by Robin Wells
“I’m not trying to discriminate against you!”
“Is there some other reason you want me to leave?”
“No. Of course not.” Unless you count the effect you’re having on my temperature, my pulse rate and a few other bodily functions. Luke reached into the cabinet and jerked a couple of plates off the shelf. They rattled against each other noisily and clanged when he set them down too hard on the countertop. “It’s just that, well, you seem to be hiding out here in the kitchen, and you don’t want to mingle with the other guests, and I thought…” He ran a hand through his hair and tried to think of a diplomatic way to put it. “I just thought you might be more comfortable back in Tulsa, that’s all, and I wanted to let you know I’d be more than happy to give you your money back.”
Josie’s gaze was warmer, but still held an edge of suspicion. “Thanks, but I intend to stay through the rest of the week.”
Luke tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. “Would you mind telling me why?”
“You mean aside from the fact the ranch is beautiful and the facilities are lovely and the food is great?”
“Yeah, aside from all that.”
“Because I made up my mind to come here, and I’m going to stick by my decision.”
Luke struggled to tamp down his frustration. “That’s no kind of reason.”
Josie’s chin took on a stubborn tilt. “It is to me.”
“And why on earth is that?”
She planted her feet apart and placed her hands on her hips. “Because all my life I’ve doubted my own decisions, and it’s high time I started believing in myself. I nearly married the wrong man because I relied too heavily on my family’s advice, and I’m not going to ever be that easily manipulated again. From here on out, I’m going to trust my own judgment. When I make up my mind about something, no one’s going to talk me out of it.”
Luke studied the stubborn set of her jaw and rubbed his own. Under the circumstances, he guessed her reaction was understandable. In a grudging way he even respected her for it. Heck, he thought, he was pretty much that way himself. If a person tried to make him budge on an issue, he’d usually dig in like a burr on a dog.
But understanding her reasons for staying didn’t make the situation any better. If anything, it made it worse. Because now it looked like nothing short of a natural disaster was going to make her leave.
Josie picked up the damp cloth and resumed working on his jacket. “Besides, I’ve been living with my parents ever since I moved back to Tulsa, and I’d just as soon let things settle down before I have to deal with them. They’re going to want to smother me with TLC and advice, and the last thing I want right now is smothering.” Josie gave the jacket a final wipe, then shook it out and draped it over the back of a chair. “So I plan to stay here and let my family calm down while I sort things out and try to figure a way to land another job at a hotel or a resort. In fact, I was wondering if you’d mind letting me use the computer in the lodge office tomorrow. I’d like to update my résumé.”
The request startled him. He’d never figured out how to use his father’s equipment, but that didn’t mean no one else should. It was just sitting there collecting dust. “Well, sure.”
Her smile seemed connected to the electrical wiring, because when she flashed that dimple at him, Luke could swear the room became brighter and warmer. He deliberately turned away and began rummaging in a drawer for silverware in an effort to dim the reaction he was having to her. He might as well face it, he thought grimly. It looked like she was here for the duration.
But heck, it was just six more days. Surely he could handle that. Especially if he took precautions to make sure he didn’t find himself alone with her again. A man could only take so much, and he couldn’t stand too many more episodes like the one this afternoon.
He would just have to be careful to avoid potentially volatile situations. That cookout tomorrow night, for example. No way in Sam Hill was he going to escort her on that. He’d get Manuel or Jack or even old Ben, who was blind as a bat in the dark.
But there was no way in tarnation he was going to find himself alone with her on a moonlight trail ride.
Chapter Six
“Ready?” Josie asked, gazing down from atop Petunia.
I’ll never be ready for this, Luke thought grimly, trying to ignore the way the fading sun set off lights in her hair, how the blue of her eyes put the sky to shame and how delectable her jeans-clad rump looked perched in that saddle. With a heavy sigh, he hauled himself onto the big-boned quarter horse.
