Call It Destiny (6 page)

„Your education, apparently, was more complete than mine.“ With careful strokes Jake began painting the buns a golden color with the melted butter. Then, wary of the spattering grill surface, he set them down in a neat row beyond the burgers. Behind him the kitchen staff watched in fascination.

A few minutes later the eight burgers were finished, neatly sandwiched into their buns and ready for delivery to the poolside. Chef Richards exhaled deeply.
 

„One thing is certain,“ he chuckled. „The two of you will never go hungry. You can always get jobs as short-order cooks somewhere. By the way,“ he went on more formally. „May I take this opportunity to extend the congratulations of my staff and myself. We were all very happy to learn of your forthcoming marriage.“

„Thank you,“ Jake responded equally formally. His arm settled around Heather’s narrow waist in a possessive manner.

„And thank you for the tour, Julian,“ Heather added quickly as Jake escorted her toward the door. „I’ll be back.“

„Anytime, Miss Strand. Anytime.“

„As usual – “ Jake murmured as they stepped out into the mounting heat of the summer day „ – you’ve made
another conquest. The kitchen staff is now yours to command.“
 

„Actually, I thought you took commands fairly well yourself back there. Hard to believe you’ve never had to cook hamburger buns on a grill before.“

„Your directions were very clear,“ he told her dryly.

„And you carried them out well. I’m beginning to think everyone around here may be right.“

„About what?“

„About us making a good team.“

Jake tugged her to a halt. „I’ve been telling you that all along.“

„So you have. So has my father. And so has the rest of the family.“ Heather smiled. „And you’re quite certain you won’t mind working for a woman?“
 

He hesitated, as if choosing his words with care. „I think I can work
with
you, Heather.“
 

She smiled brilliantly. „I really do make a very good boss, if I do say so myself.“

„And what kind of wife will you make?“

She shrugged fatalistically. „Who knows? I’ve never had any experience. What are your qualifications as a husband?“
 

Jake moved his head in a slow negative, the brackets hard on either side of his mouth. „My direct experience is quite limited. I was married once, Heather. A long time ago. We were both very young, very immature and very broke. I think we thought marriage would somehow cure all that. It was a romantic fantasy that didn’t last eighteen months. At the end of that time we were still young and broke but perhaps a little wiser.“
 

Heather’s eyes gentled as she remembered her own youthful passions and fantasies. „What happened, Jake?“
 

„She found someone else who could support her in the style to which she wanted to become accustomed.“ There was no bitterness in his words. „When she announced she wanted a divorce, my main feeling, I’m afraid, was one of relief. In the end it was the best answer for everyone. She got the security she needed and I had the freedom to spend every dime I could earn on an education. After I got my business degree I was too busy building a career to think about marriage. Or maybe I just never found anyone who seemed to want the same things I wanted. I don’t know. I do know,“ he added with quiet emphasis, „that I am ready again for marriage, and this time I intend to make it work.“
 

„You sound very certain of that.“

„I’ve grown used to getting what I want out of life, Heather. Even if I have to get it the hard way. And I don’t take failure easily.“

She wasn’t certain how to take that declaration. It was hardly a ringing vow of love. But, then, she wasn’t interested in a marriage of fluff and fantasy. She wanted a working partner and Jake sounded as if he was willing to work, both for the Hacienda Strand and for the marriage.

„Well,“ she quipped, seeking a way to lighten the heavy direction of the conversation, „at least this time if we wind up married and broke we’ll know we can do as Julian suggested and get jobs cooking hamburgers. We won’t go hungry.“
 

To her surprise he took the joking remarks seriously. „If that’s what it takes, that’s what we’ll do.“

Heather turned away with a small frown. Drive and determination were normally qualities she admired in others and had an abundance of herself. But in Jake Cavender those two attributes were overlaid with an intensity that occasionally sent uneasy chills down her spine.

3

One week before the wedding
Jake stood beside Paul Strand on the Strands’ private garden terrace and watched Heather circulate through the crowd of beautifully dressed people her mother had invited. The party was in honor of the engaged couple but somehow it seemed to have turned into Heather’s party.
 

