Читать книгу Baily's Irish Dream: Baily's Irish Dream / Czech Mate - Stephanie Doyle - Страница 13

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS has happened.”

“It’s seems like par for the course for you on this trip. You haven’t broken any mirrors lately, have you?” Baily asked, hitching Theodora up over her shoulder. The cat had been cooperative so far, but if they didn’t settle her in their room soon for her nap she would be impossible to travel with the next day.

“No, I haven’t broken any mirrors or walked under any ladders. I have spent too much time with a black cat and its wacky mother.”

“Oh, is this going to be my fault, too?” Baily asked. They stood outside the car rental place, which was only a few blocks from the motel where they had parked. Baily had suggested they see about the rental car first as it was getting late and the place might close. Daniel had agreed. To stretch their legs, they’d decided to walk the few blocks through the crowd of tourists that filled the streets of the trendy new boomtown in Wyoming. Through the tourists and one pickpocket, that is.

“I didn’t steal your wallet,” Baily reminded him.

“It was your idea to walk!” It was a ridiculous accusation said out of aggravation. Still it felt good. No wallet. No credit cards. No license to rent a car even if he did have his credit cards. He could get his V.P. to wire him some cash first thing tomorrow morning, but what was he going to do about his license? More importantly, what was he going to do for a room tonight?

Unfortunately, the answer to his question had red hair and was an endless source of irritation.

“You realize what this means?” Daniel asked her.

Of course she knew what it meant. It meant that he would be making the trip with her all the way to Philadelphia. The thought made Baily queasy. Originally when she had asked him, she thought his presence might mean good company, protection, someone to break up the driving. That was two shared Diet Pepsi’s and a walnut debate ago. What Baily had come to understand during their trip so far was that she was much too interested in this man than an-about-to-become-engaged woman should be. She liked him. Even when they fought, she liked him. That in itself was bad, but worse was the fact that every time she gazed into his hazel eyes her heart pounded heavier, her blood raced thicker, and violent flashes of the two of them together naked flashed before her eyes. That was really bad.

The first thing she’d wanted to do when they arrived at Jackson Hole was to get him his own car. She couldn’t take the risk that she might have to spend another day with him. Now it appeared that she was going to be spending more than just one more day with him.

“It means,” Daniel finished, “that we’ll drive to Philadelphia together. That is, if your offer is still open.”

“U-uh,” Baily stuttered.

“What am I saying? Of course it’s still open. You wouldn’t leave me stranded in Jackson Hole, would you?”

“No?” Baily asked, not as certain of that fact as he seemed to be.

“No.”

Defeated, Baily nodded. She was just going to have to keep a stranglehold on her wayward thoughts and her out-of-control hormones.

The couple backtracked their route just in case Daniel’s wallet had dropped out along the way. Since he’d kept his wallet in his back pocket, it seemed unlikely that he could have dropped it, but both of them wanted to be positive, each for their own reasons. After a thorough search, their conclusion was still the same. The wallet had been pinched. Baily suggested that they file a complaint with the police. Daniel agreed and the two went in search of the local cops. The officer on duty quizzed Daniel for details, but Daniel couldn’t tell the man much. Equally, the officer couldn’t offer Daniel much in the way of hope that his wallet would turn up.

As the two headed back to the motel Daniel reiterated what he had told the police, in the hope that maybe something would spark his memory.

“I thought I felt somebody bump into me a bit harder than one would normally expect. But no way I felt a hand reach into my back pocket. It must have been a pro. A serious pro.”

“Heaven forbid that you get ripped off by an amateur,” Baily snickered. Typical man. Not just any old pickpocket was brave enough or smart enough to outwit the almighty Daniel Blake. It had to the best pickpocket in the West.

Finally they reached the motel lobby. Daniel held the door open for Baily and graciously allowed her to enter ahead of him. Together they approached the motel clerk.

The young girl with the bright smile and blond ponytail was completely unaware of the brewing storm that had just entered the small little lobby. They looked like two normal people and a cat. She would never know what hit her.