Damn it all to Dallas, what was he doing, setting off on a moonlight trail ride with this woman? It was exactly what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do.
It would be Manuel and Consuela’s weekly square dance night. And the night Jack Ross had promised to have dinner with his in-laws. And Old Ben’s poker night.
Sure seemed like everyone’s social life was mighty active for a Monday evening, Luke thought suspiciously. Active enough that he smelled a rat. He’d bet dollars to donuts that Consuela’s meddling hand was somehow behind this, but he knew he’d never be able to prove it. She’d been running behind-the-scenes interference in his life for as long as he could remember, and he’d never yet been able to catch her at it.
Well, she’d sure done a jam-up job on this little project, he thought with a black scowl. The only people who didn’t have pressing engagements tonight were Butch and himself. The thought of spending an evening alone with Josie made him as nervous as a thief in church, but the thought of her alone in the moonlight with Butch had him reaching for a roll of antacids. He’d wasted no time concocting another errand for Butch.
“I don’t see why you need me to take the truck in for a tune-up tonight,” the ranch hand had grumbled, ogling Josie like a hungry wolf as she’d walked toward them on the path from the lodge to the corral. “I can take care of it just as easily in the morning.”
“I’ll need to use it in the morning,” Luke had told him. “Can’t afford to have it out of commission.”
Butch had eyed him suspiciously. Luke had been able to tell the exact moment the light had clicked on in his brain. “Well, well, well! Now I get it.” Butch had grinned slyly and nudged him with an elbow. “She’s one fine-lookin’ little filly. I admire your taste in women, boss.”
Luke had opened his mouth to give a denial, then abruptly pressed his lips together. Josie was getting within earshot. Besides, if Butch thought he was interested in her, he’d leave her alone. Still, the whole idea of creating such a misconception left Luke uneasy.
Hell, everything about the situation left him uneasy, Luke thought now. Last night, for example. It bothered the heck out him that he’d had such a good time with her. They’d sat in the lodge kitchen for a couple of hours, talking about music and books and movies, about current events, global warming, even UFOs. He’d been surprised at how much they’d had in common, how smart and warm and funny she was. He’d had a wonderful time, and when he’d walked her back to her cabin, it had been tempting as all get-out to lean down and kiss her good-night.
He’d managed not to, but just barely. It was a good thing, too; the memory of that earlier kiss had been more than enough to make him toss and turn and curse a blue streak for most of the night. No telling what kind of state he would have been in if he’d kissed her again.
He was out of his mind, thinking about her in these terms, he told himself sternly. After what she’d told him about her family, he could almost believe she hadn’t been in love with that jerk she’d nearly married, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t emotionally vulnerable, and the last thing he’d knowingly do was take advantage of a vulnerable woman.
Besides, he was determined to stick with women who understood ranch life, and Josie was so citified she probably wouldn’t know a mosquito from a horsefly.
Even if she didn’t have the first two strikes against her, Luke thought, the third one was more than enough to throw her out of the ball game comple
tely: Josie was clearly the marrying kind. Since he had no intention of ever getting hitched again, that didn’t leave much room for a relationship.
He looked up to find her watching him and felt a tug of attraction pull at his belly. Annoyed at the reaction, he shifted the reins to his right hand. “If you’re all set, let’s head on out.”
“Don’t we need to bring some supplies?”
“The food’s in my saddlebag. Everything else is at the site. One of the ranch hands went out earlier and set things up.”
“Sounds like you’ve got these cookouts down to a science.”
Luke shrugged and nudged Black Star toward the gate of the corral. “They’re a pretty popular activity.”
Josie flicked her reins, and Petunia ambled beside him. “Do you serve as escort on many of them?”
“Not many.” No point in telling her this was the first one he’d ever conducted for a guest. He didn’t want her getting the idea he was giving her special treatment.
Because he wasn’t, he thought stubbornly. He just didn’t want Butch crawling all over her like an ant on a picnic blanket, that was all.
