Love Locked

by Britney M. Mills

  Walker narrowed his eyes as he studied her face, and Lauren shifted, feeling uncomfortable at such a look. “So, what made Cory so great in the beginning? There had to be reasons why you liked him and continued dating for that amount of time, right?”

  Lauren tapped her pointer finger against her lips, trying to figure out the best answer to Walker’s question. She’d had over eight hours to ponder on that exact question, but the truth made her sound like some dumb girl swept up over the idea of love.

  “Honestly, I think he was the first guy to show interest in me. He was my first boyfriend—”

  “Really? You, Lauren Burke, have only had one boyfriend in your life?” The disbelief on his face caused Lauren to pause.

  Blinking a few times, she finally said, “What does that mean?” She could hear the edge to her voice and took a breath, curious as to his answer.

  “Look, the Lauren I remember always had a bunch of guys following her around in high school. You never dated them?”

  “I dated a few of them, yes. But never to the status of boyfriend/girlfriend. I always wondered if there was some magical aspect that led from one date or a couple of dates to ‘we’re exclusive.’”

  “You are also the only girl in your family with four brothers. I bet the element of intimidation had something to do with guys not getting too close.” Walker chuckled, the wry smile making Lauren realize the truth of his words.

  Her mouth dropped open as she processed it for several moments. “Preston.”

  Walker nodded, and a small amount of betrayal from her older brother twisted her stomach. She’d have to have a talk with him.

  “Well, Cory just started calling me his girlfriend after our second date, and as surprised as I was, I was also flattered.” Biting her bottom lip for a few seconds, she looked up at Walker, a mischievous smile on her face. “What about your relationships, Mr. McBride?”

  He grimaced and shook his head. “That makes me sound like my father. Let’s stick with Walker.” He laughed a minute before his face sobered. “I’ve only had one girlfriend as well, but that was by choice.”

  “I know that’s not a lie. There were plenty of young women tripping over themselves trying to snag you in high school.” She liked seeing him squirm, and her comments did just that.

  “I was so focused on riding and rodeo that anything that wasn’t a horse or a bull didn’t matter much to me. We were always training so much, always on the road during the summer, that even the thought of a relationship was laughable.” He paused, his eyes glazed over as if reliving memories.

  Lauren’s curiosity got the best of her, and she finally asked, “So, what was it about this one girlfriend that made you change your mind?”

  “She was the sister of one of my competitors, and she seemed pretty chill and down-to-earth at first. Persistence was definitely one of her talents because she would always corner me and talk to me about how great a couple we’d make, and she knew a lot about bull riding. We started dating, and I was surprised by how nice it was to have someone in the crowd other than my family cheering me on.”

  After an intake of breath, he stood, pacing before the fireplace. “We dated about two years, mostly just seeing each other at each rodeo event and texting or calling a lot in between. I’d bought a ring, thinking two years was a long time to date someone I cared about. Then I got hurt.”

  Lauren said nothing, knowing he had to be going through everything that happened with an injury like that. She wished her family had told her about it so she could have sent him a card or something.

  “Things seemed to change so fast that I wasn’t quite sure what was happening until the aftermath. She was there for the first few appointments, but when the talk turned to the fact that I might never ride again, I saw less and less of her. Turns out, she liked the attention that came with being my girlfriend, and if I wasn’t going back to the arena, she wasn’t going to give that up. She ended up with another bull rider, Roper Grand.” Agony was etched into Walker’s face.

  Lauren stood and, on impulse, walked over and slid her arms around him, giving him a hug that she was surprised to find she needed just as much. “I’m so sorry, Walk. It looks like it’s a blessing we didn’t end up with who we were dating.” She held on for a few more seconds before pulling back and lifting her gaze to Walker’s. She saw something unreadable in his eyes.

  “It took me months to get over her, to forgive her for leaving me like that. But you’re right. What would have happened had we gotten married and then I decided I was done bull riding? Would we have gotten a divorce?” He shook his head, looking as though just the thought of that made him sick.

  Lauren put her hands on his upper arms, trying not to register how toned they were as she looked up at him. The fire had died down some, and the light outside was dimmer than before, meaning it was either going to storm again or it was almost night.

  “But look at what you’ve accomplished since. You didn’t give up and just go back home. You invested in something that will keep you busy for quite a while. I would say that’s a success all on its own.” She paused, biting her bottom lip for several seconds. “And you got to choose what you wanted to do when you left the rodeo. Preston didn’t really get that chance.”

  Walker’s chocolate-brown eyes seemed as though they could see through her, and she realized she was holding her breath. Would he lean forward and kiss her, thereby sealing all of her dreams about him?

  But instead, he nodded. “You’re right. I wasn’t forced to take over the family business, and for that, I’m grateful. But I’m still not sure how this venture will go.” He lifted his hands a bit to motion to the rest of the room.

  “Walker, just use the same grit you did in the arena and make it successful. You’re not going to succeed just on wishes and hopes, just like you didn’t become the best bull rider by sitting on the couch and watching TV all the time. Go for it; give it your all.”

