Carol Steward - This Time Forever

Meg slowed the truck around a curve. The road opened before them into an enormous valley of gently rolling hills, jagged bluffs and wooded fringes. “Welcome to Whispering Pines Lodge, Adam’s plan to save his grandparents’ property,” she said softly. “Bless his heart. He’s put everything he has into saving this place.”

“He must love it.” Lisa pulled her camera from the bag and focused on the stately new guest house. “Wow…” She sighed. “Can you stop here, Meg? I want my first impressions on film.”

Lisa hopped from the truck. The camera whirred.

On one side of the valley she photographed horses corralled between a weathered barn and split-rail fence. On the other, snow-dusted pine trees climbed the mountain. She snapped a series of shots of the icy creek meandering under a rustic stone bridge that separated a smaller home from the land where the new addition was located.

Lisa lowered the camera and filled her lungs with the pine scent. She paused. An odd feeling stirred within her. Anticipation was to be expected on any new job, but that wasn’t all.

Mystified by the intensity she felt about this assignment as they drove closer to the lodge, Lisa felt her usually “on-edge” nerves dissipate. She squirmed in her seat, uneasy with the sense of hope and tranquillity. If she didn’t know better, she’d think there was something to this romantic getaway idea.

How Meg had managed to convince a skeptic like Lisa was a mystery. She’d given up on romance long ago. Yet, in that brief moment when she first saw Whispering Pines, it was as if she knew everything she needed to know in order to write this story.

Meg pulled through the circular drive to the impressive front entrance and shut off the engine. Lisa slid from the seat of the truck and looked around. In the distance a man carrying a huge ax over his shoulder like Paul Bunyan disappeared behind a miniature barn-shaped building.

Lisa lifted her eyebrows. Hmm, this may not be so bad after all. When he appeared again, Lisa was waiting with camera focused. Click…click…click… He propped the ax against a tall evergreen and turned toward her. The man was tall, broad-shouldered and much younger than she’d anticipated. He sauntered closer in long, purposeful strides. The lens cap dangled in the icy breeze, tapping against her hand.

Seconds later the man’s hand pulled the camera away from her face.

“What are you doing?” Lisa yanked it from his hand and snapped the lens cover in place to protect it from any chance of damage. “Excuse me, but this is my camera.”

“And this is my land.” His voice left no room for discussion.

Lisa glanced up again. He had a strong jaw, deep-set eyes and sun bleached brown hair that desperately needed a cut. Nevertheless, he was still one drop-dead handsome cowboy. He crossed his arms over his chest and Lisa felt her heart race. Whispering Pines Guest Ranch. It couldn’t be. “Adam?” She stepped back, confused. “I thought…”

He looked puzzled. He obviously didn’t recognize her from their sisters’ and brothers’ weddings.

“I beg your pardon, ma’am. I don’t believe we’ve met. May I ask what in tarnation you’re doing with that camera?”

Pulling herself together, Lisa extended her hand. This was a professional assignment. Not a family gathering. The backpack slid from her shoulder, and with the flick of his wrist, the stunning proprietor caught it. Lisa lifted it back to her shoulder. “I’m taking pictures….”

“I figured that much out.” His frown deepened. “Question is, why?”

“I’m…” Momentarily, she wasn’t sure who she was, and less sure of what she was doing here. “I’m Lisa Berthoff, Katarina and Emily’s sister.”

One eyebrow lifted. “Lisa?” A look of shock plastered onto his face, Adam tried to regain his composure. “I didn’t recognize you.”

No kidding. “Must be my hair. It was shorter.”

“And…” Adam raised his hands to his hair and awkwardly let them drop again. “Umm…curlier.”

Lisa nodded, remembering. “Yes, it was.” The expense of curling her stubbornly straight hair was a luxury she’d had to go without after the surprise that awaited her return from Kat’s wedding. The changes in her appearance were obviously not improvements from the look on Adam’s face. She had stress to thank for the weight loss. Stress and Dale. Or were the two one and the same? At least her perception had improved since he’d walked out on her. When it came to men, she now had twenty-twenty vision. She’d been blinded by love once, but never again.

Adam stared, speechless.

Mrs. MacIntyre came down the guest house steps and broke the uncomfortable silence. “Lisa? I didn’t know you were coming.”

“Hello, Mrs. MacIntyre. The magazine sent me as a last-minute replacement for the Greens. I’m here to do the write-up on Adam…I mean, on Whispering Pines.”

“Magazine? What magazine?” Adam said.

Ignoring his questions, his mother continued. “Call me Millie, please.” She wrapped an arm around Lisa and looked at her son. “Isn’t this just perfect, Adam, dear? Lisa’s doing your story.” Millie beamed, and her voice was overly enthusiastic, even by Lisa’s estimation. “I can’t wait to tell Elizabeth that you’re here.”

Adam plastered a smile across his face. “Is that so?” Without another word to her, Adam reached for Lisa’s bags in the back of the truck. “Thanks for bringing our guest out, Meg. Have a good weekend.”

“It was my pleasure. Enjoy your stay, Lisa.”

“Thank you, Meg. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”

Adam groaned, but whether it was because of the conversation or the seventy-pound suitcase he was lifting, Lisa wasn’t sure. What did he expect? Her entire life was in these bags.

Adam glanced at his mother, who’d followed Meg to the white sedan in the parking lot across the yard. He turned to Lisa and lowered his voice. “And just to set things straight, Mrs.— Sorry, I didn’t catch your married name.”

Lisa was stunned. Married? What, or who, had given Adam the impression she had married?

“Never mind. Just so you realize, I’m not interested in advertising in any magazine nor am I doing any interview for one.”

Keep your cool, Lisa. You need this job. “Thanks for clarifying that. Good thing I’m not in advertising, then, isn’t it? And just to clear up one more thing…” She hated to add to his problems, whatever they might be, but she believed in honesty. “I’m not married.”

“Great. Just great,” he said, then took off across the flagstone walk, mumbling.

Millie’s voice startled Lisa. “Oh, dear. Look at the time.” Adam’s mom smiled at Lisa then climbed into the truck, calling sweetly to Adam as he closed the distance between himself and the front door of the house. “Don’t count on me for dinner tonight. I’m having dinner with Mr. Miller. Why don’t you catch Lisa up on all the family news?” She turned the key and revved the engine. “Don’t pay any attention to his grumbling, Lisa. He’ll be fine soon. I’m sure of it. I’ll look forward to visiting with you tomorrow.”

“That would be nice. I’ll see you then.” Adam’s mother headed down the hill and across the quaint bridge to the small Victorian-style house tucked behind the winter-bare tree branches. Lisa let out a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. With a sigh of determination, she ran up the log steps, in search of the very handsome, impatient and presumably still-single bed-and-breakfast owner. She was going to set things straight, once and for all.

Adam heard the door close downstairs, followed by a thump, then a muffled voice and…giggles? He dropped Lisa’s luggage in the middle of the floor and ran out of the room.