Bet You'll Marry Me (14 page)

Fifteen minutes later he took a sharp turn onto a gravel road, sending dust and rock chips flying. Her hands gripped the seat to maintain her balance and she cast him an agitated glance for his continued silence.

Was he taking her home? No, not home. The truck tore past the usual turnoff and kept going straight. Then, he abruptly steered the truck onto an old logging road, and she caught her breath. He was taking her up to the fire tower on Wild Bear Ridge . . . where they would be utterly alone.

 

Chapter Fourteen

N
ICK JERKED THE
truck to the left, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. How could she have ever agreed to marry that womanizing jerk? The other men who vied for her affection didn't bother him, but Travis Koenig was someone she had once said yes to.

Torturous visions filled his mind of Travis kissing her, touching her . . .

He pounded his fist on the dashboard, making dust fly up in the air and Jenny cringe in her seat.

If she was going to be with anyone, it was going to be with
him
, and it was going to be
tonight
.

J
ENNY'S HOPES FOR
the evening turned to despair as she twisted the slinky folds of her long black dress around in her fingers. Here she was, dressed in the most elegant gown her body had ever known, and she hadn't even had a chance to dance in it.

No, instead of dancing, she was held captive in the cab of a rickety old pickup by a temperamental madman who was driving like a fiend and refused to acknowledge her existence.

While the trail she'd used for the pack trip wound back and forth around the countryside for hours, the forest service road Nick took went straight up the mountain in thirty minutes.

She stared out the truck windshield wondering if Billie was having a better time than she was, when Nick suddenly gave her a sharp look.

“I can't believe you kissed him.”

It wasn't hard for her to figure out who he was referring to.

“I didn't kiss him. Travis kissed
me
.”

“Are you still in love with him?”

“Are you jealous?” she countered, and held her breath as she waited for his telling reaction.

“Of course I'm jealous. I'm jealous of anyone who even looks at you.”

The growing darkness concealed his expression, but anger shook his voice and his sincerity was clear.

“Good,” she said, smiling. “Then maybe in the future you'll think twice about dancing with Irene.”

“Did that bother you?” he asked, swerving around a corner and taking the truck up the next steep climb.

“You knew darn well it would bother me,” she retorted. “Now you know how it feels.”

A deer jumped out of the way as the truck rattled noisily through the dense forest, its headlights finally shining upon the equipment garage at the base of the fire tower. He drove the last few yards and turned off the motor.

“Jenny, if it bothered you that I danced with Irene, then it must mean you care.”

“Of course I care,” she said, realizing too late where the conversation was headed.

“Then you'll forgive me?”

Perhaps it was the way his head bent toward her with his lips hovering just above her own, or the way the tone of his voice dropped down into a soft caress, but at that particular moment, she was willing to forgive him for . . . almost anything.

“If you meant what you said . . . and you honestly do care for me . . .”

“I do,” he said, drawing her closer with his words as well as his arms.

“Then you are forgiven.”

She wasn't amazed by the fact he had no trouble finding her lips in the pitch-black darkness. Every time she was near him there seemed to be an invisible rope pulling them together.

Perhaps the legend of Harp Lake was true. Perhaps she and Nick were part of a greater cosmic plan. Perhaps they truly were
meant
to be together.

D
REAMS HALF FORGOTTEN
rekindled in the back of her mind as he illuminated the fire tower with a flashlight, and led her up the tall flight of creaking stairs.

She no longer cared about missing the dance. The warm air fluttered softly around her, the sky overhead was speckled with an extraordinary array of stars, and Nick was by her side. What more could she possibly want?

She entered the cabin, caught her breath, and froze.

The interior was filled with wildflowers. Daisies, foxglove, lupine, Indian paintbrush. Vases of blossoming color lined every window, flat surface, and shelf on every side of the room and sweetened the air with their natural fragrance.

The table was dressed with a white linen cloth and set with candles, two crystal fluted glasses, and a bottle of wine.

It looked like a scene out of a romance novel.

“So this was all part of a plan?” she asked with amazement and then answered her own question. “Of course it was. You always plan everything.”

“I didn't plan on having to kidnap you to get you here,” he told her, “but I'm glad I did.”

Nick took off his jacket, rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt, and turned toward her.

