by Janet Dailey
“I do,” Rick insisted. “There were times when it seemed we were Adam and Eve out there. I know that isn't an excuse, but—"
“It's a better excuse than I had when Cody kissed me,” she reminded him, and watched him hesitate. “A lot has happened to both of us since you gave me this ring. We've changed. I don't think either of us feels the same. Am I right?"
“I....” He didn't finish the sentence as he looked at her with deep regret. “The last thing I want to do is hurt you, Shannon. You've come all this way to Alaska to marry me."
But he didn't love her. Even though he hadn't said it, she knew it. She twisted the ring off her finger and handed it to him, smiling gently.
“But I don't love you the way I should, Rick,” she declared when he hesitated at taking the ring. “And it has nothing to do with you and Belinda. If you want to blame someone, Cody is the most likely candidate. He made me see that if I really loved you, I wouldn't have been attracted to him."
“Are you sure?” Rick didn't want any doubts.
“Yes. I'd already made up my mind to give this back to you last night before Belinda came,” she admitted. “But I was concerned about the way you would take it. The things she told me just made the decision an easier one."
Finally he took the ring from her and studied the play of rainbow light on the square-cut diamond. With a shake of his head, Rick looked at her, affection warming his eyes.
“Shannon, I don't know what to say,” he murmured.
“Belinda said the same thing last night,” she remembered with a dimpling smile. “She loves you. Why don't you call her?"
“It would never work.” He ran a hand through his straw-colored hair. “I'm nothing but a flight jockey. She's the boss's daughter."
“You said she was quite a trouper; don't forget that,” Shannon advised. “Finish your coffee and call her. She's probably waiting to hear from you."
Chapter Ten
THE CAB PULLED UP in front of the hangar at Merrill Field and stopped. There was light in Shannon's eyes as she read the sign Steele Air atop the attached concrete-block building that served as an office.
For three days she had been trying to talk to Cody, but he was always out—off somewhere on a charter. She'd left messages for him to phone her, but he hadn't called. Twice she had almost told Noah about her broken engagement, but she wanted to make the announcement to Cody herself. She was determined to see him, which was why she had come to the charter service. She was prepared to haunt the place if necessary.
Paying the cabby, she stepped out of the taxi and walked toward the door. The sun was shining on the Chugach Mountains surrounding Anchorage. A few powder-puff clouds were in the sky and the air was brisk with autumn.
Although nervous, she was comforted by memories of the first time she'd gone there. She even paused to wipe her high-heeled boots on the bristled mat outside the door, just as she had done the last time.
Inside it was just the way she remembered it: magazines scattered around, the coffee table littered with used Styrofoam cups, and a couple of weary pilots sprawled on the couch. Except this time the swivel chair behind the desk wasn't empty. Noah was sitting in it. He pushed to his feet when he saw her. Her sweeping glance noted that the door to Cody's office was closed.
“Well, if you aren't a sight for sore eyes!” Noah declared, and came around the desk to greet her.
“Hello, Noah. It's good to see you again.” She smiled warmly.
“What are you doin’ here?” he asked in his familiar raspy voice. “I figured you'd be busy with your wedding plans and findin’ yourselves a place to live."
“I came to see Cody. Is he in?” She glanced toward the door, then noticed Noah shift uncomfortably.
“He's in,” he admitted. “But he ain't been himself lately. He's been snapping at just about everybody—including me,” he added with a wounded look. “I don't think it would be a good idea if you saw him just now. He just got back from a long flight and he's kinda tired and extra cranky."
“I'll take my chances.” Nothing was going to stop her from seeing him. It was there in the determined lift of her chin.
Noah shook his head, doubting the wisdom of her decision. “I'll tell him you're here,” he said, and moved in his shuffling gait toward the closed door. “But the mood he's in, he just might throw you out. I keep tellin’ him it's bad for business, but he won't listen to me."
Shannon followed and paused behind him when Noah knocked twice on the door. Cody's voice was muffled, but the door didn't shut out its harshness.
