Harlequin Special Edition October 2015, Box Set 1 of 2 (47 page)

“Do you want to talk about it?” Savannah asked.

“Yes. No.” He let out a breath. “I don't know. I don't tell people my personal problems.”

“Okay.” She leaned back on her elbows, the beer dangling from her fingers. She didn't push him, didn't seem the least bit bothered that he didn't want to open up. Which had the inverse effect...

He wanted to let her in. What was it about Savannah and her easygoing attitude that drew him to her? Led him down roads he'd always avoided?

He debated letting the subject drop. But there was no more work to distract him, and the thought of going back to his hotel room and turning on his computer didn't fill him with the same sense of relief it normally did. This whole thing with Colton was too big to dismiss with hours of work, even with an entire house renovation. The subject needled at his every thought, hung heavy on his shoulders. He needed to talk about it, figure it out. But this wasn't a business problem he'd debate with his CFO or a lawyer friend. This was Mac's life. The life he'd thought was based on one truth and turned out to be based on a lie.

“Oh, look,” Savannah said softly, pointing across the yard at the birdhouse her father had built. Time had weathered the paint job a little, but the bird's home, sitting atop a high pole, was a damned close match to the main house. “The mama bird is feeding the babies.”

A bright blue bird with a rust-colored chest was perched on the edge of the house, while a smaller hungry mouth extended from the opening and snatched at the worm in the parent's beak. A loud chorus of hungry chirps came from inside the birdhouse, and soon two more heads pushed their way out, each wanting a piece of the worm. A moment later the mama bird flew off, probably to bring back another treat for her hungry brood. The babies chirped a while longer, then settled back into the box.

“I love seeing the new family every year,” Savannah said. “It's like they're part of my family, too.”

“Is it the same birds that return every year?”

“Sometimes. And sometimes the parents die and the fledglings find a mate and return to this birdhouse. I love that their family is constantly changing.”

A constantly changing family. He had that right now. If there was one thing Mac had always counted on, it was the steadiness of the Barlow family. He knew whenever he came home to Stone Gap, his parents would be living in the same house, and his brothers would tease him with the same jokes. There was something...comforting in that, as much as he said it annoyed him. But now those dynamics were changing, and he wasn't sure what to do about it or who to turn to for advice.

He glanced over at Savannah, at this woman who would do pretty much anything for the father she had loved, and who got sentimental about a pair of birds. He wondered what she'd have to say if she unearthed a secret sibling. Would she welcome them with open arms or want to bury the truth and pretend it didn't exist? He wanted to know—wanted to know all that and more about this intriguing, beautiful woman beside him.

Never before had he gotten personally involved with someone whose company he was trying to buy. He'd especially never kissed the owner of one of his potential purchases. Or thought about sleeping with her every five minutes. This thing—whatever it was between himself and Savannah—seemed like more than he'd had in a long time. It wasn't just about being attracted to her. It was something bigger. Something with deeper roots. Already, he felt as though she wasn't just a fellow business owner. She was also a...

Friend.

Okay, so maybe he didn't kiss his friends like he'd kissed Savannah. And maybe he didn't picture his friends naked a thousand times a day. But one thing was true—Mac Barlow, indomitable millionaire CEO, could sure use a friend right now. He took a long pull off the beer, then let out a breath.

“I have a brother I didn't know about,” he said.

The words came out surprisingly easy, considering Mac wasn't a man who shared much—if any—of his private life with people. But there it was, the fact that he had kept concealed from the brothers who shared his DNA and the mother who loved him dearly. Told to a woman he had known for a handful of days.

“Really?” Savannah turned to look at him. “That'd be enough to throw anyone for a loop.”

“I just found out a couple weeks ago from my uncle. He and my dad don't talk—a family argument gone wrong years ago—and he told me I needed to tell my family about my half brother.” For the hundredth time, Mac wished Uncle Tank had just called Bobby, instead of handing off the task to Mac like a relay baton. “I haven't told my brothers or my mother yet, but I confronted my dad this evening. That's where I went after work, to see him.”

“How'd that go?”

“It sure wasn't sunshine and roses. He didn't explain, but he also didn't deny it.” Mac took another drag off the beer. “Turns out my whole childhood was a lie.”

Savannah seemed to think about that for a minute. “I don't know if the whole thing was a lie. One part, maybe. But the rest was your story.”

“Bookended by this other brother and another woman.” Mac sighed. “My dad never told anyone.”

“Maybe because he didn't want you to look at him the way you are probably looking at him right now.” Savannah shrugged.

“And how is that?”

“Like he destroyed everything you thought you knew.”

Savannah was right. That was exactly how Mac was feeling. It was as if the world he'd grown up in, the world he had known as well as his own name, had turned out to be a figment of his imagination. He wasn't born to two people deeply in love. Hell, he wasn't even the oldest. There had been another, older than he was, and another woman who had had Bobby's heart. It turned out the Barlows' solid marriage, which had served as an example to the three boys, had been built on shifting sand.

