Rebecca Zanetti - Against the Wall

“With pleasure.” Colton nodded toward the tree line. “You’d better get going. She just turned the wrong way.”

Jake grinned before pressing in with one thigh, turning the mount. Guardian plodded impatiently into the forest. Sophie came into view, picking her way carefully along scattered pinecones and exposed tree roots. Her spine straightened, and her shoulders firmed as he narrowed the gap between them, but she didn’t acknowledge him otherwise.

Why did he like that about her? The woman was lost as a person could be, yet she marched forward into darkness. The trees soon thickened along with prickly brushes and slash piles.

“You’re going the wrong way, Sunshine.”

She came to an abrupt stop at his soft words. Jake reined in Guardian, waiting for Sophie to turn around and face him. It took longer than he would have thought—stubborn was an understatement with the woman.

As she slowly turned, he could have kicked himself at the intelligent wariness in her gaze. She was alone in the middle of the forest with a strange man. He had a daughter, a little sister…he should’ve known better. They stared at each other, forest sounds surrounding them. Jake searched for the right words. “I won’t hurt you. I just want to get you to your car.”

Sophie lifted her chin but otherwise didn’t move.

“I’ll let you drive,” Jake cajoled.

The smile that lit her pretty face warmed him. “There’s no way I can drive that beast.” She took a small step toward him.

“Sure you can.” Jake reached down to offer an arm. He didn’t question why it mattered that she trust him. It just did.

Vulnerability glimmered in her eyes. “Maybe we should walk instead.”

He forced himself to relax, to appear as unthreatening as a guy twice her size could look.

Thunder rolled in the distance. Damn it. Storm season had definitely arrived early.

He slid his most earnest, trust-me, closing-argument grin into place. If the storm brought lightning, they’d need to dive for a ditch. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her. “Believe me, this is faster, and there’s a heck of a storm coming.”

Sophie eyed the darkening sky. With a deep breath, she stepped up to the quiet horse. “Okay, but we go slow. I mean, unless lightning starts to strike. Then we go fast. How do I get back on?”

The woman’s bravery tempted him to haul her close. So he gave them both a moment as he shifted his weight. The thunder bellowed louder.

They only had minutes until the rain hit. He balanced himself with his thighs, reached down, and lifted her by the waist to perch in front of him. She fit nicely into his hold, and something clicked into place. “Relax,” he whispered in her ear, placing her hands securely on the silky black mane. “If you’re relaxed, the horse will relax.”

“Right.” Sophie coughed, and her muscles eased into something slightly less than rigor mortis.

“Okay, now grip the horse with your thighs, and tug him the way you want to go.” Jake forced his libido into submission. The act was difficult, considering how tight his jeans had just become.

Sophie tugged, and Guardian shifted around to retrace his steps. “He’s going,” she whispered, her voice lowering in delight.

“Yep.” Damn. Her voice was sexy as hell. The soft tenor shivered across his nerves. He hardened. Basketball scores. Baseball stats. National holidays. His mind reeled facts around in a futile effort to control his reaction.

Sharp pangs of light shot through the awning of pine needles and clouds rolling in. The horse meandered through the trees and past rambling huckleberry bushes. Jake let Sophie set the pace, and her muscles soon relaxed against him. Finally, they emerged out of the forest to the narrow dirt road where her Jeep waited.

Jake helped her to the ground.

She self-consciously stepped away and tossed curls out of her face. “Thanks for the lift,” she said, backing up even more.

“Any time, Sunshine,” he said.

“It was, ah, nice to have met you.” She pivoted and all but bolted for her Jeep.

The woman wanted to be rid of him. He fought another grin. Too bad she wasn’t going to get what she wanted—this time. Boy, was she in for a surprise.

He waited until she jumped into the vehicle and watched until it was out of sight, his heart lighter than usual as Guardian waited for the command to run.

Several hours after her unexpected horseback ride, Sophie pored over papers scattered across the bedspread as hazy light glinted off the brass bedrail in her room. She loved the bed & breakfast with the burnished antique furnishings and lemon-oil smell. The milk-glass lamp added to the moonlight from the open window as she lay back in her warm T-shirt and boxers. The needles from the massive bull pine outside her window scraped against the glass.

Get out of town before you get hurt. The peaceful surroundings washed away her unease as she perused the hastily scrawled note stuck on her windshield. She rolled her eyes. If they thought that would scare her, they were crazy. She shifted her attention to the legal documents her staff had faxed to her, and her head started to pound as she prepared for the early meeting with the Kooskia Tribe.

Her cell phone chattered a nameless tune, and she stretched to reach it.

“Hi, Sophia. How’s life in the middle of nowhere?” The deep voice elicited a familiar fluttering in her lower stomach.

“Hi, Preston. I’m in Montana. I think it’s somewhere.” She settled more comfortably against the flowered pillows. “Why are you calling so late? Don’t tell me your date had an early math test tomorrow.” She grinned at her own joke as she imagined his blue eyes sparkling with humor.

“Funny. The blonde you met before leaving town works at Shinnies and isn’t a college freshman. Do they even have running water where you are?”

“Running water, paved roads, and even electricity.” Sophie lost her grin at the image of the too-perfect waitress. “When are you going to stop dating bubble-headed Barbies?”

“When the right girl comes along, I guess.”

The words hurt more than they should have. She reminded herself they were just friends. One freakin’ kiss didn’t make a relationship. She cringed as she thought of how distant he’d been afterward—at least until she reassured him they were just friends and the kiss had been a mistake.

