His last eight seconds could lead to the longest, most satisfying ride of his life.
Studs in Spurs, Book 4 Annie Grant is at the top of her game as an on-air interviewer for the pro bull-riders tour. In all those years standing within microphone range of thousands of sexy cowboys, she’s never been tempted…until now. Now that respected veteran Luke Carpenter is no longer with his longtime girlfriend, he’s back on the market. And Annie is buying. Luke knows his days are numbered. Every year the rookies get younger, the bulls get ranker and, like it or not, the time is coming when he’ll be hanging up his spurs. After a sizzling hot night with Annie, he realizes that maybe this old dog can learn some new tricks. But quicker than a bull can spin, things get complicated. A tragedy forces Luke into a no-win decision: hang onto the tail end of his career, or retire early for his family. Either way, he can live with his choice. Question is, can he live without Annie?
Warning: Contains knock-your-boots-off cowboy lovin, some up close and personal interviews of the oral persuasion, and a happy ending...cowboy style.
eBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared or given away as it is an infringement on the copyright of this work. This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental. Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 577 Mulberry Street, Suite 1520 Macon GA 31201 Hooked Copyright © 2011 by Cat Johnson ISBN: 978-1-60928-527-2 Edited by Heidi Moore Cover by Angela Waters All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: September 2011 www.samhainpublishing.com
Hooked Cat Johnson
Dedication
I would be remiss not to thank first all the bull riders who put life and limb on the line for the toughest sport on dirt, the loved ones who stand by them through the ups, downs, wins, losses and injuries, and the professional organizations and many fans who have made this a prime-time sport to rival all the others. Next thank you to both my consultants, Alvin Morris and Mike Short, who patiently answer my bull riding and cowboy questions. My additional gratitude goes to Alvin and his family and friends for marketing the Cat Johnson Let’s Buck brand throughout the Oklahoma rodeo scene, and to John Garret who keeps me up to date on what’s happening there so far away in OK. Thanks to my two newest bull riders who have joined what has become kind of a Cat Johnson bullriding team—Brian Conzett in Ohio who brought me right onto the arena dirt behind the chutes and allowed his sponsor to tag along for the weekend of the NBR Finals in North Carolina, and Derick Bryce who is spreading my name throughout Canada. A shout out to all the Tweethearts, Scott at Makin8.com, who let me experience an event from his broadcast platform on the chutes, and the Makin 8 Maniacs, who have become both friends and fans. They make my televised-event watching a communal experience on Twitter and assist me in getting answers to my sometimes very strange questions. Finally, I’d like to mention the Rider Relief Fund, a worthy not-for-profit that offers assistance to injured bull riders. I encourage everyone to check out their website or visit their booth at events countrywide.
Chapter One
Annie Grant steered the rental car into a spot and cut the engine. She was just gathering her stuff—a large tote bag, a bottle of water and car keys—when the sight of two cowboys crossing the parking lot caught her attention. Her brain turned to mush and her heartbeat sped. Annie scrambled out of the car so fast she forgot to grab the change of clothes hanging from the hook behind the driver’s seat. “Dammit.” She unlocked the car again and grabbed the hangers. Forgetting things and cursing aloud to herself were just two more indications she had gone crazy. The first had been when she’d realized she had a crush on one of the professional bull riders she worked with. What woman in her right mind would want to date a rider? A man who made his living by traveling the world amid hordes of buckle bunnies intent on bedding the star the moment he got off the back of the ton of bucking bovine? Apparently Annie was not in her right mind because veteran rider Luke Carpenter had caught her eye a while ago. Recently, more of her anatomy than just her eyes had become very interested in him. Without even knowing it, Luke had captured her, body and soul. It seemed she wasn’t getting either back from him anytime soon either, despite her realization that hoping for more than a working relationship with him was crazy. And now two of his friends, the guys he’d driven with from the hotel to the arena yesterday, were walking straight towards her. It was obvious to her now Luke wasn’t with them today, but her damn hands were shaking anyway just from the brief moments she’d thought he might have been. Frustrated with her body’s ridiculous reaction at the mere thought of Luke, Annie blew out a loud breath. Dry cleaning bag draped over one arm and the tote bag weighing down the other, she flung the car door shut with probably more force than was necessary. She really needed to get control of herself and her schoolgirl crush. Who knew if Luke would even look twice at her as a woman instead of just a female co-worker. He hadn’t in all the years she’d known him, but he’d also had a girlfriend all that time. Now, since the tour had taken its midseason break, that girlfriend was suspiciously absent. For the first time in years Luke had been going out with the other riders and acting more like a single man than a taken one. If she didn’t get her butt in gear, some other woman would scoop him up. There were plenty of ready women hanging around local bars after the events looking for bull riders who were willing.
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That for the past couple of months Annie routinely knew Luke’s whereabouts—who he hung out with, where he went in his free time—only further proved she was crazy. Practically a stalker. He would probably run away screaming if he knew she was keeping tabs on him. But she couldn’t worry about that right now, because Mustang Jackson and Slade Bower were standing next to her car waiting to walk her inside, because that’s what cowboys did. Of course, Mustang and Slade wouldn’t let a lady walk alone in a parking lot at dusk. If Luke were here, he’d do the same thing. She knew that for a fact because, like his fellow riders, that’s the kind of gentleman he was. So why were Annie’s dreams strictly about getting naked and sweaty with Luke and never with any of the other very attractive guys she spent so much time with? She wished she knew. “Here’s our little Annie. How you doing today, darlin’?” Mustang greeted Annie, pulling her out of her pondering. “I’m good. How are you two?” Annie directed the question to both Mustang and Slade next to him. “In a couple of hours I’ll be in that arena riding and hopefully taking home some money, so I can’t say I could be any better if I were twins.” Mustang laughed. Slade nodded. “Amen to that.” Their enthusiasm had Annie smiling. These guys truly loved their jobs. Actually, she loved hers too. Yes, the constant travel could be tough, but it wasn’t like she had anyone waiting for her at home. That thought was less than uplifting. She smothered a sigh and decided maybe now was the time to do something about her lonely situation. These two cowboys might be just the ones to give her the information she needed about Luke and his current dating status. “So, are your girls coming to the next event?” With all the casualness she could muster, Annie began some investigating. She’d have to start slowly and skirt around the real object of her interest for a bit so they wouldn’t get suspicious and suspect she was interested in Luke. “Unfortunately, no. Sage has some tests for her college classes to deal with.” Mustang screwed up his mouth in an unhappy expression. “Jenna will be there.” Slade practically glowed when he spoke his girlfriend’s name. Obviously he was a man in love. With a frown, Mustang shot his friend a look. “Yeah, yeah. Rub it in.” “What? Sorry. I can’t help it if my girl can get away more often than yours can.” Slade didn’t look very sorry at all. Mustang blew out a loud breath. “It’s been like two weeks since I’ve seen Sage. My nights have been awfully lonely.” “Aw. I’m there for you, buddy.” Slade slapped Mustang on the back.
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“Yeah, thanks a lot. A man has needs, Slade. Ones you sure as hell can’t fill.” Mustang glanced sideways at her with a grimace. “Sorry, Annie. I shouldn’t be talking like that in front of you.” “It’s fine, really.” Annie laughed at Mustang’s reaction to his slip. She was around men pretty much constantly. She was used to them forgetting she was there and talking the way they would among themselves. Besides, women had needs too. She could totally relate to Mustang’s frustration. In fact, her own needs in that department hadn’t been met in quite some time. Annie smothered the envy she felt. She wanted a man of her own to look like Slade did when he spoke about Jenna. A man to miss her desperately the way Mustang missed Sage. She needed to see about getting one. Not just any one, but one in particular. “So, um, you know who I haven’t seen around lately? Luke’s girlfriend, Lilly.” “Huh, you noticed that, did you? No, you haven’t seen her around. Not since the tour went on summer break. Why do you ask?” The smile that spread across Mustang’s face combined with the intensity of his stare when he answered her made Annie realize this guy was a little more intuitive than she’d given him credit for. Annie shrugged as if it didn’t matter and regretted saying anything. “No reason. Just wondering is all.” “Uh, huh.” Mustang continued to grin while Annie tried to estimate exactly how much longer it would take them to walk to the arena from here. She needed to get away from his probing. “Mustang, leave poor Annie alone.” One look at Slade proved that even though he was defending her, he was grinning too. “Why are you two acting so weird? Jeez, all I did was ask about Lilly, just like I asked about Sage and Jenna. It’s nice to have other girls around here after being with you guys all the time.” Annie scowled when they only nodded and continued to look at her like they didn’t believe a word she was saying. “Fine. Whatever.” “Sorry, darlin’. It’s just we’ve noticed how you look at him. I was wondering how long it would be before you made a move.” Mustang had noticed her stalking—uh, observing—Luke? Crap. “What do you mean how I look at him? I watch all you guys ride. It’s part of my job.” If she was going to report on air about the competition, she had to watch both the rides and the riders. Of course, keeping an eye on Luke before and after the events was a different story, but hopefully Mustang hadn’t noticed. “Nah, uh.” Slade shook his head. “You don’t watch the rest of us the way you watch him.” “You’re both crazy.” Knowing her expression would show exactly how unhappy she was about the course the conversation had taken, and how close to the truth they’d come, Annie lowered her head to hide from the two cowboys’ scrutiny.
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She picked up speed, only to be foiled by the closed door leading from the parking lot to the building. She reached for it as Mustang sprang forward. He grabbed the handle and she was forced to wait for him to open it for her. Only he didn’t. He stood, waiting and watching her until she felt compelled to do or say something to get this conversation over with. If only she could think of something to say. “Look, Annie. I have one thing to say then I’ll leave you alone.” Mustang’s gaze zeroed in on her face as she waited. The fact he’d used her name and hadn’t followed it up with the usual darlin’ told her he was serious. “For years now we’ve worked with you and you’ve been nothing but professional. Not a one of us will think any less of you if you decide to go for it with Luke.” Next to Mustang, arms crossed over his chest, Slade nodded. “Agreed.” Annie let out a half-laugh, half-sigh. “First of all, you’re assuming I’m interested in going for it. Second, who says Luke, or any of the other guys, are interested in me? Huh? With all the pretty young things hanging around the arena after the events to meet you guys—” and do other things, “—why would anyone look twice at me?” At thirty-something—Annie couldn’t even bring herself to name the exact number in her head—she felt suddenly very old next to the barely twenty-somethings hanging around in pursuit of their own champion bull rider. Slade rolled his eyes and let out a snort. “Yeah, right.” Meanwhile, Mustang laughed. “Yeah, you’re really old. Jeez, woman. No young girl is going to turn Luke’s head when a real woman is interested. Luke’s been around here long enough to know the real deal when he sees it.” Was Mustang saying Luke thought Annie was the real deal? Huh. Maybe Luke had talked to them about her while they were hanging out. The guys had all gone for dinner and beers together last night. “Did Luke say that?” Her traitorous heart pounded as she waited for the answer to what was probably an incredibly presumptuous question. She was playing right into Mustang’s hand, letting him get her hopes up about Luke when she was supposed to be playing it cool. She sucked at this stuff. “I won’t speak for Luke, darlin’.” Mustang shook his head as he finally opened the door and waited for her to step through. “But you can ask him yourself, now can’t you?” Damn cowboy code. One rider would never betray the confidence of another. Annie should have known better than to even hope they would. As they walked down the hallway toward the arena, Mustang glanced at her again. “I can tell you this though. Any man who wasn’t interested in getting to know you better is crazy.” “Mustang Jackson, are you flirting with me?” She laughed, happy to have the subject stray from Luke into territory she could deal with. He shook his head with a grin. “No, ma’am. If I was flirting, you’d know it.”
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On the other side of Mustang, Slade let out a burst of a laugh. “Oh yeah. I can vouch for that.” Slade’s cell phone rang and he excused himself to take the call, leaving her to walk alone with Mustang. “Listen, I’m just saying don’t wait for what you want. None of us knows how long we’ve got. Not here on this earth and certainly not here in the pros. In eight seconds out there in that arena, a man’s whole life can change.” Annie sobered immediately. She knew. She’d seen it happen. “I’ll keep that in mind.” “Make sure you do.” Mustang tipped his hat. Then he headed down the stairs to the rider’s dressing room, leaving Annie with quite a bit to think about. Annie must have been thinking harder than she realized, because the next thing she knew she’d walked head on into something about as hard as a brick wall, although a lot better smelling. The rich scent of his cologne—a combination of leather and spice perhaps—assaulted her senses as she gazed up and into the tempting, handsome face of Luke Carpenter. He grabbed both her arms in his big, firm grasp and steadied her. Tiny, incredibly endearing crinkles appeared in the corners of his intense blue eyes as he smiled down at her. “Whoa, there. Where are you heading in such a daze?” He released his hold, but the warmth where his hands had been remained. Flustered at being caught by the very man who’d been occupying her mind and had caused the daze, Annie scrambled for an excuse. “I, uh, need to change before the broadcast.” She held up the drycleaner bag full of clothes draped over her arm, feeling the need to prove to him she wasn’t lying. That it wasn’t thoughts of how and when to make her move on him that had her so distracted. “Ah, gotcha. A woman has to look her best for the cameras.” He smiled. What was he saying? That she needed all the time she could get to look good? No, of course not. Now she was being paranoid. Luke continued. “I better do a little prep work myself.” “Why? You look great already.” And smell even better. “I meant I need to get my rope cleaned and rosined up, but thanks.” Luke grinned and Annie couldn’t help but stare at his lips, wondering if they’d be soft or firm when—if—he ever kissed her. She swallowed hard. “Oh, yeah, of course. Um, maybe I should get that on camera. You know, for the viewers. They might like to see all the preparation you guys go through before a ride.” God, did that sound as lame to him as it did in her own head? Hopefully it wasn’t totally obvious to Luke that this idea for a piece was strictly so she could spend more time with him, even if it was on camera. “Great idea. Anytime. You know where to find me. Right now I better get. See ya later?” She nodded. “Later.”
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With the tip of his brown cowboy hat, he was gone, but the effects lingered on. Annie sagged against the wall and drew in a deep breath to settle herself.
The arena before an event was a strange dichotomy of noise and action mixed with quiet anticipation. The crowd filled the public hallways and the seats in the stands. But in the hall leading from the rider’s dressing room, behind the chutes, was a different story. Annie held up a hand and stopped the progress of her cameraman, Carl, as she approached a group of riders, all down on one knee, praying together before their ride. Luke was there among them. Her gaze immediately located his dark head bent low. Guiltily, she also couldn’t help but notice how incredible his ass looked as he squatted on the ground. She yanked her gaze away and waited in silence. Annie hadn’t been in a real church since she was a child, yet seeing these men on their knees, about to put life and limb on the line, made her wonder if she should be doing a little more praying in her own life. When they broke from their quiet prayers and stood ready for action, she moved forward again. Now the public personas would come out as they greeted fans and smiled for the cameras. She wouldn’t be interrupting them walking by with Carl and his equipment. With the cameraman in tow, Annie climbed the stairs leading to the chute seats—the VIP section located directly above the bulls and riders. From there, above the action, she had an unobstructed view down into the chutes as well as of all the action taking place behind them where, of course, Luke was prepping for his ride. He pulled a long strip of white tape off a roll and tore it off with his teeth before he wrapped it tightly around the wrist of his gloved hand. Annie found even that action sexy as hell. She shook her head at how ridiculously easy it was to have her thoughts spiral down from professional to sexual lately. Unbidden images of Luke’s teeth scraping against some of the more sensitive parts of her body assaulted her, and she felt herself warm from the inside. She really needed to get her mind back on her work, because the bulls for the first flight were now loaded and the riders were starting to climb onto the rails of the chutes. Luke wasn’t the first one to ride, so she forced herself to pay attention to the rider in the chute. Chase Reese was on Brom Bones. Garret James helped pull the bull rope as Chase wrapped it around his gloved hand. A few adjustments to his chaps and position and after a quick nod to the gateman, Chase was off into the arena. Annie tried to pay attention as Brom Bones settled into a spin away from Chase’s hand, but her gaze cut to Luke. He was chatting with Mustang. Annie’s heart began to pound. What the hell were they talking about? Mustang wouldn’t tell Luke she had a crush on him, would he? She hadn’t admitted it so she could
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always deny it, should the subject come up. What if it did come up? What would Luke think of her silly, most likely unreciprocated crush? It wasn’t until the loud collective gasp from the crowd that Annie’s attention centered back on the arena. By the time she located him, Chase was scrambling for the rails. The bull, hot on his heels, had his head lowered and his deadly looking horns aimed directly for Chase’s butt. The rider leapt and flipped over the top rail and into the safety of an empty chute just in time. Annie forced herself to watch the replay on the big screen so she could see what she’d missed, but even staying focused for the seven point four seconds the ride had lasted was nearly impossible. Her mind was spinning, wondering what Luke and Mustang had been discussing. She watched the video replay on the big screen. It showed what she’d missed, Chase slipping off the side of the bull and losing his rope. Only then did Annie allow herself a glance in Luke’s direction, and found he’d looked up at the exact same time. Their gazes met. He smiled and she blushed. Then he was off to get on his own bull while Annie tried to catch her breath. Mustang helped Luke pull his rope, while Slade used a padded wooden board to force the bull’s body away from the back rail so Luke could get his leg into position. They were veterans, all three of them. Four if you counted the bull, who Annie knew had been around a while and knew the score. By his actions, it was apparent the bull knew that if he leaned the rider wouldn’t be able to get properly centered. Finally, Luke appeared ready. His free arm, bent at the elbow, was raised high and the rope was wrapped tight around his riding hand. Annie tried not to think about how often those ropes didn’t release and the riders got hung up. Mustang was right when he’d said none of them knew how much time they had in this sport or in life. She shook that sullen thought from her mind and watched as Luke nodded to the gateman. The gate swung open hard and fast, crashing against the rail with enough force to shake the platform she stood upon. The sound of metal clashing against metal rattled her nerves as bovine and rider took off into the arena amid a cloud of dust and flying bull spit. The adrenaline that surged through her bloodstream was nothing compared to what coursed through the rider’s veins. She knew that. Annie had talked to enough riders just seconds after their rides to see the wild gleam of adrenaline-fueled excitement in their eyes and the shaking in their hands. She realized what she felt simply watching was nothing compared to what they did from actually riding, but it was still enough to make her hands tremble as her gaze tracked Luke across the arena in his battle with a beast ten times his weight. She should be used to this by now, having watched enough rides over the years to have long ago lost count of the number. But this was Luke. Watching him ride was different, from the flutter in her chest to the increased anxiety for his well-being. That in itself told her what she felt for him was very different than
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the camaraderie and affection she had for all the other riders. It also told her what a bad idea having these feelings for a rider was. Too bad love—or lust even—rarely listened to common sense. Annie’s attention never wavered, not once during the eight-second ride. Definitely not when Luke’s bull had him scrambling for the rails. Not until he was back safely behind the chutes and had walked out of her line of sight did Annie find she could think again. Even then, concentrating on the action in the chutes was far more difficult than it should be, especially when she glanced at Mustang and found him grinning at her. He tilted his head in the direction in which Luke had disappeared and winked. Mustang laughed and Annie felt her face heat, regretting that she’d ever thought she could get information out of this cocky cowboy who saw more than she’d like him to. Damn. She needed to do something about this situation and soon. But what?
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Chapter Two
“Great ride tonight, Luke.” “Thank you, ma’am.” Marker in hand, Luke Carpenter signed the T-shirt the fan had thrust at him. Something sparkly grabbed his attention. He glanced up at the gray-haired woman. She was wearing a sweatshirt decorated with a rhinestone bull that caught the arena lights and washed everything nearby with tiny prisms of color. A quick smile at the whimsical sight was all he had leisure for, and then it was time to move on. He shifted one step to the left. His well-worn boots sunk in the soft dirt where the bull riding action had taken place. As Luke stood in front of the next fan lining the rail that separated the raised seating from the riders a few feet below on the arena floor, another rider took his place in front of the bedazzled granny. “Good luck tomorrow, Luke.” A middle-aged man held a cowboy hat for Luke to autograph. “You win it for all your fans back in Oklahoma.” “Yes, sir. I’ll sure give it a try.” Luke scribbled his signature in black on the grey felt and then moved over another foot as, in a well-practiced ritual, the rider behind him stepped up to the man with the hat. A program was thrust forward next and Luke signed the cover, glancing up to see the young boy who’d handed it to him through the rails. “Thank you, sir.” Luke smiled at the boy’s politeness and nodded. “My pleasure.” He stepped once more to the left. When nothing to sign appeared in front of him, Luke glanced up. His gaze traveled over nicely shaped denim-clad thighs and quickly past a shirt unbuttoned enough to reveal a nice expanse of cleavage he knew he shouldn’t be noticing. He finally landed on the welcome sight of Annie Grant’s familiar face as she leaned over toward him, her forearms braced on the top rail. Luke grinned up at her. “You know, you don’t have to wait in line for an autograph. I could probably be persuaded to sign anything you wanted back behind the chutes.” Yeah, he was flirting with her a little bit, but that’s as far as he’d strayed from their strictly professional relationship of professional bull rider and television sports interviewer. So far, anyway. “Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Her smile lit her face and reminded him exactly how tempting this woman had become recently. “Actually, um, I’m heading out to find some food and I remembered you’d mentioned you had a really good meal last night. I just wanted to ask where.”
Hooked
Did Annie look nervous? And if she did, was it a good sign or a bad one? Luke had been out of the dating world for far too long to know anymore. But one thing sure seemed interesting to him about her question. There had been five other riders at the restaurant with Luke and they’d all discussed it together in front of her before the competition today, yet Annie chose to find and ask him for the information. Luke felt his eyebrows rise along with his hopes. He tried to wipe the more-than-interested expression off his face. A man didn’t want to appear too eager to the woman he was secretly interested in. One glance past Annie told him he’d reached the end of the line of fans waiting for autographs. He was free to go and happy about that now that Annie was here. After capping his marker and shoving it in his back pocket, Luke climbed over the rail. He landed next to her with a thud as his boots hit the hard floor. “Sure, I can tell you. I could even show you right where it is…if you wanted some company, that is.” Was that too forward? Hell, what did he know? Luke feared he didn’t even remember how to flirt anymore, let alone ask a woman he was interested in out on a date. “Uh, sure. I’d like that. I mean…if you’d like to.” Annie straightened and shoved a hand in each of the front pockets of her jeans. “I’d love to.” Luke tried to tamp down his nerves. He noticed the way her gaze dropped and her cheeks pinked in response to his suggestion. This woman, who without blinking an eye traveled the world successfully doing her job in a field dominated by men, was definitely acting shy around him suddenly. What did that mean? Was Annie not interested in him on a personal level and because of that was uncomfortable being alone with him eating dinner? Or did she like him and was too embarrassed to let him know? Annie had been a fixture on the pro tour for nearly as long as he’d been riding in it, but until just a few months ago, he’d been a taken man. Not anymore though. Not since Lilly had ended their relationship months ago with her ultimatum that Luke choose between his career or her. He was free as a bird now. Free to look at Annie as more than a coworker if he chose to. “Okay, great. I guess I’ll drive?” She pulled a car key out of one pocket, her blue-eyed gaze still not quite meeting his. “Since I don’t have a car here, yeah I guess you better.” He grinned. Luke might as well be back in middle school pulling on the pigtails of the girl he had a crush on because he didn’t know what else to do to let her know he thought she was cute. He had come to realize that single life kind of sucked. One glance at how great she looked in her tight, dark-wash jeans as she turned and led the way up the stairs had him realizing something—he wouldn’t mind giving up his newly attained single status and becoming tied down to one woman again if that woman was Annie.
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He glanced quickly behind him. The other riders were heading back across the arena toward the exit behind the chutes. Good, no one would ask where they were headed or want to join them. Luke had already stashed his gear bag in Aaron’s truck so that was safe. He had nothing left to do here at the arena and some time alone with Annie was exactly what he wanted. Dinner. Together. Alone. This could be considered kind of a date. No? His pulse began beating faster, from fear or anticipation he wasn’t quite sure. Luke had jumped on the back of some of the rankest bulls in the world without an eighth of the anxiety he was experiencing now. This one woman had his hands shaking. No doubt about it—dating was a lot harder than bull riding. They walked a little while in silence, the combined sound of their boots echoing off the walls of the now nearly deserted hallway. Meanwhile Luke wracked his brain for an icebreaker. Should he save the conversation for the restaurant where he could be face-to-face with her or try to make small talk now? Hell if he knew. He’d never really had a first date with Lilly. They’d known each other forever, until one day they’d simply gone from friends to more. Coincidentally, about the time she turned legal and became a woman to him, rather than his best friend’s little sister. Annie was Luke’s friend, kind of. They’d spent a lot of time working together for years now, so at the very least they were work friends. Maybe it wouldn’t be so hard to turn the friendship into something more—if she wanted that. He reminded himself he didn’t know what the hell Annie was thinking as she kept her head down and walked a quick and steady path toward the door at the end of the hall. They neared the exit that led to the parking lot. A security guard nodded to them as Luke pushed the door open and held it for Annie. He may not remember what to do on a first date, if this could even be called that, but he knew the manners his mama taught him and he always opened a door for a lady. It wasn’t until they were outside, under the electric lights illuminating the rows of parked cars that Annie glanced sideways at him. “So, good ride tonight.” “Thanks.” Luke matched his pace to hers, which was pretty fast considering she was a head shorter than his own five foot eleven inches. “I thought he was going to get you there in the end.” She smiled, obviously far more relaxed talking about the action from the day’s event than she’d been when they’d discussed having dinner together. He’d have to remember that. “Yeah, me too. But I figured what the hell. Those people paid good money to sit in the front row so why shouldn’t they get the extra excitement of a bull rider landing in their laps, right?” Luke shot her a grin, knowing full well she’d seen how close the bull had come to hooking him with a horn and throwing him over that railing. In fact, he definitely would have been hooked if he hadn’t jumped over the barrier just in the nick of time. “Extra excitement, huh?” Annie laughed. “You certainly gave them that.”
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The sound of her laugh caused a little flutter in his belly. Damn, he felt like he’d been hooked all right, and not by any bull either. She paused in front of a beige sedan and clicked the doors open with the control attached to her key. Luke glanced inside at the light-colored interior and immediately regretted not taking the time to change his clothes. It was too late to change now. He brushed any dirt from the ass of his jeans the best he could with just his hands before taking a seat in her rental car. Oh well. Annie had been around bull riders enough to not be bothered by a little arena dirt. At least he hoped so, anyway. In the driver’s seat, Annie pulled the seatbelt across herself, and Luke was reminded to do the same. His mind had obviously fled along with his ability to make conversation with a pretty woman. She started the engine and then turned to look at him. “So?” “So?” Luke’s mouth felt dry. Sitting in the dimly lit car, all he could think about was leaning forward and tasting those perfectly shaped lips. “Which direction is the restaurant? North or south on the highway?” Luke felt like an idiot. “Oh, um, sorry. North, toward the hotel.” She nodded and shifted into reverse, navigating the car out of the space as Luke resisted the urge to leap from the passenger door and go back to the guys in the arena. At least he knew how to talk to men. If the start of this date, or non-date, was any indication, he was going to be single for a long time to come. Glancing out the window and wondering if the persistent silence in the vehicle was as uncomfortable for her as it was for him, Luke just had time to read the name of their exit before they sped by the sign. “This is our exit coming up.” She nodded and slowed the vehicle while Luke’s brain scrambled for a plan for this evening. Maybe a nice big drink would do them both good. Hell, it couldn’t hurt. “This is it. Right there. See the sign with the longhorn on it?” He hooked a thumb in the direction of the restaurant, part of a chain of barbecue places strewn throughout the country. “You guys don’t stray much from your usual, do you?” Annie laughed and the sound did his worried mind good. He felt himself loosen up a little and grabbed onto the topic of conversation. “Hey, why take a chance on something new if you already know what you like.” That was probably a good way to describe his philosophy regarding women too. He’d stayed with Lilly long after he knew it was over because it had been comfortable. And now he’d dodged buckle bunnies and any other kind of entanglement with females since his breakup, and the reason was sitting next to him, turning off the engine of her rental car. He’d found Annie intriguing as a person for a while. He’d always respected her as a professional. Now Luke wanted to get to know her better. See how things might work out since they were both free,
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single and young—okay, maybe he wasn’t so young for the profession he was in, but he was at least still young enough to enjoy life, and Annie. Unfortunately, now that he’d set his sights on her, what had always been an easy, casual working relationship between them had turned into something very uneasy, as evidenced by his constant state of nervousness around her tonight. “I have to agree with you there. I’ve had too many bad meals and more than one case of food poisoning over the years. It’s just the way you guys were all talking about how great this place was, I assumed it was someplace new you’d discovered.” Annie brought his attention back to their impending meal together. “Mustang never mentioned it was a Longhorns.” Come to think of it, Mustang had made a particular point to tell Annie how good their meal was when they’d all been talking before the event. Strange. The food had been good, but that wasn’t what had impressed his friends last night. The other guys had been so into this place because the management seemed to only employ girls with huge racks on them, and the staff was allowed some liberties with their uniforms. They all wore the same logo T-shirts, but they also all cropped, cut and tied them up into different body-baring configurations. His friend had always had a good appreciation for a well-endowed woman, but it made it even stranger that Mustang would push this place as a suggestion for Annie so strongly. How the hell did he tell Annie that Mustang’s raves were probably boob induced? Luke felt his cheeks heat as he realized she seemed to be waiting for an explanation for Mustang’s enthusiasm over the chain restaurant. Deciding he couldn’t tell Annie the truth, Luke lied instead. He shrugged. “I guess we were just really hungry last night and we probably had enough beer to make it seem even better than usual. You know guys.” Yeah, right. Annie wasn’t dumb enough to believe that, especially once they went in and she got a look at the scantily clad waitresses. The moment they walked inside, the hostess, belly button ring clearly visible beneath her tight-as-skin T-shirt tied up under her generous boobs, greeted them. “How many?” “Two, please.” Annie’s eyebrows rose as she answered the girl. With a look that traveled from the top of Luke’s hat down to his boots, the hostess nodded to them. “Sure thing. Follow me.” “Now I see why you liked it here so much.” Annie’s voice was so low he had to strain to hear her over the noise of the crowded restaurant. He blushed and tried to shrug away his embarrassment. “Like I said, you know how the guys are.” She smiled. “Yeah, I do.” What Annie didn’t know was Luke. Not well enough for his liking anyway. He didn’t want her assuming he was a horn dog. He wracked his brain for something to say that would let her know he wasn’t
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interested in the hostess, or the waitress the hostess handed them off to. Her belly was covered but her nipples showing through the shirt might as well have been flashing in neon the way they screamed out for attention. He shot Annie a look and noticed her smirking. “The food better be as good as the view or all of you guys are never going to hear the end of this from me.” “It’s good. I swear.” What else could he say to Annie? Certainly not the truth, which was that he would—and had—passed up every waitress in the place for a shot at something more with her. They sat in a tight booth built barely big enough for two, but Luke figured the place was so crowded they were lucky to get a table at all on a Saturday night. Apparently it was very popular with both locals and visitors. He had no doubt the staff’s attire had a lot to do with it, but he hadn’t totally lied. The beer was cold and the food good. The waitress handed them menus. “Can I get y’all something to drink?” Luke wanted to answer, but he waited for Annie to order first. Her gaze met his. “What are you having?” Maybe she was waiting to see if he was going to drink or not. “They’ve got a local beer on tap. That’s what I had last night. I wouldn’t mind having that again.” “Okay, I’ll have the same.” She glanced at the waitress who nodded and was off to fill their beer needs. Annie looked down at the menu in her hand, almost like she was avoiding looking directly at Luke. “Hmm. I’m not sure what I want.” “Their sampler is real good. It’s for two though…” Why did ordering a meal for two feel suddenly too intimate? Mustang and Slade had shared it the night before. It was really no big deal. Why should it feel so presumptuous to suggest he and Annie share it now? She shifted in her seat. “That sounds good. I mean, if you want that. If not I’ll order something else.” “No, the sampler’s fine with me.” Luke swallowed and found his mouth dry. Jeez, this shouldn’t be so hard. Why was it so hard? Annie flipped her menu shut and Luke did the same. The waitress was as efficient as she was endowed, thankfully, and she was back with their two glasses of blessed brew by the time they’d decided on their order. She took their menus and, with a promise that their food would be right out, was gone again. Okay, with the beer before him and the food on the way, it might not be so awkward. They’d talked about the beer on tap and then about the menu for a bit. Now maybe they’d talk about some bull riding. Then… Well, he’d have to figure something out. Maybe by then their meal would have arrived and they could talk about that some more. Luke took a giant swallow of beer, as much to fill the silence as to give himself time to think of what to say. He would love to know more about Annie. Where exactly she lived when she wasn’t following the tour? If there was someone waiting there for her?
