The Reluctant Rancher (22 page)

“
And what?
”
 
He could hear the concern in her voice.
 
For him.

“
I’m not a young man anymore, Mary.
”

“
You’re only thirty-eight, Luke.
 
You don’t have one foot in the grave yet.
”

“
Well, with Debbie I did.
”
Luke released his hold on her and turned away.
 
H
is fists clenched at his sides.

“
What?
”

“
I never consummated my marriage.
”

“
You mean, you never, well, never…
”
S
he faltered lamely.

“
I couldn’t.
”
He turned back around. Someday he would tell her about his aborted wedding night and the months of following. But not now.

“
Well, I don’t think you have that problem now, Mr. Tanner.
 
After all, I am a nurse and last night, well, last night everything seemed to be functioning just fine,
”
she retorted in a prim voice.

Her proper l
ittle speech wiped away
the last lingering anger he held toward hi
s ex-wife
.
“
Well, since you are a nurse, it won’t bother you to have me help you undress, now will it?
”
 
His hands reached for her blouse again.

“
No way.
 
Since I am a nurse, I’m perfectly capable of assessing my own injuries.
 
Now get out before I freeze to death.
”
 
He allowed her to push him toward the door.
 
A small hand stopped him at the threshold.

“
Luke?
”

His heart flipped over at the
expression on her face.
 
“
I’m right here, sweetheart.
”

“
Thank you
.
”
She r
each
ed
up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

“
What for?
”

“
Saving me.
”

“
I saved myself, Mary
.”

CHAPTER TEN

“
It’s not as bad as it could have been,
”
Mary commented as she and Joseph drove down
Main Street
a week later.
 
The older man
had
accompanied her into town for their first view of the aftermath.
 
Since the flood, Luke sent most of his ranch hands into town eve
ry day to help with the cleanup. He took
on the bulk of the ranch work himself.
 
Which convenientl
y left little time for talking.

Her car had indeed drowned in the flood.
 
Bu
t Eddie promised to find her a good used one as soon as possible.
The crews her landlord hired worked around the clock but it would still be days before she could move back into her office or apartment.

“
At least my insurance should cover most of the damage.
 
I’ll be in business again before I know it.
”
 
She tried to sound optimistic
but it was hard considering she wasn’t. O
nly the small pieces of furniture she had stored in the attic and the files and chairs she’d taken to Luke’s had been saved.
 
She knew the insurance she carried would not begin to cover the cost of replacing all of her belongings.

“
I need to stop at the post office and check my mail, Joseph, if that’s all right.
”

“
Of course, dear,
but d
on’t you worry about your business, Mary.
 
Remember, Luke agreed to give you that loan.
”

“
I can’t hold Luke to his promise now.
 
The flood changed
everything.
 
I don’t know when –
or if – I’ll have enough customers to cover the bills.
”
 
Uncertainty warred inside Mary on all fronts.
 
Her business was in shambles and so was her relationship with Luke.
 
Since the night of the flood, they’d barely had time to say goodnight or hello each day, much less sort out their feelings for one another. Assuming Luke even had feelings.
 
Mary knew she did, but she had her doubts about Luke.
 
Even though they had shared that night in the cabin and those touching moments after the flood, Luke had spoken no more of love or happily-ever-after.

Mary parked in front of the post office, one of the few businesses that had reopened.
 
They entered the lobby along with several other townsfolk, grateful for the warmth.
 
The cold spell that had threatened right before the storms had arrived
with a vengeance
and
the
cold temperatures ha
mpered
the cleanup efforts.

She took
the mail t
he postmistress handed her and
flipped through it absently.
 
Bills, bills and more bills.
In a moment, Joseph came up beside her.

“M
ary, you need to go see that gentlemen over there
.” He p
oint
ed
to a man behind the table where a
line had formed
.

“
Why?
”
she asked, her attention still focused on the envelopes in her hand.

Joseph merely smiled and pushed her forward.
 
“
Just do it.
”

Several hours later, Mary and Joseph arrived home
.
It seemed as though fate had once again intervened in the life of Mary Carter.

