Mountain Mystic (2 page)

Joshua felt trapped in the serenity of her eyes, held hostage by the grace with which she faced him in what must have been an embarrassing situation for her, Even though he tried, he couldn’t sense her emotions; she was closed to him. Deprived of his sixth sense, Joshua felt like he’d walked out of the sunlight and into the blackness of a cave.

For the first time in a long time he had to rely on intuition and physical cues to read a woman. Instinct told him this woman wasn’t a hiker wannabe. Not with those sparkling white sneakers. She felt like country club and yachts. Then she introduced herself and blew away all his assumptions about the cool beauty in front of him.

“Hello. My name’s Victoria. Victoria Bennett.” Her voice sneaked inside him and tightened every muscle in his belly.

“Victoria,” he repeated, more to buy himself time than anything else. Good God in heaven, what was a nice girl like her doing with a bedroom voice like that?

Nothing in her classically sculpted features hinted at the sultry power in her voice, which was earthy … quiet and smooth, liquid and hot. All at the same time. All of that with promises of more. It was the more that worried him. It was the more that would keep him awake that night.

“I’ve been looking for you,” she said, and this time he caught the slight edge of nervousness in her voice.

“Next time give me a little notice. I’ll sleep in and wait for you.”

Pink tinged her cheeks, making him wonder how easily she blushed … and where. In the natural course of events, a man should know how easily a woman blushed before he knew what she looked like in his bed. With Victoria, he seemed to have done it backward.

He could still see the impression of her body in the bedding. When he lay down that night, he would wonder if her essence would sink into his bones the way her voice had, if he would feel her beneath him. The idea excited and disturbed him more than it should.

Instinctively he checked for a wedding ring and found none. That made him happy. Happy enough to forgive her for invading his cabin.
You’ve been living the life of a monk far too long
, Joshua warned himself,
if killer cheekbones are enough to make you forget about trespassing laws.

As the awkward silence lengthened, Victoria racked her brain for a clever reason that would explain why she’d plunked herself down on his bed. Thinking clearly or cleverly was hampered by her unexpected reaction to the virile man before her. He fit her definition of a mountain man perfectly—tall, muscular, a face carved out of the past, eyes more blue than gray … mysterious, mystic almost.

Judging from the way the soft, well-worn chamois shirt molded itself to his upper body, he got plenty of fresh air and exercise. His shoulder dug into the jamb, and his hands circled his biceps. He looked like a man
biding his time, probably waiting patiently for an explanation she didn’t have.

“I’m sorry about …” She let her voice trail away as she moved toward him. The sudden narrowing of his eyes and the shake of his head warned her that the less said about how he’d found her, the better. Surprised, but perfectly willing to ignore the bed, she got to the point. “Dr. Grenwald sent me.”

Joshua couldn’t hold back a grin. “Remind me to thank him. I wasn’t aware he was running a dating service.”

“He isn’t, so don’t bother to thank him,” she said dryly. “He’s my backup physician. I’m the new midwife.”

He laughed outright. “Miss Bennett, you’ve broken into the wrong house. I don’t have a wife, much less a pregnant wife who might need your services.”

“You are Joshua Logan?” When he nodded, she said, “Well, then you’re the man I’m looking for. Dr. Grenwald seemed to think you might be willing to … help me.”

“Deliver babies? I don’t think so.” He hadn’t meant to sound so abrupt, but he knew what that delicate pause meant. He’d heard it too many times before. She wanted something important. Something she hesitated to ask. In his experience, when people hesitated, they usually wanted a piece of him.

Shoving off the door and stepping pointedly to one side, Joshua told her bluntly, “Looks like you wasted a trip.”

Shocked by his abrupt change of manner, Victoria
stood rooted in place, wondering what she’d done to turn his attitude from amusement to anger.
Besides trespassing and then being rude enough to ask for a favor?
She was lucky he hadn’t physically tossed her out before now.

She shouldn’t have gone inside his cabin. Never mind the fact his door had been unlocked. Never mind that it swung open when she rapped her knuckles against it. She should have waited on the porch.
She should have
 …

God, how she hated those words! Her life was filled with things she should have done. According to her parents, she should have: divorced Richard long before she did; asked for alimony; come home after the divorce and married someone suitable; or at least come home when they declined to lend her enough money to finish the midwifery program and get her master’s degree.

