Chapter Three

Rachel

No matter how much Rachel braced herself for her grandfather’s passing, nothing prepared her for the news. She should have seen it coming. He’d asked to speak to Luke. The two men spoke for a full twenty minutes, the longest he’d spoken to anyone since she’d arrived. She could hear the mutual respect in the men’s voices and the finality in her grandfather’s goodbye.

Luke knew too. She was sure of that, by the way he left the house, his expression grim and resolute.

Her grandfather left explicit instructions. No funeral. No memorial. He wanted his ashes spread on the property. Rachel should choose the spot and have Luke take her, he’d written in his final note.

On a bright, clear June afternoon, Luke took her to the ridge that overlooked a wide expanse of the property. They went on horseback, which marked Rachel’s third time in the saddle. Her nervousness helped distract her from the task.

“You’re doing great,” Luke said as they rode side-by-side.

His friendly tone took her off-guard. “This horse’s name isn’t something like Killer or Psycho, is it?”

He grinned at her, making her breath catch. Luke cut a fine figure in the saddle. His chaps hugged his muscular legs, and his long-sleeved shirt accentuated his powerful shoulders.

“Her name’s Misty,” he said. “I picked her out because she’s the gentlest horse we have.”

“You’re not trying to get rid of me?”

“Of course not. Why would I?” He eyed her and added, “Twenty-one.”

She frowned. He’d called her ‘twenty-one’ a few times now, a dig at her age.

“I guess so you could buy the ranch…Thirty-three.”

She watched him intently. Something about riding with him gave her the courage to say what she’d wanted to for weeks. The future of the Wilson Ranch was the elephant in the room. He didn’t want to work for her. She knew that too. Maybe there were two elephants in the room.

His smile faded. “I might yet buy the ranch.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“We’ll see what your granddaddy’s will says. How much money he left you. You might come begging me to buy it from you.”

She scoffed. “I bet you’d love that.”

He didn’t reply, but his heated gaze spoke volumes. In the last few weeks, he’d lost his gruff tone and shown a decidedly friendlier side of himself. He hadn’t flirted exactly, but he’d given her looks that seemed to invite her for something more.

“I won’t sell if I can help it.”

“I won’t work for you if I can help it.”

She’d expected as much. And she knew he’d have no trouble finding another job or ranch land to buy. Everything hung in the balance and she wouldn’t know what her future held until the will was read the next day.

“Maybe you should go with me, to the reading tomorrow,” she said.

“Maybe I already am.”

The trail narrowed and he stopped his horse to let her go ahead. Her thoughts spun with confusion. The lawyer had called her a day after her grandfather died and set up the appointment to discuss her grandfather’s wishes. She’d assumed that she would go alone. Luke hadn’t said a word and his reticence annoyed her.

He smiled with smug satisfaction. “Jerry Saunders asked me to come to the appointment tomorrow. Want me to drive you there, boss lady?”

She rode her horse ahead of him and shook her head. The antagonistic tone was back. Two could play that game. “I planned on having you take me anyway. As the boss of the ranch, I should have a driver, don’t you think?”

“I’d be happy to drive you.”

His sultry voice sent a riot of unwelcome desire across her senses. She was out of her league, playing games with a man who clearly excelled at this sort of competition. They rode on, the horses working hard to ascend the ridge. Rachel’s reins brushed against the mare’s neck. A lather formed on her pretty gray coat. As they rode higher, the view spread out below them. Breathtaking.

“What about here, Rachel?”

They stopped and she looked around, taking in the natural beauty of the wild and rugged land. A stream flowed in the valley below, glinting in the sun. A grove of oaks grew in the bend of the stream and nearby a herd of her grandfather’s Black Angus grazed. She eyed the animals, with slow dawning that the cattle were hers now.

“Beautiful,” Luke said.

“Amazing.”

She turned to look at him and found him staring not at the land, but at her. A flush of heat crawled along her skin.

“After you inherit all this, you’re going to have men knocking down your door to call on you.”

She smiled. “Call on me! That sounds like something from a hundred years ago.”

His eyes darkened. “And I’m not sticking around to keep this ranch going for you and whatever fella talks you into marrying him.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. I told my grandfather a long time ago I’m not marrying. Ever. My mother is on husband number five, and I’ve learned my lesson. I’m going to be a spinster. In fact, after the lawyer's, let’s go to the animal shelter so I can pick up a few dozen cats.”

Part of her felt guilty for squabbling with Luke while she had her grandfather’s ashes in her saddle bag, but the other part of her thrilled at jabbing him with the spinster comment. His eyes widened with surprise. She recalled telling her grandfather and his eyes had gotten big, too.

“You already have a bunch of cats in the barn. You wouldn’t know because you haven’t stepped foot in there. Or anywhere, really.”

His superior tone galled her. If she hadn’t surveyed the property it was because she’d been busy making sure the utility bills were up to date, that oxygen tanks and Hospice supplies were picked up, and her grandfather’s staff showed up for their shifts on time.

