Luke

by R. C. Ryan

  “Models can’t hold a candle to you.” He lowered his head, running hot kisses down her throat, then lower, as his mouth closed around one slick nipple.

  She shivered and ran her hands over the corded muscles of his shoulders and down his back. Still holding the soap, she left a trail of suds everywhere she touched him.

  He kissed her again, slower, softer. She returned his kisses with a hunger humming with need.

  His gaze sharpened. “You in a hurry?”

  “No. Yes.”

  At her admission his arm encircled her while his other hand moved between them until he found her. He kept his eyes steady on hers as he began to stroke.

  She gasped and her eyes widened as wave after wave of pleasure rippled through her.

  She was wonderful to watch as, lost in the moment, she reached a hand to his shoulder and clung as she rode the feeling until she reached a shuddering climax.

  For a moment her eyes closed and she wrapped herself around him. With a smile of triumph he lifted her and started toward shore.

  With her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, she buried her face in the little hollow between his neck and shoulder.

  For the space of a heartbeat, he paused. “You know what you’re doing to me, woman?”

  “It’s the least I can do after what you did for me.”

  “That was just the opening act.” He continued walking to the shore, where he lay her down in the grass.

  His eyes were hot and fierce as he lay beside her and gathered her close. “Now for the main event.”

  There were no words as they came together in a blaze of passion that put the sun to shame.

  “I’ve never had a day that could compare with this.” Ingrid lay in the circle of Luke’s arms.

  “You’ve never gone skinny-dipping?”

  “Of course I have. Alone,” she admitted. She leaned up on his chest to smile into his eyes. “I mean I’ve never taken a day to just…play.”

  He gave her a lazy smile. “Lady, you’re the perfect playmate. Any time you want another day off, I’m your man.”

  “Yes, you are. My big, strong man.” She played with the hair on his chest. Her tone grew thoughtful. “When I first met you, I thought you were”—she paused, searching for the right phrase—“too quick with a joke, and too good-looking, to be anything but a tumbleweed. I figured you’d be gone the minute you were strong enough to stand without falling over. I certainly never intended to trust you. And especially with my”—she looked up to find him watching her—“heart.”

  He reached up to frame her face with his hands. “Thank you.” At her raised brow he added, “For trusting me enough to say the words. I know that isn’t easy for you.”

  Their kiss was soft. Sweet. As though sealing a very special bond.

  The sun burned hot overhead. The summer breeze whispered over their heated flesh. The sound of the stream rushing over rocks formed a background of music that seemed to match the rhythm of their sighs.

  As their kiss deepened, it exploded into something much more. Heat. Hunger. And a yearning of the heart that needed to be answered.

  This time, as they came together, they savored each kiss, each touch, like lovers who knew they had all the time in the world to explore this newly discovered passion. And intended to make every moment count.

  Luke and Ingrid held hands as their horses ambled across the high meadow toward home.

  “Still worried about Lily?” Luke asked.

  A laugh escaped Ingrid’s lips. “I can’t believe I’m admitting this. I haven’t given her a single thought today.”

  Luke grinned. “I guess you had other things on your mind.”

  “Naughty things.”

  He couldn’t help laughing. “Sorry. That’s not the way I see it. But then, your naughty is really nice.”

  “I think you’re a bad influence, cowboy.”

  “Or a good one. It all depends on your point of view.” He squeezed her hand. “I hope Mick has supper ready. It just dawned on me that I’m hungry.” He shot her a sideways glance. “Probably all those calories I’ve been burning.”

  She studied his toned body. “I guess that’s one way to stay in shape.”

  “The best way.” He withdrew his hand. “Come on. One last race to see who gets home first.”

  As he nudged his horse into a run, Ingrid drew back on the reins for a moment. Did he realize he’d just called her place home?

  She didn’t want to take the time to mull it over. It might have been a slip of the tongue. Or it might be that her place had become as special to him as it was to her.

  Either way, right now she needed to get there first. There was still time to beat Luke. It just wasn’t in her nature to ignore a challenge.