TEN MINUTES LATER an enraged Baily emerged from the lobby holding on to Miss Roosevelt with one hand while she held the door in the other.

As soon as Daniel reached the door, she slammed it backward with intent to kill. Or at least to bump him in the nose real hard.

If Daniel’s reflexes hadn’t been as quick as they were, Baily might have succeeded. Fortunately for her, he knew her well enough by now to expect the dirty trick. A chilling notion if he thought about it for too long.

“You behaved like a child. I don’t see what the big deal is.” Daniel fumed under his breath as he trailed her to their room. He’d never been so completely humiliated in his life. Humiliation, a heretofore unknown emotion, was now as commonplace to him as breathing thanks to an unreasonable redhead.

“You wouldn’t,” Baily responded to his muttering. “But trust me, it is in fact a big deal.”

“Meow,” Theodora concurred.

“See, even she agrees with me,” Baily announced.

“Oh, now I’m convinced because the damn cat said so.”

Baily lifted Theodora off her shoulder so she could see her face. “Did you hear what he just called you?”

“Meow.”

“Clearly the man has no sense of propriety,” Baily said, cuddling Theodora once again over her shoulder.

In one coordinated motion, Daniel passed Baily and her cat en route to the room and removed the key from her hand. He had opted not to rise to her previous challenge. Daniel fast discovered that Red took a profound delight in having the last word. If he chose to respond to her comment, he knew there would be more to follow. And between the morning’s argument, the afternoon’s argument, and the early evening’s argument, he simply wasn’t ready to engage in a late-evening argument.

Once inside the room, he couldn’t ignore the gasp from immediately behind him. So much for détente.

“Look at how small the room is! It’s minute, minuscule, miniature, tiny, teeny, weeny—”

“I get the point,” Daniel interrupted.

“But you said it probably wouldn’t be that bad. You said we’d never even notice one another. You said we would forget the other person was even there,” Baily protested, throwing Daniel’s words back at him.

“I said we would try to forget the other person was there, and believe me I will do everything in my power to make that true. It would help things considerably if you shut your mouth for more than five seconds at a time. Not that I think you could even if you wanted to.”

“You don’t think I can keep my mouth shut.”

“Yes, I’m pretty positive you couldn’t keep your mouth shut for any extended period of time.”

Baily closed her mouth, determined not to talk. Which was her misfortune, since she still had a considerable amount to say. It was like shaking up a soda can and then refusing to open it. All her fizz was bursting to get out. Then again, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t said everything already.

At the registration desk, she had asked for one room for herself and Theodora. She’d then stepped aside so that Daniel could ask for his room.

That was when he reminded her that his wallet had been stolen.

She told him he couldn’t share her room. It was unthinkable. She wasn’t that kind of girl.

He told her he wasn’t that kind of guy, but where in the hell did she think he was going to stay.

She told him she couldn’t afford two rooms. It would run up the limit on her credit card too fast, what with the bulk of the trip in front of them. And she had no idea where he was going to sleep.

He told her to get a grip. He was staying with her. Then he added all that stuff about the room being so big they would miss each other.

She told him that she wouldn’t miss him even if he were the last man on the planet.

Then he’d tried to walk out on her.

And she’d discovered that she did miss him. That is, she missed the opportunity to punch him right in the nose. So she’d walked out on him first.

Now she sat on her bed, the one that was only a foot away from his bed, and sulked. She threw in a few pouts and sighs every now and again for good measure. But she didn’t say a word. He was lying back on his bed, seemingly oblivious to her irritation.

“Uh-hh-hh,” she sighed once more, this time so audibly that he couldn’t miss it. She waited for his reaction.

Slump. A large white puffy mass hit her square in the face. For a moment she was too stunned to think. Then it hit her. Literally. Why that arrogant, no good, stinking, rotten, conniving…jerk! No, wait. Bastard! He’d just thrown his pillow at her.

Taking the weapon in hand, Baily stood over him astounded that he had the nerve to close his eyes. Didn’t he know she would retaliate? She poised the pillow high above her head in attack position ready to bring it down on his face…hard.

