For a moment, she worried that Luke might mention something he shouldn’t, might forget she had told him the family didn’t know anything about their search. Well, sooner or later, once they found Delia, everyone would have to know.
She was setting out glasses on the kitchen counter when her stepbrother Daniel came in to get a drink. Though he was Jacob’s brother and the two looked a lot alike, their personalities couldn’t have been more different. Daniel was quieter, with a tendency to think too much and too deeply if left on his own for long and a wry sense of humor she appreciated. She smiled and handed him a tea glass. “Have we heard from Jet?” she asked.
He nodded. “A text. He’s on the way.”
“Late as usual. That’s Jet. Then it looks like you’re drafted to help me and Anna. When you’ve gotten your drink, could you carry this tray of glasses into the dining room?”
“Sounds like work.”
She laughed. “So was making that pitcher of homemade lemonade you’re headed for. And cooking the dinner you’re going to be eating soon.”
“I get your point.”
The sound of loud voices and laughter floated down the hall from the front entryway. “The newlyweds must have arrived.”
“Must have.” Daniel hoisted the tray. “Nobody would get that excited over Jet showing up.”
“That’s terrible, Daniel.” Laughing, she followed him down the hall. “Don’t you dare say that to him.”
By the time everyone had greeted Savannah and Travis, and they had all taken seats around the table, Jet had joined them. He immediately stood at the table and proposed a toast to the newlyweds. Everyone clinked glasses and wished them well.
“And,” Jet said, “I propose another toast. To the lucky grooms, Chris and Travis, with a big thank-you for helping to meet the Baron family wedding quota for the year.”
“I second that,” Jacob said.
“Yeah,” Daniel agreed. “It lets the rest of us off the hook.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Lizzie said. “I think we could stand to have another engagement around here, at least, don’t you, Savannah?”
Savannah nodded. “I sure do.”
Carly froze. Lizzie and Savannah both looked at her.
The entire family looked at her, except Julieta’s young son. For one long, horrified moment, she thought everyone but five-year-old Alex must know she was...talking with Luke.
Then even Alex startled her by announcing, “Carly has to have her turn next.”
She took a sip of sweet tea to ease her tight throat before asking, “Why is that, Alex?”
“Because,” he said, “Mom says girls go first.”
“Ah. Well.” She smiled at Lizzie and Savannah. “Don’t worry. If I’m ever able to whittle down my long list of admirers to a manageable number, y’all will be the first to know.”
Chapter Thirteen
With dinner over and most of the family gone home, Carly claimed she needed to bring Savannah up to date on the store. It gave her an excuse to follow Savannah and Travis to the Peach Pit.
They were both ecstatic over the new lead she had discovered.
“I wasn’t able to find out much from Anna besides the woman’s name, Genevieve Caron. Anna has no idea where she lives. I tried searching but didn’t get anywhere.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Travis didn’t sound at all discouraged. “Internet searches can turn up a lot of info, but it’s not always the most reliable or comprehensive. And the woman might have gotten married or divorced or had another reason for changing her name. I’ll start digging first thing tomorrow.” He kissed Savannah’s temple. “I’m heading upstairs so you two can talk shop.”
Savannah smiled and touched his hand.
Carly took a deep breath. The teasing aside, dinner had been fun, though seeing Savannah and Travis and Lizzie and Chris all so happy...so content...so newlywed had almost done her in. Like another toss from Twister. Another kick to her heart.
If only things had worked out with Luke the way they should have, she would have been the old married lady of the family by now.
One with a family of her own.
That thought was too devastating to dwell on. She pushed it aside, said goodbye to Travis and set about filling Savannah in on what had gone on while she was gone. They had kept in touch sporadically via email, but Carly hadn’t wanted to bother her with every little detail.
When they had finished their business, Savannah cleared the table in the kitchen and made a pot of tea. She also set out a plate of peach tarts.
“Mmm.” Carly reached for one. “Just what I need on top of Anna’s blueberry crumble. I’ll be having to go home sooner than expected. I didn’t bring any sweats with me, and that’s about all I’ll fit into, if I keep this up.”
“Do you have to go home?”
She laughed. “I was teasing. If necessary, I’ll just keep the button on my jeans open.”
“No, seriously. I mean, do you have to go home at all?”
Carly set the tart down on her dessert plate. She’d had a sudden vision of returning to Houston to hand in her notice. “You’d better watch throwing questions like that around. I might get you to put me to work—permanently. But of course, you’d have to give me more than just a paycheck. I wouldn’t settle for less than a partnership.”
To her surprise, Savannah said eagerly, “Carly! That’s just what I’ve been wishing you would do.”
And to her surprise, Carly couldn’t think of anything she would enjoy more. Or of anything that would be so impossible.
To live here on this ranch...to be within a stone’s throw of Luke’s house...to run the risk of seeing him every day...
She couldn’t do it.
Thoughts of their dinner out had already given her more than she could handle. But she still wanted that time alone to say her goodbyes.
