A Great Kisser (5 page)

“Do you follow that tradition, too?”

He shook his head. “No time. And, to be honest, not the same inclination he had for that part of the culture. I’d like to travel more, in this country, and out, see more of the world. Been to Canada, down to Mexico, but haven’t gotten over to Europe. I’d enjoy that.”

“For racing?”

“They have some big events over there, and I wouldn’t mind getting to see them, but mostly I’d go for the history. You’ve traveled, I take it?”

She nodded. “It’s a little bit like your mountains here, how you described them earlier. The more I see of the world, the more it keeps me firmly rooted in my place in it, and how it’s both so insignificant and yet profoundly meaningful. If I want it to be.”

He slowed a bit as the road wound tightly and steeply down the side of another mountain, then finally glanced over at her as the pickup flattened out across a high meadow, before climbing once again. “Do you want to follow your boss? Into politics I mean.”

She looked over at him, and their gazes collided for a moment, then hung here a moment longer. Then she smiled and laughed. “I used to think I could make a difference. I started out as a lawyer, which runs in my family, but they were all very involved in politics, too, and when I got involved working on a campaign, the bug bit.”

“Did you run for office?”

“No, I was never really compelled to do that, but I wanted to be vital to those who did, to be involved in the everyday workings of Capitol Hill, be a part of history being made.” She laughed again. “Sounds so altruistic and naïve now.”

“No, it doesn’t. I think it takes exactly that kind of mentality to do what you do. You have to believe, otherwise, why bother?”

Now her smile turned a bit wry, and he found himself easing up on the gas, prolonging the moment when he’d have to keep his gaze tight on the road ahead as they made the next ascent.

“Maybe I’ve been in Washington too long, but after a while, I started to wonder how anything actually gets accomplished. I spent far more time feeling frustrated and hopeless than I did energized and aggressive. I finally decided that can’t be good. For me, or anyone.”

“Doesn’t sound like it.” He reluctantly returned his gaze to the road. “How long are you planning on being out here?” He glanced her way. “I mean, what will the good senator do if he needs to find the best pre-school for his future, unborn children if you’re not there to do the research?”

“He already has five children,” she said. “And, believe it or not, you’re not all that far off on in vitro private pre-school enrollment.”

“And here I thought it was a cliché played out in the movies.”

She laughed. “Cliché’s come to be for a reason.”

“A little scary to contemplate, given some of them.”

“You have no idea.”

They fell into silence again, but now that he had her talking, the silence seemed hollow rather than comforting. “You here for a long weekend? Sounds like you can’t be away too long.” And why he was suddenly so interested, he had no idea. The reasons for not getting involved hadn’t changed. But his feelings about wanting to might be.

She didn’t answer right away, so he looked over at her. “You don’t have to answer. I was just making conversation.”

“I quit,” she blurted out.

“What?”

She looked back out through the windshield. “I am no longer the senior staff aide to the gentleman from Virginia.”

After a quick look, he returned his gaze to the road. She looked both defensive and a little sick. “I take it this is news you haven’t shared with your loved ones.”

“With anyone. Other than the senator. And the person he’s named as my replacement. The rest of the staff found out today.”

“Is that going to be newsworthy?” He glanced over again and smiled. “For all I know, you’re the rock star of Capitol Hill.”

She smiled back and looked a little less green. “It won’t make the papers, if that’s what you mean. There is no scandal or anything. And he’s not on the forefront of any topical committees or bills at the moment, so I don’t think it will be more than a tiny ripple. Natasha will take my place and all will move along.”

“Natasha. Is this a good thing?”

Her smile widened. “You’re very nice for pretending to care. And it’s perfectly fine. She’s still hungry.”

“And you’re not.” He said it as more statement than question.

“I want to be. I’m restless. Like I’m treading water and there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to drown rather than figure out how to swim and save myself. So, I got out of the pool altogether. For now, anyway.”

“Might be the best thing you could do. How does it feel?”

“Scary. A little sad. Mostly because I miss the people on my team. No regrets. But…scary just the same.”

“Is that all?”

She had folded her arms across her middle. But she rocked forward just a little. “Okay…so maybe it’s also a little exciting, portentous. It’s been a while since I’ve felt either of those things.”

