The Last Goodbye (The Women of Independence) (6 page)

“Well...” he shot her a quick look.
“Hearing you talk about your parents made me think about mine.”

“Tell me about them.”

“First of all, I don’t see them enough.
I think I’ll spend some time with them when this movie is finished.” His
expression softened “Mom is from Sicily. She’s very exotic, kind of like
Carmen, but not quite so glamorous after years working in the vineyard. I got
my love of cooking from her.”

“You’re a good cook?” Danielle waved a
hand in front of her face. “Sorry, go on.”

He pretended to be offended. “Yes, I’m a
good cook. I’d like to show you some time. My dad was born on my grandfather’s
vineyard, and he continued working it after Gramps died. It’s a small winery,
but popular. They have a waiting list of people wanting to buy their wines.”

“Must be nice.”

“He enjoys it, and that’s the main
thing.” He thought for a moment. “They both do.”

She was aware of him studying her and
turned to face him. “What?”

“Tell me one thing about your father,
and one thing about your mother.”

He must be working his magic, because
her heart didn’t constrict when she thought about them.

“Let’s see...” Her thoughts drifted back
in time. “Okay, here’s one about my Dad. We don’t have a lot of thunderstorms
around here, but there’s one I’ll never forget. I was frightened, and Dad
picked me up and held me. We stood in front of the big window overlooking the
lake. He taught me about counting between the flash of lightning and the sound
of thunder, and suddenly I wasn’t afraid anymore.” Her voice got small. “He
made me feel safe.”

She looked down, as though embarrassed.

“That’s a lovely story.”

“And my mom...” Her lips curled up in a
gentle smile. “My mom could make the most delicious cinnamon buns. She was a
great baker, but cinnamon buns were my absolute favourite.” She nodded to
herself as the happy memories flooded back. “They were delicious, but it was
the smell of them, I think. The scent of cinnamon in the house meant that
everything was okay.” She smiled at him, eyes bright with unshed tears. “Thank
you for reminding me about that. Sometimes I think that if I didn’t have such
wonderful memories, I wouldn’t worry so much about losing the people who love
me. It sounds foolish, I know, but those fears are always lurking in the back
of my mind.”

He nodded. “I can understand that.” They
were coming up to the creek and he slowed. “But I can promise you one thing.
I’ll never leave without saying goodbye.”

She barely knew him and yet the idea of
him leaving hurt more than she would have thought possible. It was just as well
she wouldn’t be seeing much of him from now on. She forced herself to smile.
“I’ll hold you to that.”

“The cattle, they are all right?”
Enrique met the returning Jake at the stable door.

“Yes, but I was glad I rode out.” Jake
dismounted. “As far as Sam and I could figure out, they’d been spooked by a
bear. There was bear scat in the neighbourhood.”

Enrique nodded his understanding.

“We’ll be bringing them back down into
the valley bottom in a few weeks anyway.” Jake looked toward the ranch house.
“Is anyone around?”

“Danielle and Senor Grayson rode out to
Silverton, and I saw the three men leave in a car earlier.” He thought for a
moment. “I guess that leaves Senora Carmen.”

Jake’s pulse rate ratcheted up at the
mention of her name. He’d been thinking about her all the way back from the
high country. “I suppose I should go and see if she needs anything.”

“I suppose.” Enrique put his head down
and tried not to smile. Esperanza had been eager to fill him in last night,
telling him how Jake had practically fallen over himself when he was around the
actress.

Jake lifted the saddle from his horse as
though it weighed nothing and placed it in the tack room. “Okay then, see you
later.”

This queasy, excited feeling was new to
Big Jake Flynn. There were plenty of women in the area, and he’d gone out with
several of them for extended periods of time. But they always wanted more than
he was willing to give, and the relationships invariably ended. When that
happened, Jake tried to hide his relief. He had a housekeeper, he reasoned; he
certainly didn’t need a wife.

As he approached the rear of the ranch
house he couldn’t help but wonder if perhaps the tables were about to be
turned. He’d become adept at avoiding commitments... and that had been fine
until Carmen Santangelo had walked down the steps of Sean’s jet. There was no
denying the surge of attraction that had literally weakened his knees. He
wanted her, and more than just physically. For the first time in his life, he
wanted to get to know everything about a woman. She fascinated him, and yet he
was terrified that she’d see him for what he was... an old cowboy who’d never permitted
himself to become emotionally attached.

* * *

The house was cool and quiet when Jake
entered. Esperanza was probably in her private quarters. He wandered into the
great room; it was empty, and so was the library. He stopped for a moment and
looked around, trying to see it with fresh eyes. The great room was large and
beautifully furnished, but it lacked the warm, personal touches only a woman
can bestow. He shouldn’t complain... he’d chosen this path, but did that mean
he couldn’t want something different now? Disappointment churned in his gut and
he went back into the kitchen, where he grabbed a bottle of water from the
fridge. He popped the cap, telling himself he was being ridiculous,
entertaining dreams about a woman who had entered his life for a few days and
would be gone just as quickly. It was just as well she wasn’t here, he might
have embarrassed himself.

The shade of the verandah beckoned. He
stepped outside and his breath caught in his throat.

Carmen lay stretched out on the divan, an
open book beside her. Her eyes were closed, and he could tell by the rhythmic
rise and fall of her chest that she was asleep.

He sat down in the rocking chair and
watched her, content to wait until she woke up. Jake couldn’t remember the last
time he’d sat still in the middle of the day, but today it seemed right. If he
wasn’t careful, he’d be taking her out to lunch, and who knew where that would
lead? The truth was, he couldn’t wait to find out. He removed his hat, leaned
back in the chair, and closed his eyes, hoping he wasn’t making a fool of
himself.

