Various States of Undress (4 page)

She’d go to her family’s cabin, and more than likely, Jake would go too. A thrill rushed through her at the thought and she almost dropped her book bag. Jake, at the cabin, in front of the fire. Jake out of that suit, loosening up, talking with her. Jake, taking a hike with her. Jake, helping her up a rocky trail, catching her when she stumbled, his mouth a breath away from her own and then if she leaned up just a bit . . .

She stopped short in front of the SUV and tightened her grip on Jake’s arm.

“Forget something?” he asked.

She shook her head. “No. I was daydreaming.”

About you. About the impossible.

It was impossible, because even if he was assigned to go with her, he wouldn’t be alone. There would be at least another agent along for the ride, so she needed to put those fantasies out of her obviously muddled head. She gave him a quick smile. “Let’s go.”

Shielding her from the cameras, Jake waited until she’d gathered the skirt of her spring dress and then helped her into the vehicle. As usual, his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses and she had no clue what he was thinking. But his tight jaw and the extra care he took in making sure she was settled made her curious. Did he feel something, too?

He nodded at her and shut the door in her face.

Stop. Stop being ridiculous.

“Fine,” she told herself and then glanced at the driver up front. “Fine day. Nice spring weather.”

He smiled. A few seconds later, Jake opened the passenger door opposite her and slid in. He looked straight ahead.

As the vehicle pulled away from the curb and rolled down the street, she stared out the window at the people strolling down the sidewalks. They didn’t pay the black SUV any attention because it was intended to blend in; just another government car in a government city. She was safe here. Safe and trapped. But trapped with Jake. Which was worth it, even if only for five minutes.

Stop. It. Stop thinking about him in that way. He’s your agent, not your boyfriend.

Jake shifted next to her and on instinct, she smoothed her hair and crossed her legs. He glanced at her, and then went back to his sexy seated statue position, his large hands resting on his thighs.

Oh, God.

She needed a distraction, so on the short ride to her apartment, she calmed her nerves by mentally packing her suitcase. And after Jake escorted her into her apartment and bid her goodnight, she reached for the phone and her credit card before she could chicken out.

Wyoming or bust, with or without Jake.

Hopefully with.

Chapter Three

M
AKING THE RESERVATION
was easy, but dialing her mom’s cell phone number took more courage. In fact, she hadn’t been able to bring herself to do it right away. Like a fool, she’d spent an almost sleepless night wasting hours worrying about what her parents would say. But this morning, there was no time to waste. If she didn’t get the ball rolling, her dad might just cancel the trip. As the phone rang, Carolina took a deep breath.

“Hi, Mom.”

“How are you feeling, honey?”

Exhilarated. Guilty. Freaked completely the F out.

“I’m fine.” Carolina wrapped her fingers around the edge of the breakfast bar in her apartment. “Busy, though. I’m about to pack my suitcase. I’m going to Wyoming. The flight’s tomorrow night.” She closed her eyes and cringed.

Silence.

“Mom?”

“I’m here.”

“And?”

“And I think you need to talk to the Secret Service, don’t you? An advance team is going to need to go to the cabin, Carolina.”

Carolina let out a breath. “I was hoping you’d say that. And, sure. I will.”

“Your father and I want you to stay here. We want to take care of you.”

“But you’ve realized that right now I want to take care of myself.”

Marie sighed. “Something like that.” She paused. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Mom. Good luck with the Easter eggs.”

After hanging up and throwing her phone on the sofa, Carolina walked to her front door on limp noodle legs and opened it up. Jake sat at a desk in the hallway, his hands behind his head. He stood up quickly. God, he was tall. And his hair . . . how did a guy make a standard haircut look so sexy? Maybe it was his ears. They were really nice.

“Good morning. Do you need something, ma’am?”

“Please call me Carolina.” She forced herself to give a casual nod. “And yes. Do you remember the conversation night before last in the Oval Office? About Wyoming?”

He nodded back.

“Well here’s the thing. I’m going after all. Leaving tomorrow night, and we . . . I mean, I will be on vacation for three weeks. I booked a commercial flight.”

A slight flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes and then was gone.