“Then it sounds like you’re on the right track. Did you burn bridges? Could you go back if the new pond isn’t any better?”

“I don’t want to go back. Not now, maybe not ever. I need a fresh challenge.” She sounded definite about that.

“Well, then,” he said, “sounds like you made the right choice.”

“Have you ever done anything like that? Just change course completely?”

“I’ve had my course changed for me. Circumstances beyond my control. Like you, it’s been scary, sad, exhilarating, terrifying, satisfying. And that’s any given week,” he added dryly.

She smiled and relaxed a little. “I guess it’s normal then. In a very abnormal way.”

“Guess so.” They were less than fifteen minutes from town. And he realized he didn’t want their time to be over quite yet. “You have plans?”

“For my future, you mean?”

He glanced at her. “Why don’t we start with this weekend.”

“Oh,” she said, and blushed just a little. “I’m—I have to see my mother. At some point.”

“I take it you’re not staying with them?”

She shook her head. “Things are a bit…strained. I thought it would be best if I had my own place to retreat to until the battle lines were more clearly defined.”

“Charlene seemed pretty happy that you were coming.”

Now the guarded look came back and Jake cursed inwardly that he’d gone and done the one thing he’d sworn not to. Get involved. “Never mind, none of my business. Where can I drop you?”

“Greater Pine Lodge. I made reservations.”

“You chose well. Mabry Johnson runs the place, along with her sister and daughter-in-law. She’s a character, but one of the best people you’ll meet.”

Lauren smiled again and relaxed a little. “Good. Thank you. And thank you again for—”

“If you’re not doing anything Sunday, why don’t you let me show you the area.”

She looked surprised by the offer.

That made two of them. Mostly because he meant it. In fact, he hadn’t thought about his favor to his sister in the last hour or so.

“It’ll give you a chance to see how spectacular the view really is.”

“Is there really that much to see?” She lifted a hand. “There I go again. What I meant was, I understood the town to be quite small.”

“I was thinking of giving you a different view.” He slowed as they bottomed out from the last descent. Cedar Springs laid sprawled just below them. McKenna Flight School topped the mesa just beyond the opposite end of town. He liked coming into town from this direction, ascending down from Cooper Pass, with Wisternan, the main resort peak, towering over the town nestled at its base, directly to the north, the winding Panlo River, bordering Cedar Springs to the south…and McKenna Flight School in the distant west. It made him feel a part of something bigger than himself, but a part nonetheless. A permanent part.

He looked over to see her giving him a speculative look. “Just exactly what view did you have in mind?”

His lips quirked. He liked that she was direct and didn’t duck a subject. He was pretty sure when Lauren Matthews wanted to know something, she came out and asked. “I was thinking the view from about twelve thousand feet might be interesting.”

She looked both relieved and a little embarrassed, making him wonder exactly what view she’d thought he’d been offering.

“I should be sufficiently recovered from my last plane ride by then,” she said. “And I’d actually really like that. But—I need to see what’s going on first. I’m not sure—”

“No worries. I don’t teach classes on Sunday. I’ll just be working on the Mustang.” He made it sound like it was nothing, when he was pretty much going to be umbilically attached to the damn thing until the race. Still…a few hours spent not tinkering on
Betty Sue
or operating the school wouldn’t kill him. “Early afternoon is good, but I’m flexible.”

“I might be thankful to be up in the air and out of reach by then.”

“It’s none of my business, but maybe it won’t be that bad. Like I said, it seemed to me your mother was happy you were coming.”

“I think we’d both be happy to get past this.”

“Well, then…?”

She sighed. “You’ve lived here your whole life, right?”

“Yep.”

“Then I’ll just say that it’s not my mom I’m really having a problem with. But I don’t know a lot about the situation, which is why I’m here.”

Jake had promised Ruby Jean not to slam Arlen. Sounded like Lauren was already well on her way to forming her opinion of the man without his help. So all he said, was, “Well then, you’ll get to know for yourself, and you can figure it out from there.”

She sighed. “I certainly hope so.”

She didn’t sound all that hopeful, though. Which made Jake wonder exactly what her goal was while she was here.
Not your business, buddy. Not your concern
.