  His stare became intense, and even with a flicker of his lips upward, she found it hard to breathe. Of all the places she could have crashed after breaking up with her boyfriend, had this been some cruel twist of fate to end up trapped with the guy she’d wanted for most of her teenage and adult life?

  He leaned forward, his eyes never breaking from hers. He drew close enough that their breath mingled together, and Lauren was sure he could feel her heart beating its way out of her chest. Was he going to kiss her?

  Just as she was about to close her eyes, her phone began ringing on the couch behind her, breaking the moment.

  Stepping away, Walker rubbed the back of his head and said, “I have to get some stuff done before dinner. But there are some things for sandwiches in the fridge. Bread in the pantry. Help yourself to whatever is in the house.” He paused a moment before lowering his voice a bit. “Thanks again for your help with the, uh, business stuff. You’re great at it.”

  He smiled and stalked over to pull some logs from the pile next to the stove and stoke the fire. When he walked outside, she let the phone go to voicemail as she watched the flames of fire lick the top of the stove, their movements reminding her of a dance.

  She’d missed a phone call from one of her friends back in Colorado. Timing. It was always off in her life. But it was probably a good thing. She’d broken up with Cory a day ago. This was just a sign that she needed to take a step back and do what she could to make it through this storm without her heart breaking to pieces from lost hope.

  Chapter 10

  It was good to be out in the cold air with his blood rushing as he lifted the heavy wet snow up and over his shoulder. Walker still hadn’t been able to clear the entire driveway or the paths to the smaller cabins on the property, but with big spurts of progress, he hoped to be able to shovel most of the large drive in the hope that they could make it out of there when the roads opened again. Even to get the snow level low enough for the snowblower would help to maintain it with any future snow falling.

  The clouds were a light gray,
and the sky was brighter than it had been in days. He was just grateful for the break in snowfall and the chance to get his mind on something other than his best friend’s little sister.

  He still couldn’t believe he’d told her all that, about his fear of failing at marriage. He’d shared stuff about his worries over an upcoming rodeo or trivial stuff like that with her in the past, but Lauren had been gone for so long. He shouldn’t be spilling his deepest insecurities to her after they’d been together for less than a day. But there was something about Lauren that made him want to tell her everything.

  As he thought about it, it was the sincerity on her face every time he spoke about something other than the mundane things, the look of focused concentration that wasn’t pulled away by a phone or pretending to hear him and mumbling answers.

  And he’d almost kissed her.

  He’d never been around someone who believed in him so much, and the fact that she told him he’d be fine as long as he gave it his all helped to calm some of the anxieties that had been building over the last few days.

  Walker couldn’t get over the pull toward her. The girl who’d annoyed Preston for years had grown into a beautiful woman with a confidence she seemed not to realize she had. He’d never minded her hanging around and had always suspected she had some sort of crush on him, but he’d been so focused on bull riding that girls weren’t even on his radar.

  He chuckled as he thought about her reaction to Preston sabotaging her dating life in high school. It surprised Walker that she hadn’t figured it out. But her brother hadn’t had a chance to break up the relationship with her Fort Collins boyfriend as Lauren had never brought him home in all the time they’d been dating.

  With how intense and perseverant he’d been in the past, it made Walker wonder why Preston hadn’t just driven down and met the guy. Of course, the cows always had to be milked on schedule. And with their father’s stroke and the boys’ activities, it was difficult to get away for too long.

  The door clanged behind him, and he turned to see Lauren trying to walk in some of his extra boots, probably a few sizes too big. She’d pulled on his extra coat, and it seemed to swallow her.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, leaning on his shovel. He tried not to laugh as she maneuvered with the large boots.

  “Well, there’s a lot of snow out here,” she said with arms stretched out and motioning to all the white. “I figured you could use some help clearing some of it. Do you have an extra shovel?”

  Walker frowned. “You can go inside and relax. I’ll be fine.”

  With her hands firmly planted on what he assumed were her hips under his coat, she raised her eyebrows. “My daddy would tan my hide if he knew I was letting you do all the work around here. Where’s the shovel?”

  Trying to suppress a smile, Walker motioned to the shed a few yards behind her. “In there is one.”

  She nodded with a grin and turned to get it.

  Walker dug his shovel into another large mound of snow, pulling up what he could and throwing it onto the bank next to him. Now he wished he’d listened to Easton and gotten a snowplow installed on his truck for things like this. He had a small snowblower that was adequate for the sidewalks and smaller paths, but with the snow this deep, it probably wouldn’t even turn over.

  Lauren walked up a few feet to his left and started shoveling, her steady movements helping to keep him motivated. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this,” she said, a light laugh escaping her lips.

  “I wish I could say the same. I’m sorry we’re stuck in here. With getting the lodge ready for guests, I didn’t think about snow removal.”

  “You’re good. It looks like the roads are still closed anyway. Look, you can barely see my car.” She pointed to the group of bare trees just inside the fence that ran around the property.

  Walker took a step to the side and saw the headlights and a faint color peeking out from under a load of snow. “I’m sure glad you weren’t hurt worse. The roads were so bad that the ambulance couldn’t even get out here.”

