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“Mental anguish?” she repeated.
He’d obviously said the wrong thing. Her tone had changed from apologetic to terse. And the insulted expression on her face confirmed it.
“Look,” she said. “I don’t blame you for thinking I’m some desperate love-starved female because Rachel met me through an online dating site. But let’s not make this into some big catastrophe that it isn’t, okay?”
Graham started to say something, but she didn’t give him the chance.
“The way I see it, you and I are the adults here. And I’m pretty sure we’ll both survive the weekend without either of us having to go into therapy.”
Okay, she’d put him in his place.
Graham began backpedaling as fast as possible. “I don’t think you’re desperate, or love-starved, or anything else. All I meant by mental anguish was that no one enjoys being the brunt of a joke. I know I don’t. Rachel has embarrassed both of us. And I intend to teach her a lesson for being so thoughtless.”
She was making him extremely uncomfortable. First, saying how much the words he’d written had touched her. Then, her hand on his arm. Even her plea now to be easy on his daughter.
She was…dammit!
She was being too nice about the whole thing. Plus, she was a knockout. She was the type of woman who could knock him right out of his comfortable existence if he gave her half a chance—smart, sexy, bold enough to speak her mind.
But he’d been foolish to think she would spend one second lamenting the fact that Rachel had sent the e-mails instead of him. Career-focused or not, Courtney Woods was not the type of woman who had ever been lacking for male attention.
Graham tossed the e-mails onto the table, left his chair and walked to the window a safe distance away from her. It didn’t work. She walked up beside him.
They stood in silence, looking out over the cove.
“Rachel isn’t as brilliant as you think,” Graham said. “I inherited this lodge from my grandfather. He was the one who lost his hearing in one ear from an explosion clearing land for the lodge.”
He turned toward her and added, “But tell me the truth about something. Didn’t the hearing loss part bother you at all?”
“No,” she said. “In fact, I admired you. I found it heroic you hadn’t let the accident ruin your life.”
Graham let out a long sigh. “Well, at least you didn’t show up because you felt sorry for the poor deaf guy turning forty.”
“True,” she said. “I only felt sorry for the turning-forty part.”
They looked at each other.
And burst out laughing.
It was the icebreaker they’d needed to cut through the tension. And at that moment Graham realized Courtney could have been a real bitch about what Rachel had done. Courtney could have even threatened to sue him. And who would have blamed her? Instead, she was taking it all in stride, far better than he was at the moment.
“This whole thing really is funny when you think about it,” she said. “I can’t imagine what you were thinking down on the dock when I sounded out every word so carefully, making sure you could read my lips.”
Wisely, Graham didn’t mention the Russian hooker.
Instead, he said, “I know someone who’s going to be reading my lips when she gets home. I can promise you that.”
“And that’s what has me worried,” she said.
Graham looked over at her again.
Now she had her arms crossed, tapping the fingers of her right hand impatiently against her left arm. And that’s one thing Graham didn’t miss since he’d dropped out of society—the whole business of trying to figure any woman out.
It was exhausting.
However, if memory served him correctly, her ambiguous statement was his clue to say, “Meaning?”
She looked straight at him and said, “Meaning I’m not interested in being caught in the middle of a father-daughter fight all weekend, Graham.”
“So what are you suggesting? That I just pat Rachel on the head and laugh the whole thing off?”
“I’m suggesting you postpone any punishment until later,” she said. “Rachel has really worked hard on your birthday party tomorrow. And I shouldn’t tell you this, but she has a special surprise dinner planned for you tonight.”
“A dinner?” Graham repeated.
Courtney nodded. “Rachel planned out the menu herself, and I’m supposed to help her cook the meal. I hate to see all of her plans ruined.”
“You forget Rachel’s planning is the reason she’s in big trouble right now.”
An awkward silence passed between them.
She cocked her head in his direction. “You know, if you really want to teach Rachel a lesson, the best way to do that would be to beat her at her own game.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I think we’ve both figured out the reason I’m here is because Rachel thought if we hit it off, you’d be willing to move back to New York.”
