that someone would tow her car simply because it was on the side of the road.  In Boston, a tow truck had to be called.  Then a person had to wait – sometimes up to a couple of hours for the tow truck to arrive.

Sure enough, her little red VW Bug was propped up on the tow truck.  Even the huge, plastic eye lashes she’d attached to the headlights were still there!  “Oh you’re my hero!” she said and rushed over to hug the poor guy. 

Knox wanted to bash Tommy’s nose when she hugged him.  But why he was so livid, he couldn’t really understand.  “How soon can you change her tire?  She needs to get out of town before the sun sets.”

Andie stepped back and rounded on the man with as angry of a glare as she could manufacture.  “I’m not leaving!”  Turning back to the mechanic, she smiled again.  “Is there any way you could tow it to…” she pulled out her cell phone and scrolled through her messages, “a place called The Rotten Apple?  I’m supposed to meet a man here by the name of Mr. ‘K’ Vinson.  He’s going to give me keys to the house I’m renting.”

Knox heard the snicker behind him, but ignored Sarah.  He was even able to ignore Tommy who let his mouth fall open again.  “I’m Knox Vinson.”  He crossed his arms over his chest and glared down at her again.  Well, he scowled now.  His glare, which terrified most of his competition and his company directors, was having no effect on this lady. 

Andie spun around again.  “You’re K. Vinson?  But…wait.”  She blinked and looked around.  Something wasn’t making sense.  “You’re the bartender.”

The curling of his lips might be considered a smile, but….

“I’m also the man who owns the house you want to rent.  But it is no longer available.  I’ll refund your money.”

Andie wanted to stomp her foot in frustration.  This was not going to happen!  She was not leaving and this man couldn’t renege on her contract! 

Pulling herself up to her full height of five feet, four inches, she hid her fisted hands behind her back.  “I don’t want a refund.  I signed a rental agreement with you and, so far, I haven’t broken any of the terms of that contract.  So,” she stepped closer, glaring up at the man even though she had to tilt her head way back, “Mr. Vinson, please hand over the keys to the house.  I’ve paid the security deposit plus the first and last month’s rent.  I am moving in!”

“You’re not,” he fired right back.  “You’re not…”

“I am!  And don’t you dare tell me I’m not fit for Alaska!  You don’t know me!  You know nothing about me!”  She moved closer and poked him in the chest with her finger.  “I know that you’re making rude assumptions about me based on whatever stereotypes that you’ve met in the past, but I’m not a stereotype!  I’m strong, and you telling me that I’m not strong enough for Alaska is just making me more determined to prove you wrong.”

Knox gritted his teeth as he stared down at her.  God save him from stubborn, beautiful, annoying, beautiful females!  “You’re going to regret this,” he said, even as he pulled the keys out of his pocket.  He’d been expecting the new school teacher, had been corresponding with her for weeks about the small house for rent.  Deciding that a different approach was needed, for her own safety and his sanity, he softened his tone.  Handing the keys to her, he said, “I won’t penalize you for the rent when you decide to back out of the agreement.”  He just wanted her out of town. 

Andie took the keys and smiled, relieved and excited once again.  She knew he wasn’t backing down, but she’d won this battle.  Step by step, she reminded herself.  “Thank you!” 

Spinning around, she looked at Tommy.  “How much do I owe you for the tow?”

Tommy’s adam’s apple bobbed up and down in his throat.  “Oh, no charge,” he said.  “I’ll just… tow it across the street for ya.  If you’ll empty out the back, I’ll change the tire for you too.”

Andie’s heart warmed with the generous offer.  But she shook her head.  “That’s not necessary.  If you can just tow it over to my new house, I’ll empty it out and I know how to change the tire.  I just couldn’t do it with all of my stuff loaded into the back while it was pouring down rain like this.”

Tommy smiled, and Knox could see the adoration forming in the poor guy’s mind.  “Not going to happen Tommy,” Knox warned, his voice almost a growl.

Tommy’s eyes snapped up to Knox, and the younger man understood the not-so-subtle message.  His whole body deflated as he turned around and headed back out the door.  “Figures,” he mumbled. 

