She cleared her throat, resisting an impulse to shuffle her feet like a kid caught in a fib. “I don’t have to answer to Shane, either—but he thinks I’m spending a few days shopping in Houston with a friend from college.”
“So he wouldn’t approve.”
“He didn’t want me to pester you about coming to the party after you’d already declined a couple of times. And, no, he probably wouldn’t like the idea of me driving so far by myself—but Shane tends to be overprotective.”
“He always was when it came to you—and he didn?
??t hold a candle to your father. I have a feeling Jared would pop a vein if he knew what you’ve done.”
Molly was getting seriously defensive now. She had been trying for the past few years to convince her family that she was no longer a little girl to be indulged and watched over, but a competent young woman who could make her own decisions. She certainly hadn’t expected to have that same battle with Kyle Reeves.
“I’ll worry about my family’s reactions,” she informed him a bit curtly. “Obviously, I thought it was worth the effort for the chance to talk to you about the party.”
“I’m sorry you wasted the trip. If you had accepted the answer I sent back by way of your representatives, you would have saved yourself a lot of trouble.”
“I don’t take no for an answer very easily.”
His mouth quirked in what might have been the merest hint of a smile, though there seemed to be little humor in it. “From what I remember, you never did.”
She waited through another rumble of thunder, which seemed to echo her annoyance that he still thought of her as the little girl he had known more than eleven years ago. “My parents were very fond of you, Kyle. Your senior picture still sits in the living room, and Mom mentions you every so often with such wistfulness in her voice. It would mean a lot to them if you would come to their party.”
“I’m really just not a party kind of guy.”
She didn’t doubt that, especially now that she had seen the isolated cabin where he lived without even a telephone to connect him to the outside world. “I can understand that you might not like large groups of people—even though this will be a casual, no-pressure party where everyone will be welcome and should be comfortable. I think you might even have a good time there, if you would let yourself. But if you can’t make it to the party, at least think about coming to visit Mom and Dad sometime, will you? It’s important to them to know that their boys turned out all right.”
An odd expression briefly crossed his face, as if it had startled him to be referred to as one of “their boys.” He masked it swiftly as he stood and crossed to the window to look out at the worsening storm. She thought he walked with extra care, perhaps trying to control his limp.
For several long minutes, neither of them spoke, so that the storm seemed even louder inside the quiet room. It was obvious that she hadn’t gotten through to Kyle at all; he had made it clear that he wanted to be left alone to brood about whatever had happened to him. She was beginning to feel guilty for having come at all, invading the privacy he seemed to value so greatly, ignoring the messages he had already sent.
She could almost hear her brother saying, “I told you so.” She was sure she would hear those words as soon as she returned to the ranch and told him what she had done. “Maybe I’d better be going. It doesn’t look as though the rain is going to let up anytime soon.”
“I’m afraid you can’t leave just yet.” He looked glum as he made the announcement in a resigned voice. “You don’t know how dangerous these roads can be in storms like this. Rain falling this hard and this heavily overfills the creeks that run next to the roads, causing them to wash over the pavement. The rushing water can sweep you right off the mountain if you don’t know what you’re doing—or even if you do, in some cases.”
Molly looked at the window again, which was being pounded by windswept rain so hard it looked as if it were falling horizontally. She couldn’t even see her car now. “Do you think it will last long?”
His silence was an answer in itself. She bit her lip and wondered how long she was going to be stuck here with a man who wished she were anywhere else.
Chapter Two
Resisting an impulse to curse, Kyle pushed away from the window. “I’ve been working out and I’m sweaty. I’ll take a shower and then we’ll decide what to do.”
He didn’t give Molly a chance to respond. Making an effort to control his limp, he crossed the room toward the hallway. Maybe he’d feel more in control of this situation once he had showered and taken a few minutes to recover from the surprise of finding little Molly Walker all grown up on his doorstep.
It was just his luck that she had arrived right in the middle of a storm. As much as he wished he could send her on her way, he couldn’t allow her to head out in this weather. The steep, winding roads around here were tricky enough, but the risk of flash flooding was very real under these circumstances. He wished she hadn’t come, but since she had, it looked as though he was going to have to play reluctant host for a few hours.
At least, he hoped that was all it would take until the roads were safe again. Unfortunately, it was late afternoon, and wet asphalt in the dark wouldn’t exactly be ideal traveling conditions, either.
Though he was well aware that he was procrastinating, he took his time showering, shaving and dressing in a clean gray T-shirt and comfortably faded jeans. He even ran a comb through his wet hair—not because it mattered particularly how he looked, he assured himself. But being caught off guard had put him at a disadvantage earlier, and he wanted to regain the upper hand in this situation as quickly as possible.
Finally reassured that he looked presentable, he headed back down the hallway. He was having little success controlling his limp now. He had probably overdone the workout that afternoon. Had Molly not been here, he might have pulled out his cane for the rest of the evening, just to give the leg a rest. Needless to say, her presence meant that wasn’t going to happen.
Molly wasn’t in the living room. Since he knew she wasn’t in the back of the cabin, that left only the kitchen. But the kitchen, too, was unoccupied and he felt his stomach tighten with nerves. If she had tried to leave, driving down the mountain in this storm…
The back door was ajar. Muttering a curse, he moved toward it, jerked it open and stepped outside. Protected from the downpour by the overhang that shaded half the deck, Molly stood with her arms crossed, watching the rain sweeping over the cloud-draped mountains. Dark, heavy clouds hid the afternoon sun, turning the landscape into a gray, impressionist scene that seemed to fascinate her.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said, though he hadn’t realized until then that she’d heard him step out beside her.
He was tempted to agree with her. But because he was all too aware that he wouldn’t have been talking about the scenery, he scowled and motioned toward the door. “Go back inside. You’re so cold your lips are blue.”