After the two men left the café for Kalispell, Stefanie searched her conscience. No matter how she analyzed it, there was no right way to approach Gabe. In his eyes she would be an unwelcome intruder, a tangible reminder of the life he’d repudiated.
Worse, there was the reality of the woman who’d driven partway across the country with Gabe and the boy who could be his son, thus complicating an already precarious situation.
What caused Stefanie to agonize was not knowing if Gabe was in love—whether it be with the boy’s mother, or whether he was involved with another woman altogether.
There was no one who could help her get those answers.
Unless she abandoned her hope of ever seeing Gabe again, the only thing left to do was carry out her original plan. At this point she had nothing else to lose.
If her worst nightmare came true and Gabe ended up despising her, at least she wouldn’t spend the rest of her life torturing herself with what ifs.
Determined as she’d never been in her life, she went into the rest room to make certain no blond strands had escaped her wig. Then she refreshed her makeup. It had been carefully chosen to camouflage her fair coloring and play up her black hair. With brown contact lenses, gold hoop earrings, a black turtleneck sweater and designer jeans, her own mother wouldn’t recognize her.
That was the whole point.
Gabe had led a double life for months. Except for the P.I.s who’d been paid well for their silence, not to mention their help, only the people involved with his ranch knew where he was. Stefanie had no intention of giving his secret away. In fact she’d done everything in her power to make sure no one would suspect she was the former Mrs. Gabriel Wainwright.
After taking a deep breath, she went out front to pay for her lunch. It wasn’t until she started for her car that she realized a wind had sprung up. Snow had been forecast.
With the ranch only twenty minutes away, she estimated that if she drove there immediately, she could make it without problem. Otherwise she might have to wait another day to see Gabe, depending on the severity of the storm.
When she’d come this far, it didn’t bear thinking about to be so close and still have to put off a reunion with him. She’d lived through five days and nights with the fear that something would go wrong and she’d never be able to find him. Now that she was within a few miles of his ranch, she couldn’t get there fast enough.
By the time the image of the motel had disappeared from her rearview mirror, the rain had turned to snow which was pelting the windshield. She turned on the wipers. Over the past few hours there’d been a noticeable drop in temperature. Twice she’d had to slow down because of black ice.
In this lonely wilderness, she found it hard to believe it was early April. Even more difficult to understand was Gabe’s decision to lose himself out here.
Anyone acquainted with the Wainwright sons knew they were expert swimmers and sailors. Certainly Gabe was one with the sea. Besides water sports, he loved offshore fishing. The rougher the swells and battering of salt spray, the better.
Stefanie was a water baby herself. Throughout their brief marriage she’d shared many of those activities with him, but always in the company of others.
For those reasons, she couldn’t imagine what had drawn him to this landlocked backcountry with no ocean in sight. No yachts or sailboats. No people.
The more she surveyed these hostile surroundings, the more incredulous she grew that this was a permanent move on his part.
“Oh, Gabe—what are you really doing out here?” she cried in anguish. “Why?”
At first she thought it was only the tears blurring her eyes that hampered her vision. But after she’d traveled the required distance and still couldn’t find the gate to the ranch, she realized she’d been overtaken by the blizzard.
Without being able to see one inch in front of her, there was no other choice but to pull to the side of the road and wait until the worst of the storm had passed over.
The next thing she knew, the car tipped forward and came to a standstill in a ditch. Though it wasn’t terribly deep, she would have been thrown against the windshield if she hadn’t been wearing a seat belt.
Everything went quiet. No sound of the engine, no heater. In this whiteout she’d completely lost her bearings.
Once her nerves calmed down and she got herself under some semblance of control, she forced herself to think rationally. If the storm kept up, and it probably would for some time to come, she might be stranded here for hours. Maybe all night. No one would know she’d gone off the road.
On the other hand, if she got out of the car and tried to find Gabe on foot, she could be hit by another car, or come down with hypothermia. The only thing that made sense was to call 911 and hope she was in range for someone to answer. Unfortunately her purse had been thrown to the floor.
Due to the odd angle of the car, she had a struggle undoing the seat belt. Eventually she worked it free, then clung to the steering wheel with one hand while she reached for her handbag with the other. After some difficulty she fished out her cell phone and punched the digits.
“Sheriff’s office,” a robust male voice answered.
Thank heaven.
“H-hello? I’m—” She hesitated, realizing she’d almost said Stefanie Wainwright. “T-this is Teri Jones. I’ve run off the road into a ditch near the gate to the Larch Tree Boys’ Ranch. At least that’s where I was headed after I left Marion.”
“Are you injured, ma’am?”
“No. Just anxious.”
“What kind of a car are you driving?”
“It’s a dark blue 1989 Honda Civic.”
“Stay put. In this kind of weather you never know what’s moving out there.” Stefanie shivered, wondering if the man was talking about wild animals, like a bear or something. “We’ll get help to you as fast as we can.”
She swallowed her fear. “Thank you so much.”
