Rocky Mountain Valentine

by Carol Steward

  “Medium, please. What can I do?”

  “I have it under control, but thanks.”

  When they were both seated, he asked, “How’d the tour go?”

  “This place is wonderful, Alex.” She cut open her potato and added a tiny slice of butter, then sprinkled it with salt and pepper. He looked back at his own, drenched in both butter and sour cream.

  He pushed the pottery dish toward her. “Sour cream?”

  “No, but thanks.” She smiled. “So you’ve been thinking about the article?”

  Adam shrugged. “On the one hand, I don’t mind free publicity, but on the other, it seems premature. I’ve planned to start slow this first year to give me the chance to see what works, what doesn’t.”

  “And you’re worried that the article will bring in too much business?”

  “Isn’t that the reason you’re here?”

  She took her time chewing. “The article won’t be published until summer. As for reservations, you’re the boss, so when you reach your limit, tell them you don’t have any rooms available. What’s the big deal?”

  “You want me to lie?”

  “It’s not a lie. It’s called knowing your limits. I’ve stayed at a lot of places that won’t reserve all of their rooms. They hold one or two open for accidental overbookings, walk-ins or because they have less help or a busy schedule that week.”

  “How’d you find that out?”

  Lisa smiled. “I’m a journalist. I ask a lot of questions. You never know where a story is lurking. Might even be a hidden article in Whispering Pines.” She lifted her eyebrows.

  Her eager smile almost melted his defenses. Almost. “I don’t think so.” He thought immediately how his sister’s interference could turn his ranch into a romantic getaway if he wasn’t careful.

  “Oh, come on. Am I going to have to dig for the story—brothers, friends, old girlfriends...”

  Though he knew she was teasing, just the mention of old girlfriends turned him cold. “I guess that depends on what kind of story you’re after. You aren’t the kind of journalist that would write anything to sell a story, are you?” He wanted to think he could trust Lisa, but then again, he’d trusted Amelia, and it had ended his

  career.

  Raw hurt clouded her expression. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Heavens, we’re practically family.”

  Adam wanted to point out that her claim sounded a lot like a promise, but decided he’d best not press his luck. “If I agree, I want to approve the article before it goes to your editor.”

  “Okay, but I’m not going to miss a deadline if you’re going to nitpick over minor details like word choice. You’re going to have to trust me.”

  Trust. Adam thought a moment. One word could ruin everything. Ignoring the alarms going off in his head, he nodded.

  “Great,” she said, satisfaction sparkled in her eyes like stars on a moonless night. “I saw your mother leave. I hoped I could visit with her, too.”

  Adam wouldn’t have minded that, either. Anything would have been preferable to facing temptation head-on all evening. “She volunteers every Saturday, then stays with Ricky and Alissa so Kevin and Emily can go out. We caravan back after Sunday dinner.”

  “Sounds like a busy day.”

  “Yes, we need to leave here at seven to make it to church on time,” Adam said after he finished his last bite of steak. “Then we’ll head out to Alex and Katarina’s.”

  Lisa had taken a bite at the same time and the silence loomed uncomfortably between them. “I have a lot of work to do.”

  “It’s forty miles there, and I don’t have a spare vehicle, so you either stay home or you come with me. Your sisters are expecting you.”

  “Forty miles?” She tucked her hair behind one ear. “They’ll get along just fine without me. You go,” she said forcefully. She set her silverware down with a clang.

  Adam didn’t respond right away, hoping the silence would cool the discussion. “Why didn’t you say something then? I gave you the opening to decline.”

  “They were in a hurry to leave.”

  “You led them to believe you’d come to both church and dinner.”

  “There’s one thing you may as well understand now, Adam. My sisters have families of their own...” Lisa finished the last bite of steak, left the potato skins and carried her plate to the kitchen. “I don’t need to intrude on their lives.”

  He could hear her loneliness. Adam followed her. “You’re family, Lisa. Of course they want you here.”

  “Please don’t get that ‘poor Lisa’ tone. They don’t need to take care of me. As far as that goes, they don’t need me any more now than they ever did.”

  “So you’re saying...”

