His emerald eyes sparkled in the silent test of wills.
McKenzie walked over and laid her hand on her brother’s arm. “Matt, Valerie is not going to hurt us. I’m letting her stay.”
He turned on his sister, his voice clipped. “If you want a stranger staying in your home at least draw up a lease. I can print one off and bring it by.”
“A lease isn’t necessary. Valerie doesn’t know how long she’ll be here, so we’re taking it one day at a time,” she assured him.
With a sigh, he turned his gaze to Valerie. “For now, I have no choice but to let this go. I don’t condone liars. In fact, I detest liars with a passion. If one hair is harmed on my family, anything, your new accommodations will be the Springtown jail. Your Jimmy Choo shoes won’t look too good with an orange jumpsuit.”
Her father had every employee's background verified. Matt could do the same. Valerie felt certain he would use his connections to do a background check on Valerie Brown. Just how long she had before he came back and started asking more questions, she didn’t know, but for tonight she would still sleep under a roof.
She shouldn’t have goaded him quite so much, but somehow he represented every stinking lawyer in her life, and since the people who hurt her weren’t there to express her anger to, he was a good substitute. A substitute who might not have deserved her frustration, but one she’d enjoyed sparring with just the same.
“Sorry, Matt,” she said sarcastically. “I’m sure the accommodations at the Springtown jail are not up to my standards. McKenzie and I will be just fine. Now don’t you have some briefs or something that need writing? Your sister and I have some serious shoe talk to get to.”
Chapter Four
Valerie watched as Matt’s green eyes darkened with anger. His mouth had a determined set, yet he pivoted on his heel and retreated without saying a word. For a moment Valerie feared she’d said too much, but when she glanced over at McKenzie, the woman was smiling.
The door slammed shut as Matt made his exit. The two roommates looked at one another and burst out laughing.
“No one has ever gotten to my stubborn brother like that before. That was priceless.” She sighed. “Matt means well, but since John died, he’s suffocated me with his protection.”
Valerie sank onto an overstuffed chair that faced McKenzie. “Don’t apologize for Matt. It’s really sweet that he’s watching out for you.”
“Yes, it is. I’m lucky to have him.”
Ashley crawled onto McKenzie’s lap and snuggled against her mother. An odd sensation warmed Valerie’s chest as she realized this child would never know her father. For just a moment, she missed her own dad, but then she remembered how he’d taken Carter’s side. No, she refused to think about Carter or her father for a while. She needed a mental break from the pain of their betrayal.
“I meant what I said. I would never intentionally harm you or the children.” She paused, her fists clenching to restrain the pain, wondering how much she should tell McKenzie. “My life is in shambles right now. I need somewhere to stay until I make some decisions. I could be here a week or maybe six months. I don’t know.”
McKenzie nodded. “I appreciate your honesty. But you wouldn’t be here if I was the least bit concerned. My brother will come around. Eventually he’ll realize that I’m not going to accept his financial help and he’s not going to dictate how I live my life.” She sighed. “John’s death really affected him. I think he’s realized his own mortality. For the first time, he’s talking kids and marriage. After our parents’ divorce, he swore he would never marry.”
She gazed at Valerie. “How about you?” she teased. “You certainly aren’t afraid to take on “The Crusher.”
“The Crusher?” A chill went down Valerie’s spine. She’d heard the name mentioned in her father's law office.
“Yeah, Matt’s won more legal liability cases than anyone else in the state. He’s known as the Colorado Crusher.”
Valerie’s insides twisted into a knot and her breath caught. Of all the towns where she could have gotten off that bus, she had to stop in the city where Colorado’s most successful liability lawyer lived. She knew from her father that Matt was not some private, two or three cases a year attorney. He was known for his toughness and his ability to sway a jury. His reputation was to crush the opposition and win.
And to make things worse, he wanted to get married. The urge to run was almost overwhelming. She didn’t want to be around anyone determined to be married. She didn’t want to be around another successful attorney. She didn't want to be around a man with a smile that was tempting. Not now.
“Well, I’m taking a sabbatical from men right now.” She wanted McKenzie to know up front that she was not interested in being involved with anyone.
But most especially lawyers.
Something in her voice must have given her away, as McKenzie stopped running her fingers through her daughter’s hair and studied her closely.
“Is that why you came to Springtown? To get away from a man?” McKenzie asked.
Valerie genuinely liked McKenzie, but she couldn’t respond. In the last few days she’d managed to shore up the dam that held the reservoir of her feelings for her disastrous wedding. She wasn’t ready to let that river flow again. Not yet. “Right now, I need to stay focused on me.”
“He must have hurt you pretty bad.”
Valerie sat there, surprised. “Who?”
“The man you’re running from.”
Great! She didn’t need anyone speculating about her and a man, even if it was true. This conversation was at an end.
“Show me the shoes you have. I’d really like to see them.”
McKenzie smiled knowingly and stood. “Come on. I’ll even let you try them on if they fit.”
#
Matt stared at the blinking cursor, anger smoldering within. A stack of paperwork piled in front of him, the phone rang constantly, the fax ran 24/7, and he wished a magic fairy would appear and do the filing.