It was as the pillow was on the way down that she realized she had made a tactical error. She’d been suckered into a trap. The most obvious trick in the book. The play dead routine. After having used the same ruse on her brothers a multitude of times, she should have been adept at spotting it herself.

In an instant Daniel’s eyes were open. His hands sprung up and captured her wrists. Stopping the attack wasn’t enough, however. He had to disarm her before he could truly consider himself safe. Keeping a firm grip on her wrists, Daniel pulled her toward him while at the same time rolling so that her natural momentum threw her down next to him on the bed. In a flash he rolled on top of her, pinning her arms high above her head. A quick glimpse confirmed she still had the pillow.

Panting with sudden exertion and blushing with humiliation at having been so easily duped, Baily confronted her conqueror. That was her second mistake. Hazel eyes loomed above her. Their color was extraordinary. But no more so than the man to whom they belonged. His breath blew in little puffs on her mouth. An odd expression suddenly crossed his face. It must have just occurred to him—the predicament he had put them in.

Daniel looked down at his captive. He’d been prepared to taunt his victory over her, but once he saw her eyes and dove into those green depths, he was helpless to stop the rush of desire that crashed over him. Red tresses shot like flames from her head to decorate the whiteness of the pillow beneath her. They demanded to be caressed. Freckles called to him for a kiss, each one individually.

“Red…” he whispered. Then, “Red?”

“Daniel?” Baily replied, not knowing what else to do. Her neck arched ever so slightly, bringing his lips into closer contact. He lowered his head and the touch of his lips was like the brush of a feather across her own.

“Meow!” Theodora chose that moment to launch an attack on Daniel’s back. She used her front paws to scrape at his back through his cotton shirt. Apparently, she didn’t like the idea of anyone pouncing on her mistress—other than herself, of course. “Me-ow!” she roared furiously.

“Miss Roosevelt! Really,” Baily scolded, although she didn’t know whether she was grateful, angry, or frustrated with her cat’s interference. She’d lay odds on frustrated.

With a groan, Daniel slowly rolled to his side to give the cat a chance to jump. She did and went along her merry way now that her mistress was out of trouble.

“What just happened?” Daniel asked.

“How about dinner?” Baily suggested, completely ignoring his question. Her voice was tense and high-pitched. She bounced off the bed and ran to the bathroom. Her only hope was that she didn’t trip in her urgency. “I’m starved. Why don’t you check the hotel guide for a restaurant,” she called out from the other room.

“Red…” Daniel began, uncertain of what to say. Perhaps dinner was the best idea. They had the whole night to talk about the attraction that had sprouted between them. The whole long night in the same room with their beds mere inches apart. Yes, dinner for now. Later…Well, who knew what the night would bring. He was, however, going to have to do something about that cat. One pussycat in his bed was enough.

In a smooth motion Daniel leapt off the bed and waited for Red to finish up in the bathroom. He felt like a free-loader at that moment. She’d provided him with transportation, shelter, and now she was going to feed him. He was a wealthy man and an old-fashioned one. It wasn’t his style to let any woman pick up the tab. What if she demanded sexual favors in return for feeding him?

Hot damn.

He chuckled and told himself that tomorrow would be soon enough to pick up some cash.

Bruce. Daniel needed to call him now if he was going to be able to get his money by tomorrow. The best solution would be to have him wire the money to their next pit stop. Daniel searched his memory for Bruce’s home number then realized that Bruce was more than likely still at the office working on the bid for the Northern California Timber Company.

Red walked out of the bathroom, her hair still a little mussed, although it tended to do that naturally, and her cheeks a little redder than normal. Other than that she appeared to be unscathed from their near miss.

Baily had taken more deep breaths than she could count, yet she still hadn’t managed to slow her pounding heart. She could only hope that he couldn’t actually see her heart pulsing through the T-shirt she wore. That was impossible. Wasn’t it? She waited for him to ask again about what had happened on the bed. This time she was prepared with an answer.

It was a natural reaction after all the tension they had been through that day. They were both looking for release after having fought for so long. Boy, are you looking for release, a little voice in her head gibed.

Stop that, her conscience warned.

