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Irritation spiked inside him and was instantly squashed. He didn’t want to owe her but he knew he did. He’d given his word, not just to her brother, but to her. And one thing Jericho King never did was break his word. So he was going to have to deal with her whether he was happy about that or not.
He looked at her as she stood there, shivering a little in the cold wind blowing through the pines. Didn’t even know enough to wear a jacket in the mountains. Even in California, fall could be a tricky time of year in the higher altitudes. But, he told himself, she was clearly not an outdoors kind of woman.
Of course she wanted to be inside. It was where she belonged. She was the kind who liked the great outdoors…from the other side of a window while sitting beside a fire and sipping a glass of wine. He knew her kind of woman all too well. And as he realized that, Jericho acknowledged that maybe he wasn’t going to have to chase her off at all. Maybe she’d come to her senses on her own and admit that she wasn’t suited to working here.
Besides, he could give her a cup of coffee at least before sending her off. Let her get a good look at the place she wanted to be a part of. See that she wouldn’t like it. Wouldn’t fit in. Wouldn’t last.
“Sure. Let’s go inside.”
“Thanks,” she said. “It’s really cold here. When I left L.A. this morning it was seventy-five degrees.”
“We’re higher up,” he pointed out dryly. Then he picked up on what she said. “You left this morning? And you’re just getting here? At most, it’s a three- or four-hour drive with traffic.”
She rolled her eyes, planted a kiss on top of her silly dog’s head and shrugged. “There was lots of traffic, but the truth is, I got lost.”
Jericho just stared at her. “Didn’t you have a GPS?”
“Yes,” she said with a small sniff. “But—”
“Never mind.” He turned, waved Sam off and led the way toward the house. When she didn’t fall into line beside him, he turned back to look at her. “What’s the problem?”
Scowling, she jerked her leg and said, “My heels sank into the lawn.”
“Of course they did.” He walked back to her and said, “Step out of them.”
When she did, he snatched the shoes up, handed them to her and said, “This kind of shoe won’t work here.”
She followed him, hurrying barefoot across the grass. She caught up to him, balancing the dog-filled purse in one hand and her shoes in the other. “But they look good,” she told him.
“How’d that work out?”
“Well,” she said on a half laugh, “it’s a first impression you won’t forget.”
Jericho felt a short dart of admiration course through him. She wasn’t easily shot down. Then he stopped and looked down at her. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes were flashing with humor and there was a smudge of dirt on the tip of her nose.
She was way too beautiful.
“What?” she asked. “Do I have dirt on my face?”
“As a matter of fact…” He bent, scooped her up into his arms and heard her “whoosh” of surprise.
“Hey, you don’t have to carry me.”
“Those heels wouldn’t work on the gravel either, and you’re barefoot, Ms. Saxon.”
She packed a lot of curves into her small body. As she wiggled in his arms, he felt a reaction that surely would have happened to any red-blooded, breathing male. The problem was, he didn’t want to react to her. All he wanted from Daisy Saxon was her absence.
“Right. Got it. Heels, bad. I’ll remember. And call me Daisy,” she told him. “After all, since I’m snuggled in against your chest, no point in being formal.”
“I suppose not,” he said tightly, as a small, low-pitched growl erupted from the dog she held close. “That’s a ridiculous dog,” he muttered.
She looked up at him. “Brant gave her to me just before he shipped out.”
“Oh.” Well, hell.
He ignored the dog’s warning growls and Daisy’s stream of chatter about the house, the grounds, the weather, the fact that her car was almost out of gas and the nice people she’d met at the spa when she was lost.
His ears were ringing by the time he reached the front door of the main house. For a man used to the gypsylike life of career military, even owning a home was different. This place, though, was special.
This place had been in his family for almost a hundred years. One of his long-ago grandfathers had built the original cabin, then later it had been expanded into the King family getaway. Jericho and his brothers had spent nearly every summer of their childhoods here at the lodge.
It sat high on the mountain, square in the middle of several hundred acres of forest, streams and rivers. The cottage had grown into a veritable castle constructed of logs and glass, blending in so well with its surroundings, it practically disappeared into the surrounding woods. It was a sort of camouflage, he supposed, which was something he was all too familiar with.