“But that's exactly what my father did. My mother, my brothers—they're all going to be devastated when they find out.”

“They might handle it better than you think.” She took a sip of beer, then set the bottle on the step below her. “People make mistakes, Mac. They screw up, and they hurt the ones they love. Nobody's perfect, and learning to accept that the people we love and idolize are imperfect is part of life.”

“My father didn't just make a small mistake. He made an entire family. Do you know how this is going to break my mother's heart? Their thirty-fifth wedding anniversary is coming up. How the hell am I supposed to tell her before that?”

“You don't.”

Mac shook his head. “Somebody has to. My half brother said he was coming to town to meet the family, and I can't just let him show up without giving them fair warning of what happened. I need to make a plan, find a way to break this news without it doing too much collateral damage.”

“No, you don't.” She laid a hand on his, a hand of friendship, of comfort, connection. “This isn't a business you can fix up and flip. It's not a company that needs help increasing its bottom line. It's life. And life is messy and complicated and sometimes very painful. You clean up the messes
you
make, but you don't have to clean up the messes other people made.”

“What, you're saying trust my father to tell everyone?” Mac shook his head. He couldn't even imagine that disaster. Bobby with his gruff and direct way dropping this bomb into Della's life. Into his sons' lives. “I can't do that. He's not the most touchy-feely guy in the world.”

“And you are?”

That made Mac laugh. “Point taken. But still, my father delivering news like this would be like throwing a bowling ball into a china shop.”

“Yes, but it's
his
news to deliver.” She took another sip, then set the bottle down again. “And that means you have to do something you don't like to do.”

“What's that?”

She grinned. “Give up control and let someone else handle this.”

“I'm not trying to control this.”

“Really?” A bigger smile curved up one side of her face. “Because I hear a man saying that he has to be the one to tell his mother and brothers. That he doesn't trust his father to do it. That it's all up to him to deal with this, rather than letting the one who made the mistake deal with the aftermath. This is crappy news for your family, I agree, and no matter how it's delivered, it's going to have ramifications. But it's not your information to deliver.”

Savannah's words eased the tension in Mac's shoulders. She was right. He wasn't the one who had stepped out on his wife. He wasn't the one who had created another child. He wasn't the one who had to undo the damage that was going to be done. “So you're saying I should be support staff instead of CEO?”

She laughed. “I'm saying exactly that.”

He shook his head. “I don't know. I don't much like to be the one in the backseat. That kind of thing makes me...uncomfortable.”

“I don't think you can learn how to be a good leader until you learn how to be a good follower.” She got to her feet and put out a hand to him. When he touched her, it was like sending fire through his veins. Her smile warmed something deep in his gut, made all the tension melt away. “And with that, Mac Barlow, I have the perfect project for you.”

Chapter Eight

M
aybe Savannah just liked seeing Mac Barlow sweat.

Early the next morning, she'd had him meet her at the old house again. The sun was barely rising in the sky, which gave them a good two hours before the offices at Hillstrand would open and she'd be needed at Willie Jay's desk.

They'd left last night without another of those soul-searing kisses, mainly because she'd kept her distance, telling herself it was for the best. But then she'd spent the night tossing and turning, her fitful dreams filled with a dark-haired man whose eyes were as blue as the ocean on a sunny day. She'd woken up an hour earlier than she'd needed to, and had known it was because a part of her couldn't wait to see Mac again. And, yes, see him sweat. Maybe enough that he'd take off his shirt, and give her something else to fantasize about.

Oh, she was bad, very bad. But that didn't stop her from checking him out every five seconds, even as she told herself this was just about working on the house and teaching a buttoned-up CEO a lesson or two in being a good worker bee.

After they'd parked their vehicles and returned to the beach house's backyard, she said to Mac, “We're here this morning because I want you to learn how the products work from the inside out.”

“You really think that's necessary?” Mac said. “I can look at the monthly reports and—”

“And nothing gives you a sense for what we do like actually handling the product. And seeing it in action.” Not to mention following Savannah's directions. It was going to be fun to turn the tables on Mac Barlow.

“Are we working on the porch roof today?” he asked.

“Nope. I have another project for you. One where I'm the expert and you're the apprentice.”

He gave her a dubious glance, but followed her out to the shed where a quartet of solar panels had sat for months, waiting for installation on the roof of the beach house. She could have called in some of the crew from Hillstrand Solar to do the job, of course, but that wouldn't have been half as much fun as putting Mac to work—and telling him what to do. Besides, she wanted to do as much of the beach house renovation on her own as she could. This one was personal—and she wanted it to have that personal touch.

“Here's the plan,” she said. “We're going to install the mounting brackets on the roof—”

He glanced up at the two-story peak of the house. “
That
roof?”