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How the hell did he ask a personal question like that though? Did men ask women things like that? “So, um, I haven’t seen Lilly around lately. Is she, uh, busy at home?” Beer glass in hand, Annie dropped that bombshell on Luke and then took a big swallow. Meanwhile, Luke nearly choked on his own mouthful of beer. Apparently a person just came right out and asked a personal question like that. At least Annie did. And now it was his turn to answer her. Maybe this was a good thing. Just dive right in. Let Annie know he was both available and interested. Again words seemed harder than they should to form, so he decided to keep it short. “We broke up.” “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.” Annie looked suitably saddened by the news, and he wondered what that meant exactly. She looked like she wanted to ask more but no question came. Instead, she took another gulp of beer. Luke needed another brace of alcohol himself for this conversation. “So what about you? Anyone important in your life?” To his surprise, she let out a short laugh. “No.” He bit his lip and then waded in deeper. “Why not?” “With all the traveling and strange hours, a job on the pro circuit doesn’t leave a lot of time for dating.” She was concentrating so hard on playing with the condensation on her glass that he had to wait for her to look up. “You could always date one of us pros.” He forced himself to hold her gaze and not look away after that crazy suggestion. Something that looked like surprise crossed her face before something else replaced it. What he couldn’t quite name. Interest maybe? He could only hope. Finally she answered. “Maybe I should. Any suggestions who?” Luke’s heart sped. “Yeah, I might have an idea.” The waitress chose that moment to arrive with their giant platter full of mixed barbecue and sides, just when things were really starting to roll. Annie straightened and leaned back in her seat to give the waitress room, which also took her farther from Luke. Man, things could change in an instant, but Luke knew that from bull riding. He knew during a ride one small move could entirely shift the rider’s balance—either for good or for bad. His gut told him during that brief conversation things had shifted between him and Annie, and for the better. He just hoped they stayed that way in spite of the interruption. “Another round?” the waitress asked, eyeing their nearly empty glasses. “Yes,” they answered at the same time. Luke’s and Annie’s gazes collided. As his pulse pounded in his ears, Luke realized things were definitely different for him. He found he had no appetite whatsoever for the food in front of him, but a huge
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desire for the woman across the table. Now all he needed to figure out was how exactly to go about getting her.
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Chapter Three
Annie glanced sideways at Luke from her position in the driver’s seat. “Thanks for dinner.” “You’re very welcome.” He flashed her that gorgeous smile that never failed to make her heart race—unless of course he was delivering that smile to another woman, such as the waitress. In that case, it had the acid backing up into Annie’s throat until she was ready to spew fire wondering what else, if anything, Luke had shared with the boob-baring server. She swallowed hard at the thought as a nagging in the back of her mind reminded her he was a free, single man and could do whatever he wanted. And she’d never known him to sleep around. At least not that she knew of. Though right now, she wished he was coming home with her… “I wish you’d have let me pay for my half—” “Annie, stop. Seriously. I ate my share and part of yours. Besides, I wanted to buy you dinner.” Luke touched her knee for the briefest of moments. The move wasn’t at all sexual, but it sent her mind racing. She had to control herself. He’d probably only touched her to reinforce his point. What was that point again? Oh yeah, that he’d wanted to treat her to dinner. Annie couldn’t seem to think when any part of him touched any part of her. Even being in the close confines of the car alone with him made it difficult to breathe. She probably should have drunk all of that second beer she’d ordered to bolster her courage instead of leaving it unfinished. “Well, thank you again.” “You’re welcome again.” He made no move to exit the car. Neither did she. Soon it would become absolutely ridiculous that they were both sitting in her car with the ignition off in the parking lot of their hotel. Crazy ideas spun through Annie’s head. Picturing his boots and jeans on the floor next to her bed had her blushing. Hopefully he didn’t notice. She imagined Luke leaning close until their lips met. Perhaps if she’d parked in a less lit area… Then what? Then would he have kissed her goodnight? Doubtful. That one comment during dinner about her dating one of the bull riders had given her hope. Obviously false hope, because the subject hadn’t come up again, and if he had wanted to kiss her, he’d had ample time to do it already. “So…” Annie fidgeted in her seat. She had no idea how to flirt with a man. No wonder she was woefully alone.
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“So…” Luke echoed. This was ridiculous. Annie pulled the keys out of the ignition and then released her seatbelt. “I guess I should get you inside and to bed.” “Sounds good to me.” She clearly saw his amused grin even in the darkened vehicle. Her face heated when she realized how that had sounded. “I meant so you can get your rest. Because you have to ride early tomorrow—” “I know, Annie. Come on. Let’s get inside.” Still smiling, he released his own seatbelt. As Luke opened the passenger door and got out, Annie silently cursed herself. That had been a perfect opportunity to say something clever. Why hadn’t she? She was obviously missing whatever female trait all the buckle bunnies seemed to have. The flirting gene or hormone or whatever. Annie was still beating herself up when Luke opened her door. She hadn’t even realized he’d walked around the car. He extended his hand to her. Thankfully, in light of her extreme ineptitude with him, she managed to both reach up and let him help her out. She even managed to keep herself from saying anything stupid. “Got everything you need?” He paused before closing the door, and Annie resisted the urge to smack herself in the forehead. With a grimace, she snatched her bag from behind her seat. “Yeah. Thanks.” He nodded like he hadn’t noticed she’d nearly forgotten the bag that contained everything important in her life—room key, schedule, cell phone, makeup. Then again, as this hot, sweet man waited for her to lock the car so he could walk her inside, Annie realized maybe she had a messed-up idea of what was most important in life. It certainly wasn’t anything that could be contained in a bag. She fumbled with the keys and managed to find the correct button to lock the car. She pushed it twice just to make sure. The car beeped in response, as if to tell her to stop procrastinating and get going already. If Luke noticed her being a nervous, clumsy wreck, he never let on. He simply waited with the patience of a saint until she led the way toward the main lobby entrance. She shot him a sideways glance. “So, uh, this is a nice hotel, huh?” He laughed next to her. “Yeah, for once. Guess we lucked out.” “Guess we did.” Annie smothered a groan that she couldn’t come up with something witty to say. She spoke for a living, to countless television viewers every week. Why couldn’t she manage to talk to this one guy without feeling like an idiot? They’d kept the discourse going during dinner but then there had been food to occupy her mouth and dominate the conversation. If only she hadn’t had to drive she could have had another beer, or three. Then she might be better at this flirting thing.
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The front desk personnel greeted them as they walked through the deserted lobby, and before she knew it they were alone inside the elevator. “Which floor?” Luke paused with his hand above the panel. “Five.” He nodded and pushed the button for five. One glance told Annie he hadn’t pushed any buttons for his own floor. “What floor are you on?” “Three.” He didn’t push the button for three, even though they would have to pass his floor to get to hers. Instead he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans as overwhelming silence filled the air. Her pulse sped. Luke was going to walk her directly to her door. The door that led to the room with not much more than a bed inside. Luke was a gentleman, she reminded herself. As such he’d wait for her to unlock and open that door to make sure she got inside safely. His being a gentleman also meant he wouldn’t take advantage of the situation and ask her if he could come in. She couldn’t invite him inside, could she? For what? The warm half of a diet cola she’d left on the dresser from last night? A cup of coffee from the tiny coffee maker plugged in the wall outlet in her bathroom? Her wildly pumping pulse sounded nearly deafening in her ears. Annie knew exactly what she wanted to invite him to come inside for, but she sure couldn’t admit that to him. She glanced sideways at his chiseled profile with regret. It would be a bad idea for them to be together like that anyway. What if it didn’t work out? Their working relationship would be horribly strained afterwards. If they started something, it would probably get out to the other bull riders and, worse, her bosses. She’d be fired and then replaced by that young blond thing they’d just hired at the network for the evening sports wrap up. Then Annie would be unemployed, shamed and alone. Definitely better to let things remain just as they were. At least now she was employed and respected even if she was alone. The elevator door opened on her floor and pulled her thoughts from her sad revelations. Luke extended his arm to hold the door and prevent it from closing on her. True to gentlemanly form, he waited for her to exit first. Annie reminded herself one more time that this man was the epitome of good manners. Only a foolish woman would confuse his politeness with interest in her. All of her wondering and worrying about “what if” was ridiculous. In a way, that made her feel a little better. If he wasn’t interested it was out of her hands. Nothing she could do about it either way. Right? That thought carried her all the way to her door, where she finally remembered to search in her bag for her keycard as Luke stood by waiting patiently.
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He was too perfect. That’s why he would never go for her. She was far from perfect. So she could just stop worrying and get on with her lonely life. Good, at least that was settled. With that thought in mind, she slid the card in and waited for the red light to turn green. It didn’t. She slid it again. Again, it didn’t turn green. She glanced at Luke. “I don’t know what’s wrong with this thing.” “Let me try.” He reached out to take the card and their hands touched. His was big and warm, and it warmed her heart from just that small contact. Damn, too bad he wasn’t into her because she could sure be into him. “Sure.” She somehow managed to respond and remember to release her hold on the card. Stop hoping, silly woman. Annie was a good ten years older than all the girls who hung around the bull riders. Well, actually women both young and old hung around, but Annie suspected it was mainly the younger ones who got taken back to the hotel for the night. Stupid, youth-oriented society. While she was busy cursing the world in which they lived, Luke flipped the card around and tried the other end. The light turned green and she heard the locks slide. “Oh, great. Thanks.” Behind his back, she rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. She couldn’t even manage to stick the card in the lock the correct way. Maybe she needed to get bifocals or something. When did people’s eyes start to fail from old age? All of her errant self-bashing came to an abrupt halt when she realized that Luke had entered the room, flipped on the light switch and was waiting inside, holding the door open for her to join him. Wow. That had been easy. He was inside, but would he stay? Just the thought had her juices flowing. She had to do something and fast, because as she stepped inside the room after him, he held the key card out. “Here you go.” “Thanks.” Would he leave now? She really didn’t want him to. “Um, I could make us some coffee, or decaf…” She swung her arm in the general direction of the bathroom where the machine was, as unappetizing as that juxtaposition was. “Sure. That would be great.” Luke let the door swing shut. Annie took the keycard he had handed her and dropped it onto the dresser along with her bag. The surface was a little messy but at least housekeeping had made the bed—the big king-sized bed. She yanked her gaze away from that and glanced guiltily at him, and noticed Luke was staring in the same direction she had been, at that big inviting mattress. He turned to her and she could have sworn he blushed. “Annie…” He took one step closer, until he was directly in front of her, and then he stopped. “Yes?” Oh God. Don’t get too excited.
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“I don’t really want any coffee.” His eyes focused on her intently. What was he trying to say? He wanted to leave? Then why was he so close she could feel the warmth of his breath? “Oh. That’s fine. I know it’s late—” He laughed. “No, that’s not it. I meant I didn’t come inside for coffee. I came inside because I wasn’t ready to say goodnight to you yet.” She swallowed hard and forced herself to bring forth the sultry, smooth-talking woman that had to be somewhere inside her, buried deep. “Good. I’m not ready to say goodnight to you either.” It wasn’t incredibly clever, but it was sincere, and she had delivered it in her best sexy television announcer voice. The one she used for auditions but rarely remembered to use on air. “Good. I’m glad.” Perhaps it was her imagination, but she thought his head dipped just a fraction of an inch lower. His gaze broke from hers, and then he shook his head. He let out a short laugh. “I’ve been out of this world too damn long.” “What world?” Annie had trouble getting that question out since breathing seemed extra hard with Luke so close. He brought his gaze back to hers. “The dating world.” “Oh.” Tonight was a date? Her mouth went dry at the revelation. Good thing she hadn’t known that or she would have been even more awkward than she had been. “You had asked about Lilly. Well, she and I have—had been together for a long time. Since right after she graduated high school.” The last thing Annie had imagined doing in a hotel room with Luke Carpenter was standing by the door talking about his ex-girlfriend, but she had to admit what he’d just revealed was a fascinating tidbit of information. “Really? Wow. That’s a long time.” A very long time for a man to date a woman and not get married. She didn’t say that last part out loud. There was obviously something that stopped them from getting married. What was that? His career, maybe? “Yeah, I guess. What I’m saying is, it’s been a really long time since I’ve had to tell a girl—woman— how I feel. Or, you know, let her know I’m interested in her, um, you know…” He glanced at the bed then back to her. Her eyes opened wide. “Physically.” The word slipped out, soft but definitely audible. “Yeah. Physically.” He looked relieved she’d supplied the word for him. Now that the cat was out of the bag, what the hell. She might as well go for it. “Are you saying you’re…interested?” Annie swallowed hard and waited for the answer. He let out his breath in a short burst of air. “Oh God, yes.”
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Luke took his hat off. He worked the rim in his hands, spinning it round and round. He kind of looked like a little boy waiting for permission to do something. This was so not how she pictured this night going. Talking about sex was…strange. Like they were negotiating contracts. It must be the gentleman in Luke that had him checking with her before he made a move. The few men she’d dated back home in the off-season hadn’t been like this. Actually, as she thought about them— fumbling to kiss her goodnight, slobbering on her whether she turned her cheek to avoid their lips or not— the negotiations she was currently in with Luke were far preferable. Especially if they led to the outcome she wanted. Him in her bed. As long as they were talking things out first, she might as well get all her anxieties out on the table. He’d already alleviated one fear—it was pretty obvious he hadn’t been sleeping around since his breakup, or he’d be better at this. That helped her insecurities. At least she wouldn’t be competing against some twenty-year-old he’d been with last night, or last week, or whatever. But there was still one more thing weighing on her mind. “We need to make a deal.” His hat stopped slowly rotating in his grasp. “What’s that?” “Whatever happens between us now, or even afterwards, won’t affect our professional relationship.” Now that she thought about it that was a lot to ask of both of them. Sex changed things. Hell, just this little talk would change things between them, whether they did it or not. She glanced up at him. “Do you think we’ll be able to do that?” He nodded solemnly. “I do.” She wasn’t so sure, but she wanted this man too much to worry about it any further. With the knowledge that she would very likely regret this when she was able to think again, she nodded. “Okay, then.” His brows rose. “So that means…” “It means you might want to put down that hat and take off those boots.” She smiled at his reaction. “Yes, ma’am.” His excitement was nearly tangible as he tossed his hat onto the dresser and then turned back to her. “As soon as I do one other thing first.” “What?” Was there a quaver in her voice as Luke’s head dipped lower toward hers? “This.” That one word was spoken just shy of her lips, then Luke was kissing her. She couldn’t say he kissed her breathless because she was having trouble breathing to begin with. All Annie knew was it was too good and over much too soon. He pulled back with a smile and headed for the nearest chair where he sat and pulled off one boot, then the other. Annie’s hands paused on her belt buckle. There was one more thing she had to say. “Luke.”
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“Yeah?” He was standing now, his hands on his own buckle when he stopped. Then his gaze met hers. A wary expression squelched the former gleeful one as he waited for her to finish what she had to say. “It’s been kind of a while for me.” Why she felt the need to apologize for that, she didn’t know. Maybe because he’d been with the same girl for so long and they were probably so familiar with each other their sex was phenomenal after all those years. And sex with a new person could be awkward, at best. At least that’s what Annie had found in her limited experience. Maybe she wanted to warn him not to expect much. He looked relieved. “That’s what you’re worried about?” She nodded, still fidgeting with her belt but not actually taking it off. A smile spread across his face. He was an impressively handsome man. The erection showing through the denim of his jeans was pretty impressive too. Annie had to admit she’d given that part of him quite a bit of thought lately. She yanked her gaze upward as he moved closer, until he stood directly in front of her again. He placed his hands on her belt, pushing her still-fidgeting fingers out of the way. “Don’t worry, Annie. I promise to be gentle.” His formerly sweet smile turned devilish. For perhaps the first time, she saw beneath his polite exterior and down deeper, to the raw need within the man in front of her. His blue gaze focused on her eyes as he dipped his head lower, halting just out of reach of her lips. Maybe it was she who closed the small distance to complete the kiss. Annie couldn’t be sure. Her eyes drifted closed and all rational thought fled the moment they connected again. A groan rumbled through him as he claimed her mouth. Luke’s fingers slid beneath her hair, his hands so large he cradled the back of her head as his thumbs stroked her jaw. His touch burned a trail across every inch of skin he made contact with. Angling his head, he took their kiss deeper, plunging his tongue against hers, giving her what she craved. Annie couldn’t control the moan that escaped as her need for more of him became nearly feral. Pressed to him from lips to thighs as she was, Annie clearly felt the outline of Luke’s length, hard and ready. She threw all propriety out the window. Sliding her leg between his, she moved even closer, rubbing against the part of him she’d only dreamt of. She wanted him. Now. To hell with tomorrow. He had said he’d be gentle, not that Annie wanted gentle in her frenzy to experience every inch of this man—and there were many, many mind-bogglingly wonderful inches of him to cover. Luke seemed as unable to control himself as she was, and he sure as hell didn’t take things slow like she’d assumed he would when this night started. He made short work of removing her clothing, stripping her and only breaking contact with her lips when absolutely necessary. He flung her clothing onto the chair, all of it until she stood bare and self-conscious before him.
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Luke, who had always acted the perfect gentleman, was in total control of her now. Apparently a man could hold doors open for a lady in public, and be a sexual animal in private. That theory was proven when Luke hoisted her naked body up against him and carried her to the bed. He dropped her onto the mattress where she lay quivering with need and missing his touch immediately as he stood next to the bed. It was worth letting go of her hold on him though, because while Annie watched, her most secret fantasy came true as Luke stripped just for her.
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Chapter Four
He was shaking. Luke had first realized that when he’d had to work on undoing the clasp to his buckle. The same one he’d had no trouble unfastening for the past ten years had eluded him tonight. Now, when he stood next to the mattress that contained a waiting Annie, he was having trouble unbuttoning his shirt. The trembling in his fingers reminded him he was reacting to the naked woman on the bed in front of him like he was an untried schoolboy. He was tempted to yank the two sides of the damn shirt apart and let the buttons fly rather than face the fact he was nervous. It was crazy. He’d been having sex for more than half his life, yet tonight he was trembling like a leaf. Finally, he conquered the buttons and wrestled the shirt down his arms, letting it slip to the floor. Annie’s gaze roamed his body. She took in the bullhorn tattoo on his arm muscle, then his bared chest, then traveled all the way down his abdomen to where his jeans obscured the rest of him. Luckily she couldn’t see the quivering inside his belly. She’d definitely seen his arousal though. Her focus stayed pinpointed there before she pulled her attention away. He smiled when she glanced up and saw he’d caught her looking. Her cheeks turned an adorable shade of pink and told him he was not alone in this. They knew each other, yeah, but for work, when they both had clothes on and there were people around. Not like this. That was okay. They’d learn each other, together. That realization helped steady his fingers as he undid his jeans and pushed them down his legs. Drawing in a deep breath, he shoved his underwear down too. His more than ready erection sprung up, pointing the way to Annie as if Luke needed a reminder of where he wanted to be. From the bed, Annie watched his boxer briefs drop. Luke saw her breath quicken as her chest rose and fell. His gaze zeroed in on the tempting rose-tinted peaks of her breast. He took a step forward then paused. The condoms he’d bought—just in case—out of the machine in the men’s room were in the pocket of his jeans. He hesitated. Should he take them out now or wait? While he debated Annie raised her eyes and sent him a look so filled with need it sent a thrill right through him. He grabbed the jeans off the floor and searched the pocket for the packages he’d hidden deep down so they wouldn’t fall out while he was in the restaurant. He swallowed hard, knowing he couldn’t hide what was in his hand, yet not sure she was ready for what his fist full of latex implied. “Um. I bought these tonight. Not that I was assuming we’d do anything, but you know, just in case. I mean we don’t have to use them…um, of course we’ll use them if we do that, but we don’t have to do that if you don’t want to.”
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Luke let out a big breath of frustration. That hadn’t come out as smoothly as he’d anticipated. “How many did you bring?” “Two.” His chest felt tight. Could a man pass out from nerves? “I guess we’ll just have to make do with two then.” Annie smiled and that was all the encouragement he needed. He threw the packets on the bed and kneeled on the edge of the mattress. She scooted backward to make room for him. It was a big king-sized mattress and he intended to use all of it. He spread her thighs and lowered his head. He heard her sharp intake of breath as he kissed the inside of one knee, then the other. Working his way up her leg, he kissed and nibbled until he reached the summit. There he glanced up and found Annie watching him through heavily lidded eyes. Her mouth was slightly open as she took quick shallow breaths. He was getting to her and he hadn’t even reached his destination yet. Luke liked that idea. Just the tip of his tongue touched the spot where her inner thigh joined her body, but she jumped like she’d been shocked. He smiled at her reaction and slid his hands up the same path his mouth had taken. With fingers that were far steadier than before, he spread her wide. He was breathing pretty quickly himself with anticipation. She’d said it had been a while for her. Him too. Luckily sex was more like riding a bike and not like riding a bull, which required practice. A few months off from sex might—hell, would— increase the anticipation. His skills in bed should still all be here even without him using them since the breakup. He showed Annie a bit of those skills now. He pierced her with his tongue and she gasped. Encouraged, he ran his teeth over her most sensitive spot then soothed her with a breath of air. But it was when he began to draw her clit into his mouth that Annie’s hips rose off the bed. The harder the suction, the more she reacted until her hands were tangled in his hair as she held him tightly against her. There was nothing Luke found hotter than making a woman come. If he knew anything at all about women and this particular subject, it was that Annie was close now. Not letting up with his mouth, he slid one finger inside her. Her muscles clamped down on him and he slid in a second, all while working her clit harder and faster. She was holding herself back from crying out. He could tell that when he raised his gaze and found her biting her lip so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if she drew blood. But she couldn’t stop her body’s reaction. He’d work on getting her to stop holding back vocally later. For now, driving her over the edge was Luke’s sole goal, and she was nearly there. He pressed up with his fingertips and found her G-spot. It didn’t take long after that. He felt her body pulsing inside and she let out a small cry. His only regret was not being buried deep inside her at the time, but they did have two condoms and all night to make that happen. For now what he could experience was incredible. Feeling her writhe beneath him. Having her body squeeze his fingers in a grip so tight it made
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movement difficult. Causing her to finally let go enough to cry out, even if it was more like a soft whimper than the all out scream of pleasure he would have loved to hear ripped from her lips. She was still panting for air when her muscle spasms finally slowed after he didn’t know how long. But Luke wasn’t done with her yet. She said it had been awhile, so he figured they had a lot of catching up to do. He kept at her, relentless with his hands and mouth until her muscles gripped him hard again. He felt her body stiffen, coiling before it released again. He lost all sense of time as he continued to pump into her with his fingers and work her with his mouth. As long as Annie kept coming, Luke would be happy to keep going. Finally, she twisted beneath him, pulling away. He didn’t let up until she used both hands to grab his face. “Too sensitive,” she gasped. Her face was flushed and her eyes bright. “Okay.” Luke wiped his mouth and smiled. He’d done this to her. Given her the look of a woman well pleased. Maybe, after he’d buried himself in her, he’d let her rest for a little bit, then they’d do it again. He’d please Annie for as long and as often as she’d let him. She drew in a deep shaky breath. “Wow.” He laughed shakily. “Yeah. Wow.” And they’d only just begun. Annie may be reeling from release, but Luke was still tightly wound and ready to break. There were many other things in his repertoire he still had yet to reveal. They’d get to them all, he hoped. For now, he simply needed to sink inside her. Luke crawled up the bed, and Annie, until he was lying face-to-face with her. He stayed braced on his elbows so he didn’t crush her. Her breathing seemed labored already without his weight on her. Meanwhile, he couldn’t seem to wipe the self-satisfied grin off his face no matter how hard he tried. He truly was feeling like a teenage boy about to get lucky. Thirty-two-year-old men weren’t supposed to feel like this, were they? Certain parts of him were truly happy to be here, particularly the part that was currently nestled in the warmth between Annie’s thighs. Just the thought of how close to heaven he was had his cock jumping. She must have felt it move, because a smile crossed her tempting mouth. Luke moved up another inch so he could drop a kiss on those lips. The action had him pressing closer against her, so near her wet heat he could feel it, warming, tempting. So close that one tilt of his hips would have him inside. There was no way to keep the kiss light and quick. Not in the mood he was in. Not with this incredible woman who reacted to his every touch. What he’d intended to be just a peck before he sheathed himself, turned into much more. Before Luke knew it, she was crushed beneath his body, the same way her lips were crushed beneath his.
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Annie’s legs wrapped around his back, clamping him in place. Not that he had any intention of going anywhere. His tongue slid into her mouth the way he wanted to into her body. He slipped his hands beneath her and had to fight the urge to plunge inside. Angled the way they were, he was already precariously close to where he shouldn’t be without protection. It was too good. Too close. When her hands moved to grip his bare ass cheeks, pulling him into her, he nearly gave in and let her do it. Luke didn’t know where he summoned the willpower to break the kiss and lock his arms so he was braced above her, far enough from the temptation to be able to think. “Condom.” She nodded and finally released her grip on him. Good thing, because another minute of rolling around in that bed with Annie and he would have said to hell with the consequences. His fingers were shaking again as he rolled the latex down over his erection, but this time it felt more like anticipation than nerves. Then he was back braced over Annie again. Her blue eyes were wide and waiting. Her lips parted and inviting. Luke lowered his head and claimed those lips, and this time he managed to keep control. He slid his tongue inside the warm recesses of her mouth at the same time he slid inside her. She gasped beneath his lips. The sound made him realize he needed to see her as he loved her. After breaking the kiss, he stared down into her eyes. He slid out of her body and then slowly pushed back inside, all the while watching her react to every stroke. Her expression—need and desire for him— had him increasing the speed. When he put his hands beneath her and lifted her hips off the bed, he reached new depths that had her eyes closing. He stroked deeper, harder. Annie drew in a hissing breath and Luke felt her body grip his. The same muscles and movements that made him a winning bull rider translated pretty damn well in bed, and he drew on all his expertise now, angling his hips to hit Annie in just the right spot. He felt her body respond to the motion. He gritted out a “yes” and moved faster until Annie’s soft cries came faster. “Yes, Annie. Come.” She bore down upon him, and he felt the rhythmic convulsing of her muscles grip him just as he lost control himself. He came with a shout, holding deep inside her so he could enjoy every last pulse of her body around his. Panting heavily, he didn’t want to move. Hell, he could barely talk. He doubted walking would be possible for at least a few more minutes. Good thing neither one of them had to go anywhere anytime soon. At least he truly hoped he wouldn’t be going anywhere, because Luke could happily spend the rest of the night pressed against Annie’s warm body. He realized she was being very quiet except for her rapid breathing. He rose on one elbow so he could see her face. “You okay?” Annie nodded. “Yeah. I’m more than okay.”
