by Julia London
She wiped the pad of her thumb across her lower lip. Her chest lifted with a deep breath. “Sorry,” she said breathlessly. “I don’t know what got into me.” But she didn’t look sorry, not the least bit. She looked like a woman who could rip his clothes off of him then and there.
“I’m not,” he said. He was downright confused, yes—but not sorry. Whatever had just happened, it felt strong and real. And wholly incautious. “I think we can start down now,” he said, and turned the ignition. “Hold on.”
But Madeline was already gripping the dash and the handle above the window, and honestly, Luke wasn’t certain if he hadn’t just said that to himself.
FIFTEEN
She was such an idiot! Madeline slammed the car door and stomped in her wet pumps into the lobby of Grizzly Lodge. Why did she agree to stay? A week? Who had a week? She had clients and listings.…
Okay. Maybe, just maybe, she was more intrigued with Luke Kendrick than she would ever admit to anyone, and especially not Trudi, who was guaranteed to make a colossally big deal out of it. But man, sitting in that truck, under the blanket with a guy as good-lookng as Luke, she let her mind wander to other things. White-hot things. She couldn’t believe he’d kissed her. But she really couldn’t believe that she had kissed him back. She didn’t think she had ever in her life kissed anyone like that. It wasn’t like her at all, so reckless, so out of control. And Madeline couldn’t even say why she’d done it, other than she was up on that mountain in the rain, under a blanket, and with Luke, handsome, sturdy Luke, and something just began to thrum in her. She’d felt a little outside of herself.
She was still shocked and excited and shocked. But, Lord help her, she’d enjoyed that kiss, more than any other kiss in her life.
Crazy, crazy! It was the chaos around her, that was it. She was still wearing his jacket! She had completely forgotten it when they’d come back down to the ranch.…
Well. Maybe she hadn’t completely forgotten it, but he apparently had—he did not ask for it back. It smelled like him. All salty and sexy and—
Madeline, what the hell?
Okay, logically, she’d had no choice but to stay. Luke had been so quick to jump to the conclusion that they ought to get Danny the I’m Fairly Certain He Maybe Has Internet to take a look at the property. What was it about men that they immediately assumed a man, no matter who the hell he was, was better suited than a woman for a job?
Madeline had seen red, she’d really seen red, red, red, and the next thing she knew, she’d opened her mouth and said she’d stay.
“Goodness gracious, you look like a cat caught out in the rain!” Dani said as Madeline marched into the foyer, ready to kill and maim someone with her bare hands.
“I am. I was. Dani, a couple of things have come up.” She slapped her purse down on the counter top. “I’ll have to stay for a week or so.”
“Well that’s great news!” Dani said, smiling brightly. “I knew you’d fall in love with Pine River.”
“I didn’t—”
“Now maybe you can pick up a few things that aren’t quite as businesslike,” she said eagerly, eyeing Madeline’s clothes.
What was up with all the sartorial scrutiny in Pine River? Madeline glanced down at herself—in addition to the smear across her blouse, her slacks were a silk blend, and she could see the water spots on them.
“So where will you be staying?”
That brought Madeline’s head up. “What? Here!”
“Oh no, sweetie. I’d love to have you, I would, but, remember, I’ve got that busload of snowbirds coming up from New Mexico on Monday. Want me to call and see if the motel on the Aspen Highway can take you?”
Madeline suppressed a shudder. She’d driven by that hotel on her way out of town this morning when she’d been momentarily turned around and headed in the wrong direction. There were several big, muddy trucks parked outside the rooms, a sign displaying the SUPER LOW RATE OF $19.99 A NIGHT and the L in the word “motel” was half gone. “Umm, no thanks. I’ll figure something out.”
“Why don’t you give Jackson a call?” Dani suggested. “He might have an idea. He’s so smart.”
Smart was not the word Madeline thought of when it came to Jackson. She looked longingly down the hall to her room. She was getting used to her little cub room and was reluctant to leave it. “When do I have to be out?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. I can give you till four if that helps.”
