Lucky in Love

by Kelly Elliott

  “Do you work the ranch at all?” Saryn asked as we cleared the plates from the table.

  “Roger and I are still a big part of it, but my father does have a lot of hired ranch hands helping him. Roger plays a pretty big role in helping my father on the business side. I think Dad is waiting for me to step in as foreman.”

  “Will you ever take it over, do you think?”

  I shrugged as I watched Saryn fill up the sink and begin washing the dinner dishes. “Probably, someday. It’s in my blood. But I wanted to make my own name at something. When I was young I discovered I loved building things. It started when my father was attempting to mend a chicken coop and I made a comment about how he could make it better. He turned and faced me, handed me the hammer, and told me if I thought I knew more than he did, then it was up to me to fix it.”

  “Did you fix it?” Saryn asked, handing me a dish to dry. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Liliana sitting down at her little table, drawing, Rus laying right at her feet.

  I focused back on Saryn. “Did I fix it? I built a new chicken coop.”

  She busted out laughing. “You did?”

  With a nod, I chuckled. “I did. I was ticked off at my father, and it was more to prove a point than anything else. But from that moment on I found myself building anything and everything.”

  I placed the last dish in the cabinet and took another look at Liliana.

  Saryn handed me a glass of wine. “Let me just say I’m impressed you found the wine I liked.”

  “I can be resourceful when I need to be.”

  Her cheeks turned a slight pink as she took a sip. Liliana was now in full-on story mode as she held up her picture and explained to Rus what it was all about. He was her captive audience and even appeared to be listening.

  We sat down on a sofa in the living room as Liliana pulled out more paper to draw on. She informed Rus he needed to sit still so she could draw him, and the damn dog did just that.

  “He really is such a good dog, Truitt,” Saryn stated as we watched the two of them.

  I scoffed. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s wants you to think he’s a good dog.”

  Rus looked my way, thumped his tail a few times, then looked back at Liliana. We both laughed.

  “So, tell me what got you into building playscapes.”

  I smiled as the memory came to me. “It started on a dare. A friend of mine was building a playground for his daughter. Mind you, she was only two months old at the time.”

  Laughing, Saryn took a sip of her wine.

  “He really was just so happy to be a father. He was engaged to his high school sweetheart and was honestly madly in love with her. The baby wasn’t planned, but both of them were over the moon. He was home on leave from the Air Force, he’s a test pilot, and he wanted to make his little girl something. The guy can do anything, I swear…with the exception of build a playground. He was having a hard time of it, and I, of course, made a smart a-double-s comment about how I could do it better.”

  Saryn shook her head and grinned.

  “So, Nolan challenged me. I drew up some plans and asked my father if I could use part of his shop back at the ranch. I designed that playground in the shape of a plane, since he was a pilot and had always loved flying. He used to help his daddy with crop dusting.”

  She gasped. “Nolan Byers?”

  “Yeah. Did you know him?”

  Slowly, she replied, “No, but I was friends with Linnzi. She was older than me, but we met at the stables.”

  I smiled. “Yeah. Linnzi loved her horses, just like you did.”

  Sadness quickly filled the room. “How is Nolan doing?”

  With a shrug, I replied, “He never talks about it. Hasn’t been back to Boerne since Linnzi moved.”

  She reached for my hand. “I’m so sorry, Truitt. I totally forgot about you being such good friends with Nolan. Ryan doesn’t much talk about him.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I miss him.”

  Her hand squeezed mine.

  “Anyway,” I said, “I built the playground and impressed a lot of people with it. It was actually Nolan who encouraged me to start a career in it. So that’s how Imaginations Unlimited was born.”

  “From another dare.”

  I laughed. “Yep.”

  “You truly are talented, Truitt. It’s clear you love what you do.”

  Liliana walked up to me, Rus following closely behind. “I dwew this for you, Twuitt.”

  She handed me a drawing that had a stick person on it and what looked like a dog next to him.

  “Is this me and Rus?”

  Liliana looked proud as all get out. “Yep!” she said, jumping in excitement.

  “I love it, Liliana. I can’t wait to hang it up in my house.”

  That statement earned me another brilliant smile.

  “How about we go outside and let Rus run and fetch his favorite ball? Want to do that before it gets too dark out?” I stood and set my wine glass down, looking to Saryn to make sure it was okay.

  “I think heading outside sounds like a great idea.”

  So the three of us, with Rus in tow, headed outside and played fetch. Saryn and I laughed as we watched Liliana run and chase Rus, rolling around on the ground while Rus attempted to do the same. By the time the sun was nearly gone, Liliana and the pup were both worn out and I realized I’d had the best evening I’d ever experienced in my life.

  Saryn picked up a very exhausted little girl and started back toward the house. “Want to help me get her ready for bed? Then we can sit in the living room and have another glass of wine if you want.”

  “That sounds amazing,” I said as I turned and whistled for Rus to come.

  Saryn

  THE EVENING HAD been perfect, and I didn’t want it to end. As I carried Liliana into the house and up the stairs to her room, I realized my little girl was falling asleep.

  “Come on, princess, let’s get you in your jammies and into bed.”

