by Linda Turner
The parking lot for the overlook came into view then, and luckily the entrance was open, but just barely. The drifts were nearly as high as the Jeep, and the snowplow had only cleared out enough space to turn around. Carefully maneuvering through the snow, Tina had to park well back from the actual overlook itself. They would have to walk through fifty yards of heavy drifts just to reach the observation area.
Staring balefully at the unbroken expanse of snow that awaited them, Tina said, “In my next lifetime, I think I’ll study spiders in the Sahara. How much coffee did we bring?”
“Not enough,” Elizabeth chuckled, and reached for the handle to her door.
The wind might have died down below in the valley, but there was always a strong draft along the ridge, and the second Elizabeth stepped outside, an icy gust swirled around her, engulfing her. The windchill wasn’t any lower than it normally was, but after a few days of springlike temperatures, the cold seemed to cut straight through her clothes to her bare skin. And they hadn’t even stepped into the knee-deep snow yet.
Muttering curses all the while, her eyes tearing from the cold wind, Tina joined her at the front of the Jeep. “Tomorrow morning, remind me to put in for a transfer to Las Vegas.”
Grinning, Elizabeth said, “The only wolves there walk on two legs. I don’t think Peter would be thrilled at the idea of you studying that particular breed of animal.”
That put a sparkle in her eyes. “No,” she agreed, “but think of the skimpy lingerie I could wear to bed even in the winter without getting cold. He’d love that!”
Laughing, they stepped into the snow.
Decked out in winter gear, they were winded by the time they made it to the overlook, but the view was worth it. Spread out before them, Hawk River Valley was postcard beautiful in the late-winter sunshine. Curving and meandering its way through the middle of the long, narrow valley, Beaver Creek was a thin ribbon of steel-blue. During the summer, when the wild grasses were thick and green, the valley drew all manner of wildlife, but today, with the snow deep and the creek all but covered with ice, it was quiet and still and deserted. No animal tracks marred the clean, virginal sweep of snow; nothing moved among the dark stand of fir and pines that bordered the valley on all sides. Untouched by man or animal, it could have stood just the same a thousand years ago.
Appearances were deceptive, however, and Elizabeth knew better than to take the scene below at face value without putting a glass to it. Reaching for the binoculars that hung around her neck, she started at the north end of the valley and began a slow sweep to the south. At her side, Tina did the same.
“Something’s moving just below the ridge in that stand of aspens at the end of the valley,” Tina said softly a few minutes later. “See it? It could be coyotes—”
“No, the legs are too long,” Elizabeth said, glassing the same area. “And the color’s wrong, though it’s hard to tell in the shadow of the trees. They look gray—they are! Look, there’s Napoleon now. And Queenie. Don’t they look gorgeous?”
They were, in fact, beautiful. While they were in the holding pen, she’d observed them every day for nearly three months and thought she knew everything there was to know about them. They’d always been regal and majestic—hence their names—but since their release from captivity, they’d grown in size and stature and were truly magnificent in the wild. They’d explored their new world and claimed it as theirs, and you could see their confidence in every stride. Without an ounce of fear or hesitation, they came down through the trees and bounded out into the meadow, kicking up fresh powder, their powerful bodies stretched out lean and low as they ran with a joy that couldn’t be contained.
Sudden tears welling in her eyes and throat, Elizabeth didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry. This was why she’d fought so hard to convince people to accept the project, why she suffered through the name-calling and threats and championed the wolves when they were attacked on all sides. If people could just see them like this, running free, surely they would see why they belonged here.
Dropping her binoculars so they could dangle around her neck, Tina blinked back a few tears of her own and laughed self-consciously. “They get to you, don’t they? It’s just that they look like two kids who were just let out of school ”
They did appear to be having a ball. Like streaks of lightning, they raced the length of the valley as if they didn’t have a care in the world and disappeared into the trees again, where they were quickly lost to view. God only knew where they’d turn up next.
Amazed, Elizabeth could only shake her head in wonder. “You’d think they’d be slowing down after the distance they’ve covered in the last few days. It’s forty miles to Wild Bear Canyon, and they made it up there and back in a week after spending three months in captivity. And Queenie’s pregnant!”
“I know, but she’s certainly not letting it slow her down. She’ll breed strong pups.”
Elizabeth agreed. Napoleon couldn’t have found himself a better mate. “She should den in a couple of weeks,” she said as they made their way back to the Jeep. “We’ll have to keep a close eye on her. Those pups’ll be the first generation of wolves born in this valley in decades, and we don’t want anything to happen to them.”
Normally, Elizabeth would have spent the rest of the daylight hours tracking the other wolves in the area, but the afternoon was slipping away, and she had her dinner date with Zeke to get ready for. The nerves she’d been trying to ignore all day tingled just at the thought of it.
Heading back to town, Tina glanced over at her and began to grin. “Uh-oh, I know that look. You’re thinking about your hot date tonight.”
“It’s not a hot date...”
“So you keep saying,” her friend said, chuckling. “It’s just dinner. A chance for you and Zeke McBride to sit down together for an hour and discover you have absolutely nothing in common. Though why you’d want to do that is beyond me! Have you looked at the man? Really looked at him?”
