The Eligible Suspect (3 page)

“What kind of job did you have?”

He seemed to think first before he said, “Systems engineering.”

“Were you fired?”

“No. I left. I’m taking a break for a while.”

Why did he feel he needed a break? The same reason he needed to spend time alone in remote wilderness? There was something about him that made her wary, the way he hesitated before answering her, why he was alone up here.

“What about you?” he asked.

She began to understand his earlier hesitation. How much was she willing to reveal about herself to him?

Savanna petted Gandalf’s nose, who had finished his treat and stuck his head out of his stall. His soft nose and the loving blinks of his big brown eyes soothed her. “Nothing right now.” She paused. “I was a motivational speaker, but not anymore.”

“Taking a sabbatical, too?”

Despite his charmed grin, she didn’t respond. That was a topic she did not feel like discussing. She’d only recently decided to stop speaking about positive thinking. And she’d told no one in her family about that. Jazzing others up with positive energy used to give her positive energy, and then she realized this was who she was. A loner. Not the interesting person she personified in front of an audience.

Leaning forward to kiss the soft fur of Gandalf’s nose, she turned and walked for the exit.

Korbin picked up his bag and followed. Back out in the snowstorm, Savanna was aware of his glances as they trekked through the deep snow. Then his attention shifted to the house. Big, golden logs jutted out at the corners, except at one end, where the turret rose like a sentinel. Made of black gneiss like the chimney, the color and texture contrasted beautifully with the logs.

Korbin closed the door behind him, taking in the open walk-in closet filled with winter gear. “You must have been some motivational speaker.”

When would he get the hint that she wasn’t going to talk about that? She hung up her jacket and removed her boots and snow pants. Now down to her base layer, she ignored Korbin’s appreciation of the close-fitting material, a floral-patterned white thermal top and matching tights.

He was in wet jeans.

“Would you like me to dry those?” she asked.

“Sure.”

She looked up at him watching her. “I’ll show you to the guest room.” Turning, she led him into the living room, seeing how he missed no detail. Upstairs, they passed her loft and went down a hallway.

At the first door, across from a full bathroom, she stopped and flipped on the light switch. Lamps on each side of the bed illuminated tan walls and the cushiony white comforter with soft green throw pillows. Sheer drapes hung parted over two windows on each side and a dark square iron decoration in a sun-like shape hung above the bed.

When he nodded his thanks with one more sweep of his gaze over her thermal underwear, she closed the door and went to her master bedroom, this one bigger. Although the walls were the same color, a painting of a mountain meadow in fall hung above a king-size bed covered in reds and yellows, and there was a balcony where she planned to do a lot of reading in the summer. Going into her oversize walk-in closet, she changed into some spandex pants and a flannel shirt. Leaving her room, she passed his still-closed door and went back downstairs to wait for him, unable to explain her sense of foreboding.

In her large kitchen, she went to the phone stand and looked up her neighbor’s number. There was no cell service up here.

Holding the phone to her ear, she walked into the living room while the phone rang a few times. Then Hurley answered.

“It’s Savanna.”

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah.” At least, she hoped so. She glanced up to the railing that exposed the loft and hallway and the still-closed guest room door.

“It’s snowing pretty good out there,” he said.

“Yes. A man got stuck on my road. He told me that he was on his way to that cabin across from your lodge. Have you heard anything about that?”

“No. Chavis keeps to himself. I’ve only met him a few times. Why? Are you worried?”

“No.” She relaxed a little. Korbin had said the man’s name was Chavis.

“How did he end up at your place?”

“He took a wrong turn and got stuck on my road. I didn’t have it plowed.”

“I bet you aren’t happy about that.”

Hurley knew her well enough to know she liked her isolation. Most people who lived up here did. They weren’t city folks.

“I’ll manage.” She looked out the gabled window. Heavy snow falling under outdoor lights didn’t have the comfort value it had before she spotted the truck on her road.

“You sure you’re okay? Robert and I can ride over on snowmobiles. You can stay the night here.”

“No.” Savanna felt trapped in other people’s houses, and she’d especially feel that way now. “I’ll be all right.”

“If you’re sure...”

“I’m sure. He’s harmless enough.”

“All right, then. I’ll call Mike and have him out there first thing tomorrow morning to plow your road.”

“You’re too good to me.”

“I’m a phone call away, Savanna.”

She smiled. “I know. Thanks, Hurley.” He was about ten years older than her and married to a sweet woman who cooked with the skill of an executive chef.

