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

by Melissa Foster

  “So you never even debated studying anything else? That’s how I was with medicine. I knew from the time I was a teenager it’s what I wanted to do.”

  “Never. Ag was a part of me, and when something touches me that deeply, nothing can pry me away.” Luke’s eyes blazed a path to Daisy, and she was sure Kevin would be scorched by the heat. She was relieved when Kevin spoke, cooling the fire.

  “So you totally understood her father. You weren’t bothered by his attitude?”

  The knots in Daisy’s stomach twisted a little tighter.

  Luke tucked her hair behind her ear. “Not at all. You call that an attitude? That’s a man protecting his family’s income.”

  Daisy was still thinking about nothing can pry me away.

  DAISY DROVE THE tractor across the driveway, pulling the baler behind. The engine roared and rumbled beneath her as she drove toward the hay field, remembering when she was young and her father had let her ride on his lap while he cut the hay. He was a serious man, and when he was working the fields, he was even more focused than usual, and although as a child Daisy might have thought she was out having fun on Dad’s lap, her father had used those times to teach her. He’d narrate every move he made with the tractor, why he avoided some areas or sped up at others. She thought about the way he used to bring her out at night to close up the sheds and the barn and realized that even then he was teaching her. Look for critters before closing the door. Always hang your keys on this hook. There’s nothing worse than wasting time because you can’t find your tractor keys. She ached with the realization that the tractor she was driving was the one her father fell from.

  Kevin and Luke were working the baler. Daisy stopped the tractor at the sight of three trucks coming down the driveway, kicking up plumes of dirt in their wake. She climbed off the tractor and headed toward the barn, where they were pulling in and parking.

  John Waller stepped from the first truck. Daisy recognized his black cowboy hat and tall, lanky figure. He waved, and she lifted her arm and waved back as she crossed the field.

  “John, I didn’t think you were coming.” Daisy steeled herself against the anger and hurt that rattled off like gunfire in her mind as she surveyed the others who had come to help. Mack Boiler and his brother, Chad, whom she’d gone to school with—and who had jumped right on the make fun of Daisy train, and the person who surprised Daisy the most, Darren Treelong.

  “I had to run out of town this week to deliver livestock and I got hung up, but I’d never leave your pop hanging, Daisy. You should know that.”

  Yes, maybe she should know that about John, but she’d learned during study groups and shadowing sessions in her residency that people didn’t always keep their commitments, and her memories of Trusty didn’t include many people reaching out to her. She’d never in her wildest dreams—or nightmares—think that the other men would come out to help.

  “Thanks for coming.” Her muscles tightened and burned as she met Darren’s gaze. He squinted against the sharp glare of the sun and shoved his hands in his pockets as he dropped his eyes to the ground. Gone was the bravado he’d boasted at the fair. You’re sober. Daisy sensed Luke behind her, felt the heat of his body, the protection of his strength.

  “Darren, thanks for coming out to help.” Her nerves prickled. She didn’t know what to expect, if he and Luke would go head-to-head, or if he’d verbally lash out like Janice had. She forced herself to continue. “We really appreciate it.”

  Darren gave one curt nod. “Thanks for taking care of my boy.”

  Michael. Of course. “You guys know Kevin, and this is Luke Braden.”

  Luke shook John’s hand. “John, how’s it going?”

  She’d forgotten that they knew each other. She watched the exchange and understood what Luke had meant about being able to rely on the help of others. He’d trusted that John would be there. She hadn’t realized how cynical she’d become about the people in Trusty, and now she bristled against the cynicism.

  “Good, man. I probably should have called David, but I was slammed.”

  “No worries. I’m glad we can all work together.” Luke shook the other men’s hands. When he faced Darren, he didn’t run his eyes down his body in judgment or pull his shoulders back with a show of strength. He offered his hand, as he had to each of the other men.

  “Good to see you, Darren.”