That wasn’t part of the answer, Baily reasoned. They were two adults. Nothing happened. Nothing could happen since she was on her way to be with Harry and Daniel was eventually going to be returning to Seattle. Baily was not a one-night-stand kind of girl. Or a one-trip-stand kind of girl, for that matter. That was why when he asked where they were headed tomorrow, Baily naturally assumed he was on another topic.

“Well, we are not headed to bed!” she stated indignantly.

Daniel laughed until his sides hurt. Which in turn only served to make Baily’s skin flush from blushing pink to infuriated purple. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry,” he said between gasps. “It’s just that you looked so serious.”

“I am serious.” She stomped her foot to prove it.

“I think the lady is doth protesting too much.”

“You’re lousy at quoting Shakespeare,” she informed him with a sneer. “If you didn’t mean what I thought you meant, then what did you mean?”

Daniel had to think about that. She had this way of talking that twisted his mind into knots. He was beginning to think she did it on purpose. “I meant, where is our destination tomorrow? I’m going to call my vice president and have him wire me some money. I’ll have him wire it to our next stop so it will be there when we get there rather than wait around here all morning.”

“Custer.”

“Are we back on the dinner subject?”

Baily closed her eyes. “Not custard. Custer. Custer is where we are headed. It’s in South Dakota not too far from Rapid City.”

“Can’t we just go to Rapid City? It’s larger, and we’d be more likely to find a Western Union office.” It was a logical suggestion, but Red was shaking her head and looking at him as if he were insane. “Stop shaking your head. Why can’t we go to Rapid City?”

“Because then we would miss Mount Rushmore, silly. You know, the presidents…Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and—”

“Roosevelt,” Daniel finished as understanding dawned on him.

“Meow.” Theodora, now snuggled on the pillow that had once been used as a weapon against her mistress, lifted her head for a moment to give her opinion.

“Yes, Miss Roosevelt. I promised you we’d go to Mount Rushmore,” Baily said lovingly. To Daniel she said, “And you know I always keep my promises. But we’ll pass through Rapid City the next day so you can tell your vice president to send the money there.”

“Too late. I don’t want to wait two days. We’ll just have to hang out here tomorrow morning. Sorry about all this.” Daniel picked up the phone and dialed nine to get an outside line.

With another shake of her head, Baily dismissed his apology. “You were robbed. There was nothing you could have done.”

Daniel smiled, thanking her for her acceptance. His conversation with Bruce was curt and to the point. The money would be there tomorrow. Daniel hung up the phone and turned to find Baily with her hand on her chin as if she were considering something. “What?” Daniel questioned.

Baily shrugged her shoulders. “I was just thinking that maybe you could have realized that the shove you received was more than accidental.”

“How was I supposed to tell that? It was a shove. I think there was a guy in a brown hat, and then I felt a bump. How could I have guessed I was robbed?”

“I’m not saying that you should have. I’m merely pointing out that if you had checked your wallet after you were bumped, maybe you would have been able to catch the guy. You could have chased him down into an alley. Then maybe you could have kicked the knife out of his hand—”

“What knife?” Daniel asked incredulously.

“The knife in his back pocket. All professional crooks carry a knife. And we do agree that he was a professional?”

“Damn straight.”

“There you go. You would have kicked away his knife and punched him in the nose. Then you would have ripped your wallet out of his greedy little paws and said something macho like, ‘Nobody messes with Daniel Blake.’ Then you would have returned to me triumphant.” Baily sighed. “It would have made a wonderful story.”

“What if I turned tail and ran after I saw the knife?”

“You’re not the turn-tail-and-run type of guy,” Baily assured him.

Amused by her conviction, Daniel thanked her for the compliment.

“But since you didn’t do any of that, we’ll have to wait until noon before we can leave. I don’t mind, but what about your sister? Can we afford the delay?”

Nobody messes with Daniel Blake. Would he have really said that? God, he hoped not. A shake of his head brought his focus back to the matter at hand. He’d been grappling with the problem of making the wedding in time all afternoon as he drove Red’s Bug. Her worn-down, pitiful little Bug couldn’t be pushed past sixty-five without making a fuss. The car wasn’t made for a high-speed trek across the country. Perhaps the best thing he could do would be to buy himself more time.

