"Shall I hang up the things for you?" Rachel looked up as Marie came in with a glass of juice.
"No, thanks." Horrified that Marie might think she expected to be waited on, Rachel said quickly, "I'll do it. I have nothing else to do anyway."
Rachel's gaze lingered on the new pair of house slippers as Marie set the glass down on the Queen Anne nightstand and left the room. Soft and pretty in red they matched the velour robe. Her fingers traced the outlines of the pale blue flowers on them. Luke hadn't just picked up anything he found. He'd taken time to choose pretty, feminine things. As if he knew deep down that these were the things she would enjoy wearing. As if he knew she had never had these things before.
Blinking, Rachel looked around the room. The wallpaper with its pink roses on a glimmering cream background, the satin and lace comforter on the bed, the elegant dark furniture, her new clothes had her more worried than ever before. The owner of the Diamond Bar seemed to have made up his mind she was staying indefinitely.
Grabbing her check book Rachel ran out of the room. Paying Luke for her clothes right away was the first step. She had waited too long to assert her independence.
Luke answered the knock on his study door right away.
"Rachel, come in," he welcomed, when she pushed it open.
Gordie looked up and cooed an echo of the greeting in baby talk. Perched on his uncle's lap his smile reflected a cherub's innocence. Pain twisted deep inside Rachel. It was all she could do not to reach out and touch the baby.
Keeping her eyes on Luke's face she said, "Thanks for the clothes. If you'll let me know how much you spent, I'll write you a check."
The jeans and red sweater he had picked out for her, clung to her slim curves and she didn't look quite so thin. The touch of white lace at the collar drew Luke's attention to her long neck. A checkbook was clutched to her chest like a shield and there was that in her stance that made him smile. She reminded him of a wary doe watching a predator. One move and she would flee.
"Do they fit alright, Rae?"
Her breath snagged in her throat. Rae? The diminutive suggested a closeness she had to avoid at all costs.
"Perfectly."
Where another woman might turn around, to model her new outfit she just ran the palm of one hand down her jeans.
Luke knew if he waited for her to say anything more than the absolute necessary minimum, he'd wait all his life. The nickname Rae suited her perfectly. Someday soon he would tell her it meant doe and she reminded him of one.
"Come in and see where I work."
She stepped into the bright room, her glance veering to a table by the window piled high with equipment. Luke's computers looked very sophisticated, unlike the little ones she had seen in the old magazines shipped to MRA personnel abroad. Piles of paper rested on one end of his work area while on a smaller arm of the table, a printer was spewing out what looked like sheets of graphs.
The massive desk at the other end of the room had a leather chair behind it presently filled with Luke and baby. Luke picked up a bottle of juice and gave it to Gordie. The glow of tenderness as he watched Gordie drink brought a mist of tears to Rachel's eyes. Swinging away to hide them she stared at the opposite wall.
It was covered with framed certificates. Harvard. Lucas Jasper Summers had got his masters in computer science there. And another in business administration. She couldn't even remember where her high school certificate was. The wall opposite Luke held a single painting. An Indian chief on a horse.
"We used to come in here as children and sit on Grandpa Robert's knee," Luke said from behind her, "One day Rob looked at that painting and said, "Grandpa, I want that picture."
"`That belongs to the Diamond Bar son,' Grandpa Robert said, `and one day it will be yours.' It was strange," Luke burped Gordie, wiped his mouth and then set him down on the carpet. His nephew took off in a crablike crawl to a pile of toys in the corner of the room. "But even then it was Rob who wanted to run the Diamond Bar. I could ride as well as him and learned everything there was to know about raising thoroughbreds, yet it was always math and computers for me."
"Did your parents mind?"
"No. They encouraged me as much as they did Rob. I remember them spending hours with me at Math field days in local schools, even sending me to a Math camp one summer. They were as interested in working math puzzles with me as they were talking about thoroughbreds with Rob. If they ever thought more of Rob's choice than mine, I never knew it. Even now Dad calls and the first thing he says is, `How's your work going, son?' Then he talks of the ranch."
