Mad About The Man (28 page)

"
I
'
ve missed you, Gaby,
"
he told her. God, was that ever true.

"
Don
'
t say that,
"
she said, continuing to gather newspapers into a pile.
"
Don
'
t say or do anything to make this harder than it already is.
"

"
Or easier?
"
he suggested tentatively.
"
Are you afraid that if I help you calm down, you won
'
t be able to resist me anymore?
"

Her head shot up.
"
What do you mean by
that
? I hate to disappoint you, Jacques, but I
can
live with
out
…
without
…
"

"
Can you, Gaby? Do you want to?
"

She swung the strap of her purse over her shoulder.
"
I
'
m not being drawn into this kind of conversation.
"
With the heap of papers in one arm and a bag of garbage balanced on a hip, she headed for the corridor.
"
Clean yourself up. Then come to the kitchen.
"
Jacques followed at her heels, ignoring the furious glares she
aimed
at him.

"
Do you have any idea what you look like?
"
she
asked when she
'
d disposed of the garbage.
"
Unshaven, disheveled and probably unwashed.
"

"
I always wash.
"

"
Those jeans are falling apart.
"

"
I know. They
'
re comfortable.
"
He rubbed his bare middle.

"
At least you could do up your shirt.
"

"
You do it up.
"
He approached until he
'
d backed her against the sink.
"
I haven
'
t been myself lately. Small tasks seem beyond me.
"

He saw her swallow and pass a quick glance from the center of his chest to the low waist of his jeans— and below.
"
Gaby, let
'
s not waste time arguing,
"
he said sof
tl
y, bringing his mouth closer to hers.
"
We do other things so much better.
"

"
No!
"
Pushing past him, she stood in the middle of the room.
"
I was g
oing to try to do this in a civ
ilized way, but that
'
s impossible with you.
"

"
Do what, Gaby?
"
This was definitely not going as planned.

"
Tell you that although you
'
ve snowed everyone else in Goldstrike, you haven
'
t fooled me. I may have to fight you alone, but I will fight. What you
'
re doing to our town is
wrong.
"

"
And you want to talk about that? Negotiate?
"

"
There
'
s nothing to negotiate about in the areas that concern me. I
'
m going to stop you, Jacques. That
'
s what I came up here to tell you.
"

"
And I thought you might have come to give us a chance to talk about our future.
"

She frowned.
"
Future?
"

"
Yes, future. The time you and I are going to spend together. Lots of time. We could start right now.
"

"
By having sex?
"
She laughed, but her voice wobbled and her hands, before she pushed them into the pockets of her dress, trembled.
"
And that
'
s what you mean by our future, isn
'
t it? Sex together whenever you decide you need a diversion?
"

Women were the most infuriating creatures.
"
You know that
'
s not all I want from you.
"

"
Yes, I do. I know you also want me to stop opposing your plans for the area. You
'
re afraid that I might still have enough influence around here to make things difficult for you. And you don
'
t like it if one tiny thing doesn
'
t go according to plan.
"

He stared at her. Could she really have judged him that wrongly? Could
he
have failed to give her a clearer picture of his feelings?

"
Look, we might as well get this over with and go our separate ways,
"
Gaby said, a suspicion of a sheen in her eyes.
"
I admit I may have been wrong to be so completely unyielding about everything you
'
ve proposed.
"

"
Thanks.
"

"
Don
'
t be sarcastic. I
'
m trying to deal with this as pleasantly as possible.
"

"Thanks.'
'

"
Oh, you
'
re impossible. All men are impossible.
"

"
If you want to make me mad, lump me together with that caricature you were dumb enough to marry.
"

He knew his mistake as soon as the words left his mouth.

"
At least Michael has the guts to say what he thinks when he thinks it. He doesn
'
t wait in alleys and jump people when they don
'
t expect it, just because his pride
'
s been a bit dented.
"

Jacques snorted.
"
I didn
'
t jump him. I confronted him in broad daylight.
He
took the first swing. All I did was defend myself. He came off worse. Too bad from his point of view,
"

"
If you thought he was off base in what he said about me at Sis
'
s, why didn
'
t you say so right then? You might have done me some good.
"

He planted his fists on his hips.
"
I
'
ll never understand women. If it hadn
'
t been for you, I
would
have had it out with him in the diner. I was afraid of embarrassing you.
"

For the first time since she
'
d arrived, Jacques saw her determination waver. Not for long.
"
I came to clear everything up between us, Jacques. When I walk back out that door, you
'
ll know exactly what
'
s been on my mind these past few days.
"

"
This sounds promising.
"
All but the walking out bit.

"
Good.
"
She began to pace about the kitchen.
"
Why don
'
t we go and get comfortable somewhere?
"

"
Here
'
s fine. I don
'
t want to take too much time over this.
"

"
Of course not.
"
He knew, with the strength of will for which he was famous in some circles, that he would not allow this woman to leave him tonight.

