Читать книгу Wilde Thing - Jannine Gallant - Страница 9

Tripp leaned back in the booth with a chilled mug of beer and studied Hannah across the table. She pressed her lips together in a tight line. Those strong hands that could knead muscle in the most painfully wonderful way fidgeted with her napkin, twisting and folding it into squares. Not exactly a kickoff to the intimate evening he’d hoped for when he’d suggested dinner out. That option had been shot to hell when she refused to consider anything but a quick burger at the Bridgetender on their way home. As usual on a Friday night, a crowd of locals packed the bar. At least a dozen people had hailed them while they walked to their table in the back. Nope, romance definitely wasn’t on the menu tonight.

“What’s worrying you?”

She glanced up from mutilating the napkin. “I keep seeing that dark figure falling through the air. Ugh, how awful would it be, knowing you were going to die for the few seconds it would take before hitting the ground?” Golden eyes darkened. “Don’t you think the person would have screamed or yelled or something? Surely we would have heard them.”

“Maybe it really was just a snowboard or a backpack or a ski bag. No one reported an accident, and ski patrol seemed to think we’d lost our collective minds since they found absolutely nothing up on the hill to substantiate our story. Their theory is some other skier picked up whatever fell. If we didn’t imagine the whole thing.”

“I guess…if that something was a dead body.”

Tripp laid his free hand over hers and squeezed. “Don’t think about it.” He glanced up as the waitress approached carrying two plates then pulled back his arm. “Just enjoy your burger.”

The pretty brunette set down their dinners and gave him a slow smile. “Anything else I can get for you, Tripp? Just name it.”

Hannah rolled her eyes.

He took a sip of his beer. “No, I think we’re good. Thanks, Mindy.”

“You’re welcome.” She strolled away, hips swaying.

“Does every woman in Tahoe under the age of thirty know you?”

He popped a fry into his mouth. “Maybe not all the married ones.”

Hannah picked up her burger. “Why did I even ask?”

“Dare I hope because you care about me…just a little?”

She took a bite and chewed, obviously giving his comment due consideration before she swallowed then spoke. “Sure, I do. In the same way I care about Griff and Sawyer. You’re my best friend’s brother. Watching you get buried in that avalanche was…troubling.”

He snorted. “I don’t believe you.”

“That’s because you think you’re God’s gift to women.”

He couldn’t suppress a shout of laughter. Heads swiveled in their direction.

“Tripp? Hey, it is you.” Jake Abernathy stepped up to the end of the booth. “I was going to give you a call in the morning. You look better.”

As usual, Jake’s dark blond hair was pulled back in a man bun, and he hadn’t shaved in at least a week. He leaned against the corner of the booth and crossed his arms over the ski jacket covered with his sponsor’s logos.

“Better than half dead in the hospital, which is how you saw me last? I would hope so. When did you get back into town?”

“I flew in this morning after the competition in Utah. Took second. I’m on a roll. Laird won the damn thing with one of your tricks, but he probably wouldn’t have if you’d been around since you do it better.”

“Congrats.” Tripp glanced across the table at Hannah. “Jake Abernathy, meet Hannah Ryder. Hannah’s my physical therapist and an old family friend. She’s going to have me whipped into shape in no time, and I’ll be back on the circuit to kick your ass.”

“You can try.” Jake held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. How come all my old family friends look like the couple in American Gothic? Not fair.”

Hannah grinned. “Pleased to meet you, too. You aren’t competing this weekend?”

“I’m taking a break. I figured if Tripp could laze around doing nothing…”

“I’ll have you know I was up on the ski hill a few hours ago, scaring up more excitement than we were looking for.”

Jake grabbed a chair from an unoccupied table and pulled it up to the end of the booth. “So, the rumors floating around are true? A couple of regulars at the bar told me you saw someone murdered out on the mountain. Then another guy countered with ski patrol’s version of events, that you’d taken one knock on the head too many and were seeing things. Knowing how stories get exaggerated, I figured both versions were a load of crap.”

Tripp thumped down his beer mug. “People are talking already?”

