Lucky in Love

by Kelly Elliott

  Tim’s eyes went wide. Ryan walked up next to my father and smiled as he rested his rifle on his shoulder. Tim took one look at Ryan and made his way back down the sidewalk to the waiting truck without saying another word. When I looked at the driver, I saw it was LouAnne’s boyfriend.

  Once the jerk was in the car and it was heading back down the driveaway, I let out a long breath.

  “I cannot believe he had the nerve to show up here,” I mumbled.

  “What made him come?” Ryan asked as he watched the truck drive farther down the gravel road.

  “Ran into LouAnne today. She must have told him she thought I was dating Truitt. He came to let me know how displeased he was by that.”

  My father and Ryan both laughed.

  “What a dick,” Ryan said, then looked at me. “What in the hell did you ever see in him, Saryn?”

  My eyes jerked back to the gravel road where the truck turned and was lost from my view. “He was a way out when I thought all I wanted was out.”

  I looked down at the ground before I met my father’s eyes. He nodded. “Grass isn’t always greener in the other pastures.”

  With a forced smile, I nodded. “Lesson learned, Daddy. Lesson learned.”

  “So, is it true? You and Truitt?” Ryan asked.

  “Does that bother you?” I asked.

  He laughed. “Hell no. Couldn’t think of a better guy for you, Saryn. He’s one of the good ones. If you don’t take into account that he’s clumsy as all hell. Good thing you’re a nurse, I guess.”

  “Seems to me he just has a bit of bad luck. I believe it was you who shot him in the foot with a nail gun.”

  Daddy turned to Ryan. “What!”

  Ryan waved it off. “It was nothing. I’m going to, ah…go see if Mom needs any help with anything.”

  My father looked back at me for an explanation.

  “I’ll tell you another day, Daddy. I’ve got dinner to cook and Lucy’s gonna be leaving soon, so I need to take advantage of her keeping Liliana occupied.”

  He pointed at me. “I’m going to hold you to it. No telling what those two boys were up to. Enjoy dinner and call me if that asshole comes back. Next time I’m going to grab Ryan’s gun and shoot the man in the ass as I’m chasing him off my property.”

  I tried not to smile, but a small giggle slipped through. “He won’t be back, he got what he needed to say off his chest.”

  “Hope you’re right. I’ll talk to you later, darlin’.”

  Once my father was headed back to the main house, I rushed into mine and started getting everything ready for dinner. Lucy walked into the kitchen and bumped my shoulder. “She’s watching a Disney movie and glued to it. I actually checked to see if she had fallen asleep sitting up with her eyes open and a smile on her face.”

  I chuckled. “What’s she watching?”

  “Frozen.”

  “Oh, one of her favorites.”

  “Do you have everything under control? It’s five, so I should probably slip on out before Truitt gets here.”

  I glanced around the kitchen. I had the noodles ready to go, the eggplant was in the oven, and a freshly made peach cobbler was sitting on the kitchen island. I’d overheard Truitt back in high school say peach cobbler was his ultimate dessert.

  Here’s hoping I made it like he likes it.

  “I think I’m good. Thank you so much.”

  We hugged and I checked on Liliana before walking Lucy out to her car. When we stepped out onto the porch, I heard a truck driving down the road. I held my breath until I saw that familiar Ford. I knew it belonged to the handsome cowboy I was having dinner with tonight. My stomach dipped in excitement.

  “Look at him, showing up early,” Lucy said, sliding into her car and waving goodbye to me. She waited for Truitt to park before she quickly started off down the drive. Maybe she thought I was nervous and would chase after her and beg her to stay. She’d be wrong on that. The moment Truitt stepped out of his truck and looked over at me, my body tingled. It really ought to be a crime for a man to look so gosh-darn handsome.

  My cheeks felt hot as I thought about all the things I wanted to learn about his body.

  Lord, Saryn, stop with all that silliness, girl.

  I watched Truitt walk around the passenger side of his truck. He opened the door and a silver lab came bounding out and running toward me.

  “Rus! No, heel!”

  The dog skidded to a stop, ran around in a few circles and waited for his human to walk up to him.