Wind moaned in the firs close to the house, and branches scraped the roof.

"
I
'
ve been wrong to be so unyielding about everything.
"

He relaxed so abruptly he almost sighed.
"
I knew you
'
d see it my way in time.
"

The look she gave him was confusing: a mixture
of exasperation and something he couldn
'
t decipher—
unless it was anger.

"
As I was saying, I shouldn
'
t have given the immediate thumbs-down on everything you proposed. There
'
s a lot of good here and there in
th
e plans. Goldstrike will be better off—as long as you
'
re not allowed to go too far.
"
Her eyes fixed on his.
"
But the trouble is that you
are
trying to go too far and that
'
s that.
"

He raised his chin and looked down at her.
"
And only your opinion counts. Only what you think can possibly be correct, is that right?
"

"
I am right.
"

"
Naturally.
"
His teeth came together hard.
"
How could I have been so foolish as to think I didn
'
t have to get your approval at every stage?
"

She pulled her purse forward, opened it and removed an envelope.
"
This is yours.
"

When he wouldn
'
t take it, she threw the packet on the table.

"
Changing the title back into your name won
'
t be a problem. Unfortunately the dozens of flowers you
'
ve bombarded me with in the past few days were too difficult to transport up here.
"

"
You don
'
t like flowers?
"

"
I love them.
"
Again she didn
'
t look away quickly enough to hide the glimmer of tears.
"
But not as weapons against me.
"

Jacques frowned.
"
Gaby, I don
'
t understand you.
"

"
You
'
re impossible,
"
she said.

"
And you
'
re off the wall. The most unconventional woman I
'
ve ever met.
"

"
You
'
re criticizing me.
"

"
Good God.
"
He made a grab for her and missed
as she dodged out of his way.
"
This is pointless. Why can
'
t—
"

"
You
'
ve got it! Pointless! And you can
'
t
buy
me, Jacques.
"
With that,
she produced a set of car keys
.
"
Having that car delivered this morning was your biggest mistake—your
final
mistake. If I wanted a car, I
'
d buy one. Maybe not a convertible Jag, but who needs one. Money isn
'
t something I
'
m short of.
"

His temper frayed to breaking point.
"
But you
'
re short of the things that really matter, Gaby.
"

She shook her head.
"
This is getting us nowhere. Keep your building. And keep your fancy car. Go back where you b
elong—with the rich and smooth—
and leave us alone.
"

"
Just like that? I thought you said much of what I
'
m doing here is worthwhile.
"

"
I did. And it is. But you can do all of that without ever having to lay eyes on me—
"
breath sobbed in her throat
"
—and without my having to see you. But I
'
ll
fight you on the rest, Jacques. I promise you that. If it takes every penny I
'
ve got and every ounce of energy, I
'
m going to stop that damn theme park from being built here. And the spa. And the high-rise hotel with the shuttles to Tahoe. I
'
m going to stop you. Period.
"

He caught the keys she threw at him.

"
Goodbye, Jacques. There
'
s a lot about you I like—
"
her mouth worked
"
—a lot. Goodbye.
"

"
No. Not goodbye,
"
he stated flatly.
"
Never goodbye.
"

"
I
'
m going home.
"

He looked at the keys in his hand.
"
Really. How?
"

She looked momentarily nonplussed.
"
Um
…
you
'
ll drive me, of course.
"

Jacques tossed the keys on the table.
"
Like hell I will.
"

"
This is the last thing I
'
ll ask of you.
"

"
As far as I can remember you
'
ve never asked for anything before. But the answer
'
s no.
"

"
You
'
ve got to.
"
The alarm in her eyes troubled Jacques, but what happened tomorrow and the next day—and for the rest of tonight—hinged on how he managed this little crisis.

"
I don
'
t have to do anything, Gaby. I
'
m going to light a fire in the study and pour us some brandy. It
'
s wild out there. Too dangerous for anyone to be driving those mountain roads.
"

"
I
'
m going home.
"

"
No, you
'
re not. You
'
re going to talk things through with me. The
n, when the storm passes over…
then, we
'
ll see.
"

"
Jacques!
"

He walked out of the kitchen and back to the study. She was headstrong, but he was about to show her he could be stronger when necessary.

The lights flickered twice while he piled wood into the fireplace. Jacques smiled. He could
think
of worse things than being marooned in a dark, very comfortable house with Gaby McGregor.

Flames shot up the chimney and he sat on his heels. The door slid open, but Spike rather than Gaby appeared, and came to lie close to the hearth.
"
Smart girl,
"
he said, patting her.
"
You know when to take advantage of a good thing.
"

He pulled a chair close and sat down to outwait Gaby.

When the lights went out completely, he was still waiting.

More minutes passed. And more.

"
Damn.
"
Rather than come to him, she
'
d stand on her own in a dark kitchen. She had to be the most stubborn female he
'
d ever encountered…
and the most desirable.

