Rocky Mountain Valentine (7 page)

“I know you do.” Adam itched to move closer so he could offer her a friendly hug, but held his ground. “But right now it seems like you are trying to avoid seeing them.”

Lisa moved to the hearth and simply petted the dog, ignoring Adam completely.

Adam waited in painful silence. Toby came to him and let out a deep yip, his way of asking to go out. When Adam returned, Lisa had moved to the sofa.

“This morning you accused me of always running,” she said.

He wasn’t sure what to answer. He couldn’t take it back. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? You were barely here long enough for each of your sister’s weddings.”

Lisa lifted her chin. “Did they say that?”

“No, they didn’t, but I’m not blind. You didn’t come home for the past two Christmases, or Thanksgiving—or at all,” Adam said.

She let out an audible protest. “That’s not true. I spent a week with Mom and my sisters at the cabin before Kevin and Emily decided to get married. I was here right before Christmas for Kat and Alex’s wedding. This year, I worked. Besides, this isn’t home,” she argued.

“I think of home as where my family is, you know, like we come ‘home’ from college, whether it be to Grandpa’s, or Mom’s, or Susan’s... Your mom even came.”

“Why wouldn’t she? Now that both Emily and Kat are here...” She lowered her head slightly.

That was it, even her mother was blending with his family, leaving Lisa alone. Adam could see her eyes mist over and wished he’d kept quiet. “My mom says it’s easier for her to travel than it is with kids. I’m sure Naomi would have stayed home if you’d asked.”

Lisa shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. Mom’s house isn’t home, either.” She looked at him, startled, as if she’d revealed some deep dark secret.

“It may not be the same house, but...”

“My sophomore year of college, Mom left a note on the door, telling me to meet her at some new address. I tried my key in our house, but it didn’t work.” Lisa tugged the ponytail holder from her hair and let it fall loose around her face. “Mom finally had a good job and celebrated by getting rid of everything—the house and most everything inside.”

“Wow.” The single word escaped, followed by a small whistle. The silence between them multiplied, made more miserable by the fact that he couldn’t think of any comforting words to say.

She pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her chin upon her hands. “I never begrudged Mom a nice place or the chance to start over. She deserved it after what my father put her through.”

“He abandoned all of you, Lisa.”

She let out a soft sigh. “I was two when he left. Emily and Kat were the ones who had to take care of their pesky little sister. They were responsible for fixing meals and putting me to bed while Mom worked. When they went to college, Mom was only working one job and taking night classes. So you see, home wasn’t all warm and filled with love and comfort. Without my sisters, it was a roof over my head. I don’t ever plan to burden them again.”

“Lisa...” Adam reached out to comfort her, but Toby’s bark caught Lisa’s attention.

“May I let him in? It must be terribly cold out there.” She obviously welcomed the interruption.

“Sure.” Adam didn’t bother to tell her that Alex had built the dog a well-insulated doghouse. Lisa needed a distraction from the conversation and so did he. She was hurting, and he knew healing couldn’t happen if she kept running—from her past and from her family. He wanted to reassure her that she could always count on family, but now wasn’t the time. He wasn’t technically her relative, and he knew that getting too involved was a bad idea. He’d been telling himself that ever since Katarina and Alex’s wedding, when he’d seen her dancing in front of that mirror.

Lisa let the overzealous puppy inside. She knelt down, inviting the dog give her a sloppy wet kiss. “Good dog. Let’s show your dad how well we’re doing.” She replaced his rope with the short training leash. “Toby, heel.” Lisa led him into the living room. “Toby and I found your training manual this afternoon while you were tending the cattle.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “Really?” They were about as mismatched as any dog and owner could be. She was graceful as a deer, and Toby as overbearing as a bull in a china closet.

“We did. He does very well.” She held her hand in front of the dog. “Sit, Toby.” Her commanding voice sounded too sweet and feminine for a dog to take seriously. Toby looked at Adam with a gaze that begged for sympathy. Adam forced a straight face.

“Toby, sit,” Lisa repeated more sternly. Toby hesitated, then dropped his rump onto the hardwood floor. “Good dog,” she crooned.

