To Wed and Protect

by Carla Cassidy

  At that moment the school bus lumbered into view. She gave each child a hug. “Now, you have a great day at school and I’ll see you later this afternoon. We’re safe here, and nobody is going to hurt me or either of you.”

  She saw them safely on the bus, then as the big yellow vehicle pulled away, she waved to them until they were out of sight.

  Jason’s concern for her safety was not surprising, but it was heartbreaking nevertheless. A six-year-old boy should never have to worry about the physical safety of an adult.

  Surely they were all safe. It had been two months since the debacle of a trial, two months in which she’d heard no word from Justin Cahill, the man who’d murdered her sister and who was the father of the children.

  As she turned to walk toward the house, she steeled herself for interacting with the man she’d made love to three days before.

  “Morning,” he said as he opened his toolbox and began to lay out what he’d need to begin work. “I see you got the munchkins off okay.”

  She nodded, aware of the uncomfortable tension that thickened the air between them. “Can I get you anything before you get started? A cup of coffee or something?”

  “No, I’m fine,” he replied briskly. “This is going to take a lot of work so I’d better get right to it.”

  She hadn’t realized how much she’d enjoyed his easy company or his lighthearted banter until now with its conspicuous absence. “Okay, just let me know if you need anything,” she replied then went into the house.

  It’s better this way, she told herself as she went into Jason’s room to begin the morning task of making beds. A business relationship was all she’d ever wanted from Luke Delaney to begin with, and things had just careened out of control the afternoon they’d made love.

  It was obvious from his distance that he was done with her, had accomplished his mission, and that was fine with her. He’d given her an afternoon of sweet warmth, of intense pleasure, and all she expected from him now was carpentry work.

  She spent the morning on chores, making beds and picking up clutter the children had left around the house. She consciously tried to stay away from the front of the house where she could hear the sounds of a man at work. She fought the desire to stand at the front window and watch him work, to hide behind the curtains and drink her fill of him.

  However, at noon, with her stomach growling for lunch, she left the house by the back door and walked around front to see if Luke wanted to join her for lunch.

  He was nowhere in sight, and his truck was gone. Apparently he wasn’t interested in eating lunch with her. She fixed herself a sandwich, knowing he’d be back.

  She ate the sandwich then decided to unpack the last two boxes that were in her bedroom. She’d put off unpacking them because she knew the boxes contained mostly items that had belonged to Loretta.

  A half an hour later she sat on the floor of her bedroom, surrounded by an array of items that held no real monetary value but things she’d thought the children might want someday.

  Each item Abby pulled out brought with it a pang of grief and yet a wealth of happy memories. There were several photographs of Abby and Loretta together as children and a couple of them as teenagers. There was a book Loretta had loved to read aloud to the younger Abby. Knickknacks, a stuffed bunny missing its nose—the box was filled with treasures. There was even a guitar with broken strings.

  “Abby?”

  She jumped at the sound of Luke’s deep voice and looked up to see him standing hesitantly in the bedroom doorway. “Sorry, I knocked but apparently you didn’t hear me.” He stepped into the room, curiosity lighting his eyes. “Hey, where did you get the guitar?” He stepped closer as she held it out to him.

  “It was my sister’s,” she explained as he took it from her and examined it. “Loretta was always looking for ways to expand her horizons, better herself and her education.” She gestured to a stack of cassette tapes nearby. “She learned French in ten easy sessions, painted an oil painting with videotape instructions. At one time or another she took guitar lessons, ballet classes and played the drums.”

  “Sounds like a fun person,” Luke said softly.

  Abby offered him a full smile. “She was the best. She had a lust for living that was enviable. I thought maybe Jason or Jessica might decide to play the guitar so I packed it along with this other stuff to bring with us.”

  “They won’t be able to play it without strings.” He handed the guitar to her, the expression in his eyes inscrutable. “George Marley at the general store always orders strings for me. I could pick some up and string it for you.”

  “Thanks, I’d appreciate it.” She got up off the floor, suddenly far too aware of the two of them alone in her bedroom, the place of their recent indiscretion.

  “Were you looking for me for something?” she asked, then felt the heat of a blush sweep over her cheeks as his gaze flickered to the bed, then quickly back to her.

  “I could use your help outside for a few minutes. I need another hand, that is if you don’t mind helping.”

  “Not at all.” She hated the stiff formality between them, the uncomfortable tension that filled the air, but was too embarrassed to broach the subject in order to break the ice.

  She followed him outside, and with him showing her what to do, helped by balancing two two-by-eights in place so he could nail the support beams.

  “Sorry I couldn’t make it the last couple of days,” he said as he grabbed a hammer. He hammered in a nail. “We had a fence go completely down at the ranch, and it required immediate attention.”

  “You don’t have to apologize,” she replied. “Besides, it really worked out well because yesterday I kept the kids out of school and drove into Tucson for a counseling appointment.”

  “How did it go?”

  She shot him a quick smile. “I don’t know how much help one session offered the kids, but it certainly helped me just knowing we’ve started getting them some help.”

  He hammered in another nail, then looked at her. “I told you before, they’re lucky to have you on their side.”