“Appears so. What happened?”

Hannah dropped her burger back onto her plate as her face lost some of its color.

Tripp spoke quickly. “We don’t have to discuss it while we’re eating.”

She waved a hand. “You might as well tell him. I’m going to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

His brow furrowed. “Hannah?”

“I’m fine.” A weak smile curled her lips as she slid out of the booth. “Really.”

Tripp wasn’t so sure.

“She didn’t look fine,” Jake commented as Hannah disappeared into the crowd.

His attention snapped back to his friend. “No, she didn’t. Hannah’s taking this whole situation a little harder than I am.”

Jake propped one elbow on the table and stole a fry off Tripp’s plate. “Taking what, exactly?”

“We saw someone fall off a chairlift. Or get pushed.” Tripp bit into his burger, chewed then swallowed. “Unless it was a large object instead of a person. No dead body down below. I looked.”

“Wow.”

“Ski patrol is going with the theory that it was just a bag…or my imagination. I can’t believe news has already spread.”

“A Squaw lift op was in here earlier, said he was manning Oly Lady when the shit hit the fan—or in this case, the snow.”

“So, half the town knows by now.” Tripp ran a hand through his hair. “We saw the guy who was left on the chairlift, along with another man, leave the parking lot at Squaw afterward. I’d recognize the one dude if I saw him again. Too bad no one cares since there’s apparently no crime to report.”

Jake took another fry. “Do you really think someone fell?”

“At this point, I don’t know what to believe.” Tripp let out a long breath. “I do know the impact would have killed him. Whatever dropped from that chair landed on rocks. I hope the guy was just throwing a backpack down to his buddy and not committing murder.”

“Makes more sense than a disappearing body.”

“Agreed.” He paused with the last of his burger halfway to his mouth. “Here comes Hannah. No more morbid talk, okay?”

“Sure.” Jake rose to his feet and returned the chair to the adjacent table. “Looks like my date just walked in. I’ll catch you later.”

“See you around.”

Hannah smiled at Jake as they passed before resuming her seat. “Your friend had to leave?”

Tripp nodded. “Eat your burger. It’s getting cold.”

She glanced down at her plate with a visible lack of enthusiasm. “I’m not very hungry.”

“I don’t care. Eat.”

She took a small bite. “Who are you, your mom?”

He grinned. “Mine, not yours?”

“Mine always told me not to eat so much. She wasn’t exactly mother-of-the-year material. That’s why I enjoyed hanging out with your family on school breaks. The whole Wilde clan was fun and non-judgmental.”

Her tone was matter-of-fact without a hint of self-pity. He figured commiseration on her family situation was a little late at this point. “Does she still live in Tahoe? You grew up here, right?”

“Who, my mother?” Hannah shook her head. “She moved to Palm Springs with husband number four quite a few years ago. Yeah, I grew up here, then left for college, and eventually worked in the Bay Area. I moved back to Tahoe when my grandpa—my dad’s dad—passed away and left me his cabin.”

“Where’s your father now?”

“He died when I was really young. Car accident.”

“That’s rough.” Tripp dipped a fry in ketchup. “Four husbands, huh?”

“She’s divorced again and currently reeling in number five…or so she says. I get a text every now and then.”

Sympathy for the unknown man surged. Hannah’s mother sounded like a real piece of work. No wonder she’d hung out with Eden so much while they were in college together.

“If you’re only going to push that burger around your plate, we can leave if you want.”

“I want.” She sipped her soda while he waved a hand to attract the attention of their waitress.

Mindy hurried over. “Another beer, Tripp?”

“Just our check.”

“Coming right up.” She handed menus to a couple who sat down at the empty table opposite them then hurried off.

The newcomer slouched back in his chair and took a healthy swallow of his drink. Based on the man’s glassy-eyed gaze, it wasn’t his first of the evening.

“That bitch, Monica Wright, is back in town. Couldn’t believe she had the balls to show her face after the way she burned me on a real estate deal a few years ago.”

“So you’ve told me. Three times.” The woman with him let out a heavy sigh. “Let it go, Harvey. Your blood pressure will be through the roof.”

