“Picked up a few things I needed to complete my disguise, then took another look around Selby Stables. With the rain, not much was going on.” He paused, a disgusted expression on his face. “You know, the security around that place is virtually nonexistent. Anybody could get into your cottage anytime he wanted. First thing tomorrow night, I’m changing the locks on your doors and adding them to your windows.”
“Another look?” she prodded, ignoring everything else he’d said. “You’ve been there before?”
“I stopped there about a year ago on my way to Mexico,” he replied, matter-of-factly.
“You did?” Thoroughly bemused, she stared at him. “Why?”
“To see you.”
“But you didn’t... I didn’t...” At a loss, she looked away for a moment, then turned back to him indignantly. “Why didn’t you let me know that you were there?”
“I didn’t think you’d be pleased to see me.”
“You’re right. I probably wouldn’t have been,” she admitted ruefully. Then, feeling the need to be equally honest with him, she added, “I almost came to see you when you were in the hospital. But I didn’t think you would be pleased to see me, either.”
“Probably not,” he said as he reached out for her hand anew. “But it’s nice to know now that you were thinking of me then.”
Weaving her fingers through his, Kari regretted all the time they’d wasted. Still, in spite of themselves, they’d found each other again. And nothing else really mattered now.
They finished their coffee, then Alex paid the bill, leaving a generous tip for the waitress. After a stop in the gift shop as promised, they returned to the room so Alex could make a couple of telephone calls—one to check on the road conditions, which turned out to be good, and another to Devlin so he and Laura would be prepared should Brandon call to talk to Kari after getting her message.
Just after noon they were on the road once more, headed back to Alex’s house in her car.
“Seems a shame to drive all this distance only to have to turn around and drive back again tomorrow,” she mused.
“We would have had to do it one way or the other. All your stuff is there, and Selby would wonder if you turned up without any luggage.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “Although I could have pretended the airline lost it.”
“That would have just given you another lie to keep track of.”
“I suppose.”
“We’ll be there soon enough,” he assured her. “And we’ll have tonight and most of tomorrow before we have to leave again.”
“You’re anxious to get back, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I am. I like being there.” He glanced at her, brushing the back of his hand against her cheek. “And I especially like being there with you.”
Warmed by his words as well as by the tenderness of his touch, Kari smiled at him, then retorted lightly, “The fact that I baked cinnamon rolls for you wouldn’t have anything to do with that, would it?”
“Let’s just say it didn’t hurt.” He turned his attention back to the road. “What about you? You meant it when you said you liked the place, didn’t you?”
“Oh, yes, I liked it a lot,” she assured him, then added impishly, “even though I resented the hell out of being stuck there with you.”
“Gosh, I would have never guessed,” he teased back.
“I still can’t believe you kidnapped me.”
“For your own good,” he reminded her gently.
“So you keep saying.”
“Because it’s the truth. And I’m not holding you against your will now, am I?”
“No.”
“Well, then, cut me some slack, will you?”
“All right.”
“Have you thought about what you’ll do after this business with Selby is over?”
“Not really,” she admitted. “But I suppose I should. I’ll definitely be out of a job, and I’ll also have to find another place to live.”
“You’re welcome to stay at my place while you look around for something else,” he offered in an offhand manner.
Not stay with him, she thought, stay at his place. And not permanently. Just until she found something else. She knew she should be grateful that he’d thought to suggest it. But in all honesty, she had hoped for more. Especially after last night.
Of course, she hadn’t taken into account his job. A job that just the other day he’d said he found quite gratifying. A job that required him not only to spend most of his time out of the country, but also to remain single.
McConnell no longer allowed his married agents to take on assignments that involved a high degree of physical risk. The kind of risk that was always a part of the covert operations Alex had professed to love. The kind of risk that would be missing should he accept a desk job as Devlin had done. Which was something he’d already said he’d never do.
And why should he? He had made no promises of happily ever after, she reminded herself firmly. He had simply taken what she’d so willingly offered and given back what he could in return. He had acknowledged his awareness of her desire for marriage and a family, but he hadn’t said he wanted either for himself. And, she now realized, there was a good chance that he never would.
“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind,” she answered as lightly as she could, flashing a bright smile his way despite the sadness settling in her soul.
“I have a couple who look after the house and grounds for me, so it wouldn’t be a lot of work for you,” he added, as if that would somehow seal the deal.
“As I said, I’ll think about it.”
Avoiding his sudden, searching glance, Kari focused on the view outside the car window. She couldn’t imagine anything that would depress her more than living in Alex’s house alone. In fact, just the thought of it made her want to weep.
But there would be time enough for that later. All she wanted now was to make the most of whatever moments they had left together.
No more regretting the past or worrying about the future, she ordered herself sternly. She’d done enough of that already, and all to no avail. For as long as Alex stayed with her, she wasn’t going to think of anything but loving him. If he still chose to leave her one day, then so be it.
Determined to keep her vow, Kari did her best to remain lighthearted throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening as well as the following day.
