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Keira laughed.
Sallye waved one beringed hand. “That's okay, I'll settle for meeting the man himself. I hear he's a real looker. He is coming to the potluck so we can all get a look at him—I mean thank him—isn't he?”
There was the question.
She knew damn well Nathan wouldn't want anything to do with the town or their potluck dinner. She knew he didn't want their thanks and was pretty sure he wouldn't want to see her again any time soon. So anyone with a grain of sense would keep her distance, right?
The last thing she should do was go back to the lakeside mansion to see a man who wanted nothing to do with her.
And yet …
Keira checked her silver wristwatch, saw she had a couple of hours until six and took one last sip of her tea. Sliding from the booth, she looked down at her late mother's best friend and nodded. “He'll be there,” she said firmly.
Three
Nathan felt like a prisoner.
And damn it, he shouldn't.
He preferred being alone.
But this kind of alone was too damned quiet.
He stepped out onto the deck overlooking Lake Tahoe and let the cold wind buffet him. His hair lifted in the icy breeze, and he narrowed his eyes as he stared out over a snowy landscape. Silence pounded at him. Even the soft sigh of the lake water slapping against the deck pilings seemed overly loud in the eerie stillness.
The problem was, Nathan thought, he wasn't used to this kind of alone. Other people considered him a recluse but, even in his insular world, there was more … interaction.
He traveled constantly, moving from one of his family's hotels to the next. And on those trips he dealt with room service personnel, hotel managers, maids, waiters, the occasional guest. No matter how he tried to avoid contact with people, there were always some who he was forced to speak to.
Until now.
The plain truth was he hated being completely alone even more than he hated being in a crowd.
His fists tightened on the varnished wood railing until he wouldn't have been surprised to see the imprint of his fingers digging into the wood. He was used to people jumping when he spoke. To his employees practically doing backflips to accommodate his wishes. He liked dropping in on his favorite casino in Monte Carlo and spending the night with whatever blonde, brunette or redhead was the most convenient. He liked the sounds of champagne bottles popping and crystal clinking, and the muted sound of sophisticated laughter. He was accustomed to picking up a phone and ordering a meal. To calling his pilot to get his jet ready to leave at a moment's notice.
Yet now he knew he couldn't go anywhere.
And that was the real irritant chewing at him. Nathan hadn't stayed in any one place for more than three or four days since he was a kid. Which was exactly how he wanted it. Knowing that he was trapped on top of this damned mountain for a damned month was enough to make him want to call his pilot now.
Why he didn't was a mystery to him.
“Hunter, you really owe me big time,” he said and didn't know whether to look toward heaven or hell as he uttered the words.
Hunter Palmer had been a good guy, but reaching out from beyond the grave to put Nathan through this should have earned him a seat in hell.
“Why did I come here in the first place?” he whispered, asking himself the question and knowing he didn't have an answer.
Old loyalties was not a good enough reason.
It has been ten years since Hunter had died. Ten years since Nathan had even thought of those days, of the friend he'd lost too young. Of the five others who had been such a huge part of his life. He'd moved on. Built his world just the way he wanted it and didn't give a damn what anyone else had to say about it. That pledge the Samurai had made to one another? It seemed to come from another lifetime.
He thought briefly of the framed photos of the Seven Samurai, as they'd called themselves back then, hanging here in the upstairs hall. Every time he passed them, he deliberately looked away. Studying the past was for archaeologists. Not barristers. He didn't owe Hunter or any of the others anything. College friendships were routinely left behind as life continued on. So why in hell was he here?
A bird skimmed the water's surface, its wings stretched wide, its shadow moving on the lake as if it had a life of its own. “And even the damn bird is freer than I am.”
Pushing away from the rail, he turned his back on the expansive view of nature's beauty and walked back into what he was already considering his cell.
He glanced at the television, then rejected the idea of turning it on. There were plenty of books to read, and even a state-of-the-art office loft upstairs but he couldn't imagine sitting still long enough to truly accomplish anything, at the moment, all he could do was prowl. He could take a walk, but he might just keep on walking, right down the mountain to the airport where his private Gulfstream waited for him.
“I'm never gonna make the whole damn month,” he muttered, shoving one hand through his hair and turning toward the table where his laptop sat open.
He took a seat, hit a few keys and checked his e-mail as soon as the Internet connection came through. Two new letters were there, one each from the managers of the London and Tokyo Barrister hotels.
Once he'd dealt with their questions about his schedule, Nathan was at a loss again. There was only so much work he could do long-distance. After all, if he wasn't there in person, he couldn't scowl at his employees.
When the doorbell rang, he jumped to his feet. This is what he'd come to, then. Grateful for an interruption. For someone—anyone—to interrupt the silence that continued to claw at him. He closed the laptop and stalked across the great room to the front door.
When he opened the door, he said, “I should have guessed it would be you.”
Keira grinned, slipped past him into the house and then turned to look at him. “You're going to need a coat.”
Nathan closed the door and didn't admit even to himself that he was glad to see her. As annoying as she was, she was, at least, another voice in this damned quiet.
“I'm warm enough, thanks.”
“No, I mean, the potluck is outside so you'll really need a coat.” She turned again and walked into the great room as if she belonged there. Her voice echoed in the high-ceilinged room and her footsteps sounded like a heartbeat. “We could have held the dinner at the courthouse, but it's a little cramped and the band said it would be easier to set up outside.”
“The band?”
“Uh-huh,” she said, looking around as if she hadn't just seen the place the day before, “it's a local group. Super Leo. They play mostly rock but they'll take requests, too, and they're good guys. They all grew up here.”
