“I’m leaving, just as soon as I find a place.”
“I don’t care about that, for crying out loud.”
“I’m not ‘moping’ or ‘killing myself’ so don’t you dare try to psychoanalyze me,” she warned, raising her eyes to stare at him over the rim of her cup. He didn’t have to remind her that she looked bad, for heaven’s sake. She could feel it.
“Someone’s got to,” Jake grumbled. “You and Parker are so damned bullheaded.”
Her heartbeat quickened at the sound of his name. If only he’d missed her!
“He looks twice as bad as you do.”
“That’s encouraging,” she muttered, but hated the sound of her voice. Deep down, she wanted Parker to be happy and well.
“Talk to him.”
“No.”
“He’s called twice.”
Frowning, Shawna set her cup on the table. “It’s over, Jake. That’s the way he wanted it, and I’m tired of being treated as if my emotions don’t mean a damned thing. Whether he meant to or not, he found my heart, threw it to the ground, and then stomped all over it.”
“So now you don’t care?”
“I didn’t say that! And you’re doing it again. Don’t talk to me like you’re my shrink, for Pete’s sake.”
Jake wouldn’t be silenced. “Okay, so I’ll talk like your brother. You’re making one helluva mistake here.”
“Not the first.”
“Cut the bull, Shawna. I know you. You’re hurting and you still love him even if you think he’s a bastard. Isn’t it worth just one more chance?”
She thought of the brass ring, still tucked secretly in the pocket of her robe. “Take a chance,” Parker had told her at the fair that day. Dear Lord, it seemed ages ago.
“I’m out of chances.”
Jake leaned over the table, his gaze fastened on her. “I’ve never thought you were stupid, Shawna. Don’t change my mind, okay?” Glancing at the clock over the stove, he swore, grabbing his suit jacket from the back of a chair. “Do yourself a favor. Call him back.” With this last bit of brotherly advice, Jake swung out the door, then returned, his face flushed. “And move your car, okay? Some of us have to work today.”
She felt like sticking her tongue out at him, but instead she grabbed her purse and keys and swung her coat over her shoulders. The beginning of a plan had begun to form in her mind—and if Jake was right about Parker ...
“You don’t have to leave,” Jake said as they walked down the frost-crusted path to the garage. “Just move that miserable little car of yours.”
“I think I’d better get started.”
“Doing what?” he asked. “You have the next couple of days off, don’t you?”
She grabbed the handle of her car door and flashed him a secretive smile as she climbed inside, “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I should do more than mope around here.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked suspiciously.
“I’m not sure. But I’ll let you know.” Waving with one hand, she rammed her car into gear and backed out of his driveway. With only the barest idea of what she was planning, she parked in front of the house and waited until Jake had roared out of sight.
Spurred into action, she hurried back inside Jake’s house, called her friend Gerri, and threw some clothes into a bag.
Her heart was in her throat as she climbed back into her car. She could barely believe the plan that had formed in her mind. Ignoring the screaming protests in her mind, she drove through the fog, heading north until she slammed on the brakes at the street leading toward the Willamette River and Parker’s house.
Her hands were damp. What if he wasn’t home? Or worse yet, what if he had company? Perhaps Melinda?
Well, that would be too damned bad. Because it’s now or never!
Her muscles were so rigid they ached as she drove, her jaw firm with determination as Parker’s huge house loomed to the side of the road. Without hesitation, she cranked the wheel, coasted along the long asphalt drive and parked near the brick path leading to the front door.
Then, with all the confidence she could gather, she marched up the path and rang the bell.
C
HAPTER
12
Shawna held her breath as the door swung inward, and Parker, dressed in cords and a soft sweater, stared at her. Her heart started knocking against her rib cage as she looked into his eyes.
“Well, if this isn’t a surprise,” he drawled, not moving from the door. His face was unreadable. Not an emotion flickered in his eyes.
“I had a few things to sort out,” she said.
“And are they sorted out?”
Nervously, she licked her lips. “Just about. I thought maybe we should talk, and I’m sorry I didn’t return your calls.”
Still suspicious, he pushed open the door. “Fair enough.”
“Not here,” she said quickly. “Someplace where we won’t be disturbed.”
“Such as?”
Shawna forced a friendly smile. “For starters, let’s just drive.”
He hesitated a minute, then shrugged, as if it didn’t matter what she wanted to discuss—nothing would change. Yanking his fleece-lined jacket off the hall tree, he eyed his cane hanging on a hook but left it.
Striding back to the car, Shawna held her breath and felt his eyes bore into her back as he walked unsteadily after her and slid into the passenger side of the hatchback.
Without a word, she climbed behind the wheel and started out the drive. A surge of self-doubts assailed her. If he had any idea that she planned to kidnap him for the weekend, he’d be furious. She might have ruined any chance they had of ever getting back together again.
But it was a risk she had to take. The longer they were apart, she felt, the more likely stubborn pride would get in their way.
