A Great Kisser Page 4

  “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

  “I am, too. We all were. Heart attack. He was healthy like an ox, so no one saw it coming. He ran a flight school—we ran it together at that point—and along with that, I inherited the Mustang. It took a long while before I could get her back up in the sky, but for the past five years, we’ve raced every September. So, I race her for us both. I think he’d be pretty happy with that.”

  Which was another reason Jake was stressed. He’d finally gotten Betty Sue to be a contender, which would have made Patrick McKenna fiercely proud and more than a little smug, as he’d been handed defeat after defeat with a plane he knew could be a champion but simply couldn’t afford to fix it up the way he needed to.

  But his grandchildren had come first in those days, about whom he was also fiercely proud. He’d taken good care of the two of them, all things considered, which was a lot, given his own wife had passed on only five years before his only son and daughter-in-law—Jake and Ruby Jean’s parent’s—were taken in a car accident on a snowy mountain pileup. He hadn’t the first clue what to do with a heartbroken seven-year-old girl and an angry fifteen-year-old boy. But, in the end, he’d done right by both of them. And it was because of him that, six years later, they’d known how to handle life when he was taken from them, too.

  So, Jake would be damned if he lost out now because he couldn’t convince his sponsors that Betty Sue could be ready come race time. This was his year. Their year. He was going to bring the title home.

  “I’m sure he’d be very proud. I think it’s great that you’re carrying on the tradition. And sorry I’ve kept you from working on it. I can imagine it takes a lot of your free time. Or is that how you earn a living now?” She held up a quick hand. “Sorry, that’s none of my business. I just didn’t want to assume you couldn’t. Do that. Race planes, I mean. For a living. I know nothing about racing, so for all I know you’re the rock star of the circuit, living the high life. I just—I didn’t mean to insult you, is all I’m saying.” She laughed and he glanced over to see her looking down, shaking her head with a rueful smile on her face. “And to think I’m the one the senator relies on to put words in his mouth when I can’t even string mine together for two seconds without sounding like a total flake.”

  “You write speeches?”

  “Sometimes. I write a lot of media statements. I also get coffee, keep track of every Senate and House vote, pick up the dry cleaning, book travel and events, and figure things out like where is the best place to have your Gordon setter personally trained.” She grinned. “Toby MacLeroy. In Arlington. In case you ever needed to know.”

  His lips quirked again. “I’ll make a note of it.”

  “It’s a glamorous life. Somehow I managed.”

  He looked back at the road in time to see the sign for tight curves ahead. And wondered why people didn’t come with such easy to interpret warnings. Lauren was throwing curves at him right and left. Seemingly without even trying.

  “You were right,” she said, after the silence had extended a bit longer. “About the rain.” She turned back to the window on her side of the truck. “And the mountains. They are awe inspiring. I’ve traveled, but never in anything like this. And to think they’re right here, in our own country.” She laughed. “That sounded kind of idiotic, but—”

  “I know what you mean.”

  “Have you traveled? Do you race in other parts of the country? Or the world?”

  “I just do the one race in Reno every fall. With running the school, it takes pretty much the full year to get ready for that.”

  “Do you have help?”

  “A little. Mostly old friends of my grandfather’s who come and help out. When the race gets closer, I have friends who come in to help with the final round of prep, testing, that sort of thing, and crew for me during race week.”

  “It’s a lot of work for one race.”

  “It’s a series of races over the course of a week, but yes, just the one event.”

  “Would you enter more of them if you could?”

  He shook his head. “This is pretty much the only one of its kind. It’s enough for me. My grandfather also used to do all kinds of exhibitions, county fairs, air shows, that sort of thing, when he could get away. It’s a popular sideline for pilots and owners and not a bad way to earn some extra income.”

  “Do you follow that tradition, too?”

  He shook his head. “No time. And, to be honest, not the same inclination he had for that part of the culture. I’d like to travel more, in this country, and out, see more of the world. Been to Canada, down to Mexico, but haven’t gotten over to Europe. I’d enjoy that.”

  “For racing?”

  “They have some big events over there, and I wouldn’t mind getting to see them, but mostly I’d go for the history. You’ve traveled, I take it?”

  She nodded. “It’s a little bit like your mountains here, how you described them earlier. The more I see of the world, the more it keeps me firmly rooted in my place in it, and how it’s both so insignificant and yet profoundly meaningful. If I want it to be.”

  He slowed a bit as the road wound tightly and steeply down the side of another mountain, then finally glanced over at her as the pickup flattened out across a high meadow, before climbing once again. “Do you want to follow your boss? Into politics I mean.”

  She looked over at him, and their gazes collided for a moment, then hung here a moment longer. Then she smiled and laughed. “I used to think I could make a difference. I started out as a lawyer, which runs in my family, but they were all very involved in politics, too, and when I got involved working on a campaign, the bug bit.”

  “Did you run for office?”

  “No, I was never really compelled to do that, but I wanted to be vital to those who did, to be involved in the everyday workings of Capitol Hill, be a part of history being made.” She laughed again. “Sounds so altruistic and naïve now.”