She looked at the shirt and gasped. With his dark locks of hair contrasting with the white . . . she swallowed hard, trying to ignore how devastating his good looks were to her senses. “And what does my kidnapper plan on doing with me now?”

Nick took her hand and led her out onto the open balcony. “You promised me a dance.”

“There isn't any music.”

“We have all the music we need right here,” he replied. “The crickets are chirping, the streams are trickling, and the angels' harps are strumming, down over the hillside. You taught me that.”

“Yes, I did,” she said, smiling as he drew her into his arms to dance, “but I didn't think someone like you would prefer the sounds of nature to the civilized music of professional symphonies and orchestras.”

“
Someone like me?
” he asked, looking down at her, his eyes shining. “You mean someone who
used to have
lots of money?”

She glanced away and he laughed softly as he moved back and forth with her in perfect rhythm.

“I told you I'm broke. But even if I wasn't, I'm still the same person you thought I was, Jenny. Just because I'm the CEO of a large company doesn't mean I'm a rich snob.”

“How do I know you aren't pretending? How do I know you aren't trying to win the bet to close a business deal?”

“Trust,” he said, looking directly into her eyes. “You have to trust me.”

She laid her head against his shoulder. Could she? Trusting anyone was risky and dangerous, but if she trusted Nick, she would also be vulnerable to heartache and pain as well as the humiliation of being duped by a man a second time, if he failed her.

“I won't fail you,” he said against her ear.

“Are you reading my thoughts?”

He tightened his arms around her. “There's nothing to be afraid of.”

“I met with Davenport this morning. I only had the two thousand to give him out of the twenty I owe on my back debt. The two thousand I made from the pack trip.” She gave in to a quick kiss from Nick before she continued. “But while I was in town I ran into a man who might be interested in buying the steers. The whole herd.”

Nick's expression lit with excitement. “If he buys the steers, not only will we have the money to save the ranch, but we'll have money to spare to pay off other debts.”

Jenny liked the sound of “we.” She smiled. “We'll have to find a different way to bring in future income, but we could still grow hay, and I've wanted to turn the ranch into an equestrian center for years. I've never cared much for steers”

“Me neither,” Nick said with a grin. “Especially the ones with horns sharp enough to pierce your gut. I'm sure we could make better use of the land.”

“I also received a letter from Patrick today,” she said, tilting her head back.

“Does he regret selling his property?”

“No. He says he's found a better place.”

“And where might that be?”

“In the arms of a woman,” she said, and frowned. “He's getting married.”

“I've traveled the whole world,” he said, freeing the long tresses of her hair from the tight clasp at the back of her head, “and there's no place I'd rather be than right here with you.”

Perhaps she was beginning to understand what her cousin had meant. She loved the feel of Nick's arms around her. She loved the exciting sensations he was arousing within her . . .

He drew her close and her whole body responded with anticipation as his mouth—warm, tender, and full of promise—moved teasingly over hers, encouraging her to participate.

She didn't need much coaxing. His playfulness was one of his best qualities, and when combined with his dark hair, handsome face, tanned skin, and the lean muscles that pressed against the thin fabric of the white dress shirt he was wearing, it made him a very difficult man to resist.

Was it just her or was the air growing warmer and more intense? The light breeze had indeed kicked up a notch and whistled as it whipped around them, making the fire tower tremble. The wind didn't bother her, though. She could have withstood a hurricane as long as Nick continued to kiss her like this. Like she was the only woman he'd ever wanted.

He kissed her long and slow until her head began to spin and bells began to ring in her ears. Not bells. She broke her lips away from his. Sirens.

Nick must have heard it, too, for he turned to look out over the fire-tower balcony. Jenny didn't need to move. She could already see the flames from where she stood. She drew in a sharp breath. An orange blaze, chased by the wind, barreled down the mountainside.

“It's headed toward the ranch!” Terror of the worst kind pinched her stomach and squelched all other emotions as she raced toward the stairs..

Her feet didn't seem to be able to move fast enough. If only she could jump or fly, anything to speed her pace. The drum of her boots hitting the wooden planks matched the beat of her heart, each thump a clock-ticking reminder of another moment lost. In her haste, she nearly tripped as she finished descending the first set of steps, but caught herself by grabbing on to the rail. Nick followed on her heels, the beam of his flashlight bouncing crazily off the intersecting structural support posts. Veering around the mid-section platform, they hurried down the second set of steps and finally made it to the ground.

