by Dani Wade
“I’m trying to talk Lucas into helping me with a little side project,” Christina said.
Oh, this sounded interesting. Luke’s glare across the table told Avery how he felt about it.
“No,” he said. “I’d be horrible.”
Christina had her protests all lined up. “Why? You’re great in front of a camera, with your hundred-watt charm. You’ve got experience from being interviewed many, many times. Heck, this would even be scripted—sort of.”
“Sort of?” Luke’s brow shot sky high. “You want me to appear on camera with a dozen or so little kids. How the heck is that gonna be scripted?”
The other brothers laughed. Avery suppressed a grin of her own. Luke always appeared one hundred percent comfortable in front of a camera…but with a bunch of kids? That seemed like a recipe for disaster. She didn’t know a single child that was predictable.
Christina leaned forward against the edge of the table. “It’s to help with the fund-raising efforts for the new pediatric ER. Imagine how much exposure we could get statewide with you on the screen.”
“I realize I’m a handsome devil,” Luke conceded with a smirk that quickly disappeared. “But, no.”
Avery happily stepped into the fray. Having something to tease Luke about was fun, since it was usually the other way around. “Come on, Mr. Big Shot. Surely you aren’t afraid of a few grimy fingers and wet diapers?”
The incredulous look he shot her sent her into giggles. She had this mental image of Luke standing tall while dozens of kids swarmed him from all sides, climbing him like he was a mountain. Talk about an adventure.
“I’m not good with kids,” he insisted. “I barely know what to do with this one.”
He gestured to little Carter, sitting proud in his daddy’s lap. As if realizing all eyes were on him, the little boy gurgled. The sound and his golden curls were sweetness overload.
“Well, you better figure it out quick,” Aiden said. “We’ll have another here soon for you to practice on.”
For just a moment, the light reflecting off the hundreds of crystal teardrops on the chandelier was too hot, too bright for Avery. Then the room erupted into smiles and congratulations as Christina glowed with happiness. Avery thought that was the biggest grin she’d ever seen on Aiden’s face. The normally stoic businessman only softened around his wife, but he’d soon have another reason to let down that infamous guard.
As Avery watched the family rejoice, she couldn’t help but compare their happiness to her own barren life. She had friends aplenty, but no one to go home to. No life events on the horizon. She looked at Luke, so full of vitality despite his accident and all the hard work he had to do just to return to normal—and wanted a taste of that experience.
Surely she deserved a little taste.
But she wouldn’t get even a nibble in Black Hills. After all, Luke wasn’t a wedding-and-babies kind of guy. Why should he be? A baby meant roots, staying put, not a lifetime in perpetual motion. It was a reminder Avery needed, but it still made her sad. Why? She couldn’t say, but the feeling lingered.
“Luke, you’ll be a great uncle…again,” Christina said.
He would. Luke could charm the warts off a toad. Even when it was a tantrum-throwing toddler. Even if he didn’t know it yet.
Just like he charmed her, no matter how many times she hid behind her professionalism. She’d wondered earlier if he would run screaming if she responded in kind, teased and flirted instead of trying to steer him back on a straighter road.
Maybe it was time to shuck the scrubs and embrace an overload of adventure.
* * *
Luke could almost feel the moment Avery decided it was time to leave.
KC and Jacob had excused themselves earlier to put Carter to bed. They didn’t always stay at Blackstone Manor, preferring the privacy of KC’s little house closer to town, but tonight they were using their suite on the third floor.
Conversation between the remaining four of them slowed. No more exciting baby news or community improvement plans, thank goodness. Seated so close to her on a couch in the front parlor, Luke felt tension creep over Avery. Her shoulders pulled up slightly and her hands rubbed against her jeans along the front of her thighs. Even though his brain said to let the evening come to its natural end, the rest of him didn’t want her to walk out the door.
He stood, leaning nonchalantly on his cane as he faced her. “Walk with me.”
“Oh, I should probably get going.” Avery avoided his gaze, but also didn’t look at Christina or Aiden. Obviously she hadn’t registered that his statement wasn’t a question.
Since he wasn’t the type to go all caveman, he forced himself to play the hated invalid card… “I kinda figured my physical therapist would encourage me to walk, keep from stiffening up and all—”
Her delightfully creamy skin flushed from collar to cheekbones. “Oh, right.”
Those funny nerves that hit her from time to time made an appearance, leaving Luke afraid she might trip again. But he could see the professional mask cover her expression as she consciously slipped behind it. She could think she was in control all she wanted—until he was ready for her to know otherwise. Would he ever get her to relax with him? For him alone?
The women did that huggy thing, then Luke preceded Avery across the breezeway back to the dining room. He led her through the swinging door to the adjacent kitchen. Mary and Nolen were cleaning up the last of dinner.
“Mary,” Avery said, “dinner was absolutely delicious. And whatever that chocolate dessert was—yum!”
The older woman grinned. “Well, I had something a little simpler planned, but such big news warranted an extraspecial dessert, you know.”
