This is the hangout place in the evenings. Cash led her through, either because they had to go that way, or to help familiarize her with the layout. If youre bored, you can usually find a game of poker or pinochle going on after dinner. Even summer nights, its cool enough that we usually light a fire here. Then in heres the dining room.
She poked her head in, saw an oblong pine table with a million leaves and a wagon wheel chandelier.
Meal hours are posted in your room, but if you get hungry other times, you can always raid the kitchen on your own. Were not running this place like an inn. We want you to feel its your home while youre herewith one little exception. Before we go any further, we need to make a stop. Past the dining room, he popped a door on another room, this one stashed with the desk and file cabinets of a no-nonsense office. Temporarily he thumped her luggage down. Afraid you need to strip here, Lex.
Not that she wasnt willingfor himbut the suggestion still startled her. Did you say strip?
Uh-huh. His expression was so deadpan that she almost missed the unrepentant twinkle in his eye. This room locks up, tight as a bank vault, so you dont need to worry about anything getting stolen. And I dont want to have to do a strip search, but I will if I have to. He waggled his fingers in a come-on gesture. Im afraid this is the place where you have to come clean. I want all your loot. Portable computer. Pager. Cell phone. Everything electronic youve got.
She wanted to chuckle at his strip routinethe devil!and normally she would have. Just then, though, her sense of humor seemed to be suffering a short gasp. Everything? she asked weakly.
Well, if you have to have a pacifier, I guess you can take the cell phone to snuggle in bed with. You cant get any reception here anyway, so theres really no harmbut thats it. Everything else gets locked up. If you just cant stand it, you can come in and stroke the computer every now and then. Even the twinkle was unrelenting. And those fingers kept saying gimme.
For a moment she stared at him in numb panic. Yes, of course, this was exactly why shed come. A month forced away from work. A place where she couldnt do business or get into stress no matter how hard she tried. For that matter, she was paying a near fortune for Mr. Cashner McKay to take charge of her life and boss her around just like this, so it didnt make any sense to balk. But you have a TV somewhere, dont you? she asked bravely.
Yup. In my living quarters. But nowhere any of the guests can see it.
She was reassured that at least some proof of civilization existed and was close by. Still, she gulped again. I, um, havent been separated from my daily dose of the Dow Jones for almost nine years.
I understand, he said patiently. One of our longtime guests is a doctor who always hyperventilates for the first few days without his pager. The first few days are the hardest, but I promise, it really does get easier after that. If you panic, Ill let you in here to see your stuff, okay? But I want you to give it a chance.
Of course Ill give it a chance. In fact, I cant wait to get started on your whole program. But she struggled with him for a minute when he tried to take the lizard computer case. It was like being severed from her own, personal, life-giving umbilical cord. You have a phone somewhere in the lodge?
Of course we do. Several. Youre not really cut off from anything, Lexie. Jed flies in with supplies a couple times a week. Guests come and go. And my private quarters have all the technology youre used to if we need to contact a doctor or civilization or if relatives happen to need you. Now, are you ready to see your room?
He took her toys. All of them. Even the palm reader. Even the headset for her disc player.
And then he motioned her toward a back staircase and led the way up. Last week, the place was fullfor us, that means ten guests, the max we can handle at a time. Or the max we want to. For the next couple of weeks, itll be extra nice, though, just you and a few others. Come summer, well be extra busy again. Nowthe librarys on the third floor in the back, and its well stocked. Workout gym, massage room and hot tub are in the square building off the north Bubba comes in three times a week to do the masseuse thing. Youll meet him tomorrow, and youll meet Keegan at dinner tonight. Keegans working on his Ph.D. as a naturalist, and in the meantime trading cooking and some bookkeeping for room and board. And George makes up the last of the staff, hes the housekeeperhes a little on the gruff side, but he gets the job done, comes in around four mornings a week and we cope the rest of the time on our own. You leave the house, let someone know. Or check out at the desk in the kitchen. Lots of great places to wander, but we dont want you getting lost.
The more Cash informed her about the lodge setup, the more Lexie kept thinking: lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Maybe this was a mistake. Back in Chicago, coming here had seemed like such a foolproof idea. Since she was too much of a workaholic to force herself to rest, shed chosen to go where she simply had to. And this place certainly fit that bill, except that shed never envisioned anywhere so uncivilized that it actually had bears and cougars. And no malls.