Carolina fought the urge to grin. So it
was
possible to shock him. Good to know. “Yes. It’s soon. But my mother suggested that the Secret Service would need to do some work beforehand so . . .” She shrugged. “I’m assuming that telling you is okay?”

He nodded again. “I’ll get the ball rolling by calling my boss.”

“Thanks.” Carolina closed the door and walked straight to her bedroom, unzipping the sensible good-girl dress she’d put on just an hour before. If she was an impulsive person, she’d throw it in the trash. But she wasn’t. Well, except for last night when she’d bought plane tickets. The dress fell to the floor and she stepped out of it, kicking it under her bed. Goosebumps rose on her bare skin and she pulled open a dresser drawer to reach for her secret pleasure: an old-fashioned flannel granny nightgown. It was faded and ugly and had a mustard stain on the pink ruffled yoke. It was missing most of the buttons down the front but she’d replaced them with a safety pin. She loved it. And nobody, aside from her sisters, had ever seen her wear it.

She pulled it on with a sigh and returned to the sofa with a book. She didn’t have classes today, and there was no reason why she couldn’t take a few moments to herself. Four pages in, her eyes began to close and two hours later she was jolted awake by a loud knock. Brain fuzzy, she stumbled to the door and opened it. For the second time that day, she found herself staring into Jake’s surprised eyes. Except this time, they were as wide as saucers.

He stepped back as if he’d been bitten. “Excuse me. I didn’t realize you were . . .” He coughed and looked down.

Carolina caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored elevator door across the hall. Oh, hell! The granny gown! And half a boob exposed. “Just a sec,” she heard herself mutter and she slammed the door. Reaching into the hall closet, she pulled out a raincoat, shrugged into the sleeves and zipped it to her neck.

When she opened the door again, her face was as hot as a firecracker, but Jake’s was once again a mask of calm. Before she could say a word, he launched into a speech.

“Hello. All the arrangements for your trip are in place. While we would prefer not to use a commercial flight, three air marshals will be on board and you will have an escort.” He paused. “Me. And your parents thought it best for the other agent to be female. But because there weren’t any on shift at the moment, Agent Courtney Evans will be rotating in and joining us at the cabin. Any questions?” His shoulders all but filled the doorframe and Carolina felt herself nodding.

Yes. Why are you so hot?

“You have a question?” Jake cocked his head to the side.

“No. You’re good. I mean . . . I’m good. It’s fine. I’m just going to putter around here today, so . . .” She smiled to cover her tongue-tied rambling. “Thank you, Jason.”

“It’s Jake.” His brow furrowed for a second and then he allowed a small smile. “You got me. Okay, Miss Fulton. Have a nice nap.”

But as she shut the door and turned the lock, she knew that restful sleep wasn’t going to happen. Not as long as the capable Agent Baxter occupied her dreams. And now that Roger was out of the picture, her dreams about Jake would go wild. He would be with her in Wyoming. Anything could happen. It wouldn’t of course . . . but it could.

W
AS SHE EVER
going to quit staring at the side of his face? I mean, Jake knew he had a small mole there, but this was getting ridiculous. For at least the tenth time in an hour, he resisted the urge to lift his hand and cover it. Was that why she had been taking pictures of him? To examine his mole up close and personal?

Even as he thought that, he gave himself a mental shake. He needed a reality check, didn’t he? Carolina didn’t care about his stupid mole. In fact she probably had no opinion of him whatsoever. So why was she still staring at him?

He gave her a quick glance, but she turned her head, facing a backseat window of the SUV. As he watched in amusement, she stretched in the seat next to him and let out a fake yawn, complete with a sigh at the end. The sigh was actually kind of cute.

“Feeling the effects of the elevation yet?” He heard his voice rumble through the warm interior of the vehicle.

The driver glanced back. “Not me.”

Jake felt it. When they’d stepped off the plane at the Jackson Hole airport, the thin air had hit him like a ton of bricks. He was surprised his fingertips weren’t blue. “Me either.”

“I grew up out here,” Carolina commented. “Kind of.”

