CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
LUCAS, CHARLEY, AND Dice Fuller walked their horses the last mile up the draw to Kirkland’s land. They moved over winter grass and found Lauren curled up asleep in her old Ford.
While Charley switched the trailer back to his truck, Lucas kissed her awake.
The moment she realized he was near, she hugged him so hard he could barely breathe.
“It is all right, mi cielo. I’m fine. I’m back without a scratch, see? It’s all over. We found what we were looking for.”
“I thought I heard gunfire far away. That wasn’t you, was it?” Her blue eyes sparkled with tears.
“No. I heard it too. Probably someone just out hunting coyotes.” He couldn’t tell her about bullets flying over his head. He couldn’t frighten her more than she already was.
Dice and Charley loaded the horses and with a wave they disappeared.
“Aren’t you going to tell Pop?” she asked.
“In a few hours he’ll be up and I plan to be sitting in his kitchen, drinking coffee. We’ll want to move fast, before they have time to load up and leave the ranch.”
He didn’t tell her the details. They made it in with no problem. Found the opening to the box canyon that was barely wide enough for the trucks to go in. Rode along the canyon wall and at one small ledge they could see down. Five trucks were parked, one had boxes being unloaded into a tent. A half-dozen guards were huddled around the opening. They’d almost made it down when a rabbit spooked Dice’s mount.
The cowboy had stayed in the saddle, but the horse made enough noise to alert the guards. From then on it was a race to get out.
“Any chance your dad knew we were out there tonight?” he asked Lauren as he brushed her hair back.
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“When we were riding out, I think we had a guardian angel. I’ll tell you all about it later.”
She cuddled close as if still half-asleep.
Lucas drove her Ford slowly back to Crossroads, thinking of all he’d seen. His father had told him of little things that were happening, but no one, including Reid or his father, probably had any idea what was going on in the far pasture.
When Lucas turned down the road that lead to Lauren’s father’s lake house, he had her tucked close under his arm. She’d always been a part of him and she felt so right, close like this.
“Drop me off here,” he whispered. “Then go back to your apartment, and get some sleep. All hell is going to break loose in a few hours. I don’t like leaving you, but I need to be here when your pop wakes up. We’ll talk, make some calls, and get the whole thing rolling.”
When he pulled up at her father’s place he kissed her, loving how comfortable they’d become in each other’s arms. It felt good. It felt right. “This is all going to be over tomorrow. Then we’ve got some talking to do. You’re right. I have been pushing you away, but no more. I still may not be good enough for you, but I’m never walking away from you again. So go on home and get some sleep. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
She reached over and cut the car’s engine. “This is my home. You may sit in the kitchen or take the couch to wait for Pop to wake up, but I still have my old room. You won’t have to call me. I’m a light sleeper. I’ll hear when you two start talking.”
He nodded. “You’re not one of those women who take orders, are you?”
“I never have been, Lucas.”
He smiled. “I’m going to love that about you.”
They walked to the door. His hand never stopped touching her. For once, Lucas couldn’t get close enough. He’d always known it would be that way if he allowed her near. In the beginning, he’d feared she’d detour his goals, his dreams, but tonight he realized something. She was his dream. His future. Without Lauren, all the work would be for nothing.
She turned toward her bedroom and he turned toward the study. His quiet, shy Lauren didn’t say a word, but he felt it in her touch. She didn’t want to leave his side.
He stood, watching her walk away, and he knew there was only one place he belonged. With her. He’d always known that, but part of him had also feared he wasn’t right for her. He came from a rowdy, noisy family and she seemed to live in a quiet world even in college. He loved excitement, be it fighting in court or riding full-out tonight. She’d chosen to live here, no big city.
But she was already in his heart. She always had been, and this time he wouldn’t walk away.
Now he realized that she didn’t want the powerful lawyer or the big-city life or the money. She wanted him. Just him, and she’d been trying to tell him that for years.
* * *
LAUREN MOVED INSIDE her room and pulled off her sweater. Her life was changing; she could feel it. Something had shifted inside her. Lucas had climbed back into her heart, or maybe he’d never left. Not as a hero, the boyfriend she wanted, or even the man she admired. It was more. They felt it in the few kisses they had shared tonight. A settling into place. In the way he touched her. In the calmness they both shared. Neither had said the words, but they both knew. They were together, not as friends or lovers, but forever as both.
Before she could find her pajamas, a tap sounded on her door. The house was so quiet, she almost thought she’d wished for the sound, but when it came again she pressed her hand against the wood.
If she answered, she just might be unlocking her heart for the first time.
It was time.
She opened the door with a smile, realizing that Lucas hadn’t kissed her good-night, or good morning. Maybe he only wanted to touch her one more time.
She stood, waiting, and couldn’t help but notice how he seemed nervous for the first time around her.
He didn’t reach for her. He just leaned against the door frame. “I can’t sleep on the couch. It’s already occupied by Reid. In fact, he’s handcuffed to the arm of it and I can smell liquor from a room away.”
“Well,” Lauren murmured, with a smile, “I guess you’ll have to sleep with me.”
A slow smile spread over Lucas’s handsome face. “You think it’s time we stopped hesitating?”
“I think it’s long past.”
She pulled him in and closed the door.
He circled her in his arms and whispered, “You ready to jump, Lauren?”
“I think so. I’d like to try.”
He kissed her forehead as his hands moved over her. “Don’t worry, mi cielo, we’ve got a lifetime to get it right.”
She laughed softly against his shoulder. “Well, I guess we’d better start practicing.”