  “Wow! Did you train him or pay someone?” I called out.

  Truitt placed his hand over his heart as if I had wounded him. “I trained him! As if I’d need someone to train my own dog.”

  At those words, the dog took off in a run and headed straight toward me. At full speed. Tongue flying out his mouth and not a care in the world.

  “Oh, no,” I whispered.

  “Rus! Stay! Heel! Stop! No! Shit! Brace yourself, Saryn.”

  But before the silver lab could jump up and knock me down, he bounded up the steps, ran around me a few times and then sat. His tail thumped fast and hard, and his whole body seemed to vibrate with pure excitement. I bent down and quickly made a friend. By the way he licked all over me, I’d say we were best friends from the get-go.

  “Jesus, this dog is going to be the death of me. I think he just likes to give me heart failure,” Truitt mumbled as he held onto his side from the mad dash to try and stop his dog.

  I lifted my eyes and my breath caught in my throat. Truitt was looking down at me with a smile on this face. It was in that moment that I knew exactly what I wanted.

  Him.

  Desperately.

  Truitt

  SARYN WAS GAZING up at me with a look in her eyes that made my heart speed up and my cock twitch in my pants.

  Shit.

  “You keep looking at me like that, Saryn, and things are going to happen very quickly that will go against the slow rule we put into place.”

  Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, and her cheeks turned a soft shade of red.

  “He’s beautiful, Truitt. How old is he?”

  “Still a pup, six months old. He’s really good around kids, though, and I know he’ll love Liliana.”

  “I’m sure she’ll fall for him the moment she sees him. Let’s head inside.”

  I paused for a moment. “He can stay out here.”

  Saryn looked shocked. “What? No! He’s coming in. Come on, let’s introduce him to Liliana.”

  When she turned and walked into the house, I couldn’t help but take a quick look at her body. Damn. The woman was perfect in every single way. Those curves had a starring role in my dreams last night after sharing a few kisses with her.

  She glanced back over her shoulder just in time to see me checking her out like an asshole. I smiled sheepishly.

  When she winked at me, I nearly tripped.

  “Liliana! I have someone for you to meet!” Saryn called out as I put the leash on Rus in an attempt to keep him under control.

  We walked down a small hall and turned into the living room to find Liliana sitting on a white overstuffed cushion on the floor. Her eyes were focused on the TV.

  “I see she’s been a casualty of the Frozen movement.”

  Saryn turned to look at me. “You’ve seen Frozen.”

  I gave her my best wounded look for the second time in the last five minutes. “Excuse me, but Roger and I went and saw it the first day it came out.”

  Her jaw fell open slightly as she stared at me. Before she could say anything, I heard a little gasp, and then a scream of delight.

  Liliana came running over and dropped to her knees in front of Rus. I was stunned by how well-behaved my dog was being. He’d been around little kids before, but I knew he could feel Liliana’s excitement and he was nearly trembling with his own.

  “She loves dogs,” Saryn said as she knelt down next to Liliana. “Be nice to Rus, he’s still a puppy.”

 
; Liliana looked up at her mother and smiled. “Wus? His name is Wus?”

  I couldn’t help but smile as I looked down at Liliana. Her face was lit up like Christmas morning.

  The moment I leaned down and Liliana saw me, she gasped again and smiled the most brilliant smile I’d ever seen. My chest squeezed tight and I didn’t want to admit that I loved the way she looked at me with such happiness.

  “Twuitt!” She jumped up and ran over to me. When she threw her arms around me, there went another piece of my heart.

  Saryn was watching with her own grin on her face, but I also saw a look of concern in her eyes. It had to be hard for her to watch her daughter grow so attached to me and so quickly. A man who wasn’t her father. A man who sure as hell hoped he would be a part of their lives. I wasn’t a hundred-percent sure what Saryn wanted, but I hoped we were on the same page.

  When Liliana abandoned me for my dog again, I said, “You can give him a hug, just be gentle.”

  Little brown curls bounced as Liliana nodded and then very carefully gave Rus a hug. He thumped his tail in delight. Then Liliana reached for his leash in my hand. I gave it to her and watched as the two of them walked away and into the living room. Rus stayed on his best behavior as he walked next to his new best friend.