  Darren eyed his hand. A lifetime seemed to pass in what was probably only ten seconds before Darren slid his hand from his pocket and shook Luke’s hand with another curt nod.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.” John was quick to give directions and move things along. Farm people knew that idle times could lead to heated moments when there was a past between two men, and by now, Luke and Darren’s run-in had become breakfast conversation.

  Daisy hung back for a minute, struck by the generosity of these men coming together for her family. Seeing Darren show up to help her father despite having become the talk of the town because of Luke stepping in, and watching him and Luke work side by side, she saw a hint of what Luke had been so sure of. She felt a thickening in her throat, but the hurt high school girl was still wearing a cloak of armor that was impossible to shed.

  Daisy went to join the men and work her father’s farm.

  She still had something to prove.

  Chapter Eleven

  THEY WORKED THROUGH the hot, dry afternoon and long after sunset. Luke was glad that the others had turned out to help. He’d known they would. He’d rarely been let down by his friends in Trusty. Gossip ran swiftly, but so did loyalties, as he’d seen firsthand with the way the others had treated him around Darren. They’d treated Luke as if he were just another guy—not the guy who stepped between Darren and his wife. Darren wasn’t warm with Luke, but he hadn’t been confrontational, either, and that was enough for him. It was a start.

  He, Kevin, and Daisy stood in the barn. They’d just finished putting the equipment away, and everyone else had left. Daisy’s eyelids were heavy. She stood with one hand on her hip, her back against the barn wall, looking adorably sexy and exhausted in a pair of cutoffs and a dirt-streaked tan tank top that clung to her breasts.

  “Were you surprised they showed up? Your dad’s a great guy. No one’s going to leave him hanging.” Luke whipped his shirt off and used it to wipe sweat from his face; then he shoved it in his back pocket.

  “You know, I never thought of him as a great guy. A hard worker, a strict father, a loving parent, even if not outwardly so.” She licked her lips. “But the words great guy never really came to mind. They…um…” She cleared her throat, and the way her eyes lingered on his chest told him that it wasn’t a tickle of hay that caused her need to pause.

  Luke repressed a smile. He loved knowing his body had an effect on her, especially since he felt a jolt of desire every time he caught a glimpse of her sexy curves. There was something incredibly sexy about a petite, beautiful woman driving massive farm equipment.

  “I’m glad they came to help, but I didn’t expect it.”

  “Well, this has been fun, but I’ve got to rock and roll. I’m working my way through Game of Thrones, season two.” Kevin shook Luke’s hand. “Great to see you, man.” Kevin smiled at Daisy. “Do you want me to come by tomorrow to help clean up anything left on the field?”

  “You’re never going to find a woman if you spend your weekend nights with a DVD.” She teased him. “Don’t worry about tomorrow. You’re the greatest for offering to help, but I can take care of it. I really appreciate your help today, though. Hey, Kev, I’ve been thinking about what Kari said about all those kids needing physicals. If I do it, are you still game to help? I mean if I can work something out or get Ashley to change her mind.”

  “You know I will. But don’t count on Ashley. She’s not likely to budge.”

  Daisy pulled Kevin into a hug despite the sweat and grime covering his entire chest. It was clear to Luke how much they cared for each other. They were as comfortable as
he and his siblings were, and he was damn glad that there was a striking difference between that comfort and the passion he saw in Daisy’s eyes when she looked at him.

  Daisy fiddled with the ends of her hair. Her body glistened from the heat, and when she met Luke’s gaze, he was drawn to the tired, seductive, shy look in her eyes.

  “I love that you’re still thinking about helping those kids.”

  “Thanks. I’m still undecided. Just mulling it over.”

  “You know I’m coming to help tomorrow, right?” He closed the gap between them and slid his hands beneath the edge of her shirt, settling them on the heated flesh of her waist.

  “You don’t have to.”

  He’d waited all afternoon to kiss her—really kiss her, not a quick and appropriate peck, but a hot, wet, passionate kiss. He lowered his mouth to hers and—oh yeah—she wanted it, too. She wrapped her hands around his neck and deepened the kiss, sending them both stumbling until her back met the hard barn wall.

