From This Day On

“I spent as little time there as possible.”

“You don’t like Martina?”

He shrugged. “She’s fine. I never actively hated her. Truthfully, it was never her at all.”

Amy nodded her understanding.

“She had the sense to stay hands-off, so we’ve developed a decent relationship. She’s good for Dad, which is what counts.”

That might be, Amy couldn’t help thinking, except that Jakob had chosen to make a life a good distance from Phoenix. Of course, that could have more to do with the fact that the young Jakob Nilsson had been hooked on mountain climbing—or at least the idea of mountain climbing—and had immediately headed for Colorado and college in Boulder, within easy reach of a whole lot of impressive peaks he could scale.

“What about your stepdad?” he asked. “Is he okay?”

“Ken’s a good guy. In fact, I like him better...” Appalled, she stamped on the brakes. Oh, man. Had she almost told Jakob, of all people, that she liked her stepfather better than her own mother?

Yes, indeed.

They stared at each other, his eyes slightly narrowed. He’d heard the unspoken part of her sentence, loud and clear. Amy didn’t like the sense that Jakob saw deeper than she wanted him to.

“So.” Intent on her face, he kept his voice low, the reverberation jangling her nerves. “You think you’ll go to that time capsule thing, or not?”

“Why do you care?” That sounded rude, but was real, too. Why was he interested?

His shoulders moved in an easy shrug. “Like I said, now I’m curious. I was kind of thinking, if you wanted company, that maybe I’d go with you.”

She had to be gaping. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

His grin was irritatingly smug. “Nope. What’s family for?”

Amy rolled her eyes, which seemed the expected response, but she also had the really unsettling realization that she had absolutely no idea what family was for. Or maybe even what family was.

Jakob was implying that it meant having somebody to stand beside you. The notion was downright foreign. Amy couldn’t have even said why it was also strangely appealing. It shouldn’t have been, not to a woman who never considered surrendering her independence for anyone, for any reason.

“Do you mean that?”

His eyebrows rose. “That I’d come with you?”

“Yes.”

“Yeah.” He looked a little perplexed, as if he didn’t know why he was offering, either. “Yeah,” he repeated more strongly. “I mean it.”

“Okay,” she heard herself say. “I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Why was she pretending? Of course she’d made up her mind. In fact—had there ever been any doubt? Trying to hide her perturbation, she offered, “But if I do decide to go... You can come if you still want to.” She’d tried so hard to sound careless, as if she were saying, Suit yourself, doesn’t matter to me. Instead...well, she didn’t know how he would interpret her invitation or the way she’d delivered it.

“Good” was what he said. Jakob’s eyes were unexpectedly serious. “We have a deal.”

So not what she’d expected from the evening. But...nice. Something warmed in Amy despite the caution she issued herself: if he ran true to form, her darling half brother was setting her up for a fall. The splat-on-her-face kind.

He was signaling the waiter and she understood that the evening was over. He had whatever he’d wanted from it.

She just didn’t quite get what that “whatever” was.

CHAPTER TWO

JAKOB SNEAKED A glance at Amy, who was gazing out the passenger-side window at the stark red-brown beauty of the Columbia River Gorge. She might be fascinated, but he suspected she was pretending. She was a Northwest native, and had seen the admittedly striking but also unchanging landscape before.

He couldn’t quite figure out why he’d insisted on coming on this little jaunt. His being here didn’t have anything to do with his father. In fact, he hadn’t talked to Dad since the one peculiar call. Just yesterday, his father had left a message that Jakob hadn’t returned. Maybe because he didn’t want to tell him that Amy was going to the damn opening—but maybe because he didn’t want to try to explain his own part in this, when he didn’t get it himself.

The one part he did understand was why he’d insisted on driving. Polite man that he was, he had walked her to her car the night they’d had dinner together. She drove, he discovered, an ancient, hatchback Honda Civic. He recalled running his hand over a rust spot on the trunk.

Two days ago, when they discussed final arrangements, he had suggested that his vehicle might be more reliable.

“Just because my car’s old doesn’t mean it’s unreliable!” she had snapped.

“We’ll be making a long drive across some pretty barren country. Not where you want to break down.”

“I didn’t break down when I drove down here from Seattle.”

He knew stubborn when he heard it. Unfortunately, that was one trait they shared. A family one?

“How many miles does it have?” he asked.

There had been a noticeable pause before she answered. “One hundred and fifty-four thousand.”

He seemed to remember muttering something that might have been obscene.

When it got right down to it, though, what kept him stubbornly repeating “I’ll drive” had been the appalling image of trying to wedge himself into the damn car.

When Amy had surrendered at last, she said grudgingly, “I guess since my car doesn’t have air-conditioning, it might be better if we take yours.”

His mouth twitched now into a smile he didn’t want her to see. For God’s sake, it was supposed to top a hundred degrees in eastern Washington this weekend! Imagining how they’d be sweltering right this minute made him shake his head.

Jakob suddenly realized she was looking at him, eyes narrowed.

“What was that expression about?” she asked, sounding suspicious.

“Just feeling glad we have air-conditioning,” he admitted. “It’s hot as Hades out there.”

“Nobody likes someone who says ‘I told you so.’”

Jakob grinned. “Did you hear those words coming out of my mouth?”

“Close enough.” Amy was quiet for a minute. Then she shrugged. “The glove compartment pops open every time I go over a bump. Usually the stuff in it falls onto the floor.”

“You’re telling me I’d constantly have a lap full of...what? Maps, registration, flashlight?”

“Um...hand lotion, dark glasses, ice scraper, receipts.” She pushed her lower lip out in thought. “Probably a couple of books, too. I always keep something in there in case I get stuck in traffic, or finish the book that’s in my purse.”

He flicked her a glance of disbelief. “Finish the book when? While you’re driving?”