The Cowboy Earns a Bride (Cowboys of Chance Creek Book 8) Page 16

  “Here’s the thing. Careers are like babies to women. Hell, they’re like cubs to momma bears. You don’t get between a woman and the job she wants to do—not if you want to keep your head on your shoulders. Believe me—I know.”

  Luke nodded. He knew Jake and Hannah had scrapped over whether she should go to school or have children. In the end they’d decided to move forward with both. “This is different. I’m telling you, Mia didn’t look good at all. She shouldn’t be at work. In fact, I’ve debated whether I should call Fila and tell her that myself.”

  “It’s one thing if you’re concerned for her health. It’s another thing all together if you’re trying to control her.”

  Luke grabbed the currycomb away from his brother. “I’m not trying to control anyone. I’m trying to help.”

  “Yeah, well you’re helping yourself all the way to losing that girl. Smarten up.”

  “You got another letter,” Autumn said when Mia got home from work that night.

  Mia sighed. Her feet ached again, and she hadn’t managed to eat any dinner. She knew she should find something to eat now, but the truth was she didn’t have an appetite. “What are you doing here so late?” Usually Autumn was home in the bunkhouse by now.

  “Some guests are coming to stay next week and I’m planning a menu. Don’t worry—we’ll still have plenty of room for you.”

  Mia accepted the letter Autumn held out for her and sat down heavily on the couch. “I’ll be out of your hair soon, I promise. I’ve been looking at real estate.”

  “Real estate is expensive.” Autumn got up and returned a minute later with a cup of tea. “Here, I had just made a pot. Are you feeling okay?”

  “I’m fine.” Mia accepted the cup gratefully. “Just a little tired.” She would have said more about her house search, but she remembered Carl’s words—that she should surround herself with cheerleaders. She’d always thought of Autumn as a terrific friend, but Autumn hadn’t been too encouraging about her business plan, and now she didn’t sound enthusiastic about the idea of her buying a house, either.

  “Have you talked to a bank about a loan?”

  “Not yet.” She decided to turn the conversation. “I bet you can’t wait to start gardening again.”

  Autumn smiled. “You’re right. I’m starting some seeds at the bunkhouse. I think this year I’ll get Ethan to build me a greenhouse. If we have enough money,” she added with a sigh.

  “You’ll have enough money,” Mia said. “I bet this year you’ll get a ton of guests. Your website looks great.” She dug her finger under the flap of the envelope and began to open it.

  “That’s what I love about you, Mia. You always make me feel good about the guest ranch. You’re such a great friend.”

  I like being a cheerleader, Mia thought. Now if only more people would encourage her about her wedding planner idea. She opened the envelope and pulled out a small slip of paper.

  Don’t cheet.

  “Huh.” Mia shoulders fell. She knew exactly what it referenced: her meeting with Carl in Linda’s Diner. She bet all the gossips talked about it afterward.

  “What does it say?”

  She handed the note to Autumn.

  “Cheat? Who would you cheat with?”

  “No one.” Mia grabbed it back, crumpled it up and stood. “I’m going to bed. I have an early morning.” And she still had to finish the letter for Inez. She wasn’t looking forward to that.

  “Mia,” Autumn called after her as she walked toward the stairs. “Take it easy, okay? Don’t tire yourself out too much.”

  “I won’t.”

  She didn’t think she could get any more tired than she already was.

  Be persistint.

  Luke scanned the two words on the page again. He was no English professor, but he was pretty sure that wasn’t spelled right.

  Besides, he had been persistent. He’d spent every waking hour—at work, while eating, even when he was supposed to be asleep—trying to figure out how to get Mia back. He was insane with worry over it. His body ached more from pent up frustration than from overwork. His chores were suffering and his accounts were a mess because he couldn’t concentrate. He knew he was the right man for Mia. He knew she was the right woman for him. It should have been simple, but instead she was slipping away.