“Yup.” She bit back a grin. “You scared of heights?”

“Nope. You?”

“Of course not.” She grabbed one end of a ladder, and Mac grabbed the other. They carried it around the house and propped it against the side, anchoring it well in the grass. Mac cast another doubtful look upward. Savannah patted him on the shoulder. “The view is worth it, I promise. Let me get the hardware and some tools, and we'll get started.”

She returned a moment later with a pile of mounting brackets, a tool belt and a handful of screws. From her trunk, she'd pulled out a couple of safety harnesses she still had from the days when she'd worked installation. She slid one on herself, then gave the other to Mac.

“I really need this?” he said.

“Better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I need your brains to help me with the business. They won't do me any good if they're scrambled on the driveway.”

He laughed and stepped into the harness. She helped him cinch it tight, trying not to think about how very close the action brought them. “Gee, you really know how to instill confidence in your crew,” he said.

“If you're not a little bit afraid, then you're going to make mistakes.”

“Very true. That's a saying that can be applied to most everything in life,” Mac said. “Every big decision I make is always accompanied by a little fear.”

“Really? You just seem so...confident when it comes to business things.”

“I don't know if I'd call it confidence so much as a willingness to take risks. And risks always come with potential pitfalls, so that's where the fear comes in. Maybe there was something I missed in my due diligence, or the market for that type of company might bottom out, or I might end up losing money... There are a lot of factors to worry about.”

“You haven't made too many mistakes,” she said. “Your company has become pretty successful in a very short period of time.”

“I've made mistakes,” Mac said quietly. “And every decision I have made is influenced by those mistakes.”

She wondered what he meant by that, but he had already turned away and grabbed the pile of mounting brackets. She let the subject drop and started climbing the ladder with Mac close behind. Savannah scaled the metal rungs with the quick movements of someone who had done so a thousand times, then secured a rope to the peak, attached it to her harness and settled herself on the eastern side of the house, where the trees were sparse and left a large window for the sun to land on the roof. The perfect location for the solar panels.

For a moment, Savannah couldn't move. She looked at that sunny spot and thought of the last time she had been up here. Six months ago. So much had changed in six months. Too much. She bent down and pressed a hand against the rough, warm roof and closed her eyes.

“You okay?” Mac said.

“Yeah.” She straightened and brushed the dirt off her palms. “I was just thinking about my dad. The last time I was up here was with him. We were discussing where to install the panels. It was the last time he and I were out to the house together, and one of the last great days we had together. He had his heart attack six weeks later.”

Mac put a hand on her shoulder, a comforting, sweet touch. Those were the moments that tempted her to open her heart to Mac. When he was there with a smile, a touch, a word that said he understood and he cared.

“I'm sorry,” Mac said. “He sounds like he was a great man.”

“He was.” She smiled, but the smile wobbled. “One of a kind.”

“Then let's get these panels installed. Then he can look down from heaven and see that you are continuing his legacy.”

Savannah's gaze landed on that sunny spot again.
You're a great daughter
,
her dad had said.
You've always made me so proud to be your father.

“Am I? With the way the business is struggling and the house is falling apart—”

Mac put a finger against her lips. “You are doing fine, Savannah. He'd be proud, I'm sure.”

“I hope so.” She glanced again at that sunny spot, then decided Mac was right about one thing. The best thing she could do was keep moving forward, keep fulfilling those promises she had made. She handed a second rope to Mac, which he clipped on to the harness with a carabiner.

He gave the connection a shake. “You sure this is safe?”

“As long as you do what I say, it is.” She grinned. Mac's face was a little pale, and he gave the ground far below them a leery glance. She bit back another laugh. The first-timers were often nervous and worried about falling. Even big, strong, tall Mac Barlow was no different. Apparently the CEO was used to being at the top of the business world, but not used to being on the top of a house.

“You're clipped in now,” she said. “Even if you slip, you should be fine. Now, let's start setting the mounting brackets. And remember, I'm in charge.”

He chuckled. “I bet you like that.”

She grinned. “More than you know, Mr. Barlow.”

Savannah explained where to put the brackets, how to find the best place for the screw holes and how to add a sealer around the holes after the brackets were in place. They worked together in the sun for a half hour, the whine of the screw gun the only sound breaking the early-morning peace. Once the brackets were installed and the panels attached, Savannah sat back on the roof and propped her elbows on her knees.

“This is a pretty dangerous job,” Mac said, mimicking her position, though still moving a bit gingerly. After thirty minutes on the roof, he'd gotten slightly more confident. “I'm surprised your dad had you doing installs.”

“He didn't want me to do it. In fact, he forbade it. But I talked some of the crew into letting me tag along and before they knew it, I was scaling the ladders.”

“You have some kind of death wish?”