But when he dropped her off at the registration office at the rustic little motel just inside the town limits, it didn’t keep him from wondering exactly what she was getting herself into.

“O
kay. Sitting in your room is no longer an option.” Lauren fiddled with her cell phone but didn’t press the
CALL
button. The button that would dial her mother’s number. She’d been in Cedar Springs for exactly one hour. She was unpacked, showered, and changed, makeup and hair mercifully repaired. All she had to do now was make the call.

Her mother knew she was here. At least, Lauren had to suspect she knew. She hadn’t thought to ask her friendly neighborhood pilot if he’d planned on letting her mother know he’d gotten her safely to town. But then, she hadn’t thought to ask the man his name, either. Who did that? Who drove with a complete stranger for more than two hours, chatted with him—agreed to see him again—and even went so far as to share her deep, dark, job-quitting secret…and didn’t get his name?

She couldn’t even blame the rocky commuter flight and subsequent storm for scattering her brain. Not really. She might blame Hunky Local Pilot for discombobulating her a little. Okay, a lot. He’d been all rugged good looks and enigmatic personality back in the airport hangar. But once they’d started talking, she’d been surprised at how laid back and easy-going he was. He’d made her forget she looked like airport roadkill, and even took her mind off her immediate future for an hour or two.

Well, she knew Hunky Pilot Guy’s name now. There had been a copy of the local phone book in the nightstand drawer by her bed. She’d simply looked up flight schools in the slim Yellow Pages section. There had only been one listed. McKenna’s Flight School. Owned and operated by Jake McKenna, or so the modest ad proclaimed.

Jake. It suited him. He might not have been a traditional western cowboy, with boots and spurs and tobacco in his back pocket, but he definitely filled the bill for mountain man outdoorsy type. He fit here, among the soaring peaks and beautiful high meadows. And he raced airplanes. How sexy was that?

“Too damn sexy,” she muttered. And she had no real business getting involved with him, in any way. Not that being asked out on a short plane ride around the area was getting overly involved, but it was prolonging their acquaintance. She wasn’t sure what, if anything, he had in mind. She assumed, given her bedraggled appearance, and the fact that she hadn’t exactly employed the most scintillating conversational skills, that he was still doing a favor for her mother. And, possibly, the mayor. She hadn’t missed the fact that he’d politely refrained from saying anything directly about Arlen. He’d claimed he wasn’t close to her mother, but that didn’t mean anything where the mayor was concerned.

Regardless of why he was asking, or if anyone had put him up to it, Jake struck her as being one of the Good Guys. He might look and sound like a Bad Boy, all crinkling eyes and crooked grins, enough to make her pulse do a little tap dance more than once…and, yes, that might have had a tiny bit to do with why she’d accepted his offer. But the offer itself, she was pretty sure, had been issued by the Good Guy, not the Bad Boy.

Which was for the best, really. “Very really,” she warned her pouting reflection. She looked away from the mirror as her thoughts turned further inward. Her entire life was upside down at the moment. She, who had always had a Life Plan, a list of goals, and a pretty good idea about how she was going to go about achieving them—usually successfully, mind you, because that was the Matthews-O’Grady way—was currently floundering. No job, no prospects, no real idea of what she wanted to do with herself. All she’d known was that she was done in Washington. And that she couldn’t figure out what came next while she was still putting in grueling eighteen-hour days with no time to think.

The other thing she’d known was that she hated what had happened between her and her mother. And Lauren had figured
that
was something she could do something about. At the very least, she needed to make peace with her mother. At best, she hoped to get her normally levelheaded, responsible, and very smart mother to open her eyes and see that maybe she’d had some sort of mini–life crisis or something, but that making a mistake didn’t mean she was doomed to live with it forever.

Perhaps they would both figure out what came next, together.

“Yep. That’s the better plan. Flirting with Sexy Airplane Racer Man…out. Making up with Mom and charting my new future…in.” She stared at her cell phone. And still didn’t push the button. Because pushing that button didn’t just mean reuniting with her mother, it also meant meeting her new stepfather. Gah. She couldn’t even think of him like that. Hell, she couldn’t think of him at all. He was a complete stranger to her. Well, maybe not a complete stranger. She’d done a little—okay, a lot—of digging into his political and personal background over the past six months, which hadn’t exactly left her feeling optimistic that her opinion of him was going to miraculously change upon meeting him.