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Luke smiled and stroked her face. “Good.” After all, there was still one more condom left, should the need arise. He truly hoped it did. In fact, Luke felt something rising again already…
“Well, well, well. Good morning, Luke.” “Morning.” What was up with Mustang? Luke didn’t know and was kind of afraid to guess. “So Aaron told me he knocked on your door this morning and there was no answer.” Mustang’s eyebrow rose expectantly. Shit. “I uh, woke up late. I must have been in the shower when he knocked.” Luke cursed himself for not coming up with an excuse in advance. But then again, who knew he’d need one? What the hell was Aaron doing knocking on his door anyway? He’d never done that before. Oh, wait. Aaron had Luke’s gearbag, but why did Mustang care? Okay, Luke would admit he was usually up before everyone else so he was the one doing the knocking. Of course, he’d never been up half the night having sex before. Even when Lilly had been with him, they’d been a couple for so many years that they’d do it once if at all and then go to sleep. They’d certainly never had the marathon session he and Annie had. At least not in recent memory. Somehow thinking of Lilly right after he’d been with Annie seemed very wrong. Lilly was his past. He would remember fondly the time they’d had together, and a part of him would always love her on some level, but it was over now. Annie was his present and with any luck she’d be a part of his future too. Meanwhile, Mustang was still looking at him with an amused expression. “What?” Mustang shrugged. “Nothing. I just think it’s funny, is all.” “My oversleeping is funny?” The moment the words left his mouth, Luke got the feeling he shouldn’t have asked. “Yup, it’s quite a coincidence, because for the first time in all the years I’ve known Annie, she was late getting to the arena. Funny, isn’t it?” Mustang knocked his hat back a bit and glanced past Luke’s shoulder. “Oh, look. Here’s our little Annie now. Hey there, darlin’. You’re looking mighty pretty this morning. All bright eyed and bushy-tailed.” Luke spun to see her approach. She looked as if she’d like to turn tail and run, but it was too late. Annie’s eyes cut from Luke to Mustang as her face pinked. “Uh, thanks, Mustang. Good morning, Luke.” Between how adorable she looked when she blushed and the memories of the night before that assaulted him, Luke couldn’t hide his smile. He didn’t even care if Mustang saw it.
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“Morning, Annie.” Luke nodded to her and tried not to smirk too big as he remembered how he’d actually said good morning to her. He was sure she was thinking of the same thing when her face turned a deeper shade of red. “All right, then. I’ll leave you two to discuss…something. See ya’ll later.” Mustang tipped his hat in Annie’s direction, shot Luke an I-know-what-you-did look and then was gone. He watched the door slam behind Mustang, leaving them alone in the hall. With no reason not to since there was no one there to see, Luke reached out and ran a finger down Annie’s arm. He watched her shudder from his touch. That reaction, combined with the look of lust in her eyes, nearly had him backing her into a broom closet somewhere for a quickie. He swallowed hard and tried to get a rein on his libido. “Hey.” She drew in a deep breath. “Hey.” “I had a really good time last night.” Damn, he wanted her again already and they’d only parted ways a few hours ago. Annie nodded. “Me too. But, Luke…” Uh oh. But was never a good beginning to a sentence. Annie glanced around. “Here at work, I’m afraid—” “That people will talk. I didn’t tell Mustang anything about us or last night. I swear.” He wouldn’t have his stupid, immature friend’s teasing him and Annie ruin this thing between them. “I know. It’s okay. I’m not worried about Mustang. Besides that—him suspecting—that’s probably my own fault.” She shook her head even though Luke couldn’t figure out how she could blame herself for Mustang’s suspicious and nosy nature. “But other people. It’s hard enough in this business for a woman. I have to be professional.” Luke nodded. “You are professional. And you’re damn good at what you do. Better than any man or woman. I would never do anything to endanger your career. I swear.” Please, please don’t say we can’t be together again. “We have to be really careful and discreet. Okay?” Though she kept her voice low, Annie’s tone pleaded with him. “Of course.” He felt suitably reprimanded. He’d have to be more careful. No more secret touches or glances at the arena. Definitely no quickies in the broom closet. “Good.” She nodded once firmly and with resolve. “And don’t forget you need to buy more condoms.” A smile tugged at the corners of Luke’s mouth. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll get on that right away. I promise.” Oh yeah. “Okay. I gotta go get ready.” Annie hooked a thumb in the direction of the door Mustang had disappeared through.
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“All right.” “See you later?” She was seriously asking him if he’d see her later? Hell, she should try and stop him. With one more glance around them to ensure they weren’t being observed, Luke grabbed both her arms and dropped an incredibly fast and far-too-risky kiss on her lips, and then released her. “Definitely.” Looking a little off-kilter and as if she didn’t know whether to lecture him again or jump him after that kiss, Annie left him alone in the hall, but not without Luke fully enjoying the view as she walked away. “Wow.” His cock stirred in his pants. Boy, was he in trouble. Luke made sure his excitement wasn’t visible, then made his way through the door. He arrived in the dressing room to find it already filled with riders in various stages of preparation. After spotting Aaron and getting his stuff back, Luke found an empty corner. He dropped his gear bag on the floor and sat on the bench. He needed to prep his rope, strap on his chaps and wrap his sore wrist. Meanwhile, the only thing he could focus on was Annie. Not good. He needed his head on his upcoming ride. Not on the ride he’d taken last night with Annie. Championship Sunday meant the best bulls would be brought back for the short go. God willing, Luke would be brought back for it too. “So you look like you’re in a good mighty mood, Luke.” He glanced up to find Mustang grinning at him again. “Sure am. My name is above yours in the standings so of course I’m happy.” Ha! That’ll teach Mustang for meddling in Luke’s personal life. Good natured as ever, Mustang just smiled and shook his head. “That’s all right. You old guys need to get in all the wins you can. You know, since retirement looms ahead so closely.” Hmm, and that would teach Luke for trying to act the smart ass, because what Mustang said was absolutely accurate. Riders in their thirties were most definitely on the downward side of their career. Barring injury, the youngest guys had a decade, maybe two, left to ride, while Luke could probably count his years left to compete at this level in the pros on one hand. That was a depressing thought, but at least it served to focus his mind on something other than sliding into Annie…at least until he saw her again, walking around the corner accompanied by—holy cow—none other than his ex-girlfriend’s brother. Why was Chris here and why hadn’t he called? “Chris?” Luke jumped up. “You didn’t say you were coming. I would have left you a pass at the willcall window if I’d known.” His best friend, the man who Luke’s entire hometown had assumed would be legally his brother-inlaw by now, shrugged. “I figured I’d call your cell when I got here.” Something was up. Luke knew Chris as well as he’d know a blood brother and the man was not the type to show up on a whim, unannounced.
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He’d have to get to the bottom of this. Luke glanced at the clock. He’d have to get ready for his ride at the same time. The dressing room was already beginning to clear out as the riders started moving to behind the chutes. Luke’s gaze cut to Annie and he felt his insides flip. He had a feeling it wasn’t from the pre-ride adrenaline either. “Thanks for bringing him back, Annie.” She treated him to that smile that made his pulse speed. “No problem at all. I was out getting some coffee when I bumped into him. It was just as easy for me to escort him through security rather than bother you to come get him while you’re getting ready for your ride.” “When do you ride?” Chris glanced down at the chaps hanging loose around Luke’s thighs. “I have a little bit, but not long.” Luke started to work the buckles while speaking. “I’ll let you get ready. Good luck, Luke. Good seeing you again, Chris.” Annie nodded her goodbye as Luke regretted her leaving, but she was right, he had both a ride to prep for and this mysterious visit to deal with. “Thanks, Annie.” Luke turned his attention back to Chris. “So what are you doing here, man? I mean, not that it isn’t good to see you, but a phone call would be nice.” Again, Chris looked like he was holding something back. “Can’t a guy just visit his friend?” “Yeah, he can.” But he usually didn’t, at least not like this. Luke couldn’t think of it much longer, because he saw a few of the other riders gathering in a circle in the hallway. “As long as you’re here you can help me because I’m way behind.” Luke flipped his rope over a bar on the wall and grabbed the stiff brush out of his gear bag. He handed it to Chris. “Can you clean my rope? I’ll be right back.” “Sure.” With the knowledge that his friend would handle his rope for him until he got back, but still no clue as to why he was here, Luke left Chris to work on it. Luke took a knee in the prayer circle with the other riders, still wondering what was wrong with his friend.
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Chapter Five
Annie tried to calm her stomach, which had decided to clench up the moment she saw Luke’s best friend standing outside the security checkpoint with his cell phone in his hand trying to get a clear signal to call Luke. Of course she’d recognized him immediately. He’d been a fixture on the circuit for years, along with his sister, Lilly, Luke’s longtime girlfriend. Chris had only told her he needed to get a hold of Luke, not why he was here now. Did Lilly want Luke back so she sent her brother to feel him out? Another thought careened into Annie’s brain and nearly had her doubling over from the ache in her stomach it caused. What if Lilly was pregnant? She counted the months since she’d seen her last. It was possible it happened right before Luke and Lilly had broken up. Lilly might have hidden it until now, when she’d begun to show. Then her brother would have noticed and made the choice to come tell Luke. It would explain why Chris wasn’t acting very happy to be here. Annie realized her mind was running away with her. She didn’t know any of this was true. Maybe the guy just wanted to see his friend ride. She needed to get a grip on herself. The coffee cup in Annie’s hand shook as she raised it to her lips. She was a wreck, shaking like a leaf simply because Lilly’s brother was here. She knew getting involved with a rider on the circuit was a bad idea. Crazy. Stupid. Unprofessional. How was she supposed to go live on air like this? Smiling and pretending that everything was okay when in reality, she had likely handed Luke a key to her heart when she’d invited him into her bed last night. Annie lowered the coffee again, deciding that even as tired as she was, the caffeine wasn’t doing her already jittery nerves any good. She needed to think this out. Chris was Luke’s good friend. That wouldn’t change simply because Luke was no longer dating his sister. Men were different than women. Buddies were buddies for life, in spite of changes in circumstances. Right? How the hell could she know how men thought? How Luke thought. Annie hadn’t had enough longterm boyfriends to predict who got the friends in a breakup. She sure as hell hadn’t had a relationship that had lasted years the way Luke’s had with Lilly. A tap on her shoulder had her spinning around with a squeal. She turned to find her cameraman, Carl, frowning. “Annie. Joe’s been trying to get a hold of you. Where’s your earpiece?”
Hooked
Annie had been so distracted she’d forgotten to put it in, because, as she’d said to herself before in her internal bashing, sleeping with Luke had been a bad, bad idea. “Sorry.” Annie pulled the earpiece out of her pocket and shoved it into her ear, hidden beneath her hair. “What did Joe want? Do you know?” As Carl explained something about getting an interview with one of the VIPs in the chute seats, Annie’s gaze swept the riders behind the chutes until she found Luke’s now more than familiar figure. He was stretching, pivoting his torso to loosen up. She remembered the motion of his hips last night. Man, the same skills that made him a champion bull rider were pretty handy in the bedroom too. Feeling the heat creep into her cheeks, she wrestled her attention back to where it should be, on her cameraman and her job. “Okay. I guess we can take care of that interview during the break before the short round.” Carl frowned at her. “That’s what I just said. Joe wants it on during intermission. What’s up today, Annie? You sick or something?” She smothered a laugh. Lovesick maybe. “Sorry. I’m fine.” Lovesick, at her age. How ridiculous. Meanwhile, she couldn’t stop her gaze from finding Luke again. This time he was standing with Chris and a wave of jealousy struck her. Jealousy that Luke was best friends with Lilly’s brother. That gave Lilly a huge advantage over Annie and would make her a part of Luke’s life forever. While Annie would have to be happy with memories of last night and hopefully a few more nights like it. Those memories would have to keep her warm during the off season when Luke went back home to his family’s ranch in the town he’d grown up in. The same town where Lilly still lived. Annie swallowed the bitter taste in the back of her mouth. The opening was about to begin. It was showtime once again. “Let’s head up to the chute seats so I can set up the interview for later.” Carl nodded and followed her up the steps that Annie managed to trip on halfway up as another lessthan-happy thought struck her. With Chris here, Luke would most likely spend the night with him. Instead of a nice dinner together, followed by some even nicer time in her room again, Luke would have to entertain his friend from home, who would of course spend the night in Luke’s room since the hotel was probably sold out. And it wasn’t exactly like Luke could say, “Hey, Dude. Make yourself at home while I go have sex with a woman who isn’t your sister.” Annie held a little tighter to the rail since she seemed incapable of even walking since spending the night with Luke. She sighed. Bad idea. Really, really bad idea. So why couldn’t she wait to do it again? By the time Annie had connected with the subject of her interview later, the bulls for the first section had been loaded into the chutes. Thankfully, the familiarity of the event she’d been covering for more years than she cared to admit to, took over her formerly wandering mind. After so many years, Annie could probably do this job in her sleep, and that was proving to be important today as she walked through the
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event in a daze. She interviewed the winning rider of the round last night. She spoke with the head of the sports medicine team to inquire about a few riders who were on the injured list. She was just heading toward the stock contractor to ask about the bulls in the championship round when she heard Luke’s name being announced. She held up her hand to stop Carl behind her. “Hold up a sec. I want to watch this match up.” Annie glanced once more at her cameraman. Would he guess she particularly wanted to see this ride because she’d spent all of last night beneath Luke? Who knew sex made a person so paranoid. Annie ignored the fear and turned to scan the chutes. She found Luke straddling the rails, waiting for the antsy bull to settle down. Pushing the image of him straddling her out of her mind, she drew in a deep breath. Watching the guys ride could be nerve wracking. Watching the guy she’d spent the night with and had a huge crush on was nearly torture. “Luke Carpenter in the chute on Moonwalker. This bull put Mustang Jackson on the leader board last night. Let’s see what he can do for Luke tonight.” The amplified announcement directed everyone’s attention to Moonwalker and Luke. She combed her brain for stats on the bull. The way he was acting up in the chute was not making Annie happy one bit. Luke either by the looks of him as he adjusted his chaps one more time to get them out of the way after the bull had jostled him in the chute. Finally, Luke nodded and the gate swung wide. Annie realized she was holding her breath as Moonwalker took Luke into a spin. She forced herself to breathe as Luke held on, breaking at the hips to absorb the motion as Moonwalker dipped his head low. Good thing these rides only lasted eight seconds or she would have probably passed out. She didn’t feel better until the buzzer sounded and Luke pulled the rope to release his hand. Too many riders got caught in their ropes and Annie wasn’t going to assume he was safe until his gloved hand was free and he was on his feet in the arena, preferably with the bull out of it. When that was finally the case, she allowed herself to relax and wait for his score. She even let herself cheer when his score put him in the top five. In fact, the only thing that put a damper on the celebration was seeing Chris congratulating Luke behind the chutes. She sighed. She’d have to get over his past with Lilly. She only hoped that he had.
“You in the short go?” Luke nodded to Chris, who should know the answer to his own question and who wasn’t looking as happy as he should be that Luke had scored so high. “Yeah. I’m definitely going to be in the top fifteen. Even if everyone else covers their bulls, I won’t get bumped out of the final round. Why? You got somewhere you gotta be?”
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Luke had managed to put it out of his mind for the ride, but Chris’s strange behavior was front and center again. Chris shook his head. “Sorry. Just distracted today.” Luke’s brows rose. Yeah, he definitely had to get to the bottom of this, but it would have to wait until after the short go. The last rider in this round was in the arena, and then after a short intermission he’d be up again. Luke drew in a deep breath. As if he didn’t have enough on his mind today after that hot night with Annie, now his best friend had shown up unannounced and acting weird. Luke’s gaze hit upon Annie up in the stands above the chutes looking like she was getting ready to go on air. The moment she saw him looking at her she smiled. She mouthed, “good ride”. He felt the smile cross his lips and mouthed back, “thanks”. Then she was all business again as the station cut to her live and she began an interview with someone up in the VIP section. Chris was still next to him, shuffling his booted feet around, totally distracted and fidgety. Luke smothered a sigh. When it rained, it poured. His life had been pretty much stagnant for years—same girl, same job, same best friend. At least it had been uneventful, just days passing by. Now, everything felt different with the new developments with Annie and this strangeness with Chris. At least his job was the same, and he better get prepared for his second ride or he’d lose that too. The biggest mistake a rider could make was to get on a bull with his head not in the game. Luke needed to work on his focus and now. “I gotta stretch a bit. Will you be okay here for a minute?” Luke hated that he had to get away from the guy he’d called friend since they’d been young boys riding sheep in local mutton-busting events, but a man had to do what a man had to do. Chris nodded. “Yeah. I’m good.” Luke dipped his head once in response then moved to the floor behind the chutes where he could stretch in peace and get his focus back. He saw Chris making another call. Was this the second or the third he’d seen Chris make? Was he reporting in to someone maybe? The last thought Luke spared to the situation before he had to start running through the upcoming ride in his head had him intrigued before he pushed it aside. Perhaps Chris was here to break it to him that Lilly had found someone else. She always had wanted to get married young. Maybe she was even engaged. In that case, Luke couldn’t have been happier for her. But again, that was something to think about later.
The bull decided to lie down in the chute. And not just lie down, but only halfway, which meant Luke had to lean far forward over its head to stay on since it was only the animal’s ass that was on the ground while his front half was still upright.
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“Shit.” Luke shook his head in frustration. These were the best bulls in competition but sometimes it happened. They misbehaved. Nothing a rider could do about it except deal with it. “Get as settled as you can and go.” Luke glanced up at Mustang perched on the rails of the chute. “What? With him positioned like this?” “Yup. Listen—” Mustang grabbed the back of Luke’s vest and held him as the bull jerked up and then sat his rear back down again. Once the animal had quieted, though remained in the same awkward stance, Mustang continued. “He’s upright in front. When that gate opens, he’ll go.” Mustang was right. The bull probably would go the minute the gate opened. Luke only hoped he wouldn’t be launched off like a rocket when he did. “Okay.” He flexed his gloved fingers in the bull rope then flipped the legs of his chaps out of the way one last time. After a nod to the gateman, there was no looking back for Luke. The gate swung open with a loud clang and they were off. Mustang had been correct. The bull leapt forward and after a second, settled into a smooth and comfortable spin into Luke’s hand. Luke spurred the animal with his outside leg to keep him going in that direction, while at the same time he intentionally showed a little daylight between his leg and the bull to dress up the ride and impress the judges. The bull didn’t feel as if he was kicking as strong or as high as Luke needed him to for a high score. A little showmanship could add enough points to an otherwise unimpressive ride to keep him among the top scorers. The bull didn’t reverse directions and stayed in a smooth spin. Luke kept himself centered and balanced against the centrifugal force that pushed against his body as both man and beast spun fast. The buzzer sounded and Luke ended the near perfect ride by landing on his feet, followed by a fist in the air. The bullfighters patted him on the back as he made his way out of the arena, where the sight greeting him made him smile. “I’m here with Luke Carpenter who just scored ninety in the short go. Great ride, Luke.” It was only after Annie said his score that Luke wrestled his attention away from her smiling face to notice the confetti in the air. Ninety. Wow. Maybe that bull had bucked harder than he’d thought. Luke adjusted the brim of his hat back a bit and dipped his head in response. “Thanks, Annie.” The flashing red light on her cameraman’s equipment was a reminder that he couldn’t reach down and kiss those tempting lips, but he could sure think about doing it. Hopefully his thoughts wouldn’t show on camera. “What were your thoughts when the bull laid down in the chute.” That he was screwed. “Um, well, my first instinct was going to be to wait for him to get back up.” “And what made you change your mind?” “Actually, Mustang Jackson told me to go. That the bull would get up when the gate opened.” A slow smile spread across Annie’s lips. “Mustang’s a wise man.”
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“Yeah, he just hides it real well.” Luke laughed. She grinned. “Maybe later we’ll get Mustang’s rebuttal to that accusation. Thanks for talking with us, Luke. The next rider’s up on the bull. Jim and JW, back to you guys in the booth.” The incessant blinking of the red light went dim and Luke relaxed a bit and had time to enjoy his victory and Annie’s closeness. “You wanna help me celebrate later?” Annie looked tempted by the suggestion. “What about your friend?” Shit. He’d forgotten about Chris for a minute. “Well, maybe we could all go out to grab a bite and a beer together. He’s an early bird. Give him a steak and a few beers and he’ll be sound asleep by nine. And he sleeps like a log.” Her brow rose. “Oh really.” “Hell, I’ll knock him out if I have to.” Luke couldn’t control his grin. He felt like a teenager again, hoping to sneak out of the house after his parents fell asleep. “We’ll play it by ear.” Her pursed lips showed her skepticism at his plan. “That’s probably a good idea.” Then she touched her earpiece before raising her gaze to his. “I have to—” “Go. You have work to do. I’ll catch up with you after.” She nodded and was gone. He couldn’t resist watching her walk away. His attention was still glued to her butt as she climbed the stairs when Chris was beside him again. “You done?” He smothered a sigh and glanced at the leader board. He’d scored well, but he wasn’t going to finish in first place. That meant he didn’t need to hang around for the winner’s interview or the presentation of any checks or buckles, but what the hell was Chris’s problem that he couldn’t wait a little while if Luke had been required to stay? “Yeah, I’m done except that we usually go back out into the arena after the close to sign autographs for the fans.” “Do you have to?” What the hell was up with Chris today? “No, I don’t have to but I like to. The fans are—” “Luke. Please. I need to talk to you. Now.” The pleading in Chris’s tone, matched by the strange expression in his eyes, told Luke there was something very wrong. “All right. Let’s go on back to the dressing room. We can talk in there.” Luke could get out of his chaps and unwrap his wrist and hopefully solve whatever was wrong with Chris so they could move on with the night’s celebration. Though when Chris pushed him down onto the bench in the dressing room, then squatted down in front of him, Luke wasn’t so sure there would be any celebrating. Chris let out a big huff of air, as if he was gathering his strength, and Luke felt his stomach fall. “What’s wrong, Chris. You’re starting to scare me.” When his best friend’s gaze met his, there was the glistening of tears in his eyes.
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“At about five-thirty this morning your mother called our house in a panic.” Chris paused to swallow while Luke fought the urge to vomit. “Your father had collapsed. She’d called the ambulance first. They were already on their way, so my mother and Lilly met her at the hospital. My dad and I stayed behind to take care of your father’s herd before meeting everyone at the ER.” Luke tried to swallow and found his mouth so dry he could barely manage it. “What did the doctors say? Is he all right?” The slow sway of Chris’s head had Luke’s entire body quaking. Luke ran a shaky hand over his face. “Tell me.” “They said it was a brain aneurism. It ruptured.” He shook his head. “What does that mean?” “The doctors can tell you better. They told us a third of people die on the way to the hospital, a third die in the hospital, and a third make it if they can operate fast enough.” “Which third is my father in?” “He flat-lined in the ambulance.” Chris drew in a deep breath and let it out again. “They have his body on machines to keep him alive until you can get home but Luke, he’s brain dead.” Anger replaced all of Luke’s other emotions. “Why the hell didn’t you call me first thing this morning? At five-thirty when it happened, instead of worrying about the damn herd?” “We decided we couldn’t tell you this over the phone. That’s why I got right in the truck and drove here. To tell you in person and drive you home.” “Then why didn’t you tell me the minute you got here?” Luke’s eyes flashed. Chris’s expression softened. “That was my own decision. I wanted to let you finish the event.” “Fuck the event, Chris. This is my father.” “What difference would an hour make either way, Luke? It doesn’t matter now.” “I could have been with him.” “Luke, he’s gone. When you get home, they’re going to unhook the machines.” “No, maybe—” Chris shook his head. “There is no maybe. He’s gone.” It couldn’t be true. People came out of comas all the time. Luke had just seen something about that on television. “How can they be sure?” “They’re sure, Luke. They brought in some neurologist.” Chris shook his head. “I’m so sorry.” Luke felt dead inside as the full impact of what he was hearing numbed him. “I just need to get my gear, then grab my bag at the hotel and check out.” He clung to the details, as if putting things in order would turn his world right side up again, because it sure as hell wasn’t that way now. Then another reality hit him. “My mother?” “She’s…” Chris looked at a loss for words. “She’ll be happy you’re home.”
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“We have to get going.” Luke stood, surprised he could do so, and began shoving gear into his bag. “I know.” Chris began coiling Luke’s bull rope. “We’ll be home by nightfall.” “Okay.” Luke drew in a shaky breath and let it out just as Annie came around the corner. Her smile faded the moment she saw him. If he looked half as bad as he felt, Luke guessed Annie had figured out something was horribly wrong just from the expression on his face. He had to tell her what had happened. They had tentative plans for tonight and he needed to cancel. The other guys would have to be told too. And he’d have to let somebody in charge know he wouldn’t be competing next week. He didn’t know how long it took to plan a funeral, and he couldn’t leave his mother so soon afterward anyway, so of course he couldn’t compete this coming weekend. He just didn’t know if he had it in him to say it out loud to even one person, let alone repeat it all a whole bunch of times. “Luke?” Annie’s gaze cut from him to Chris, and then back again. A frown creased her brow. “You okay?” He started to nod but it turned into a shake when he realized he wasn’t okay at all, and he wouldn’t be for a very long while. He turned to Chris with a pleading glance. His friend’s hand came up and gripped his shoulder. “I’ll tell her.” “And the guys—” Luke hated laying it all on Chris, but at the moment he had no other choice. He was holding on to his composure by the skin of his teeth. If he opened his soul to Annie and saw the sympathy in her eyes, he’d lose it. He’d turn into an emotional mess in the middle of everyone and he didn’t want that. Chris gave his shoulder one last squeeze and then released his hold. “I’ll take care of it all. You finish packing up then we’ll go.” All Luke could do was watch Annie and Chris walk away, and try to remember to breathe.
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Chapter Six
The drive had been hell. Knowing his family needed him and he couldn’t get home fast enough while he sat helpless in the passenger seat had been torture. But actually arriving at the hospital was not a relief in any way either. The sights and smells of the ICU nearly took Luke off his feet. The steady beep-beep of monitors. The overpowering scent of bleach or whatever it was they used to clean with. He walked like a zombie through the hallway guided by Chris. Without his friend, Luke probably wouldn’t have been able to even follow the simple directions the floor nurse at the desk had given them to his father’s room. Maybe the truth was that deep down he didn’t want to locate it. Inside would be simply the shell of the man who’d been the most important person in his life since the day he was born. The man who’d put him on top of his first sheep in the mutton-busting competition in the local rodeo when Luke was barely five years old. The man who’d worked day and night to make the money to help pay for Luke’s entrance fees and equipment when he was just starting out as an amateur bull rider in high school. The man who had taught him to shoot, to pray and to respect both women and the value of a dollar. How in the world could he live without that steadying force in his life? Chris slowed to a stop and then stood to the side of a doorway. Luke knew this was it. Steeling his nerves, and dreading what waited inside that room, he walked through the entrance. He saw first his mother, her face tearstained and showing the strain of the past day. Luke realized how selfish his thoughts had been. Only of himself and what his father’s death would mean to him. How would his mother live without the man she’d been with since they’d started dating at age fifteen? His gaze traveled to the figure in the bed beneath the oxygen mask and wires. It was not his father. He couldn’t think of this as his father, because far too soon all that stuff would be unhooked and then… Luke couldn’t even think of it. “Luke.” His mother rose from her chair and threw herself into his arms. “Mom. I’m sorry I took so long to get here.” He held her tight and buried his face against the top of her head. The familiar feel and smell of her helped combat the less than comforting atmosphere of the hospital. “It’s okay. You’re here now.” He glanced over his mother’s head and at his father in the bed. His face was ashen, the sickly color obscuring whatever tan was left over from all the hours the man had spent working out in the sun. “What—” Luke’s voice caught in his throat. He cleared it and tried again. “What happened?”
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“He got up early just like he always did to feed the stock. He went into the kitchen and turned on the coffee pot. The next thing I heard was something crashing. By the time I got to the kitchen, he was lying on the floor with the chair on top of him. He must—” his mother’s voice cracked, “—must have grabbed for it when he started to fall. I called the ambulance right away. Then I called the Collins’s house.” “But why did he fall? What caused it?” A strong man like his father didn’t faint or just collapse for no good reason. “The doctor said it was a brain aneurism.” He still didn’t know exactly what that meant or what they could have done to avoid it. All Luke knew was that his father never looked so helpless. A man who could rope and wrestle a steer to the ground, taken down by what? Some sort of microscopic blood clot or whatever an aneurism was? How was that possible? How was that fair? “Luke…we have to—” She stared at the machines beeping away. Proof his father still lived and breathed. “Why? Why do we have to?” “Because he’s gone.” “He’s not gone. Maybe he’ll—” “No. He won’t. There’s no brain activity.” “But maybe—” “No, Luke. There’s no hope. Please don’t make this harder than it already is. You know your father and you know what he’d want. Hell, if he wasn’t so healthy and stubborn and convinced he’d live to be a hundred, he probably would have thought to get one of those do-not-resuscitate orders when we had our wills drawn up right after you were born. But you know this…” She swept her hand at the room full of equipment. “This wouldn’t be what he’d want. This isn’t living.” Luke knew she was right, but that didn’t make it any easier. Hell, he’d barely been able to let his old horse go a few years back when the vet had said it was time to put him down. This was the man who’d raised him. How the hell could you simply unplug the machines and let him die? His thoughts must have shown on his face. “It’s not him, son. It’s just his body. We’d be keeping him here for us, not for him.” Tears he didn’t let fall blurred Luke’s vision as he nodded. “When?” “They’ve arranged for the organ donations, so as soon as you’ve said your good-byes. I’ve had all day. I’ve already made my peace with it. Take your time, son.” Time wouldn’t change anything. He shook his head, not knowing if he could do as she asked. He knew he needed to be strong for her, but right now he was like a little boy again clinging to his mother. She took his hand, her grip stronger than it should be given the situation, and led Luke to the bed. He forced his gaze up from the floor, trying to ignore the machine breathing for his father because he couldn’t
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do it for himself. He knew his mother was right. There was no dignity in living like this. If he had been aware of any of it, his father would have hated it. With one loud sniffle, Luke released his mother’s hand and took his father’s in his. It remained limp in his grasp. One more indication the strongest man he’d ever known was gone. “Hey, Dad. It’s Luke. I’m here. Um, sorry I took so long, but I did real good this competition. I placed third. Made some good money.” Luke figured his father, being a practical man, would appreciate knowing that. Now what? How in the world did you say goodbye forever? He couldn’t. All he could say was, “I love you.” He squeezed his father’s hand one last time and then took a step back and looked for his mother. She gave him a weak, watery smile and nodded. A nurse and a doctor Luke hadn’t noticed enter the room stepped forward, toward the equipment, and Luke’s world changed forever.