Of course she had! That was the problem. She couldn’t stop looking! “I never said he wasn’t attractive. I’m just not interested in him.”
“Why, for heaven’s sake? Every single woman in this town, not to mention a few of the married ones, would give their eyeteeth if he’d just wink at them, but you’re the only one he looks at. Go! Enjoy yourself. You’re going to have a great time.”
Elizabeth didn’t doubt that. Zeke was the type of man who knew how to cater to a woman, how to make her feel special and beautiful, and that was what she was afraid of. She’d always dated the serious types in the past, the studious ones, who were as different from men like her father and Zeke as donkeys were from peacocks. A man who wasn’t quite sure of himself she could handle. One who was charming and sure of himself was a whole other kettle of fish.
She should, she realized too late, never have agreed to this madness, but she’d given her word and it was too late to back out now And how bad could it be, after all? It was just dinner, and in a public place, at that. It wasn’t as if he was going to jump her bones or anything in front of a diner full of people. He would flirt with her, of course—she didn’t think he could breathe without doing that—and make her laugh, and in the end, remind her of her father and why she couldn’t let herself be taken in by a pair of dancing eyes and a quick line. Which was the only reason why she was going out with him in the first place.
Satisfied that she finally had everything worked out in her head, she actually found herself looking forward to the evening as she drove home after work to change for her date. Finding something suitable to wear should have been easy. Ed’s Diner was hardly the kind of place you dressed up for, and her first inclination was to reach for black jeans and a red sweater. But Zeke had said to wear something sexy—which she had no intention of doing—and the sweater definitely fit that description. Hastily, she put the outfit back and reached for a black wool dress instead.
She didn’t wear it often, but as she studied its long lines, she co
uldn’t help but smile. It showed about as much skin as a nun’s habit. It was perfect. She’d hardly pulled it on, stepped into black pumps and slipped around her neck the diamond drop necklace her parents had given her for getting her Masters, when the doorbell rang.
Up until then she’d convinced herself she could get through the evening without feeling a thing. But at the first sound of the doorbell, her heart immediately began to pound. What, she wondered wildly, had she set herself up for? Her hands not quite steady, she swept back her hair on one side and secured it with a plain gold clip, then quickly touched up her lipstick. Ready or not, it was time for her date.
Zeke thought he had the evening planned right down to the last detail. Then Elizabeth opened her front door to him and everything changed. He’d expected her to wear something prim and sedate that covered her from her throat to her ankles, something that warned him not to get any ideas about anything other than dinner, and at first glance, her black dress certainly did that.
It was that second look, the double take that turned his mouth to dust.
Black wool never looked so seductive. Rich and soft, it lovingly draped every sweet curve of her breasts, then hugged her small waist before flaring over her hips, to fall in seductive folds to three inches below her knees Just looking made him want to touch.
He didn’t, of course. He didn’t dare risk losing a hand. But, Lord, she was something. Slender and delicate, with an unconscious seductiveness that Grace Kelly would have envied, she could have easily brought him and every other man he knew to his knees.
“I know you said sexy, McBride, but you’re just going to have to make do with this.”
Make do? he thought, stunned. Didn’t she realize...
Even before he could finish the thought, he saw by the glint of mischief in her eyes that she’d thought she pulled a fast one on him. She didn’t have a clue just how close she’d come to knocking him out of his shoes!
“Yeah,” he said on a strangled laugh. “I think I can manage to suffer through. If you’re ready; we should be going. I’ve got reservations.”
Amused, she arched her brow at that. “At the diner?”
“If you want Ed to make one of his special desserts, you’ve got to put your order in ahead of tune. Where’s your coat?”
She retrieved it from the old-fashioned hall tree just inside the foyer, and he quickly helped her with it. To his relief, she was bundled up to her ears in coat, gloves and scarf within a matter of seconds and shouldn’t have looked the least bit appealing. Zeke had never wanted to kiss a woman more.
“You’ve lost it, old man,” he grumbled to himself after he helped her into his car, then hurried around to the driver’s side. “Just stepped right over the edge. The lady already thinks you’re the biggest flirt this side of the Mississippi. You even think about touching her and this really will be your one and only date. Get a grip, for God’s sake!”
It should have been easy. He wasn’t some young kid who didn’t know how to control himself. But when he slid behind the wheel and started toward town, the scent of her perfume drifted to him, teasing his senses and scrambling his brain. Later, he knew he carried on an intelligent conversation during the drive, but he couldn’t have said about what. She was all he could think about. It was the sweetest kind of torture.
When they reached town, he wasn’t surprised to find both sides of the street in front of Ed’s Diner crowded with cars. Not just famous for his fancy desserts, Ed made a mean pot of chili every Thursday, and that always drew a crowd. On a really cold night like tonight, it wasn’t uncommon for customers to wait for as long as thirty minutes for a table.
There was only one parking place available in the whole block, and that was a reserved spot in front of Myrtle Henderson’s antique store. For as long as Zeke could remember, she’d run off anyone who dared to park in that spot who wasn’t a true customer—it didn’t matter if her shop was open or not. So over the years, the locals had gotten in the habit of leaving that spot open for Myrtle. Without batting an eye, Zeke pulled into it and cut the motor.