The fact that her mother had refused to even talk to her about any potential problem with her new spouse was what had alarmed Lauren the most. Her mother was not the run-off-to-Vegas type. Far, far from it. But she had. And with a man she’d only just met. Of course her only daughter was going to be concerned, was going to ask questions.

But instead of that leading to any answers, it had led to a stubborn refusal to even consider that anything might be amiss in her happily-ever-after fairy tale. Lauren realized now she should have flown out here immediately, but, as her mother had pointed out, she was a grown woman and fully capable of making up her own mind. And things had deteriorated by then to a point where Lauren felt perhaps a cooling off period would do them both some good.

Well, cooling off time was officially over. Nothing had changed, and nothing was going to change unless she personally did something to change it. She’d done a lot of soul searching. About her job, about her once-close relationship with her mother, her goals, what her role was, both in her own life and in her mother’s. Which had, at length, led her to quit her job and book a flight west. She’d figure the rest out. Eventually.

But she couldn’t do any of that sitting on a bed in her motel room.

Her finger was hovering over the speed dial button to her mother’s cell phone, when a rap on the door made her jump. In her e-mail exchange with Arlen’s office, prior to coming out, she hadn’t mentioned where she’d booked a room, just that she would be booking one. All she’d gotten in return was the note from Arlen’s assistant saying they’d be unable to come pick her up but were looking forward to seeing her. Which she took to mean that they’d be waiting for her to make the first move upon arriving. So…who knew she was here, besides—“Jake?”

She might have hopped up off the bed a little too enthusiastically, but she didn’t let herself think about that as she took a moment to check herself out in the vanity mirror before answering the door. Not her most excellent, but definitely an improvement over the last time he’d seen her.

So much for her grand plan to avoid meaningless flirtations.

She’d originally thought to stay in the resort hotel, but given her employment situation, despite the healthy nest egg she had squirreled away, that didn’t seem like a wise move. So, she had to squint a little to look out of the tiny peephole, the glare of the late afternoon sun behind her visitor’s back further stunting her view. But she could see well enough that her smile immediately fell. Not Jake. In fact, she had no idea who the woman was standing on the other side of her door. “Can I help you?” she asked without opening the door.

“It’s Melissa, with a message from the mayor’s office.”

She recognized the name as the secretary who’d sent her the e-mail. She unlocked and opened the door. “Hello.”

Melissa was a tall brunette, more wiry than slender, though she was that, too. Lauren had noticed that about a lot of the women she’d seen as they’d rolled into town earlier. Must be good mountain living, she thought. They all looked like distance athletes, with tanned skin and ready smiles. Melissa was no exception.

“Hi, I’m Arlen’s personal secretary. We communicated a few days ago?”

“We did. Thanks for the note.”

“The mayor and your mother both felt terrible about not being able to come pick you up themselves, but were hoping you wouldn’t mind the short flight over with Jake.”

Her smile was friendly, but Lauren wondered if, by mentioning him by name, she was putting out feelers to see what the new girl thought about the hunky local pilot. Probably a bit paranoid on Lauren’s part, but she had no idea where Jake fit into the small-town-bachelor hierarchy. Or who it might piss off if it were discovered that he’d asked her out.

Okay, so it wasn’t a date. It was more like a…tour. Still, it could be misinterpreted…even by the one invited to go on the tour. She didn’t think she was reaching all that far.

“So…it was okay?” Melissa said.

Realizing she was standing in the open door, fantasizing about Jake McKenna when she should be worried about saying the right thing to Arlen’s secretary, had her snapping to attention. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a little fatigued—long day.” She didn’t bother to tell her about the storm or the truck ride she’d ended up with versus the intended short plane ride. “I appreciated the gesture, though. How did you know where I was staying?”

“I contacted Jake. I hope you don’t mind. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming, but—”

“It’s okay,” Lauren said, not wanting to make this whole thing any more dramatic than necessary. But the little warm spot for Jake grew a bit larger. He’d protected her…or tried, at least. That earned a few extra points. “I was just about to contact them, in fact, when you knocked.”