Her admiration distracted the dog, and his tail end was wagging even before his rump left the floor. “Toby, sit.” Lisa stood straight. “Sit, Toby!” It was too late. Toby lunged at Adam, dragging Lisa along.

Adam could see what was coming, but for the life of him, he couldn’t stop it. He just hoped there would be no injuries and that he’d be able to keep a straight face.

Lisa finally let go of the leash just as the dog launched onto the couch and right over the back.

“Toby!” Adam reached out to catch the dog and found his arms around Lisa. “This beats Toby anyday.”

Facing him, she squirmed, trying to get up.

“Relax a minute,” Adam whispered, resting his fingers on her shoulder. “Look at Toby. He’s looking at us like he had this all planned.”

She turned toward the dog. “The rascal.”

“You okay?” He extended his arm, folding his hand around her shoulder.

“I’m fine. I could use some help up.”

He simply stared at her. The color of her eyes. The way her silky hair framed her face. “You don’t have to run, Lisa.”

Her gaze met his, and the distance between them disappeared. She jumped when he touched her hair.

Still unable to get her balance, Lisa pushed herself off the sofa. “Don’t complicate things, Adam.”

“What?”

She picked herself up, straightened her sweater and brushed the hair from her flushed face.

“I’m sorry, Lisa.” He jumped off the couch and took a step toward her.

She backed away. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have shared those things with you. After all, I’m here on business. I think we’d both be wise to remember that.”

He felt as if someone had opened the door and let the cold wind shock him back to reality. She was right. Asking a drifter to stay was like asking the wind not to blow. “What about tomorrow?”

“Fine. I’ll go to Kat’s for dinner. I’ll wait in the truck while you’re in church.”

“Okay, I’ll expect to see you at seven in the morning..”

“And if I’m not ready?”

“I’ll come and get you.” He walked to the back of the house before she could argue. She wanted to stick to business? Fine. He’d show her business.

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
HE NEXT MORNING
Adam was surprised to see Lisa waiting at the kitchen table when he came out of his private quarters after he’d fed the livestock. “Ready?”

“Yes, doesn’t that prove I want to see my sisters? I put a plate of breakfast in the oven for you.” She looked at her watch and raised her eyebrows. “By my guess, you have seven minutes before we need to leave.”

“Sorry I didn’t fix it for you,” he grumbled. “I couldn’t leave chores for later.”

“And you were worried about me,” she teased, a secretive smile softening the mood. “What would you like to drink?”

“I can get it. You didn’t need to fix me anything, but thanks.” Adam pulled the plate from the oven and poured himself a tall glass of orange juice.

“Well, I’ll admit, I’m way out of practice in the kitchen, but I figured I couldn’t do much to mess up an omelette.”

“It looks great.” Adam took a fork and nearly shoveled the food into his mouth. How could she be so cheery after acting as if he’d done something so terribly wrong just the night before? He finished with two minutes to spare. “Let’s go.”

She picked up a notebook and grabbed the shoulder strap of her camera bag.

“Here, let me get that for you.” Adam reached for the bag. “My back hurts just watching you lift it.”

“Thanks, but I’m used to it.” Lisa smiled as she set the strap onto her shoulder. “This is nothing compared to those I carried in school. Mine isn’t even full yet. I only have one extra camera body and three lenses.”

“Only?”

“Once I can afford it, I’ll have three or four bodies and at least five lenses, depending on the type of photography I’m doing.”

“May as well order a caddy to lug it all around for you while you’re at it.”

“Thanks anyway, but I prefer to work solo,” she said.

Wet snow fell fast and furious, melting as soon as it hit the ground. They’d driven nearly thirty minutes on dirt roads when Adam began having trouble steering. He pulled the truck to a stop and opened his door and leaned out to look. “We have a flat tire.” He set the emergency brake and shut off the engine, then yanked the tie from around his neck and handed it to her.

Lisa held up the strip of fabric and smiled. “Somehow I wouldn’t have pictured you as a Tweety kind of guy. Yosemite Sam, maybe, Deputy Dawg, definitely a possibility...but Tweety? No. Now maybe Sylvester fits...”

He shot her an unappreciative glance and took the keys from the ignition. “Ricky gave it to me for Christmas. He picked it out himself.”

She dropped the tie onto the seat, trying to subdue a smile. “I see. How sweet of him. Can I do anything to help?”

