Call It Destiny (3 page)

Quashing the faint stirrings of her long-dormant temper, Heather tried to answer the question patiently, as if it didn’t really matter. „I financed my own education. Rick didn’t have a dime to his name, I’m afraid. Lots of rebel-without-a-cause charm and some interesting ambitions, but no money. We parted ways before we even reached California.“

Jake’s head came around sharply in surprise. „You did?“

„I didn’t have much choice. Not after I realized Rick’s primary interest in me was my father’s money. Actually, I think I knew it all along subconsciously and didn’t want to admit it. He and the bike made for a dramatic
exit from Tucson, but when he started demanding that I phone home for money I told him to get lost.“
 

„And did he?“

„Yes. Unfortunately he took the bike. I had to hitchhike to California.“ Heather forced a superficial laugh to cover the memories of fear and loneliness that had assailed her on that traumatic trip. No one, she was convinced, understood isolation and loneliness until they’d stood alone on a dusty highway with only a few dollars in their pocket and a fierce determination not to run home for protection.
 

She’d been lucky. The truck driver who’d given her a lift had turned out to be a true gentleman of the road instead of a lecher. Thirty years her senior, he’d assumed a protective attitude toward her at the truck stops, let her doze in the sleeper compartment while he drove and insisted she was going to ruin her ears with pop music. He’d given her a crash course in the history of country-and-western music as an antidote, playing the country channels endlessly on the radio. Heather still retained a secret affection for the earthy stuff, which had not worn off in the intervening years.

„Being on the road isn’t particularly romantic, is it?“ Jake guided the Mercedes toward the foothills outside Tucson where the Hacienda Strand was located.
 

„No.“

„But your pride wouldn’t let you come home?“

„I couldn’t come home. Not until I’d shown everyone I could take care of myself and that I didn’t need dad’s money to cushion the way,“ she explained starkly.

„So how did you finance your hotel course?“

„Got a job in a fast-food hamburger place. No benefits and low salary but the road to the manager’s job was wide open for anyone who wanted to work the bad hours. I became manager in three months,“ Heather said calmly. „After that, money was less of a problem. I didn’t get a lot of sleep for the next couple of years but I
got one heck of an education. I can manufacture forty hamburgers a minute or supervise a gourmet hotel kitchen.“
 

„You did things the hard way,“ Jake growled. „All because you were too headstrong to appreciate what your family wanted to give you.“

Something snapped briefly inside Heather. She had been doing him the courtesy of answering some very personal questions and in return she sensed she was getting barely concealed disparagement and condemnation. She intended to put a stop to it in a hurry. Her hazel eyes flared in the dimly lit interior of the car.

„Let’s get something straight, Jake. My past is absolutely no concern of yours, just as your past doesn’t particularly interest me. I am not the wild and reckless girl I was when I left town. I am a mature adult woman who has achieved a considerable degree of success on her own. The decision to come back to Tucson is based on a number of factors but none of those factors includes financial need or career development. I had everything I needed or wanted in regard to those two items back in California. One last time, Jake, I’m here on my
own terms and everything I do in my life is on my own terms. If you can’t handle my past then say so now.“
 

His fingers might have tightened briefly on the steering wheel; in the darkness Heather couldn’t be certain. But Jake only hesitated a few seconds before saying quietly, „I can handle your past. It’s not a whole hell of a lot different than my own.“

Heather, her mouth open for further pithy comments, blinked and then said, „Really?“

„Except that there was no female version of Rick Monroe to sweep me away in grand style and there was no loving financially secure family to back me up if I ever got into more trouble than I could handle.“ The words were flat, not inviting further discussion.

Heather considered the man beside her, aware of the harshly carved profile and the controlled strength in the lean tough body. She decided not to ask the flood of questions that popped into her mind. Both of them were entitled to some privacy. After all, they still knew so little about each other.

The subdued roar of a black-and-chrome motorcycle followed the Mercedes into the elegant curving driveway of the Hacienda Strand. As Jake parked the car in one of the managers’ slots, Heather turned to glance over her shoulder, smiling in quick pleasure. Before Jake could open his door she was already out on the white graveled path, waving at the young man who was parking the bike nearby.