She put the little car through its paces, heading west amidst the fog still clinging to the upper reaches of the west hills. “So talk,” Parker suggested, his arms crossed over his chest, his jean jacket stretched tight over his shoulders.
“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” she said, gambling, not really knowing what to say now that he was sitting in the seat next to hers, his legs stretched close, his shoulder nearly touching hers. “And I think I acted rashly.”
“We both behaved like children,” he said, staring straight ahead as the city gave way to suburbs. Parker looked around, as if noticing for the first time that they’d left Portland far behind. Ahead the blue-gray mountains of the coast range loomed into view. “Where’re we going?” he asked, suddenly apprehensive.
“To the beach.” She didn’t dare glance at him, afraid her emotions were mirrored in her eyes.
“The
beach?
” he repeated, stunned. “Why?”
“I think more clearly when I’m near the ocean.” That, at least, wasn’t a lie.
“But it’s already afternoon. We won’t be back until after dark.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I guess not.”
“Good. I know this great candy store in Cannon Beach—”
He groaned, and Shawna, glimpsing him from the corner of her eye, felt a growing sense of satisfaction. So he did remember—she could see it in his gaze. Earlier in the summer they’d visited Cannon Beach and eaten saltwater taffy until their stomachs ached. So just how much did he recall? Everything? What about Melinda? Shawna felt dread in her heart but steadfastly tamped it down. Tonight she’d face the truth—all of it. And so would Parker!
Once at the tiny coastal town, with its weathered buildings and cottages, they found a quaint restaurant high on the cliffs overlooking the sea. The beach was nearly deserted. Only a few hardy souls braved the sand and wind to stroll near the water’s ragged edge. Gray-and-white seagulls swooped from a steely sky, and rolling white-capped waves crashed against jagged black rocks as Shawna and Parker finished a meal of crab and crusty French bread.
“Want to take a walk?” Shawna asked.
Deep lines grooved around his mouth. “Didn’t bring my wheelchair,” he drawled, his lips thinning.
She said softly, “You can lean on me.”
“I don’t think so. I really should get back.” His eyes touched hers for a moment and then he glanced away, through the window and toward the sea.
“Melinda’s expecting you?”
His jaw worked. “Actually, it’s a case of my lawyer wants to meet with her attorney. That sort of thing.”
She braced herself for the showdown. “Then we’d better get going,” she said as if she had every intention of driving him back to Portland. “I wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”
Parker paid the check, then ambled slowly toward the car. Shawna pointed across the street to a mom-and-pop grocery and deli. “I’ll just be a minute. I want to pick up a few things,” she said, jaywalking across the street.
“Can’t you get whatever it is you need in Portland?”
Flashing him a mischievous smile, she shook her head. He noticed the luxuriant honey-blond waves that swept the back of her suede jacket. “Not fresh crab. Just give me a minute.”
Rather than protest, he slid into the hatchback and Shawna joined him a few minutes later. She swallowed back her fear. Until this moment, she’d been fairly honest with him. But now, if she had the courage, she was going to lie through her teeth.
“It’s almost sunset,” she said, easing the car into the empty street.
The sun, a fiery luminous ball, was dropping slowly to the sea. The sky was tinged rosy hues of orange and lavender. “I’d noticed.”
“Do you mind if I take the scenic route home, through Astoria?”
Frowning, Parker rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged. “I guess not. I’m late already.”
So far, so good. She drove north along the rugged coastline, following the curving road that wound along the crest of the cliffs overlooking the sea. Contorted pines and beach grass, gilded by the sun’s final rays, flanked the asphalt. Parker closed his eyes and Shawna crossed her fingers. Maybe, just maybe, her plan would work.
“Here we are,” Shawna said, pulling up the hand brake as the little car rolled to a stop.
Parker awakened slowly. He hadn’t meant to doze, but he’d been exhausted for days. Ever since Shawna had moved out of his house, he’d spent sleepless nights in restless dreams filled with her, only to wake up drenched with sweat and hot with desire. His days, when he wasn’t consulting his lawyer about Melinda’s child, had been filled with physical therapy and swimming, and he could finally feel his body starting to respond. The pain in his injured leg had slowly lessened and his torn muscles had grudgingly started working again. For the first time since the accident, he’d felt a glimmer of hope that he would eventually walk unassisted again. That knowledge was his driving force, though it was a small comfort against the fact that he’d given up Shawna.
But only temporarily,
he reminded himself, knowing that one way or another he would make her love him, not for what he once was, but for the man he’d become. But first, there was the matter of Melinda’s baby, a matter which should have been completed this afternoon. If he’d had any brains at all, he never would have agreed to drive to the beach with Shawna, but he hadn’t been able to stop himself.
When he had opened the door and found her, smiling and radiant on his doorstep, he hadn’t been able to resist spending a few hours with her.
Now, he blinked a couple of times, though he knew he wasn’t dreaming. “Where?” In front of her car was a tiny, weathered, run-down excuse of a cabin, behind which was the vibrantly sun-streaked ocean.
“Gerri’s cabin.”
“Gerri?”
