Montana Dreaming

by Judy Duarte

  “Do I have reason not to?”

  “I give you my word I’ll consider each action as though this was my own money. I’ll use the best of my ability to steer you toward decisions that will benefit your corporation. I intend to show you every penny of income and expense and to offer you my best advice on generating profits.”

  “Your word is good enough for me,” she replied easily. It was in his best interest to make her money since he wanted to share in it. She’d been born at night, but it hadn’t been last night.

  A roll and a cup of coffee later, their business was concluded. He was good at this money-managing stuff.

  His intercom beeped and Connie said, “Mine foreman is on line one, Mr. Douglas. He says it’s important.”

  Riley got up and stood beside his desk to push the speakerphone button. “Douglas here.”

  “Mr. Douglas.” The man’s voice was clear. “I couldn’t reach anyone at Miss Martin’s number. The two of you might want to be here when we haul this car out into the sunlight.”

  Riley met Lisa’s eyes. “We’ll be there.”

  He clicked off the phone and pressed the intercom button. “Connie, have the driver bring the car around, please.”

  “What’s going on?” Lisa asked.

  “This is it. The first of the ore. It’s been right there waiting for us to have everything in place. Let’s go.”

  “Oh, wow! This is exciting.” Lisa pointed to the table. “Let’s grab a few of those sandwiches for the road. They’ll tide us over.”

  He watched her pile several sandwiches on a plate and cover them with a cloth napkin.

  “What?” she said. “I’ll return your napkin.”

  “Take all the napkins if you want. I don’t care.”

  “Then what are you looking at?”

  “You.”

  Lisa looked away, momentarily flustered. “Let’s go.”

  They headed out past the receptionist and onto the street, where the chauffeur waited beside the Town Car. “Where to, Mr. Douglas?”

  “The mine.”

  They got in and got settled. She placed the plate of sandwiches on the seat between them, and he looked out the window with a grin.

  “Great picture in the paper. The one of you in the red dress,” he said.

  She hadn’t minded it. She gave him a sideways glance and grinned. “It was okay.”

  He looked back. “Did you know the AP picked it up?”

  “Associated Press?”

  “Uh-huh. Chad Falkner made himself a pretty penny selling it to People.”

  “No way!”

  “I’d watch for the next issue.”

  “Stop it.” He was putting her on, and she wasn’t falling for it. The thought of plain-Jane Lisa Martin’s photo beside Jennifer Aniston’s was ludicrous.

  “So, we’re on our way to see gold, is that right?”

  “That’s what’s excavated from a gold mine.”

  “It’s going to be real now.” She looked out the window at the passing scenery, excited now in spite of herself. “What do you have on your schedule this afternoon?”

  He thought a minute. “Paperwork for the ski resort.”

  “Anything you can work around?”

  “Yes, why?”

  She looked at him. “I want to go buy a car. Maybe you could advise me. I don’t want to pay more than I should.”

  “Do you know what you want?”

  “Not really.”

  He tapped his fingers on his knee. “Were you thinking of going to Billings? Are you ordering or buying from a showroom?”

  She shrugged. “I have no idea.”

  “I’ll come with you. We’ll stop by the ranch to get my car on the way back,” Riley said. “I rode in with my dad this morning.”

  “What about the Blazer? Won’t I need it for the trade-in?”

  “Lisa.” He cocked a brow. “Get serious.”

  “What?”

  “You’re not going to get a trade-in on that thing. Besides, it won’t make it that far.”

  “What will I do with it, then?”

  “Call a scrap-metal dealer? Have a bonfire?”

  She gave him a sideways look. It was fine for her to belittle her own vehicle, but she didn’t like the verbal degradation coming from him. “I’ll have you know that Blazer got me where I needed to go for the last ten years…most of the time.”

  “So it has sentimental value?”

  “Some.”

  He tilted his head. “I hear you can have a vehicle smashed down into a coffee table.”

  “Now there’s an idea.”

  They shared a laugh just as the driver pulled up to the last security point.

  When they reached the mine, the flurry of activity amazed Lisa. There were workmen and trucks and all manner of tools and apparatus she’d never seen before.

  The foreman dashed out to meet them. “It’s up. Wait till you see!”

  He led them to a metal cart filled with chunks of ore taken from the mine’s interior.

  “There you go, Lisa,” Riley said, urging her forward. “There’s your gold.”

  She stared at hunks of rock with gleaming fissures and exposed nuggets. Sunlight caught the exposed veins and gold glittered.

  Riley asked for a hammer and knocked off a piece. Turning to Lisa, he held it out, then dropped it into her extended palm.

  The chunk of gold he’d given her was as big as a plum and heavy. She held it out so the light caught it, then glanced at each person in the gathering. Smiles creased every face.

  Someone let out a whoop, and the rest joined in. Lisa found herself swept into Riley’s arms and spun around in a circle. When he set her down, the men crowded around her with excited congratulations. The whole thing still seemed surreal.

  “Now do you believe you’re wealthy?” Riley asked sometime later as they walked back to the car. “You owned the gold all along, but now you’ve seen it.”

  “It’s more real, that’s for sure.” She still held the nugget.

