Luke's Would-Be Bride

“Lisa’s looking for a man. But you aren’t.”

“Yes. No. I mean that’s right. Lisa is, I’m not.”

He didn’t move a muscle, not even to blink. He was still looking at her incredulously, but all in all he’d taken that better than she’d expected.

Glancing at all the people who were watching this little interaction, she considered walking away without saying another word. She hated to do that to him. He’d given her a job and was a member of this town, had in fact been one of the people responsible for bringing new women to Jasper Gulch. How would it look to have one of those women stomp on his ego in front of more than a dozen residents?

She hadn’t wanted the people of Jasper Gulch to get the wrong impression about her and Luke, but now she realized that as long as Luke understood, she didn’t care what anyone else thought. His reputation and social standing were on the line here. It just so happened that she knew exactly what to do to save them.

With quiet assurance, she laid her hand on his forearm, reached up on tiptoe and whispered a kiss along his jaw. In a voice meant for his ears alone, she said, “This is for the people watching. I’m really not in the market, Luke, but believe me, if I was, you’d be a fine choice.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she stepped back, turned on her heel and hurried across the street.

* * *

Luke came out of his befuddled state just as Jillian disappeared inside the new clothing store on the other side of the street. His arm felt warm where she’d touched him, and he swore he could still feel the gentle brush of her lips on his jaw.

She’d kissed him right here on Main Street in front of God and everyone. Not on the mouth. And not out of passion. She’d kissed him so he could save face.

It had worked. Cletus McCully and Roy Everts were both grinning from ear to ear while Opal and Louetta Graham whispered behind their hands. Even Ed, the town’s only barber, was giving him a thumb’s-up signal from beneath his red-and-white barber pole next door.

A slow heat that had nothing to do with the noon temperature washed over Luke, and his blood began to do a slow boil. He didn’t want charity, and he damned well didn’t need it.

He’d always prided himself on being somewhat of a lady’s man. Somewhat, hell. He felt downright smug about his ability to ignite a woman’s desire and expertly take her to great heights of pleasure. Sure there had been a noted lack of women out here these past few years, but he’d never had any trouble impressing the members of the opposite sex. He’d known his share of women in college and a few since. And not one of them had ever kissed him one second and told him she wasn’t in the market the next.

The market?

He wasn’t real estate, dammit.

He swallowed, hard, the set of his chin and the fury in his expression draining the grin from Cletus McCully’s wrinkled face. Luke knew his sudden trek across the street was met with more than one pair of raised eyebrows, but frankly, he didn’t care. He strode to the opposite curb and over the cracked sidewalk in front of the new clothing store. Without breaking stride, he gave the door a swift yank.

Several of the area bachelors looked up when he entered, but he didn’t stop to chat. He didn’t even bother saying hello. In fact, he didn’t slow his pace until he came within a few feet of the red-haired woman who was poking through a carton near the back of the store.

He knew the instant Jillian noticed him. She turned to face him, folded her arms and settled her weight on one foot. Luke scowled all over again. If she thought her protective stance was going to hold him off, she could think again. He’d faced bigger, meaner, ornerier opponents than her—snorting bulls who didn’t want an inoculation and stallions who didn’t want to be corralled. Oh, no, he’d never let a little thing like a defiant glare stop him before, and he wasn’t about to start now. He and Jillian were going to get something straight between them once and for all.

Jillian didn’t know what was going through Luke’s mind, but it couldn’t have been pleasant. He’d planted himself in front of her, his feet spread apart, his hips thrust forward, his eyes never leaving her face. His lips were set in a straight line, his stare drilling her to the floor.

It wasn’t easy to think when he turned all that roaring intensity on her, so she let her instincts guide her. And her instincts were telling her she’d sorely misjudged him.

“Luke, I…”

He held up one hand, and she stopped. He reached for her wrist, pulling her fingers from the crook of her right arm. Turning her palm toward the ceiling, he pressed a key into its center and curled her fist around it.

“I don’t take charity, Jillian. And I don’t give a rip what the people of this town think.”

With a tug on the brim of his hat, he turned on his heel. He didn’t utter another word. He didn’t have to. The slamming of the door spoke volumes.

She stared into space, her mind blank, her heart racing. When the room finally came back into focus, she glanced around. The local bachelors who were helping Lisa in the store quickly averted their eyes and went back to work hanging shelves and unloading boxes. Lisa’s attention wasn’t so easy to divert. She tucked her hair behind her ears and quickly made her way to the back of the store.

In a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “What in the world was that all about?”

Jillian became aware of an ache in her hand and slowly opened her fingers. Tracing the indentation the key had made in her soft skin, she said, “That was my new boss, Luke Carson. He dropped off this key to the office.”

“That was the local vet?”

Jillian nodded.

“You didn’t tell me he was so good-looking. Or so tall.”

Jillian glanced around the room. She didn’t catch any of the bachelors in the act of looking at her, but several of them were paying a lot of attention to the toes of their scuffed cowboy boots.

She’d spent the first eleven years of her life in a small town, and knew how quickly gossip could spread. This little scene would no doubt be all over Jasper Gulch within the hour, which was exactly why she’d given Luke that kiss in the first place. She’d meant it to be a balm to his ego, but her plan had backfired. She’d tried to protect his reputation, to prevent the other men from knowing she’d turned him down. With very few words he’d let her know exactly how he felt about that.

Jillian wondered why his reaction to her little performance brought out airy hopes she’d forgotten she even had. Unfortunately, with that hope came a dark sense of gloom she understood all too well.

“So, do you have a thing for the local vet?”

Jillian almost choked on her next breath. “Lisa, for heaven’s sake. You know I’m not going to stay in Jasper Gulch.”

Lisa sighed, her smile a little sad. “I know, Jillian. I was just hoping you’d change your mind.”

Biting down on her lip, Jillian felt herself going soft inside. “You’ve been one of my closest friends for fifteen years, and it sure isn’t going to be easy to go back to Madison without you. But you know my stay here is only temporary. We both do.”

Lisa took a deep breath and heaved a great sigh. Within moments a wry grin stole across her face. Inclining her head to the left, she said, “That might be true, but we’re both here now, and on the other side of this very room are men who’ve been deprived of feminine companionship for far too long.”

“Lisa, you’re incorrigible.”

“I know. You’ve gotta love me for it, don’t you?”

Jillian shook her head, wondering how she’d ever gotten lucky enough to have met Lisa Markman all those years ago. Cori Cassidy and Ivy Pennington, too, for that matter. Life hadn’t been easy for any of them back in Wisconsin, but one thing Jillian had learned from living these past thirty years was that she could face just about anything as long as she had friends at her side.

“Now come on,” the most brazen and brassy of those friends said with a wink and a gentle nudge. “We have a captive audience, and I don’t intend to waste it.”

“Lisa, for heaven’s sake. They’ll hear you.”

Lisa brushed the hair from her eyes and brought her chin up at a proud angle. She was wearing faded cutoffs and a T-shirt, but Jillian doubted she’d ever seen a more regal pose. Keeping her voice low and steady, Lisa said, “If one of these bachelors turns out to be the man for me, he’s going to have to love me for who I am, what I am, the way I am.”

Jillian nodded, wondering what there was about the air in this room that brought out so much pride and vigor in a person. It had been apparent in Luke’s expression a few minutes ago and in Lisa’s right now.