Stranded With The Boss
Elizabeth Lane
A single mom—and her twin babies!—are snowbound with the boss. Can they melt his frozen heart?When Tessa Randall sues CEO Dragan Markovic’s company for unfair termination, he insists on hearing her side of the story. But the billionaire known as The Dragon gets more than he bargained for when he’s stranded at his snowy Alaskan lodge with Tessa and her twin toddlers. Now the flame-haired beauty wants to uncover his story. How can he tell her that her children remind him of his harrowing past and all that he lost? Or that the sweet family of three is slowly melting The Dragon’s frozen heart…
“I might be able to help you.”
The subtly accented baritone, as deep and sensual as the purr of a tiger, vibrated along Tessa’s nerves.
The man standing behind her was strikingly tall with dark hair and the coldest slate-colored eyes she’d ever seen. His chiseled features—a square jaw, straight nose and high Slavic cheekbones—were too strong to be called handsome, but his very presence exuded power and masculinity.
He was a stranger—surely she’d remember if she’d ever met such a man. But something about him seemed familiar.
Tessa found her voice. “I beg your pardon,” she said. “Did you just offer to help me?”
“I couldn’t help overhearing,” he said. “I’ll be taking off for Anchorage in a few minutes. There’s plenty of room in the plane. You’re welcome to come along.”
There had to be a catch. She would never get into a car with a strange man. Would getting into a plane, especially with her precious babies, be any different?
“My plane’s a private craft.” He spoke as if sensing her hesitation. “But I happen to be a co-owner of this charter company. They can vouch for me.” He spoke like a man accustomed to getting his own way.
How could she refuse, when this might be her only chance to get to Anchorage with the twins?
“Yes,” Tessa said, taking the plunge. “I’d be happy to accept your very kind offer.”
* * *
Stranded with the Boss is part of the No.1 bestselling series from Mills & Boon
Desire™—Billionaires and Babies: Powerful men … wrapped around their babies’ little fingers.
Stranded with the Boss
Elizabeth Lane
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
ELIZABETH LANE has lived and traveled in many parts of the world, including Europe, Latin America and the Far East, but her heart remains in the American West, where she was born and raised. Her idea of heaven is hiking a mountain trail on a clear autumn day. She also enjoys music, animals and dancing. You can learn more about Elizabeth by visiting her website at www.elizabethlaneauthor.com (http://www.elizabethlaneauthor.com).
Contents
Cover (#udc6be4a2-37cc-5277-8611-053e8d9235da)
Excerpt (#uea64bfe4-d520-5198-a414-d140044d4429)
Title Page (#uec6bbdba-733a-5181-8b56-1f38a0ccb4e2)
About the Author (#u35d7bef9-cfec-5512-93d2-88a4c82a1309)
One (#u6817e064-cd0a-5b3f-93b1-c2fd382b6677)
Two (#u8b2f97cd-402a-5af3-a847-aa07ffb5cf22)
Three (#u19ed9cbd-6524-5c18-9f20-cae3bbd0c366)
Four (#u5889d98c-b421-57f2-8ecf-bd088d2eaf38)
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Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)
Epilogue (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
One (#ulink_a9c93ad0-e087-5e3a-9aa6-7044ab14515a)
Seattle, Washington Late September
“Are you telling me that lawsuit’s still going to trial?” Dragan Markovic glowered from behind his massive desk. “We’ve offered the blasted woman everything short of the moon. Why won’t she settle?”
The young lawyer, part of the Trans Pacific corporate team, was visibly nervous. He fiddled with his pen. A bead of sweat gleamed on his forehead. “According to her attorney, it’s not just about money. Miss Randall wants the public to know how unfairly she was treated. She’s determined to make sure no female employee is ever again fired because of pregnancy.”
Dragan’s scowl darkened. “She wasn’t fired because she was pregnant. I was given to understand that Miss Randall was fired because she couldn’t perform her job.”
“That’s what we’ll be telling the judge. Her work involved trips to the Far East. The pregnancy was too high-risk for that kind of travel.”
“So why wasn’t she given a desk job for the duration?”
The lawyer flinched. “That’s what her lawyer is going to argue. The firing was her supervisor’s call. It seems there was some friction between them.”
With a muttered curse Dragan rose from his massive leather chair and turned to gaze out the floor-to-ceiling window. His top-floor, corner office gave him a sweeping view of the Seattle waterfront, lined by acres of warehouses, piers and gigantic cranes. Two huge container ships, with the Trans Pacific logo on their bows, were moored along the company dock waiting to be loaded with cargo. Beyond them, the gray waters of Puget Sound lay shrouded in September fog.
Dammit, he had a company to run. He didn’t have time to deal with Miss Tessa Randall—a woman he’d never met, nor cared to—and the lawsuit that threatened to smear Trans Pacific’s reputation in the media. Why couldn’t she just take the money, sign the nondisclosure agreement and go away?
“As I remember hearing, she gave birth to twins,” he said.
“That’s right. Identical twin girls. Sixteen months ago.” The lawyer wiped his glasses and replaced them. “They were born seven weeks early. By then her insurance had been terminated. The medical expenses—”
“We’ve offered to cover those,” Dragan snapped.
“I know. But her lawyer’s talking about demanding punitive damages, claiming the stress of losing her job caused Miss Randall to go into premature labor a month later.”
“Can they prove that?”
“They’ll no doubt try. This could get nasty—and expensive.” The lawyer shuffled his papers. “If I could offer a suggestion, Mr. Markovic?”
“Go ahead.”
“I know you don’t like getting involved in these matters. But if you could meet with Miss Randall face-to-face, maybe even offer her an apology on behalf of the company, she might be willing to—”
“That’s out of the question.” Dragan swung back to face him. “I don’t have time and I don’t owe the woman a personal apology. When’s the court date?”
“A week from today. Since Miss Randall worked out of our Alaska office, the civil trial’s being held in Anchorage. There’s still time for you to—”
“I said no. Just handle it. That’s what you and your associates are paid for. If you can’t do your jobs...” Dragan let the implied threat hang on the air. “That will be all for now.”
“Yes, Mr. Markovic. We’ll do our best.” Clutching his paperwork, the lawyer actually backed out of the office.
As the door clicked shut, Dragan turned toward the window again. Muttering a few choice curses in his native Croatian, he gazed into the gathering fog. For two cents he’d fire the whole hot-shot legal team and hire one seasoned attorney who knew how to work the system. As it was...
The melancholy wail of a foghorn echoed through the glass. Reminding himself that he was wasting time, Dragan returned to his desk, switched on his computer and brought up Tessa Randall’s archived personnel file. He hadn’t bothered to read it earlier. But now that his legal team seemed to be stalled, maybe it was time he took a look.
Her photo showed a tousled redhead, surprisingly pretty, with challenging hazel eyes. Even on paper, the woman looked damn sexy.
Her marital status was listed as single, with no indication of a marriage or divorce in her six years with the company. Since she’d become pregnant, there had to be a story behind that—a story that wasn’t mentioned in her file. What the file did contain was a stack of sterling performance reviews. Not only did Miss Randall speak fluent Japanese, but she was highly valued as a contract negotiator. With so much Trans Pacific cargo—chiefly lumber, steel, and other building supplies—going to Japan, she wouldn’t have been an easy employee to replace.
Intrigued, Dragan read the rest of the file. There were no details about her dismissal, only the date. That was a puzzle. Could part of the record have been deleted?
The last entry showed a current address in Bellingham, Washington, a college town across the Sound from Seattle. Wherever she was living now, she’d have to show up in Anchorage for the trial. The question was did he care enough to clear his calendar to be there, too?
