Rocky Mountain Valentine

by Carol Steward

  “A mover and a shaker. One day here, there the next,” he snapped.

  Lisa didn’t understand what had upset Adam, but she couldn’t afford to let it continue—she needed this story. Lisa glanced again at her watch. She was only five minutes late. Surely that wasn’t what he was mad about. Nevertheless she apologized.

  “No problem.”

  The lack of conversation echoed through the room as Adam worked, whisking the white sauce to a velvety smooth texture. He combined onions, white sauce, potatoes and chunks of soft cheese in silence.

  “Can I help?”

  He sprinkled seasonings into the pan and shook his head. “It’ll be ready in a minute.”

  “Listen, Adam, I don’t know what I’ve done to trouble you. I’m here to do a job, which I hope ends up helping you as well as myself. Is there a problem?”

  He set two soup mugs by the stove. “Liz suggested advertising in a national magazine. I didn’t approve of the idea then, and to be honest, I still don’t.”

  Perplexed, Lisa shook her head and leaned against the counter across from him. “Why don’t we start at the beginning? First of all, this isn’t an advertisement, it’s an article. Secondly, I received an assignment this morning which called me away from the beauty of the Pacific Ocean—migrating whales, white-capped waves, deep blue water.” She paused, realizing her sisters couldn’t have had anything to do with her coming here. “I left a personal trip to do this article, and you’re telling me you don’t know a thing about it? Nor do you want it done at all?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  His remorseful gaze met hers and she was struck with a sudden unexpected longing to make Adam understand how important this was to her. In her life, this was more than just another stop. It was a chance to start over. In Adam’s, it was a major interruption to the peace and quiet he took for granted.

  “I’m sorry, Lisa. I’m sure there’s something more important for you to cover than a small-town guest ranch’s grand opening.” He looked away. “Truth is, it’s not a good time. As you can see, this place is nowhere near ready for a celebration, let alone impressive enough for national exposure.”

  Lisa looked at the empty diagonal wood-plank walls, the bare windows, the kitchen cabinets waiting for knobs. “We don’t have to focus on the kitchen. My suite looked beautiful. Coordinating towels and bedding, gorgeous antiques—”

  “Your room is the only one finished,” he interrupted. “Apparently my mother was expecting you.”

  Was she imagining the emphasis he’d put on the word you? Was he upset that she was assigned to the story? “No, Adam, your mother may have been expecting the Greens, but I didn’t even know I was coming until this morning,” Lisa insisted. “And I had no clue it was to your ranch.” She leaned over the counter and sniffed the homemade soup. Her eyes drifted closed with contentment. “The timing couldn’t be more perfect. What could be more romantic than a February grand opening in Loveland, Colorado?”

  “Romantic? Who said anything about romance?” Adam ripped open a pouch of saltines and dumped them into a small basket, then chopped through the chunk of cheese as if it, too, had done something wrong. “What magazine are you with, anyway?”

  “I’m a freelancer. I don’t work for anyone exclusively.” Why did that sound so much more impressive than it was in reality? “This is for a bed-and-breakfast magazine.”

  “Number one...I own a guest ranch, not a B and B.”

  “That’s okay. The column is on romantic getaways. There’s no need to refer to it as a bed-and-breakfast.”

  “Number two...it’s not a romantic getaway. It’s a guest ranch. You know, horses, cows, rustic.” Adam pulled a stainless-steel ladle from the hook over the stove and filled the two mugs. “I hope you like potato soup. It’s my specialty.”

  Not exactly welcoming, but it was most likely as close as she would get right now. “You’re in luck. I love it. How can I help?”

  After an obvious pause, Adam said, “Glasses are in that cupboard. I’ll take water, but there’s also milk and iced tea in the refrigerator if you’d prefer.” He picked up the small cutting board with the cheese on it and headed through the alcove. “We’ll eat in the dining room.” Adam disappeared and an instant later, light filtered through the doorway.

