Now, in the warm familiarity of the bar, she studied Maggie’s bright face and wondered if she’d see it again after tonight. She’d thought long and hard about what she would leave behind her if she never returned, the redheaded barkeep and Allan Collier had come to mean more to her in a few brief weeks than most of the acquaintances she’d left in San Francisco.
Joey did not examine too closely how little she had allowed her life to be touched by others after her parents had died. It was too overwhelming and far too dangerous a distraction. If she’d ever needed all her internal strength, it was now.
Only the burning memory of Luke Gévaudan had the power to chip away at her resolve. Somehow, he had gotten to the very core of what she held protected in her heart, broken barriers she had not known existed until he’d discovered them. Now she had to put him out of mind as well, forget him as he’d commanded her to do. Her thoughts of him held nothing of logic. And logic was all she had to guide her and keep her alive.
Coming back to herself, Joey blinked as she looked up at her friend. It was with a powerful feeling of déjà vu that she caught the change in Maggie’s expression as the redhead paused with a half-full mug of beer in hand, staring over Joey’s shoulder at the door as cold air swirled through the tavern.
The sense of him was so undeniable that Joey did not have to turn around to know what had riveted the barkeep’s attention. She swiveled on the stool as Luke glided into the room and up to her as if they had parted only moments before.
The grim lines of his face did not soften as his eyes swept over her and up to Maggie. Caught in the fascination of Luke’s nearness like a bird under the spell of a snake, Joey heard rather than saw the redhead’s retreat, the resumption of normal conversation as the tavern patrons reacted to and shut out Luke’s presence.
Luke’s eyes dropped back to her with an intensity that banished anything or anyone but the two of them. Joey felt herself fast recovering from the shock of seeing him there, defensive anger rose to take its place, but she pushed that down and regarded him with forced calm.
“Well, Luke, this is a surprise. I didn’t think I’d be seeing you before we began the expedition.” She kept her voice light and level, exactly as if she and Luke had reached the businesslike understanding she had implied to Maggie. She had no intention of revealing to him when she planned to leave, but she knew by the tightening of his jaw that he understood the mocking challenge she threw at him.
The touch of anger in his face disappeared under a mask of cool indifference as blatantly false as her own. “I thought it would be a better idea to come in early, make sure everything is in order. No sense in taking any chances.” His deep voice carried layers of meaning that Joey could not entirely read. Was it threat? Did he intend to make sure she didn’t leave town, or was it something she could not even guess at?
Joey slid off the barstool. “In that case, maybe we’d better go discuss our plans.” She turned her back on him with deliberation and searched for Maggie, who stood watching with her arms folded and her eyes wide and troubled.
“I’ve got to go, Maggie, take care of a few last-minute things.” She smiled with all the warmth and sincerity she could muster. “Please don’t worry I’ll be fine, and I’ll tell you all about it when I get back.”
Joey watched Luke’s gaze track back to Maggie, almost a glare of warning, Maggie met it stubbornly. “I expect your guide to look after you. You’ll do that, won’t you, Mr Gévaudan?” The redhead’s voice carried its own warning. “You make real sure you take good care of Joey. We’ll be looking forward to seeing her again. Soon.”
With a last nod at Joey, Maggie turned her attention back to the bar, dismissing Luke as easily as he’d dismissed her.