Fire in the Wind by Alexandra Sellers

after—"
    She was startled to hear the rasp of his indrawn breath. "You mean, you didn't have it with your husband? You weren't like that with him?" he demanded, his voice harsh with suppressed emotion.
    Her silence gave him his answer.
    "Then why did you marry him, Vanessa? Why? If it wasn't for money and it wasn't for love, what the hell was the reason?" He grasped her arms as though he wanted to shake her, and his eyes blazed.
    There was a long, tension-filled pause while her thoughts swirled in confusion. Why was it so important to him? Out of loyalty to Larry she had never told anyone, but it seemed so important to Jake, and Larry was dead....
    "Vanessa, I want to know!" His voice was low but commanding, and suddenly she was afraid of what power the knowledge might give him over her.
    "Jake," she said, "it had nothing whatever to do with you. Larry is dead, and so are my reasons for marrying him."
    She sat in the large easy chair the waiter had pulled up to the table, but it was too low for the height of the table. She sank down until her plate was almost at chin level. After the overloaded emotion of the past few moments the humour of the situation was a welcome relief, and she giggled.
    "I feel like a five-year-old." She began to laugh in earnest, half-hysterically, uncontrollably. Well, it was better than crying. She leaned over on one arm of the chair, the laughter that shook her making her weak.
    "Vanessa!" Jake stood over her, gripping her arm with an almost painful clasp, his jaw set. "Enough." Obediently she stopped laughing. "Sit in the other chair," he said.
    That was the one she'd wanted to sit in, she thought, giggling as she stood. But she would have had to push by Jake to get to it, and she'd had a funny feeling that wouldn't be healthy. She sat down on the straight-backed chair and watched as he threw some pillows from the bed into the stuffed chair and sat down opposite her. She hiccupped on a giggle and then sobered.
    "I think the chair was trying to tell me something," she said. "I think I'm out of my depth with you."
    Jake smiled his half-smile and raised an eyebrow. "You're not even in the water yet," he said. "Stop worrying." That crooked half-smile could pack an enormous wallop when he chose. Vanessa wondered how consciously he used it, even while it relaxed her.
    "What would you like to do today?" he asked as they began to eat.
    "I don't know, do I?" she said, wondering why it was she wasn't trying harder to say no. "I don't know what there is to see and do."
    "How about the cable car up Grouse Mountain? We can have lunch at the top." He paused, chewing. "If you had more time I'd like to take you up into the interior, but it would be too much of a rush trying to do it in a day."
    "What's in the interior?" she asked.
    "Mountains," he said. "The canyon of the Fraser River, the Squamish Valley—B.C. has extremely varied scenery. Some people say you can find any kind of scenery you want here. It's worth seeing."
    She sighed unconsciously. She would love to spend more time in this province....
    "I've got a ranch up in the Fraser Valley," he said. "I'll be flying up there this weekend." He was pouring coffee, speaking almost too casually. "If you'd like to come along—"
    She cut in, "I'm flying home Saturday morning."
    "Flight bookings can be changed."
    "No," she said, fighting the knowledge that she wanted to stay. "I have to get back."
    Jake shrugged. "All right," he said easily. "You'll have to be satisfied with Grouse Mountain, then."
    * * *
    There was snow on Grouse Mountain. As the cable car moved slowly up the mountainside, Vancouver became visible below and beyond them, but finally a thick grey mist enveloped them and all Vanessa could see was evergreens and snow. Jake had told her to bring a warm jacket, but the best she could do was a sweater, so when he returned to pick her up after she had dressed he had brought her a bomber jacket to wear. Vanessa was glad of its comforting warmth as they