“Fascinating,” Nathan said, moving to the edge of the foyer, leaning one shoulder against the wall and crossing one foot over the other as he watched her move. Damn, the woman looked good.
It was the solitude getting to him. The only explanation why he was interested in a short, mouthy redhead when ordinarily, he never would have looked at her twice. The fact that he'd only been “enjoying” this solitude for a day didn't really matter.
“The town council approved new lights for this year, so the square will be bright as day with plenty of room for dancing. When I left they were already setting the food out on the tables and the band was tuning up, so we really should get going if you don't want to miss anything.”
“Miss anything?” Nathan shook his head. “I told you yesterday that I had no interest in going to your town party or whatever.”
“Well, I didn't think you meant it.”
“Why not?”
“Who wouldn't want to go to a party?”
“Me.” Now, if the party were in St. Tropez, or Gstaad, he'd be right there. But a small-town party in the middle of Nowhere, U.S.A.? No, thanks.
She stared at him as if he'd just grown another head. Then she shrugged and went on as if he hadn't said a word.
“The town council was incredibly grateful for your donation.”
“You told them?” An uncomfortable itch settled between his shoulder blades. He didn't mind donating money. It was simply a part of who he was. But he preferred anonymity. He didn't want gratitude. He just wanted to be left alone.
But even as he thought this, he realized that he'd been complaining about the solitude just a minute before.
“Of course I told them,” she said, picking up a throw pillow from the couch and fluffing it before she dropped it back into place. “Who am I, Santa? Dropping money into the town coffers without an explanation? I don't think so. They all want to meet you, to thank you for your generosity.”
“Not necessary.”
“Oh, but it really is,” she said and reached down to straighten a stack of magazines strewn across the coffee table. “If you don't come to the potluck so everyone can meet you …”
“Yeah?”
She shrugged. “Then I guess everyone will just have to come to you.”
Nathan sighed. She was blackmailing him into attending her damned town function. And doing a pretty good job of it, too. If he didn't go, he had no doubt that she'd lead droves of citizens up the mountain to intrude on the lodge. He'd be hip-deep in people before he knew it.
“Extortion?”
“Let's call it judicial negotiations.”
“And if I go to the party, you'll leave me alone.”
She held up one hand like a Girl Scout salute and said, “I so solemnly swear.”
“I don't believe you.”
“Gee, attractive, crabby and smart.”
A smile twitched at his mouth, but he fought it into submission. No point in encouraging her any.
“Fine. I'll go.”
“Wow,” she said, patting her hand over her heart, “I'm all excited.”
Her green eyes were shining and a smile curved her tantalizing mouth. The gray sweater she wore beneath a black leather jacket outlined the swell of her breasts, and her faded jeans and battered boots made her look too tempting to a man who was going to be trapped on a damn mountaintop for a month.
So Nathan got a grip on his hormonal overdrive and turned to the hall closet. He opened it, snatched out his brown leather jacket and pulled it on over his dark green cashmere sweater.
A few minutes ago, he'd been complaining that he was too alone. Now, he was going to a block party, of all things.
Be careful what you wish for.
Keira sneaked glances at him as she drove down the mountain. His profile was enough to make her heart stutter and when he turned his head to look at her, she almost drove into a tree.
“Whoops.” She over-straightened and her snow tires slipped a little on an icy patch of road.
“Was this a ploy to get me on the road long enough to kill me?”
“Everything's fine,” she said, tightening her grip on the wheel. “But would you like to take a look around before we head into town?”
“No, thanks.” He checked the gold watch on his left wrist. “I can only spare an hour or two.”
“Why?”
“Because.”
“Ah. Good reason.” Keira smiled and followed the curve of the road. There was a steep drop-off beyond the white barrier and Nathan glanced down into the abyss.
“Look,” he said, “I'm only coming to this party to avoid the alternative.”
“Don't worry, you'll be glad you came.”
“Why do you care if I attend this party or not?”
“Why?” She risked another glance at him as soon as the road straightened, then turned her gaze ahead again. “You and the others who'll stay at the lodge after you are doing something tremendous for our town. Why wouldn't we want to thank you for that?”
He shifted uncomfortably on the truck seat. “I can't speak for the others, but I'm not doing this for you or your town.”
“Then why?”
His mouth flattened into a grim line. “It's not important.”
“But it's important enough for you to come here. To stay for a month?”
Still scowling, he said, “I'm here. As to the month … I don't know.”
A small spear of panic jolted through Keira at the thought that he might leave. If he did, then, according to the terms of the will she'd read, the town of Hunter's Landing would get nothing and the lakeside mansion would be sold.
She couldn't let that happen.
She had to convince Nathan Barrister to stay for the whole month. And maybe the best way to do that was to show him the town he and his friends were going to help. To let him see firsthand what a difference a month of his time could make to all of them.
But if he really wanted to go, how could she make him stay?
“But you agreed to the month.”
“I did,” he said, and she sensed, more than saw, him shrug his broad shoulders. “But I don't know that it's feasible. I have businesses to watch over. Places I'm supposed to be.”
Already he was making mental excuses. Giving himself an out. Looking for a way to escape the terms of the will. The panic Keira's heart felt a moment ago jumped into hyperactive life and did a quick two step in the pit of her stomach. Did he believe that by making that incredibly generous donation he didn't have to complete the terms of the will?
“You wouldn't really leave soon, would you?”
He shifted in his seat and the leather creaked as he moved. “If you're looking for guarantees, I can't give them to you.”
“But you agreed to the terms.”
“Yes.”
