“He can have it,” Chloe interjected. “I don’t care.”
“Have you got the divorce papers signed yet?” Devon questioned sharply as she ignored her interruption.
Chloe had forgotten about the papers she had brought with her. Neither one of them had felt the need to mention them. They were still in her briefcase. “No, but I can.”
“Hmm. Why don’t you tell me about this Everest?” Devon gave a secretive half smile. Chloe set the coffee in front of her before turning to pour her own. “How much does he suspect?”
“I told him everything,” Chloe admitted. She watched as Devon took a sip out of her mug. Her friend didn’t seem surprised. Carefully, she added, “I had to.”
“Oh, my God, Chloe! You’re completely taken with him.” Devon sat back in her chair in surprise. “Does he know?”
“No,” Chloe stated in a hushed tone. “And he won’t want to hear it either.”
“Does he want the money?” Devon asked, hopeful. “Is he going to stay married to you?”
“No. He thinks what we’re doing is deplorable,” Chloe mumbled. “He said that he doesn’t want to be a part of it. And I don’t blame him. I don’t want any part of it. However, I don’t have a choice.”
“Even more reason to like him.” Devon sighed, disappointed. “Well, listen. I have an idea. Paul would make a decent enough husband, as long as you lived on separate coasts. But I don’t think it will have to come down to that.”
“What are you planning?”
“We need to keep the option of Paul open,” Devon answered. “So when he gets here go back with him. But tell him that you have to get directly to New York to make sure your father’s will was legal. You’re a writer, make up something.”
“And how will I explain Everest?” Chloe questioned.
“I already told him that Everest was your editor. You got called away to an emergency meeting and before you could leave you got snowed in.” Devon laughed sheepishly. “I also kind of told him Everest was gay so he wouldn’t get jealous.”
“How could he be jealous over me? He hasn’t met me.” Chloe stood up. “Want some more coffee?”
“Love it.” Devon followed her with her mug. “Oh, you know, it’s that whole male ego, pride thing.”
Chloe groaned.
“You know this place isn’t half bad. I would go crazy here in a week, but I could see you liking it. You are into this solitude thing.”
“What do you mean?” Chloe handed her back her cup.
“You always have been, Chloe.” Devon took a drink. “Got any whiskey?”
“No,” Chloe answered with a distracted chuckle. “I think Everest and I have both learned our lesson about drinking.”
“Too bad.” Devon set the cup down, before continuing where she left off, “You always wrote better when you weren’t disturbed, even in college.”
Chloe laughed at the reminder. “I know. You and Eve used to drive me nuts with your constant talking.”
“I remember.”
They stood in silence for a moment.
“Chloe?” Devon asked.
“What?”
“Are you in love with him? Really in love?”
Chloe nodded her head. “Yes, but that can’t be helped right now. He doesn’t feel the same way I do. And if he did ... well he just doesn’t.”
“Have you told him?” Devon persisted. She was a sharp judge of character and could tell Everest didn’t appreciate having his winter rendezvous interrupted by her visit. She could see his obvious possessiveness of her friend.
“There’s no point,” Chloe snapped. Then, lightening her tone, she said, “Sorry, I am under a lot of stress. Can you just tell me what it is you have planned?”
“Fine. Have Everest tell Paul he is your editor. Leave with Paul and tell him about New York. Then we stall. I still have all the paperwork on the other candidates. If we can’t get you another husband in eight days, you’ll have to marry Paul. You turn thirty in nine days.”
“Don’t remind me. How come everyone’s thirtieth isn’t this stressful? It should be enough that I’m getting older.” Chloe set her mug down, untouched.
“I know it.” Devon nodded in agreement. “That is the best I can come up with. Unless you can work it out with Everest?”
“No,” Chloe sighed in grim denial. “There is no hope of that.”
“Chloe,” Devon began.
“No.” Chloe held up her hand to block any argument her friend might try to make. “I don’t want to hear it. There’s no future for me here.”
