Taken by Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens #7)

by Melissa Foster

  She might even care.

  He hoped she did.

  Chapter Nine

  DAISY AWOKE SATURDAY morning to the distinct smell of coffee and horses. She pulled Luke’s navy comforter up to her chin, stared up at the cathedral ceiling, and tried to piece together the sounds sifting in through the open window. Gravel crunching beneath heavy tires. A horse whinnying. A female voice. A female voice? Daisy bolted up in bed. She and Luke had come back to his place after cutting the hay at her father’s farm, and they were going to bale and store it with Kevin’s help this morning. They’d stayed up half the night talking and the other half making love. Maybe she had heard wrong. She closed her eyes and listened. She couldn’t make out what was being said, but the voices were definitely Luke’s and a woman’s, and they weren’t outside. They were inside and dangerously near his bedroom door.

  She shot a look at the clock. Seven o’clock. Holy cow. That was later than she’d slept in forever. She darted into the bathroom wearing nothing but one of Luke’s T-shirts and took a quick shower. Everything in Luke’s house had a masculine touch. Earthy hues mixed with a splash of navy and a touch of maroon. His shower was oversized and had two sprays, one up high and the other about waist height—very decadent. How great would that feel if we were...Oh my God. Stop it.

  She’d never get out of his shower smelling feminine. He had men’s American Crew body wash and shampoo. She was surrounded by the smell of him, and if she wasn’t going to see her father in a few hours, she would relish in it. She needed to go home and wash off Luke’s smell so her father didn’t wonder if she’d bathed in him, and while she was at it, she needed to stare at those offer letters that she’d been ignoring. She’d worked hard and she wanted a meaningful career, but even though she hadn’t accepted that first date with Luke in hopes of finding a relationship, and despite telling herself she wasn’t going to get involved, she had feelings for him. Big feelings. Feelings she was having a hard time pushing aside.

  I just have to commit to a job; then it will be easier to leave.

  I can’t stay in Trusty.

  She rolled her eyes at the thought. No, she definitely couldn’t. She finished showering, dressed—in last night’s clothes—and when she opened the bathroom door, she found Luke sitting on the bed with a fresh cup of coffee and that sexy smile that stole her breath and sent her best intentions down the drain. He rose to his feet.

  “Hey, babe.” He placed his hand on her hip and kissed her cheek. “You smell like me.”

  “I know. It was either that or not get clean.”

  He set the coffee cup down on the dresser and wrapped his arms around her waist.

  “I’ll buy you whatever you need to be comfortable and smell delicious.”

  Oh boy. It would be so easy to fall into Luke’s life. She loved curling up against him and falling asleep in his arms and waking to the sounds of the farm—

  “Luke?”

  And some strange woman’s voice.

  “In here,” he called.

  A pretty face popped into the bedroom. “Daisy! Luke didn’t tell me you were here.”

  “Daisy, I’m not sure if you remember Emily, my sister?”

  Emily came into the bedroom with open arms, and as Luke let go of Daisy, Emily pulled her into a hug. She was a few inches taller than Daisy, and though she was older than Luke, with her youthful, slender body and vivacious personality, she could pass for twenty-five. “Oh my gosh. How are you? You dyed your hair.”

  Daisy had been a few years behind Emily in school, and she’d known of her but would never have recognized her, much less have been on a hello-hug basis. She didn’t have time to think or respond before Emily continued with a welcoming, friendly smile.

  “I like it darker. You’re working over at the clinic, right?”

  “Yeah.” Daisy reached up and touched her wet hair, wondering if Emily was used to finding women in Luke’s bedroom.

  “Luke, give her a hair dryer. Sheesh.” Emily walked into his bathroom and opened the cabinets under the sink. “I know you have one. I left my hair dryer here when I stayed over that night we had mimosas. Remember? You never gave it back.” She came out of the bathroom and made a beeline into the hall. “Where’d you put it?”

  “Sorry,” Luke said to Daisy. “Emily’s a little pushy.”

  “It’s okay.”

