Chapter Eleven

One month later.

"I'll be leaving in a few minutes, Miss Croft," said the voice behind her. "Can I get you anything before I go?"

Lara swung around in her office chair with a smile. "No, thank you, Jeeves. Not this time. Enjoy yourself."

A hint of a smile touched his face and he bowed every so slightly. "Thank you, milady. I'll be back before bedtime."

She watched him leave. Ever since the incident with Ned and Susan, Jeeves had walked a little taller. He had been slightly wounded and had worn his arm in a sling for several weeks afterward. Lara had made sure that his role in saving her life had become well known and Jeeves was enjoying a somewhat enhanced stature at the local pub.

Turning back to the desk…the new desk…virtually everything in the office was new…Lara picked up the envelope that had come in the morning mail. She had seen the return address and forced herself to deal with the bills before opening this one.

It was from Julie Darwood.

Hi, Lara!

I got your letter yesterday and just had to write you back at once. I'm so glad that no one at your home was hurt. I remember that Ned Lewis and how he almost killed you here at Silverado. It's good to know that he won't be bothering you anymore.

You have to tell me more about Ian McPherson. He sounds like quite a man, Lara, and I'm glad he was there to help you. If he's as handsome as you say, maybe I should fly over there and check him out!

Lara smiled and glanced at the picture of the blonde-haired cowgirl on the wall above her desk. Seeing Julie standing next to Ian would be a sight indeed, for Ian was at least a foot taller than her young friend.

I guess by now you've heard that Jim and Alison are engaged. It kinda took me by surprise, but now that I think about it, I should have expected it. Every since Alison and I became part of the outlaws, she's been a different person. You remember how she was in a business suit a lot of the time before and had that sophisticated hairstyle? Boy, not any more. You should see her now, Lara, she's let her hair grow out and she's in jeans and boots most of the time. She really loves it. She's even talking about having a ranch of her own someday. She's become a great outlaw, too, and she and I have caused the men a lot of grief!

I think she always liked Spade and now that they work together all the time, it was only natural that they started going out. One night we were having a meeting and Jim said he had a special announcement to make. He called Alison up to the front and asked her to marry him! Right in front of the whole crowd! Can you believe it? She didn't even stop to think about it. She just cried and hugged his neck and we all applauded for them. Totally awesome!

Lara set down the letter and thought about the words on the page. She had received the wedding invitation a week before. It had come as a surprise and it had forced her to examine her own feelings for Jim Spade. They had had a wonderful couple of weeks together, no doubt about it. He was a good man, a born leader and a former Seal team commander. But he had insisted that she give up her adventures as a condition of marriage, a promise that she had been unwilling to make at the time. And so, they had parted as good friends and Lara had always intended to go back to see him. She had never expected to go back to attend his wedding to another woman.

But if it has to be someone else, Alison Kennedy was a good choice. She and Alison had gotten along well in the short time they had known each other. Alison was quite adventurous in her own way and Lara was sure that Spade didn't have to work very hard to fall in love with her.

Turning her chair a bit, she opened the top left drawer of her desk and pulled out the wedding invitation. On the back was Alison's hand-written note:

Dear Lara,

I'm sure this comes as something of a surprise to you. Jim has told me about the time the two of you spent together and I'm sorry that things didn't work out for you. But not too sorry! I've loved Jim for a long time, but he never seemed to notice me until you got me the job with the outlaws. Lara I'm so happy! I love my new job and now, with getting married to my 'dream guy' I'll never want anything else again.

Well, there IS one thing I want. If you can clear your schedule, please come to the wedding and be my maid of honor. I don't have any close relatives that I'm obligated to and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have stand with me. Please tell me you'll come! The whole gang here is anxious to see you, too, so I hope you can join us.

Alison

And below that was Spade's own brief note.

I do hope you will be with us when we start our new life together. It would be good to see you again and find out what you've been up to lately.

You're a special lady, Lara Croft, and I'm honored to know you.

Jim

Lara returned the envelope to the drawer, mulling over his words. Almost formal in nature, they had none of the warmth she had felt from him in past letters. But then again, he'd found a new love in his life, and Lara knew their relationship would never be the same as it was that magic week after Silverado.

She would go, of course, and try not to cry when Spade married someone else. And she would pray, too, that God would bless their marriage. He deserved the very best.

With a sigh, she closed the drawer and picked up Britches' letter again.

There's some other news, too, that you have not heard. I'm going to be in a movie! That's right, Julie Darwood is going to play a cowgirl in a western movie! I'm so excited I'm about to pop! This Mr. Denton, from the movie company, had been trying to find a tomboy cowgirl for his latest film. Somehow he found out about Alison and I bein' outlaws at Silverado. Well, unknown to us, he came to the park to see our show. In fact, he stayed the whole weekend, just watching and listening, he told me later.