“So did Agent Evans. But she might be delayed by the snow.” He hoped not. Because he didn’t need to be alone, even for one night, with the fascinating and way-too-lovely Carolina.

In the silence that followed, Jake peered out the window at the smudgy outlines of mountains in the darkness. Snow swirled around the vehicle and a giant gust of wind whipped a tree branch across the windshield. The narrow road with switchbacks was probably better navigated in the daytime, but at least the cabin was close.

As if reading his mind, Carolina leaned forward and gripped the headrest in front of her. “I think the cabin is around this bend. Look for a small gravel road and a sign that says Hummingbird House. It’s a wooden sign with a . . . well . . . a hummingbird feeder attached to it.”

“Yes, ma’am.” The driver gave her a brief smile.

She sat back. “You already knew that. Of course.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he repeated.

Carolina nodded and her gaze fixed on Jake. “Do I have ketchup on my face?”

Huh?
Where had that come from?
He frowned.

“Because you’ve been staring at me for the past hour or so.”

He had? No he hadn’t.
She
had been examining the mole on his face like it was a scientific experiment. He reached up and touched it, then quickly dropped his hand. “It’s my job to keep you safe,” he answered.
Lame.

“We’re here,” the driver announced, turning into a one-lane road. It was little more than a path and with the snow falling thickly, it was as if they were driving straight through a virgin forest. They could be on the edge of a cliff for all he knew. Jake clenched his hands.
Adapt and succeed.
His father’s words rang in his head. But Jake was a city boy—Miami-born and -raised. Adventure to him didn’t mean plowing over a rutted, unpaved road on the top of a mountain.

The SUV slowed and Jake saw the small two-story cabin come into view. It was surrounded by a high security fence, but still. It had looked a lot bigger in the security surveillance photos. “This is the place,” he commented, keeping his tone neutral.

Carolina laughed. “You were expecting a ten-million-dollar estate, weren’t you.”

Actually, no. He knew the Fulton family wasn’t loaded, as was typical. But even small homes could be fully secured and he knew that the windows were outfitted with bulletproof glass and the place had a

state-of-the-art alarm system. He shrugged. He knew a lot more than that too, but worrying her with every emergency scenario possible wasn’t necessary. “It’s a nice house.”

“Oh, this place is a lot more than that. It’s special.” Unbuckling her seatbelt, she shifted in her seat.

Jake held up a hand. “Stay in the car, please. Lock your door.” Without waiting for a response, he zipped up his leather jacket and proceeded into the snow. The wind took his breath in a second, and he clapped a gloved hand over his mouth.
Damn
. Pulling a flashlight from his pocket, he jogged toward the gate and punched in a code. With a metallic rattle, it eased open, and Jake motioned the vehicle through. He jogged up a steep incline and then across a clearing to the cabin’s porch, which was already covered with drifting snow. The area around the cabin, and the cabin itself, had been checked earlier today, but he needed to do his own inspection.

Unlocking the front door, he punched in the alarm code and stamped the snow from his boots on an oval rag rug. He flipped on the lights and was faced with a massive wall of windows directly in front of him. He groaned. Many cabins had them, but he wasn’t thrilled that this place would be open to every prying eye in the greater Grand Teton area. That was not going to be fun at night.

He removed his gloves and glanced to the right. A small, open kitchen with dated appliances occupied a corner of the room. To his left, a large fireplace on the far wall anchored the living room and a narrow staircase of knotty pine curved up to the second floor. He took it.

At the top of the stairs, there were two rooms. One was a bathroom and the other contained three twin beds, each covered in pastel gingham bedspreads. Three teddy bears with matching ribbons sat on the pillows. One of them was missing an eye. Another one had faint lipstick prints on its furry cheeks. The third one was pristine. He grinned. Without having to guess, he knew the clean bear had belonged to Carolina, and the other two to her sisters.

Carolina Fulton was neat as a pin. She was . . . competent. And that was a weird quality to find attractive, but damned if he didn’t. She made an achingly boring job something to look forward to every day. Watching her navigate her way through day-to-day life as part of the First Family was a pleasure. And he hated the reason she was here in Wyoming, but not that she was here with him.

Dangerous territory, those thoughts. He pushed them away.