Dragan closed the file and switched off the computer. He’d hoped his legal team could handle what he’d once viewed as a simple settlement issue. But he could feel himself being sucked into the drama. Facing Miss Tessa Randall, in or out of court, might be the only way to strengthen his case and prevent damage to Trans Pacific’s reputation. But before it could happen he needed a plan—and a way to find the missing pieces of her story. If he discovered that she’d been wronged he would do the decent thing, but only on his own terms. Whatever happened, nobody was going to blacken his company’s name.
Nobody.
Bellingham, Washington
Six days later
This couldn’t be happening.
Tessa fumbled in her purse for a bottle of ibuprofen, wrenched off the lid and glanced around the bustling air-charter terminal for a drinking fountain. Seeing none, she gulped two tablets dry, gagging slightly as they went down.
Weeks ago she’d booked a single seat on the Alaska Airlines flight to Anchorage. Her parents had agreed to watch the twins for a few days while she attended the hearing for her lawsuit. Then her mother had tripped and broken her foot. To make matters worse, Tessa’s lawyer, Helen Carmichael, had warned her that if they went for punitive damages, the proceedings could drag on for weeks. Left with no choice except to take her toddler twins with her to Anchorage, Tessa had called the airline and tried to reserve three adjoining seats. There were no additional seats available.
Helen, a silver-haired marvel of efficiency, had booked a charter flight for Tessa and the twins and arranged for housing and a daytime nanny in Anchorage. Problem solved. Or so Tessa had thought—until now.
Fighting tears of frustration, she strode down the corridor toward the waiting area, where her friend Penny, who’d driven her to the airport, was keeping an eye on the twins.
Strapped into their side-by-side stroller, Maddie and Missy were getting plenty of attention from passers-by. Dressed in identical pink coveralls, with their blue eyes and flame-colored curls, they were truly adorable. But when they were tired they could be cranky little hellions.
They were tired now.
At the sight of their mother they started to cry, bucking against the safety harnesses that kept them in the stroller. The closer Tessa came, the louder they screamed. Their little arms reached out toward her, Missy begging to be picked up and cuddled, Maddie just wanting to get loose and run.
Tessa’s headache was getting worse and the ibuprofen wasn’t working fast enough.
“What’s wrong?” Penny, a perky blonde with a husband and three school-age children, gave her a concerned look.
Tessa shook her head. “You’re not going to believe this. My flight’s been canceled. Some kind of trouble with the plane.”
“Well, if it’s their plane at fault, don’t they have to get you another flight?”
“So far all the people behind the counter have done is shrug and roll their eyes. I’m going back in there again and pitch a fit until I get some results. It may take a little time. I just wanted to give you a heads-up.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ve got all the time you need.” Penny glanced at the two fussing babies. “Maybe if we wait, the little munchkins will wear themselves out and go to sleep.”
“I put some snacks and juice in the diaper bag,” Tessa said. “That might help settle them down. Sorry about this, Penny. I know you’ve got other things to do.”
“Don’t worry about it. And don’t come back here until you’ve got another flight.”
The twins screamed louder as Tessa walked back down the corridor. Their cries tore at her heart but turning around to look at them would only make things worse. What a mess. Maybe she should’ve settled for the generous amount the Trans Pacific lawyers had offered her. But as Helen, a fiery advocate for women’s rights, had reminded her, there was more at stake here than money. Her lawsuit would make an example of Trans Pacific and set a precedent for future cases.
Squaring her shoulders and setting her jaw, she marched up to the check-in counter for Northwest Charter Air, where she’d left her luggage. “This is an outrage,” she said. “I have a ticket and a reservation. I’m not moving from this spot until you find me another flight to Anchorage.”
The middle-aged woman behind the counter shook her head. “I’m sorry. We’re booked solid. There’s no other plane avail—”
“I might be able to help you.” The subtly accented baritone, as deep and sensual as the purr of a tiger, vibrated along Tessa’s nerves, as if someone had brushed a velvet-clad fingertip down her cheek. She turned with a startled gasp.
The man standing behind her was strikingly tall with dark hair and the coldest slate-colored eyes she’d ever seen. His chiseled features—a square jaw, straight nose and high Slavic cheekbones—were too strong to be called handsome, but his very presence exuded power and masculinity. He was simply dressed in jeans, a muted plaid wool shirt and lambskin jacket, but the watch on his wrist was a high-end steel Rolex, sleek and expensive.
With his flinty eyes and Eastern European accent, he could have played the sexy villain in a Hollywood spy movie.
He was a stranger—surely she’d remember if she’d ever met such a man. But something about him seemed familiar. Was he an actor? Maybe a newscaster she’d seen on TV? He hadn’t introduced himself. Had he assumed she’d know who he was?
Tessa found her voice. “I beg your pardon,” she said. “Did you just offer to help me?”
“I couldn’t help overhearing,” he said. “I’ll be taking off for Anchorage in a few minutes. There’s plenty of room in the plane. You’re welcome to come along—at no charge, of course.”
“You’re sure?” Tessa wavered on the edge of uncertainty. The man’s offer had come as an amazing stroke of luck. But there had to be a catch. She would never get into a car with a strange man. Would getting into a plane, especially with her precious babies, be any different?
“My plane’s outside.” He spoke as if sensing her hesitation. “It’s a private craft. But I happen to be a co-owner of this charter company. If you’re worried about your safety, Miss Burris, here, can vouch for me, can’t you, Marlene?” He glanced at the woman behind the counter.
“Oh, yes,” she simpered. “Absolutely, sir.”
“So make up your mind, miss. We need to leave before the fog comes in.” He spoke like a man accustomed to getting his own way.
How could she refuse, when this might be her only chance to get to Anchorage with the twins? “Yes,” Tessa said, taking the plunge. “I’d be happy to accept your very kind offer.”
“Fine.” He glanced down at her stacked luggage, which held more clothes, snacks and diapers for the twins than things for herself. “Are these your bags? I’ll have them put aboard.”
“Yes, thanks. But right now I need to get something. I’ll only be a couple of minutes.”
Tessa raced down the hall toward the waiting room. She should probably have told her rescuer about the twins. But now that she’d agreed to go, she didn’t want to take a chance on his changing his mind. He’d said there was plenty of room. And even in a small plane, the flight from Bellingham to Anchorage couldn’t take more than a few hours. How big an imposition could two little children be?
Such a riveting man. Why did that chiseled Slavic face seem so familiar? Where had she seen it before? In a magazine? Maybe on TV? If she didn’t remember his name soon she would have to swallow her embarrassment and ask him.
* * *
Dragan watched her hurry away, admiring how her tan slacks clung to her shapely little rump. Too bad the pending lawsuit made bedding her a bad idea. She was definitely his type—petite, curvy and spirited. He imagined she could be a little wildcat between the sheets. Maybe after the trial, if things worked out to everyone’s satisfaction...
He shook his head, amused by the predictable wanderings of his mind. He was a shamelessly physical animal who enjoyed pretty women. As long as a lady didn’t expect anything beyond a few dinners and nighttime romps, then maybe a diamond bracelet as a parting gift, that was enough for him. Emotions and other such complications were a waste of time and energy.
As for love, if there even was such a thing, it had no place in his world. Now that his uncle—who’d brought him to America after Sarajevo and raised him as a son—had passed away, he had no one left who was truly close to him. No family, no personal attachments of any kind. Dragan was comfortable with that. It made everything simpler, leaving him free to concentrate on the shipping business he’d inherited and forged into an ocean-spanning empire.