  “I’m saying this really is none of your concern,” she said as she pushed past him into the great room.

  “Lisa, wait.” He’d followed her. He knew that shock had to be written all over his face. “This morning was it? You’re skipping the family dinner tomorrow just like during the holidays? Do you have any clue how disappointed your sisters were when you didn’t come?”

  “I was covering a Christmas story. Tell me that Emily won’t ever have to work on a holiday, or that you’re not going to have guests at Christmas. They don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to disappointment.” She wrapped a stray hair behind her ear. “But that’s all history. Forgive and forget, right?” The words tumbled carelessly from her lips. “Been there, tried that, didn’t work, either.”

  Adam grabbed her arm as she started to leave. In an instant, he saw Lisa differently. She was no longer his sister-in-laws’ self-centered little sister; she was a woman alone and in pain. “What happened, Lisa?” He’d exposed a darker side to the drifter, and for the life of him, he didn’t want to be the one to hear this. He shouldn’t be asking in the first place. This was a discussion for her and her sisters. Everything within him warned him to let her go up those stairs and out of his life now.

  “Let me go.” She turned her head away.

  Placing a finger on her chin, he turned her face toward his. Her eyes were wet and dark like the depths of the ocean she’d been watching the day before. It suddenly dawned on him that Lisa was nothing more than a tiny vessel lost at sea. He knew he should let go, but he couldn’t loosen his grasp, as if he was somehow her anchor in the storm. “Come on, let’s talk.”

  She tugged her arm and refused to look at him.

  Adam didn’t understand this desperate need to get involved. This morning he couldn’t wait for her to leave. Tonight he was holding on, asking her to stay.

  This is what Whispering Pines was for...a safe haven from life’s storms. “Let’s sit down. We can talk, not talk, watch a movie, whatever you want.” He released her arm slowly, half expecting her to run, half expecting to chase her down.

  Lisa hesitated. She blinked once, and all traces of tears were gone. “I’ll be fine.”

  She didn’t sound fine, but he didn’t dare say that. “I’m not. I’d like to understand.”

  “Understand what? You’ve already decided...”

  “I never said such a thing. You’re putting words in my mouth.” Adam backed toward the sofa, not allowing his gaze to stray, just in case she bolted.

  She lifted her chin. “Reading between the lines.”

  “Is that an occupational hazard?”

  She burst out laughing, obviously as surprised as Adam at her response. Almost as quickly as the laughter had formed an invisible bond between them, he could see that ease replaced with fear.

  He smiled, knowing he’d regret this later. “Come on, Lisa.” For now he didn’t want to think about later.

  Lisa sat gingerly on the step to the foyer and unlaced her boots. “I’ll be gone in a few days. You needn’t worry about me and my sisters.”

  Adam eased his way closer and leaned an elbow on the antique conductor’s ticket counter. “Emily and Katarina are my sisters now, too,” he said, immediately wishing he could t
ake the words back.

  Lisa rolled her eyes. “And you want to be sure I don’t hurt them.”

  “That’s not what I meant exactly.”

  She stepped up next to the banister and gave him a cold hard stare. “What did you mean? Exactly.”

  Exactly, he couldn’t say. Only that he cared for all of them more than he dared admit. He stared into Lisa’s eyes, startled that he could almost imagine tasting her tears. Wished he could, exactly. “Exactly...” He’d get his face slapped if she knew.

  She crossed her arms, pulling him back to the situation at hand.

  “Exactly, I know how it is when things aren’t right between sisters or brothers. I’ve seen how much Emily and Kat missed you over the holidays. And now, I see that you’re hurting, too.” She didn’t deny his claim. “I may not be able to help, but I will listen.”

  “Family is everything to you, Adam. I don’t expect you to understand.”

  “Try me.”

  She started to say something, then shrugged and took a step up the stairs. “It’s nothing.”

  “Lisa, I have two sisters, and trust me, our relationship is far from perfect. Liz probably told you more than I’d like you to know, but when we have a problem, we talk it out. This will stay between us.”

  Toby lumbered into the room and looked at Lisa expectantly. She reached over to pet him. “I love my sisters. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”

  “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

  THE 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.”