A Cowgirl's Secret (14 page)

“You know what I mean. Loving the idea of something isn't enough to sustain a marriage for the next fifty years. Let's say we were to put aside our differences in order to stay together until Kolt leaves for college, then what? Would we still want to be with each other?” When he didn't answer, she noted, “Now you're the quiet one.”

“Guess I have a lot on my mind.”

“I'm sorry Kolt mentioned what his friends at school have been saying. While I hate his being given a hard time about anything, let alone an issue that's in our
power to fix, that's not a good enough reason to marry. Agreed?”

Though Luke nodded, stress knotted the base of his neck. He didn't want to marry Daisy, but he resented like hell having first Dallas, then her tell him it would be a bad idea. He hadn't thought of it before, but aside from taking Daisy to court, marriage would be the most certain and relatively painless way to ensure Luke got to spend as much time as possible with his son. It was the perfect solution for all concerned parties.

Too bad from the sounds of it Daisy would never agree.

“You are so welcome,” Daisy said to her client Jane Richmond, who'd just received her first child-support payment in over two years. After returning Jane's hug, Daisy walked her out of the office, closing the door behind her.

Moments like these made her glad she'd chosen this path.

As opposed to Sunday night's awkward conversation, during which she'd wished she could hide beneath her chair. Yes, she would like nothing more than for Luke and her to become an official family, but she wouldn't beg.

Back at her desk, she lost herself in a file Barb had sent. The case was a meaty corporate cover-up that took her mind off Luke.

At least until he walked in the door.

Dressed in jeans, a dirt-smudged white T-shirt, boots and what she knew to be his favorite cowboy hat, he looked good enough to kiss until she was too weak-kneed to stand. “Hey,” he said with a tip of his stupid, sexy hat, “I'm not interrupting anything, am I?”

“Nope.”
Yes.
She had at least another three hours before she should even think about taking a break. Too bad for her, Luke looked so damned gorgeous.

“In that case, how about taking a stroll? It's the kind of day Weed Gulch only sees a few times a year. Not too hot. Not too cold. No wind. No ragweed. I'm pretty sure it's a criminal offense not to be out there enjoying it.”

His argument was ludicrous, but at the same time, sadly true. Laughing, she pushed back her chair. “Yes, Luke, I will stroll with you, but only if we head toward ice cream.”

“Done.” He crooked his arm, and she slipped hers through it.

Outside, Daisy tipped her face to the sun. “Wow. I'd forgotten how good it feels not to run from place to place in the eternal search for air conditioning.”

“You really are something,” Luke said.

She glanced his way to find him staring. “What did I do?”

“You're beautiful. After all this time, I still feel like a geeky freshman checking out the hottest cheerleader.”

“Luke Montgomery,” she chastised, “you were never a geek. More like a god.”

“Your history's a bit skewed,” he said with a devilish grin, “but you won't hear me complaining.”

When Luke shockingly held out his hand for her to hold, Daisy eased her fingers between his. The simple touch hit her with an erotic jolt. Pulse racing, it was all she could do to keep from skipping like a giddy little girl.

They got ice cream—Luke chocolate and Daisy had a vanilla twist—and chose a picnic table well away from the others on the grassy lawn. Again Daisy was struck with the pleasant and rare sensation that nothing needed to be said. They'd known each other for so long that they knew each other's highlights. All they were missing were the gaps from the past ten years. Those could be filled in easily enough. Assuming Luke wanted them to be.

Finished with his cone, he wadded his napkin and tossed it basketball-style into a rusty trash barrel.

“Nice,” she said when his shot made it in. “That was well within the three-point range.”

“Thanks.” He grinned at her before sharply looking away. “Look, I feel rotten about buying you ice cream under false pretenses.”

“Oh?” Just when her heart had resumed its normal sedate pace, his new, pensive expression set her on edge.

“I need to apologize for Sunday, as I wasn't entirely honest with you.”

“In what regard?” Daisy managed to ask even though she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

“When you made me agree that we have no business marrying, I meant it. But then I got to thinking…what if we did? But not for love or anything like that, but custody?”

“Please tell me you're kidding?”

His earnest expression said he was dead serious. “I'd be lying if I said I haven't toyed with the notion of
having a lawyer write up something to bind Kolt to me legally, but this is even better. And cheaper.”

“Are you insane?” She had never been more insulted. So much so that if they hadn't been in public she'd have pitched her ice cream at his ridiculously handsome face!