  Mick looked up as they stepped into the kitchen. “You two have been gone a long time. The herd all right, or have more of them gone missing?”

  “The herd’s fine.” Luke rolled his sleeves. “It’s so hot, we couldn’t resist a dip in the creek.”

  Mick shot him a speculative look before turning to Ingrid. “That so?”

  Her cheeks turned a becoming shade of pink before she inhaled the wonderful fragrance coming from the oven and tried to change the subject. “Are you baking bread?”

  “Just heating up rolls.” The old cowboy grinned. “To go with Yancy’s Fancy Chicken.”

  At the sound of a truck’s engine, they glanced out the window.

  Seconds later they gathered around the back door as Lily bounded toward them, trailed more slowly by Grace and Frank.

  “Oh, Lily.” Ingrid hugged her little sister fiercely. “I’ve missed you. How was your very first safari?”

  “It was so much fun. But first I have to tell you…” Her words were forgotten as she stared at Luke, eyes wide. “You cut off all your hair.”

  “Well, actually it was Ingrid who did the cutting.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “I asked her to.”

  “Why?”

  Another shrug. And then a lazy smile. “I figured it was time.”

  “More than time, sonny boy.” Frank was grinning from ear to ear. “Don’t you agree, Gracie Girl?”

  His grandmother was studying him with a critical eye. She touched a hand to his face. “Oh, Luke. With your hair short, you’re the image of your father.”

  “There’s nothing you could have said that would make me happier than that.” He bent to kiss her cheek. “I consider that the ultimate compliment, Gram Gracie.”

  Ingrid closed a hand over her little sister’s shoulder. “What were you about to tell me?”

  “Oh yeah.” Lily turned to Frank and Grace, who were smiling broadly. Her voice was high-pitched with excitement. “It’s the reason why we’re home early. While we were up in the hills, we found our missing herd, Ingrid.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  You found our herd?” Ingrid could barely contain her surprise. “Where? When? Are they injured? Are they safe? Are they all accounted for?”

  Lily turned to Luke’s grandmother. “You tell her, Gram Gracie.”

  The older woman took up the story. “On the trail of our herd of mustangs, we came up over a rise and spotted, far below in a valley, a large herd of cattle. As far as we could tell, there were no wranglers around to tend them. They appeared to be on their own and isolated from any other herds. It was then that we realized we were on Bull Hammond’s property.”

  At the mention of Ingrid’s neighbor, Luke swore.

  His grandfather surprised him by saying, “Hold on, sonny boy. I was just as upset as you when we checked their brands and realized they were part of Ingrid’s herd. I figured I’d report that thieving crook to the sheriff the minute we got phone service. We’d just started driving them back toward Ingrid’s place when Bull himself rode out and demanded to know why we were crossing his land with cattle. When we explained what we’d found and showed him the brand, he was shocked.”

  “You mean, he pre
tended to be shocked? That lying—”

  Luke started to speak, but his grandfather held up a hand. “Now maybe Hammond’s a really good actor, but he has me convinced. He seemed genuinely surprised to see those cattle on his land. When I confronted him with what I suspected, Hammond said he had nothing to do with the herd’s disappearance.”

  “Then how did they end up on his property?”

  “He didn’t have a clue. It’s all pure speculation, of course, but he suggested they could have simply wandered off, each one following the leader, and then found themselves stranded in a deep ravine with lush grass and a meandering creek and no reason to leave.”

  Luke was staring at his grandfather as if he’d just grown a second head. “And you believe that?”

  The old man shrugged. “Like I said, Hammond seemed as surprised by this as we were.”

  “What else could he say when he was caught red-handed?” Luke plucked his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the sheriff’s number before repeating what he’d just learned.

  A minute later he announced to the others, “Eugene said he and Archer will be out here first thing in the morning. But to add weight to what Hammond told you, the sheriff assured me that nobody else in the county has reported the loss of any cattle. Ingrid’s herd is the only one affected. Not that it proves Hammond’s innocence, since he still seems to be the one who would benefit the most from Ingrid’s loss. But the sheriff will make that determination when he’s had time to look into this further.”