  “Jesus.” He kissed her again, tasting the need on her tongue as she eagerly swept and stroked his mouth. “I swear you’re an aphrodisiac. How can it be that after spending all these hours together, I still miss you?”

  He kissed her cheek, then settled his mouth on her neck and sucked the salty, sweet taste of her. She pressed her hips to his, breathing hard as he kissed his way across her shoulder, then back up, taking her in another greedy kiss.

  “Luke.” His name came out like a warm brush of wind as his hands slid beneath her shirt and cupped her breasts.

  She felt so good—too good to pull away. He lifted her shirt and pulled the cup of her bra down, then lowered his mouth to her breast, unable to suppress a moan of pleasure as she buried her hands in his hair and held him to her.

  He reluctantly pulled back and met her lust-filled gaze.

  “Daisy.” He swallowed hard.

  She took his lower lip into her mouth and sucked, stealing his ability to think.

  “Yeah?” she whispered as she dropped her hand to his crotch and stroked him through his jeans.

  Fuuuuck. He grabbed her wrist. “I can’t. Not in your parents’ barn.”

  She stuck her lower lip out, and he had to take her in another deep kiss.

  “You’re killing me.”

  “Follow me home.”

  Ten minutes later, they were kissing their way into her apartment. Luke kicked the door closed behind them as she lifted off her shirt and tossed it, and her bra, to the floor.

  “Holy Christ, Daisy. You’re like a wicked fantasy standing there in Daisy Dukes and cowgirl boots.” He drew her close, and a guttural moan stole from his lungs at the skin-to-skin contact.

  She lowered her lips to his chest, pressing wet kisses along his pecs. She hooked her fingers in the waist of his jeans and flicked her tongue over his nipple, pulling another hungry groan from deep within him. He wrapped one strong arm around her, and in two steps she was against the wall. He tore open her shorts and yanked them down to her boots. Damn boots. Her lips parted. Her tongue took a slow ride across her lower lip as she reached for the button of his jeans. He snagged his wallet and she grabbed his hand.

  “Do you always use a condom?” she asked.

  “Without fail. I’ve never trusted anyone enough not to.”

  “Do you trust me?”

  “More than anyone in the world.” Luke could hardly breathe. He’d always been careful when it came to sex, and with Daisy, he ached to feel her, really feel her. All of her.

  “I’m on the pill, and I’m clean.”

  “Jesus, Daisy. I’m so damn clean you could eat dinner off of me.”

  She bit her lower lip, then, breathing hard, asked, “I…believe you that you always used a condom, but…how clean?”

  “Tested and confirmed at my last checkup.”

  The darkening of her eyes sent a shot of lust through him. He shoved his jeans down to his knees, then pressed his body against hers and kissed her again. His hard, naked length pressed against her quivering body. She pushed him away with a narrow, hot stare. In the next breath, she took him in her mouth and cupped his balls as she stroked, fondled, and sucked him into a frenzy of delirious need.

  “Holy...Daisy.” He closed his eyes, clenched his teeth.

  She ran her hands up his thighs, pressing hard as she licked his hard length, lingering on the tip, teasing him until every nerve sizzled and burned. Her mouth was hot and wet. Knowing he’d never last, he pulled her to her feet, then pressed her to the wall with one hand, using the other to tug off her boots. He lifted her easily as she wrapped her legs around his waist and lowered her sweet center onto his hard shaft until he was buried deep, and they both stilled at the closeness.

  “Daisy,” he whispered. Holy hell, he’d never felt anything so tantalizing in his life.

  She covered his mouth with hers, and he pressed her back to the wall again, using it to support each powerful thrust. She gripped his biceps, emitting a streak of erotic, sexy, needful noises between heavy breaths.

  “Oh…Luke…” she whispered. “Ah…uh…”

  He couldn’t speak. Heat burned deep in his belly and exploded like ice through his limbs. Daisy arched into him as she cried out his name, and he buried his face in her neck and grunted through his own powerful release.