His new private plane sat fueled and waiting on the tarmac. Dragan gave orders for a worker to put Miss Randall’s luggage—one large suitcase and two smaller ones—in the cargo bay behind the seats. He could tell from the way the man lifted them that they were heavy. The lady must’ve brought enough clothes, shoes and makeup for a long stay in Anchorage. He could only hope she wouldn’t need them—that they’d be able to come to a quick, amicable agreement.
Turning toward the window, Dragan surveyed the thirty-six-foot craft from its single turbo propeller and fifty-two-foot overhead wing to its gleaming tail. The Swiss-built Pilatus P-6, known as the Porter, was engineered for short-distance takeoffs and landings, making it ideal for Alaska. This one was just out of the shop, where it had been custom fitted with floats above the wheels and heavy-duty tires for landing on rough ground. With these additions, the plane could take him almost anywhere he wished. Dragan looked forward to trying out his new toy, especially with a sexy redheaded passenger aboard.
But this wasn’t a pleasure trip, he reminded himself. If he couldn’t charm Miss Tessa Randall into a fair settlement of her lawsuit, they’d be facing each other in court.
If it came to that, the gloves would be off. His lawyers would use every dirty trick in the book to discredit her. And her attorney, Helen Carmichael, whose reputation as a feminist ball-buster was widely known, would do her damnedest to portray Trans Pacific as a company that exploited women and cast them aside in their time of need. No matter the outcome, a court battle was bound to be ugly—unless the delicious Miss Randall agreed to settle.
Had she recognized the stranger who’d offered her a flight? Since she’d showed no sign of it, Dragan could only conclude that she hadn’t realized who he was. That in itself wasn’t surprising. Trans Pacific was a huge company. As its CEO he tended to work behind the scenes, dealing only with upper-level supervisors. He couldn’t say for sure if he’d even visited the Anchorage offices in the years she worked there.
She was bound to learn the truth about his identity eventually. But it might be wise to keep it from her until they were in the air. Otherwise, all this trouble—tracking her plans and then showing up here in time to cancel her charter and offer his services—could be for nothing.
He glanced at his watch. Miss Randall had been gone several minutes. She was probably just in the ladies’ room, but he needed her to hurry. The fog was rolling in across the Sound. For safety’s sake, he needed to take off and get above it before the airport became blanketed in a cloud of gray-white mist.
He was about to go looking for her when he heard the ring of her low-heeled pumps on the tiled floor. Relieved, he turned toward the sound—and stopped cold, as if he’d run into a concrete wall.
Dragan had always prided himself on being able to handle any situation. But, heaven help him, he wasn’t prepared to handle this.
Tessa Randall was pushing a baby stroller—one of those ungainly contraptions with two seats side by side. Strapped into those seats, their cornflower eyes taking his measure as if sizing up their next victim, were two toddler-size girls with hair as red as their mother’s.
Two (#ulink_a20dd60b-5925-5e89-beff-e991eb103f21)
Tessa caught the displeasure—and the surprising flicker of panic—in the stranger’s glacial eyes. Most people dissolved into smiles and silly talk at the sight of her adorable twins. But this man was staring at them as if she’d just wheeled in a pair of ticking bombs.
He cleared his throat in the silence. “Well, this is unexpected,” he said.
Tessa lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “It’s not like I can just leave them behind. And you did tell me you had plenty of room.”
He exhaled a long breath as if mentally counting to ten. “So I did. Your bags are already on the plane. But I don’t know if that big stroller will fit. And you can’t hold your babies on the flight or let them run loose. They’ll need to be strapped into the rear seats. Can you manage that?”
“No problem. Their stroller seats double as car seats. They can be lifted free and buckled into place. With the seats gone, the stroller folds flat.”
“I see.” He glanced at the twins.
Maddie was struggling to wiggle out of her harness but Missy returned his gaze, looking up at him with a smile that would melt a heart of ice.
This stranger’s heart, however, must’ve been carved from solid granite. “We’re wasting time,” he growled, turning away. “Weather’s moving in. Let’s get going.”
He held the door while Tessa pushed the stroller outside to the nearby plane. The sleek silver-white craft, with its long, tapered nose, looked new and expensive. During her six years of work in Anchorage, she’d seen plenty of bush planes—mostly Beavers, Otters, Cessnas and Pipers—but never one quite like this, with a custom undercarriage that featured both floats and wheels.
He opened the passenger door. “Unfasten the stroller seats. Then climb in. I’ll pass them up to you.”
He was clearly accustomed to taking charge. Tessa saw no reason to argue with him when his suggestion made sense. And, anyway, she was still relieved he hadn’t kicked up more of a fuss about allowing the twins on his plane. She released the levers that fastened the seats to the strollers then stepped onto the float to boost herself into the cockpit.
“Careful.” He reached out a hand to steady her, his fingers strong and cool. Tessa clasped them for balance as she swung upward, feeling the electric contact between them. By the time he let go, her pulse was fluttering. Between her pregnancy and caring for the twins, she’d almost forgotten what a man’s touch felt like.
Had the compelling stranger been thinking of seduction when he’d offered her a lift? If so, she could thank her twins for dousing that idea. She wasn’t looking for a hot one-night stand. If and when she let a man back into her life, it would be someone kind and responsible, someone who wanted to make a life-long commitment and who’d be a good father to her little girls.
Inside, the plane smelled like a new car. The seats were butter-soft beige leather, the wood-grained instrument panel a polished array of dials and gauges. Whoever her rescuer was, he wasn’t poor.
Looking down from the doorway, she waited as he lifted Maddie in her car seat and carried her toward the plane. The twins were old enough to recognize a strange situation and react. Maddie broke into an ear-splitting howl. Her sister followed suit.
“Good God! Here, take her!” He thrust the screaming baby upward into Tessa’s outstretched hands. Setting the car seat safely down, she turned to take a frantic Missy from the man’s arms. The pained look on his lordly face left no need for words.
Tessa busied herself with buckling the twins securely into the two rear seats of the plane. They were still howling, their little cherub faces splotched with tear stains. Tessa wiped their runny noses, kissed them and murmured a few vain words of comfort. When she looked out the open door, the plane’s owner was wrestling with the stroller frame. Scowling, he glared up at her. “How the devil do you fold this thing?” he demanded.
“There’s a release button on the handle. Try pushing it,” Tessa said.
He tried again and managed to make it work. After stowing the stroller and closing the door, he walked around to the other side and took his place in the pilot’s seat.
“You’re flying the plane?” she asked, surprised.
He glanced back at her, one dark eyebrow quirked upward. “Do you have a problem with that?”
Tessa shook her head.
“Then sit down and buckle up.” He indicated the seat next to him. “We’re about to take off.”
Willing herself to ignore the twins’ cries, Tessa slid into the front passenger seat and clicked the belt buckle.
In profile, her pilot looked even more familiar than before. Who was he? This was getting ridiculous. Once they were in the air she would have to ask him.
“Here.” He handed her a set of headphones with an attached mike. “Put these on. They’ll cut down on the engine noise and let us talk without having to shout.”
Tessa took the headphones. Before slipping them on, she glanced back at her daughters. They were still crying but she could tell they were winding down. They’d been awake long enough to be exhausted. With luck they’d soon fall asleep.
Her mysterious pilot had put on his own headphones. He checked the gauges and then switched on the power. The propeller spun to life with a roar of smooth-running power. Tessa glanced back at the twins. They were wide-eyed but didn’t seem upset by the noise. Maybe it was like riding in a car, which usually tended to settle them down.