Colorful Japanese lanterns cast an appealing glow over the gathering. The afternoon thunderstorms had come and gone, removing temporarily at least, some of the typical August mugginess. Glasses and ice clinked as the guests cheerfully downed Paul Strand’s expensive liquor along with Julian Richards’s beautiful canapés.
 

Jake sipped meditatively at his Scotch and reminded himself for what must surely have been the hundredth time that evening, that in another week he would be married to the vivid creature across the room.

Dressed in a deceptively simple jewel-toned silk gown that plunged rather daringly in back and was demurely high in front, her hair polished and sleek, Heather had taken over the party from the moment it had begun. Jake caught glimpses of her smiling animated features as she charmed her way through the evening, and something fierce tugged at his insides.

He wanted her. He’d been wanting her for three weeks. It seemed like forever.

For a moment he entertained a brief satisfying fantasy of cornering her at the party, throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her off into the night. Three weeks of restraint shouldn’t have been affecting him so
much, he told himself wryly. He was a man, not a boy. He took another swallow of the Scotch and gazed broodingly at his future bride. Heather was busy coaxing the normally shy Cecil Winthrop into lively conversation.
 

„Never saw Cecil loosen up so much at a party before,“ Paul Strand observed humorously. He slicked back the fawn-colored cuff of his well-tailored sport coat and glanced at his watch. „Normally he claims he has to be in bed by ten and here it is going on eleven.“

„He’s captivated by Heather. Just like everyone else here tonight.“
 

„I told you she would make the perfect hostess for the Hacienda, didn’t I?“ Paul grinned complacently as he glanced at the younger man. „With your brains and her natural ability to handle people, the two of you are going to make this hotel the finest in Arizona.“

„How did you know she was going to be so good with people, Paul? You and Ruth have told me for two years that she nearly drove you crazy before she left home.“

„Ah, but even when she was driving us crazy she could twist anyone on the staff around her little finger. I’d yell at her for going swimming in front of the guests in a bikini that was two sizes too small, and the next thing I knew she was being cosseted in the kitchens, stuffing herself with cookies and soda pop while the waiters and the cooks commiserated with her. I always knew she had the brains and the willpower to make something of herself, and it used to drive me to distraction to see her rely on easy charm to get what she-wanted.“
 

„She seems to have developed both brains and willpower during the last few years,“ Jake observed. „She’d made quite a name for herself in hotel management circles before she told you she was coming home. You don’t get her kind of reputation on charm alone.“

Paul chuckled. „I know. Actually, she’s a great deal more lethal now than she was when she was a kid.“

„Charm and intelligence can be a dangerous combination,“ Jake agreed.

„And you, Jake, are just the man to handle that combination. Why else do you think I’ve been pushing this marriage? The two of you are going to make a perfect team.“

„I think,“ Jake muttered a little, gruffly, „that after we’re officially a ‘team’ I’m going to have her give that dress to the Salvation Army.“
 

Paul grinned. „It’s cut a little low in the back, I’ll admit. Ruth did try to say something about it before the party, but these days my daughter does what she wants. Fortunately for all concerned most of the things she seems to want now are what the rest of us want for her. But occasionally she puts her foot down. The difference now is that she draws the line in a very calm firm manner instead of throwing a tantrum. She’s a woman.“
 

And she’s going to be my woman,
Jake told himself, trying to squelch the reckless excitement that thought brought. One more week.
 

„Oh, there you are, dad!“ Liz Strand, the youngest of the Strand daughters, appeared in front of Jake and Paul. „Isn’t it a wonderful party?“ Her lovely face was alight with pleasure. „Of course, every
one came to see the prodigal daughter but they’re staying because they’re having such a wonderful time. Heather’s got them all eating out of the palm of her hand. Isn’t it fun?“
 

„Great fun,“ Paul agreed on a laugh. „Where’s Ann?“

„Over there with her husband. I was just on my way to get some more of those luscious canapés Julian fixed. He really pulled out all the stops for this party, didn’t he?“

„Heather’s got him thinking he’s the greatest chef to come along since the guy who invented the cheese soufflé,“ Jake grumbled.

