She grabbed her suitcase and headed inside the blue lodge, her overnight stop before she trekked into the remoter part of Maine and the cabins where she'd stay during her dealing-with-Hilson mission, when her cell phone jingled. She stopped midstream in the lobby, fumbled around in her oversized leather purse, then finally fished the phone out. She kept telling herself she was going to wear it around her neck for easier access as many times as her father had called her since she'd left her apartment in Portland, Oregon.
"Yes, I'm finally, finally here, Dad."
"Any sign of Hilson?"
"He's not here. I have to stay at a lodge for the night in Millinocket since it's too late to navigate the wilderness in the dark. At least that's what the owners of the cabins said. He's supposed to be at a cabin resort about two miles or more from mine, only accessible by snowmobile. I'll confront him as soon as I can, return to Millinocket, and call you."
"You don't need to read my research paper, Faith. Just bring it back home safe and sound."
She couldn't understand why he was so secretive about the research he'd done. But now, just as he was going to reveal it at an upcoming conference, voila! Hilson steals his flash drive as well as his hard drive. "I'll bring it home, Dad. I promise." At least she prayed she wouldn't fail him. He hadn't worked on anything else beyond teaching at the local community college in years and this was so important to him. She kept wondering if Hilson had put the moves on her just so he could get to her father and his research. "Got to check in at the lodge. Call you later."
"Night, Faith. And Faith?"
"Yes, Dad?"
"I hope you dump the guy."
"Consider him dumped." Although it appeared Hilson had already dumped her. "No way would I trust him again. Love you and good night, Dad."
Everything that had gone on between her and Hilson kept running through her mind like a continuous computer loop. How he'd wined and dined her, bought her gifts, but always held back. As if there was someone else in his life. Maybe someone he was still married to? She'd joked about it, but he'd smiled coolly and made love to her as if to prove to her no one else existed. And yet, something had been missing.
Then again, maybe it was all her fault. She'd been looking for love, but hadn't really felt it for him either. She'd needed the intimacy, but somewhere along the line, it hadn't felt real. Now all she felt toward him was anger, betrayal, hurt, and every other negative emotion in the book—but it all had to do with his stealing her father's research and nothing to do with the end of her relationship with Hilson. That's what worried her the most. What was wrong with her?
When she reached the front desk, the clerk said to someone on the phone, "Just a minute, honey. Got another customer."
"Faith O'Malley," Faith said, leaning against the counter, ready for a room-service meal, a hot shower, and a good night's sleep, after missing one connecting flight due to engine trouble, being delayed three hours because of a snowstorm en route, and problems getting her assigned rental car. Not to mention the flat tire. What should have taken only a few hours—if every thing had gone smoothly—ended up being an all-day string of disasters.
"Room 318, miss," the clerk said, handing her the card key, nodding as she listened to someone on the phone. She raised her brows at Faith. "Need a wake-up call in the morning?"
"No, thanks." If that was one thing Faith didn't need was a wake-up call. Sleeping in was just something she couldn't get her body to agree with. "Do you know where the Back Country Tours office is?"
"Down the street about a half mile. Can't miss it." The clerk smiled. "Sign out front has a carved white wolf on it. And the owners, Lila Grayson and Kintail Silverman, can be seen around town with a couple of pet wolves in tow when they're not guiding hunting tours in the way back country."
"Wolves."
"Yep. Tame, sweetest-natured old things, just like big beautiful huskies, only pure white."
"Arctic wolves." She thought back to the animal that had pounced on her rental vehicle. It wasn't a Samoyed, but a real wolf? Then it had to belong to the same people she needed to get in touch with. She'd report the man with the wolf who was following her, whoever he was, to the owner of Back Country Tours.
"Guess they would be Arctic wolves. The couple is from the Canadian Arctic up around Yellowknife. Return there in the summers. Real cold weather folks. Although they like hunting different animals here, black bear, bobcat, moose, rather than caribou and whatever else they go after up there. Pretty neat, huh? Winter home here and summer home there? They don't like the summer heat at all, although it's nothing like living in some hot weather places like Florida. When I lived there—"
A man jingled his keys behind Faith, and she glanced back. He frowned at her.
"Thanks, I'll be checking out early in the morning," Faith said to the clerk and grabbed her suitcase, then headed for the elevator, looking forward to dinner and a hot shower without any more delays.
