“Are you kidding? This stuff doesn’t bother me. I’ll tell you what does rile me,” he added loudly enough to make sure Savannah and Lizzie heard him. “Getting stuck with the tough job today.”
“What’s so hard about filling up a beer mug?” Carly asked.
“Filling it isn’t the problem. It’s having to hand it off to somebody else.”
She laughed. “Don’t even try for a sympathy vote from me. You’ve never in your life had to give up something you didn’t want to. I’m sure you’ll get your fill.”
“Don’t waste time worrying over it,” Savannah called to her.
“That’s for sure,” Lizzie said. “He’s already had more than his share.”
“Somebody had to taste test,” Jet protested. “Savannah didn’t want any, and in your delicate condition, Lizzie, you need to stay away from it.”
For just a moment, Carly let herself glance at her sister’s rounded stomach, where the first Baron baby of the next generation waited to make an appearance. When Lizzie caught her eye, she forced a smile. She had so much she wanted to say to Lizzie, so many questions she could never ask.
Do you worry about carrying the baby to term? Did you miss not sharing the news with Mom? Do you hate knowing you can’t turn to her for advice?
After Lizzie’s health scare early on in the pregnancy, Carly had kept those concerns and questions, those reminders of the past, all to herself. Yet they were concerns she had always wondered about, too.
Attempting to swallow the lump in her throat, she forced a smile. She moved past Lizzie’s table and continued to the one filled with plates and plastic utensils set up assembly-line style. Kim now stood talking to one of the cowhands. Carly couldn’t help but glance around the yard, looking for a familiar broad-shouldered cowboy. There were plenty of cute wranglers in the vicinity, but not the one she...wanted to avoid.
Darn Kim, anyway, for bringing up Luke’s name.
As if he hadn’t already been on her mind.
A moment later, Kim hurried up to her. “Well, don’t look now, but you’re about to get your chance to make up for that brief encounter.” Her voice practically vibrated with excitement. “You-know-who’s headed this way.”
“Knock it off, Kim. We’re not kids anymore. Grown women don’t get all excited just because there’s a man around.”
“Then why are you turning as red as you used to in high school?”
“Anger. Irritation. Pique.” She grinned. “Now, there’s a vocabulary word. You make sure and tell Mrs. Blumfeld I didn’t forget her ninth-grade English classes.” Kim’s glance past her told the truth of the matter about Luke. “He’s only headed this way for more of Anna’s barbecued beef, and the table’s almost right behind us.”
“Oh, no, he’s way past that point.”
Luke couldn’t want to talk to her. And she certainly didn’t want to chat with him. Then why did her pulse jump at the thought? Maybe because no one in the family had ever seen them together. As far as the Barons knew...well, as far as she knew they knew...she and Luke had never met each other.
And it would be best to keep it that way.
Kim carried her plate and utensils over to the next table.
“I’ll take one of those.” The deep voice gave her the clue. She didn’t need to see the cowboy’s face to know Luke had come up to stand beside her. He reached for a cup.
Her fingers tightened automatically, crinkling the wrapping.
He eyed the package. “I can skip having something to drink if you’re that attached to the cups.”
“I’m not attached to them. I’m wondering what you’re doing here.” Darn. The truth wasn’t at all what she’d meant to say.
His eyebrows shot up. “It’s a barbecue. I’ll give you three guesses.”
One of the cowboys edged by them to get to the picnic table.
Luke stepped aside, moving closer to her. Her hands clenched. The plastic wrapper from the cups crackled again. She thought about walking away. That ought to show him how little their conversation meant to her. But he stood blocking the pathway between the tables. She couldn’t pass without brushing against him. The immediate shiver of anticipation running up her spine showed just how foolish that move would be.
There was nothing behind her to give her an excuse to go in that direction. Besides, no way would she would let him—or anyone—see her run. Instead, she stood her ground, trying to ignore how awkward she felt. Trying to forget she’d experienced that same feeling the first time she’d met him. “Never mind the three guesses. I just meant you surprised me. I didn’t see you around.”
“Keeping an eye out for me?”
“Not hardly.” What was he doing, anyhow? Flirting with her? “Let me tell you, if you’re trying to act cute, you’re missing it by a country mile. And if you’re hoping to keep up appearances in front of the boss, don’t bother. He’s not looking our way.”
The cowboy who had passed them had gotten what he wanted from the table and moved on. She needed to do the same with Luke. “Oh, and if you have any idea about trying to repeat history, forget it. This time, I’m walking away. Enjoy your barbecue.”
She slipped by him, bumping her hip on the edge of the picnic table. As she had expected, in the tight space, she couldn’t avoid brushing against his arm. The warmth of his skin left hers tingling. For a moment she froze, then she pushed past him, leaving him in the dust.
She hurried to catch up to Kim.
They filled their plates and found an empty picnic bench off to one side of the yard. To her irritation, she discovered Luke hard on her heels.
Chapter Three
Kim set her plate down but didn’t take a seat. “I forgot napkins. Be right back.”