 

“A
M
I
FORGIVEN
?” L
UKE ASKED
when Daisy picked him up at his cabin to go on a combined trip to Tulsa. The first order of business on the crisp, second Saturday in October was selecting kitchen cabinets at a custom shop. Then they'd hit up a few Halloween specialty stores for costumes.

Kolt lightly snored in the backseat.

“The jury's still out,” Daisy said. With her hair in a ponytail and face scrubbed clean of makeup, she looked even prettier than the last time he'd seen her.

“I'm sorry. In hindsight, I realize the whole marriage-for-custody thing wasn't one of my better ideas.”

“You think?” Her glare confirmed his suspicions that it might be a long day. Kolt had been the one who'd invited him, and as he'd gradually warmed toward his father, no matter what Daisy thought, there was no way Luke was going turn his kid's invitation down.

“What's with the message on your back window?” he asked while climbing into the passenger seat. “‘I See You' is written in the dust.”

Shaking her head, she pointed to their sleeping child. “Kolt thinks it's hilarious how I never can get all of the dust off my car. Our budding artist enjoys drawing faces and messages in the dirt.”

“He shows promise,” Luke teased, hoping to lighten the mood.

“I'd rather he became familiar with a soapy rag and bucket.”

Fastening his seat belt, Luke leaned his head back, settling in for what he guessed would be a not-so-entertaining day.

 

“I
WANNA BE A SLASHER
, chainsaw-killer guy,” Kolt announced at Ehrle's. Though it wasn't the biggest costume store in Tulsa, Daisy remembered shopping there with her dad and brothers when she was a little girl.

“Sweetie,” Daisy said, trying to keep her calm while a cajillion other kids darted down the aisle. “You're a little young for that degree of violence. How do you even know what that is?”

Raising his chin, he said, “We watch slasher movies with Jonah's big brother. They're cool. I'm gonna carry Uncle Dallas's chainsaw, too.”

“No, you're not,” Daisy said.

“Why not? Everyone else is.”

Daisy tried counting to ten in her head, but only made it to three. “What have I told you about that argument not holding up in court?”

“That it won't?” Kolt rolled his eyes.

Stopping on the monster aisle, Luke said to their son, “If I were you, I'd consider going with a Frankenstein theme. Not only do you get to paint yourself green, but you wear ripped clothes, have bolts sticking out of your forehead and carry a big club you can use to hit your friends.”

“Cool!” All smiles, Kolt soon had everything he needed to become a classic monster. More importantly, in Daisy's mind, he'd gained yet one more reason to grow closer to his father.

 

T
HE NEXT
S
ATURDAY
, rain fell in gust-driven sheets, making for the perfect movie day. Luke had originally invited Kolt, but they'd voted that if Daisy didn't nag about eating healthy food, she could join them. She'd held up her end of the deal by fixing cheese dip and pizza rolls. Luke had already laid out a full supply of candy: Twizzlers and M&M's and Milk Duds.

“This is nice,” Daisy said, curled under a blanket into the far corner of the sofa. “I can't remember the last time I've lounged an entire day.”

“Me, neither.”

Midway through
Jaws,
Kolt fell asleep in Luke's armchair. Something about seeing his son in his favorite chair felt deeply satisfying, as if a part of Luke had been filled that he hadn't even realized was empty. If only he could figure out how to manage his growing feelings for Daisy.

“Mom told me there's a Halloween dance at the Grange,” Daisy mentioned, out of the blue. “I thought it might be fun. Would you want to go—strictly as friends?”

“Depends. What do you have in mind for costumes?” Was it wrong that Luke found her invitation flattering?

“I don't know. I haven't thought it out that far.” Nib
bling on a licorice stick, she suggested, “What about Han Solo and Chewbacca? Anthony and Cleopatra.”

He blanched. “I'm not wearing a skirt.”

“You be a martini and I'll be an olive.”

“Cute, but logistically tough.” Luke tried, “Angel and Devil?”

“Who gets to be the angel?”

“Me,” Luke said without a hitch.

Now Daisy was making faces.

“Got it,” he said. “I'll be a creepy ghost and you, a sexy ghost buster.”

“Loving this.” He loved the way her whole face glowed when she was excited.

 

“Y
OU'RE AWFULLY SMILEY TODAY
.” Georgina was making good on her promise to tame the gardens in front of Daisy and Kolt's new home. They'd already cleared a small forest of brush and weeds and had just un earthed a stone-walled flowerbed complete with a few barely surviving rosebushes.