  Persistent. He’d told her how he felt. He’d gone to her doctor’s appointment. He’d transformed his spare room into a nursery. How else could he prove that he would be a good husband and provider?

  Should he try the ring thing again? He could go back and get the one she’d first chosen. Luke thought about that, decided he would purchase the ring Mia had wanted, but he wouldn’t propose to her again yet. Not until they’d worked things out. The day they were supposed to get married was already long gone. March had arrived and with it a warm, wet breeze that was melting just enough of the snow to turn every stock yard and driveway into a muddy mess.

  Should he buy her something else? He wracked his brain for what that might be. Flowers and chocolates hadn’t moved her. The bracelet and hair clips hadn’t either.

  Should he go and reason with her?

  Definitely not. Every time he talked he dug himself a deeper hole.

  How could he win her without talking to her, though?

  The answer to that question made him smile. He didn’t think he could trick her into coming to his place again anytime soon though, and he needed privacy for what he had in mind. Good thing the Cruzes cleared out of the guesthouse every night. Mia was the only one staying there at present.

  Which meant that right about now she was probably alone.

  ‡

  Chapter Fifteen

  Mia wasn’t sure what woke her an hour or so after she fell asleep. She thought she’d heard a sound that had no place in the house at this time of night. She sat up and listened over the thump of her heart in her chest. Had a door shut downstairs? Was Autumn still down there?

  It was awfully late.

  Instinct had her climbing out of bed and throwing on her robe. She searched in the dark until her hand closed around the heavy metal flashlight Ethan had given her when she first moved back. She remembered what he told her then. “I like this brand. It’s a good light and it’s heavy enough to use as a weapon if need be.”

  Just like a man, she’d thought at the time, but now she understood what he meant. She moved on silent feet to her door and positioned herself to the side that it opened toward. Because now she was sure there was an intruder in the house.

  As she pressed her back against the wall and held her breath, straining to hear footsteps or the telltale creak of a stair tread, she longed for the cell phone she’d left downstairs in her purse.

  Maybe the intruder would take that purse, steal her money, and go away. Please, she found herself whispering. Please, please just go away.

  But when a footfall sounded right outside her door, Mia knew she wouldn’t get off that easy. She clutched the flashlight in both hands, raised it above her head and waited, stifling a scream when the doorknob turned and the door opened an inch, and then another.

  “Mia?” a man said softly as he entered the room, and she didn’t wait another instant. She’d meant to smash the flashlight down on the intruder’s head, but instead she flung it at him.

  “Ow! What the fuck?” The man swung a hand out to defend himself and knocked the door wide open. It slammed into her, the doorknob bashing her hip.

  “Ouch!”

  “Mia? Jesus, is that you?”

  “Luke?”

  The man fumbled around the doorway and found the light switch. In the glare of the overhead lamp, Mia cringed back, one hand on her bruised hip. Luke stood in the doorway, a hand to his head.

  “What did you hit me with?”

  “What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?”

  They faced each other, both of them breathing hard.

  “I came… I just wanted to be with you.” Luke looked at his hand. “I’m bl
eeding.”

  “It’s no more than you deserve! You scared me to death! How did you even get inside the house?”

  “The front door was unlocked and the lights are on downstairs. I assumed you were still up.”

  “So you tiptoed through the house and barged into my room?” And why were the lights on at this hour? Had Autumn meant to come back for something and forgotten about it?

  “I didn’t tiptoe. I sauntered.”

  “Like hell!” But she moved closer and touched his hand. He was bleeding. “Come on into the bathroom—let’s take care of that.”

  “I can’t believe you hit me.” He chuckled. “It’s worth it, though, to get a look at you in that robe.”

  “Luke.” She knew all her curves were in plain sight through the soft, silky fabric.

  She led the way into the bathroom, turned on the light and tugged him toward the sink. Turning on the tap, she moved his hand under the running water. He jerked his hand back and hissed.

  “You have to clean that.”

