Rowdy was so handsome in his black suit. His white shirt set off his jet-black hair and that dazzling smile was as large as it could get. His eyes twinkled watching Lucy. She practically floated down the aisle toward him.
She did look like a fairy princess meeting her prince. The music came to a halt as she and her father reached the front of the church. Beside Rowdy, Tucker and Morgan looked just as handsome.
Jolie was Lucy’s bridesmaid, and her best friend from school had flown in to be her maid of honor. Kimberly had gleaming blond hair and her emerald eyes kept roaming to Tucker. Since she and Lucy had gone to dinner last night with Lucy’s parents, and since Tucker had missed the rehearsal, they hadn’t met until just before the wedding.
Suzie took Kimberly’s immediate infatuation with Tucker as a sure sign she’d been right. Tucker affected all women the way he affected her. It made her feel better.
Somewhat. Thoughts of standing beside him in the tack room had her confused.
Pushing those thoughts away, she concentrated on the ceremony. Lucy’s father had given her away and now Rowdy had taken her hand and led her to stand before the preacher.
Watching the sweet ceremony, Suzie’s heart swelled and she prayed they would live a long and happy life together. She prayed for a happy ever after for them.
“Are they married yet?” B.J. hissed, looking over his shoulder at Wes. “Can I whoop?”
The preacher chuckled, since there was no use pretending that everyone hadn’t heard his loud whisper. “Not yet, son, hold your horses.”
That got laughter everywhere.
“Hey, I’m just as anxious as he is.” Rowdy grinned at B.J., then winked at Lucy.
The pastor went on to tell how God had created marriage and what a sacred union it was between a man and a woman. And then he pronounced them man and wife.
Rowdy almost kissed Lucy before the preacher told him to. Suzie misted up with tenderness, she was so happy for them.
Feeling a gentle prick of awareness, her gaze shifted, and there was Tucker watching her. As her eyes met his he gave a slight lift to his lips and then the music started and he moved to offer his arm to Kimberly. The boys were clapping and whooping and hooting as Rowdy and Lucy headed toward the doors. Then came Tucker and Kimberly—who was smiling up at him as if he’d just slayed dragons for her.
Jolie and Morgan came striding by next, looking like the perfect couple. From the front row, Nana had turned to watch everyone leave.
Did Suzie’s expression convey some of the internal turmoil being around Tucker threw her into? She’d never been able to hide her feelings well, but in this instance it was purely about crazy, mixed-up emotions that even she didn’t understand.
Or didn’t want to understand.
The words echoed in the back of her thoughts, disturbing yet...completely true.
* * *
Tucker stood to the side of the barn, watching the festivities. Rowdy and Lucy were dancing their first dance to Clint Black’s duet with his wife, Lisa Hartman Black, “When I Said I Do.” They looked so happy. It was as if no one else was in the room.
He was glad for them, though as the evening wore down, his mood was growing darker and darker. Suzie looked beautiful, and she was avoiding him. Not to mention that Lucy’s friend was a really nice woman, but it had taken him half the night to politely extract himself from her company.
As Tucker visited with relatives and friends his gaze kept finding Suzie in the crowd. She was having a good evening and he was glad he’d chosen to keep the vandalism hidden until after the wedding. Everyone deserved to loosen up a little and that went double for Suzie. She’d know soon enough what Abe had done, but she wouldn’t know it until he had absolute proof.
Raking his hands through his hair, he wondered if his life could get any more complicated.
Suzie kept her distance from him and had been busy helping with the reception, so that made it easy. But when he saw her slip out the side door, he was immediately torn, wanting to follow her and make sure she was okay.
The tension he’d been feeling all day wound tighter inside of him. After a moment, he made the decision and slipped out the side door, too.
The cool night enveloped him—one of those perfect summer nights two people could get lost in. The moon washed everything in a silvery glow that elongated shadows and promised romance.
He fought that thought. His frustration twisting tighter, he scanned the landscape, searching for Suzie. It almost seemed that you could see a mile in the moon’s glow.
Behind him in the barn, Clint and Lisa’s song finished and the live band took over with another slow romantic ballad. Spotting Suzie’s silhouette over at the rear of the horse barn beside the round pens, his gut twisted as he headed that way. He just needed to check on her and make sure she was all right, he told himself.
“Suzie,” he called softly, with twenty feet to go before reaching her, not wanting to startle her.
“Hi,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. She remained where she was, with her elbows resting on the railing, watching the colts playing in the moonlight in the center of the arena.
He moved to stand beside her. “Everything okay?”
She took a deep breath and didn’t look at him. He placed his elbows on the railing, too.
“It was a beautiful wedding.”
“Yes, it was. Like I said, my brothers are lucky men.”
“I think so, too. Jolie and Lucy are wonderful.”
“I consider Gordon my brother, too. He was a lucky man, also.”
She slanted her head toward him. “I’m glad he had this amazing place to grow up in. He never really talked about his family life before the ranch, but I know it wasn’t good. He preferred to talk about the ranch and all of you.”
