moment. She, who had always had a Life Plan, a list of goals, and a pretty good idea about how she was going to go about achieving them—usually successfully, mind you, because that was the Matthews-O’Grady way—was currently floundering. No job, no prospects, no real idea of what she wanted to do with herself. All she’d known was that she was done in Washington. And that she couldn’t figure out what came next while she was still putting in grueling eighteen-hour days with no time to think.
The other thing she’d known was that she hated what had happened between her and her mother. And Lauren had figured that was something she could do something about. At the very least, she needed to make peace with her mother. At best, she hoped to get her normally levelheaded, responsible, and very smart mother to open her eyes and see that maybe she’d had some sort of mini–life crisis or something, but that making a mistake didn’t mean she was doomed to live with it forever.
Perhaps they would both figure out what came next, together.
“Yep. That’s the better plan. Flirting with Sexy Airplane Racer Man…out. Making up with Mom and charting my new future…in.” She stared at her cell phone. And still didn’t push the button. Because pushing that button didn’t just mean reuniting with her mother, it also meant meeting her new stepfather. Gah. She couldn’t even think of him like that. Hell, she couldn’t think of him at all. He was a complete stranger to her. Well, maybe not a complete stranger. She’d done a little—okay, a lot—of digging into his political and personal background over the past six months, which hadn’t exactly left her feeling optimistic that her opinion of him was going to miraculously change upon meeting him.
The fact that her mother had refused to even talk to her about any potential problem with her new spouse was what had alarmed Lauren the most. Her mother was not the run-off-to-Vegas type. Far, far from it. But she had. And with a man she’d only just met. Of course her only daughter was going to be concerned, was going to ask questions.
But instead of that leading to any answers, it had led to a stubborn refusal to even consider that anything might be amiss in her happily-ever-after fairy tale. Lauren realized now she should have flown out here immediately, but, as her mother had pointed out, she was a grown woman and fully capable of making up her own mind. And things had deteriorated by then to a point where Lauren felt perhaps a cooling off period would do them both some good.
Well, cooling off time was officially over. Nothing had changed, and nothing was going to change unless she personally did something to change it. She’d done a lot of soul searching. About her job, about her once-close relationship with her mother, her goals, what her role was, both in her own life and in her mother’s. Which had, at length, led her to quit her job and book a flight west. She’d figure the rest out. Eventually.
But she couldn’t do any of that sitting on a bed in her motel room.
Her finger was hovering over the speed dial button to her mother’s cell phone, when a rap on the door made her jump. In her e-mail exchange with Arlen’s office, prior to coming out, she hadn’t mentioned where she’d booked a room, just that she would be booking one. All she’d gotten in return was the note from Arlen’s assistant saying they’d be unable to come pick her up but were looking forward to seeing her. Which she took to mean that they’d be waiting for her to make the first move upon arriving. So…who knew she was here, besides—“Jake?”
She might have hopped up off the bed a little too enthusiastically, but she didn’t let herself think about that as she took a moment to check herself out in the vanity mirror before answering the door. Not her most excellent, but definitely an improvement over the last time he’d seen her.
So much for her grand plan to avoid meaningless flirtations.
She’d originally thought to stay in the resort hotel, but given her employment situation, despite the healthy nest egg she had squirreled away, that didn’t seem like a wise move. So, she had to squint a little to look out of the tiny peephole, the glare of the late afternoon sun behind her visitor’s back further stunting her view. But she could see well enough that her smile immediately fell. Not Jake. In fact, she had no idea who the woman was standing on the other side of her door. “Can I help you?” she asked without opening the door.
“It’s Melissa, with a message from the mayor’s office.”
She recognized the name as the secretary who’d sent her the e-mail. She unlocked and opened the door. “Hello.”
Melissa was a tall brunette, more wiry than slender, though she was that, too. Lauren had noticed that about a lot of the women she’d seen as they’d rolled into town earlier. Must be good mountain living, she thought. They all looked like distance athletes, with tanned skin and ready smiles. Melissa was no exception.
“Hi, I’m Arlen’s personal secretary. We communicated a few days ago?”
“We did. Thanks for the note.”
“The mayor and your mother both felt terrible about not being able to come pick you up themselves, but were hoping you wouldn’t mind the short flight over with Jake.”
Her smile was friendly, but Lauren wondered if, by mentioning him by name, she was putting out feelers to see what the new girl thought about the hunky local pilot. Probably a bit paranoid on Lauren’s part, but she had no idea where Jake fit into the small-town-bachelor hierarchy. Or who it might piss off if it were discovered that he’d asked her out.
Okay, so it wasn’t a date. It was more like a…tour. Still, it could be misinterpreted…even by the one invited to go on the tour. She didn’t think she was reaching all that far.
“So…it was okay?” Melissa said.
Realizing she was standing in the open door, fantasizing about Jake McKenna when she should be worried about saying the right thing to Arlen’s secretary, had her snapping to attention. “Yes, I’m fine. Just a little fatigued—long day.” She didn’t bother to tell her about the storm or the truck ride she’d ended up with versus the intended short plane ride. “I appreciated the gesture, though. How did you know where I was staying?”
“I contacted Jake. I hope you don’t mind. He wasn’t exactly forthcoming, but—”
“It’s okay,” Lauren said, not wanting to make this whole thing any more dramatic than necessary. But the little warm spot for Jake grew a bit larger. He’d protected her…or tried, at least. That earned a few extra points. “I was just about to contact them, in fact, when you knocked.”
Melissa leaned down and lifted a basket that Lauren hadn’t noticed was sitting by her feet. “They are still tied up at the charity function. There was an auction afterward and it’s dragging on quite a bit longer than expected. So, Arlen asked that I deliver this to you. And your mom asked me to tell you that she was very happy you had arrived and is looking forward to seeing you. They are hoping you’ll join them for dinner this evening at the Ragland Gap Steakhouse.”
Lauren wondered what Melissa must be thinking about a family who used a secretary to deliver personal messages between its intimate members, but it was more than she could worry about at the moment. She took the basket, which was filled with all kinds of goodies: fruit, food, coffee mug, and even some wild flowers.
“It’s kind of a welcome to Cedar Springs. Lots of local products, a little taste of our mountain town.”
She was so darn cheerful, it was hard not to like her. In fact, the few people Lauren had actually met since hitting eight thousand plus feet had all been the same. Sunny, warm, sincerely nice, and always