  Ingrid turned to Frank. “Where are my cattle now?”

  “Back on the hill with the rest of your herd.”

  She gave a deep sigh. “Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful if this nightmare is over?”

  “That doesn’t explain…” Seeing Lily’s questioning look, Luke felt a wave of self-annoyance and bit back the rest of his words.

  They’d taken such pains to keep the dangerous facts as far away from the little girl as possible, and now in his anger, he’d almost revealed that gunshot through Ingrid’s window.

  Lily turned to Frank. “Is Ingrid right, Grandpop Frank? Are all our troubles over?”

  Frank gave her an encouraging smile. “I don’t know, darlin’, but this gives us some hope. And at this point we’ll take all the hopeful signs we can get.”

  For all his upbeat words, the old man exchanged a silent admonition with his grandson.

  Seeing it, Grace tried for a further distraction. “Oh my, Mick. Something smells amazing.”

  “That would be Yancy’s fine food.” Mick grinned. “Ever since our return from your ranch, we’ve been eating like kings.” He motioned toward the table. “Supper’s ready, and there’s enough for everyone. I’d be proud to have you join us.”

  While Lily and Grace and Frank washed up in the mudroom, Mick added three more place settings at the table.

  “Perfect timing,” Luke muttered to his grandfather as he returned to the kitchen.

  “When have you ever known me to miss a meal?” The old man winked.

  They gathered around the table and began passing trays of chicken and potatoes au gratin, a salad of field greens, and dinner rolls warm from the oven.

  While they ate, Lily regaled them with all she’d seen while in the wilderness.

  “We found a herd of mustangs. And we took lots and lots of pictures.” The little girl turned. “Didn’t we, Gram Gracie?”

  “We certainly did.”

  Luke offered the basket of rolls to his grandmother. “Did you find your long-absent white stallion?”

  “Unfortunately we didn’t.”

  Lily broke in. “But we found a spotted black-and-white one, and he didn’t even run away when he saw us. Did he, Gram Gracie?”

  “No, he didn’t. I told Lily that sometimes he looked tame enough to be a saddle horse posing for our camera. But whenever I’d get too complacent, he would prove to us just how wild and free he really is.”

  Lily turned to her big sister. “Wait ’til you see my pictures, Ingrid. Gram Gracie let me use her telephoto lens and even her wide-angle lens, and I’m going to help her frame some of them for you.” She put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, I wasn’t supposed to say anything about that. It’s our secret.”

  Ingrid gave her little sister a gentle smile. “Well, then, I guess I’ll just have to forget you ever said that.”

  “Good. ’Cause I’m saving it for your birthday.”

  “When would that be?” Luke asked.

  “Next month.” Lily spooned more potatoes onto her plate before digging in. “And now that we found the missing herd and I’ve got a special present, it’s going to be the best birthday ever.” She turned to Ingrid. “Isn’t it?”

  “You bet.”

  Under the table, Luke caught Ingrid’s hand and squeezed. The two shared a look.

  Seeing it, Frank and Grace exchanged a look of their own.

  “…and we slept in bedrolls under the stars.” Long after Frank and Grace had taken their leave, and Ingrid led Lily upstairs to say her prayers and get ready for bed, Lily was still recounting every detail she could recall of her safari with Ingrid, while Luke lounged in the doorway. “And we hiked up one side of the mountain and down the other, and Gram Gracie said I’m the best safari partner she’s ever had, next to Matt’s Nessa. She said I never get tired and I never complain when it gets too hot or too cold. And I love the herds of mustangs as much as she does. And besides, I love taking pictures as much as she does. She said I’m a natural photographer. She called me gifted. And…” She paused a moment to catch her breath.

  “It sounds as though this trip was even better than you’d hoped it would be.” Ingrid turned down the blanket and waited until Lily climbed into bed.

