Saved by the Bride

chapter Six

The following day, Annika finished the work Finn had left for her by eleven. She hadn’t seen him during the morning, which was probably a good thing for her peace of mind but he’d been whizzing emails to her all the same. As she was expected to be in the office during business hours, she was now using the time for Whitetail. While her fingers flew across the keyboard composing a letter outlining all of Whitetail’s attributes to go along with the information pack about the warehouses, she recalled the huge argument she’d had with her mother when she was sixteen. Her mom had insisted she take a semester of typing in her sophomore year when she’d lost interest in everything academic, preferring instead to spend every waking hour drawing. Annika hadn’t agreed but had lost out.

Today, the irony wasn’t lost on her—now she typed more than she drew. You do everything more than draw, paint, collage— She sucked in a deep breath, trying to ease the ache that sat in her chest like a lead weight and she ended up rubbing her sternum. Nothing shifted it.

“Shouldn’t you be taking a break?”

She looked up in surprise to see Finn standing in the doorway, his feet clad in leather boat shoes. “How do you manage to walk silently on wooden floors?”

He winked. “It’s my ninja training so I can sneak up on P.A.s and make sure they’re doing what they’re supposed to.”

She huffed out a halfhearted indignant breath which lost out against a smile. “All your work is done.”

“I’m sure it is.”

She tried to read the message behind the mild words but his handsome face gave nothing away. “Besides, with all the restrictions you gave me on where I’m not allowed to go on the property it’s just easier to stay here.”

His teasing humor faded. “I’m sorry, but it’s Dana’s house.”

She shrugged, wondering why he even felt the need to explain. “I’m staff and it’s her vacation. I get it. It’s not a problem.”

“But it doesn’t mean you work through.” He strode over to a work area and slid open what looked like a cabinet door but was actually a dumbwaiter. “I got Esther to send up lunch.”

The thoughtful gesture stunned her. “Thank you.”

This time he shrugged. “As soon as we’ve eaten we’ll drive into town to meet with your real estate agent.”

We’ve eaten? She studied the contents on the tray that was clearly set for two. “You’re not having lunch with your family?”

The tense set of his shoulders matched his brusque words. “I don’t have time for long lunches.”

The sound of pummeling feet made them both glance toward the door and the next minute Logan barreled into the office. “Annika! Dad said you were here again.”

She returned the boy’s big smile. “Hey, dude, how are you?”

Excitement poured off him. “Dad just taught me how to do a somersault off the diving platform and I wanna show you now.”

Finn gave a tight smile but when he spoke his tone was quiet but firm. “We’re working, Logan.”

The boy’s mouth formed a stubborn line and he scuffed his sneaker-clad toes against the polished boards making a loud and defiant squeaking sound. “I came to see Annika.”

“Logan.” Finn sighed as if he was bone weary. “Now’s not the best time. Maybe later.”

Why? It wasn’t like Logan was interrupting something important. Wasn’t that the point of a home office during vacation time when things were more casual? “I can come and watch you dive after work, Logan, but only if it’s okay with your mom and dad.”

Logan beamed. “’Course it’s okay. It was Dad’s idea and Mom said you should stay for supper because we’re having a cookout. You’ll stay won’t you? This time we’ll finish the sand fort.”

As she dealt with her astonishment at the unexpected invitation, she thought she heard Finn groan. “I’d love to come. I’ll bring my bathing suit so I can swim out to the platform too.”

“Awesome.” Logan bounced up and down in anticipation.

“Fabulous.” Finn’s voice sounded strained.

Annika wasn’t totally certain if Finn was against the idea of her as an employee spending time with his family or if his issue was with Logan but her natural inclination to “help” kicked in. She raised her hand for a high five with the child. “I need to get back to work now, dude, but I promise I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay. See ya.” The happy boy ran out of the office, his voice echoing back to them as he called out, “Mom, she said yes!”

“You know, you didn’t have to do that.” Finn handed her a plate covered by a massive Reuben sandwich and she realized just how hungry she was.