Liz grinned. „Well, since it was your idea to hire Julian two years ago, I should think you’d be pleased
he’s so charmed by my sister. After all, now that he’s given the Hacienda Strand such a good reputation for fine dining, you’d hate to have him lured off by a competitor.“
 

„She’s got a point,“ Paul agreed cheerfully. „Your safest bet is to have Julian under Heather’s spell. Wouldn’t want to lose him.“

„No. I wouldn’t want to lose him. Excuse me,“ Jake said a little grimly, „but I do appear to have lost track of my fiancée. I’d better go find her.“ With a nod to Liz and Paul, Jake waded determinedly into the crowd.

Since moving to the sunbelt he had learned to dress in the casual Arizona style, but even though he wore a light-colored sport coat and an open-necked shirt, something about the way he wore his clothes tonight set him a little apart from the other men. The vaguely remote quality that was so much a factor in his nature simply refused to yield to the easygoing effects of the clothing. The people around him responded in kind. They nodded in a friendly manner, spoke respectfully, but there was a faint wariness in them. No one was quite sure how to take Jake Cavender.
 

That situation changed, however, when he finally located Heather and moved to take his place at her side. In the course of responding to Heather’s charm, people found themselves feeling more at ease with Jake, too.

„Good evening, Cavender,“ Cecil Winthrop greeted him in a far more jovial manner than usual as Jake handed Heather the glass of Chenin Blanc he’d procured en route.

Jake nodded politely. He didn’t fool himself for a minute. Winthrop was generally not this friendly and his cordiality tonight was strictly because of Heather. „Hello, Cecil. I’m glad to see you’re enjoying yourself.“
 

Heather smiled brilliantly. „Cecil and I were just discussing the time I used his land to practice riding my
motorcycle. I forgot to ask Cecil’s permission.“ She shook her head in rueful apology. „It was just that your land was so terribly convenient, Cecil. I’m not even sure where the Hacienda Strand’s land ends and yours begins!“
 

„Jake knows, don’t you, my boy?“ Cecil asked. One bushy gray brow arched behind his wire-frame glasses.

„I admit I’ve studied the matter,“ Jake replied uncomfortably. This was the last thing he wanted to discuss tonight. After the marriage would be a much better time.
 

But Heather was already turning a curious face toward him. „Am I missing something here?“

„Just a small matter of business,“ Jake assured her quickly. „Nothing to discuss at the moment.“

„Your husband-to-be has some plans for all that acreage I’ve got that borders the Hacienda Strand property,“ Cecil confided cheerfully to Heather. „He and I have discussed the matter from time to time.“
 

„I see.“ Heather pinned Jake with a glance. „What plans?“

Jake hid his irritation at having the subject brought up. „I had some thoughts of using that land to put in a private golf course for the Hacienda,“ he told her brusquely.

„You had some thoughts? What’s my father’s opinion?“

„Heather, we’ll discuss this later.“ Taking her arm very firmly, Jake nodded at Cecil Winthrop. „Sorry to drag her away, Cecil, but Paul’s been trying to find her all evening. Please excuse us.“

„Of course, of course. Mustn’t monopolize the guest of honor,“ Cecil agreed with a gracious wave. He smiled again at Heather.

Heather managed an unconcerned smile in return but as soon as they were out of earshot she deliberately disengaged her arm. „What in the world was that all about?“ she demanded in a low voice, nodding pleasantly at the guests they were passing,
„Just a little business matter. There will be plenty of time to talk about it later.“
 

„You want to put in a private golf course for the Hacienda guests?“

„I thought it would be a great drawing card for the hotel. Everyone comes to Tucson to play golf in the winter.“ Jake sighed, knowing there was no way around the discussion now that Heather was onto the subject.
 

„But our guests have playing privileges at most of the major courses in the area. I don’t see that we need to provide our own. What did my father say when you came up with the idea?“