He’d bought out his brothers’ shares of the place years ago and, knowing even then what he would eventually do with the place, had hired an architect to make some changes. The building had been expanded yet again, becoming at last a sort of fantasy mansion, with sharp angles, a steep roofline and enough rooms that Jericho never needed to run into a soul if he didn’t want to. He’d had the work done before he left the Corps so it would be ready for him. When he left the Corps, Jericho had headed straight here.
This place was both a touchstone to the past and a foothold on his future. He opened the arched, dark wood door, stepped inside and set Daisy on her feet quickly. Best to get that curvy body away from his as fast as possible.
She slipped her heels on and did a slow turn, taking in what she could of the house from the foyer.
“Wow,” she whispered. “This is really…”
Cathedral ceilings arched high overhead, with pale, varnished logs crisscrossing in geometric patterns. The last of the afternoon sunlight slanted through the glass and lay dazzling golden patterns on the gleaming wood floors.
“Yeah, I like it.” He led the way into the main room, right off the hallway, and she followed as he’d expected her to, those heels of hers clicking musically against the uncarpeted floors.
“It echoes in here,” she said.
Jericho frowned as he looked back at her. “It’s a big room.”
“And practically empty.” She shook her head as she glanced around. He followed her gaze. The furnishings were utilitarian but comfortable. There were sofas, chairs, a few tables and lamps and a long wet bar against one wall. There was a river-stone hearth tall enough for him to stand up in, and the view of the mountains was breathtaking.
“It looks like a barracks.”
He shot her a look. “Clearly you’ve never seen barracks.”
“No,” she admitted, walking in, holding her dog and petting it as she moved, “but you’ve got this gorgeous place and it’s decorated like…” She stopped and smiled apologetically. “Sorry. None of my business, is it?”
Jericho frowned again. What the hell was wrong with the room? No one else had ever complained. Then he told himself, city girl, and dismissed her observation entirely.
“So. Sam tells me you want to cook for us.”
“Yes.” She gave him a blindingly brilliant smile and Jericho felt that hard jolting punch of desire slam into him again. The woman was carrying concealed weapons. “About that…”
Daisy saw the hesitation in Jericho King’s ice-blue eyes. There was regret there, too, and she knew that he was about to turn her down. Destroy the plan she’d come there to set into motion. Well, she couldn’t let that happen, so before he could say anything else, Daisy started talking.
“I spoke to Sam, your foreman. Was that him out front?” She carried Nikki with her as she crossed the room to stare out the wide front windows. She kept talking as she walked. “I should have said hello, oh, he probably thinks I’m a crazy person, showing up and falling flat on my face.”
She didn’t look back at Jericho. Couldn’t afford to. Not yet.
He’d unsettled her. He looked so big and gorgeous and, well, grim. Probably didn’t smile much, she thought, which might be a good thing because he’d affected her so much glowering at her, one smile might have done her in completely.
Funny, she hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t thought that one look at him would start her insides burning and her heart galloping madly in her chest. He was so tall. So strong. When he’d swept her up into his arms, it had been all she could not to sigh at him.
She’d chosen Jericho because of the bond he’d had with her brother. She hadn’t expected to feel such an immediate attraction to the man. But that was good, wasn’t it? At least, for what she had in mind it was a good thing. All she had to do was find a way to keep him from sending her packing before she did what she’d come here to do.
After all, she couldn’t get pregnant with Jericho King’s child if she wasn’t here, now could she?
Two
“So,” Daisy asked, plastering a confident smile on her face, “When do I start?”
She watched him watching her and yet, whatever he was thinking at the moment didn’t show in his eyes. Those pale blue depths were shuttered, effectively closing her out. But that would change, she thought. Given a little time, she’d bring him around, win him over. Judging by the look on his face, though, that wouldn’t be easy.
“Ms. Saxon—Daisy,” he corrected before she could say anything. “I’ve been out of town for the past few days. Sam told me only a few minutes ago about you applying for this job.”
