The Prodigal's Christmas Reunion

“If you don’t want anything, I’m going to close up for the night.”

Vincent’s hand shot out, his fingers curling around her wrist. “I want what’s mine and Lucas isn’t going to cheat me out of it.”

Erin and Vincent might have played in the same sandbox once upon a time, but that didn’t prevent her knees from locking up in fear as the pressure tightened.

She sucked in a breath. “Let go.”

Vincent released her and sprang to his feet. “Mark my words. A lot can happen in a year.” The gleam in his eyes was more intimidating than the grip of his hand had been. “He won’t stick it out.”

“People change.”

“Some do…and some don’t.” Vincent leaned in close, enveloping her in a cloud of pungent cologne. “If I were you, I wouldn’t be getting any ideas about a happily-ever-after with my cousin. You weren’t enough to make Lucas stay back then, Erin, and you won’t be enough for him now.”

He sauntered to the door and the moment it snapped shut behind him, Erin was there, fumbling with the lock. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her forehead against the frosted glass.

Her heart had instantly rejected Vincent’s claim that Lucas planned to leave Max with someone else. Yes, he’d appeared uncomfortable with the way the preschooler had clung to him, but she hadn’t missed Lucas’s awkward but tender attempt to comfort him, either.

No matter what Vincent said, Lucas cared about Max.

But unfortunately, Erin knew what Vincent had said about her was true.

She was still the same woman she’d been seven years ago.

The woman that Lucas had left.

Chapter Four

“We goin’ to Erin’s house?”

In the rearview mirror, Lucas saw Max point out the window. The wide smile on the boy’s face hadn’t been there a few seconds ago.

Max must have met half the population of Clayton since their arrival. The fact that he remembered Erin’s name proved she’d made an impression.

Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to bring him along.

An overweight corgi rounded the barn, sounding an alarm as his pickup rolled down the snow-packed driveway.

A moment later, Erin stepped out of the building, her copper hair a bright spot of color against the faded timber siding.

Lucas’s heart stumbled at the sight of her.

There had always been something about Erin Fields. Some elusive quality that went beyond simple chemistry or the way she looked—although she was more beautiful at twenty-five than she’d been at eighteen.

When Lucas returned to Clayton, he knew it would be awkward to see Erin again. Even though they’d parted in anger the night he left, they had a history. Shared memories. The trouble was, Lucas hadn’t been prepared for the emotions tangled inside of those memories.

Erin was a complication he didn’t need. He’d left Clayton once, and after he fulfilled the terms of his grandfather’s will he planned to leave it again.

“Wanna get out, Lucas!” Max tugged on the strap of his booster seat.

“Hold on.” Lucas hopped out of the truck cab and opened the door.

Giggling, Max made a break for it as soon as Lucas unbuckled him. The kid was smart enough to know where to seek sanctuary, too. He made a beeline for Erin, who swung Max up in her arms as if she’d done it a hundred times before and tucked him against the curve of her hip.

“How are you doing today, cowboy?”

“I wanna see the baby horse.” Max pointed to the barn.

“She’s with her momma right now,” Erin said. “And they’re both doing great.”

Lucas figured that last bit was meant for him.

“Max and I had a few errands to run this morning so I thought I’d stop by.” He hadn’t called to let Erin know that he was on his way over. In fact, he’d planned the morning visit because she’d told him the majority of her time was spent at the café. Apparently, however, that didn’t mean today.

As he followed her into the barn, Max chattered on about the “black-and-blue” pancakes Lucas had made for breakfast.

“Cowboys like ’em the best,” he told her matter-of-factly.

“Really? I didn’t know that.” Erin glanced at Lucas. “How do you make, ah, black-and-blue pancakes?”

“It’s easy,” he said ruefully. “The blue comes from the blueberries and the black when you forget to flip them while you’re stirring the orange juice.”

Erin’s laughter swept through the barn…and his defenses. Lucas found it difficult to take his eyes off her.

Not a good sign.

Erin put a finger to her lips before sliding open the stall door. “Shh. Diamond likes it quiet so her baby can sleep.”

“I’ll be quiet,” Max promised, staring up at Erin as if she were a fairy-tale princess come to life. A fairy-tale princess in faded corduroy and denim.

She looked totally at peace in her surroundings, something Lucas had never quite managed to achieve.

Maybe because it didn’t seem to matter that he’d juggled classes and work during the day and studied long into the night to earn his degree in veterinary science, graduating a year earlier than his classmates. No matter how much Lucas accomplished, he always heard his father’s voice tell him it wasn’t enough.

“You have a rebellious nature, Lucas. If you don’t listen to me and do what I say, you’re never going to amount to anything. You’ll disappoint everyone who cares about you and you’ll be alone. Sometimes I think that’s what you want.”

The words had cut deep, embedding themselves in Lucas’s heart. He’d discovered that nothing, not a steady paycheck, not pats on the back nor praise from his boss, could erase the words his father had spoken to him on the night he’d died.

They’d taken root and grown. Crowded out his ability to commit until he’d become the man Vern Clayton had predicted he would be.

“God loves you, Lucas, and He won’t turn His back on you. You’ll never be alone.”

Erin’s voice sounded sweet and clear, as if she’d just spoken the words out loud instead of years ago.

What would his life be like if he’d believed her, not his father?

Something shifted inside of Lucas and he struggled to regain his balance. “If you have something to do, go ahead,” he said curtly. “Max and I won’t be here long.”

That was one promise Lucas would make sure he kept.