“Do what?” She watched mesmerized as he bit into the rye bread and how his tongue chased a strand of melted cheese that clung to the bow of his top lip.

“Offer to swim with him.”

That jolted her out of her lust-fest. “I wouldn’t have suggested it if I hadn’t wanted to do it. Diving off platforms with kids is all part of summer fun, right?”

“Oh yeah, right up there with mosquitoes.” He wrenched the top off a bottle of apple juice and took a slug, his Adam’s apple moving up and down—rhythmically and hypnotically.

She tried to stay focused on his words rather than his deliciously gorgeous body and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She loved summer. It was her favorite season, although she enjoyed sunny winter days skating on the lake and cross-country skiing in the woods, and she absolutely adored fall. You love it all. But Finn didn’t seem to share her feelings.

“Geez, what happened to you in summer as a kid to make you the Scrooge of vacation?”

That familiar tension that often circled him appeared again, vibrating like electricity buzzing down a line. “I’m not on vacation.”

Now she was seriously curious. She finished chewing and wiped her mouth with the cloth napkin that had been rolled into a pewter ring with a K engraved on it. Everything in the house spoke wealth. “So if you’re not on vacation, why are you working in your father’s vacation house?”

“Company politics and business strategy.”

His words shot out as if spoken by an automaton and they didn’t tell her anything. “Oh of course, I should have made the connection given I was just reading all about it in Forbes the other day.”

His lips curved into a smile and the strain lessened. “Forbes, eh?”

She tried not to sound breathy despite the fact her heart skipped a beat. “A mayor has to keep up.” She nibbled the edge of some lettuce. “But the article also talked about cutting little brothers some slack when they called by the office.”

The tension shot right back like a bow being stretched tight by an arrow. “If you read the Wall Street Journal you would have seen the article on the fact they don’t belong in the office and if you want to keep the job as my P.A. you need to respect that.”

During his orientation yesterday, he’d never sounded so serious or so resolute about any topic—not even the confidentiality clause. She desperately wanted to ask him why the rule but given the set of his mouth, and the jet of his eyes, she’d save that question for another time. Right now, she needed the job too much for herself and for Whitetail. The fact it came with money was a bonus she was coming to appreciate. She only hoped Ellery would be okay waiting until Friday for a half payment of the month before last’s rent.

She gave him a mock salute. “Yes, boss. I’ve got your back and I’ll protect you from scary eight-year-olds.”

He smiled. “Just make sure you do.”

The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes or match the tone of his voice and she realized he was actually serious. Why was he so ill at ease with a child?

“That’s enough about little boys, Annika. Grab your file on the warehouses because we’re leaving in five minutes.”

While she double-checked she had everything they needed for the meeting with Ellery, Finn reloaded the plates back into the dumbwaiter. Just as she’d slid the documents into a bright pink folder, Bridey strolled into the office wearing a bikini top and a multicolored sarong tied low on her hips.

“Hey, big brother, I just got a text from Mom and she’ll be here this afternoon.”

Annika watched Finn’s finger go rigid on the dumbwaiter button and he stabbed it as if his life depended on it.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?”

“You know I never kid about Mom.”

He turned to face his sister. “I don’t understand. She never comes up here anymore and we only just got through your party.” He ran both his hands through his hair. “Oh God, Dana and Kathleen in the same space. Dad will go off his head and—”

“She’s not going to be staying here, silly.” Bridey’s smile seemed overly bright. “When I invited her, I booked her into a B and B.”

“What?” Finn’s roar ricocheted off all the glass. “You invited her?”

Annika jumped at his volume but Bridey didn’t even blink. It was as if she’d expected this reaction.

Finn threw his arms out. “You invited her up here? Have you completely lost it, Bridey?”

“No.” Her eyes glinted with purpose. “I’m planning a wedding and I need my mother around for that.”

He stalked toward her. “Damn it, Bridey. It would have made more sense for you to go down and visit her in Chicago.”