The blinking cursor’s image took shape in his mind. Five feet ten inches with sapphire eyes and a smart mouth. Tonight his mind refused to focus on his job. Instead, he obsessed on the blonde beauty that had practically kicked him out of his sister’s house. The woman who’d stepped off a bus, created a scene by fainting, and then never left. The woman he felt both attracted to and repelled by.
The woman had nerve. She waltzed into town, charmed Fran into giving her a job, and cast a spell over McKenzie, who let her move in.
Valerie Brown was a very determined, beautiful woman who could charm a snake handler.
Well, she didn’t intimidate him. He’d just do a little research to find out what kind of person she was and maybe in the process learn why she remained in Springtown, Colorado. No one came to the small town by chance and decided to stay. After all, industry was nil and job prospects were few.
At first Matt had remained here only because of McKenzie and his niece and nephew.
In the beginning he’d resented the fact that McKenzie wouldn’t move back to Denver. No matter how much he pleaded with her, she refused to give up the home she’d built with her late husband. McKenzie insisted her children would be reared in a small town, and until the day her bank account ran dry, she refused to move. Often McKenzie reminded him this was her life, not his, and he was free to go.
But he couldn’t leave. And he didn’t want to go. After his promise to John, Matt felt obligated to stay and help her with the twins. Six months passed, and the town had grown on him. Sure he missed fancy dining, Broncos games, and concerts, but something about the orange glow of the setting sun against the Rockies, the fresh pine scent, and the lack of traffic jams had a way of easing the tension from his bones. And nothing compared to the whisper of the Aspens rustling through an open window.
He loved the area so much he bought five acres close to McKenzie’s property and was building his own log home.
The only thing missing was someone to decorate
the house and sit on the covered porch with him in the evening. He wanted a wife, someone to be the mother of his children.
Before the move, his job had kept him so busy that he hadn’t had time for a relationship, but now that he worked at a slower pace, he’d had time to notice his loneliness.
The romantic pickings in Springtown were slim, or so he believed. Certainly, Valerie Brown’s pert breasts, long legs, and curvaceous hips caught and held his interest. But he needed more than just breasts to keep him interested in a woman. He needed a quick mind to challenge him and a woman his children would be proud to call Mother.
Valerie Brown was a mystery woman. A woman he knew nothing about except that she had expensive clothes, no money, and apparently had moved in with his sister.
He wasn’t a snob. Though Cinderella’s chariot was strictly coach, her makeup, manicure, and haircut spoke of high-dollar salons. How could he be attracted and yet wary at the same time? Valerie was different from the women he found himself normally attracted to. She was mouthier and more demanding. But the bus thing bothered him the most. Why didn’t she have a car?
Unable to stop himself, he went to Google and searched Valerie Brown. A beautiful African American singer’s picture popped up. Not the right Valerie Brown. A list blinked onto the monitor. A woman supervisor in Los Angeles County, a married woman, and then a doctor, but none were the Valerie Brown living in his sister’s home.
He went to Facebook and did a random search. Several Valerie’s were listed, but none that had long blonde hair or sparkling blue eyes. Not one had ripe lips full of attitude that begged to be kissed.
So he’d found nothing on the spunky waitress.
Still, he could ask Jesse to run a background check on the mysterious Valerie. He paused for a moment. Was he overreacting? The image of his niece snuggled trustfully against the woman’s breast came to mind, and he realized the stakes were way too high.
He’d do anything to protect his sister and her children, even if it meant prying into the life of the mysterious transient woman who made his pulse quicken.
Who was he kidding? He wanted to know who Valerie Brown was.
#
The next day Matt slid into the booth at the café where he met Jesse at least two or three times a week. He’d called and told his friend to meet him for lunch. Valerie hadn’t seen him when he walked in, so he had seated himself.
He watched Jesse stroll in, and Valerie waved to him with her free hand.
“Go ahead and take a seat. I’ll be right there to get your drink order,” she called.
“Sure, Valerie,” Jesse said. “I’m going to join Matt.”
She froze and slowly her head turned to glance over her shoulder at him. Her brows drew together in a frown, and she lowered them in obvious disapproval before she returned to her customers.
He gazed at her as she poured coffee, handed out menus, and talked casually with a group of forestry workers. Her blue jeans fit snug across her shapely rear, and her short-cropped sweater occasionally gave a glimpse of her smooth skin. He took a deep breath and tried to still his racing pulse.
What was it about this girl that made him want to stare like a college kid? What about her attracted him and repelled him at the same time? It would be a miracle if she had a high school education. Yet something about her had him wanting to throw her over his shoulder and walk out the door. He’d kiss her until she told him what he wanted to know.
Only then would he feel safe with her staying at his sister’s home.
“Fran’s new waitress definitely gives an air of improvement to this place, doesn’t she?” Jesse commented as he slid into the booth across from him.
Matt jerked his attention to his friend. “Hi.”
“Now you notice me.”
“Shut up!” Matt said, half-teasing, half-serious. “I saw you walk in the door. I was counting the number of boys from the forestry service that seem to have time for lunch these days.”
