Call It Destiny

surprise. „Do you… that is, can you, uh, ride it?“
    „I’ll manage.“
    „I see. Well, I guess I’ll have to stop and get a few things when the stores open,“ Heather went on uneasily. She felt tense and high-strung this morning. Jake seemed to be overflowing with understanding. For some reason that irritated her.
    „If you’re talking about clothing, there’s a suitcase in the back of the Mercedes. Your mother packed it for you so it should have everything you need.“
    She stared at him in astonishment. „I see,“ she finally said again.
    „I doubt it but I’m hoping you will after you’ve had your time alone.“ He stood up and negligently threw some cash onto the table. „We’d better get going.“
    Fifteen minutes later Heather turned the key in the Mercedes, watching through the side window as Jake expertly fired up the motorcycle and swung his booted foot over the seat. He gave her a sidelong glance as he stood bracing the growling monster with one foot on the ground.
    „A few days, Heather,“ he reminded her over the muted roar. „That’s all.“
    She nodded and put the Mercedes in gear. As she did so, Jake let the motorcycle have its way, guiding it out of the parking lot with a touch that spoke volumes in terms of experience. The man definitely knew what he was doing on a motorcycle and that thought intrigued Heather. She wanted to know where and when he’d learned to ride with that kind of casual expertise.
    As he disappeared down the road she noticed something and frowned in sudden consternation. „Jake, the helmet! You forgot to put on the helmet!“
    But he was well out of earshot.
    And this was the man who had given Jim Connors a safety lecture, she remembered in disgust. Then Heather grinned. Perhaps he was the kind of rider who would stop as soon as he was out of sight and put on the helmet, just as she always did. It was one thing to leave an impression of reckless grit and glory on one’s audience, quite another to actually tempt suicide!
    The small grin stayed with Heather as she automatically tuned in a country-and-western channel on the Mercedes’s radio. It was strange how she was so certain that Jake would put on the helmet after he’d ridden out of sight. It was as if she knew how he would react this morning because she knew he was similar to her in many ways.
    That thought wiped away the smile. What an idiotic assumption to make on the basis of one night together. She must be out of her mind.
    She wasn’t out of her mind; she was in love. A much more serious state of affairs. A steel guitar and the laconic complaint of a cowboy who was drinking to get a woman out of his mind echoed around the front seat of the Mercedes. Heather found herself wonder ing if Jake could ever be reduced to such a condition.
    Stretching a little in the driver’s seat, Heather became wryly aware of the small sensual aches in her body. Jake’s lovemaking had left her vividly aware of him in several places, Heather reflected grimly. But the unanswered question had to do with the effect she’d had on Jake.
    He wanted her. In some sense he needed her. She was the key to making his carefully constructed home perfect. By marrying her, Jake would be securing his position in the minds and hearts of both the Strand family and the Hacienda staff. He would become a genuine part of the crowd of successful businesspeople Paul Strand had mingled with here in Tucson. He would preserve the heritage of having a Strand intimately involved with the running of the hotel. That would please Heather’s father greatly.
    Yes, Jake needed her, Heather thought. And he wanted her. He had proven that beyond a doubt last night. Furthermore, it had been as much her idea to marry for convenience as it had been his. What was the matter with her this morning? Nothing had really changed. It was true that it had been a shock to discover she was not going to inherit the Hacienda, but she had adjusted to that yesterday.
    Perhaps what she hadn’t adjusted to was the sense of betrayal. Yet she knew Jake was offering her a position almost identical to the one she had thought lost. Not quite identical, of course. Jake Cavender would always have final responsibility for the fate of the Hacienda. But she could be a part of it if she wished. All she had to do was marry him. Her goals of coming home to make things „right“; to settle back into the life-style of the Hacienda Strand and its environs, could still be