Paranormal II: The Summit Part 17

"All right," she said, looking over the group of students gathered in front of the wall. "Everything's set for tomorrow. Has everyone got their gear lined up?"

A couple of students mumbled yes. Courtney Roland, the rangy blonde, gave a no-nonsense nod of her head. Ned Wheaton grinned like a fool.

"We're all really excited about the trip," said Winnie Caruthers, the brunette. "We're supposed to meet in the lobby at eight, right, then caravan out to Snoqualmie Pa.s.s?"

Autumn nodded. "The drive isn't far and we can take fewer cars that way. I'll drive. Anyone else want to volunteer?"

"I'll drive," said Ben. His second car was a four-wheel-drive extended-cab pickup, a new GMC he had recently purchased to haul his kayaking gear.

"We can take my car," offered Ned.

"Josh Kendall will be going with us," Autumn said. "As you know, Josh is a certified guide with tons of experience. He's really itching to get you guys up on the rocks."

Ben could think of another, more interesting itch he would rather be scratching with Autumn but he kept the thought to himself. Besides, he was really enjoying the sport and he was as eager as Josh to get outdoors and try some of the moves he had been learning.

They spent the morning session climbing, Autumn working them hard enough to get them ready, but not so much they would be exhausted when they tackled bouldering problems tomorrow. When the cla.s.s was over, Ben waited until the others had left before he approached Autumn, who was packing up her gear. He was pretty sure what her att.i.tude would be.

"Good cla.s.s," he said lightly.

"Thanks."

"I thought I'd let you sleep in," he said, trying to snag her attention, which she kept fixed on the canvas bag in front of her. "Give you a chance to get some rest."

Autumn made no reply so Ben caught her hand, which was white with chalk. Her fingers were rough and calloused from climbing the wall and the time she spent on the side of a real mountain. It should have been a turnoff but instead it reminded him how strong she was, the way her finely toned body moved in such perfect rhythm with his.

Autumn pulled her hand away. "What do you want, Ben?"

"I want you to look at me and tell me you don't regret what happened last night."

She glanced up at him for an instant, then looked away. "I don't regret it. Not exactly."

"I suppose that's something."

She did look at him then. "Look, Ben. I've really got to run. I've got a couple of lessons this morning, then I'm driving up to Burlington to see my dad."

"He's all right, isn't he? You said he was released from the hospital-"

"He's fine. I just thought I'd check on him. I've got the afternoon off and it isn't that long a drive." Her russet eyebrows lifted. "Unless you need me to help you make some more of the calls on the DMV list."

"Pete's taking care of it. If he turns up anything, I'll want you to go with me to check it out, but until then there's nothing more we can do and no use worrying about it."

She frowned. "You don't really think he'll find anything, do you?"

They had spoken to every owner of a white Chevelle in the state. There were forty-nine other states. The task was daunting and not very hopeful. "Like I said, Pete's taking care of the Washington list."

"So you're going with us tomorrow?"

"I plan to. I'll have my cell phone with me. Pete can find me if he needs me."

"We might be out of range."

He almost smiled. Instead, he reached over and touched her cheek. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to get rid of me."

The cat-eyes shimmered with uncertainty. "Look, Ben. Last night was great but-"

"But you aren't interested in a repeat performance. Is that what you were going to say?"

"I just...I don't want to get in over my head."

He didn't tell her he was already in way over his head-had been since the first time he had watched her climb that wall. He didn't understand it, wasn't sure what was going on, but something was and he wasn't about to ignore it.

"I won't press you, Autumn. Both of us have a lot on our minds right now, but I'm not letting you pretend what happened between us wasn't special because it was and I think you know it."

She nervously bit her lip. She tried to zip the bag. Her hand was trembling and the zipper stuck. Ben took hold of the canvas tote and closed it for her.

"I've really got to go, Ben."

"You sure you don't want me to come with you? I'd be happy to drive you."

She quickly shook her head.

"Fine. Then I'll see you in the morning."

Autumn looked like a rabbit released from a hunter's snare. He would have asked to see her tonight, but he could tell she wasn't ready and as he had said, he didn't want to press her.