  “All right.” He put his hand under the water again and this time let her minister to him. She cleaned the cut as gently as she could with a washcloth.

  “I mean it. You look stunning.” His voice was husky and when she glanced up and followed his gaze, she realized she’d given him an eyeful when she’d bent over his hand. He couldn’t seem to look away from the curve of her breasts exposed by her robe. “I’m sorry I scared you, honey.”

  “You did scare me.” She fought against her awareness of him. Tried to stay immune to his familiar, sexy scent.

  “Did I hurt you?” His free hand slipped under her robe to her hip. Mia gasped, but not from pain as he smoothed his palm over her bare skin. “You know I’d never hurt you on purpose.”

  She did know that. As aggravating as Luke was—as blind to her needs as he could be—the cowboy meant well. And he was so… intoxicating when he touched her like that.

  But she had to be strong. She finished cleaning his cut, patted his hand dry with a towel and moved to fetch a band-aid.

  “I don’t need that,” Luke said. “But there’s something else you could help me fix up.”

  “What?”

  He took her hand, pressed it against the front of his jeans. He was hard below the fabric. Mia’s breath caught in her throat. “Luke.”

  “I want you,” he whispered as he reached out to undo the ties of her robe. She tried to cover herself back up. “Mia, don’t.”

  She heard the longing in his voice, and she wasn’t sure if it was because she was so tired, the late hour, or the way his body always got her attention, but she found she didn’t want to fight him. She let her hands fall, and he slid the robe off of her, then led her to the bed. “Climb in.”

  “What about you?”

  He smiled. “Be there in a minute.” He turned off the bedroom light, closed the door and she could hear the sound of him undressing. She knew she was crazy to let him join her—especially after the stupid move he’d just pulled, but she didn’t want Luke to leave. She didn’t want to be alone.

  When he slid under the covers, she shivered with the cool air that followed him, but in just moments, he warmed her up again. He scooped her into his arms and pressed her body against his. Mia sighed when her breasts rubbed against his chest.

  “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

  “Um-hmm.”

  “I bet I can make you feel even better.”

  She knew he could, so she offered no resistance to his caresses. Instead she rolled over onto her back, relaxed against the pillows and offered herself to him. Luke didn’t hesitate. He commenced a sensual exploration of every part of her body that soon had her writhing beneath him in ecstasy. Gone was the exhaustion that had weighed her down all day. Under Luke’s touch, she came alive.

  “I want you inside me,” she finally breathed and in an instant he was in position above her, letting her know with his body just how ready he was to be with her, too.

  He hesitated only a moment—just long enough to see if she had any objections to the position, which she didn’t. She liked that Luke had taken control and that all she had to do was lie back and let him ravish her.

  He did so—pressing into her so tenderly and slowly at first, she was ready to scream with frustration and desire. Then he sped up his movements until all Mia could do was hold on for dear life. When she came, she arched up to meet him and cried out, thankful for the empty house so that she didn’t need to hold back. Soon Luke was there with her, grunting in time with his thrusts.

  Afterward, when he pulled out, she wanted to do it all over again. When they made love everything was perfect. They were completely aligned—completely of one mind.

  Why couldn’t they be like that all the time?

  “Luke?” she asked when the silence stretched too long. “What is it?”

  “I don’t want to say anything. I don’t want to mess things up and have you kick me out again.”

  She sighed, hearing the depth of his love for her in his voice. “Then we won’t say anything. We’ll just touch.”

  “Like this?” He stroked a finger down her arm and then shifted to circle her breast.

  “Exactly like that.”

  Luke stuck to his guns and didn’t say more than a word or two the rest of the night. In the morning, he slipped out of bed, made Mia a quick breakfast—after checking his phone for messages and breathing a sigh of relief when he found none—and took it to her in her bedroom. He set the tray on her lap, kissed her good-bye and went home to do his own chores, a spring in his step that hadn’t been there in a long time.

