After a while she seemed to become whatever they thought she should become. He wished he’d been strong enough to turn the tide. To make his classmates and the people they grew up with forget their prejudice. But he hadn’t.
Of course, at the time he had a mom and dad who loved their children and who would do anything for them.
Luke slipped his cell phone out of his jeans. He texted Jasper that he’d be back later than he’d planned and asked him to look in on Sam. Jasper texted back, No problem. Luke set the phone on the nightstand and settled down further on the bed, keeping Penny close.
She was the puzzle he could spend the rest of his life solving. Even Jasper made sense once Luke got over his initial jealousy. It still bugged him that Penny had used Jasper to scratch an itch, but part of him was glad it had been Jasper, a loner without an attachment to anywhere or anyone. He would never have tried to settle down and be the man that Penny needed in her life.
Maybe needed wasn’t the right term. Luke stroked her hair. Because any man who loved Penny would have to love her unconditionally and forgive her, knowing that something truly wild would never be true to one person.
Perhaps he should turn in his man card because of all the gushy stuff going through his mind. The thing was, as much as he wanted to be that man for Penny, he wasn’t sure he could forgive her for Sam. Anyone else, yes...but Sam?
“Don’t you need to go home?” Penny’s voice was sleepy. She didn’t even open her eyes, just stayed where she was across his chest.
“I’m good here.” Because home had always been with Penny. Over the years, he’d thought of her and what she would say about what he was doing. She wasn’t his moral compass—she’d always had a skewed perspective for whatever she wanted. But sometimes being a little selfish instead of selfless was just what the doctor ordered.
And right now, he wanted to be in this bed with this woman. Until she kicked him out. He closed his eyes and focused on the rhythm of her breathing.
* * *
Her eyes felt like grit paper when Penny tried to open them. They felt swollen and her chest still ached slightly. Even opening her eyes didn’t help much; the room was dark. Her alarm clock read 4:24 a.m.
Luke’s warm body was the only thing keeping the chill of the room from making her shiver and dive under the covers. She pressed in closer and breathed him in.
“You keep doing that and I won’t be responsible for my actions.” Luke’s voice was low and rough.
“Thank you for listening to me,” she whispered. With the darkness surrounding them, it felt safe to admit she’d needed him.
“Thank you for letting me in.” He hugged her to him.
She slid off him and onto the mattress. He turned on his side to face her. Just enough light from the streetlights peeked through the curtain to let her make out his features. Her heart swelled in her chest. She wanted to tell him everything, from how stupid she had been to push him away to how much she was falling for him again.
Instead she leaned in and kissed him. Gently, exploring with just a hint of the raw passion that normally devoured them. He followed her lead, seeming to know that this time wasn’t so much about fulfilling a desire but exploring the connection they shared.
His hand settled on her waist and sent intense waves of longing through her. Longing to stay in his arms forever. To be one with him. Things she’d never have, but tonight she’d cling to them and let herself dream of a future where they could be together.
“You’re shaking,” Luke said as he trailed kisses from her mouth to her throat. “We should get you under the covers.”
“I’m not cold.” Her eyes fluttered shut as his hand trailed across her belly.
“Good.” He plucked the bottom button of her shirt undone.
Her breath caught and he flicked another button open. When she opened her eyes, he was watching her face. Another button and his knuckles brushed against her bare skin. Her stomach tightened and a burst of heat sparked through her system.
She reached up and ran her hand along his scruffy jaw. His cheek twitched under her fingertips. One more button loosened. She ran her fingers through his hair and brought his mouth down to hers. Kissing Luke was like Christmas and her birthday rolled into one. Excitement, anticipation, joy.
His fingertips grazed the underside of her breast and she gasped. Even though they had been more intimate previously, tonight felt like the start of something new. Or maybe it was the end of everything they had. She brushed off the dark thought and let herself be in this moment, no matter the consequence.
Her heart was already his. It always had been. It always would be. But it wasn’t just her heart she was giving to him. As he undid the remaining buttons and opened her shirt, he gazed down at her silhouette. His fingers were rough from helping out at the farm as they trailed down over her white lace bra and across her stomach down to the waistband of her dark slacks.
Normally she’d be helping him remove her clothes and his, but something about the quiet house, her bedroom and the darkness, this man, made her want to take things slowly. Luke kissed along the lace edge of her bra, making her nipples harden and beg for his touch.
He lifted his head and kissed her mouth as his hand traced along the band of her bra, then unhooked it in the back.
“I’ve never met anyone who ties me up in knots the way you do,” he said before pushing her shirt off her shoulders. He nipped at every inch of her skin he exposed until her breath and pulse pounded.
She wanted to come back with something to take away the seriousness. But when he pulled off her shirt and slowly eased off her bra, her mouth went dry. His lips closed around her nipple. Any thought she might have had was gone in the flash fire of desire that seared through her.
Helpless to the heat flooding her, she held on to him as he took his time to explore one breast and then the other. If she bound him in ropes, he held her in chains. Surely ropes would break, whereas her chains would hold her to him forever.
