A Woman's Touch (21 page)

Undaunted, Theresa assumed the professional air of an executive secretary. „Most of your messages have been handled already, of course, but there are a few I held for you.“ She reached for a pad. „Do you want to go over them now?“

Kyle stifled an oath. „Yeah. Bring them in with my coffee.“

A familiar gleam lit Theresa’s eyes. „Mr. Stockbridge, you know how Miss Wade feels about secretaries getting coffee for their bosses.“

„Unfortunately for you, Theresa, Miss Wade does not run this business.“ Kyle slammed open the door of the inner office. „At least not any longer, she doesn’t,“ he added under his breath. Damn, what he wouldn’t give to have her back, managing ways and all. He would make his own coffee every morning if it meant he could share it with Rebecca.

„And what did you mean that most of my messages have been handled already?“ he called out to her.

„Mr. Harrison handled some, and the rest were taken care of in the usual manner.“

Kyle ignored the cryptic response and closed the door. The ‘usual manner’ during the past two months had come to mean that Rebecca had taken care of things.

Kyle scanned the familiar room. His office looked as neat as a pin. There were no piles of papers awaiting his attention, no memos from managers and no list of calls that had to be returned ASAP. Kyle yanked off his jacket and stood glowering down at the clean desk. Then he leaned over and stabbed the intercom button.

„I get the feeling I’m not really needed around here, Theresa. Where the hell is all the work that must have accumulated last week?“

„The routine matters have all been taken care of, sir.“

Kyle gritted his teeth as he released the intercom. Before Rebecca had taken over, no one would have dared assume responsibility for taking care of the kind of ‘routine’ matters that hit Kyle’s desk. His staff had been thoroughly corrupted, he decided. Apparently everyone and his cousin felt free to wander into the president’s office and take charge. Harrison had clearly overstepped himself.

The fact that there was something to get mad about was somehow reassuring. Kyle felt some of his inner turmoil settle as he found a focus for his tormented emotions. He would chew on someone for this. Maybe lots of someones.

He’d start with Harrison.

Right after he had his coffee.

Kyle dropped into his chair. He really needed his coffee this morning. He wondered if Theresa had been so thoroughly liberated that she would feel bold enough to ignore his direct order for a cup of caffeine. Rebecca had certainly left her mark on Flaming Luck Enterprises.

Kyle punched the intercom again. „I want that cup of coffee now, Theresa. I’m not in a mood for power games this morning. Bring me a cup of coffee or start looking for another job.“

There was silence for a moment from the outer office. Then Theresa’s voice came back, laced with icy polish. „Your coffee is on its way, sir. Along with the weekly report you missed last Friday.“

Kyle slumped back in his seat, telling himself he had to take his victories where he could get them these days.

Rebecca didn’t approve of terrorizing secretaries, but sadly for Theresa, Rebecca was no longer here to soothe the dragon.

Kyle was reaching for the phone book to find the number of the investigative agency he had hired two-and-a-half months ago, when his door opened. He didn’t look up.

„Thanks, Theresa,“ he growled sarcastically.

„I thought we’d broken you of your habit of using Theresa as your personal waitress,“ Rebecca said calmly as she put a full mug of coffee down on the desk in front of him.

Kyle dropped the phone book. He swung around to face the apparition standing on the other side of his desk.

„Rebecca.“

Her eyebrows rose quizzically. „Who were you expecting? A French maid?“ She waved a clipboard and slipped into the chair across from him. „I have the weekly report right here. A number of things have accumulated during the past few days. Mr. Harrison and I took care of most of the routine matters on Thursday and Friday but there are a couple of items that need your personal attention. The Jennings-Hutton deal is at risk, I think. We need to take some decisive steps on that one.“

Kyle shot to his feet, his palms slapping the top of the desk. „You were right here Thursday and Friday? I’ve turned this town upside down looking for you.“

She regarded him silently for a long moment. „Did you?“

„Becky, I’ve been going out of my mind trying to find you.“

„I’ve been right here all along. Where did you think I’d go?“

He wanted to shake that too-serene, too-knowing expression off her face but he didn’t dare touch her. Not yet, at any rate. If he did he would be too likely to rip her clothes off and lay her down on the couch across the room. Kyle told himself to calm down. He had to think clearly. He kept his hands on his desk, mostly to stop them from trembling.

