***
Her mom stood in the kitchen shucking sweet corn when Penny got back from camp.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi Honey. Dinner is almost ready.”
“It smells wonderful.” She gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. “Is there time for me to have a quick shower before dinner? I got pretty dusty today.”
“Take your time. Your dad won’t be back from town for another half hour or so.”
Penny made her way up the back stairs to her room. She glanced in the mirror. She was covered in red Colorado dirt. Not the best look for asking for a favor. She climbed in the shower and watched as the grime melted in small brown rivers of water running down her legs. Her thoughts turned to Luke. He’d always been good with kids. Surely he’d help out, wouldn’t he? That is unless he had holiday plans with that brunette. Well, she’d find out tonight. She prayed she’d find him alone when she got there.
She wasn’t trying to impress him, really she wasn’t, but she did put on a nice form-fitting western style blouse and her killer jeans that accentuated her thin figure. She blow-dried her long hair and put a few curls in the ends, and finally spritzed on a small amount to perfume. She hadn’t dressed up much recently, and it felt good. This was for her, not Luke.
“My, don’t you look nice,” Ann said as Penny re-entered the kitchen. “Are you going out later?”
“No. I just felt like looking like a girl for a change. I have to ride over to the Walker’s after dinner and ask Luke to help us out at the camp on the Fourth.
“Luke would have to be blind not to appreciate how nice you look tonight.” Her dad winked at her. “You tell him I said so.”
Penny blushed. All she’d ever wanted was to find a man who loved her as much as Dad. Once she thought she’d found that in Luke, but that was a lifetime ago.
After another amazing garden-fresh meal with her parents, she saddled Ginger, called Bandit to follow, and rode west into the setting sun. She looked down at the reins starting to shake in her hands. What was she nervous about? It was just Luke. Still…if he was there playing house with another woman…she didn’t know if she could handle it.
Penny took her time, holding Ginger back from a run. She let out a deep breath as the cabin came into view. The porch light was on, and the rooms inside seemed to be lit also. He must be home. No avoiding this now.
As she entered the clearing, Bandit’s ears went up and she let out a welcoming bark. All of a sudden a flash of brown and black fur, yipping in joy, charged down from the porch and greeted Bandit with its entire body wiggling.
“Brutus, come.” Luke’s attempt at a stern voice rang out.
Penny laughed. That had to be the cutest puppy she’d ever seen. “Where did you come from boy?” She dismounted, tied Ginger to the railing, and knelt down to be engulfed by puppy kisses.
Luke walked down off the porch. “I see you met Brutus. Sorry he doesn’t have very good manners yet.”
“He’s adorable! Is he yours?”
“Yep. Got him on Monday.”
Apparently bored with humans, Brutus turned his attention back to Bandit in a game of tug with a stick. Penny followed Luke up onto the porch. God, he looked sexy tonight, in a clean white T-shirt over soft, tight jeans, his hair wet as though he just got out of the shower himself.
He stopped and turned back to her arching his eyebrows. “What brings you over here tonight?”
Before she could answer, the cabin door swung open and out walked the gorgeous brunette with two cold beers in her hands.
“I didn’t know we had company. You must be Penny.” The girl handed a beer to Luke and wiping it on her jeans, stuck out her hand.
Penny was definitely at a disadvantage here. The girl obviously knew who she was, but she had no idea as to Luke’s friend’s identity. “And you are?”
Luke cleared his throat. “Penny, this is Mary.”
She struggled to regain her composure. “How do you know Luke?”
Luke laughed. She failed to see anything funny about this situation. She glared at him.
“This is my sister. June’s oldest daughter. I figured you knew she was here.”
Penny felt her face warm, sure that it glowed now a brilliant shade of beet red. How embarrassing. She’d let her jealousy show when there was no foundation for it at all. She must look like a complete fool. Her mom told her that June had daughters. Why hadn’t she thought of that instead of jumping to the conclusion that Luke had a new girlfriend? And why did she care so much anyway?
