Rocky Mountain Valentine (16 page)

He started fires in both his private quarters and the lodge. It wouldn’t take long for them to warm up again. Though he knew she’d be okay, he couldn’t leave her downstairs by herself. Adam pulled the comforter from his bed and returned to the chair next to Lisa and went back to sleep.

Woken by the faint sound of the rooster crowing, Adam moved quietly about the house. He added another log to the fire, then proceeded through the lodge, checking for frozen pipes. Everything looked fine. He paused in the doorway of the deluxe suite, pleased with the progress in the past week. He couldn’t have done it without Lisa. The thought frightened him. Terrified him. Made him come face-to-face with the realization that the lodge wasn’t the only thing that had changed since
Lisa’s arrival.

He didn’t want to need anyone, especially not an independent woman who lived life with her foot on the accelerator. He’d set aside that lifestyle long ago.

When Adam went downstairs, Lisa stood at the door, watching Toby run through the drifts, some of which were as tall as the giant of a dog. “It must have snowed all night,” she said.

Adam joined her, but she just stared outside with her back to him.

“You’re okay, Lisa.”

“Must have been my rescuer.”

He rested his hand on her shoulder. “Appointed especially to you.”

“Are you implying that I need extra attention?” Her eyebrow quirked upward and a smile teased her lips.

He’d resisted kissing Lisa last night, but he was afraid it was going to take more willpower than he possessed to refrain much longer. “Just that you’re special.” Adam turned to watch the black puppy jump and play. “I haven’t seen this much snow here since I was in grade school. We had to bend down to see in the windows.”

“Nothing yet.” Lisa smiled but remained quiet as she reached over and tried to turn the lights on.

Adam stood behind her and rubbed her upper arms “You cold?”

She shook her head. “No, just a sudden chill. How long until they have the power back on?”

“It could be days. The radio says the whole area is without power. Town will be the first priority. Those of us out here are expected to be prepared for such emergencies. I’ll have to consider a generator, I suppose. Part of the joys of rural life, doesn’t matter the season. Thunderstorms or snow—all affects us about the same.” She wanted reality, and unfortunately, it was coming in handfuls this week. If this storm didn’t let up soon, it would scare her away before he stood a chance of tempting her to stay. “How about a board game marathon after breakfast? We used to do that when the school called a snow day. Makes time go pretty fast.”

Her eyes didn’t leave the snow. “What games do you have?”

“Every game ever made for the past forty years.” He stepped up beside her and turned her away from the window. “Let’s have some oatmeal by the fire first.”

She turned back around. “Where’s Toby?”

“Probably checking on the cattle. He’ll be fine. He led me to you, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. He’s a rescue dog, right?”

“He’s actually best in the water. We have a lot of reservoirs in the area. Summer seems to bring out all the partyers.” Toby appeared at the back door and shook the snow from his fur. Lisa let him in, obviously relieved to see her protector. She took the towel from the coat hook and dried him off. “So how did you decide to become a search-and-rescue team?”

“It kind of started out as a joke. Alex thought Toby would be a perfect companion since I’ve always sworn I’d never get married. He and Kevin went to the rescue shelter and came to work one day with Toby.”

“Kind of an expensive joke, isn’t it?”

He chuckled. “They would have never committed me to caring for a dog without knowing I’d love one. My golden retriever died last winter. Until they brought Toby home, I was dead set against ever having another pet. You know brothers. They insisted I’d be less crabby if I had company. If yesterday is any indication of his tracking ability, we’re going to make a good team.”

* * *

A
DAM WAS RELIEVED
to see Lisa’s mood improve as the day went on. She stayed inside while he tended to chores. After he’d finished with those, they worked rearranging the suites, hanging pictures and adding the little details such as cabinet handles and outlet covers.

After two days, the sun finally came out, and on the third day, electricity was restored. Everything had technically gone fine, but Adam had worried that Lisa would go stir-crazy without her laptop and cell phone, which had gone dead by the end of the first day. Not surprisingly, she had found countless ways to fill her time.

As soon as the snow had stopped, Adam attached a blade to the front of an old truck and began the tedious job of plowing the entrance to the ranch. He’d just finished plowing his mother’s drive when Kevin, Emily and Millie arrived with the children.