There was a lot to do, just inside the house. On top of that, she’d find herself overcome at odd times, like when she found her baby picture among his belongings. The evening before she discovered a Bible in his library, given to him by his grandfather. She alternated between keeping as busy as possible or weeping for a grandfather she would never know.

Luke dismounted and clasped Misty’s bridle. Rachel slid out of the saddle, lowering herself carefully. It seemed as if her feet would never hit ground, but finally she landed beside the mare.

“How in the world did I ever get up there?” she muttered.

“You were standing on a rise by the barn. I led her there so it wouldn’t be such a long trip into the saddle.” Luke towered over her, a wry grin on his face. “I might need to put you in the saddle when we head back. Boss lady.”

She gave him her best, most dazzling smile. “Good help is so hard to find. I might need to see about giving you a raise.”

“I think you could easily give me a raise.”

She huffed. “Could you please stop making inappropriate remarks? We’re here to scatter a man’s ashes. My grandfather’s ashes.”

Furrowing his brow, he handed her the reins and got the container of ashes out of the saddle bag. “What are you going to do, just dump them out?”

Rachel grimaced. “Shoot. I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”

“You probably want to stand upwind.”

“Is that the best you can do?”

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve never done this before either. I’m just saying, make sure the wind is at your back so you don’t get covered in… well, you know.”

“Really, Mr. I’m thirty-three and I know everything?”

He shook his head. “You’re a little smartass. You know that?”

Rachel unscrewed the lid and then stopped. She looked up at Luke. “I’m afraid to look inside.”

He took the canister. “Why?’

“It freaks me out. Why did he ask me to do this?”

“I don’t know.”

“This is bullshit, you know that? He didn’t do anything my whole life, other than send a check every Christmas, and he stopped when I started college. He said girls didn’t need fancy degrees. Who the hell says that? I had to work my way through, because my mother didn’t want to ask her husband de jour for money. Not that I wanted her to. And all along, Grandpa had a million acres and half the cattle in Texas and I had to take out loans and work my ass off. And now I have to take his ashes and scatter them?”

“I know, it’s hard for you.”

“He never wanted to see me.” She was yelling now, shouting at Luke like it was his fault. “I asked every summer if I could come visit and he always said no. Then he calls me when he’s got weeks to live? Weeks?”

He sighed. “You want me to do it for you?”

She drew a sharp breath as a wave of grief crashed over her. “I don’t know. He asked me to do it. But I don’t want to see a pile of ashes. It’s too awful. I’m afraid to even look inside. I don’t want to see.”

“I can do it for you, Rachel,” he said quietly. “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry. If you cry, I will too.”

His eyes unraveled a hard knot of anger and sadness and regret. He was teasing her gently and she felt the last remnants of self-control fall away as her eyes filled with tears.

He looked down at the canister and unscrewed the lid. Studying the contents, he frowned.

“What is it?” She wiped away a tear.

“It’s not what I expected. It looks like crushed up gravel.”

“Gravel?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Kind of.”

Rachel covered her mouth with her hand. “I can’t do this.”

He screwed the lid back on and took her hand. “Leave the horses. They won’t move.”

She let him lead her to the side of the ridge, where the land fell away to a craggy slope.

“Look, this is a pretty spot. The sun sets right there and he would have liked this. We have the wind to our back and we’ll do this together. You put your hand on the canister and help me pour while you close your eyes.”

He unscrewed the lid and shoved it in his breast pocket.

“Close your eyes, Rachel.”

She did as she was told. He set her hands on the canister and covered them with his. Together, they tipped the contents out.

“Okay, that’s it,” he said.

She turned away and bumped into the hard expanse of his chest. She gave a small murmur of surprise but let him fold her into his arms and hold her. A shiver rolled through her body as she absorbed heat from his powerful body. As much as she hated the task of scattering Jed’s ashes, being held by Luke made it worth the pain.

“I never heard Jed apologize to anyone for anything,” Luke said quietly. “But I’m certain he felt as much regret and sorrow as the next man. Maybe more. I imagine seeing you just made him miss his son. That’s why he kept his distance.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to sob in Luke’s arms. Maybe if she focused on the way his powerful arms felt, she could avoid a total meltdown. His scent intoxicated her, strong, masculine and virile. He stroked her back and didn’t seem to be in any hurry to stop hugging her.

“I guess it was dumb of me to expect him to say sorry,” she said.

Luke turned and put his arm over her shoulders, leading her back to the horses. “Look at all this pretty land. This ranch has the best grazing of any place around. The creeks never go dry and you even have a few spring-fed pools that make the best swimming holes. Your grandfather meant for you to have all this, and maybe that was how he tried to tell you he was just so damn sorry.”

She drew a trembling breath. “You’re going to make me cry like a baby, Luke.”

He shoved the canister in the saddlebag and without warning, clasped her waist and lifted her onto the saddle. She managed to stifle a gasp and looked down at him with amazement. She wasn’t heavy, but she wasn’t a waif either, and he’d tossed her up onto the saddle like it was nothing.

Standing beside the mare, he gave her a solemn look. “No crying, Rachel. Ranchers don’t cry.”