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Two
Kara gaped at him, stunned into speechlessness. Mac’s words seemed to hover tangibly in the air between them. Once again, she felt the heat of intensified color turn her cheeks a scalding pink.
“If—if this is your idea of a joke, I don’t appreciate it.” Kara finally found her voice. She wished she sounded less anxious and more sternly forceful. She had never felt so off-balance in her careful quiet life. “Uncle Will bought my plane ticket and he—”
“No, he didn’t. I paid for that ticket. If the Rev told you otherwise, he was—well, lying.” Mac shrugged at her shocked look of outrage. “Hey, the man is only human, after all. ‘Let he who is without sin’ and all that...”
“Do you honestly expect me to believe that Uncle Will would invite me here, implying that he was paying for my ticket,” she emphasized the word, for Will hadn’t come right out and said that he’d bought it. “That he would be part of some plot to get me out here to m-marry you without ever mentioning you to me? That’s right, he never even mentioned your name, let alone this—this crazy notion you seem to have about—”
“It’s not the way I would’ve handled things myself,” Mac said, frowning his disapproval. “I thought the Rev would be up-front with you. After all, he was the one who came up with the idea in the first place.”
“He wouldn’t do such a thing!” Kara cried. “Not Uncle Will.”
“Listen, baby, Uncle Will dreamed up the whole thing. I didn’t even know you existed, until the Rev told me. He knew I was having trouble with the kids, and we both knew I needed a wife to help me with them. He suggested that you might be willing to come out here and marry me. When you accepted my ticket, I assumed you’d accepted the—uh—position.”
“Ohhh!” Kara covered her burning cheeks with her hands. “This can’t be true!”
“But you know it is.” Mac’s voice was firm.
“No!” Kara closed her eyes, fighting a crushing urge to burst into tears. “I came out here to visit my uncle—”
“He’s your stepfather,” Max said bluntly. “The Rev told me all about his marriage to your mother. I was surprised to hear it. I don’t think anybody in Bear Creek knows he was married before or has a grown stepdaughter.”
“Ex-stepdaughter,” Kara corrected tightly. “Ginny, his wife, made the ex very definite over the years. When I was still a little girl, she told me that I wasn’t allowed to call him Daddy anymore, that he had daughters of his own and I was not to think of myself as one of them.”
“Ouch.”
“Yes, it hurt. He told me to call him Uncle Will, instead. I did as he asked, but for a long time afterward I still thought of him as my dad. My real father died shortly after I was born, and Will was the only father I’d ever known.”
“So he placated his wife at your expense?”
“He had no choice,” Kara loyally defended her former stepfather. “A husband does what he has to do to make his wife happy.”
“Let me rephrase that for you—a wimp caves in and lets the woman have the upper hand,” Mac said scornfully. “And it’s always a big, big mistake.”
“One you’d never make, I’m sure,” Kara murmured, because she simply could not let his chauvinistic remark go unchallenged.
“That’s right,” Mac agreed proudly. It seemed he’d interpreted her challenge as a compliment. He shook his head, bemused. “None of this sounds like the Rev and Ginny I’ve known for the past fifteen years.”
“Uncle Will was heartbroken when my mother left him for another man. So was I.” Kara’s voice grew bleak, remembering that sad time. “Mom always claimed he married Ginny on the rebound and Ginny knew it. That’s why she resented Will’s relationship with me so much. I was a reminder that my mother, and not Ginny, was the great love of his life.”
“It’s hard to imagine the Rev in the role of romantic lead,” Mac said wryly. “And even harder to picture Ginny as a possessive shrew, nasty to little girls. She’s always been so helpful and upbeat.”
“I doubt that even the most helpful, upbeat woman likes to think of herself as second best when it comes to love. Women always found my mother a threat because she was—and still is—a very beautiful woman.”
Kara felt Mac’s eyes upon her, assessing her. Doubtlessly trying to imagine how a very beautiful woman had managed to produce such an ordinary daughter. It was not the first time she’d been confronted with that particular puzzle.
“Unfortunately, I look nothing like my mother. From the pictures I’ve seen, I take after my dad’s side,” she felt compelled to explain. “Average in every way.”