Great. Twenty-four hours to dig herself out of the latest round of chaos. In the meantime, Madeline had a more pressing issue. She was not going back up to the ranch in these shoes, or anywhere for that matter. “Is there a store around where I could pick up a few things?” she asked.
“Walmart out on the Old Aspen Highway, of course. I get these shirts there,” Dani said proudly, gesturing to a blue Guayabera shirt. “Fifteen ninety-nine, you can’t beat that. But if you want something a little more suited for the mountains, you can go down to Tag’s Outfitter.”
Madeline’s phone was beeping at her. She rummaged around in her bag for it. “Tag’s Outfitter?” she repeated as she pulled her phone from the bag. Stephen.
“Just down the street, catawampus from the Stakeout.”
“Outfitter,” Madeline said again as she muted the ringing of her phone.
“Outfitter,” Dani reiterated carefully. “You can get your camping gear there, too.”
“Camping!”
“It’s an option. I mean, if you don’t want to stay out on the highway.”
Madeline almost choked. “I’m not that desperate.”
Dani chuckled. “Don’t be too sure,” she said. “You might be camping before you know it. The mountains have a certain pull to them. You’ll be feeling it in a couple of days.”
Madeline picked up her purse. “Actually, I think I’m more of a beach girl.”
“Well at least go check out the clothes there. Because you can’t keep going up to Homecoming Ranch like that.” Dani winked at Madeline. “How’s your head, anyway?” she asked as Madeline started for the door.
“Better,” Madeline said. “Thanks. The aspirin really worked.”
“Sure it did. Keep them with you. This altitude does all kinds of crazy things to a person.”
Apparently that was true, because Madeline had just broken every rule she had about following all of her rules.
She headed toward the Stakeout, scanning the street for whatever Dani might consider to be “catawampus.” She was fairly certain she had spotted it—a low-slung adobe building with miles and miles of brightly colored ceramic pots in front of it, as well as a crop of big iron chickens on springs. Every breeze made them dip toward the ground and up again. Above the chickens hung a large sun bursting with big orange rays and the words “Tag’s Outfitter.”
Madeline was so wary of the place and the type of clothes they might carry that she didn’t exactly register the ringing of her phone and answered without thinking.
“Hey! It’s Stephen.”
Madeline stopped walking. “Hi, Stephen.” She banged her fist against her thigh for being so incautious. She didn’t need any more detours in her day.
“So how do you like Colorado? Pretty state, isn’t it?” he asked.
“It is,” she said. “Beautiful. Lots of pines and… trees.”
“Whereabouts in Colorado are you?”
“A little town called Pine River.”
“I know that town. Near Silverton, right? I used to ski in Silverton. So listen, I talked to my friend in Denver. The news is good. Without any written agreements or liens that haven’t yet turned up, the property is yours, free and clear. Better yet, he said he has a buddy who is a broker who specializes in ranch lands. He said not only could he help you out with that, he’s probably got some buyers who’d be interested in talking. I’ve got his number. I can text it to you.”
“That would be great,” Madeline said. “Thank you.”
“So when are you going to be bac
k?” he asked.
“Umm—I’m not sure yet. Indefinite right now.”
“Indefinite,” he repeated.
“There’s a lot more to be done than I realized.”
“So what are we talking, a week? A month?”
“A few days, anyway,” Madeline said.
“Okay,” Stephen said. “So listen, Madeline,” he said. “There’s something I’d like to say—”
“Stephen, now isn’t really—”
“I like you,” he said, cutting her off before she could stop him from saying anything. “I like you a lot. You’re pretty and you’re different, and I know you don’t want to get into anything, but I’d like to date you. You know, you and me. I promise I won’t push you, because I get that you’re skittish about guys or whatever, but really, that’s okay. I’d just like to see you and see where it goes. No pressure.”
