Page 28 of Promise of a New Beginning
Jack smiled, though he didn’t mean to. He could tell from the way Savannah’s lips pinched tightly shut that she didn’t appreciate it, but she was so beautiful when she was fired up.
“You’re not broken, Savannah. You’re hurt. There’s a big difference. You’re a smart, strong woman with a solid career and probably better things to spend your time on than worrying about my baggage.” He searched her eyes for understanding, but what he saw was anger and hurt. “Savannah—”
“You know what, Jack? Maybe you’re right.” She blinked away the dampness from her eyes and kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll miss you, too.” Savannah picked up her bags and walked away.
Jack’s stomach twisted. She glanced back, and he raised his chin and tried to smile, unable to pull himself together enough to even manage a proper wave. She disappeared behind the terminal doors, and Jack let out the breath he’d been holding. He grabbed his gear and headed for the terminal, wondering if he was strong enough to face the life he’d abandoned.
Chapter Sixteen
SAVANNAH CLIMBED INTO a cab and gave her address to the driver. She stared out the window, thinking about how arrogant and cold Jack had been when they’d first seen each other at the airport and how she’d been turned on by everything about him. She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes.What am I doing? I went from a man who wants every woman on earth to a man who’s afraid of what wanting a woman does to him.
Savannah pulled out her cell phone and turned it on. Messages began flooding in. What had she been thinking? She usually couldn’t go a day without checking messages, much less several. She was sure her voicemail would be full, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with clients. She had another attorney covering for her, and he’d just have to cover for her a little longer. She needed a good, strong dose of sanity. She called her father.
“Savannah, how are you, darlin’?”
Hearing her father’s deep voice thickened the lump in her throat, and all of a sudden she was a little girl again, climbing onto his lap when someone at school had hurt her feelings. Hal Braden was six foot six, like her eldest brother Treat, and he was the epitome of a broad-chested aging cowboy: rugged, leather-skinned, and big-hearted. He was just what she needed.
“Hi, Dad,” she managed. “How are you?”
“Oh, doing fine, I suppose. We had two fillies born, and Rex has been taking good care of them. Got buyers already.” Hal Braden was an affluent thoroughbred horse breeder, and although Savannah and each of her siblings had large enough trust funds that would allow for them to not work a day in their lives, he’d brought them up to work hard and to love with their whole hearts. Savannah wished she hadn’t taken the latter so seriously.
She smiled at the mention of her older brother Rex. Jack reminded her so much of Rex that she wondered if she should have called him instead of her father. He might be able to enlighten her on the ways of angry men.
“Enough about me. How’s my girl?” her father asked.
Forget Rex. Calling Dad was definitely the right move.She needed his familiar, caring voice to wrap around her in a virtual embrace.
“Good, Dad. I’m good.” Tears welled in her eyes, and she pressed her finger and thumb to them. “I…uh…I’m just getting back in town from that survivalist training camp I told you about.”
“Run by Jack Remington?”
“Oh my gosh, Dad. How’d you know?” Savannah asked.
“Treat did some research on the guy.”
The Braden grapevine travels swiftly once again.
Savannah watched the busy streets of New York as they drove toward her Manhattan apartment.Of course he did.“I’m a big girl, Dad. I don’t really need Treat tracking me down.”
“He wasn’t tracking you down. He was making sure you weren’t going into the mountains with a crazy man. He said anyone can put anything on the interweb. Besides, Treat’s always going to be Treat.”
Savannah sighed. “Internet, not interweb.” As the eldest, Treat had always taken care of and protected Savannah and her siblings. She shouldn’t be surprised or bothered by Treat following up on her trip, but she intended to give him a talking to just the same. She wasn’t a kid anymore, and she didn’t need other people deciding what was good or bad for her. Why couldn’t they see that she didn’t need protecting?Only my heart does.
“Interwhatever. This Remington guy, did he treat you all right? Your brother said he’s got a strong military background, no history of reprimands, solid pilot’s license.”
“Dad, he was fine. Really.”Why am I so annoyed? Treat’s always been overprotective.
“All right. It’s good that you made it out of the woods okay. Did you learn anything?” he asked.
She mulled over the honest answers she could give.That I love bad boys. That I’m weaker than I thought. That I want to run back to the woods and find Jack.Instead she gave him a safer, and still honest, answer.
“Yes, all the things I needed to know. I can now build a shelter, tie knots, and recognize plants that could kill me.”If only I could recognize the men who would be a danger to my heart before they actually did any damage.
“Well, I’m not sure why you need all of that in New York, but I guess you know best,” her father said.
Her father was always careful about supporting the things they did. Right then, she needed support of a different kind. “Dad, I’m a pretty strong person, right?”
“Other than your mother, you’re the strongest woman I think I’ve ever known, Savannah. Is there something on your mind?”