Bridey folded her arms across her chest and got the same mulish look her brother could specialize in. “This is my vacation and I can do what I want.”

“What? Cause chaos?”

Bridey pursed her lips. “Her plane arrives at three so we can meet her and then take her out for coffee at that quaint diner in Whitetail. She’ll love that both of us are spending time with her together. We’ll leave at two-thirty and that gives us plenty of time. We’ll use my car because Mom’s bound to have brought more than one suitcase and your status symbol is hopeless for trunk space.”

Annika felt like she was at a tennis match, watching the ball pass between two expert players and culminating with a lot of frenetic volleying at the net. Bridey was like a dog with a bone and a vein in Finn’s neck pulsed. Perhaps it wasn’t only eight-year-olds he wanted to be protected from.

His relationship with his family was intriguing but none of her business. She was employed to do what he asked and because she needed the job, she picked up her satchel, swung it over her shoulder and said, “I’m really sorry but Finn’s got an important meeting in Whitetail at three.”

Bridey’s smile fell and she suddenly had the air of a forlorn child. “Oh. Can’t you change it?”

Annika instantly felt sad on Bridey’s behalf and she wanted to make amends. She opened her mouth to say Finn could meet them at the diner at four when she felt Finn’s hand firm against the small of her back, and all coherent thought vanished.

With gentle but determined pressure, he guided her past his sister. “Sorry, sis, gotta go. Tell Mom I’ll call her later.”

Annika swore she heard delight in his voice.

* * *

“I use the Multiple Listing Service and I can handle the sale or the leasing. All you have to do is sit back and watch the cash appear in your account. Yes, sir, you don’t have to be in the heart of a big city to do big business these days.”

Annika listened to Ellery giving his spiel to Finn and watched both men closely. Finn had taken this meeting under sufferance and she knew Ellery would have to win him over. Some people thought Ellery too hometown-country with his warmth, sincerity and lack of guile but they’d be the fools. When it came to sales, Ellery was the man. Right now as he moved the red dot of his laser pen across the spreadsheet pointing out pertinent numbers and statistics it was enough to make the heart of any businessman sing.

Finn sat in his chair with his elbows resting on the desk and his fingertips pressed together in the shape of a diamond. Occasionally he asked questions but mostly he listened with an intensity that had every part of his body centered on Ellery.

Annika took advantage of that to sneak occasional glances at Finn, justifying to herself that there was no danger in window shopping. She watched the way recalcitrant curls formed at the back of his neck despite a neat cut and how they tickled his collar, taunting the crisp and tidy look he cultivated. She noticed that despite a close shave in the morning, by three in the afternoon ebony stubble touched his tanned cheeks and she knew by nightfall he’d have the sexy rumpled look of a pirate that he’d worn the night she’d met him. What was new to her today was the way the band of his polo shirt sleeves seemed stretched by his upper arms but that shouldn’t have surprised her given those same arms had once lifted her up as if she was a featherweight.

Finn rose from his chair, his long-limbed body unfolding like a scissor lift, and he extended his hand. “You put a good case forward and I’ll give you two months to show me what you can do.”

Ellery shook his hand. “I’ll have the papers drawn up and bring them out to Kylemore for signing tomorrow.”

Annika suppressed the urge to give a loud and emphatic whoop of delight. It was a minor victory in a huge battle but it was a start and either way, lease or sale, some money would stay in the town. “Ellery, we need to meet to talk about strategies to catch the attention of medium-to large-size companies. I’m tied up during the day but what about tomorrow night? Bring Elspeth and come for supper.”

The large Realtor suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Anni, have you been checking your voice mail?”

No, because I don’t have any cell credit. She went for noncommittal as she collected the documents she’d brought to the meeting. “Hmm, why?”

Ellery hesitated, looked at Finn and then back at Annika before speaking softly. “So you know tomorrow night won’t work out at the cottage.”

She had no clue why that would be so she played along. “Sure, so how about the night after?”

“Where?”

She smiled. “Same place, my place.”

