Austin could only stare at her in disbelief. He ran one of the most successful manufacturing companies in the country and he was being given a lecture on management by a woman wearing cowboy boots, a yellow rubber slicker and a ten-gallon hat. What had his father gotten him into?
She peeked her nose out the door, then turned back to him and said, “I think there’s a slight lull in the rainfall. We’d better leave while we can.”
If this was a lull, he shuddered to think what a downpour would be. By the time Austin reached the pickup he was soaked. His hair, his face, his hands—everything dripped with water, including his briefcase. The section of the Times that had acted as an umbrella was a soggy mess and had done little to shield him from the driving rain. Now it fell apart, clinging to his wet fingers as he tried to shake them free.
“Do you want me to put the heat on so you can dry off a bit?” she asked as she climbed in beside him.
“I’m not cold. I’m wet,” he said stiffly.
Again she shrugged. “Very well.” She stuck the key in the ignition and started up the engine. “Fasten your seat belt. Next stop the Triple J.”
As she let out the clutch, the truck lunged forward.
“Sorry. Sometimes the pedal sticks,” she explained with a sly grin which only raised Austin’s suspicions about the sincerity of her apology. “You ever been to North Dakota before Mr. Bennett?” she asked once they were out of the parking lot and on their way.
“Once.”
“And?”
“It was a long time ago.”
“Well, what did you think?”
“That there’s a lot of flat land,” he said dully.
She chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who think the two best things about North Dakota are the east and west ends of Interstate 94?”
“Is that supposed to be a joke?”
“Of course it’s a joke. Interstate 94 runs smack dab through the middle of the state from Minnesota to Montana. It implies there’s nothing in between the borders, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s true that much of the state is flat farmland, but if you haven’t been to the northeast corner, you’re in for a treat. There’s the Pembina Gorge which is a beautiful river valley and there’s even a ski resort. Most people…”
He quickly cut her off. “You can save yourself the bother of giving me the guided tour, Ms. Judd.”
“You don’t want to hear what your colleagues already heard?” she asked in an annoying innocent tone.
“I’m sure North Dakota has an abundance of natural wonders, but right now I’m wet, I have no change of clothing and I don’t feel up to hearing a travelogue of your state,” he snapped.
“You should have let me pick you up at the door.” She had the audacity to scold him cheerfully.
Before he could utter another word his cellular phone rang. As he pulled it out of his pocket, he heard Kacy click her tongue in admonition. He shot her a nasty look before answering the call. “Yes?”
It was Daphne, hoping to continue the phone conversation he had started at the airport.
“I can’t believe you hung up on me like that!” Her voice was so loud Austin had to wonder if Kacy didn’t hear it, too.
“This isn’t a good time for me to talk. Go to bed. I’ll call you in the morning,” he said quietly into the pocket-sized phone.
“I’m not going to let you cast me aside like some used piece of furniture,” Daphne continued to shout into the phone.
“I’m not doing that. All I’m saying is this is not a good time to talk.”
“But we need to discuss our feelings.”
Feelings were something Austin rarely discussed with anyone. And certainly not in the presence of a cowgirl.
“Daphne, please,” he pleaded, but she refused to be deterred. Fortunately, they were driving out of range of the transmission and her voice became weaker. Finally he said, “I can’t hear you, Daphne. I’m going to have to hang up and talk to you when I’m not in transit.” He said goodbye and tucked the phone back into his pocket.
A glance told him Kacy sat with a smug smile of satisfaction—as if she knew he wasn’t going to be able to get any reception on the phone and was pleased about it.
“Satisfied?” he asked churlishly, wondering what it was about the woman sitting next to him that made him want to reach across and kiss that smile right off her pretty little face.
And it was a pretty face. At least what he could see of it. Cute bow lips highlighted with just the faintest of red lipstick, a pert little nose, a dainty but determined chin. And green eyes that he swore sparkled with mischief. She didn’t have the kind of looks that made the runway models famous, but she was pretty.
Of course he couldn’t see her forehead. Maybe she had one of those apelike brows that would erase the beauty of the rest of her face. That could be why she wore the hat—to cover up a bad hairline.
He chuckled. Who was he kidding? She was cute, in a country sort of way. Not that it mattered to him. He hadn’t come to North Dakota looking for Daphne’s replacement. At the thought of the model he sighed. He should have broken it off with her weeks ago. The relationship was going nowhere. Kacy Judd must have mistaken the meaning of his sigh.
“If you need to make emergency calls, we do have phones at the ranch,” she said politely.
“Do I have to be bleeding to use one?” He couldn’t keep the sarcasm from his voice.
“We don’t want to completely isolate you, Mr. Bennett,” she continued in her annoying calm voice, “but the team approach is much more effective if there are no phone interruptions. Of course we understand that there are times when you may need to touch base with your family.”
Family? What he needed to keep in touch with was work, not family. Although in his case, the two were unfortunately connected. If there was anything positive to be said about the trip to North Dakota it was that he would get a break from people who seemed hellbent upon making his life stressful.
He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He really was tired. Maybe a week at a ranch wouldn’t be so bad after all. He could get some much needed rest as well as work without any interruptions. Mentally he prepared the upcoming week, assessing the pending reports, letting the sounds of the tires rotating over the pavement lull him into a state of relaxation.
How long they traveled in silence he wasn’t sure. His peace was shattered at the sound of tires squealing on pavement and a horn blaring. Austin’s eyes flew open to discover they had come to a stop only inches in front of the biggest moose he had ever seen. Actually, it might have been the only moose he had ever seen.
The creature seemed to be in no hurry to move from the highway. It was almost as if it took a wicked pleasure in blocking the road.
Kacy leaned her head on her steering wheel and let out a long gasp of air. “That was too close for comfort.”
Much too close thought Austin, watching the moose sniff the hood of the pickup, as if expecting to find dinner. It snorted, causing Austin to sit back as far as possible in the truck.
Kacy again tooted the horn, but the animal seemed oblivious to the noise.
“It’s not moving,” Austin stated inanely.
“No foolin’.”
“Why isn’t it moving?”
“Because moose don’t move for anyone or anything. They don’t have to.”
He