She should have done lots of things.
But she didn’t. For once in her life she had listened to her heart. Otherwise she’d be wearing pearls and vegetating in Connecticut instead of delivering babies in rural Tennessee.

Refocusing on the present, Victoria tried to decide what to do. Logan was obviously waiting for her to say a polite good-bye and get out of his house, but she couldn’t leave without at least trying to get his help, even if it created what her mother would call a “dreadful scene.” Forcing her most contrite smile, she asked, “Would a completely sincere apology buy me any more time?”

“To do what?” Joshua asked, and ruthlessly quelled his libido, which produced an interesting list of activities—all starring Victoria Bennett.

“To plead my case.”

He knew he should say no. That was the smart move. He even formed the word with his lips, but what came out was “Can you do it in twenty-five words or less?”

“I can try,” she promised him.

The soft pleading in her smoky eyes was too much for Joshua. Against his better judgment, he hesitated, running a hand through his hair. If he agreed, she’d probably thrust an antique watch or piece of jewelry into his hands, hoping he’d do the psychic bit.

Joshua sighed. His psi ability didn’t work like that. He couldn’t flick it on and off like a light switch. Unfortunately, his curiosity about the lady had kicked in, aided and abetted by a healthy biological drive he’d ignored for too long. He wanted to see if he could read her possessions even if he couldn’t read her.

“Look,” she told him, “I’m not usually so rude that I wander into houses uninvited. I had no business coming inside. Please don’t hold that against me. I truly am sorry.”

“I’m not. Actually, you looked pretty good from where I was standing. Finding you in my bed was the highlight of my morning.”

She blushed. “Then brighten up my day and give me five minutes, okay?”

What could possibly happen if he let her stay? Nothing, he told himself. Nothing at all if he remembered
who she was and that she wanted Indiana Jones, not Joshua Logan. “All right. You’ve got five minutes.”

Victoria resisted the urge to grin as she followed him the few steps to the old couch and armchair arranged cozily in front of the wood stove. For future reference, she filed away the fact that Joshua Logan was susceptible to puppy-dog eyes. With a hand motion he signaled her to take the couch and settled himself in the armchair.

His elbows rested on the arm supports, and his hands were clasped in front of his abdomen. She noticed a sexy gold ring on the little finger of his right hand. The ring’s design looked old, old enough to be a family heirloom, and oddly familiar. Golden vines twined around each other, blending to form a circle.

To cover her overwhelming urge to reach out and touch Joshua’s ring, she dragged her eyes back up to his face, which unfortunately was just as sexy, despite—or maybe because of—the intensity in his eyes. She had a soft spot for strong, silent types, and everything about him was strong—his mouth, his jawline, those big hands. Looking at him made her feel restless and excited inside.

Why now?
she wondered. The fluttery feeling of attraction had been absent for so long, she’d forgotten what it felt like to have butterflies banging against her stomach. Why did she have them now, when it was the worst possible moment for the feeling to come back? She didn’t need him, didn’t need an inexplicable
attraction scattering her thoughts and making it difficult to remember why she was alone with this man.

“So,” Joshua prompted her, “show me what you’ve got.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not a mind reader. It doesn’t work like that.” He held his hands cupped, palms up. “I have to hold it.”

“Hold what?” Victoria asked, and cleared her throat. His hands were going to be her downfall if she couldn’t keep her eyes off them. This fascination was so
juvenile
, but his hands and that ring struck a chord of memory, which was impossible. He wasn’t the kind of man a woman could forget.

Joshua noticed for the first time that she didn’t carry a purse. He clasped his hands together again. “Do you need to get something out of the truck?”

“N-no,” she said warily, as if answering a trick question.

He leaned back in the chair and stared at her with surprise. She didn’t have an antique trinket to press into his hands; she didn’t even seem to know what he was talking about. In the space of several seconds he revised his opinion of Victoria Bennett. Maybe she didn’t want a piece of his soul after all.

