by Diana Palmer
Then she went outside to organize what items were left for tomorrow’s sale. She was busily moving things around, when Luke walked up.
“Need some help?”
“Sure, thanks. I thought it would be best to close the gaps.”
She was placing everything that wasn’t already sold in one small area of the yard. Luke pitched in and the job was completed in about ten minutes. Maris stopped and looked thoughtfully at the goods. “There sure isn’t much left.”
“It was a success, all right.” Luke had showered, shaved and put on clean jeans and shirt. The sale had been a success because they had worked their fannies off today. In fact, on this ranch they all worked their fannies off every day. He had never worked harder or put in longer hours in his life, and the funny thing, he realized while studying Maris studying the remnants of today’s sale, was that he wasn’t resentful, annoyed or unhappy about it. For some unimaginable reason he was unusually content, and Lord knows he’d never been content with ordinary labor. So…what was going on with him, pray tell?
“Well,” Maris declared briskly, placing her hands on her hips to look at Luke. “You’re all cleaned up and I’m a mess. I’ve got to do something about that. Listen, I sent Keith to town to buy some steaks. I think a little celebration is in order after today’s big success, don’t you?”
“Uh…” He’d been planning on going to town himself. For weeks now he hadn’t even started his pickup, let alone gone anywhere. It was Saturday night and he’d been thinking of a few beers and maybe looking for a place with a live band. While showering, he’d toyed with the idea of asking Maris to go along, but had decided she would only say no. Now here she was, talking about a celebration dinner, and it wasn’t as easy for him to say no as it was for her. “Sure, sounds great,” he told her, thinking that he could go to town after dinner.
“Good. I’m going in now.” Maris started away. “Oh. If you wouldn’t mind digging out the barbecue grill—it’s in the toolshed.”
“Wouldn’t mind at all. I’ll get it.”
“Thanks.” He hadn’t asked how much money she had taken in today, Maris thought gratefully as she went into the house and directly to her bedroom and bath to clean up. She paused at her closet to look over her modest wardrobe. Regardless of her fervent hope that Luke wouldn’t suggest she pay him now instead of after the horse auction, she felt rather festive and didn’t want merely to pull on a pair of clean jeans for the evening. Something pretty, she thought, while moving hangers around to check the garments. Something feminine. It had been ages since she’d bought any new clothes, but anything other than jeans would look new to Luke.
Frowning, she stopped to chide herself. She wasn’t dressing up for Luke, was she? Did she want him to see her feminine side? Lord knows there’d been nothing feminine about her since he’d shown up.
Still, he’d kissed her. Maris’s heart beat faster at the memory. He was a handsome, exciting, sexy man, whatever he did for a living or how short a time he’d be in the vicinity, and she was almost constantly aware of him. Common sense to the contrary, she was attracted to Luke and couldn’t help believing that he was attracted to her.
But where could it go? Dismissing the whole discomfiting topic with a toss of her head, Maris pulled out a faded denim skirt and a yellow blouse. The outfit would satisfy her desire for something other than jeans, but it couldn’t possibly give Luke any ideas about her “dressing up” for him.
They ate outside at Maris’s small patio table. The food was great, the heat of the day had passed and the evening air was soft and silky. But all was not right. During the meal Maris had noticed that Keith seemed distracted and nervous, which wasn’t like him. Upon returning from town with the steaks and a delicious-looking chocolate-and-raspberry torte, he had disappeared to shower and clean up. He’d returned to the kitchen wearing his best jeans and shirt and Maris had smiled teasingly. “My, you look handsome.”
A slow flush had colored his cheeks, but he’d grinned and gone outside to sit with Luke, who was watching the steaks on the grill so Maris could finish the green salad she’d started earlier. Blackie, who was never very far away from Keith, lay nearby, her head on her front paws.
The food was wonderful, and they ate it with gusto and enjoyment. But Keith’s unusual mood worried Maris. Since coming to the ranch, the boy had had his silent moments, which she’d considered only normal, given his background. But this was different. She wanted to ask if anything was wrong, but hesitated to do so in front of Luke, as it might embarrass Keith.