It wasn't until six o'clock that night, as he was sitting behind his desk going over a column of figures on his computer, that he realized he couldn't have seen her even if she had agreed.

Not until his secretary, Jenn Conklin, gave a quick knock on the tall mahogany door and stepped into his office. "It's getting a little late. You haven't forgotten your dinner engagement have you? The country club with Sam and Beverly Styles?"

Christ. He had forgotten completely. He tossed the pencil down on the desk. "I always check my calendar. I guess I had something else on my mind." And Ben knew exactly who that something else was.

"You'll have to hurry or you aren't going to make it."

"Thanks, Jenn. You're a gift from G.o.d." Wrapping things up as quickly as he could, he grabbed his suit coat and headed for the door.

"Have fun," Jenn said as he walked past, casting him a know-it-all glance.

How she always seemed to guess which women he had slept with, Ben couldn't say. What she didn't know was that he had no desire to sleep with Beverly Styles, wouldn't have done it the first time if Bev hadn't insisted on coming up to his penthouse for a nightcap after their evening together. Since Sam was a friend, he'd had no notion of seduction, but he wasn't a saint and Bev was an attractive, sensual woman, a divorcee who knew exactly what she wanted.

Well, it wasn't going to happen tonight. There was only one woman he wanted and that one wasn't eager to let him back into her bed.

He sighed as he waited for the valet to bring his car from the underground lot. He'd make the evening as short as possible then go home.

Ben found himself smiling. Tomorrow he'd see Autumn and renew his campaign.

All the way up the freeway to Burlington, Autumn thought of Ben McKenzie.

She hadn't been physically attracted to a man in years, not since Lucas Noland, a climber she had met on a trip to the Colorado Rockies. Luke was handsome and amazingly athletic and they seemed to click from the moment they met. She had briefly recalled her disastrous, month-long dating, one-night disaster with Ronnie Hillson but Luke was a different kind of guy-an honest guy-and she believed she could handle a short-term affair.

She deserved to have a fling, she'd thought. Just this once. She would enjoy the two weeks they had together and expect nothing more from him.

When the trip came to an end, Autumn said her good-byes to Luke at the airport and flew back to Seattle. It's over, she told herself. Yet she couldn't make herself stop waiting for the phone to ring, hoping Luke would call.

He didn't. Not once.

A fling, she had discovered, could be painful.

She hadn't been in love with Luke but she had believed he cared for her more than he actually did. She consoled herself with memories of two glorious high-mountain weeks and vowed not to do anything that stupid again.

So how had she wound up in bed last night with Ben?

Autumn hissed in a breath. Dear G.o.d, the man was the most eligible bachelor in Seattle. His picture was plastered all over the society pages escorting countless women. How could she have been foolish enough to go to bed with him?

But even as she thought of him, she remembered the pain in his eyes, the defeat that weighed him down like a rain-sogged coat. She just couldn't let him go home alone and agonize over his lost little girl.

Or at least that was her excuse.

The truth was that she'd wanted Ben to stay. She had wanted him to make love to her so badly she ached with it.

And she hadn't been disappointed.

Nothing in her experience had prepared her for a night in bed with Ben McKenzie.

She ignored a warm tingling at the memory of slow, heated kisses, hot bare skin and big, talented hands stroking over her body.

Autumn sighed as she slowed and pulled into the driveway of her father's gray-and-white, double-wide mobile home. It sat on five acres a few miles out of town and her dad kept it clean and the property well cared for.

Or maybe these days, Myra kept the inside clean.

Whatever the case, she was glad Max was feeling better. She had spoken to him on the phone every day since the night he had been in the hospital. His continued talk about marrying Myra bothered Autumn only a little. It was his business after all, she had finally concluded.

She wondered if the silver-blond woman would be at the house and found herself hoping she would be. Myra was a good person and a true friend to her father.

If Max married her...

Autumn remembered the tears her mother had shed, the hours waiting for Max to come home, the scent of perfume on his collar when he did.

If her dad got married again...

Autumn felt sorry for Myra.