“Jake?” He opened his eyes to find her
watching him. She was still lying comfortably on her side, and she smiled in a
way that made him want to pull her into his arms and taste those lips.

“You came back,” she said softly. “I was
hoping you would.”

“You were?” He didn’t care if he sounded
eager. He was beyond playing games.

“Yes.” She swung her legs around and
placed her bare feet on the floor of the verandah. Her toenails were painted
scarlet. The colour matched her fingernails. When had he started noticing
things like that?

“I have no idea why I fell asleep. I had
a wonderful sleep last night.” She raked her fingers though her hair and he
almost groaned aloud. “I think it has something to do with the fresh air.” Her
eyes widened. “Oh, I just remembered. How are the cattle?”

He was pleased that she asked. “They’ll
be okay. My foreman thinks there’s a bear in the area so we moved them a bit.
We’ll be bringing them down in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Sam, or one
of the men will stay with them at night.”

“Sam is your foreman?”

Jake nodded. “He’s been with me for
quite a few years now.”

“You seem to have a lot of loyal people
around you.” He frowned, and she gave a self-conscious laugh. “I suppose in
your world, there isn’t any other kind of person.”

He braced his elbows on his knees and
leaned forward. “You said ‘in my world’. Are our worlds so different?”

She lowered her gaze and for a moment he
thought he’d come on too strong.

“Yes, and no,” she said finally. “For
example, up here, loyalty seems to be second nature.”

He watched her closely; she seemed to be
going through an inner struggle. Then she sucked in a breath of air and
continued. “In my opinion, there are too many people in the movie industry for
whom the word ‘loyalty’ is a foreign language.”

He nodded, although in truth he couldn’t
imagine living like that. “And yet my instinct tells me that loyalty is
important to you.”
Please,
he thought to himself,
let me be right
about this
. No matter how much he was attracted to her, it would mean
nothing if their values didn’t mesh.

She looked at him as though he’d seen
into her soul. “Why do I feel as though we’ve known each other for a long
time?”

He lifted his shoulders, but his heart
thundered like a stallion’s hooves. “Maybe we’ve seen enough of life to know
what’s important.”

She gave him a slow smile that made his
toes curl inside his boots. “You know, I think maybe you’re right about that.”
Her gaze wandered out past the verandah railing, and he could tell she was
gathering her thoughts.

“While I was young, I dedicated myself
to my career. I always knew I wasn’t going to belong to the twenty million
dollar club, but I was satisfied with the roles I was getting.” She smiled to
herself. “I was working regularly, and that was what was important. My friends
couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to get married, but I’d seen too many
failed marriages, and I didn’t want that for myself.” She shot him a quick
look.

“Anyway, that all changed when I was in
my early thirties. I met a man, and all of a sudden I couldn’t believe I’d
lived without love for all those years. He was in the business as well, and we
went out for a couple of years, then decided to get married.”

A shadow flitted across her eyes, but
she continued. “About two months before we were due to get married, my mother
had a stroke. My father had died when I was young and Mom was living alone.
After the stroke, she couldn’t take care of herself, and there was no way I was
going to put her in a home. I wanted to bring her to live with us and hire
someone to care for her while we were working, but Rory wouldn’t hear of it. It
wasn’t until later that I realized he was afraid to be associated with her.
Afraid that the paps would get a picture of the three of us together.”

She looked right at Jake, and he was
struck by the determination in her eyes. “He gave me a choice: it was either
him or my mother. I knew that taking care of Mom would limit the roles I could
accept. I wouldn’t be able to go on location, but I didn’t care, and I’ve never
regretted my decision.” She gave him a small, sad smile. “She died about six
weeks ago. I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking that I’ve
forgotten to do something for her. Last night was the first time in ages I’ve
slept right through the night.”

She looked down at her bare feet. “I’m
sorry. How did I get on this subject?”

“We were talking about loyalty.” Jake
paused. “Or, in the case of your former fiancé, the lack of it.”

“Right.” She raised eyes that were
luminous with tears. “My mother worked hard to make a life for both of us.
There was no way I could do otherwise.”

“Do you know how beautiful you are?” The
words came out before he could stop them. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have blurted
that out.” He stood up and started pacing.

“Why not?” She tilted her head and
looked up at him. “I liked it. Besides, I think that playing games at this
stage in our lives is a waste of time. Don’t you?”

He stopped, and leaned back against the
verandah railing. What he really wanted to do was draw her into his arms and
show her how he felt, but he needed to know one more thing. “In that case I’d
like to ask you something.”

“Uh-huh?”

“Are you with Sean?” He stroked his
moustache, trying to hide his nervousness. “I mean as more than actor and
producer?”

She laughed. It was a low, throaty sound
and his body stirred. “No, I’m not with Sean. Not in that way. We’re good
friends.”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why Jake Flynn, are you flirting with
me?” She rose, walked across the verandah and stood very close to him. Her
scent invaded his senses and he placed a hand at her waist and pulled her the
last few inches. “Absolutely,” he murmured, as she raised her lips for a kiss.

Her body fitted perfectly against his,
and for a moment he wondered if she could feel his heart pounding. A small
whimper escaped her lips and her arms came around his neck, pulling his head
down. She must be able to feel his growing arousal, but he didn’t care. He
wanted this woman and he wasn’t about to hide the fact.

He plundered her mouth with his tongue,
groaning with need as she opened to him, holding nothing back. Somewhere in the
back of his mind, he wondered if he was dreaming, but the woman in his arms was
definitely real. She was the woman he’d been looking for all his life, and he
couldn’t believe that she was here with him, like this.

He pulled back and looked down into her
eyes. She smiled up at him and in that moment he knew he’d lost his heart.