Rachel swallowed. How lucky Luke was to have experienced so much love and understanding. It made it easier to understand the choices he had made now. There was no real deliberation or sacrifice in what he'd done. Passing on what he had received came naturally.
"What made you decide on going into computer science?"
"It wasn't till high school that I got acquainted with computers. I started using them for math but then it became a game to see what else I could do with one. My parents bought me a computer and I was hooked forever. It's a field with tremendous challenges and no limits to endeavor."
And, something told Rachel Luke Summers was a man who needed challenges. "What did you do before the accident?"
"The company I'm with, L.G and M Enterprises develops and sells its own software. In my former position, I travelled all over the country giving one day seminars on how to hone financial management skills using our software."
"And now?" He had all the right qualities for a good teacher: patience, understanding, warmth, plus a dynamic personality.
"Now I'm working on making changes in some of our software based on the feedback we have got from companies using them."
"Was it very hard to give up your former lifestyle and move back here?" She had already heard Luke on this topic once before in court, but something compelled Rachel to ask him about it again.
"No," he said with conviction, his eyes swiveling to his nephew who had thrown the cow away and was trying to bite on a huge ring. "I lived in L.A. because my work demanded it. I had to travel so much, it was convenient to be just a few miles away from LAX. As long as I can continue to do the work I want to, I would rather live at the Diamond Bar than anywhere in the world."
He didn't mention how tiring constant traveling had become, how impersonal hotel rooms isolated one in a well of loneliness, and business dinners every night became more of a chore than raking out a stall.
He wanted more out of life than that now. A permanent home, a woman to share it with, Gordie, maybe some more children.
"Your lawyer said that you gave up a vice-presidency to be with Gordie. Do you think that after a while that might begin to rankle?" Rachel bit her lip. She was beginning to sound like an interviewer on a talk show.
Luke steepled his fingers and leaned back in his chair. "I put thought into a decision before I make it, weigh all the pros and cons, thrash things through in my mind. Once it's made, I never look back or indulge in what ifs."
That he was strong she already knew. That he didn't fit the picture of men she carried in her mind, Rachel was beginning to find out. There was something else she had to say. Best get it over with quickly.
"I..I'm sorry I took you to court over custody of Gordie." Luke's head shot up. Despite the pounding of her heart Rachel held his gaze steadily. "You and the Diamond Bar are what are best for Gordie."
"Why did you do it, Rae?"
One shoulder rose in a slight shrug. "I thought I would repay Chris for all her kindness and affection by bringing up her son." She raised her chin. "I also did it for myself."
The tinge of defiance in her voice wasn't lost on Luke. From where he sat the sheen of Rachel's tears turned her irises into islands. Dark, mysterious, enchanting.
"For your....?" The telephone rang, cutting him off.
"Excuse me," he reached out to pick it up, irritated by the interruption. It couldn't have come at a worse time.
Rachel heard him talking to Juan as she slipped away and went to her room. What had come over her? For a minute there she had been about to tell him what she hadn't shared with anyone in her whole life. Rachel put a hand up to her head. The call had saved her from making a fool of herself. Luke Summers didn't need to be dumped with her personal problems. He had plenty of his own.
A frown creased her forehead. Rae. The way he'd shortened her name so casually had tied her up in knots. She couldn't explain the way she felt. Keyed up, excited, alive.
She doubted if she had asserted anything in the study. There was a certain aura around Luke that overpowered her senses, invited her to take off her suit of armor and forget the battles she had fought. Rachel shook her head as a red light began blinking in her brain. This visit was just a punctuation mark in her life, a temporary pause before she went back to her work. She would have to be more careful than ever not to make a fool of herself in the days that followed.
It wasn't till much later Rachel remembered she hadn't paid Luke. She would write out a blank check and ask Marie to place it on his table in the study. Going back herself would be hazardous to her health.