“Call one of your sisters and tell them we’ll be late.” He grabbed a pair of leather gloves from under the seat and closed the door, shutting out the icy wind and snowflakes, as well as his bad mood. The weather turned worse by the minute.

She found her phone and gave Katarina a quick overview of the mishap while Adam paced from the front of the truck to the back, pulling tools from the metal box behind the cab. A minute later, she saw him set a handful of bolts on the hood of the truck, then felt the vehicle tilt to one side. Adam was apparently one of those people who had a place for everything and actually kept everything in its place. From Adam’s efficiency and the fancy tools he had on hand, she guessed changing flat tires to be a regular occurrence for the rugged cowboy.

She regretted that there was nothing she could do to help, especially when Adam crawled back into the truck with mud-caked boots and splattered clothes.

She’d never seen Adam such a mess, even in his work clothes. He pulled the gloves off, then reached behind the seat and pulled out a rag to wipe the dirt from his dress pants.

Lisa opened her mouth to suggest they turn around and head back to Whispering Pines, but before she could, he started the truck and continued down the road. She would love nothing more than to go back to the ranch. She also knew better than to say so after their discussion the previous night. She’d do what she had to in order to keep the peace between them. She needed this story. A year without a permanent job was growing old, not to mention not having a place to call home. Every time she thought she had a job and was ready to sign a lease, something went wrong.

She had it so much better than most of the homeless people she’d met. By her own opinion, she wasn’t really homeless at all. True, she didn’t have a permanent residence, but she’d never spent one night without a roof over her head. Her contacts in the publishing world had kept her busy enough to replace her equipment and set aside adequate travel funds. By most standards, she’d be considered an incredibly successful freelancer. Only problem was, she wanted the security of a full-time job, a monthly paycheck and a place to unpack her bags, permanently.

As if he had read her mind, Adam asked Lisa about her travels, most likely out of boredom or a sense of obligation. Either way, it helped fill the awkward silence between them. The only other noise was the murmur of the radio, which took precedence over conversation when the weather alert came on, upgrading the forecast to a winter storm warning.

Adam looked at his watch as he pulled into the church parking lot. “You sure you don’t want to come in? Church’ll be an hour or two, and it’s going to cold out here.”

“I’ll wait out here.”

“If you’re upset about last night, I’m sorry.” Adam fumbled with the silken strip of fabric until he had it tied into knots. “Don’t worry. It won’t happen again.”

Just hearing the words from his mouth made her heart do a little dance. Had he truly been ready to kiss her? Lisa felt a huge sigh of relief escape. She’d scolded herself all night for overreacting. “Well, I’m happy to know I wasn’t imagining things.”

Adam tipped the rearview mirror down so he could see what he was doing. “At least one of us is happy.” He slipped the knot up to his throat and straightened the two strips of fabric.

“So just because I didn’t let you kiss me, we’re going to be at each other’s throats again?”

“And just because I was crazy enough to care about you for a few minutes, you think you can get what you want by flirting?”

“Flirting? With you?” She straightened her back and turned toward him. “I was just trying to keep the peace, joke around a bit...”

“Well, don’t. Tomorrow you ask your questions, take your pictures and get on the road.” He opened the door. “See you in a couple of hours.”

Adam stopped in the men’s rest room once inside the store, hoping to clean up. Looking in the mirror, he realized it was no use. Other than chipping the mud from his face, there was little he could do. His clothes were a disaster. If it hadn’t been for Lisa’s presence, he would have turned around after the flat tire. He hadn’t been about to let her win this argument. Lot of good his stubbornness did him.

Why is it that the only woman I’ve been remotely interested in in three years is the one woman who wants nothing to do with me or my ranch?

Adam didn’t linger after the services ended. He was anxious to get back to Lisa. With any luck at all, he’d be able to convince his houseguest that she’d be more comfortable spending the remainder of her time in Colorado with one of her sisters. Maybe they could help Lisa heal.

He stepped outside, snow and icy wind slapping him in the face. Lisa had to be freezing. How could he have left her sitting in a cold vehicle in the middle of a blizzard? As Adam hurried through the parking lot, people headed inside, bundled in their winter coats and boots.