“In fact,” Preston’s cultured voice reached across the miles, “I’ve been thinking quite a bit about that kiss at the Christmas party.”

Sophie focused all her attention on the little phone in her ear and struggled to keep her voice calm. “What kiss?”

Preston chuckled. “You know exactly what kiss.”

Of course she did. She’d only relived the whole evening in her mind for months afterward. “I know. But Preston—”

“I can change, Sophia.”

“I doubt that.” She snorted even though her heart warmed. She’d had a crush on her debonair coworker for so long she again wondered, What if?

“Well, I’ve done something…” Preston’s voice lowered.

“What?” What in the world could he have done?

“I booked us on a Caribbean cruise next fall to celebrate your successful design.”

“That’s a bit premature, isn’t it? We don’t even have the permit yet.”

“You’ll get it.”

She wasn’t so sure. “Wait a minute. What do you mean by ‘us’?”

“I mean us. You and me. I’m tired of dancing around this. Your uncle is going to retire soon and wants the business taken care of. You and I have a great relationship and it could be even better.” Something clinked against the phone as he swallowed—probably his usual scotch in a crystal tumbler.

Her heart sank. She may have had a crush on the man, but her brain still worked. “Wow. Sounds like a successful merger.”

“It would be. Add in the fact that we want each other, coupled with similar tastes and interests, I think we have it made.”

“What about love?”

“Seriously? What are you, twelve?”

Sophie laughed. “Yeah, seriously. Shouldn’t love, fire, passion…and all that be the goal?”

“Whose goal? Plus, we have the fire and passion, so love’s probably just around the corner.”

Sophie was quiet for a moment. Preston was exactly who she’d always wanted. Young, ambitious, already successful. He had even designed his own home overlooking the Bay in San Francisco, and he resembled a tall, blond, Nordic god. Plus, she genuinely liked him.

She sighed. “I don’t know.”

“Come on, Sophia. Be realistic and stop daydreaming—puppy love is for naive morons.” Self-ridicule and an odd loneliness wrapped around his tone.

Her head jerked up. “Who hurt you so badly, Pres?” Her question surprised her even as she asked it.

Quiet reigned over the line. “I don’t know what you mean.” But he did. She could tell.

“Sorry. It just slipped out.” So much for a routine phone call. For the first time, doubt filled her about the successful architect.

“It’s all right.” His voice hinted at sensual promise. “Also, I want to thank you for taking this project on so I could concentrate on the Seattle proposal.”

She relaxed as they returned to business. “No problem. I’ve been waiting for Uncle Nathan to let me take the lead on a golf course design, and this is finally it.” Of course, they’d only use her design if the county approved the construction plan. Hope inflated her chest.

“Yeah, I know. It’s a big job. The Charleton Group stands to lose a boatload of money if this project doesn’t come to fruition.” The sound of paper shuffling came over the line. “More importantly, we have five more projects lined up with them. Our bottom line for the next three years depends on the Group.”

“No pressure there.”

“Sorry. But you need to understand. We’re in trouble.”

The breath caught in her throat. “How much trouble?”

Silence echoed from a world away. Finally, Preston cleared his throat. “Your uncle met with financial restructuring specialists yesterday.”

Holy crap. Sophie sat straight up. “We’re going bankrupt?”

“That’s one option.” Preston sighed. “The economy has hurt us pretty badly. I think we can crawl our way out of this mess with your current project and mine in Seattle. They both need to work.”

Her mind spun. Damn it. Uncle Nathan couldn’t lose the company. “Don’t worry. I’ll get the job here.”

“Your uncle mentioned the local tribe is opposing the course.”

She picked at a thread on the bedspread, her shoulders hunching. “Yeah. That’s why I decided to stay at the B & B on the reservation instead of in Maverick. I meet with the tribe tomorrow. They own the lake just below the proposal site, and they’re worried about pollution from fertilizer and people.”

Preston sighed. “Our science is just as good as theirs, and the lake will be fine. But you still have to get the conditional-use permit with the county, and the tribe may have the influence to sway them.”

Her skin prickled. “Yeah, I know. That hearing isn’t until a week from next Monday, so I thought I’d see what headway I could make with the tribal elders tomorrow.” She leaned against the pillows and forced her muscles to relax.

She loved to design land, but the legal issues involved in land-use planning caused a drumming in her temples. An ache between her eyes. A rolling in her stomach that forced her to take deep, measured breaths. “I don’t understand why we need a permit from the county, since this is privately owned land.”

“Well, the land is zoned rural, meaning you can put a house on every five acres. One of the possible uses is a golf course, but you have to get a conditional-use permit to build it as well as the houses surrounding it.” Preston took another deep swallow. “You need a public hearing in front of the county commissioners before they can make their decision. Sometimes those hearings get a bit, well, energetic.”

“Great.” Sophie sighed. “I meet with the Maverick Chamber of Commerce early next week as well as with a citizens’ group concerned with development. Maybe having their support will help at the hearing.”

“Sounds like a good plan. I’ll let you get some rest before your big day tomorrow.” What sounded like ice clinking in a glass chattered across the line. “But give some thought to my idea about our, er, personal merger. I think we’d be a good match.”

Sophie started to reply when a loud beep came across the line.

“Oops, that’s my second line. I’ll talk to you later, Sophia.” The line went dead.