Meant for Each Other Page 8

  "Of course I'll stay while you're gone. You deserve a second honeymoon free of worries."

  "I knew I could count on you." Alice was positively beaming.

  "The thing is, though, for my own peace of mind, I need to interview for a teaching position in Colorado right away, if only to find out what's available. Why don't I fly to Denver as soon as we get back home from camping? In a couple of days, I can visit both campuses, talk to the heads of the departments and return to Afton before you leave on your trip to Canada."

  Alice studied Kathryn's face for a brief moment, her eyes revealing little of what she was thinking. Finally she said, "I can't argue with that logic, and your plan coincides perfectly with Laurel's. She and her friend Cindy are driving to Salt Lake to see the 'Days of 47' celebration."

  "That's right! The twenty-fourth of July is only a few days away."

  Alice nodded. "They can drop you off at the airport and pick you up from your return flight. Cindy's aunt lives in the city. She's going to let them sleep over-then they can go to the parade and the rodeo." "In that case, I'll drive to the marina in the morning so I can phone ahead for plane reservations and set up appointments.''

  "Good." Alice got to her feet. "Now that we have that settled, I'm going to see if Clyde wants any help preparing dinner."

  "While you're doing that, I'm going to freshen up before dinner. I'm a mess."

  "That'll be the day." Alice smiled. "Take your time. I'll tell you when it's ready," she called over her shoulder as she headed for the cooking area.

  Kathryn went to her tent, feeling a strange lethargy that made every step seem an effort. Evidently the conversation with Alice, following her long hike in the hot sun, had taken its toll. By the time she reached the tent and sat down on her sleeping bag, she scarcely had the energy to take the rubber bands from her hair and brush it. In fact, the urge to lie down became too strong to ignore. Thinking she'd only rest for a few minutes, she stretched out on her stomach, still holding the brush in her hand.

  Until she heard someone say her name, she knew nothing else. At first she thought she was dreaming, but a man's voice called to her a second time, and when she recognized it, she came awake instantly.

  "Wade?" With pounding heart she sat up, blinking into the darkness. "I must have fallen asleep. What time is it?" she asked through the closed tent flap. She was glad he couldn't see her.

  "Midnight.''

  "I don't believe it! Is something wrong?"

  "I was about to ask you the same question. When we called you to dinner, you were out like a light. AIlie said you spent too long in the sun, so we decided not to disturb you. But that was hours ago, and since I'm the last one to go to bed, I thought I'd check on you in case you wanted anything," he said in a low voice.

  "Thank you, but I'm fine. I guess I forgot that the sun's more potent at this altitude than at the beach." "If you're hungry or need to go use the privy, you can take my flashlight. Clouds have moved in and I saw sheet lightning a few minutes ago. We'll probably have a storm before long."

  "Lightning?" When she was a little girl, Kathryn's father had been killed by lightning in a pasture. Though she and Alice had eventually overcome their phobic reaction to it, Kathryn had never felt completely at ease during an electrical storm and preferred not to be alone when one occurred.

  Wade must have remembered other storms in the past when he had stayed home to comfort her, and it explained why he'd awakened her now. He hadn't wanted her to wake up, suddenly and alone, to the frightening sounds of a storm. His thoughtfulness shouldn't have surprised her, but she was still disoriented from sleep and feeling far too vulnerable where he was concerned.

  "Shall we sit it out in my tent or yours?" he asked wryly. "We both know you won't get any more sleep until the storm passes over.''

  A clap of thunder helped make her decision. She scrambled to her feet and quickly unzipped the mesh and the tent flap. Wade shouldered his way in, bringing wind and the smell of rain with him.

  While he made everything watertight again, Kathryn climbed into her sleeping bag, still wearing her shorts and T-shirt. Wade turned on his flashlight and beamed it in her face, which was partially hidden by her loose hair. She felt his probing gaze before he propped the flashlight in the corner to light the tent.

  "Here." Avoiding his eyes, she handed him her extra blanket. "You'll need this to sit on."

