Page 23 of A Rancher's Bride
Damn monkey suits. One of the reasons Luke loved working the ranch was because he didn’t have to dress up. He had a few outfits from his time dating Penny, but none of them were in good enough shape for this event, and he didn’t want to add expenses on top of what he’d already laid out. Borrowed gear made the most sense.
He dropped his bags at the main house in the morning before heading into town to deal with some final banking with Caleb. Kelli had obviously already been there because her well-worn hockey bag rested inside the back door.
Lisa came forward when he called into the house. “Hey, Luke. Caleb is saying goodbye to Tamara. She’s in bed again.”
Damn. He felt terrible for her, but also helpless. “I thought morning sickness only lasted three months.”
A slight motion lifted her shoulders. “There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to pregnancy. She’s healthy, just feels like crap. I’ll bet she’s having a boy.”
Luke snickered. “Because men make women ill?”
“Oh, honey. Testosterone is the cause and the cure for so many ailments.” Lisa eyed his packed bags, wrinkling her nose. “That’s everything you need?”
He’d packed most of his closet. “Doesn’t it look like enough?”
“Never said that.”
Caleb came out of the master bedroom and closed the door carefully behind him, pausing to wrap an arm around Lisa’s shoulders to give her a brotherly hug. “She’s feeling better, but I convinced her to take a nap before trying to get vertical again.”
Luke checked his watch. “We’d better get going to make our appointment on time.”
“Go on,” Lisa insisted. “I’ll take care of everything that needs to be done here.”
“You’re a lifesaver,” Caleb told her.
“That’s what family does—they take care of each other.” Her grin widened. “Even when they don’t want to be taken care of.”
“Damn right,” Luke agreed. Tamara was stubborn, so it was good to see her sister and Caleb were keeping her under control.
They got everything done in town pretty quick, but Caleb sat in silence as they headed back to the house.
“I’m gonna do my best,” Luke assured him.
“Oh, I don’t doubt that. Glad you’re the one going and not me.” He glanced over at Luke before putting his gaze back on the highway. “Think you’ll run into the Talismans?”
His ex-fiancée’s family. “Possible. I don’t think they’ll make trouble, though. Penny and I called it off pretty mutual.”
“There’s no lingering plans to reignite that, then,” Caleb stated.
Soft curses escaped before Luke shut them down. “Definitelyno. Not a thing you need to worry about. That was a different time and place, and I learned my lesson.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Caleb muttered.
Jeez, he didn’t need any bull right now. “Cryptic much?”
“Just feels as if the lesson you learned was to not get involved with women, period. They aren’t the enemy.”
Yeah, not the conversation he wanted to have before heading into a stressful situation. “I hear you, and I agree one hundred percent that women are wonderful creatures, but you took a breather after your wife left. Give me the courtesy of doing a reset myself.”
“Okay. Only tell me you’ll go with your gut,” Caleb encouraged. “Because it took me far too long to work up my courage to try again. Doesn’t mean you have to.”
“And on that note, drop me by my place. I’d better get changed. I’m supposed to meet Kelli in about thirty minutes so we can get on the road.”
His big brother still seemed to have something to say, but he closed his mouth and nodded. “No problem.”
Caleb dropped him off then headed back to the house.
Luke didn’t bother to do anything except change. He grabbed his phone charger then hurried to the main house. He left his truck running so it would warm up, stepping to the front door to grab their bags.