After our last performance, he introduced himself and asked if he could take me to dinner, saying that I was exactly right for the girl he needed to cast. I was a little nervous about it, but Alison was kind enough to go with me. Well, after I talked to him, they flew me out to Hollywood for a screen test.

As you can imagine, I was really nervous about it. But Mr. Denton kept cracking jokes and making me laugh. I guess I did okay with it, 'cause I got the job! It's only a supporting role, but I'm so excited. Mr. Denton says that if I do as well as he expects, he may have other work for me! He even talked about sending me to an acting class.

Gosh, Lara. Only a few months ago, I was an unknown secretary in my dad's office. Now I'm in the movies. I'm depending on you to help me keep from getting a big head over it!

Save a few days after the wedding would you? We can go camping and be cowgirls again!

With a broad smile, Lara looked up at the picture. Julie was not a beauty in the classic sense, but she had warmth to her that the camera had captured perfectly. She would look great on film. And with her boundless energy, it would be interesting indeed to see how far she could go with it.

"I'm off, Miss Lara," said Jeeves from behind her.

Lara turned and got to her feet. "See you tonight, Jeeves."

A few minutes later, she watched the car head down the driveway and disappear through the iron gates. An impish grin crossed her face and she returned to her desk. Picking up the phone, she punched two numbers.

It rang three times before Ian answered.

"Yes?" He sounded distracted, he was probably in the middle of some fix-it project. It was a never-ending battle to keep the old house in the good condition and Ian pursued it with the same energy and good humor he did everything else.

"Ian, I hereby challenge you to a shooting contest."

He heard the groan from the other end of the phone. "Not again, Miss Lara? I've already beaten you twice this week. Isn't that enough?"

"Today will be different, Ian."

"That's what you said last time." He sighed. "Very well, would thirty minutes be soon enough? I'd like to finish this project."

"Perfect. I'll meet you downstairs."

She hung up the phone and her grin widened. Ian didn't know it, but today was payback for his snide remarks about her appearance. So he thought she was 'adequate" did he? Well, they would just see about that.

In truth, Lara had watched Ian carefully ever since she had seen him looking at her legs. It took her only a short time to realize that he was making a real effort to treat her professionally and as his employer. Parts of his responsibilities were to be her trainer and that sometimes required him touching her. But he had done so very little and she had noticed that such instances were becoming more and scare, Ian preferring to talk her into the correct position.

At first, she was curious, for any other man would have to be held back by wild horses. Then it became something of a game between the two of them, with Lara deliberately misunderstanding his instructions to get him to touch her and Ian finding creative ways to keep from doing so.

After a few weeks, she decided to try a different tack. Her outfits changed, subtly at first. From her jeans and t-shirt, she moved to shorts and tank tops, then the shorts got tighter and the tops a bit lower.

But much to her amazement, Ian kept his cool through the whole thing. Each new outfit caught his initial glance, but he quickly looked away. Their shooting contests became almost a battle of wits with the actual shooting part taking a backseat to the mental game they were playing, Lara trying to get him to notice her and Ian equally determined not to do so.

* * * * *

Ian McPherson sighed as walked down the steps to the shooting range, knowing that he was in for a hard time. He had been aware of Lara's little game for some time, of course. At first, it was fun, trying to avoid her obvious efforts to defeat his desire to stay professional. But lately it had become more and more difficult and almost every time they were alone in the house together, he could count on another contest of wills.

It was a battle he was slowly losing, for his young employer was a beautiful woman and he didn't know how much longer he could hold out. He longed to crush her to him and never let go. His hugging her the night of the shootout was pure reflex, his joy at finding her still alive. But the memories of her pressed against him and that torn nightgown simply would not go away.

It was no good. On hand he found her extremely attractive, but he knew he was almost old enough to be her father. She needed to find a younger man, someone who could take her to task and get her to curb some of her wilder thrill seeking. If she didn't, one day she would not come home.

Ian sighed again. Such a man probably did not exist. Beautiful, wonderful, Lara was unique in her own way and attempting to 'tame' her would be a risky business for whoever attempted it. That brought a wry smile to his face. It might be fun to try, but it would probably be a losing effort.

He couldn't keep playing the game. She would have to back off or he would have to resign. He couldn't be just her employee, his feelings were getting out of hand and it might lead to something they would both regret later.

He was halfway down the hall when he heard the familiar bark of 9mm pistols. Reaching the door to the range, he took a deep breath and stepped inside.

And immediately had his breath taken away.

It was Lara Croft, but like nothing like he had ever seen before. From head to toe she was dressed in solid black. The hiking boots were new, black leather with a dark grey accents. The shorts were black spandex and fit her just right, showing her trim physique perfectly and pulling in sharply at her slender waist…which was bare.