Together they ran for the truck, flung open the doors, and climbed in. Nick shot her an anxious look, then turned the key in the ignition and revved the engine. Thank God it started. Moments later the truck's tires were spinning around turns and bouncing over potholes with even greater speed down the old logging road than it had on the trip up.

Jenny clutched the dashboard so tight she lost feeling in her fingers. She had to remind herself to breathe. To hope. If anything were to happen to the ranch now, she didn't know what she would do.

 

Chapter Fifteen

T
HEY HADN'T BEEN
driving twenty minutes when they came face-to-face with a wall of fire. Heat filled the truck turning it into an oven. Pine needles sizzled and smoke suffocated the air.

“The road is completely blocked.” Jenny glanced nervously from side to side. “We'll have to take the path to the left through the trees.”

“Hold on,” Nick warned, and stepped on the gas.

The truck went off the road, through the old-growth forest, jostling over broken logs and mossy dips as it made its own path straight down the mountainside.

“My cell phone is in the glove compartment.” Nick coughed as they sped through a thick section of smoke. “Try to get ahold of Wayne or Harry.”

Jenny found the phone and quickly hit the number.

“There isn't any reception.” She shook the phone as if that would somehow help.

Swerving, Nick pulled the truck back on to the old logging road. “It's nearly midnight. Harry has to be home from the dance by now.”

Jenny knew he was right. Harry never stayed up late anymore. But what if Wayne took him home and then went back out with Billie? What if her dear old weak-hearted Uncle Harry was at home all alone?

The journey down the mountain seemed to take forever. Nick was driving as fast as he could, but it didn't stop her from wishing she was behind the wheel.

Jenny's great-great-grandfather had named the ranch Windy Meadows because it lay in a valley between Sasquatch Spire and Mount MacGowan. The wind tunneled through like a natural air conditioner to keep them cool in summer, but with the fury of a blowtorch during forest fires.

After snaking around the bottom half of the forest, they finally came out alongside Charlie Pickett's property.

“His back fields are already in flames,” Jenny shouted. “It's only a matter of minutes before it reaches—”

She couldn't finish the sentence. Windy Meadows couldn't burn, not after all her efforts to save it. Nick pulled into her driveway and she was out the door and running before the vehicle came to a halt. Wayne's truck was parked next to the house, which meant both Harry and Wayne had made it home. Perhaps if they all worked quickly they could divert the flames.

Nick caught up to her as she ran past the house and together they rushed down the path to the corral where the fire was racing toward them.

Harry wet down the roof of the hay barn with a garden hose and barked directions to Billie and Wayne, who dug a dirt trench around the outlying buildings. Sarah, also there, filled buckets from the outdoor faucet.

Would it be enough? As Nick hurried out to the field to join the others, Jenny ran toward the stable.

A reverberating neigh pierced her ears and was joined by several loud crashes and thuds as she crossed the threshold of the open door. She grabbed a halter and lead rope off the hook on the wall and headed for the first stall where Satan was trying to kick the walls apart.

“Easy, boy,” she said, strapping the halter around his big black head and running her hand along the side of his neck. “Let's get you out of here.”

Jenny led the frightened horse out the door and with a slap on his rump, sent him running off down the trail to the safety of the open pasture opposite the ranch.

A fire truck arrived, its sirens blaring as it drove past her on its way down to the fields. Kevin jumped out with six of his firefighter friends. Three pickup trucks followed. She paused, and her chest tightened with unexpected gratitude as two dozen fellow ranchers, all carrying shovels and pickaxes, jumped from the backs of the trucks ready to lend a hand.

She hoped her uncle would let someone else take over his position. He wasn't strong enough to be fighting fires.

A plane flew overhead, dropping gallons of water from the air, as she turned to go back through the stable door.

Smoke filled the corridor, and Jenny wished more than ever she hadn't decided to wear the slinky long black gown. It wasn't exactly fire-fighting attire, and it was binding her legs.