  “No, it doesn’t. I think it takes exactly that kind of mentality to do what you do. You have to believe, otherwise, why bother?”

  Now her smile turned a bit wry, and he found himself easing up on the gas, prolonging the moment when he’d have to keep his gaze tight on the road ahead as they made the next ascent.

  “Maybe I’ve been in Washington too long, but after a while, I started to wonder how anything actually gets accomplished. I spent far more time feeling frustrated and hopeless than I did energized and aggressive. I finally decided that can’t be good. For me, or anyone.”

  “Doesn’t sound like it.” He reluctantly returned his gaze to the road. “How long are you planning on being out here?” He glanced her way. “I mean, what will the good senator do if he needs to find the best pre-school for his future, unborn children if you’re not there to do the research?”

  “He already has five children,” she said. “And, believe it or not, you’re not all that far off on in vitro private pre-school enrollment.”

  “And here I thought it was a cliché played out in the movies.”

  She laughed. “Cliché’s come to be for a reason.”

  “A little scary to contemplate, given some of them.”

  “You have no idea.”

  They fell into silence again, but now that he had her talking, the silence seemed hollow rather than comforting. “You here for a long weekend? Sounds like you can’t be away too long.” And why he was suddenly so interested, he had no idea. The reasons for not getting involved hadn’t changed. But his feelings about wanting to might be.

  She didn’t answer right away, so he looked over at her. “You don’t have to answer. I was just making conversation.”

  “I quit,” she blurted out.

  “What?”

  She looked back out through the windshield. “I am no longer the senior staff aide to the gentleman from Virginia.”

  After a quick look, he returned his gaze to the road. She looked both defensive and a little sick. “I take it this is news you hav
en’t shared with your loved ones.”

  “With anyone. Other than the senator. And the person he’s named as my replacement. The rest of the staff found out today.”

  “Is that going to be newsworthy?” He glanced over again and smiled. “For all I know, you’re the rock star of Capitol Hill.”

  She smiled back and looked a little less green. “It won’t make the papers, if that’s what you mean. There is no scandal or anything. And he’s not on the forefront of any topical committees or bills at the moment, so I don’t think it will be more than a tiny ripple. Natasha will take my place and all will move along.”

  “Natasha. Is this a good thing?”

  Her smile widened. “You’re very nice for pretending to care. And it’s perfectly fine. She’s still hungry.”

  “And you’re not.” He said it as more statement than question.

  “I want to be. I’m restless. Like I’m treading water and there’s a pretty good chance I’m going to drown rather than figure out how to swim and save myself. So, I got out of the pool altogether. For now, anyway.”

  “Might be the best thing you could do. How does it feel?”

  “Scary. A little sad. Mostly because I miss the people on my team. No regrets. But…scary just the same.”

  “Is that all?”

  She had folded her arms across her middle. But she rocked forward just a little. “Okay…so maybe it’s also a little exciting, portentous. It’s been a while since I’ve felt either of those things.”

  “Then it sounds like you’re on the right track. Did you burn bridges? Could you go back if the new pond isn’t any better?”

  “I don’t want to go back. Not now, maybe not ever. I need a fresh challenge.” She sounded definite about that.

  “Well, then,” he said, “sounds like you made the right choice.”

  “Have you ever done anything like that? Just change course completely?”

  “I’ve had my course changed for me. Circumstances beyond my control. Like you, it’s been scary, sad, exhilarating, terrifying, satisfying. And that’s any given week,” he added dryly.

  She smiled and relaxed a little. “I guess it’s normal then. In a very abnormal way.”

  “Guess so.” They were less than fifteen minutes from town. And he realized he didn’t want their time to be over quite yet. “You have plans?”

  “For my future, you mean?”

  He glanced at her. “Why don’t we start with this weekend.”

  “Oh,” she said, and blushed just a little. “I’m—I have to see my mother. At some point.”

  “I take it you’re not staying with them?”

  She shook her head. “Things are a bit…strained. I thought it would be best if I had my own place to retreat to until the battle lines were more clearly defined.”

  “Charlene seemed pretty happy that you were coming.”

  Now the guarded look came back and Jake cursed inwardly that he’d gone and done the one thing he’d sworn not to. Get involved. “Never mind, none of my business. Where can I drop you?”

  “Greater Pine Lodge. I made reservations.”

  “You chose well. Mabry Johnson runs the place, along with her sister and daughter-in-law. She’s a character, but one of the best people you’ll meet.”

  Lauren smiled again and relaxed a little. “Good. Thank you. And thank you again for—”

  “If you’re not doing anything Sunday, why don’t you let me show you the area.”

  She looked surprised by the offer.

  That made two of them. Mostly because he meant it. In fact, he hadn’t thought about his favor to his sister in the last hour or so.

  “It’ll give you a chance to see how spectacular the view really is.”

  “Is there really that much to see?” She lifted a hand. “There I go again. What I meant was, I understood the town to be quite small.”