“Most of the boys don’t talk about their past. When the pain of rejection eases after they arrive, and the joy of living seeps into them, they choose not to talk about it.”
She took that in silently. “And yet they still hurt some, don’t they?”
“Sure they do. Our past never leaves us. You and I know that. It stays with us forever. But we learn to live with the scars. To share space with them. The good and the bad.” He let his words sink in. “Wes and Joseph have moved on and are seeking their own lives. They’ve come to peace with their lives. I sometimes believe that Wes is still slaying memories that haunt him. He has a rage that hides inside him despite the joy you see.... A little like Abe.”
“But Wes is so happy,” she said, before he could move on. “I wouldn’t think he was still fighting his past.”
“Sometimes what you see on the outside isn’t what is truly going on inside. Wes, he’s always been a great cheerleader for the boys and will make you laugh at the drop of a hat, but he’s fighting something. He chooses to fight it alone. Something I’m hoping Abe will choose not to do.”
Suzie turned her back to the arena and leaned against the bars, studying him across one shoulder. He moved toward her, the soft, sweet scent of her drawing him. She wore a sleeveless pale apricot dress that shimmered against her skin in the soft light. She was radiant in the moonlight. And his thinking got fuzzy when he looked into her eyes.
“And Joseph, what a sweet guy.”
Tucker had to focus. “Joseph is. They don’t get any better than that kid.” Tucker didn’t want to talk about the boys. His gaze dropped to her lips and he fought the strong need to kiss her. Her skin looked so silky in the golden light.
“You’re a nice guy, too, Tucker.” The words were soft, and the she probably wished she hadn’t said them the moment they crossed her pretty lips. But they meant the world to him.
She would never know how deep they went. “I try. Strong and dependable are what I strive for.”
“I...” She started to say somethin
g but the words trailed off.
They were both caught in an invisible force that seemed unshakable. He touched her shoulder ever so lightly, traced the curve, and held her gaze. Fighting every instinct inside of him to maintain his distance, it all went out the window when she shifted slightly toward him, as if drawn to him. Leaning forward, he hesitated for a second, holding her gaze, then touched his lips to hers.
Time stalled.
His hand came up under her chin, lifting it slightly as she stepped into the shadow of his body.
The kiss was gentle, a prelude to what could be between them, and bittersweet at the same moment because of what couldn’t be. But for a brief moment he felt freedom and peace...and promise.
Reality slammed into him full force.
He pulled away, knowing that even if Suzie gave in to this right now, in this moment, beneath the romance of the sky and the soft music from the wedding reception, she would feel as though it was a mistake.
Grabbing the arena rails, he turned to stare at the colts once more.
Every nerve in his body hummed with the need to pull her close, to wrap her fully in his embrace and kiss her soundly...and freely. But that would never happen.
She had turned back to the horses, too. “I don’t know what this is. There is too much past.”
Tucker closed his eyes, her words sank in deeper. “Gordon was a marine and a good one. The burden of his death is hard on me, but I only take it to a point. After that point, though, it was his choice. Taking that away wrongs him, Suzie. You said it yourself the other day at the playground. It steals some of the pride he had for his country and the sacrifice he was willing to make for it. For you and Abe. It’s unjust.” He ground the last words out with stern assurance and knew the truth at last. Knew he could no longer steal that from his brother-in-arms. It wasn’t his to steal. “Gordon would have done what he did for any of his unit. It wasn’t about me, Suzie.” The truth hit him in that moment. It was raw and powerful, and it was freeing.
He turned to stare into Suzie’s eyes. “It wasn’t about me.” He almost laughed, he felt so free in that moment. “Gordon was my brother and I hated what happened. But I’m letting go, Suzie, because he didn’t give his life for me. He gave it for his fellow marine—his marine brother. He would have done it for anyone in that unit.”
She stared at him, and he realized that he’d taken her by the arms sometime in the past minute. He gently tugged her toward him again, hugging her with relief. “You felt what I felt when I kissed you.”
“Tucker, this is all too soon.”
“This is not just a fleeting infatuation and you know it.”
“Tucker, I’ve just stopped resenting you. This...” She waved her hand between them, having backed out of his arms. “This is too soon. I’m not ready.”
“Not ready or scared?”
Her brows dipped. “Both. Yes, I feel this, this electricity that hums between us, just as well as you do.”
He smiled at that admission. “Do you, now?”
Her eyes flashed. “Don’t tease me. This is important.”
“Oh, it’s important. Believe me, I know that. I’ve felt this bond with you from day one and denied it. But after that kiss, whether it should have happened or not, there is no more denying. Suzie, that kiss gave me clarity to see through the fog of guilt. I see the truth. So you know how important that was for me? Life changing.”
She backed a step away from him. “I came here for Abe. I can’t get involved with you or anyone right now. Abe couldn’t handle it.”
The saddle vandalism. How had he forgotten about that? He’d been too caught up in the emotions of the moment.
“I can only think about Abe right now,” she said, her eyes full of turmoil. Spinning away, she hurried back toward the barn and the festivities.
