The Kidnapped Bride

Lorelei flushed. Her brown eyes sparked with temper. “We were in a public place.”

“It didn’t stop the sparks from flying between you and me. The air sizzled between us, just like it always does. Just like it did a few minutes ago.”

“There’s more to a relationship and a marriage than sex. Herbert and I respect one another. We share similar interests and goals,” she defended.

“Sounds more like a business agreement than a marriage if you ask me.”

“No one asked you,” she said with heat in her voice. “This conversation is ridiculous. This whole situation is ridiculous. It’s insane. You’re insane!”

Jack shrugged. “Maybe I am. But I know what I feel in my gut. I feel the same thing now that I felt when I saw you for the first time ten years ago, the same thing that I felt when I saw you standing in that bookstore two weeks ago.

“Which is what? Wait.” She held up her hand. “Let me guess. You feel it’s fate, right? That you and I belong together.”

“Yes.”

“That’s the same tired line you used on me when I met you on the beach for the first time. Well, it may have worked ten years ago on a naive eighteen-year-old girl, but it doesn’t hold water with a twenty-eight-year-old woman. I’m not buying it this time, Jack. And I’m not buying this crazy treasure-hunting scheme of yours, either.”

“Go ahead, make fun if you want to, but it doesn’t change anything. I know we are going to find the Lost Dutchman’s Mine. Just like I know in my gut that it’s not Herbert you should be marrying, but me.” He shifted the truck into third gear as they climbed deeper into the heart of the mountains. “And I promise you, by the time we leave these mountains, you’re going to know it, too.”

Turning the truck to the left, he followed the sign pointing to the Goldfield Ghost Town and silently prayed that he was right.

Lorelei sharpened her gaze as Jack turned off the main road and drove down the street of what appeared to be another Western town. “Oh, great,” she quipped, breaking the stony silence she’d adapted for the past twenty miles. “What is this place, another ghost town?” She’d been fascinated at the sight of the old Goldfield Ghost Town, which they had passed through earlier, but not for the life of her would she let Jack know it, nor would she ask him a single question about the odd little place.

“We’re in the town of Tortilla Flats. Population six. It used to be a road camp for work crews on the Salt River Project around the turn of the century. Now it’s more or less a watering hole and tourist stop for travelers along the Apache Trail.”

Lorelei stared at the strange collection of buildings that appeared to lean against one another for support. Although she’d lived in Arizona for the past four years, she had never visited a single one of these little towns. Yet Jack seemed to know all about them. Spotting a sign that boasted Jacob Waltz Enjoyed Tortilla Flat’s Home Cookin, she said, “Well, I guess that explains how you know so much about this place. Evidently you stumbled across it while searching for the Dutchman’s fictitious gold mine.”

“The gold mine exists, Lorelei. As far as that sign, I’m afraid it’s false advertising. This place didn’t even exist when old Jacob was searching the mountains for gold. As far as the food, it’s pretty good. The restaurant up ahead serves great burgers and chili.”

Just the mention of food, and Lorelei’s stomach grumbled. Suddenly she realized she hadn’t eaten a thing since the buttered toast with coffee she’d had before lunch that day. Given her wedding had been scheduled as a late-afternoon affair and it was already after six in the evening, it had been a good eight hours since she’d eaten.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starved. I thought we’d stop and get something to eat here.”

“I’d rather be eating the food I selected for my wedding reception.”

“Sorry, but that’s not an option.” Jack pulled the Explorer to a stop in front of an Old West saloon and turned to her. “This is probably going to be the last home-cooked meal either of us has for a while. I’d hate to see you refuse it just to spite me.”

“I have no intention of refusing it. The way I see it, I’m going to need all my strength if I’m going to find my way down this blasted mountain and back to Mesa.”

Slowly, lazily, Jack wrapped and unwrapped his powerful hands around the steering wheel. “You’re not going to have to find your way back to Mesa. I’m going to take you there myself—after we find the mine.”

When she started to object, Jack lifted his hand and touched her face, his voice dropping to a whisper as he said, “Don’t fight me on this, Lorelei.”

Lorelei turned away from him. She’d always been too susceptible to that combination of recklessness and tenderness in him.

