Wild Fire (The Fairy Tale Match Series) (2 page)

Laura sighed heavily as she took a
quick glance at the time. She was making good progress considering the two
detours she’d had when she’d taken wrong turns and should be at the Twisted
Tree Ranch soon. Her heart slammed in her chest and nerves ate at her stomach.
She tried to swallow, but her mouth was bone dry. She grabbed the water bottle
from the passenger seat of her hire car, flipped the lid and drank deeply. She
threw the bottle back on the seat and tried to stop the shaking in her hands.

She could hardly believe that she was
actually doing this. Laura was, by nature, a shy person. She didn’t like the
lime light or attention of any kind, for that matter. It was a wonder to anyone
that knew her that she’d ever had a boyfriend, not that he hadn’t been a total
jerk! Yet here she was, having flown all the way from England, about to meet a
man she’d only emailed a few times and had never seen.

A cold sweat broke out all over her
body and she had to concentrate on not hyperventilating. It had seemed so easy
and exciting back in England. The Fairy Tale Match website had appealed to her
romantic side completely. She had always been soppy over fairy stories ever
since she’d been a little girl. Finding a website that seemed to promise that
kind of love had caught hold of her and she’d actually joined. Her! Laura
Hamilton!

Laura felt a hysterical laugh
building in her throat. How could she have thought it a good idea? She had
virtually no confidence and could hardly describe herself as a real beauty. She
wasn’t the kind of woman men went for. She was the friend type. The one they
all came to with their problems. Not the wow, wouldn’t I love to spend my life
with you type. She was going to be a real disappointment to Jake Carter. Her
knees shook at the thought.

She saw a rather battered sign at the
side of the road and felt her stomach knot in fright. The Twisted Tree Ranch
was just down the next turning. With shaking fingers, she flipped on her
indicator, even though there was no other traffic on the long dusty road and
turned into an even smaller dirt road that wound along ahead of her. Driving
slowly, she jostled down the road, looking out for the ranch house.

Suddenly it came into view, round a
bend in the road. She slammed on the brakes and sat staring at it. It looked
large, even from a distance, its wooden walls looking warm and inviting, easing
some of her panic. Nestled under a hill, she could see the rest of the ranch
spread out in the valley, lush green grasses swayed in the breeze with a number
of horses grazing in the fenced off pasture.

Men worked hard amongst the horses,
some wiping sweat from their foreheads with their neck kerchiefs. They had a
real western feel about them, decked out in jeans, shirts and complete with
Stetson hats. She could see a number of smaller cabins tucked away to one side,
which must have been where the ranch’s usual guests stayed. She knew from Jakes
emails that they ran part of their ranch as a tourist attraction and many
people from all over the world came to experience life on a real old west style
horse ranch.

Laura’s stomach fluttered again and
she began to sweat even though the rental car was blasting her with cold air.
Pulling on every bit of courage she possessed, she put the car back on the road
and continued towards the ranch.

“Just breathe and stay calm,” she
counselled herself as she drove. “You can do this. He sounded like a very nice
man in his emails and he is looking forward to meeting you,” she continued. “Of
course, he is expecting you tomorrow!” she grimaced to herself. Her flight time
had been moved up, so she’d flown in much earlier than expected and decided to
drive down the same day instead of staying over a night at the airport. She had
managed to email Jake. She just hoped he’d read the email before she showed up.

Feeling sick, she drove up the long
dusty driveway to the front of the ranch house. A wooden porch surrounded the
dwelling with wide windows on both sides of the front door. She parked her car,
grabbed her handbag and got out. Her legs trembled, whether from the long drive
or her nerves she wasn’t quite sure. She wiped her sweaty palms on her trouser
legs and walked with purpose to the front door, her boots thumping up the five
steps to reach it.

She knocked and waited, running her
hands over her long brown hair that hung in a ponytail down her back, trying to
smooth away any stray hairs. A young woman came to the door, her bright blue eyes
full of curiosity. “Can I help you?” she asked, wiping her hands on a dish
cloth.

