shrugged. “You’re her son, and it’s not like you don’t already know everything I’m saying.”
True. But he didn’t enjoy having someone remind him that his mother missed him. He knew she did. But he saw her and his sister, Beth, and her family whenever they visited the ranch. That was enough. Jake wouldn’t go back to the city again if he could help it. The closest he wanted to come to a city was downtown Kalispell, and that was only when he couldn’t avoid it.
“So why are you so anti-Boston?” she asked quietly.
His gaze narrowed on her. “I know my mom didn’t put you up to that question.”
“No, that’s just me. Being curious.”
“Polite word for nosy.”
“Guilty. You don’t have to answer.”
“Yeah,” he said. “I know.”
“But you will,” she countered with an easy smile as she sat back more comfortably in the chair.
“What makes you think so?”
“Because you’ll want to defend your position.”
“Ah,” he said, leaning back in his own chair. “But why would I care what you think of me?”
“Oh, you don’t,” she said. “But you can defend yourself to you, by explaining it to me.”
Irritation warred with intrigue inside him. He’d known her only a few hours and she was already playing him. Were women born knowing how to maneuver a man into doing exactly what they wanted him to do?
“It’s none of your business,” he finally ground out.
“Ah.” She nodded sagely. “The best defense is a good offense.”
Surprised, he laughed. “You know football?”
She shrugged. “My younger brother played in high school and college. I went to a lot of games. And you changed the subject. Well done.”
Shaking his head, Jake studied her for a long minute and found her gray gaze steady and filled with interest. “Okay. I grew up in the city. But this ranch always felt like home to me.”
“And...”
“And, after college and the Corps, I couldn’t settle in the city. Too much noise. Too many people. Too many things crowding in on me.” He stood up, unable to stay behind the desk. Walking to the fire, he picked up a poker and stabbed at the smoldering logs until flames hissed and jumped to life again.
Funny, he hadn’t thought about any of this for a long time, and remembering coming home from his last tour of duty and being surrounded by the crazed noises and crowds of the city brought it all back. That itchy, unsettled feeling that resulted in a cold, deep chill that had skimmed over his heart and soul, making him feel as if he were slowly freezing to death.
Grinding his teeth together, he swallowed hard, reminded himself that he’d left that old life behind and said, “I didn’t belong there anymore. I needed space. Room to breathe. Couldn’t find that in the city.”
She was watching him. He didn’t have to see it to feel her gaze on him. He knew she was wondering what the hell he was talking about. Considering him nuts for turning his back on Hunter Media and all that entailed. But he didn’t face her; instead he simply stared into the flames and let himself be mesmerized.
Until she spoke and shattered the quiet.
“Really, I sympathize with your mother, but I can’t see you living in Boston at all.”
He lifted his head and shifted a look at her. He didn’t see sympathy or concern or amusement on her features, and for that he was grateful. “Is that right? Why?”
She laughed a little and the sound was soft. “Well, first off, I do understand everything you just said. Sometimes the crowds downtown make me feel like I can’t draw a breath.”
He nodded.
“But secondly... Please. You wear boots and jeans and a hat that you can pull down deliberately low enough to keep people from seeing your eyes.”
A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth. Observant, wasn’t she?
“I just can’t see you sitting in on board meetings wearing a three-piece suit and sipping espresso.”
He snorted at the idea. “Yeah, that was never going to happen.”
“I think your mom gets that now,” Cassidy said. “She’s still disappointed, but she’s accepted that you’re never moving back to the city.”
“Good. Took long enough,” he mused. His mother had clung to the idea of Jake returning to the city to take his rightful place as the head of Hunter Media for far too long. It had been a bone of contention between them for years, even though he’d pointed out repeatedly that his younger sister Beth was right there, more than capable and eager for the job.
“But I’m curious.”
His thoughts came to a dead stop as he looked at her. “More curiosity?”
“You never find out anything if you don’t ask.”
“Ask what?”
“Why the lonely cowboy on top of a mountain?” Her gray gaze locked on his, she watched him as if she could read his answer on his features. “You walked away from a dynasty in the city to come here. Why here? This mountain? This place?”
“Forthright again,” he muttered.
“Not really. Nosy again.”
He laughed shortly at the admission. “At least you’re honest.”
“I try to be.”
Jake had once thought his ex was an honest woman, too. Turned out she was like most people. Honest only until it served her not to be. But what the hell, he’d give her an answer.
“When we were kids, Beth and I used to come here every summer to see our grandparents.” His mind turned back, flipping through memories like a cardsharp about to deal a hand filled with images. “It was so different here. Bigger, of course. But more than that. Pop used to take me fishing and out with him when he was working the cattle. In Boston, I was a kid, told to watch out for cars, not to talk to strangers, and wasn’t allowed to ride the damn T without an escort.”
“Really? You couldn’t ride public transit alone?”
He shrugged at that memory. “My parents were cautious. Always said that rich kids might get kidnapped. So Beth and I were watched constantly.” Shaking his head, he continued. “Here, we were free. We ran wild all over the ranch with no one to hold us back. Went swimming in the lake, hiked all over the forest. It was a different world for both of us. But for me, it was the world I wanted.” Grudgingly, he added, “When I got out of the Marines, I came straight here. I needed this place after that and—”
He