Grabbing her boot knife, she ripped through the material, leaving a ragged hemline circling her knees. Next she kicked off her high-heeled shoes, and running barefoot, hurried to Starfire's stall.

The Thoroughbred danced around, almost stepping on her as she unlatched the door. Next she hurried to release Echo and Apache.

“Go on,” Jenny urged.

Pushing past her, both horses bolted out the stable entrance.

She rushed to the next stall and jumped backward as a large beam crashed down from the ceiling. Scorching flames shot in all directions, igniting the wooden interior of the building and sending the horses into a frenzied panic.

Time was running out.

Jenny unlatched the sliding locks to every stall door. One horse raced to freedom, while three others, terrified by the sight of the fire, were unable to leave.

Kastle was one of them. The beautiful gray mare reared up and tossed its head, eyes wide.

If only she had a bandanna or a towel to use as a blindfold. Searching the corridor for any scrap of cloth that might work, Jenny spotted the bottom half of her black dress on the ground just twenty feet away.

She was about to retrieve it when an explosion knocked her down amid an avalanche of broken timber. Sparks rained down from the roof. If she could just make it to her feet.

Struggling to free herself from the debris, she glanced up and screamed.

A falling beam was headed straight toward her.

N
ICK SHIELDED HIS
eyes from the searing heat as Kevin Forester pulled him away from the fire line he and the other men were digging.

“Without the wind we'd have a chance,” Kevin yelled, “but it's blowing the fire out of control. We have to get out of here while we still can.”

Nick nodded. Three air tankers and two helicopters circled above, dropping water and retardant on the flames, but still the fire advanced from every direction.

Another blast shook the ground as the tractor shed exploded and splintering fragments of wood shot skyward.

“My drums of gasoline!” Harry shouted, throwing his arms up into the air.

Spotting Wayne through the smoke a few feet ahead of him, Nick grabbed the back of the ranch hand's shirt.

“Where's Jenny?”

“In the stable,” Wayne said, pointing.

The entire structure was engulfed in flames and half of the roof had already collapsed.

“Please, Lord,” Nick prayed, taking off on a dead run, “let her be safe.”

He entered through the side door and looked down the main corridor but couldn't see her.

“Jenny!” His heart lurched in his chest as he stooped to pick the bottom half of her dress off the ground. Raising his voice, he called out again. “
Jenny!
”

“Over here.”

He followed the sound of her voice and found her inside one of the end stalls.

“My leg is trapped,” she said, wincing as she tried to move.

“Don't worry, I've got you.”

He pulled off the tangle of beams, but when Jenny tried to stand, her leg gave out beneath her.

“Kastle won't leave her stall,” she said, trying to crawl toward the terrified horse. “I have to get her out of here.”

“I've got to get
you
out of here first,” Nick said, scooping her up in his arms. He was making his way down the aisle when a large figure stepped into the doorway, blocking the exit.

“Frank, what are you doing here?” Jenny exclaimed.

“I told you I'd get you back,” the former ranch hand said with a malicious glint in his eyes. “You fired the wrong man, missy. Nice little joke, isn't it? You fired me, and now I am
fire
-ing you.”

Nick glanced at the axe gripped tightly in Frank's hands. He wasn't here to help.
He meant to kill them.

“You set the fire?” Jenny asked, her gaze also on the weapon.

“Of course I did,” Frank boasted, raising the axe above his head.

“You won't get away with it,” Nick growled.

“Oh, yeah? And who is going to stop me? You? The CEO of N.L.C. Industries?”

Nick gasped, and a ball of dread ripped a hole through his gut, making him feel hollow. Jenny's body went rigid in his arms.

“Oh, yeah, I know your little secret.” Frank chuckled, clearly enjoying the moment. “You left one too many bags of cookies lying around the stable. Jenny, did you know Fat Happy Horse Treats are a manufactured product of N.L.C. Industries?”

Nick glanced at Jenny's horrified expression.

“I guess not,” Frank said with a grin. “Sorry to spill the beans, Nick.”

“The CEO of—” Jenny shook her head. “No, you're wrong. He can't be.”

“His full name is Nicholas Lawrence Chandler,” Frank informed her. “N.L.C.”

Jenny jerked her head around and looked straight into his eyes.

The truth must have been written all over his face, because in the next instant she tried to pull away from him. He continued to hold her tight. “I'll explain later.”

