Page 127 of 15 Summers Later

Madi stopped on the trail, her face suddenly on fire. “Did he?”

“Sierra.”

At the chiding voice behind them, Madi turned to find Luke standing behind them, holding his vet bag, obviously on his way to or from treating one of the animals.

Why hadn’t Sierra or the other volunteers mentioned Luke was here? He likely had been checking on Barney’s injury.

She should have noticed his truck when she walked over, but she supposed she had still been in a daze when she walked to the shelter barn from the farmhouse, distracted by worry for her sister and still trying to wake up.

Now he was there, looking big and gorgeous and...rather mortified.

“What?” Sierra asked. “That’s what you said, isn’t it?”

He let out a breath, not looking at Madi. “Okay, yes. But do you remember what else I said? I added that my intentions of kissing her were dependent on whether Madi wanted me to in return.”

His daughter didn’t even bother to roll her eyes this time, though her expression conveyed the same thing. “Again. I saw you both yesterday, remember? Believe me, she wanted you to kiss her.”

Madi risked a glance at Luke, whose face still looked suspiciously pink. She could relate since hers now felt hot.

“Anyway,” Sierra went on blithely, “the point is I’m sorry I acted like a brat yesterday. It won’t happen again, I promise. I was just shocked. I told Dad this morning that I thought about it a lot last night while he was gone and decided that if he is going to kiss anyone, it should be you. You guys are basically perfect for each other. All my friends agreed when I told them.”

“Um. Okay.” Madi didn’t know what else to say, fairly horrified that she and Luke had been the subject of discussion among Sierra’s friends.

Sierra gave them both a mischievous grin. “How about I take the dogs to the exercise yard instead of a walk?”

Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the leashes of the other two dogs from Madi and headed back in the other direction, toward the fenced area where the dogs could play and run.

Luke’s thirteen-year-old daughter had effectively maneuvered the situation so they could be alone together. Madi had a feeling that had not been accidental.

He raked a hand through his hair, making it stand up in an adorable way that gave Madi a wild urge to smooth it down again.

“Sorry about that,” he murmured. “She’s thirteen. Apparently she’s at a stage in life when she thinks everything should be like a scene out of a romantic novel.”

“I’m not sure age has anything to do with it. I’m twenty-nine. I tend to agree with her.”

He smiled at that. After looking around to make sure their only audience was the goats, he stepped forward and reached for her hands.

“I meant everything I said to Sierra yesterday. I would like to do much more of the kissing with you. Along with other things.”

She was suddenly acutely aware of her curled hand, the brace on her leg, the mouth that didn’t straighten completely.

“You know I’m not...perfect.”

He squeezed her hands in both of his. “You might think that. I certainly don’t. To me, you areexactlyperfect. You’re brave, smart, funny.”

He paused, his gaze locked with hers. “You are also the woman I happen to love.”

She stared at him as the words seemed to wrap around them both, twisting and curling them together into a delicious tangle.

“You don’t need to look so shocked. It can’t be that much of a surprise to you, can it?”

“Yes. Yes. It can.”

Her words suddenly felt slippery as trout in a stream, flashing silver in the sunlight before disappearing. She couldn’t seem to catch a single one.

His tender smile warmed her, healed places inside she didn’t know were still scarred.

“I love you, Madi Howell. I don’t know how or when it happened. Only that loving you feels perfect, too.”

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