“I have an idea.”

“Uh-oh.”

Daniel shot her his what-the-hell-does-that-mean look. Baily couldn’t decipher it, so he asked her, “What the hell does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

Satisfied, Daniel picked up the phone again.

“I just meant that your last idea concerning your sister—offering her beau a bribe—bombed so miserably that maybe you ought to let me do the thinking from now on.”

Wolflike growls originated from the back of this throat.

Baily didn’t seem to notice. “For instance, I was thinking that maybe you could call Sarah and tell her you are running late. Is it a big-deal wedding? You know, church, reception, that kind of thing.”

“No, she said Pierce didn’t want to wait. They’re being married at city hall.”

“So ask if she could postpone the wedding for a few days. That way we’ll have a little extra time built into our schedule.”

“That was my idea!” Daniel shouted irritably.

“Okay, okay. No need to get huffy. Make your phone call. Then we’ll eat.”

Punching the necessary numbers with a little more force than necessary, Daniel barked a hello. “Oh, it’s you, Larson. Listen, get my sister. It’s an emergency.”

Baily waited and listened to his side of the conversation.

“What do you mean, she’s not there? Where is she? …Out shopping for a gown…. I see…When will she return? …You don’t know. She’s your fiancée yet you have no idea when she’s coming home? …What the hell was that crack supposed to mean? …I am not too possessive…Listen you…”

Baily watched as he became increasingly agitated. If he didn’t control his temper, there was no way Pierce would consider postponing the wedding. She jumped up to stop him before he said something stupid. Grabbing the phone out of his hand, she spoke to who she assumed was Pierce Larson.

“Hi, Mr. Larson. You don’t know me, but I’m a friend of Daniel’s.”

“I didn’t know he had friends,” came the response from the other end of the phone. Baily had already made up her mind not to like him but she couldn’t help smiling at the insult.

“Yes, well, he does. He’s been having a little car trouble, and wallet trouble, and bump-on-the-head trouble. What I mean to say is that he’s running behind schedule. So we thought since it’s so very important that he be at his own sister’s wedding that you could postpone the wedding for a few days.”

“I don’t know. We’ve got everything planned already,” Pierce said smoothly.

“You’re getting married by a judge, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Then you should have no problem simply making another appointment. Daniel is her brother. He’s got to be there.”

“I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I will run it by Sarah. If she agrees, then we’ll postpone everything until Daniel arrives.”

Baily smiled triumphantly at Daniel who was still trying to contain his temper. “That’s perfect. I’m sure Sarah will agree. Goodbye.”

“IT WAS ELEVEN O’CLOCK at night,” Daniel said to the waiter. It was an odd response considering the waiter had asked him if he would like anything to drink.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Daniel paused for a moment while he attempted to gain his focus.

Baily jumped in with an apologetic excuse. “You’ll have to forgive my friend. He was hit really hard on the head today. And his car was trashed, and his wallet was stolen, and…”

With a warning glance, Daniel attempted to shut her up. Fat chance.

“We really don’t even know if he has suffered any permanent damage,” Baily continued, unaware of Daniel’s disapproval. “Head wounds can be tricky.”

The waiter nodded sympathetically, but it was easy to see that all he wanted to know was what the man would like to drink.

“Stuff it, Red,” Daniel told her. “I’ll have a beer, a cheeseburger, fries if you have them, and a large salad with blue cheese dressing.”

Baily nodded approvingly. “Sounds good. I’ll have the same. Except no fries. And I’ll have a chicken sandwich instead of a hamburger. No cheese on the chicken of course. And instead of blue cheese dressing I would like something low fat if you have it. If not, then I’ll take honey dijon.”

Daniel shook his head. “That wasn’t the same thing at all.”

Baily handed the waiter the menus while looking at Daniel in an attempt to decipher what he meant. She didn’t notice that the waiter practically sprinted from their table. “What are you talking about? I ordered a beer, too.”