Hanging up the phone, she put the handset down on a side table next to the sofa. Straightening, she turned and her body jolted. Korbin stood there. She hadn’t heard him come down the stairs.

He’d changed into a long-sleeved soft-gray henley and distressed denim jeans. His feet were bare. Back up at his face, she was drawn into his ghost-gray eyes. Messy, thick black hair was cut to about an inch and a half, and stubble peppered his jaw. He had an unnerving way about him. More than his size, an eerie mystery shrouded him.

“Feel better now that you’ve checked up on me?” he asked.

Was he insulted? No. She saw that he was teasing her.

“I promise I won’t bite,” he said.

“Okay, but I might.” She smiled but the message was clear. She
would
bite if he got out of line.

Although he didn’t smile or grin, his eyes showed his humor—or was that shrewdness? “Then we’re both safe.”

She went to the stereo. Shutting that off, she turned on the television. The channel was set to a local station. The news.

Korbin appeared, walking slowly, observing as he had before, missing no detail. He picked up the remote from where she’d set it on a side table.

“Do you mind?” he asked.

She shook her head and he changed the channel to something on the wilderness of China. She sat down on a white leather chair, debating whether she should call Hurley back and ask him to come pick this man up and take him to the lodge.

“What’s a young, beautiful woman like you doing living in the mountains all alone?” He sat on the other leather chair. “What are you? Twenty?”

“Thirty-three. You?”

“Thirty-eight.”

“Where do you live?”

“Is this where we get to know each other?” he asked, now with a slight grin.

She didn’t think he was flirting, just keeping it light. “I’ve never had a stranger in my house before.”

“I live in Denver. I bought a house in Montana, but I don’t go there much.”

Two houses? Why Montana? And why didn’t he go there much? “Not married?”

“Not anymore.” His terse answer and the dousing of any sign of humor alerted her to something amiss. With his arms on the rests, he tapped his palm against one in agitation.

She didn’t push him further. She understood the need to avoid those types of subjects. “Are you from Montana?”

“No. I grew up in North Carolina.”

Work must have brought him to Colorado. She suspected the house in Montana had something to do with the woman he’d married.

“Your family lives there?” she asked.

“My parents. I’m an only child.” He looked at the television but she could tell he wasn’t paying attention to the program.

“What’s it like being an only child?” Savanna asked. “I have seven brothers and sisters.”

His brow raised and he whistled, his mood lifting.

“It’s a miracle any of us got any attention growing up.”

“How do families manage with that many kids?” he asked.

Delighted that he didn’t recognize her name, Savanna almost didn’t tell him. “Jackson Ivy is my dad. They managed just fine.”

“Jackson Ivy?”

He seriously did not know her father? Savanna’s jaw dropped open as she gaped at him. “You don’t know who Jackson Ivy is?”

“No. Should I?”

“Well, if you watch any movies you should.” But then again, why should he? Why did anyone have to care about the producer of a movie they watched?

“He’s an actor?”

Savanna started laughing. “No. He’s a movie producer. Did you see
The Last Planet
?”

“No, but I’ve heard of it. That’s your
dad
?”

She laughed again, softer now. “Yes.”

“Your parents live in a mansion in California. I caught a documentary about that once.” He stared at her as though she were an alien now.

“Changes the dynamics, doesn’t it?” Although she joked, she was actually quite serious. All of her brothers and sisters dealt with this in one way or another.

He only continued to stare at her.

Savanna began to feel uncomfortable. What was he thinking? That he’d struck gold? If he owned two homes he had to have money. She didn’t know what computer engineers made but it must be decent.

“My dad founded Maguire Mercantile,” he finally said.

Stunned, Savanna stared back at him while the significance of that sank in. Maguire Mercantile was a Fortune 500 company, a well-known leader in ranch and farm supplies, but their Maguire outerwear was popular with anyone. Mountaineers. Skiers. School kids. You name it. They were experts at keeping people warm and dry.

“Wow,” Savanna breathed. “Your dad might be richer than mine.”

His deep laughter made her laugh with him, and then she became aware of other things. His big body relaxed in her white chair, legs open, broad shoulders and strong arms. A giant package of
yum
right here in her living room.

“Were you dreading telling me who your dad was?” he asked.

“Yes.” She was still smiling.

“I always dread telling women who mine is.”

She related to him on a level that sent her guard up. She felt as though she were sliding down a slippery slope with nothing to grab a hold of.

“Growing up, I felt like Richie Rich. I love my parents and they’re good, loving people, but they’re a couple of rich snobs.”