Devon nodded, “Then you’ll go back to New York with Paul?”
“Why can’t I come with you? Get a hold of him and tell him to meet us back there.”
“We don’t want Paul to know I was here,” Devon returned truthfully. “I should be going. He will most likely come sometime tomorrow. My people discovered he has rented a helicopter for noon.”
“All right, I’ll see you in a day or so.” Chloe gave her friend a hug as she followed her into the living room.
Devon grabbed her coat. “Fine. I’ll be waiting in New York. Call my office first thing.”
Chloe waved as Devon ran out to the helicopter. Her friend motioned briefly. As they took off, Chloe sadly closed the door to block the whirlwind of snow. Suddenly, her nose wrinkled with the violent force of her unshed tears. A ragged breath escaped her suffocating lungs in an unsteady sob. This was to be her last night with Everest.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Everest watched the helicopter leave from his place within the woods. He sat on a rock that jutted out over a cliff. Before him were the snowy peaks and the narrow valleys of the Montana mountain range. Trees hid the valleys, but he knew that they were there. Before his horse had died, he rode all along the countryside.
Everest had thought of showing Chloe the place. The spot was one of his favorites. He came here often. In fact, it was where he was when Chloe called to him earlier.
He wanted to bring her to this place with him, so he could tell her how he truly felt about her. He wanted her to know that he would wait ten years for her. He wanted to tell her he understood about Paul. That he understood her obligation to the numerous people whose livelihoods she was trying to protect. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and always would.
He watched the helicopter disappear with a heavy heart. Chloe hadn’t even thought to say good-bye to him. He would have heard her if she had tried to call to him. Everest kicked at the ground in anger. He was too late. She was gone.
* * *
Chloe wondered where Everest had gone. She searched for him in the shed and in the old barn. She called to him within the trees and received no answer. The old pickup was still parked in its usual spot.
Unable to find him, she went inside to wait. In the distance she heard the loud barking of animals which she could only imagine to be the lonely sound of wolves. Shivering in fear, she stared out the kitchen window. Through the onslaught of night, she willed him to come home. Her heart ached as she looked up into the darkening sky. The sun was setting in a myriad of beautiful purples and blues, but its beauty had no effect on her sorrow.
Sighing, she moved before the blazing fire. She knew it would do no good to look for him. He was the mountain man, not she. As the fire slowly started to burn out, she threw another log in the fireplace. She waited for hours for him to return. She waited until her eyes could barely stay open. Finally, she moved to his bedroom to lie in the comforts of his bed. Curling into a ball, she fought to stay awake. Everest never came home and she was unable to resist the sweet oblivion of rest as sleep came to claim her.
* * *
Everest heard the second helicopter long before it landed. Looking out his kitchen window, he stiffened. At first his heart leapt, thinking Chloe changed her mind and came back to him. Then, with a grim shake of his head, he remembered that the divorce papers still were unsigned.
It was late morning. He hadn’t slept. It was wel
l past midnight when he returned home to fall exhausted on his floor before the fire.
Deciding it best to get it over with, he drew an icy mask over his features. He made his way slowly to the front door and opened it. To his surprise a different helicopter landed. Chloe had been right. There were many important people obviously looking for her. It had been a long time since his mountain had seen so many visitors.
“Everest?”
He froze as the voice came directly from behind him. Turning slowly in the opened doorway, he spotted Chloe coming from his bedroom. For a moment his heart skipped. She had stayed. She sent her attorney back to New York and stayed with him. But even from across the room he could tell by the look on her face that she would not be staying forever.
“What time is it?” she sleepily yawned.
“About eleven,” he responded.
Chloe’s face paled. She looked over his shoulder with a gasp. Turning quickly, she darted into the bedroom to quickly pull on a pair of slacks. Everest watched her for a moment before leaving to storm out of the house.