  The driver took them to Riley’s, where they got his car. She dropped the piece of gold into her purse and selected a CD. Riley showed her how to load the unfamiliar machine and press Start.

  “I think I’ll get a car with one of these players.”

  The sandwiches ran out long before they reached Billings, and Riley drove through a fast-food place on the highway to order a burger and a soda. Lisa got a shake.

  When they reached the city, he pulled onto the first car lot he came to, which happened to be a BMW dealership.

  A young salesman spotted the red Jaguar and nearly ran out to greet them. “Hi! Are you looking for anything in particular today?”

  “I just want to look,” Lisa told the salesman pointedly.

  “Go right ahead.” The young man handed Riley a business card. “I’m Jamie. I’ll be glad to help you if you have any questions.”

  Lisa test-drove half a dozen cars, but felt her eyes bug out of her head when she asked how much the price was on the one she liked the best.

  “It’s a car,” she said to Riley, but the salesman was within hearing distance, so she lowered her voice. “I could pay the national debt with that much money. Or build a children’s hospital.”

  “A hospital.” Riley raised a brow and studied her.

  “Well, a clinic. Hey, an animal shelter. Why on earth would I want to spend that much money on a car?”

  “It’s not just a car, Lisa, it’s a BMW. Like mine is a Jag. It’s going to cost more money than a midsize family sedan or an economy car. People buy them because they can afford to. A car like this is about image. You’re a wealthy woman now. The cars you choose reflect you and the way you want to be seen.”

  “Afford it or not—image or no—it’s a waste of money. I want to go somewhere where I won’t feel like I’m throwing money away.”

  “It’s not throwing money away, it’s an investment.”

  “No, a stock is an investment. A car is transport
ation.”

  “Why’d you bring me, then? To make me crazy?”

  “No, I read somewhere that a man can negotiate for a better deal than a woman. Did you notice he gave his card to you, when I’m the one who said I wanted to look?”

  He tilted his head to indicate he had.

  “And I brought you because I don’t know cars.”

  At that remark he stared at her pointedly.

  “I don’t know cars, but I know I don’t want one this expensive.”

  “Okay.” He turned to the salesman. “Thanks for your help. We’re going to look around a little more.”

  The next dealership was more like it. It still seemed an extravagance to buy a brand-new car when slightly used or even mildly dented would get her around just as well, but she fell in love with a new Blazer, gold in color.

  “You said image, and this is image. It’s gold,” she said to Riley with a grin.

  “But you’ve driven a Blazer for the last—how long?—twelve years? Don’t you want something different? Sportier maybe?”

  “I need four-wheel drive in winter. It’s practical.”

  “I agree, but you could get both. This plus something sporty.”

  She directed her palm at his suggestion. “Don’t. Uhuh. One is plenty. Baby steps, remember?”

  The salesman was nearly jumping up and down over the sale with a check in full as payment, but when Riley started talking about two vehicles, she thought the fellow was going to hyperventilate.

  “Easy.” Lisa turned to him and explained in a serious tone, “I’m only getting the Blazer. Period.”

  The man looked to Riley, who shrugged. “She’s calling the shots.”

  It took longer than she thought it should have for the transaction and for the service department to do their thing. She was itching to get the keys and her bill of sale.

  “How about dinner?” Riley asked. “By the time we get back, they’ll have your new wheels ready.”

  She had asked him to take time from his day to help her make this choice, though she’d pretty much made all the decisions herself. Riley was her measuring stick, however, and as long as she stayed just under his suggestions, she felt comfortable. She owed him for his patience. “Okay.”

  “Let’s go make sure they didn’t sell my car while I was looking with you.”

  With a grin Lisa joined him. The salesman had been disappointed when he’d learned Riley’s Jag was not a trade-in.

  “Where to?” she asked a few minutes later.

  “What are you hungry for?”

  “I’ll eat anything.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  She cast a frown his direction. “You’d rather take a picky eater to dinner?”

  “Definitely not. Unless it was you. I just want to take you to dinner.”

  “Good cover.”

  “Yeah.”

  Lisa chose the restaurant—a casual steak house with a salad bar—and paid for their meals while Riley was using the restroom.

  “Why’d you do that?” he asked as they took seats and the waitress handed them plates.

  “You helped me today. It was the least I could do.”

  The waitress walked away.

  Lisa leaned forward. “Besides, I’m rich.”

  She got up and went to prepare her salad. Riley followed and stood beside her. “This is a date, so I’m supposed to pay.”

  She barely glanced up from her plate of lettuce. “Who says?”

  “Who says what? That it’s a date or that I’m supposed to pay?”

  “Both.”

  He made his salad and returned to the table with her. “You don’t make anything easy, do you?”

  She hoped not. It was her goal to stay a giant leap ahead of him at all times. She was not going to be sucked into his scheme. She’d always been attracted to him, so she had that working against her. She could never let him know how she really felt about him. But besides that she was having the time of her life.

  “Remember this Saturday evening is the groundbreaking reception,” he said.

  She had forgotten.

  “You agreed to come.”

  She nodded. “I’ll drive myself.”