Jack sighed and dropped his hand. “In addition to eating, I thought you might want to change into something a little more comfortable for traveling. The road’s going to get a lot bumpier about five miles past here.”

“That’s very considerate of you,” she said with mock sweetness. “But since I was expecting to be at my wedding reception now and not stuck up here in the mountains with you, I’m afraid I didn’t happen to bring along a change of clothes.”

“That’s okay. I had Desiree pack some things for you,” he said, chuckling at her sarcasm. “You’ll find jeans, shirts and hiking boots in the bag behind your seat.”

One more thing to take her sister to task for, Lorelei decided as Jack got out of the truck and came around to open the door for her. Lorelei glared at him as he helped her down from the truck’s high seat. The hem of her wedding gown and train spilled out of the vehicle behind her and onto the street, stirring up a small cloud of red-colored dust that promptly attached itself to the satin. Lorelei jerked the train of the gown up and draped it over one arm.

After retrieving the bag from behind her seat, Jack took her arm. He motioned to the restaurant. “You can change clothes while I order us something to eat.”

He acted as though it was the most natural thing in the world for the two of them to waltz into town with her dressed in a wedding gown and he in his jeans. Feeling conspicuous as glances were cast their way, Lorelei said, “I hate to point out the obvious, but don’t you think anyone’s going to notice the fact that I’m wearing a wedding dress?”

“I think it’d be hard for them not to notice. You make a beautiful bride.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she said, and fought the urge to stamp her foot.

“I know what you meant. But as I said, there’s only six people who actually live in this little town. The rest are just tourists or workers. I’ve gotten to be friends with the locals during the past couple of weeks—including the people who own the restaurant. And I doubt they’ll be surprised at all since they’re expecting us.”

“What do you mean they’re expecting us?”

Jack shrugged. “I mentioned that I was getting married soon and that my bride and I would be spending our honeymoon in the mountains. I told them we’d try to stop by on our way up the mountain.”

Lorelei stopped in the middle of street. “And they believed you?”

“Sure,” he said, flashing her a smile. “What’s not to believe?”

“Besides the foolish notion that I’d agree to spend my honeymoon in these mountains, there’s the absurd idea that I’d even consider marrying you.”

“I don’t see anything absurd about it. You did agree to marry me—”

“Ten years ago,” she reminded him.

“So we’ve had a long engagement. Lots of couples do.”

“We are not engaged,” she insisted.

“As far as I’m concerned, we are. You never officially broke the engagement. And I’ve still got the wedding bands we picked out.” Putting down the suitcase, he shoved his hand inside his pants pocket. He pulled out a jeweler’s pouch and emptied its contents into the palm of his other hand. Two thin, shiny gold bands winked at her.

Lorelei swallowed past the thickness in her throat as she remembered the two of them selecting the rings from a small jewelry store in Fort Lauderdale. “You kept them?”

“Of course.”

“But why?” she finally managed to ask.

“Because I never stopped loving you. It was always my plan to find you again someday, for the two of us get married. I just hadn’t expected it to take so long.” He dumped the rings back into their pouch and tucked the little bag into his pocket.

And there had been a time ten years ago when she had hoped he would find her, soothe away her hurt and make everything right again. But all that had changed after... after...

“Remember the honeymoon we’d planned?”

Lorelei pulled her thoughts away from those dreadful weeks right after he had failed to show up for their wedding. She squeezed her eyes shut a moment against the remembered pain, the fear.

“We were going to go diving off the coast near the site of that sunken ship, remember? It would have been your first treasure dive. I’ll never forget how excited you were....”

She had been excited—at the thought of being married to Jack, at the prospect of doing something so daring as diving for lost treasure. The idea had appealed to an adventurous streak in her that she hadn’t even known existed. But then, Jack himself had appealed to that same reckless streak. Looking at him now, his eyes glowing with excitement, she found it was easy to remember those dreams and plans. It was easy to remember how deeply she had loved him.

“Don’t you see? Trying to locate the Dutchman’s Mine will be the same thing. Only instead of searching in the ocean for treasure, we’ll be searching in the mountains.”