Ellery turned to Finn. “Mr. Callahan, would you excuse us for just a moment?”

Two deep lines appeared on Finn’s forehead as if he wasn’t used to being asked a question like this. “If it involves the warehouses I’d prefer to be present.”

Annika recognized his business tone and she didn’t want to risk Finn pulling out of the deal. “Ellery, it’s fine. Just say what you need to say.”

“I’ve been waiting for you to call me back since yesterday, Anni.” His tone was both accusatory and apologetic. “The Hoffmans have decided to come up from Milwaukee and use the cottage this summer.”

Her mouth dried. “My cottage?”

Ellery nodded slowly but firmly. “I’m sorry, Anni, but because you’re two months behind in your rent I couldn’t argue against it. They’re moving in for the entire summer.”

Her legs turned to jelly and she sat down hard on the chair. The Hoffmans hadn’t used their cottage in two years and she’d come to think of it as hers. “When?”

Ellery put his hand on her shoulder and spoke softly. “Tomorrow. I’ve been trying to contact you since yesterday to tell you.”

You’re homeless.

The familiar ring tone of Finn’s cell both pierced her shock and backhanded her with an extra dose of indignity. In her stunned state she’d forgotten he was in the room. Her head fell into her hands. Oh, God, now Finn Callahan knew she was virtually destitute. Life just got better and better.

She raised her head. “Ellery, I’ll have money on Friday which will go toward my back rent and I have a job for the summer so I’m good for the rest. I don’t mind where I go. I’ll even take the unleasable cottage near mosquito flat.”

“I’m sorry, Anni, but we’ve had a rush on vacation rentals this year because Illinois folk who used to travel overseas are tightening their belts and staying closer to home. I don’t have a single cottage available.”

She pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead as if the pressure would make her think more clearly, and she tried to run through her choices. She no longer had family in town. Her parents had sold up and moved to Arizona when she’d left for college and had started a business in retirement travel. They spent more time out of the country than in it, and currently they were in Australia, loving every minute of their “third age.” Like the emails from her brother, Axel, the content of most of her parents’ messages usually urged her to leave town and reiterated the same theme of “restart your life.” But her life was here now and she wasn’t going anywhere. Any number of townsfolk could help her out for a night or two but moving every few days held no appeal, and she couldn’t impose on anyone for an entire summer. Everyone was hurting financially as much as she was.

A wave of weariness rolled through her as a lump formed in her throat. Fighting the good fight when she had no reserves herself was wearing her down. She wanted to be totally self-indulgent and sit and sob but she had no time for that—she had a cottage to vacate. She rose slowly to her feet, tucked her hair behind her ears and faced Finn.

“It appears I need the rest of the afternoon off to move house.”

* * *

“What about this?” Finn picked up a dusty and battered wooden box with a brass handle unsure if it was part of the cottage’s furnishings or Annika’s private property.

He’d fully intended to drop Annika off at her cottage and drive straight back to Kylemore, leaving her to sort out the mess that appeared to be her life. But there’d been something about the slump of her shoulders that was so unlike her usual take-charge attitude that he’d felt compelled to stay.

Still, he couldn’t believe that he was here helping her pack. He never got involved in his staff’s personal lives. You never get involved in anyone’s life period. He shut down the unwanted voice. Thinking of Annika in terms of “staff” was supposed to be helping him not to think about her in any other way, but watching her walk past him holding an armful of clean laundry with a white sports bra dangling from the load, wasn’t helping. His thoughts strayed to the memory of plain white panties and long smooth legs.

Her gaze flicked over the case he held up and her usually clear eyes clouded for a moment. “Yes, that’s mine.”

He saw her look beyond the case and noticed a folded-up easel. “Do you paint?”

“Passing phase.” She dumped her clothes into the open suitcase on the couch before picking up some rolled-up canvases and putting them quickly on top and snapping the lid closed. “That’s it.”

Bridey had more gear in her vacation bedroom at Kylemore. “Your possessions are two suitcases and five boxes?”