“Never mind,” he muttered, knowing it wasn’t worth what little energy he had left in this day.

“Speaking of not knowing what you are talking about, what did you mean by eleven o’clock?”

“Larson said Sarah was out buying a dress.” Daniel had calculated the time difference and realized that it was after eleven at night Philadelphia time when he had called. “What kind of stores are open at eleven at night? He lied. He didn’t want me to talk to Sarah. I can’t stand that he lives with her in that house. He’s got too much control over her that way.”

“What kind of control?”

“He can screen her calls, for one thing.”

“He has to. He’s afraid you’ll talk her out of getting married. It’s actually a risky gamble on Pierce’s part. If Sarah finds out that her calls are being screened, she might call off the wedding herself.”

“He’s right to be afraid. I’m sure if I could talk to Sarah, I could tell her what lunacy this sudden marriage is.” At least that was what Daniel hoped. He didn’t want to think about the possibility that his sister was truly in love with this con man.

“Do you think he’ll do what you asked? I mean, if he’s a true con man he’s better off if you don’t make it to the wedding.”

Good point. He didn’t know. “I don’t think Sarah would let Pierce rush her down the aisle without me there. And hopefully it won’t matter. I still plan—I mean, we still plan to be in Philadelphia on time, right? There’s nothing he can do from his end to stop me.”

Daniel’s eyes were lit with a ferocity that sparked something deep in Baily. She imagined what it would be like to have a man love her with same intensity that Daniel loved his sister. She knew that a man like Daniel would be protective as well as possessive. But he would also be giving and indulgent, much as he was with his sister. Much as her own brothers were with her. If only Harry could be more like Daniel. But Harry was Harry. He was sweet, and lovable, and an absolute pushover.

Their meals came and for the next hour they satisfied their hunger and attempted not to further confuse the waiter. It was while they sipped their coffee after dinner that Daniel decided it was time to talk about what had happened back in the motel room.

“Listen, Red, we need to work a few things out.”

Baily’s eyes met his over the rim of her coffee cup, and instantly she knew what he referred to. His hazel eyes took on a deeper color and he lowered his voice. He hunched forward in his seat, creating a more intimate atmosphere. And if it were possible, although Baily didn’t see how it was, he made himself look sexier.

“Did I tell you about the history of this restaurant? It was named after a famous mountain man.” Baily simply couldn’t tell this man with a straight face that she wasn’t interested in him, which of course she had to say because she was going to become engaged to another man in a few short days.

“You’re avoiding the subject,” Daniel informed her. Ironic, since he was usually the one to avoid personal conversations. It was why he had never dated a woman for any longer than a couple months. There was only so much sex you could have and so many superficial conversations you could carry on. Once a woman started to talk about a future and family, Daniel bolted. He had no interest in becoming part of another family again. Not when he knew from experience that the pain suffered from the loss of a family could cripple a man. He’d protect Sarah, but that was where all of his family obligations ended. He couldn’t say that he ever broke any hearts. Most women never got to know him enough to like him very much, let alone love him.

Red was different. He wanted to talk about the intimate stuff with her. He wanted to talk about what they were going to do with this attraction they felt for one another. And it was mutual. Instinctively, Daniel knew that to be true.

“Did I tell you that this man was the first to cross the Sierra Nevadas? He was. He fought off Indians. He tackled bears. He charted new land. He….”

“…seduced virgins,” Daniel filled in, hoping to snare her attention.

“I don’t think he did that.”

“I do. It must be the air at this altitude,” Daniel quipped. Pushing ahead now that he had her attention, he continued. “So about what happened in the hotel earlier…”

“I’m engaged!” Baily shouted, which in turn caused the other diners to turn their heads in their direction.

In a lower tone, but no less menacing, Daniel insisted, “No you are not. Regardless, that doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

“Of course it does,” Baily replied, her tone equally soft.

“This is between you and me. Howard has nothing to do with us.”

