Chapter Four

Luke

That evening after he’d eaten and showered, he got a text from Rachel, asking about the weather. Some of the cowboys had talked about a storm they expected to roll through sometime around midnight. She asked if that was still the case.

Instead of texting back, he pulled on a fresh pair of jeans, a shirt and boots, and went to Jed’s house. Walking up the path, flashlight in hand, he saw her moving around the upstairs, her slim figure casting a shadow against the curtains.

Jed’s home had been built by his grandparents and probably hadn’t been updated in decades, or ever. Anytime Luke offered to have an electrician or plumber come look over the house, Jed shrugged it off, saying he didn’t want some stranger poking around his home.

Luke knocked on the door, hoping he wouldn’t startle her. He should have texted her to let her know he was on his way, but he figured she would tell him not to come. That evening he’d worried about her, wondered if she was still traumatized by the trip to scatter ashes.

He growled, thinking about Jed once more and how he’d put this responsibility on Rachel’s shoulders. It wasn’t fair to her. At least she’d end up with some property and hopefully a little money. His thoughts drifted to the way she’d melted into his arms. He hadn’t meant to hold her at all, and certainly not so long, but it seemed natural. Lord knew it felt natural.

Her steps drew near and he reminded himself that although Rachel was lovely and sassy and made his blood heat, she was off-limits. Completely. He didn’t need to complicate things by trying to seduce his former boss’s daughter. She was too young. On top of that, she was fragile right now. He’d seen how her grief swept over her that afternoon. The memory stirred protective instincts inside him.

She pulled the door open and smiled. “I’m sorry to bother you. Thunderstorms freak me out.”

“Is that why you asked? Because you’re scared of storms.”

“Pfft, putting it mildly. If I could get the Wi-Fi to work, I could look online to see how bad it’s going to be.”

Wearing a robe, cinched around her narrow waist, her hair piled up on top of her head, and her eyes shining with amusement, she didn’t look the least bit like the damsel in distress. He didn’t care. He’d offer to be her shining knight regardless.

“Want me to spend the night?”

She put her hand on her hip. “Depends. Are you going to be a gentleman?”

“You want me to be?”

“Course I do. I can’t be messing around with my foreman. What kind of example would that be for the other cowboys? They’d all want to come for a sleepover and I’m not that kind of girl.”

“Of course you’re not. And if any of them suggest something different, I’ll give them a black eye. Or maybe worse.”

Her jaw dropped and she stared at him as if he’d just shared a heartfelt secret. She snapped her mouth closed and nodded slowly. “That, Mr. Hardeman, is exactly what I’m looking for in a foreman. A man who can protect me from thunder and untoward cowboys.”

She gestured for him to come inside. “You’re hired.”

He shook his head. Rachel might light his fire, but he wasn’t going to stay on and take orders from her.

“I’m not working for you, Twenty-One. Over the next week, I have three ranches I’m looking at.”

“How am I going to teach and run this ranch?”

“You won’t be able to.”

She huffed and turned away, leaving a hint of a floral scent. He followed her, not sure where she was going but he trailed behind, unable to resist her. His gaze dropped to her ass. Her robe was too thick for his liking. He’d have preferred silk over terrycloth.

“You can have the guest room upstairs.”

“Is that close to your room?”

She cast him a disapproving look. “Remember you’re going to be a gentleman, right?”

“I want to know where you’ll be in case the lights go out.”

Stopping in her tracks, she turned to face him. “Does that happen?”

Gone was her playful expression and in its place, was a stricken look.

“At times.”

She shook her head and proceeded up the stairs. “First thing I’m doing is buying a generator. If I can afford one.”

 He followed her up the stairs, imagining what the view would be like if she wore a short, lacy robe, one that barely covered the curve of her ass. Spending the night was a terrible idea, but he hoped there would be a few more stormy nights before he left for good.

She stopped in front of the door and gestured toward the opening. “There’s stuff in there if you need it. I’d hoped my mother might come to visit, so I bought shampoo and toothbrushes.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you need to go home and get…” her voice trailed off as she blushed. She cleared her throat. “Pajamas or anything?”