  Emily came back armed with a hair dryer. “Told you. Found it in the linen closet. Here.” She handed it to Daisy. “Take this as a good sign. He never has women stay over, so he has no clue as to what you need. You’ll have to give him a list. Or even better, we’ll go shopping for extras and stock up on your stuff. Lord knows I could use a girl’s day out.”

  “Emily,” Luke said.

  “I just want to get to know your girlfriend.”

  The G word sent a little thrill through Daisy. She couldn’t help but like Emily—and wonder where she’d been all her life. She could have used a female friend all those years ago. “My stuff?” She looked at Luke.

  “Hey, I’m all for it.” He smiled.

  “I’m…only here for a few weeks.” I think.

  Emily put her hand on her hip. “Huh. Really?” Now they were both looking at Daisy.

  “Daisy, why don’t you dry your hair and we’ll give you some privacy.” He shuffled Emily out the door while Daisy wondered what the hell just happened.

  Daisy heard Emily say, “Wishful thinking much?” before Luke closed the bedroom door. Wishful thinking much?

  After Daisy dried her hair, she went in search of Luke and found him in the riding ring with a young stallion. She admired the silhouette of the mountains. Rounded peaks and valleys played across the horizon. She inhaled deeply, filling her lungs with the crisp morning air, so different from the air in Philly, which was heavy and polluted. Even the scent of manure didn’t dampen the freshness of the morning. In the years she’d been gone, she’d forgotten how much she loved mornings—and the scent of hay. From the second she’d set foot in medical school until her residency ended, Daisy had been on a dead run—to study, complete labs, make the grades, handle rounds, study, study, and study some more—and she knew that once she accepted a full-time job, whether in Chicago or New York, she’d continue on that hamster wheel.

  She inhaled again. If she had forgotten something as wonderful and simple as the crisp sting of fresh air in her lungs, what else had she forgotten? She sank down to the grass to watch Luke while he was unaware of her presence. He seemed so content and happy here, that the more time she spent with him, the more she questioned why she wasn’t. She mulled over his comment about her seeing Trusty through scorned teenage eyes and she knew he was right, but seeing Trusty through anything else was not an easy task.

  The young stallion had a saddle on its back, and Luke led him to the edge of a tarp that was spread out on the ground. The horse’s neck was bowed, his ears sharply forward. Daisy had been around horses all her life, and she was familiar with what horse handlers called bombproofing, teaching the horse how to properly react to stimuli that might spook him. The horse leaned forward and blew out through his nose. Luke didn’t flinch. He held loosely to the lead, speaking calmly and confidently, stroking the horse’s back as if the tarp were no big deal. The horse blew out through his nose, sniffing the tarp again. Luke was standing beside the horse, talking, looking around, and when the horse finally relaxed its bowed neck, Luke took another confident step forward. She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but he stood close to the horse, and she noticed that he was using the same slow strokes that he’d used the evening before when he was massaging Rose. He led the horse forward again, and he continued the same pattern of talking to the horse as they crossed the tarp. Luke was patient, and each time the horse hesitated, he calmed him, gaining his trust.

  Daisy was mesmerized by his confident demeanor and the way his body showed no outward signs of frustration. She remembered the way he’d reacted to Darren, the way his entire body had tensed and how h
e’d protected Janice without hesitation, and she realized that he was a protector. It’s who he was, and watching him with the horses confirmed something else that she was coming to understand about him. Luke was a lover. He loved with his entire being.

  When he completed the exercise, Luke walked to the side of the ring. He spotted Daisy in the grass and waved her over. As he opened the gate, the horse nudged him from behind. Luke turned to face him, and the horse pressed his forehead to Luke’s chest. The horse trusted him.

  He knows you’re a lover, too.

  LUKE REACHED FOR Daisy’s hand as she joined them. He took the saddle off Skyler, then led him toward the pasture. “Hey, babe. Sorry I didn’t wait inside, but I wanted to fit in a little training before we left for your dad’s.”

  “That’s okay. I need to go home and change before we go anyway, so take your time and you can meet me there.”

  “Dais, I’m really sorry about Emily. She stops by a lot. I shouldn’t have called her into the bedroom. That was inconsiderate.”

  “She gave you crap for that, didn’t she?”