Luke woke up in his own bed in the room he’d had since birth. Some things had changed over the years. The cowboy wallpaper from his youth had long ago been painted over. The wall was covered instead with pictures of him in competition and buckles he’d won framed in shadowboxes. Some things, like the old maple dresser handed down from his grandparents’ time, remained the same. It showed the deep patina that comes with age. But now that his father was gone, everything seemed different. Chris had driven him and his mother home from the hospital late last night. It had felt wrong to leave his father there, though Luke supposed he wouldn’t be alone for long. It wouldn’t be long before the funeral home came to get him. Chris’s father, Jack Collins, had called the family who owned the only funeral parlor in town and asked them to handle the arrangements. Chris had dated their daughter for a while. Small town indeed. That was a blessing right now. The town was small, and his family was a well-known fixture among the townspeople. That meant news traveled fast and most knew everything that had happened already. There was no need to make phone calls to tell anyone. Thank God for that. Luke didn’t have it in him, and he wouldn’t have felt right leaving the task to his mother alone. Emotionally exhausted, Luke had forgone eating a late dinner. Instead, he’d taken a quick shower, which he hadn’t had the time for after the competition. As Luke had let the scalding water pound into his back, the championship round he’d ridden in that day felt like months ago, not just hours. He’d fallen into bed and, amazingly, had slept, even though he’d feared he’d never be able to sleep again. It didn’t take but a moment for reality to creep back in as he woke now. Memories of the day before and dread for all yet to come filled him and had Luke wishing he could close his eyes, pull the covers over
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his head and make it all go away. Instead, he rose from bed, threw a flannel shirt over the T-shirt he’d slept in, and pulled a pair of jeans over his boxer shorts. The shearling-lined slippers his parents had given him for Christmas last year sat on the floor next to the bed. He shoved his feet in those to combat the chill in the bare wooden floorboards and shuffled to the kitchen. He smelled the coffee and nearly groaned with need. In the kitchen he found a counter strewn with cakes, pies and muffins that had his stomach grumbling and reminded Luke that even if he didn’t feel like eating, he needed to. His mother stood next to the coffee pot, his father’s favorite mug in her hand. The family and any regular guests in the house knew that mug belonged to Charles Carpenter, and no one else dared use it. She looked up at him with glistening eyes, before she let out a short, teary laugh. “I just almost poured a cup of coffee for your father. It’s such a habit after all these years—” She shook her head. Luke took her in his arms and felt her trembling. “It’s okay. I’m sure he’s looking down at us and appreciating the thought.” He felt her nod against his chest before she pulled back, visibly gathering her composure. She reached up, replaced his father’s mug in the usual spot and grabbed the one next to it. She filled it with steaming hot coffee and handed it to Luke, then went back for a second mug for herself as if nothing had happened. “Thanks.” He took a gulp of coffee that burned its way all the way down his throat. His gaze hit on the rows of baked goods lining the kitchen. “So, ah, where did all this stuff come from?” His mother shrugged. “Just about everyone in town I guess. Half of it was here last night when we got home from the hospital. The rest was here this morning by the time I got up.” The doors of his family’s house were never locked. That was obviously common knowledge among friends who’d wanted to drop something off but not disturb them. Funny how people thought sweets would make the loss of his father any easier. His mother took a long sip of coffee and stared at the counter. “So generous of them all. It will come in handy when everyone comes back to the house after the funeral. I don’t think I would have had it in me to bake right now. I’ll have to remember to borrow Marge’s coffee urn though. Our little pot won’t make enough for all those people who’ll want to come back here after they pay their respects. Your father was a popular man.” Luke watched his mother in amazement. Right before his eyes she’d transformed from a woman crying over a coffee mug after suffering the greatest loss in her life, to a calm, organized hostess. It was then Luke realized how many things needed to be handled and how clueless he’d been about it all. Suddenly the ridiculous amount of cakes made sense. Apparently the women in town knew they’d need them. They were helping his mother.
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Meanwhile, he just wanted to punch something. Or jump on a horse and ride until he couldn’t think about it all anymore. Instead, he’d have to find something appropriate to wear to his father’s wake and funeral, and then serve cake and coffee to half the town afterward. Maybe people clung to these post-mortem traditions because without them the grieving would make them lock themselves away and slowly go crazy. Life went on. It had to. He had to. They all did. The back door swung open and Chris walked in. “Do I smell coffee?” “Morning, Chris. Let me get you a cup.” His mother opened the cabinet for another mug. “Thank you, ma’am. I’d be mighty grateful. It’s chilly out there this morning.” He hung his hat on the hook by the back door and blew into his cupped hands. Reality hit Luke hard and he smothered a curse. He’d forgotten all about feeding the stock. Life certainly did go on, and their herd of cattle and the horses didn’t care what his family was going through. They needed food and water. “I better get out there—” Chris held up his hand. “No need. It’s done. They’re all fed and watered.” His mother laid a hand on Chris’s forearm. “But you took care of them for us yesterday and you have the herd at your own place to tend to.” He shook his head. “Dad can handle the chores alone at our place for a bit.” That’s what Luke had thought, that his father could handle it alone while he was on the road competing. He’d been wrong. Luke needed to get on a computer and look up this brain thing and see what had caused it or if it could have been prevented. “You should have let me do it, Chris. I’m back now. It’s my responsibility.” “Luke. Come on. It was no problem. Really. You can help me with the afternoon chores if you feel that badly about it.” Chris grinned good-naturedly. Right now it didn’t seem to Luke as if he would ever be able to smile or joke again. He knew he would one day, but not today. A banging on the door knocked Luke right out of his thoughts. He glanced up. No one knocked around there, as evidenced by the rows of pastries that had mysteriously appeared on the counter and the fact that Chris had let himself in as well. Being closest to the door, Chris pulled it open and there stood Lilly, her hands full. She’d been such a fixture at the house while they’d been dating that she looked right in place in the kitchen. She wore an apologetic expression and carried in something big and covered in tin foil in her hands. “I’m so sorry. It’s not too early to stop by, is it?” “No, sweetie. Not at all. Let me take that.” Luke’s mother stepped forward and relieved Lilly of her burden.
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“That’s a lasagna my mom made for you. We thought you could use some real food to eat.” Her gaze swept the sweets. “There’s a big pot of chili on the floor in the truck too. I just couldn’t carry it all in one trip.” Luke took a step forward but Chris held up his hand. “I’ll get it.” Chris was through the door in an instant. If everyone kept doing everything for him, Luke would have nothing to do to get his mind off what had happened, if that was possible. The pan stashed on the shelf of the fridge, Luke’s mother turned back to Lilly, her eyes looking misty. “That’s so sweet. Thank you for bringing it over. I’ll call your mom right now and thank her. I need to ask her about borrowing her big coffee urn anyway for after the… I’ll call her now.” Luke’s mother had revealed she wasn’t as calm about this all as she appeared if a lasagna had nearly brought her to tears. More than likely it was the kindness and generosity being shown to them by all the Collinses that were getting to her. Luke was finding that himself. The nicer people were during this impossibly difficult time, the harder it was to handle. Now here stood Lilly. His first true love and the girl the entire town had thought he’d one day marry. He didn’t want her pity. He wasn’t sure he could handle her kindness. Unfortunately, he had no choice. “Hi.” He stepped forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Hi.” She moved close and threw her arms around him. Her long, straight hair lay in a brown curtain down her back, so familiar to Luke. It should be nice to be surrounded by the familiar to balance out the rest of his world falling apart, but for some reason he wasn’t feeling like that right now with Lilly. Things felt strained. She squeezed him tightly and spoke into his chest. “I’m so sorry about your father.” She pulled back and glanced up at him with eyes that clearly showed her sorrow. “Are you okay?” She spoke the last in a whisper, only meant for him. He nodded, not knowing what to answer to her question. He gave her one final squeeze and released her just as Chris walked through the doorway. Chris glanced from Lilly to Luke then dumped the pot on the table, the only area free of sweets, and began backing toward the door again. “Um, I guess I should be getting back to our place.” “No. Stay. Sit and finish your coffee. Let’s see what we’ve got here for breakfast.” Luke didn’t want to be alone right now. He definitely didn’t want to be alone with Lilly either. They hadn’t seen each other one-on-one since the day they’d broken up. He couldn’t take any more emotional stuff right now. Sitting with two friends he’d known forever though, that he could handle. “Coffee, Lilly?” Luke offered. Good old hospitality always helped to fill the silence. “No. I’m all right, thanks.” She remained standing awkwardly by the table.
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Maybe she could feel how hard it was for them to be normal around each other now. Maybe she felt the same way about being alone with him. Luke pulled a chair out for her and she sat. It would just take time, he guessed, like everything else. One more thing to deal with. He brought the pot over to top off Chris’s cup and his own. Then he grabbed a plate covered in muffins under plastic wrap and carried it to the table. “These look good.” He concentrated on unwrapping them until he glanced up and saw both Chris and Lilly staring at him. “Look. I’m fine. At least as well as I can be under the circumstances. Mom and I will get through this funeral and then we’ll work on the rest after that.” “Have you thought about what you’re going to do?” Lilly asked softly. Luke let out a short laugh. “I haven’t thought much past this muffin and coffee.” Chris leaned forward in his chair. “Well, whatever you need from me, you know you’ve got it.” “Me too.” Lilly reached out and laid a hand over Luke’s. If they kept being so nice and offering to do everything for him, he’d never be able to get back to feeling normal. He’d need his regular routine for that. Riding would feel so good right about now. Nothing but the bull and him. Luke picked off a piece of his muffin. He shoved a bite in his mouth. It tasted bland. Not the baker’s fault. He doubted he’d appreciate anything right now. He put the muffin down on the table and swallowed another gulp of bracing black coffee. Chris eyed him critically. “When’s the last time you ate?” He thought about it. “Um. Yesterday before I rode.” After rolling out of Annie’s bed late, he’d showered then run downstairs and shoved some lukewarm chafing dish eggs in his mouth from the free breakfast buffet in the hotel lobby. “Dude. You need to eat.” “I’m not really that hungry.” Luke’s stomach, woken up from the coffee and small amount of baked goods he’d sent its way, grumbled loudly. Chris raised a brow and then stood. “I’m cooking us a real breakfast.” “Really. You don’t—” “Stop. Don’t say a word. A chili omelet with a side of hot sauce is exactly what we both need on a cold morning like this.” Lilly made a face at Chris’s suggestion as she watched him pull an iron skillet out of the cabinet. “Only you two could have chili and hot sauce for breakfast.” “Won’t be the first time, and I doubt it’ll be the last.” Chris laughed and lobbed a lump of butter into the skillet. Chris and Lilly bickering as usual, the smells of fresh coffee and butter frying on his mother’s stove— maybe this was the way to heal the gaping hole inside him. It sure couldn’t hurt.
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Then Luke noticed Lilly’s gaze upon him again. There was something in her expression. Something he didn’t like the looks of. Hope maybe. Hope that they’d get back together, just when Luke had begun to move on with his life. He glanced up at the ceiling, imagining he could see the heavens from inside where he sat. Lord, what else would he be sent to deal with?
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Chapter Seven
Annie took the bill from the kid in front of her and shoved it into the envelope already stuffed with cash. “Thanks, Chase.” “No problem. I definitely want to contribute. Anything for Luke, you know?” The young bull rider’s face showed his sincerity. She nodded. “Yeah, I know.” That had been the case for every one of the riders and even the crew. She had simply suggested they take up a collection for a floral arrangement to be sent to Luke’s father’s funeral and before she knew it, it seemed that everyone and their brother was coming up and handing her cash. At this rate, they’d be able to send quite an impressive arrangement and be able to make a nice donation to a charity in Mr. Carpenter’s name. She thought Luke would like that. Something lasting to honor his father. “I better get going. The guys and me are heading out in a bit. We’re driving to find a hotel close to Luke’s town so we have a room tonight near the funeral tomorrow morning.” This brought up the subject that had kept Annie awake all the prior night. “Are a lot of the guys attending?” “Yeah, quite a few. The ones close to Luke, at least. There are some of the guys who already had booked plane tickets home or had someplace they needed to be and couldn’t get out of, but those of us driving are definitely going.” Annie nodded. “Well, drive safe, Chase.” He tipped his hat. “Will do. You do the same.” She nodded and realized as he walked away she was biting her lip again—her tell. She better never play poker because she knew everything she thought showed clearly on her face. “You coming to the funeral, darlin’?” Mustang was before her, and she couldn’t miss how his eyes dropped to focus on her gnawing on her own lip. “Um, I don’t know.” He frowned. “Why not? What’s the problem?” “Well, I don’t know if it’s appropriate.” She sure as hell couldn’t say that after a night in bed with Luke they were in that awkward stage where she feared overstepping the boundaries. She didn’t want to look like some kind of a stalker. It wasn’t as if he had called to ask her to come himself. Not that she
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expected him to. It must have been a nightmare he’d walked into at home, judging by what Chris had told her that day. Mustang scowled. “Appropriate? It’s a funeral. Most of us are going. You’ve worked with him as long as I have.” Longer, if she counted the years, which she didn’t like to do when dealing with the riders who were still in their twenties. “I don’t know.” He shook his head. “What would you have done before?” “Before what?” The end of the sentence trailed up a little too high and Annie’s voice sounded fake even in her own ears. She could only imagine how false her innocent act sounded to Mustang. She was definitely not an actress. Tilting his head to one side, he cocked a brow that spoke his doubt. “You want me to say it out loud?” She sighed, guessing there was no hiding it but still willing to try. “I’m not admitting anything, but I guess if this had happened a week ago, before you put it in my head I should go for it, thank you very much for that suggestion by the way—” she hoped the sarcasm was clear, “—yeah, I probably would have gone.” “Then you’re going.” “But I have plane reservations.” “Change them. You can drive with Slade and me.” Now it was her turn to raise her brow. “Oh that will look good.” “Hey, now that Slade and I both have girlfriends, nobody will think anything of it.” “I don’t know.” These guys were ladies men, or at least had been until recently. “Then drive with Chase, Garret and Skeeter if you’re not woman enough to stand up to a little speculation and Slade and I are too much man for you.” He grinned. “Oh, that’d look even better. I’m practically old enough to be Skeeter’s mother.” “No, you’re not, and stop saying stuff like that about your age.” She sighed. A man couldn’t understand so she moved on. “How long is the drive?” Annie couldn’t believe she was actually considering this. He shrugged. “To Montana? I figure we can stop to sleep for the night and still make it in plenty of time for the funeral in the morning. I still gotta put it into the GPS in the trailer but that’s my guess. Come on, girl. You only live once.” “So I should attend all the funerals I can in my lifetime? Is that what you’re saying? Or I should try and travel with the most notorious cowboys I can find?” Annie raised a brow and waited for his answer. “No, you should be there for a friend is what I’m saying and not let stupid shit get in your way.” Well, that was quite the reprimand from Mustang, and it worked very effectively to put Annie in her place. He was right. First and foremost, before the sex, Luke was a friend. “All right. When do we leave?”
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Mustang smiled. “When can you be ready?” Annie laughed. She traveled for a living. Packing was second nature, like breathing. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you back down here in the lobby.” He nodded. “You got it. Oh, and I can’t promise I’m not going to ply you for information during our drive about what supposedly didn’t happen between you two.” Annie frowned. “You didn’t say that before I agreed to ride with you.” “I’m smarter than that. See you in a few.” With that, Mustang swaggered his denim-clad butt out of the lobby door, leaving Annie to regret her decision already. Meanwhile, her heart began to pound at the thought of what awaited her after that drive. Luke. She had to remember it was not just Luke, but Luke’s home life including his grieving family, his best friend and his best friend’s sister, who just happened to be Luke’s former girlfriend. She wasn’t sure she was ready for all this. Ten minutes later—all right, maybe it was more like fifteen, but only because she’d taken time to change into something more comfortable for the long drive—Annie found Slade in the lobby. He grinned wide and took her rolling suitcase from her. “You all set?” “All set. Um, are you guys sure about this? Me riding with you, I mean.” A deep frown creased Slade’s brow below the brim of his hat. “Yeah, why wouldn’t we be?” Annie shrugged. “What’s Jenna going to think about you traveling with a woman?” Slade grinned wide. “Who do you think told me to make sure Mustang and I get your butt to that funeral? Hm?” Great, now Slade’s romance-author girlfriend was playing matchmaker too. Wonderful. Annie rolled her eyes. It was going to be one hell of a drive. “All right. Let’s go.” With a nod, he tried to wrestle her shoulder bag from her too. She held tight. “Can’t I take at least one thing? Honestly. I can get it. I carry my own stuff all by myself all the time.” “Not when you travel with me you don’t. Listen here. You better get used to having someone carry your stuff for you.” Slade slung the bag she finally let go of over one broad shoulder. She laughed. “Why is that?” Annie didn’t plan on winning the lottery and getting herself a butler or personal assistant anytime soon, and she wasn’t planning on trading in her expense account to travel the circuit with Mustang and Slade in the trailer, so she figured she’d be toting her stuff on her own for quite a bit longer. “Because when he gets back to the tour, there’s no way Luke will let you carry all this stuff any more than I will.” With that parting shot, Slade headed through the automatic doors. “Why would Luke care—” She started to jog after him to argue the point but he was already outside on the curb. The lobby doors slid shut in front of her and she had to wait for them to open again as Slade proceeded to load her luggage.
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Ahead of her would be many hours during which she’d be captive in the cab of the trailer, subject to all sorts of interrogation by two cowboys who were apparently so bored they had resorted to matchmaking. Annie had to wonder what the hell she’d gotten herself into. She eyed the hotel bar, not yet open for the day, before the exit doors opened again. She’d give just about anything for a drink before this road trip from hell—or maybe she needed a whole bottle. Instead, she headed out onto the sidewalk and whatever awaited her in the trailer.
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Chapter Eight
The morning of his father’s funeral dawned bright and sunny. Luke supposed they should be happy about that. No place seemed worse than a cemetery in the rain. Luke got dressed in his Sunday best—or in this case funeral best—before heading into the kitchen for coffee. It was later than he usually got up. He’d tossed and turned all night and finally gotten a little bit of restless sleep about dawn. The day before, Chris had insisted he’d take care of the chores alone again this morning, so Luke didn’t have to get up and out early. Instead he could get ready, mentally and physically, for the funeral. Luke didn’t have it in him to argue so he’d agreed. As expected, his mother was up and dressed and looked as if she’d already put in a full day by the time Luke strolled into the kitchen. Stacks of paper coffee cups stood neatly on the counter next to a mug full of clean spoons standing up in orderly fashion. The half-empty glass coffee pot showed she’d already drank a few cups herself this morning. She turned when she heard his boots against the tile floor. “Morning, sweetie.” “Morning, Mom.” He kissed her cheek and then took a step back and tried to evaluate how she was doing. “How are you?” She reached up and grabbed him a mug from the cabinet then turned to treat him to a smile that seemed a bit forced. “I didn’t almost pour a cup of coffee for your father this morning so I think I’m doing pretty well.” Her eyes told a different story. “It’ll take time.” He didn’t know what else to say. “I suppose it will.” Her gaze took him in from his hair, still damp from the shower, to the toes of his polished black dress boots. “You look real nice.” He let out a bitter laugh. “Thanks.” Good thing he hadn’t gained weight so his black pants still fit. Those, along with a white button-down shirt, would have to do. “Do you want to borrow a tie of your father’s?” Borrow. Funny word considering his father wouldn’t need it any more. “Sure. If you think I need one.”
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“I think it would look real nice. I’ll go pick one out.” With that she was off, and Luke guiltily felt a bit of relief. He’d rather be alone than make small talk about ties and other things that didn’t really matter while they pretended they weren’t burying his father today. A quick knock on the back door, followed by the door opening, had Luke turning and expecting to see Chris. Instead, Chris’s father stood just inside the kitchen, a large stainless-steel coffee maker cradled in one arm. “Hey, son. Your mom asked to borrow this.” Luke put his coffee mug down on the table and leapt to take the maker from Mr. Collins. “Thanks.” He glanced around, looking for a place to set it down. His mother must have rearranged the everpresent baked goods because there was a bit more space, but there still wasn’t enough room for the coffee maker on the right side of the kitchen. He put it on the counter in front of the other coffee pot with barely an inch to spare from the edge. It would be really nice when this part was over. Then he and his mother could work on moving past the grief and start healing in their own time and way. But for now, at least for today, they had a public funeral and half the town to deal with. He glanced up at Mr. Collins. They had some very good friends, friends they couldn’t do without right now. “I thought if you’d like, I could drive you two over to the funeral home in our car so you don’t have to take the truck.” Chris’s father watched Luke with the same probing stare Chris tended to use on him lately. Luke would have to try harder at pretending to be okay. “That would be real nice, sir. I suppose I should ask Mom first, in case she had other plans, but I do appreciate the offer either way.” Mr. Collins nodded. “All right. Luke, after the funeral, there are some things I’d like to talk to you about.” That took Luke by surprise. “Talk to me?” What could this be about? “Yup. You’re the man of the house now, son.” His father had left some mighty big boots to fill, and Luke wasn’t sure he was up to the challenge. Not yet anyway. “All right.” Luke’s cell phone vibrated in the pocket of his jeans. It was the first call he’d received in what seemed like days. People must have been trying to leave him alone and give him time. He reached for it now and saw Slade’s name on the readout. “Slade. Hey.” “Hey, Luke. We’re on our way but we might be a little late.” “You’re coming here?” “Yeah. We were coming to be at the funeral, if that’s all right. A bunch of the guys are already there in town at a hotel. We would have been there already too if Mustang’s trailer hadn’t picked up a nail in the
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tire. We needed to stop and get some Fix-a-Flat and air. If you don’t want any of us there, say the word and I’ll call them all right now. We’d totally understand. It’s not a problem.” “No, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting it. I figured you’d all be headed to the next stop on the tour by now.” “We’ll get to the next venue in time, don’t worry. But we want to be there for you now.” The melding of Luke’s professional life with his home life felt strange, but the support of his friends was touching. “I appreciate it. Thanks.” “So anyway, we’ll get there as soon as we can.” “All right. See you when you get here. And thanks again.” “No problem, man. Bye.” “Bye.” Luke disconnected the call and glanced up at Mr. Collins. “The guys are coming to the funeral.” “That’s real nice of them. You’ve made some good friends there I see.” “Yeah, I have. That tends to happen when you spend as much time traveling together as we do, I guess.” “You’ll be anxious to get back on the road, I suppose.” Luke frowned. “I hadn’t thought too much about it. Everything has been happening so quickly around here.” Mr. Collins opened his mouth and looked as if he was about to say more when Luke’s mother rushed into the room. “Oh, you brought the coffee maker. Thank you so much. I better set this up and get it ready now, so when we get back here later we only have to plug it in.” She hoisted it into the sink before Luke had time to take it from her. She took the top off and began filling it with water, then glanced over her shoulder. “Then I suppose we need to leave.” “Yes, ma’am.” Again, Luke marveled at his mother’s efficiency in the face of adversity when he couldn’t bring himself to think past today. Then he noticed her hands trembling as she began measuring coffee grinds into the filter basket. She wasn’t as put together as she appeared. He wasn’t sure if he found the fact that she was as shaken as he comforting or frightening. Luke moved closer and pulled her into a one-armed hug. “Love you, Mom.” She looked up in surprise. “I love you too.” Her attention moved back to counting out the scoops. “Go get the truck and let me finish this.” “Mr. Collins offered to take us in his car, if that’s all right with you.” Glancing over her shoulder, she gave Chris’s father a smile. “That would be lovely. Thank you, Jack.” He nodded. “My pleasure.” He hooked a thumb in the direction of the door. “I’ll just go pull it up front so it will be all warmed up and ready to go whenever you are.”
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“Perfect. Thank you.” She glanced back to Luke. “Luke, you going to put on that tie I got you?” His mother continued what he knew now to be an act and his only choice was to play along. “Yes, ma’am. I’ll do it right now.” They rode in the car in silence after a few more words of gratitude from his mother to Mr. Collins. When they arrived at the church, it was to find people already arriving. By the time the preacher began the service, there was not an empty pew to be had. Luke wasn’t really surprised by that. His father was well liked and active in the community. Or had been, anyway. He’d have to start to think of his father in the past tense now, as hard as that was. What did surprise Luke was his reaction to seeing the crowd gathered to honor his father’s memory. The outpouring of support for his family by the entire town had him getting a little emotional. He felt Lilly rubbing his back, and the first tear of the day fell.
“For a little thing, you sure do walk fast.” Mustang’s amused voice came from behind Annie as she strode from where they’d been forced to park the trailer. The damn thing was so big it was nearly impossible to park anywhere anyway, but with the lot of the church full to overflowing, there’d been no hope at all. Mustang had simply driven until he’d found a feed store with a large enough parking area they could park off in the corner. Never mind that now they had to hike about a quarter mile, Annie in high-heeled boots, to get to a service they were already late for. “I hate being late.” She shot a look over her shoulder at the two cowboys who were not using their long legs to Annie’s satisfaction. Couldn’t these guys move any faster? “I called Luke. He knows we’ll be a little late.” Slade even talked slow. Annie used to find that cowboy trait charming. Today, the slowness annoyed her, along with pretty much everything else. Damn flat tire. What luck. “Still. I don’t like it.” She was rarely late for anything. Showing up after a funeral had already started was incomprehensible to her. Annie let out a sigh and realized she was getting winded from walking so fast. “It’ll be a’ight. Promise.” Mustang’s voice sounded amused and she fought the urge to spin around and shoot him a nasty look. Finally, they reached the church. She strode up the stairs as quietly and quickly as she could. Mustang’s hand shot in front of her to grab the door handle just as Annie reached for it. Acting the gentleman as always. She wished his attention to polite details had included getting her to the church on time. Though she really couldn’t blame him they’d run over a nail and gotten a flat. Now that they were here, Annie’s heart began to beat even faster, if possible. She blew out a slow, steadying breath and stepped from the bright sunlight into the dim quiet of the church. There were the
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echoing sounds typical of a cavernous space filled to the rafters with people. A cough here. A shuffling of position there. A child’s voice followed by a parent’s shush. Then the voice of the preacher filled the room. Annie’s gaze sought and then found Luke’s figure seated in the front pew next to who she assumed was his mother. She’d recognize him anywhere, even seated and from behind. At the touch of a hand on her elbow, Annie turned to see Mustang, cowboy hat removed out of respect for where they were. He motioned with a cock of his head toward a space along the back wall where they could stand out of the way. She nodded and moved in that direction. Every pew seemed filled, to the point they were not the only ones standing. The preacher’s calming voice continued, though Annie couldn’t have told someone what he’d said. Instead she glanced at the front again at Luke with his head bowed and Lilly’s arm around his shoulders. A sick feeling twisted Annie’s stomach. She leaned her hand against the wall and braced herself as she felt shaky. Swallowing the bitter taste that had risen to the back of her throat, she tried to reason away the fear. Or rather what she feared was the truth—which was that Lilly and Luke had reconciled. Lilly was a family friend, just like Chris. Of course she’d be there to support Luke. But did her support have to include her arm wrapped possessively around him? Mustang laid a hand on the small of her back. She glanced up and saw him shake his head. He leaned low and pressed his lips close to her ear. “Stop worrying. They’re friends.” How did he know there was nothing to worry about? She wanted to ask that. To question him if he knew something she didn’t know. Instead, she felt her forehead crinkle in a frown and turned back to the front of the church. With a concerted effort, Annie tried her best to listen to what the preacher said. In reality, all she did was watch Lilly’s hand stroking the same shoulders Annie had clung to just days ago while Luke had made love to her. As Lilly leaned close to Luke’s head and whispered something to him, Annie distinctly remembered why she’d avoided getting involved with a man most of her adult life. It sucked.
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Chapter Nine
Luke sat in the front pew with his mother on one side and Lilly on the other and listened to the service. The preacher knew his father as well as anyone in the town. Thankfully, he could handle the service alone, speaking eloquently about the man and his life without Luke’s participation. Luke didn’t think he had it in him to stand, let alone get up there in front of everyone and tell them how much he’d miss his father. That would have broken him for sure. As it was, it was difficult enough simply listening. One big fat tear rolled down his cheek. He brushed it away quickly with the back of his hand. His father had never given him the real-men-don’t-cry speech as a kid, but still, Luke wouldn’t let himself break down. Not here. Not now. Lilly leaned closer. “You all right?” What the hell kind of question was that? Of course he wasn’t all right. His father was laid out in a coffin when he should be out enjoying the prime of his life. Somewhere in the back of Luke’s mind he knew Lilly was only trying to be nice, but right now he wasn’t feeling all that receptive. “I’m fine.” His words came out short and low, just like his level of patience. He shifted slightly away from Lilly and closer to his mother who reached over and squeezed his hand in response. Meanwhile, the only thing Luke could think of was he wanted this service and this day to be over. The preacher brought the service to a close and it came time to carry the coffin to the hearse. Luke would have rather had the service go on for a little bit longer than have to do what was required of him next. Rising from the pew, Luke feared his legs wouldn’t hold him. That he wouldn’t be able to do it. He pushed himself forward anyway, joined by Chris, Mr. Collins and three friends of his father’s. Their steady presence nearby helped a bit. He must have looked as unsteady as he felt. As he lowered himself to lift the mahogany casket, Chris whispered, “You okay?” What was it with the Collins siblings and that question? “Fine,” was all Luke could manage in answer before the full weight of not just the coffin bearing his father’s body, but also the mental weight of knowing his father was truly gone forever, descended upon his shoulders.