* * * * *

That evening Luke sl
ammed into the house, uncaring
of the noise he created.
 
With controlled, deliberate movements he hung his hat by the back door.
 
A fine layer of dust rose into the air as he sat to remove his dirt encrusted boots.
 
He’d worked in mud all of his life but nothing compared to the filthy g
rime left behind after a flood.

He
use
d
the small shower off the mudroom rather than leave a trail of dirt though the house
. Under the hot spray,
the tight control he’d exerted over his emotions for the past several da
ys disappear
.
 
For
days he’d battled his nemesis –
his love of Mary.
 
The night of flood had brought home just how much she meant to him.
 
He knew he’d have nightmares for years to
come when he remembered
her at the mercy of the river.

He also knew that no matter how often she said she loved him, that once he gave her the loan, she would have enoug
h money to expand her business and become
very successful in her own right.
 
She would no longer need or want anything from him.
 
Of that he was certain.
 
He only hoped that she’d feel obligated to keep him informed of the success of his investment.
 
Through the loan he might still have
some lingering contact with her.

He dried off
and
pulled on a clean shirt and pair of jeans
. He
padded barefoot to the empty kitchen where delicious smells emanated from the pots on the stove.

“
Mary?
 
Joseph?
”
Where had everyone gone?
 
He walked into the living room, the beautiful view lost to him. H
is mind
was
too filled with thoughts of Mary.

“
I’m in here.
”

Luke followed Mary’s voice to the dining room.
 
She had just put a match to the two slender candles on the table and he drew in a sharp breath as she turned around.
 
She
wore
her hair down, its silken strands gleaming silver in the candlel
ight.
 
The peach colored dress hugged her curves and
swished enticingly around her bare legs
. Her
skin glowed like richly polished pearls.

“Hel
lo, Luke
,
”
she greeted him, her face awash with happiness.
 
“
I’ve got something to tell you.
”

“W
hat?
”

“I
got a loan!
”
Picking up a piece of paper, she raced around the table.
 
“
See, they approved it on the spot.
”

Luke took the paper.
 
It was from the Small Business Administration.

“I
applied
 
about a year ago but had never heard anything from them,
”
Mary explained
.
 
“
They have a temporary office in town because of the flood and Joseph made me ask.
 
They pulled the records and approved the loan.
 
Of course, I never would have gotten it if it hadn’t flooded.
 
Which was awful,
of course,
but isn’t this great?
”

She paused for breath
and looked
up at him
.
She had the most beautiful, sensual eyes.
 
They made him hunger for things he couldn’t have.

“
I’m happy for you, Mary
.” H
e had known losing her would hurt, he just hadn’t known how much.

“
Don’t you see, Luke, this means I don’t need your money.
”
 
So excited herself she
didn’t see how her words stabbed at him, cutting him to the quick.

“I know
.
”
He
walk
ed
to the den, unable to stand her elation
, bastard that he was.
She was right, she didn’t need his
money.
 
And she didn’t need him.

“
I guess you’ll be leaving then.
”
 
His words were a
flat
statement of fact.

Mary gave a start at the harshness of his words but he didn’t apologize.
 
This needed to be a clean, quick break. He didn’t think his heart could stand anything else.
 
No matter what the poets said, it was better to have never loved.

“
I guess so.
”
She looked like an abandoned puppy and it took every ounce of control he’d ever had not to pull her in his arms and tell her he loved her.

Instead, he walked to the bar and poured himself a stiff drink, wondering if the full bottle of Scotch would be enough to drown his sorrows.
 
“Yo
u’ve been a real big help, Mary.
 
But Joseph is fine.
 
In fact, he’s convinced me to hire a housekeeper.
”

“
Do you want me to go, Luke?
”

H
e could see the hope drain
from her eyes as she realized he wasn’t asking her to leave the ranch temporarily, but to leave his life forever.

He forc
ed
his face to remain an expressionless mask and deliberately let her see the coldness in his eyes, the emptiness of his soul.
 
“
It’s for the best.
”