“Hi, I’m Laura Hamilton. I believe Mr
Jake Carter is expecting me?” she smiled, sticking out her hand in greeting,
while trying to subdue her shaking.

The woman ignored her hand, her face
going completely white. She swayed slightly on her feet. Forgetting her own
nerves for once, Laura grabbed the woman’s arm in concern, scared she was going
to faint. “Are you okay?” she asked with a worried frown.

“You weren’t due until tomorrow!” the
woman cried in distress.

“I’m very sorry to cause you any
trouble. My plane time was changed. I did email Mr Carter. Did he not tell
you?” she asked hesitantly. The woman seemed so upset, Laura began to feel
dreadful. “I can stay in an inn or something, if my arrival is inconvenient. I
don’t wish to put anyone out.”

The woman gathered herself together
and shook her head. “No, I couldn’t let you do that. Please come in.” She
stepped back and Laura walked into a beautiful open plan living room, with
wooden floors, a huge stone fireplace and soft comfy chairs. The whole feeling
was welcoming. Laura fell in love with it instantly.

She was about to comment on the
beauty of the home when she heard the sound of a door banging somewhere in the
back of the house.

“Whose car is that outside, Kerry?”
came a deep male voice. “I didn’t think we were expecting new guests till the
weekend.”

The sound of heavy footfalls
approached before a large man came into view. Laura sucked in a breath at the
shock of awareness she felt racing through her body at his presence. She locked
her knees and hoped she wouldn’t disgrace herself by slumping to the floor like
a rag doll. The man was stunningly good looking! He stood well over six feet,
his body thick with long lean muscles, obviously from long hours working
outside on the ranch. His deep blue eyes were very much like the woman who
opened the door, whom Laura had heard him call Kerry. Oh, God, she thought,
this must be Jake and the woman was his sister, Kerry that he’d told her about.
Suddenly she felt very inadequate.

Laura was surprised to see that the
left side of his face was scared. It ran from his left temple, right down his
cheek to his well defined lips. Thankfully, his eye had been left intact. He’d
not mentioned anything to her about any kind of disfigurement. Maybe he’d been
worried the knowledge would put her off meeting him. The thought warmed her
heart. She would show him that it didn’t matter to her at all. Even with the
scar, he was an incredibly handsome man. It gave him character, if anything and
made her feel rather like a little sparrow next to a powerful hawk.

He stopped short when he saw her
standing there, his face frozen in what she assumed was shock. Maybe he hadn’t
seen her email Determined not to come across as a shy wall flower, even if she
was one, she stepped forward. “Hi Jake? I’m Laura. I’m sorry I am a day early.
I hope it’s not too inconvenient. I did email you, but it looks like you didn’t
get it.” She held her hand out to him, looking him directly in the eyes and
smiling brightly. “Anyway, it’s wonderful to finally meet you! Your home is
even lovelier than you said. You must just love living here.” She forced
herself to stop talking before she sounded even more stupid than she already did.
Nerves always did make an idiot out of her.

He stared at her hand, then at her
face. “Who the hell are you?” he snapped. “And why are you talking to me like
we’re best friends? Guests don’t book in here, they book in at the customer
care cabin over by the guest cabins. Kerry can direct you. In future, I’ll
thank you not to intrude on our family home again. We always make it clear that
main house is off limits to guests. We do need a private life you know!”

Her smile faltered. “But I’m Laura
Hamilton,” she stammered out, puzzled. She could understand he thought she was
arriving the next day, but she’d already explained she was early. What was
wrong with him? He’d seemed so nice in his emails. “You told me to come
straight to the main house. I’m supposed to be staying here in your home with
you for three weeks! You said you were looking forward to it” She tried not to
get upset, but could feel herself on the verge of tears. She was tired, the
drive and jet lag were beginning to creep up on her and now Jake Carter was
acting like he’d never heard of her. It was all too much!

