"A Man Apart" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hohl Joan)

One

Justin Grainger was a man apart-and he liked it that way. He was content with his life. Possessing a nearly uncanny affinity for horses, he was satisfied with his work of running his isolated horse ranch in Montana.

But Justin was not a hermit or even a true loner. He enjoyed the easy camaraderie shared with his ranch hands and his foreman, Ben Daniels. And though Justin had never again wanted a woman on the property, since his failed marriage five years before, he had accepted the presence of Ben’s new young wife, Karla. She had been the former personal assistant to Justin’s brother, Mitch, who managed the family-owned gambling casino in Deadwood, South Dakota.

Justin had other family members he occasionally visited. His parents, retired now in Sedona, Arizona, were both still healthy and socially active. His sister, Beth, as yet unmarried, was off doing her fashion thing in San Francisco. And his eldest brother, Adam, headed up various family businesses from their corporate offices in Casper, Wyoming.

Adam was married to a lovely woman named Sunny, whom Justin had set out to tolerate in the name of family unity and had quickly come to admire, respect and love almost as much as his own sister. Adam and Sunny had a baby daughter, Becky, whom Justin quite simply adored.

On occasion Justin even spent recreational time with an accommodating woman-no strings attached. And that suited him fine. He claimed that horses were much easier to deal with, less contentious and argumentative, thus easier to talk to and get along with.

Although, these days, after a long, hot work-filled summer, a busy autumn, and winter just settling in, Justin was a bit restless and didn’t grumble too much when he received an urgent and demanding phone call from Mitch the week before Christmas.

“I need you to come to Deadwood,” Mitch said, in his usual straightforward way.

“Yeah? Why?” Justin replied, in his usual dry, less-than-impressed manner.

“I’m getting married, and I want you to be my best man,” Mitch shot back. “That’s why.”

As an attention getter, his brother’s explanation was a winner, Justin conceded…to himself. He never had conceded much of anything-except absolute loyalty and devotion-to any one of his siblings.

“When did you lose it, Mitch?” he asked in soft tones of commiseration.

“Lose what?” Mitch sounded slightly baffled.

Justin grinned. “Your mind, old son. You must have lost it if you’re going to take the marital plunge.”

“I haven’t lost my mind…old son,” Mitch retorted, a trace of amusement undermining his rough voice. “Trite as it might sound, it’s my heart I’ve lost.”

There was no way Justin could let his brother’s remark pass without comment. “No ‘might’ about it,” he drawled, enjoying himself. “That is trite. Sappy, too.”

Mitch laughed. “I don’t know what to tell you, bro,” he said, suddenly dead serious. “I’m way deep in love with her.”

Oh, yeah, Justin thought, hearing the heartfelt note in his brother’s voice. Mitch was seriously serious. “It’s Maggie Reynolds. Right?”

“Yes…of course.”

Of course. Justin wasn’t surprised, not really. A faint smile tugged at his lips. In fact, after all the rave reviews he’d heard from Mitch about Ms. Reynolds ever since she’d replaced Karla as his personal assistant, Justin should have been expecting the marriage announcement.

“Well?”

Mitch’s impatient voice sliced across Justin’s thoughts. “Well what?” he asked.

Mitch sighed loudly, and Justin managed to contain a burst of laughter.

“Will you be best man at my wedding?”

“Might as well,” Justin drawled. “Why change the status quo now…as I always was the best man, anyway.”

“In your dreams, maybe,” Mitch said amiably going along with the old joke. “Because you’re never gonna live long enough to see that day while you’re awake.”

“Ha! Don’t bet the casino on it.”

“As if…” Mitch made a snorting sound; he never gambled on anything, never mind the family owned casino. “You know damn well I never…”

“Yeah, yeah. I do know, so spare me the drill. When do you want me in Deadwood?”

“We’ve set the date for the first Saturday in the new year. But you could come for Christmas,” Mitch suggested, cautiously hopeful.

“I don’t think so.” Justin slanted a wry look at the tall, glittery tree placed in front of the wide living room window. The tree-along with other assorted holiday decorations-was a concession to Ben’s new bride. “You know I’m not-”

“Into Christmas,” Mitch finished for him. “Yes, I know.” He heaved a tired-sounding sigh. “This Christmas it’ll be five years since Angie took off with that sales rep. Don’t you think it’s time to put it behind you, Justin, find a nice, decent woman and-”

“Back off, Mitch,” he growled in warning, closing his mind to the memory of that bitter winter. “The only woman I’ll be looking to find won’t be either too nice or too decent, just ready and willing.”

