The Wedding Bargain. Lisette Belisle
stared out the window at the passing night. Although the foliage was still at its peak, a few bare limbs marked the passage of autumn, the coming of winter. At first sight, she’d fallen in love with Maine’s unspoiled beauty. With more experience, she’d learned it could be daunting. Just as the wind could steal your breath, the winter could steal your soul.
Despite that, she loved it with a fierceness she couldn’t quite explain. Like Stone’s End, it was in her blood. She frowned at the thought and tried to deny the intensity of her feelings. In her experience, opening up and caring that much about anything, or anyone, always invited emotional chaos.
Now, deliberately shutting out her companion, Olivia leaned her head back and closed her eyes, just for a minute.
Some time later, when the car stopped, she sat up abruptly. “Are we home?” One glance at Drew’s grim expression told her something was wrong.
He turned to look at her, his dark gaze apologetic. “No such luck. It’s the battery again.”
Was this a recurring bad dream?
“But you fixed it.” She twisted in her seat to stare at him. “It was working fine.”
Drew released a harsh breath. “A temporary fix. You probably need a new battery.”
“Where can we get one?” She looked out the window. They were in the middle of nowhere. “Where are we?”
“We just drove through Stillwater.”
Suddenly aware that the temperature in the car had dropped several degrees, Olivia shivered. “We’re still miles from Henderson.”
He nodded, saying impatiently, “You’re half-frozen. We can’t stay here. I know a place nearby, a summer cabin.”
She looked at him in dismay. “Do you think it’s wise to go wandering around the forest in the dark?”
“It may be overgrown, but there used to be a path. I think I can find it.”
At a glance, the woods looked thick and dark. Although her car had let her down, Olivia clung to the familiar safety. “But shouldn’t we stay right here and wait for help?”
“Look, we can’t stay here. I haven’t seen another car on this road in over an hour. So you can forget about anyone coming to our rescue. That gives us two options.”
Options—that didn’t sound too awful. “What are they?”
“We can sit here and argue all night, with the temperature dropping below freezing, and risk hypothermia. Or we can go to this cabin. It’s pretty basic, but we can get a fire going.”
Aware that she was quickly running out of excuses not to venture out into the night, Olivia argued, “But if you haven’t been there in a while, how do you know it’s still standing?”
“It’s sturdy, built of logs, and it’s been around for more than fifty years. It’s not going anywhere.” His patience worn thin after the lengthy explanation, Drew climbed out of the car. “We can walk. It’s not far.”
After a moment’s hesitation, she followed.
Drew knew his way around cars—fast cars and fast women. He had a bad feeling about this one—the car, not the woman. Or maybe both, if he was honest. In any case, he suspected there might be something seriously wrong with her car, something more complicated than a dead battery. The car had gradually lost power. He’d coaxed it up the last hill before it came to a dead stop. Now they were stuck.
He waited while Olivia tucked a few candy bars in her pocket, then reached for her purse and her umbrella. Juggling all three, she wrapped the wool blanket around her, then opened her umbrella. A strong gust of wind tore it out of her hand. It took off, twisting and twirling down the road, round and round, like a spinning top.
“Oh!” She tripped in her attempt to retrieve it.
“Leave it.” Drew took her hand, surprised at how it fit.
They walked.
At least he was on familiar ground. There was a lake nearby, more cabins. Logging roads crisscrossed the area. He was familiar with those. Squinting into the darkness, he looked around for a landmark. His gaze fell on a break in the solid line of pine trees edging the road.
Locating a road overgrown with leafy ferns, he ducked under a branch, Olivia at his heels. Within the forest, tall pines provided some shelter from the rain. Everything smelled damp.
And fresh.
Washed new.
“This looks right,” he said to assure her.
“It does?” Olivia peered into the dark gloomy woods.
He murmured back, “Mmm.”
The wind carried a bite.
Left with little choice but to go where Drew led, Olivia plodded on through the thick brush. He obviously knew his way—as if he had an inner compass. Olivia stumbled, catching her breath when he caught her waist and righted her on the path. She didn’t find her voice until he released her.
“Thanks,” she murmured huskily.
“Watch your step.” With that instruction, he moved on, obviously expecting her to follow in his wake.
“Me Tarzan, you Jane,” she muttered under her breath.
She might have laughed, except that she didn’t think he’d appreciate the joke. So far, she hadn’t found any evidence of his having a sense of humor. He was outdoorsy and rugged—a handy man to have around under the circumstances. Trying to imagine some of her artsy friends back in San Francisco coping in a similar situation, she smiled.
He caught her expression and frowned. “What’s so funny?”
Olivia gulped. “Nothing at all.”
Clearly he didn’t see any humor in their situation. When he looked at her like that, all dark-browed and glowering, she didn’t, either. He turned back to the path, and she released a frustrated sigh. Make that outdoorsy, rugged and moody. She plodded on, pushing aside a branch.
It snapped.
The sound echoed through the night.
Olivia shivered.
The road was full of deep ruts. It went nowhere, except deeper into the woods. With each step, images of lurid newspaper headlines filled her imagination. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, it was just that…well, she wasn’t a complete idiot.
She laughed nervously. “I should warn you my father was a cop in San Francisco. He taught me how to defend myself.”
Drew grunted something unintelligible.
Despite the lack of response, she persisted. “He taught me how to use a gun.”
“So you’re armed and dangerous?”
Olivia stiffened at the challenge in his voice. “I don’t carry a gun with me. But I do have a can of mace in my purse. And I have a black belt in karate. So don’t try anything.”
At that deliberate challenge, he stopped and turned to glance at her. “Is that supposed to frighten me?”
Olivia caught the cynical twist in his smile and regretted that she’d put it there. “Well, I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” She laughed, realizing he could probably recognize the fake note.
Unfortunately Drew didn’t feel like laughing back. “You are really something.” There was dry irony in his voice. He should have known Olivia DeAngelis was too good to be true.
All that sweet innocence and trust had disappeared at the first sign of trouble. He supposed he had to get used to that now that he had a prison record. As if matters couldn’t get worse, her stepfather had been a cop!
He turned back to the path.
“I