Humming like a high-end European sports car, the plane taxied past the hangars and out onto the runway. Tessa’s pulse skittered. She held her breath as he opened the throttle and pulled back on the wheel. The sleek craft rocketed down the runway, left the ground and soared into the air.
As it climbed, wind battering the fuselage, doubts assailed her mind. What if she’d made a foolish mistake, trusting her life and the lives of her precious children to this arrogant stranger? What if he meant them harm, or lacked the competence to get them safely to Anchorage? She should have held out for a charter flight. Surely they would have been able to find something to accommodate her if she’d given them enough time.
As the plane leveled off from its steep climb, she began to breathe again. The man at the controls appeared to be a skilled pilot. His hands moved with a sureness born of experience. His expression radiated calm confidence. She still wasn’t certain he was safe, but at least he was competent.
As if sensing her gaze, he glanced toward her. In that brief instant something about the light on his face and the set of his mouth struck her like a thunderbolt.
She knew who he was.
Until today she’d never met him face-to-face. But she’d seen his photo on company bulletins when she’d worked for Trans Pacific. He was the CEO, secretly referred to as “The Dragon” in part because of his name but mostly because of his management style.
He was Dragan Markovic, the man whose company she was suing.
* * *
Dragan leveled off at ten thousand feet and eased the Porter to a cruising speed of one hundred and thirty-two miles an hour. If the weather held, they should make it to Anchorage before dark. The time included a stop in Ketchikan for refueling and maybe a quick snack, eaten on the run.
He’d been flying since his late teens and was no stranger to handling small planes. In the past couple of summers he’d flown big-money clients to the company-owned lodge on a hidden inlet northeast of Petersburg for salmon fishing. But this was his first long-distance flight in the new Porter. So far, so good. At least as far as the plane was concerned.
He glanced to the right, where his pretty, redheaded passenger sat in grim silence, hands clasped in her lap. Was she nervous about the flight or was something else bothering her?
Dragan had hoped to draw her into a conversation. But the lady wasn’t making things easy. “Are you all right?” he asked, speaking into the mike. “Not getting airsick, are you?”
“I’m fine.” He could hear the tension in her breathing. “But I can’t help wondering what you have in mind for us, Mr. Markovic.”
So she had figured it out—and she wasn’t happy.
Dragan weighed the wisdom of speaking in his own defense then rejected the idea. He’d learn more if he let her take the lead.
“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” she demanded.
He stalled for time, checking the instrument panel. “If you’d known, would you have come with me?”
“Certainly not. I’m not even supposed to be talking to you. My lawyer would have a fit if she knew about this.” Turning in her seat, she glanced back at the twins.
“Knowing your lawyer’s reputation, I can imagine that. How are your babies doing?”
“Fine. They’re fast asleep.” She settled back into the seat. “Would you have invited me along if you’d known I came with so much baggage?”
She was sharper than he’d expected. Dragan managed an edgy laugh. “I plead the Fifth.”
“I saw the look on your face when I showed up with my twins,” she said. “You don’t like children much, do you?”
Dragan blocked the images that sprang up in his memory—sharp-boned faces, haunted eyes—images he’d spent the past twenty years trying to forget. “No comment,” he said.
“Then what do you have to say about tricking me onto your plane?” Her tongue gave a disapproving click. “You said you own the charter company...did you have something to do with my flight being canceled?”
There was no good way for him to answer, so he stayed silent.
Her voice was even frostier when she spoke again.
“Kidnapping’s a federal offense, Mr. Markovic, especially now that you’ve crossed the U.S. border. That’s Canada down below us.”
“I didn’t kidnap you. I offered you a lift to Anchorage. You accepted, and that’s exactly where we’re headed. We’ll be landing before nightfall. Call me Dragan, by the way.”
She was silent, her rose-petal lips pressed together in a thin line. Dragan could sense the tension building in her, the outrage, the fury. When the explosion came he was braced for it, but her words still stung.
“Of all the arrogant, low-down, presumptuous, high-handed tricks—” The words ended in a sputter. She stared down at her clenched hands. “How could you do this with a clear conscience? How could you just manipulate me into coming with you?”
“The question you should be asking isn’t how. It’s why.”
“All right. Why?” She gazed straight ahead into the sky-scape of drifting clouds. “Suppose you tell me.”
Dragan made a show of checking the altimeter while he thought out his answer. “There are two sides to every story,” he said. “Before we face off in front of a judge, I wanted to hear yours.”
“You could have just offered to take me out to dinner.” Her voice was flat, stubborn.
“Would you have accepted? You said you weren’t supposed to talk to me—a restriction that I find absolutely absurd. How are we supposed to settle matters if I can’t even find out what’s truly bothering you until it’s all dragged out in court? As it is, you have a captive audience here. You can say anything you like—swear at me, call me every vile name in the book if you want.”
“Don’t tempt me. I don’t work for you anymore.”
“That’s a shame, considering your great performance reviews. Somebody must’ve thought you were doing an excellent job.”
“You read my file?”
“Of course I did.”
“Then you know that before I was fired for supposedly not being able to handle the work attached to my position, I applied for a desk job in the Seattle office. It would’ve been a step down, but with the babies coming, I couldn’t travel and I wanted to be closer to my parents in Bellingham. I filled out the papers but I didn’t even get an interview. The next thing I knew I’d been fired.”
“Actually, I didn’t know that. None of that was in your file.” Dragan remembered noticing what had appeared to be missing information.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Maybe you should pay more attention to what’s going on in your company, Mr. Markovic. It’s not just about the bottom line. It’s about the people.”
Her words burned like the jab of a hot poker. Stunned for an instant, he recovered his voice. “It’s Dragan. And I hope you’re prepared to explain what you just said.”
She shrugged. “You’ll hear it all tomorrow—in court.”
Dragan held his tongue, hoping she’d say more. But she’d lapsed into stubborn silence. The lady was tougher than he’d expected—and smart. Too smart to discuss the case with a man she saw as the enemy. He had to give her points for that.
Not that he was about to give up. Whatever it took, he was going to crack Tessa Randall’s protective shell and discover the real story behind her lawsuit.
But wanting to settle the lawsuit wasn’t all that was motivating him. Tessa had gotten to him in a way few women did. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew what made the sexy redhead tick.
* * *
Tessa gazed downward through the cockpit’s wrap-around window. She’d taken a fair number of flights between Seattle and Anchorage, but always by commercial jet and usually with her nose in her laptop. Only now, at a slower speed and much lower altitude, did she realize what heart-stopping views she’d missed.
Glacier-carved peaks, dotted with jewel-like hanging lakes, rose out of pine-carpeted slopes. On the right, the ocean stretched to the horizon. The coast between was a maze of wooded islands and sun-sparkled inlets. “Magnificent,” Tessa murmured, forgetting she was wearing a mike.
“Isn’t it?” Dragan’s deep, gravelly voice came through the headphones, startling her. “Amazing what nature can do, given a few million years.”
“Seeing country like this makes me want to forget all the ugliness and pettiness in the world.” Tessa forced a chuckle. “Of course, that’s not possible these days, is it?”
He banked the plane to give her a dizzying view of a waterfall. The wing tilted then leveled again. “How did you come to speak Japanese?” he asked.
It seemed a safe enough question for her to answer. “I was an air force brat. Our family was stationed in Japan for a few years. We had Japanese babysitters and watched Japanese TV. Later on I went part-time to a Japanese school.”
“We?”
“My big brother and I. He’s married now, works for a bank in London. My dad and mother live in Bellingham.” Tessa knew he was trying to draw her out, probably hoping she’d slip and give him some detail he could use against her. She would have to weigh everything she told him. But talking about her family seemed a harmless enough way to pass the time.