Melissa leaned down and lifted a basket that Lauren hadn’t noticed was sitting by her feet. “They are still tied up at the charity function. There was an auction afterward and it’s dragging on quite a bit longer than expected. So, Arlen asked that I deliver this to you. And your mom asked me to tell you that she was very happy you had arrived and is looking forward to seeing you. They are hoping you’ll join them for dinner this evening at the Ragland Gap Steakhouse.”

Lauren wondered what Melissa must be thinking about a family who used a secretary to deliver personal messages between its intimate members, but it was more than she could worry about at the moment. She took the basket, which was filled with all kinds of goodies: fruit, food, coffee mug, and even some wild flowers.

“It’s kind of a welcome to Cedar Springs. Lots of local products, a little taste of our mountain town.”

She was so darn cheerful, it was hard not to like her. In fact, the few people Lauren had actually met since hitting eight thousand plus feet had all been the same. Sunny, warm, sincerely nice, and always helpful. Definitely not typical of her experience living in D.C. Must be the thin air.

“Thank you,” she said, and meant it. She had no idea yet, what the dynamic would be between her and Arlen, or even with her mother, much less with the two of them together as a couple, but that wasn’t Melissa’s problem. “I appreciate it, and appreciate you taking time from your schedule to deliver it personally.”

“No problem. It got me out of listening to the mayor’s luncheon speech.” She leaned a little closer and in a more conspiratorial but still cheerful tone, added, “Which, frankly, doesn’t change much, event to event. Neither does the food.”

“I guess Chamber of Commerce luncheons are the same across the country,” Lauren said. “More than once I swore that if I never saw another over-seasoned chicken breast and limp piece of broccoli, I’d die a happy woman.”

Melissa laughed. “Exactly! And I only have to do them a few times a year. You must do them weekly, working for the senator.”

Lauren’s smile tightened slightly. “One of the perks of the job.”

“Well, we’re all happy you’re in town.”

“All?”

“Oh, don’t look alarmed or anything. Cedar Springs is small, so we’re tight knit. It was pretty big news when the mayor came back from the national mayor’s conference in Florida with a new wife! I mean, you can imagine, right? So we were happy to hear you were finally coming to pay us a visit.”

“So…the whole town knows I’m here?”

“Well…yes,” Melissa said, but again, with such cheerful goodwill, as if it were impossible for her to comprehend why that could possibly be a bad thing, or even a disconcerting thing, it was hard to hold it against her. “But, don’t worry, we may be like one big family, but we’re an easy family to get to know, and we always welcome new members with open arms.”

Lauren was beginning to miss D.C., where no one spoke to anyone they didn’t have reason to, and were generally so distracted by whatever they were doing that they paid no attention to anyone else unless it involved cutting them off on the beltway. “I appreciate that. Thank you.”

“So, will dinner work? I’m sorry, it’s been great getting the chance to meet you, but I need to get back. If you’d rather just call—but they won’t be out of there for at least another hour or so. There were several speeches, with a question-and-answer session that ran really long, then the local schoolchildren were putting on some kind of little production, then the auction, so it’s just a never-ending thing, it seems.”

“Dinner is fine.”

She beamed. “Great. Seven at Ragland’s. Enjoy your afternoon!”

Melissa waved and was gone, her long strides carrying her quickly across the parking lot before Lauren thought to ask what the dress code was for the steakhouse. She supposed she could just call the desk and ask. One bonus to being in a small town, everyone would probably know all the local establishments.

She closed the door and leaned against it. Still, it was more than just a little disconcerting, realizing that the whole town knew she was here. And she had a feeling that wasn’t an exaggeration. The woman who’d checked her in had commented on it, as well. But Lauren had just assumed she’d made the connection from getting Lauren’s information while taking the reservation.

Lauren set the basket on the small dresser, then sank down on the edge of the bed. So. She no longer had to make the call. That, at least, was a relief. But now she had a few hours to kill. She thought about wandering around the town a little, getting to see it through her own eyes first, but now there was this feeling that everyone would be watching her, talking. About what, she didn’t know, but still.