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The aisle of their small church had never felt so long in all the years he’d been going here. A sea of faces both familiar and strange passed in a blur until there she was—Annie—standing in the back next to Slade and Mustang. They must have arrived late, just as Slade had said on the phone that they might. Luke would have given anything to bury his face in Annie’s hair—bury himself in her—and release the stress and grief of the past few days. Just escape and pretend for even a moment none of this had happened and he was back in her hotel room and happy. Instead all he could do was make eye contact and give her a quick nod. He hoped it conveyed the appreciation he felt for her coming to be here for him. Then he and the procession were past her and heading out into the blinding sunlight of the day. The next hour passed in a dizzying kaleidoscope of passing scenery, people and flowers as the church emptied and the entire procession followed the hearse to the cemetery. There at the gravesite Luke watched nearly every person who’d ever known his father bow their heads and say one final goodbye. He couldn’t bring himself to think of it as his father the cemetery workers were waiting to cover with dirt once the crowd dispersed, so he simply thought of it as a flower-covered box. He raised his eyes from the neatly shorn and trampled grass beneath his boots and glanced around the crowd. He found Annie standing not too far away, the sunlight bouncing brightly off the highlights in her hair. Her eyes were hidden from view by sunglasses. A furrow creased her brow as she listened to the graveside service the preacher delivered. Luke finally caught her gaze and managed a small smile. The corners of her mouth lifted in response before she broke their eye contact as the preacher wrapped up. Then it was done and he was back in the Collins’s car on the way home to have coffee and cake with everyone, while all he really wanted to do was be alone. Or better yet, get a few moments alone with Annie. She was a good listener, but he knew she’d also be good at silence if he didn’t feel like talking. He needed that right now. It seemed everyone wanted to ask him or tell him something when all he really wanted was silence. His wish came true at the house when he finally, after what seemed like hours, got away from everyone and found Annie talking to Chris. Luke squashed the tinge of jealousy that his best friend might possibly be making a move on the woman he had no clue that Luke had a history with, however short and recent that history was. “Hey, Annie. I’m glad you made it. Thank you for coming.” Luke reached out and ran a hand down her arm before leaning in and dropping a hopefully chaste-looking kiss on her cheek. She treated him to a smile that lit not only her face, but also his heart. “I’m glad we made it too. It was touch and go there for a while, between Mustang’s crazy driving and the flat tire.” “Yeah, Slade called this morning and said he and Mustang were having some trouble with the trailer.” It felt good to talk about something other than death for a bit. Something mundane, like the subject of flat
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tires, was just what Luke needed right about now. He glanced at Chris, wishing the man would find something he needed to do so he could try and enjoy Annie’s company for however long he could manage to hide from the crowd. Maybe Chris would leave if they talked about more boring stuff. “So thanks for the flowers you had sent. They were really beautiful.” Annie held up one hand. “I can’t take the credit. Honestly, every one of the guys contributed. There was so much money left over after ordering the arrangement we were able to make a nice donation to charity in your father’s name. The organization will be sending your family a card.” Luke felt his eyes get misty and tried to swallow down the emotions. “That was incredibly nice of all of you. He would have liked that.” Her eyes were looking a bit glassy too as she nodded. “That’s what I thought.” Luke glanced up to find Chris watching his and Annie’s conversation. A wave of guilt hit him, which he tried to reason away. He and Lilly were broken up and had been for months now. Luke was allowed to have a female friend. Hell, he could have more than a friendship with a woman if he wanted to. He was free and single and could get a girlfriend if he wanted. So why did Luke feel like he was betraying his best friend by wishing everyone would go home except for Annie? Chris hooked a thumb in the direction of the kitchen. “I’m just going to go see if your mom needs anything.” Maybe Chris had already sensed what Luke was trying to hide. “Thanks, Chris.” Luke was going to get what he’d wanted, so why did he feel so bad about it? His friend nodded to the two of them and then was gone. Someone came through the hallway carrying more food, and Luke took the opportunity to move his conversation with Annie to a quieter location. He steered her by the elbow into the study in the back of the house. “So I, uh, didn’t know you were coming with Slade and Mustang. It was a nice surprise to see you.” “I wanted to be here.” Her eyes softened, showing him all she was feeling. Sympathy. Understanding. Compassion. And something more. Luke didn’t have the words to tell her how much it meant to him she’d come, but he still tried in his own clumsy way. “Yeah, but it was still really nice. I know you must have had to change travel plans. And it’s not like you knew my father or anything.” “I’m here, we all are, to support you. Besides, we’ve all met your father. He’s come to see you ride more than a few times.” Annie let out a short laugh. “And he was never shy about telling everyone behind the chutes how great you were. He thought the world of you.” “Yeah. He was like that.” Luke managed a smile. Annie’s words brought back so many memories and that’s what broke him. Tears began to blur his vision and he let out a sob tinged with a laugh. “I’m sorry.” “Don’t be.” Annie took a step closer and grabbed his hand with a firm squeeze.
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That small show of controlled affection destroyed whatever reserve he had left. Reaching out blindly, Luke grabbed Annie and pulled her into his arms. He held her against him like he was a drowning man and she was the only life vest on board. He sobbed against the top of her head while she held him silently. He didn’t know how long they stood like that, except by the time he’d gathered his composure and pulled away from her, his tears had left a dampened, darker patch in her hair. “I feel like an idiot.” Not enough of one to totally let go of her though. “Don’t be silly.” She frowned up at him. With one hand, he swiped at the last of the moisture from his eyes and then ran a hand over her head. “I got your hair wet.” She smiled. “Luke, it’s fine. It’ll dry. I promise.” “I held it together at the church and at the cemetery. I don’t know why now…” Giving in, giving up, he let out a big breath of air and pulled her close again. She came willingly. Annie squeezed him harder. He closed his eyes and absorbed the feel of her arms around him, her body pressed to his. “Because you don’t have to be strong now. It’s only me here. You can just be yourself. You don’t have to be invincible for me, Luke.” He let out a small laugh. “I don’t?” She shook her head and pulled back enough to look up at his face. “Nope.” “That’s good to know.” Luke brought his hands up to cup her face. How could just talking to Annie lift the weight off his shoulders? “I’m really glad you’re here.” “Me too.” It was probably horribly inappropriate considering the timing, but he couldn’t help himself. He lowered his lips to hers. Luke kissed her with all the frustration and passion he’d bottled up for the past few days. He had a feeling his father would understand. Her lips were soft and warm beneath his. He knew her mouth would be wet and welcoming if he dared take the kiss deeper, but he didn’t. Instead he fought the desire and pulled away. “Annie.” He blew out a sigh. What could he say? He wanted to tell her to wait for him. That he’d be back to the circuit and to her as soon as possible. He wanted to tell her the only time he’d been even near happy lately had been here with her. Instead, all he said was, “Thanks again for coming.” He hoped she somehow knew all the things he left unsaid, though he really had no way of knowing as she squeezed him and took a step back. “You’re welcome.” Annie dropped her hands from his waist and glanced at the doorway. Luke heard the footsteps out in the hall, which Annie must have heard before him, just moments before Lilly walked into view. Lilly stopped dead in the doorway. “Luke. Your mom needs you.”
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Her eyes cut to Annie and lingered there, the possessiveness apparent in her gaze. He felt Annie stiffen. A wave of guilt for wanting to move on with his life hit him. Luke set his jaw in anger, at both himself for feeling guilty and at Lilly for causing that guilt. Lilly had caused their break up. Not him. And now that he’d found someone else he was interested in she was acting like a bobcat fighting for a mate? On the day of his father’s funeral? When he shouldn’t have been kissing Annie in the first place. So many emotions swirled through him. He could have easily punched something until he beat all these feelings out of himself, or broke his hand, whichever came first. Luke tamped down the rising turmoil within him. Now was not the time or the place to lose his temper. He’d already broken down emotionally once today. “I’ll be there in a minute, Lilly.” When Lilly didn’t leave as he’d hoped, Luke turned back to Annie. “I need to go see—” Annie nodded. “Of course.” He wasn’t about to leave his ex-girlfriend alone with his current love interest, so Luke took Annie by the elbow. “Come on. I’ll help you find Mustang and Slade.” Luke half-expected Annie to resist, to insist she’d be fine and that he should go to his mother, but she didn’t. With the tension in the small room thick enough to cut with a knife, he turned toward the doorway, happy to make an escape. “Excuse us, Lilly.” Lilly’s gaze zeroed in on where Luke touched Annie as she moved to the side to allow them to pass. The crowd had started to thin a bit, enough for Luke to locate the two cowboys he was seeking. “There they are in front of the food. I should have known.” Annie smiled. “They do like to eat. We stopped at quite a few places on the way here.” “I’m sure. Well, thank you again for taking the time to come.” They’d reached Mustang and Slade and Luke extended his hand to first one, then the other. “You guys too. Thank you for coming. It meant a lot.” Slade shook Luke’s hand with a firm grasp. “Glad it worked out that we could make it.” Mustang nodded. “Me too, but unfortunately we’re going to have to hit the road now.” “Jenna’s meeting me at the next event. If we leave now and drive through the night we’ll be able to meet her at the airport.” Slade looked apologetically at both Luke and Annie. “I’m sorry we can’t stay longer.” Annie shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I understand. I appreciate the ride.” “I told her we’d leave my car and she could drive to meet us tomorrow.” Slade shook his head. “But city girl here can’t drive a stick shift.” She laughed. “I’m sorry. I never needed to learn.”
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“It’s okay, darlin’. I guess we all didn’t grow up driving tractors or old stick-shift pick-up trucks.” Mustang grinned. “Guess not.” Annie glanced up at Luke. “I’d better say goodbye now. You need to get to your mother.” “Yeah. I do.” He didn’t want to say goodbye yet, but he’d have to do just that. Luke kissed Annie quickly on the cheek, then again shook hands with the guys, which turned into a hug from both of them. “See you soon,” Mustang said, slapping Luke on the back. With a look at Annie, Luke nodded. “See you soon.” Then he made his way back through the house and away from Annie.
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Chapter Ten
“Mom. You needed me?” In the crowded kitchen his mother and her sweet smile, somehow as bright as ever in spite of the day they’d both been through, greeted Luke. “Your friends are about to leave and I thought you’d want to say goodbye.” Luke couldn’t help but smile himself at the sight of three of the younger riders happily shoving cookies in their mouths. They looked more like boys than men, though at their ages, Skeeter not even legal to drink yet, the exact terminology was debatable. While Luke’s mother got pulled off to talk to one of the female guests, Skeeter swallowed a big mouthful of whatever he’d been chewing. “Hey, Luke. Your mom packed us a bag for the road. Chocolate chip cookies.” Chase held up a bag with a grin. “And brownies too.” “Well, we sure do have plenty so I’m glad you like ’em.” Luke glanced at the counter, still pretty packed since a few people had arrived bearing more food. “We’re about to take off. We figure with the three of us sharing the driving, we can drive straight through and check into the room tomorrow. It’ll save us the cost of another night in the hotel,” Skeeter told him happily. “We’re hitting the road now, but we didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.” Garret held up a paper coffee cup with a grin. “I’ve got first shift behind the wheel so I’m filling up on caffeine.” Only the young guys would actually look excited about driving all night long. Luke remembered those early days. When cramming four guys to a room was the norm. When spending the night in the truck rather than spend the money on a hotel didn’t seem odd at all. It all seemed a lifetime ago. Hell, last weekend seemed a lifetime ago. It might as well be considering all that had changed. “Thanks for coming, guys. I appreciate it.” Luke had been saying that a lot today, but it was no less true. The support of his fellow riders truly touched him. “We wanted to be here. So we’ll see you soon, right?” Chase’s youthful exuberance reminded Luke of how old he felt at the moment. “Yup. Drive safe, guys.” “Will do.” Garret topped off his coffee cup and then the group was moving for the door, making the kitchen seem a lot less full now that three energy-filled bull riders were gone from it.
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“Luke. Can we discuss something important for a minute?” Mr. Collins touched his arm. He looked serious. Having a heavy conversation was the absolute last thing Luke felt like doing. Luke had actually started to feel a little lighter after his time with Annie and then with the guys. Now Mr. Collins was going to bring him down again. “I should help Mom.” Luke glanced hopefully at his mother for a way out but she was clear on the other side of the room rearranging platters with two of her friends. “She’s fine. There are more than enough women here. They won’t know what to do with themselves if she doesn’t put them to work helping out. Come on, son. No one will miss us for a bit.” Son. He’d called Luke that before in the past, but today in particular the word hung in the air heavily. “Okay. Sure. We can talk.” Mr. Collins glanced at the doorway. “Let’s go outside to the barn where it’s quiet.” Outside? This was serious. “All right.” Curious now, Luke followed the older man out the back door and across the yard to the barn. Mr. Collins opened the door and stepped back for Luke to enter before him. Curioser and curioser. Luke went in and was immediately surrounded by the familiar sights and scents of the building he’d been playing and working in since he could walk. “Luke…” “Sir?” “I know this has been a lot to absorb and damn fast too, but there are things that need to be dealt with.” “I know.” Luke thought they had dealt with enough already just with the funeral arrangements, but he agreed with the man anyway. “I would have waited until things had settled a bit to make you this offer, but that wouldn’t have changed much and it would have just cost you more time out of the season. You’re doing so well, I’d hate for you to miss any events.” Luke frowned. This had to do with his riding career? He was more confused than ever. “All right.” Mr. Collins continued. “Your father was a hard-working man. He ran this place practically singlehandedly. Sure, we’d help each other out when the big things needed doing, but basically, it was a one-man show.” Luke’s chest tightened. Now that one man was gone. Fighting nausea, he swallowed hard. “I helped out when I was home—” “Which was only in the off season and a few days here and there between competitions.”
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Luke nodded. Because of his riding career, he hadn’t been around to help much. Still, it seemed particularly heartless for Mr. Collins to be pointing it out to Luke now that his father was gone and it was too late to change things. “I tried my best, but you’re right. I wasn’t around as much as I should have been.” Mr. Collins laid a hand on the back of Luke’s neck. “That’s not what this is about. I’m not criticizing, son. Your father was so proud of you. Still is, I’m sure, from up there where he is now. He wanted you to ride and succeed and you did both. Nothing could have made him happier.” Luke blinked away the moisture in his eyes. “Thank you, sir.” “What I’m saying is, he wouldn’t have wanted you to give up your career. And your mama can’t run this place alone.” “No, she can’t.” Luke fought back the nausea, facing for the first time what he’d so skillfully ignored of late. With his father gone the running of the ranch fell to him, and how the hell could he do both—ride and ranch—alone? He slumped down onto a nearby bale of hay. “I’m going to have to quit riding.” “That’s one solution. Or you could sell to me.” Taken totally aback by that suggestion, Luke stared up at him blankly. “What? Sell?” Mr. Collins nodded. “My place is right next door. Hell, I lease the east pasture from your parents already for my herd. If you sold the acreage, the barns and the herd to me, your mama could retain ownership of the house. She could stay living right here with plenty of money to retire on, but with none of the responsibilities of caring for the farm.” A dull buzzing filled Luke’s head, adding to his confusion and the feeling that the world was moving way too fast. “This place has been in my family for generations.” “I know.” Mr. Collins nodded. “That’s why I wouldn’t want the land to go to a stranger. And the house will still be in the family.” Luke frowned. He’d always thought that one day, when his career was over, he’d retire from riding and he and his father would expand the ranch. They’d raise bucking stock. Maybe get a few bulls good enough to buck in the pros. His father’s death had changed all that now. But to sell? It was all too much to comprehend. He shook his head. “This isn’t my choice. My mother—” “I talked to her already. The wife and I spent quite a few hours in the hospital with your mama before you got home.” The guilt of his being late getting home hit him again. Luke was becoming used to the weight of guilt and sorrow in his chest. So much so, he’d begun to forget what it felt like to be without it. To be lighthearted. Would he ever feel that way again? Luke held himself together and asked, “What did Mom say?” “She said the choice was up to you.”
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That did nothing to lift the pressure from his shoulders. In fact, if anything it added to it. “She didn’t mention it to me.” Mr. Collins shrugged. “You’ve both had a lot on your plate the past few days. Besides, I’d told her I would discuss it with you when the time was right.” Luke’s brows rose. This was the right time? Just hours after he’d seen his father put into the ground? “Luke, I saw how the guys you ride with turned out to support you and honor your father today. And I saw how you looked when you talked to them. Your heart is on the road. Competing is your life.” The older man stepped closer and laid a hand on Luke’s shoulder. “I know it seems like a lot to bring this up now, but I wanted you to know that if you want to go back to competing, we’ll take care of the details. Things would be in capable hands if you sold to me.” What the entire town knew as the Carpenter ranch would be part of the Collins’ place. All traces of his father’s life’s work would be gone. The choice was clear as day. Right there before him. Luke only had a few good years before retirement from the pros anyway, barring injury. He could retire now. The thought left a lump in his throat, but the idea of selling the ranch, his father’s blood and sweat in every acre, felt far worse. Decision made, Luke swallowed hard then met Mr. Collins’s gaze squarely. “No. No sale. I’m sorry and I do appreciate the offer, but the answer is no.” “Do you wanna think about it some? It’s a big decision.” “I know it is.” Luke would do nothing but think about the choice he’d just made, probably for the rest of his life, but that wouldn’t change his answer. “We’re not selling.” “All right. You know where to find me if you change your mind.” Mr. Collins nodded even though his expression still showed doubt. “Yes, sir, I do.” Mr. Collins glanced at his watch. “You want me to handle the afternoon chores for you today?” In a haze, Luke shook his head. “No. Thanks for the offer but I’ll handle it.” He realized he was still wearing the dress pants, good shirt and tie from the funeral. “I’ll just get changed out of these clothes first.” “All right.” Mr. Collins turned toward the door and, dazed, Luke rose and followed him out of the barn. Luke heard an errant bellow from one of the cows off in the pasture. In a closer paddock nearby, Luke’s horse, Maverick, pressed against the rail and watched him, his ears forward. He was on alert, knowing he’d be getting fed soon. This would be Luke’s life now. That of a rancher. No longer a professional bull rider. No more autograph signings. No more photo shoots or sponsors. Just tending to the animals and the farm.
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And of course there would also be the chance to be around his good friends the Collinses and his mother more. All the time actually. No more being away from home. The traveling wore on him at times. Trying to look on the bright side, Luke reminded himself of that. This was what he’d dreamed of for his life after he’d retired from riding pro, wasn’t it? A nice peaceful life on his family ranch. It was just too soon.
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Chapter Eleven
Annie strode toward the media room at the arena where she’d be meeting with her boss, Joe, feeling a bit more human after a shower and a change of clothes. She’d thought she had it tough with all the travel she did for her job, but flying everywhere and picking up a rental car at the airport to drive directly to a hotel seemed like nothing to her now. Not after crossing a few state lines with Mustang and Slade in that damn trailer. She didn’t know how they did it. It must be a man thing. Give her a nice big shower stall with unlimited water and a few hundred channels on the cable television any day. They could keep their life on the open highway. Just outside the door of the room they’d be using as home base and for their equipment at this venue, she stopped and drew in a deep calming breath. She grabbed for the handle, only to have it yanked from her hand as a willowy blond who might be twenty-two at most came bursting out. Since the girl was still looking backward over her shoulder and into the room, she didn’t even notice Annie until she’d literally stepped on the toes of her boots and crashed into her. “Oh, excuse me.” The blonde’s porcelain face was glowing as she giggled. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.” No kidding. “No problem.” Annie glanced past the girl and into the room, wondering if she was too early for her own meeting since there’d be no reason for Miss Bubbly here to be conducting business with her network. Yet the girl disproved that theory by turning back one more time, thanking Annie’s boss profusely by name while Annie watched with raised brows. Finally, the whirlwind that was Blondie left and peaceful, bubble-free calm filled the space that she’d occupied. Annie stepped into the room. “Hey, Joe. Uh, who was that?” Annie waited for an answer as her cameraman, Carl, came through the door behind her. Carl smiled in greeting. “Hey, Annie. You get to meet Chelsea?” “Chelsea. Was that who that was? We didn’t exactly meet, no.” Annie glanced down at the scuff that this Chelsea had left on the toe of her boot while a preemptive feeling of gloom began to creep into her gut. Then she turned her attention back to Joe. Finally, after what seemed like an inordinately long pause, though that could have been Annie’s paranoia, her boss answered her former question. “We’ve decided to add another interviewer for some of the bigger events.”
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“And that would be Chelsea?” Annie’s brain filled in the word her boss had neglected to use. They’d hired a younger interviewer. That was more realistic than his saying another interviewer. That had to be what this was about. Bull riding was a young sport. Damn, there’d even been a few of the guys who’d still been in high school during their rookie year in the pros. And the younger the new crop of riders got each year, the older Annie became. “Really. Hmm. That’s interesting. I didn’t hear anything about plans to do that.” That damned Chelsea looked more like an intern than a reporter. Annie clenched her teeth so tightly together her back molars began to go numb. Joe nodded. “You know, we get such a good reaction to you from fans, we thought what the hell. It would be doubly good to have two of you.” What bullshit. “Two of me, huh?” Did this Chelsea person have a college degree in communications and years of experience in realworld, live, on-air situations? Doubtful. What she did have was youth on her side, and Annie couldn’t compete with that. Her brain spun, imagining that horrible meeting where she’d be told she’d been totally replaced by Chelsea, who would be the new on-air girl for all the regular season events. Or maybe they’d send Annie down to the touring pro division, or to cover local rodeos rather than the pros. To hell with that. She’d keep her pride and walk. With the money she’d saved, she could pursue that Masters Degree she’d always promised herself she’d get. Then maybe she’d go teach communications at a college somewhere. Though picturing an entire college class full of bubbly bimbos wanting to be weather girls or whatever job they could get on air twisted Annie’s gut even more. Annie drew in a breath. She hoped that would calm her and quiet her imaginings careening through her head about the end of her career as she knew it. “So, what’s on the agenda for today?” Besides Chelsea… “We’d like you to throw together a piece on the death of Luke Carpenter’s father.” That stopped Annie’s self-pitying right in its track. Nothing like the cold dose of reality to put things in perspective. “Um, okay.” “Yeah, I want to really play it up. It’s a great story—” She frowned. “A great story?” “Yeah, the dedication of a rider completing his final ride in the short go before flying to his dying father’s side to say goodbye.” Annie’s gaze narrowed. “He didn’t know about his father until after he’d finished his short-go ride. And they drove home, he didn’t fly.”
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Her boss dismissed the details with a wave of a hand. “Whatever. You handle the details, but make it good. The viewers eat up personal stories like this one. They get the blood and sweat in every ride. Today we get to take advantage of the tears too.” Heartless bastard. Annie felt her jaw clenching again. “I’ll work on it.” “I want it on air today. We’ll run it during the intermission.” “Today.” Annie swallowed away her anger. She’d like to see the new Annie, AKA Chelsea, throw together a spot in mere hours and get it on air. In spite of Joe’s calculating coldness, Annie would make this something that both the network and more importantly, Luke, would be proud to have aired. No way Chelsea could do that. She blew out a breath. “Okay, well I better get going on this then.” Her boss nodded. “Great. I look forward to seeing it.” Then he rose from his seat and pulled his cell phone out. Joe left the room and Annie assumed she was dismissed. She turned to her cameraman, who’d been fiddling with one of his lights the whole time. “Carl, you available to help me with this?” “Of course. Whatever you need.” The list of what she needed running in her head was too long to mention. “Thanks. I guess we’d better get to work.” “You’ve already got the script in your head, don’t you?” Carl grinned at her. He knew her too well. She shrugged. “Kind of. A rough draft anyway.” Carl shook his head. “That’s why I love working with you. Nothing throws you. Just get it done, no matter what.” That wasn’t exactly true. Chelsea had thrown her. Hell, Luke had thrown Annie too. Her feelings for him. That night of sex she would never forget. And the sight of Lilly’s hands all over him in the church pew, not to mention the killer looks Lilly had been shooting Annie when she’d seen her with Luke. Speaking of Luke. Annie reached into her bag for her cell. “I better get a hold of Luke and give him a heads up about this story. Things should be settled down now that the funeral is over.” “How was that anyway?” She frowned at Carl. “How was what? The funeral?” “Yeah. I had a side job. There was no way I could have made it, as much as I would have liked to have been there.” Annie would never forget that funeral. She remembered one of the toughest men she knew shaking in her arms. “There was a really nice turn out for Mr. Carpenter. There wasn’t a seat left in the church for the service. I was happy to see that, for Luke’s family’s sake.” “Yeah, he was a good man, Charles Carpenter. You never think of champions like that ever dying. Especially not so young.”
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“Champions…” In the middle of that anger about her bubbly, blond replacement, and the anguish of leaving Luke in Lilly’s possession, Annie had temporarily forgotten that Luke’s father had been a champion tie-down roper back in his day. “That’s the angle we’ll take. We’ll focus on Charles Carpenter’s career. Dammit. I wish we had more time. I bet there are some great old pictures or maybe even some footage in the station’s archives.” Carl whipped out his phone. “I think I can help there.” “Who are you calling?” He glanced up from pushing buttons. “My daughter just started interning at the station. I told you, remember?” “You think she could find us something to use?” Annie’s heart kicked into high gear with excitement. She glanced at the time display on her cell phone. “And can she find it in the next few hours?” “I’m sure gonna ask her to try.” As Carl connected with his daughter, their potential savior for today, adrenaline began to surge through Annie. She was going to make this the best damn piece the network had ever seen. That would show them. “We thought we’d have two of you,” Annie grumbled beneath her breath in a tone to mock her idiot boss and the youth-oriented network that had hired him and Chelsea. “Ha! She is no me.” This tribute to Luke’s father would prove that. Annie whipped open her own phone and scrolled down the contact list, through all the riders’ numbers until she hit upon Luke. Then her heart beat harder for a different reason. She dreaded calling him as much as she anticipated it. They were still in that weird place after their night together. But they had promised each other that their professional lives would not change because of it and this was a professional matter. She needed to at least let him know, if not get his approval, for the piece about his father. She pushed the button and waited. Annie realized she was having trouble breathing normally as she anticipated hearing Luke answer the phone. When she did hear the deep timbre of his voice, it was only his voicemail message coming on. He must be busy, too busy to answer her call. There had to be a lot to do there on the ranch, especially with his father gone. It wasn’t like he was avoiding her call or anything. Was it? The insecurity-fueled thoughts in her brain buzzed with a noise that vied with her ability to think rationally and tried to make her crazy. Thoughts like how men didn’t respect women who called them or that he might think she’s bothering him or stalking him filled her brain. Annie forced herself to leave a message—whether it was coherent or not was up for debate—then she closed the phone. The time on the display flashed at her again, a reminder of her impossible deadline. She didn’t have the leisure of being paranoid now. She had a piece to do.
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Chapter Twelve
“Mom. I got that.” Luke’s mother struggled down the stairs with a suitcase that probably weighed nearly as much as she did. She relinquished control of the handle to him. “Thanks, sweetie.” “What is in this thing?” He grabbed the railing with one hand as the weight of the suitcase pulled on his other hand, just as the cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He’d have to remember to check that and see who had been calling. Right now, it was all he could do to not topple down the stairs. How the hell had his mother thought she’d be able to carry this herself? With her superwoman complex, Luke really couldn’t trust her to be alone. It had been the right decision he’d made to stick around. “Some of your father’s old clothes that are still in good shape.” Luke set the bag down on the floor and stared at his mother. “You’re clearing out his stuff already?” The funeral had only been the day before yesterday. He normally admired his mother’s efficiency, but this was one case where he’d rather she drag her feet a little. Everything was moving at the speed of light, and though Luke was used to that from his career—or rather his former career—it was all too fast right now. “The church is having a rummage sale next weekend. This stuff isn’t doing us any good sitting here gathering dust in the closet. The sooner I can get it over there, the sooner the committee can get it sorted, hung and tagged.” She acted like they were talking about any old junk, not his father’s things. Then again, people all dealt with their grief in their own way. Maybe this, keeping busy, was the way she dealt. Luke needed to find his own way to deal because so far what he was doing wasn’t working so well. Accepting this was what his mother needed to do, Luke picked up the bag again. “All right. I’ll put this in the truck for you.” “Thanks, honey. I’ll run up and get the other one.” There was more? He set the suitcase back down on the floor with a thud. “Mom, wait. I’ll get that one too.” She continued up the stairs. “No need. It’s much smaller.” He somehow doubted that. With a sigh, Luke set off up the stairs. He stumbled to a stop in the room his mother and father had shared for as long as he could remember. There were piles of clothes everywhere. Yet at closer look, the chaos appeared to be laid out in orderly groupings.