  Lisa filled the glasses and set the drinks on the table. Adam carried baskets of crackers and rolls in one hand and the plates in the other. In a few minutes, Lisa and Adam were seated at the smallest table in the sparsely furnished room. Adam jumped up suddenly and turned the lights brighter. She smiled inside. It didn’t matter to her, in either dim light or bright, Adam was the epitome of “tall, dark and handsome” and looked nothing like his fair-haired brothers.

  Adam became increasingly quiet.

  Lisa took a spoonful of the thick soup, trying to erase her rampant thoughts. This was a business trip, not some romantic escape, and the best way to convince him of that would be to stick to the assignment. “So, tell me what you want this article to say about Whispering Pines.”

  He stared into his soup as he crumbled the saltines over the top. “Which part of ‘no’ do you not understand?”

  She set down her spoon and looked Adam in the eye. “I hear it. I just don’t believe it. We’re talking national exposure, Adam. Do you realize the magnitude of that?”

  He leaned back in his chair, a puzzled look on his face. “Maybe I’m hearing and not quite believing it, Lisa. The family was sitting around one night after working on the landscaping, trying to come up with ideas to promote the place.” He paused, as if thinking through the conversation. “I’d been knee-deep in renovations and worrying about the ballooning payment on the construction loan. Advertising was out of the question. Especially in a national magazine. Elizabeth mentioned some contest...”

  “That was for the most romantic getaway, but the actual contest is over. It was so popular they’ve decided to make America’s Most Romantic Getaways a monthly feature. Actually, I believe this will be in the bridal issue.”

  “The what?” His jaw fell open. He dropped his fist on the table, clanging the dishes. Adam rambled on as if this were the end of the world. “Besides, who’d have thought a half-built lodge would get any attention?” He shook his head and rolled his eyes. “She didn’t mention it again, and I thought the subject was dead.”

  Lisa laughed, ignoring his scowl. “In a town named Loveland? Who’d have ever imagined? You should put her in charge of your PR, if you haven’t already.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks. I have enough trouble keeping my sisters at bay lately. I don’t want the publicity—especially not as some romantic getaway.”

  Panic coursed through her. “What better way to bring in business than with free exposure?” She paused. “The only thing this costs you is putting up with me for a few days. And if that’s a problem, I’m sure my sisters wouldn’t mind company.”

  “That’s not a problem, though I’m sure your sisters would love to see you. I’m sorry I’ve made you feel unwelcome, but I don’t think I can be of much help with your story right now.” Adam took another bite. “Maybe you could come back in the summer?”

  “I can mention that to my editor, but I don’t think they’ll go for it...to be quite honest.” Lisa watched his strong hand lift the comparably tiny spoon to his mouth, picturing herself behind the camera, capturing every nuance of this man’s character.

  When one door closes, another one opens. Her optimistic sister’s words slapped her in the ego—again. In your life, maybe, but not mine.

  Adam cleared his throat. “Mom mentioned some couple coming for the week, but I never thought...” He’d never in his wildest dreams imagined Lisa would spend a week at his ranch. As strong as the attraction had been a year ago, he’d managed to keep a tight rein on his emotions. She’d been seeing someone at the time, and he’d had a huge project to complete. In the thirteen months since Alex and Katarina’s wedding, not a word had been said about that ridiculous bouquet, or
getting the two of them together.

  Still, he couldn’t just kick Lisa off the ranch. No matter how badly he wanted to. She was practically a relative.

  As if she read his mind, she became silent. The twinkle in her bright blue eyes disappeared. “I’m sure you’ve had a very long day, Adam. Why don’t we put the article aside for tonight?” She took a spoonful of soup and a slice of cheese. “Tell me what you’ve been up to since the wedding.”

  Lisa had emptied her bowl by the time he’d quit talking about the vast construction project. Despite the fact that he’d deliberately made the year sound as mundane as possible, a sparkle of admiration returned. Eyes like hers could make a weak man sell his soul to the tabloids without one regret.