“What is it?” he demanded from the private office.
Noah sent her a grimacing look, then turned the doorknob, opening the door a crack. “You've got a visitor, Cody.” All she could see was a corner of the desk in the room.
“Who is it?” Impatience and ill temper stirred the question.
Before Noah could answer, Shannon laid a hand on his arm, then shouldered her way past him and pushed the door the rest of the way open to enter the room. Cody was seated behind the desk, his sun-bronzed features set in uncompromising lines. His expression didn't change when he saw her, but she felt his light eyes rake over her figure and saw the narrowing of his mouth.
“What do you want?” Cody looked away, not bothering to rise to greet her when she walked in. He focused all his attention on the report he was writing.
“I've been trying to reach you.” She heard the click of the latch as Noah closed the door behind her. “You never returned any of my calls."
“I've been busy,” he countered, without looking up from his papers. “I have a company to run. The work piled up while I was gone."
He certainly wasn't making it easy for her. “I never did have a chance to thank you for all you did for me.” Shannon realized how much of his valuable time she had used.
His dark head lifted, the light blue of his eyes centering on her. “So now you've thanked me,” Cody stated. “If there's nothing else, I have work to do. I can't spare any time for idle chitchat."
A little thread of anger ran through her nerves. “I came to tell you that Rick and I—” But he didn't give her a chance to complete the sentence.
He pushed out of the chair with a suppressed violence. “I told you I didn't want an invitation to your wedding. I don't even want to know when it is!” Cody snapped, a cold rage darkening his features.
“There isn't going to be a wedding!” Shannon flashed. “That's what I came to tell you.” She showed him her left hand, bare of any engagement ring.
Cody made no move toward her, his gaze inspecting her hand, then lifting to her face. “When did this happen?"
“Three days ago,” she answered, and waited for some sign to show it mattered to him—a hint of pleasure or satisfaction. “You were right. I didn't love him."
“It damn well took you long enough to find it out,” he grumbled in irritation.
He didn't seem pleased at all. Shannon gathered up her pride, standing stiffly. “That's what I came to tell you. And to say thanks for your help."
“What will you do now?” Cody shot the question at her. “I suppose you're flying back to Texas now that the engagement is off."
“Yes.” She hadn't made any plans yet. She'd hoped.... “I thought I'd make reservations to leave this weekend.” Her fingers tightened on her shoulder bag. “So I guess this is goodbye, as well.” She turned to walk to the door, tears burning her eyes.
“Like hell it is!” Long strides carried him around the desk after her; he caught her before she reached the door, his arms turning her around. “You aren't going anywhere, Texas!"
After the cold shoulder he'd given her, Shannon wasn't about to melt into his arms even if that was what she wanted to do. “Why should I stay here?” she challenged.
That lazy light came back to his bold eyes. “Because you love me.” His hand cupped her cheek, his fingers tunneling into her hair. The warmth of his touch spread across her skin. “That's really why you came here tod
ay, isn't it?"
“I never said that.” She tried to resist the desire to respond, to remain passive under his spell, but awareness of him was shooting through her.
“No,” Cody agreed. “You've denied it every time I've tried to convince you that it's true. You had to put us both through all this useless agony."
When he lowered his head toward her, Shannon instinctively lifted hers to meet his descending mouth halfway. His kiss staked its possession of her as his arm circled her waist to draw her against his body. Her hands slid around his strong shoulders and into the virile thickness of his hair. Happiness flamed inside her, burning away the last remnants of resistance.
Her shoulder purse got in the way, and Cody slipped it off her bringing her arm momentarily down to her side before she returned it to his neck. He gave the purse a little toss so that it landed with a thump on the floor nearby. Then his arms were molding her to his hard length, shaping her soft curves to his masculine contours.
His passion deepened and burned, showing her one of the many sides of love. She reeled under the glorious force of it, wanting to love him completely and forever.
