Mysterious Mountain Man. Annette Broadrick
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Название: Mysterious Mountain Man
Автор: Annette Broadrick
Издательство: HarperCollins
Жанр: Современные любовные романы
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Nothing about this meeting was going as she had planned. She hadn’t tried to guess how she’d find him or where a meeting between them would take place but this unexpected encounter had left her reeling. All of the remarks she’d carefully planned to say to him had left her mind.
While she was frantically searching for a light remark, Jake said, “Betty, I’d like you to meet Rebecca Adams. She works for CPI Enterprises in Seattle.” He glanced at Rebecca out of the corner of his eye before adding, “Besides being the head of the personnel department, she’s the boss’s daughter.”
He glanced back at her, no doubt waiting for her reaction to his remark. Since he wasn’t the first person through the years to imply that she held a responsible position in the company only because of her father, she chose not to comment.
She really didn’t care what Jake Taggart thought of her. She knew she was good at her job. She didn’t owe anyone any explanations or apologies for the position she held.
When she remained silent, he continued. “Betty and Mel own the restaurant. They serve the best food west of the Mississippi.”
Rebecca noticed the older woman—Betty had he called her?— blushed like a schoolgirl. But then, Jake seemed to have that effect on most women—even her, darn him—despite her determination to keep a professional distance between them. How could she have forgotten this man’s charisma? Hadn’t she once accused her father of being unduly influenced by Jake’s magnetism as well as his professional expertise?
“Pleased ta meet cha, Ms. Adams. What would you like to drink?”
“I think I’ll have—”
“They don’t have any of your herbal teas, ‘Becca, and the coffee is chock-full of caffeine,” Jake drawled, deliberately baiting her.
Ignoring him, she smiled at Betty and said, “Coffee sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
Betty hurried away, presumably for a cup since she was still holding the pot of coffee in her hand. Jake, meanwhile, turned sideways in the booth—his back resting against the wall, his elbow on the table, and his long legs stretched along the length of the bench seat.
Rebecca folded her hands together on the table and studied them in an effort to organize her thoughts.
“You never said what brings you to these parts, ‘Becca.” The slight tilt of his mouth revealed his awareness of her efforts at control.
She lifted her gaze to meet his. Thankfully, to her, her voice sounded steady when she replied, “That should be obvious, Jake. I came looking for you.”
Two
Jake studied her for a long moment. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but then, she never could. This man continued to be an enigma to her. Despite her working knowledge of human nature, she’d never been able to figure out what made Jake Taggart tick.
She knew she was at a disadvantage with him and that she would have to call on everything she had to convince him to do what she so desperately needed him to do. She’d come this far. She couldn’t blow it now.
She took a deep breath, prepared to make her pitch, when he said, “I’m downright flattered, ‘Becca.” There wasn’t an ounce of sincerity in his voice. “I’ll admit to being surprised to see you here.”
Now that she could believe despite the fact that he’d concealed his surprise well. She looked toward the dusty windows and beyond to the brightly lit sky. “West Texas is certainly different from Seattle, I must admit.” She turned back to face the man across from her. She’d always found him formidable. “Did anyone tell you that we’ve been trying to contact you?”
He opened his mouth as though to answer her, then paused, glancing past her shoulder. Betty arrived with a cup of coffee. She set it in front of Rebecca before turning to Jake. “You want some more coffee?”
“No, thanks. Water’s fine.”
Betty smiled at Rebecca, her eyes reflecting her curiosity. “So you came to see Jake, did ya?” she asked, making no attempt to hide her interest.
Rebecca was surprised. She wasn’t used to having a server make personal conversation. “I—uh—” She stopped, not knowing how to respond. She was out of her element and wasn’t certain what was called for here, according to proper etiquette.
“It’s all right,” Betty said, her voice filled with sympathetic understanding. “He’s used to women chasing after him.” She turned to Jake. “So. You expectin’ to hang around here overnight, or do you intend to git back home?”
Jake lazily stretched before replying. “Haven’t decided yet, Betty.”
“Well, we always keep your room ready for ya,” she said casually, before returning to the cash register where the other diners were waiting to pay for their meal.
Rebecca knew it was none of her business, but she asked, anyway. “Are you related to Betty?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
She nodded, more to herself than anything. “I wondered about that when I saw them listed in your personnel file. It was our only lead to your whereabouts.”
After straightening the knife, fork and spoon that Betty had placed in front of him, Jake picked up the spoon with his thumb and forefinger and began to flip it, tapping one end on the table, flipping it, then tapping the other end, as though he had nothing better to do than to make a repetitive noise no doubt designed to irritate her. She glanced at his long fingers, then away.
“Well, now you’ve found me. So what do you want?”
She took a sip of the coffee, her mind racing with questions and comments. She mentally replayed what Betty had said just now and surprised herself by verbalizing the least important question flitting through her mind.
“Is that true?” she asked.
“Is what true?”
“Are you used to women chasing after you?”
He twitched his shoulders and gave a quick shake of his head. “That was Betty’s way of pulling my leg.”
She dropped her gaze to the steaming liquid. She was stalling and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to bring any order to her thoughts at the moment. To immediately find the man for whom she’d been prepared to make a diligent search had thrown her off her stride. She needed a moment to regroup and to marshal all her arguments.
“What do you want, Rebecca?” he repeated, impatiently. “Did Brock send you?”
She stiffened for a moment before answering him. “No.”
“I didn’t think so.” Tension filled the silence between them before he continued, his tone mocking. “As I recall, you never went out of your way to spend much time in my company when I worked at CPI, so it’s hard for me to guess what prompted this little visit.”
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