“I beg your pardon? What the hell are
you talking about?” he snarled at her, losing his patience. Without even
waiting for an answer, he turned to his sister. “Who the hell is this lunatic and
why did you let her in the house instead of directing her to the guest customer
service cabin? Although, on second thought, I’m not sure we want this crazy
woman staying on the premises. Perhaps it’s best to refund her and send her
home. She probably escaped from some nut house anyway!”

“How dare you!” Laura huffed, angry
now. If he’d changed his mind upon seeing her, he could at least have the good
grace to just admit it instead of making out he had no idea who she was and
that SHE was crazy. “You asked me here for three weeks. I have the emails on my
phone to prove it.” She began fumbling in her bag for her phone. “I would never
have come had I known what a rude, grumpy man you are, instead of the sweet guy
you pretended to be! Really, you could just say you’ve changed your mind,
instead of this ridiculous charade. Honestly, why join a dating agency if you
weren’t happy to meet someone. It’s not my fault that agency won’t work with
photos. You must have known it was a risk, being sight unseen!”

Jake held his hand up to stop her
tirade, refusing to take the phone she was trying to thrust in his face. “Hold
up there. You have the wrong place. I have not, nor would I ever join a dating
agency. You must have driven to the wrong address.” He shook his head in
relief.

“But, this is the Twisted Tree Ranch
and you are Jake Carter, are you not?” Laura asked, wondering why he was
insisting on this pretence of not knowing her. A strangled sound from behind
her drew her attention.

Laura turned to look at Kerry, who was
still standing frozen by the front door. Her face held a look of horror and
guilt, as she looked from Jake to Laura. A sinking feeling came over Laura.
Something was seriously wrong with this picture.

“I am so sorry,” Kerry whispered
looking back and forth between Jake and Laura. She twisted the dishcloth in her
hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white. Laura closed her eyes as the
truth began to slowly dawn on her. It would seem that Jake Carter didn’t know
anything about her after all.

“What are you apologising for? What
the hell is going on?” Jake thundered as he stepped closer to his sister.

Kerry took a deep breath. “I was
going to tell you at dinner,” she continued. “Try and break it to you gently.”

His eyes glinted dangerously. “What
are you talking about? Break what to me gently?”

Kerry swallowed several times. She
opened her mouth, but no words came out. Jake’s expression turned darker and
darker the longer the silence went on. He advanced on her, his hands curling
into fists.

“What. Have. You. Done!” he gritted
out slowly.

Laura just wanted to disappear. If
there was ever a moment she wished the ground could open up and swallow her,
this was it. Humiliation swept up her cheeks, turning them a fiery red. Kerry
looked ready to bolt. “Laura is at the right address. I signed you up with a
dating agency.” She said the words so fast, Jake shook his head as if to clear
his hearing.

“You did WHAT!”

“Jake, please, you have to
understand. I was only thinking of you!” Kerry rushed to explain. “You haven’t
been the same since you know what and I thought it was about time you got your
life back. I want my old brother back. The one that could laugh and enjoy
himself. I miss that side of you.” She broke off as her brothers face went from
slack with shock to out and out murder.

“Are you out of your mind?” he
roared. “How could you do this to me? My life is none of your business!” He ran
his hand through his dark hair, making it stick up in all directions which just
added to his furious look. He looked at Laura from head to toe, as if seeing
her for the first time. She flinched at his rude perusal. He waved his hand up
and down to indicate her person. He laughed rudely. “This is what you come up
with to turn me into the perfect brother? This plain little English prim and
proper lady with a Pollyanna complex? This is the person that’s supposed to put
me right?”

Both women gasped at his harsh
comments. Laura had never been so humiliated in her life. She knew she was no
oil painting, but had never had anyone rude enough to tell her that to her
face. She blinked her eyes furiously, determined this angry man’s words would
not reduce her to tears.