  He opened the gate, and Skyler joined the other horses. “You might say that. I just wasn’t thinking about if you’d be embarrassed and I should have been. I was excited for her to meet you. I mean, I know she knows of you, but for her to meet you as my girlfriend.” He stopped by the barn and drew her close, gauging her reaction to his use of the word girlfriend. That was a term Luke hadn’t associated with since high school, and even then it was mostly the girls who had labeled themselves as his girlfriend. That is, until they saw him with another girl and realized just how wrong they were. Girlfriend. He liked that term in relation to Daisy. It fit. It felt comfortable, rolled off his tongue as easily as Dais and babe.

  “Luke, you know I’m supposed to leave in a few weeks.” She held his gaze, even if the conviction in her voice wasn’t reflected as confidently in her eyes.

  She’d said it clear as day. She was planning a future far away from Trusty, and he had no business hoping to keep her there.

  “Yeah, I know.” He ran his hand through his hair. He shouldn’t care, not after just a few days. But he did, and it hurt like hell. “Do you really dislike it here that much?”

  She sighed. “Yes. No. I thought I did.”

  They walked up to the cars in silence.

  “Daisy, I won’t try to talk you out of leaving Trusty, but…just know that I really like being with you.”

  “I like being with you, too. More than I probably should, Luke. I knew when you asked me out that I was leaving. I worked so hard to prove myself and to secure job offers in places where I could learn and grow in my field.”

  Her eyes filled with determination, but when she spoke again, her voice quivered a little.

  “I didn’t expect…” She stepped closer and hooked her finger in his jeans.

  He looked down at her hand, focusing on it. He loved when she did that, linked the two of them together. When he met her gaze again, there were no words left to say. He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her. When he tried to draw his lips away, she leaned in to him, prolonging their connection until the need for oxygen drew them apart and she looked up at him with sorrow in her eyes.

  “I know, babe. I didn’t expect it either.”

  Chapter Ten

  DAISY AND KEVIN had just finished getting the tractors and the baler set up when she heard Luke’s motorcycle rumbling down the long dirt driveway. Her stomach fluttered, and Kevin, dressed in jeans and a tank top, crossed his arms and watched Luke drive in.

  “I’m glad he ended up telling you why he was arrested. I would have hated to have to tie you down to keep you two apart.” Kevin’s brown hair was rumpled and his shirt was streaked with grease from checking the equipment.

  “This is why I never felt bad about not having brothers. You’ve always got my back.” Daisy’s pulse sped up when Luke stepped from his bike. She’d just seen him earlier, in the same snug Levi’s and black T-shirt, and he still took her breath away. He locked his helmet to the bike, and she noticed that his sleeve was hung up above his muscle, exposing his barbed-wire tattoo. She’d seen it up close and personal last night when she’d run her tongue along each sharp line of the design, and for some reason, the sight of it upped his heat quotient and sent a sinful reminder of pleasure humming through her.

  “Sorry I’m late.” Luke’s hand found her hip, and he kissed her softly. He nodded at Kevin. “Kevin, right? You went to school with Daisy, and I met you at the clinic when I came in for my tetanus shot. Good to see you.”

  “You too. Glad you could come out today. How’s your arm?”

  “I’ve got the best doc around. It’s nearly healed.” He smiled at Daisy.

  “Then let’s bale some hay,” Kevin said.

  Luke nodded toward the porch. “How’s your father feeling?”

  Daisy’s stomach tightened. Her father stood with his arms crossed at the edge of the porch, watching them. Last night, he’d asked all sorts of questions about Luke cutting the hay, but it hadn’t been enough to get him off the couch and outside. As glad as she was to finally see him outside, she worried about what her father might say to them. She moved closer to Luke. “Come say hi to my dad. He’s a little bit of a control freak when it comes to his machinery and the farm, so try to overlook it.”

  “Little bit?” A smile spread across Kevin’s lips. “That’s the understatement of the year.” When they were younger and Kevin would come over to study or hang out with Daisy, if they went outside, her father’s voice usually followed them out the door. Stay off the equipment.

  “Shh,” Daisy said as they neared the house.

  “I know your dad, Dais.”

