Page 95 of A Rancher's Bride
“I’m glad you understood that everything I just rambled off boils down to that one truth.”
The man-door of the barn swung open, and Lisa motioned with her head to where a tall figure was marching toward them. “It appears he’s come out of hiding. If your one truth is like mine, you want to be happy too. I have a feeling that someoneelsetruly wants the same thing, especially with you.”
“Yet it feels like he’s doing everything possible to make it easy for me to leave,” Kelli complained.
“Men.” Lisa stared heavenward for a moment, and then her face lit up almost dangerously. “Bet you twenty bucks he starts an argument with you over something stupid before—”
“Lisa Coleman, I told you no more bets regarding my relationships.” Kelli pressed her fists to her hips and glared at the other woman, holding her mouth pursed long as she could before breaking into laughter.
Luke was nearly upon them. Lisa backed away, tossing Kelli a wink. “Fine, I won’t take your money. I still think you’ll end up in the tack room before too long. Because I know what happens when you guys finish arguing and move to making up.”
“Kelli?” Luke stepped around Lisa, who wiggled her fingers before taking off with a skip in her step.
Kelli slipped into Chili Pepper’s pen. “I’ll be out in a second.”
“I’ll wait.”
She had nothing to do. Not really, but the moment to collect her thoughts helped. Kelli pressed her forehead against Pepper’s. Speaking in the barest whisper as she gathered her courage. “Maybe you can share a little of your stubbornness to make sure I do this right.”
The mare snorted, ruffling Kelli’s braids, and she laughed, squeezing Chili Pepper affectionately before crawling out of the pen and closing the gate behind her.
Luke uncurled himself from the wall he’d been leaning against and stepped toward her. “We need to talk.”
* * *
Luke had triedto stay away. Really, he had, but it had been growing steadily more impossible. Even riding that morning for a couple of hours had done nothing to still the damn jumping beans in his gut.
He’d stopped on the hillside where his mom and dad were buried, but the only thing that had reminded him of was how fully they’d lived their lives. Every single day until they were gone, they had laughed and loved and given generously to the family.
He might’ve told Kelli she had to make her own decision and that whatever she wanted, he would support her, but part of his promise was a lie.
If she chose to go away, he was going to die inside. He didn’t want her to leave him.
While he’d been daydreaming, Kelli had wandered into the empty stall beside Chili Pepper, rake in hand as she smoothed the hard-packed earth floor. Working while they talked, the way they had for years together.
But this time, he took the rake from her hands and leaned it against the wall, needing her full attention. “Your grandpa called. He wants your phone number, and I wanted to find out from you first if that was okay. He’d like to come out to the ranch this weekend.”
She gave a quick nod before a look of incredulousness spread over her face. “This is not going to go away when I blink, is it?
He shook his head. “No. It’s real.”
“Of course, you can give him my number. It’s good for him to be able to have a way to get in touch—” Her eyes widened like dinner plates, and she swore softly. “Oh my God, he still thinks we’re engaged, doesn’t he?”
His spine stiffened. “Yeah.”
Her face twisted, and her nose wrinkled. “I wonder what he’d say if we told him the truth.”
Fuck his good intentions. Luke’s heart pounded so hard he felt it in his throat. “You really don’t want me that much?”
Her expression turned to sheer confusion. “What?”
“You’re willing to simply give me up.”
“What are you—?”
“What if it wasn’t a lie?” Anger rose along with a sense of out-of-control futility, and he dragged a hand through his hair, pacing away. Pacing back. “I don’t have anything I can do to prove to you that I’m worth it. There’s nothing I can give up to show that you’re worth everything to me. You’ve got money now, and you’ve got connections. We don’t need each other anymore the way we did heading out to the gala. But if you’re not with me, at my side, it’s all worthless.”
Words spilled from him like a Chinook wind assaulting the icy cold of winter. Relentless, heated and unstoppable.