His step slowed as he landed on the snow-packed ground. A finely tailored young man jumped down from the helicopter as a pilot held open the door for him. To Everest the man looked like every other stiff necked, rich suit he had ever seen—boys as old as men that had too much money and not enough sense to use it. He could only guess that this was Paul.
“Well, no use in intruding,” Everest fumed to himself as he strode rudely over the snow-covered yard toward his barn. He ignored the questioning look on Paul’s face as he passed him. Stopping when hidden within the limbs of evergreens, he took a deep breath. Then, glancing over his shoulder, he saw Chloe on the porch. She wore one of her classier outfits. Her face froze with a smile. He imagined her eyes sparkled like sapphires from underneath her sweeping lashes. Everest felt as if he had been kicked in the gut. And, as Paul walked confidently forward to greet her, he growled, “I wouldn’t want to impose on the happy couple.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chloe forced a pleasant smile to her lips as the young man reached his hand out to her. Her eyes darted over the distance to look for Everest. She couldn’t see him. She expected him to be waiting for her, but he was already gone when she emerged from the bedroom. Biting her lips, she cursed herself for oversleeping. She needed to talk to Everest, to explain.
Hesitantly, she smoothed down the sleeves of her sweater. Paul was everything she had asked of Devon in a husband. It only proved that she should stop thinking of real people as characters in a novel. For, if she wrote Paul, she would have had him killed off in the first scene in some stupid accident.
She could see by the obnoxious bounce of his head, and the playfully amused way he surveyed the mountainside home, that he was not her type—not in a friend and definitely not as a husband or lover. Her flesh crawled as he came near her.
Chloe berated herself for not being fair to him. True, he was no Everest, but that didn’t mean she had to judge him so harshly. He might, after all, end up being the face that she woke up to every morning. She shivered at the thought of having his children. Would they walk like he did? Would they act so self-important? The very idea instantly repulsed her.
“May I help you?” Chloe inquired tautly, remembering she was not to know who he was or why he came. “I’m afraid that Mr. Beaumont is away from the house for a time.”
“Chloe?” Paul’s voice laughed in familiarity. “Devon didn’t tell me you were as lovely as your pictures. I’m your fiancé, Paul Lucas.”
“Oh, of course!” Chloe gushed in forced politeness. “How did you find me?”
“When one is as resourceful as I, they find a way,” he put forth smoothly.
“Right,” Chloe allowed in a slow drawl. She tried to not let her repulsion show. His charm oozed off of him like a snake. No, she thought, that was not fair to the snakes.
“I wasn’t aware that you were sent a picture of me.”
“Oh, I picked up one of your silly little woman novels. Or rather, I had my secretary do it.” Paul smiled as he looped his arm into hers.
Silly what! Chloe fumed as he began to lead her to the house. Her mouth dropped open, speechless.
“Let’s get your belongings so we can go,” he stated with assurance. “I can’t believe that you would actually like staying here. How horrible it must have been to be trapped!”
Chloe wondered at his presumption. She hadn’t invited him into the house nor had she offered to leave with him. “Should we see if your pilot would like some coffee?”
“No,” Paul began in puzzlement before he smiled, as if addressing a delightful eccentricity he had discovered in his fiancée. “I don’t assume we will be here long. After all, I am here to rescue you from this dreadful, ah, shall we say ... homey retreat. No doubt you will want to go somewhere and relax after having been snowed in this wasteland. I must say I was quite unnerved to discover you were stranded. How dreadful it must have been for you.”
“I like it here. I was thinking of buying a place in the mountains,” Chloe answered under tight lips.
“Oh, I’ve been warned how emotional writers can be. No doubt the whimsy will pass once you’re around decent society again. I think that after the immediate ceremony we should purchase a house in the Swiss countryside—that is if you insist on wanting mountains.” Paul smiled and touched her cheek briefly before walking into Everest’s home. Over his shoulder, he called, “Though let’s not discuss it until I’ve gotten you to my spa. No doubt a good massage and sea weed wrap will clear your head.”