At his side, Elizabeth eyed him in amusement. “I wasn’t in town a week when I heard about Myrtle and this parking place. You like to live dangerously, don’t you?”
Grinning, he didn’t deny it. “Myrtle has a soft spot for me. What can I say? Old ladies just love me.”
Her lips twitching, she shook her head at him. “You’re shameless ”
“Are you just now noticing that? It’s one of my more endearing qualities.”
Winking at her, he pushed open his door and came around the Suburban to open her door for her and help her to the sidewalk. Elizabeth automatically turned toward the diner, but she’d only taken a single step when he stopped her simply by touching her arm. “This way,” he told her, and tried to urge her toward the front door of the closed antique store.
Confused, she looked up at him surprised. “I thought we were going to the diner for dinner.”
“We are,” he assured her. “But the crowd’s packing the front, and there’s a back entrance through Myrtle’s place.”
Not budging so much as an inch, Elizabeth looked pointedly at the closed sign strategically placed in the plate-glass window of the antique store. “Myrtle’s is closed.”
“She gave me a key.”
He dug it out of his pocket and held it up for her to see. Elizabeth stood right where she was on the sidewalk. “You’re up to something, McBride.”
“Moi?”
“Don’t give me that wounded look. I’m on to you.”
Playfully he slapped a hand on his chest. “Be still my heart. Quick, let’s find a bed!”
She didn’t mean to laugh, but she just couldn’t seem to help herself. “Dammit, I’m trying to be serious here—”
“But that’s not what tonight’s about,” he told her quietly. “It’s just fun. That’s all. Just dinner and a few laughs. Nothing serious or tense, nothing that you have to worry about or be on guard over. Because nothing’s going to happen that you don’t want to. I guarantee it.”
Her eyes searching his, Elizabeth looked for the spark of teasing devilment that was almost always there in his eyes, but he was dead serious.
Trust me. He didn’t say the words, but she heard them, nonetheless. And she was stunned by how badly she wanted to do just that. She didn’t trust that easily, especially when it came to men with quick smiles and an even quicker line. He could hurt her, and he’d probably never even realize it. Charming men never did.
If she’d been wise, she’d have returned to his truck right then and insisted he take her home. But when her feet finally moved, it was toward the front door of the antique shop. “I’m counting on you being a man of your word, McBride. Don’t disappoint me.”
“Not in this lifetime, Lizzie, darlin’,” he assured her. “Just relax and put yourself in my hands.”
“Said the spider to the fly,” she snorted.
Grinning, he unlocked the door to the shop, then motioned for her to precede him inside. Hesitating, she frowned up at him one more time, wondering what she had foolishly agreed to, but his face gave nothing away. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she stepped inside.
Over the course of the past three months, Elizabeth had been in Myrtle’s shop several times, and it never failed to fascinate her. Piled to the ceiling with everything from old washtubs and beer signs to beautiful oak sideboards and rare Turkish rugs, it was the kind of place she could browse in for hours. There was absolutely no rhyme or reason to the way Myrtle displayed items, no method to her-madness. And that was what made the shop so much fun. Packed full of trash and treasures, you never knew what you were going to find as you wandered through the crowded aisles.
She’d never seen it quite like this, however. A light shone somewhere near the rear of the building, but the rest of the shop was bathed in deep, mysterious shadows. Feeling eyes on her, she glanced up and gasped at the sight of a stuffed owl staring down at her from its per
ch on a mammoth walnut cabinet.
Behind her, Zeke chuckled and shut the shop door behind him. “Don’t let Henry rattle you. He’s not going anywhere. He’s been stuck up there in that same spot for as long as I can remember. C’mon. We’re going back here.” Stepping around her, he took her hand and led her through the maze of antiques toward the rear of the shop.
With his fingers warm and strong around hers, Elizabeth hardly noticed her surroundings for the thundering of her heart. A voice m her head furiously tried to remind her that the whole purpose of going out with Zeke was to prove to herself that they had nothing in common. Instead, all she could think of was that nothing had ever felt better than her hand in his.
Bemused, she blindly followed him around an old upright piano piled high with dusty, out-of-date books, past a display of kitchen utensils that had gone out of style at the turn of the century, through an archway of wooden chairs that looked as though it was going to tumble in on itself any second. She assumed he was leading her to the door that connected Myrtle’s shop with the diner next door...until he pulled her around a gorgeous Duncan Phyfe china cabinet that blocked the view of the rear of the shop.
Stunned, she stared at the scene spread out before her, unable to believe her eyes. The light that she’d assumed had been left on for security purposes was, in fact, candles. Dozens of them. Short ones, fat ones, tapers, in every kind of candleholder she could imagine, from priceless crystal to simple elegant brass. And there, right in the middle of them and the wonderful chaos that was Myrtle’s shop, furniture had been cleared away to create an alcove that was just big enough for a small round table. Covered in antique lace, it was set simply for two, with Blue Willow china and a small bowl of yellow roses. In the incongruous setting, Elizabeth had never seen anything more elegant—or romantic—in her life.
