Luke's Would-Be Bride

“Do I look afraid, Jillian?”

She fought against the urge to smile and lost. Tipping her head ever so slightly, she said, “I think you know exactly how you look.”

“And how is that?”

She thought about all the words she could have used to describe him, but ended up shaking her head and saying nothing.

“Spoilsport.”

A strange sensation of déjà vu washed over her. The same thing had happened yesterday. Studying him intently, she said, “Have you ever been to a little town in Wisconsin called Maple Bluff?”

“No, I can’t honestly say that I have.”

“How about the University of Wisconsin? Have you ever been there?”

He took a step closer and shook his head. “I studied veterinary medicine at Michigan State, why?”

“It’s nothing, really. I just can’t shake the feeling that I’ve seen you someplace before.”

Stopping on the other side of his desk, he said, “We’ve never met.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because if we had, I’d remember. And so would you.”

He didn’t move, not even when the telephone started to ring. For a long moment neither did she. She thought she’d been prepared for the advances of the bachelors in Jasper Gulch. After all, it stood to reason that men who’d advertised for women would be interested in pursuing the new women in town. But she hadn’t been prepared for Luke Carson’s straightforwardness or his persistence. Actually she hadn’t been prepared for anything concerning this man, least of all her instinctive response to him. Truth be told, she was strangely flattered by his interest. But Jillian couldn’t afford to be distracted by romantic notions. Since she had no intention of leading him on, she knew she had to put an end to these feelings arcing between them once and for all.

By the time the telephone had jangled four times, she’d managed to gather her thoughts enough to ask, “Do you want me to answer that?”

He shook his head and reached for the receiver. With his voice a low drone in the background, she took another deep breath and turned back to her task. By the time he hung up the phone, she was well on her way to getting back on an even keel. “Another emergency?” she asked conversationally.

She felt his eyes on her back, but she didn’t turn around.

“I guess you could say that, but not the way you mean. That was my brother, Clayt. I’m still not sure how it happened, but he, Wyatt McCully and I somehow managed to get ourselves roped into planning the town picnic. We put our heads together at the Crazy Horse last night, but I’m afraid we didn’t get very far. DoraLee Sullivan, the owner of the Crazy Horse, said it was like watching three nuns plan a stag party.”

Smiling at the mental picture his words evoked, she took her first casual breath since she’d found him lounging in the doorway several minutes ago. “Is the Crazy Horse the local saloon?”

“The one and only.”

Keeping her eyes focused on the filing cabinet, she said, “Is that where the people of Jasper Gulch go for fun?”

“Aside from rolling up the sidewalks at eight every night, there isn’t much to do in Jasper Gulch. Every now and then I mosey on down to the Crazy Horse to watch the old-timers play poker or listen to the local bachelors complain about the weather and the long, lonely nights out here.”

Jillian couldn’t imagine Luke Carson moseying anywhere, but she didn’t think it would be wise to mention that particular observation or to ask about those long, lonely nights he’d mentioned, so she remained quiet. Unfortunately her stack of files had run out and so had her diversions. As if he knew it, Luke said, “There’s been a noted lack of women in these parts lately, you know.”

She turned around, smiling in spite of herself. “So I’ve heard.”

“Have you also heard that things are starting to look up around here?”

Jillian wanted to believe he wasn’t referring to her arrival in town, but the tone of his voice left little room for such possibilities. He was a decent man, and probably a lonely one. She wanted to warn him not to get his hopes up where she was concerned. More than anything she wanted to let him down easy, but how?

“I’d be happy to show you around the Crazy Horse sometime, Jillian. What are you doing tonight?”

He tipped his hat up, and for the first time since he’d stepped foot back inside the office, she saw the expression in his gray eyes. A zing went through her, and although she tried, she couldn’t look away.

Luke didn’t know what was going through Jillian’s mind, but he knew what was going through his body. Damn, it felt good. He had half a mind to stride to the other side of the desk and reach for her hand, slowly drawing her closer, to tip her face up a little and gently cover her lips with his.

He took a step closer and then another. Before his eyes the expression in hers changed. Slowly, deliberately, she pulled her gaze away and turned her back on him.

Luke’s footsteps froze in mid-stride.

He settled his hands on his hips, disappointed. What was going on here?

It didn’t take long for his disappointment to make way for his anger. For crying out loud, this was the third time he’d brought up the subject of spending time with Jillian. And the third time she’d ignored him completely. He’d given her a few hours to feel comfortable, then had started hinting for a date. He hadn’t thought too much of it when she’d given him a noncommittal hum when he’d suggested they catch a bite to eat in Pierre or take in a movie. At the time he’d assumed she hadn’t heard. After all, she was up to her elbows in a new job. Now that he thought about it, she hadn’t had any trouble answering his questions concerning her trip out here from Madison. And she hadn’t given him that little hum when he’d told her how his great-great-great grandfather, Jasper Carson, had come to found this town. Only his requests to spend time with her outside the office had been met with complete silence.

She’d heard his invitations. All three times. But she was ignoring them. Luke wanted to know why.

Keeping his voice purposefully low, he asked, “Ever been to the rodeo, Jillian?”

She shook her head cautiously. And Luke moved in to set the hook.

“That’s too bad. The rodeo is South Dakota’s numberone spectator sport. I don’t think there’s a living soul out here who doesn’t look forward to rodeo days. Since I’d really hate to see you miss it, I’d be happy to take you.”

Jillian didn’t know where to look. She’d gone through the stack of files on the corner of the desk, so she couldn’t look there. She half wished the phone would ring. But it didn’t, and she couldn’t look there, either. In the end she squared off opposite Luke and raised her gaze to his. The moment of truth wasn’t far away.

“When do rodeo days begin?” she asked.

“In August.”

“That’s next month.”

Although Luke raised his eyebrows, he didn’t say anything. She felt like an idiot, anyway. He’d as good as told her he thought his former secretary didn’t have both oars in the water, and here she was sounding even worse. It required all her willpower to hold his gaze, all her courage to say, “I appreciate your invitation, Luke, but I really can’t make that kind of commitment.”

“You can’t.”

Those two little words were issued in a clipped tone of voice men everywhere used moments before their patience went right through the roof. Giving her head a firm shake, she said, “No, I can’t.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Because,” she said, keeping her voice as steady as possible. “I can’t guarantee I’ll still be here by then.”

She closed her eyes, waiting for the explosion. When it didn’t come, she chanced a glance his way. His lips were set in a firm line, his chest puffed out like a porcupine’s quills. She quickly diverted her gaze to her watch. “Would you look at the time! It’s twelve o’clock already, and I told Lisa I’d help her in the store right after lunch.”

Without another word, she hurried to the back room where she’d stashed her purse first thing that morning. When she came out again, she couldn’t help noticing that Luke hadn’t moved an inch. It was the longest she’d seen him stay in one place all morning.

“Well,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Eight o’clock sharp. ’Bye.”

The blast of hot air from the street brought Luke out of his stupor. He didn’t know what was happening to his concentration, but he didn’t like what had just happened to his ego. He’d asked Jillian out four times, which was exactly how often he’d been shot down.