Page 87 of A Rancher's Bride
“I know that. I’m not going to do anything that hurts her.” Luke swore. “Look, our relationship might have started because I acted without thinking, but being with her is the rightest thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Which made the sensation so much worse as it arrived with a thumping jolt. It seemed everything he had begun to hope for was once again slipping out of reach.
* * *
Kelli foundone of the ranch ATVs parked across the trail, blocking her route.
She pulled to a stop and turned off her own engine, following a set of footprints through the snow to the rocks at the base of the pool of Heart Falls.
Her involuntary annoyance faded when she spotted Luke’s tall figure staring over the frozen water.
His arms were folded over his chest, his gaze fixed across the icy surface to the small patch of open water. The trickle from the falls that remained flowing all winter was enough to keep the entire surface too thin to skate on.
It was beautiful and mesmerizing at the same time. The cascading water on the far left had frozen into a curtain made of deep blue to shimmering white.
She waited until she was close enough to speak without shouting. “I was worried there was an emergency when Ashton told me to go home, but I don’t think you’d be out here relaxing if something was wrong with the family.”
He turned and offered a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Everyone is fine,” he assured her. “But we need to talk.”
A million different worrisome troubles raced through her brain. “I’m not going to give myself an ulcer trying to guess, so spit it out.”
Luke caught her by the hand and pulled her with him toward the game trail. “You know how you told me you ran away from your mom? That she’d been keeping bad company, and making bad decisions, and you didn’t want to be part of it?”
Anything she’d been worried about faded into nothing as he brought up the one thing she had never dreamed possible. “Oh my God. Did my mom show up?”
He squeezed her fingers tightly. “No. And if she did, I’d have been tempted to send her packing without ever letting you know. But something—”
He stopped, settling on top of a fallen log and drawing her between his knees so they were face to face.
Such concern and worry was written there. “You’re scaring me and stirring up maternal instincts I didn’t know I had. I want to do whatever I can to get you to stop being so sad.”
“Seems we’re doing the same thing, because I’m trying to protect you,” Luke admitted. “I found out some information today that I don’t know how you’re going to take.”
“Does it involve you kicking me out of Silver Stone?”
With how serious he looked, it was surprising to hear a soft chuckle escape. “Since you’ve already informed me Ican’tkick you out, that’s obviously not the issue.” He slipped his hand around the back of her, holding her close. “One of the pictures we took at the gala turned out amazing. You look beautiful. You also look nearly identical to another woman someone knows, and he was wondering if it’s possible the two of you are related.”
She tried to untangle that. “Someone says they know a woman who looks like me? I don’t have any sisters, Luke. I’m an only child.”
“I said it wrong. You look identical to how someone looked twenty years ago. It’s possible they’re thinking of your mom. You told me part of her story, but not enough for me to be sure if I should tell this person to leave or not. You said your mom left home and never went back—she complained about strict parents. But did she also have a good reason to leave?”
Oh. Now his worries made sense. “You’re trying to figure out if she was getting out of a bad situation, like me?” Kelli thought back to her early days and what she had overheard. She shook her head gently. “She liked to complain that she was hard done by, but even to me as a teenager, it sounded like an excuse. As if she’d hoped life would be easier if she got to be in charge, but instead it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. She was probably too proud to admit she’d made a mistake and go home. But honestly, Luke, while I have a few good memories from growing up, I’m very aware of hownot gooda mother she was, and that was her choice. One hundred percent. I want nothing to do with her.”
Luke nodded slowly. “Let me ask you this. If it was possible to meet your grandfather, isthatsomething you’d liked to do?”
She leaned into him, fighting to make her tongue work. Wow. Talk about unexpected. “I don’t know how to answer that. It’s not anything I’ve ever thought of before.”
She found herself wrapped up in two strong arms as Luke pulled her against his body. Using his hand to tug her head against him, he squeezed her tight and held her. Their breathing slowed even as her mind raced.
There was someone out there who might be her family? It was shocking, and yet…
And yet it wasn’t as life altering as maybe it should feel. Like she and Tansy had talked about, Kelli already had a family—people she cared about and who obviously cared about her.
She twisted until she could look up at Luke. “What do you think?”
“Uh-uh. I’m not going to make this decision for you.” He looked far too serious, considering this should be a happy moment.
Shouldn’t it?