“I can’t. She cost me a bundle, and I wasn’t the only one she reamed in the process. If you think I’m pissed, you should hear the way Frank talks about her. He called me from here earlier, but I guess he already left.”

Mindy reappeared. “Here you go.” She laid the check on the table before clearing their plates.

“Thanks.” Tripp glanced at the tab then pulled a couple of twenties out of his wallet to drop on the tray. “Keep the change.”

She scooped it up with her free hand. “You’re such a sweetie. Give me a call sometime.”

Hannah slid out of the booth after the waitress walked away. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go.”

“Lead on.” Grinning, Tripp followed her through the bar and out into the parking lot. A cold gust of wind blew fine particles of snow through the air as he unlocked his shiny red pickup. Once they were inside and out of the arctic blast, he started the engine then cranked up the heater. “It’s freezing tonight. I guess the weatherman was right about an Alaskan cold front moving in.”

Hannah held her hands in front of the vent as tepid air swirled into the cab. “That guy at the table next to us was pretty heated. His temper could have melted a snowbank.”

“Drunken blowhard.”

“I bumped into the woman he was talking about the day of the avalanche. She’s an old friend of my mother’s. Or at least they used to be drinking buddies back when I was a kid. Real estate agents around town called Monica the praying mantis. Last I heard, she works for some venture capitalist now.”

“Charming nickname.”

“No doubt. She may have moved up the food chain in her career, but she’s obviously still pissing people off.” Hannah leaned back against the seat as they cruised down the West Shore. “How’s your shoulder?”

“A little stiffer than it was before, but not really painful.”

“Ice it when you get home. No more skiing for you.”

“Skiing didn’t hurt it.” Tripp glanced away from the flurry of snow streaming past his headlights. “My shoulder was completely fine until I climbed down into those rocks. That’s how I tweaked it a little.”

“When’s your next follow-up appointment with Dr. Ingram?”

“Monday. Want to go with me to hear what he has to say?”

“I do, actually.” She turned to face him when he pulled into her driveway. “I’m going to be really angry with myself if today’s fiasco set back your progress.”

He reached across the center console to pat her knee. “I’m fine, and nothing that happened was your fault. I make my own decisions.”

She let out a sigh. “So I’ve learned. I’ll see you in the morning.”

He hesitated for a moment. “You still look a little shaken up. Want me to come in with you?”

“I appreciate the offer, but, no. I’ve been taking care of myself for a lot of years, now. I can pretty much handle anything that comes my way.”

He tightened the hand he’d left on her knee. “I don’t doubt that for a minute, but it’s okay to lean on a friend every now and then.”

In the dark interior of the truck, her expression was hidden, but her voice held a hint of uncertainty. “Is that what we are? Friends?”

“I’d like to think so. Since we’ve been getting along so well, we can take it to the next level anytime you want.”

She drew in an audible breath. “What level is that?”

“Friends with benefits.”

Is that what I want? For the first time ever, he wasn’t one hundred percent sure.

Hannah’s rich chuckle filled the cab. “Always playing an angle. Thanks for making me smile, Tripp. I needed a good laugh.”

“Is that a no?”

“What do you think?” She swatted his hand off her leg.

“I promise we’d have a lot of fun.”

“I’m sure we would.” She unclipped her seatbelt and opened the door. “Not gonna happen, bud.”

“We’ll see. Don’t forget your skis in the back.”

“Right. Good night, Tripp.”

“Night, Hannah. Sleep well.”

He waited while she collected her gear from the bed of the truck then headed up the path to the front door. As soon as she opened it, her dog ran out, bouncing around her in circles. After a moment, she managed to get both the skis and dog inside, and with a little wave, shut the door behind her. He shifted into gear and backed out onto the street. He should have gotten out to help her with her equipment, but Hannah projected such a level of confidence—not to mention a hands-off attitude—that he hadn’t thought about offering assistance until she had the situation well under control.

Kind of the way she did everything.

In his world, flirting with a woman as fine as Hannah was pretty much a knee-jerk reaction.