  “I was thinking of giving you a different view.” He slowed as they bottomed out from the last descent. Cedar Springs laid sprawled just below them. McKenna Flight School topped the mesa just beyond the opposite end of town. He liked coming into town from this direction, ascending down from Cooper Pass, with Wisternan, the main resort peak, towering over the town nestled at its base, directly to the north, the winding Panlo River, bordering Cedar Springs to the south…and McKenna Flight School in the distant west. It made him feel a part of something bigger than himself, but a part nonetheless. A permanent part.

  He looked over to see her giving him a speculative look. “Just exactly what view did you have in mind?”

  His lips quirked. He liked that she was direct and didn’t duck a subject. He was pretty sure when Lauren Matthews wanted to know something, she came out and asked. “I was thinking the view from about twelve thousand feet might be interesting.”

  She looked both relieved and a little embarrassed, making him wonder exactly what view she’d thought he’d been offering.

  “I should be sufficiently recovered from my last plane ride by then,” she said. “And I’d actually really like that. But—I need to see what’s going on first. I’m not sure—”

  “No worries. I don’t teach classes on Sunday. I’ll just be working on the Mustang.” He made it sound like it was nothing, when he was pretty much going to be umbilically attached to the damn thing until the race. Still…a few hours spent not tinkering on Betty Sue or operating the school wouldn’t kill him. “Early afternoon is good, but I’m flexible.”

  “I might be thankful to be up in the air and out of reach by then.”

  “It’s none of my business, but maybe it won’t be that bad. Like I said, it seemed to me your mother was happy you were coming.”

  “I think we’d both be happy to get past this.”

  “Well, then…?”

  She sighed. “You’ve lived here your whole life, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Then I’ll just say that it’s not my mom I’m really having a problem with. But I don’t know a lot about the situation, which is why I’m here.”

  Jake had promised Ruby Jean not to slam Arlen. Sounded like Lauren was already well on her way to forming her opinion of the man without his help. So all he said, was, “Well then, you’ll get to know for yourself, and you can figure it out from there.”

  She sighed. “I certainly hope so.”

  She didn’t sound all that hopeful, though. Which made Jake wonder exactly what her goal was while she was here. Not your business, buddy. Not your concern.

  But when he dropped her off at the registration office at the rustic little motel just inside the town limits, it didn’t keep him from wondering exactly what she was getting herself into.

  Chapter 4

  “Okay. Sitting in your room is no longer an option.” Lauren fiddled with her cell phone but didn’t press the CALL button. The button that would dial her mother’s number. She’d been in Cedar Springs for exactly one hour. She was unpacked, showered, and changed, makeup and hair mercifully repaired. All she had to do now was make the call.

  Her mother knew she was here. At least, Lauren had to suspect she knew. She hadn’t thought to ask her friendly neighborhood pilot if he’d planned on letting her mother know he’d gotten her safely to town. But then, she hadn’t thought to ask the man his name, either. Who did that? Who drove with a complete stranger for more than two hours, chatted with him—agreed to see him again—and even went so far as to share her deep, dark, job-quitting secret…and didn’t get his name?

  She couldn’t even blame the rocky commuter flight and subsequent storm for scattering her brain. Not really. She might blame Hunky Local Pilot for discombobulating her a little. Okay, a lot. He’d been all rugged good looks and enigmatic personality back in the airport hangar. But once they’d started talking, she’d been surprised at how laid back and easy-going he was. He’d made her forget she looked like airport roadkill, and even took her mind off her immediate future for an hour or two.

  Well, she knew Hunky Pilot Guy’
s name now. There had been a copy of the local phone book in the nightstand drawer by her bed. She’d simply looked up flight schools in the slim Yellow Pages section. There had only been one listed. McKenna’s Flight School. Owned and operated by Jake McKenna, or so the modest ad proclaimed.

  Jake. It suited him. He might not have been a traditional western cowboy, with boots and spurs and tobacco in his back pocket, but he definitely filled the bill for mountain man outdoorsy type. He fit here, among the soaring peaks and beautiful high meadows. And he raced airplanes. How sexy was that?

  “Too damn sexy,” she muttered. And she had no real business getting involved with him, in any way. Not that being asked out on a short plane ride around the area was getting overly involved, but it was prolonging their acquaintance. She wasn’t sure what, if anything, he had in mind. She assumed, given her bedraggled appearance, and the fact that she hadn’t exactly employed the most scintillating conversational skills, that he was still doing a favor for her mother. And, possibly, the mayor. She hadn’t missed the fact that he’d politely refrained from saying anything directly about Arlen. He’d claimed he wasn’t close to her mother, but that didn’t mean anything where the mayor was concerned.

  Regardless of why he was asking, or if anyone had put him up to it, Jake struck her as being one of the Good Guys. He might look and sound like a Bad Boy, all crinkling eyes and crooked grins, enough to make her pulse do a little tap dance more than once…and, yes, that might have had a tiny bit to do with why she’d accepted his offer. But the offer itself, she was pretty sure, had been issued by the Good Guy, not the Bad Boy.

  Which was for the best, really. “Very really,” she warned her pouting reflection. She looked away from the mirror as her thoughts turned further inward. Her entire life was upside down at the 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.