The Return Of David Mckay

He’d told her that he’d been hired to do grunt work for the film crew that had come to Broken Yoke. Trailblazer had been a low-budget Western shooting in the nearby Arapahoe National Forest. From the time David’s father had given him his first camera as a child, he’d wanted to be a filmmaker. This had been his big chance to see what it was like from the inside.

She should have known right then that things were going to change for them.

From the corner of her eye Addy saw Geneva shake her head. “I had no idea he was coming home. He seldom does, you know.”

“When was the last time?”

“When he helped me settle Herbert’s estate two years ago. Since then I’ve been out to see him in California, of course, but I don’t like it much. All that endless sunshine and plastic-looking people everywhere. It’s just not right.”

“I guess he likes it.”

“I suppose,” Geneva said in a clearly mystified voice. After a while she added, “I never dreamed he’d show up on my doorstep. I wish I could have warned you somehow. But it happened so fast.” She reached across the seat and placed her hand on Addy’s. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to handle this, dear?”

Addy wished Geneva would stop asking her that. Especially since she didn’t know the answer. All she could say was, “As long as he earns his keep on this trip. No free rides.”

“I’m sure he will. And you’re right. It will be fine. You two got along so well in the old days, before he decided to go back to Hollywood with those wretched film people. It would be nice if you could be friends again.”

Addy stole a glance off the road to look at Geneva. Had there been some wishful thinking going on in that head of hers? Surely not. But just to be safe, Addy thought she’d better nip that in the bud. “Not likely. We’re two very different people now. Did you see that suit he was wearing? I’ll bet he doesn’t know what it’s like to walk among us common folk anymore.”

“I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see what the next two weeks bring,” Geneva said with a bright smile.

Addy took the last familiar turn toward home, and in no time they were in front of Lightning River Lodge. The sky at dusk, all shadows and light blended to perfection, gave the resort’s wood-and-glass architecture a powerful, glowing presence among the tall pines. Beyond the lodge, Lightning Lake sparkled with late sunlight as though it were dressed in salmon-colored sequins. In the distance, the mountains sat like silent sentinels. It was a sight Addy never tired of.

Geneva McKay sighed. “Oh, it’s so peaceful up here. I can’t wait to spend a little time with your family before we leave tomorrow.”

The lodge—sixteen rooms and two suites—had been built years ago by Addy’s mother and father, Rose and Sam D’Angelo. They’d raised three sons and one daughter in the private quarters behind the downstairs lobby, and Addy had never known any other home.

“You haven’t been up here since Mom’s birthday party, have you?”

“No. And I’ll be interested to see where my painting ended up.”

A while back, Addy’s father had commissioned Geneva to paint a portrait of her mom. A talented artist in her younger years, Geneva now had her work in a place of honor over the family’s living room fireplace.

“There was a lengthy conversation about where it should go, but Pop won. They’ll be so glad to see you. And, frankly, your being there will take a little of the heat off me. Things have been a little…testy…between me and Pop lately.”

Geneva gave her a knowing look and reached over to pat her hand. “I heard.”

“Who told?”

“Your mother. She said she’s really all right with whatever you decide, but she’d like to wring your father’s neck.”

Addy couldn’t help but laugh. She felt exactly the same way.

A couple of weeks ago, Addy had come to a life-changing decision, and once she’d told the family, it had been like being in the middle of a presidential debate. The D’Angelos loved a good, loud discussion, and no one ever kept their opinions to themselves.

But you’d think a topic as sensitive as artificial insemination would have left them speechless for at least a day or two.

It hadn’t. While most of the family had seemed stunned but openly supportive when Addy announced that she was interested in finding out more about the procedure, Pop had been furious. What was wrong with having a baby the old-fashioned way? Through love and marriage?

Addy had patiently explained to him that the man of her dreams didn’t seem to know where she lived and that she wasn’t getting any younger. Then the fireworks had started. Truthfully this trip out to the Devil’s Smile would be a nice break from all the recent tension in the household.