Lorelei felt herself tempted. It would be all too easy and terribly foolish to allow herself to be sucked into those fantasies again. “I’m not interested in searching for any gold mine.”

“But you will be,” he told her as he urged her toward the restaurant. “There’s more of the old Lorelei in you than you’d like to admit.”

Jerking her arm free, she marched into the restaurant in front of him. Lorelei blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darker interior. She scanned the Old Western-style restaurant with its wooden tables and ladder-back chairs. When she felt Jack come to stand beside her, she asked, “What’s to stop me from telling these people the truth? That you kidnapped me and brought me here against my will.”

“Go ahead. Just don’t expect anyone to believe you. I already told the owners that you were quite a joker. Besides, the wife of the man who runs the place thinks I’m quite a catch.”

“I’ll bet.”

“Jack,” the dark-haired woman behind the counter called out. “And this must be your lovely bride.”

“Hello, Isabel. You’re looking as gorgeous as ever, I see.” He gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Sure you don’t want to ditch Alberto and run away with me?”

The woman flushed and gave Jack a smack. “Behave yourself, Bandito, and introduce me to your wife.”

“Isabel, this is Lorelei. Lorelei, Isabel.”

“She’s as beautiful as you said she was. Welcome to Tortilla Flats, Lorelei.” She gave Lorelei a welcoming hug and nearly squeezed the stuffing out of her before she released her. “You’ve landed yourself quite an hombre here. But I suspect you know that already.”

“I—”

“Order’s ready,” someone called out from the kitchen. “Jack, mi amigo.” A dark-eyed man with graying hair waved in greeting. “So you convinced her to come with you to our mountains after all.”

“Bueno, Alberto. Yes, I convinced her to come,” Jack returned.

“I will fix something special for you and your bride, then. Isabel, show Jack and his lady to a table and then come help Maria.”

Isabel muttered something in Spanish and rolled her eyes heavenward. “Jack, you and your Lorelei sit over there away from that racket. I will come back in a minute to take your orders. Right now I’d better help Maria before those little devils tear the place apart.”

Lorelei looked across the room to where a couple with five youngsters had their hands full trying to keep their troops seated. Her gaze shifted to the trays Isabel and another woman were carrying to the table. Lorelei’s mouth watered at the smell of burgers and bowls of steaming chili.

“The ladies’ room is down the hall, first door on your left,” Jack informed her. He held out the suitcase with her clothes. When Lorelei reached for it, he held on to it a moment longer. “Just in case you’re thinking of trying to find a back door to sneak out of, I’ll save you the trouble of looking. There isn’t one. And if you’re not back here in exactly fifteen minutes, I’ll come looking for you.”

Lorelei yanked the suitcase from him and flounced off down the narrow hallway. She paused a moment before the door marked Ladies and glanced back in the direction from which she’d come. Jack stood there watching her. With his feet spread apart, the light from the dining room casting shadows across his unsmiling face, he looked every inch the dangerous pirate she’d accused him of being. Tipping up her chin, Lorelei pushed open the door and stepped inside the bathroom.

The place was small but clean. Two stalls took up most of the space. A single basin with a small square mirror positioned above it filled one corner of the room. A coun-tertop no more than a dozen inches wide ran across the back wall. An oval-shaped mirror sat in a stand to one side. Centered four feet above the counter was a narrow window that she judged to be only a fraction wider than her hips. What I wouldn’t do to have Clea’s slim hips right now, Lorelei thought. If she ditched the wedding dress, she might just be able to make it. But she’d have to hurry.

Moving quickly, Lorelei hoisted the suitcase onto the countertop and pulled out a pair of jean shorts, T-shirt and the hiking boots. She frowned as she thought of Desiree packing her things without her even knowing it. She’d deal with her little sister once she got back to Mesa, Lorelei promised herself. Kicking off her ivory pumps, she reached for the hooks and detached the train at the back of her dress. Bundling up the length of satin, she stuffed it in the top of the suitcase, then went to work on the tiny satin-covered buttons that ran down the back of her dress.

Several minutes later her arms ached from stretching behind her, and she had succeeded in opening no more than a half dozen of the buttons. Frustrated, Lorelei strained against the fabric, trying to pop the buttons free. It was no use. The things didn’t budge, let alone break loose. Oh, God. What possessed me to buy a dress with so many stupid buttons?