“I take it your parents are enjoying their granddaughters,” he said.
“Oh, yes. My mother was going to watch the twins while I went to Anchorage, but she broke her foot. Now that the girls can walk, it takes a lot of chasing to keep up with them.” She glanced back over the seat to make sure her daughters were still sleeping.
“What are their names?”
“Madelyn and Melissa, but we call them Maddie and Missy.” Tessa loved talking about her twins. She was so proud of them.
“They look exactly alike to me. How the devil do you tell them apart?”
“It’s easy. Missy has a little mole on her ear. But even without that, once you get to know them, you can tell by their personalities. Missy’s the snuggly one. Maddie’s the little explorer. Turn your back and she’s gone. Now that they know their own names, it’s even easier to tell which one is which.”
He paused a moment, as if weighing the next question. “Would it be too personal if I asked about their father?”
Yes, Tessa wanted to say. But if she gave a dismissive answer, he might imagine that the full story was something he could use against her, like a married lover or a pick-up in a bar. The truth would serve her best.
“He was my fiancé, a journalist. We’d planned to get married when he came back from his assignment in the Middle East.” Tessa swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. Even after two years it hurt to talk about Kevin. “He was killed in Yemen, in a car bombing. At the time it happened, I didn’t even know I was pregnant.”
“I’m sorry.”
“After he died, I didn’t want to go on. But my babies pulled me through. They gave me something to live for.”
“You’ve been through a rough time.”
“Rough in more ways than you can imagine. That’s the reason I’m suing your company.”
* * *
Her words silenced Dragan like the click of a closing door. For now, it was time to back off. She’d be more likely to open up about her side of the lawsuit if he kept things friendly and didn’t push her.
He’d already learned a few things about Tessa Randall. She struck him as an honest woman, interested in more than just grabbing easy money. But what part did her pretty face and seductive figure play in his assessment? Was he thinking like a CEO, protecting his company’s reputation, or did he just want to lure the lady into his bed?
Clouds were moving in along the coastline, but the sky ahead looked clear. Like any competent pilot, Dragan had checked the weather forecast before taking off. There was a storm brewing out in the Pacific, but it shouldn’t make landfall before tomorrow morning. He had an ample window of time for the flight to Anchorage; and the Porter was performing beautifully, its engine purring like a contented cat.
There was no way to explain the premonition that ran along his spine like the stroke of an icy fingertip; the sense that something dire was about to happen. It was a feeling Dragan recognized from his boyhood years in Sarajevo when shells and mortars would rain out of the sky to explode in hellish bursts of flame. Back then, that danger sense had kept him alive. But why should he feel it now? Everything was fine.
By the time they sighted Ketchikan the twins were awake and fussing. The floats skimmed the water as Dragan landed the plane and taxied to the fuel dock by the small airport. Across the harbor, the town lay along the narrow edge of pine-forested mountains. Autumn was already setting in. The cruise ships were gone, the dockside souvenir shops closed. Fishing boats plied the waters for the last of the seasonal catch.
While Tessa changed her little girls and fed them snacks from her bag, Dragan ordered the tank filled and walked uphill to the terminal to pay for the fuel. At the snack bar he picked up a couple of sandwiches and some bottled water. On his return, he found Tessa sitting in the cockpit, her babies once more buckled into their safety seats.
“Hungry?” He held up the wrapped sandwiches. “Chicken or ham and cheese. Your choice.”
“Either one, thanks. But first I could use a restroom. And I need to dump these somewhere.” She held up a plastic bag sagging with the damp weight of what smelled suspiciously like dirty diapers. “Could you keep an eye on my girls for a few minutes? I’ll be right back.”
Without waiting for an answer she opened the passenger-side door, climbed down to the float and stepped onto the dock. Dragan watched as she tossed the bagged disposable diapers into a trash can and strode up the long ramp to the terminal, her purse slung over her shoulder.
As he wolfed down the ham sandwich, Dragan watched her, admiring the confidence in her long, easy strides. She was a strong woman. She would have to be, to survive what she’d been through. And she was intelligent. He liked smart women—the bland, clingy ones were no challenge. The thought of getting Tessa Randall into bed and driving her wild with pleasure was enough to stoke a simmering blaze in his loins. But it was time for a dash of cold water. He couldn’t let his attraction to her distract him from why they were there. Tessa and her lawyer were out to drag the name of his company through the mud. He’d be a fool to let himself forget that.
A cooing sound from the rear caught his attention. He turned in his seat to see Tessa’s twins gazing up at him. A nap and a meal had transformed the pair from little screaming monsters to cherubs from a Renaissance painting, with Titian curls and sky-blue eyes.
Dragan tended to avoid children. Their innocence tore at his heart, stirring shadowed memories, sights and sounds he wanted only to forget. He’d vowed never to have children of his own. There was too much suffering in the world, too much danger.
He scowled over the seat at the little girls. The twin on the right smiled and giggled. The one on the left scowled back at him. Tessa had told him they had different personalities. He could see that already.
“So what are you two thinking?” His voice startled the smiling twin. Her blue eyes grew even bigger. Her sister’s suspicious frown didn’t change. “If you could talk, what would you say to me?”
“Da.” The smiling twin—by now he’d guessed she was Missy—began to jabber, making little nonsense sounds that were her version of conversation. When she turned her head, Dragan could see the tiny mole on her earlobe. He’d guessed right.
“So how about you, Maddie?” He addressed her sister. “What do you think of all this?”
“Phhht!” The flawless raspberry was punctuated by an impressive spit bubble.
Dragan couldn’t hold back a chuckle. At last, a female who spoke her mind!
“I see you’re getting acquainted.” Tessa climbed back into the plane and closed the door.
“You’re right, they do have different personalities.”
“See, I told you. Maddie’s quiet and restless like her father. I guess Missy is more like me.”
“Snuggly—that was how you described her. Are you snuggly, too?” It would be fun finding out, he thought.
“No comment.” She fastened her seat belt and slipped on her headset, as if to shut him out. “Let’s get going.”
Dragan taxied away from the dock and swung the nose into the rising wind. The plane skimmed across the water and roared skyward. The air was getting rougher now, turbulence buffeting the wing and the fuselage. It was nothing that couldn’t be handled, but he’d be relieved when they touched down in Anchorage.
Yet he knew that the time was limited for him to learn all he wanted to know about Miss Tessa Randall. So far he wasn’t making much progress.
She’d finished her sandwich and sat silent as the plane rose above the turbulence and leveled off in calmer air. Was she nervous about the flight or had he crossed the line when he’d asked if she was snuggly? Maybe she’d had a talk with herself in the terminal and concluded that she was being too friendly with a man who was planning to rip her apart in court.
The only sound from the twins was Missy’s contented babbling. The twins, thank heaven, seemed to like the drone of the engine and the motion of the plane. He could only hope the tranquility would last.
They’d passed over the old Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg and were headed in the general direction of Sitka when Dragan happened to glance at the fuel gauge.
His heart dropped.
The indicator was almost on empty.
Three (#ulink_3f7047cb-a64e-5c81-9fd1-77d4ff390a3d)
Dragan stared at the fuel gauge in disbelief. He’d watched the attendant fill the tank in Ketchikan. Given the distance they’d flown, it should be at least three-quarters full. But he had to trust what the indicator told him. The tank was almost empty.
The plane had to be leaking fuel. Nothing else made sense. Maybe the fuel line had broken or become disconnected, or some unseen object had punctured the tank. The problem might be as simple as the fuel cap coming loose. Whatever it was, he had to get the plane down before the fuel ran out and the engine quit.