Stopping under the front portico, Addy signaled to George, the front desk clerk and bellman, that she needed help with luggage. As he collected Geneva’s bags, Addy said, “I’ve put you in one of the ground-floor rooms so you won’t have to battle the stairs. Pop still refuses to put in an elevator.”

Sam D’Angelo had suffered a stroke a couple of years ago, and though he was reliant on metal crutches occasionally, he refused to make many concessions for his health. Even Nick had given up trying to convince him.

“The parking lot is so full,” Geneva said, glancing around.

“We’re pretty busy this week. Mom and Pop might put you to work if you’re not careful.”

“So what do you do every day, dear?”

“Anything that needs doing,” she replied.

That was true. After college, she had fallen into her parents’ expectation of joining the family business. Pop was still the head of the household and oversaw the bottom line. Mom ran the kitchen like a field marshal. Aunt Renata took care of the dining room, and Aunt Sofia kept the rooms shipshape. Her oldest brother, Nick, once a Navy pilot, ran helicopter tours from the resort in his two R44 Ravens. And though brothers Matt and Rafe lived down the mountain in Broken Yoke, they were often here with their wives, helping out when circumstances called for it.

As for Addy, professionally she was still finding her niche. She had her pilot’s license so she could help out Nick when tours backed up, but she couldn’t honestly say she loved it. Cooking bored her. As for the bookkeeping she’d been relegated to lately by her father…well, as Nick diplomatically claimed, she had no flair for numbers.

She loved kids and she was good with her nieces and nephew. Maybe that’s why it had seemed so sensible to stop waiting on Mr. Right and just do something about it….

She got Geneva settled in her room, then hurried off to help her mother in the kitchen. There were three special occasions planned in the dining room tonight—the wedding anniversary of a couple who’d met at the lodge twenty-five years ago and two birthday celebrations. They required extensive preparation and every available hand.

When she entered the kitchen, the first person she saw was her sister-in-law Dani, who’d married Addy’s brother Rafe two months ago. Evidently the night was going to be busy enough that reinforcements had been called in.

Dani was seated at the big butcher-block table, trying valiantly to carve radishes into roses for garnish. She wasn’t doing a very good job of it. As soon as Dani saw Addy, she beckoned her over with her paring knife. Addy snatched up an apron and gloves, putting them on as she came to Dani’s side like a doctor approaching a patient on the operating table.

“Save me,” her sister-in-law begged in a low voice. “Both your mother and Aunt Ren have shown me how to make these darned things, and I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing.”

Addy lifted a radish and squinted at it. It resembled a pinecone more than a rose. “Gee, it doesn’t show.”

She removed the knife from Dani’s hands. “Go see what help Aunt Ren can use. I’ll take care of these.”

Dani was the newest addition to the D’Angelo clan. Although she was a newspaper columnist by profession, so far she didn’t seem to mind the way a person could get sucked into the family business at a moment’s notice.

Addy liked her a lot. Growing up, she had been closest to her brother Rafe, once the wild child in the family. She was glad that he’d settled down at last, that he’d finally found a reason to come home and a woman worthy of coming home to.

She picked up a radish and began making the cuts that would turn it into a flower. Carrot curls. Tomato stars. Even squash swans. She knew how to make them all. A Jill-of-all-trades.

And absolutely a master at nothing.

ONCE THE DINING ROOM closed, things settled down at the lodge quickly. Guests usually kept early hours because of all the daytime activities the area offered, and tomorrow promised to be a beautiful day just made for outdoor fun.

With one person manning the front desk after hours, the family often sat around the living room of their private quarters, drinking coffee or sharing a bottle of wine as they compared notes about the day. Tonight Geneva McKay had been invited to sit with them. Although she was some years older than either Rose or Sam, they had all known one another for years.

Addy sat in a back corner, listening to the conversation with one ear. She was tired, and for some reason her nerves felt jangled. She supposed it was just anticipation of the trip, the go-go-go of this evening’s workload. And the fact that it seemed as though every few minutes someone mentioned David’s name.

She didn’t think it was intentional, but she found it unsettling. It was only natural that her father or mother would ask Geneva about David, but it didn’t end at that. Didn’t they remember that Addy was his ex-girlfriend? Didn’t they care about her feelings at all?