“Tsk, tsk,” Mitch said, clicking his tongue in disapproval. “I do hope that if you’re thinking of looking while you’re here in Deadwood, you’ll be discreet about it.”

“Don’t want me to shock the sensibilities of the future missus, hmm?” Justine taunted.

“My future missus and Ben’s missus and Adam’s missus,” Mitch taunted right back. “Not to mention the sensibilities of our mother and sister.”

“Ouch.” Justin laughed. “Okay. I’ll be extra discreet…even circumspect.”

Mitch chuckled. “Whatever.”

“By the way, is Karla going to be matron of honor?”

“Well…yes, but there’ll be two of them.”

“Two what?”

“Well, two attendants,” Mitch said. “Maggie’s best friend will be coming from Philadelphia via Nebraska to be Maggie’s maid of honor.”

“Philadelphia via Nebraska?”

“She lives in Philadelphia,” Mitch explained. “That’s where Maggie’s from, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, but…where does Nebraska come in?”

“Hannah’s originally from Nebraska, and she’ll be visiting her family before coming on to Deadwood.”

“Hannah, huh?” Justin had an immediate image of an old-fashioned female to fit the old-fashioned name-prim, proper, virginal and probably plain.

“Yeah, Hannah Deturk.”

Add prudish to the list.

“And you’d better be nice to her,” Mitch warned.

“Of course I’ll be nice to her. Why the hell wouldn’t I be nice to her?” Justin said, genuinely hurt by his brother’s warning, by the idea that Mitch felt it necessary to issue the warning.

“Well…” Mitch’s tone was now conciliatory. “You’ve never made a secret about how you feel about women, and I just don’t want anything to upset Maggie.”

“You sound as smitten as Ben,” he said. “You really do have it bad, don’t you?”

“I love her, Justin, more than my own life,” Mitch admitted in a quiet, but rock-solid tone.

“I hear you, and I promise I’ll behave.” He knew he’d never felt like that about a woman, not even his ex-wife, Angie, and was certain he never would.

Hell, he never wanted to experience that kind of intense emotion for any woman, Justin thought minutes later, frowning as he cradled the receiver. That path only led to pain.

First Ben and Karla, now Mitch and Maggie, he mused, staring into space, and all within one year.

Hmm. While Justin wasn’t fanciful, he did wonder if there was some type of aphrodisiac in Deadwood’s water, or maybe it was the atmosphere in the casino, some sort of love and marriage spell.

The day after Christmas, Justin set off for Deadwood, convinced he was impervious to anything like a spell or potion. He’d learned his lesson.

Hannah Deturk had not been exactly thrilled to be leaving Philadelphia at the end of the third week of December, of all times of the year, for the upper Midwest. South Dakota via Nebraska. To Hannah Deadwood, South Dakota was the back of beyond and, if possible, even more remote than the area of Nebraska where she had been born and raised.

After graduating college and relocating, first to Chicago, which was too windy, then to New York City, which was too big, and finally settling into Philadelphia, Hannah had vowed that other than brief visits home to visit her folks, she would never go back to that desolate part of the country. She certainly wouldn’t travel there in the winter months of November, December, January, February and March, and she even considered October, April and May pretty chancy.

Only a request by her parents or, as was the case, the marriage of her dearest friend, Maggie, could induce Hannah to take the three hard-earned vacation weeks she had allotted herself and spend them in Deadwood, South Dakota, of all places.

She didn’t even gamble, for goodness sake, had never even visited the casinos in Atlantic City, a mere hour or so drive down the Atlantic City expressway from Philly.

And yet when Maggie had called her to tell her she was getting married in January and asked Hannah to be her maid of honor, Hannah hadn’t so much as entertained a thought of refusing.

So, a few days into the new year, after spending Christmas with her family in Nebraska, Hannah found herself on the road, steering a leased four-wheel-drive vehicle through a blessedly light fall of snow, heading for Deadwood.

It was dark, and the snowfall heavier when Hannah finally arrived in the town made legendary by its historical reputation of being wide-open and the larger-than-life characters of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

Those days were long-gone, as were the infamous pair. Other than having legal gambling casinos, Deadwood looked to Hannah much like any other small upper Midwest town.

