Reunited...With Baby

“Luke, I see horses through the trees,” she said a few minutes later, and he swung the pickup in the direction she pointed.

For the next six hours they worked—rounding up horses, finding a few cattle, getting them back to the barn—trying to do it all while it was still daylight. When the horses were finally in the corral by the barn, the cattle in a pasture, Luke closed the corral gate and turned to her.

“You start checking the horses while I get feed to them. They’ve got water now in that tank. Shortly, it’ll be dark, so I’ll get lanterns out now and have them ready, and we can keep working if you can stay. If not, I’ll take you home. I’d appreciate your help if you can.”

“I can stay.”

He looked at her and reached out to hug her. “Thanks, Scarlett,” he said.

As his arms wrapped around her and pulled her against his solid, hard body, her heart thudded. His strong embrace made her tremble and want to wrap her arms around him and hold him tightly against her heart. How was she going to work with him into the night without stirring all those old feelings she had for him?

Two (#u2b5b9b39-5c31-5330-8cfa-d5fdbf92e180)

He released her abruptly. “I better get busy,” he said. His words were casual and indifferent. His voice was that hoarse tone he had when he was aroused, so she knew he felt something, too—knowledge which made her heart beat faster. What did Luke feel now? She shouldn’t care or even think about what he was feeling.

Why, oh, why, couldn’t she get Luke out of her system? When he left Texas, he had hurt her terribly, and she shouldn’t feel any kind of desire for him, but she did. How could she ever trust him again? She had to guard her heart and not let sympathy for his problems make her forget their past.

“Luke, I have to call home and then I’ll get busy,” she said, walking away from him.

She talked briefly with her mother, making certain all was well with Carl. While Carl was fine, her mother had warnings about Luke and how he had broken her heart before. The brief conversation just reminded her again how much Luke had hurt her before and made her conscious that she hadn’t gotten over him at all. She had been fooling herself all these years—easy to do when he was in Silicon Valley and she was in Royal.

It was a hot August night in Texas. Luke had lanterns going, and she looked around once just as he yanked his shirt off and tossed it aside. Her mouth went dry and her heartbeat sped up as she looked at his muscles, highlighted by the lamplight. A sheen of sweat glistened on his bulging biceps while he scooped up more hay with a pitchfork. She could remember being in his arms, held tightly against his body. Longing shook her to the core, and she couldn’t stop looking at him while memories sparked more flames inside her. Only now this was a grown man with a man’s broad shoulders, a man’s muscled chest, a still flat, narrow waist and a hard, rippled stomach that disappeared below his belt.

He looked up, catching her staring at him. She boldly met his gaze, wondering if he could guess her thoughts and feelings. After several long, tension-fraught moments, she finally turned away. Heat burned in her cheeks. She didn’t want him to see how easily he could captivate her attention, yet it was evident he knew the effect he had on her, just as she knew when she affected him.

Five minutes later she found her eyes drawn to him once again. She couldn’t resist watching him when she thought he wasn’t aware of it. He must work out in Silicon Valley because he was all muscle, his back and arms shiny with sweat. He’d rolled and tied a bandanna around his forehead to keep sweat out of his eyes as he worked. In the light of the lanterns, he looked incredibly male, appealing and sexy. He also looked fit and strong.

She couldn’t stop glancing at him, desire making her heart pound. She tried to focus on the horses, working hard and fast, and shut Luke out of her mind and stop gawking at him.

Suddenly one of the horses collapsed, and she raced to it, kneeling and giving it a shot as quickly as she could.

It was breathing hard, making gasping noises with each breath. It was bleeding from gashes on its belly and neck.

“Scarlett, I’m going to put him down. You’re fighting a losing battle. Go on to the next one.”

Startled, she glanced up to see Luke standing with a pistol in hand. A cold chill ran down her spine. Instantly on her feet, she faced him as she placed her hands on her hips.

“No, you’re not! I can save him. Put that pistol, away, Luke Weston, and don’t get it out again around the horses unless I ask you to.”

He blinked and then pressed his lips together. She didn’t know whether he was biting back a laugh or was angry at her for telling him what to do with his own horse.

She was earnest, and there was no way she was going to let him shoot his livestock. “This horse will be on its feet tomorrow.” She ground out the words. “I’ve given him a shot that will help. Give him time. Don’t you put any animal down without my permission, you hear me?”

“I won’t, Scarlett, but look at him. He doesn’t have the strength to stand. He’s all bones and he can’t breathe.”

“He can breathe, and I’m going to take care of him. He’ll be on his feet when morning comes. I know what I’m doing, Luke, so you go back to work and leave this horse to me.” She glared at him and met his unfathomable gaze. Without a word, he tucked the pistol in the back of his waistband and stalked away.

She watched him go for a few seconds and then turned her attention to the horse and forgot Luke for the next hour. She paused briefly once for another call to her mother to check about Carl and once again, he was fine and all was well at home.

She went from one horse to another, trying to tend to each one, and she thought of the carcasses they had found, of horses that hadn’t survived. During the afternoon Luke had grown silent, and she knew he was furious with his dad and his fury grew with each dead animal they found. She knew he was still devastated over the dog because, as a kid, he had loved that dog.