When Gabe’s cell phone rang, he’d been riding through fresh snow in the lower pasture, checking to make sure there was enough feed for the herd. No one from the ranch house would be bothering him during this blizzard unless it was important.
He reined in his horse, then pulled the phone from his jacket. Another gust of snow forced him to lower the tip of his Stetson as a shield so he could be heard.
“Gabe here.”
“Gabe? It’s Marva. A minute ago the sheriff’s office phoned the main house. Apparently a woman named Teri Jones, driving a blue Honda, is stranded on the road near the gate to the ranch, but it seems all police rescue vehicles are out on emergencies right now. Since they’re shorthanded, the dispatcher wondered if somebody around here could investigate. Whom shall I send?”
His horse pranced in place. Every available stockman and ranch hand, including Mack, were checking for strays in the other pastures, making sure there was plenty of feed. Gabe realized he was probably closest to the main road.
“I’ll see about it. Keep the coffee hot.”
“You bet.”
“Thanks, Marva.” He slipped the phone back in place. “Let’s go home.”
He hurried back to the barn where he asked one of the hands to take care of Caesar. Within minutes he’d climbed in the Explorer. Fortunately in that short amount of time the wind had died down and the worst of the blizzard seemed to have passed over.
One thing about the early spring storms. They didn’t last long. A strong sun had been making inroads on the snowdrifts built up over the winter. Large patches of green meadow were springing up everywhere. He’d even seen some yellow primroses at the higher elevations, pushing through the ice. The sight had been glorious.
Still, the sun was nowhere to be found right now. He imagined the stranded woman was wondering if help would ever arrive. It was past dinnertime. If she hadn’t planned for an emergency, she was probably hungry and frightened.
The seven-mile drive to the gate through the wet virgin snow presented little problem. But after reaching the
main road, he didn’t see a sign of a car or any tire tracks. Deciding to take a right, he proceeded in that direction for a couple of miles. When nothing showed up, he turned around and headed back the other way.
A mile past the gate he spotted a snow-covered vehicle, which had gone into the ditch headfirst. He pulled up alongside and turned on his hazard light. Still keeping the engine running, he levered himself from the seat and walked over to the car.
“Ms. Jones?” After knocking on the left rear window to announce his arrival, he climbed into the shallow culvert. With a gloved hand, he started removing snow from the driver’s window so he could see inside. Before he’d finished the job, the glass slid down.
“Thank you for coming!” she cried with undisguised relief.
For a brief moment his eyes glimpsed the profile of a stunning woman with short, glossy black curls. Combined with her husky voice, he was strongly reminded of someone else whose beauty had taken his breath the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her.
He thought he must be hallucinating until she turned to face him. The seductive floral scent that had enticed him on too many other occasions drifted past him.
Her makeup and earrings might be different, the brown lenses fake, but he’d know the bewitching lines of that exquisite face and mouth anywhere.
The blood pounded in his ears.
“Stefanie?”
“Yes,” came her terrified whisper. Beneath the makeup, her complexion had paled. “Please don’t be angry with me, Gabe. Please.” Her gently rounded chin quivered. “You have to hear me out! No one knows I’m here. Your secret is safe. I swear it!”
He was so shocked to see her, the meaning of her words didn’t register right away. All this time he’d imagined her in Paris, charming every damn male in sight.
His gaze followed the involuntary movement of her hand to her heart, drawing his attention to the gorgeous mold of her body. The black sweater proved faithful to her rounded curves.
“How in the hell did you find me?”
Even to his own ears he knew he sounded furious, but he felt out of control, unable to quell the myriad of conflicting emotions that were exploding inside him.
She moistened her luscious red mouth nervously. The color was one she’d never worn before. The sight of it on her lips was incredibly erotic. “I—I had you followed. But don’t worry!” she blurted. “They’ll never tell anyone.”
He fought not to erupt again, but it was almost impossible. “Who are they?” he demanded in a deceptively silky tone.
She swallowed hard, once again distracting him as his gaze studied the creamy column of her throat rising out of the material. No woman in the world had such flawless skin.
“A team of p-private detectives. I paid them well.”
“What’s this all about, Stefanie?” He fired the question before he noticed she’d been gripping the steering wheel to keep from falling sideways. When he realized how she was straining, he yanked the door open and pulled her out.
Obviously unprepared, she fell against him like a rag doll, leaving the imprint of her beautiful body against his, turning his legs leaden until his breathing constricted.
Though he knew it was insane, he found himself unwilling to break the contact. Without conscious thought he picked her up in his arms and carried her through the snow to the passenger side of the Explorer.
During their marriage he’d made certain they never experienced this kind of physical closeness, not even when they’d danced together at fund-raiser galas. Especially not then. Now he knew why.
For a year a fierce hunger had been burning inside him. A hunger he’d never dared feed, not when there couldn’t be a future for the two of them.
Not when she would never love a man for the only reason that mattered.
The discovery that the woman he thought he’d said goodbye to forever had secretly followed him to Montana had all the components of some fantastic dream. But it was a flesh-and-blood Stefanie he deposited on the seat before removing her arms from his neck.
