Page 7 of Chasing Dreams
Those eyes darkened to the color of maple sugar, and she licked her lips in a nervous gesture. “I got a ride. And I need to talk to him—in private.”
She moved a little closer, and he realized she wasn’t as small as he’d first thought. She was slender, her features fine, but she probably stood over five-seven. “If you’d called ahead, you’d have learned he doesn’t see any visitors.”
“Isn’t it an unlisted number?”
“You have it, don’t you?”
Her expression didn’t reveal the answer. “How do you know I didn’t call?”
“Because I take all the messages.”
“Do you live with him then? Work for him?”
“Something like that.” Her warm rich hair and eyes, her heart-shaped face, winged brows, delicate nose and chin gave her a classic beauty all her own. A feminine appeal no man could help but notice. Especially a man unaccustomed to company of her gender. “How do you plan to get back?”
She glanced toward the woods, a barely noticeable sign of uncertainty. “I—uh, thought after Mr. Allen heard me out and let me stay awhile, I’d call for a ride.”
“I’ll give you a ride back right now.” He moved for the door. “It’ll only take me a few minutes to shower and change.”
“Wait a minute!”
He stopped with his palm holding open the screen door and turned back. “What?”
She gestured with one hand, a halfhearted kind of wave that encompassed the porch, her things across the way, him. “Look.”
She crossed her arms, tucking her hands under the sleeves of her jacket, and he wondered if it was more a defensive gesture than protection from the cooling air.
Austin’s damp sweatshirt chilled his skin.
“I came a long way to see Mr. Allen. I’ll just wait until he gets back.”
“He won’t be back. Hang on a minute while I change.”
“He’s not—” Her hand shot out and her cool fingers grasped his wrist.
Immediately he backed up all his defense mechanisms, but couldn’t suppress the disturbing physical affect her touch created.
“He’s not dead, is he?” she asked, her eyes rounded.
He wasn’t used to being touched. He had to force his mind to think around the sensation of her gentle fingers on his skin. The concern in her eyes was so sincere, he almost felt remorse for taking a firm stand. “No. He’s not dead.”
“Oh, thank goodness.” She released him and sat on the chair with her arms wrapped around her. “Thank goodness. I’m waiting for him, then. If it’ll be a while, I’ve brought enough supplies to last. I think. If you’d let me know for sure,” she said, those wide eyes raising hopefully to his, “I could make better plans. If you won’t tell me anything, I’ll just stick with this plan.”
Frustrated, he ran a hand through his damp hair. How the hell had she found this place, and exactly what did she hope to extract from him? He’d covered his tracks years ago, and only the most persistent, the ones with the most at stake or those with the most money had sought him out.
He glanced at her assortment of gear, thinking she obviously didn’t fit into the money category. Which left a lot at stake and a sheer determination. He could be every bit as stubborn as she was persistent, however. “Fine. Stay out there till you rot, for all I care. But you’re not going to see anyone but me around here.”
He entered the house, slamming the door behind him.
Austin stood in the shower, appreciating the warmth of the flesh-tingling spray. He lathered his hair, his body, rinsed and stood under the water, wondering how long she’d last.
He could wait her out. It would get colder as the sun set and night crept down from the mountains. Unless she had a warmer coat and a kerosene heater, she’d be forced to stay in her tent and sleeping bag. And how long could she hack it without water to drink or wash with? She’d come begging him for a ride back to civilization.
He didn’t want to know anything about her. He didn’t care that she had a vulnerable slant to her Cupid’s bow lips and a haunted look behind her weary eyes. He hadn’t allowed himself to care about anything like that for too many years.
He’d developed the skill to not know. To not care, and to not feel guilty about either. No searching young woman with self-doubts and pain-dimmed features was going to get him to change.
He couldn’t change.