“Tell me, Courtney,” Graham said. “Is there anything you don’t know about me and my daughter?”
She smiled. “I don’t know if you’re willing to play along with my idea yet.”
Okay, one thing he did miss since he’d dropped out of society was having a woman smile at him the way Courtney had done now—a flirty little smile, the type of smile only a dead man could resist.
“Keep talking,” Graham said.
“What if we let Rachel think her idea worked when she first gets home? But then we tell her instead of you moving back to New York, I’ve decided to move to Alaska to be with you?”
Graham laughed. “To quote Rachel’s favorite expression, she would totally freak out.”
“Exactly.” She smiled again.
It took Graham’s gaze right back to her moist, pink lips. Memories of that kiss on the dock didn’t help Graham’s common sense, either. And whether he liked to admit it or not, the knowledge that a beautiful woman like Courtney had flown across the country to meet him was a huge boost to his turning-forty ego.
Why not go along with Courtney’s idea?
She was right. It wasn’t fair to put her in the middle of their fight all weekend. The situation was already awkward enough.
He’d honor Courtney’s request and keep things civil for the weekend. He owed her that much after what Rachel had done. But after Courtney left, Rachel’s life was going to change drastically.
And that was a promise.
Graham stuck his hand out. “Okay, it’s a deal. Let’s show Rachel what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a bad joke.”
CHAPTER THREE
THE MINUTE GRAHAM closed the bedroom door after bringing her luggage upstairs, Courtney fished around for her cell phone. She tossed her purse onto the bed and headed for the sliding glass doors that led out to her room’s private balcony.
Beth would laugh her ass off at this situation.
But Courtney’s mother?
Courtney couldn’t even go there.
In fact, coming to Alaska was the first time she’d ever truly crossed her mother, who also happened to be her boss and the owner of The Woods Advertising Agency, where Courtney was vice president. Her VP title, however, had nothing to do with being the CEO’s daughter. Courtney had earned that title by following faithfully in Lisa Woods’s workaholic footsteps.
And she had no life to prove it.
When she couldn’t get a signal, Courtney closed her phone and leaned against the railing, thinking back to the night of her birthday party—the real reason behind why she was in Alaska now. They’d celebrated at Courtney’s favorite restaurant; Beth, her mother and her mother’s constant entourage—the other executives at the agency.
Beth had saved her gift for last. She’d stood to get everyone’s attention—as if that were necessary. Avant-garde described Beth in every sense of the word; her dark hair in a buzz cut; her jewelry and wardrobe so outrageous she turned heads everywhere she went.
“Courtney likes to claim her being born on Valentine’s Day was Cupid’s idea of a cruel joke,” Beth had said. “She also likes to claim that the reason she’s still single is because there aren’t any real men left in the world.”
Everyone had laughed.
“So I decided to prove her wrong on both accounts,” Beth had announced proudly. “Love is out there waiting for her if she’ll look for it. And where better to look for real men than the last frontier?”
That’s when Beth had held up a printed-out page with Courtney’s picture on it—a full-body shot Courtney had forgotten about. Courtney had posed for it when she did an interview for a magazine about the changing trends in advertising—dressed for success and leaning casually back against her desk with a confident smile on her face.
“This,” Beth had said, handing Courtney the sheet, “is your new profile page on LoveFromAlaska.com. And when I checked the site an hour ago, you had thirty-five real men dying to meet you.”
Courtney had thought Beth’s gift was hysterical. So had everyone else.
Except, of course, Courtney’s mother.
Her mother had remained silent all through dinner. She’d remained silent through the birthday cake dessert. She’d even remained silent during a heated debate about the direction they should take with a new ad campaign when they were having brandy later—and her mother remaining silent during any debate was unprecedented. It wasn’t until they were alone in her mother’s private town car on the way home from the restaurant, however, that Courtney had received an earful.
“I expect you to cancel the membership to that disgusting dating site immediately before anyone sees it,” her mother had demanded. “If word gets out you’re peddling yourself on the Internet like some cheap tramp, it would be a total embarrassment to the agency.”