„You ran away from me,“ he finally said very softly.

„I left the mountains without bothering to talk to you about my plans,“ Rebecca said. „But I didn’t ‘run away’ from you. I do not run from anything. You should know me better than that by now, Kyle.“

He shook his head to clear it. Part of him still believed he was hallucinating. „All I knew was that you were gone.“

„I returned to work,“ she said, lifting one shoulder dismissively. „That’s all.“

„I checked your old apartment. You weren’t there.“

„I’ve been staying at a hotel while I hunt for a new apartment,“ she explained a little too casually.

„Is that right?“ Kyle straightened. „You must have picked a very obscure one. I left messages with most of the big hotels and motels.“

„Really?“ she asked a bit too brightly. „Why?“

Kyle’s rush of relief was beginning to fade. In its place was a sense of growing irritation. He began to realize Rebecca might be playing games with him. „Why?“ he repeated carefully. „Because I was trying to locate you, of course.“

„Why?“ she said again.

Kyle shot her a ferocious glance and then paced over to the floor-to-ceiling window. He stood looking out at the mountains and tried to figure out what was going on. „Why the hell do you think I was looking for you, Becky?“

„I have no idea,“ she returned crisply. „But since you’ve found me, shall we go over the weekly report?“

„No, we are not going to go over the weekly report.“ Kyle swung around to confront her. „We are going to talk, damn it.“

„About what?“

„About us. And don’t give me that innocent look. You must have been listening a few minutes ago when I informed my secretary I was not in a mood for games. I meant it. I’ve had a rough week, Becky, and it’s all your fault.

You’ve put me through enough hoops. Give me a break, lady. I’ve paid for my mistake.“

She sat back in her chair, eyeing him consideringly. Kyle saw the flash of awareness in her amber gaze and he relaxed slightly. The pose of prim, polite calm was a facade. Underneath, she was as tense as he was.

„I don’t think I understand,“ she said.

„You understand well enough. And I think I’m finally beginning to figure it out, myself. You’ve been twisting the knife, haven’t you? Taking all the revenge you can get. It’s not enough that you’re forcing me to become a business partner with Glen Ballard. Oh, no, Becky Wade wants every last drop of blood. She exacts vengeance for two women she’s never even met and then goes on to take some for herself. You’re a greedy female. You must have known what you were doing to me when you disappeared.“

Rebecca looked down at the notes on her clipboard. „That’s not true, Kyle. I wasn’t at all sure what my leaving would do to you. I only knew I needed time to think. I figured this was the last place you’d look for me.“

„You know me so well.“

„I’ve learned a lot lately,“ she admitted.

He rubbed the back of his neck. „More than I ever wanted you to know.“

„You were wrong to keep things hidden from me, Kyle.“

„I didn’t think I had a choice.“ He turned back to the view of the Rockies. „I didn’t know how to tell you. I didn’t know how much you could take. I was afraid that if you knew it all – the fact that I’d gone to such lengths to get Harmony Valley, that I had a failed marriage and a broken engagement behind me – you’d walk away from me. What smart woman wouldn’t? Then, just when I was beginning to hope you might be able to handle everything after all, you went and pulled that stunt with the land. And I finally lost my temper with you. Something I swore I’d never do.“

„It was bound to happen sooner or later,“ Rebecca pointed out mildly.

He shook his head firmly. „No. I wasn’t going to let it happen.“

„A noble objective, but hardly practical. You’ve got the devil’s own temper, Kyle, and while I know you’re capable of controlling it most of the time, there are certainly going to be occasions when it gets away from you. But, frankly, I fail to see what the big fuss is all about.“

He shot her a quick, searching glance over his shoulder. „I said some terrible things to you.“

„You called me a sneaky, conniving, manipulative little witch,“ she agreed. „But under the circumstances, I’ll have to admit you had some cause. I did connive to manipulate you and Ballard into working together. I hate to tell you this, Kyle, because I know how much you and everyone else enjoy the legend of the Stockbridge temper, but I’m afraid it’s overrated.“

Kyle planted a hand against the wall and stared at her. He must have misunderstood, she thought. „Overrated?“ he finally got out.