Woken by the sunbeams flinging themselves on her Rachel recollected she hadn't drawn the curtains last night. She had wanted to look out at the stars as she lay in bed. The two large windows opposite her bed framed the sky beautifully.
Turning on her back, Rachel linked her fingers under her head and allowed her sleepy thoughts to wander.
It was forty eight hours since the trip to Santa Barbara with Luke. Yesterday Hannah had insisted she take it easy for one more day and stay in bed. Surprisingly a strange feeling of weakness had made her give in to the advice and rest all morning. In the afternoon, horrified by how long she had slept, Rachel had showered and gotten as far as the family room before everyone had started fussing. She'd been put into a soft armchair, her legs wrapped in a blanket, the T.V. guide and remote control, a pile of magazines, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice placed by her. Theresa sat and talked to her so she wouldn't get bored.
"There's nothing wrong with me," she had protested to Hannah when the latter had mentioned another early night would do her good.
"Nothing that a little rest and good food won't cure," the housekeeper had agreed blandly.
This morning, Rachel had to agree all that rest had done her good. She felt more like her old self today. Snuggling under her comforter she closed her eyes and let her thoughts roam.
Angela had shown her around the house yesterday when she had come over after school. Luke's home seemed to have been designed by a master architect. It was obvious no expense had been spared in the construction of the sprawling ranch house. Yet it wasn't just a showplace. It was a home. Warm, lived in, insulated with love and laughter. Generations of Summers women had seen to that.
Rachel could see Chris here clearly, talking, laughing, loving. Personalities she found were best described by matching them to colors. When she thought of her cousin Rachel thought of yellow, the pale creamy yellow of a rose that spread joy just by being there. Hannah was green. Earth mother and friend. Gordie was baby blue. Innocent and lovable. Luke. Rachel's breath tangled in her throat. What color was Luke? Unbidden, purple came to mind. The rich hue of grace and royalty. A man who tempered victory with compassion.
Rachel blinked. She should have checked with Dr. Kenton about the lingering effects of jet lag. It was getting worse instead of better.
Rachel wondered what it would be like to live in one place all one's life, feel secure and loved, have a family around, watch one's babies grow into men and women and repeat the cycle of life. She could see Luke in the role of patriarch clearly. He would marry soon, have a large family. She could imagine him with greying hair, a few more lines around his eyes, looking as virile as he did now. Time wouldn't dare change the power and strength that was essentially Luke.
The tiny creak as Hannah shut her door impinged on Rachel's thoughts. Getting up she went into the bathroom for a quick shower. Towel drying her hair she brushed it and caught it back with an elastic band. It always dried that way. She slipped into a pair of jeans and deliberated over which sweater to wear. Her hand hovered over the red remembering the look in Luke's eyes when he'd first seen her in it, but then she picked up the other. Emerald green and thick, it would keep her warm. Luke had chosen her clothes well. Winter mornings were cold here though the temperature sometimes went up into the seventies in the afternoons.
"You should be taking it easy," Hannah reproved as Rachel slipped into the kitchen.
"I can't possibly stay in bed any longer. Could I help you in here?" Rachel's voice trailed away. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. From what she had seen the kitchen was very much Hannah's domain and she might just be in the way.
"Have a cup of tea first," Hannah's smile didn't hold any resentment, "and then you can help me set the table."
Rachel sat at the table in the eating nook sipping her tea, her back toasted by the sunshine streaming in through the picture window that framed the eating nook on one side. The large country kitchen with its blue curtains and light oak cabinets, the eating nook at one side, was becoming her favorite room in the house.
Sipping her tea Rachel tried to analyze the strange feeling that she had always been here. That she belonged. She shook her head and frowned. Maybe she wasn't as well as she thought she was.
"Something wrong?' Hannah was looking anxiously at her.
"No," said Rachel quickly. "I was just thinking about how much trouble I've put you all to."
"You're family," Hannah said simply. "If Chris were here would you have felt uncomfortable about staying here?"