While it was nice not to have to field questions about her future baby plans, Addy didn’t want to hear about how successful David had become. How he owned a condo in New York and a flat in London and a beach house in Malibu. She didn’t need to know whom he’d escorted to the Oscars last year and how he’d met the Queen when his last big blockbuster had premiered in England.

Besides, Addy already knew most of it anyway. Over the years she couldn’t help following his career with some interest. A handsome, rich, powerful man like David McKay—the boy wonder of Hollywood—made the news often.

Addy rubbed her temple to soothe away the headache she felt behind her eyes. At her father’s urging, Geneva was telling how David had recently taken up hang gliding. How his instructor said he was a natural at it.

“There’s almost nothing that boy can’t do,” Geneva said, a proud note in her voice.

“Really?” Addy asked suddenly, feeling perverse. “Can he walk on water yet?”

Amazing how quiet a room could get. It seemed as though everyone turned to look at her. Even Rafe, who’d been stealing kisses from his wife on the couch.

Geneva seemed puzzled, but it was her father who spoke. “Adriana,” Sam said, “is something bothering you?”

Addy felt immediately contrite, the coffee turning to acid in her throat. This definitely wasn’t like her. “I’m sorry, Geneva,” she said quickly. “That was uncalled-for.”

“It’s all right, dear. I do tend to go on a bit about David when I have a captive audience.”

Addy stood. “I have a headache, and it makes me poor company, I’m afraid. Will you excuse me? I need to check on a few things for our trip. Good night, everyone.”

She sailed out of the room before anything more could be said. With self-conscious haste, she went through the lodge and out the front door into the night air, heading for the barn.

The moon made pearly ripples on Lightning Lake as a breeze sifted through the trees. Although quite beautiful, tonight she had no interest in it. Not there, she thought. Definitely not there. The lake held too many memories of her time with David. Those last bitter words between them.

She just wanted to be away from people right now. Just find some way to…to shut down for a little while. To stop thinking.

The barn offered that kind of release. It sat in a clearing, surrounded by white-trunked aspens. It wasn’t huge, just eight stalls with a small corral attached, but as she slipped the latch and flipped on the light, her breathing calmed a little.

She loved the family business, but she felt especially passionate about the stables. Addy had finally convinced her father that they needed to reopen the old barn. Trail rides and overnight camping trips had been added to the list of amenities, and Addy enjoyed being responsible for this new enterprise. She loved the people she met, the animals she tended as though they were her own children.

Children. Could she manage this part of the business and take on the challenge of single motherhood? Of course she could. Women juggled a career and home all the time these days.

And there was always Plan B. If she needed help during or after her pregnancy, she could call on Brandon O’Dell, the lodge’s front desk manager. He’d been a friend of Nick’s for years, and he and Addy had dated briefly. Last week he’d shocked her, asking flat out if she was interested in becoming a partner both professionally and personally.

Marriage to Brandon—whom she didn’t love but whom she might grow to—or raising a child alone. That decision hadn’t been made yet.

Either way, would it be enough to keep her from being envious of her brothers? Nick, Matt and Rafe had all built lives of their own. They had wives and children and homes where she felt certain they lived in a harmony and love that seemed to have bypassed her entirely.

What had she been doing wrong? Why hadn’t there been anyone special after she’d broken up with David McKay?

She frowned, realizing that it had been a long time since she’d lamented her single-girl status. It had to be because David was back in her life, however temporary that might be. She’d have to be careful. Make sure he didn’t think she’d been moping around all these years, waiting for him to come back.

Maybe while she was out on the trail this week she’d figure it all out. In the meantime, she had work to do.

In the stall nearest her, Sheba, her best sorrel mare, nickered a welcome. And farther along, Joe swung his head over the stall door, eager to see if she’d brought treats.

The smell of leather and hay brought back so many happy memories. Sunday afternoons when the four D’Angelo kids had pretended to be Pony Express riders. A rainy Saturday when Rafe had tried to convince her that one of the ponies could read her mind. And later, once David had come into her life, the two of them riding the trails around the lake. Kissing on top of Wildcat Ridge while their horses sidled restlessly beneath them.