He negotiated his way to find her by instinct.

The wind wailed now, and rain beat each skylight as he walked beneath. At least the thunder had passed over.

As he entered the kitchen, cold air hit his face.

"
What the hell
…
?
"
Jacques stood still and peered around and while he did, the door to the outside batted back and forth under the onslaught of the weather.
He only hesitated a moment.
"
Damn fool woman.
"
Despite the danger, she
'
d decided to make the return drive in the middle of the kind of storm any idiot would avoid.

Running, registering his lack of shoes but knowing every second counted, he dashed outside and around to the entrance courtyard.

The Jaguar stood where she
'
d left it.

Jacques, his shirt already plastered to his body, searched in all directions.

She
'
d set off, in driving rain and ripping wind, to
walk
home!

He couldn
'
t go after her barefoot.

The minutes it took to return for the keys to the Jag and to pull on shoes were too long. By the time he started the powerful engine and drove from the courtyard, peering through the drenched windshield, his heart felt lodged in his throat. It would be possible to trip and fall from the edge of this road in daylight. At night, in blinding rain, it might be harder not to fall.

Crawling, ducking and straining to catch any movement, he steered around one bend after another. She couldn
'
t have gone far.

The nose of the Jag straightened out of a curve and the headlights picked up something pale. Jacques set his teeth in a f
u
rious grimace. Then he heard a growling sound.

From the corn
er of his eye he saw the shape of Gaby
'
s face whirling back in the direction from which she
'
d come, and the flash of her arms and
legs
as
she started to run—toward the car.

The growling became a rumble.

Rockslide
!

"
Damn!
"
He slammed on the brakes, killed the engine and threw open his door.
"
Run!
"

She barreled into him the instant he cleared the Jag
'
s swinging door.
"
Get out of the way, Jacques! Quick! They
'
ll hit you!
"

Jacques clutched her to him and ran. The roar of falling rocks continued. A scatter of pebbles rose up the road in front of them like a gray-white rim of surf.

He stumbled.
"
Hold on to me!
"
The fine rocks worked like a runaway conveyer belt beneath his feet.

Then, as quickly as the fall had begun, it stopped. Panting, Jacques drew to a halt and, holding Gaby to him, looked back.

"
Oh, my God,
"
he murmured.
"
You might have been killed.
"

Around his body, beneath the shirt, he felt her hands creep over his skin until she could hug him with more strength than she should have had.

The Jag
'
s headlights still shone on the pile of rubble that covered the road. The main part of the slide had been farther on. The edge of the heap formed a
wall in front of the car with s
cree broadcast many yards uphill.

Jacques rested his chin on top of Gaby
'
s head.
"
Now I know how a parent feels when a kid runs across the road and almost gets killed.
"

"
You do?
"

"
Yeah. I
'
d like to shake you till your teeth rattle.
"
Her attempt at a laugh was pathetic. She shook steadily.

"
Did you honestly think you could walk all the way home?
"

"
No. I knew you
'
d come after me. Then you wouldn
'
t have any choice but to drive me home.
"

"
Is that a fact?
"
He looked down into her face.
"
You think you know how I
'
ll react that well?
"

"
Yes,
"
she whispered.

"
Are you going to cry on me?
"

"
I never cry.
"

"
Why was it so important to get home, Gaby?
"
He remembered Mae.
"
Damn, why didn
'
t you remind me about Mae?
"

"
That wasn
'
t it. She
'
s spending the night with her new best friend, Mary-Alice Healy.
"

"
The pain? The kid she hates?
"

Gaby chuckled.
"
That was before Shortcake. Mary-Alice loves Shortcake and Mae
'
s being mag
nanimous enough to share. You
'
ve made quite a conquest in my little girl.
"

"
And she
'
s made quite a conquest in me. But her mother
'
s made more of a conquest.
"
Carefully, re
luctantly, he removed Gaby
'
s arms, took her hand and led her back to the car.

"
We
'
ll have to wait for morning to find a way down,
"
he told her when they were settled.

"
I
'
m sorry, Jacques,
"
Gaby said.
"
I
'
ll try to stay out of your way till then.
"

T
he hurricane lamp
Jacques had lighted for Gaby before going to the shower cast leaping light and shadow over the walls of the sitting room next to his bedroom.

She took a last look at the chart he
'
d left with her.
"
Your opinion is very important to me,
"
he
'
d said.
"
Look this over and tell me what you think.
"

It was perfect. That
'
s what she thought.
The
primarily final plans he
'
d had drawn up
offered
Gold
strike
the best of his ideas and saved the town
from
the worst. He needn
'
t think she couldn
'
t figure out that with his outrageous gift of a Jaguar, he
'
d set a trap to draw her up here where he could present his plan like a boy with a perfect report card.

Gaby rolled up the chart. She
'
d already showered and was dressed in th
e top of a pair of red satin pa
jamas Jacques laughingly told her had been a gift from his flamboyant French mother.