Because you hadn’t planned on unbuttoning them yourself , Lorelei reminded herself. At least that’s what Desiree had said when she’d encouraged her to buy the dress. Yet for the life of her, she had to admit that she hadn’t experienced any great anticipation at having Herbert undo them for her, either.

Lorelei glanced at her watch. Twelve minutes. She’d been gone twelve minutes already, she realized. Jack would come looking for her any moment now, and she hadn’t even managed to change clothes yet, let alone escape through the window. Arching her shoulders, she strained to break the buttons free.

She heard a tap at the door. “Lorelei?”

“Go away,” she told Jack.

“What’s taking you so long?”

“Nothing. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

She took a deep breath and arched her back and shoulders again. Nothing. Zip. Nada. The dratted things were evidently sewn on with steel thread.

“Need some help?”

Lorelei jumped at the nearness of his voice. She glanced up in the mirror and saw Jack standing behind her, an odd expression on his face. “I can’t unbutton the stupid dress.”

“Want me to do it for you?” he asked, a smile sneaking across his mouth. “At the rate you’re going, you’ll be lucky to get changed before breakfast.”

Too irritated to speak, she whipped her hair around to fall across her shoulder and offered him her back.

The breath stilled in her chest as Jack moved closer and began to unfasten the buttons. One. Two. Three. Four. She could feel his fingers moving down her back, slipping the buttons free from the satin loops. His fingers brushed along her bare skin and sent sensation skipping down her spine. Lorelei closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip to keep silent.

“You always had the most beautiful skin. The color of cream.”

“I have freckles,” she somehow managed to reply.

“Only a few.” He slipped open another two buttons and skimmed the backs of his fingers against her bare flesh. “So soft. Like silk. Sometimes when I’d be out at sea, I’d lie awake nights and look up at the sky and remember how soft and beautiful your skin was.”

Lorelei caught the note of longing in his voice. Glancing up, she discovered him watching her in the mirror. The last of the buttons were freed, and her dress fell from her shoulders to her waist, leaving her breasts hidden only by the thin strapless bra.

Jack lifted his gaze to meet hers.

Her breath hitched. She couldn’t move as she watched desire flare in his eyes.

“Lorelei,” he whispered before lowering his mouth to her shoulder.

Lorelei gasped as first Jack’s lips and then his tongue touched her shoulder. The feeling was so erotic, yet so familiar. A surge of longing raced through her.

“Come on, Sarah, let Mommy wash your—” The door to the bathroom burst open, and the mother of the five children stood there staring at them. She started to back out of the room. “Oh, my. I’m so sorry. I thought this was the ladies’ room.”

“It is,” Jack said, spinning around to stand in front of Lorelei like a shield. “I was just helping my wife with her dress. We’ll be out of your way in a moment. I’ll wait for you at the table, sweetheart.”

Once he was gone, Lorelei avoided the other woman’s knowing eyes and scurried into one of the stalls to change. Dear God, what had she been thinking of? Lorelei asked herself as she stepped out of the gown and threw it across the bathroom door. She pulled off the silk nylons and tossed them over the gown. Hurrying, she shrugged into her shorts and pulled on the T-shirt. She had to get away, Lorelei told herself as she sat on the toilet seat and slipped on her socks and hiking boots. And she had to do it now.

Lorelei remained in the stall until she heard the woman and the little girl leave. When she was alone again, she pushed her suitcase aside and hopped up on top of the counter. Using the heel of her hand, she shoved against the worn window lock. Finally it opened. She pulled up once, twice, cursing when she broke a nail. Determined, she tried again and the window finally came free. The sky was already growing dark, and Lorelei could feel the slap of heat as she shoved the window up to the top.

A bead of perspiration trickled between her breasts. Her heart pumped furiously as she hurried to place first one leg and then the other through the window’s small opening. Taking another deep breath, she leapt to the ground, stumbled and landed on her bottom.

She’d made it. She was free, Lorelei thought as she scrambled to stand up.

“Going somewhere?” Jack asked as he stepped out of the shadows to stand in front of her.