“I’ve got a job in Houston,” she reminded Savannah. “But if I did come back, I’d consider the Peach Pit. Better than you and Lizzie ganging up on me again and trying to convince me to apply at Baron Energies.”
Savannah blinked. “That’s the last thing I’d try to do. But when did we ever gang up on you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Uh...like a couple of hours ago, at the dinner table.”
“Oh, that.”
“Yes, that.”
Savannah grinned over her teacup. “How’s everything going with Luke, by the way?”
“It’s...” Carly looked down at her plate and shook her head. “I don’t know what it is. We’re getting together tomorrow night. I thought it was just going to be a casual thing and I’d bring takeout over to his house, but he says he’s taking me out on the town and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to wear. I don’t—”
“Whoa, girl. Take a deep breath and settle down.”
She laughed shakily. “Sorry. I guess it just hit me that we’re talking tomorrow night and I...”
“You’re in a panic, that’s what you are.” Savannah’s laugh wasn’t shaky at all. “I can’t believe this. Do we need another shopping trip, or what?” She shook her head. “What happened to the woman who’d instructed me about how to handle a night with a man—emphasis on the night?”
“Best advice you ever got, wasn’t it?”
Savannah giggled. “You’re darned right. And now I’m giving it back to you.”
“I don’t think Luke and I will be getting to the nightgown stage.” A sudden vision of them together, with no clothes between them at all, almost had her choking on a mouthful of tea.
What the heck was Savannah serving her, anyway, that was causing these crazy hallucinations?
“You never know what can happen,” Savannah told her. “But that doesn’t matter. A night on the town requires the proper ou
tfit. In other words, sister—dress to impress. And when it’s all over, be sure and thank me for the reminders.”
* * *
LUKE TOOK A slug of sweet tea and forced it down his tight throat. Dinner had gone reasonably well—no, dinner had been great. But he’d had a helluva time keeping his mind on his meal.
Carly had shown up at his house in an outfit guaranteed to distract him. Black high heels added three inches to her height and made her legs look impossibly long. A short black skirt hugged her hips and butt. A gauzy white shirt let him see right through to the tank-top-like thing beneath, a scrap of shiny white fabric hanging from nearly nonexistent shoulder straps. None of this did a damned thing to help him focus on the plate in front of him.
And if all that wasn’t enough to keep his attention riveted, the long strand of pink pearls that kept dipping into the valley between her breasts was giving him a permanent hard-on.
“I...um...I’ll be going back home again soon.”
She sounded nervous. Why, he didn’t know—unless his face had given away his thoughts. He sure hoped not. But he did his best to breathe deeply and forget about how she had dressed...for him.
“You said that the other day, about going home. Is Brock past the stage of needing a nurse?”
“He’s coming along.”
“I guess you’ve got folks missing you.”
“A few. And a job waiting.”
“What was it you said you did?”
“I’m in outside sales for a Western wear company.”
He swallowed a grin. The way she was dressed, she ought to be a buyer for women’s wear. Men all across the country would thank her. “You enjoy the work?”
She shrugged. “I like dealing with customers. The rest of the job is okay. But I’ve got to pay the bills. And my student loans.”
He frowned. “You took out loans? Your daddy wouldn’t cover all your school expenses?”
“He didn’t cover any of them. What I couldn’t get through scholarships, I paid for myself.”
He bit back a surprised curse. He’d never do that to Rosie. “The sexist SOB. I know he helped Jacob.”
“Jet and Daniel, too. Oh, Daddy wanted to take care of everything—once he got over being peeved I didn’t want to live at home and commute to school in Dallas. But I wouldn’t let him pay for my school. I wanted to do it myself.”
“There’s that independent streak again.”
“Looking back, I see now it might’ve been just plain pigheadedness.” She laughed and toyed with her string of pearls.
He reached for the check the waitress had left on the table. “Dessert? More coffee? Anything else?”
“No, I’m good.”
More than good.
He dropped a few bills on the table with the check. “Let’s go, then.”
He held her chair. Once she’d stood, he reached for her hand. For a moment, her fingers seemed to stiffen. Then she curled them around his.
They walked through the lamp-lit restaurant and out to the sidewalk. They had arrived for a late dinner, and he had found a parking space for his truck in a far corner of the lot. He took his time walking, not wanting to let her go.
Not wanting her to leave him.
The thought hit him like a punch to the gut, and he involuntarily tightened his grip on her hand. To his surprise, she returned the pressure of his fingers.
At the truck, still reluctant to release her, he unlocked the passenger door with one hand.
Her shirt shimmered in the lights ringing the parking lot. Her eyes shone. After they had eaten, she had slicked on some pink lipstick, and that had a shine to it, too.
Before he could think twice, he leaned down and kissed her. The lipstick tasted sweet, like bubblegum. Or maybe like just pure Carly.
He wrapped his free arm around her shoulder and urged her close—dangerously close to his champion belt buckle and the hardness beneath his jeans. But he didn’t hold back. She had to know she turned him on. She had to know how much he wanted her.