No. She really mustn’t think of those times right now.

At one end of the barn sat the tack room and feed bins. Brandon, eager to learn more about this part of the business, had already helped her pack the supplies she and Geneva would need, but with David tagging along, she’d better make sure she had extra.

She laid everything out once again, making notes with a pad and pencil she kept in the tack room. She’d have to bring another blanket down from the lodge, even though it was summer. More water. Another set of utensils and dishes. Rations for one more horse and mule.

Would His Royal Hollywood Highness settle for plain old American coffee? He was probably used to some fancy blend. Well, tough. If he didn’t like the meals she had planned, he could turn around and go home.

She made a notation on her list, wondering if she could get away with feeding him basic camp food for two weeks. “How do you feel about pork and beans, Mr. Ritz-Carlton?” she said aloud.

To punctuate her displeasure, she drew a hard line under one of the words she’d written. The point of her pencil broke off with a small snap.

She stared at it, then swore so loudly that Sheba pricked up her ears. Stalking into the tack room, Addy searched in vain for another pencil, a pen, anything, but found nothing. More swearing. Why hadn’t she cleaned out the drawers so she could find things? Why didn’t she plan better?

Disgusted and breathing hard, she sat down on a bale of hay and lowered her head into her hands. She had been afraid of letting go, but now all the unshed tears waiting for a break in her control found their release.

It was ridiculous, but she couldn’t seem to stop crying. Ever since she’d walked into Geneva McKay’s house and seen David standing there, her emotions had been teetering on the edge of something too heart-wrenching to be ignored.

She felt threatened, endangered, and only pride and her own mulish nature kept her from calling off this whole trip. Maybe she’d do it, and to hell with what he thought.

“Addy?” she heard a quiet voice say.

She jerked her head up to see that Dani had entered the barn. She stood looking at Addy uncomfortably, as if she didn’t know whether to back away or come forward. It might have been funny if Addy hadn’t felt so miserable.

She made a token attempt to regain control, wiping her eyes with the edge of her T-shirt. “Hi,” she said around a sniffle. “You lost?”

“No,” her sister-in-law said. “I was actually looking for you. I wanted to see if you were all right.”

Addy made a face. She was embarrassed but glad that if anyone had to catch her blubbering like a baby, it was Dani. “Do I look all right?”

“No. Is there something I can do to help?”

“Not unless you know a magic trick that can make someone disappear.”

“Is this about Geneva’s grandson? The fact that he’s going on this trip with you?”

“It’s that obvious?”

Dani sat down next to her on the hay bale, nudging her gently with her shoulder. “Rafe told me he broke your heart years ago.”

“Rafe talks too much all of a sudden.”

“Do you want to discuss it?”

“Not much to tell.”

“I’m a good listener.”

“It’s not that exciting.”

“Try me,” Dani said with an encouraging smile.

Addy shrugged. She supposed there was no harm in telling Dani. She was so new to the family that she’d have no preconceived notions. “David McKay moved here to live with his grandparents after his parents were killed in a car accident. I was in the seventh grade when he showed up in my English class. By the eighth grade I was practicing writing Mrs. Adriana McKay.”

Dani laughed a little. “Love at first sight, huh?”

Addy nodded. “For me, anyway. Not for David. He was very popular with all the girls. He was a math wiz, but he really wanted to be a documentary filmmaker. He was so passionate about things. It was one of the ways he was different from everyone else. It was what made him special in my eyes.”

“After you left, Geneva was telling us about the movie that was filmed here and how quickly David made a name for himself once he moved to Hollywood.”

“That was really the end for us, that film,” Addy said with a sigh. “After he got involved with it he was…different.”

“How?” Dani touched her arm sympathetically. “Geneva said David became very good friends with the producer and the crew. That he followed them to Hollywood because he felt he could get an introduction into the business.”

“He did. Everything he’d been dreaming of came to him because of that one silly movie.”

“An offer he couldn’t turn down.”