  “So, you’re a talented craftsman, an industrious businessman and a great cook, too. The soup was delicious.”

  “Thanks. Would you like more?” Adam pushed his chair away from the antique oak table, anxious to put some space between them.

  “I’d love some, thanks. Where’d you learn to cook?” She stood and walked into the kitchen with him.

  Adam watched her refill her soup mug, noting similarities between Lisa and each of her sisters. Like Emily, she hadn’t let her underprivileged childhood keep her from dreaming. And like Katarina, Lisa overflowed with enthusiasm and creativity. He’d seen her work in several magazines.

  He tore his gaze from her as she disappeared into the dining room, recalling her question. Realizing that every word he said played right into her hand, he held back. “My dad liked to cook. I guess I got it from him.”

  “Oh? Do Kevin and Alex cook, too?” she asked as she peeked around the corner, her eyes wide with curiosity.

  And like both sisters, she was what any man would consider attractive. Adam wondered about her life, constantly on the move. “Alex does. Kevin can’t boil water.” Turning the conversation around, he asked, “You still living out of a suitcase, or have you found a place to call home? Between assignments, that is.”

  “I’ve been too busy to settle down.”

  Did he detect a note of sadness in her remark? “I guess that’s good in your business, right?”

  She hesitated. “I can’t complain. It pays the bills.” Lisa took another spoonful of soup.

  He nodded. “Don’t you ever miss going home? Sinking into your own bed? Eating a home-cooked meal?”

  She looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language. Or at the very least, as if he’d asked her to spill some deep dark secret.

  Lisa held up the soup mug. “I am eating a home-cooked meal. I’m in a beautiful home, and the company isn’t bad, either.” Her pink lips turned up stiffly at the corners. “Don’t you ever long to see all those wonderful sights to be appreciated out in this vast world?” Her voice softened. “Don’t you wonder if you’re in the right place, doing the right thing?” It cracked. “Don’t you ever just want to take off and avoid all this responsibility?”

  Now it was his turn to look at her as if she were from another world. He couldn’t believe the regret he felt, exposing the pain he heard in her soft voice. “My roots are in this soil, and I’ll do everything it takes to keep them planted right here. The last thing I want is to disrupt the peace with the chaos of the outside world. Every day I’m reminded of how happy I am to have left the corporate world and come home.”

  “How nice.” She stood up, cleared her place and took her dishes to the kitchen.

  Her icy response instantly made him recall Kat and Emily’s concern about their little sister’s hurried life and her drive to success. He winced. This wasn’t going well at all.

  “Adam, it’s been a very long day. I think I’ll call it a night.”

  “I didn’t mean to say anything to offend you, Lisa.” He wanted to reach out to her, to take his words back, or at the very least, have the chance to ease their discomfort. “I promise it won’t—”

  Without turning around, she said, “Don’t bother, Adam. Promises mean nothing to me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  ADAM LOCKED THE front door, ready to put the day behind him. He needed sleep. It looked as if tomorrow would be another long day.

  He turned around, greeted by the coat rack. Lisa’s coat instantly reminded him of how nice she had felt in his embrace. She was tempting as homemade apple pie—a perfect mixture of sweet and tart.

  What was he thinking? He hadn’t as much as been on an official date in three years. And if he planned to see someone, a woman who spent her life on the road would not be the one for him.

  Lisa had a portfolio full of dreams, and enough talent to make them come true. Despite the challenges of her early years, she, like her sisters, had stomped on the restrictions their meager background could have inflicted on them. Each one had set goals and never gave up until she reached them.

  Adam closed the door between the lodge and his private quarters, the modest ranch house his grandparents had built in the early forties. Climbing the narrow stairs to the attic bedroom, Adam found it odd to think he had his first guest staying in his new lodge. Even more perplexing that it was Lisa.

