Rocky Mountain Valentine (6 page)

Elizabeth’s smile softened. “Mom took the call. She hoped it would give Adam a push to accept some help with the final details, like purchasing the linens, the bedding, the window coverings. He fired the decorator and doesn’t want to accept help from Mom, Susan or I.”

Lisa couldn’t hide her surprise. “And when is the opening?”

“In three weeks.”

Doing a quick calculation in her mind, Lisa made a guess. “Valentine’s Day?”

Nodding her head, “Yep” popped out of Liz’s mouth. “Baby brothers can be so stubborn.”

“You mean this isn’t a temporary trait?”

“Afraid not. Don’t get me wrong. He’s poured his heart and soul into the tiniest of details. Yet ask him about practical things like bedding and towels, and he’s clueless, and we won’t even mention decorations. He’s going to drive the rest of us crazy before this is over.”

Lisa couldn’t hold back the laughter, and before they knew it, both were commiserating over siblings. Their enjoyable conversation was interrupted by the master of the mansion.

Adam looked at the two of them disapprovingly, and the laughter stopped. “Liz, you and Kirk going to stay for lunch? I’m putting potatoes in the oven.”

“You mean you haven’t even fed Lisa lunch?” Liz pushed herself up from the sofa and began to rail at her brother. “It’s nearly two o’clock!”

Adam looked at Lisa and their eyes met. “She knows where the food is if she gets hungry.”

“Adam MacIntyre!”

Lisa came to his defense. “He did tell me to help myself. I just lost track of time as I was exploring.”

“See. She’s not helpless,” Adam added with a reluctant smile. “Either of you need anything before I get back to work? Food, drink, questions answered?”

“Oh, man. First you don’t want a thing to do with this. Now—” she looked at Lisa “—you’re dying to know just what secrets I’m telling. Tough, little brother. I’m handling this interview.” She shooed him away as if he were a pesky ten-year-old. “You and Kirk go ahead with your chores. Remind my husband that we have dinner plans, but thanks for asking, Adam.”

Lisa bit back a smile. Adam looked as if he’d just been sent to bed without supper. She listened to Liz talk, envisioning Adam happy and full of mischief, before she’d arrived.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with Adam, Lisa, but trust me, he isn’t normally like this at all. I think the pressure is just starting to get to him. Why don’t I give you the grand tour?”

“It’s hard to imagine the magnitude of what he’s taking on here.” Lisa looked around, trying to imagine the room bustling with unfamiliar people.

“Adam is trying so hard to do this all on his own, but he just doesn’t realize how much more there is to be done.” After seeing the entire lodge, they returned to the great room and Lisa closed her notebook.

“I hope that helps.” Liz handed her a business card. “If you need any help—with the interview, or my brother—just call.”

Lisa nodded. “It’s a beautiful building. Thank you for taking the time to show me around, Liz.”

“I enjoyed it...and I’m thrilled that you’re here to do this story for us. And despite Adam’s sour mood, I think he’s excited about this story, too.” With that, Adam’s sister left.

Despite Liz’s claim, it was still difficult to picture Adam enjoying playing host. Or maybe he only found it impossible to be hospitable to
her.

Whatever the reason, she was determined to change his mind.

CHAPTER SIX

A
DAM WENT OUT
of his way to avoid Lisa for the better part of the day. Allowing his sister to show Lisa around the guest house was probably the biggest mistake he could have made, and worse, they all knew it. Despite his efforts to ban Lisa from his mind, he’d been unable to keep his thoughts from drifting back to the blonde.

Glancing out the window, he spotted Lisa playing with Toby. She took him off the leash and threw a stick. Adam chuckled.
Throws like a girl, all right. Poor Toby won’t get much of a workout while she’s around.
Just then she took off running with the awkward puppy lumbering after her.

The steaks sizzled on the stovetop grill and bread warmed in the oven. He chopped a tomato and green pepper, tossed them into the lettuce, then topped it off with a handful of croutons.

The wind whistled as Lisa and Toby tromped inside. “Brrr. Looks like we’re in for a storm.” Her cheeks were pink. She tugged the fleece headband off and tucked it into her coat pocket. Spellbound, Adam watched her remove the hair elastic, comb her hair with her fingers, then magically twist the silken strands into one of those sloppy updos that were so popular.

