The Renegade Returns

She went on. “This is the most pain-free I’ve seen you since you moved back.”

Luke was a little shocked himself.

Christina studied her plate for a moment. “I know it seems silly to be worried about a grown woman, but Avery has pulled away some since KC and I became involved with your brothers. Maybe hanging out with us makes her feel like a third wheel. But I think Avery needs someone to shake her out of her rut, so to speak.” She gave Luke one of her patented purposeful looks.

He didn’t disappoint. “Well, I do need a hostess for dinner.”

Christina lowered her fork despite the bite of waffle on the end. “She agreed?”

“Yes. She tried to brush me off, so I told her how much you missed her...and how disappointed you would be if she didn’t come.”

He leaned back in his chair, accompanied by a creak of wood. Part of him wanted to confess how conflicted he was, how much he wanted Avery to come to dinner for himself. He didn’t want to admit to the attraction that grew every time he saw her, but he was drawn to the chance to make the laughter, the spark of life in Avery’s eyes grow.

“She’s funny—so dedicated to her work, holding fast to this therapist-patient bit. But I think she needs someone to push her outside her safety zone.” A cohort in crime, so to speak. Luke didn’t want Christina to know how desperate he was for the job.

The whole time he spoke, Christina’s expression grew in excitement until she practically glowed. “So you are interested! I knew it.”

Uh-oh. Christina would be unbearable once she thought she was right.

“No, ma’am.” He would not let anything sexual even start between him and Avery. Not when he had no plans to hang around. She was obviously rooted in this town, and the last thing he could see himself as was a small town husband. “You can put that emerging matchmaker back in her cage, because it’s not gonna happen.” He waved his arms around the room. “This version of happily-ever-after is not for me.”

“That’s what Aiden and Jacob said,” she mumbled beneath a smile.

“I’m serious, Christina.” Christina’s astute look had him adding, “I just want to be her friend. I owe her that.” And much, much more. Even though he’d brushed her off as a teenager for all the right reasons, he still felt bad about it now.

“As long as you’re careful with her,” Christina gave the obligatory warning, but Luke could see her concern for her friend in her darkened eyes. “Honestly, she deserves more than a little bit of fun after all she’s been through.”

“Has it been rough since her mother died?”

“Oh, it was rough way before that.” Christina shifted the pieces of waffle on her plate as a thoughtful look softened her face.

“How come I haven’t heard anything about her when I’ve been home?”

“Because there wasn’t much to hear. She went to college and things were good until the summer after her sophomore year. Then her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She’d been dating a guy pretty steadily, but when she buckled down to finish her studies early, he lost interest.”

Ouch. Just what she needed—someone who abandoned her the minute she needed support.

Christina stared into space as she spoke. “She was home as much as her studies would allow, but she finished within a year and a half. Came home and started to build her clientele while taking care of her mom full-time.”

“How long was her mom sick?”

“She went into remission once, for a couple of years, I think?” Christina shook her head, sending her thick, dark hair swinging. “She died almost two years ago.”

Wow. “That’s a long time to be a caregiver.”

“Yeah,” Christina whispered, trailing off into silence that was punctuated by the clink of their silverware. Finally she said, “She’s given her all for Black Hills, but she deserves more—just for herself. I’m glad to see she isn’t going to settle.”

Luke thought of dinner and Avery’s lack of response to Mark’s hand at her back. “You mean that Mark guy?”

“Don’t get me started,” Christina groaned.

“Please don’t,” Aiden added as he strolled into the room. “Her opinion is less than stellar, I assure you.”

A pang stung Luke’s chest as Aiden kissed Christina on the temple, but he shook his head. Absolutely no touchy-feely stuff for him. No, sir. Settling down was not in his current timeline.

“Avery and Mark have gone to a lot of functions together since her mother died. I think it started out as convenient, especially for her, since she gets comments about a single woman needing to get married all the time, but I think he’s always been more interested than she realizes.”

Luke tried to ignore the burn of something unpleasant building in his gut. He hadn’t known they’d actually been such a “thing.” Part of him did not like that thought...at all.

“I’ve never cared for him, but Aiden says there aren’t any complaints at work,” Christina went on.