  Her eyes widened. “Yikes.” She gave him a small smile. “Thanks again for helping me.”

  “My pleasure.” He winked and then grinned as her cheeks blushed pink.

  They shoveled for several more minutes, then Walker turned to her. “You really don’t have to do this. I feel bad you’re even out here.”

  “Walker McBride, this is exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. Besides, it’s good for me to get out some of the frustrations of not finding any jobs worth applying for.”

  “No luck, huh?” he asked, watching her as she continued shoveling. A pang of disappointment hit him that she hadn’t said something about them being so close in the house, but he shook it off, knowing it was better to steer clear of the almost-kiss in the great room.

  She dug deep, using her legs to lift the large load. For a small girl, she had no trouble moving the heavy snow. She leaned against her shovel, her breathing coming out in rapid spurts, the foggy cloud of air constant around her face. “Not yet. I’ll find something. I guess the hardest part is that I did all this extra stuff at the insurance company, but I can’t really prove it on a resume. But being here helps put things into perspective. I never should have been gone this long.”

  “You came for some holidays the past few years, right?” Walker offered.

  With a quick nod, her expression fell. “Only a few since Mom’s funeral and Dad’s stroke. And I never enjoyed them. I was usually worried about what Cory was doing, and once the holiday was over, I’d rush back to Colorado, thinking I had to prove my worth to their company—well, more like their family.”

  “That’s a sign that you don’t want to be in their family,” Walker said, his voice low. Emotions bit at his throat, causing moisture to form in the corners of his eyes. He’d felt like that with Cara’s family, mostly because he kept beating Cara’s brother in bull riding and it made him an outsider no matter what he did or didn’t do.

  Lauren rolled her eyes and laughed. “Well, I know that now. Being here has been so refreshing, like I don’t have to be that cardboard cutout of the perfect girlfriend or employee anymore. I can just be myself.”

  She bent over and started shoveling again, and Walker did the same, turning so she couldn’t see his smile. He knew what that was like, not having to walk on eggshells with what he said or did. Some things were more freeing than he could have imagined, even though being single was one of the hardest, most lonely things he’d ever done. But as much as it had hurt at the time, he’d come so far in the eleven and a half months since he’d given up bull riding that to go back would be to take those experiences away.

  They worked in silence for a while, the only sound around being Bear playing in the bigger drifts. When they decided to go in, Walker turned to look at all they’d accomplished and smiled.

  “You’re a pretty good worker,” he said as he admired how far they’d come.

  “Why, thank you. You don’t survive a family of four brothers by doing nothing all day.” She grinned and walked past him into the house, her nose red from the cold.

  Walker wiped some sweat from his forehead before following her in, feeling the wall of heat as soon as he opened the door.

  After taking off his snow apparel, Walker walked into the gathering room and added some wood to the fire, as it was just a bit more than embers. Looking at the clock, he was surprised to see they’d been outside for almost two and a half hours, the longest stretch he’d been able to do since the big storms had hit. It helped that the temperature was more bearable.

  “What do you feel like for dinner? I have a few jars of spaghetti sauce. Would that work?” Walker raised an eyebrow, waiting for Lauren’s answer.

  “Sounds great. That means I won’t feel bad that you’re slaving away for hours while I watch you cook.”

  Shaking his head, Walker said, “How about you help me chop some lettuce for salad? Then you won’t have a reason to feel bad.” He pu
lled a head of iceberg lettuce out of the fridge and set it in front of her. He grabbed the nearly new cutting board and chef knife and set them down next to the lettuce. “Chop, chop!”

  Lauren laughed, the same deep sound as before, and Walker laughed along. “Are you sure you trust me with one of these? What if I cut my finger off?”

  “Well, I patched up your forehead, so I’m sure I’d find something to help with the bleeding. Otherwise, you’ll have to go without a finger.” He leaned in a bit closer to look at the gash on her head, seeing just a slight red ring around it. “Looks like everything is healing well there.” He pointed to her cut.

  Lauren moved her hand up to feel it. “I almost forgot about it. I’m just glad it wasn’t worse than that.” She paused for a few seconds before unwrapping the lettuce from the cello wrap. “And I’m glad you were there to save me.”

  Chills ran up Walker’s spine, and he gave a nervous laugh. “You’re just lucky I know how to treat gashes like that. We’ve had so many of them in the McBride family that we should buy stock in a butterfly strip company.” That got the both of them laughing so hard that tears rolled down Lauren’s cheeks.

  “How come I never knew you were this funny before?” Her lips turned up in a mischievous grin. “Oh, because you didn’t talk to girls back then, or really anyone but Preston.”

  He knew she was right, but he couldn’t stop the next comment from slipping through his lips. “I’m pretty sure I talked to you and without Preston present, so that should count for something.”

  Her mouth dropped open, and the air left Walker’s chest. Had he said too much? He didn’t breathe again until she started laughing, looking down at the lettuce and nodding.

  “Touché, Walker. Touché.”