“You are busted, my friend. You were checking out the fit of her jeans,” Jesse said, scanning the specials scrawled on a chalkboard at the front of the cafe.
“Come on,” Matt said good-naturedly, knowing he’d been caught.
“Fran’s business is seeing a lot more male customers since Valerie came to work for her,” Jesse commented without glancing up from the menu. “Just look around.”
The café did seem to have more customers. The biggest percentage of them worked for the county road department.
“Most of these guys are married,” Matt declared, trying to contain his annoyance, knowing he’d enjoyed every second of watching the way she moved.
How was it possible she both infuriated him and attracted him at the same time?
“Never hurts to look.”
“We don’t know anything about this girl.”
“Do you really think these guys want to sit down and have a conversation with her?” Jesse said, glancing from his menu to laugh at his friend.
“No,” Matt replied, strangely angry. “So they came here to gawk at her?”
“Pretty, new girl in town. She’s a novelty.”
“That’s what concerns me,” Matt acknowledged.
“Why? Why are you acting so strange about this girl? Just because she came from the big city, doesn’t mean she’s a criminal,” Jesse pointed out.
“In case you haven’t heard, she’s moved in with McKenzie,” Matt hissed with frustration. “My sister has gone through enough. She doesn’t need some girl robbing her blind.”
Jesse frowned at Matt and turned his gaze upon Valerie. When he glanced back at Matt, there was a teasing glint in his eyes. “I don’t normally arrest people because they look suspicious and arrive in town on the bus. I think she’s okay.”
Matt leaned closer to Jesse. “Spoken like a small-town sheriff who’s not read about the woman who came home to find her house and bank account cleaned out by her roommate.”
Jesse shook his head. “McKenzie has a good head on her shoulders. I don’t think she would have let Valerie move in if she thought there could be a problem.”
“How would she know? Valerie’s been in town forty-eight hours. There was no background check or even a lease signed.”
“Spoken like a lawyer. People do still help one another without formal leases.”
Jesse cleared his throat loudly and nudged him beneath the table.
“What do we know about this girl,” Matt exclaimed trying to curtail the frustrated tone of his voice, not understanding Jesse’s signal until it was too late.
“We know she’s five feet ten inches, weighs approximately one hundred and twenty pounds of trouble, and she’s standing right behind you. Good afternoon, gentlemen,” Valerie said. “Could I interest you in the special of the day? Beef stew with homemade cornbread and a slice of banana cream pie?”
Jesse laughed nervously. “You are so busted, man.”
Her voice was too nice. She'd heard him.
“Busted as in, yes, I heard everything,” she said icily.
Jesse closed the menu. “I’ll take the special.”
“And for you, Mr. Jordan?” She asked, her voice too polite. “How about a serving of humble pie? I’m sure I can convince Todd to fix some for you.”
Her comment stunned him for about thirty seconds. Her sapphire eyes glistened with irritation.
“I don’t see humble pie on the menu,” he challenged, surprised at her spunk. He knew she was still angry with him from last night, and today she’d overheard him.
“It’s reserved for special customers like you.”
Jesse started to snicker and Matt glared at him.
“And why am I considered special?” he asked.
She smiled and put one hand on her hip as her eyes went wide and innocent. “Well, honey, it’s a proven fact that all lawyers think they’re special.”
“I’ll take the stew,” Matt replied, wishing she would just go away. No matter what he said, she would have an equal
, if not stronger, response. Why was it their verbal sparring left him feeling edgy?
“Coming right up,” she said, a fake brightness in her voice as she turned and walked away.
His eyes were tantalized by the swing of her hips and the rounded curve of her rear, leaving him even more frustrated. He wanted her to go away, yet he couldn’t help but be attracted at the same time.
“So why do you think she’s still here in town? You and I both heard her say she was on her way to Denver,” he asked Jesse.
“Simple. Fran told me that her wallet was stolen on the bus.”
For a moment that shocked him. He stopped and considered the situation. Is that why she fainted that night? Had she just discovered she had no cash, no identification, nothing?
“We have a bank. She could have withdrawn more cash. Did she report her wallet stolen?”
“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask her? Maybe she didn’t have the money to leave,” Jesse said gazing at his friend. “Maybe all the money she had in this world was in her wallet? Why are you being so hard on this girl? I wouldn’t move in with McKenzie if I were going to be investigated and interrogated by her lawyer brother.”
“McKenzie is not thinking straight, and someone has to look out for her.”
But it was more than that. He felt drawn to the beautiful Valerie Brown, and yet he felt repelled at the same time. He didn’t’ know enough about her. And he didn’t like her staying with his sister.
“I understand, but there is only so much you can do for McKenzie. She has to make her own decisions.”
“Maybe, but as her attorney, I recommend a criminal background check and a credit check. Plus I would have asked for references.”
Jesse started to laugh. “Matt, your clients are getting to you. You’re being a little too suspicious.”
“Maybe I just want to make sure my sister isn’t harboring a fugitive,” Matt replied, knowing he somehow had to convince Jesse to do a search on Valerie Brown.
“So what’s going to satisfy you that she’s just a woman in need of a job?” Jesse asked.
The Wanted Bride (A Contemporary Romance) Page 4