They were just finishing up with dessert, when Keith suddenly blurted, “Maris, could I use the truck tonight?”
Maris slowly put down her fork. This was a first, and obviously what had been on Keith’s mind throughout the meal. She wanted to handle it sensibly. “To do what, Keith?”
His face was crimson and he was staring down at his plate. “I…asked a girl to see a movie with me tonight.” He lifted his eyes. “She’s a real nice girl, Maris. I…sort of liked her in school last year, but we never really spoke…very much. She was at the store when I was picking out the steaks. Anyway…we got to talking and I asked her to go to the movie with me, and she said yes.”
An enormous relief flooded Maris’s system. She’d been worried about dark, terrible things concerning Keith, not about something as innocent and natural as this. She glanced at Luke, who she could see was maintaining a completely impassive expression, though there was a spark of masculine amusement in his eyes. Maris looked at Keith again. Anxiety was written all over his handsome boy-man face. He’d gone way out on a limb, making a date with a girl, when he didn’t know if he would have transportation. No wonder he’d been nervous.
“Yes,” Maris said quietly. “You may use the truck, Keith.”
He jumped to his feet, no boy-man now but all boy, excited and eager to be off. “Thanks, Maris. Thanks a lot. I have to go right now or I’ll be late.” He started away, then stopped. “I won’t be home late. Um…no later than midnight, okay?”
Maris smiled. “Okay.” Her gaze followed Keith to the truck, which was immediately started and then gone. Blackie whimpered. “It’s all right, Blackie,” Maris said soothingly. “Keith will be back.”
“You’re a nice woman, Maris,” Luke said softly.
The comment startled her. “But who likes nice women, right?” she quipped as she took the steak bone from her plate and brought it to Blackie. The little dog instantly settled down with her treat.
“Nice men?” Luke drawled.
They were alone. With Keith gone, she and Luke were completely alone and the sun was going down. This, too, was a first. She could get very flustered right now, Maris realized. She could clear the table, and flutter from patio to kitchen and look very silly dashing about, simply because she was alone with a man who had kissed her and the sun was going down.
She took her chair again, calmly, coolly. “I’m not sure I’ve ever known any nice men.”
“Present company excluded, of course.”
That smooth-as-honey tone didn’t fool Maris. Beneath it, he was laughing at her. But he was not going to rattle her, she vowed. “Our criteria for what constitutes ‘nice’ probably differs, don’t you think?”
He shrugged, casually, adorably. Damn him, thought Maris, and damn myself, too. Why was she noticing every tiny detail of his appearance? The minute crinkles at the corners of his eyes, for instance. And the way his shoulders filled his white shirt.
“It appears to me that our criteria for anything differs,” he replied. “’Course, that could be because you’re female and I’m male. Men and women don’t think alike.”
“That should be my line,” Maris said dryly.
He grinned. “Why’s that?”
“Because it’s something women know and men don’t. Usually,” she added. “How come you know it?”
“My mother told me,” he said solemnly.
Maris stared, then laughed. “You’re pulling my leg, right?”
; “I never joke about my mother.”
Was he yanking her chain, or what? “Is your mother living?”
“Alive and thriving in Texas.”
“And your father?”
“He died ten years ago. Ma sold the ranch and moved to town. I see her about once a year.” Behind the conversation Luke was thinking of his plans for the evening—heading for Whitehorn and a few beers. But this was an opportunity if he’d ever stumbled across one. Just once he’d like to see Maris Wyler relaxed and enjoying herself. Maybe tonight was the night. “What about your folks?” he questioned.
Maris sighed softly. “Gone, both of them. And I was an only child. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
Luke hooked his arm over the back corner of his chair. “Nope. It’s just me and Ma.”
“If you see her only once a year, I hope you call her often,” Maris said, then wished she hadn’t. “Sorry. I’m sure you’re not looking for advice from me.”
“It’s okay. I know I don’t call her enough.”
“Feel free to use my phone, Luke. Anytime.”