She missed Philadelphia, where it would be evening rush hour and the traffic would be horrific. She even missed that.

Then again…perhaps not.

Smiling wryly, Hannah peered through the windshield to look for the turnoff Maggie had indicated in her directions. A few minutes later she brought the vehicle to a careful stop in front of a large Victorian house that had been converted into apartments.

No wonder Maggie had fallen in love with the house, Hannah thought, stepping out of the Jeep to stare through the swirling snow at the old mansion that had once been the Grainger family home. It was an imposing sight, and conjured images of a bygone era of grace and style.

“Hannah!”

Hannah blinked back into the present at the excited sound of Maggie’s voice calling her name. Her coatless friend was dashing down the veranda steps toward her.

“Maggie!” Hannah flung out her arms to embrace her friend. “Are you nutty, or what?” she asked, laughing, as she stepped back to gaze into her friend’s glowing face. “It’s snowing and freezing out here.”

“Yes, I’m nutty.” Maggie laughed with her. “So nutty and crazy in love, I don’t feel the cold.”

“Got your love to keep you warm, do you?” Hannah dryly teased.

“Yes…yes.” Despite her heartfelt assertion, Maggie shivered. “I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Hannah said, grasping Maggie’s arm to lead her toward the house. “But meanwhile let’s get inside, where I hope it’s warm.”

“Well, of course it’s warm.” Maggie flashed a grin. “Even up in my nest on the third floor.”

Releasing her hold on Maggie’s arm, Hannah turned back to the car. “You go on ahead, I’ll just grab my bags and be with you in a minute.”

“Did you bring your dress for the wedding?” Maggie called from the shelter of the veranda.

“Of course I did,” Hannah yelled back over the open trunk lid, shivering as the sting of wind-driven snow bit into her face. “Now go into the house.”

A half hour later, her bags unpacked, the special dress she had frantically shopped for before leaving Philly hanging on a padded hanger to dewrinkle, Hannah sat curled on the cushioned seat in the bay window alcove in Maggie’s warm “nest,” her hands cradling a steaming cup of marshmallow-topped hot chocolate.

She took a careful sip, and winced. “Mmm…delicious. But very hot. I scorched my tongue.”

Maggie laughed. “It’s supposed to be hot.” Her eyes danced with amusement. “That’s why it’s called hot chocolate.”

Hannah’s pained expression smoothed into a gentle smile. It was so good to hear her friend laugh again, see the glow of happiness in Maggie’s face that had replaced the bitter hurt of betrayal of the previous summer.

“You really are in love this time,” Hannah said, taking another careful sip. “Aren’t you?”

“Yes…though I wouldn’t have believed it possible mere months ago…I really am in love.” Maggie heaved a contented sigh. Her eyes took on a dreamy look. “Mitch is so wonderful, so, so…”

“Everything Todd was not?” Hannah interjected, her normally husky voice lightened by expectation.

“Todd who?” Maggie asked with assumed innocence.

Hannah grinned, finally convinced her friend was back on track at last. “Oh, you know, Todd what’s-his-name, the jerk you were engaged to marry. The same jerk who eloped with his boss’s daughter.”

Maggie grimaced. “Oh, that jerk. Yes, Mitch is everything Todd was not.” Her lips formed a soft smile. “And a whole heck of a lot more.”

“Good.” Allowing herself to fully relax, Hannah settled more comfortably into the corner of the alcove. Smiling, she studied her friend’s radiant face. “You really are genuinely in love this time,” she murmured in tones of wonder. “Aren’t you?”

Maggie laughed. “Didn’t I just answer that question moments ago? Yes, Hannah, I am deeply, genuinely, madly, desperately, deliriously…

“Okay, okay,” Hannah broke in, holding up her hands and laughing. “I believe you.”

“About time.” Maggie laughed with her. “More hot chocolate? A cookie?”

“No, thank you.” Hannah shook her head. “I still have some chocolate-” she grimaced “-and I’ve already had too many cookies. They’re delicious.”

“Karla baked them.”

Hannah frowned. “Karla?” Then, remembering, she said, “Oh, the woman whose job you took over, the one who’s going to stand as matron of honor.”

“Mmm.” Maggie nodded. “She loves to cook, and baked these for Christmas. She brought some with her for us.”

“That was thoughtful of her.” Hannah smiled. “So, she’s here already, too. I’m eager to meet her.”