  “It was. And you know what was the best?”

  “Let me guess. Either getting photography tips from an expert or coming across our herd on your way back.” Ingrid bent down to kiss her good night. “Which was it?”

  Lily wrapped her arms around her sister’s neck and hugged her fiercely. “It was pretending that Gram Gracie was my very own grandma, and that Grandpop Frank was my very own grandpa, and that I could go places with them my whole life.”

  Luke stepped back into the shadows, unwilling to let Ingrid and Lily see how deeply those words affected him while he wiped at a speck of dust that made his eyes water.

  “I love you, Ingrid. And I missed you.”

  “I love you, too, Lily. And I missed you something awful.”

  “I’m glad you had Luke here while I was gone. ’Night, Luke,” Lily called.

  “’Night, Li’l Bit.”

  Her smile deepened. “That’s something else I missed. I missed having you call me that.”

  Composed, he poked his head in the doorway. “Then I’ll have to say it twice tomorrow.”

  The sound of her giggles had his smile returning.

  When Ingrid walked out of the room, he caught her hand. For a moment she simply rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply, before stepping back.

  He pressed a kiss to her cheek, which still bore the dampness of tears. “It’s nice to have her back home.”

  “Yeah. I was thinking the same thing.” As they made their way down the stairs, she added, “Now I can breathe.”

  Ingrid, Luke, and Mick were enjoying their longnecks in a rare moment of quiet in front of the fire.

  Luke turned to the old foreman. “You think Bull Hammond hid the herd in that ravine?”

  Mick shrugged and tipped up his bottle. “Don’t know what to make of it. But I’m thinking a man would be pretty foolish to steal a neighbor’s cattle and think he could keep them hidden for long.”

  Luke frowned. “It’s no secret I don’t trust him. Still…” He took a drink before setting aside his beer. “The fact that he didn’t have any wranglers keeping them in place has me second-guessing myself. If I stole someone’s cattle and hid them somewhere, I’d make damned certain they’d stay hidden.”

  “That’s th
e problem I have with this.” Ingrid stood and began to pace. “Even during roundup, with plenty of wranglers to keep watch, there are always strays that manage to break free of the herd and wander off track. Up there in the hills, with no one around to chase after them, if one old cow made a break for it, who’s to say the rest didn’t just blindly follow?”

  Luke watched her pace. “Are you thinking that the disappearance of your herd isn’t connected to the gunshot through your window?”

  She paused. Sighed. “I don’t know what to think anymore. None of this makes sense.”

  Mick rubbed at a spot between his eyes. “Don’t forget all those other incidents. The range fire. Tippy.” He saw Ingrid blanch and softened his tone. “And then there’s the other gunshot. The one that caused the mustangs to stampede. The gunshot that brought Luke here.”

  Luke caught Ingrid’s hand, causing her to pause in her pacing. “At least that one ended up being a good thing.”

  She managed a smile. “Yes. But at the time, I was scared to death.”

  “You’ve got a funny way of showing fear, woman.”

  His words had Mick chuckling. “He’s got you there, girl. You dragged him in here in such a temper, it was like unleashing the wrath of God.”

  “I thought he’d been the one who fired that shot. I figured he wasn’t going to survive the night. And then, when he did, I thought he was such a pain in the…”

  “Go ahead. You can say the word.”

  “I was going to call you a pain in the neck.”

  “Sure you were.”

  That had them all forgetting their tensions and bursting into laughter.

  Ingrid settled down on the sofa beside Luke and helped herself to a long pull on his beer before handing him back the bottle. As their fingers brushed, they shared a secret smile.

  “I’m just glad Eugene Graystoke will be here tomorrow to sort it all out.” Luke stretched out his legs toward the warmth of the fire. “I’m still not convinced that Hammond is innocent. I saw the fury in his eyes when he accosted you in the barn. He was a man on a mission. And after that scene, half your herd just up and disappeared. And now they’re found on his land. If that doesn’t point to guilt, I don’t know what does.”