“I'm happy,” Daisy admitted. “For the first time in a long while, I feel on top of the world.”

Sitting on her gardening stool, Georgina said, “You can't imagine how good that makes me feel—especially when I've worried about you for so long.”

Eyes stinging, Daisy asked, “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Already done.”

The weather was beyond idyllic—the temperature in the low eighties with high, puffy clouds and not a breath of wind. The summer had been long and mercilessly hot.
It felt as if the whole world now sighed in relief. Daisy included.

After weeding awhile in companionable silence, Georgina said, “Josie and I have noticed you and Luke spending a lot of time together. Anything juicy to report?”

Where to start? “I invited him to the Grange Halloween dance and he accepted.”

“That's a step in the right direction. Is this an outing with Kolt, or for grown-ups only?”

“If I ask you to babysit, does that give you a clue?”

Georgina laughed. “You know I'm always pleased as punch to watch Kolt. What costumes are you two wearing?”

Daisy outlined their plans, asking her mom to save a few cans for her to paint and then transform into tool-belt gadgets.

“Is Luke going to be a white-sheet ghost or a more original variety?”

“We're thinking of going with makeup and dirt-smudged clothes.”

Laughing, Georgina said, “Sounds like you'll make a lovely—albeit, smelly—couple.”

Growing misty, Daisy admitted, “I don't know if that's what we officially are, but I'd like to be.”

“Give it time.” Tugging extra hard on a clump of crabgrass, Georgina grunted. “You young people are too impatient. Let the boy woo you.”

“Mom, I've waited ten years to return to Luke, which is why I finally decided to woo him. I'm tired of waiting.”

“Then why didn't you come home sooner?”

“Wish I had an answer.” There it was again—at the crux of Daisy's every issue was the worst act she'd ever committed. For so many years she'd harbored guilt over what had happened with Henry. She'd needlessly, stupidly blamed herself when, as a child, she'd been cruelly victimized. How much longer would fate keep punishing her? More than anything, she longed for a fresh start, but the questions kept coming, dragging her to an emotional void where she no longer wanted to be.

 

“D
AMN, YOU LOOK HOT
,” L
UKE SAID
, standing at the Buckhorn Ranch front door to be greeted by the sexiest damn ghost hunter he'd ever seen. Daisy had only been able to find men's coveralls, so she'd borrowed her mother's sewing machine to produce a custom fit. Either she was crazy talented to have cut them to hug her every curve, or she'd gotten scissor-happy. Regardless, the view made him the winner.

“Looking good is my secret ghost-busting technique. I lure you in before sucking you into my ghost trap.” She tapped one of the multitude of silver canisters dangling from her tool belt.

“If it's that much fun being caught, why would I want to do any more roaming?” Though he'd meant the statement to be a joke, Luke realized the more he was with Daisy, the more she felt like an addiction. But in a good way.

“Excellent answer,” she said with a heady smile. “Ready to go?”

“Let me say a quick hi to Kolt.”

“He's in Dallas's theater room. That thing is obscene.” Daisy led the way. Her costume looked equally great from behind.

“Obscenely fabulous,” Luke noted.

She shot him an over-the-shoulder dirty look.

“Boo!” Luke sneaked up behind his son, making his best scary face.

Kolt jumped a good foot out of his plush movie chair.

“Luke, you scared me half to death! Your costume's awesome!”

Kolt's friend, Jonah, popped out of the chair beside him. “Whoa! You're the coolest dad ever!”

While Dallas paused
The Haunted Mansion
and flipped on the lights, Bonnie and Betsy and Josie also admired Luke's costume.

“You're so lucky,” Jonah said to Kolt. “My parents never do anything this cool.”

“Yeah,” Kolt said, ambushing Luke with a monster-size hug. “I like my mom and dad a whole lot.”

 

“Y
OU'RE AWFULLY QUIET
,” Daisy said to Luke halfway to the Grange hall.

“To tell you the truth,” he said, tightening his grip on the wheel. “I'm having a tough time keeping it together. Kolt's hug was epic.”

“There's plenty more where that came from,” she said with an impromptu squeeze to his right hand.

“I can't wait. It's funny, but I can't remember life without him. In such a short time, Kolt has come to mean everything to me.”

“I'm glad—for both of you.” Luke's words served as a powerful aphrodisiac. Daisy had never adored him more.