„Hey, Jim,“ she called, hurrying forward. „It’s beautiful! When did you get it?“

Jim Connors, a busboy in the hotel restaurant, grinned proudly as he carefully balanced the heavy motorcycle and withdrew the keys. „I took delivery this morning. What do you think? Ever seen anything like it before in your life?“
 

Jake had moved silently up behind Heather who was eyeing the bike with vast appreciation. „Quite a bike, Jim,“ he remarked soberly.
 

„Thank you, Mr. Cavender. I figure it’s only going to take me the rest of my life to pay it off, but it’s worth it!“ Jim stowed the helmet he had worn behind the seat.

„I’m glad to see you had the sense to buy a helmet too,“ Jake observed approvingly.
 

„Yeah. My dad said it was the only way he’d agree to cosign the loan I had to get. I guess he’s right, but it does take some of the excitement out of riding.“
 

„I know what you mean,“ Heather murmured wistfully as she gently stroked the gleaming black fender of the big bike. „There’s nothing like the feel of the wind in your hair.“

„How about the bugs in your teeth?“ Jake interrupted, his eyes narrowing as he watched Heather touch the motorcycle.
 

Jim chuckled. „You’ve got a point there. Oh, well. Buying the bike did give me an excuse to buy a black leather jacket. Mom wouldn’t let me have one until she found out that it’s another form of protection, like the helmet.“

„It looks terrific,“ Heather said admiringly as Jim unfastened the heavy jacket. „A bit warm on a night like this, though.“

„You take it easy on those streets, Jim,“ Jake began with a frown. „Motorcycles and wet pavement don’t mix well.“

Jim’s enthusiasm was quickly masked as he heard the lecturing tone in Jake’s voice. „Yes, sir, Mr. Cavender. I’m being real careful with the bike. The last thing I want to do is wreck it before it’s even paid for. Well, excuse me, I’m a little late.“ The young man flashed a fleeting grin at Heather. „I’ll be glad to give you a ride sometime, Miss Strand.“

„Thank you, Jim. I’d love it,“ Heather assured him warmly. As the busboy hurried off, she rounded on Jake. „There was no need to lecture him. I’m sure his parents have already given him any number of sermons on the subject of driving motorcycles.“

„Well, he’s certainly not going to get any words of wisdom from you, is he?“ Jake noted evenly as he walked her toward her private cottage. Set some distance from the hotel itself, the charming structure, done in an adobe style with a wide front porch, afforded privacy and convenience. Jake used a similar cottage located across the garden. Heather’s parents had an elegant home with a lovely private terrace that overlooked the beautifully kept grounds of the resort. „You looked ready to grab the keys and go joyriding.“
 

„It’s been a long time,“ Heather explained gently, secretly amused at his stern tone. „That black Yamaha I
told you about? The one on which I made my escape from Tucson and Rick took when we parted ways?“
 

„What about it?“

„It was mine. Bought with the money I’d earned working in the hotel restaurant during my senior year in high school. I know exactly what kind of battle Jim had to wage to get his parents’ permission to buy the bike. Just imagine what I had to go through! My mother nearly fainted and my father yelled for a week before giving in. I loved that bike. On it I felt wild and free and totally independent.“ Heather lifted her head in remembered pleasure, inhaling the rain-freshened air and closing her eyes briefly in recollection. „It was a fantastic feeling.“

„And then you went to California and found out what it really feels like to be free and totally independent, hmm?“ There was an acidly repressive tone to Jake’s words as he politely took the keys from her hand and opened her door.

„Ah, Jake. You do have a way of bringing things down to a more mundane level, don’t you?“ No wonder the man didn’t consider himself adept at dealing with people. He wasn’t! „Don’t worry. As I’ve been assuring you all evening, I’m a changed woman.“ She reached out to pluck her keys from his hand. „You’ll see just how realistic and businesslike I am these days when you read that prenuptial agreement.“
 

„I’ll go over it tonight,“ he promised, not moving from her threshold as she stepped inside. The intent considering gleam was back in his gray eyes as he stood watching her a moment longer in silence.