“Of course,” Addy admitted. “That’s really at the heart of it, you know? That he could run off to Hollywood with those people. We’d been dating steadily. It had never occurred to me that he would ever seriously want to leave here. To leave me. But he said it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. That he’d come back. I was devastated.”

“So you fought?”

Addy nodded. “Out by the lake on the night before he left. The things we said to one another were hateful. He accused me of being jealous, not trusting him. Of trying to keep him from achieving his dream. I told him that he’d obviously found a way to use people to get to the top. That he didn’t need me any longer since there wasn’t a damned thing I could do to help him.”

Dani’s eyes widened. “Wow. Not a great way to end a relationship.”

“No. That was the last time we spoke.” Addy raked her fingers through her hair wearily. “And now he’s back.”

Dani reached out to squeeze her hand. “Do you still love him?” she asked quietly.

Addy’s heart bumped a little. Stupid, really, because she knew now that their love had been a fierce, ragged flame destined to go out. “No. But that doesn’t mean he can’t get to me. He’s the one I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with. I used to picture the two of us living here, near our families. When he left, I…”

“You what?” Dani asked with a quizzical glance.

“I think I gave up on all of that.”

Dani stood, crouching in front of Addy so that she could take her arms in both hands. She frowned down at her. “It doesn’t mean you can’t have it with someone else, Addy. You have so much to give a man. One day—”

“One day, one day,” Addy mimicked, feeling miserable and mired in the loneliness that now characterized her life. “I don’t want to wait any longer to get what you and Rafe have. What Matt’s found with Leslie. And Nick with Kari. If I can’t have that…”

Neither of them said anything for a few moments. Then Dani spoke. “So you think having a baby of your own, raising a child alone, will make up for not having a man in your life?”

“I think I want something. I need to have…” She trailed off with a sigh. “Right now I have to get through two weeks with David McKay. And I just don’t know how to do that.”

Dani gave her a little shake, making Addy look up. “Adriana D’Angelo! Stop talking like such a weakling. You come from one of the toughest, most sensible families I’ve ever met. You’re a helicopter pilot. You run this stable. You’re considering being a single parent. You take on responsibilities that would send a weaker woman screaming for help.”

“I can make rose radishes and you can’t.” She gave a watery smile. “That doesn’t make me exceptional.”

“Well, you are,” Dani said. “All right. So this idiot is suddenly in your face again. It shouldn’t even be a blip on your radar. You can handle him. So maybe he had the power to turn your knees to jelly ten years ago, but if he thinks you’re going to fall for moonlight and roses still, he’s dead wrong. You’re wiser and he has no power over you. He’s just another guest.”

“He’s more than that.”

“No, he’s not. Your father would say he’s not a problem, he’s just a challenge you haven’t found an answer for yet.”

Losing the impulse to lie, Addy shook her head. “My father doesn’t know David McKay was my first lover. The man who got me pregnant.”

Dani’s mouth parted in surprise. “What?”

“No one knows it, but I miscarried a little boy three days after David left town.”

CHAPTER THREE

LATE THAT EVENING, IN her guest bedroom at Lightning River Lodge, Geneva sat on the side of the bed and looked down at the box containing her late husband’s ashes. She didn’t really believe Herbert was there. In fact, she was quite sure he watched over her from heaven. But when she spoke to him—and she often did—she liked to have this touchstone close. She supposed she was getting old, acting so foolishly sentimental.

“Now don’t fret, Herbert,” she said. “What I told David was only a tiny, harmless bit of deception. He needs this so much. Ulcers and headaches and wrinkles on his forehead at his young age—why, our boy’s a walking medical journal.”

She wiped a minuscule bit of lint out of a crevice on the lid. In the early years of their marriage, back before arthritis had played such havoc with his fingers, Herbert had carved this notions box for her. No one knew that—not even David.

“I miss you so much,” she said softly, then shook her head, refocusing her thoughts. “He’s not happy, Herbert. All that success, and he’s miserable, I tell you. I know you never liked me to meddle, but I just couldn’t let it go on without trying to do something. I have a good feeling about this trip.”