“News flash, Mother. Online dating is the norm today.” Trying to appease her, Courtney had added, “Besides, it isn’t likely any of our clients will be checking out some dating site from Alaska.”
“It isn’t a risk I’m willing to take,” her mother had snipped. “As vice president you have a reputation to uphold and I expect you to do that.”
Courtney had assumed the discussion was over.
She hadn’t been that lucky.
“What I don’t understand,” her mother had said, “is where Beth got the idea you wanted some man in your life. If your so-called best friend knew you at all, she’d understand the agency will always be your first priority.”
Like mother, like daughter.
The thought had scared the hell out of Courtney.
Within minutes of being dropped off in front of her apartment building, Courtney had her laptop open. And that’s when she’d found the first e-mail from Rachel.
Reading what Graham had written about defining what you wanted before life defined it for you had been the equivalent of grabbing Courtney by the shoulders and shaking her until her teeth rattled. In every aspect of her life, in and out of the boardroom, she had the reputation of being assertive and confident—except when it came to her mother. At that exact moment, Courtney knew it was time to cut the cord.
That’s why she’d really come to Alaska. She’d come hoping to find herself.
But talk about material for a daytime talk show! She could already hear Dr. Phil now. “And how’s online dating working for you so far, Courtney?”
Still, things could have been worse.
Graham could have been a real ass about the whole situation. And who could really blame the poor guy? A crazy e-mail female from New York City had shown up on his dock, not only unannounced, but even demanding to know why he’d lied to her.
Courtney groaned just thinking about it.
At least Graham had agreed to a truce for the weekend. And she would do her best to make sure he didn’t regret that decision. She could handle being the peacekeeper, but she didn’t want to be the referee.
Especially since, in spite of everything, she was completely smitten with the man she’d come to meet. Graham had touched her deeply with his journal entries: his sensitivity; his appreciation of the type of assets you’d never find in some financial portfolio; his insight in being able to look back over his life and identify his mistakes. Plus, now that she’d actually met him, Courtney was so physically attracted to Graham the only way she knew how to describe it was freakishly scary.
And that was so unlike her.
Beth had always accused her of being too picky. Of always finding something not to like about the guys she dated, rather than focusing on things she could learn to like about them.
And maybe she was too picky. She’d just been holding out for that one guy who would make her heart pound, her palms sweat and who completely took her breath away. Courtney had never met such a man.
Until now.
Her thoughts went back to that kiss on the dock. Her heart had definitely been pounding. For a second she’d thought Graham was going to kiss her again. She’d seen a little flicker of desire in his eyes signaling there might be some fireworks between them.
Of course, that was before they both knew the whole situation. Now Graham would spend the weekend worried she was some cyber stalker. And she would spend the weekend pretending she wasn’t disappointed that he didn’t send the e-mails—which, in fact, she was.
But she’d get over it.
The ever-changing world of advertising had taught her one valuable lesson: when things aren’t working, take them in a different direction and make them work. Courtney couldn’t think of a better time to stick to that principle than now.
She let out a long sigh and remained standing on the balcony, looking out at the shimmering water. She could certainly understand how troubles could melt away here.
Or maybe it was being somewhere so different from New York City. No horns blowing. No streets packed with cars stuck in gridlock traffic. No sidewalks filled with anxious-looking people all scurrying about, cell phones to their ears, hurrying to make that next important meeting or make it to and from work on time.
The only things moving below the lodge were several boats tied to the dock, all bobbing in the water like corks tied to a fishing line. Rachel called the boats skiffs, and Courtney knew Graham used them for his fishing expeditions and for local travel to other communities around Port Protection, since this part of Prince of Wales Island had no road access whatsoever.
She’d been intrigued by the quaint community from the moment she visited the lodge’s Web site: the elaborate boardwalk system running throughout the rain forest; the steps called The Stairway to Heaven leading from the boardwalk up to the ridgeline; the pictures of the scenic view from the ridge so beautiful they took your breath away.