  Several hours later he heard a commotion outside of the barn where he was working and went to check it out. Rarely had he seen Ethan lose his temper, but today the rancher was letting Ned have it.

  “At least be man enough to admit what you did! You went to enough trouble to embarrass me!”

  “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!”

  The two men faced each other near the closest corral. Luke hurried over to see what was the matter.

  “Hemorrhoid cream. A whole damn box of it. In front of everyone at the post office! Eleanor Hutton’s been telling the whole town about my piles. Someone offered me a donut pillow at the drug store yesterday.”

  Ned guffawed. “Wish I’d been there, but it wasn’t me. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got a snow blower to fix.” He indicated his mechanics shed in the distance where he kept all the equipment on the ranch in working order.

  “Ned ain’t smart enough to pull a practical joke,” Luke said, joining them. “It’s gotta be someone else.”

  “Not the sharpest tool in your tool shed? Is that what Luke means?” Ethan said to Ned.

  “I’d be sharp enough not to be fooled if someone played a practical joke on me.”

  “You Mathesons.” Ethan made it sound like a dirty word. “I don’t need your shit! I can’t get a full night’s sleep. I don’t have enough guests booked for the month. I’ve got bills coming out of my ears!” Luke could sympathize with his pain. Ethan walked around in a circle. “How am I supposed to pay for college if the guest house can’t even pay for its own electricity?”

  “College?” Luke chuckled. “Arianna’s what—three weeks old?”

  “And seeing how she’s yours, she won’t be too bright,” Ned added. He ducked when Ethan took a swipe at him.

  “She’ll be smarter than you.”

  “She’ll probably read before she’s thirty, at least,” Luke added. Then wished he hadn’t. “Shit. I didn’t mean…”

  “To hell with both of you,” Ned said and stalked away stiffly, his face as white and pinched as it had been the first time Luke saw him after he broke his leg.

  “Damn it.” One night with Mia and he was so giddy he’d forgotten to watch his mouth. He shouldn’t have said that. Ned was chancy to joke with at any time, but if you brought up his dyslexia to his face he was sure to get ornery.

  “I’ll lea
ve you to mend your fences.” Ethan turned to go. “But you can tell him I don’t consider ours mended yet.”

  “I got the strangest note in the mail the other day,” Carl said when Mia met him for coffee again at Linda’s Diner one day in the middle of March. He fished a folded envelope out of his pocket and laid it on the table.

  “Hi, Mia!” Tracey appeared to take their order. “What’ll it be today? And I loved the ideas you emailed me about the flower arrangements. They’re perfect!”

  “Glad you liked them. I’ll have some peach cobbler and a glass of milk.” She was getting sick of milk, but everything she read told her she needed to watch her calcium intake. Her baby had a lot of growing to do.

  “Coffee—black—and a slice of cherry pie.” Carl handed the menu to Tracey and waited until she walked away.

  Mia picked up the envelope and her heart sank when she recognized the writing. Not Carl, too. She pulled out the slip of paper inside it.

  Leeve her alon.

  “I assume you’re the one I’m supposed to leave alone?” Carl said.

  “Probably. I’ve been getting notes like this, too.”

  “Is it your fiancé?”

  “I don’t think so. Luke would just come out and say it if he was angry about something. I can’t think who is sending them.”

  “Someone who saw us together, I guess.”

  “It doesn’t have to be someone who actually saw us. People gossip.”

  “Maybe we shouldn’t meet anymore.”

  Mia looked him in the eye. “I want to meet. You’re the only one I can really talk about my business to, as sad as that is.”

  “Speaking of which. Where’s your contract?” He held out a hand. Mia pulled a large manila envelope from her bag, handed it over, then watched him draw out the sheaf of papers inside. She had come to enjoy Carl’s weekly challenges for her and she was learning a lot from him. This week the challenge had been to make a contract for her event planning services. She’d cobbled one together from contracts she’d seen online, but she wasn’t sure it was what Carl had in mind.