Determined to get this over as soon as possible, he stowed her purse and suitcase in his car, then started down the road.
She darted him an anxious glance. “Where are we going? The ranch is the other way.”
“I’m taking you to Marion where there’s a garage. The sooner your car is repaired, the sooner you can be on your way.”
“No, Gabe!” Her body jerked toward him. “I—I mean, I need to talk to you. I had no idea the sheriff’s office would send you to help me. Naturally I’m very grateful it was you who came.” After a slight pause, “Now that you’re here, couldn’t we pull over to the side of the road for a minute?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “It’s getting late. We’ll be lucky to catch the mechanic before he goes home for the night.”
“I don’t care about the car. This is more important.”
With a grimace he asked, “You’re not worried about where you’re going to sleep tonight?”
“I was hoping I could stay with you,” came the quiet response.
“That would be impossible.”
Her head was bowed. “Is that because your son’s mother wouldn’t understand why your ex-wife has suddenly appeared, hoping to prevail on your good nature instead of partying in Paris?”
Gabe braked sharply, forgetting the snow. His Explorer skidded at an angle, but he was able to correct it in time to bring the car to a stop.
“All right, Stefanie. We’re off the road. You’ve gotten your wish and have my undivided attention.”
“Don’t worry,” she said quietly. “Your private life is your business. Rest assured your secret is safe with me. When the P.I.s saw you pick up a woman and a teenage boy who bore a resemblance to you, it wasn’t hard to figure out th—”
“Get to the point!” he broke in, knocked sideways by her erroneous conclusions. “To say that I’m surprised to see you again would be the understatement of all time.”
She nodded. “I know, but there are compelling reasons—at least compelling to me—why I was driven to follow you. If you’ll just hear me out.”
He sucked in his breath. “I’m listening.”
“The truth is, I—I didn’t want to go around the world alone. I realized you planned that trip as a fabulous thank-you gift for me. When you first suggested it, I felt it would have been unconscionable of me to turn it down. I could tell you were trying hard to do something special and unique for me. But as the days grew closer to my departure, I started to panic.”
A groan escaped his throat. “Then why didn’t you say something?”
“B-because I’ve never really been on my own before and knew it would be good for me. When you think about it, I’ve only lived with my parents, and then w-with you. Other people seem to handle independence just fine. But deep down the thought of being free to travel for six months by myself started to sound worse than being locked up in a prison.”
“For the love of heaven, Stefanie—” He raked an unsteady hand through his hair. Her revelations were so unexpected, he wondered if there wasn’t some other reason she’d come.
“Two days before you left Newport I got so frightened, I knew I would never be able to set foot on that plane to Paris. But I also knew you were depending on me to do my part and disappear.”
“Not at the cost of your sanity,” he muttered fiercely.
“Gabe—I’m not trying to make you feel sorry for me. I’m just trying to explain that there was no way I would have let you down. S-so I came up with this plan to follow you, then beg you to let me stay wherever you were until the six months were up.”
He had to be dreaming. “Why did you give the sheriff’s office a fake name? For that matter, what are you doing in this disguise?”
“I didn’t want anything I did to give your secret away. I knew how important it was for you to stay hidden from the media. To make certain no one recognized me or could link us in any way, I decided to camouflage myself and
have been wearing this outfit since I left Newport.”
She’d come up with a good one. She was sexy as hell.
“At first I thought maybe you’d made arrangements to leave the States for good. Then came the surprising news that you were driving across the country. I had no idea you owned a ranch and planned to live out here.”
“It’s hardly the yacht club scene.”
Her head jerked around. “I don’t care about that, Gabe!”
Wouldn’t it be amazing if her denial were true and she’d come after him because she couldn’t help herself. But it was only in his dreams he heard her say those kinds of things to him…
“I haven’t come here to cause you any trouble. I promise I haven’t! The last thing I would want to do is interfere with your life.”
“What am I supposed to say to that?” he let the sarcasm fly.
“I know my arrival has come as a horrible shock. But now that I’m here, maybe there’s a job I could do? One of the P.I.s phoned the ranch and found out you run a school for troubled boys.”
He let out an angry laugh. He couldn’t help it.
“I don’t know what it would be, of course,” she offered lamely.
“Believe me, Stefanie, neither do I.”
“The thing is, I would take on any task that would allow me to stay for six months and give me a roof over my head. With this disguise and my fake name, no one would ever need to know the truth of our relationship. I swear to you I would keep away from the people you love.”
Gabe sat there in stunned silence. Gone was the composed, serene blond beauty he’d kissed goodbye on the cheek five days ago. In her place was this emotional, highly charged, intense woman in black curls who was talking faster and faster, a trait he’d never seen come out in her before.
“While I was waiting for help to arrive, I thought of an idea. Couldn’t you tell your staff that I was driving to the ranch to apply for a position when my car got stuck? Of course, if that’s totally unacceptable to you, would you mind if I tried to get a job in the area?”
Husband for a Year Page 3