“Explain? What is there to explain?”

“I also know about the little scheme you have with my conniving cousin, the bank manager,” Frank added.

“What scheme?” Jenny asked, her voice barely audible over the crackling fire.

“Chandler promised Stewart Davenport he'd schmooze the ranch from you and sell it to him.” Frank drew back the axe, ready to strike. “Now no one will have it.”

The axe swung toward them and Nick leapt to the side, with Jenny in his arms. Narrow miss. The axe head buried itself in the large wooden support post next to them instead.

A thunderous explosion sounded above and the roof above the beam began to collapse. His heart pounded. Jenny clung to him, her fingernails digging into the back of his neck. He tried to shield her from the raining debris and zigzagged with a series of quick movements to dodge the impending onslaught.

Frank, however, was lit up as bright as the noonday sun. The big man's eyes darted to and fro as the flames raced over his body. But instead of dropping to the ground and rolling, he yelled and ran out the door.

Nick carried Jenny and ran after him, but it was too late. Frank's life was drawn away by the flames right before their eyes.

Two firefighters covered Frank with a blanket and radioed for help as Nick set Jenny on the ground.

“I'll be right back,” he promised.

“Where are you going?”

“I've got to get the horses out,” Nick said, and turned back toward the stable.

H
ER MIND NUMB,
Jenny sat on the ground staring with disbelief at what was going on around her. The hay barn and equipment shed hovered above the earth like burning specters, with wisps of flame whipping around like fiery arms swatting the firefighters with their anger.

The wretched wails of the cows in the burning field had diminished. The roar of the fire, cracking of timber, and sporadic whinny from the hillside remained.

She strained to see through the thick mass of dark gray smoke encompassing the horse stable.

Five stables had sat on the ranch before this one. The first had been built for just two horses when her great-great-grandfather laid claim to the land back in 1880. The second was constructed a short while later and lasted forty years. Since then the occasional fire and long-term wear had made it necessary to replace the building again and again. The present stable was going on twenty-five years and could definitely use a few repairs.

Minutes passed. Two more horses ran out the door but still no sign of Nick. She didn't want her horses to die, but she didn't want Nick to die trying to save them either. She was tempted to go after him, but she wouldn't get far with the sprained ankle.

She glanced at Kevin, dressed in his firefighter suit, as he and another fireman carried Frank's charred body away on a stretcher.

“Are you okay?” Billie called, running toward her, “Where's Nick?”

She pointed toward the stable. “He's trying to save the horses.”

“The whole thing is an inferno!”

Jenny wrapped her arms around her middle and rocked back and forth, the taste of burnt embers thick on her tongue. Billie was right. The last legs of the stable could collapse at any moment. And the thought of Nick being burned alive like Frank,
like her father
, was more than she could bear.

The sight of the flames transported her back six months before when the old barn had caught fire. Déjà vu disoriented her. Would her father come out? No, her father had died. They'd built a new barn but this wasn't the barn. This was the stable. Would Nick come out? The fire-fighters sprayed a steady stream of water over the top and sides but the building burned brighter and brighter.

Harry walked toward her, a large black smudge on his cheek. “Wayne has the truck running. We have to go
now
.”

“My brother is in the stable,” Billie squealed, her voice shrill.

Jenny fixed her eyes on the entrance. She waited another thirty seconds . . . forty-five . . . a minute . . . Wayne joined them and asked what was taking so long, why they couldn't leave. Harry placed his hand on her shoulder.

A large gray mass burst through the flames and Jenny jumped to her feet, forgetting her leg was injured. Biting back the stinging pain, she hopped up and down with her weight on one foot and leaned against Billie.

It's him!
Jenny could hardly contain herself as Nick's unmistakable outline emerged from the thick smoke. He was running beside Kastle, with her black dress hem over the mare's large gray head.

Billie ran to meet him and he gave his sister a quick squeeze. Then he turned and looked at
her
, his eyes dark with uncertainty, and the present world resumed with amazing focus.

“Nick Chandler is the CEO of N.L.C. Industries,” she told Harry and Wayne. “I never knew Nick's middle name. Never put it together.
Nicholas Lawrence Chandler—N.L.C.
”