Adam forced his attention back to dinner. “They’re only predicting a couple of inches.”

She smiled. “Just enough.”

He waited for her to finish the sentence. “Just enough for what?”

She looked at him and shrugged. “To look pretty. Not enough to cause problems for the livestock or driving.... You know, just right.”

He nodded, trying not to show his surprise at her thinking of the livestock. “Okay. Just enough.”
Don’t get tangled up, ole boy.
“Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. How do you like your steak?”

“Medium, please. What can I do?”

“I have it under control, but thanks.”

When they were both seated, he asked, “How’d the tour go?”

“This place is wonderful, Alex.” She cut open her potato and added a tiny slice of butter, then sprinkled it with salt and pepper. He looked back at his own, drenched in both butter and sour cream.

He pushed the pottery dish toward her. “Sour cream?”

“No, but thanks.” She smiled. “So you’ve been thinking about the article?”

Adam shrugged. “On the one hand, I don’t mind free publicity, but on the other, it seems premature. I’ve planned to start slow this first year to give me the chance to see what works, what doesn’t.”

“And you’re worried that the article will bring in too much business?”

“Isn’t that the reason you’re here?”

She took her time chewing. “The article won’t be published until summer. As for reservations, you’re the boss, so when you reach your limit, tell them you don’t have any rooms available. What’s the big deal?”

“You want me to lie?”

“It’s not a lie. It’s called knowing your limits. I’ve stayed at a lot of places that won’t reserve all of their rooms. They hold one or two open for accidental overbookings, walk-ins or because they have less help or a busy schedule that week.”

“How’d you find that out?”

Lisa smiled. “I’m a journalist. I ask a lot of questions. You never know where a story is lurking. Might even be a hidden article in Whispering Pines.” She lifted her eyebrows.

Her eager smile almost melted his defenses. Almost. “I don’t think so.” He thought immediately how his sister’s interference could turn his ranch into a romantic getaway if he wasn’t careful.

“Oh, come on. Am I going to have to dig for the story—brothers, friends, old girlfriends...”

Though he knew she was teasing, just the mention of old girlfriends turned him cold. “I guess that depends on what kind of story you’re after. You aren’t the kind of journalist that would write anything to sell a story, are you?” He wanted to think he could trust Lisa, but then again, he’d trusted Amelia, and it had ended his
career.

Raw hurt clouded her expression. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Heavens, we’re practically family.”

Adam wanted to point out that her claim sounded a lot like a promise, but decided he’d best not press his luck. “
If
I agree, I want to approve the article before it goes to your editor.”

“Okay, but I’m not going to miss a deadline if you’re going to nitpick over minor details like word choice. You’re going to have to trust me.”

Trust. Adam thought a moment. One word could ruin everything. Ignoring the alarms going off in his head, he nodded.

“Great,” she said, satisfaction sparkled in her eyes like stars on a moonless night. “I saw your mother leave. I hoped I could visit with her, too.”

Adam wouldn’t have minded that, either. Anything would have been preferable to facing temptation head-on all evening. “She volunteers every Saturday, then stays with Ricky and Alissa so Kevin and Emily can go out. We caravan back after Sunday dinner.”

“Sounds like a busy day.”

“Yes, we need to leave here at seven to make it to church on time,” Adam said after he finished his last bite of steak. “Then we’ll head out to Alex and Katarina’s.”

Lisa had taken a bite at the same time and the silence loomed uncomfortably between them. “I have a lot of work to do.”

“It’s forty miles there, and I don’t have a spare vehicle, so you either stay home or you come with me. Your sisters are expecting you.”

“Forty miles?” She tucked her hair behind one ear. “They’ll get along just fine without me. You go,” she said forcefully. She set her silverware down with a clang.

Adam didn’t respond right away, hoping the silence would cool the discussion. “Why didn’t you say something then? I gave you the opening to decline.”

“They were in a hurry to leave.”

“You led them to believe you’d come to both church and dinner.”

“There’s one thing you may as well understand now, Adam. My sisters have families of their own...” Lisa finished the last bite of steak, left the potato skins and carried her plate to the kitchen. “I don’t need to intrude on their lives.”