“I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret,” she said, meeting his gaze directly. “I mean, you offered to help me after Brant, but I didn’t want to use that offer to get this job. I wanted to earn it on my own merits, you know? I didn’t want you to feel obligated or anything, so I went through Sam when I heard about the job opening.” Which was true, she thought, though she had counted on the fact that Jericho would feel obligated enough to keep her on once she was here. “I’m a very good cook, by the way. Sam saw my references and my résumé. When we spoke, he said he thought I’d do fine here.”
“I disagree,” he said tightly, and Daisy geared up for battle. “The fact is, I don’t think you working here is a good idea at all.”
Daisy swallowed hard. She really hadn’t counted on this. Frankly, she’d expected Jericho to sort of go along with the idea. The whole obligation thing. He had once promised to help if he could. And her late brother had idolized the man. Somehow, she’d expected the “great Jericho King” to be just a bit more understanding. Well, he might not want her to stay, but she wasn’t gone yet.
“Why not?” She threaded her fingers through Nikki’s dark red hair so he wouldn’t be able to see her hand shaking. But even as nerves rattled around in the pit of her stomach, Daisy told herself to get a grip. She wasn’t going to let him see she was nervous. Wasn’t going to acknowledge that even to herself. Not again. From here on out, it was affirmations. Focus on the positive. See the goal and get it.
With those thoughts and a dozen others just like them rushing through her mind, Daisy lifted her chin and waited for him to speak. Whatever excuse or reason he gave her, she was going to counter it. She would fight to be here. To stay here. To accomplish her goal.
To do that, she was going to show him just how much he needed her here. How much she could bring to him and to his camp. And she was going to start right now. She had the element of surprise on her side.
“This place isn’t like the spa you saw today in your travels across the mountain.”
“You can say that again,” she noted, turning a glance to the beige sofas and chairs. “Honestly, do you have something against color?”
“What?”
“Beige,” she said, waving one hand to indicate the furniture in the room. “Beige isn’t a color. It’s the absence of color.”
“Actually,” he said, “that would be black.”
“Well, beige is close,” she insisted. “When you’re running a place like this, you shouldn’t go for industrial chic. You should have warmth in this room. And a few throw rugs would cut down on the echo.”
“I don’t mind the echo.”
“I’m guessing the meals you serve your guests are as imaginative as the décor.”
“I don’t have décor,” he pointed out.
“That’s what I said.”
“I meant,” he said through gritted teeth, “I’m not interested in making this place into a fashionable inn.”
“Oh, I agree. That would be all wrong. After all, you’re going for the whole manly Survivorman thing, right? It doesn’t have to be fussy,” Daisy countered, already seeing in her mind’s eye how it could look. A few pillows, some colorful braided rugs, maybe some splashy paintings on a few of the bare walls. “You want your clients to be comfortable, don’t you?”
“This isn’t a vacation camp. People come here to learn skills. Leadership. They come here to pit themselves against the mountain and Mother Nature.”
“And when they come back to the inn victorious you want them to still be roughing it?”
He inhaled sharply and Daisy thought maybe she’d gone a little far. So she backed up fast. “I’m not saying you should put up lace curtains or use chintz slipcovers. I’m just saying that making this room a little more…comfortable would go a long way toward making your guests feel at ease. Couldn’t hurt to think about it, right?”
“How did we get onto this track?” he wondered aloud.
“We were talking about how good I’d be for your business,” Daisy told him and shushed Nikki when she growled.
He spared a dark look for her dog before he met her gaze again and said, “No, I was telling you I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“But you’re wrong,” she argued.
“I don’t think so.”
“You haven’t given me a chance at all,” she said, fighting both the glint in Jericho’s eyes and the flutter of nerves in her belly. “You don’t even know me. Plus, you haven’t tasted my cooking. You haven’t tried my fried chicken or home-style scalloped potatoes or my fudge mountain cake—”
“This isn’t about… Fudge mountain?”
Daisy grinned as his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “It’s amazing. I’ll make it for you.”
Jericho took another deep breath, and she was frankly astonished that his broad, muscular chest could expand even farther. The man really was huge. And yet, he didn’t give off the kind of “danger” vibe she associated with very big men. There was something…quiet about him. And that something was very attractive.
