"So you did, Nate. My mind was on my gorilla."
Dirk noticed the way Nate's eyes widened at the mention of that fearsome animal. "The gorilla who's going with you to this family reunion," he said.
Although he wasn't absolutely certain that was true, he thought it was highly probable. He had been putting together random bits of information.
Anyhow, the statement was made to achieve maximum effect. He noted with satisfaction that it did. As Nate wiped his face with the most godawful handkerchief Dirk had ever seen, he could tell that the young man hadn't expected a gorilla to be a part of the deal. Dirk winked at Ellen, and thought that if looks could kill, he would be dead on the spot.
"A baby gorilla?" Nate asked.
"Full grown," Dirk said before Ellen could answer. "Over two hundred pounds. If I were you, I'd meet her before I started on a long trip. She might not like you."
"Rachelle didn't mention a gorilla, ma'am."
"Now don't you worry about a thing, Nate." Ellen said. "Gigi is harmless as a flea. And anyhow, my assistant is going along to take care of her." To Dirk she hissed, "You stay out of this."
"Excuse me, ma'am, but I'd like to get all this straight. I'm supposed to pose as your fiance for all your kinfolks, and the gorilla is going too?"
Before Ellen could reply. Dirk spoke. "In the same car. Breathing down your neck, no doubt."
Ellen calmly moved closer to Dirk and ground her shoe into his foot. "Don't mind a thing my . . . cousin says. He's just jealous because I'm not taking him. But if you're a little nervous about this deal, I'll add another fifty dollars to your pay."
"Take it, boy," Dirk said. "You'll earn it." He slipped his arm around Ellen's shoulder. Ignoring her look of outrage, he squeezed. "My cousin here expects you to make love four times a day."
She scowled at him. "Whatever happened to three?" She was so furious that all her thoughts were focused on the audacious man at her side.
Dirk smiled and tightened his hold. "Was it just three, darling?" He winked at Nate. "A regular hellcat, she is."
Ellen twisted out of his grasp. "I must apologize for his boorish behavior," she said to Nate. "Besides being unmannerly, he's a pathological liar. We're going to get treatment for him."
"Touche, Doctor," Dirk whispered.
She grandly ignored him. "Why don't we go outside so that we can talk in private, Nate? There's really no cause for alarm here. You can make friends with Gigi and—"
Nate interrupted her. "If you don't mind, ma'am, I think I'll just tell Rachelle I can't go tomorrow. It's not that I don't like you or anything. It's just that I don't cotton to the idea of riding in the same car with a gorilla."
"I understand, Nate," she said. "Many people would feel that way. I'm afraid gorillas have earned a reputation they don't deserve." She escorted him to the door. "I'm sorry you had to drive all the way up Beech Mountain for nothing."
Nate had begun to relax a little under Ellen's reassurances, but his Adam's apple still bobbed nervously from just being this close to a woman who looked as if she ought to be in the movies.
"It wasn't for nothing, ma'am. It was worth the trip just to see you." He ducked his head awkwardly and walked out the door.
"That's one smart boy," Dirk said. "I think I'll see him out." He was through the door before Ellen could say a word.
o0o
Dirk caught up with Nate under a pine tree. "Thanks for being a sport back there, Nate. Sometimes that woman makes me lose my head."
"That woman, sir? I thought she was your cousin."
"I just met her today. I made all that up so you would leave and I could go on this trip with her." Dirk offered his hand and smiled. "No hard feelings?"
Nate hesitated, then stuck out his large, bony hand. "Can't say as I blame you."
Dirk reached into his pocket and pulled out a roll of bills. He peeled off two and handed them to Nate. "For your trouble. Take your girl out to dinner, on me." He winked. "We'll keep this between us."
"Right, sir." Nate gave him a glad-this-is-over grin and ambled to his car.
Dirk watched the dust settle after Nate had driven away, then threw back his head and roared with laughter. The hearty sound of satisfaction startled the squirrels in the pines and sent a covey of quail into flight. He had never felt so alive, Dirk thought. And he knew that it all had to do with a red-haired doctor and a gorilla named Gigi.
He turned and walked back toward the cabin when he heard the door bang open. Ellen was standing on the front porch with her arms folded across her chest. "You think this is all pretty funny, don't you?" she asked.
"It served the purpose."
"Well, why don't you fill me in on the details, Mr. Dirk Smith, or whatever your name is. You've ruined my plans, and I think I deserve an explanation."
His eyes caught and held hers as he mounted the porch steps. "The purpose, my darling, is to go with you to this family reunion." He leaned against the unfinished cedar post and gave her a beguiling smile. "You see, I'm just a lonely little orphan child. I've never been to a family gathering. When I saw this remarkable opportunity, I grabbed it."
"That's a likely story. You haven't told the truth since you set foot in my compound." The way his black eyes kept staring at her—seeming to see right through her, seeming even to read her thoughts—almost made her blush. What if he guessed that she had derived a strange kind of thrill from his touch? What if he knew that the way he looked at her made her want to run her hands through his hair? What if he guessed that her anger was partly real but mostly bluff?
"And don't call me your darling," she added as that unrelenting stare unnerved her even more.
"I'm just practicing. I want to put on a convincing show for your relatives."
"Save your energy. You're not going. Rachelle can send somebody else."
"I'm not sure I'd trust Rachelle's judgment if I were you. She didn't do too well with Nate What's- his-name. If I were you, I'd find my own fiance."
"I don't have time for men."
She said it before she thought. This presumptuous man already knew too much about her. She kept giving him inches, and he kept taking miles. She wondered why in the world she had ever thought she liked him. He had to be the world's all-time champion arrogant horse's behind. And that made her the world's all-time chump for being sexually attracted to him. Just one set of genes calling to another was her scientific conclusion.
