The Reluctant Rancher (15 page)

The past few weeks had been both heaven and hell.
 
Every time he looked at Mary his heart thudded and a little more of his soul thawed.
 
He wanted this woman with a blinding need that increased with each
passing day
.
 
The torture of wanting her and not being able to have all of her sweetness drove him mad.

But something, some deep buried sense of honor kept him from taking her. He knew that more than one woman had been swept away by passion, only to regret the h
ot savage flames once they cooled.
The essence of goodness, she
 
represented everything his life lacked.
 
More, she looked at him as though she would stay with him forever if he asked.

And during these last few weeks, Luke realized he no longer wanted a flash in the pan romance.
 
He wanted a deep, lasting relationship like the one his great-grandparents had shared and what he had seen between Joseph and Emma.

At the dance he’d almost went down on one knee and asked Mary to run off to Vegas and marry him that very night. But then he’d overheard her conversation with Jennifer.
 
She was leaving as soon as she got the loan.

Just like his ex-wife, she’d be gone as soon as the ink dried on the check.
 
He guessed he should be grateful that she had spared him the bedroom scene, even though heaven knew he’d have no problem consummating his relationship with Mary.
 
Damn it to hell, he wanted the woman badly.
 
His hands tightened into fists,
jerking the reins
.
 
The horse danced sideways.

“
Sorry boy.
”
 
He patted Lucifer’s neck in apology.
 
H
e raised his face to the sky and allowed the rain to pour over his face
as he
breath
ed
in the clean, rain-soaked air
. Maybe he could s
omehow purge his soul and ease the constant ache in his heart.

He hunched his shoulders.
He was cold, wet and very, very angry.
 
None o
f which would get the job done.
H
e urged his mount forward
and
forced thoughts of Mary from his mind.
 
“
Come on, Lucifer, w
e’ve got a lot more to do today.
”

* * * * *

Mary removed the last towel from the dryer and added it to the stack on top of the machine.
 
She gathered them in her arms and
walked into the adjoining kitchen
.
 
A
jagged streak of l
ightening lit the darkened sky and she
nearly jump
ed
out of her skin when someone pounded on the back door
at the same time
.
 
She turned,
the warm towels held to her chest like a shield
.

“
Hawk
.
”
She
sagged with relief and
opened the screen to let the foreman inside.
 
“
You scared me
half to death.
 
And this storm is horrible.
”

The tall,
man
remained standing just inside the door. He didn’t even help hi
mself to
one of the
 
fresh-from-the oven
 
cookies sitting on the counter.
 
Almost from the very first day of her arrival, Mary had taken to supplementing Rooster’s less than imaginative fare with cakes, pies and cookies
. She had earned
the friendship and admiration of every cowboy on the ranch.
 
Especially Hawk.

But today the man stood silently, dripping a puddle of water on the shiny tile floor and twisting the brim of his hat with nervous fingers.

“
What’s wrong?
”
She ti
ghtened her hold on the towels.
“
Oh, my God, it’s Joseph.
 
Something’s happened to Joseph.
”
She hadn’t seen the older man since early in the morning when he’d
gone
to help the boys in the barn.
 
Mary would never forgive herself if something had happened to the older gentlemen.
 
Not only had Luke trusted her to look after him, but Joseph himself had managed to earn an important place in her heart.

“
No, ma’am,
”
Hawk reassured her
.
“
Joseph is fine.
 
He’s in the barn with Naomi, the soon-to-be mama.
”
 
Another of Circle T’s prize mares was about to give birth to Lucifer’s offspring.
 
Luke
had shared with her his
hope that
the mare’s gentle breeding would be a calming factor in stallion’s otherwise fiery prodigy
.

“
Then what?
”
 
She fought the strong sense of anxiety that overtook her
and put the towels aside.

“
It’s Luke, Miss Mary.
 
Lucifer just rode in without him.
”

She clutched the back of the kitchen
chair, her knuckles whitened with the strength of her grip.
 
“
What do you think happened?
”
She forced the words past
a suddenly tight throat.

“
Well, ma’am.
”
Hawk hesitated and she wanted to grab him by the shirt and yank the words from his mouth.
 
Instead she willed herself to wait.

“
I don’t think he’ll be hurt bad, nothing ‘cept maybe his pride.
 
Lucifer probably just got spooked by this lightening and threw him.
 
He has a tendency to do that during a storm.
 
He’s a dang ornery critter.
”

Mary
wanted to scream at him to stop giving her a rundown on the horse’s attitude.
 