Luke handed his untouched beer to her and retreated into the cabin to grab another for himself. She touched the icy bottle to her cheek, trying to cool away her burning face.
“It sure is nice to finally meet. Luke told me all about you. I was afraid that I’d go back to Ohio without ever getting to know you.”
Penny took a long swig of the beverage and sat down in one of the Adirondack chairs. What exactly has Luke told his new sister? “It’s nice to meet you, too. Are you here for the whole summer?”
“No, I’m off to my dad’s for a few weeks, and then I start grad school at Ohio State. I’ve loved my time here. I hate to leave. Luke even taught me to ride a horse.”
“Well, good luck to you. I leave in a few more weeks myself to start my teaching job in Chicago.”
Luke rejoined them and perched himself on the porch railing his long legs crossed in front of him. He looked sexy tonight—too sexy. Her heart skipped a beat. She looked away, trying to calm her raging hormones, and saw a deer walk out of the trees into the edge of the clearing. Brutus saw it too, and flew off the porch barking as he ran.
“Brutus! Come!” Luke charged off the porch after him and disappeared into the trees.
She glanced over at Mary who laughed as hard as she did. “Luke is going to have his hands full with that one.” They both stared into the forest, looking for signs of the man and his dog.
Penny startled as Mary reached her hand over and laid it on her arm. “I wish I had more time to get to know you this trip. He cares about you, you know.”
“I care about him, too. It’s complicated. My job’s in Chicago. He belongs here. It’s impossible.”
“Love is never impossible.” Mary squeezed her hand and laughed as Luke reappeared—a wiggling puppy thrown over his shoulder.
“That’s a well-trained dog you have there.” Penny looked down at Bandit, lying at her feet half asleep.
Luke set the puppy down on the porch. “STAY. Don’t forget, I remember when you first brought Bandit home. It took some time to train her, too.”
“You’re right. Have fun with that.”
Once Luke regained his breath, he looked over at the stunning blonde sitting on his porch. Why had she come? “So is there a reason for your visit tonight?”
“As a matter of fact there is. I need a favor. I’ve been volunteering over at Peak Adventure Camp. You know Ryan and Willow’s place.”
“Yeah, I heard they had a camp going over there. I saw Ryan a few weeks ago at Violet’s.”
“It’s wonderful. They bring city kids with family or other issues who can’t afford a regular camp up for a couple of weeks. The kids love it.”
No wonder she wanted to be a teacher. Her eyes lit up like stars when she talked about the kids. “We’re putting on a little rodeo for the campers on Saturday afternoon, and Ryan wanted to know if you’d come and show them some of your rope tricks? I know its short notice. We’ll understand if you have other plans.”
“I can make it work. I don’t know how good I am these days. I haven’t practiced much recently. I’ll need to bring my monster with me, if that’s okay. He tends to destroy things if he’s left alone in the cabin. Teething.” He smiled down at Brutus who was chewing a stick into tiny pieces.
“I can see that. Mary, you’re welcome to come, too.”
“Thanks, but I’m actually leaving tomorrow afternoon. Just came up to say goodbye to my favorite brother and thank him for entertaini
ng me these past few weeks. I hope we can get to know each other better when I’m back for the holidays.”
“I’d like that. If I make it home.” Penny stood up and gave Mary a hug.
Luke was going to miss his new sister. He enjoyed her company. She’d managed to take his mind off Penny for a little while. He smiled as she threw herself into his arms and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. “I’m going to miss you, bro. Keep in touch. And Penny, keep him and Brutus out of trouble.”
“I’ll see you in the morning before you leave.” Luke watched his sister until he saw her walk onto the porch of the main ranch house and then turned back to Penny. It took his breath away seeing her sitting on his porch—the porch she’d designed for them. Brutus had wormed his way into her lap and had fallen asleep his head against her chest. Lucky dog. He smiled imagining laying his own head in her lap.