  “Why do I feel like I just lost my best friend?” I asked with a slight frown.

  Saryn chuckled next to me and asked, “Is that the same dog that just nearly plowed me down outside?”

  “I think so.”

  “Truitt, that is the sweetest thing I think I’ve ever seen. He’s such a good boy.”

  I smiled. “He’s on his best behavior this evening.”

  We both looked at each other and grinned. “Is his daddy also on his best behavior?” Saryn asked, a slight bit of flirtation in her voice.

  “He’s sure as heck trying to be, but someone is making it sort of hard.”

  Her cheeks blushed, and she reached up and kissed me quickly on the lips. “You go in with the kids, I’ll finish up dinner.”

  My heart felt like it skipped a couple beats when she mentioned kids. I hadn’t ever realized how much I wanted to settle down and have a child of my own until Saryn showed back up in my life with Liliana in tow. I wanted to be a part of their little family, and now it appeared my dog did, as well.

  As I walked into the living room, I came to a stop. Liliana was sitting in a giant plush beanbag with Rus snuggled up on it next to her, his head on her lap and her little hand playing with his ear while she watched Frozen. I had never seen anything so precious in my life. I was lost and I never wanted to be found.

  “You like Rus, Liliana?” I asked, sitting down next to the two of them.

  She nodded and gave him a kiss on the head. “I wuv him, Twuitt.”

  Okay. There went another piece of my heart. God, this girl was the cutest little thing. How in the hell would any father willingly give up this child?

  “I’m glad you love him, Liliana. It looks like he loves you, too.”

  She giggled, then reached for my hand. I gave it to her, thinking she was going to have me pet Rus. Instead, she turned back and started watching Frozen again, one hand on Rus, the other holding my hand.

  Oh, man. I am in so much trouble.

  Rus was soon snoring while Liliana held onto my hand tightly. She giggled at the movie every so often. There was no way I was moving an inch, even though my foot had started to fall asleep. I glanced around the living room and noticed it was decorated in a chic sort of rustic way. It reminded me of Evie’s store.

  “Who’s ready for dinner?” Saryn said from behind us. I turned to look at her and she froze in place, her eyes locked on Liliana’s hand in mine.

  Saryn looked at me, then over to Rus, then back at our hands again.

  “You ready to go eat, little one?” I asked Liliana, withdrawing my hand from hers and reaching over to unclasp Rus’s leash. He seemed calm enough around everyone that I felt like he could be trusted.

  “Dinner!” Liliana cried out as she jumped up and bounded out of the room, Rus following her.

  I stood and gave Saryn a slight smile. “I’m sorry if that was wrong to let her hold my hand.”

  “What?” she asked, looking a bit confused.

  “Holding her hand. I wasn’t really sure what to do when I realized what she was doing. I’m sorry if that was overstepping. I’m sorta in new territory here.”

  Saryn stared at me for a few moments before a stunning grin moved across her face. “I’m new in this area, too. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by her showing affection toward you. She adores you, Truitt. I think she might have developed a crush when you took her to Build-A-Bear.”

  I laughed. “Well, I hope her mother feels the same way.”

  Her eyes turned dark with desire, and I forced myself to swallow. To breathe. To keep my thoughts rated PG.

  “Yes, she does. I believe it’s moved on from a crush, though.”

  Breathe, Truitt. Breathe.

  “Slow,” I whispered, not wanting to, but knowing the way the air was crackling with heat that I needed to.

  She nodded, then reached for my hand. “Let’s go eat dinner.”

  We walked into the kitchen, and I took off my cowboy hat and placed it on the counter. I couldn’t help but laugh when I saw Liliana waiting there with Rus sitting next to her.

  The kitchen was larger than I had expected with the guest house being a bit on the smaller side. It had plenty of counter space and felt bigger because of the white painted cabinets and white granite countertops.

  “Truitt, would you mind helping Liliana into her booster seat, and I’ll get her plate going?” Saryn asked, giving me a wink as she squeezed my hand.