  Chapter Twelve

  LUKE WAS UP long before the sun rose Sunday morning. Daisy was sprawled over him, one thigh covering his, her arm draped across his chest. He didn’t want to move, and he knew that if he was going to have time to help her at her father’s farm today, he had to get over to the ranch and get his morning chores done. But she was so warm against him, and when he was with her, every part of him felt full. It didn’t matter where they were or what they were doing. He just loved being with her, and it made him wonder about the emotion everyone knew as love. What did that word really mean? He loved his family in a way that was deep and true, but deep and true only scratched the surface of what he felt for Daisy.

  How could four letters hold so much meaning? When he thought of the term I love you, it conjured up feelings of closeness and trust, but the words that filled his mind to define what he felt for Daisy went much further. Depth, truth, mindfulness, passion, stability, friendship, understanding, those were the things he associated with Daisy. Closeness and trust were the base, but feeling all those other connections—depth, truth, mindfulness, passion, stability, friendship, understanding—the ones that sewed them together like an intricate quilt, those had to be rare, because he’d never felt them all bundled up in one person before.

  His mind circled back to his father. How could he leave them so easily? Daisy sighed, and he reflexively kissed the top of her head. Not only could he not imagine her leaving in a few short weeks. He knew he could never be the one to leave her. He also knew that if he was ever going to be able to look at her and not have it clouded by unanswered questions about his past, he had to deal with the skeleton in his closet, and Daisy had decisions of her own to make.

  He glanced at the envelopes he’d noticed last night on her dresser. They’re my offer letters. He hadn’t asked after her decision last night, didn’t want to think about it, and it turned out it was all he could think about once she’d fallen asleep.

  A few weeks will never be enough.

  A lifetime might never be enough.

  It killed him that he might never have the chance to find out.

  AFTER GROOMING THE horses, Luke stood by the pasture watching Rose nurse Shaley. The sun had brought a warm, dry morning, and a sense of urgency consumed Luke. He needed to put his past to rest. It was the only way he’d ever have a future. He debated calling his brother Pierce. He knew how Pierce felt about Buddy, and he wasn’t sure roping him into what Luke needed to ask for was a good idea. Pierce hadn’t ever allowed a single conversation about his father in the past, and as Luke’s chest constricted, he knew not to expect anything different today. With a deep breath, he set his feet in motion and paced as he pres
sed Pierce’s speed-dial number.

  “Hey, Luke.” Pierce yawned. “How’s it going?” Pierce owned casinos all over the world, and Luke had no idea what part of the country he was in today, but his brother’s voice was gravelly and tired.

  “Good. How about you? Did I wake you?” Through real estate investments and good business sense, Pierce was a self-made millionaire. As the eldest, he was focused, determined, and fiercely protective of Luke and their siblings. He’d been away at college by the time Luke was eleven, but he’d called, visited, and watched over him with the diligence of a parent.

  “Nah, just jet-lagged. I’m over in Weston visiting Treat before heading home to see Mom and everyone. Jesus, his daughter, Adriana, is so freaking cute. She’s almost a year old now, and Treat’s like a pile of mush around her. He said having a daughter has been life changing.”

  Life changing. That’s exactly what Daisy was. “Yeah, a six-six pile of mush.” Luke laughed at the thought of his imposingly large cousin softening around his daughter. He’d seen Treat and his wife, Max, with their daughter, Adriana, a few months ago, and even he had melted at Adriana’s incredible cuteness.

  “How are you doing, Luke? I hear you’re seeing Daisy Honey.”

  “Who told you, Em or Wes?” The Braden grapevine was as bad as Trusty’s.

  “Emmie. She said she found her in your bedroom.” Pierce laughed, a deep, hearty laugh. “Dude, you called Emily in to meet her? Emily can’t keep a secret.”

  “Daisy’s not a secret, and yeah, Em gave me hell for it. It’s not like Daisy was in bed. She was fully dressed. We were talking.”

  “Talking? You must really like this girl.” Pierce went through women like some people went through chewing gum. He would probably never settle down.