“There is nothing wrong with the way you look,” Mac said gruffly.
Kara shifted uncomfortably and turned her attention to her cat, kneading his fur with gentle fingers. She had never discussed herself or her past so frankly with any man, and she suspected she’d sounded downtrodden and filled with self-pity. Which she was not! She felt a surge of anger at Mac Wilde for putting her into this unholy predicament.
Mac reacted to her silence. “Are you waiting for me to counter with a feature-by-feature rave of your face and figure?” He heaved an impatient sigh. “Look, I’ve never been one of those touchy-feely types who ooze syrupy compliments and pour on the charm. And I—”
“Obviously not,” Kara cut in tartly. “You seem extremely practical with no time or patience for anything dealing with emotion or sentiment. I guess that falls into the dreaded touchy-feely department? Well, has it occurred to you that there might be a direct correlation between your hardheadedness and your need to—to attempt to buy a wife?” She had never been so caustic or outspoken in her life, but somehow Mac brought it out in her.
Mac arched his brows. “At the risk of sounding redundant—ouch!”
He lifted his hand from the wheel to run one long finger along the length of her arm, from her shoulder to her fingertips. “The lady has claws, hmm? Just like her kitty.”
Kara shivered. Though well-protected under the heavy cotton of her sweater, her skin tingled along the path that he’d traced. “Don’t patronize me,” she growled.
“Whatever you say, sweetie.” He flashed a teasing grin.
A quivering spiral of tension coiled in her stomach. When he smiled like that, he was devastating. A fact he probably well knew, lectured a stern little voice in her head. Some cautious feminine instinct warned her that Mac Wilde was not averse to turning on the charm, should it serve his purpose.
Silence descended between them. Kara’s nerves felt stretched to the screaming point as she reviewed this decidedly bizarre situation. Mac Wilde had footed the bill for her journey and in return expected her to marry him and help him raise his four unruly nieces and nephews.
What a preposterous idea! Was he dreaming? Perhaps she’d fallen asleep on the plane and when she opened her eyes, the flight would be landing and Uncle Will would be waiting eagerly at the gate for her.
Mac, on the other hand, did not seem affected by any tension whatsoever. “This is one of my favorite songs,” he announced cheerfully. He turned up the volume and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel in time to the beat. “Merle Haggard. ‘That’s the Way Love Goes.’”
It did not go well, according to the lyrics. And Kara knew this absurd idea of his was just doomed to fail.
“I’ll repay you for the cost of my plane ticket, of course.” Kara gulped, wishing she could appear cool and controlled, but failing utterly. “I—I’m terribly sorry about the misunderstanding. This is all so embarrassing. No, it’s beyond embarrassing. It’s absolutely mortifying!”
“I don’t want to be reimbursed. I expect you to honor the terms of our agreement and marry me.”
“But we have no agreement!”
“I bought that ticket in good faith and assumed you’d accepted it and the terms offered in the same good faith.” Mac slid a glance at her.
He was surprised at how well he was able to read her already. She was confused and aghast, the better to fall for this legal spiel he was spinning. “Maybe you’re scamming me,” he accused. “Using my money for a free visit to Montana? Who can guess how much more cash you planned to wring out of me. Maybe the Rev is in cahoots with you. Find a sucker, promise him a—”
“How can you even think such a thing!” Kara cried, panic lacing her voice. “This is all just a—a terrible misunderstanding.”
“That’s what you said before. I’m not buying it, honey. I think you and the Rev tried to con me,” Mac said rather gleefully.
“We did no such thing!” Kara stared at him. That gleam in his dark eyes, that note of triumph in his voice suddenly alerted her to the possibility that Mac Wilde might be improvising. Masterfully. “You have no reason to suspect any conspiracy or wrongdoing. Or any proof, either,” she added succinctly.
“Don’t I? Then answer this question for me, Kara. If Ginny Franklin regards you as a thorn in her side, if she sees you as an unpleasant reminder of an era she is determined to forget, then why would she suddenly allow her husband to invite you to stay at their home and to pay for your ticket out here?”