  He spread it at the foot of her sleeping bag. The tent was built for three, so it easily held them both. In a lithe move he lowered himself to the blanket and tossed her an apple.

  She bit into it, guiltily relishing the situation―the cozy confines of the tent and Wade sprawled at her feet. "Mmm. This tastes good. Thank you. I didn't realize I was hungry.''

  He said nothing, and for an uncomfortable moment, simply stared at her.

  In the space of a heartbeat, the brief camaraderie she had felt with him was gone. In its place was a palpable tension that charged the atmosphere and made it impossible for her to act naturally. She put the half eaten apple on the ground beside her. Though she could see lightning flashes outside the tent window, her nervousness stemmed from a different source entirely.

  Another clap of thunder cannonaded across the lake, much closer this time, and a cold wind whistled through the pines, signaling that rain was imminent. As if Wade could read her mind, be reached above him and zipped the window closed.

  Unconsciously she watched the play of shoulder muscles, the effortless grace that was as much a part of him as his clean male scent, and sun-darkened skin. She could still remember the feel of his powerful body against hers after he'd rescued her from the overturned kayak the night before. She forced herself to look away.

  He resettled himself on his side and faced her, propping his bead on one of her duffel bags. "Is it true what Allie told everyone tonight?"

  She knew what be was talking about and couldn't pretend otherwise. "If you mean that I'm going to stay in Afton and work at the store while they're away, then yes.”

  "Why?"

  His response shouldn't have hurt, but it did. "Be cause I promised Alice I would," she said hotly. "I'm surprised you'd even ask that question, since you were the one so adamant that I go along with their plans.'' "It's obvious that being separated from your lover is making you miserable," he said. "How's he going to react when be finds out you're stuck here longer than you'd anticipated? It wouldn't surprise me if you'd been planning to meet him in Colorado―were you? Is that why you're so eager to get there? If so, why prolong the agony?"

  His questions, fired one after the other, coincided with the first drops of rain spattering the tent. In the glow of the flashlight, she studied the lines and angles of the rugged features she loved so well. She averted her eyes and took a deep breath. "I have no intention of meeting him in Colorado or any other place―he belongs to someone else.''

  Wade sat up and his eyes gleamed like a cat's. "But you're still in love with him."

  "Yes," she admitted in a husky whisper. Oddly enough, telling Wade the truth was her best defense. As long as he assumed she was talking about another man, it made the situation easier to handle.

  "If that's the way you feel, why don't you go back to California and do something about it?"

  "Because there are insurmountable problems."

  "Nothing's insurmountable if you want it badly enough." His voice was surprisingly harsh.

  "It is when he's devoted to another woman."

  Wade's mouth twisted in derision. "How devoted could he be if he got involved with you to the point that your husband asked for a divorce?"

  "You don't understand, Wade." She shook her head helplessly. "There are other considerations of equal gravity."

  "Name one."

  "I'm not prepared to go into them." "Was the baby his?"

  For the life of her she couldn't understand his interest in the baby. "No, because I never slept with him. Philip was the father of my unborn child, and that's as much as I'm willing to tel
l you.”

  A long pause ensued, and she noticed that the rain had become a steady downpour.

  "Then what are you saying?" he asked tersely. When she didn't answer right away, he muttered an oath. "Does this man even realize you're in love with him?"

  "No."

  His brow furrowed. "Why in the hell not? Don't you think he'd want to know something that important?"

  "Would you?" she retorted without thinking.

  "You're engaged to be married!" Her chest heaved with the violence of her emotions. "How would you feel if a female acquaintance suddenly bared her soul to you? What if she revealed her obsession with you, not giving a thought to anyone else's feelings? Wouldn't this woman be complicating your life in all kinds of ways, just to gratify her own needs and desires? How would Amy like it?"

  "I'm the wrong person to ask," he murmured. "If a love that overpowering came into my life and I reciprocated the woman's feelings, then I'd never let her go. Naturally I'd break my engagement to Amy, because it wouldn't be fair to her."