It was seven o'clock Sat.u.r.day morning. The phone had been ringing constantly since six. As Autumn sat at the kitchen table staring down at the photo on the society page of the newspaper, she knew exactly who was calling. Each shrill note made her heart ache and her stomach roll with nausea.

The ceaseless, irritating ring began again and Autumn grit her teeth. She reread the column, which gave a nicely written account of the charity dinner held at the Broad-moor Country Club last night. There were several photos surrounding the article but one stood out above the rest.

A photo of Ben McKenzie in his tuxedo with an attractive brunette named Beverly Styles. The thing that made the picture interesting was the way the woman's arms were locked around Ben's neck. There was no doubt the photo was shot the instant before the two of them kissed.

The phone rang again, a jarring note that pushed Autumn past the hurt and betrayal. She surged to her feet, grabbed the section of the paper with Ben's photo in it, balled it into a wad and tossed it into the trash can.

Dammit, not again! There must be something wrong with her. There had to be, the way she kept believing men were different than they really were, believing she could trust even one of them.

She didn't realize she was crying until a tear rolled down her cheek. d.a.m.ning Ben McKenzie to h.e.l.l, Autumn dashed away the wetness, grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

She didn't want to be late getting to the gym, where her group was meeting for their bouldering trip.

If Ben McKenzie had the nerve to show- Well, she wasn't exactly sure what she would do if he did, but an image clicked into her head of the two of them climbing. With grim satisfaction, she imagined herself letting go of the belaying rope as Ben tumbled off the side of a cliff.

Ben was waiting near the elevators in the lobby when Autumn came up from the parking garage. He stepped in front of her.

"I need to talk to you."

"Get out of my way, Ben."

He released a breath. "I guess you saw the paper."

Autumn shoved past him and continued walking, pretending not to hear him curse.

Ben caught up with her in two long strides, took hold of her arm and turned her around to face him. Across the lobby, her students were gathered and waiting, beginning to notice their approach.

"We can play this out in front of everyone here or you can give me a minute in private so I can explain."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say."

"I'm giving you a choice. What's it going to be?"

He was a big man and he was determined, but then so was she.

She looked at the group of climbers who watched with growing fascination. "I said get out of my way."

"I'll cart you off over my shoulder if I have to."

He wasn't kidding. She could see it in the set of his jaw. She wasn't about to be embarra.s.sed in front of her students. Autumn grit her teeth, whirled and marched ahead of him down the hall, turning into a lower-level conference room that wasn't being used.

"Good choice," Ben said, closing the door behind him. "I know you're p.i.s.sed and I don't blame you. But you're going to listen to what I have to say. Once I'm finished, you can decide what you want to do. After that, we're going climbing."

"You aren't going anywhere with me!" She started for the door but he blocked her way.

"Several weeks ago, I agree to escort Bev Styles and her father, both long-time friends, to an important event at the country club. I'd forgotten all about it until Jenn reminded me at six o'clock last night. I intended to make a short evening of it. I had no idea the paper would be covering the event and I didn't even notice when the photographer snapped that picture of me and Bev."

"But I bet you noticed that kiss." She started moving, but again he stepped in the way.

"I didn't kiss her-she kissed me. If I'd had a clue that was going to happen, I would have stopped her. I took her directly home a few minutes later. I didn't kiss her good-night and I didn't ask her out again-nor do I intend to."

Autumn tried to read his expression. She saw honesty but didn't know if it was real. She raked back her hair, shoving the heavy auburn curls away from her face. "I can't handle this, Ben. I'm not like your other women. Please, can't you just leave me alone?"

He reached out and caught her chin, his hand surprisingly gentle. "I'd leave you alone if I could. I can't seem to make that happen. When I saw the paper this morning, I felt sick to my stomach. I knew what you would think, how you would feel. If you're worried I'll keep seeing other women, I won't. I wouldn't have gone last night if I hadn't already promised Sam."

Autumn said nothing, but her heart was throbbing. She could tell he was upset. Maybe he was being sincere. Although it didn't change anything, it made some of the hurt go away.