Luke should have known Mary would have the 411 before everyone else in the house. He wasn’t sure how, but Mary and Nolen knew everything that went on in Blackstone Manor—no matter how secret it might be.
Mary wiped her hands and hurried over for a hug. “So you have to tell me—how are you, girl?”
“I’m good,” Avery said with a smile.
Behind the older woman with her Kiss the Cook apron, Luke spied an entire rack of little beauties cooling down. Mary’s infamous chocolate chip cookies. He drew in a deep breath. Yep, chocolate was definitely in order tonight.
“Does my favorite cook have anything left for me?” he asked.
The woman eyed him with the same suspicion she had when he was a teenager up to no good. “There’s only one thing worth you nosing around my kitchen,” she said. “If I let you have one chocolate chip cookie, then all the other men want one, and on it goes.”
“But they’ve already had dessert,” he argued. “It should be safe.”
He wasn’t pulling anything over on Mary. “So have you, Lucas Blackstone. But I guess I can make an exception for ya.”
She scooped a couple of cookies off the cooling rack and set them on napkins before handing them each one. Nolen frowned. “What about me?”
Mary’s brow shot up. “When you finish your work, you can have one, too.”
The butler muttered as he headed back through the door to the dining room, leaving them all smiling. Mary turned back to Avery. “So everything going okay? The clinic is doing well?”
Luke saw Avery blossom beneath the older woman’s attention. “It sure is. How’re those hips doing?”
“Good, thanks to you.” Mary glanced over at Luke with the wisdom of ages in her eyes. “This girl works wonders, you know.”
He remembered that heavenly massage. “Oh, I’m getting the picture.”
Mary pointed in his direction. “You see you do everything she says, and it’ll all work out fine.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The words were forced as Luke’s mind flooded with Avery’s warnings to wait another season to
return to racing. He wanted to push the concern away, but it kept resurfacing—especially at night when he lay in bed, legs aching from the day’s exertions.
Luke knew his body. He could return to tip-top shape by February. He had to believe that. The question was, could he prove it to everyone else? Only he understood the danger of losing his worth the longer he was away from the track. Why wait and have to rebuild his reputation when he could come back sooner and stay on top?
All of his hard work up to this point would not be for nothing.
Luke’s thoughts distracted him as they finished their cookies, then stepped out the back door into the cooling fall air. Avery snuggled into her light leather jacket as the slight breeze ruffled the long strands of her hair. The varying shades of blond, the highlights visible even in the dark, fascinated him. All Luke’s memories of her were with her hair up or back. He’d known her ponytail was thick, but never realized just how full and glossy her hair would be in its unfettered glory.
Down as it was now, it transformed into a waterfall of pure temptation. Luke’s palms itched to dig in, experience that silkiness against his skin. A groan slipped out unbidden, whisked away by the night air.
“Are you okay?” Avery asked. “Should we go back inside?”
“No, I’m fine.” If no one counted the throbbing ache behind his zipper.
“Do you like being back?” she asked, her voice quiet.
“It’s okay,” he said, leading her down the gentle slope of the lush back lawn, past heirloom iris beds that were only greenery now. “Every nomad needs a home base, right?”
“Doesn’t North Carolina feel like home to you?”
Nothing really did. “I have an apartment there, but I wouldn’t really call it home. A place to stay, maybe.”
She gestured back toward Blackstone Manor, impressively handsome despite the dim light. “Here, neither? Even with your brothers both home?”
“No. I mean, Aiden and Jacob gutted Grandfather’s suite on the second floor so I’d have a convenient space—but it isn’t really mine.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“Why?”
After a moment’s pause, she said, “I’d be lost without my house, and I hate that you don’t have the same comfort.” She was quiet for a few steps before she went on. “A lot of people asked why I didn’t sell it after Mom died. Move closer to the clinic. After all, it’s way too big for a woman all alone.” Her laugh was a huff in the air. “An old maid—I’m sure they say when I’m not around.”
“Honey, you’re as far from a typical old maid as a woman can get.” He reached out to touch that hair, rubbing a small swath between his finger and thumb.
He knew she felt him from the slight hesitation of her body and words, but then she continued walking without looking his way.
“That house has been the one constant in my life. I’ve been through a lot of bad times there, but also my best. I don’t want to let it go. Guess that makes me overly sentimental, huh?”
“Not at all.” Without thought, Luke said, “If I called anywhere home, it would be my garage. Crazy, I know, but I’d rather be there than anywhere.”
“Makes perfect sense to me, Luke,” Avery whispered.
She paused, looking up at the night sky. It was chilly, but clear, with stars in abundance. Luke didn’t care. He was too busy soaking up Avery’s shadowy profile.
When had this conversation turned so serious? He should be concentrating on fun—not home and hearth.
Finding her arm in the dark, he let his hand slip down to grasp hers. “Come here,” he said, changing their direction toward the nearby oak tree. Massive in size, family lore said it had been there since they settled this land many years ago. Now other trees kept it company, including a couple of magnolias and a pretty old weeping willow, but the oak stood above them all.