With the sun shining once again, the temperature rose accordingly, sending waves of heat and humidity shimmering off the wet ground. By the time they arrived at Alex’s house, spending the rest of the day indoors seemed like a good idea. And with only a little coaxing on Kari’s part, they eventually ended up in bed, where they stayed for most of the next twenty-four hours. Except for one truly decadent foray out to the hot tub sometime after midnight.
Kari made her telephone call to Brandon and left a message on his answering machine as planned. And that evening, she and Alex talked to Kevin Wyatt.
His visit to Selby Stables had gone off without a hitch, and he seemed satisfied that he would be able to keep the barn area under surveillance at night without being detected. He also indicated that he still wanted Kari to return Saturday evening as scheduled unless she had any qualms. Anxious to put their plan into action, she assured him that she was more than ready to go back.
Although Alex considered Kevin Wyatt a capable man and trusted that he would do his best to look out for Kari, he continued to be anything but enthusiastic about letting her return to the stable. In fact, had he been able to think of a way to keep her away from there altogether without upsetting her, he would have, and Kevin Wyatt be damned.
But Alex knew that Kari felt duty-bound to play her part in Selby’s downfall, and she would be furious if he tried to prevent her from doing it.
If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself. But then, that was why he was going to be right there with her. To see that she was safe.
And to savor—fo
r a little longer—the love she offered him.
He was still surprised each time he reached for her and she came to him willingly, seeming just as insatiable as be. He kept expecting her to snap to her senses, to realize that trusting him so completely might not be very wise considering the kind of background he had. But her initial faith in him not only endured, it appeared to grow stronger.
When they had first arrived back at his house, he’d had some serious second thoughts. Reminded of all the years he’d stayed away from her and why, he had begun to think that maybe he’d been right all along.
But no matter how he’d tried, Kari hadn’t allowed him to distance himself from her. She had whispered to him teasingly and touched him tormentingly, until he’d thrown her over his shoulder and carried her to his bedroom, turning the room he’d sworn would be her sanctuary into their own special haven. A haven of the heart he’d found himself more and more loath to leave.
Inexorably, however, Friday had turned into Saturday, and now the clock on the nightstand read three p.m. Much as he hated to wake her from much-needed sleep, they would have to leave within the hour. Otherwise they would never make it back to the San Antonio airport in time for Kari to coordinate her movements with the arrival of the flight from Virginia.
As they had agreed after talking to Wyatt, she would wait near the appropriate gate for the plane to land, keeping an eye out in the unlikely event Selby had come to meet her, while Alex picked up the car he’d rented on Monday and went on to the stable ahead of her. That way he would be on the grounds when she got there, and would be able to look out for her if she happened to cross paths with Selby on the way to her cottage.
Since the bastard was still awaiting her response to his proposal of marriage, Selby shouldn’t pose too serious a threat to her yet. But Alex wasn’t taking any chances. He planned to spend nights in her cottage and days, starting Monday, working around the stable, close to wherever she was.
Tomorrow would be tricky, however. Kari was scheduled to show horses for several owners at upcoming events, and even though it was Sunday, Brandon would expect her to put in some time riding to make up for all the days she’d been away.
Because Alex had managed to skulk around in broad daylight a year ago without being seen, he was fairly certain he could do so again. Still, he would feel more at ease when he could move about freely, disguised as a stable hand—hiding in plain sight, so to speak.
Unable to put off rousing her any longer, Alex reluctantly sat beside her on the bed.
“Time to rise and shine,” he murmured, running a hand over the curve of her hip, now modestly covered by a light cotton blanket.
She sighed and stretched, muttering unintelligibly, then rolled onto her back and eyed him sleepily for several seconds.
“You’re up and you’re dressed, ” she said at last, her tone mildly reproving.
Neither of them had bothered much with clothes for the past twenty-four hours.
“You should be, too,” he replied, tugging the blanket up over her bare breasts with an inner sigh of regret, then gently smoothing her hair from her face. “We have to be on the road by four o’clock and it’s already after three.”
“It can’t be,” she grumbled as she pushed up on her elbows and glanced at the clock. A moment later, she fell back on her pillow, adding ruefully, “But it is, isn’t it?”
“Hop in the shower while I fix you something to eat.”
Breakfast, lunch and dinner had gone by the wayside, as well.
“I have to pack, too.”
“All done,” he assured her. “I left underwear, your skirt and a T-shirt in the bathroom for you. Okay?”
“Okay.”
She smiled at him with such obvious affection that he had to stand and move away from her before the urge to shove the blanket aside and lay claim to her yet again got the better of him.
“You have thirty minutes max,” he ordered sternly.
“Or what? You’ll leave without me?” she teased, not the least bit intimidated.
“I would if I thought you’d stay put. But you’d just hitchhike all the way to San Antonio on your own, endangering yourself even more, wouldn’t you?”
“I have to go back,” she replied quietly, her determination to move ahead as planned unwavering. “I have to go back and do what I can to stop Brandon.”