  He spent half the night awake, wondering how to protect his heart from the unwelcome woman at the tip of Cupid’s arrow. Despite recent efforts by many well-meaning friends and relatives, no woman had caught his eye since Alex and Katarina’s wedding. He and Lisa had spent the better part of the blizzard sipping hot chocolate and telling stories about their brothers and sisters. He immediately discovered Lisa wasn’t an easy woman to get to know. She didn’t like talking about herself, her accomplishments or her feelings.

  Why the drifter had made such an impression on him, he wasn’t sure. It was more than her looks, as there were plenty of good-looking women in his life. With each tidbit he picked up about the youngest Berthoff sister from his brothers, Adam realized he stood a better chance of surviving a stampede than he did falling in love with Lisa. She wasn’t his type. Wanderlust was in her blood, and he was more than content in his own corner of the world.

  Lisa was a journalist. Her job came first. After all, that’s why she was here. She hadn’t come to see him, or even her sisters. It was a story she was after. A story about a romantic getaway. That means big trouble for the ranch, and me.

  It had taken him long enough to find where he belonged, and he’d be sure that no one—especially not a woman with no ties to family or land—came between him and the dreams that had called him home.

  Adam didn’t need or want his life turned inside out by a stubborn woman who didn’t believe in promises, or slowing down long enough to see exactly what she was missing. A loner like himself had no business tying anyone else down to his obligations.

  Keeping Lisa around in the confines of his lodge was definitely asking for trouble. Regardless of her familial connections or her charming personality, the beautiful drifter couldn’t stay. Wouldn’t, even if he’d be foolish enough to ask her to.

  While he wouldn’t exactly call his ranch secluded, it was a far cry from the hub of activity Lisa was accustomed to. Just yesterday, she had started her day with plans of whale-watching, and by the end of the day she was in Colorado to write a totally different story on a bed-and-breakfast. The world was her playground, and this ranch was his world.

  While his brothers had followed in their father’s footsteps of the construction business, Adam had counted the years, just waiting for the day his parents would let him spend summers helping his grandparents run the ranch. Now he had that chance. Whispering Pines was all he had to remember his grandparents by and he would do everything within his power to maintain the legacy they had left behind.

  This was his dream. His destiny. His calling. And if he couldn’t make a go of the guest ranch, his cousin would be more than happy to put his own name on the deed. Chance had offered to buy the MacIntyre cousins out in the very beginning, and still did on a regular basis. At the going price of land in the area, and the rate of population growth, they all knew t
heir opportunistic cousin probably had investors lined up to divide and develop the entire ranch.

  Lisa’s mission stirred up fears and shadows, from the list of unfinished detail work, to decorating the place, to the warning that mixing business and romance was a lethal combination. While it helped that he knew Lisa’s family, trusting any woman with his business image would always bring back caustic memories of all that Amelia’s betrayal had cost him.

  As usual, all it took was one inkling of a reminder of that dark time in his life to ruin the entire night’s rest. He tossed and turned, barely catching a wink of sleep before he heard the alarm clock’s dutiful “cock-a-doodle-doo.” Back to work.

  Adam stepped into the house a few hours later, followed by a chilling gust of wind. To his surprise, Lisa was sitting by the window enjoying a cup of coffee, reading the morning newspaper, seemingly oblivious to the vehicles driving up the lane. “You think the entire family can convince me to go along with this?”

  Minutes earlier Adam had seen

  Kevin’s SUV pull through the Whispering Pines gate, followed by Alex’s truck. If his brothers were coming to work, they’d have driven out in one vehicle, which meant this was a family visit, not business.

  She looked up from the paper. “Good morning to you, too. Now what have I done?”

  Without a word, Adam pointed out the window. “Face it. This idea of my sister’s backfired. End of subject. You may as well take your matching set of luggage and head on down the road to the next golden opportunity.” He pulled a mug from the cupboard and poured a cup of coffee.

  “You’re even crankier than usual this morning. Didn’t you sleep well? I suppose that’s my fault, too.” Lisa took a sip of coffee and turned back to her newspaper.

  As a matter of fact, it was.