  “It’s the least I can do for Loretta. She and I were so close, and she was my strength when our parents died. I’m just giving back to her kids all the love she gave to me when she was alive.”

  He nodded and worked for a few minutes in silence, a frown creasing his forehead. She could smell him, the scent that had by now become familiar. It was the scent of maleness and bright sunshine and a faint wisp of woodsy cologne.

  Instantly it brought to mind the sensual pleasure of their morning spent in her bed. Not only had his fragrance wrapped around her, but his body had, as well, warming her from the outside in.

  “Do the kids like to ride?”

  “Ride?” She stared at him blankly as she consciously worked to dispel the images of making love to him.

  “Horses?”

  “I don’t think either of them have ever been on a horse,” Abby replied.

  “What about you? You like to ride?” For the first time since he’d arrived, she was grateful to feel the tension between them ebbing somewhat.

  “I used to love to ride, but I haven’t since I was a kid.”

  “If you want, I could set it up so you and the kids could take a trail ride over at the ranch some time. I’ve never met a kid who didn’t want to ride a horse.”

  “Thanks.” She smiled at him warmly. “That would really be nice.”

  “It’s no big deal. We’ve got plenty of horses that are real sweet-tempered for kids.” He hammered another nail. “Okay, you can let go. I can handle it from here.”

  She nodded and turned to hurry into the house, away from him. She knew that making love to him three days earlier had been a mistake. What she couldn’t understand was why on earth she was thinking of how nice it would be to repeat the error of her ways.

  The moment Luke had seen Abby’s smile, he’d wondered why he had stayed away from her for the past couple of days.


  When he’d left after making love to her, he’d felt off balance, out of sorts. Although she had said all the words about no expectations he’d wanted to hear after he’d made love to her, something had bothered him.

  He’d figured it out that evening as he’d nursed a soft drink at the Honky Tonk. It wasn’t the lovemaking that had bothered him. That had been magnificent. It had been the emotional intimacy they’d shared just prior to falling into bed that had disturbed him.

  Never before had he given quite so much of himself to a woman. Telling her about the first time he’d sung for his father, sharing with her the enormous emotional turmoil the incident had created, had shocked him and left him feeling oddly vulnerable.

  Luke didn’t like feeling vulnerable. He’d been vulnerable as a kid and had vowed he’d never feel that way again.

  And so he’d distanced himself, taking the last couple of days to find his balance once again. He’d put in his hours at the ranch for the week and had finished the rocking chair for Rita Sue Ellenbee to sell on consignment in her craft store. He had kept himself busy and tried to keep his mind off Abigail Graham.

  He straightened and swiped a hand across his brow as the school bus pulled up and Jason and Jessica got off. Jessica raced directly into the house, but Jason walked over to Luke.

  He peered into Luke’s toolbox with interest. “What’s that?” he asked, pointing to a blue-handled Sheetrock knife.

  “It’s for cutting Sheetrock,” Luke explained.

  Jason tilted his head to one side and moved closer to Luke, bringing with him that special scent of boyhood. It was the smell of sweaty hair and sunshine, an earthiness that wasn’t unpleasant. “What’s Sheetrock?” he asked.

  Luke thought of what Abby had shared with him about the horror the kids had been through, and despite his reluctance, he felt a certain kinship with the little boy.

  Luke hadn’t had an Abby to take control and make things right. He hadn’t had an Abby to provide stability and love in his childhood. Admiration for the woman who had taken in the two kids fluttered through him.

  “Sheetrock is the stuff that makes the walls in a house,” he said to Jason.

  “Why would you want to cut the walls?” Jason asked.

  “Sometimes you get a hole in a wall accidentally and you use the knife to cut a new piece to fit into the hole,” Luke said.

  Jason eyed him soberly. “My mom says you’re a good man, that you wouldn’t ever hurt her.”

  Compassion swept through Luke. “I always try not to hurt anyone,” he replied. He crouched so he was eye to eye with the boy. “And I promise you I’ll never, ever hurt your mom.”

  Jason held his gaze for a long moment, then nodded as if satisfied. “But, if you ever do hurt her, I’m gonna kick you really hard.”

  “There you are,” Abby said as she rounded the side of the house. “I was wondering where you disappeared to. Come on inside, honey. You don’t need to be bothering Luke.”

  “He’s not bothering me,” Luke replied as he straightened. “We were just talking about tools and man kind of things.”

  Jason’s little chest puffed out. “Yeah, man things,” he agreed.

  “Well, I just thought a certain little man might want some chocolate chip cookies and milk with his sister,” Abby said. Jason frowned, obviously torn between the allure of cookies and the appeal of watching Luke work.

  “I know if I had the chance to eat cookies, I’d jump on it,” Luke said.

  “You could come in and eat a cookie with us,” Jason said.

  Luke could tell that Abby was as surprised by the boy’s invitation as he was. Until this afternoon, Jason had remained suspicious, downright wary of Luke.

  Luke set down his hammer. “I suppose I could choke down a cookie or two,” he agreed. He was only agreeing because he could use a little break, he told himself. The sun was hotter than a firecracker, and a few minutes of coolness in the house would revive his flagging energy.