Luke could be out there somewhere badly injured, despite what Hawk said.
“
Shouldn’t someone be out looking for him?
”

“
That’s why I came up to the house.
”
 
The battered hat began another round through nervous fingers.

“
Yes?
”
She lost what little patience she’d managed to maintain.

“
Well, you see, Luke ordered all of the men to roundup strays up around
Fiddler
Range
.
 
It’d take a good hour to get a message to ‘em.
 
There’s no phone reception out there.
And, well, I can’t leave Naomi while she’s so close to delivering, it being a breech.
 
Joseph can’t do it alone, on account of his arm and all.
 
Luke would skin me alive if I let something happen to that foal.
”

Mary caught his drift
and so did not like where this was headed
.
 
”
You want me to go look for Luke?
 
I can’t ride in this storm, Hawk.
 
I barely know how.
”

“
Now, Mary.
”
He spoke with the gentle patience he'd use to speak
to a frightened horse.
“
Y
ou’ve been practicing nearly every day this month.
”
 
After that very first lesson, Luke had ord
ered Hawk to be her instructor. “
And you’ve got a fine seat.
 
If I didn’t think you’d do just fine, I’d never ask you to go.
 
Luke would grind me into a bloody pulp if I let anything happen to you.
”

As he spoke, lighte
ning crackled again. T
he sky open
ed up and
torrents of rain spilled to the ground. The already saturated soil
became
a river of mud.
 
Seconds later thunder boomed
.
The sound vibrat
ed
throughout the house and rattled the windows.
 
Mary hated storms.
 
As a child she’d hidden in her room, blinds drawn, until they passed.

But what if L
uke was injured?
 
What if he was hurt,
somewhere out in the open, unprotected against the storm’s fury?
 
She stopped.
 
She mustn’t allow herself to think such thoughts. She had to keep a clear, calm head and think rationally.
 
“
You’re right, Hawk.
 
I need to go.
 
Saddle Lady Jane for me.
 
I’ll change and get the first aid kit and then be right out.
”

Hawk strode out
of
the door before she
’d
even finished s
peaking.

In her room, Mary quickly donned thick socks, jeans and a long sleeved shirt.
 
Pulling her hair atop her head, she secured the thick mass into a ponytail and slipped on her boots.
 
Her movements quick and efficient, she gathered the first aid kit from Luke’s bathroom.
 
She tore out of the house like the hounds of hell nipped
 
at her heels
.

The entire process,
 
clothes changed and supplies gathered, took l
ess than five minutes, but
she
still
felt as though she moved in slow motion.
 
In the barn, she hugged Joseph goodbye
.

He
held the reins for several seconds
, his wrinkled brow puckered in concentration. “Are you sure you want to go, Mary?
That grandson of mine can take care of himself.
”

She was t
ouched by t
he older man’s show of concern
.
 
“
I’ll be fine, Joseph.
 
And I’ll find Luke.
”

“I know you will, Mary.
And don’t try to make it back until this storm passes.
 
Go to the old line shack and hole up. There’s a radio there and Luke can call the barn so we’ll know you’re alright.
”

“
Will do.
”
 
She
guided
the horse from the barn and into the slashing rain.
 
Digging in her heels, she spurred the sturdy animal into a bone-rattling run.

* * * * *

Mary rode away from the storm and by the time she reached her destination the rain had settled into a light drizzle.
 
Hawk had given her clear directions to
where Luke was suppose
d
to be working. From t
he top of a small knoll, she spotted him.
 
The flood-tide of relief she felt left her weak.
 
For several seconds, she could only stare
. He
moved with his usual loose limbed gait
over the rough terrain.
 
He reminded her of Lucifer, big and muscled, arrogant and dangerous.
 
Oh, so dangerous to the inexperienced rider.
 
Or the inexperienced woman.

Mary urge
d the red sorrel forward. She knew
Luke would not be in a good mood.

And she was right.

“W
hat in the hell are you doing out here?
”

Tiny drops of water dripped from the ends of his hair jutting from beneath his Stetson.
 
He’d removed his shirt
,
 
which
 
revealed a thickly grown layer of hair over a smooth layer of silk.
 
The muscles of his upper body were stunningly defined, his shoulders broad and strong, made to lean upon.
 
His stomach didn’t have the washboard smoothness of a male model. His muscles came from the hard physical work of running a ranch, not the results of hours spent in the gym. A hard working man who needed good, solid food to see him through the day. His healthy lifestyle showed on his fame.