Manhunting Read online

  “Pay me first,” Nancy said, “because there’s definitely going to be hell to pay.”

  When Kate hung up a few minutes later, Jessie was finishing the last of the fritter. “So let’s go to your place and I’ll help you pack,” she said to Kate as she licked her fingers. “We can have you on the road by nightfall.”

  “No,” Kate said. “I have Vandenburg, Avery, and Davis to shove onto someone else. I have to fax my father my resignation and I’m not even sure where he is right now—Hong Kong, I think. I have to call a real-estate agent to sell my condo. I have to convert most of my investments to cash. And I have to decide about how I’m going to handle this list with Jake.”

  “Don’t delay,” Jessie said. “If you delay, you will back out.”

  “I can’t back out,” Kate said, staring into space trying to decide whether she was delighted or horrified. “I just bought half a bar.”

  One week later, Jake sat in the hotel office, staring into a computer screen while his fingers danced over a numeric keypad. He was so mesmerized by what he was doing that he didn’t hear the door open.

  Kate stood in the office doorway for a moment, amazed. The only thing she’d ever seen Jake do with that sort of absorption before was make love to her. That reminded her of why she was there. She closed the door behind her and sat down in the chair across the desk from him and tried to remember that Nancy had said that he wanted her back, and that Jessie had said all she had to do to be happy for the rest of her life was to confront him.

  With her list.

  She looked at him, haloed in the lamplight, and she knew she didn’t want to confront him; she wanted to crawl into his lap. He looked big and broad and safe and like everything she’d ever wanted.

  And he hadn’t even noticed she was there yet.

  “Hello,” she said loudly. Jake looked up, startled.

  They stared at each other for a moment while Kate waited for him to ask her what she was doing there.

  “Hi,” Jake said. He started to say something else and stopped.

  Another moment passed before Kate said, “I suppose you’re wondering what I’m doing here.”

  And he said, “No. I’m just glad you’re here. You look great.”

  “Thank you,” Kate said. “So do you.”

  They stared at each other for another moment. Come on, Kate told herself. Get this over with. Confront him. “I bought into Nancy’s bar,” she began.

  And Jake said, “I know. She told me. Last week. I think it’s great.”

  “Oh,” Kate said. “Well, that means I’ll be moving down here. In fact, I’m here.”

  “That’s great,” Jake said again.

  They stared at each other again, and finally Kate gave up. What was the point of confronting him. He didn’t care, anyway. He was just sitting there, saying, “Great” like a big dummy. Anger, confusion, and misery warred in her, and anger won.

  “I think I’ll be going,” Kate said tightly, standing, and Jake sprang up and said, “Wait a minute.”

  “I’ve been waiting six weeks,” Kate snapped. “That’s long enough.”

  “You’ve only been here ten minutes,” Jake said. “Don’t exaggerate.”

  “I’ve been gone six weeks,” Kate said. “You didn’t call. Did you even notice I was gone?”

  “Of course, I noticed,” Jake said. “It was awful.”

  “Six weeks,” Kate said. “Six miserable, lonely, horrible weeks.”

  “Hey, I was miserable, too,” Jake said.

  “Then why didn’t you call?” Kate yelled.

  “Well, I was thinking,” Jake began.

  “You were thinking? For six weeks, you were thinking? Do you know how miserable I’ve been for the six weeks you’ve been thinking?”

  “See?” Jake said reasonably. “This is why I hate this kind of stuff.”

  Kate began to pound on the desk. “Do you have any idea how awful it’s been? I’ve cried for you, damn it. And I never cry.”

  “Kate...” Jake began, appalled.

  “Six weeks!” Kate yelled. “And don’t think I moved down here to chase you, either. I hate it in the city, and I love it here, and I’d move here even if you weren’t here!”

  “Well, see,” Jake said soothingly. “That’s something else we’ve got in common.”

  “We have nothing in common,” Kate snapped and wheeled around to go out the door. Jake beat her to it by a second and stood in front of her, blocking her way. “Just give me a chance,” he said.

  “No,” she said. “Get out of my way.”

  “I can’t,” he said, reaching for her, shaking his head. “I can’t let you go again. And you love me. You cried for me. You said so.”

  “I’ll get over you,” Kate said. “In fact, I may be over you now.”

  “No, you’re not,” Jake said, and pulled her to him and kissed her.

  Kate had forgotten how mind-bending Jake’s kisses could be, how hot his mouth felt on hers, and how good and solid and right it felt to have his arms around her, and above all, how much she just needed to be with him. When she leaned into his kiss, she felt him relax against her, and they held each other close long after the kiss ended.

  “Tell me you’re not over me,” Jake said.

  “I’m not over you,” Kate said into his chest. “I’m never going to be over you. It’s my curse in life.”

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again,” Jake said fervently. “I thought you were really going to walk out.”

  “I was,” Kate said. She took a deep breath and tried to pull away from him. “I may still. I have a list of demands.”

  “You can have them,” Jake said, pulling her back close to him so she couldn’t walk away. “All of them. Anything you want.”

  “You won’t like them,” Kate said.

  “I’ll live.” He looked down at her and smiled, and she felt herself melting into him again. Before she could surrender completely, she pulled Jessie’s list out of her pocket and shoved it at him.

  “What’s this?” he asked, taking it with one hand while keeping the other arm wrapped around her just in case she changed her mind, and she said, “Those are my demands. You’re going to hate them.”

  He looked at the list and said, “You have really terrible handwriting.”

  “That’s Jessie’s,” Kate said, feeling like a fool. “Give it back. It’s dumb.”

  “No,” he said and read, “‘Number one: He won’t call.’” He looked at Kate, confused.

  “Well, you didn’t call,” Kate said.

  “I’ll call. I’ll talk morning, noon, and night. Does it have to be on the phone?”

  “Give me the list.” Kate said, reaching for it but he held it out of her grasp.

  “‘Two: He thinks he might love her,’” Jake read. “Why does this list make no sense?”

  “You said you only thought you loved me,” Kate said. “It was a worry.”

  “Your worries are over,” Jake said, looking at her with such certainty that she was stunned. “I’m nuts about you.”

  “Oh,” Kate said.

  He went back to the list. ‘“Three: He hates confrontation and manipulation,’” he read. “Well, that’s true enough. What’s the problem?”

  “You’re going to have to choose one or the other or we won’t be talking much,” Kate said. “Do you want me to confront or manipulate?”

  Jake sighed. “Confront. You will anyway. What’s number four? ‘He’s not working.’” He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “Want to bet? Come here.” He drew her around to the other side of the desk, sat down in the desk chair, and pulled her into his lap, still holding on to her. “Okay, this is iffy because it’s not exactly a career. See the nice computer?”

  “Yes,” Kate said.

  “I’m playing the market again,” Jake said. “It’s not a career in the finest sense of the word, but...”

  “What?” Kate said and leaned forward in his lap to look at the screen.

&n