Willing himself to keep calm, he glanced at Tessa. She was looking out the window and hadn’t noticed the falling gauge. Good. The last thing he wanted was to have her panic. He would try to keep her unaware until he had a plan.
The country below was a vast jigsaw puzzle of islands, inlets and fjords. Landing on water shouldn’t be a problem. But if he came down in the wilderness, he’d be marooned with a woman, two babies and no supplies. The plane had a radio, but with a storm coming in, any rescue might be days away. He needed to get his vulnerable passengers somewhere safe.
Clouds were rolling in ahead of the storm, already obscuring his view. He had to make a decision fast.
Petersburg was too far behind, Sitka too far ahead. But the company lodge where he flew wealthy clients might be within reach. He checked the plane’s GPS. The lodge was just thirty miles to the northeast. It was their best chance, maybe their only chance.
Banking the plane, he veered sharply to the right. The sudden move caught Tessa’s attention. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “Why are you turning us around?”
Dragan willed himself to speak calmly. “We’re losing fuel—almost out. We need to set down while we can.”
“Down there?” She stared out the window at the wild mosaic of forest and water.
“Not if I can help it. The company has a fishing lodge a few miles from here. If we can make it that far, we’ll have a safe place to stay until help comes.”
For a long moment she was still. Suddenly she turned on him, her hand gripping his sleeve.
“I don’t believe you! This is just a trick to keep me away from the trial! Get back on course now or so help me, I’ll have you arrested for kidnapping!”
“Look at that gauge, Tessa,” he snapped. “This is no trick. This is real. Now let go of me and pray that we can make the lodge before I have to land this plane!”
* * *
Releasing her grip, Tessa stared at the fuel gauge. The needle was hovering just above the empty line. If this was a trick, it was a convincing one.
The plane had descended into clouds and rough air. A howling wind rattled the fuselage. The craft bucked and lurched, fighting its way downward. The twins began to cry. Tessa yanked frantically at her seat belt, hands fumbling with the buckle.
“What the hell are you doing?” Dragan’s voice thundered.
“My babies—”
“They’ll be safest right where they are. So will you. Now stay put!”
Tessa braced against the jarring turbulence, eyes scanning the cloud-blurred landscape for some sign of shelter. She could see nothing below but water and trees, with a few open patches of what she guessed to be bog. A flock of white gulls swooped past the plane, just missing the windshield.
Dragan’s hands were steady on the controls. Only a muscle, twitching along his jaw, betrayed his unease. With the clouds moving in, it was getting harder to see the ground. He had to be depending as much on the GPS as on his vision. His grim expression told her he had yet to find what he was looking for. Knowing he needed all of his concentration for the task, she kept herself as silent and still as possible so she wouldn’t distract him.
Even with the headset on, Tessa could hear her twins crying above the drone of the plane. It was all she could do to keep from ripping off her seat belt and rushing back to clutch them in her arms. But Dragan was right. They were safest as they were, and so was she.
“There it is. Two o’clock.” Dragan’s voice, crackling through the headset, startled her. Through the trees in the direction he’d indicated, she glimpsed something flat and brown at the foot of an inlet. Then it was gone, hidden by the clouds. “Hang on,” he said. “We’re going in.”
He’d spoken none too soon. As the plane banked right and angled into its final descent, the engine sputtered and stopped.
The sudden stillness was terrifying. Tessa forgot to breathe. Could they make it as far as the inlet or would they fall short and crash into the trees? What would happen to her babies?
Time seemed to stop as the plane glided down through clouds and battering wind. The floats raked the treetops. There was a split second of air before the plane skimmed the water and came to rest like a settling bird, twenty yards from the beach.
Rain spattered the windshield. Beyond the waterline, Tessa could make out thick pines half screening a substantial log building. Wherever they were, at least they’d have shelter.
Dragan switched off the engine and lifted away his headphones. His breath whooshed out in a powerful exhalation. “You can see to your babies now,” he said. “Try to keep them quiet while I radio for help.”
The twins were wailing at the top of their lungs. Tessa flung off her belt and scrambled back to the rear seat. At the sight of their mother, their cries diminished to whimpers. Unbuckling their harnesses, she lifted them onto her lap and hugged them fiercely close. Holding them this way had been easy when they were tiny. Now that they were active toddlers it was different. Missy flung her little arms around Tessa’s neck, hanging on as if she never wanted to let go. Maddie was already struggling to get down and explore the plane.
Love burned through Tessa like the stab of a hot blade. Her little girls were her whole life. What would she have done if they’d come to harm?
From the cockpit she could hear Dragan on the radio, shouting through the static at somebody on the other end. The relief that had swept through her when the plane landed was congealing into cold rage. Dragan’s skill as a pilot may have just saved their lives. But it was his reckless, high-handed behavior that had created the danger in the first place. The crash landing could have killed them all—including her precious babies.
If he hadn’t shanghaied her onto his flight by interfering with her plane, she’d be well on her way to Anchorage now, looking forward to a good meal and a comfortable night’s rest before the trial. Instead, almost as if he’d planned it, she and her twins would be stuck with this domineering alpha male in the middle of nowhere, maybe for days, until help arrived.
So help her, when she got back to civilization, Dragan Markovic would pay for this. He thought he’d had trouble before the flight, but she was just getting started. She would show him what real trouble was.
Meanwhile, she and her little ones would be dependent on him for their survival. The only sensible course of action would be to rein in her anger and cooperate. But it wasn’t going to be easy—when she could barely look at him without wanting to slap his arrogant face.
* * *
The radio reception had faded into static. Frustrated, Dragan switched it off. With luck it was just the weather interfering with the signal. He would try again later. For now he could only hope that somebody on the other end had heard his shouted transmission, giving their location and their need for help. Cell phones, he already knew, were useless here.
At least the twins had stopped howling. He leaned around the pilot’s seat to see Tessa cradling them in her arms, looking as fiercely protective as a tigress. “Is everything all right back there?” he asked.
“So far.” Her cheerful reply sounded forced. “How did you fare with the radio?”
“The reception was bad, but I think I managed to send our position before it cut out. If we’re lucky we could be seeing a rescue plane in the next few hours. But don’t count on it. There’s a big storm moving in. We could be here until it blows over.”
She pressed her lips together, as if biting back a caustic reply. If she was furious, he couldn’t blame her. His actions had likely caused her to miss the trial opening and put all their lives in danger. At least she was making an effort to be civil.
“Another question,” she said. “How are we supposed to get from here to solid ground? Will we have to swim?”
“Tomorrow morning when the tide’s out we could walk. But don’t worry, there’s a faster way.”
Moving past her into the rear of the plane, he found and opened the yellow valise that held the plane’s emergency raft. Raising the cargo door and dropping the sea anchor, he gripped the tether line and tossed the raft down to the water. With a loud hiss it self-inflated, rocking on the slight swell next to the plane’s float. A chilly wind rippled the water.
“Ladies first,” he said. “Take the minimum you’ll need for now. I’ll get the heavy things later.”
Slinging her purse and the pink-quilted diaper bag over her shoulder, Tessa rose with the babies and stumbled her way to the cargo bay. “Hang on to the girls,” she said. “Once I’m in the raft, you can pass them down to me.”
Dragan hesitated. He hadn’t held a baby since he was a boy in Sarajevo. But this was no time for memories, especially those he wanted to forget. He reached toward her, hoping he could manage two squirming toddlers long enough to get them safely into the raft with their mother.