Courtney had even imagined climbing that stairway with Graham. She’d fantasized about Graham taking her into his arms and…
Stop it!
No point in going there now.
But Port Protection had captivated her. Almost as much as the picture of Graham that Rachel had chosen for his profile—him standing in the front of the lodge, the look on his face somber, a hint of loneliness in his eyes he couldn’t quite hide from the camera.
When Courtney thought about it, loneliness was one of the main reasons she’d kept up the correspondence with Rachel. Her mother had given her the deep-freeze treatment after she’d refused to cancel the membership. But instead of that making Courtney want to reconsider, being estranged from her mother only reinforced how much of Courtney’s time her mother truly demanded.
Then Beth had temporarily deserted her.
Beth just had to pick the exact same time to fall madly in lust with a stand-up comic in Atlantic City where Beth ran off to every weekend. Without Beth or her mother demanding her time, Courtney had felt at loose ends.
Had it not been for Rachel, she probably would have caved and begged her mother’s forgiveness before they reached some common ground. In a sense, Rachel had saved her from making a grave mistake.
The truth was, Courtney had thoroughly enjoyed being Rachel’s mentor of sorts. She had no siblings, no nieces or nephews. Playing the role of a big sister or an aunt to Rachel had been a fun and new experience for her.
And that’s why Courtney hoped if she and Graham played a joke on Rachel, they could all laugh about it, call it even and salvage the weekend. Regardless of what Rachel had done, Courtney couldn’t wait to finally meet her.
With that thought in mind, Courtney walked into the bedroom where Graham had placed her suitcases on the foot of the bed. Rachel would be home from school within the hour. If Courtney was going to play the role of the happy new girlfriend, she needed to look the part.
But as she headed into the bathroom with her makeup bag to freshen up, Courtney couldn’t keep from thinking that being Graham’s pretend girlfriend was not the role she’d envisioned when she set out for Alaska. Even more disturbing was another thought.
Graham Morrison wouldn’t be an easy man to forget.
GRAHAM PLACED A TRAY of appetizers on the dining table in the main room of the lodge—cheese, crackers, some dried dates and figs. He would have done the same for any other guests, making sure something was available to sustain them until time for dinner.
Except Courtney wasn’t any other guest.
She was a vibrant, beautiful woman who had him hurrying to his bathroom after she went upstairs, making sure his hygiene wasn’t lacking. What shocked Graham was the fact that he’d felt the need to do that.
He’d been so convinced he had everything he needed living in Port Protection. That a woman was the last thing he wanted in his life. Yet, all Courtney had to do was smile at him a couple of times and he was scurrying off to shave and brush his teeth and change his shirt.
But then, Graham reasoned, maybe if he had female guests at the lodge on a regular basis, he would have automatically done the same thing. He’d never been a slob, but shaving in the middle of the day for a bunch of smelly fishermen was plain laughable.
What wasn’t laughable was the knowledge Courtney had flown all the way from New York to meet him. Talk about putting pressure on a guy.
Plus, who knew what Rachel had been telling Courtney about him for the past three months—other than the fact he was deaf, and Courtney had claimed she found that heroic. It only made sense he would be a little self-conscious, maybe even a little intimidated.
Courtney had come expecting to meet a hero who had overcome all the obstacles in his life. She’d found instead a clueless father who wasn’t even savvy enough to realize what his teenage daughter was doing on the Internet.
In fact, the woman upstairs was basically a complete stranger, yet she knew more things about him than most people ever would. Private things. Things he never would have shared with anyone else. And he knew virtually nothing about her.
Except she was an advertising executive from New York.
And he liked the way she kissed.
But he wasn’t going to revisit the damn kiss again. She’d caught him off guard, that’s all. And brushing his teeth didn’t mean he hoped she would kiss him again.
After Courtney found out what a disaster she’d walked into, she’d made it clear all she wanted to do for the rest of the weekend was fly under the radar until she could head back to New York City on Monday. And Graham intended to do his best to see she did just that.
