afraid I forgot to buy gas at the last station,” she said, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible—even if it did make her look like a fool. She had worse problems. “I was wondering if you might have some gas that I could borrow? Just enough to get me into town?”
“Borrow?” He chuckled at that. “And town being?”
She hated to even admit where she was headed. “Whitehorse.”
“That’s another hour up the road.”
As if she didn’t know that. “My car used more gas than I thought it would.” She gave a nervous laugh, hating that she had to resort to acting as if she didn’t have a brain. Back when she was making money, fuel was never an issue. She hadn’t realized how much a lot of things cost—until she couldn’t pay for them anymore.
He nodded, glancing toward the river as if considering her request. “I suppose I could siphon some out of one of my tanks.” He didn’t sound thrilled about it. Nor had he moved.
“I would appreciate that so much.” She glanced at her watch.
“Got some place to be, do you?”
“I have an appointment.”
“In Whitehorse?” From under the brim of his hat and behind the mirrored sunglasses, he studied her a few moments more before he sighed. “Best pull up next to my pickup while I grab a hose.”
She feared the car wouldn’t start, let alone move. But there must have been just enough fumes left for her to pull up before it died again. She shut off the engine, staying in the car to pop the gas compartment open and watch him move slow as molasses. He acted as if he had all day. He probably did.
Patience had never been one of her strong suits. She tapped a toe as she heard him talking to his dog, mumbling so she couldn’t make out a word. As if she didn’t know he was giving the dog an earful about her.
The dog, still in the pickup bed, wagged its tail enthusiastically at whatever the cowboy said. Whatever he was saying, he certainly found it amusing from that hint of a grin under the beard. Annabelle consoled herself with the thought that the mutt was probably the closest thing the cowboy could get to a female companion.
After a good five to ten minutes, he finished. She hadn’t thought past getting enough gas to get to Whitehorse. Now her stomach clenched at a thought. Not only should she offer him money, but he also might demand it. And since she had no money and doubted he took credit cards—even ones that weren’t frozen for lack of payment...
She watched him walk to his pickup to put the hose away and knew what she had to do. It was the coward’s way out. But she told herself that she had no choice. She’d been telling herself that for months now. Not that it made her feel any better as she quickly started her car and threw it into reverse.
Whirring down the passenger side window, she called out, “Thank you so much. If you’re ever in Whitehorse...” With that she took off, torn between guilt and glee over seeing that he’d given her almost a full tank of gas.
When she dared look back, she saw him standing by his pickup shaking his head as he watched her leave. She thought of that glimpse of golden brown. Even shaded under the brim of his old Stetson, those eyes... They’d almost seemed...familiar.
Dawson Rogers swore as he pulled off his worn Stetson. Raking a hand through his hair, he watched the silver sports car take off like a bat out of hell.
“Annabelle Clementine.” He said the name like a curse. For years, he’d only seen her staring back at him from glossy women’s magazine ads. He’d been just fine knowing there was no chance that he’d ever lay eyes on her in the flesh again. She’d been real clear about never setting foot in this state again when she’d left all those years ago.
So what was she doing headed for Whitehorse?
That his heart was still pounding only made him more furious with himself. When he’d heard her voice behind him...he couldn’t believe it. He’d thought for sure that his worn-out, dog-weary body was playing tricks on him. He’d frozen in place, counting to ten and then ten again, afraid to turn around for fear he’d be wrong—or worse—right.
Now he swore, remembering his reaction to just the sound of her voice. Could he be a bigger fool?
And yet that voice had brought it all back. The ache in his belly, the stompin’ she’d done on his heart. Worse, the hope that set a fire inside him at just the sound of it. In that instant, he’d wanted it to be her more than he’d wanted his next breath. After everything she’d done to him, he’d actually felt a spike of joy at the thought of seeing her again.
And still he hadn’t turned around, because he’d known once he did, the disappointment would be as painful as the last time he’d seen her.
Turning, he’d seen her standing there and thought, Damn, the woman is even more beautiful than when she’d hightailed it out of here.
He’d been shocked—and still was. Annie. In the flesh. That she hadn’t changed except to become more gorgeous had left him shaken. A dust devil of emotions whirled inside him as he watched her drive away.
“What is she doing back here?” he demanded as the pup came over to the side of the pickup bed to lick his hand.
Sadie wagged her tail in response. “What am I doing asking you?” He ruffled the dog’s fur. Still, he found himself squinting after the sports car as it climbed the mountain on the other side of the river and disappeared around a curve. “What’s a woman who said she’d never set foot in Whitehorse doing back here? If I hadn’t seen her with my own eyes...”
For just a moment there, earlier, before she’d asked for gas, he’d thought...
Hell, he didn’t want to think about what he’d thought as he shoved his hat back on. “Let’s get on home,” he said to the pup as he reminded himself that Annabelle Clementine’s coming back had nothing to do with him.
He told himself that he shouldn’t have been surprised that she hadn’t changed. Still, it galled him. Her clothes might be more expensive and she drove a much fancier car, but she was still the same girl who’d looked down her nose at him—and Whitehorse—all those years ago.
It nagged at him. What could have brought her back? He shook his head, telling himself it was obviously none of his business. Best thing he could do was to forget about her—something he’d been working on for some time now.
After two weeks in hunting camp, he recalled that before he’d seen her, all he’d wanted was to get home, have a hot shower and climb into a warm, soft bed. If he hadn’t stopped beside the road to take a leak, let Sadie out and give the pup a snack...well, he might not have seen her at all.
The only thing that didn’t surprise him, he told himself as he lifted Sadie into the pickup’s front seat and climbed behind the wheel, was that the woman hadn’t given him the time of day. Hell, he couldn’t even be sure she remembered him. After all, it had been... How many years had it been? He wondered with a frown as he started the truck engine.
Thirteen. He let out a low whistle. Sadie’s ears perked up, but she lay back down and closed her eyes for the ride home.
And it wasn’t like Annie had ever given him a thought since she’d been gone, he reminded himself. She’d made it perfectly clear that they had no future before she’d left right after high school to find fame and fortune.
Dawson pointed the pickup toward Whitehorse, all the time trying to imagine what could have brought her back. Certainly not her grandmother’s funeral. Only her two sisters had made it back for that. Of course, they’d attended the funeral and left right away, but at least they’d shown up. He shook his head, thinking that he’d expected better of the girl he’d