He nodded. “I’ll take you up on that. Maybe tomorrow. Maris, would you like to go somewhere?”
Her eyes widened. “Go where?”
“I don’t know. For a ride, maybe?”
“Um…” Oh, Lord, what should she say? A ride in Luke’s truck was hardly a romantic outing, and yet, why had he suggested it?
“Hey, I’ve got a really great idea,” Luke exclaimed. “You haven’t ridden any of the horses yet. How about us taking a ride right now?”
“But it’s getting dark.” Despite her common-sense objection, the idea was appealing. “Which horse would I be riding?”
“Mother. I’ll take Rocky.”
He was fond of Rocky, Maris knew. Maybe the Appaloosa would be the horse he picked to take with him when he left at the end of September. Disturbed by that image, she became very still.
“Come on, say you’ll go,” Luke said.
“I…have to clear the table and…and do the dishes.”
Luke got up and began stacking plates. “Clearing away will take three minutes. I’ll help you with the dishes when we get back.”
Uneasily Maris pushed herself to her feet. “That wouldn’t be necessary, but Luke…I don’t know. It’s almost dark.”
“A great time of day for a ride.” He headed for the house with most of the dirty dishes.
Maris gathered up the rest and followed. He was insisting and she really would like to do it. But was a moonlit ride on a velvety night a wise move for her to make with Luke?
Then she thought of the consequences of a firm refusal. Luke would either take that ride alone or go to his quarters in the loft of the barn. It was such a beautiful evening, and she would spend it in her kitchen, washing dishes, and then go to bed. With Keith gone, the house would be empty and lonely. Very, very lonely.
“All right,” she said as she placed her load of dirty dishes in the sink on top of those that Luke had carried in. “Let’s go.”
Luke’s pleased grin was a yard wide. “Great! Let’s do it to it!”
Together they walked back outside, laughing at his silly remark. Maris closed the door behind them.
The moment Maris mounted the mare Luke realized she might have ridden quite a lot before, but she wasn’t completely comfortable on a strange horse.
Maris’s mind was elsewhere. “I should have changed into jeans,” she said, arranging her skirt around her legs.
“You look great in a dress,” Luke said quietly. He was standing next to Maris and the mare, making sure Maris was well seated, worrying some about her riding a strange, newly broken horse in the dark. He put the reins in her hands. “Hold them evenly, a little loosely. Mother responds well to a light touch.”
“All right.” Maris recognized the giddiness in her system. The moon was coming up, full and huge. Doing something like this, impulsive and unplanned, was completely alien to her present life-style. She had become rather staid, she knew, but there’d been a time when she had laughed easily and blossomed under a handsome man’s attention. That was what she was feeling tonight, a blooming, an unusual radiance, and more than a little daring. Maybe her rare mood was because her financial worries were easing, or because the moon was full and bright.
Then again, it could be because of being alone with Luke.
“Are you set?” he asked. “Do you feel comfortable in the saddle?”
“I’m fine.” She laughed for no reason, merely because it felt good to laugh. “Come on. Get on Rocky and let’s go.”
Frowning slightly, Luke left her side to mount the Appaloosa. “Maybe we should just ride around the pasture.”
“No way,” Maris exclaimed. She was ready for adventure and picturing the miles of open land beyond the fences. “The night is heavenly. Let’s ride and ride and ride,” she said with a dreamy sigh.
Luke’s pulse rate took a noticeable jump in speed. Maris was beautiful in the moonlight, and her mood was one he’d never witnessed before. The husky tone of her voice and her carefree gestures told him that anything could happen tonight.
Anything.
Nine
The landscape was beautifully eerie in the moonlight. Trees and bushes, sparse in number, cast long, dark shadows upon grass and ground that appeared silvery and spectral. The air was still and unusually warm for a Montana night.
Luke tended the gates and they left the fences behind and headed into open country. Blackie was following, staying about ten feet behind. Maris looked back at the dog. “With Keith gone, Blackie has apparently attached herself to us,” she remarked to Luke.