“Here.” Tessa stepped close to him, her arms loaded with wiggly little redheads. “Take them and hold on tight. They won’t bite you, but they might try to get loose. Whatever happens, you can’t let them fall.”
Dragan caught the flash of worry in her deep hazel eyes. She was trusting her precious children to his inexperienced hands. She had every reason to be nervous.
One baby would have been easy enough to hand off. Two babies were a different matter. Dragan worked an arm around Missy, trying to ignore the intimate contact as the back of his hand slid over Tessa’s warm breast. Missy wailed and seized her mother’s neck in a frantic clasp, refusing to let go.
Giving up for the moment, he tried Maddie. She went to him readily, but as he lifted her against his chest, the stink that rose to his nostrils was unmistakable. “Good Lord,” he muttered. “This one needs changing.”
“She’s a baby. Deal with it.” Tessa looked frayed. “Give her back. I’ve got a better idea. You’re taller than I am. You climb into the raft and I’ll pass the girls down to you, one at a time.”
“Good idea.” Dragan wondered why he hadn’t thought of it himself. Handing the reeking Maddie back to her mother, he took the purse and diaper bag, looped the handles over his shoulder and climbed down onto the float. The raft was a step below, secured to the plane by the tether.
From the door he could see Tessa buckling Missy into her safety seat. She managed to do it while balancing Maddie between her arm and her hip, a remarkable feat. Dropping the bags into the raft he kept his weight on the float and held up his arms for Maddie.
The transfer was going to be tricky. The raft wasn’t made for standing, and he couldn’t risk putting Maddie down there by herself. He would need to take both twins, sit on the float with them and shift from there into the raft.
Maddie came to him without a fuss. Bracing his senses against her rank aroma, he circled her with his left arm. By the time he had a firm grip on her Tessa had unbuckled Missy and was ready to hand her down. Dragan could see the worry in her eyes as she passed him her whimpering child. She was trusting him only because she had no other choice.
* * *
Tessa watched, holding her breath as Dragan, with one twin under each arm, managed to maneuver from the float to the raft without a spill. Now she stood alone in the plane, looking down at them from the cargo door. Clouds were drifting across the inlet, graying the afternoon sunlight. The wind was getting stronger and colder.
Dragan placed the babies next to him and covered them with his leather jacket. When Maddie tried to crawl away he pulled her back and held her by her pink coverall straps. “Give me your shoes, Tessa,” he said. “You’ll have better footing without them.”
She stepped out of her low-heeled tan pumps and tossed them one at a time. He caught them with his free hand. “We’ll need the tether undone,” he said. “Untie it and bring it with you. I’ll come back and close the door later.”
The stout nylon rope was looped around a grip handle next to the cargo door. Tessa untied it and, with the end in her hand, climbed gingerly onto the float. By now the raft was rolling on the wind-whipped water. The next step wasn’t going to be easy.
“Give me your hand,” Dragan said, leaning toward her.
She’d put one foot onto the inflated side of the raft and was just reaching for him when a harsh gust blasted across the inlet. The plane rocked. The float pitched upward, lifting away from the raft. Caught between, Tess lost her footing and tumbled into the water.
It was cold. Deathly cold. Tessa was a fair swimmer, but in the few seconds before she broke the surface and caught Dragan’s outstretched hand she was chilled to the bone. Her teeth chattered as he pulled her into the raft.
“Here—” He yanked off his flannel shirt and wrapped it around her shoulders. “Hang on,” he muttered. “We’ve got to get you someplace warm.”
The raft kit was equipped with a collapsible paddle. Snapping it together, he pushed hard for the beach.
Tessa huddled with her twins and watched his broad shoulders labor under the gray thermal T-shirt he wore. He was pushing against the wind, making slow but steady progress. Under the woolen shirt, her skin felt clammy. Her fingers and toes were numb. She’d heard enough stories about cold Alaskan waters to know that she could have died of hypothermia in minutes if he hadn’t pulled her out. Even on the raft, freed from the water, she wasn’t out of danger. Her wet clothes were turning icy in the wind. She was worried about her little girls, too. Dragan’s leather jacket was giving them some protection, but they needed to get indoors and get warm.
She could see the lodge through the trees. Even at a distance she could see that it was no paltry wilderness cabin. Solidly built of logs, it was the size of a large one-story home with a tall stone chimney and a covered porch running along the front. The windows had been shuttered for the winter. The door would be securely locked.
Would Dragan have the key? If he’d brought it along that would be a sure sign he’d planned this whole misadventure. If he could keep her away from Anchorage, her testimony at the trial—perhaps the trial itself—would have to be delayed. Worse yet, the trial could go ahead without her, and without her testimony to give weight to her claims, she’d lose her case.
But that wouldn’t be the end, she vowed. If this little escapade cost her a victory in court, she would do everything in her power to make Dragan pay for it.
A narrow floating dock led from the sloping beach into the water. By the time Tessa had found her shoes and put them on, the raft had bumped against the side. The dock was an easy step above the raft. After climbing up, Dragan secured the tether to a capstan and reached down for the twins.
Wrapping the squirming Maddie in the leather jacket, she passed her up to his waiting arms. Missy came next. This time she went to him willingly. Tessa followed, her purse and diaper bag slung over her shoulder.
“Can you make it to the lodge all right?” he asked.
“I’ll be fine. Just hang on to the girls and keep them warm.” Tessa’s feet were too numb to feel the ground beneath her shoes, but she forced herself to put one foot in front of the other.
He walked beside her; the twins snuggled against his chest, still covered by his leather jacket.
“The lodge looks closed up,” she said. “Will we have any trouble getting in?”
“Don’t worry. I have a key.”
Tessa had thought she couldn’t get any colder. But a jolt of frigid rage penetrated all the way to her heart. So he did have the key. He could have planned this all along, luring her onto the plane and then faking an emergency to strand her and her children in the middle of nowhere.
The front steps of the lodge were carpeted with dead needles from the surrounding lodgepole pines, but the covered porch was swept clean. A raven, scolding from the roofline, flapped into the trees as Dragan handed off Maddie and fished a ring of keys out of his pocket.
The heavy front door was secured with a cast-iron hasp and an industrial-weight padlock. Without a pause, Dragan chose a key from the half dozen on the ring and thrust it into the lock, which parted with a well-lubricated click.
Lifting the lock free of the hasp, Dragan swung the door open and ushered Tessa into a rustic Shangri-La.
The great room encompassed a sitting area in front of a huge stone fireplace, with a dining table and wet bar at the far end. Double swinging doors concealed what she assumed to be the kitchen. A hallway opening off one side led, presumably, to the bedrooms and bathrooms.
The layout of the lodge wasn’t surprising. It was the construction of the place that made Tessa catch her breath. Seen in the faint light that fell through the shutter vanes and the open door, massive trees, stripped of their bark, supported the cathedral ceiling of the great room. The chandelier that hung from the center beam was a rustically elegant filigree of twisted wood and glass that had probably cost more than she would earn in a lifetime. The floors were dark wood, the thick sheepskin rugs almost floating on their polished surface. The cream-colored leather divans grouped around the fireplace looked as soft as baby skin. The surface of the coffee table was a slab of black marble. The tall windows, if uncovered, would have offered a view of the inlet through the trees.
The place was spectacular—but one thing it wasn’t was warm. Tessa’s skin had shrunk to goose bumps beneath her wet clothes. Her teeth were chattering.