Butch swung the corral gate open, waved at Josie as she rode through, then gave Luke a broad wink behind her back. “Y’all have fun,” he called.
Josie cast Luke a sidelong glance as she bounced along on Petunia on the trail through the meadow, confused and more than a little rattled at the thought of spending the entire evening alone with him.
She’d braced herself to deal with Butch. In fact, she had a whole speech prepared. No more hiding in the bushes for her, she’d decided firmly; she intended to confront the problem head-on. She’d planned to tell him she had no interest in any kind of romantic overtures, and if he persisted in making them, she’d consider it a form of harassment and take appropriate measures.
What those might be, she wasn’t sure. Telling Luke, most likely.
But how the heck was she supposed to deal with him? Her. feelings regarding any overtures he might make were a disturbingly different matter.
“If you don’t usually handle the moonlight rides and cookouts, why are you pulling escort duty tonight?” she asked.
Luke’s eyes narrowed. “Would you have preferred someone else?”
“No. I just wondered how it happened to be you.”
His eyes were guarded. “All of the regular staff were busy.”
“All of them?”
Luke’s mouth tightened and a muscle flexed in his jaw. “Butch has an errand to run in town, if that’s who you mean. Sorry to disappoint you.” He urged his horse to a quicker pace and trotted ahead of her.
Josie stared after him, puzzled. Surely he couldn’t think she was interested in Butch. Even if he had such a misguided notion, why would it put his nose out of joint? He couldn’t be jealous.
Could he?
No. Still, the thought made her pulse quicken, and her thoughts again flew to that knee-melting, mind-bending kiss he’d given her yesterday. Both from his words and the strained silence that had followed, Luke had obviously regretted the impulsive act. There was no reason for her to think it would ever be repeated.
But she couldn’t seem to get it out of her mind, and the memory of it somehow colored everything that had happened since. For something that had only lasted a few moments, Josie thought wryly, that kiss was sure taking up a lot of her time.
It had sat between them like a third party during the remainder of the tour yesterday, creating an awful awkwardness. And though the awkwardness had eased as they’d talked in the lodge kitchen last night, the tension had not. At least, not on her part. She’d been overly aware of his every move, his every glance, his every gesture.
She needed to put it out of her mind and just forget about it, she told herself. She was making entirely too much out of it, and it was causing her to overreact to every little thing he said or did.
Last night, for example. When he’d walked her back to her cabin along the darkened trail, her heart had pounded so hard she’d been sure he could hear it in the still, autumn night. At her door, her palms had gone damp, and something she thought she’d seen in his dark eyes had made her throat close up like a daylily at night. For long, vibrating seconds they’d just stood and looked at each other, and she’d been certain he was going to kiss her again.
Then he’d tipped his hat, bidden her good-night and turned on his heel to stalk off into the night. She’d watched him go, feeling as deflated as a punctured balloon, wondering why the sight of his retreating back should make her feel so let down and lonely.
Surely she hadn’t wanted him to kiss her again, she’d reasoned with herself. It was too soon after her broken engagement. This was supposed to be her honeymoon, for heaven’s sake! Why, it wasn’t even decent to be thinking about kissing another man.
Yet she couldn’t seem to think of anything else.
She looked at the rigid set of Luke’s shoulders and realized she’d better think of something else fast if she didn’t want to spend the evening in cold, miserable silence.
She prodded Petunia to catch up with his horse. “I only asked because I was curious about how you staff the ranch.”
“Oh, really?” His voice was clearly skeptical.
“Yes. I hope to own a resort of my own someday, so I’m interested in how you manage things.” Josie shifted her weight in the saddle, and Petunia snorted. Josie reached down and stroked the horse’s neck.
Some of the wariness left Luke’s eyes. “What kind of resort do you want to open?”
“Promise you won’t make fun of me?”
“Depends. Does it have anything to do with cow chips?”
Josie laughed. “No. It has to do with families.”
“You want to open a family resort?”
