“You wanted me?” Brooke asked, coming around the desk to stand in front of him. He tried not to notice the way her slim-fitting tank top outlined slender curves. Not appropriate. Even if she wasn’t all wrong for him, she was probably too young to be interested. It was hard to gauge her age, but he put her somewhere in her early twenties. Compared to his thirty, that was a big difference in life experience.
“I think it’s best if you stay here,” he told her, noticing that Kat hovered a few feet away.
Her jaw dropped. “Why? I managed all right the other day. I didn’t hold anyone up, or get in the way.”
He sighed. Did she really want to go down this path? “No, you didn’t. But you slept for eighteen hours afterward.”
Her gaze slid over to Kat and she glared. “I was fine,” she insisted through gritted teeth.
He softened his expression. “Be honest with me, Brooke. You’re not doing either of us any favors if you pretend to be fine. I’m not a mind reader. If you come with me, I need to be able to trust you to let me know how you’re doing at all times.”
“Okay, maybe I overdid it,” she conceded. “I should have taken it easier, but I’ve learned my lesson, and I promise to be more up-front with you and pace myself.”
“I’m not sure I’m willing to take that risk,” he said. “We’re walking farther than we did last time, and I don’t have time to figure out how we can make it work for you.”
She crossed her arms and looked somewhere over his shoulder, blinking rapidly as though holding back tears. “If I need to stop, I will, and you can collect me on the way back. Please.” A note of pleading entered her voice, and it twisted Jack’s gut. “I need to do this. It’s important. I could explain why, but it’d take more than a couple of minutes and I know you want to get moving.”
“Brooke, honey,” Kat said, laying a gentle hand on her arm. “It’s one trip. There will be others.”
Would there? Because Jack wasn’t sure.
Brooke closed her eyes. “Sorry. Of course there will.” She released a shuddering breath. “I’m being unreasonable.”
“Maybe a little,” Kat confirmed, a smile creeping over her face. “Why don’t you sit this one out so Jack doesn’t get off schedule, and then we can have a talk about what to do in the future once he returns.”
Jack could see the emotions warring within her. Apparently joining the group meant a lot to her.
“Okay.” Her shoulders drooped, and oddly, his mood dropped with them. “I guess that will be fine.”
“Great,” he said, before she could change her mind. “I’ll come by once we’re back.” He didn’t know where he’d find her, but considering he didn’t plan to go anywhere near her without Kat to play mediator, his friend could show him where to go.
“Don’t forget,” Brooke warned, and from her expression, he could tell that if he did, she’d hunt him down.
He nodded, then followed the others outside, finding them waiting beside the four-wheel drive.
Betty waved a hiking pole as he approached. “Did you scare that poor girl away?”
“We decided she’s better off not joining us today,” he replied.
She harrumphed, in that way only little old ladies could. “I don’t suppose that was her idea.”
He didn’t say anything, just handed bags to the three young men. Once they’d all geared up, he issued directions, then fell into step at the back.
Betty joined him. “You know what I think?” she asked.
“I’m sure you’re going to tell me whether I want to know or not.”
She thwacked his leg with the end of a pole. “You’re a cheeky devil, Jack Farrelly. I think you don’t want Brooke coming because you don’t like the way she makes you feel.”
Huh. Well, there’s a thought.
“And how’s that, Betty?”
“Aroused.”
Jack tripped over his own feet. Dear God, what?
He glanced at Betty. Had he heard her correctly? Had the God-awful word “aroused” just passed between her prune-like lips?
She hooted with laughter. “I hit the nail on the head, eh, Jack?”
She… He…
He shook his head, both amused and dismayed. It wasn’t as though he could deny it.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he said, then added fondly, “and get your pointy little nose out of my business.”
4
Brooke bashed at her laptop keyboard, hammering out an opinion piece about the sexual objectification of women in art that she was writing for a well-regarded magazine. The keys were taking the brunt of her frustration at being cooped up inside, and any minute now, she expected her screen to go black as her computer gave up beneath the onslaught. Reaching the end of a particularly scathing paragraph, she hit the return key and was about to launch into a new argument when there was a knock on the door.
She growled under her breath. She was on a roll and didn’t want to be interrupted, but a quick glance at the clock told her it might be Jack. Stretching out the kinks in her shoulders, she sighed. She almost hadn’t thought he’d bother coming to talk to her. He’d seemed ready to dismiss her earlier, and she’d been prepared to get on her knees and beg. Securing his help was step one in the plan to get to Everest—a task she needed to complete, to honor Olivia’s memory and prove that her friend’s life had meant something. She got up and went to the door, opening it just enough to peek out. A pair of cocoa brown eyes looked back at her. Through the sliver of space, she saw Jack Farrelly crack a grin. Her pulse skipped, and she had to remind herself she was mad at him.
“Hello,” she said, yanking the door all the way open and leaning on the frame so he couldn’t get past. She didn’t want him under any illusion that he was welcome in her room.
“Hey,” he said, more softly than she’d expected.
“Mind if we come in?” Kat asked from somewhere behind him.
Brooke stepped aside, aware that her room was cluttered and probably not anything like the women’s bedrooms Jack usually visited.
It doesn’t matter. He’s not here for that.
He brushed past her, and their chests came within a couple of inches of each other. Her breath caught and she ducked her head to hide her expression. Though he was a broad-shouldered, virile man, who most women were probably attracted to, she didn’t want to be lumped amongst the ranks of his admirers. Especially not when he’d forgotten her. How many women did the guy passionately make out with, if they dropped from his mind so easily?
Jack sat on the edge of her bed, and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. Seeing him there disturbed her, and she pulled out the chair behind the desk because she knew she couldn’t concentrate if she joined him. Kat, who had no qualms whatsoever, plunked down on the bed beside him. He glanced around the room and Brooke resisted the urge to squirm. Cataloging his features, she noted the fine sheen of perspiration along his hairline, dampening his chestnut-colored hair. Her fingers wanted to run through those thick, lush locks. She curled them into her palms. Why did she have to find the man so annoyingly attractive?