Chloe tried not to balk. She wondered what she would have thought about this man if she met him before her affair with Everest. Would she be judging him so brutally? Would his condescending tone annoy her so drastically? Did all the men in her social circle act in such a way? The answers resounded in her brain in a penetrable, yes!
“Well, I can’t leave here right now.” Chloe hurried as she followed Paul in. She panicked as she remembered his plan. “I have a lot of work that still needs to be done. Maybe you should go on ahead of me.”
“Chloe, dear, after we’re married there is no reason for you to work. If you are worried about an advance they gave you for writing, we will simply pay it back.” Paul waved his hand in the air, disregarding her protest.
“But I enjoy working.” Chloe tried not to act as affronted as she felt. “I have no intention of stopping.”
“Yes, well.” Paul’s long nose shot up in irritation. It was obvious he had qualms about a wife of his being employed. He shuddered at the utter humiliation before waving his hand to dismiss her as he would a servant.
Chloe shut her eyes as Paul took a step toward her. She forced herself to think of all the people whose lives were going to be affected by her father’s decrees. She remembered Devon’s advice to keep Paul in the sidelines in case she could not find his replacement in time.
“Let’s not fight.” Chloe gave him a small smile. She saw him eyeing her lips and swallowed over her dry mouth. He was going to kiss her. Chloe froze, forcing herself to hold still. Closing her eyes, she gulped, doing her best not to flinch.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Everest watched as Chloe turned one of her most charming smiles to her fiancé. He had gotten inside the barn only to turn right back around and follow the couple into the house. He wasn’t about to give up without some sort of a fight. But, as he stood in the frame of the kitchen door, he knew that he hadn’t a choice but to let her go. Paul leaned forward to press his lips against hers.
Everest’s gut tightened and twitched. His fists balled into hard masses. Chloe didn’t back away from the man. He didn’t want to bear witness to the tender moment between the couple and found he had little choice to do much else. Perhaps the affair had been only of the body for Chloe. He steeled his face as he cleared his throat in disgust.
Chloe jumped and turned quickly to him. Her lips pursed tightly together, trying to rid them of Paul’s taste.
> “Everest, you’re back,” she stammered. She could barely meet his damning face.
“Yes, I’m back.” Everest searched the deceitful woman before him. He looked for any trace of the woman he imagined to care for. Abruptly, he stated, “Are you leaving?”
It wasn’t a question but a demand. She saw it in the cold depths of his icy gaze.
“You must be Chloe’s editor. I’ve heard much about you.”
Everest turned his probing gaze to the thin man who stood possessively next to Chloe. He nodded in slight confusion, unable to reach out to take his hand.
Editor? Everest fumed.
Chloe ignored Paul, her heart longed to grab Everest and never let him go. And she could have, if he but gave her a hint of affection.
“I’m Paul, Chloe’s husband.”
“Husband?” Everest hissed under his breath. He raised an eyebrow and turned to Chloe.
Paul moved in front of her before she could answer. “Yes. Husband. I thank you so much for looking after her. If there is a way that we can repay you and your boyfriend for the trouble, please, don’t hesitate to mention it.”
Boyfriend?!! Everest glared at Chloe. Just what had she been saying to her beloved husband before he had walked in? What kind of game was she playing at? His body tensed in a fiery outrage.
Chloe felt sickened by Paul’s words. She had no reason to deny them though. They would be true soon enough. Tears threatened her gaze and she blinked them back. Shooting Everest a helpless look of apology, she started to open her mouth. But her words were cut off by his chilling voice.
“Actually, she has been a bit of an inconvenience to us. We would really like our privacy back. It’s part of the reason we live so far up in these mountains.” Everest took a deep breath, only beginning to feel vindicated. “Can I help you to the helicopter?”
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