Manhunting

by Jennifer Crusie

  “Pay me first,” Nancy said, “because there’s definitely going to be hell to pay.”

  When Kate hung up a few minutes later, Jessie was finishing the last of the fritter. “So let’s go to your place and I’ll help you pack,” she said to Kate as she licked her fingers. “We can have you on the road by nightfall.”

  “No,” Kate said. “I have Vandenburg, Avery, and Davis to shove onto someone else. I have to fax my father my resignation and I’m not even sure where he is right now—Hong Kong, I think. I have to call a real-estate agent to sell my condo. I have to convert most of my investments to cash. And I have to decide about how I’m going to handle this list with Jake.”

  “Don’t delay,” Jessie said. “If you delay, you will back out.”

  “I can’t back out,” Kate said, staring into space trying to decide whether she was delighted or horrified. “I just bought half a bar.”

  One week later, Jake sat in the hotel office, staring into a computer screen while his fingers danced over a numeric keypad. He was so mesmerized by what he was doing that he didn’t hear the door open.

  Kate stood in the office doorway for a moment, amazed. The only thing she’d ever seen Jake do with that sort of absorption before was make love to her. That reminded her of why she was there. She closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair across the desk from him and tried to remember that Nancy had said that he wanted her back, and that Jessie had said all she had to do to be happy for the rest of her life was to confront him.

  With her list.

  She looked at him, haloed in the lamplight, and she knew she didn’t want to confront him; she wanted to crawl into his lap. He looked big and broad and safe and like everything she’d ever wanted.

  And he hadn’t even noticed she was there yet.

  “Hello,” she said loudly. Jake looked up, startled.

  They stared at each other for a moment while Kate waited for him to ask her what she was doing there.

  “Hi,” Jake said. He started to say something else and stopped.

  Another moment passed before Kate said, “I suppose you’re wondering what I’m doing here.”

  And he said, “No. I’m just glad you’re here. You look great.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said. “So do you.”

  They stared at each other for another moment. Come on, Kate told herself. Get this over with. Confront him. “I bought into Nancy’s bar,” she began.

  And Jake said, “I know. She told me. Last week. I think it’s great.”

  “Oh,” Kate said. “Well, that means I’ll be moving down here. In fact, I’m here.”

  “That’s great,” Jake said again.

  They stared at each other again, and finally Kate gave up. What was the point of confronting him. He didn’t care, anyway. He was just sitting there, saying, “Great” like a big dummy. Anger, confusion, and misery warred in her, and anger won.

  “I think I’ll be going,” Kate said tightly, standing, and Jake sprang up and said, “Wait a minute.”

  “I’ve been waiting six weeks,” Kate snapped. “That’s long enough.”

  “You’ve only been here ten minutes,” Jake said. “Don’t exaggerate.”

  “I’ve been gone six weeks,” Kate said. “You didn’t call. Did you even notice I was gone?”

  “Of course, I noticed,” Jake said. “It was awful.”

  “Six weeks,” Kate said. “Six miserable, lonely, horrible weeks.”

  “Hey, I was miserable, too,” Jake said.

  “Then why didn’t you call?” Kate yelled.

  “Well, I was thinking,” Jake began.

  “You were thinking? For six weeks, you were thinking? Do you know how miserable I’ve been for the six weeks you’ve been thinking?”

  “See?” Jake said reasonably. “This is why I hate this kind of stuff.”

  Kate began to pound on the desk. “Do you have any idea how awful it’s been? I’ve cried for you, damn it. And I never cry.”

  “Kate...” Jake began, appalled.

  “Six weeks!” Kate yelled. “And don’t think I moved down here to chase you, either. I hate it in the city, and I love it here, and I’d move here even if you weren’t here!”

  “Well, see,” Jake said soothingly. “That’s something else we’ve got in common.”

  “We have nothing in common,” Kate snapped and wheeled around to go out the door. Jake beat her to it by a second and stood in front of her, blocking her way. “Just give me a chance,” he said.

  “No,” she said. “Get out of my way.”

  “I can’t,” he said, reaching for her, shaking his head. “I can’t let you go again. And you love me. You cried for me. You said so.”

  “I’ll get over you,” Kate said. “In fact, I may be over you now.”

  “No, you’re not,” Jake said, and pulled her to him and kissed her.