“It’s not that easy,” he said.
“Oh, making the cake isn’t easy, but I promise you it’s worth the effort.” She deliberately misunderstood him. Keep him off balance, she told herself. He’s not sure what to do about you, so keep him that way, she told herself.
“The job, Daisy,” he said, and waved her over onto one of the couches. “Offering you this job isn’t that easy.”
“Sure it is. You offer, I accept. Easy.”
He took a seat on the chair opposite her and braced his elbows on his knees. “When Sam was telling you about the job, did he bother to mention the survival test?”
She blinked. “Survival test?”
“I didn’t think so.” He scrubbed one hand across his face. “You see, there’s a policy here at King Adventure. All new hires have to spend the weekend on the mountain with me. They have to prove they can make it here. Prove they have some survival skills.”
Daisy set Nikki down onto her lap and stroked the little dog’s back. Her mind was racing and her stomach was churning. Survival? All she knew about surviving on a mountain was finding a good hotel with a nice fireplace and room service. Why in heaven should a cook have to prove herself in the wild?
Anxiety pumped through her system and her positive thoughts began to crumble like broken cookies. But even while doubts slapped at her, she knew she couldn’t give up on her idea before she even really got started.
“No,” she said, “I didn’t know about that.”
“See?” His voice was kind, his eyes shone with relief and the patient smile on his face only irritated her immensely. “It just wouldn’t work out, Daisy.”
“Well,” she shot back, “it’s not like you’re going to drop me off in the middle of nowhere with a knife and a piece of string. Are you?”
One corner of his mouth lifted briefly. “No.”
“Then I can do it,” she said, covering her own doubts with a veil of confidence.
Now he simply shook his head. “No, you can’t. Hell, you couldn’t take a few steps across the lawn without falling on your face.”
She flushed and felt the heat of it stain her cheeks. “That was an accident.”
“And out in the forest, an accident like that one could kill you.”
“Then I won’t let it happen again,” she argued.
“Damn it, why won’t you listen to reason on this?”
“Because I need this job,” she told him flatly, fingers curled protectively around Nikki. “My roommate got married and I couldn’t keep the apartment on my own. My old job was downsized when the owner hired his cousin’s nephew as head cook and—” She broke off quickly because she wasn’t about to beg. And she wasn’t the kind of woman to go all weepy, either, using tears to get her way.
“It’s been a rough couple of months,” she said simply. “So when I heard about this job opening, it seemed perfect. It is perfect. And I think I should get the same chance to prove myself as any other employee here has had.”
He pushed himself out of his chair and stalked a few paces off. Glancing at her over his shoulder, he said, “It wouldn’t be easy.”
“No,” she agreed, already dreading being out in the great outdoors. “Probably not.”
“Why are you so determined to do this?”
“I told you why,” Daisy hedged. “I need the job.”
“If you’re that good a cook, you could work anywhere.”
“I want to work here.”
“Which brings me,” he said tightly, “back to the original question. Why are you so determined to work here?”
She lifted her chin, squared her shoulders and said softly, “Because you knew Brant.”
He rubbed his face again in irritation. “I know it’s not easy, losing family.”
“My only family,” she corrected and hated that her voice broke on the words. “Brant and I only had each other. When he died, I was alone. And I don’t like alone.”
Which was the absolute truth as far as it went.
She couldn’t give him the whole of it, now could she?
She’d already admitted that she really did have nowhere else to go. She had no one. Her brother, Brant, had been her only family. Daisy was completely on her own now. And she hated it. She watched other families and felt her heart ache. She watched mothers with their children and something inside her wept. Daisy really wanted love in her life again. But she didn’t want another man.
No, thank you. She had both been there and done that and hadn’t even gotten the T-shirt. She’d convinced herself a couple of times that she was in love and it had ended badly. She wasn’t interested in risking another broken heart. She wouldn’t set herself up for that kind of disappointment again. But she did want to love and be loved. She wanted to have a family again. To be part of something again.
She wanted a child.