Once she reached her room, she slid the key card in. Green light. She twisted the handle and pushed. The door didn't budge. She tried again. Same thing. She hated key cards. Why couldn't they just use regular old brass keys?
She tried a third time and this time she twisted the handle harder and shoved the door more firmly. And was rewarded. Lights were on in the room and the place was already toasty warm as if the welcoming mat had been set out for her. Perfect. She walked into the room and glanced at the two queen-sized beds, one with the chartreuse covers pulled back from the pillow, a choco late wrapped in gold foil sitting on the center of it. She smiled and pulled off her parka, peeled off her boots, and reached for the phone to call room service when she saw a leather bucket filled with ice. Wow, they sure knew how to coddle their guests.
That's when the bathroom door opened. She whipped around and faced a naked man towel-drying his hair. Or at least until he saw her.
His mouth gaped. Her expression matched his, and he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist. "I didn't think room service would come this soon." He glanced down at her sock-covered feet, her boots lying beside them.
"I'm not… I'm… they gave me a key to your room by accident." Faith tried not to look at the man's physique—too much—but ripped abs, arms muscled just enough to give a woman a good hug, and toned legs that looked like they could run a marathon, were just too appealing.
And his eyes—blue like the ocean, dark, hiding a wealth of secrets, that held her gaze with way too much interest, as if she was the specialty of the house and just what he'd ordered from the menu. Light blond stubble covered his square jaw, making him appear a bit roguish and intriguing.
He folded his arms across his broad chest. A light smattering of blond hair trailed down to the towel slung low on his hips. Her gaze dropped lower. He cleared his throat to get her attention, making her skin heat in a flush of awareness, but he wasn't moving out of her path to the door. Just now she wished it were her room, and he were part of the amenities.
He inclined his head a little, a hint of a smile on his lips, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "Then I guess I'd better get dressed before—"
A knock rapped on the door.
"Too late." His deeply amused baritone sounded like he was enjoying this a little too much, as he turned, took a couple of steps, and opened the door.
Great. Faith hurried to pull on her boots, when the aroma of steak wafted into the room as a man brought in a tray. Faith's stomach growled. The room service guy glanced at her, green eyes smiling. She could just imagine what he was thinking, what with the room's occupant wearing a towel, and her pulling her boots on.
The toweled guy signed the bill, and the lodge employee grinned, dimples appearing in his ruddy cheeks. "Thanks so much, sir. If you need anything else, just ring." He glanced at Faith, smiled even more as if to say she could visit him next if she had a mind to, then left the room.
"Enough for two of us, if you want to split a medium rare steak, baked potato, and salad," the sandy-haired hunk said.
"Thanks so much for the offer, but I'm returning to the front desk to get the right room key. Have a nice night." She brushed past the mostly naked man, smiled when he smiled, then hurried out of the room.
"The night could have been better," he murmured.
She glanced back at him, wishing he was the kind of man she had been dating, and could justify staying and splitting his dinner with him, then maybe share the chocolate treat resting on his pillow with him. And more. For the first time ever, she seriously wanted to flirt with a man. Something about him appealed to her, as if he were the real McCoy, spontaneous and fun-loving, and for an instant, she yearned for that. Wanted to feel that a man who looked like this guy with a hint of the devil in his expression and actions found her appealing, too.
The man lifted a brow and smiled again, his chiseled features and intensely intriguing gaze nearly irresist ible. She faltered, but shook her head, and hurried for the elevator before she did anything she might regret in the morning. She didn't look back at him, although she wanted to see if he was still watching her. But she felt he was doing just that, observing her, maybe hoping she'd change her mind? Or maybe it was just wishful thinking on her part that someone was truly interested in her after Hilson ditched her. On further introspection, she realized she hadn't heard his door shut.
It wasn't until she returned to the front desk with her suitcase in tow that she realized she'd left her parka on the man's desk chair. She let out her breath in exasperation. Okay, so the day turned night wasn't going to get any better.
A line of five guests was waiting for rooms. The clerk still had the cell phone stuck to her ear as she nodded and chatted it up with the woman first in line.
Faith didn't hesitate to stalk up to the counter, pulling her bag with her. The woman who was being waited on looked at Faith as if she was ready to clobber her for trying to barge in.