One dark eyebrow arched over one piercing black eye. "Tsk, tsk, my darling. All that sexual repression is bad for you."
"You can take your opinions and hit the road."
For the first time since she had stepped outside she noticed the aging Mercedes parked on the side of the mountain.
"Is that your car?"
"Alas. My ever-faithful Rocinante has foundered for lack of water."
"
Don Quixote
?" Some of the stiff anger left her body at his whimsical humor.
He bowed from the waist and smiled up at her. "At your service, ma'am. My specialty is rescuing damsels going to family reunions."
She had to giggle at his poor imitation of a Southern drawl. "So your car stalled and you came into my office for help, huh?"
"Close enough."
"And I just automatically assumed . . . Why didn't you correct my mistake?"
"I'm on vacation and had nothing else to do. Besides, I like intrigue."
"You're vacationing here? There's nothing this far back in Beech Mountain except my compound and Anthony Salinger's summer place."
"Tony's a friend of mine. He's offered me the use of his cabin while he's in Canada fishing."
Ellen knew that at least he was telling the truth on this score. Tony had told her about his trip the last time they had spoken. Two weeks ago, if she remembered correctly. Why hadn't he also told her about this outrageous man who would be invading the mountain? Unfolding her arms, she stepped back and nodded toward the front door.
"Come inside and get Rocinante's water. Tony's cabin is just about three miles up the mountain. You should be able to make it without further mishap."
He reminded her of a storm as he pushed away from the cedar post and crossed the porch. She could feel the power of him, sense the thunder of his emotions and see the jagged lightning in his eyes.
"Ill get the water later," he said. "First this."
Before she could utter a protest, he leaned down and captured her lips. It was a light kiss, an experimental testing that was over almost before it had begun. She stood there, stunned, as he casually leaned back against another post and smiled at her. Her hands clenched into fists, and she had to restrain herself from reaching up to touch her lips. For some insane reason the kiss had made her feel lonesome. "
Why did you do that?" she asked quietly.
"Because I like you. Dr. Ellen Stanford." The smile widened. Ellen thought that when he smiled, he didn't look arrogant at all. He looked like a little boy who was looking forward to Christmas. "And because I'm practicing for tomorrow. What time do we leave?"
It took a few seconds for her to put her mind back in gear, and during that time she wondered how she had gotten into this mess in the first place. Pure cowardice, she decided. Abject fear of facing inquisitive, doting relatives who believed that at the ripe old age of twenty-nine she was tottering on the brink of spinsterhood and neglecting her duty to the Stanford bloodline.
This year, at least, she wanted to enjoy the family reunion without having to fend off dozens of questions and defend her life as a dedicated career woman. Just this one time she wanted to mingle with her kin and be like everybody else, engaged or married, and looking forward to motherhood. Next year she would find the right words to tell them that she was content to be a woman who talked to monkeys.
She sighed. Next year was a long way off, and she had never been brave in front of Aunt Lollie and Uncle Vester. Besides that she had already written that she was bringing her fiance. She looked at the man standing on her front porch, not only willing to go through with the deception, but apparently eager as well. What did she have to lose?
"We leave at eight," she said.
Ellen was having second thoughts before Dirk and Rocinante had disappeared down the road. She didn't know diddly-squat about the man, and here she was planning to take him to middle Tennessee to meet her relatives. Regretting her folly, she marched back inside and called Rachelle. As she listened to the ringing of the phone she decided that she might still be able to pull out of this mess.
"Hello. Rachelle's Sport Boutique." Rachelle's voice was so cheerful, it almost made the receiver dance in Ellen's hand.
Ignoring the good cheer, Ellen got right to the point. "Why did I let you talk me into this?"
Rachelle knew immediately what she was talking about. "Because, my Cowardly Lion friend, you're afraid of displeasing that Stanford clan, and I thought it was a good way for you to meet somebody."
"Nate?" Ellen couldn't suppress her laughter.
"He was a last-ditch effort. You should have seen the two that got away. Real heartthrobs! One of them was a linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, and the other was a ski instructor on Sugar Mountain. Hold on a sec."
The ringing of a cash register and the tinkle of the shop bell sounded over the phone. "Hi. I'm back," Rachelle said. "Somebody renting golf clubs. Why isn't Nate going? He came by the shop earlier. He looked like he had seen a creature from outer space."
"He did. Dirk What's-his-name."
"Did I miss something?"
"No. I'm just getting around to telling you. This arrogant stranger had car trouble outside the compound, and I mistook him for Nate. He didn't bother to correct me. Anyhow, to make a long story short, he told Nate about Gigi, and I told him we leave at eight."
"Wow! He must have made quite an impression!"
"He made no impression whatsoever."
"Is that why you sounded all breathless and gaga when you mentioned him!"
"Gaga? You sound like Gigi."
"And you're evading. I'll bet he was big and dark and domineering, and probably the best-looking thing since Tom Selleck."
"How did you know?"
"You admit it! Hold on while I mark this momentous occasion on my calendar. The dedicated Dr. Stanford finally notices something wearing pants!"
"I'm not that dedicated. I'm just not quite the social butterfly that you are. Anyhow, I didn't call to discuss my social life. Can you find somebody else to go with me?"
"You must think I'm rolling in men. Not that I would mind, of course. No, Ellen, I'm afraid ail the good ones are booked up for the weekend. Unless you want to face the music alone, it looks like you’ll have to take Dirk."
"A prospect worse than death."
"The man or the relatives?"
"Both."
Rachelle laughed. "Somehow you don't sound like a woman facing death. I can't wait to meet this man."