Here, you go. At the top of the stairs, Cash motioned her inside the first room to the west, then stepped in himself and lined up her luggage as obediently as Catholic school children. After that he pushed open the sash of the far window, letting in another gush of stinging fresh air. Okay nowthe bathrooms through that door. Dinnerll be served around six, so youve got some time to unwind, unpack, wander around. If you need anything before then
No, honestly, Im fine.
No questions at all so far? You like the room?
No questions. And the rooms wonderful. She saw the four-poster bed and bureau in wild cherry wood, the country quilt and feather mattress. The bed alone could have slept three people her size. Maybe four.
The bedroom window in her Chicago apartmenther $2,000 a month Chicago apartmentviewed someone elses bedroom in someone elses pricey Chicago apartment. Here she looked out on mountains that were too damn breathtaking to make a picture postcard. Nobodyd believe they were real. Yet somehow she was the one who felt unreal, just trying to look around and believe she could possibly fit in around here.
Lexie? When his hand touched her shoulder, she spun around with a city womans instincts honed against getting too close to strangers. His hand jerked back, yet his shrewd blue eyes suddenly rested on her face, something warm and evocative and completely unexpected in his eyes.
Cash had been nothing but kind and friendly from their first phone contact, and certainly since shed arrived here. Still, his attitude had been exactly what shed expected and exactly what it should becompletely impersonal. That he might see her differently from the other city slickers who came to his Silver Mountain hadnt occurred to heruntil she suddenly felt his gaze on her face, the connection in his touch.
Youre feeling like a fish thrown in the desert, arent you? he asked quietly.
Yes. There was no point in denying it.
So did I, once upon a time. But Ive been in your shoes, Lex, working so hard and so furiously that I didnt realize I was forgetting to stop and take a breath. And this mountain has magic, I swear. You dont have to be an outdoor person to get the benefitsyou dont ever have to do anything like this again, either. But we both have the same goalnot to send you back home until you feel rested and recharged again. Okay?
Okay, she said, and decided then and there that she was in love with him.
Having only known him for less than a half hour, of course, she didnt exactly mean a death-defying type of lovebut she wasnt looking for that, anyway. Shed come here expecting the next month to be a penance, though, and instead McKay was not only kind and perceptive, but as a bonus, he had a quick sense of humor. Maybe the next few weeks werent going to be as terrible as shed dreaded.
Once Cash disappeared downstairs, she opened suitcases and closets, pushed off her sandals and started settling in. Yet only minutes later, she heard the distant high-pitched squeal of a child, and she wandered over to the window to investigate.
The boy bounding up the mountain path, yelling for Cash, was easy to identify as a McKay. He had Cashs same tawny hair and long legs. The urchin was maybe eight? Nine? Not so old that he cared a hoot if his hair was wind-tangled or his jeans dirt-dusted from the bottoms up.
And right below her bedroom window, Lexie suddenly saw the child leap in the airobviously trusting without question that he was going to be safely caught. And Cash was suddenly there, swinging him around and high as if the boy weighed nothing. She heard the childs joyous, Guess what, Cash? Guess what?
And then Cashs low, rumbling laughter before both of them lowered their voices and ducked out of sight.
For a few moments, Lexie couldnt seem to budge from the window. Something old and aching swelled in her throat, the way listening to an old love song could trigger potent longings sometimes. Thered been so much love and laughter in Cashs voiceand so much trust and love in the little boys voice, the same way.
With a sudden impatient sigh, Lexie pushed away from the window and forced herself to finish the unpacking job. There was no excuse for letting that longing feeling get to her. God knew, shed been blessed in her life. Sometimes, though, as much as she adored her adoptive parents, she still remembered her mom and dad, remembered that kind of secure, natural, joyous love, remembered feeling as if she belonged. Once upon a time, shed been a fearless, sassy kid whod never doubted for a second that she owned the whole world.
She was still fearless. Still sassyor so the investment guys she worked with regularly teased her. And shed always been loved, even if she had lost her real parents at a vulnerable young age. But somehow, since that time, shed never gotten back that feeling of belonging.