That thought settled everything inside her. Nerves drained away, anxiety faded and a cool, calm feeling swept through her. Whatever she had to prove to Jericho, she’d do it—for the chance at family. She’d made a decision and now she was going to go through with it. But he couldn’t know what was driving her. Daisy couldn’t very well tell him that she’d chosen him to be the father of her child.
If she felt a quick sting of guilt over the idea of tricking a man into being a parent, she smothered it a moment later. It wasn’t as if she was asking him to marry her. Or to even take an active role in the raising of their child. All she really needed from him was his sperm.
Which just sounds awful, she thought with an inward groan. But it wasn’t as callous as all that. She’d chosen Jericho because of his relationship with her late brother. Because he had been close to the only family Daisy had had.
And because Jericho King and the Marine Corps had stolen her family.
They owed her one.
“I don’t baby prospective employees.”
“Baby?” Daisy flushed, as if he were reading the thoughts racing through her mind.
Scowling, Jericho clarified. “I meant, I won’t make it easy on you.”
“Oh.” She laughed to herself, then shook her head. “I didn’t ask you to.” Oh, boy, she thought wryly, she’d probably regret saying that. He looked tough and she could only imagine that whatever he put her through to “earn” her way in wouldn’t be pleasant. But she’d made up her mind to come here. To make her dream come true. And nothing he could do or say would stop her.
“You’re as stubborn as your brother was.”
Daisy smiled fondly. “Where do you think he learned it?” Damn it.
“I’m not asking for a favor,” she said quickly, wanting to speak up for herself before he summarily dismissed her. “I’m applying for a job I happen to be perfect for. I’m a terrific cook, you’ll see. All I’m asking for is a chance.”
In his letters home to her, Brant had often mentioned that Jericho King had the best poker expression he’d ever seen. Brant had insisted that no one ever knew what Jericho was thinking. Apparently, leaving the Marine Corps hadn’t changed that about him.
She didn’t have a clue what his thoughts were. Hers were very clear, though.
She needed to stay here. She fixed a confident smile on her face, while Jericho King’s blue eyes were locked on her. She wouldn’t let him see that the thought of a survival test terrified her. Wouldn’t let him know that she felt on edge. But everything she’d told him had been absolutely true.
His jaw went so tight she could actually see the muscles in his cheeks twitch. He wasn’t happy with the situation, but he wasn’t telling her to leave, so Daisy took that as a good sign. She pressed her case. “I can promise you that you won’t be disappointed by my performance as cook. I’m not asking for a handout, Mr. King.”
“Jericho.”
A good sign and she’d take it as such. Her smile brightened. “Jericho, then. All I’m asking for is a job. I can do it. You won’t be sorry.”
“No,” he mused as he walked back toward her. “But you might be.”
She huffed out a relieved breath. “Does that mean I’m hired?”
“Provisionally,” he told her. “There’s still the mountain test. I can’t let you off the hook for that one. Every employee here has taken the weekend in the wilderness. You’ll have to make it through, too. For now, I’ll show you where you can stay. Let you get settled, then we’ll head into the mountains in a couple of days.”
Daisy held on to Nikki and pushed up off the sofa. Her first goal had been met. She was still here. And Jericho had no idea that once she had a foothold, she’d never let go. She knew exactly what she looked like—a helpless female. Well, looks could be deceiving, she told herself. She’d been on her own for years. She’d practically raised Brant on her own and she’d done a damn fine job of it, too. She could handle whatever Jericho dished out and when it was all over and done, she’d still be standing. Plus, she’d have the right to be here, with the man she needed to help her rebuild her family.
She tipped her head back to look up at him and graced him with what she knew was a brilliant smile. “Thanks. Thanks for this.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he muttered and led the way out of the main room toward the staircase. “Before too long, I suspect you’ll be cursing the day you ever drove up here.”
Only, she thought, if she didn’t get pregnant.
* * *
It was a hell of a thing, Jericho told himself, when a man was reduced to sneaking around his own damn house.
He’d never been a coward. Men he’d served with in the Corps would be willing to swear that there wasn’t a damn thing in the universe that scared Jericho King. But here he was, avoiding one small, curvy woman as if she were Typhoid Mary and he was the last healthy man on the planet.