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His mother noticed his gaze moving from one towering mountain of clothing to another. She pointed to one. “That pile on the bed is things that will fit you and that you might get some use out of. The pile on the floor is things that are just too worn out so that’s all for the garbage. And that pile on the desk isn’t in good enough shape to sell at the church sale, but we can drop it off at the men’s shelter next time one of us is going out that way.” Luke drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “All right. I’ll get some big trash bags to put the garbage and donations in.” She turned and whipped out a wad of black plastic from somewhere behind her. “No need. I’ve got them. I’ll bring the stuff on the bed to your room if you want. That way you can go through it and put it away when you have time.” Time wasn’t the issue. His inability to move on was though. “All right. Just let me load the truck with the two bags for church.” “Thanks, honey.” She grabbed his father’s old flannel shirt from the top of the pile for the shelter and shook it out before folding it neatly. Luke grabbed the smaller suitcase from the floor, about to make his escape. It was too much. He needed to get out of there. With one foot already out in the hall, he turned back toward his mother. “I want to get an early start on the afternoon chores after I load the truck.” “Sure thing, sweetie.” As she continued filling a trash bag with the things that had once belonged to his father, Luke fought the sick feeling in his gut. At least in the barn he’d find some peace. His mother hadn’t started divesting them of his father’s saddle or ropes, and if she tried, he wouldn’t let her. If nothing else, that one spot would be for Luke and his memories. She’d have to allow him that much.
The rote movements of the daily routine on the ranch were a mixed blessing. On one hand, he could let his mind go blank and just go through the motions of the things he’d done for years with his father, and now alone. On the other hand, memories of his father filled every corner of the barn. Worse, Luke had too much time to think about the rest of the guys. What they might be doing at that very moment. And Annie. Normally he’d be making sure to “accidentally” run into her in the hallway as they all got ready before the event. Or he’d be trying to catch glances of her working. Her smile lighting her face whether she was on camera or off. The way things had been moving with them, there would have been a good chance he’d have arrived at work with her, though she’d probably want to pretend they hadn’t, which he understood. He let out a big sigh. Annie may be his biggest regret of all. They had no chance now. Not with her on the road with the tour and him here on the ranch. He’d tried that with Lilly for far too long, and it had failed miserably. He
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didn’t want to fail with Annie. They were over before they’d ever really got started. That, as much as his sudden retirement while he was still at the high point of his career, stung. The barn door swung wider and a shadow filled the doorway and blocked the sunlight streaming in. “Hey.” Through the glare and dust, Luke heard his friend’s familiar voice. “Hey, Chris.” Luke dumped the bucket of feed he’d had in his hand into Maverick’s dish. In response the horse gave him a soft nicker followed by a snort that sounded more like “about time” than it did “thanks”. Even his livestock wasn’t giving him time to recover from the loss of both his father and his career. Life went on, he supposed. For better or for worse. “So what brings you around?” Chris shoved his hands in his jacket pockets against the chill in the air. “You about done here?” “Yeah. Just let me top off his water bucket and then I’m done. Why? What you got in mind?” Any distraction would be welcome at this point. Chris shrugged. “I don’t know. You want to go into town for a drink?” In town people would come up to him and want to ask how he was doing. He wasn’t in the mood for that. It had been bad enough when he’d almost had to go with his mother to the church. When she’d come out to the barn to tell him she was taking the truck to drop off the bags and he’d offered to drive her, she’d said she would go alone. That was probably a good thing. He wasn’t in a sociable mood today. “How about we pick up a couple of six-packs and drink them at your house instead?” Luke glanced hopefully at Chris. “Sure. We can do that.” Chris continued to watch him in that strange way he had, like he was seeing deeper than Luke wanted him to. “You okay?” And there was that question again. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Chris planted a boot on a bale of hay and leaned one elbow on his knee, then focused on Luke’s face. “Look, Luke. I’m just going to say it. There’s an event on TV tonight. The one you’d be riding in if nothing had happened. I know it and you know it, so let’s just get it out there in the open.” Luke’s brow rose. “Okay. So the event’s on TV. They always are. What exactly are we getting out in the open?” “Your feelings.” “My feelings? You’ve been watching too many daytime talk shows.” Luke scowled and dragged the hose across the barn floor. “Joke if you want, but we both know you’d rather things were different. So I guess the question is are we going to get drunk and not watch it and pretend you don’t wish you were there riding tonight? Or are we going to get drunk and watch it and pretend you don’t feel bad that you’re not there?” Leave it to Chris to not pull any punches. Luke shoved the nozzle into the bucket inside the stall and held it there while the water level rose. When he glanced up, Chris was still waiting for his answer. Luke saw no reason to lie. His friend would probably see through it anyway. “I haven’t decided yet.”
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“All right. Well, when you do, let me know. I need to tell the rest of the household what they’re allowed to watch on TV tonight.” Luke looked up with a frown. “They can watch whatever they want.” “Yeah, sure. I’m going to town to grab the beer. See you at my place in a few?” He nodded. “Yeah.” It would get easier. People looked forward to retirement. Right? Yeah, right.
Cold beer went down real smooth when things in your life felt like they’d all gone to shit. Luke took another swallow from his fifth—or was it sixth—bottle of brew. He slumped lower against the cushions of the Collins’s living-room couch, settled in for the night. The station came back from a break and cut to a picture that had the bottle in Luke’s hand pausing halfway down from his lips. An old photo of his father from back in his rodeo days filled the screen. Across it was written the name Charles Carpenter and the dates of his birth and death. Chris leaned forward in his chair, then glanced at Luke. “Wow. Did you know about this?” Luke shook his head. “No.” He stopped talking because Annie’s voice came on the television as she narrated. It started with a video of Luke with his father at a competition last year, then it backtracked to a comprehensive photo retrospective of his father’s rodeo career which brought the mist that had been hovering just out of range for days now, back to his eyes. The piece ended with video of Luke’s final ride from last week. The last time he’d ridden professionally. The last time he’d been happy before Chris had broken the news to him. Then it was over. They cut back to the chutes and the next bull and rider with JW, one of the announcers in the booth, giving stats on both. Luke leaned back, shaken. “That was quite a tribute.” Chris’s voice had that weird tone to it again, as if he was tentatively feeling out Luke’s mood. “Yeah.” Luke knew exactly who was responsible for it too and he needed to thank her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. It was only then he remembered the missed call he’d ignored hours ago while he’d been helping his mother with the suitcases. Testament to the fact that Luke was still rattled from recent events. He couldn’t even seem to remember to check his cell phone. After flipping it open, Luke saw there was a message. He hit the button and dialed in his code and before long he heard Annie’s voice, telling him the network had asked for a story on his father. She’d wanted to let him know and make sure it was all right. Too choked up, he didn’t want to talk to her like this. He hadn’t even called anyone official yet to tell them he wasn’t coming back to competition.
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Luke didn’t have it in him to talk to her about his retiring and besides, she was busy at work anyway. They were in the middle of an event. She wouldn’t have time to answer a call so instead he punched in a text. I saw it. It was beautiful. Thank you. Luke. That would have to do for now. Maybe tomorrow he could bear to say out loud that he wasn’t coming back, but not tonight. That done, Luke grabbed his bottle and downed quite a bit of the beer inside. He’d been sleeping like crap lately, but he had a feeling tonight would be better. He’d drunk enough to knock himself out anyway. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open now to watch the end of the competition in the Collins’s living room. It was getting close to eleven o’clock. Chris’s parents had gone to bed long ago. Even Lilly had excused herself a few minutes ago. Good old Chris still hung in there though. Good friend that he was. Chris rose and held up his empty bottle. “There’s one more. You want it?” Groggy, Luke shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. It’s all yours.” “Nah, I think I’m done for the night too.” Luke realized that was probably a hint for him to leave so Chris could go to bed. “I guess I should get going. It’s late.” He started to hoist himself up from his spot on the couch, and found it harder to stand than it should have been. “Stay. I don’t want you driving. I’ll get you a blanket and a pillow.” Chris laid a hand on his shoulder and pushed Luke back down into the seat after he’d worked so hard to get out of it. “I’d only be driving for about half a mile.” “On a public highway with other people and cars.” Chris shook his head. It was obvious to Luke that his friend was not going to give in. “But my mom will worry.” “No, she won’t. My mother and yours were on the phone together before.” “Talking about me?” Luke scowled. Great. It was like he was a child again. “Not really about you, but my mother promised yours we wouldn’t let you drive home if you’d had too many.” Chris glanced at the coffee table cluttered with empties. “All right. I’ll stay.” He was in no mood to go home and walk into his room only to find his father’s clothes piled up on his bed anyway. Luke had specifically avoided his room all afternoon, knowing what was waiting for him there. “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve passed out on your couch.” Chris laughed. “Yeah, and Mom and Dad used to think we were just tired.” He shook his head. “Thank God they’re so gullible or we would’ve had our hides tanned quite a few times for sneaking into the liquor cabinet.”
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“Yup.” Luke smiled at the memories. The only difference now was they were both well over the legal drinking age. Chris disappeared into the hallway and returned with a blanket and pillow. “You need anything else? You want me to get you a glass of water from the kitchen?” Luke raised a brow. “No, I’ll get it myself if I want. You don’t have to take care of me you know.” “Sure I do.” Chris dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “And why is that?” Luke’s gaze narrowed at his friend. “Because I’ll expect you to take care of me the next time I’m out of it. I figure this way you’ll owe me.” Luke let out a snort. “Nice friend you are.” Chris shrugged with a grin. “I know. Have a good night. I’ll see you in the morning.” “Good night.” Tomorrow morning was going to come very early after tonight. With that thought, Luke shut off the television, clicked off the lamp on the table next to him and closed his eyes. He fluffed the pillow behind his head and was drifting before he could think of anything else. Luke came partially awake in the dark. His brain barely registered the unfamiliar surroundings. From his career on the road, he was used to waking up in a strange place each morning after sleeping in a different hotel room each night. He became aware of someone next to him as their weight shifted the surface he lay on. Luke felt the warm body move closer. Fingers touched his face in the darkness, then soft, warm lips pressed to his. He let out a moan as his body responded. Memories of making love to Annie bombarded both mind and body. Reaching up and grabbing a handful of her hair, Luke pulled her tighter against him. He deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth. He needed this now more than ever. Flipping them both over, he pressed harder against her beneath him. She spread her legs and made room for him between them. His damn jeans were a barrier he’d have to shuck. Soon, but not now. Now he just wanted to feel her close. Sink against her. His tongue plunged into her mouth as his mind began to swim up from the pull of combined exhaustion and alcohol. His senses became sharper and he smelled both a familiar perfume and her arousal. His hands roamed down her sides and found she wore nothing but a T-shirt with no underwear beneath. Plunging his fingers inside her, he moaned again when he found her wet and ready. He needed her so badly. Luke pressed his mouth to her ear and felt her hair against his lips. “Annie—” “Annie!” Lilly’s voice cut through his desire loud and clear as two fists pounded against his back.
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“Shit.” Luke rolled off Lilly, falling off the couch and banging his knee on the coffee table. That sent the empty bottles toppling over like dominos, the sound deafening in the dark peace of the sleeping household. He was going to wake up the whole family, who would then come out and find him with a rapidly deflating hard-on and a half-naked Lilly tangled in his blanket. “Dammit, Lilly.” She had sat up on the couch and, judging by her rapid breathing, was pretty pissed. In the dim light that filtered from the small table lamp Chris had left on in the hallway, Luke could see her face contorted with anger. “I knew there was something going on with you and that woman.” Lilly’s opinion of Annie was quite clear in both her words and her tone. Luke ran his hand over his face and drew in a deep breath. He was in no shape for a battle now, but it looked like he was going to have one. “Lilly, you and I are broken up. We have been for months.” He kept his voice low, hoping she’d take the hint and do the same. At least her parents’ bedroom was at the other end of the house. The closest room was Chris’s. Hopefully he was still sound asleep from all the beer they’d drunk. “Oh, I know we are. Is she why we’re broken up? Because after all these years, you wanted to be with her now instead of me?” Lilly accused. He really didn’t want to discuss Annie with anyone, and especially not Lilly. Luke had spent the night watching Annie on television, realizing he could never be with her now that he wouldn’t be traveling with her and the circuit and then drinking more beer to combat the misery. “No. Our breakup had nothing to do with her. You know why we’re not together, Lilly.” “I’m not so sure I do.” She crossed her arms defiantly. He wasn’t convinced that was the truth. Luke remembered her ultimatum word for word. It was a choice between continuing to ride in the pro circuit or her, pure and simple. Luke hadn’t chosen riding over Lilly, per se. He’d simply chosen not to be with a woman who couldn’t accept who he was and what he loved to do. “You didn’t want me to ride any more, Lilly.” “No. I didn’t want you traipsing all over the damn world riding.” “Exactly. You wanted me here, working on the farm just like your father and my father and Chris.” Which was exactly what Luke had chosen to do now that his father was gone and he had to retire to run the ranch. Realization hit Luke hard. “Lilly, why did you come out here and kiss me tonight?” “You’ve left the circuit, just like I wanted you to months ago when you refused. That was our only problem, your traveling all the time. Now that you won’t be, we can be together.” Her tone wasn’t as hostile as it had been, but that didn’t make the words she spoke sit any better with Luke. His suspicions were true. She’d gotten her way. Even if it hadn’t been for her, he’d retired, just like she’d wanted him to.
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She acted like it was perfectly logical. Like they were weighing pros and cons like a person did when deciding to buy one brand of truck over another. But this wasn’t that kind of decision. The suggestion to go back to where they’d been before left him totally cold. He’d glimpsed just a little bit of what true happiness could be like with Annie. Going back to Lilly because there was no reason not to would be a pale shadow of the love he knew was out there waiting for him. Even if he knew he couldn’t make things work with Annie, she’d shown him there was more to be had. He wasn’t settling for anything less. He wanted more. “No, Lilly.” “Why not? Because of her.” Lilly delivered the last word with pure hatred. “No…maybe. I don’t know.” Luke drew in and let out a loud breath. He couldn’t make Lilly understand. Not in her current mood. Maybe not ever. Lilly let out a huff. “Okay. You’re right. We were broken up. I can forgive you if you slept with her. As long as you never ever talk to her again.” Luke frowned. “This isn’t about Annie, Lilly. She’s not the reason I don’t want to get back together.” Lilly shot him a doubt filled look. “Then what is?” “I can’t explain it. All I know is that if we’d truly been right together, nothing would have broken us up. If we were meant to be together, I would have married you years ago.” “You didn’t propose to me because you were traveling so much. At least that’s what you said when I brought up the subject of marriage.” She raised a brow, as if accusing him of lying. “Because that’s what I’d told myself at the time, but I don’t think that was it.” Luke shook his head. He hadn’t ever been inspired to propose to Lilly, or even look at rings. That had to mean something. “Guys I ride with are married on the road. They make it work. I think deep down I knew.” “Knew what?” “That we weren’t… That you weren’t…” How could he say this without destroying the woman he’d known his entire life and had dated for nearly seven years? “That I wasn’t the one.” Her words were spoken softly and sounded filled with pain. Luke sat back down next to her. She turned her body toward his as he took her hand in his. “Yeah. I’m sorry.” He truly was. “But we’re so good together.” She leaned in so her breath brushed his cheek. Her leg pressed against his as she moved closer. Her other hand moved up his thigh. Then her lips touched his again. Luke pulled back. “Lilly. Stop.” “Why? We can just have this if that’s all you want.” “Lilly. Sex isn’t everything.” “But we’re so good at it.” Her hand inched up farther.
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She was pretending she’d be happy with just sex. Hell, maybe she even believed it herself, but Luke knew this woman better than that. She would never be happy with just a casual physical thing after what they’d had. And he didn’t want that either. The attraction he’d felt for her just wasn’t there anymore. Not the way it had been when he’d been twenty-four and desperately waiting for a seventeen-year-old Lilly to turn eighteen so he could have all of her. Back when they were both young and thought they were in love. Sure, he was a man and Lilly was one hell of an attractive woman, but as he’d said, sex wasn’t everything. There was so much more he wanted from a relationship. And there were so many more issues keeping them apart. Not in the least was his own pride. That was definitely standing in the way now. She wanted him back just because he’d done what she wanted to begin with and quit riding. Once a bull rider, always a bull rider. Lilly had never understood that. He may have made the decision to not ride in the pros anymore, but he was still the same man inside. Luke firmly grabbed Lilly’s hand and placed it back in her own lap, leaving no question this—what she wanted—wasn’t happening tonight or ever. “But Luke, the way you kissed me before—” “Lilly, I was half-asleep and still drunk.” “And you thought I was Annie.” That bitter tone was back in her voice. He drew in a deep breath. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” “I’m not. I just want to know.” “Yes, I was half-asleep and I thought you were Annie.” “Fine.” Lilly jumped up and stomped, as loudly as her bare feet could, out of the room. Luke watched her go, then saw Chris, his eyes covered with one hand, come around the corner. “Don’t mind me. I just gotta take a piss.” “Chris—” His friend threw up his hand to stop Luke. “Look. It’s none of my business what happens between you two. You’re both of age and I’m not delusional that she’s some kind of virgin after all these years.” “Nothing happened.” “Whatever. Fine, but I’m serious, Luke. I don’t want to be stuck in the middle between you and Lilly. You’re my friend, always have been and God willing always will be. She’s my sister—” “—and always has been and always will be.” Luke sighed. “I am sorry.” “For what? Lilly being my sister? Eh, she’s not that bad usually.” Chris’s crooked smile had Luke letting out a short laugh. “No. I’m sorry it didn’t work out between Lilly and I.” Luke shook his head. “That it’s not going to. I truly am.” “Well, if that’s the case, then I’m really glad nothing happened in here tonight between you two.”
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Luke was too. Thank goodness he’d regained his senses and realized it was Lilly in time. He buried his face in his hands. “Things are going to be messed up for a while.” Chris plopped himself down in the chair next to the couch. “You can’t force it, man. You feel how you feel. Staying together if your heart isn’t in it would be wrong for everybody. I wouldn’t want that for either of you, even if it did mean she’d stop storming around the house ranting about you like she’s done since you broke up. Oops, did that slip out?” Luke smiled at the devilish look on Chris’s face. “Sorry about that.” “Me too. Believe me.” Sighing, Chris shook his head. “So, she said during the last temper tantrum right after the funeral that there’s someone else. Is there? You can tell me. I’m neutral in this thing. Like Switzerland.” For someone insisting he didn’t want to be involved, Chris sure had a lot to say about the situation as he waited with one eyebrow raised expectantly. Luke considered the answer to that question as his mind traveled back to the last time he’d felt normal, before Chris had delivered the bomb that changed everything. Back to Annie. He likely would never see Annie again besides on television. Her life was on the circuit, like his used to be. The ranch, the herd, the house and his mom, that was Luke’s life now. His mother couldn’t run this ranch without him. He couldn’t bear to sell it. His professional riding career would have probably been over in five years anyway, so why did it hit him so hard? Like a fist to the gut. Chris still watched him too closely. “There’s nobody.” Nobody he had a viable future with anyway. That disappointment, having to give up any hope of anything more with Annie, seemed as hard to swallow as the end of his pro career. He’d likely find that fact interesting if he wasn’t so miserable.
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Chapter Thirteen
With Maverick beneath him, responding to every one of his leg commands as if they were one being, Luke took off after the calf. The little fellow ran when he realized he was being pursued, but he had no chance. Luke circled the rope above his head and let it fly. This time, unlike the last few throws, his aim was true. As the loop landed around the calf’s neck, Luke leapt from the saddle and landed running. One sure motion had the calf on his back on the ground. Luke grabbed the string from between his teeth and wrapped it around the calf’s feet twice, finishing it off with a half hitch. Meanwhile, Maverick, who had been well trained by Luke’s father and knew the procedure as well as Luke, backed up a step to keep the rope around the calf’s neck taut and prevent him from trying to get up and possibly hurt himself. Chris rode up beside Luke and jumped down from his own horse. While Luke held the calf still, Chris uncapped the needle and jabbed it through his hide and into the muscle. One quick press of the plunger, then the needle was out again. “Done.” “Off you go, little fellow.” Luke released the calf’s three feet from the string. Once freed, he took off running for the rest of the herd. “Was that the last one for vaccinations? We finally done?” Chris squinted at the herd nearby. “That’s it.” Luke nodded and pulled his hat lower over his eyes against the glare of the sun. “Well, that only took twice as long as it did last year when I helped your father.” Chris grinned. “So I’m a little out of practice. Sorry.” Luke shot him a scowl as he coiled his rope and hung it on the horn of his saddle. “My father was the champion roper in the family. Not me.” “Ain’t that the truth.” Chris’s smile told Luke he was only teasing, but it was true. Luke couldn’t rope nearly as well as his dad. Months after his father’s death, Luke could finally talk about him without feeling that overwhelmingly sick feeling of loss in his stomach. He’d settled into a routine. Taking care of the stock. Making whatever repairs were needed on the fences or the barn. Helping Chris at his family’s place. Accepting help at his own when he needed it. The times since his retirement that the changes in his life had hurt the most were watching the final competitions of last season on television. He probably would have felt a lot better if he could have just not watched, but it never failed that if bull riding was on, Luke couldn’t resist watching it, even if it did tear open a hole in his heart.
Hooked
Luckily, the pro tour he’d ridden with had been on a break for two months so Luke couldn’t watch it even if he’d wanted to. There had been nothing to watch. But that break was at an end now. Tonight, at the usual time and on the usual channel, all of his fellow riders—former fellow riders—would be trying to make their eight seconds without him. And Annie would be there interviewing them. His chest tightened at the thought. As painful as it was, he knew he’d still watch it. He’d drink a few beers, wallow in self-pity and then go to bed. Tomorrow, he’d wake up and go on with his day. Yup, keeping up the routine. That was the key. Luke planted one boot in the stirrup and swung into the saddle. He turned Maverick back toward the barn at a walk. Chris’s horse matched the pace next to them. “Why don’t you take a weekend away and go to one of the events? I’ll take care of your place for you while you’re gone.” “Nah. I don’t think so.” “I think it’d cheer you up.” Chris was relentless. Luke had made his decision. He was retired from riding. He’d stay retired. Watching his friends ride when he couldn’t? Or even riding for the weekend and then leaving the tour again? That would only make it all more painful. Seeing the other guys. Seeing Annie… “I’m fine,” Luke bit out, the words sounding less than convincing. Head turned toward Luke, Chris raised one brow. “No, you’re not. You’re miserable.” “I’m not miserable. I’m…fine.” Luke couldn’t come up with a better word. “You sure as shit ain’t happy.” Luke didn’t respond. He just kept riding, hoping Chris would take the hint and shut the hell up. “If you don’t need anything else, I’m just gonna head on back to my place.” Chris was a good friend and had been a huge help, and Luke was acting like a bastard to him. Guilt overwhelmed him as he glanced at his friend. “Thanks for your help today. Call me when you want to do your herd.” “Don’t worry about it. Dad and I took care of it already.” Now Luke felt even worse. “Oh. All right.” “Talk to you later.” Chris clamped his hat lower on his head and took off at a gallop for his own place before Luke could even ask if he wanted to watch the bull riding together later. He felt like a rotten friend. Hell, lately he just felt plain old rotten all around. Kicking Maverick into a trot, then a gallop, Luke headed for the barn. After unsaddling and tending to Maverick, Luke felt a little more settled. He spent extra time brushing the horse, then even cleaned some leather tack. It all relaxed him and took his mind off riding. Finally, his fingers numb from the cold, he meandered back toward the house, realizing he could use something hot to
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drink, maybe even a bite of food since dinner wouldn’t be for a little bit. The kitchen was his end goal, but the Collins’s car parked in the driveway had him frowning, wondering what was up. Maybe Chris’s mother was over visiting his mom. That made sense, though he knew from experience this was usually the time both women would be in their respective kitchens, starting to get dinner together for the night. Maybe Mrs. Collins had needed to borrow something. In any case, he’d know the answer soon enough. Not really all that concerned about it, Luke continued his stride toward the back door. The sight that greeted him when he stepped into the kitchen had him pausing in the doorway. He finally realized he was letting all the heat out and the cold in and closed the door behind him. “Um, hey.” He scanned the room. The entire Collins family and his mother filled the kitchen. Chris stood while Lilly and the three parents sat in the four chairs surrounding the table. The collective serious looks on their faces as he glanced from one to another had his chest tightening. Luke’s heart began to pound. “Um, Mom. What’s everyone doing here?” Did someone else die? Did one of the guys get hurt or killed on the way to the event? Were they all here to break it to him? “We just want to talk to you.” “Talk? About what? What’s wrong?” Luke’s stomach twisted with fear. “Nothing’s wrong, sweetie.” His mother glanced around, as if looking for help. “This is an intervention,” Chris supplied. “A what?” Luke’s brows shot up. Chris had definitely been watching too much television. “Come on. I don’t drink that much. A few beers while watching TV—” “It’s not the beers, man. I drink just as much. The problem isn’t with your drinking. It’s with you.” Luke stared at Chris, confused. His mother rose from the chair and stepped up to him. She touched his forearm. “Luke, sweetie. We want you to go back to riding.” Luke’s gaze swept the room. Everyone’s undivided attention was upon him as he tried to absorb what his mother had just said. He looked back to her. “But the ranch.” Luke’s gaze shifted to Mr. Collins. Amid the confusion, a bad thought niggled into his brain. For the first time in his life, he was suspicious of a good friend’s motives. Did Mr. Collins want the Carpenter land so badly he had convinced both families that it was the best thing for Luke to go back to riding? His eyes narrowed at the older man. “I told you, I don’t want to sell.” Mr. Collins nodded. “I know and I understand that. I think we’ve worked out a way you don’t have to. Chris, you want to explain it to Luke?” Chris nodded from his position against the counter. “How many years you figure you got left riding in the pros?” Luke shook his head. “I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. I’m retired.”
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“Okay, get off that now. Let’s pretend you’re not retired. That last year never happened. If you were riding pro still, how many years would you have left?” Luke shrugged. “At the level I was at when I retired? With no major injuries, I could keep winning for a few more years, but I’d probably be struggling to stay in the top forty rankings in another five or six, at most seven years.” “Now tell me what you were going to do when you retired from touring with the big guys in another six or seven years.” “You know all this, Chris. You’ve heard it all before.” Luke’s frustration radiated in every word he spoke. This discussion was pointless. As pointless as this supposed intervention. “I know, but I think maybe you forgot.” Chris’s eyes remained focused on Luke. He finally gave in and answered the question. “I wanted to start raising bucking stock.” “Mmm hmm. And what did I want to do?” Chris raised a brow and waited. Luke sighed. “You wanted to breed and train roping horses.” “And we were going to do it together under the L&C brand. Remember? For Luke and Chris…” Luke let out a short laugh. The boys they’d been when they hatched this plan hadn’t been all that creative with the name of their future ranch. Luke had won the right to have his initial first by winning a heated game of rock, paper, scissor. “Yeah. I remember.” Chris shrugged. “So why can’t we still do that?” Because Luke had been so depressed lately it was all he could do to maintain the little bit of stock he and his mom owned now. Forget about start a new herd. He deflected the question with one of his own. “What does this have to do with me going back to riding?” He glanced at his mother, who smiled and turned to Chris. “We have a plan, don’t we, Chris?” Luke drew in a deep breath. “A plan.” “Yup.” Chris nodded enthusiastically. “I start my part of the business here while you go back to riding on the tour for as long as you want.” “That still doesn’t solve the problem of not having someone here to tend the place for Mom while I’m gone,” Luke reminded them. “Well, that’s all in the plan. I’ll tend your stock here as well as mine while you’re away riding. When you’re home you’ll work ’em all with me.” “That’s not fair to make you work my—” “Sure it’s fair. More than fair.” “How?” Luke couldn’t understand Chris’s reasoning. “Dad doesn’t have the room at our place for what I want to do. And your father has the arena area all set up already for when he used to train for his roping competitions. It’ll be an exchange. I get to raise and train my horses here at your place, and in exchange I’ll tend to things while you’re gone. Then when you
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retire from the pros—for real—we’ll start building up your bucking stock. By then, we’ll hopefully already have made a name for ourselves with my roping horses.” Luke’s heart kicked into high gear at the idea, but he tamped the excitement back down. He couldn’t handle getting his hopes up and then having them fall flat. “Mom. You’re okay with this plan?” “Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Chris is like a second son to me as it is. He’s here as much as he’s home. It wouldn’t be any different.” “But I would be away a lot and you’ll be here all alone at night in the house while I’m gone.” She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “Do you know how many invites to bridge parties or book clubs I used to turn down while your father was alive? I could be out and busy, or have a crowd of ladies here, every night if I wanted to. I think I might just start accepting some of those invites.” “You’d be sleeping here in the house alone a lot while I’m traveling.” He didn’t like that idea. Maybe it was time to replace the dog they’d lost a few years back. He’d feel better if there was a watchdog on the property again with his mother alone at night. Luke couldn’t believe he was actually considering this. “We’re right next door, Luke. If she needs anything, day or night, we can be here in a flash.” Marge Collins jumped into the conversation for the first time. Luke appreciated her offer, but still turned his attention to Mr. Collins. It would be his herd he’d be stealing Chris away from. “You’re okay with this plan? This will take up a bunch of Chris’s time. He won’t be around as much to help out at your own place.” “I can handle my place. I’m not that old, boy. Besides, he’s been itching to do this thing for a while now. I’d rather have him doing it nearby and with you than moving to some other county to buy his own piece of land. It would break his mama’s heart to have her baby move out.” Chris rolled his eyes. “I’m thirty-two, Dad, and Lilly is seven years younger than I am anyway. She’s the baby in the family.” “Hey!” Lilly piped up for the first time, looking insulted at being called the baby. “You’ll still always be your mama’s baby boy, Chris. You remember that.” Mr. Collins sent Chris a look full of censure. “Yes, sir.” Chris sounded more amused than respectful, in spite of the “sir”. The mention of Lilly brought up an interesting point. Why was she here supporting this plan? Luke turned to her. “What do you think about this? You’re the one who wanted me to quit for years now.” “I know.” Her gaze dropped to her hands clasped on the table in front of her. “And now you’re here for this intervention to get me to go back?” “I guess I finally saw what everyone else did. Riding is a part of you. You’re not whole without it. Chris always told me that, but I couldn’t see past my own feelings to listen. I think you should go back and see where your career takes you before you retire for good. You’ll always wonder if you don’t.” Wow. Even Lilly was on board with this plan.