"No," said Rachel hesitantly, "that would have been different."
"This is still Chris' home," said Hannah with irrefutable logic. "She would have wanted you to stay with us, not in some hostel in L. A. Don't worry about it so, child."
Luke came in for Gordie's morning bottle, his nephew over his shoulder. "Good morning. Gordie and I both seemed to have overslept."
The rumpled hair and the slight stubble on Luke's chin made him look strangely vulnerable. He was wearing a maroon sweat suit. Snug in the crook of one arm, Gordie yawned and then sucked on his fist not fully awake yet.
Rachel looked away quickly. There was something about the picture the Summers males made together that tugged at her heartstrings, made her want to be part of it. Part of them. Her voice didn't sound quite right as she returned the greeting, "Good morning."
"Did you sleep well?" Luke was using his x-ray vision again on her. "Having to get used to a strange bed didn't keep you up did it?"
"No...I slept very well."
Rachel rose and rinsed her cup, loading it into the dishwasher. She was taking out the table mats when she sensed him leave with Gordie. He seemed to take some of her tension with him. Rachel let out a long breath and looked up to see Hannah watching her.
"The house is so beautiful." It was the only thing she could think of to say. The oddly speculative look on Hannah's face made her nervous.
"The original farmhouse was much smaller." The housekeeper turned away to the counter and started getting breakfast. "When Grandpa Robert gave them his blessing Miriam and Gordon knew things would be very hard at first."
"Go on," prompted Rachel watching Hannah pour flour into a bowl, measure it with a glance and add some buttermilk. The urge to know more about the history of the Summers family was inexplicable but very strong.
"They mortgaged everything to buy a two year old colt, Jupiter's Gold, the year Rob was born. That was when I came to work for them. Miriam spent every waking hour with Jupiter's Gold, training him, loving him. Buying him was a gamble. His sire had good lines but hadn't achieved anything spectacular in the racing world, his mother had never raced. Jupiter wasn't the best, just the best they could afford but hard work and love paid off. He won the Triple Crown that year to everyone's amazement. With his winnings Miriam and Gordon bou
ght three more yearlings to train and race. Miriam was great with horses but Gordon's business brain had a great deal to do with that success as well. They had Luke eighteen months after Rob and hired a girl to help me in the house so I could devote all my time to the boys. Luke was three when they decided to build here instead of renovating the old farmhouse.
Biscuits in the oven, Hannah poured oat bran into boiling water and stirred it briskly as she continued, "The Diamond Bar quickly developed a reputation for training winners. Jupiter's Gold was our first stud stallion. The boys were three and five when their parents decided to stop training and concentrate totally on breeding thoroughbreds. The children were growing so quickly and the racing circuit was taking too much out of their family life. Miriam found she couldn't have any more children and that had a great deal to do with the decision as well. They wanted to enjoy the two they had."
Hannah placed the bowl of steaming oat bran on the table, fresh fruit, biscuits and butter, stood back and looked at everything as Luke returned with his beaming nephew. Rachel's heart twisted at the sight of the freshly bathed and powdered baby. The fine hair brushed to one side gave him a pin neat look that wouldn't last five minutes. With his cheeks glowing and baby teeth showing in an affable grin Chris' son looked the picture of health and contentment.
Placing Gordie on his exercise mat, Luke sat down at the table and helped himself to the hot cereal.
"Do you ride, Rachel?'
"I only rode on the farm with Chris, years ago." Placid horses that understood nervous riders.
"It's like riding a bike...one doesn't forget how." Luke reached for the milk. "We have some nice quiet horses we keep just for riding. Pick one out at the stables today and call the farm office whenever you feel like riding and Juan will dispatch one of the grooms to the house. There's just one rule though."
"Rule?" Rachel had no intention of riding but the word piqued her interest. These last few days had taught her one thing. Luke didn't lay down the law. He stated it and everyone else followed his example of keeping it. For him to do so now there had to be a special reason.
Faith Hope and Love (A Homespun Romance) Page 6