And it seemed she did. Her hands went to his waist. She tugged on his belt loops, pulling him closer.
“What do you say, cowboy?” she asked, her mouth against his. “You think you can handle a wild night?”
Could he ever have turned her down?
Hell, no.
He couldn’t resist being with her, couldn’t keep from wanting to take away that sad look he sometimes saw in her eyes. And, yeah, he wanted what she was offering before she left him for good: a repeat of the only time they’d been together.
But just because he couldn’t refuse didn’t mean he’d accept on her terms.
“A wild night?” He shook his head. “No. We’ve gotta watch that shoulder of yours, not to mention your head.” He kissed her. “We’ll take things slow—” he showed her that with another kiss “—and easy.” He showed her how that would go, too.
After a few more demonstrations, they climbed into the truck and headed for home.
* * *
ON ANOTHER NIGHT, in another situation, the darkness of the truck might have tempted Carly to sleep.
Not tonight.
Luke’s gaze at her from time to time and his hand on her skirt, his fingertips just brushing the bare skin of her thigh, kept her fully alert.
Heck, they kept her almost breathless with anticipation.
But when they arrived at his house and entered the kitchen, the wails coming from the direction of the living room told her their evening might have come to a screeching halt. Literally.
Tammy was pacing the living room floor, holding Luke’s daughter in her arms. She looked wrung out. Rosie looked good for a few more hours.
Luke took the child and cuddled her close. She hiccupped a couple of times, stuck her finger in her mouth and put her head on his shoulder.
Carly’s stomach twisted into a hard, little knot.
“She’s being a handful,” Tammy told them. “She won’t take the teething ring and nothing else seems to satisfy her.”
“She wants her daddy,” Luke said.
So do I. Carly’s cheeks burned at her instant response.
“I can stay if you’d like,” Tammy offered. “I think it’s going to be a long night.”
“Thanks, but we’re good. Rosie and I will get through it.”
She nodded and picked up her bag from beside the couch. “Then I’ll leave you all till tomorrow.”
“I’ll walk you out. Here, Carly.” Luke handed the little girl over to her.
She had to reach up quickly to grab the child.
Luke and Tammy left the living room.
Rosie looked as stunned as Carly felt.
For a moment, they eyed each other in silence. Carly’s heart beat so hard, she wondered if the baby could feel it.
Rosie’s bottom lip quivered, her eyes opened wide and she let out an earsplitting wail.
Carly cringed. “Don’t. Shh, shh. Baby, don’t.”
Huge tears ran down Rosie’s cheeks. Carly reached up with the back of her hand to brush them away.
Rosie turned her head, opened her mouth and clamped down on Carly’s finger. She stiffened as the child’s few tiny teeth met her skin. But Rosie wasn’t a bit interested in biting. Instead, she gummed Carly’s knuckle, dribbling drool all over her hand.
Her heart thumped even harder, and her head spun.
Quickly, she sank to the edge of the couch, holding Rosie cradled against her.
They were still seated in that position, with Rosie occasionally struggling and letting loose a hiccupping wail, when Luke returned to the living room. He stopped in the doorway and smiled.
“Hey. You’re a natural.”
Carly blinked several times and took a shaky breath. “You m
ight want to take her.”
“Why? You’re doing a great job.”
But he crossed the room and lifted Rosie from her arms.
Carly took a tissue from her evening bag and wiped her hand.
“Yucky, huh?” Luke teased, sounding like five-year-old Alex.
“Very yucky,” she agreed.
He took a seat beside her and cuddled Rosie against his chest. “All part of the territory. You’d know, if you had kids.”
She choked on an indrawn breath and covered it with a cough.
“And to think I want to go through this again.”
“Again?”
“More kids.” He shook his head. “You know I’m an only child. My mom did a great job raising me, and we always had each other. But I always wanted a brother or sister or two. That’s what I want for Rosie. Right, kiddo?”
Rosie answered with another wail.
“Someday,” Luke said, “I’ll give her a brother or sister. Or a couple of each. What about you?”
She froze. “Me? Kids? No,” she fibbed, “I’ve never considered having kids. A family is not in my plans.”
Rosie squirmed in his arms. “Hey, baby...” he murmured. He rose and began pacing the floor.
The irony of the situation made her want to groan in frustration. No matter her determination to part from Luke once and for all, after their kisses in the parking lot, she’d spent the ride back to the ranch hoping they would have some time alone.
As if he’d read her mind, Luke said, “Sorry about this. I didn’t plan for the evening to turn out this way.”
“Me, either.” Her cheeks flamed. “But maybe it’s better that it has.”
Rosie wailed. Luke tilted his head away from her. “I wouldn’t say that. Not at all. But I’m afraid Rosie’s got other ideas.” Smiling down at the baby, he nuzzled her cheek. “And when Rosie’s hurting like this, she gets what she wants. Don’t you, Daddy’s little cowgirl?”
Carly choked. With the tissue clutched in one hand and her evening bag in the other, she rose to her feet. “I’d better go,” she said, her voice shaking.
“She might calm down in a bit.”
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