  Kathryn wasn't certain if the tremor rocking her body came from the ground or within herself. But one thing was perfectly clear. Wade wasn't in love with his fiancée.

  What had driven him to propose to Amy when his deepest emotions weren't involved? Alice and Clyde had voiced the same concern, but Kathryn, more than anyone, could recognize the situation for what it was. She'd traveled down that empty road herself-and she'd taken Philip with her.

  Suddenly she thought she knew the answer and felt the blood drain from her face. Was it possible that his relationships with other women lacked the fire she and Wade had once found in each other's arms? Maybe he was making the same mistake she'd made with Philip. Maybe he was willing to settle for less. Maybe he'd become engaged to Amy because she seemed to be the kind of woman he should marry―and because she wasn't Kathryn.

  "It's a good thing your fiancée didn't hear you say that, or she might not understand."

  An eternity seemed to pass before he said, "Would you care to elaborate on that statement?"

  His anger frightened Kathryn and she lowered her head. "I―I shouldn't have said anything. Please forget it."

  "That would be impossible.''

  "The storm is over. You don't need to baby-sit me any longer."

  "Is that what I'm doing?"

  Growing more uneasy in his presence, she edged farther away from him and felt the wall of the tent at her back. "Wade, I'm sorry. I had no right to say that."

  Somehow he had moved closer. "But you did, and I have no intention of leaving until you explain exactly what you meant."

  She swallowed hard. "I was merely implying that I expected you to say something like, 'Amy's the great love of my life so the possibility of responding to an other woman, no matter how much she professes to love me, simply doesn't exist.' "

  There was an unnatural quiet before he said, "Does the man you love qualify as the great love in Kathryn Lawson's life?"

  "Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

  "Even if he never knows the truth?" "There's such a thing as honor."

  "Honor be damned. It's more than possible he's in love with you. You have an obligation to tell him how you feel, for both your sakes.”

  "No."

  "Then you're a fool and you deserve every second of misery life brings you.”

  "Thank you," she whispered and jumped to her feet, unwilling to let him see the effect his words had on her.

  "Kathryn, for the love of heaven, come back here!" But her only desire was to escape. The problem was she'd forgotten just how quickly Wade could move. Before she reached the tent opening, he grabbed her by the shoulders and twisted her around to face him, his rugged features in shadow.

  "So help me, Kathryn, don't you know the only reason I said that was because I know what a passionate woman you are?"

  His mouth was too close, too tempting. The touch of his hands sent a paralyzing warmth through her body. She turned her head away, trying to hold on to her sanity. "That was a long time ago, Wade."

  "Are you saying passion is wasted on the young? That you're no longer capable of it? Why don't we test out that theory to see if it's true?"

  "No!" He grasped her forearms and she fought him in earnest. But pushing her hands against his chest was a mistake. With his superior strength he easily trapped them ag inst the weight of his body, then drew her into his arms until there was no space between them.

  She tried turning her head to evade him, but his hands checked her movements. With the accuracy of a heat-seeking missile his mouth locked on hers, releasing a charged energy that had been stored deep inside her for five long years and was bursting to be spent.

  She knew it would be like this if he ever touched her again, that every particle, every cell, every atom of her body would explode into unquenchable flame.

  Terrified because she wanted to be lost in that chaos of feeling but knew it was wrong, she gasped, "No more," and tore her lips from his.

  But Wade easily held her in place, demonstrating his physical mastery over her. She had to look away from the arrogant curve of his mouth, the mouth that had brought her alive in a fresh, painful way. How could she have allowed this to happen?

  "So, now we know you're not in your dotage quite yet," he taunted softly. "After blowing that theory to bits, I can't help but wonder what else we might uncover with a little more experimentation."

  "Get out, Wade!" He had driven her to the breaking point and he knew it.

  "I'll leave when I'm ready," he warned in a voice taut with anger. He reached for the flashlight and beamed it on her face. At her cry of surprise he lifted his other hand and with his thumb sensuously brushed the swollen softness of her lips, which still bore traces of the passion they had shared.