Kara opened her mouth to speak, then abruptly closed it. She’d asked herself that same question when Uncle Will had first extended the invitation. But she had been so happy to be invited, she hadn’t probed any deeper. Had it been pure wishful thinking on her part, that she would at last be accepted into the Franklin family?
“You’ve never visited them out here before,” Mac went on. “The only times you’ve seen the Rev have been when he was traveling on church-related business, without Ginny and the girls. Am I correct?”
Kara gave a grudging nod.
“From the time you were a child, Ginny made it plain that she didn’t want you and your ex-stepfather to maintain your ties,” Mac continued. “The Rev told me himself that he wasn’t able to see you as much as you two would’ve liked. That was because of Ginny. Well, why should Ginny have a sudden change of heart at this late date? I happen to know that she’s not suffering from a terminal disease so she isn’t trying to set things right before she meets her Maker. The truth is, Ginny Franklin is not expecting you to stay at her house. If she even knows about your visit to Bear Creek, she’s been told that you will be with me at the Double R. As for that fantasy you concocted about the Rev buying your plane ticket—ha! Only over Ginny’s dead body.”
Kara swallowed hard. “You’re using the information I gave you against me.”
“All’s fair in love and war, baby.”
“Well, this isn’t either one. Stop this car!” Kara commanded impulsively. “I’m getting out.”
Mac laughed at that. “You plan to hitchhike back into Helena? With your luggage and that caterwauling cat?”
“Yes.”
He raised one dark brow. “Are you sure? The sun is going down and it gets pretty scary out here at night. Bears and cougars and wolves prowl along the highway. Your cat could end up being their appetizer while you serve as the main course.”
Kara tried to ignore the apprehensive chill that rippled through her. “You’re deliberately trying to scare me. I think I’m in greater danger from you than any animal predator out there. And if you don’t stop this car right now, I—I’ll jump out.”
Mac abruptly steered the Jeep off the highway, onto the wide shoulder of the road.
Kara trembled. It seemed he was about to grant her wish and let her out. A cold lump of fear settled in her stomach and expanded to fill her throat. How was she going to get back to Helena? This interstate was going in the wrong direction—she would have to hitch a ride or walk to the next exit and then make her way to the eastbound portion of the highway to hitch or walk back to the city. Tai emitted a miserable meow, and Kara stifled a sob of her own. What if there really were dangerous wild animals on the prowl out there?
“You’d better put the cat back in his carrier,” Mac advised.
Kara nodded dumbly. Tai did not go gracefully back into his hated carrier. She practically had to wrestle the cat into it, while he hissed and tried to claw her. Finally, after he was safely locked inside, Mac placed it on the back seat.
Kara reached for the door handle. “I’ll get my luggage out and take Tai last,” she said stiffly.
“That won’t be necessary.” Mac moved as swiftly as one of those animal predators he’d warned her about.
Before she realized what was happening, he’d outmaneuvered the armrests and the seat belts which restrained them, and took both her hands in his. Their knees touched, their faces were very close.
“What are you doing?” Kara’s voice rose to a squeak. She tried to snatch her hands away but his grip was too firm for her to break.
“I’ll tell you what I’m not doing. I’m not abandoning you and your cat on the highway. I would never expose you to that sort of danger, Kara.”
Kara’s heart was thundering in her chest. She was in danger right here in the Jeep! She tried frantically to recall the self-defense tips she’d heard in that lecture she had attended last year with some women from work. It had been given by a police officer who’d designed a program to teach women street smarts and safety.
Now Officer Murray’s number one piece of advice came back to her and roared in her ears. “Don’t get into a car with anyone you don’t know.” Well, she’d already blown that one. Officer Murray would be chagrined at her stupidity.
“Relax,” Mac said softly. “I can feel you trembling. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Then let me go. Right now!” Was she supposed to plead for mercy or issue a command? Kara tried both, the plea followed by the order.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, Kara.”
“Then why are you doing such a good job of scaring me? You let me think you’re dumping me out on the highway and then you g-grab me.”
“You demanded that I stop. You even threatened to jump out if I didn’t,” Mac reminded her. “I wasn’t about to call your bluff. Dealing with hysterical women has never been my strong suit,” he admitted wryly. “Just ask my ex-wife.”
