Jodi's Mail-order Man

“Jodie, he hasn’t changed his mind about the marriage, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“That’s big of him.”

Donovan leaned forward. “You have every right to be upset, but try to understand. Cole has wanted to climb McKinley ever since he was a kid. And he didn’t plan for this to happen—he signed up as an alternate on the team before you talked about getting married.”

Jodie took a deep breath. She understood about lifelong dreams, but it seemed as if every dire prediction her father had uttered about her trip to Alaska was coming true. That was the worst part, wondering how many times she’d have to hear “I told you so.” He meant well, but he couldn’t see that a family needed more than rules and hop-to commands.

“How long is this climb supposed to take?”

Donovan hesitated. “About three weeks.”

Her fingers curled into her palm. “Then Cole will get back only a few days before we’re supposed to leave.”

“If the climb goes well, he’ll be back even earlier.” Donovan didn’t say what would happen if the climb didn’t go well. McKinley wasn’t as dangerous as climbing a mountain like Everest, but it wasn’t safe, either. “Cole said if you got married, he figured this would be his last chance to climb McKinley. I think he’s planning to give up climbing if things work out…between you.”

She was silent for a full minute, obviously weighing what she’d heard and making decisions. He couldn’t blame her. She had her children to think about.

“Fine. We’ll fly home, then come back later in the summer when he’s ready.”

“You can’t do that.” The sharpness in his voice surprised Donovan, but he didn’t stop to examine the reasons. “That is, you won’t be able to get a flight out. Not easily. Cruise ships bring passengers up to Alaska, then they fly home after touring the state. Outbound flights are booked for weeks ahead during the summer.”

She didn’t say anything and he wondered if she was still angry, or merely thinking.

“You also came to see if you like Alaska and the family,” he said, using all his persuasive powers. “My mom and stepfather said you can stay with them as long as you want.”

“We planned to stay in a hotel. Anyway, I lived here when I was a kid, so I know what it’s like. I’ve always loved Alaska. I hated it when my father was transferred to Hawaii.”

The last piece of information surprised him. Jodie seemed like a butterfly, soft and golden and just as delicate. He didn’t know anything about that kind of woman. Didn’t she belong in the sun? Exotic butterflies should live on tropical islands with warm, scented breezes.

Both amused and annoyed at the direction his mind had taken, Donovan gulped the last of his coffee. It was going to be harder than he’d thought to remember Jodie belonged to his brother. He should just drop her at his mother’s house, then head south again.

“Mom has plenty of room and she’ll be disappointed if you don’t stay,” he murmured. “You want to get acquainted with her, don’t you?”

“Of course. But…” Jodie shrugged diffidently. “It’s awkward. Without Cole here, it doesn’t seem right to impose, especially with Tadd and Penny.”

“Believe me, it’s no imposition. The only thing Mom loves more than company is children.” The wry, amused tone in Donovan’s voice made Jodie smile. Family was important and she wanted to be sure she got along with her proposed new in-laws.

Sudden warmth flushed her body as the memory of kissing Donovan crowded her mind. Oh…she got along with Donovan, all right, but it wasn’t the kind of “all right” that was appropriate between in-laws. And just as suddenly, Jodie realized it was a good thing Donovan hadn’t turned out to be Cole. She wanted to feel a moderate attraction for her husband, not a soul-burning passion. If a single kiss made her so unsettled, then marrying a man like Donovan would be too much of a risk.

“Jodie?” His hand covered her fingers and she jumped. “What do you say? A few weeks with my mother would be a great vacation. She’s a good cook and you can see all the tourist spots around Fairbanks.”

Her mouth dry, Jodie stared at the large male hand clasping hers. The cautious side of her said no, but the impulsive side said yes. She’d taken a lot of chances in her life; why not try one more time?

“I guess we could stay,” she said slowly. “For a few days at least.”

“Great.” He stood and collected the suitcases from beside the table. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Two

Donovan frowned as he looked at Jodie’s two suitcases. “This doesn’t look like enough for a month, not for the three of you.”

“There’s a larger bag I checked through,” she said. “I hope it got here safely. We had to change planes a couple of times.”

“Okay, we’ll go to the baggage claim area first.”

She called the children, lifting Penny into her arms so they could walk faster. Donovan wondered how she’d managed at each of the airports, handling both luggage and children by herself, then stopped wondering when he thought about the determined tilt to her chin.

It was too early to tell, but Jodie might be exactly what his brother needed.

Just what he needed?

Donovan mentally smacked his forehead. Cole didn’t need to get married, he needed his head examined. Marrying a woman like Jodie Richards might be appealing for the obvious reasons, but Cole had never seen her outside of a photograph. No matter how gorgeous she looked in that photo, it couldn’t be enough to make his brother’s hormones scream “marriage.”

“You got awfully quiet all of a sudden,” Jodie murmured, breaking his train of thought.

He cast a glance at her, noting the healthy pink color brought to her face by the exertion of walking and carrying Penny. Maybe he was silently arguing the merits of Cole’s proposed marriage because he was attracted to Jodie himself, but couldn’t make any moves on her. Only a heel would flirt with his brother’s fiancée.

“I was just trying to guess how you and Cole got hooked up together,” Donovan answered, more or less honestly. “He mentioned you lived in Florida, but he didn’t have time to explain much else.”

A small frown creased Jodie’s forehead, though he didn’t know if she was just thinking, or annoyed again. “My brother was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base a few years ago, and they got to be friends. As the story goes, David told Cole about me and suggested we start writing to each other.”

“Hmm.” Donovan suspected there was a lot more to the “story” than Jodie was saying. “Sounds simple enough.”

Jodie wrinkled her nose. “Not really. David is a lot like my father—which means he thinks he has the right to arrange everyone’s lives. At the beginning I wasn’t going to write back, but the first letter sounded interesting, so I…” She shrugged. “The McBride men can’t always be wrong, even if they do have the tact of stampeding buffalo.”

Donovan swallowed a laugh. He’d gotten an absurd image of Jodie holding a toreador’s cape as she fended off the men in her life. “How many ‘McBride men’ are there?”

“Five. Four brothers, one father.”

“All air force?”

“Except for Robert. He’s the black sheep in the family—he enlisted in the navy.”

“I see.” Donovan didn’t ask how Jodie fit into the picture, black sheep or otherwise. It was obvious that her family caused her a great deal of amused exasperation.

“You can imagine how well my father accepted the news,” she added, giving him a droll smile. “‘Third-generation air force and he wants to wear white sailor pants,”’ she mimicked.

“I guess the rivalry between the different armed services is just as intense as I’ve heard.” Donovan steered the small group downstairs.

Jodie shrugged. “At least it is for anyone who serves under my father’s command.”

“Including his family?”

“Especially his family,” she corrected. “It’s worse than being born into a dynasty. At least a dynasty doesn’t operate under military rules of engagement.”

Everything she said raised more questions for Donovan, questions he didn’t feel it was his place to ask. “Here we are,” he said as they approached the baggage claim area.

To his surprise, Jodie’s third suitcase wasn’t much bigger than the two she’d carried onto the plane. From his experience with flying tourists around Alaska, he’d gotten the notion that women always packed too much. Apparently she wasn’t guilty of that problem.