  “It would be my honor to help Princess Liliana into her seat.”

  Liliana giggled as she jumped up and down with her arms out for me to lift her up.

  “Twuitt, can I keep Wus?”

  After getting her all settled into her chair, I tapped her on the tip of her nose. “You like him, do you?”

  She nodded hard and fast. “He wuvs me, too. You said so.”

  “I see that!” I said with a slight chuckle.

  “Liliana, Rus is Truitt’s puppy. He would be so sad if he had to leave him somewhere else and not be able to take him home with him.”

  Liliana looked down at Rus, then back at me, her little eyes so sad I nearly offered up my own dog just to see her smile again.

  “I don’t wants him to be sad. Twuitt should stay here wif us, too.”

  “Oh, gosh,” I whispered as I nearly stumbled back.

  “Stay strong, Carter,” Saryn stated as she placed Liliana’s dinner in front of her.

  The only thing I could do was nod. It was clear that this little girl would have me wrapped around her finger and playing me like a puppet if I let her.

  “I made eggplant parmesan with homemade noodles.”

  That turned my attention from the beautiful daughter to the even more stunning mother. “You had me at eggplant parmesan.”

  Saryn smiled as she placed a plate in front of me and motioned for me to sit.

  “Rus is not bothering you, is he?” I asked, pointing to the dog sitting patiently by Liliana’s plate in hopes of something falling to the floor.

  “Nonsense. I love having him here. I’ve been thinking of getting a puppy for Liliana.”

  Liliana’s face erupted in delight. “Puppy! I want a Wus!”

  Both of us laughed at Liliana’s declaration.

  “Well, I am more than happy to let you borrow mine as much as you like. Of course, he is a package deal.”

  Saryn gave me a warm smile. “I like that package deal.”

  I winked at Liliana, causing her to blush, which I thought was precious.

  “Okay, I’m starving,” I said as I took a bite of food. The moment it hit my taste buds I let out a groan.

  With a look that said she was pleased, Saryn asked, “Good?”

  “My good
ness, woman, you know how to cook.”

  I loved the happiness in her eyes and decided right then I would compliment her as often as I could, so I could see that look over and over again. I had a feeling her good-for-nothing ex never complimented her.

  “Eggplant parmesan is one of our favorites. My grandmother taught me how to make it when I was about thirteen.”

  “So you’ve always liked cooking?” I asked before I shoveled more food into my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Liliana drop the smallest bit of food for Rus. I ignored it when I saw that Saryn had noticed, as well, and didn’t say anything.

  “I have. I honestly love to cook and bake. Be ready for an epic birthday cake, by the way.” She paused. “When is your birthday?”

  “December 26.”

  “The day after Christmas! That has to be a bummer.”

  I laughed. “Not really. It was like having Christmas two days in a row. At least, growing up it was. My mother never did the whole I’ll split your presents thing. But to be fair, I usually got something big for my birthday. A truck when I was sixteen. My first shotgun. A dirt bike. Things like that.”

  “That makes sense, I guess. Do you still like to hunt?”

  “Love it. What about you? I remember you going with your dad and Ryan a time or two.”

  She smiled and nodded. “Yes. Growing up with an older brother and a father who loves to hunt, they started dragging me along when I was about five. Daddy built me my own stand, and he would set up all my Barbie dolls in there. I’m pretty sure a few times I scared away the deer playing make-believe. Ryan used to get so mad at me. But I loved going with them and I do miss it.”

  I laughed. “Would you like to go with me? Maybe tomorrow if you’re able to?”

  Her teeth dug into her lip. “I’d love to go. Morning or evening hunt?”

  I glanced over to Liliana. “Depends on what’s easier for you.”

  She simply nodded.

  The rest of dinner was filled with both of us asking each other questions. We avoided any topics that included Tim or her marriage. She told me about living in Dallas and how much she had thought she wanted out of Boerne when she was in high school, only to realize she missed it. How she had longed to be back home. I told her about my dreams of starting my own business when I realized I didn’t want to run the ranch. How my father wasn’t too happy with my brother or me when we picked careers that didn’t involve ranching.