She nodded briskly, the office lights causing her neatly bound hair to gleam. „Overrated. As dragons go, you’ll do in a pinch, I suppose. After all, there is plenty of fire when you open your mouth. But you don’t do all that much damage. You’ve got a lot more self-control than you or anyone else gives you credit for having.“

For some reason that annoyed him. „Let me get this straight. You’re telling me you don’t find my temper very alarming?“

Rebecca grinned fleetingly. „I’ll admit it can be quite stunning for short periods of time, but the impact doesn’t last long. As usual, when you get to the bottom of a legend, you find out it’s based on a lot of hot air.“

„I think I resent that,“ he said, bewildered, „but I’m not sure I want to argue about it right now. If it wasn’t my temper that made you disappear for four days and if you felt you had your revenge for my not telling you the truth about Harmony Valley, then just why did you leave?“

„I told you, I needed time to think.“

„About us?“

„Yes.“

Kyle allowed himself a flash of real hope. She was still here working for him, and she was through punishing him for the Harmony Valley fiasco. She claimed she wasn’t particularly intimidated by his temper. She must still feel something for him. She
had
to feel something for him. He licked dry lips and forced himself to stay calm.

„Come to any conclusions?“ he asked.

„As a matter of fact, I have.“

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to read the nuances of her voice. It was impossible. He opened his eyes and met her amber gaze. „Well?“

Rebecca got to her feet, still holding the clipboard, and stood facing him. „I have decided to marry you.“

If the window had been open behind him, Kyle knew he probably would have fallen through it.
„Marry me?“

„That’s right. The one thing that has been forcibly impressed on me lately is that Stockbridge males do not have what you’d call a knack for handling relationships with women. I told you the morning we went riding that the men in your family – you included – are not very good at picking out their wives. Therefore, I have decided to take the matter out of your hands. I’m making the decision for you. As you know, I’m very good at making decisions.“

The world seemed to tilt around him. Kyle stared at Rebecca’s composed face until things righted. „Becky, are you sure? You know what a disaster my first marriage was. Hell, the second time around, I couldn’t even manage to stay engaged.“

„I realize the thought of marriage makes you nervous. That’s understandable, given your record. However, this time around you can relax. I’m taking charge, and there won’t be any mistakes.“

„You’re sure of that?“ he asked sardonically. But inside he was awash in a rush of euphoria. A fierce excitement raced through him, leaving him almost breathless. Kyle was afraid to move for fear of breaking the spell.

„Quite sure,“ she said demurely.

„When?“ he demanded.

She tapped a pen against the clipboard and pursed her lips thoughtfully. „Well, there are one or two steps that must be taken before we sign the papers.“

„What steps?“ he asked thickly.

„I want a courtship,“ she told him. „A real courtship.“

Kyle was dumbfounded.
„A
courtship,“ he repeated weakly.

„I want it all, Kyle. Everything I didn’t get with you the first time around. Flowers, dancing, sweet talk, a ring and a big wedding. And that’s not all.“ Her chin rose proudly. „I want you to tell me you love me.“

„I love you,“ he said without even stopping to think. The words came with astonishing ease. They crackled in the air, and he listened to them over and over again, hearing the ring of truth. Kyle suddenly felt raw and vulnerable. „I love you so much, it’s tearing me apart.“

Rebecca smiled. „That’s an excellent start,“ she said approvingly. „You may pick me up for dinner tonight at seven.

I’ll give you the address of the hotel where I’m staying.“

„No. You’ll come home with me,“ he told her fiercely. „I want you back under my roof. We’ll go to dinner, if that’s what you want, but I want you to come home.“

„Not until we’re married, Kyle. I told you, I want a courtship. We’re going to do this my way. We already tried yours and it didn’t work.“ She sat down again and glanced at her clipboard notes. „Now that we have that clarified, I think it’s time we went over the weekly report, don’t you?“