  Kate had forgotten how mind-bending Jake’s kisses could be, how hot his mouth felt on hers, and how good and solid and right it felt to have his arms around her, and above all, how much she just needed to be with him. When she leaned into his kiss, she felt him relax against her, and they held each other close long after the kiss ended.

  “Tell me you’re not over me,” Jake said.

  “I’m not over you,” Kate said into his chest. “I’m never going to be over you. It’s my curse in life.”

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Jake said fervently. “I thought you were really going to walk out.”

  “I was,” Kate said. She took a deep breath and tried to pull away from him. “I may still. I have a list of demands.”

  “You can have them,” Jake said, pulling her back close to him so she couldn’t walk away. “All of them. Anything you want.”

  “You won’t like them,” Kate said.

  “I’ll live.” He looked down at her and smiled, and she felt herself melting into him again. Before she could surrender completely, she pulled Jessie’s list out of her pocket and shoved it at him.

  “What’s this?” he asked, taking it with one hand while keeping the other arm wrapped around her just in case she changed her mind, and she said, “Those are my demands. You’re going to hate them.”

  He looked at the list and said, “You have really terrible handwriting.”

  “That’s Jessie’s,” Kate said, feeling like a fool. “Give it back. It’s dumb.”

  “No,” he said and read, “‘Number one: He won’t call.’” He looked at Kate, confused.

  “Well, you didn’t call,” Kate said.

  “I’ll call. I’ll talk morning, noon, and night. Does it have to be on the phone?”

  “Give me the list.” Kate said, reaching for it but he held it out of her grasp.

  “‘Two: He thinks he might love her,’” Jake read. “Why does this list make no sense?”

  “You said you only thought you loved me,” Kate said. “It was a worry.”

  “Your worries are over,” Jake said, looking at her with such certainty that she was stunned. “I’m nuts about you.”

  “Oh,” Kate said.

  He went back to the list. ‘“Three: He hates confrontation and manipulation,’” he read. “Well, that’s true enough. What’s the problem?”

  “You’re going to have to choose one or the other or we won’t be talking much,” Kate said. “Do you want me to confront or manipulate?”

  Jake sighed. “Confront. You will anyway. What’s number four? ‘He’s not working.’” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Want to bet? Come here.” He drew her around to the other side of the desk, sat down in the desk chair, and pulled her into his lap, still holding on to her. “Okay, this is iffy because it’s not exactly a career. See the nice computer?”

  “Yes,” Kate said.

  “I’m playing the market again,” Jake said. “It’s not a career in the finest sense of the word, but...”

  “What?” Kate said and leaned forward in his lap to look at the screen.

&n
bsp; “You were right,” Jake said. “I was rotting. But I don’t want to go back to the rat race. So I thought I’d just stay here and be a slow rat. And maybe, someday, maybe, I’ll try Templeton Financial Services. Like it?”

  “I’m amazed,” Kate said, and Jake pulled her back close to him while he looked at the list.

  “‘Five: He runs away from commitment.’” Jake read. “Forget that. I’m committed. ‘Six: He thinks there’s no career for her there.’ I took care of that already when I talked Nancy into the bar idea. ‘Seven: He doesn’t want to get married.’”

  “I do,” Kate said. “I really do. Rings, in a church, the whole thing.”

  “Good,” Jake said. “I spent a lot of money on these.” Taking a deep breath and holding her close to him with one arm, he opened a desk drawer and pulled out a small ring box.

  “Rings?” she said, sitting up away from him again as he handed her the box. “You bought rings? You didn’t call me for six weeks, but you bought rings?”

  “I wanted to have them when I proposed,” Jake said, watching her as she opened the box. “I do not enjoy this stuff, and I thought that maybe I could just hand them to you and you’d be so stunned...”

  “I am stunned,” Kate said, looking at the rings. There were two carved wedding bands and a solitaire.

  “There’s more,” Jake said. “I bought a house.”

  “A house,” Kate said. “You bought rings and a house.”

  “It’s just an old cottage on the lake,” Jake said, looking worried. “Did I screw up again?”

  “You bought a house,” Kate said. “What are you going to do with the house and the rings if I don’t say yes?”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Jake said fervently. “I’ve been having nightmares about that.”

  “Propose,” Kate said.

  “Will you marry me?” Jake said.

  “Yes,” Kate said and put the solitaire on her finger.