“You watched the documentary on my parents’ mansion,” Savanna said. “Mine are, too.”

“Yeah, but your mother seemed so down to earth. That’s why I remembered it.”

“She is all about the family. But she isn’t innocent of showing off her wealth. Her parties are embarrassing sometimes.”

He chuckled. “I stopped going to the ones my parents held after I turned eighteen and left for college. I couldn’t stomach seeing them act different than when we were at home together.”

The camaraderie they shared was amazing and began to make her uneasy. “Do you see them often?”

There was that hesitation again. “Not as often as I should.”

Why not? She decided not to ask.

“You?”

She supposed it was only fair that she answer that question. “One of my mother’s favorite pastimes is surprising her children with visits. She usually gathers up as many of the other family members as she can before arriving unannounced with food and beverages. It’s either that or we all meet at the family home in Evergreen. It’s a more central location than the mansion in California.”

“It would be hard for her to surprise you here.”

“One of many amenities of this place.” She met his eyes and couldn’t look away despite the inner warnings ringing in her head.

She stood up. “I was going to make dinner when I saw your headlights.”

“Can I help?”

He must be hungry. “No. Make yourself at home.” She met his eyes a moment longer, wondering if she should have extended that much of a welcoming invitation.

Before going into the kitchen, she glanced once more out the window where the snow piled higher by the hour. How long would this man be stuck here with her? On the surface he appeared to be good and honest. But what secrets would she find he harbored...and why?

Chapter 3

K
orbin wandered Savanna’s living room, glad the storm would give him some reprieve from police. The expensive furnishings were homey and inviting rather than a statement of wealth. He still reeled over the revelation of who her father was. Rarely did a woman surprise him the way Savanna did. He’d have never guessed she came from big money, and found it more than a little refreshing. He’d spent his adult life working to remove himself from that lifestyle. Savanna clearly had been successful in doing so. Although she had impeccable taste when it came to her home.

At the gas fireplace, he touched the stone that rose up to the ceiling. Polished smooth, it was a mafic metamorphic rock, probably a hornblende gneiss. When he wasn’t hacking computers, he was a voracious reader, and geology was a hobby of his.

Growing more curious about the woman who’d chosen such a rock, he investigated further, going into a turreted dining area off the living room. Bright outdoor lights illuminated heavy snowfall through the panel of tall windows.

Leaving that, smelling Savanna cooking something on the stove, he saw her standing there, head bent and concentrating on what she was doing. The flannel shirt didn’t cover her rear in those tight spandex pants, and he could tell she wasn’t wearing a bra. Her feet were bare in the warm house, toes sinking into the rug before the stove.

As his intrigue mounted, he decided it was best to control where that would lead. Instead of letting male instinct take charge, he walked down a hallway that extended between the kitchen and living room to familiarize himself with the layout of the house in case he needed an escape route. There was a large main bathroom on the left and across from there was a bedroom-size library. Bookshelves filled every wall except where two tall, narrow windows looked out to the front. A closed laptop sat on an old library table, wood chair pushed in underneath. Two brown patterned wing-backed chairs were angled in front of one bookshelf. Korbin checked out a few of the titles, taming the excitement that she loved to read as he did. Savanna had a varied taste in her fiction and had an impressive collection of nonfiction. How to make pottery. History of trains. Ancient civilizations. And several biographies, one featuring her father.

Leaving the library, lest the building interest take him over, he heard something sizzling on the stove and went into the only other room on this level. A wood bench with a pottery wheel on top was in the center of a large sunroom. Solid white French-style windows kept sound and cold outside. There was a double door next to a five-piece sea-grass seating arrangement on one side of the room. Good to know. The other side was a work area. Against the wall was an antique dresser with rows and columns of small drawers and white knobs. It looked like an old card catalog storage cabinet. On top was a metal rack from which a few strands of earrings, necklaces and bracelets hung, some beaded, some with colored and designed glass pendants. Sliding one of the drawers open, he found individual beads. Next to the cabinet was a work desk, with a partially finished necklace with a stone pendant waiting for the next impulse to create.

Savanna made jewelry along with her pottery. And that wasn’t all. Along the far wall, windows ran above a long counter, a sink with a farmhouse faucet and a stove on one end, trays of cooled candles on the other with some work space in between. The cabinets below were left open and the shelves were filled with pots, wax and wicks, oil-based dyes, scents and a variety of jars and bases. A closer look revealed materials to make soap as well.