“What? Penny looked at him suspiciously.
“Nothing. I see my dog has charmed you already.”
“He’s a sweetheart.”
“Yeah, when he’s asleep.”
It felt too natural sitting on his porch, she needed to leave before she decided to stay. Hugging the sleeping puppy to her chest, she stood up and carefully handed him over to Luke. “I need to get home and get some rest. Tomorrow is another busy day at camp. See you Saturday?”
“I’ll be there.”
Was it her imagination or did his voice sound husky? She looked up into his pale blue eyes, and warmth spread through her body like a ray of sunshine on a summer day. She turned and walked quickly over to Ginger, grabbing the reins and putting her foot in the stirrup, not looking back until she was safely in the saddle and turned toward home. Only then, did she turn her face toward the man and his dog and wave.
“Goodnight, Luke.” She kicked the horse and took off at a canter not waiting to see his response.
CHAPTER EIGHT
The Fourth of July was one of Penny’s favorite holidays. She hoped today went well. Not only did the camp have a big day planned for the holiday, it was also the last day for her first group of campers. When she agreed to do this, she didn’t realize just how attached she’d become to these kids, especially Marissa. It was going to be so hard to say goodbye to the child’s innocent face, made all the worse by the fact that Penny knew the child would be going home (if you could call it home) to a less than perfect situation. She needed to develop a tougher skin. Once she started teaching she couldn’t become emotionally involved with every student. Still…this was not going to be easy.
She loved Independence Day. Along with her blue jeans, she put on a red and white striped shirt and even painted her fingernails red, white and blue. She stuffed the bottles of polish into her front pocket—she bet the girls at camp would love having their own patriotic nails. She planned on riding over early to help everyone get ready for the big day.
“Mornin’ Mom,” she said grabbing a freshly-baked warm muffin from the kitchen table. “I’m headed to camp to get ready for our rodeo. I’ll see you at the fireworks later?”
Her mom smiled. “You know your dad and I wouldn’t miss the Peakview celebration. We’ll head down to the park late afternoon to join the Walkers and Peytons for our traditional picnic. Are you bringing the campers to the fireworks?”
“That’s the plan.” She took a swig of coffee to wash down the muffin.
“We’ll see you there. Have a good day.”
***
By the time Penny rode into the camp, the children had finished breakfast and were already running around in excited chaos. Her foot barely out of the stirrup, Marissa ran up and hugged her legs. “We’re going to make Fourth of July t-shirts. Want to help?”
“Of course I do. Lead the way.”
She tied Ginger to the corral and helped herd everyone toward the craft cabin. White shirts of all sizes covered the long tables along with small bottles of red and blue puff paint and containers of glitter.
“Let’s make matching shirts,” Marissa exclaimed.
“That’s an excellent idea. That way when we wear them after today we can think about each other.”
The child’s smile turned to a frown. “I’m going to miss you.”
“I’m going to miss you, too, honey. But maybe we can write to each other and keep in touch. Would you like that?”
“Yep.” Marissa’s smile returned as she grabbed them some paints. “We should make hearts because we love each other.”
They spent the next half hour covering the front of both shirts in small red and blue hearts, drawn carefully by Penny and covered in glitter by Marissa. Penny helped the other children fashion stars, flags, stripes, and other colorful designs. While they waited for the shirts to dry, Penny became the main attraction, painting each and every girl’s nails in various colorful patterns. Once dry, she slipped her shirt over her head and saw the smile erupt on Marissa’s face. Penny’s heart felt like it might explode. Others could have their designer clothes, nothing would ever make her as happy as wearing this shirt made from the heart.