If she didn’t want to use his abilities, then what did she want? Not being able to read her emotions fascinated him. With most people he could at least get a tiny hint. But not with her. “I think old Doc Grenwald is playing one of his little games. If he’s let
you come up here empty-handed, then he’s sent you up here on a wild-goose chase.”

“I’m not chasing wild geese,” Victoria told him. “If you want to know the truth, I’m chasing you.”

A rush of male satisfaction flooded Joshua, then slowly faded as he realized Victoria wasn’t flirting. She was simply stating a fact in that damnable bedroom voice of hers.

“Thanks for the warning,” he drawled, and moved forward to rest his forearms on his spread knees. Unexpectedly, his ego demanded that he ruffle her composure, make her acknowledge the chemistry he felt between them. “Saves me the trouble of having to chase you. What happens when you catch me?”

His tone was blatantly suggestive, sending sensual signals her body remembered all too well. There was no denying that she wanted to flirt right back, but she refused to give in to the impulse. She didn’t have time for men; she needed to save her energy for the practice.

“When I catch you”—she told him matter-of-factly—“I intend to put you behind the wheel of that beat-up old Range Rover. I need a guide. Someone who knows all the back roads.”

“Buy a map,” Joshua snapped, stung that she appeared oblivious of the sexual undercurrents he was feeling.

“I have a map. What I need is a guide. Dr. Grenwald said you spent all summer roaming around and getting reacquainted. You grew up here, didn’t you?”

“Yeah. I did.”

“Great. I need to know this area backward and forward before winter drops a pile of snow and a sheet of ice all over it. What I wouldn’t give for a nice flat, straight stretch of road.” Regretfully, she shook her head. “Do you have any idea how confusing these mountain roads are?”

“You’ll get used to it,” Joshua told her curtly.

“I’ll have to. I won’t have much choice if you don’t help me. Show me around the area. It won’t take more than a couple of weeks.”

“A couple of weeks!”

“I promise I’ll work around your schedule, whatever it is. All I have to cover is the triangle of Mention, Bodewell, and Logan’s Hollow.”

“All?”
Joshua raised his eyebrows. “That’s a lot of territory, lady. You don’t honestly expect to cover those three communities and everything in between? On a regular basis, I mean.”

Victoria leaned forward. “Who else is going to do it?”

“Whoever did it before you got here.”

“No one did it. That’s
why
I’m here. Don’t you ever read the newspaper?” she asked, wondering how he could have missed the front-page article in the area’s weekly paper,
The Triangle
, “Those three communities paid for my education, and in exchange I agreed to set up a practice here. For at least three years.”

“So tell them to hire you a guide. You don’t need me.”

Victoria gave a sigh and scooted back into the earth-tone sofa. “There’s the rub. They paid for my education, and for as long as I practice here I get seven thousand dollars a year for living expenses. That’s it. Everything else is up to me.”

“Seven thousand a year won’t even cover rent, utilities, and food,” Joshua told her bluntly.

She shrugged. “Tell me about it! Rent and food are the least of my worries. I spent every dime of my savings on equipment, clinic space, supplies, malpractice insurance, and … you name it.”

“That must have been some savings.”

“Hardly. I also got a small business loan from the National Bank on the strength of last year’s birth rate, Dr. Grenwald’s recommendation as my backup physician, and my hospital privileges at Bodewell Hospital. The town and hospital have agreed to equip a small one-room ABC, but—”

“Whoa. You’re talking to a man, and we don’t know the secret maternity code words. What is an ABC?”

“Alternative birthing center.”

Joshua motioned with his hand for her to keep going. “That’s not terribly helpful.”

“It’s a low-intervention, family-oriented birthing facility. We can send the mother and baby home about twelve hours after delivery. Listen, Mr. Logan—”

“Call me Joshua.”

“Joshua. What this all boils down to is that I don’t have much cash. I need someone who can afford to go traipsing around the mountains for free. And”—she
couldn’t resist a quick glance around the clean but minimally furnished cabin—“Dr. Grenwald assured me that you were somewhat reclusive, but not hurting for money.”

Laughing, Joshua thought about his last book advance and said, “Not exactly. This place is temporary. I’m building over the ridge.”