Meanwhile Jake was beginning to sort out the truth. His connection with Rachel had been intense from the beginning, and now it was off the charts. He knew it was the same with her. He could see it in those silver eyes.
Along with that fiery connection, they were developing mutual trust. During his run he’d realized that was critical now that she knew his secret. Ironically, he had to trust her completely in order to let her go. When their bond became strong enough, they would part. And that was going to hurt like hell.
Thoughts like that weren’t going to put a bounce in his step, though. He made a conscious effort to smile as he walked toward Rachel and her assistant. “I guess we messed up your schedule, huh, Lionel?”
“That’s okay, Mr. Hunter.” Lionel had a faint blush going on, but he smiled back at Jake. “I’d rather have Miss M spend the night with you than that wolf she had living in her cabin.”
“Yeah, I take responsibility for that wolf situation.” He hadn’t heard the
Lionel nodded in approval. “Good call.”
“Yeah, after Rachel filled me in on the bear incident, I decided the wolf would get himself killed if I didn’t do something to protect him.” It didn’t matter what story he concocted, so long as nobody expected to see a wolf running around Polecat. They wouldn’t see one, because he’d just realized he would be selling his place and moving on.
Once he and Rachel said good-bye, he wouldn’t be able to stand living across the lake from her. Some lovers you could stay friends with, but Rachel wasn’t in that category. Every time he saw her, his heart would bleed.
Rachel turned to Lionel. “Obviously I haven’t done a lot of work since you were here yesterday, so there isn’t much cleanup.”
Jake wondered how she’d solve this dilemma. Lionel needed the hourly wage she paid him five days a week, and he was an independent contractor, so if he didn’t work, he didn’t get paid.
“Tell you what.” Rachel crossed her arms and leaned against the dusty fender of Lionel’s truck. “I’m running low on interesting wood to carve.”
“You want that piece back that you gave me? It’s probably too good a piece for me, anyway.” Lionel’s devotion to Rachel was obvious.
Jake wondered if his own devotion to her was that obvious. Could be.
“No, Lionel,” Rachel said. “That piece has your name on it. But if you’d spend the morning scouring the woods for more like that, I’d be thrilled. You’d help me a thousand times more than you would by sweeping out my shop.”
“I can do that.” Lionel appeared excited about the prospect. “I think I know what you’re looking for.”
“I’m sure you do.”
“Okay, then! I’m off. See you later, Mr. Hunter. I’m glad you’ve found a safe place for that black wolf. Much more time around here, and somebody might’ve shot him.”
Jake noticed Rachel’s shiver. “That wouldn’t be good,” he said.
“No,” Lionel said as he climbed into his truck. “The only bad thing is that Miss M used that wolf for inspiration. Now she won’t ever get to see him again.”
“I have a really good memory,” Rachel said.
“You still should’ve taken more pictures while you had the chance.”
“I doubt the wolf would have appreciated that,” she said. “He was pretty beat-up.”
Her assistant laughed. “You think that wolf was vain?”
“I know he was.” Rachel sent the briefest of winks in Jake’s direction.
“Sounds like an inside joke.” Lionel looked from Rachel to Jake with a bemused expression. “Well, see you two later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He backed his truck out of the parking area.
Rachel glanced up at Jake. “I guess that went okay.”
“It went fine.” Jake watched Lionel’s truck disappear around a curve in the road before turning back to Rachel. “He thinks a lot of you.”
“I think a lot of him.”
“He’s liable to hunt me down after we . . . well, when all this is over between us.” He hated the finality of those words and wondered if she hated it as much as he did. He imagined he saw a flicker of regret in her silver eyes.
Then she blinked, and her gaze was clear. “I’ll make sure he knows it was a mutual decision. Lionel is protective, but he listens, and he’s smart enough to know when to back off. He wanted me to turn you over to Fish and Game when you were in my cabin, but when I said no, he let me do things my way.”
“I’m grateful.”
“I would never have called them, Jake. As for Lionel, he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his job with me. I think he knows that I’m hoping he’ll become my apprentice. If he starts helping me with the carving, then I can pay him more and give him longer hours.”
Lucky guy, to have the prospect of spending more time with her. “That would be a great opportunity for him.”
“And for me. I have more work than I can handle. If I had a partner in the business, it would free me up for . . . other things.”
Something about the way she said that put him on alert. “Like what?”
She met his gaze, and there was a defiant light in her eyes. “Like what most women my age would like to have—a great relationship with a guy, maybe even some kids.”
Although she might be saying that to find out how he’d react, he pretended that the concept of her with someone else didn’t bother him at all. “Sounds reasonable.” But inside he was screaming in protest, which he had no right to do.
“Being with you has convinced me I have to try harder to find that. I’ve been so wrapped up in my work that I haven’t made dating a priority. When nobody interesting turned up on the Internet sites, I let the whole idea drop.”
“So how are you going to meet Mr. Wonderful?” From a possessive standpoint, Jake didn’t want her anywhere near another male. From a security standpoint, he wondered if a close relationship would make her more vulnerable to accidentally revealing the secret she had to keep.
“Good question.” Hoisting her backpack over her shoulder, she started down the path toward her cabin. “I’ll probably get my friends in Fairbanks involved. We’ve known each other since college, and they’ve been after me to get a life.”
Jake fell into step beside her. “Do you see them much?”
“Not as much as I should, but I’ve been so busy with work. That’s my whole point. I need to reduce the number of hours so I can socialize more.”
“Right.” But he couldn’t help worrying. He pictured nights of food, wine, and laughter. Her guard would be down. A slip of the tongue would be so easy.
“Your jaw is clenched, big boy. What’s up?”
He consciously relaxed his muscles. “Sorry. Just thinking.”
“You’re afraid I’ll spill the beans to my friends, aren’t you?”
He glanced at her. “You wouldn’t mean to.”
“I wouldn’t do it, period. But let’s say for the sake of argument that I got a little tipsy and started talking about you. Then I had another glass of wine and told everyone that I slept with a werewolf.”
He stopped walking as his whole body tightened. “But you wouldn’t.”
She stopped, too, and turned back to him. “Of course not, but even if I did, don’t you see what would happen? No one would believe me! They’d laugh and think I was making a joke. There’s no way I could accidentally betray you. I wouldn’t be taken seriously.”
“I suppose you have a point.” He scrubbed a hand over his face and sighed. “You’ll have to forgive me for my paranoia. I’ve never been in this situation before.”
“Neither of us has,” she said gently.
“What about this great guy you’re hoping to find? Wouldn’t you be tempted to tell him eventually? It’s a big