He’d be a gracious host. He’d be a charming conversationalist at dinner. He’d even be the life of his own damn birthday party if that’s what it took to get them through the weekend.
But after Courtney left, he was going to kill his daughter. Not literally, of course. He was only going to make Rachel wish she were dead.
No TV. No Internet. No iPod. No phone.
No anything fun or entertaining.
Not until Graham was fully satisfied that Rachel was truly sorry for the stupid stunt she’d pulled. Whether Rachel liked it or not, he was still her father. And whether Rachel liked it or not, until she turned eighteen, he made all the rules.
CHAPTER FOUR
RACHEL JUMPED OUT OF her seat the second the bell rang. She didn’t wait to walk home with her good friend Tiki Iya the way she usually did.
Today, Rachel left her classroom and hurried outside to the wide boardwalk meandering through Port Protection like a railroad track. She smiled when she found her absolute best friend waiting for her in his usual spot.
The Alaskan husky wagged his tail as Rachel approached. Rachel bent down and rubbed the big dog’s ears affectionately when she walked up beside him.
Her father had surprised her with her own puppy shortly after they’d arrived in Port Protection. It was his way of proving there were things she could have in Alaska that she couldn’t have back home. She’d named the pup Broadway—her message to her father that no matter where he made her live, her heart would always belong to New York City.
That had been five years ago.
Rachel was still as homesick as the day she left.
“Let’s go, boy,” Rachel told the dog.
With Broadway in the lead she headed for the lodge, a prayer on her lips that this would be the last year she spent in a school with only twenty-one students. Even worse was being the only high school sophomore.
That meant she would also be the only high school junior next year. And unless someone her own age moved to Port Protection—about as likely as her dad agreeing to let her have her nose pierced—her graduating class would consist of a big whopping one!
Available boys?
Forgetaboutit!
Boys her age in Port Protection were nonexistent. Just like her totally nonexistent social life.
“Rachel. Wait up.”
Rachel turned to find Tiki running toward her. Her friend had the black hair and eyes and coloring of her Haida ancestors. Tiki’s Haida name was dukdukdiya, which meant hummingbird, because she was so little. Although Tiki was two years younger, the age difference hadn’t kept them from becoming close friends. In fact, if it hadn’t been for Tiki, Rachel knew she never would have survived living in Port Protection.
She was, however, beginning to regret confiding in Tiki about her plan to get her father to move back to New York. Tiki had warned her from the beginning the online dating idea was crazy.
And Tiki did so love being right.
Taking a second to recover from her race to catch up, Tiki said between breaths, “Why are you in such a big hurry to get home, silly? You know your dad is going to kill you.”
Rachel rolled her eyes.
“I’d be terrified,” Tiki said, pretending a shudder. “I can’t even imagine what my dad would do if I charged a plane ticket on his credit card.”
“Oh, please,” Rachel said. “The charge on Dad’s credit card is the least of it. What will totally freak him out is me pretending to be him and inviting Courtney to his birthday party.”
“But aren’t you worried Courtney is going to be mad at you, too? You lied to her from the beginning.”
“I know,” Rachel admitted. “But Courtney really likes me. We’ve spent hours talking on the phone. And when I explain I was only trying to get Dad to move back to civilization, I think she’ll forgive me.”
“For your sake, I hope you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right,” Rachel said, trying to convince herself more than Tiki. “Courtney isn’t some phony, shallow person or she would have lost interest the second I told her Dad had lost his hearing. She doesn’t even mind Dad having a teenage daughter. I’m telling you, Tiki, the woman is a saint.”
“Let’s just hope your dad thinks so.”
“Yeah, I can always hope,” Rachel said with a snort. “But if I know Dad, all he’s going to do is be mad at me and sulk. And then he’ll spend the whole weekend stomping around like an old bull, ignoring me and Courtney completely.”
Tiki looked over at her. “And that’s what I’ve never understood about this plan of yours, Rachel. If you didn’t think your dad was going to like Courtney, why even bother?”