  Their dinners arrived. “Have you scheduled your interview?”

  “I’ve been putting it off. I was thinking I’d call tomorrow and arrange it. If they keep up their part of the deal and leave me alone for a week, it will be pure bliss.”

  “You can always use my cabin. Feel free to take your dogs and stay as long as you like. There’s only one lock—the one that gets you in through the garage—and I’ll have a key made for you.”

  The offer was so tempting, she hadn’t allowed herself to think about it. Time away from prying eyes would be welcome. Maybe she had a few qualms about returning to the place where she’d lost her virginity, but she’d have to deal with that eventually. “I don’t know how I’d find it myself.”

  “I could take you out. Or lead the way.” He looked up. “If you planned to take off during the week the reporters were leaving you alone, they wouldn’t see you to follow.”

  She leaned forward. “The last day of the reprieve I could go out and take as many days undiscovered as I like.”

  He nodded.

  Lisa laid down her fork. “How long can this last, Riley? I mean, wouldn’t you think they’d be bored with this whole story by now?”

  “There’s something fascinating about the whole rags-to-riches story,” he said, then paused with an apologetic look. “Not that you wore rags, but—”

  “I get it.”

  “Your evasiveness is like an aphrodisiac to them,” he said. Maybe he knew firsthand?

  “I’ve heard of celebrities who go ahead and stop and pose for photos and then the paparazzi leave them alone because they got what they wanted.”

  He nodded as he finished his steak.

  “Maybe this interview will have that effect.”

  “That’s what we’re counting on.”

  He had been a big help. She’d have been even more lost without him. But after what had transpired between them, things were more tense. Lisa had wanted what had happened. She was honest with herself—she could admit she wanted more. She just had to guard her heart. That was her first priority. If she could do that and still let him as physically close as she sensed him working toward, she would have it all.

  “Saturday night,” she said.

  Riley had finished eating, and the waitress poured them cups of coffee. He smiled at the woman, and she blushed as she walked away.

  “Saturday night,” he prompted.

  “Could you devise a way to come back to my place after the reception? You never did get to look at those journals.”

  He thought a minute. “You’ll be driving yourself to the ranch, so they’ll be following you home. What if I leave ahead of you and get to your place first? I can park a block or so away.”

  She dug in her purse, smiled when her fingers touched the gold nugget and came up with her extra key. “The dogs won’t know you, so I’ll leave them in their runs out back. You’ll have to let yourself in the front.”

  She met his eyes and warmth diffused her face, neck and chest. They were methodically planning a night together and they both knew it. Images of their last time snagged Lisa’s breath and made her heart jump erratically. She was in control and she was not a coward. So much of her life had already slipped by that she wasn’t willing to miss any more. She would only regret her actions if she let her heart get involved or if she didn’t grab on to this opportunity.

  Lisa didn’t want any regrets.

  Chapter Nine

  It’s All About Gold for the Lady In Red.

  Bernadine had spotted Lisa walking an Irish setter in the park, slid out of her car and run all the way, waving a magazine.

  Lisa gave the woman a wide-eyed once-over, taking in her heels and taupe linen suit. “What’s this all about?”

  “My partner brought this to me. Look!” She
showed Lisa the front cover of People magazine with its usual assortment of stars and captions. In the lower left-hand corner beside Paris Hilton in a slinky pink gown was a picture of Lisa in her red dress. Lisa looked twice, then grabbed the magazine from Bernadine’s hand to get a closer look.

  “It’s me.” She looked up, then back at the glossy cover. “Oh, my—it’s me!”

  “The story’s on page nineteen,” her lawyer said breathlessly.

  Lisa flipped the pages until she came to the article that took an entire page. Half was a montage of color photos, the other half caption and text. “It’s all about gold for the lady in red,” she read aloud, her voice trembling. She went on to read the story, which played on local girl striking the mother lode. Lily Divine was of course mentioned, and there were quotes made by neighbors and people Lisa barely knew.

  Mrs. Carlson was quoted as saying, “She’s always been a shy girl. Keeps to herself and dotes on those dogs of hers.” There was a small picture of her with Joey and Piper, taken from a distance, and it looked as though she was in her own yard. The biggest pictures were of her in the red dress—one with Riley at her side as they strode toward the cameramen outside the restaurant in Billings.

  “Riley told me Chad Falkner sold pictures to People, but I thought he was putting me on.” She closed the magazine and stared at her photo next to Paris Hilton’s. “I don’t believe this.”

  “You’re a phenomenon, kiddo. Everyone aspires to win the lottery or the sweepstakes and become an overnight millionaire. You’re an American dream come true.”

  “This is awful,” Lisa said as the reality of this latest publicity hit her full force.

  “What? You put Thunder Canyon in the spotlight.”

  “What does this mean, though? Will even more reporters come looking for me now?” She glanced around in dread.

  Bernadine shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Come on, Brinkley,” Lisa said to the setter. “Let’s get you home. I have phone calls to make.” She headed for her new Blazer, and Bernadine kept pace beside her. “I’m going to schedule that interview Riley arranged. Will you be there?”

  “Sure.”

  “Okay, good. And then I’m going to disappear for a while.”