Love wasn’t a blessing to Penny. It was a curse that bound her to a mother who easily cast her off when she became too much of a burden and to a man who had been easily dissuaded from his pursuit. It didn’t stop her from loving him or wanting to be loved by him.
When his mouth found hers again, she wished she could be more aloof and brush him off. But she couldn’t. Luke had been her rock and stability in high school. They’d turned each other away from self-destruction.
His touch had always wiped away the bad. She hadn’t been looking for a relationship the night at the dance when she’d approached him. With her reputation and his, she thought maybe they could raise a little hell. Instead they’d made each other better. Sure they’d done some crazy things, but he’d stopped picking fights and getting in trouble at school and she’d stopped trying to become her mother with booze and guys.
“Luke?” she said when he lifted his head.
He brushed the hair away from her face and brushed his thumb across her bottom lip. “Yeah?”
Tears pressed against her eyes. “Do you think I’m a bad person?”
“Never in a million years.” He rested his head against his hand and looked down at her. “How can you think you’re bad? You helped your best friend through her mother’s death and helped her with her child. You took care of your mother when she needed you most. You helped your grandma and improved on her dream after she passed.”
A tear slid free.
“But most of all you turned around a screwed-up teenager. Showed him what it was to be loved and how to fix his life instead of wreck it. You might want people to stay away and think that you are bad, but you are incredible.” His hand reached down to her slacks and slowly undid the button and zipper.
“I never deserved you,” she whispered. Her fingers played with the ends of his hair, caressing the softness.
He stood to take off his clothes. She tried to fill her head with memories for when he was gone. Tried to imagine what her life would be like once he was back in St. Louis. She couldn’t begin to picture it without feeling her gut roll in protest.
Instead she held out her arms to him and drew him down to the bed. Sex would never be the same with anyone else. Just the feel of his skin against hers made her shiver with need. His kiss could steal her breath and bring her life. His hands kindled fire inside her everywhere they touched. His mouth on her skin made her melt.
No one had ever had the ability to make her burn with desire the way Luke did. She couldn’t deny that what they were doing was making love. It was too intense, too emotional to be sex. He made her his and she couldn’t resist.
When he entered her, she was so beyond herself that she raked her nails over his shoulders, trying to draw him closer.
He brushed her lips with his and whispered next to her ear, “Let go, Penny. Just let us be.”
He moved slowly in her, building the already-raging fire into a blaze until he started to lose control and his breathing grew more ragged and his motions more intentional. Their bodies moved together, striving for release.
The edge was so near. Penny opened her eyes. Luke’s face was twisted in pleasurable agony. She never wanted this to end, but she couldn’t hold back any longer. Her release pulsed through her and it pushed him over.
I love you so much and you’ll never know. The words rang through her mind as she slipped back into sleep.
Chapter Sixteen
Luke tried to concentrate on moving the bales of hay in the barn, but it didn’t actually require brainpower, so his mind kept drifting back to Penny. How desperately she’d clung to his hand when introducing him to her mother. How vulnerable she’d been when she’d led him back to her room. How sensual she’d been lying beneath him.
“Watch out.”
A bale of hay came flying down to land beside Luke. He looked up at Jasper in the rafter.
“What the hell?” Luke grabbed the bale by the strings and stacked it with the others. “You’re lucky that didn’t bust my head open.”
“At least Penny would be available.” Jasper smiled.
Luke grunted in response. The fact that Jasper still had a job out here meant Luke knew the man was teasing, but it didn’t help that when he went back to St. Louis in a few days Penny would be free to resume all her extracurricular activities.
He had no hold over Penny. She was as free as when he’d first seen her at the wedding. When he left, he would have no right to expect her to wait for him. When he left...
“Hey, I don’t mind babysitting your brother so you can get some, but could you keep working so I can get out of here and hit the bars? Since you took the only hottie in town, I’m going to have to go trolling.” Jasper swung down from the loft and landed a few feet from Luke.
This wasn’t the first time Luke had the urge to knock the guy’s smile in. Sam had insisted that Jasper would be an asset. But he’d also been an asset to Penny, which rubbed Luke the wrong way. If Penny had feelings for this guy, though, she would have said something. Wouldn’t she have?
“Don’t worry. You’ll have plenty of time to get to the bar.” Luke wiped the sweat from his forehead with a rag.
Besides, it hadn’t been Jasper at her door last night and there for her when she needed someone to hold on to. She’d made a big fuss over never having anyone in her bed and never “sleeping” with anyone. Last night he’d been privy to both.
That had to count for something.
Luke climbed out of the barn and took off his work gloves. The sun was almost to midday. His skin itched from the hay and dust that clung to his sweat. He’d give his left nut for a shower, but that meant dealing with Sam.
He squinted up at the sun. It was starting to get too hot to do much, but staying outside seemed like the best defense against Sam, who couldn’t seem to accept the fact that he needed to sit down and relax.
Even the dogs were napping in the shade. A drop of sweat rolled down his spine. It couldn’t be helped. Luke needed a shower and everything else would have to wait until it got cooler.