  Rus bounded up the steps ahead of me, causing me to smile. He waited at the top, unsure of where I was taking his new best friend.

  As I walked into Liliana’s room, Rus and Truitt followed me in.

  “What can I do to help?” Truitt asked.

  I pointed to the bookshelves as I grabbed Liliana’s PJs. “Pick out a book, and I’m going to get her teeth brushed.”

  Truitt nodded and walked over to search for a book to read.

  As I walked into the bathroom my mother and I had painted pink with white strips, Liliana giggled.

  “What’s so funny?” I asked as I sat her on the counter and began to take off her clothes and slip on her pajamas.

  “Twuitt. He twipped and fell.”

  I smiled. Truitt had been playing fetch with Rus and had been running to chase the dog when he tripped over an exposed branch and did a pretty darn impressive tumble roll.

  “That was sort of funny. I’m glad he didn’t get hurt, though.”

  My daughter nodded.

  “Do you like Truitt?”

  She nodded again.

  “I like him, too.”

  Liliana smiled.

  “How would you feel if Mommy dated Truitt and he came over for dinner more?”

  “Yes, pwease! Wus, too?”

  I chuckled. “Yes. Rus, too.”

  Liliana clapped. “Will Twuitt wead to me tonight?”

  “I’m sure he will if you ask him to.”

  “Okay!”

  We brushed her teeth and were soon back in her room. Liliana ran over to Truitt and threw herself into his arms.

  “Wead to me, Twuitt! Pwease!”

  He glanced my way and I nodded. “She would really love for you to read to her if you don’t mind.”

  “Mind? Are you kidding me? I picked out my most favorite book ever.”

  Liliana’s eyes grew wide with excitement. “Show me!”

  Truitt held up Bears in the Night.

  Liliana jumped in delight and flew up onto her bed
. Rus did the same. Truitt turned to look at me to silently ask if it was okay his dog had made himself right at home. I nodded and sat down in the chair across from the bed. Truitt helped Liliana under her covers and sat down on the bed. When I watched Liliana snuggle into his side, my heart melted on the spot.

  Her own father had never read her a book once, and to see her take to Truitt like this both thrilled me and, of course, worried me. What if things didn’t work out between us? Her little heart would be broken once again, and this time I feared even more, since she was clearly taken with Truitt and now Rus. The dog had laid across the bottom of Liliana’s bed and was resting his head on her leg as Truitt started the story.

  As I watched the three of them, my heart pounded so loudly I was positive it filled the room. Truitt fell into the story quickly, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his own father had read stories like this to him. He was a natural with Liliana. It was painfully clear to me this man would make an amazing father.

  Did he want to be a father? Did he truly want an instant family? He seemed like he did, he had said he did. Even Rus seemed to be settled into the idea of it. My stomach dipped as I watched my daughter look at the book and glance up to Truitt as he made his voice change while he read. Then she smiled at him, a smile I had never seen before. When Truitt smiled back down at her, my heart cracked wide open.

  Oh, no.

  No. No. No. No.

  It wasn’t possible. There was no way I was falling in love with this man already. Maybe a part of me had always been in love with him, and that was why it felt so right. So amazingly perfect.

  Don’t be silly, Saryn, it was a crush. That was all. A crush.

  Yet, I had been almost devastated that day he walked away from me. It was honestly the first and only time in my life my heart had broken. Not even when I found out Tim had cheated on me had my heart hurt like it did that day.

  Liliana laughed and broke me from my thoughts. I glanced over to the bed and couldn’t help but smile.

  I needed to be careful with Truitt Carter. He held the power to break my heart into a million pieces—and my daughter’s, too.

  His eyes lifted and met mine, and I felt the air in the room change. Something intense, yet beautiful, crackled between us. We both smiled, and I saw it in his eyes.

  There was no doubt about it, I was falling in love with Truitt. I was almost positive he felt the same way about me.

  Oh, help me.

  Liliana fell asleep with Truitt reading her a book. Rus also fell asleep, and I was almost positive if I left him there, Truitt would have dozed off.

  He handed me the book and carefully slipped from the bed. I tucked the covers around Liliana and kissed her gently on the forehead. She let out a contented sigh, which made Rus do the same. I almost laughed as I turned and saw Truitt glaring at his dog. When our gaze met, he shook his head.

  “Can Rus spend the night?” I asked.

  That made Truitt’s brows jerk up before he rolled his eyes and nodded. When we got to the living room, I poured us both another glass of wine.

  “I can’t believe my dog gets to spend the night and I don’t.”

  With a giggle, I sat down next to him on the sofa.

  “Liliana adores you.”

  He placed his hand in mine and rubbed his thumb over my skin, causing a million little bolts of electricity to pulse through my body. I loved this feeling. It was all so new and so amazing.

  “I adore her, too. I think I fell for her the moment y’all came bounding into my office. She stole my heart right then with Muke.”

  “Just her?”

  He squeezed my hand tighter. “No, not just her. You stole my heart when I was sixteen years old.”

  I stilled but then looked up at him. “Really? Why didn’t you ask me out, Truitt?”