Tucker started to go after her, every instinct wanted to. Instead he watched her leave. He needed time to think.
He’d been an idiot kissing her.
What had he thought it would accomplish?
That was the problem... He hadn’t thought at all.
He’d brought his fingerprint kit and now was the perfect time to put his mind where it belonged and take fingerprints and evidence from the tack room. Was it what he wanted to be doing? No. He wanted to be kissing Suzie.
Not finding out if her son had destroyed a family memory.
Chapter Thirteen
Two days after the wedding, Suzie had orders for a funeral flooding in and it kept her busy. She needed to be busy. Though she hated that the poor man had passed away, that was the nature of her business. She just had to do it to the best of her ability so that her flowers gave joy or comfort in someone’s time of need. It was the aspect of the business that she loved.
Abe had continued to be distant and aloof, though he was spending every minute he wasn’t in school with Wes and Joseph. She kept thinking about what Tucker had said about Wes and prayed that Wes might have a good influence on Abe. The door opened and Chili stuck his head in. “Place is looking good.”
“Thanks, Chili. Have you come for another flower arrangement?”
He got a hound-dog expression. “Ha! Ruby won’t hardly talk to me these days.”
Drewbaker stepped in beside him. “She sure won’t. I told him to send her another arrangement, but he’s chicken.”
“I’m not falling for that again.”
“Well, Nana’s a nice lady. I’m sure time will heal this situation.”
She thought about her own situation with Tucker. Things had gotten so complicated.
Drewbaker got a twinkle in his eyes. “True love always finds a way is what I told him.”
Suzie chuckled. “You two are a mess. I meant to tell you that I enjoyed your fiddle and banjo playing with the band.”
They beamed and the conversation switched to their music. Suzie had learned to just keep on working when they came by or she might not get any work done. Today she enjoyed the distraction they gave her from thinking about Tucker.
However, as soon as they walked out the door, five minutes didn’t pass before Tucker came walking in.
She hadn’t forgotten their kiss. She didn’t think she would ever forget it.
“Suzie, we need to talk,” he said, before he had the door closed. His tone alerted her instantly.
“What’s wrong?”
He placed a manila envelope on the counter. She glanced from it to him.
“What’s this?”
His expression grim, he pushed the envelope toward her. “It’s about Abe.”
She felt the color drain from her face and her stomach turn over. Tucker wouldn’t look so disturbed if this wasn’t something bad. She knew him well and while she had no control over her expressions, he was the opposite.
“What’s in that?” She wanted to recoil. Foreboding hung like the stench of bad eggs in the air.
“You need to look at this.” His gaze shifted, turning amazingly tender.
She inhaled a shaky breath, disturbed even more.
“It’s going to be all right, Suzie. But you need to see these pictures and then we’ll come up with a plan. Together.”
She needed to sit down, but refused to give in to the weakness. She picked the envelope up and lifted the flap.
“What?” The word came out weakly as she pulled them out. There were five photos. Fingers shaking, she spread them on the counter.
They were of what had once been a beautiful saddle. It had been ruined with red and black spray paint, every inch a motley mixture of offensive coating. She swallowed the lump in her throat; it refused to go away. She didn’t want to look at Tucker. Didn’t want to see what she knew she was going to see in his eyes. The truth—but she had to. His eyes were full of compassion when she finally lifted her
s to meet his.
“Please tell me this wasn’t Abe.”
His lips flattened together, momentarily locked, as if he didn’t want to tell her. “I took fingerprints before I could talk to you. I’m sorry, but they belong to Abe.”
She grasped the edge of the counter for support. “When? When did he do this?”
“The night that I showed the saddles to you. Pepper found it like this when he came to work that morning.”
She closed her eyes, not wanting to believe it. “Wait. You knew this the night of the wedding?”
“I knew, but I didn’t know who. I had my suspicions, but no proof.”
“And you didn’t tell me? You kissed me! Instead of telling me something this important—”
“I know you’re angry at me for that. That wasn’t meant to happen. But this isn’t about me kissing you, Suzie.” He waved at the photos. “This is separate. This is about Abe.”
“And you think I’m not aware of that.” She fought the urge to snatch the vase and throw it against the wall. She never threw things.
“His fingerprints are all over everything.” Tucker inhaled heavily. “There is a lot of anger here. Suzie, this was directed at me. You can’t tell it in this picture but that is the saddle with TRM engraved on it.”
“No,” she gasped, her hand going to her heart as the sentimental value of this heirloom dawned. “I’m so sorry. It was priceless.”
“It was. But it’s not the saddle itself that matters, it’s why he chose this saddle, my saddle, out of those sitting there. I don’t believe that was a random act.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t believe it was. Remember that noise we heard? Do you think he overheard us talking? Maybe looked in and saw us?”
“Those are my same suspicions. I think he heard me talking about the initials and knew that was my saddle. No one but Pepper knows about this. He discovered it and called me, keeping it locked up until I could gather the evidence.”
At the word evidence Suzie couldn’t stop the tears. Couldn’t stop the dam that broke. This was San Antonio all over again.
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