“Yes.”
Luke gave a slow nod. “Our operation isn’t set up for children, but we get a lot of inquiries. I think there’s a real market for family destinations. What kind of place did you have in mind?”
“A casual place…kind of like a kid’s summer camp. It would have activities the whole family could do together— swimming, horseback riding, crafts, canoeing, bicycling, cookouts, sing-alongs—those sorts of things.”
Luke rubbed his jaw and regarded her thoughtfully. “You know, I think you’re on to something. I bet a lot of folks would jump at the chance to do something like that. Sounds like a really good concept.”
A warm cloud of pleasure enveloped her. She hadn’t been sure her idea had any merit, although it was a dream she’d nurtured for a long time. She’d mentioned it once to her father, and he’d brushed it aside as a foolish daydream. She didn’t know why she’d risked sharing it with Luke, or why his praise should give her such a deep-felt glow. His simple words had warmed her to the bone.
There was something solid and trustworthy about Luke. He was real and concrete, the kind of man who spoke bluntly, who wouldn’t sugarcoat his words to fit what he thought someone wanted to hear. His opinions had weight and merit because he could be trusted to answer honestly. A person could put stock in what he had to say. And she admired and respected him for it in a way she’d rarely admired or respected anyone.
Certainly not anyone she’d ever kissed.
The thought made her stomach quiver. “Thanks. Of course, at this point, that’s all it is—a concept. I don’t have the funds to open a place myself, and I don’t yet have enough experience to approach any investors, but that’s my long-term goal.”
“Long-term goals are good things to have.”
“So what are yours?”
The question hung in the air for a moment, then Luke shook his head and gave a tight smile. “I have a feeling you won’t approve.”
“Why’s that?”
“My goal is the exact opposite of yours.”
“What do you mean?”
“Instead of building a resort, I’d like to shut one down.”
“You mean you want to close the lodge?” she asked.
&nb
sp; Luke nodded. “If I can ever get the ranch to the point where I no longer have to operate it, I want to tear the darn thing down and turn the site back into pastureland.”
The reins went slack in her hand as she stared at him, and Petunia meandered so close to Black Star that Josie’s leg brushed against Luke’s. The brief physical contact shocked her almost as much as his remark. She jumped, inadvertently jerking Petunia to a stop. “You can’t mean that.”
The determined look on his face said otherwise. “I can. And I do.”
“But why?” Josie nudged Petunia back into motion, taking care to keep a safe distance away from Luke.
“I never wanted the darn thing built in the first place.”
Josie gazed at his taut mouth, his narrowed eyes, his stubbornly set chin and decided to brave the topic, anyway. “Consuela told me you argued with your dad over building it.”
Luke cut a quick glance at her, then looked away. “Consuela talks too much.”
“What happened, Luke?” Josie asked softly.
For a long moment she thought he wasn’t going to reply. Then he shifted in his saddle and heaved a sigh. “The ranch went through a real rough spell a few years ago. Beef prices had fallen and profits were down. Dad and I had different ideas about how to handle it. I felt we needed to modernize our operation—to upgrade our facilities, improve our stock, expand our breeding program. But Dad thought we needed to diversify. He’d read an article that said tourism was the wave of the future, and he got it in his head that we should turn the Lazy O into a dude ranch.”
“Did your father know anything about the hospitality industry?”
“Not a single thing. That was my biggest objection to the whole cock-eyed scheme.” Luke’s eyes burned with a dark intensity that made something tighten in Josie’s stomach. “I’ve always believed in concentrating on one thing at a time—in sticking with what’s tried-and-true and familiar, in developing specialties, in becoming really good at what you do.”
There was no reason at all that his words should make her think of lovemaking, but her thoughts flew off on an erotic tangent all the same. She thought of Luke’s face, concentrating as it lowered for a kiss; of his large, strong hands, becoming familiar; of the rest of his body, with its various specialties; and she had no doubt at all that he’d be really, really good—