“I know. But I don’t like it. Not one damn bit.”
“I’m going to be all right,” she insisted.
“You’d better be.”
His mindfulness of all that could go wrong darkening his mood considerably, Alex left Kari to shower and dress while he put together a late lunch they’d now have to eat on the road.
The drive to San Antonio seemed much shorter than it actually was. In an effort to ease his sense of impending doom, Alex quizzed Kari unrelentingly on what she should and shouldn’t do once she was back at the stable. She went along with him for a while, then became increasingly testy herself.
He wanted her to give Selby as wide a berth as possible, even though it wasn’t really feasible. As she pointed out, she still worked for the man, and she had to show him the same common courtesy she had in the past. Which happened to include stopping by his house to let him know she had returned as she’d said she would.
“Just call him from the cottage,” Alex snapped. “Tell him you’re still not feeling well. While you’re at it, tell him you won’t be able to ride Sunday, either,” he added, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that sooner.
“Oh, he’ll really buy that, ” she retorted sarcastically. “I don’t look the least bit ill.”
“He won’t have to see you.”
“If I don’t stop at the house, he’ll come to the cottage. Is that what you want?”
“No.”
Pulling into a space on the airport parking lot, Alex slammed the gearshift into park and switched off the engine. She was right, of course. And, if necessary, he could get inside Selby’s house. He’d done it a year ago and again Friday afternoon. Still...
“I’m not stupid, Alex,” she chided softly. “And I’m not about to take any unnecessary risks. But I know Brandon. I know what he expects of me. To suddenly change my behavior would make him start to wonder.”
“All right, then. Stop at the house. But if he lays a hand on you—”
“I’ll plant my knee in his groin,” she interrupted, flashing Alex a teasing grin.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh or cry. So he settled for hauling her across the seat and kissing her, long and slow and deep. Then he eased away from her, opened the car door and got out.
“I’ll see you at the cottage,” he said.
“At the cottage,” she repeated. “Be careful.”
“You, too.”
Not at all happy, he pulled his backpack from the back seat and started across the lot, hoping against hope that he was doing the right thing.
Kari stayed where she was, watching as Alex wove his way among the lines of parked cars. She had wondered if he would actually stick with the plan. For a while there, it had definitely been touch and go. But in the end, she’d gotten her way by standing firm, even though she would have just as soon never come face-to-face with Brandon Selby again.
Had Alex absolutely refused to let her go back to the stable, as she suspected he’d been on the verge of doing, she probably would have given in. She wasn’t nearly as brave as she’d wanted him to believe. But running away of her own volition was one thing she just couldn’t countenance.
With Alex nearby, she wouldn’t be in any real danger. At least not as long as she avoided being alone with Brandon. She would be just fine. She would be.
Glancing at her watch, Kari saw that it was time for her to head inside the terminal. Since Brandon knew she had her car at the airport, she doubted he would be there to meet her, and luckily, as she scanned the gate area, she saw that he wasn’t.
The plane landed a few minutes late, and she easily blended into the
crowd of disembarking passengers, walking with them to the baggage-claim area just as she had done on Monday. Standing off to one side, she recalled how completely she had been fooled—and frightened—by Alex’s bizarre disguise.
Now even a momentary glimpse of him—weird glasses, stringy black hair and all—would have been reassuring. She had gotten so used to having him around over the past few days that she felt rather lost without him.
As the first pieces of luggage tumbled onto the carousel, she turned and walked to the exit, her departure paced exactly as Alex had instructed. Outside she noticed that the sun had dipped toward the horizon. By the time she arrived at the stable, it would be almost dark.
But Alex would be there waiting for her, she reminded herself. Within shouting distance, he’d said. Even if she couldn’t actually see him. Just as he had been a year ago.
She paid the parking attendant, then pulled onto the roadway, smiling to herself. Alex had come close to dying, and then he’d come to see her. Whether or not he ever said the words aloud, that was enough to prove to her that he really did care for her. Now all she had to do was convince him the feeling was mutual.
She hadn’t yet told him that she loved him. Not in so many words. She wasn’t sure he was ready to believe her yet. But she’d had a lot of fun showing him, and unless she was mistaken, so had he.
He’d grown less and less hesitant with her, and though she realized he was still holding a part of himself back, she couldn’t help but believe that she had put at least some of his doubts to rest.
All too soon, the sign for the turnoff to Selby Stables appeared. Following the road, Kari remembered the times, now long past, when she had looked forward to returning there. Now she could only wonder how she’d been so naive.
Awed by Brandon’s accomplishments as a rider and a trainer, she had made allowances for his querulous nature, often letting him treat her like dirt. But not anymore. She’d lost all respect for him. Unfortunately, she couldn’t afford to let him know it. Not yet. But one day soon...
As Brandon’s two-story, white clapboard house came into view, Kari noticed the lights were on in several rooms. Half a dozen cars were also parked along the curve of the driveway in front.
The Lady And Alex Payton Page 17