He could hear her loneliness. Adam followed her. “You’re family, Lisa. Of course they want you here.”

“Please don’t get that ‘poor Lisa’ tone. They don’t need to take care of me. As far as that goes, they don’t need me any more now than they ever did.”

“So you’re saying...”

“I’m saying this really is none of your concern,” she said as she pushed past him into the great room.

“Lisa, wait.” He’d followed her. He knew that shock had to be written all over his face. “This morning was it? You’re skipping the family dinner tomorrow just like during the holidays? Do you have any clue how disappointed your sisters were when you didn’t come?”

“I was covering a Christmas story. Tell me that Emily won’t ever have to work on a holiday, or that you’re not going to have guests at Christmas. They don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to disappointment.” She wrapped a stray hair behind her ear. “But that’s all history. Forgive and forget, right?” The words tumbled carelessly from her lips. “Been there, tried that, didn’t work, either.”

Adam grabbed her arm as she started to leave. In an instant, he saw Lisa differently. She was no longer his sister-in-laws’ self-centered little sister; she was a woman alone and in pain. “What happened, Lisa?” He’d exposed a darker side to the drifter, and for the life of him, he didn’t want to be the one to hear this. He shouldn’t be asking in the first place. This was a discussion for her and her sisters. Everything within him warned him to let her go up those stairs and out of his life now.

“Let me go.” She turned her head away.

Placing a finger on her chin, he turned her face toward his. Her eyes were wet and dark like the depths of the ocean she’d been watching the day before. It suddenly dawned on him that Lisa was nothing more than a tiny vessel lost at sea. He knew he should let go, but he couldn’t loosen his grasp, as if he was somehow her anchor in the storm. “Come on, let’s talk.”

She tugged her arm and refused to look at him.

Adam didn’t understand this desperate need to get involved. This morning he couldn’t wait for her to leave. Tonight he was holding on, asking her to stay.

This is what Whispering Pines was for...a safe haven from life’s storms. “Let’s sit down. We can talk, not talk, watch a movie, whatever you want.” He released her arm slowly, half expecting her to run, half expecting to chase her down.

Lisa hesitated. She blinked once, and all traces of tears were gone. “I’ll be fine.”

She didn’t sound fine, but he didn’t dare say that. “I’m not. I’d like to understand.”

“Understand what? You’ve already decided...”

“I never said such a thing. You’re putting words in my mouth.” Adam backed toward the sofa, not allowing his gaze to stray, just in case she bolted.

She lifted her chin. “Reading between the lines.”

“Is that an occupational hazard?”

She burst out laughing, obviously as surprised as Adam at her response. Almost as quickly as the laughter had formed an invisible bond between them, he could see that ease replaced with fear.

He smiled, knowing he’d regret this later. “Come on, Lisa.” For now he didn’t want to think about later.

Lisa sat gingerly on the step to the foyer and unlaced her boots. “I’ll be gone in a few days. You needn’t worry about me and my sisters.”

Adam eased his way closer and leaned an elbow on the antique conductor’s ticket counter. “Emily and Katarina are
my
sisters now, too,” he said, immediately wishing he could take the words back.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “And you want to be sure I don’t hurt them.”

“That’s not what I meant exactly.”

She stepped up next to the banister and gave him a cold hard stare. “What did you mean? Exactly.”

Exactly, he couldn’t say. Only that he cared for all of them more than he dared admit. He stared into Lisa’s eyes, startled that he could almost imagine tasting her tears. Wished he could, exactly. “Exactly...” He’d get his face slapped if she knew.

She crossed her arms, pulling him back to the situation at hand.

“Exactly, I know how it is when things aren’t right between sisters or brothers. I’ve seen how much Emily and Kat missed you over the holidays. And now, I see that you’re hurting, too.” She didn’t deny his claim. “I may not be able to help, but I will listen.”

“Family is everything to you, Adam. I don’t expect you to understand.”

“Try me.”

She started to say something, then shrugged and took a step up the stairs. “It’s nothing.”

“Lisa, I have two sisters, and trust me, our relationship is far from perfect. Liz probably told you more than I’d like you to know, but when we have a problem, we talk it out. This will stay between us.”

Toby lumbered into the room and looked at Lisa expectantly. She reached over to pet him. “I love my sisters. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea.”