Neither of them heard the door open. They weren't aware of any intrusion until his father issued an astonished, “Cody! What are you doing?” There was a rasp of reproval in the demand as Noah quickly shut the door so no one in the outer office could see the embracing couple.
Cody's arms tightened, not allowing even a discreet distance to come between them when he lifted his head, a disturbing half smile touching his mouth as he looked at her. Shannon was dazzled by the light blazing in his eyes.
“I'm kissing the bride, dad,” he replied, and the breath she'd taken became caught in her throat at his answer.
“Well, you shouldn't be doing it like that,” his father admonished. “A person could get the wrong idea. Why, if her fiancé had seen that, I wouldn't blame him if he punched you out."
“You're looking at her fiancé, dad,” Cody stated, and his smile deepened at the radiance that swept across her face.
“I don't remember your asking me,” Shannon murmured.
“A small oversight,” he insisted with a mocking look. “If you want to be technical, I don't remember that you accepted."
“Would somebody mind telling me what's going on here?” Noah demanded in exasperation. “How can she marry you when she's engaged to someone else?"
Considering the role Noah had played, Shannon thought it only fair to explain the situation to her future father-in-law. “I'm not engaged to Rick anymore.” She showed him her bare ring finger. “I gave the ring back to him."
“Now mine will go there,” Cody stated. “You can't keep us apart anymore, dad."
“Well, if this don't beat all!” Noah exclaimed, and came forward, extending a gnarled hand to Shannon. “Congratulations. I didn't think this boy of mine would ever settle down with a gal. I hoped it would be someone like you."
Cody was forced to relax his hold on her so she could accept his father's congratulations. “You have been wonderful to me, Noah. I haven't thanked you for that."
“You can thank me by giving me some grandkids,” he replied with a knowing wink. “How big a family are you planning? I'd sure like to have a granddaughter and a grandson."
“Dad, would you mind if I married the girl before you started planning our family?” Cody requested with tolerant affection.
“When are you going to marry her? When's the wedding?” he asked. “I'm gonna have to buy me a new suit for the occasion."
“We'll be married just as soon as Shannon's parents can fly up here,” Cody stated, then glanced at Shannon and added, almost as an afterthought, “All right?"
“Yes,” she assured him, love shining from her eyes.
With an effort Cody dragged his glance from her face. “Dad, will you get out of here? I'd like to be alone with my future wife, if you don't mind."
“Well, just see to it that you behave yourself.” Noah reluctantly agreed to leave, but not without advising his son not to take advantage of the situation.
“Go,” Cody ordered with dry amusement.
“I'm going, I'm going,” Noah muttered, and shuffled to the door.
When they were alone again, Cody gathered her back into his arms, nuzzling her cheek and the hollow of her ear. She felt him shudder.
“I don't know if you have any idea what I've been through these past few days,” he murmured thickly. “I thought you were really going to marry him. Why did it take you so long to realize you didn't love him? Do you realize the time we've wasted?"
“Yes,” she admitted. “But I guess I had to see Rick again to know that I didn't love him—not the way I thought I did. He's nice and I like him, but it's you I want to marry."
“I've been waiting to hear that since the first time you walked in that door,” Cody declared.
She drew back to study his face. “You knew that long ago?” she frowned. “How?"
“I don't know how I knew.” His fingers traced the curve of her cheek and paused near her lips, underlining their softness. “But the minute you walked through that door, I knew you were the girl I'd been waiting for. It was a rude discovery to find out you were wearing another man's ring on your finger. It complicated the situation considerably."
“So did your father,” Shannon smiled.
“Yes.” Laughter danced in his eyes and he chuckled. “My dad is one of a kind. He's bound to do more than his share of interfering."
“I like him.” She knew Noah's interference was always motivated by the best of intentions.
Cody kissed her hard. “I always knew that Alaska and Texas would make an unbeatable combination,” he declared, and covered her lips again to prove it.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1982 by Janet Dailey
Cover design by Open Road Integrated Media
ISBN 978-1-4976-1820-6
This edition published in 2014 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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