“Yes, she’s here in Deadwood. Karla and her husband, Ben, and the baby.” Maggie laughed. “Matter of fact, the whole gang’s here.”

“Gang?” Hannah lifted one perfectly arched brow.

“Yes, Mitch’s family,” Maggie explained. “They arrived in dribbles and drips over the past two days…”

“Dribbles and drips,” Hannah interrupted, laughing. “Your Pennsylvania Dutch country origins are showing.”

“Whatever.” Maggie shrugged. “Anyway, they’re here. Mitch’s parents, two brothers, one alone, one with his family, and his sister. You’ll meet them Friday evening at the rehearsal, and get to know them a little at dinner afterward.”

“Dinner?” Hannah swept the room with a skeptical glance. “Where?”

“Mitch made arrangements for dinner at the Bullock Hotel.”

“Oh.” Naturally, Hannah hadn’t a clue where the Bullock Hotel might be located, but it didn’t matter. “And is that when I’ll meet your Mitch?” Now, that did matter, a lot. She had witnessed the hurt and humiliation inflicted on Maggie by her former fiancé. Hannah had never been able to bring herself to trust or like the too-smooth Todd. Subsequently, to her dismay, her suspicions about him had proved correct.

“No.” Maggie shook her head. “You’ll meet Mitch tonight. He’s going to stop by later. Though he’s eager to meet you-I’ve told him so much about you-he wanted to give us some time alone together, to catch up.” Her eyes softened. “He’s so considerate.”

Hmm, I’ll be the judge of that, Hannah mused. But it sure sounded like Maggie did have it bad. “How does it really feel? Being in love, I mean?”

“All the things I mentioned before…and perhaps a little scary, too.”

“Scary?” Hannah was at once alert, her protective instincts quivering. Was this Mitch Grainger a bully? She couldn’t imagine her independent friend falling for a man who would intimidate her, but then again, Maggie had been about to marry that deceitful jerk Todd.

“Well, maybe not exactly scary,” Maggie said, after giving it some thought. “It’s all so new and sudden, and almost too exciting, too thrilling. You know how love is.”

Whoa, Hannah thought, serious stuff here… Too exciting? Too thrilling? Now she really couldn’t wait to meet the man. “Actually, no,” she admitted, wryly. “I don’t know.”

Maggie blinked in astonishment. “You’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You’ve never been in love? What about that guy you dated in college?”

“Oh, I thought I was in love,” Hannah said. “Turned out it was a combination of chemistry and itchy hormones, commonly called lust.” Her tone was dry, her smile self derisive.

“But…since then…?” Maggie persisted.

“Nope.” Hannah swallowed the last of the chocolate; it had gone as cold as her love life…or lack of same. “There were a couple of infatuations, some sexual activity, but not much. There was one brief and I thought promising relationship I never told you about. But it really never got off square one, so to speak.” She shrugged. “Nothing even remotely resembling what you’ve described.”

“Oh, too bad. All this time we’ve known each other, and I never knew, never even guessed…you’ve always been so closemouthed about your personal life.”

Hannah laughed. “That’s because I didn’t have one, at least nothing that warranted discussion.”

“I never imagined…” Maggie sighed, then brightened. “Oh, I can’t wait for you to fall in love someday, experience this excitingly scary champagne-bubbly feeling.”

“I’m not sure I want to.” Hannah slowly moved her head back and forth.

“Not want to?” Maggie exclaimed, surprised. “But…why not?”

“Because…” Hannah hesitated, carefully choosing her words so as not to offend her friend by voicing doubt. “I don’t think I want to expose myself to that degree.”

“Expose yourself?” Maggie frowned in confusion. “I don’t get your point. Expose yourself to what?”

“That sort of emotional vulnerability,” she said.

Maggie’s amusement showed with her easy laughter. “You’re wacko…you know that? Don’t you realize that if I’m emotionally vulnerable, stands to reason Mitch is, too?”

“I suppose so,” Hannah murmured. But is he? She kept the question and her doubts to herself. She had always considered herself a pretty good judge of character, and she had been right about Todd.

Wait and see, she told herself, lifting an eyebrow in question when Maggie, suddenly frowning, nibbled on her lower lip in consternation.

“Is something wrong?”

Maggie lifted her shoulders in an indecisive shrug. “Not really…it’s just…”

“Just?” Hannah prompted.