Lisa ran out the door to greet their guests, obviously relieved to have contact with the outside world again. “We’ve been trying to call for days,” Emily said, then exchanged hugs with her sister.

“The land lines are still out as far as I know, but a visit is better than a phone call any day, isn’t it, Alissa?” Lisa snuggled their adorable curly-haired niece and Adam found himself imagining what their kids would look like. Did she even want children?

Adam lagged behind with Kevin, forcing his mind from his futile love life. He laughed at Toby and Ricky playing in the snow. “This reminds me of that spring break when they had four feet of snow here.”

Kevin nodded. “Yeah, the sledding was great.”

“Until Mom sent you to your room for hooking Tike up to pull the sled.” Adam laughed while recalling their sheltie wondering what happened.

Kevin nudged him. “Keep your voice down. We don’t want to give Ricky any ideas.”

“Something tells me your son will have enough all on his own without borrowing ideas, bro.”

Adam felt his mother’s eyes on him the minute he and Kevin walked in the door. She followed his every move from hanging his coat on the hook to leaving his boots on the rug. He realized exactly why the minute his gaze landed on Lisa.

His mom’s face brightened with her usual “I knew it all along” expression. “Looks like you both came through the storm fine.”

Adam nodded, wishing she wasn’t so observant. “We managed just fine. A blizzard, Lisa can handle, no contact with the outside world on the other hand—” The lights flickered, then came on.

“I managed,” Lisa interrupted, checking her phone, “I have eight phone messages to return, I’ll have you know.”

“Why am I not surprised?” he said before thinking. He realized they were bantering as easily as any married couple. Noting the grin on her sister’s face, he wasn’t the only one to pick up on it, either.

He was hanging himself with his own rope. “Lisa, why don’t you have Emily take a look at your ankle? Have you told her what happened?”

“No, I haven’t had a chance. She didn’t have her cell phone on, but I did reach Katarina.” She helped hang everyone’s coats, then added, “Let’s go to the living room.”

Emily’s expression turned to concern as she took the lead to the lodge. “What happened?”

Lisa took a step toward Adam’s private living room before realizing the others were going to the lodge. Adam winked, silently acknowledging her mistake. Everyone listened intently while she and Adam told about the blizzard, each filling in on what the other missed.

“You were sitting in that snow quite a while, Lisa,” Adam said after they’d finished the story. “I want Emily to make sure everything is healing okay.” Lisa hoped she was the only one to notice the tenderness in Adam’s voice.

Why did she feel as if she was suddenly the center of attention? Had she missed something?

Kevin interrupted the silence. “Why don’t you two go on upstairs? Adam and I can unload Mom’s van.”

Millie immediately accepted the offer, defending her shopping trip for emergency rations while the boys teased her about how quickly the snow would be melted.

Lisa knelt down and picked up her niece and led the way up the stairs to her suite. “I’m feeling much better. This really isn’t necessary.”

“I think it was the guys’ way of giving us a little time to talk privately.” Emily followed her into Lisa’s suite and closed the door.

“And what might we need to talk about?”

“Let’s see... The youngest MacIntyre brother and the youngest Berthoff sister are stranded and alone for three days—speculation is there could be a lot to talk about.” Emily smiled, ready to broadcast the news with the slightest hint of confirmation.

Lisa miraculously managed to suppress a smile. “So Millie’s stay to help Kat
was
a ruse, huh?”

Emily laughed. “Not exactly. Katarina did need help with the bookkeeping and Millie is a tremendous help. And the birthday party went great, thanks to her help. But that’s not why we’re here.”

Lisa sat on the bed and took her slippers and socks off. “So...these are my toes. They hurt quite a bit at first, still tingle if I bang them on something.”

“So do mine.” Her sister gave Lisa a critical squint before she began examining them. “Somehow, I suspect it wasn’t your toes Adam wanted me to examine. Frostbite on the hands and feet is pretty basic, even for an E.M.T.”

“A what?” Lisa felt her face flush.