She tilted her chin. “Some of us have a smaller carbon footprint than others. Even so, it’s not all going to fit in that car of yours with its pocket-handkerchief trunk.”

“So sue me. Had I known you were moving I would have got you a pickup.” The moment he spoke, he caught the spark of an idea light up those glorious eyes like the white light of a sparkler. He silently groaned.

She tilted her head and strands of hair brushed her cheek. “Great idea, thank you.”

“You don’t have a car?”

She shook her head and put out her hand. He caught the flicker of embarrassment that she immediately squashed with the reality of survival. “I can organize a truck though. I just need your phone to do it because mine isn’t working.”

He knew that was code for, “I haven’t paid the bill.” Annika having her own set of wheels and being independent of him made perfect sense but for some reason he found himself saying, “You don’t have any money for gas.”

“It will come with a full tank.” She hooked his gaze with a straight-up and honest stare. “Look at it this way. It frees you up to get back to Kylemore and back to work.”

Work which wasn’t messy and disorganized like this. She was giving him an out and one he should probably take.

She suddenly spun around to face a large clock and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, no, I promised Logan I’d watch him dive tonight. Can you please tell him how sorry I am and tell him I’ll go swimming with him later in the week.”

She seemed more distressed by letting Logan down than by being destitute, which he didn’t understand at all. He thought of all the times when he was a kid and his father had promised he’d come to school concerts and basketball games. On hearing the promise his young self would get a rush of excitement edged with anxious anticipation, which was invariably followed by resigned disappointment when Sean failed to arrive.

“Logan will cope.” He had to or he wouldn’t survive being a Callahan.

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sure he will but I gave my word and I want him to know that I haven’t just blown him off. Or your parents. Will you pass on the message?”

That would involve having a personal conversation with Logan, Dana or his father—something he never put his hand up for. He tossed her his phone. “Call them from the car on our way to the car rental company.”

An hour later, Finn was behind the wheel of a brand-new truck and Annika was at a loss to work out exactly how this had happened when her plan had been that he was the one renting the vehicle and she was the one driving it.

“So where am I taking you, ma’am?”

She imagined him in overalls with a tool belt slung low on his hips—an image she instantly regretted as her breath hitched in her throat. “You’re enjoying this aren’t you?”

He grinned. “Who knew driving a pickup would be this much fun.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered, “Rich boys and their toys,” before taking a deep breath and trying a different tact. She didn’t want to tell him where she planned to live and she sure as hell didn’t want to have him deliver her there.

She shifted in her seat. “This is really taking you out of your way and I’ll just have to drive you back to the lot to collect your car. So now you’ve had a turn at being a regular Joe, take a right here and we can double back.”

“It’s no problem. What sort of boss would I be if I didn’t make sure you were settled?”

“A normal one.”

“Hey, AKP values their staff.”

He looked slightly offended and she built on it, hoping he’d get pissed and leave her alone with the pickup. “You just want to avoid your family.”

A muscle jerked against the dark stubble on his cheek. “I want to make sure you’re settled so you can concentrate on being my P.A. instead of taking afternoons off to sort out your life.”

A niggle of guilt burrowed in. She should feel grateful that he was helping her. Plenty of people in town would have happily helped but they’d have had pity and defeat in their eyes, because her failure to financially survive in Whitetail would be yet another reminder that most people couldn’t do it without an industry. It made her even more determined to get Whitetail up and moving again so folk could rediscover their spirit and pride. The fact that Finn knew she had nothing was somehow easier to bear, probably because of their natural antipathy.

Antipathy with a lust chaser.

Only she knew if she dared to be honest it wasn’t even close to antipathy. Behind that sexy but brusque business facade lay a very likeable man who needed to get out more.

She crossed her arms, refusing to admit to anything. She had to stick to her game plan. “Geez, it was two hours and I’ll make it up tomorrow, which by the way includes a brides’ meeting at the warehouse.” She poked the air with her forefinger. “There’s another reason I need this vehicle. I’ll be in late and you can’t dock me for being out of the office because you insisted I oversee this wedding-caper idea.”