“It’s Harry, and I hope you aren’t implying that I’m the type of woman who could promise one man that I was going to marry him and then sleep with another man days before I saw him again.” Just because that was exactly what Baily wanted to do didn’t mean that he could go around implying it. Besides, it didn’t matter what she wanted. She couldn’t betray Harry. It would be wrong. No, they weren’t married. No, they weren’t engaged. They had never even been lovers. Really they were just good friends.

But she had made up her mind that she was going to marry him, which meant that she had to be faithful to him starting now. Never mind that in her heart she had already been unfaithful to him. She wanted Daniel. Was it wrong to want someone when you were supposed to want someone else even though you didn’t really want the someone else? She thought so. It was hard to tell.

Sometimes, Baily confused herself.

“I did not imply anything,” Daniel countered irritably. In truth though, he had. He wanted Red, and he was annoyed now that he wasn’t going to get to have her because of some man that waited for her in New Jersey. A man, he could tell, she didn’t even want. “Why are you marrying this man?”

“I’ve already told you,” Baily said as she reminded him of their conversation earlier that day. That day! Had they only known each other less than twenty-four hours? It didn’t seem possible.

“Oh, yeah, now I remember. Security.” He might as well have said money for all the disdain in his voice.

“If I remember correctly, you agreed with me.”

Daniel shrugged his shoulders as if to pretend he couldn’t quite recall what he said on the matter. It had been a long day. Day. Had it only been one day?

“We both agree that love is nothing more than a fancy word for poems, songs and romantic stories,” Baily continued. “In real life it doesn’t happen the way people say it does. There are no sparks.” Well, there were a few between them it seemed. “There is no love at first sight.” Okay so maybe she’d been attracted to Daniel at first sight, but that wasn’t love. “And there is no ‘happily ever after.’”

And that was certainly true. Even if they did decide to pursue their mutual attraction it would only end in heartbreak. He was going to Seattle. She was going to be with her family in New Jersey. Certainly not a fairy-tale ending. Baily told herself to stop being depressed by that thought.

Daniel wondered what she was thinking that dimmed the sparkle that always seemed to glow in her eyes. He supposed it was her convincing argument that true love, magical love, didn’t exist. He wondered why that thought should depress him.

“Go home and marry Herbert. See if I care,” he said a bit nastily.

“That’s exactly what I’m going to do,” she returned haughtily. “Nothing is going to stop me.”

Please stop me. Please. Shut up, she told her conscience. She was doing the right thing. She had waited all her life for someone like Daniel. She had waited for someone handsome, smart and funny. Okay, so he was a little arrogant. And maybe he could fly off the handle from time to time. But probably only after trashing his car or getting his wallet lifted. A case could be made that he was overly protective of his sister, but that really couldn’t go down in the negative column. There was still the whole walnut issue. Frankly, she didn’t know if that one was surmountable. Not that she wanted to sur…mount him. But if she was considering him as a potential love interest, it was just possible that he might be the very sort she would fall for. For some unfathomable reason, she wanted to cry.

The meal was over, but Baily wasn’t ready to retire back to their small room where the beds practically touched. Instead she had a better idea for the evening’s entertainment. “How about a gunfight?”

“You’re not still on the room thing, are you?” he asked a little worriedly. Pistols at fifty paces over a motel room seemed drastic, but he didn’t put it past her.

“No, silly, it’s a tourist attraction. Like a reenactment of a real-life shoot-out. Two men face each other at dusk and stare down the barrel of a gun aimed at each other’s heart. Neither one knows if they’re going to live or die. It’s all very intense.” Baily’s face was flushed with excitement at the thought of actually being able to see a real-life gun battle. A real-life fake one, that is.

“And very dramatic,” Daniel added. “You’ve seen too many movies.”

“That’s the point! This will be like watching a movie only live.” Daniel knew he wouldn’t be able to squelch her enthusiasm so he didn’t try. Besides, watching her watch the gunfight would be like watching her watch Old Faithful. For that it would be worth the price of admission.

The two left the restaurant in search of the attraction. They didn’t need to walk far. The gunfight was held in the center of town, which, Baily insisted, was the only place to hold it.