  With a laugh that sounded forced, he shrugged. “Ryan was my best friend. I thought you were off limits. Plus, I was older than you.”

  “Not by much!” I argued. “A whole year!”

  He smiled. “When I got up the courage to ask you out, it was too late. Tim beat me to it.”

  Tim’s words from earlier today came back to me. “He told me he found out you were going to ask me out and that’s why he did it first.”

  That made Truitt’s body go rigid. “What? When did he say that?”

  I moved back some so I could look at him. “Today, he stopped by the house and asked me if we were seeing each other. I, of course, told him it was none of his business, but he went on to tell me he asked me out to save me from you because you only wanted…”

  My voice trailed off.

  “I only wanted what?”

  “To have sex with me.”

  A look of pure anger flashed across Truitt’s face. “So that was the reason he asked you out? What in the hell did you ever see in him, Saryn?”

  I laughed. “I’m not sure, but I know what he said isn’t true.”

  He lifted a brow. “Really? Because you don’t seem like you believe that.”

  “Was it true? Did you see me as some sort of quest to conquer?”

  He answered instantly. “No. I saw you as a girl I was extremely attracted to. One of my best friend’s sisters, someone I was afraid would turn me down if I did ask her out.”

  “Turn you down? Why in the world would you think that?”

  “You were…and you still are…very beautiful. You could have had your pick of any guy at our school. Of course, your brother threatened to kill anyone who looked at you the wrong way. Tim was the only one with enough guts to ask you out, so I guess I can’t fault him for that. But I didn’t just want in your pants, Saryn. I liked you. A lot.”

  I swallowed hard. “I liked you, too, and always thought you were out of my reach. You were, and still are, so very handsome. Truitt, you could have dated any girl at that school. I heard them talking about being with you. You never hid the fact that you were a bit of a player. It used to make me so insanely jealous. Are you still?”

  His eyes locked with mine. “Most of those rumors you heard are not true. Half the girls in this town have said I’ve slept with them and I haven’t. I’m not a saint, Saryn. I played the bachelor role in my early years, but I’m not that guy anymore and I haven’t been in a long time.”

  “Why haven’t you settled down and gotten married?” I asked before I took a sip of my wine. My heart suddenly felt like it was racing in my chest. I feared he would say he had fallen in love once. He had wanted to marry someone, but it hadn’t worked out for some reason. I prayed Shay wasn’t the woman he’d fallen for. A jealous energy rushed through my body and I knew I had no right to feel that way.

  He gave me a half shrug. “I guess I never met the one. Or maybe I had met her, and she left town with an idiot for a husband, and I could never find another woman to fill her shoes.”

  Thud. There went my heart, straight to my stomach.

  “Truitt, you honestly don’t expect me to believe you’re talking about me. You hardly ever noticed me.”

  “That’s what you think, Saryn.”

  I was positive I gave him a skeptical look. He laughed and shook his head.

  “In Spanish class when you couldn’t figure out an answer on the test, you would tap your nose with your pencil until you came up with it. I’m pretty sure you still do it, because I saw you in the ER tapping your nose. When you played soccer you always stopped and helped up anyone who fell, even someone on the other team. You hate to eat your tacos in a soft shell, you don’t like vanilla ice cream, and…”

  His eyes met mine and locked. “And you have the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen.”

  I felt a tear slip free and make a slow trail down my cheek. I was too shocked to even attempt to hide it. To hide the fact that I was desperately trying not to cry. Truitt reached over and gently brushed it away with his thumb while I attempted to form words. Any words. At least one word.

  Nothing would come. I stared at him in disbelief.

  “Y
ou think I didn’t notice you, sweetheart. I noticed, believe me…I noticed.”

  “Truitt.”

  It was the only word I could manage to say. I wanted desperately to kiss him. To pull him into my bed and beg him to make love to me. I wanted to know what having a man make love to me felt like, because suddenly every single moment I was with Tim felt like it wasn’t real. None of it was real. The only good thing I received from Tim was sleeping upstairs with Truitt’s dog guarding her like she was his greatest treasure.

  “You’re looking at me like you don’t want this to go slow, and we need it to go slow.”

  I shook my head. “We don’t need it to go slow.”

  “We don’t?” he asked, a smirk appearing on his face.

  “No,” I replied with a shake of my head as I set my wine glass down, then took his glass from his hand and placed it next to mine. I stood and reached for his hands. “I need you to kiss me, while I’m naked, in my bed, with your body over mine.”

  Truitt moaned as he closed his eyes. “Saryn, you said—”

  “I don’t care what I said, Truitt. No man has ever made me feel like this before. Ever. Please don’t deny me this, because I think we’ve wanted this for over ten years now.”

  “Don’t deny you?” he repeated with a laugh. “You don’t have to beg me, sweetheart, I wanted you the moment I pulled over to change your tire.”

  The smile on his face made my insides melt. A rush of heat sprinted through my body, making me ache everywhere, especially between my legs.

  “Will you make love to me, Truitt?”

  He reached down and picked me up, eliciting a small gasp followed by a giggle.

  “Nothing would make me happier, sweetheart.”

  My mouth crushed against his and he started to walk. When he tripped over my rug, we both laughed.