“Emergency Medical Technician. It’s part of the search-and-rescue training. Didn’t he tell you?” Emily laughed. “Practical application is the most difficult for beginners, especially when the victim is a personal friend. Adam probably figured I’d be out here soon enough. Come on, sis, let’s finish the exam.” Emily asked question after question before giving Lisa a clean bill of health. “I’ll make sure to have a follow-up consultation with the E.M.T. Make sure he has no other concerns about your case.”

Lisa bit her tongue. “If you’re fishing for a story, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

Emily opened Alissa’s bag and pulled out a disposable diaper. “I don’t know. This is a romantic getaway.” She lifted the baby to the bed and quickly changed her. “Not only that, Tara called Kevin to get the scoop on you. She became quite concerned when she couldn’t reach Adam that evening.”

“She did? And what did Kevin tell her?”

Emily shrugged. “You know Kevin. He said he wasn’t sure, but it was probably an old girlfriend.”

Lisa burst out laughing. She missed times like this. She missed the closeness of family and friends. “Thanks for the laugh.”

“And you’re still not going to tell me anything?”

Lisa bit her lip. She truly hadn’t expected this from either family. Adam’s initial reaction to her arrival made more sense now. “Adam’s been a wonderful host and a perfect gentleman. That’s it.”

“Maybe Kevin had better luck with Adam.”

Lisa’s cell phone rang, and she welcomed the interruption. Emily took Alissa downstairs, allowing Lisa privacy to take the call.

When Lisa finished, she joined them in the middle of Adam’s tour of the suites. Soon after, Millie said they’d done a great job—even without her input.

Adam gave his mother a warm hug. “I appreciate your help, Mom.”

“I know you do, honey. This storm set everything behind schedule. Since you and Lisa have already taken care of the suites, I’ll return these things Monday.” Millie gave her granddaughter a big kiss and thanked Kevin and Emily for following her out to the ranch. Adam walked her to the van then turned back toward the house with Ricky slung over his shoulder.

Lisa tried to ignore the pitter-patter of her heart at Adam’s tenderness for his mother. With each step he took, her heart raced a little faster. She felt Kevin and Emily watching her, and tried to ignore her own reaction. She watched as his long legs made short time of the distance between them.

Emily gave Lisa a hug. “We need to get going. We’ll see you soon.” She looked at Lisa one more time as Adam reached for the doorknob. “Do you really expect me to believe you can ignore a good-looking cowboy like Adam?”

“Better luck next time, sis.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

L
ISA’S MIND WAS
still spinning. If she accepted the job, she had to leave. If she didn’t, who knew when an opportunity like this would come again?

Nothing could ever be more wonderful than spending the last few days with Adam. But now it was over.

She took a deep breath and gathered her courage when she heard the door close. His voice echoed from the beamed ceilings. “Your sister is suspicious.”

With good reason. Why was it she and Adam were the only ones caught off balance by their feelings for one another? Falling in love was the furthest thing from her mind when she’d stepped onto that jet in San Francisco two weeks ago.

Francie accused Lisa of letting her personal feelings interfere with this assignment. She couldn’t argue with that, even though she had never been the type to use sensationalism in order to sell a story. After all, what was more romantic than a man who honored his family and wanted to share his heritage with others? She didn’t need to embellish the facts.

She wouldn’t back down. She’d send Francie her article. If she and Steve didn’t like it, that was their problem, not hers. If she didn’t get the full-time job with their magazine, something would come up elsewhere. Today’s phone call proved that.

When one door closes, another one opens.
How often had she heard Emily say those words?

“Lisa? Is everything okay?”

She stared blankly at Adam. “Great. I—I may have another assignment.”

She watched reality sink in. They had both been so intent on their budding relationship that they’d overlooked how quickly things could change. Even she had set reality aside. Though the past few weeks were unforgettable, it was long past time for her to get moving again. Lisa realized that now.

Adam leaned against the stair railing and pulled her into his embrace. “Is it an assignment for the magazine, or an interview for someone else?”

“I’ll be doing a shoot for an exclusive catalog.”

“No story?” His brown eyes searched hers and Lisa felt as if she had somehow deceived him.

“I can be silenced, for the right price.” She managed a tentative smile. “This is a golden opportunity and the income is extraordinary. They need someone with outdoor photography experience.”