Madeline sagged against the outside wall of the Squeaky Clean Laundromat, where she happened to be standing. Stephen was a great guy, and any woman would be crazy not to be into him. But Madeline wasn’t. This is what she always did. She would go out with a guy a few times and then disappear. The one time she hadn’t done that, the one time she’d tried to be a “girlfriend” to a guy named Trystan, he’d dumped her. He’d said he wasn’t feeling it, whatever that meant. Madeline hadn’t felt as devastated by that as she’d felt validated in what she believed about men.
But now, an image of Luke jumped into her mind, which she tried to push out. She didn’t understand herself, or the fist in her belly when she talked to Stephen or thought of Luke, and honestly, she was too exhausted to even try at the moment. “I have so much on my mind right now,” she said.
“Sure, sure,” Stephen said. “But I just want you to know, that whatever it is you are going through, I want to help. Or not. And everything can wait until you get back.”
“Thanks, I just need to take care of a couple of things.”
“I know. Do what you need to do. I’ll text you the name of this guy.”
She thanked him and hung up. She didn’t want to think too much right now. And besides, her feet hurt. Madeline walked on to Tag’s Outfitters.
She had to duck her head to step into the place, which looked as if it might have been an adobe barn at one point. The ceiling was very low, the wooden beams exposed. Someone had thought it a good idea to suspend billed hats from the beams. There were dozens and dozens of them, hanging only inches over her head. The windows were small and rectangular, and the only real light came from a glaring fluorescent tube that stretched across the ceiling between the hats.
An old man with long gray hair and a longer gray beard was sitting on a stool behind the counter. He wore a stained sun hat and in his hair a feather that looked as if it had been plucked from a very large bird of prey. He glanced up at Madeline only briefly, then lowered his gaze to what looked like a sudoku puzzle, his pen poised above it.
“Ah… Danielle at the Grizzly Inn said you might have some clothes and things?”
Without lifting his gaze he said, “Got everything you need for living in the mountains. Ladies’ section in the back.”
Madeline looked around the store. There was no clear “back” to the store, just lots of meandering aisles through stacks of boxes. She looked at the man behind the counter. He made a mark on his puzzle.
She started down one path through boxes piled to near the ceiling, some of them leaning precariously. But at the end of that row, Madeline was rewarded with six round racks full of women’s clothing. There was a closet with a curtain pulled across it that she supposed was the dressing room, and a surprisingly cheerful little rug just outside of it.
She perused the racks, sorting through sundresses with skimpy straps and brightly printed fabrics, T-shirts emblazoned with inspirational slogans and mystic symbols, hiking wear, and jeans. Madeline was not much of a shopper. She did not enjoy spending the money she made. She was guided by the fear that something horrible would happen—like her mother would land in a hospital after one of her nights of partying, with no insurance and poor health—and she would need every penny she ever made.
But today, Madeline decided she could use a little retail therapy. She picked up two of the sundresses, some hiking pants, a pair of jeans, and some T-shirts. She stepped into the dressing room to try them on. They were not her usual style, but one of the dresses reminded her of her blue dress at home. This one was red with white polka dots, and it floated around Madeline’s knees the way Emma’s skirt had floated around hers. Why not? Madeline thought, and smiled at her reflection. Why not wear a frilly dress?
She tried on the other clothes, and happy with her picks, made her way to the front of the store to purchase the items, including a sweater with pretty beading on it she found on the way up the aisle.
She deposited her things on the counter.
“That it?” the man asked, putting aside his magazine.
“No,” Madeline said. “I need shoes.”
The old man perked up at that, clearly interested in the prospect of selling shoes. “What kind?”
“Something practical for walking.”
He eyed her curiously. “What kind of walking? Pavement or trail? Improved or unimproved? Hilly or flat?”
She thought about that. “All of the above.”
With a grunt, he pushed himself off the stool, picked up a cane, and wordlessly hobbled around the counter. He led her to a big stack of boxes, where he paused, turned around, and had a good look at her feet. “Pick up your foot, let me see the bottom.”
Madeline did as instructed, presenting the bottom of her foot.