Andie glanced up at the giant, then at the disappearing Tommy.  “What’s not going to happen?” she asked suspiciously.

Knox stared down at the woman, then shook his head.  “Don’t unpack, Andie.  You won’t be here long.”

Andie’s fists formed once again, but she didn’t say a word.  Turning around, she headed out the door, only to be stopped by a large hand around her upper arm.  She knew it was him only by the heat that seared her skin. 

When she turned around again, she’d intended to glare at the man.  But the effect of her glare was obstructed when a huge rain slicker was draped over her shoulders and the hood lifted over her head. 

She pushed the material out of her way.  The raincoat was so large, it had to be his, and she bit back the sharp words she’d been about to say.  But then Tommy went through the exit and she was reminded of how hard it was raining.  She wasn’t stupid, all evidence to the contrary so far.  So instead of whipping the annoyingly large rain jacket off of her and stomping on it like she wanted to, she turned around again and smiled, thanking “Mr. K. Vinson” as politely as possible. 

“You’re welcome,” he said and turned around, heading back to the bar. 

Andie walked out, wishing she could stomp her feet in anger, but it wasn’t overly effective to stomp in Prada shoes during a rainstorm.  It only caused more water to splash onto her stocking-clad legs, making her cold again. 

She jumped into the passenger seat of the tow truck and bestowed Tommy with a grateful smile.  “This is really kind of you, but I want to pay you for the service.”

Tommy only shifted the tow truck into gear.  “Nah.  I was on my way back from a run into Appleton anyway, so I’m getting paid for the gas.  No worries, Ms. Kingsley.”

“Oh, call me Andie,” she told the man, who looked like he needed to gain about forty pounds, he was so skinny.  “Do you know this address?”

He nodded his head.  “Yeah, that’s the house that Butch used to rent.  But he moved to Florida.” 

After only five minutes of driving, Tommy was jumping out and moving to the back of the tow truck to lower her car.  Andie was practically bouncing with excitement as she unlocked the door to her new home.  While Tommy unlatched her car, she unlocked the door to the small house and strolled inside.  Flipping on the lights, she knew instantly that she was going to love this house.  It was small, only a kitchen, den, and two bedrooms, but there were skylights over the family room, and the small kitchen had obviously been renovated with tall cabinets and all new appliances.  There was a gas fireplace and new carpets in the family room, plus another gas fireplace in the larger of the two bedrooms.  Only one bathroom, but she was only one person so it didn’t matter too much. 

And even better, there was a large basement with lots of storage space!  She wasn’t sure what kinds of stuff she would need to store down there, but she was determined to get stuff that needed to be stored. 

“Everything okay?” Tommy asked when he handed her the keys to her car. 

Andie spun around and clapped her hands together.  “This is great!  I can’t wait to meet all the kids and see what’s going on in the town!”

Tommy laughed.  “Nothing really happens around here.  Well, we’ve had a coupla weddings recently, but that was about all the excitement we get.”

Andie smiled, thinking it was perfect.  “Thank you again.  And please, let me give you some money for your time.”

Tommy lifted his hands and shook his head.  “Nah.  No need.”  A moment later, he was gone, driving down the street and Andie sighed with happiness. 

It took her only about twenty minutes to unload her car, but once she started to unload her suitcases and the other boxes, she knew that things were going to be good.  She had some furniture coming, but that wouldn’t arrive for a few more days.  And most of it would need to be put together, so she’d need to purchase a few tools.  Looking out her kitchen window, she sighed with delight at the view.  The mountains in the distance were majestic and beautiful, already snow-capped and looking imposing.  But this was her view!  She could even see the water from here! 

Could life get any better than this? 

“Food!” she muttered to herself.  Food was definitely a priority!  She’d been eating at fast food restaurants or out of a tiny cooler as she drove across the country.  It would be so nice to have a full sized refrigerator and a stove!  Goodness, she would learn to cook and to bake, and she’d make cookies and have warm meals at night!  “Well, change my tire first,” she laughed. 

But as she stepped out to the driveway, determined to figure out how to change her tire, she realized that Tommy had already done that for her.  What a nice guy!