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“So? What do you think?” Chris waited for his answer. “I think I better get on a few practice bulls before I go back.” Luke braced himself for his friend’s reaction, which didn’t disappoint him as Chris’s face beamed. “Hell yeah, you better.” Chris grinned. “And hit the gym to get rid of that beer gut you’ve been working so hard to put on the past few months.” Luke laughed. Even insults that bordered uncomfortably on the truth couldn’t get him down now. He was going back and there were a ton of things he needed to do first. His head spun with plans. Hope too. Hope that Annie wasn’t already dating someone else and that she’d forgive him for dropping totally out of her life after the funeral. When he returned he’d gladly deal with whatever greeted him in regard to Annie. If she did shoot him down, he’d go down fighting. He wouldn’t give up on her, on them, easily. That definitely sat better in his gut than giving up, which was the bitter pill he’d been trying unsuccessfully to swallow for months now. “I gotta go call and have them put my name in the draw for next weekend.” He glanced up and noticed all the smiles in the room. “Thanks, everyone.” “You’re welcome. Now go make that phone call and get your butt back here. I already told Hank to pull out his rankest bulls because we’ve got an out-of-shape bull rider looking to make a comeback.” Chris’s challenge hung in the air, but all it did was make Luke smile.
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Chapter Fourteen
“Luke’s back?” Annie stared down at the list of match ups that had just been handed to her. One name jumped out from among the rest of the riders, and that name took her breath away. “Luke’s back.” The stock manager confirmed her statement of the obvious before striding off across the dirt of the arena to talk to one of the handlers about something. She began to shake, making the paper held between her fingers quake. Annie lowered her hand and stood in shock. He hadn’t called her to tell her he was quitting riding. It shouldn’t surprise her he hadn’t called to tell her he was coming back either. In fact, he hadn’t called her at all. The last thing she’d gotten from him had been that text message the night they’d first aired his father’s tribute. Any other news she’d gotten on Luke had come from the other riders or the station for her reports. Of course, she hadn’t called him either. Her heart pounded in anger. She shouldn’t have had to call him, damn it. After the night they’d spent together he should have called her. Her insecurity crept in, pushing the anger aside. It had been only one night. Meanwhile the man had a long history with Lilly. His ex-girlfriend who he’d spent years with was there with him daily while Annie wasn’t. She couldn’t blame him if they’d reconciled, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less. Annie sighed. At least it had been only one night. Well, one night plus the incredible kiss at his house. The way he’d opened up to her after his father’s funeral… Annie had just thought they had something special. To add to Annie’s misery, Chelsea bounced by, one of the rookie riders glued to her side, as usual. Why Annie’s replacement apparent was here was beyond her. This was the second event of the new season, not the first. Sure, last week had been huge. If she could justify having a second interviewer at all, it would have been for last week. Not for this week which was a pretty small venue. “Annie.” Her boss’s voice filled her ear as it came loudly through her earpiece. She adjusted the volume. “Yeah, Joe.” “I want Chelsea to interview Luke today, but she doesn’t know who he is. Can you point him out to her when you see him?”
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Now Annie was shaking for a different reason. She was likely going to be replaced by a girl who knew so little about the sport she didn’t even know what one of the veteran riders looked like? Forget about the fact that Annie didn’t want that blond bimbo anywhere near the man she’d dreamed about for years. “She doesn’t know who he is?” She gritted her teeth. “He left the tour before we brought her onboard last season.” Annie had had about enough of her boss and this job and that girl. “Joe. Luke Carpenter is a household name among bull riding fans. I don’t care if he didn’t ride all the way through to the end of last season. Any reporter who is going to be on air at this event should know who the hell one of the most consistent winners and well-liked riders this sport has ever seen is.” “Why thank you, ma’am.” Luke’s voice behind her had Annie’s throat closing up. “Annie, I need you to be a team player.” Joe’s comment barely registered with Annie as she turned and found Luke barely two feet away from her. “Joe, I gotta go.” She yanked the earpiece from her ear and shoved it into her pocket. Hell, they could fire her if they wanted to. They probably would so they could replace her with Chelsea. She couldn’t stop them and she didn’t care anymore. There were other things for her to worry about, such as the cowboy standing in front of her. “Hey. You’re back.” He nodded. “I am. How are you, Annie?” How was she? She was hurt and angry he hadn’t called. She was scared and ill over the thought he might be back with Lilly. And she most likely was about to lose her job to a girl who didn’t even know who Luke Carpenter was. All in all, life sucked right now so Annie said, “I’m good. How are you?” “Really glad to be back.” Luke grinned. “I’m sure everyone’s glad to have you back. You were missed.” Annie hoped he heard the unspoken words I missed you in her tone. Carl came around the corner with Chelsea. He pointed toward Luke. “That’s Luke Carpenter right there.” Annie gritted her teeth as the blond came toward them, a smile plastered on her perky face. “Hi. Luke Carpenter?” Always gracious to fans, Luke nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” The last thing Annie wanted to do was give up time with Luke. She hadn’t seen him for so long and she still didn’t know how things stood between them. But she couldn’t stand by and watch her replacement botch up what should be a great interview with a legendary rider who’d essentially retired from the sport after the death of his father and then decided to come back. “Excuse me.” Annie might have to put up with this girl stealing her interview and probably her job, but she didn’t have to stick around to watch it.
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“Wait. Don’t go.” Luke reached out and grabbed Annie’s hand, squeezing her fingers in his. “I want to talk to you when I’m done here.” How could she say no? Annie swallowed hard. “Okay.” Not to be ignored, Chelsea thrust her hand toward Luke. He had to release Annie’s hand to shake it. “I’m Chelsea and I’ll be interviewing you today once we get on air.” “All right. Which network is this for?” “Mine.” Annie delivered the answer in a flat tone that she figured clearly showed her opinion of the entire situation. Luke’s brows shot up beneath the brim of his hat and he turned to Annie. “Yours?” “Yup.” He turned away from Chelsea and toward Annie with a smile. “Did you get a promotion while I was gone? Are you the big boss now?” Apparently Luke hadn’t picked up on Annie’s displeasure. A bitter laugh escaped her. “No. I didn’t get a promotion.” Chelsea took a step to the side so she was in front of Luke again. “They hired me at the end of last season, but I did mostly voiceovers until now so I could get the hang of the sport since I’d never even watched bull riding before. My boss said you quit riding last year, so I guess for the interview I’ll ask you why.” The stupid girl didn’t even know about his father? That was hard to believe but it seemed to be the truth. Annie watched the expression on Luke’s face harden. His forehead wrinkled in a deep frown. He turned back toward Annie, effectively putting Chelsea behind him again. “Are you still doing interviews?” “Yeah.” Annie nodded. At least the ones Chelsea wasn’t going to be given instead. “Then I’d like you to handle this one.” He turned back to the girl still hovering and looking less than happy at the conversation. “I’m sorry, but Annie conducts this interview or it’s not going to happen at all.” “But, my boss said—” “Tell him to talk to me if he has an issue. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get ready.” Luke tipped his hat to them both, then walked back toward the dressing room. Annie had watched Luke walk for enough years that she could tell when he was pissed. As awful and worried as Annie felt about Chelsea throwing Luke into a bad mood right before he rode in competition for the first time in months, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit victorious. Meanwhile, Chelsea still stood there, sputtering. “What the hell? He can’t do that.” “He sure as hell can. These riders grant us at the network the privilege of interviewing them. They’re not required to do a damn thing other than show up and ride. Remember that.” Annie started to go, and then turned back. “Oh, and do your damn research next time.”
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As Chelsea paled at the censure, Annie strode off in pursuit of Luke. She found him in the dressing room. “Hey. Um, thanks.” He glanced up from the wrist he was wrapping in white tape. “I didn’t do anything.” “Yeah, you did.” He drew in a deep breath. “What’s going on here anyway?” Annie shrugged. “I don’t know. New blood? They’re tired of seeing my face on air every event?” Luke’s brows knit together in an unhappy-looking line above his eyes. “That’s bull.” He rose and stood towering above her. “Look, I’ve got to get my head back in the game.” “I know. I’m so sorry I’m bothering you. It was bad enough what she did, but I know better. Anyway, I’ll go.” She began backing up as Luke reached out and grabbed her elbow. Her heart fluttered every time he touched her. She couldn’t control it. “No. That wasn’t what I was getting at. I want to talk to you privately. I just can’t do it now. Can I catch up with you later?” He looked so serious. She swallowed hard, nerves and excitement warring inside her. “Okay. I’ll be around.” Annie walked through the hall and out into the arena, realizing she had much to deal with before that time with Luke came anyway. Such as facing her boss and Chelsea. Oh yeah, and she had an event to broadcast somewhere in the middle there too. While digging inside her pocket to fish out her earpiece, Annie headed for her cameraman. Carl glanced up as she neared. “Annie. What the hell happened?” Uh oh. “Um, why?” “Chelsea is crying and the boss is yelling that now you have to interview Luke before he gets on his first bull or we’re both in big trouble. The station is on a commercial break right now.” Huh. She’d missed quite a bit while she’d been incommunicado with her earpiece stashed peacefully in her pocket. “All right. Well come on then. Luke’s right in back getting ready.” As she turned to lead the way, she couldn’t help but smile. Score one for the old crew. She hadn’t won the war, but this battle went to her. Though at what cost? Joe was probably going to be seriously pissed she’d made Chelsea cry. Oh well. She’d deal with that later. Annie hovered just inside the entrance to the riders’ dressing room. “Luke? Got a second for an interview?” He glanced up from tying his rope onto one of the metal bars on the wall, one brow cocked. “For you?” She smiled. “Yes, sir. For little old me.” “Then of course I’d be happy to.” Luke nodded. “You ready now?” “In just a minute. As soon as we come back from commercial break.”
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“All right. I’ll be here.” As Luke started to prepare his bull rope, Annie waited for the cue from her boss. When Joe’s voice came through her earpiece, it was with a bit more formality than usual. In her current victorious mood, she imagined he was treating her with a little more respect after what Luke had done by refusing to let the rookie reporter interview him. Of course, with Blondie breathing down her neck and trying to get her job, it could be that Joe was waiting for Annie to finish the interview with Luke before he fired her. At this point, she couldn’t care. Luke was back and he wanted to talk to her alone. The interview went like clockwork, as it should given both of their experience as veterans of their craft, then it was done. “And we’re off.” Carl lowered the camera from his shoulder and Annie lowered the hand mic she’d used. “Thanks, Luke. I really appreciate it.” He waved off her thanks with one hand. “Anytime and you know it.” She believed that. “Well thanks anyway. I better let you finish getting ready. See you later.” “You will.” He seemed to give the words extra special emphasis before he went back to his preparations. Annie walked down the hallway and out into the arena with a spring in her step she hadn’t felt in months…until she glanced up and tripped to a stop. There in the VIP seating was Chris, and seated next to him was none other than Lilly. To Annie’s horror, Lilly caught her gaze. The girl said something to her brother and then practically bounced down the stairs, headed right in Annie’s direction. Annie tried to make a break for it, but was waylaid by a group of fans on a behind-the-chutes tour blocking her way. By the time they’d cleared a path, Lilly was beside her. “Annie. Hi. I haven’t seen you since the funeral.” Plastering on her best fake on-air smile, Annie steeled herself and turned toward Lilly. “You’re right. How are you, Lilly?” “Good. Happy to be here. You know, have to be here to support my Luke.” My Luke. Acid churned inside Annie. “Of course.” Now it seemed quite apparent why Luke needed to talk to her. He needed to get Annie alone to break the news he’d gotten back together with Lilly. That was something he would do. Even if what they’d had together amounted to not much more than a one-night stand, at best a fling between friends, Luke was the type to want to set things right with her. Well, she would save him the trouble of having to tell her, and save herself the heartache of having to hear it in the process.
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“So how have you been?” Lilly smiled sweetly and just as fakely as Annie. “I’ve been good.” Annie quickly touched her earpiece. It was silent, but Lilly didn’t know that. She feigned a grimace. “Lilly, I’d love to talk more but my boss needs me.” “Oh, sure. You go on. We’ll have lots of time to catch up. I plan on being at a lot of Luke’s events now that things are back to normal. Nice talking to you.” “Yeah. Nice talking to you too.” Annie longed to slap the self-satisfied look off Lilly’s face. Instead, she headed for the ladies room where she may or may not have to vomit.
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Chapter Fifteen
“Have you seen Annie?” “You know what? I haven’t seen her in a while.” Mustang glanced around them before grinning at Luke. “You looking for her?” Mustang and his damn insinuations. “Yup, that’s why I asked.” With that, Luke strode away before Mustang could pry any further into his personal life. That man’s girl needed to finish up with her degree already. Maybe then Mustang would be busy enough with her he wouldn’t need to be butting into other people’s love lives. Glancing around the immediate area behind the chutes, Luke searched the sea of faces but didn’t find the one he was looking for. The only one he really wanted to see. “Hey, we’re gonna be taking off.” Chris’s voice behind him had Luke turning around. “I’d like to get home before it gets too late.” “Understood. You guys really didn’t have to drive out here for this. I mean, it’s hours on the road for you.” “Don’t be silly. I wanted to support you on your first day back. You know, in case you totally sucked.” Chris grinned while Lilly smacked her brother in the arm. “Stop. Luke did great tonight.” Luke smiled at the siblings fighting as usual. “Thanks, Lilly.” “Well, it’s true. I haven’t seen you ride that well in years.” Luke watched her face closely, not sure if she was really happy for him, or just trying to convince him she could be a good supportive bull rider’s girlfriend so he’d agree to giving them another shot together. It didn’t matter either way, because Luke’s mind was made up. The moment he found Annie, if she was still interested, he’d be making his intentions known with her. “Well, thanks again. Seriously. Having you guys here for support meant a lot.” “My parents—your mom too—would have been here with us if there wasn’t that big thing going on at the church this weekend. I know Daddy was really sorry to miss it.” Luke nodded. “That’s nice to hear. Okay, so you guys drive safely and call me when you get home.” Chris frowned and glanced down at his watch. “Luke, it’s going to be late. You’ll be sleeping by then.”
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With any luck, Luke wouldn’t be sleeping at all, but he would be in bed. With Annie. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Send me a text then, so I know you’re safe. I’ll check my phone when I wake up.” “You got it.” Chris encompassed Luke in a bear hug, slapping him on the back in the process. “It was good to see you riding again, partner.” “It was good to be riding again.” And it was all thanks to the man who was now officially Luke’s business partner. “Goodbye, Luke.” Lilly stepped into the space her brother had vacated. Luke returned her hug and let her kiss him on the cheek. “Bye, Lilly.” There was no doubt in his mind, the spark was gone and nothing but affection remained. As he saw the hope in her eyes, he wished for her sake that one day she’d feel that too. The two turned to go but Chris turned back before he’d taken two steps. “I’ll call you about that new breeding mare I’m bringing in.” Luke smiled. He’d never seen his friend so excited. It was good. “You do that.” Once they were gone, his single goal was to find Annie. He spotted her cameraman and decided that was the best place to start his renewed search. “Carl!” “Hey, Luke. Great ride tonight, man.” “Yeah, thanks. Hey, have you seen Annie? I need to talk to her.” Luke needed so much more but talking was a good start. They could get to the rest over the next few days, or years. “Um, actually it was really weird. She ran out of here the moment we were done shooting. She usually hangs out for a while. You know, talking to the guys or brainstorming ideas for the next show with the boss, or at least looking to grab a bite to eat, but not today. Huh. I wonder…” “Wonder what?” Luke frowned. “There’s that new girl they brought in. I know Annie’s a little upset about that, but Chelsea wasn’t even around when Annie took off.” “All right, well thanks. Oh, wait, do you know which hotel she’s in?” “Yup, same one as me. Right across the street actually. First floor. I’m in room 110 and she’s in 112 at the Harper Inn and Suites.” “That’s where I am too. Room 112 you said?” Carl nodded. “Perfect. Thanks.” That was exactly what Luke needed to know. He’d find Annie and make her forget all about this Chelsea chick…and work and everything else in the world. He’d be perfectly happy if they could lock themselves up in her room and hash out everything that had happened since the last time he’d seen her. Then he’d spend all night making it up to her. He’d been an ass not calling her over all those months he’d been retired. He wouldn’t make that mistake again. But tonight required a live conversation, not a
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phone call. Sure, if he got desperate and couldn’t find her, he’d resort to the phone, but armed with her room number, he wouldn’t need it. As Luke nearly sprinted across the lanes of traffic to get to the hotel, he pushed aside the notion that perhaps Annie wasn’t in that room alone. He hadn’t heard any rumors of her dating someone. Not even a whisper. And she certainly wasn’t the type to pick up one of the riders for a night. Luke knew he had been the exception, and what they’d had would have been way more than one night if his father hadn’t died. Even that thought, the memory of that horrible day when Chris had showed up and broken the news to him, didn’t put a damper on Luke’s enthusiasm. It was time to get on with living. Riding again had been step one. Making things right with Annie was the only unfinished business left. Luke didn’t like unfinished business. His heart began to pound as he stood in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close. Her room was only one floor above the lobby. He wondered if he should have taken the stairs, then finally the doors slid shut at such a lethargic speed he prayed he would make it that one floor. If he got trapped in this damn thing and couldn’t get to Annie, he’d absolutely lose his mind. Hell, he’d pry the doors open bare handed if he had to. As the doors finally swooshed open on Annie’s floor, he realized he was holding his breath. What if she wasn’t in her room? Maybe she’d gone to grab something to eat. All the worry made him pause a beat to absorb the information on the signs on the wall in front of him. Room 100 through 109 were to the left, room 110 through 120 to the right. He followed the sign that led to room 112 where hopefully Annie would be. Then, there it was. The tiny plaque to the right of the door announcing he had arrived. Luke swallowed away his nerves and felt them stick on the lump in his throat as he knocked. She didn’t answer right away and in his impatience, he brought his fist up to the door to try again just as he heard the locks slide. Then he was face-to-face with Annie. It took Luke a second to realize she looked less than thrilled to see him standing at her door. “Um, hey. I’m sorry. Is it too late to just show up at your door like this?” She drew in a deep breath, then shook her head. “No. It’s okay. Come on in.” Okay. This was not the reception he was expecting. He moved into the room and she closed the door behind him. “Sit down.” She settled on the very edge of the sofa and then motioned to the chair facing her. He ignored the chair and saw the surprise on her face as he sat next to her on the sofa. This was strange. She’d been fine during the interview. Even fine when the camera was off and they’d just been talking. “I’m sorry to just show up.”
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Annie shook her head. “No, it’s fine. I suppose I can’t avoid this conversation forever. Go on. You wanted to talk. Let’s talk.” His brows rose. “You’re upset. I can see that. If you want to talk about Courtney or Chelsea or whatever her name is, we can. Believe me, I know what it’s like to see the younger guys vying for my position in the ranks. I can only imagine how you feel with the network bringing her in and giving her your interviews.” She smiled but it somehow looked sad as she shook her head. “Luke, the network is either going to replace me with Chelsea or not. I don’t think there is really a whole lot I can do about that. I’ll just keep doing my job as best I can and whatever happens, happens. That’s pretty much how I have to approach this thing with us too.” At least she’d said “us”. That made him feel moderately better that there was even an “us”. “Annie.” He raised his hand and cupped the side of her face. She didn’t pull away, which he chose to read as a good thing. Luke leaned in. “While I was away—” She turned her head, looking off into the room rather than at him. He’d hurt her by not calling all those months. He could see that and he didn’t blame her one little bit for being upset. He gently turned her face back to him. “Damn, I’ve missed you, Annie. I knew I had but it wasn’t until I saw you face-to-face that I realized exactly how much.” There were tears in her eyes when she said, “Luke, don’t…” Luke wasn’t the kind of man who relied on his words. Never had been. He was much better showing his feelings. He’d show Annie how he felt. How sorry he was. How much he needed her. Wanted her. She watched him as he brought his head nearer, until they were just a breath apart. Then she sighed, a shaky, breathy release. He took that as her giving in to him. Luke didn’t wait any longer to do what he’d come here to do. He closed the small remaining distance and tasted those lips he’d dreamed about every night. He’d tried to not think of her while he’d been away. It had hurt too much knowing they’d always be apart. All that pent-up frustration and feeling came pouring out now into that kiss. She drew in a ragged breath and then her hands were in his hair. As he claimed her mouth, he toppled them both over until she was beneath him on the tiny sofa. His hands roamed her body, remembering every curve and valley of her shape. He slid his fingers beneath her shirt and felt the warmth of her skin. He felt her trembling beneath him, with wanting him, he hoped. It had been too long. Far too long for him without a woman, but any woman wouldn’t have done. Only Annie. He pulled her shirt over her head, then popped one breast out of her bra. With a groan he couldn’t control, he drew that rosy peak into his mouth. Her heart pounded against his fingertips, raising his pulse rate to match. Her breathing came in gasps as he exposed the other breast and treated it to the same attention as the first.
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“Annie.” He raised his head enough so she could hear him. “I need you.” He ran a wet trail up to her neck, all the way to her earlobe. He felt her pulse throb beneath his lips. Meanwhile, he was throbbing himself inside his jeans. He wasn’t going to last long. Not the first time at least. That was okay. If Annie let him, he’d spend all night making it up to her, starting now. He rose on one knee, sad to have to break any contact with her warm, soft body. It wouldn’t be for long though. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed and laid her down on the covers. Her chest rose and fell as he worked on the button of her jeans. He lowered the zipper and wiggled them down the curves of her hips, exposing the scrap of lace that was her panties. Luke fought the jealous thought that some other guy may have been the one seeing this beautiful sight instead of him had his friends and mother not come up with that crazy intervention and convinced him to come back. How he’d allowed himself to write off this part of his life, Annie being part of that life, was beyond him. But now was not the time for regrets. Now was the time to undo whatever damage he’d done between them, and most importantly, to make up for lost time. She watched him as he kneeled on the mattress between her legs. Her chest rose with a deep, ragged breath as he slid her panties slowly down her bare skin. Then, when he lowered his head between her thighs, he watched her brow furrow in a frown as her eyelids drifted shut. He didn’t waste any time. He used both hands and mouth. Annie might still be fighting her feelings for him—she was probably still hurt and upset—but she didn’t stop him as he plunged his tongue between her folds. She wasn’t even pretending to fight any longer when her hips rose off the bed and she cried out. She came hard and sweet against his mouth and it was nearly his undoing. When she finally settled down, dissolving into not much more than a soft whimper delivered amidst fast breathing, Luke stood and immediately began shucking his boots and clothes. He grabbed the condom he’d been cocky enough to stick in his pocket in anticipation of their reconciliation and crawled between Annie’s legs. He was eyelevel with her when he plunged inside her wet heat. She squeezed her eyes shut but he continued to watch her as emotions sped across her face. He watched until the pleasure of finally being surrounded by Annie once again was too much and he couldn’t keep his own eyes open. Then he did what he had wanted to do for so long. He pushed all thoughts out of his mind and simply made love to Annie. Luke came with an intensity he hadn’t felt in a very long time. All the feelings he’d kept bottled up inside during that time he’d spent at home pretending he was okay seemed to pour out of him. He ended with an explosive shudder and then collapsed on top of Annie, only to feel her shaking beneath him. Rising on one elbow, he looked down and found her crying. Perhaps he’d put a little too much into his passion. “Oh my God, Annie. Did I hurt you?”
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Annie shook her head, but the tears kept flowing. She pushed him off and he let her. She scrambled off the bed and ran for the bathroom. Luke jumped up himself, flung the used condom in the trashcan and pulled on his underwear. The bathroom door was closed so he had to speak through it. “Annie? What’s wrong?” “Nothing.” Nothing? He knew something when he saw it, and this was definitely something. Luke’s mind began to do crazy things to him. Maybe she did have a boyfriend now. He could be back home where she lived. She might have met him over the break. Luke scrubbed a hand over his face. Thinking back, he realized somewhere in there she’d said the word “don’t”, but he’d ignored it and kissed her anyway. He should have stopped. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” He leaned his head against the door and spoke probably too softly for her to hear him, but it was all he could manage. Losing Annie to another man would be hard enough. Losing her after he’d made her cry—well he’d never be able to forgive himself for that, or forget her tears. He heard the doorknob rattle and took a step back, relieved she’d at least come out so they could talk. She’d put on a robe. It was so big and fluffy it made her seem small inside. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and hold her and make it all better. She glanced up at him with eyes red from crying. She shook her head. “Luke, we can’t let this happen again.” “Okay.” Defeated, Luke dropped his chin toward his chest. “I understand.” “Do you? Do you know how it makes me feel knowing you’re cheating on Lilly with me. I was weak and stupid this time but I can’t do it again.” He had been about to agree with her, that they couldn’t continue a physical relationship if she was involved with someone at home, when the name Lilly stood out from among the rest of what she’d said. “Wait, what? What about Lilly?” “I saw her in the VIP seats tonight.” Luke nodded. “Yeah, she and Chris came to support me.” “She came down to talk to me. Lilly said she’d be there to support you at a lot of events from now on.” The more he thought about it, the more it started to make sense. Given the evidence, it’s no wonder Annie had made the assumption. The way Lilly had acted so possessively at the funeral. The way he’d cut off all contact with Annie while he was away. And now, tonight, seeing her there in the stands, the way she so often had been when they were dating. Then Lilly saying that she’d be attending a lot of events. Annie had disappeared tonight and tried to avoid talking to him after the final ride because she’d thought he was back with Lilly. He could clear that up right now. “Lilly and I are not together, Annie. I swear to you on my father’s soul.”
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A frown crinkled her brow. “You’re not?” “No, not at all. Not one little bit.” A smile crossed Luke’s mouth. He couldn’t help it. Compared to the other scenario in his head where he’d lost her forever, this little misunderstanding was almost comical. This he could fix. He took a step closer to her. “I’m not going to lie to you, Lilly would like for she and I to be together. We talked and I told her it was over as far as I was concerned. We aren’t right for each other. Hell, we may never have been, I just didn’t know it at the time. But I know it now, and that’s because I’ve felt what it’s like to be with you.” “Really?” She visibly crumbled as fresh tears started to flow. He reached up and brushed them away. “Really. I wanted to talk to you tonight to see if you’d forgive me. I apologize for disappearing out of your life. I just…it was a really tough time for me. My dad. Retiring.” “I understand.” She wiped her eyes and then laughed. “I thought you wanted to talk to me to break it to me you’d gotten back together with Lilly. I was hiding from you so you couldn’t tell me.” “I’m really happy you cared whether I was back with her or not. I was a little worried that too much time had passed. Or that you’d found someone else.” He smiled, a little choked up himself. She shook her head. “No. I wasn’t even looking.” “Good.” Selfish as that sounded, he couldn’t stand the thought of Annie with anyone else. “I’m sorry I cried through our…ah…reunion.” She glanced tearfully at the bed. “Me too. It made me feel pretty shitty, making you cry during our reunion.” Luke laughed. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.” She sniffled once but looked far happier than before, in spite of the streaks of dried tears staining her cheeks. “I have an idea how you can.” Luke cupped her face and kissed the remnants of the tears away. He pulled her close and realized his renewed erection had made itself known through his boxer briefs. She’d have no trouble guessing what he had in mind, and hopefully she wouldn’t mind. “And I have a lot of making up to do too.” “Lucky for us we have lots of time for all that making up.” She caught his lips for a quick kiss while pressing against him. He pulled back enough to stare down at her. “This is much more than just sex, you know. I want more.” “You do?” Her eyes got glassy again. “Yeah. Way more.” Luke watched her bite her lip. “What is it?” She shrugged. “I’m just not sure why, when you can have anyone you want, you want me.” That shocked him. She was smart, beautiful, funny, sexy as hell. How could she not know that? He’d gladly spend whatever time it took to convince her she was too good for him.
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Luke grabbed her chin in his thumb and forefinger and kissed one corner of her mouth. “It’s the coverage you put together for the station to honor my father.” He brushed the other corner of her mouth with his lips. “It’s your riding for hours and hours in that trailer with Mustang and Slade just to get to the funeral to be there for me.” He moved on to her nose and dropped a kiss on the tip. “It’s how you think I’m the best, most consistent and well-liked rider this sport has ever seen and got so angry the new girl didn’t know who I was.” “I need to control my temper a little better I guess or I’ll be looking for a new job sooner rather than later.” Her gaze lowered. “Don’t you dare change even one little bit. I like you just the way you are.” Luke more than liked her. He hoped she’d seen that in his eyes. Annie wiped away new tears. “I’m sorry.” Luke laughed. “I’d really like to make love to you, but I’m not going to do it with you still crying.” “These are tears of happiness. They don’t count.” She dried her face with the sleeve of the robe. “They don’t, huh?” “Nope.” Her gaze met his. “Take me to bed, Luke Carpenter.” “Who am I to deny a lady’s wishes?” He scooped her up in his arms, robe and all, hoping she had lots more wishes for him to fill tonight.