He turned back to the boxes, found one about halfway down, wrested it from the teetering stack and handed the box to her. “Try these.”
Inside the box was a pair of hiking boots. Madeline instantly recoiled. “I was thinking something a little sleeker.”
“Sleeker,” he said, sounding annoyed. “You want good walking shoes, or you want sleek?”
“Right,” she said with a sigh, and sat down to fit the boots on her feet. The old man stood by, watching her as she donned them, then instructed her to walk. He nodded, then made her walk up a little wooden hill, and down again. He didn’t say a word, but then again, he didn’t have to. Madeline loved them. After two days of stomping around in her pumps, she felt as if she were walking on pillows. Soft, cushiony, supportive pillows.
“I’ll take them,” she said.
“You’ll be needing socks,” he advised, and bent down, fished around in another box and held out some thick hiking socks.
“Perfect! Thank you.” She was determined never to take them off. Never.
“Need a backpack? Flashlight? Camping gear? Guidebook?”
Madeline, whose mood had been miraculously transformed by supportive footwear, smiled at him. “No, thank you. But I will take this,” she said, and reached above her head and pulled down a bright pink ball cap. She’d never worn a ball cap in her life.
She paid for her things, wore the boots out of the store, and clomped back to the Grizzly, a smile on her face. Funny how such a small thing like comfortable feet could change a person’s outlook. For the first time in two days, Madeline felt as if she could tackle this thing. She knew what she had to do: Assess the situation, take control, and restore order. Simple.
SIXTEEN
So Dad came in while Marisol was giving me a rubdown, and like seriously, man, he is the last person I want to see when I’m with Marisol, but he always comes in like she’s just part of the furniture and starts talking and he said, “There’s a woman outside to see Luke.” And then he looked at Marisol like he was afraid she’d figure out who and start talking it up around town. Well, first of all, Marisol already knew. I said, “Julie’s been sniffing around my big brother,” and Marisol said, “Yeah, she’s on the hunt for a new baby daddy because word on the street is that Brandon is moving to Colorado Springs.”
I really like the idea that Pine River has a
“street,” sort of like we’re badass here instead of a bunch of yokels trying to make a living.
Anyway, I knew it was Julie outside because she’d already called the house twice today. Dad was upset about that, too, because man, she did a number on Luke a few years ago. They’d planned the whole wedding. I think she even had a dress, and then she dumped him because Mom was sick all the time, and dude, Luke moped around. I mean, Luke said that he got it, that the Kendricks had a lot of issues, and who would want to marry into issues? But he forgot that love is a two-way street, and he needed Julie the most about then, and she bailed on him. You know what they say, love is blind, and Luke, man, he could have used a white cane or a Seeing Eye dog. But dude, we’ve never seen him like that, and just between you and me and the wall, he was a total dick to all of us. And that wasn’t the end of it! I think she’s called him up four or five times since then, needing him for this or that, getting his hopes up, and then backing off.
That’s what Dad is worried about, because we can both see that it messes with Luke’s head. But I told Dad not to worry, and he said, “Are you sure? Maybe I should have a talk with him,” and I said, “No, no, no, don’t do that. No thirty-year-old man wants to have that kind of talk with his dad, and besides, I am so sure, because I know Luke better than anyone, and I asked him once, I said, ‘so, are you over Julie?’ And he said, ‘so over,’ and he wouldn’t have said that if he hadn’t meant it.”
Listen, I know Dr. Phil wants guys to communicate better because he says it every day on his show, but if I ever met him I’d ask him why, because guys don’t need a lot of words to get our points across. Luke said he was over her, and that means he is over her. Paragraph, period, close the book.
So Dad went away after that and Marisol said, “You think you know so much,” and I said, “I know you are craving my body like a chocolate sundae with whipped cream and caramel, so go ahead, baby, have at it.” And she said, “One day, Leo, you are going to talk too much,” and pinched my butt. Hard, man. There’s gotta be a bruise.