She laughed. “No. I didn't do installs because I wanted to take risks. I did them for this.” She waved a hand at the view before them, the vast blue ocean, the trees that seemed to form undulating green carpets on the southern side of the house. Birds soared above it all, disappearing in black slashes against the sky. “Every view from a roof is different, but they are all breathtaking. Once I finished working, I'd sit on the roof for as long as I could, just taking in the world. Looking out at all this would remind me that in the scheme of things, my problems are pretty small.”

Mac's gaze followed hers, and for a long moment he was quiet. “It is pretty humbling, isn't it? You see this wide expanse, and you realize that people are rather insignificant.”

“As are whatever problems we seem to think are so huge. There are hundreds of people just in the space we can see right here.” She waved at the tree-covered area, dotted with vacation homes. Within those walls, there were families laughing over breakfast, widows mourning lost loves, dreamers picturing a rosy future. Other lives tumbling along rocky paths. “All those people facing their own challenges and triumphs. Some have harder challenges than others, some celebrate greater triumphs. But we're all in this together.” She shrugged and felt her face heat. He probably thought she was being silly, given how cut-and-dried he was. “Anyway, not to wax all philosophical, but that's what I think. It must be the thinner air up here.”

“Don't apologize, Savannah.” He shifted on the roof to touch her chin, waiting until she was looking at him. She leaned into the touch a little more, craving it, craving him. “I think that's good advice. Wise advice, actually. Something most of us have trouble remembering.”

His hand was against her jaw, his touch light but hot, as if a slice of the sun was sliding against her cheek. Her gaze met his, those blue eyes of Mac's seeming to fill the space in front of her until all she thought about was him. What was it about this man that mesmerized her so? She was supposed to keep him firmly on her Enemies list, but every time he touched her...

Her brain misfired and she started wondering what it would be like to take him to bed. To be with him, here and everywhere. Just looking into his eyes made the office seem a thousand miles away, the rest of the world on some distant planet.

That was dangerous. Distracting. She'd made a promise, and falling for Mac would definitely not be keeping that promise. Regardless of how her body melted when he touched her, or how her lips still tingled with a remembered kiss.

“Uh, we should get down,” she said. “We have to get to work. I have that meeting with the sales staff in an hour.”

“Yeah.” His hand dropped away. “You're right.”

Disappointment filled her, which was crazy. This was what she wanted—yet it still made her ache with regret. She turned away before Mac could read the truth in her eyes, reminded herself the install was done—so she gathered her tools and got down from the roof.

Because she was right about one thing—the thinner air had her mind running down very nonsensical paths.

* * *

Mac was in his sweet spot. Or should have been, at least. An hour after they'd left the beach house, he sat at the desk in the cubicle at Hillstrand Solar, multiple programs open on the screen before him. Accounting, sales, website—he had it all running at the same time.

But his mind was on Savannah. She was in the conference room finishing up their earlier meeting with the sales staff about the realignment of territories, and every time he tried to focus on work, his gaze wandered to her.

She'd stopped at her apartment in town to change before coming in to work. He kind of missed the shorts and T-shirt she'd been wearing this morning, the easy ponytail she'd had in her hair. On the roof she'd looked relaxed and happy. He'd liked that about her. Liked the casual Savannah so much more than the work Savannah.

Here, she was wearing yet another pantsuit—which made him wonder if the ones from the days before cloned themselves while she slept—and her hair was back in that clip, all neat and tidy, no stray tendrils to lure him closer. The happy, relaxed look had disappeared from her face. Beneath the matching jacket her shoulders appeared tense, her posture ramrod straight. It was as if she had become someone else the minute she stepped into this building.

Mac pushed away from the desk and headed into the conference room. Savannah glanced up when he entered, and a smile bloomed on her face. For him? He sure hoped so. Because just seeing that smile made an answering one curve across his face and wiped away all the stress that had plagued him moments before.

He knew he shouldn't get involved with her. Knew he should keep it just about the business. Already, he was finding himself wavering about his plan to help her for a week and then talk her into selling. He had no other plan, because he knew realistically he couldn't stay here forever helping her, but he also didn't want to go back to Boston.

The thought of walking into the office and not seeing Savannah in one of those damnable pantsuits hit him like a punch to the gut. This was crazy. He barely knew the woman. But a part of him—a growing, vocal majority—wanted to get to know her much, much better, especially after that incredible kiss. Even if it was a mistake. Getting closer to Savannah Hillstrand would only further complicate an already-complicated proposition.

But when that smile lit her eyes and she held his gaze for a long moment,
complicated
didn't sound like such a bad idea.

“How's it going?” Mac asked.

“Great. The staff is on board with the new sales territories you and I proposed today. I think everyone's excited about the changes.” She glanced over at the trio of salesmen, who nodded agreement. “That's all I had, guys. Unless Mac wanted to add something?”