Jackson Hole, despite its chic shops and expensive restaurants that catered to the skiers, still maintained an authentic Western atmosphere. All of the storefronts were faced in a dark wood and since the main street was framed by a large wooden boardwalk one could imagine horses tied to the posts out front. The effect was nineteenth-century Wyoming, and it attracted tourists during the summer as well as the winter season.

Finding a place to watch the event wasn’t easy. Daniel managed to squirm his way up to the front, dragging Baily with him. He wanted her to have a front-row view. She would enjoy the show best that way, and he would enjoy watching her best that way, as well.

The actors came out and faced each other from across the street at a distance of about twenty yards or so. One began saying that the town wasn’t big enough for the two of them. The other replied he was sorry that the other man was going to have to die. The cliché dialogue continued for a few minutes. Then they both fell silent. The crowd noise fell to a hush. Baily reached over, grabbed Daniel’s hand, and squeezed it hard. It was becoming a pattern. Daniel understood that Baily was the type of person who couldn’t keep her excitement to herself. She needed to share what she felt. Apparently, she did that through touch. Daniel couldn’t help but imagine what kind of lover she would be. Then he abruptly dismissed that thought from his mind. It was not going to happen. Not as long as Harold was in the way.

Suddenly the man from the left drew his gun, and then the man from the right did the same. There were several loud popping noises after which they both fell dead. A man in a dark suit and a tall hat came out to measure the bodies.

“The undertaker,” Baily whispered in case Daniel hadn’t already figured that out.

The undertaker dropped sheets over the two men, essentially ending the play, and the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. Then the two men under the sheets stood to take their bows. Daniel thought it rather anticlimactic.

“They should have stayed dead until everybody left,” Daniel complained like a kid who was disappointed to learn that there was no Santa Claus. They headed back to their motel, enjoying the fresh air and the view of the mountains in the distance.

“You’re being unrealistic. They would have had to stay under those sheets too long. Besides, they deserved to take their bows just like any other actor,” Baily said, answering his compliant, but her mind was elsewhere. Now that the gunfight was over there was nothing to prevent them from returning to their tiny room. Maybe it had gotten bigger in the past few hours.

They reached the door of their motel room. Both were clearly reluctant to go inside. “If this were a date,” Baily noted, “this is where I would say thank you for a lovely evening.”

“It was a nice night, wasn’t it?” Daniel seemed slightly stunned. He couldn’t recall a date when he’d had as much simple fun. Innocent pleasure. This must be what it felt like to be a boy on a first date. Daniel was sure he must have felt this way before. If he had, it was too long ago to remember. This night, however, he didn’t think he would ever forget.

It was almost perfect. Almost. “You know if this were a date,” Daniel continued, “and you did have a nice time like you said you did, it wouldn’t be such a horrible thing if I asked for a kiss. Would it?”

“Daniel, I already told you that I can’t—” Baily started.

Daniel put two fingers against her lips to stop her excuses. “One kiss, Red. One kiss, then we’ll call it quits, go to bed, and never bring any of this up again.”

She couldn’t refuse him one kiss. She couldn’t refuse herself one kiss, either. Tilting her head slightly, she allowed him to press his lips against hers. First he was gentle, tugging at her lips with his own. Then he was playful, darting his tongue out to caress her lips and the seam between them. Then he was bold, pushing his body against hers until her back was pressed against the door and her arms had no place to go except around him. His tongue plunged into her mouth, conquering her with his intensity.

She tasted him and he was wonderful. She knew he tasted her, as well, and groaned with the thought of it. Baily could only hope that she was as pleasing to him as he was to her. Every good intention she ever had was about to fly out the window because she couldn’t remember the name of the person she was having those good intentions for.

Daniel chose that moment to end the kiss. He practically had to rip his lips off hers. For a moment they looked at each other and felt their chests beat against each other as their lungs struggled for breath. Baily wanted to tell him to forget Howard, or Harold, or whatever his name was and take her right there against the door hard and fast and so deep that she would never forget it.

Instead she said, “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow,” Daniel repeated. Then he backed off, leaving her arms empty. “A deal’s a deal.” He took the key from her hand, opened the door, and went inside.

Numb, Baily could only stare at the open door.