“Come on!” Dragan took her arm and led her down a hallway lined with doors. “While you get out of those wet clothes, I’ll light the fireplace and turn on the water. The pipes have been drained for the winter, so it’ll take a few minutes. You can use the bathroom but you won’t be able to flush the toilet until the tank fills. And I’ll need to turn on the propane tank to heat the water and run the stove.” He paused outside one of the doors. “This room should do you fine. You’ll find some thermal underwear and wool socks in the dresser drawer and a warm robe in the closet. Put them on. This is a summer lodge. There’s no heat except the fireplace.” He opened the door and disappeared back the way they’d come.
The twins were getting heavy in her arms. They’d been unusually subdued since they’d come inside—awed, perhaps, by their strange new surroundings. Tessa carried them into the room and set them on the bed. They’d soon need to be fed and changed, but she’d be useless to care for them if she didn’t get out of her wet clothes first.
The queen-size bed was covered with a dark-green, down-filled comforter that matched the window drapes. The twins loved the fluffy softness. Happy to be out of their confining seats, they tumbled, rolled and giggled as Tessa stripped off her wet clothes and hung them over the shower rack in the bathroom. She was soaked to the skin. Even her bra and panties had to come off. In the dresser she found several sets of new thermal underwear, still sealed in plastic bags. Choosing the smallest size, she pulled the shirt over her head and stepped into the drawers. They were too big, and the fly in front told her they were made for a man, but they were soft and warm, and she was in no condition to complain. The waist had a drawstring. She tightened it to fit, rolled up the ankles and opened a packet of thick wool socks.
As she was pulling them on, she heard the gurgle and rush of water in the adjoining bathroom. The taps, she realized, would have been left open when the pipes were drained for the winter. She raced into the opulent marble bathroom to shut them off. At least Dragan had made good on his promise to get the water running right away.
But she’d been a fool to trust his offer to fly her to Anchorage. Blast the man! Once they were safely out of this place, she was going to give him a piece of her mind! The robe in the closet was black cashmere. It glided around her as she slid her arms into the sleeves and tightened the sash. It was too big for her, but so decadently soft that it was a pleasure to wear. She took a moment to roll up the long sleeves, then turned back to check on her twins. Missy was sitting on the bed, watching her with wide blue eyes.
Maddie was nowhere in sight.
Tessa glanced around. There was no cause for panic. She’d closed the door firmly behind her when she’d entered the room. Hadn’t she?
She swung toward the door, her heart creeping into her throat. The door stood partway open. Preoccupied with the babies and her wet clothes, she must have failed to close it all the way, leaving just enough edge for Maddie to catch with her tiny fingers. The little scamp was an accomplished Houdini.
Snatching Missy off the bed, Tessa flung the door all the way open and peered up and down the hall. No Maddie. She’d made a clean getaway—into a house filled with unknown dangers.
“Maddie!” Tessa called. “Come back here! Come back right now!”
There was no answer.
Four (#ulink_af9e394b-4e5d-5d58-98fb-915a8d2351c7)
After he’d turned on the water, Dragan made a fire in the fireplace, opened the valve on the propane tank behind the lodge and lit the pilot lights on the stove and water heater. That done, he went out to the equipment shed to check the generator. The machine that powered the house had been drained of fuel and covered for the winter. There was no gasoline. Sam, the Tlingit caretaker who’d spent the summer in a cabin on the property, would have taken what was left of it when he’d departed for his island home after the season was over.
Closing the shed door and locking it, Dragan headed back toward the house. He and his reluctant guests would have no electricity for their stay. But at least they’d be warm. There was plenty of firewood and the propane would allow them to take hot baths and heat the emergency supply of canned and freeze-dried food that stocked the pantry shelves.
But what were Tessa’s twins going to eat? Dragan mouthed a curse as the question struck him. There was no baby food in the house and no fresh milk. Not only that, the place wasn’t equipped for small children. There were no cribs, no playpens, no high chairs, no toys—and certainly no reserve supply of disposable diapers.
This was going to be a nightmare!
He could only hope his radio transmission had gotten through and that a rescue plane would soon come to fly them to Anchorage, or at least to deliver some fuel for the Porter.
Meanwhile, he’d be damned if he was going to play nanny. The twins would be Tessa’s problem, not his. Babies stirred emotions he never wanted to feel again. The less he had to do with them, the better.
The light was already fading above the trees. He would need to locate a supply of candles or a lantern. Otherwise they’d soon be stumbling around in the dark. There was a flashlight in the plane, as well as Tessa’s suitcases and his own bag. He’d hoped to get everything in the morning, when the tide would be out, and he could check for the cause of the fuel leak. But with the storm coming, he’d be smart to take the raft now to get the luggage and secure the plane as best he could.
Tessa seemed to think he’d planned this misadventure. Nothing could be further from the truth. If he’d known he was going to end up stuck in the middle of nowhere with three troublesome redheads, he wouldn’t have come within a mile of her and her two little imps.
On the back porch, he stomped the mud off his shoes before opening the door to the kitchen. He’d seen small bear tracks and fresh scat near the equipment shed; maybe a half-grown cub snooping around. Not much to worry about as long as everything was securely locked and no food was left out. For now, at least, he’d spare Tessa the news of this latest discovery. She was already under enough stress.
He’d moved into the shadowed kitchen and had just turned back to lock the dead bolt when he heard a subtle sound behind him. Startled, he jerked around to see a stubby little figure with a mop of russet curls gazing up at him.
“Phhht!” Maddie had passed judgment on him again.
“What the devil are you doing in here, you little scamp?” Dragan dropped to a crouch beside her. It hadn’t occurred to him that the twins could walk. Until now he’d only seen them carried.
“Noz.” She reached out and poked his face. He hadn’t known they could talk, either. Surprise. But there was nothing surprising about the familiar stink that rose from under her pink coveralls. Miss Maddie had clearly escaped before her mother had had a chance to change her diaper.
Rising, he edged around her and headed toward the dining room. “Come on,” he said, beckoning. “Let’s go find your mom.”
“Phhht!” Ignoring him, Maddie began tugging at the door to the cabinet under the sink—the cabinet that held detergent, bleach, drain cleaner, mouse bait...
Dragan had never been into sports, but he scooped her up like a halfback seizing a fumbled ball, gripping her under one arm as he strode out of the kitchen. Thanks to Maddie and her sister, he would have to childproof the whole damned lodge, starting with that cabinet.
In the entry he ran into Tessa. Dressed in the black cashmere robe, she was holding Missy, eyes darting this way and that with a frantic look. Relief lit her face when she saw that Dragan had her daughter.
“For God’s sake, take her!” Dragan muttered. “She smells like a—” He groped for the right word.
“Like a messy baby.” Tessa took Maddie with her free arm, arching slightly backward to balance both twins with the aid of her hips. Dragan found the pose strangely sexy, although he couldn’t say why. “Thank goodness you found her,” she said. “Where was she?”
“In the kitchen, trying to open a cabinet full of toxic cleaners. You can’t just let your children run around by themselves here. The place isn’t safe for toddlers. It’s dangerous.”
“You think I’d just turn them loose?” Her hazel eyes flashed. “Keeping an eye on these two is a full-time job. As a mother, I take that job seriously. Maddie’s getting out of the bedroom was an accident. It won’t happen again.”
“Fine.” He met her defiance with a scowl. “As long as you’re here, what will you do about feeding those two? There should be an emergency stash of cans and freeze-dried meals in the pantry, but there’s no baby food.”
“They can eat regular food as long as I mash it up. But I’ll warn you, they’re picky little eaters, and they usually make a mess.”
“Then I guess that’s your problem.” He started toward the front door then paused. “I’ll be taking the raft back to the plane to get our luggage and close the cargo door. I won’t be long.”
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