Luke glanced back. “Seems so.” His gaze lingered on Maris. “How’re you doing?”
“Luke Rivers, are you worried about Mother or me?” she asked teasingly.
“Mother can take care of herself.”
“And I can’t?”
“You’re not used to riding a strange horse.”
“Well, I like riding and I’m doing just fine. And I rode plenty of strange horses before Ray traded them for that Corvette.” Maris wished she hadn’t mentioned Ray. She didn’t want to talk about Ray tonight, but with Luke’s next words, she knew they were going to.
“Did Ray ever ride with you?”
“Occasionally. But Ray was usually busy with one thing or another.”
There was a trace of bitterness in Maris’s voice, which piqued Luke’s curiosity. “Where’d you two meet? I know Ray grew up right here, but what about you? Have you always lived in the Whitehorn area?”
Maris took a breath, not completely comfortable with Luke’s questions. “I came here as…a bride. I grew up in another small town, Demming, Montana. Have you heard of it?”
“Can’t say that I have. So you met Ray in Demming?”
“No, in Bozeman. I was in college…” She sensed Luke’s sudden, sharp look. “In my final year. I was planning to teach at the elementary level.” She had met Ray Wyler through friends, and had fallen so hard her teaching plans had almost immediately taken second place.
Luke was frowning, all but scowling, recalling his own lack of education. He’d been so enthralled with rodeo that he’d barely made it through high school. His folks had wanted him to attend Texas A&M and had offered to pay for everything—tuition, housing, books, even spending money—and he’d refused and gone off to join the rodeo circuit, leaving behind his high school diploma and the ashes of his parents’ hopes.
For the first time ever he doubted his wisdom in that decision, wondering, in fact, if there’d been any wisdom involved. He could have gotten an education, then roamed the globe, chasing rodeo, if that was what he still wanted. But today, tonight, riding along with Maris Wyler, he would be able to say, “My school was Texas A&M.” It would surprise and maybe please her. Instead he had nothing to say on the subject of education.
His voice became a little gruffer. “You met Ray in Bozeman, married him and moved to the ranch. Did all of that t
ake place in rapid succession?”
Maris was looking straight ahead. “We got married the day after I received my diploma.”
Luke uneasily shifted his weight in the saddle. “You must’ve loved him.”
“It was a long time ago, Luke. Let’s talk about something else.” She had loved Ray madly, and had come to the ranch brimming with starry-eyed dreams for their future. Remembering their first happy weeks together, their first months, was painful, and she didn’t want to dwell on that or what had come after.
“But you did love him,” Luke persisted, not ready to drop the subject.
Maris drew in and then released a long breath, finally allowing a terse “Yes.”
“What happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“Maris, I was with the two of you in Casper, remember?” There was no love between them that night in Casper, Luke would swear. A man who loved his wife—and he’d been around plenty of guys who did—didn’t play around with other women right in front of her. Ray had been a total jerk that night, a drunken, loudmouth fool who hadn’t seemed to care one damned bit that Maris was sitting at a table and seeing everything he did.
“I really don’t want to remember that night. It’s no kindness to remind me of it, Luke.”
“It proved that something happened to kill the feelings the two of you had for each other when you got married,” Luke said stubbornly.
Maris shot him a fierce look. “Which really isn’t any of your business, is it?”
“Technically, no. But I have this great big lump of curiosity in my gut, Maris.” He nudged Rocky a little closer to Maris’s horse. “Tell me about it. Please.”
Maris gave a short, bitter laugh. “Tell you about my marriage just to satisfy your curiosity? Really, Luke—”
He broke in, brusquely. “You have to know why I’m curious.” Just then Blackie darted in front of Mother’s front hooves. The mare spooked and reared. Maris let out a yelp of confusion. Luke could see her losing the reins and falling backward. He leaned far to the right, snaked out an arm and caught her by the waist. “Hang on to me,” he yelled. Maris clutched at his shirt with one hand and the other went up around his neck. It happened so fast. One second she was peacefully riding Mother, the next she was draped across Luke’s lap and the mare was hightailing it for parts unknown.