“I’m heading to the house,” Luke shouted back to Jasper.
“I’ll take lunch after I finish this.”
Taking a deep breath, Luke headed to the porch. The door creaked open and banged shut behind him. He swore.
Yesterday, Luke had readjusted the tension on the door so that it wouldn’t bang shut anymore. Apparently Sam was using it as a way to know when someone was in the house and had reset it when Luke wasn’t looking. Luke didn’t know whether to be mad that Sam had adjusted the door or mad that he’d obviously not been sitting while he did it.
“Hey.” Sam appeared in the doorway as Luke took off his shoes.
“Go lie down.” Luke hung up the hat he’d been wearing. It hadn’t helped to keep the hay from making his head itch.
“You guys got the bales out of the rafters?”
“Yeah.” Luke had dusted off what he could outside, but hay clung stubbornly to his jeans. His dad would have dumped his jeans at the door; otherwise Mom would have yelled at him. The memory of his parents brought a bittersweet smile to his face.
“It’s time to change the oil in the tractor,” Sam said.
“I know.” Luke glared at Sam. “You told me this morning and yesterday evening and yesterday morning.”
“If it doesn’t get done, you won’t be able to get to the fields this afternoon.” Sam’s mouth was set in a stubborn line.
“I don’t need to be micromanaged, Sam. I’ve got it covered.” Luke brushed past Sam into the dining room. “Right now I need to get the hay off my skin. Unless you want to tell me how to do that, too.”
“I’m sure you can handle that.” Sam shuffled toward the living room.
Luke bit back anything he might have said. Sam was just trying to control a situation he felt was out of his control. It was one of the reasons he and Sam had butted heads as teenagers. It hadn’t made sense to him that Sam had the right to give him punishments, but no one had been punishing Sam when he screwed up.
Sam had always been his father’s favorite and got most of his attention. First Sam, then Brady, then Luke. Luke had been their mother’s favorite, though. She’d always sneak him an extra cookie...for him to grow on.
He blinked back tears as he went into the bathroom. Penny’s relationship with her mother was complicated—to put it mildly. But if Luke could see his mother one more time...he’d do whatever it would take.
He stripped and showered quickly before changing into fresh jeans and a T-shirt. It had been a while since he’d done so much manual labor, and sitting on his bed even long enough to pull socks on made him want to shut his eyes for a little while.
Maybe sleep would help him figure out what to do about Penny and Sam. She couldn’t be trusted before. Had she really changed any? Sam hadn’t changed. He was just as controlling. Just as stubborn.
Just a few minutes of sleep...
* * *
The bell above the door startled Penny into almost dropping the glass perfume bottle. Her head whipped around to see who had come in.
“Don’t worry, dear. It’s just me.”
Penny didn’t think she’d ever be relieved to see Bitsy Clemons coming through the door, but she was grateful it wasn’t Cheryl, who was somewhere out there, lurking, and wanted a relationship with her. That had her on edge. That and Luke.... God, she’d been stupid last night. Wanting to cling to him as if he could ever love her again after what she did to him. She wouldn’t blame him for never trusting he
r. But she’d wanted to believe for a few seconds that he could love her. Even if nothing came of it.
“I heard that your mother is staying in Owen.” Bitsy’s voice had a hint of a question at the end.
Penny decided to take it as a comment and not a question. She didn’t want to acknowledge her mother’s presence. She didn’t want any part of the woman.
Bitsy rounded the corner and picked up a trinket off the shelf. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
Penny took in a deep breath and released it. “Yes. She came by the house last night.”
Bitsy tsked and placed her hand on Penny’s arm. “How are you holding up, dear?”
“I’m fine.” Penny walked farther down the aisle.
“It’s okay if you don’t like the woman. After all, she all but left you with your grandmother—God rest her soul. You know we’ll stand behind you. No matter what your decision regarding your mother.”
Penny turned and looked into the serene face of Bitsy Clemons. “What do you mean?”
Bitsy smiled slightly, as if she had a secret to pass on. “Well, you didn’t hear it from me, but word is Cheryl is looking at a few houses today in Tawnee Valley. Not to buy, of course, but to rent. A full-year lease.”
Penny’s heart clattered to a stop. “A year?”
“The Brindells’ place over on First Street and the Adams’ place over on Oak.” Bitsy pretended to be interested in the shelf, but Penny could tell she was watching her like a hawk for the slightest reaction.
“What she does doesn’t concern me.” Penny straightened. “If she wants to be in our town, that’s fine.”
But it wasn’t fine. It was terrifying, but if Bitsy saw even a hint of that, she’d tell everyone. Better to hold it in than to let the whole town know.
Cheryl destroyed everything she touched. When she was young, Penny had thought she’d been immune. That she was the one thing Cheryl had wanted to keep. Boy, had she been wrong. As she got older, Penny realized that she had just been in the way. More trouble than she’d been worth. Even though yesterday her mother had assured her that she loved her, how was that possible when she’d left her like discarded trash all those years ago?
ONE NIGHT WITH THE BEST MAN Page 12