“I don’t own any.”

Her blush deepened. “Okay, well…great. Jed’s cook quit by the way, but I can make breakfast in the morning.”

“Damn straight.”

“Good night,” she said, turning abruptly and hurried to her room.

A short while later, Luke lay in the too-small bed and heard her voice coming through the vent. She sounded both sad and frustrated.

“I know the land is worth a fortune, but I’m not selling. Not if I can help it.”

There was a pause and he wondered who she was talking to.

“You can come visit whenever you like. In fact, I’d love for you to-”

She sighed and the floorboards squeaked. He could picture her pacing the room in frustration.

“Don’t bring Edward. I don’t want to see him. He’ll just lean on me to sell too, Mom.”

There was another pause and the sound of her footsteps on the old wooden slats grew silent.

“Why am I the only one in the family trying to get a job, that’s what I’d like to know.”

She muttered a few words and Luke supposed her mother had hung up on her. He turned in the bed, trying to fit himself diagonally in hopes of getting comfortable. Antique beds weren’t made for men who were six-four. Thunder rumbled off in the distance. He caught a murmur of dismay from the other room, followed by the sound of her running down the hall.

The door burst open and she rushed to the bed, yanked the covers back and lay down beside him.

The room was quiet. A drop of rain hit the metal roof. A ping here and another one there and suddenly a burst of rain filled the room with a steady drone.

“I know this is weird,” she said over the sound of the rain. “I swear I’m not hitting on you.”

At a loss for what to say, he laughed and scrubbed a hand down his face. His body responded to her immediately, a roar of lust gripping his senses. She lay, curled in a ball, inches from him, shaking so hard the bed quaked.

“If this is how you’re trying to get me to stay on, it might work,” Luke said.

“Please don’t make fun of me. I’ve been ridiculed for my strange phobias all my life.”

“I wasn’t ridiculing you. Well, maybe I was, a little. I’ve never had a woman throw herself into my bed like that.”

“Uh-huh. I’m sure. I bet they line up.” She tugged the blankets to cover herself and sighed deeply. “You won’t even notice I’m here. I’ll be quiet as a mouse and keep to my little corner while you hog the rest of the bed.”

He turned to face her, curling his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. “I’m not hogging the bed. This bed was made for a nine-year old girl, not for a…”

“Thirty-three-year old rancher with tattoos?” she interrupted.

“Right. What else are you afraid of?”

“Normal stuff. Thunderstorms. Heights. Public speaking. Cracks in the sidewalk.” She yawned. “But I took a quarter of one of my grandfather’s sleeping pills, so I’m going to be asleep soon.”

Luke propped himself up on his elbow. “What the hell did you do that for?”

“I hate sleeping in a house by myself. I just took a little bit. If I’d known you were coming over I wouldn’t have. There’s a flashlight in the bathroom.”

“Which bathroom?”

“Every bathroom…I’m afraid of the dark too. Sometimes…”

“Like when?”

“When the sun goes down…”

“Did something bad happen to you? Did someone hurt you?”

He gritted his teeth, not wanting to hear about someone hurting Rachel and yet unable to keep from asking.

She propped herself up on her elbow, mirroring his position. “Not someone, but something. A tree fell on our house when I was little. I didn’t get hurt but it was the scariest thing and I still have nightmares about it. I know. I know. It’s dumb. Just a tree after all, but there it is. I’m afraid of falling trees, too.”

“That’s not dumb.”

Her soft laugh made him wish he could see more than just her shadowy silhouette. It was better this way, though. A night beside her would be unpleasant enough without seeing her in whatever she wore to bed.

“My grandfather said we get violent storms around here.”

“Some. But no big trees near the house, so at least you don’t need to worry about that.”

She was silent until a rumble of thunder shook the house. “Is it all right if I stay here until the storm passes?”

“It’s just fine.”

She lowered her head to the pillow and he fell back to his. Through the window, he could see lightning streak the sky. While it was a strong storm, it had little of the force or fury of many storms that rolled through the countryside. At least, not yet.