He turned to go back to the living room and saw Savanna standing at the entrance, long dark red hair in a ponytail and those amazing eyes fringed by thick lashes. Her plump lips and petite, sloping nose made her all the more of a man magnet. She seemed uncertain as to how she felt about him invading her personal space. It sort of dimmed his sparking attraction.

“You have quite a few hobbies,” he said, covering his fascination.

She looked at him a moment longer. “Dinner is ready.”

He followed her back to the kitchen, where she’d set up sturdy paper plates on the kitchen island. She’d already dished out pork chops with sautéed fruit, red onions and banana peppers on top and some kind of salad.

Savanna opened the microwave and brought over a bowl of steaming mashed potatoes. He didn’t care if they were out of a box.

He looked up at her and smiled his thanks.

She smiled back. “I wasn’t expecting company, least of all a hungry man.”

“I wasn’t expecting to
be
company.” But here was as good of a place to hide as any.

While he piled potatoes onto his plate, she put a glass of water in front of him and sat next to him, putting down a bottle of sparkling water. She began slicing her pork chop and ate daintily and slowly, frequently glancing over at him and occasionally taking a swig from her bottle of water. Most people who drank that stuff put it in a glass. She drank it like a beer. He almost chuckled.

“You like living alone, don’t you?” He said it more like an observation.

She put her water down and smiled. “What gave me away?”

“You seem—” he glanced down at the bottle of water “—set in your ways. In a good way.” Was he digging himself a hole here?

“Well, when you make it to my age without getting married, it’s bound to happen.”

Unable to stop himself, he said, “I find it very hard to believe you’ve never been married.”

She put her fork down. “Well, I haven’t.”

He watched her drink some more water, uncomfortable with him, not trusting in the least. “Why not?” Someone as beautiful as her wouldn’t stay single long. Or was her remote address an issue?

Setting her water down, she looked at him. “It didn’t work out.”

“So there was someone serious?”

Instead of answering, she picked up her plate and took it to the sink.

Korbin followed. The more evasive she was the more her mystery made him think of more questions. He put his glass down on the counter and his paper plate on top of hers while she made washing forks and knives take longer than necessary.

“Why did you quit motivational speaking?” Did her relationship that didn’t work out have something to do with it?

With an unappreciative glance, she took the paper plates to the trash can inside a cabinet door. Then she leaned back against the counter with her hands draped over the edge. Her flannel shirt stretched over her breasts, drawing his eyes. The material was too thick to see much detail. Taking in her long, slender legs, he all but drooled over the apex of her fit thighs.

When he finally looked back at her face, he met the fiery blue of her eyes.

She had some secrets of her own, or subjects that were off-limits.

“Sorry,” he said.

“I was engaged once,” she said. “He found someone else who had more to offer.”

He hadn’t expected her to answer and suspected she hadn’t, either. Their building curiosity was mutual, it would seem.

“Was he blind or just stupid?” he asked.

That softened her. A tiny smile poked the corners of that succulent mouth. “Both, I’d have to say.”

“Did he lose interest after you showed him the prenup?”

The way she blinked said it all. He’d guessed right.

“I’ve had that happen to me before.”

Instant warmth transformed her face when he said that. She breathed a laugh and smiled at him, straight white teeth flashing. He almost forgot what had brought him to her deserted road. This pull between them was getting strong.

He didn’t ask her if she loved the man. Obviously, she had. And obviously, she’d stopped speaking about inspirational things because of it. Did her hobbies fill the void left behind?

“You said you were married once,” she said. “Did she sign a prenuptial agreement?”

He supposed he should have seen that coming. “No. I never asked her to.” Niya had looked like a blond-haired Barbie doll but inside she’d been the genuine article. She was the kind of woman who didn’t know how beautiful she was. Korbin had to tell her all the time, or she wouldn’t believe it.

They had struck it off so well that Korbin had put off telling her about his parents. She’d grown up in a small Midwestern town in a working-class household. She had one brother. When he had finally told her, she’d been disappointed. She’d been angry with him for keeping it a secret. She hadn’t spoken to him for a week afterward. He’d never had a reaction like that from a woman, and it had made him love her all the more.

He’d pursued her relentlessly. Called. Stopped by the house she rented with another student. At last she’d agreed to see him again. He’d been forthright and honest with her in all things from then on. They’d fallen madly in love. It was unreal.

And then...

“I’m sorry,” Savanna said. “I don’t like it when people ask me about my engagement and...” She didn’t finish. “I shouldn’t have pried like that.”

