Rocky Mountain Valentine by Carol Steward Read Free Book Online Page B

interference could turn his ranch into a romantic getaway if he wasn’t careful.
    “Oh, come on. Am I going to have to dig for the story—brothers, friends, old girlfriends...”
    Though he knew she was teasing, just the mention of old girlfriends turned him cold. “I guess that depends on what kind of story you’re after. You aren’t the kind of journalist that would write anything to sell a story, are you?” He wanted to think he could trust Lisa, but then again, he’d trusted Amelia, and it had ended his
career.
    Raw hurt clouded her expression. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Heavens, we’re practically family.”
    Adam wanted to point out that her claim sounded a lot like a promise, but decided he’d best not press his luck. “ If I agree, I want to approve the article before it goes to your editor.”
    “Okay, but I’m not going to miss a deadline if you’re going to nitpick over minor details like word choice. You’re going to have to trust me.”
    Trust. Adam thought a moment. One word could ruin everything. Ignoring the alarms going off in his head, he nodded.
    “Great,” she said, satisfaction sparkled in her eyes like stars on a moonless night. “I saw your mother leave. I hoped I could visit with her, too.”
    Adam wouldn’t have minded that, either. Anything would have been preferable to facing temptation head-on all evening. “She volunteers every Saturday, then stays with Ricky and Alissa so Kevin and Emily can go out. We caravan back after Sunday dinner.”
    “Sounds like a busy day.”
    “Yes, we need to leave here at seven to make it to church on time,” Adam said after he finished his last bite of steak. “Then we’ll head out to Alex and Katarina’s.”
    Lisa had taken a bite at the same time and the silence loomed uncomfortably between them. “I have a lot of work to do.”
    “It’s forty miles there, and I don’t have a spare vehicle, so you either stay home or you come with me. Your sisters are expecting you.”
    “Forty miles?” She tucked her hair behind one ear. “They’ll get along just fine without me. You go,” she said forcefully. She set her silverware down with a clang.
    Adam didn’t respond right away, hoping the silence would cool the discussion. “Why didn’t you say something then? I gave you the opening to decline.”
    “They were in a hurry to leave.”
    “You led them to believe you’d come to both church and dinner.”
    “There’s one thing you may as well understand now, Adam. My sisters have families of their own...” Lisa finished the last bite of steak, left the potato skins and carried her plate to the kitchen. “I don’t need to intrude on their lives.”
    He could hear her loneliness. Adam followed her. “You’re family, Lisa. Of course they want you here.”
    “Please don’t get that ‘poor Lisa’ tone. They don’t need to take care of me. As far as that goes, they don’t need me any more now than they ever did.”
    “So you’re saying...”
    “I’m saying this really is none of your concern,” she said as she pushed past him into the great room.
    “Lisa, wait.” He’d followed her. He knew that shock had to be written all over his face. “This morning was it? You’re skipping the family dinner tomorrow just like during the holidays? Do you have any clue how disappointed your sisters were when you didn’t come?”
    “I was covering a Christmas story. Tell me that Emily won’t ever have to work on a holiday, or that you’re not going to have guests at Christmas. They don’t have a corner on the market when it comes to disappointment.” She wrapped a stray hair behind her ear. “But that’s all history. Forgive and forget, right?” The words tumbled carelessly from her lips. “Been there, tried that, didn’t work, either.”
    Adam grabbed her arm as she started to leave. In an instant, he saw Lisa differently. She was no longer his sister-in-laws’ self-centered little sister; she was a woman alone and in