Once all the campers finished, they moved on to the horses, braiding red, white and blue ribbons into manes and tails. Of course, at the insistence of the campers, Ginger got her fair share of decorations. By mid-afternoon when the rodeo was supposed to begin, Penny was exhausted. She slumped down for a moment of rest on a worn wooden bench beside the corral, appreciating the lemonade that the cook brought out. Bandit, lying in the dirt by her side, suddenly jumped up and let out a welcoming yelp. She looked up to see Luke and Geronimo heading down the hill. He, too, dressed for the holiday, wearing a bright red western shirt with white pearl snaps and a fairly-clean white Stetson. She sat mesmerized by the way the muscles in his arms flexed with the movement of the horse. Her not-so-pure thoughts were quickly interrupted as she was almost knocked over by the rush of campers that swooshed by her in a race to be the first to greet Brutus.
“Look at the cute puppy! Can we pet him?”
Brutus didn’t need permission to jump up and start licking faces as he was surrounded by the swarm of giggling youth.
Luke dismounted and looked over at her for guidance as Ryan walked up to shake his hand. “Welcome to our camp. Thanks for coming. I see your dog’s a hit already.”
“It looks like you have your hands full here. Is it always this crazy?”
“Most of the time.” Penny grinned as she joined them. “But they’re especially wound up today with all of the special things going on for the holiday. I hope you brought your energy.”
“I can handle it. It’ll take more than a few kids to get the better of me.” He gave her one of his heart-melting smiles.
“We’ll see,” she laughed.
Luke had to admit that he was a little intimidated by the mob of screaming children. He did well with kids one-on-one but this…It didn’t matter, there was no way he would let Penny see his fear. She looked cute in her home made T-shirt covered in sparkly hearts. Of course, she always looked cute in anything she wore. He reluctantly tore his attention away from her chest and introduced himself to the campers. Penny and the other wranglers somehow got each camper on their horses and organized in a line.
Ryan handed him a large American flag while holding an equally large Colorado one in his other hand. “Here partner. You and I are leading the grand procession with the flags. If we’re lucky all of the campers will follow in our wake.”
Climbing back on Geronimo and positioning the flag as securely as possible, he walked Geronimo side by side with Ryan with the group of riders followed them into the large arena. He lost sight of Penny, but knew she was back somewhere in the midst of the children. After they all entered, and the gate was closed behind them, they continued to circle a few times at a slow walk. There Penny was, bringing up the rear, but now directly in front of him. Beside her, a very small girl with long flowing black hair and a shirt that matched Penny’s beamed up at her. This was how he pictured their life together, Penny teaching their own daughters or son
s the love of horses.
He snapped back to reality. Ryan yelled, “Let’s pick up the pace.” They smoothly broke into a trot for a couple of rounds and then just as easily broke into a slow canter to the delighted whoops of the campers. Penny’s blond ponytail bobbed up and down in front of him. He could hear her laughter. All too soon, Ryan slowed and brought everyone to a standstill.
The games began. The children participated in egg and spoon races and several relays. Then everyone moved to one end of the arena, and he watched Penny tear in and race Ginger around the barrels to cheers and shouts of excitement. He knew it had been several years since she competed, but you’d never tell by the way she raced. How he’d loved going to the small mountain rodeos and watching her compete back in high school. She looked so happy on a horse and had loved winning all of those blue ribbons. How had she walked away? He bet she didn’t even have a horse to ride in Chicago.
Penny rode back to where they stood amid shouts of “Can we try, can we try?”
“Of course you can, let me teach you.” She walked slowly around the barrels this time, showing them the correct path. Each camper took their turn walking around the pattern, with Ryan and some of the others leading the smaller children. Then the older ones got the chance to try it at a trot and finally at a canter.
Luke couldn’t help noticing the small girl on the paint pony, alone in the back of the crowd. The one wearing the same sparkly heart t-shirt as Penny. The older campers maneuvered their way to the front of the line to race. He walked over to where she sat. “Hi. I’m Luke. What’s your name?
“Marissa.”
He could barely hear her timid whisper. “You and Penny have matching shirts.”
Her lip turned up ever so slightly. “Yep, she’s my bestest friend.”
Colorado Cabin in the Pines (Peakview series Book 3) Page 7