She was immediately distracted. “You’ve been married?”
“Once. It lasted three years. We split up nearly nine years ago, so it falls into the realm of ancient history. Don’t look so shocked, Kara. Most men don’t reach the age of thirty-five without experiencing the unholy state of matrimony at least once.”
“Unholy state,” she repeated. “Since you feel that way, then why—”
“I already explained. There are four compelling reasons why.”
Tai chimed in with another commanding meow.
Mac rolled his eyes. “I led you to believe I was going to put you out of the car because I wanted that furball with claws back in his carrier so we could talk. I didn’t want him distracting you, and he’s easier to ignore in his cage.”
“Much to his outrage. Poor Tai.” Kara’s fear had already begun to dissipate, but the nervous excitement pulsing through her had heightened and intensified. She felt his thumb glide over the sensitive skin of her wrist, then move upward to stroke her palm. The small gesture was sensual and provocative and her whole body responded to it with a strong swift surge of desire.
“You agree that we do need to talk before we go any farther?”
She drew a sharp breath. “I—I agree,” she murmured, trying to regain her bearings. “I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience and expense you’ve had to—”
“Forget about that,” Mac ordered. “Let’s cut to the chase, Kara. I know this whole situation is a bit unorthodox. I mean, out West mail-order brides have gone the way of the Pony Express and the Wells Fargo Wagon, yet here we are....”
“Mail-order bride? Is that what I’m supposed to be?” She could not suppress the bubble of laughter welling up inside her.
“Yeah, I know. It sounds ridiculous. I laughed too, when the Rev first suggested it.” Mac smiled wryly. He sobered almost instantly, his dark eyes intense. “But I’ve come to believe it’s a damn good idea.” His eyes slid over her. “Now that I’ve met you, it seems like an even better one.”
“Oh, please!” Kara swept an agitated hand through her hair, tousling it. “It’s bad enough that you think I’m so desperate for a man that I would hightail it out to Montana to marry a stranger who paid for my fare. Don’t make things even worse by pretending to be attracted to me.”
“Who says I’m pretending?” His voice grew deeper. “I am attracted to you.”
“You’re playing some kind of role. Saying things you think I’d like to hear.” Kara swallowed hard. Depressingly enough, she realized that she liked hearing him say he found her attractive, even though she knew he couldn’t mean it.
She straightened her spine, holding her head high, as she steeled herself against his insidious virile charm. “You must think I’m downright pathetic if you expect me to believe that you could possibly—”
“Enough about me,” Mac cut in. “Let’s talk about you. I think you’re attracted to me, too, Kara. A little scared of me, maybe, but definitely attracted.” With one deft move, he slipped his hands to her waist, and gripping her, easily lifted her out of her seat and onto his lap. “So let’s work on eliminating the fear and heightening the attraction.”
Kara gasped a protest. “No, Mac!”
Mac grinned, settling her more deeply into his lap, his arms fastening around her like steel bands. “Let’s work on changing that into, ‘Oh, Mac!’”
He held her fast against the hard male planes of his body, making her fully aware of his muscular strength. And of something else. There was no mistaking the blatant arousal of his body. Kara’s stunned eyes locked with his intense, knowing ones.
“I told you I was attracted to you.” Mac lightly touched his mouth to hers.
“I—I’m not as gullible as you seem to think,” Kara whispered. It was difficult to talk and even harder to think. His lips were nibbling at hers, their breaths mingling. “I know I’m not the type to inspire instant lust—”
“You’re not?” Mac traced the shape of her mouth with the tip of his tongue, until she unconsciously parted her lips. “Well, I don’t see anyone else here but you, baby. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“Probably that you’ve been in a—a state of deprivation and that any woman would turn you on.” Kara squirmed on his lap and made a feeble effort to free herself. Her cheeks burned with shame. She was well aware of how very slight her attempts to escape from his lap actually were.
“Don’t underestimate yourself.” His voice was husky and hypnotizing. “You’re the one who inspired my case of instant lust. You, Kara.”
His warm hand closed over her breast. There was nothing alarming or demanding in his touch, no heavy-handed possession. He caressed her gently, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for him to touch her there, to learn the feminine shape of her body.