“My friend. Remember?” She laughed a little nervously. “Come on, I bet you do. You seem to be remembering a lot lately. More than you’re letting on.”
But Parker still wasn’t thinking straight. His gaze was glued to the gray shack with paned windows and a sagging porch. “What’re we doing here?” Was he missing something?
She pocketed her keys, then faced him. “We’re spending the weekend together. Here. Alone. No phone. No intrusions. Just you and me.”
He smiled until he saw that she wasn’t kidding. Her emerald eyes sparkled with determination. “Hey—wait a minute—”
But she wasn’t listening. She climbed out of the car and grabbed the grocery bag.
“Shawna!” He wrenched open the door, watching in disbelief as she mounted the steps, searched with her fingers along the ledge over the porch, then, glancing back with a cat-who-ate-the-canary smile, held up a rusted key.
She wasn’t joking!
“You can’t do this—I’ve got to be back in Portland tonight!” Ignoring the pain in his knee, he followed after her, limping into the dark, musty interior of the cabin.
She was just lighting a kerosene lantern in the kitchen. “Romantic, don’t you think?”
“What does romance have to do with the fact that you shanghaied me here?”
“Everything.” She breezed past him and he couldn’t help but notice the way her jeans fit snugly over her hips, or the scent of her hair, as she passed.
“I have a meeting—”
“It’ll wait.”
His blood was boiling. Just who the hell did she think she was—kidnapping him and then flirting with him so outrageously? If only she’d waited one more day! “Give me your keys,” he demanded.
She laughed, a merry tinkling sound that bounced over the dusty rafters and echoed in the corners as she knelt on the hearth of a river-rock fireplace and opened the damper.
“I’m serious,” Parker said.
“So am I. You’re not getting the keys.” She crumpled up a yellowed piece of newspaper, plunked two thick pieces of oak onto the grate, and lit a fire. Immediately flames crackled and leaped, climbing hungrily over the dry wood.
“Then I’ll walk to the road and hitchhike.”
“Guess again. It’s nearly a mile. You’re still recovering, remember?”
“Shawna—”
“Face it, Parker. This time, you’re mine.” Dusting her hands, she turned to face him and her expression had changed from playful and bright to sober. “And this time, I’m not letting you go. Not until we settle things once and for all.”
Damn the woman! She had him and she knew it!
And deep in his heart he was glad, even though he worried about his meeting with Melinda James and her attorney. He glanced around the room, past the sheet-draped furniture and rolled carpets to the windows and the view of the sea beyond. The sky was painted with lavender and magenta and the ocean, shimmering and restless, blazed gold. Worried that he might be blowing the delicate negotiations with Melinda, Parker shoved his hands into the pockets of his cords and waited. Protesting was getting him nowhere. “I’ll have to make a call.”
“Too bad.”
He swore under his breath. “Who knows we’re here?”
“Just Gerri. She owns this place.”
Since Gerri was Shawna’s best friend, he didn’t doubt that she’d keep her mouth shut. “What about Jake or your folks?”
She shook her head and rolled out the carpet. “As I said, it’s just you, me, the ocean, and the wind. And maybe, if you’re lucky, white wine and grilled salmon.”
“I’m afraid you’ll live to regret this,” he said, groaning inwardly as he deliberately advanced on her. Firelight caught in her hair and eyes, and a provocative dimple creased her cheek. The very essence of her seemed to fill the empty cracks and darkest corners of the cabin. He hadn’t realized just how much he’d missed her until now. “We probably both will.”
“I guess that’s a chance we’ll just have to take.” She met his gaze then, her eyes filled with a love so pure, so intense, he felt guilty for not admitting that he remembered everything—that he, at this moment, had he been in Portland, would be planning for their future together. Reaching forward, he captured her wrist in his hand, felt her quivering pulse. “I want you to trust me,” he said, his guts twisting when he recognized the pain in her eyes.
“I do,” she whispered. “Why do you think I kidnapped you?”
“God only knows,” he whispered, but his gaze centered on her softly parted lips and he felt a warm urgency invade his blood. “You know,” he said, his voice turning silky, “I might just mete out my revenge for this little stunt.”
He was close to her now, so close she could see the flecks of blue fire in his eyes. “Try me.”
Would she never give up? He felt an incredible surge of pride that this gorgeous, intelligent woman loved him so tenaciously she would fight impossible odds to save their relationship. A vein throbbed in his temple, his thoughts filled with desire, and he gave in to the overpowering urge to forget about the past, the present, and the future as he gazed hungrily into her eyes. “I do love you... .” he whispered, sweeping her into his arms.
Shawna’s heart soared, though she didn’t have time to catch her breath. The kiss was hard, nearly brutal, and filled with a fierce passion that caused her heart to beat shamelessly.
She moaned in response, twining her arms around his neck, her breasts crushed against his chest, her blood hot with desire. He pulled her closer still, holding her so tight she could barely breathe as his tongue pressed against her teeth. Willingly, her lips parted and she felt him explore the velvety recesses of her mouth.