  Minutes later the four of them sat at the kitchen table, milk in front of each and a platter of cookies in the center of the table.

  “Robert Goodman has a pet lizard,” Jason said.

  “He brung it to school today so we could all see it.”

  “He brought it to school,” Abby corrected.

  “That’s what I said,” Jason replied impatiently.

  Luke grinned and listened as Jason extolled the virtues of owning such a creature. He tried not to notice how pretty Abby looked in a forest green T-shirt that did amazing things to her eyes.

  He wanted her again. Sitting across from her at the table, seeing her laughing and interacting with the kids, the hint of a milk mustache above her upper lip, desire slammed into him. And just as suddenly, he couldn’t remember why he thought he needed distance from her in the first place.

  “I think we should get a pet lizard,” Jason said, drawing Luke’s attention to the conversation.

  “Sorry, there is positively, absolutely no way I’m having a lizard in this house,” Abby exclaimed. “Personally, I think they’re a little creepy.”

  “Then how about a dog?” Jason replied and Luke could tell by the expression on the boy’s face that this had been the ultimate goal to begin with.

  “A dog?” Abby looked at Jason, then at Jessica, who nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with excitement.

  “I think they’re ganging up on you,” Luke observed with a grin, then shoved back his chair. “And this sounds like a family kind of decision, so I’ll just scoot outside and get back to work.”

  Luke left the house to the sound of Jason promising all the things boys for an eternity had promised about taking care of a dog.

  He’d wanted a dog when he’d been young, but he’d been afraid to get one, afraid that his father would hurt the pet to punish him.

  He shoved the thought out of his mind and returned to the work at hand. It was dusk when he finished for the day and packed up his tools. The porch was slowly taking shape but would require at least two or three more full days to complete. Normally he hired a high school kid to help him on the bigger jobs like decks, but with school in session, Luke had decided to do this job alone.

  Besides, if he’d had a high school kid working with him he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make love to Abby. If he had a high school kid working with him, he’d probably never get an opportunity to make love to her again.

  With his tools packed away, he walked to the back of the house and knocked on the door.

  She stepped onto the stoop, the fading sunlight kissing her features with a golden hue. “Knocking off for the day?”

  He nodded and grinned. “But I couldn’t leave without knowing who won the battle.”

  “The battle?” She looked at him, those green eyes of hers lit with curiosity.

  Again he was struck by a swelling wave of desire for her as he remembered how her green eyes had shimmered beneath half-closed lids as he’d made love to her. He jammed his hands in his pockets to stymie his desire to grab her and pull her close, capture her kissable lips with his.

  “The dog battle,” he replied, trying to focus on the conversation and not on his pulsing, pounding, crazy need.

  She smiled. “The verdict is still out where the dog is concerned.”

  “Dogs are good for kids,” he replied. He could vividly remember the taste of her lips…hot, sweet honey that had flowed through his veins as his mouth had possessed hers over and over again.

  He took a step away from her, consciously willing his mind to stop its thoughts. “If you decide you want to get them a dog, let me know. There are a couple of breeders in the area, some that are reputable and some you should stay away from.”

  “Thanks, Luke. For everything.” For a brief moment he saw in her eyes that she wasn’t just talking about his carpentry work, that she, too, was remembering the morning they’d spent in one another’s arms.

  He nodded and took another step backward. “I’ll see you in the morning.” He t
urned to leave, then whirled to face her. “How about on Saturday I come and pick up you and the kids and we go into town. We could get those guitar strings and maybe have lunch at the diner and I could show you and the kids the joys and secrets of our little town.”

  The smile that lit her face nearly stole Luke’s breath away. “That sounds nice,” she agreed.

  “Great, we can finalize the plans tomorrow or the next day when I’m here.” He stepped off the porch.

  “That sounds fine,” she returned.

  He nodded and waved, then hurried toward his truck, wondering what on earth had possessed him to issue such an invitation.

  Chapter 8

  It was a perfect day for an outing. Overnight a cool front had passed through, and the weathermen were forecasting a comfortable eighty degrees for the day’s high temperature.

  Abby tried not to dwell on the pleasure that swept through her as she discarded first one outfit, then another in an effort to dress for the trip into town. She couldn’t help but look forward to spending the day in Luke’s company.

  She told herself it was because she had very little interaction with adults, that most of her days and nights were spent in the company of the children. It was only natural that she would be looking forward to a little adult conversation.

  Looking at the clock and seeing it was a quarter to ten, she quickly decided to wear a pale pink sundress that she knew was both becoming and comfortable.

  She checked her reflection in the bedroom dresser mirror, making sure her lipstick wasn’t smudged and her hair was brushed, then left her room to make sure the kids were ready to go.

  They sat in the living room on the sofa, wiggling and squirming with suppressed eagerness. Abby realized they were just as eager as she was for a trip into town. They had dressed themselves with care, and their faces were scrubbed shiny clean and their hair neatly brushed.

  “You two look terrific,” she exclaimed.

  “You look pretty, too,” Jason said, and Jessica nodded in agreement.