  “Oh yeah. I forgot.” She went up on the porch to greet her father. “Hi, Dad. It’s good to see you outside. Are you and Mom going to take a walk today?”

  His eyes were trained on Luke. “Not today, darlin’. Luke, Kevin. How are you boys?” Her father’s jeans hung loosely around his middle, and his broad shoulders no longer stretched the material of his button-down shirt.

  “Doing just fine, sir,” Kevin answered.

  Seeing her father on the porch without the camouflage of his favorite recliner, Daisy noticed he’d lost more weight than she’d thought, and as much as she hated to admit it, he looked older, weaker. She was used to seeing him in the fields or working on one of his machines, or even working at his desk, and she realized that she was still having trouble putting the pieces of his new lifestyle together in her mind.

  Luke stepped onto the porch, right hand extended. “Nice to see you, sir.”

  Her father’s eyes ran up and down Luke, lingering over his tattoo.

  Daisy held her breath and caught a knowing glance from Kevin. She knew he was holding his breath, too.

  He shook Luke’s hand. “Haven’t talked to you in a while.”

  “No, sir. I’ve been training my young stallion and tending to my young stock. You know how that is.”

  Her father pressed his lips together and nodded. “Yes, sir. Sure do.” He narrowed his gaze. “Is it true you got arrested for hitting a man?”

  Holy shit. “Dad, it’s not what—”

  Luke inhaled deeply. “No, sir. I was arrested for stopping a man from hitting his wife.” His eyes never left her father’s.

  Daisy couldn’t breathe. Kevin took a step closer to her. She felt his elbow against her back and knew he’d done it for support.

  Her father’s lips pressed into a firm line again.

  Daisy felt like she was balancing on a seesaw, with her father on one side and Luke on the other. She loved her father, and she felt herself falling for Luke with every breath she took. Luke stood proud, strong, and confident while Daisy felt her knees weaken. She was afraid to breathe.

  Her father drew in a deep breath, and Daisy was sure he’d tell Luke thank you but no thank you and send him on his way. He nodded, a single, curt nod.

  “Daisy said you cut the ha
y last night. The windrows are pretty close to the same width as the baler pickup.” Her father’s eyes ran up and down Luke. Windrows were the lines of cut and raked hay, and her father had always been meticulous about them.

  “Yes, sir. I made sure of it. The quality of the bale starts with the windrow, as you know. The baler should be able to pick these up evenly, without creating a thickening in the middle, and the hay should be dry enough now not to be above eighteen percent moisture.”

  If Luke was nervous, he showed no outward signs of it. Kevin tapped Daisy’s back with his elbow, and she remembered to breathe. She glanced at Kevin and he lifted his chin, as if to say, Look at him go. She returned her attention to her father and Luke, trying to ignore the bundle of knots in her stomach.

  Her father lifted his chin and looked down his nose at Luke. “That’s right.”

  Holy cow. They were speaking the same language. Her father’s scrutinizing gaze softened. Luke held his hand out once again and her father shook it.

  “We’ve got you covered, sir, but I think we’d better get started. Even with three of us, it’s going to take us all day to get this done.”

  They headed back to the barn. Luke walked between Daisy and Kevin, acting like nothing out of the ordinary had just taken place, when in fact, Daisy’s world had just spun on its axis, and somehow she hadn’t fallen off.

  “Sorry about that.”

  Luke slipped his arm around her. “What?”

  “Her father,” Kevin answered.

  “Pfft. He’s a hay farmer. This is your family’s livelihood.” He shrugged. “He wants to know things are done right.”

  “You must have worked on a hay farm,” Kevin said.

  “Only every summer since I was yay high.” Luke held a hand at his waist. “And I studied ag in college.”

  “You did?” Daisy realized there was a lot she didn’t know about Luke; then again, they’d known each other for only a few days.

  Luke’s voice filled with confidence. “My uncle Hal owns a horse ranch in Weston, and before we moved to Trusty, I spent a lot of time there. I’ve known what I wanted to do since I was a kid. The art of cultivating land, raising crops, feeding, breeding, and raising livestock? What could be more fulfilling than that?”