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Chapter Sixteen
Still trying to catch her breath from the last bout with Luke, Annie turned her head on the pillow so she could see his face better. The sun filtering through the hotel room curtains lit his face enough so she could see the dark shadows beneath his eyes. They’d been up much too late last night and far too early this morning, but she couldn’t complain about the reason. She did worry he wouldn’t be well rested for his ride today though. She’d have to make sure he took a nap. Preferably in her bed so she could watch him sleep. Man, she had it bad. “Luke? Can I ask you something?” Next to her, and sounding as breathless as she was, Luke laughed. “If it’s what I hope it is, then I’m sorry to inform you I’m going to need a few more minutes to recover. You could probably help things along though, if you are willing.” He waggled his eyebrows and glanced down as he made his limp cock jump. Annie rolled her eyes. The truth was she’d gladly do that and more, but not right now. “Luke. This is a serious question.” He grimaced and pushed himself up to lean against the headboard. “Uh oh. Serious? Okay. I’m ready. What is it?” She readjusted her own pillows so she could sit up and talk face-to-face. “Did you refuse to do the interview with Chelsea because you and I had slept together?” “You and I do lots of things together, Annie, but sleep has rarely been among them.” She slapped at his arm as he grinned. He was in a hell of a mood this morning. Relaxed, playful. She supposed that’s what many, many orgasms could do to a man. To a woman too. Annie would get to enjoying her own euphoria once this one issue that had been nagging her all night was cleared up. “You know what I mean.” Finally, Luke looked like he was ready to take her question seriously. “Annie, I refused the interview with her because you deserved it more than she did.” “Why?” “Why? Not because of what’s happening between us. It’s because you know me. You knew my dad. You put together that piece about him with a sensitivity that I don’t think anyone else at the network could have done. And you’re right, the damn girl knows nothing about my career.” She nodded, satisfied. “Okay. Thank you.”
Hooked
He let out a huff of breath. “Did you really think otherwise?” “No. I guess not.” “Good, because I wouldn’t play favorites because of this.” He glanced down at her naked body, mostly exposed by the sheet that had tangled around their feet during their last activities. With a groan, Luke ran a hand down Annie’s face, between her breasts, all the way to rest on her stomach. He laughed. “Okay, actually I might.” Annie couldn’t help but smile, then Luke became serious again. “Can I ask you a question?” Expecting something sexual, Annie answered warily. “Okay.” “You ever think about having kids?” Luke’s gaze traveled from where it had rested on his hand upon her stomach, up to her face. He was serious and she was taken totally by surprise. “Um, yeah.” “I mean, I know your career is important to you. I was just wondering if you could ever see yourself settling down to have a family.” Wow, if he was asking if she’d settle down with him, then her answer would be a resounding yes. Of course, that would depend on her ability to talk at all. Annie swallowed hard. “Yeah. I think I can.” Especially now with Chelsea breathing down her neck. And if Chelsea didn’t work out because the network finally figured out she didn’t have the skills, there would be another girl waiting to replace her. “Good.” Luke’s hand remained on her stomach, which fluttered from the touch and the implications she’d been bold enough to read into his words. His eyes, however, stayed focused on her face as he let out a short laugh. “Huh. You wanna know what’s funny?” “Yes.” At that moment, Annie wanted that more than anything else on earth. Everything Luke said to her seemed like the most important thing on earth right now. She had a feeling this was what love felt like, but she didn’t want to even think that word yet. Not after coming off all that pain of thinking he was with Lilly. “In all the years we dated, Lilly and I never talked about kids.” Wow. He’d asked her and not Lilly? That knocked Annie nearly speechless as she tried to absorb the deeper meaning of that. She tried to come up with something to say. Something other than blurting out, I want to have your babies. “I guess you didn’t have to ask her about if she was going to choose kids or her career since she wasn’t flying around the world for a job the way I am.” “No, she didn’t go farther than the local shopping center for a job, but that wasn’t it. I think I never asked because even when we were together, I never saw myself having kids with her.” Annie swallowed hard and tried to make her voice sound normal and not as if a lump had lodged itself firmly in her throat. “Oh.”
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Luke sat up and grinned. “You wanna join me for a shower? I have some ideas on how we can use that massaging showerhead. And I’m thinking that really slippery liquid body wash could be useful too.” The very serious Luke had disappeared and the happy-go-lucky one had resurfaced. That was fine with her. He’d given her plenty to ponder…later. Her gaze dropped down his body, taking in his firm pecs, the lean abs, and finally landing lower. “That sounds good to me.” “Good.” Luke rose from the bed and extended a hand to Annie. “Oh, and don’t let me forget to go and ride later.” She laughed. “As if you would forget there’s an event today. Are you kidding?” He pulled her up and close to him, their naked bodies pressed together. “While I’m with you? Yeah, I could definitely forget.” Bull riders lived and breathed for these events, yet Luke was saying that right here and right now, being with her was the only thing on his mind. Her heart gave a flutter at what was probably one of the nicest compliments she’d ever received. “Then I better make sure to remind you.” “You do that. Later. Much later.” With a devilish grin, Luke scooped her up and carried her toward the bathroom. Annie decided she better remember to remind herself as well, because Luke sure made it hard for a girl to think.
“Luke Carpenter in the chute now on True Grit, a bull out of C&C Cattle Company. You know, JW, I had my doubts about Luke’s comeback after his being totally out of the sport for so many months, but he did great yesterday on his first bull back in competition.” “I agree, Jim. But if the viewers saw yesterday’s broadcast and our own Annie Grant’s interview with Luke about what he did to prepare for his return, they know that once he made the decision, he got on as many practice bulls as he could before yesterday’s ride.” Though it was hard to concentrate on anything except Luke in the chute, Annie listened to the banter between the two guys in the booth through her earpiece. Her ears perked up when she heard her own name mentioned but her eyes remained focused on Luke. He wiggled his hips from side to side, trying to settle himself on the bull, but all Annie could think of was exactly how well his hips had moved in the shower that morning when she’d wrapped her legs around them as he braced her against the wall of the stall. She tried to yank her thoughts back to the present, but not before she was hit with the image of exactly how he’d used both the massaging showerhead and the slippery bath gel on her in wonderful and creative ways just as he’d promised. The gate swung open and Annie’s attention snapped to the action. True Grit was a big bull, but Luke was considered on the tall side for a bull rider, so they were a good fit. In this sport, height could be a disadvantage, particularly if you drew a small bull.
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The animal was new to the circuit but he bucked impressively, keeping the power and height in his kicks consistent, even after he settled into a spin. True Grit would surely be scored as well as any champion bull if Annie was any judge of his performance. And after all these years, she was pretty good at predicting these kinds of things by now. Would Chelsea be able to do that? Doubtful. Then again, maybe it didn’t matter to the network. There were judges to determine the scores. Who needed a reporter who could do that? The bull and rider moved toward the edge of the arena and Annie’s gaze caught on Chelsea, too busy flirting with one of the rookies to bother watching the ride. With a shake of her head, Annie turned back just in time to see Luke release his wrap as the buzzer sounded, then leap off the bull. It had looked like a great ride, even a good dismount, but Luke’s leg buckled beneath him as he hit the dirt and he crumpled to the ground. A cry caught in her throat as Annie watched the bull turn back toward him, bucking and spinning right on top of where Luke lay. The deadly hooves narrowly missed hitting him as he pulled himself into a tight ball and shielded his head with his arms. The bull fighters were there immediately, distracting the animal and drawing him away from Luke, who finally rose from the ground. He hobbled one step, then hopped on one leg toward the safety of the rails. It was obvious to Annie and everyone else watching he was hurt. The sports-medicine team ran to him and after a short discussion she couldn’t hear, supported him as he limped out of the arena with one man bracing him on each side. “Annie! Get over there and see what’s wrong.” Joe startled Annie so much that she jumped. She didn’t need Joe’s loud and insistent voice in her ear telling her that. Annie was already jogging toward the sports-medicine room to see Luke. She did note with a small amount of satisfaction that Joe was yelling at her to get in there, not Chelsea. Maybe experience counted for something to this network after all. Either that, or he’d learned his lesson about trying to force the new girl down the throats of a veteran rider like Luke, who clearly preferred working with her. Carl, encumbered by his equipment, lagged slightly. “What do you think happened? It looked like a great ride.” She heard his question coming from behind her. Without slowing, Annie called the answer over her shoulder. “It looked like his knee gave out when he jumped off. Probably his ACL.” Annie could try and talk about Luke’s injury in objective terms. She could pretty much diagnose what was wrong with the riders herself from her years of experience reporting on this sport. But unlike all the other riders’ injuries she’d reported on, she was feeling far from objective on the inside. All sorts of thoughts sped through her brain. He was obviously in pain, and she couldn’t bear knowing that. On top of that, this injury might take him out of competition for months, just when she’d gotten him back. Selfish as it was, Annie hated the thought of being separated from him again.
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Of course, like many riders, Luke might decide to continue to ride injured, and not take the time off to rehab or get reconstructive surgery. That was a whole other issue because even though riders competed with injuries all the time, this was her rider. It would be much different watching Luke in pain. She entered the medical room to find Luke already seated on one of the examining tables, stripped of his boots, chaps and jeans. Luckily for the station, and her own sanity, the hem of his shirt hung long enough to hide his underwear and the outline of anything beneath it that shouldn’t be shown on TV or to many people wandering around back here. Carl slung the camera onto his shoulder, about to flip it on for a live feed to the control booth. Annie held up one hand. “Can we hold on for just a second?” He raised one brow, but nodded. “Sure.” She took one step closer but still stayed a good distance away. After all, to everyone except perhaps the meddling Mustang and Slade who knew more than they should, she was supposed to only be a reporter, not Luke’s girlfriend. “You okay?” It was obvious by the set of his jaw he was in pain and trying to hide it. “I’ll be fine.” He tipped his chin toward Carl. “Go on with your shot. It’s okay.” “You sure?” He nodded, gritting his teeth as the team of doctors prodded his knee. Annie gave Carl a nod and the red light on the camera came to life. As JW and Jim discussed the situation over the live feed of the sports-medicine team working on Luke, Annie wouldn’t have to talk. Eventually, when the doctors knew more she’d have to interview them, but that wouldn’t be for a little bit. That was good. She needed time to regain her composure. Though what she really needed was time alone with Luke to both comfort him and convince herself he’d be okay. Annie eventually got her wish. Before the short go, after the red light had gone dim and her interviews with both the head of sports medicine and Luke were over, she pulled out her earpiece and shoved it in her pocket. “Can we take five, Carl?” “Sure thing, Annie. I gotta hit the head anyway.” Thank goodness for Carl’s small bladder and love of soda. “Okay.” She waited for Carl to turn the corner, then she and Luke were alone for the moment in the dressing room. He was fully dressed again, sitting on the bench with his leg up. She leaned close and kept her voice low so anyone walking nearby wouldn’t hear her acting more like a girlfriend than a sports reporter. “Are you sure you want to ride in the final round?” “Why wouldn’t I?” He frowned. “Because you’re injured.” Annie glanced pointedly down at the knee with the brace on it. Knowing bull riders, she knew her statement sounded ridiculous to him. “The doc said I’m okay to ride, Annie.” He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m okay.”
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Deep down, Annie had hoped the doctor wouldn’t clear Luke to ride, but he had. This sport was dangerous enough as it was. Riding injured made it even more deadly. She sighed. It was also very likely that Luke wouldn’t agree to get his knee operated on or even take some time off from competition to rest it and let it heal. Not now anyway, when there were competitions every week and either option would mean missing months of the season which would take him out of being a contender for one of those all-soimportant top-ten spots in the rankings. “You heard the doctor. It’s torn. It can’t get any more torn. If I can’t do more damage and I can stand the pain, then why not keep riding?” Why were bull riders so stubborn? Annie sighed. “Luke, you should really just get it taken care of. Why won’t you consider it, please?” Luke’s expression turned serious. “Because if I can’t ride because I’m recuperating, I might fall so far behind I could get cut from the tour.” “I understand that. But you’re good. You’d work your way back up again fast.” She nodded, understanding but still not agreeing with his decision. Only the top riders could participate in this particular series of events. Riders in Luke’s situation had been sent down to lower divisions until they rose enough in the ranks to qualify them again. “It’s not just my rank, Annie. It’s us.” The expression in his eyes clearly showed his concern. “I’m afraid it will be the end of us if you’re traveling with the tour without me.” “What? You’re not going to take the time off you need because of me? You’re a fool, Luke Carpenter.” She shook her head. “Why?” “First of all, because I wouldn’t let it be the end of us. We’d make it work. Whether you were home recuperating or down in the touring pro division working your way back up, we’d work it out. Whatever it took. I’m too stubborn to fail. Especially at something as important to me as this is…as you are.” “Really?” She nodded. “Really. Now that I’ve got you in my life, you’re going to be hard pressed to get rid of me, Luke Carpenter. I hope you’re ready for that.” “Good, I’m glad. And I’m more than ready.” Luke reached up and pulled her head toward his. He planted a deep kiss on her. As usual, a kiss from Luke took her breath away. When he finally released her lips she struggled to retain her original train of thought amid the other things flying around her brain. The biggest issue was she and Luke were probably no longer a secret. Not after that kiss here in the not-so-private dressing room where people had probably walked by and seen them when she was too distracted to notice. At this point in her life, and her career, she was perfectly fine with them being outed. Which brought the other point back to her. “And second…”
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Luke smiled just inches from her face as his fingers massaged the back of her neck. “There’s a second?” He was too damn cute and he was hers. Annie was still having trouble wrapping her head around that. “Yes, there’s a second.” She forged forward before she forgot what she wanted to say, gave in and simply kissed him some more. “Second, do you really think I have any longer in my job than you do in yours? If it’s not Chelsea, it will be someone else. Maybe it’s time I start looking toward what I want to do after this job. It’s been a nice run, but all the travel is tough. I think I could find a pretty good reason to settle down in one place. You know, eventually if someone who was also settled in one place wanted me to be there settled near him.” His lips curved in a smile. “Oh, somebody definitely wants you to all right.” He glanced down at his knee. “So after the short go, you won’t mind a slightly wobbly bull rider who may have to wear a leg brace for a while, will you?” Annie narrowed her eyes at him. “You promise that you’ll do what your body tells you is right? You’ll take the time off if you need to and not risk getting hurt more?” The expression in his incredibly blue eyes that never failed to pull her into them looked sincere as they focused on hers. “I swear. I’ll take care of the knee over the long winter break—” “Unless you need to sooner.” She cocked a brow at him. He nodded. “Unless I need to sooner, then I’ll do it over the summer break.” She nodded back, well aware he was simply indulging her, but at least it was a start. “Fine. Then I have no problem with a slightly wobbly but absolutely gorgeous bull rider with a brace on his incredibly sexy leg.” Luke smiled. “That’s good to hear.” “In fact, you may need to be horizontal and have that leg up and resting in bed for who knows…days.” Annie liked that idea. Not only because it would mean he was resting, but also because she had every intention of being the one in bed with him. Of course, there might not be much resting going on. As Luke dipped his head lower toward hers, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Mustang paused in the doorway. With a smile, he tipped his hat to her and then kept walking past. He’d told her once no one knew what tomorrow, or even the next eight seconds, would bring. He was right. All Annie knew was that her tomorrow would have Luke in it. She directed her focus back to Luke. He closed in for another kiss and as his lips met hers, she was pretty sure the next eight seconds were going to be pretty damn nice too. That was all she needed to know.
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About the Author
As an award-winning author of contemporary erotic romance in genres including military, cowboy, ménage and paranormal, Cat Johnson uses her computer so much she wore the letters off the keyboard within a year. She is known for her creative marketing and research practices. Consequently, Cat owns an entire collection of camouflage shoes for book signings and a fair number of her consultants wear combat or cowboy boots for a living. In her real life, she’s been a marketing manager, professional harpist, bartender, tour guide, radio show host, Junior League president, sponsor of real live bull riding rodeo cowboys, wife and avid animal lover. To learn more about Cat, please visit www.catjohnson.net. Send an email to Cat at
[email protected], friend her on Myspace at www.myspace.com/authorcatjohnson or follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cat_johnson.
Look for these titles by Cat Johnson
Now Available: Red, Hot & Blue Trey Jack Jimmy Jared Rough Stock Studs in Spurs Unridden Bucked Ride Hooked
What happens in Vegas…sometimes follows you home.
Ride © 2010 Cat Johnson Studs in Spurs, Book 3 Pro bull rider Chase Reese knew things move faster than an eight-second ride in Las Vegas. He just never expected to be driving home with a national championship under his belt and a wedding band on his left hand with no clue how it got there. Yet he can’t complain about the stripper bride beside him. From the moment his buddies bought him a lap dance from her, her trembles told him there was more to her than stiletto heels. Leesa Santiago has met the perfect guy. Her timing couldn’t be worse though. If it was just their explosive sex, she could walk away. But from the moment her lap dance brought her this close to his baby blues, she was hooked. She can’t lie that she couldn’t be happier to bear his name—or guiltier that she’s using it and his Oklahoma farm to hide out from mob hit men. That’s before Chase’s family gets involved. And his determination to do the right thing pushes her to do the one thing that will keep him safe. Break his heart. Do cowboy boots mix with stripper heels? And can a love that started out on the wrong foot end up on the right one? That’s the risk you take waking up in Vegas. Warning: Contains one happy-ending lap dance that will make you squirm, some pretty hot sex between two strangers who also happen to be married to each other, and a huge surprise conclusion.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Ride: For the second time in two days, Chase woke and had to pause a moment to take inventory. He hated waking up feeling like this. Wondering things like where was he? Why did his mouth taste like stale beer and pepperoni? What happened last night? More importantly, who was this warm body pressed up against him? Holy crap! Eyes fully open and brain wide awake now, Chase glanced down at the woman by his side. It didn’t take long for him to recognize the fall of long brown hair splayed across his chest. He breathed a sigh of relief. Leesa. It all came rushing back to him. He hadn’t drunk that much last night. At least he didn’t think so. He remembered he hadn’t wanted to get too drunk in front of her. If things had gone anywhere with her, he wanted to be in top shape. More than that, he didn’t trust the other guys around her if he passed out. Chase had fallen asleep in his jeans and shirt, but he didn’t think he’d passed out from alcohol, just from exhaustion since he hadn’t been totally recovered from the night before. There was the memory of
Garret and Skeeter, pretty inebriated themselves, busting through the door, demanding the last two pieces of pizza and then not leaving until Chase did a shot of bourbon with them. Or was it more like two or three shots? Those two had talked Leesa’s ear off about the competition and how great they’d both ridden, ninety percent of which were exaggerations. She’d listened politely and then even laughed when Skeeter sang the song that had gotten him his nickname. Leesa had drank the two beers he’d brought her. Then Garret had handed her another cup when he came in for the pizza. That might have had bourbon and coke though, instead of beer in it. Damn. Chase should have paid closer attention to what he’d given her. Garret could have made it super strong for all Chase knew. He glanced at the sleeping figure next to him. No wonder she still slept so soundly. Poor thing. After Garret and Skeeter’s intrusion, once he’d finally convinced them to leave, they’d turned on the television for a bit. Leesa had looked tired and had drunk too much for him to let her leave, not that she was trying to go anywhere. She seemed perfectly content to sit in the room with him. Then what? He supposed they’d fallen asleep right there on the bed. The television was off now. Had he turned it off last night? Had she? He didn’t remember. He really had to quit drinking, because he was pretty tired of piecing together the night before the next morning. All he was sure of now was that there hadn’t been any more than those two kisses right before the pizza came. If there had been more, he would remember it without a doubt. Leesa still breathed with the steady, deep rhythm of sleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he slipped his body out from beneath her. She let out a little moan and rolled over, snuggling into the pillow. He regretted getting out of bed more than he could have imagined, but nature called. Maybe he could slip back into bed when he was done without waking her. That was a really nice idea. He touched his head. Not so bad. No headache. No hangover. Yeah, he was tired and a little groggy, but that could be the early hour. Judging by the grey light filtering through the curtains, the sun had barely risen. Then again, this was Las Vegas. That glow coming through the window could be caused by neon, not nature. Chase shook his head as he stumbled toward the bathroom. He’d be happy to get back to his family’s farm. This life was exciting. Travel. A different city every week. But he’d be happy to have his mama’s home cooking every day, and be able to cleanse his system of all the junk food and alcohol he’d indulged in lately. He’d work out daily at home and come back next season leaner and meaner and ready to win. That resolution made, Chase took care of what he had to in the bathroom, including a quick shower. He decided it was best to be clean in case Leesa woke up feeling amorous. You never know, and it didn’t hurt to be prepared. After brushing his teeth, Chase eased open the bathroom door.
She was still asleep. Good. He could creep back into bed and she’d never know he was gone. Even if they hadn’t had sex, he still liked waking up next to her. It felt nice. With one of the hotel’s white towels wrapped around his waist, Chase tiptoed into the room. They’d fallen asleep last night with the lights on, so he’d have no problem finding a pair of shorts in the clean clothes piled in his duffle bag. He would put those on instead of getting back into his jeans. Might as well be comfortable, and as far as access in case Leesa was a morning person, shorts were far better than jeans. Hell, a man could dream, couldn’t he? Chase found a pair of boxer shorts, but decided that was too intimate. He had a feeling she might not like waking up to find him in underwear in bed with her. It would make him seem damn presumptuous. In spite of the fact they’d done stuff together at the club, he wasn’t about to assume anything because of it. She was different here, off work. Besides, the strip club and that lap dance had been part of her job. Chase didn’t want to be a job. He wanted her to like him, to want him, to be with him because she wanted to, not because someone paid her to. He dug farther into the jumbled heap, looking for a pair of his workout shorts to wear. Unfortunately, with home just a day away, most of his clothes were dirty. He’d gotten lazy and figured he could bring his laundry there and wash it more easily than locate a laundromat. This was Vegas. There were far better ways to spend his time than to sit and watch his clothes spin in circles. One such way was snoring lightly in his bed. That thought made him smile, and he dug with more enthusiasm than before. Hell, if he had to, he’d grab a pair of Garret’s shorts. The guy had more clothes than most girls. Chase turned toward Garret’s side of the room intent on pilfering some shorts when something shiny caught his eye. On the dresser, right in front of the mirror and below the lamp sat two gold rings. “What the hell?” Chase moved closer and picked one up, then the second. One was tiny, the other large enough to fit on his finger. Then he spied the pieces of paper lying beneath the rings. He picked up the smaller one. It was a receipt for one wedding ceremony and two gold bands, paid for in cash with yesterday’s date. Swallowing hard, Chase picked up the larger, more decorative piece of paper. Across the top, in fancy printing was written Certificate of Marriage. Below that, under the word groom was—holy crap—his name printed in block letters.
When the going gets tough, the tough get busy. Real busy.
Breaking Brent © 2010 Niki Green Roped, Book 2 In Millbrook, Texas, there are cowboys. Then there are the Kiels, every girl’s idea of perfection in tight-fittin’ jeans. Peyton James is no different. Only she doesn’t want to admit it—because three years ago Brent Kiel ripped out her heart and handed it back in teeny little pieces. In a twist of fate Peyton wound up engaged to Brent’s best friend. The engagement might be off now, but no one needs to know, right? It keeps the questions at bay…and the temptation called Brent Kiel out of reach. Until the night he shows up at her family’s bar. The only reason Brent agrees to meet his brothers at Big Jack’s is that Peyton never darkens the door on a Friday night. Except tonight. Seeing her is a painful reminder of his mistake and what it cost him—and that no other woman’s lips or body will ever satisfy him like hers. Nothing—not the past, not her legendary temper, not even the rock on her finger—will keep this cowboy from getting what he wants… Warning: Seduction served by a brooding and standoffish cowboy who wants nothing more than his ladylove’s heart and soul—her body is just icing on the cake. Hot cowboy sex in a bar, in a barn, in a bed…just about anywhere.
Enjoy the following excerpt for Breaking Brent: What was his brother doing? Brent followed Peyton with his eyes the moment she took the hand his brother offered her, through her short conversation with Joss, up until the time she retrieved her cell phone from her purse. She didn’t look happy. Watching her walk from her place under the old willow tree to the seclusion of the barn and not following her instantly was hard. Why did she need the privacy the barn held? Was her fiancé calling to check on her? He doubted it. He knew Carter. Worrying and checking up was not one of the things he did. He bided his time and waited for his patience to pay off. Dodging as many people as he could, he walked on quick steps to the barn. Not wanting to attract attention to his destination, he made the occasional stop to talk to folks here and there. Shaking hands, slapping backs and nodding every so often allowed him to slip into the barn without anyone being the wiser.
He didn’t know what compelled him to follow her. Maybe it was the look of concern and worry written across her face. Maybe it was out of pure nosiness on his part. It could be that he couldn’t not follow her. Whatever it was, it led him to the barn, searching the dim interior for her. It didn’t take him long to find her. She stood at the back of the barn, resting against the double doors that had been anchored open. Even through the darkness he could make out her figure. She was breathtaking in the shadowed hall. She was great in any light, but Brent liked the moonlight the best. Most of his visions of her over the years had her cast in moonlight. He had plenty of memories of her in the fading shadows the sun created and moonlight—he wouldn’t mind making another. He struck the thought from his head, knowing that creating a memory with Peyton, a good one, was not on the agenda. He just wanted to check on her. She had looked upset. Or at least he thought she had. That was his reasoning for following her—to check on her. Nothing more. Altering his stride, he moved toward her without any noise. There was a fraction of space between his chest and her back before she knew he was even there. Spinning quickly, she turned and her wide eyes met his. He saw her breath hitch and then quicken. Was she frightened? Excited? Excited was good, but he figured mad as hell was a better gauge on her mood. “What do you want?” She cast the words his way and then gave him her back once more. Brent stopped the smile from crossing his face. Yep, mad as hell was a pretty good description. “You okay?” He saw her body tense as he spoke. He waited for her to reply and wasn’t surprised by what he got in return. “What do you care?” “I care.” His admission shocked him and the shock made his jaw set and his brow furrow. Brent wasn’t big on expressing his feelings—never had been. That was one of the problems they had always had between them. He couldn’t tell her how he felt and she needed to know. “Yeah, right.” She turned on her heel and faced him. The added inches of her shoes made her and Brent almost the same height—almost. She was still a few good inches shorter than him, but the shoes made it so that she didn’t have to crane her neck to look up at him. He didn’t know if he liked that or not. He could think of a million good reasons for her added height and the shoes she wore. All of them revolved around sex. Sex with her. Sex with her wearing those tall, strappy shoes and nothing else but his body. “You know I have tried to be nice to you. I have tried to be friends. I have tried everything within my power to make it so that we could still be cordial to one another. But you and your stubborn far-toooversized pride has prevented that. So tell me why, now, at this very minute, I should give a rat’s ass if you care if I’m upset or not? You didn’t care all those years ago. Why the hell do you care now?”
“Me and my stubborn pride?” Brent couldn’t believe it. They were picking up right where they’d left off. Fighting. They used to fight, every couple did, but those fights had usually ended in a much more desirable way—him on top of her, her on top of him, him behind her. “Yeah, you and your stubborn pride. Funny, I never thought your pride could be bigger than your ego, but I guess I was wrong.” “My ego?” “Yes, your ego. Is there an echo in here? Did I stutter when I spoke?” “Darlin’, I don’t think this conversation is on the path you want it to be. If I were you, I’d stop now before you get your tender feelings hurt.” He retreated just a step. He should have known better than to follow her. He should have stayed away. It would have been better for them both. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? My tender feelings?” With each step Brent took backwards, Peyton closed the distance. If she wanted a fight, he wasn’t in the mood to give her one. “You know what I’m talking about. I hurt your feelings that night, that last night, and instead of waiting around until things cooled off, you ran as fast and as hard as you could in a different direction. That way just happened to be Carter’s.” Brent could see her temper flaring. Her chest heaved, causing her breasts to do the same. Her nostrils flared as her breath became choppy and erratic. He wondered how long it would take her to retaliate. He didn’t have to wait long. “I’m sorry I didn’t dig a hole and bury myself away from the world long enough for you decide that you wanted to play with me again. I waited for things to cool off and for you to realize what an ass you were being. Did you want me to wait forever? Was that what your pride needed, a little pick-me-up?” She advanced on him. “You pushed me away,” she said as she planted her hands on his chest and pushed his body. It wasn’t a hard nudge, but he took a step back. “You pushed me out.” She shoved at his shoulders this time. “You shut me out.” She prodded again. “You shut me out of your life.” She pushed him again. “You shut me out of your mind.” She pushed and prodded him again and again. “And you shut me out of your heart.” Brent had had enough. He jerked the door of the tack room open and backed her into the small dark room. It smelt of leather, hay and Peyton—sugary and sweet. It was his turn to push. He pressed her against a wall and anchored her body there with his and gripped her wrists with one of his hands just in case she decided to sink her nails into any part of his body. His lips were a breath away from hers when he said in a low, husky voice, “I might have shut you out that night, but I never shut you out for good. You did that the minute you traded me in for my best friend.” He felt her breath hitch beneath her chest. The movement caused her breasts to rub against the material of his shirt and jacket. Even through the thick double layer of material, he felt her nipples harden and pucker. He felt the weight of her breasts
resting heavily on his chest. He felt everything. The swell of them, their firmness, their heat and their state of arousal. “Is that what bothers you so bad? That it was Carter who took your place? Or does it bother you that I didn’t shut my heart and my life down just because you didn’t want me anymore? I’m sorry I didn’t swear off all men and life in general until you decided you were ready to want me again.” She moved to break their connection, but he wouldn’t let her. She struggled a little more, but her struggles were lacking in determination. Brent wondered if she really wanted him to let her go or if she only thought she did. “I never stopped wanting you.” Her struggles stopped. Her breath halted as she brought her eyes to his, and Brent was sure she felt the reaction his body had to hers being pressed so close. “Yes, you did. You ignored me. You wouldn’t speak two words to me. You hated me. You still hate me.” Her breath hitched as the last few words crossed her lips, and Brent hated that he had ever made her feel that way. In an instant, he realized there was no time like the present to show her how differently he actually felt.