“Get some extra,” Carly called after her. She gritted her teeth and scooted onto one of the benches. Luke settled opposite as if she’d invited him to join her. “What’s this? I told you, you don’t need to make nice with the boss’s daughter.”
“I learned that lesson already,” he said in a low tone. “I was nice to you once. You threw that in my face.”
Was he trying to imply she had been the one at fault years ago? “Then I can’t image why you want to sit here. Couldn’t you find a seat anywhere else?”
“Could have. But I’m too polite to walk off in the middle of a conversation.” He paused, as if waiting for her to pounce on the statement. But she’d already made her point about his walking away from her. When she said nothing, he went on, “To tell you the truth, it’s a surprise to me, too, seeing you here, considering you don’t make a habit of attending the barbecue.”
“I try never to do the expected.”
He nodded. “Some things never change. I guess you wouldn’t be here now, either, if not for coming home to take care of your daddy.”
He sat looking at her. She stared back into those eyes that had once fascinated her. Such a unique shade of golden brown. The same amber hue as a jar of dark honey, so warm and sweet and—
Darn. She lowered her hands beneath the edge of the table and curled her fingers into fists. She had handled seeing Luke again. She could sit here pretending to have a polite conversation in front of her family. But she sure didn’t need long-forgotten memories sneaking up on her, hitting her when she was least prepared for them.
“Since we’re on the subject of surprises,” he added, “I have to say it was strange I never ran into you at any of the rodeos.”
“So sorry to disappoint you. Did you think I’d follow your career so I could hound your heels, like the rest of your buckle bunnies?”
He grinned. “You must’ve followed something, if you knew about them.”
“How could I not know?” she asked, keeping her tone as honey-sweet as his eyes. “Even the wannabe champs on the circuit have their admi
rers.”
And Luke had been so much more than a wannabe. A bull-riding champion, one of the youngest on record, with one of the best records in rodeo. “I kept track of you, all right. For exactly the opposite reason—to know when and where you’d be competing so I could head off in the opposite direction.”
“Then it must’ve made things easier for you when I quit rodeoing.”
“I couldn’t have cared less.” Liar. His decision might have sent a shockwave through the rodeo community, but it had sure made her life less...stressed. Until she’d found out he had taken a job at the Roughneck. “But I’ll bet it made my daddy happy to know he could have you working for him.”
To her annoyance, he grinned. “I reckon it did. I’ll tell you what’s making him happy right now. Having you around again. The rest of the family likes it, too.”
And you, Luke? Her throat tightened as she held back the question. She had no desire to think about anything happening between them. She had already spent too much time thinking about what might have been, about what she once could have had but had lost.
Her throat tightening even more at the thought, she looked over her shoulder. Her so-called best friend stood near the drinks table, hanging out with Lizzie and Savannah. Great. Kim was keeping her distance. Giving her time alone with Luke. Just what she didn’t want.
Reluctantly, almost feeling his gaze on her, she turned back. “I told you the other day, I’m only here temporarily. Just while my family needs me.”
He nodded. “Guess you’re eager to get back home. I hear you’re still living down in Houston.”
Was he keeping tabs on her? She swallowed her irritation and fought to keep her tone polite. There were too many people around for her to respond the way she really wanted to. “After college, I wanted to stay on. I like it there.” Double liar.
“What’s the attraction that’s got you keeping yourself way down there?”
“It’s only a couple of hours away. I’ve got a job. I’m in sales for a company that manufactures Western wear. It’s small, family-owned, like the Peach Pit.”
“You couldn’t get me to live in the big city. Besides, you don’t miss your folks?”
“Of course I do.”
“You don’t visit often.”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t love my family. When Lizzie had...a health scare a few months back, I was here on the double. But I’m happy to have a life of my own, away from the ranch.”
How many more lies could she tell in one conversation? She wasn’t happy in Houston. Far from it. But she had fought for the choice to go to school there...just as she had fought to stay. It was easier than coming home and facing everything. Her childhood. Her history. Luke.
He would never know any of that. She would tell him one truth, though. “It’s a nice feeling, knowing I can take care of myself.”
He paused with the last bite of barbecued beef sandwich halfway to his mouth, then nodded. “I can understand that. I want my daughter to feel the same way—once she grows up, that is.”
Another topic she had no desire to deal with. “I’m happy to be independent.”
His eyebrows rose. “Is that what you call cutting yourself off from family?”
“What do you know about my relationship with my family? It’s been a long time since the days I used to share my troubles with you.” All too aware of the crowd around them, she forced a smile. “And I didn’t cut myself off. I learned how to live on my own. That’s something no one can take away from me.”
“Don’t be so sure,” he said softly.
Though he smiled, too, her heart skipped a beat at his suddenly bleak expression.
Unable to meet his eyes, she pushed a stray olive around on her plate with a fork and inhaled an uneven breath. She couldn’t handle seeing that unexpected touch of vulnerability in Luke’s face. She didn’t want to dwell on what had happened in his life once he’d walked away from her. Most of all, she couldn’t bear even to think about his grief over the wife he had lost or his love for the little girl he shared with that other woman.