As she finished the last of her unpacking, her gaze drifted around the room, from the oil lantern on the bureau to the rag rug to the big, varnished door with the thick brass latch. It was a good, sturdy room. Comfortable. Safe-feeling. But she didnt belong here any more than she did anywhere else. And at twenty-eight, sometimes, the feeling of loneliness just seemed to overwhelm her.
Lexie headed for the door, doing what she always did when old, disturbing shadows started chasing her. She thought about money. It was the one subject on the planet that she was unquestionably fabulous at. Making it. Hoarding it. Amassing it. Other women dreamed of lovers. Lexie dreamed of taking a bath in silver dollars, luxuriating naked in all that cool, smooth silver, letting it rive and flow and tickle and cool her overheated skin.
Sure, love was nice. But when you lost people, it ripped out your soul. Money was far more effective security. Lose some money, and there was always more to be made.
Of course, for the next few weeks, she was stuck in this godforsaken wilderness and couldnt make a dime. But as she glanced at her watch and then headed downstairs for dinner, she thought that at least there was no possible threat to her of any kind hereunless one could overdose on too much fresh air.
And both McKay males looked as if they were going to be interesting company and a lot of fun.
No worry for her, in any possible way.
Two
Talk about trouble.
Cash scooped up another serving of lasagna, even though hed barely tasted the first serving. All through dinner he hadnt been able to take his eyes off Ms. Alexandra Jeannine Woolf. Any other time, that big name of hers would have amused him. The first time hed heard iton the phonehed unconsciously assumed that shed be physically substantial like the size of her name. Instead Lexie couldnt weigh much more than a sack of potatoesbut that wasnt to say she wasnt one potent female package.
One worrisome potent female package.
Hed already inhaled the physical details. Lips like ripe-soft peaches. Eyes like luscious, liquid chocolate. Nothing exactly unusual about her hairit was short and wildly curlybut the color was a glossy raven-black, a striking contrast to her porcelain pale skin.
Cash gulped down some iced tea. Hed been baby-sitting executives and business hotshots for almost a decadelong enough to recognize the labels she was wearing. More men than women came to Silver Mountain, but the women who chose to stay here invariably had The Look. Expensive. Tasteful. Whatever they wore, you never saw on anybody else. And nothing, naturally, was ever practical for outdoor mountain life.
Because he never forgot his responsibilities, Cash glanced around the dining table. A half hour before, dishes were heaped groaning-full, scents steaming around the long trestle table. A quiet was starting to fall, though, as the group filled up. Instinctively he picked on his shyest guests and said something to Mr. Farradaythe banking mogul seated to his leftand then something else to Stuart Rennbacker, the CEO on his third stay at Silver Mountain, who was still wolfing down the lasagna as if there was no tomorrow.
Cash wasnt about to neglect the guests, and dinner was when everyone loosened up and got to know each other. Still, part of his attention never left Lexie.
For the third time since dinner began, she dropped a fork. On this cool May night, she was wearing a white angora sweater that snuggled her breasts better than a guys fantasybut no pricey sweater was going to help make her unklutzy.
She laughed at something his son said, and Cash felt his stomach clench. Not with nervesbecause he was never nervousbut with worry.
Maybe she was wearing two-hundred-buck slacks, but there was nothing about her laugh that sounded snobbish. She was skinny, short and built skimpy upstairs and downwhich, damn it, happened to be his favorite shape on a woman. Even more aggravating than that, she laughed from the belly. In fact, her laugh took up her whole face, crinkled her eyes, showed off a mouthful of superb white teethexcept for the tiny crook in her eyeteeth, which actually only made her look more adorable. And that damn laugh could make any guys head spin aroundeven if it werent for the cute little boobs and the dark-chocolate eyes and that sexy mouth. She laughed like she meant it. She laughed like she loved life. She laughed like she would exuberantly let go once the lights were out with the right man.
Get a grip, McKay.
He tried. He said something to Farraday and Rennbacker againthen Whitt, one of the guests who was leaving tonight. By the time his gaze strayed back to Lexie, she was dribbling a forkful of peas, half on her plate, half on the floor, because she was bent down, giving all her attention to his son. She didnt care about the peas. She looked straight at Sammy when she talked to him. Other people didnt always do that to a kid. Grown-upsespecially the executive type of upper class grown-upshad a habit of saying nice, polite things to a child while their eyes wandered around the room seeking more adult interests. Not her.