Luke and Avery slipped below the bottommost branches to the sheltered circle beneath the tree.
“How pretty,” she breathed, as a small amount of moonlight dappled through the leaves.
Luke led her around to the other side where Aiden had helped him hang the tire swing. Now the fun would really begin. “Ever play on one of these?”
“Hmm…no, can’t say that I have.”
Her dubious tone thrilled him. Even in the dark, he could feel her eyeing him as if he needed to be watched. He might be heading for craziness, after all. That was fine. The more she resisted, the sweeter the surprise when she gave in.
“Never?” he challenged. “Come on. When was the last time you sat on a swing? Any swing?”
Her sigh sounded long-suffering, as if she were indulging him. “When I was a kid, I guess.”
“Then it’s way past time. Hop on.”
“What?” She took a few steps back. “Me? No.”
“Yes,” he said in a singsong voice. “I dare you.”
“Luke, I’m not dressed for a tire swing.”
Oh, she was reaching for excuses now. “What? They’re pants, at least. Besides, getting dirty makes it a lot more fun.”
He hadn’t meant his words to come out quite like that, or for desire to deepen his voice, but his fascination with her was outstripping his control.
“Come on, where’s that little adventurer that’s trying to break free?” he goaded.
That did the trick, because she moved in his direction. Yes, one hesitant step at a time, but she was moving toward the swing instead of away from it. Baby steps.
She stood next to the tire for long moments, then Luke heard a small laugh. “You’re gonna find this hilarious, I’m sure,” she said, “but I don’t even know how to get on this thing.”
He moved close, resting his free hand against the small of her back. Just that simple touch was as electric as her falling into his arms earlier. He let the forbidden thrill move through him, savoring it for just a moment.
“Well, you can climb on top and ride.” He paused, clearing his throat. When had something so simple become so riddled with innuendos? “Or you can slide your legs through the middle.”
And sit on that delectable rear of hers. He did not need to think about her anatomy right now or he’d end up in a world of hurt.
Avery, of course, chose the safer option of sitting in the middle. Luke held the tire steady for her, then moved into position behind her back.
“Don’t you dare push me,” she said, looking over her shoulder. “You’ll hurt yourself.”
Luke gave a playful growl but a growl nonetheless. “Don’t tell me what to do, woman. My body is operational in all the places I need it to be.”
Let her think about that for a while. He let his cane fall to the ground and grasped the tire on either side of her. His balance held steady as he got her moving. Avery caught her breath with the first swoop. Luke grinned. The sound lent strength to his pushes, making her soar.
For long moments, the only thing heard was the creak of the rope, the rustle of leaves in the tree and the sound of their breath. Then something new joined in—slow at first, but gathering speed. The sound of her enjoyment, laughter mixed with a sort of breathlessness that radiated in his soul.
He had a vivid memory of that same sensation, the first time he could remember feeling it. His first time behind the wheel, alone in a car. Following the road to the deserted outskirts of town, and indulging in his need for speed. He hadn’t reached racing heights, or even come close, but it had been his first taste, leaving him hungry for more.
With each push her breath caught, then laughter sprung forth as she reached the apex and hung suspended a moment before rushing back down. He backed up to give her more room, just enjoying the show. Her indulgence lit him up inside, mixing with lingering passion. Almost as if he were living vicariously through her.
No. He’d always lived his own life,
on his own terms. But he could still enjoy her journey, right?
So he let the sound of her flow over him, through him—letting his eyes slip closed to hold it inside. Then a small cry and wham!
The weight against his chest toppled his balance. Luckily he’d been trained to fall. His body instinctively rolled along one side rather than slam down, but he lay disoriented for a moment. Within seconds he heard feet running in his direction.
“Luke? Luke, are you hurt?”
Avery’s breathlessness only made him want to take her breath away in a whole other manner. The warmth of palms meeting his pants-clad legs and seeking upward took his own breath away. He peeked at her. “If I say yes, can I get a massage?”
She loomed closer. “Are you kidding me?”
He ignored her exasperated tone, the dull pain in his hips, and focused on the red of her full lips in the darkness and the wealth of hair like a waterfall as she leaned over him. There was no stopping himself. No talking himself out of it. Before he thought, his hand was buried in her hair, and he was pulling her down, closer to where he wanted her.
Then their lips met, and Luke sank into a world of sensation. So soft. So smooth. The taste of sugar and chocolate. Her lips parted. Tentatively her tongue swept against his and he was lost. Need exploded through his body, draining his control. He retreated, sucking in much-needed air.
Only then did he register that sweet palm still high on his thigh, just inches from where he wanted it. Avery seemed oblivious. “Are you okay?” she asked again.
“I swear, if you ask me that one more time, I’m going to flip you over and show you just how okay I am.”
Just like that, the hand was gone. Damn shame, but probably for the best right now.
He’d veered onto a dangerous road tonight—led astray by her inherent beauty and his own need for adventure—and he hadn’t applied the brakes in time.