But his offended air seemed to have vanished and he just smiled as he slowed at a four-way stop. “I have no plans to dock your pay.”

“Great. I’ve got an even better idea. You could pay me in advance.”

He checked the rearview mirror, braked and threw the gear stick into Park before leaning toward her with his palm flat on the bench seat next to her hand. His expression was all business. “That would be unwise. First rule of commerce is never pay before services have been rendered.”

Desperately trying to ignore the fact that the air between their hands pulsed with electricity, she spoke without thinking. “Why? I’m good for it.”

His jet-black eyes flared with something a long way removed from business, and his voice dropped five tones as he seemed to move closer. “Oh, I’m sure you’re better than good.”

The words caressed her skin with a delicious shiver and then dove deep. Suddenly the roomy cabin of the truck felt as small and cramped as his Ferrari California and she swallowed hard against a dry throat. Every breath she took filled her with him—the spice of his cologne, the musk of his all-male body and the undisputed scent of delicious danger. It called to her. It marched all over her reason and her common sense with its entreaty and delectable promise that a kiss right now would equal the one the night they met.

God, she wanted to feel like that again. She wanted—craved—to have a moment where nothing existed except sheer wonder and amazement. His eyes darkened to hypnotic ebony and every part of her wanted to fall forward into his arms and onto his lips. With a sigh, her eyelids fluttered closed in delicious anticipation.

The truck suddenly lurched forward and her eyes flew open as her seat belt locked and jammed her against the back of the seat, slamming her with a hefty dose of rational thought. Finn’s words boomed in her head. It was out of line and it won’t happen again.

And it hadn’t. As much as she’d wanted him to kiss her and he’d looked for all the world like he wanted to kiss her, Finn was a man of his word. She should have known that especially after their argument at the police station when he’d told her through rigid lips he was an honorable man. He’d rather walk through fire than kiss her again.

She must shake off this insane attraction. She needed to use his self-control to her advantage considering she had none of her own. She needed an immunity booster shot against a dark-haired, dark-eyed Irishman with dimples, and she had to re-find the grim determination to avoid relationships that had successfully protected her for the last two years. The solution was obvious. She just had to make sure she didn’t spend any more time alone with Finn than was absolutely necessary.

“I need directions.”

She sighed at his hoarse request with defeat licking at her. She’d almost panted while waiting for him to kiss her and now, to add salt to the wound, she hadn’t even managed to deflect him from dropping her at her new home. “Take a left just up here.”

“A left?” Finn checked because his brain was still refilling with blood after he’d almost kissed those ready red lips. Hell, twice in two days was two times too much, given he’d promised her he wouldn’t kiss her again. She was working for him and kissing staff wasn’t P.C., especially when the thought of stopping the kiss once he’d started was harder than not kissing her at all. And damn it, why did he even want to kiss her when she irritated the hell out of him?

He flicked on the indicator. “Doesn’t that road lead out of town?”

“Yes.”

Her teeth snagged her bottom lip and he took the corner too fast.

She raised a chestnut brow. “The brake’s that big pedal on the left.”

He grinned. “And to think, someone’s actually prepared to have you and your smart mouth in their house.” Except the houses were getting farther apart but as she’d been on the phone the entire time he’d been completing the rental agreement, he figured one of her friends or family must live out here.

She didn’t fire back her usual quick response. Instead, she said quietly, “Turn right up here.”

As he slowed, he recognized the grove of maple and birch trees. “This is the entrance to the business park.”

“Well done. You’ve just graduated Whitetail Geography 101.”

Her sarcasm lacked bite, which made him sneak another look at her. Fatigue and worry lines hovered around her eyes and as he killed the engine, he said, “I don’t recall any houses out here.”

“That’s because I only gave you the warehouse tour.” She threw him a bright smile. “So now you know my location, pull in here and we’ll swap drivers and I’ll take you back to your car.”