Three

Lorelei swatted his hand away and pushed herself up to her feet. She glared at him while dusting off the seat of her jean shorts. “How did you know?”

“I saw the window, too. It wasn’t hard to figure out that you’d try to make a run for it.” He paused. “And since you don’t have any money or credit cards on you, just what were you planning to do? Walk down the mountain?”

“If I had to,” she said, her voice defiant. “I was hoping to hitch a ride.”

His amusement fizzled at her reply. Fury at her recklessness exploded inside him. Before he could stop himself, Jack grabbed her by the arms, wanting to shake her. “You little idiot. Don’t you know how dangerous that would have been? Do you have any idea what position you could have found yourself in? What if you’d gotten hurt or even gotten yourself lost trying to find your way down the mountain? And what’s to stop some crazy from offering you a ride and then doing God knows what to you?”

Just the thought of something happening to her made Jack ill. He pulled her stiff body into his arms. “I want you to promise me you won’t try something stupid like this again.”

At her silence, Jack set her at arm’s length. “I mean it, Lorelei. I want your promise that you won’t try to run away again.”

“I’m not promising you anything,” she told him. “Because the minute I get another chance, I’m going to take it and go back to Mesa.”

Disappointed in her response, Jack sighed as he stared into her eyes, caught that glint of steel beneath the warmth. Lord, but the woman was stubborn. Much more stubborn than she’d been ten years ago. But somehow he’d get through that stubborn streak of hers. Somehow he’d prove to her that the old Lorelei was still very much alive and that she belonged with him.

He simply had to, Jack told himself. Because without her, the life that stretched out before him seemed very empty. “Then I guess I’ll have to see that you don’t get another chance.” Putting an arm around her stiff shoulders, he led her around front to where he’d parked the Explorer.

“Where are we going?” she asked when he opened the door and motioned for her to get inside. “I thought we were going to eat dinner?”

“I assumed you weren’t hungry when you did your vanishing act back there. Or hadn’t you thought that far ahead?”

“I’m starving and you know it. I’m not going anywhere until I get something to eat.”

He almost laughed out loud at the petulant look on her face. He kissed her forehead instead and earned himself another scowl. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I intend to feed you. But you’ll have to wait about twenty minutes.”

“Why?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

“Because I don’t like driving on these roads at night, and we didn’t get nearly as far up in the mountains today as I’d planned. Too bad you didn’t decide on a morning wedding.”

“Believe me, if I had known about your plans, I would have scheduled a night wedding,” she replied sassily.

“I don’t doubt that for a minute. Now get in the truck, or I’ll put you in it myself. Come to think of it,” Jack said, dropping his voice as he rubbed his jaw and allowed his gaze to sweep over her, “maybe that’s not such a bad idea.”

Lorelei scrambled into her seat. “Where are we going?”

“Not far. We’ll be spending the night in a little cabin about ten miles from here. I’m hoping to make it there before full darkness sets in.”

“When did you rent a cabin?”

“I didn’t. It belongs to Isabel and Alberto. They use it as a little hideaway when they want to get away from the business and town. They’ve offered us the use of it for our wedding night.”

“This is not our wedding night. You and I are not married.”

“I’ll be happy to remedy that situation anytime you give me the word.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

Letting her rebuff bounce off of him, Jack reached for her seat belt. “Need some help buckling up?” He started to pull it across her breasts.

Lorelei snatched the strap from his hand and did the honors herself. “What about my suitcase? And my wedding gown? I left them in the bathroom.”

“I know.” Jack shut the truck’s door and went around to the other side. He climbed into the driver’s seat and strapped on his seat belt.

“That dress was very expensive and I want it.”

“What for?”

“Because I intend to use it again—when I get back to Mesa and marry Herbert.”

Gritting his teeth, Jack turned to her. “If you wear that dress again,” he began, calmly measuring his words despite the jealousy clawing at him, “it won’t be to marry Herbert.”

“Jack, I want my dress and suitcase.”

He started the engine. “They’re already in the truck I had Isabel and Alberto’s son store them in the back, along with our dinner.” He put the Explorer into reverse and sent the tires spinning up a cloud of dust.