  Jake pulled her back close to him and said, “Thank you,” with such heartfelt gratitude and relief that Kate was amazed all over again.

  “You really do want this,” she said.

  “I really do want this,” he said.

  “Then why six weeks...” she began, and this time he interrupted her.

  “Listen, I know you’re sure about this, but you’re sure about everything,” he said, his voice filled with love and concern. “I’m not sure about anything. I worry. And let’s face it, it’s not always going to be easy with us.”

  “I know,” Kate said.

  “I wanted to be sure when I asked you,” Jake said, looking at her with more love than she could bear. “And now, I’m sure.”

  “Oh,” Kate said and swallowed. “I still can’t believe you bought a house and ring and let me cry for six weeks. Don’t ever—”

  “That’s what I mean,” Jake said. “I don’t think I ever will, but I just didn’t know how to ask you. I didn’t even know how after I was sure. Look how badly I handled this. And we’re going to hit this again. I will try my best, but I’ll screw up and you’ll fly off the handle and we’ll fight.”

  Kate swallowed again. “I know.”

  “But the important thing for me,” he said, looking into her eyes, “is that whatever problem we have, we can solve, because nothing will ever be as bad for me as being away from you. Nothing.”

  “Oh,” Kate said.

  “Kate?” Jake asked when she’d been quiet for a while.

  “I’m just overwhelmed,” Kate said, trying not to cry. “I thought I’d come back here and you might be glad to see me, and you might tell me you thought you loved me but you weren’t sure, and you might even reluctantly marry me, but I never thought...”

  Jake held her tighter. “Have I been that big a jerk? I thought you knew—”

  “No,” Kate said. “But I do now. Now that you’ve told me.” She flashed her solitaire in the lamplight and then looked at it more closely. “These carvings. On the band. Are these fish?” she asked finally in a strangled voice.

  “I had to have them made specially,” Jake said.

  “Fish?” Kate asked again, looking at him and loving him so much, she was almost paralyzed by it.

  “Some of our best moments were in front of the fish,” Jake said. “I didn’t want to get you an ordinary ring. You’re not an ordinary woman.”

  “Fish,” Kate said. “Have I mentioned that I’m going to love you till the day I die?”

  “You’d better,” Jake said. “Because that’s how long you’re going to have me around.” He waited a beat and then added, “Unless you kill me in bed. Go ahead and try. I don’t mind.”

  Kate looked at the ring on her finger again. “I’m engaged,” she said, and flashed it in the light again.

  “Well, you’ve been that before,” Jake said as she admired her ring. “That’s why I think we should get married this weekend.”

  “What?” Kate said, startled. And when she turned her face to his, he kissed her, pulling her so close she felt like he’d never let her go. She kissed him back, loving the way his lips felt on hers, the gentle tickle of his mustache on her skin. And when he broke the kiss, she clung to him and buried her face in his shirt because it felt so good to be pressed against him, so safe to have his arms wrapped around her. He felt like home, and she’d never been there before.

  “Engagements don’t work with you,” Jake said into her hair. “Those other guys, they waited too long. They let you get away.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Kate said, turning her face up to his again. “If you think I’m leaving you, you’re crazy. You proposed and I’ve got the fish to prove it.”

  “Of course, that was partly your fault,” Jake went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “You and your plan.”

  “Hey.” Kate straightened. “My plan worked just fine. I got you, didn’t I?”

  “And I was part of your plan?” Jake grinned at her. “I don’t think so. I think I hijacked you, babe. Blindsided you while you were twit-hunting. The best thing that ever happened to you was me showing up and that plan going south.”

  Kate started to protest and then stopped. He was smiling at her with so much cheerfully confident love that she went dizzy just looking at him. He was tall and dependable and successful at life, a guy with a great sense of humor who was terrific in bed and would love her to the point of madness to the day she died.

  “What was I thinking?” she said, and relaxed back into the warm arms of the best plan she’d ever made, planning to stay there forever.

  About the Author

  Jennifer Crusie became a romance writer after researching the structure of women’s writing for her Ph.D. in literature. Since that time she has written eight novels. In addition to her Ph.D., Jennifer holds a master’s degree in women’s studies in literature and professional writing, and a B.A. in art education. Jennifer manages to find time to write despite being an instructor in the English department at Ohio State University, a single mother to one daughter and the owner of four dogs and three cats.

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