Maggie sighed. “Well, I think maybe I should give you a heads-up on the best man, Mitch’s brother, Justin.”

“A heads-up?” Hannah grinned. “Why, is he some kind of ogre or monster?”

Maggie grinned back. “No, of course not. It’s just…well…he’s different, a little rough around the edges, not nearly as polished as Mitch or their oldest brother, Adam.”

“Like, crude?” Hannah raised an eyebrow.

“No, no.” Maggie shook her head. “Just a little brusque. I understand he is something of a loner, thinks women are good for one thing only.”

“I don’t think I need ask what the one thing might be,” Hannah drawled. A thought occurred that brought a glint of anger into her eyes. “Was this ‘loner’ brusque and perhaps a little rude to you?”

“Heavens no!” Maggie exclaimed on a laugh. “Actually, he was quite civil, really very nice.”

“Then, how do you know that he-”

Maggie interrupted. “Because Mitch gave me a heads-up.” She laughed. “He told me I should tell him at once if Justin said one word out of line.” Her laugh turned to a giggle. “Mitch said if he did, he’d mop the casino floor with him. Which, after I met him, I thought was hilarious.”

Thoroughly confused, Hannah was about to demand a fuller explanation when Maggie glanced at the clock, pushed her chair away from the table and stood.

“I think I’d better get dinner started,” Maggie said. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting hungry. And I told Mitch we’d have coffee and dessert with him.”

“Okay. I’ll help,” Hannah said, stretching as she stood.

“But…you’re my guest,” Maggie protested. “The first one I’ve had in this apartment.”

“Guest, shmest,” Hannah retorted. “I’m not a guest, I’m a friend…your best friend. Right?”

“Right.” Maggie gave a vigorous nod, then qualified, “After Mitch, of course.”

Oh, brother, Hannah thought. “Oh, of course,” she agreed with a smile, skirting around the table. “What’s on the menu?”

“Pasta.”

Hannah rolled her eyes. “What else?” Being Maggie’s second-best friend, she was well aware of her passion for past dishes. “What kind?”

“Penne with snow peas, baby carrots, walnuts and a light oil-balsamic-vinegar sauce.”

“Yummy.” Hannah’s mouth watered. “And dessert?”

“A surprise.” Maggie’s eyes gleamed.

“Oh, come on,” Hannah groused, grinning.

Maggie shook her head. “All I’ll tell you is that Karla showed me how to make it.” Her eyes now sparkled with a teasing light. “And it’s a delight,” she finished on a suspicious-sounding giggle.

After their fabulous meal, Hannah leaned back in her chair. “That was wonderful,” she said, sighing with repletion.

“Thanks.” Maggie arched an eyebrow as she rose to start clearing the table. “How’s the career progressing?”

“Right on schedule. I figure by the time I’m eighty or ninety, I’ll be the best damn consultant in the entire marketing industry,” Hannah drawled, rising to help clean up.

Maggie shot a frown at her. “No, seriously, how is it going for you?”

“Very well, actually,” Hannah answered, helping Maggie to fill the dishwasher. “I gave myself a raise by raising my fee in November. Not one of my clients objected. My end-of-year earnings have put me into a higher income tax bracket, and I don’t even mind.”

“That’s great,” Maggie exclaimed, rewarding her with a hug. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Hannah said simply, going on to candidly admit, “At the risk of sounding arrogant, I’m rather pleased with myself at the moment.”

“And why not?” Maggie demanded, her hands planted on her slender hips. “You should be pleased and delighted. You’ve worked your butt off getting yourself established. I know. I was there. Just as you’ve always been there for me. Remember?”

Hannah smiled, recalling the day the previous June when she had walked into Maggie’s apartment to witness her friend slashing the exquisitely beautiful, extremely expensive wedding dress to shreds. “Remember? How could I forget all the pain-and fun-we’ve shared?”

“Well, while you’re here, let’s just remember the fun, and say to hell with the pain. Deal?”

Hannah laughed. “Deal.”

They shared a hug and, sliding an arm around each other’s waists, strolled to the other side of the room to settle back down on the window seat behind the table, chattering away while they waited for Mitch.

With each passing moment, Maggie’s face took on a becoming glow, her eyes shining with anticipation. And with each of those moments, Hannah felt her own anticipation rise, as she wondered what kind of man this Mitch Grainger must be. Not to mention his enigmatic brother.