  "Just so we understand each other, don't start psychoanalyzing me and my feelings unless you're prepared to undergo more of the same scrutiny yourself." "I'll never let you touch me again," she whispered fiercely. But her declaration came too late, because he had already left the tent.

  Smothering a sob, she flung herself on top of her sleeping bag, wishing she could howl out her anguish. Five years away from Wade should have killed her feelings for him. But that hadn't happened. And the desire he aroused with one smoldering kiss changed all the rules.

  What was she going to do? What could she do until she left Afton for good?

  Knowing how relentlessly Wade pursued anything he wanted, she would have to go to extraordinary lengths to avoid being alone with him.

  There would be no more sleep for her that night. Thanks to Wade, the blood coursed hot and heavy through her veins, reminding her that she was a woman deeply in love, wanting to express it in the age old way. But he was forbidden to her, forever out of reach. When she contemplated the emptiness of a future without Wade, scalding tears trickled out of the corners of her eyes.

  She spent the remaining hours of the night devising a scheme to keep herself out of his way. By the time morning came, she was armed with a battle plan and knew exactly what had to be done.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  KATHRYN WAS UP with the sun and took it upon her self to prepare a breakfast of bacon and pancakes for any early risers. It was no small feat, since she had to remove all the damp tarps protecting their stores from the rain the night before.

  Except for a few puffy clouds, the sun shone brightly this morning; everything would be dry by noon. As she'd hoped, John emerged from his tent first. He was exactly the person she needed to carry out her plan.

  After making a sound that must have meant good morning, he sat down at the picnic table. "How did you know I was dreaming about pancakes dripping in huckleberries?"

  "Because they've been your favorite since you were old enough to smear them all over your high chair," she teased.

  He helped himself to half a dozen. "Do me a favor and never tell that story in the presence of company.'' Kathryn chuckled. "I promise." She brought the bacon and orange juice to the
table and sat down next to him. "What's on the agenda today?" She needed to elicit information from him without arousing suspicion. "I'm embarrassed to admit I was so tired last night, I fell asleep before dinner."

  "After we ate, everyone went to bed, but I heard Dad say he and Mom are going to laze around the camp all day and do absolutely nothing.''

  Kathryn started eating her pancakes. "If that's the case, why don't we wake up Laurel and the three of us can go waterskiing while the lake's still calm? Afterward I'll treat you to late lunch over at the lodge on Coulter Bay.''

  "Sounds good to me. What about Wade?" he asked with his mouth full of juicy huckleberries.

  Striving for a steady voice, she said, "Oh, he's not all that keen on skiing. He'd rather fish from his kayak. If we leave, it'll give your folks a chance to be alone together.''

  John nodded. "Shall I get her up?"

  "No. I'll do it. You finish eating."

  Laurel loved the idea. Within half an hour, the three of them had taken off in the boat, leaving a note, carefully secured by a rock, on the picnic table. If Wade was awake and heard their activity in the camp, he didn't come out of his tent to investigate. Neither did Alice or Clyde.

  For the first time in three days, Kathryn was able to relax and play and fully enjoy the company of niece and nephew. It reminded her of times at the beach, when there had been no Wade to disturb her thoughts.

  After they'd ordered their lunch in the dining room of the lodge, Kathryn slipped out to the reception desk and made several phone calls. With that accomplished, she joined her niece and nephew for roast beef sandwiches.

  At around three that afternoon, Kathryn suggested they fill the gas tank and return to camp in case Alice and Clyde wanted to use the boat. On their way back, Laurel drove past the point to see if Wade had caught any trout for their dinner. But his kayak wasn't there, which produced contradictory feelings of relief and deflation in Kathryn.

  As the boat glided in to shore, she spied her sister and brother-in-law sunbathing on a blanket. Both kayaks were present, which meant Wade had to be somewhere in the camp. The pulse at the base of her throat began to throb with a nervous excitement she couldn't suppress.