"The beginning," she murmured. "No, in this case I don't think that would be appropriate. Why don't I start with Roger?"
Jake shrugged. "Your story, princess. Start where you want."
His tone was less than encouraging, Amanda noticed, even as she nodded. "He isn't my cousin."
"Nope."
Her chin snapped up, and a flicker of anger sparked in her blood. "There's no need to be sarcastic, Jake. I know you found the letter from Edward Bannister in my saddlebag. I know you know who Roger's father is."
Jake had crossed his arms atop the chair's back rest. He now lifted his left hand, and pointed an accusing finger at her. "What I don't know—but what you are going to tell me—is why the hell you lied to me about that."
"I had to."
"I don't think so."
"Well I do!" In a burst of restless energy, Amanda pushed from the bed and started pacing the room. She needed some space, some fresh air, some... No, what she needed was Jake's understanding, that was what she needed. Desperately.
The skirt whipped around her ankles as she spun on her heel and stalked a path toward the door. Her heels clicked atop the bare flooring. "What was I supposed to do, Jake? Can you tell me that? Roger and I had been lost in," she cringed, "Idaho?... for weeks before you came along. And then I got stuck in that damn river, and Roger was kidnapped, and I knew the only way I was going to get him back was with your help."
"So you hired me on, even though you didn't trust me as far as you could spit," he growled when she hesitated. "And then you lied to me. Repeatedly. About Roger, about the money you said you'd pay me, even about not knowing anything about who took the kid." Jake gritted his teeth and plowed his fingers through his hair. The fury was building in him again, and the fury said he should have listened earlier and left when he'd had the chance. "Everything, lady. You lied to me about every goddamn thing!"
Amanda whirled around to face him. Any fear or alarm she might have felt before fled; replaced by a sharp stab of defensiveness. "What did you expect me to do? You said yourself you aren't a very nice person. And how could I be expected to trust a man who blackmailed me into telling him who I was just to get some help getting out of that river? I couldn't. I simply could not risk telling you who Roger is. How was I supposed to know you wouldn't kidnap him and hold him for ransom?"
Jake's eyes narrowed to dangerous silver slits. "Are you serious? Do you really think that little of me?"
Amanda sucked in a steadying breath and tried to control her temper. Her tone matched the leashed, controlled pitch of his. "Not any more. But you have to remember that I didn't know you very well then. At the time, I didn't know what to think of you. You... you weren't exactly like any man I'd ever met before."
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning no Bostonian gentleman of my acquaintance would have quoted me such an outrageous price to help me find Roger. The second you did that, I knew you needed money. Since I was in the same situation myself—needing money—I knew how desperate a person could get. That's when I decided it would be better if you thought Roger was my cousin."
"And is he?"
Amanda shook her head and resumed her pacing, her gait only a little slower than before. "I just told you he isn't. Didn't you wonder why I wasn't too concerned over his disappearance?"
"I didn't lose any sleep over it," he shrugged, "but now that you mention it...?"
"I can't stand the boy, Jake. That's not to say I'm not worried about him, because I am, but... well, quite frankly, Roger Thornton Bannister III is a spoiled, malicious little brat. He makes it very hard for a person to worry about him. If it weren't for the money—"
"Lie number two," Jake cut in with a sneer. "The money. Rather, the lack of it."
Amanda tripped over the hem of her skirt. "I was going to pay you."
"Were you, princess? With what?"
It was his deceptively lazy drawl that alerted her to his burgeoning anger. Hoisting her skirt out of the way, she went back to the bed and sat down. "You have the letter, right? You know how much Edward Bannister is going to pay me when I deliver his son to Pony. I was going to pay you with my earnings."
"You were going to pay me three quarters of your salary?" His grin was quick and cold and fleeting. The sight of it sent a chill down Amanda's spine. "I don't know, princess, but for some reason I find that real hard to swallow. More likely you figured you'd use me to get the kid back, collect your money, then, with any luck, ditch the stupid breed the first chance you got."
Amanda's head snapped back as though she'd been slapped. And she had, only with words instead of a hand, and that made it sting all the more. "The stupid breed," she repeated flatly under her breath. Her tone belied the turmoil within her. It took every ounce o
f courage she possessed to lift her gaze, and to meet his. "So, we're back to that again, are we? I guess it's my turn to ask. Do you really think so little of me?"
Jake studied her long and hard. Her green eyes glistened with unshed tears, while at the same time her posture remained rigid and proud. Contrasts, he thought. Amanda Lennox was chock-full of intriguing little contrasts that both excited and annoyed him.
It would be easy—so damn easy!—to let himself get lost in this woman. She'd already burrowed under his skin and carved a place for herself so damn close to his heart it was scary.
Did he think badly of her still? God knows he should! But he didn't. He couldn't. Dammit! No matter how many lies she'd told him, no matter how little trust she put in him, he still wanted her, so badly he ached inside just looking at her. The hell of it was, the need coursing through him wasn't merely physical any more. Oh, yeah, he still wanted her writhing beneath him, still wanted to be buried deeply inside her warm, tight heat... but he also wanted more. So damn much more!