To her relief, Kim finally returned to the table, bringing the napkins she’d supposedly needed. To her even greater relief, Luke grabbed his plate and cup.
“Take my seat,” he said. “I’ve got to be getting home.”
He nodded at them both.
Watching him walk away set off a familiar ache in the pit of her stomach.
Kim slid into the seat Luke had left. Carly welcomed the distraction, though Kim’s eyes already held questions. She would want to know what she’d missed. Carly couldn’t fault her for that. When it came to Luke, Kim had been in on the ground floor of Carly’s grand plan.
In senior year, she and Kim had both considered it a real coup for her to have snagged an “older” man, just on the verge of twenty-one compared to their eighteen. Obviously, despite knowing how hurt she had been over the breakup, her best friend believed she still had a thing for Luke.
“And, so...?” Kim prompted.
Carly shrugged. Under cover of the talk all around them, she lowered her voice and reported, “He sat. He ate. He departed. That was the extent of our big reunion, and that’s all it’s ever going to be.”
“Come on, Carly, you can’t be immune to the guy. He’s twice as hot as he was when you went with him.”
“And any interest I had in Luke Nobel cooled to sub-zero temperatures back then. It’s not like he meant a lot to me, anyhow,” she fibbed. “You know I only went out with him in the first place to try to get my dad off my back.” That had been her intention anyhow.
Too bad she had sabotaged herself.
No matter how strongly she’d objected, with graduation on the horizon, Brock had grown more adamant than ever about her taking her place at Baron Energies. At a desk job.
She had acted out, doing the worst thing she could think of—the only thing she could think of at the time—to make Brock Baron change his mind. She had dated Luke Nobel. Being an “older man” and living in a poor part of town earned an automatic two strikes against him—at least on her daddy’s list of high standards.
Yes, the perfect plan...
“But then you never told your dad anything about Luke,” Kim said. “You never told your family or anybody but me. Why not?”
Carly shrugged. For some strange reason, after her first date with Luke, her feelings about flaunting him in front of Brock and her family had done a one-eighty. “I didn’t need him for leverage anymore. I decided to get a backbone and stand up for myself, instead. I told Daddy point-blank I just had no interest in a job at Baron Energies. Then I flashed my acceptance letter from Houston at him and informed him I would be leaving town.”
Kim gasped. “You never told me that, either. How did he react?”
“As if I’d tossed a cow pie down in front of him.”
“You probably broke his heart. You should’ve listened to me about drinking and drugs. Those would’ve had your dad changing his mind altogether about wanting you on the payroll.”
And just look who he had on his payroll now.
Carly choked on a laugh. “As if you really meant the suggestions seriously.”
“You know I didn’t.” Kim sighed. “Well, I’m sorry it didn’t turn into the romance of the century. But even if you never told anyone, after all, I guess going out with Luke was better than my alternatives.”
If she only knew.
But how could she tell Kim the truth? She couldn’t explain, even to her own satisfaction, why she had suddenly felt the need to keep Luke all to herself. Instead, she had sworn Kim to silence.
Still, typical teen that she was back then, she couldn’t keep from sharing developments with her best friend.
Day by day, she had filled in every little detail of her first big romance...until t
he part where she and Luke slept together.
* * *
THREE LONG, LONG DAYS after the barbecue, Luke sat at the bar of the Longhorn, the local saloon. He took a deep, satisfying swallow of beer from the mug in front of him.
His mom had gone to her usual Monday-night get-together with her cronies, bringing Rosie along. The ladies all claimed to take their card games seriously, but he suspected the women paid more attention to dessert and his daughter than they did to their poker hands.
He thought about the endless weekend, starting with Friday and the barbecue he never should have gone to. Not when he knew Carly Baron was back on the Roughneck and would be there, too.
On Saturday, he’d kept busy with his men, handling the backbreaking job of clearing brush. The hard labor kept his body moving, and working with a couple of cowhands who always had their mouths in gear kept him from thinking thoughts he shouldn’t. He’d chosen to work side-by-side with those men for that very reason.
On Sunday...well, that was a mite tougher. If the Longhorn had been open, he might’ve stopped in for a brew and some company to distract him. Instead, he’d spent the slow summer afternoon with his mom and Rosie, his two-year-old daughter, who were his first choice of company, anyhow.
At least, Rosie was, always. His mom, not so much. Not when he had something on his mind. When he had worries, he also had all he could do to keep them from her sharp eyes. Somehow, yesterday, he had managed to get by without getting the third degree about anything.
And today, he’d cleared his mind of Carly again.
He intended to keep it cleared.
He breathed a sigh of relief at his own determination, took a last slug of his beer and set the empty mug back on the bar.
“Fill you up again?” the bartender asked.
Luke nodded, then watched the man walk away with the mug.
“Good service,” commented the guy a couple of stools to his right. He wore dress pants and too-shiny shoes. “Hope it stays that quick.”
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