Tripp turned left onto the main road and stepped on the gas. With Hannah, he found he actually cared what she thought and waited in anticipation for her response. Which, despite his best efforts, nearly always was to shoot him down. The fact that she’d finally agreed to eat dinner with him was a true testament to how ragged her nerves must have been after the events on the mountain. He figured she’d simply been too tired to argue.

Damned if he wouldn’t convince her he was worth breaking her no-dating-a-client rule.

Then what?

The skeptical voice in his head sounded suspiciously like his little sister.

Hannah’s special. Don’t you dare hurt her.

His grip on the steering wheel tightened as he sped through the lightly falling snow. Hurting Hannah was the last thing he intended. Maybe he’d have to rethink his strategy, figure out if he wanted something other than a quick fling.

Then, and only then, would he reconsider his pursuit of the elusive Ms. Ryder.

* * * *

Hannah dug into the muscle of Tripp’s shoulder, executing a deep tissue massage with professional detachment…or so she kept telling herself. The man’s body was gorgeous. Sculpted arms, well-defined abs, nothing but lean muscle from the waist up. But the thighs of a professional skier stretched the legs of his shorts tight, the results of hours and hours of training. Then there were those rock-hard glutes. The man had one fine ass.

“God, that feels good, in a torturous sort of way.”

She stroked her hands across warm and elastic oiled skin. Despite having put him through a tough session, he still smelled good, citrusy and primal. She drew in a breath and stepped back from the massage table. Time to wrap this up before her imagination got completely out of control.

“You aren’t quitting, are you?” Turning his face to the side, he met her gaze. Green eyes the color of the forest outside the window, sparkled with humor. “What about the happy ending?”

A smile curved her lips. “You aren’t paying me enough.”

“Are you sure? When I opened your bill, I almost fainted.”

The smile broadened. “You wanted me to work exclusively with you. That costs.”

“No friends and family discount?”

“What I gave you was the discounted rate.” She wiped her hands on a towel. “We’re finished. You can go take a shower now.”

He rolled over and sat up. “I don’t suppose you want to join me?”

She eyed him up and down. “As tempting as you are, all greased up like a pig at the county fair, I’ll pass.”

He let out a snort of laughter. “With you around, I don’t have to worry about getting an inflated ego, that’s for sure.”

“Consider ego squashing a free perk. I’ll see you later, Tripp.”

As she headed toward the door, he reached out to grab her arm. Lean fingers held her in a loose grip, but she didn’t try to pull away when he tugged her one step closer.

“Do you know what tomorrow is?”

One of her brows shot up. “Sunday?”

“Yes, but more importantly, it’s my birthday.”

“Oh yeah? The big three-oh?”

“I’m officially ancient. Want to know what I’d like to do to commemorate such an auspicious occasion?”

She scowled. “If you say have sex—”

“Believe it or not, I have a little more class than that. A real date…not a burger at the Bridgetender. A grown-up, dress nice and go out to dinner date with an elegant and fascinating woman. What do you say?”

Dating a client wasn’t an option. Ever. And getting emotionally involved with Tripp was the last thing Hannah wanted. She had absolutely no doubt she’d wind up with a bruised and battered heart if she was foolish enough to give in to his persuasive charm. She’d fallen for this man once before with no more encouragement than a few easy smiles, and all her youthful fantasies had been hopelessly crushed. Still, turning him down on his birthday seemed…wrong. Forewarned is forearmed, right?

“Since you put it so nicely—and it’s your birthday—I accept.”

“Great. Sunday’s my rest day, so I won’t see you in the morning.” He regarded her steadily. “I’ll make a reservation for seven at that new lakeside restaurant in town and pick you up at a quarter to. Will that work?”

She hesitated for a moment then nodded. “I haven’t eaten there yet. Thanks for asking me.” He slid his fingers down to her wrist, leaving tingles in their wake before he released her.

“I’m looking forward to trying something different for a change.”

“Tripp?”

His gaze met hers, warm and filled with pleasure. “Yes?”

“Have a happy birthday.”

“I intend to.”