With a spark of purely feminine intuition, Heather knew he was about to kiss her. The thought took her by surprise but she found the notion not at all unpleasant. In fact there was a definite sense of anticipation beginning to simmer in her bloodstream. A curious longing to gain some hint of what a real marriage to this man
would be like. She had come to realize one could only cover so many details in a prenuptial agreement.
 

Jake stepped forward abruptly, tilting her chin with strong fingers. The gray gaze reflected a hint of silver fire that caught Heather off guard. Passion was not something she had expected to find in Jake Cavender. Perhaps she had been wrong. She felt the power in his hand and an unfamiliar wave of excitement washed through her. Love and desire were not items she had expected to find in her arrangement with Jake. The prospect of such a potential was both dizzying and a little frightening.
 

Heather’s lashes settled lightly against her cheek as she allowed him to lift her face for his kiss. She sensed his nearness, felt the heat of his body only inches from hers. The sensation of his mouth hovering above her lips made the breath catch for an instant in her throat. An inexplicable, almost unbearable tension filled her as she waited.
 

„I think – “ Jake whispered huskily as he paused „ – that I’d better go read that contract first.“
 

Heather’s eyes flew open in astonishment as she felt her chin abruptly released. Hastily she covered her reaction, tilting her head proudly.

„You do that, Jake. I wouldn’t want you getting involved in something you can’t handle!“ And a little too loudly, she closed the door in his face.

2

She looked good
sitting there on the terrace, Jake decided the next morning as he approached the private garden area where the Strands customarily took breakfast. The warm morning sunlight gleamed on the neat sweep of her golden-brown hair, making him wish he’d followed through on the temptation to touch it last night.
 

Heather was wearing cream-colored cotton pants, pleated and full at the top, narrow at the ankle. The style emphasized in a chic way the intriguing roundness of her derriere and the delicacy of her anklebones. A blouse of the same color with a small collar and pleated sleeves gave Heather a rakish look that suited her.
 

Whatever she lacked in outright beauty she more than made up for in style and animation. It was no wonder people were instinctively attracted to her, Jake thought. Those lively hazel eyes could make you feel unique and very important. That surprisingly soft mouth curved readily into a smile of genuine warmth. However, there was more than a hint of assertiveness in the firm lines of chin and jaw, and that hint, coupled with her self-confidence, was all the warning Jake needed. Heather might have been a handful when she was a teenager, but that was nothing compared to what she would be now if she was seriously thwarted.
 

Unconsciously Jake drew a determined breath and stepped forward to greet Paul and Ruth Strand and their daughter. His fingers locked tightly around the contract in his hand.
 

Heather glanced up and set down her glass of orange juice as she caught sight of Jake’s approaching figure. He crossed the brick terrace with easy familiarity. She had learned during the past two weeks just how very much at home Jake was with her parents, but occasionally when she saw a fresh manifestation of that ease something in her bristled. She should know by now that he often came to share coffee with Paul and Ruth, but this morning she instinctively resisted the idea of realizing just how much a part of the family he really was.
 

Then again, she decided with blunt self-honesty, perhaps that was one reason she was willing to marry him. A part of her longed to regain every foothold she’d ever had with her family. Marrying a man of whom they approved was one more way of cementing the new relationship.

„Good morning, Jake,“ Ruth Strand said warmly, reaching for the silver coffeepot and pouring the contents into the delicate English china cup. She added cream without bothering to inquire. She’d obviously poured coffee for Jake frequently.

„Good morning, Ruth. Paul.“ Jake nodded at both senior Strands and then strode directly to the chair in which Heather sat and leaned over with a casual possessiveness to kiss her firmly on her surprised mouth.

The decidedly familiar caress came as a shock to Heather. Before she had time to assimilate the hard feel of his mouth on hers, he had withdrawn to take the empty chair at the round table. A crinkle of paper made her glance down at her lap where he had left the contract he’d been carrying. When she glanced up questioningly, Jake merely smiled his strange half-amused smile.