Jake inhaled and exhaled. The clean mountain air was invigorating. “I can see what you mean. This is the life.”
Mina laughed softly. “I’m glad you like it. You know you could be in a luxurious suite at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. They have over eleven hundred rooms, plus a casino and a world-class entertainment center where top country music artists perform every weekend...”
Jake leaned over and kissed her in midsentence. He let her lead him, waiting for permission to deepen the kiss. He would have been satisfied with just the taste of her lips on his tongue. After a moment, Mina sighed softly and gave herself to him. Her hand came up to caress his cheek and she leaned into him. Jake marveled at how sweet she tasted and how well the two of them anticipated each other’s needs. It was a gentle kiss. It was a kiss to seal what they each knew was happening between them, a meeting of kindred souls.
When they came up for air, she heard Jake say, “Thank you for trusting me enough to confide in me. Now, let me tell you about my wife.”
Mina went from mellow to ballistic in an instant. His wife?
Chapter 4
Jake’s first clue that he had said something wrong was when Mina got to her feet, glared down at him and cried, “What? I just kissed you! You’re not wearing a ring. What are you, one of those married men who take off their wedding bands whenever it suits them?”
He stood up, hands raised in a gesture of surrender. “That didn’t come out the way I meant it to. I’m not married. Jami, my wife, passed away five years ago.”
Mina stared up at him, mouth agape. She sat down, deflated. Jake eased back into his chair, his eyes on her face in the dim light. He hadn’t bothered turning the porch light on. The only illumination came from the reading lamp in the living room of the cabin whose big picture window they were sitting in front of. He could see Mina visibly relax.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “What I should have said was that we have a lot in common. I lost someone I love, too.”
Mina sighed softly. “All day long I debated whether or not I should be honest with you and tell you why I wasn’t responding to you. Then, when I decide to take a chance on you, you mention a wife, and my first reaction is that I’d just made a fool of myself, kissing a married man.”
“A bad choice of words,” Jake said. “I’m an idiot.”
Mina eyed him warily and leaned back in her chair. “All right, I’m listening. Please, tell me about Jami.”
The tension in the air was gone. Jake smiled slowly. He told her that he and Jami were college sweethearts and had gotten married right after graduation. They’d supported each other through tough times and been grateful for the good times. It was the kind of marriage that was meant to last forever, he said. Like his parents’ marriage and his grandparents’. He’d been blindsided by her death.
“She was my world,” he said quietly. “For a long time I didn’t know how I would go on. I didn’t even care if I did go on. I started taking unnecessary risks, kind of testing the Reaper to see if he would come for me the way he’d come for her. More than anything, I wanted to join her.”
Mina nodded knowingly. “Me, too, and having those kinds of feelings can be detrimental to others around you when you’re airlifting soldiers out of a combat zone. Their lives depended on me, and all I could think about was dying.”
“You were in a bad place,” Jake said. “But you’re past that now, right?”
She nodded. “I’m better,” she said simply. “And you, how did you shake that feeling?”
Jake shrugged his broad shoulders. “Sometimes I wonder. It wasn’t anything I did on purpose. It was living one day at a time without her. Plus the fact that I knew she would have kicked my ass when we met on the other side if I’d committed suicide.”
“She was tough, huh?” Mina smiled.
“You remind me of her,” Jake said, smiling back at her. “Not physically. She was nearly six feet tall. When it came to determination and strength of character, though, she was very tough. Like you.”
“How do you know that about me?” asked Mina, her gaze meeting his.
“Not every woman would run through a forest alone to see if anyone survived a plane crash. You could have been going to a scene that would have given you nightmares for the rest of your life, yet you went anyway.”
She smiled and said, “Must have been my military training kicking in.”
“You know,” said Jake. “If running a lodge doesn’t work out for you for some reason, we’re always looking for a few good people.”
He couldn’t believe that slip of the tongue. He was so relaxed in her presence that for a moment his guard had completely gone down. He’d forgotten he was playing a role. He was not Jake Wolfe, DEA Special Agent now. He was Jake Wolfe, mysterious businessman. He hadn’t even told Mina whom he supposedly worked for.
He was relieved when Mina laughed and said, “Don’t let my grandpa hear you trying to recruit me. We’re joined at the hip. I’m his heir, and nothing gives him more satisfaction than knowing he’s training his successor to take over his beloved lodge.”
“I’m sorry. I take it back.” Jake laughed right along with her. “Does that offer to take me on a trail ride still stand?”
“Yes, of course,” Mina said immediately. “I’m scheduled to take a group out tomorrow morning at eight.”
“I see you all like to get an early start,” said Jake, stifling a yawn.
“People come here expecting to immerse themselves in nature,” Mina explained. “We give them the full effect. A couple from Florida has already signed up. Meet me at the barn tomorrow morning, and wear sturdy jeans, shoes and a jacket. We provide a box lunch. Make sure you phone the kitchen early in the morning to let them know what kind of sandwich to make for you.”
She rose. “It’s late, I’d better go.”
Jake reluctantly got to his feet. He didn’t want her to go. He’d been enjoying their conversation. “I’ll walk you home.”
As they strolled across the expansive lawn that separated their cabins, Jake gazed up at the sky. “Being here does make you appreciate nature more. In the city I rarely look up at the sky.”
“Too many big buildings in the way,” said Mina. “Where do you live?”
“Atlanta.” He told her the truth. He had found that the secret to maintaining an undercover life was to basically be honest about your background, altering very few details of who you were. Keeping two sets of data about two different people was difficult, and you were bound to slip up sooner or later.
“Nice town,” Mina said. “My sisters and I have been there many times, mostly to concerts or sporting events.”
“Oh, yeah, you said you have four sisters. No brothers?”
“No, just Lauren, Desiree and Meghan, who live in Raleigh, and Petra, who’s in Africa right now.”
“Oh,” said Jake. “What’s she doing in Africa?”
“She’s a zoologist, and she’s studying the great apes in Central Africa.”
“That’s cool,” Jake said, sounding intrigued. “What do your other sisters do?”
“Lauren’s an architect, Desiree’s a psychologist and Meghan is a history professor.”
“Your parents must be proud.”
Mina smiled. “Do you have any siblings?”
“I