Occasionally, as she moved around, she saw Luke working, repairing the corral fence. There were so many places where the fence was down or damaged that she hoped he could get it fixed before some of the horses wandered away. The feed he had put out held the attention of those that were able to stand to eat or drink.

Luke had rounded up some cattle, less than a dozen head. She thought of the big herds they’d had when Luke was in high school. She heard a twig snap and looked around to see him approaching again.

“Unless you’ve changed a lot, I know you love hamburgers more than steaks. I’m having dinner brought out here.”

She tilted her head to look up at him. “How on earth did you get dinner delivered to this ranch? There isn’t a café for twenty miles.”

He grinned and shrugged. “My money’s good for some things. I should’ve asked you who to call, but I remember Rusty’s. They’re still in business. We’ll take a break and eat. Okay?”

She smiled. “Okay. If I’d known you were going to do that, I would have asked you to get more apples for the horses.”

“If we’re still here, I’ll try at breakfast. A couple of the horses are back on their feet already. You’re a miracle worker, Scarlett, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you’re helping. I’d hate like hell to have to put all these horses down. That would be about my last straw.”

“You’re not going to have to put any down, so forget that. I don’t care how bad they are, we’re going to save them, but if you’d come much later—”

“I already lost some before I got here,” he said, frowning as he glanced at the horses. “I better get back to work.” He turned to leave. “I’ll call you when dinner arrives.”

She barely heard him because she had already turned back to a gash she was stitching. The smaller white horse stood patiently, but she wondered if it would collapse any minute. It didn’t seem to care what she did or that she was even there.

By midnight there were still horses that needed tending to, and Luke was still fixing a stock tank. She wanted to keep working but, mindful of little Carl and her mother, she walked into the shadows, trying to get out of Luke’s earshot before calling home.

As expected, her mother began to argue for her to come home, reminding her again that being with Luke was going to dredge up all kinds of pain.

“Do you really want to go through all that again?” her mother asked.

“Mom, I’m taking care of very sick horses and some of the cattle need attention. They’re in dire shape, and I’m not abandoning them to die when I can save most of them.”

“My heavens! How awful. I haven’t heard anything bad like that about the Double U. Even so, Scarlett, I’m worried about you.”

“Mom, this is my job, to save animals. This is why I became a vet. I’m needed here and we can already see a difference in some horses.”

“Scarlett, Luke is going to hurt you again. Maybe even worse this time because you’re not kids anymore. Please get out of there and come home. Baby Carl and all the family need you. You don’t want to go through all that loss and hurt again, and that’s what will happen if you stay.”

“No, I won’t. I won’t let it happen.” There was a long pause, and she knew her mother was giving up and could not continue arguing.

“Take care of yourself, then. We love you,” her mom said. “And before you start to get caught up in old feelings with that man, just remember that Luke will go home to Silicon Valley in a few days and you won’t hear from him until the next time he pays a visit here.”

She sighed. “I love you, Mom, and I love my family. Luke’s dad has done a terrible thing, and bearing witness to it makes me so thankful for all of you. I’ll take care of myself, I promise,” she said, wondering if she really could keep that promise, or if she would just cave if Luke wanted to hug or kiss her. She almost laughed aloud as she ended her call. Her amusement fled when she looked back and saw the lights, the weak horses, the cows in another pasture. Was she being foolish and risking her heart to try to save horses that might not survive no matter what she did?

But she felt she had to stay. She had taken an oath to help animals, and she took that oath seriously.

She just hoped she could resist Luke, but then again, she might not have any reason to worry about resisting him. He probably had a woman waiting in Silicon Valley for his return.

Her attention was taken again by the ailing horses. She suspected Luke was right about the cattle. There were few left that he had found, and she imagined nearly all the Double U cattle had been rustled long ago. Luke said he would continue searching for more when daylight came, but so far he hadn’t found any. She continued to nurse the horses, wondering if she would have to work through daybreak. Dinner had given her another spurt of energy, but that was beginning to fade. She glanced at Luke as he repaired holes in the water tank, going over them a second time.

He was the golden boy from Royal who had gone west and made a fortune in Silicon Valley. He hadn’t been interested enough in her in high school to want to continue their relationship, to want her with him or to want to return to Royal to be with her. How many times did she have to remind herself that he really had no lasting interest in her? He had liked to kiss and make love, but he could turn around, walk out the door and forget all about her without a moment’s regret. Walking out on her didn’t make her blood run cold, but thinking Luke would do that to Carl did. She couldn’t bear that kind of hurt. She glanced at him again. Flickering lantern lights spilled over him, turning his skin golden and highlighting his firm, muscular back and chest, his powerful shoulders and biceps, his flat stomach. She tingled as her gaze ran over him. Her mouth had gone dry, and her heart thumped swiftly. She wanted his arms around her, his mouth on hers. She could remember his kisses. Absolutely. Too well, she could recall his mouth on hers, making her quiver with eagerness, with steaming lust, with hunger for his hands and his body.