And what? What had she been about to say? If he asked, he’d be prying the same as she had. And then he’d be obligated to reveal more of his own past. That made his mind up. Talk of Niya was best avoided.

“What other hobbies do you have?” he asked instead.

“Come on.” She started for the kitchen entrance. “I’ll show you.”

He trailed her through the living room to the stairway. Underneath the upper-level steps, more led to a basement. At the bottom, a huge rec room opened. There was a bar and a huge television with theater seats. Shelves on both sides of the TV were full of movies and video games.

Savanna passed that, then turned on a light that illuminated the other half of the room. But the light didn’t come from above, it came from a miniature town set up on a big table. A train track wound its way around, crossing a river and going over a road. There was a hill of houses overlooking the town. All of the buildings had lights and there were even stoplights that worked and cars that followed another track around town.

“You did this?”

“A little at a time.”

“You’re like a boy.” He laughed. “This is great.” He walked around the table. There was even a mine.

After studying every detail of the setup, Korbin saw her watching him with a soft smile. She loved how he appreciated this.

“You’d be a bad fit for city life,” he said. “You wouldn’t have time for all of this.”

She shook her head. “No.”

But he sensed she’d rather share it with someone. “Do you ever plan to have kids or are you too much of one yourself?”

“I’m too much of a kid myself,” she said. “I make a better aunt than I would a mom.”

He could see that about her. “I feel the same way, except I’m an only child.”

Sharing the growing connection between them, the moment heated up. Her eyes batted and lowered and she clasped her hands in front of her.

With the
choo-choo
of the train, Korbin stepped closer. Something deep in him warned to resist this, but desire overruled. Reaching out, he took her hands, coaxing her to unclasp them and then pulling her slowly to him. One step. Two. And then she was against him. She put her hands on his chest and looked up, in a spell that had fallen over them both.

He didn’t give her time to react. Didn’t give himself time to think. Just kissed her. Soft at first. Gentle. Warm. And then the very thing that had him in awe over her rolled into a ball of flames.

She made a groaning sound and the next thing he felt was her fingers raking through his short hair. He gave her more, and the fevered kiss compelled him to wrap both his arms around her, hands gliding down her slender back to her rear and pressing her against his growing hardness. She had to feel it through those thin pants.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. More than the reason that had brought him here, he still felt beholden to someone else.

Slowly, with unease building, he pulled back. She looked up at him through half-opened eyes, luscious mouth plump and wanton. She’d felt exactly the way he’d imagined. And more. So much more that foreboding crept into his unease. He felt as though he would betray Niya if he allowed this to go any further.

The smoke began to clear. Her eyes grew more aware. Abruptly she stepped back.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t know what made me do that.” Angelina Jolie lips...tight pants...braless breasts...

“Uh...how about a movie?”

“Sure.” A really loud, action-packed movie with no sex in it.

* * *

The next morning, Savanna stretched with a languorous moan. She’d just had the most wonderful dream.

Korbin’s big, strong body on top of hers...a big, hard erection igniting her flesh...

Her eyes popped open. Springing to sitting position, she cursed and wiped the hair off her flushed face. She was ready for him and he wasn’t even in here! Would she fall so easily for yet another man, only to lose him later?

Appalled, Savanna flung the covers off her, took a long shower and stayed in her room for a little longer. All the while, his kiss kept taunting her. So did the way he looked at her after the action thriller they’d watched. They’d walked upstairs and at his bedroom door, temptation to stay in her bed had begun to burn in his eyes.

She could have stripped naked for him right then. Hell, she could have stripped naked and pushed him into his room. Instead, she’d forced her feet to back up until she was able to turn and go to her room, where she’d looked at him as she closed the door.

Sleep had come much later. Now it was coming to 10:00 a.m.

Dressed in jeans and a gray wool sweater, she finally went downstairs.

Korbin was in the kitchen with a cup of coffee, reading one of her books. The television was on in the living room, tuned in to a weather channel that was talking about the blizzard on the way for tonight.

He looked up when he heard her. His eyes flared with heat before he stopped the reaction. Shutters came down and emotion vanished. He was guarded, cold. Stopping his attraction. Where had that come from? Did he regret kissing her last night?

That part of his past he couldn’t talk about must be why. Instead of thinking twice about entertaining any romantic possibilities with him, she should take his lead and put a stop to this right now. Going into another high-risk relationship wasn’t on her adventure radar. High-risk because there was too much uncertainty. The next man she got involved with, she’d get to know very well first. As in, it would be months before she slept with him, not weeks as she’d done before.