“Not before I’ve carried in your boxes.” His feet hit the blacktop and he met her at the back of the truck bed.

“Thanks, but there’s really no need because my friends will help me unload later. Like I said, time is marching and business calls. I’m surprised you’re not a barrel of anxious tics from not checking the six messages that came in over the last half hour.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t want to be the one responsible for your meltdown.”

He was fine with ignoring the phone because none of the emergency ringtones had sounded. She, on the other hand, was a barrel of tics and as skittish as a deer. Even when she’d fallen through the window she’d had more poise than she had right now. He stared over her head looking for a manager’s house or something similar but all he could see were the walls of the two warehouses. He ignored her and started walking.

“Finn, you’re going the wrong way.”

He didn’t believe her. He kept walking and when she jogged up alongside him, his hand shot out automatically to steady her when she inevitably tripped over her feet.

He rounded the corner of the farthest warehouse and met a towering field of green corn. He knew there was no house between the entrance and here, and suddenly all her agitation made sense. “You’re not staying here.”

Her chin lifted. “You said you were happy for the town to use the warehouses and I’m part of the town.”

He tried to keep his voice even but it wanted to rise on a wave on incredulity. “I meant them to be used for business not housing.”

Annika squared her shoulders. “The partitions from the Reggies offices are still here as well as a kitchen and a bathroom. It’s everything a girl needs to set up house.”

“There’s no way in hell you’re staying out here.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Call your parents.”

“They don’t live here.”

That surprised him. Although he spent his life avoiding his family he knew many people had families they wanted to spend time with, and he’d assumed her family was part of the attraction for her living in Whitetail. “Brothers? Sisters?”

She shook her head and he recognized the stubborn glint and failure to back down that had burned them both the night at the police station.

Confusion circled him. “You’ve been extolling the virtues of Whitetail from the moment we met, so even without family, someone will put you up.”

“I can think of twenty people who’d offer in a heartbeat, but I’m not imposing on any of them. They’ve all got their own set of worries and I’m not adding to them.” She blew some hair out of her eyes. “I’ll pay you rent.”

“I don’t want freaking rent.” He could just see the headlines in the local paper: Callahan in Kylemore Luxury While P.A. Lives in Warehouse Squalor. He knew enough about Annika Jacobson to know she’d fight hard for what she wanted and despite being taken to the lowest point, she was determined to try and survive without taking charity. But even a woman who stretched his patience to the nth degree didn’t deserve to squat in a warehouse. Hell, it wasn’t safe out here in the middle of nowhere. “I’ll pay for your accommodation.” He made a quick call to the Whitetail Motel.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Callahan,” the apologetic clerk explained. “It’s the musky fishing tournament in Hayward and we’re full with overflow accommodation. You could try the B and Bs.”

He called them. Same deal. No vacancy.

Shit.

She rubbed her arms as the cool of the evening settled over the heat of the day. “Once I get a coffee maker I’ll be very cozy here.”

“I’ll have Rory evict you if you even try. This time he’ll agree with me.”

For the first time since he’d met her, she seemed at a loss for words. The woman who thought on her feet and was his equal in quick thinking, was strangely silent.

She ran interference with Bridey and Logan today. The thought shone like a light bulb in his head. If she was at the house out of business hours she could do that even more. “You can stay at Kylemore.”

Her blue eyes widened in disbelief. “I can’t just move into Dana’s house.”

He shrugged. “My father has a guest cottage and it’ll save you a long commute to work.”

He watched her thinking about it. Her expressive face hid nothing as she ran through all the aspects of the offer, even though she virtually had no choice.

She suddenly stiffened. “And I’d be sharing with?”

He laughed, understanding completely. No way would he have been offering if it involved her staying with him. He’d have no chance of honoring his promise not to kiss her. “The guest cottage is down by the lake and you’ll have your privacy just like I have mine at my cabin.”

She hesitated and he could clearly see the war of housing need versus imposition. He threw her a line. “You can pay my father rent.”

Her hand shot out. “Deal.”