A Cold Creek Secret

No. This problem was too big for even Gwen to fix.

“I’m Maura Howard,” she answered instinctively, using the alias she preferred when she traveled, for security reasons.

“Are you?” he said. An odd question, she thought briefly, but she was more concerned with why she was here and not where she wanted to be.

She had visited Gwen’s cabin once before but she didn’t remember this room. “This isn’t Gwen’s house.”

At once, a certain understanding flashed in blue eyes that reminded her of the ocean near her beach house in Malibu on her favorite stormy afternoons.

“You know Gwen Bianca?”

She nodded. “I need to call her, to let her know I’m here.”

“That’s not going to do you much good. Gwen’s not around.”

That set her back and she frowned. “Do you know where she is?”

“Not at the ranch, I’m afraid. Not even in the country, actually. She’s at a gallery opening in Milan.”

Oh, no. Mimi closed her eyes. How stupid and shortsighted of her, to assume Gwen would be just waiting here to offer help if Mimi ever needed it.

Egocentric, silly, selfish. That was certainly her.

No wonder she preferred being Maura Howard whenever she had the chance.

“Well, Maura.” Was it her imagination, or did he stress her name in an unnatural sort of way? “I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere tonight. It’s too dangerous for you to drive on these snowy roads even if I could manage to go out in the dark and snow to pull your vehicle out of the creek. I’m afraid you’re stuck for now.”

Oh, what a mess. She wanted to sink back onto the pillows of this comfortable sofa, just close her eyes and slide back into blissful oblivion. But she couldn’t very well do that with her host watching her out of those intense blue eyes.

As tough and dangerous as Brant Western looked, she had the strangest assurance that she was safe with him. On the other hand, her instincts hadn’t been all that reliable where men where concerned for the past, oh, twenty-six years.

But Simone liked him and that counted for a great deal in her book.

As if sensing the direction of her gaze, he set the dog down. Simone’s white furry face looked crestfallen for just a moment, then she jumped back up to Mimi’s lap.

“I’m assuming Gwen didn’t know you were coming.”

“No. I should have called her.” Her voice trembled on the words and she fought down the panic and the fear and the whole tangled mess of emotions she’d been fighting since that stark moment in her ob-gyn’s office the day before.

Gwen had been her logical refuge as she faced this latest disaster in her life. Mimi’s favorite of her father’s ex-wives, Gwen had always offered comfort and support through boarding schools and breakups and scandals.

For twenty-four hours, all she had been able to think about was escaping to Gwen, in desperate need of her calm good sense and her unfailing confidence in Mimi. But Gwen wasn’t here. She was in Milan right now, just when Mimi needed her most and she felt, ridiculously, as if all the underpinnings of her world were shaking loose.

First driving her car into a creek and now this. It was all too much. She sniffled and made a valiant effort to fight back the tears, but it was too late. The panic swallowed her whole and she started to cry.

Simone licked at her tears and Mimi held the dog closer, burying her face in her fur.

Through her tears, she thought she saw utter horror in her host’s eyes. He was an officer in the military, she remembered Gwen telling her. A major, if Mimi wasn’t mistaken, in some Special Forces unit.

She had a vague memory of him telling her that. Major Brant Western, Company A, 1st Battallion, 75th Ranger Regiment.

She would have thought a man would have to be a fairly confident, take-charge sort of guy to reach that rank, but Major Western looked completely panicked by her tears. “Hey, come on. Don’t cry, um, Maura. It’s okay. You’ll see. Things will seem better in the morning, I promise. It’s not the end of the world. You’re safe and dry now and I’ve even got a guest room you can stay in tonight. We’ll get that cut on your eye cleaned up and bandaged.”

She swiped at her tears with her sleeve and a moment later he thrust a tissue in her face, which she seized on gratefully. “I can’t stay here,” she said after she’d calmed a little. “I don’t even know you. I passed a guest ranch a few miles back. Hope Springs or something like that. I’ll see if they’ve got availability.”

“How are you going to get there?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Your SUV is toast for now and Pine Gulch isn’t exactly flush with cab companies. Beside that, the way that wind is blowing and drifting, it’s not safe for anybody to be out on the roads. That storm has already piled up seven inches and forecasters are predicting two or three times that before we’re done. I promise, you’re completely safe staying here. The guest room’s even got a lock on the door.”

She had a feeling a locked door wouldn’t stop him if he set his mind to breaking in somewhere. No doubt this man, with his serious blue eyes and solid strength, could work his way through just about anything—whether a locked door or a woman’s good sense.

“Have you eaten?”

“I’m not hungry.”

That was certainly true enough. Just the idea of food made her stomach churn. Ironic that she’d been pregnant for more than ten weeks and hadn’t exhibited a single symptom, not the tiniest sign that might have tipped her off. Then the day after she found out she was pregnant, she started with the morning sickness, along with a bone-deep exhaustion. If she had the chance, she thought she could sleep for a week.

“I can’t impose on you this way.”

He shrugged. “Once you’ve made a guy wade through a frozen creek twice, what’s a little further inconvenience for him? Let me go grab some clean sheets for the bed and we’ll get that cut cleaned up and you settled for the night.”

She wiped at the tears drying on her features. What choice did she have? She had nowhere else to go. After he left the room, she leaned into the sofa, holding Simone close and soaking in the fire’s delicious heat.

Now that she thought of it, this just might be the perfect solution, at least while she tried to wrap her head around the terrifying future.

No one would know where she was. Not her father—as if he’d care. Not Marco, who would care even less. Certainly not the bane of her existence, the paparazzi, who cared only for ratings and circulation numbers.

The world outside that window was a terrifying place. For now she had shelter from that storm out there, and a man who looked more than capable of protecting her from anything that might come along.

She only needed a little breathing space to figure things out and she could find that here as easily as anywhere else.

Only one possible complication occurred to her. She would have to do her best to keep him from calling for a tow when the snow cleared. She knew from experience that people like tow-truck drivers and gas station attendants and restaurant servers were usually the first ones to pick up a phone and call in the tabloids.

She could see the headlines now. Mimi’s Ditchscapade with Sexy Rancher.

She couldn’t afford that right now. She only needed a few days of quiet and rest. Like that blizzard out there, the media storm that was her life and this latest—and worst—potential scandal would hopefully pass without ever seeing the light of day.

She only needed to figure out a way to stay safe and warm until it did.

Chapter Two

When When Brant returned to his living room, he found Maura Howard—aka Mimi Van Hoyt, tabloid princess du jour—gazing into the fire, her features pale and her wide, mobile mouth set into a tense frown.

A few years ago during one of his Iraq deployments, he’d had the misfortune of seeing her one miserable attempt at moviemaking at a showing in the rec hall in Tikrit. He was pretty sure the apparent turmoil she was showing now must be genuine, since her acting skills had been roughly on par with the howler monkey that had enjoyed a bit in the movie.

As long as she didn’t cry again, he could handle things. He was ashamed to admit that he could handle a dozen armed insurgents better than a crying woman.