The top was a matching spandex material, with long sleeves. It covered her shoulders, but stopped a good way above her waist, leaving a generous portion of beautifully tanned skin above her shorts. Her auburn hair hung in her long ponytail, a lovely flash of color.

And contrasting this starkly black outfit was the solid white gunbelt, pulled snugly around her hips and fastened to her legs.

The twin pistols fired their last shots and the slides locked in the rear position. She turned toward him and Ian was powerless to keep from looking. Lara had done something a bit different with her makeup, which drew immediate attention to her lovely brown eyes. She came toward him, a radiant smile on her face and Ian was smitten in a way he'd never known before. He found himself getting lost in her eyes. They were deep, bottomless in fact, and he felt himself being drawn into them.

She came up to her, that wonderful smile lighting every corner of her face. "Hello, Ian," she said softly. "Load my pistols, would you please? I'll be right back."

She lifted her guns to him, butt first, and he was forced to look down to accept them. But instead of the deeply plunging neckline he expected, the black top covered her completely. But it did so in a way that left no doubt who was wearing it.

All in all, the black outfit was far less revealing than one could see on any public beach, but here and now, in this setting, worn by an athlete in top physical condition, it was indeed stunning.

He dumbly accepted the pistols from her and watched as she walked slowly toward the bathroom, taking her time doing it. Reaching the door, she turned and smiled sweetly. "Don't forget to load my guns, Ian. Thanks."

Only when she closed the door was the spell broken. Ian turned and made his way to the loading bench, mesmerized by what he had just witnessed. He had lost the battle and he knew it. She could certainly tell and from now on he'd never hear the end of it.

He shook open a box of 9mm ammunition and removed the magazines from the pistols. He had just finished the reload and set the guns on the table, when he heard the door open behind him. But he did not turn, almost afraid of what he would see next.

Footsteps came up behind him, making a soft squishing noise in the tumbling mat. Still he did not turn. Then a soft hand touched him on the shoulder.

"Is something wrong, Ian?" she asked softly. He glanced over at her. And again his breath was taken way, for Lara Croft's beautiful auburn hair tumbled loosely around her shoulders, most it behind her but a significant portion fell around her neck and across her breast.

Ian had never seen Lara's hair long like this before and the view before him was nothing less than spectacular. It was undeniably feminine and so beautiful he found his heart pounding.

"Ah, you did load them," she said, picking up her pistols. "Thank you, so much, Ian." She slipped the weapons back into the white gunbelt and stepped over to the firing position. She took a deep breath. Then her hands flashed to the guns and in an instant the range echoed with gunfire.

Shortly, she handed the weapons back to him. "Once more, if you please. Then I'll be ready for our contest."

He pulled the magazines and slipped more bullets into them, not trusting himself to speak, all the while very aware of her leaning lightly against his arm. Finally, finished, he laid the guns on the table.

"Thank you," she said, picked them up and turned away.

"Can I ask you a question, Miss Lara?" he said. He did not turn, but stood at the loading bench, facing the wall.

"Of course, Ian," she said from behind him.

"Why are you doing this to me? Are you trying to seduce me?"

An instant later, he felt a hand on his arm and he was turned gently to face her. The look of anguish on her face was plain.

"Oh, Ian, I am so sorry. Nothing could be further from the truth."

"Then tell me why you're dressed like this and why you're making life so miserable for me."

"You have to answer one question first."

He shrugged. "I suppose so."

"Do you really think I'm just adequate looking?"

His eyes widened in surprise. "Adequate?" Then the corners of his mouth lifted slightly when he realized what she was talking about. "Oh, now I understand. I said your legs were satisfactory and the rest of you was adequate. That's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?"

She looked down. "Yes. I know I'm not Miss World or anything like that, but I couldn't let you get away with calling me adequate. I'm sorry."

He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "Oh, Lara, if you knew how pretty I think you are, you'd have to fire me."

She smiled and cupped his hand in her own. "So you think I'm more than merely adequate?"

He laughed. "For heaven's sake, Lara. Of course." But then his smile faded and he dropped his hand from her chin. "But now that you know, I'm not sure where that leaves us. These feelings I have are more than I can handle. Just being around you, especially when you dress like this…." He left the rest of it unspoken.

She stepped up to him and placed her hands lightly on his chest. "My dear, sweet, Ian. I can appreciate those feelings of yours. Because I have the same feelings myself. I like walking next to you and I love to watch your strong hands while you work. I love your stout heart and determined manner. In short, Ian McPherson, I love a lot of things about you."

"You do?" His face was a mixture of joy and disbelief. "But what about…"

Her fingers on his lips cut off the words he was about to say.

"In fact, there's only one solution to our mutual problem. You're going have to marry me to keep us honest."

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