Montana Cowboy

by Jillian Hart

Luke motored by in his gleaming truck. She caught a flash of his smile as she pulled out to get in behind him. Here’s where her California driving skills came in handy. She nosed in front of a Buick jockeying for supremacy and angled in behind Luke’s tailgate. Skills honed from mall parking lots. Good to know they hadn’t gone rusty.

  Her cell chimed. She scrambled for the Bluetooth earpiece and answered before it went to voice mail. “Hello?”

  “Nice maneuvering back there. That was the minister’s car.”

  “Oops!” She felt a twinge of guilt as she glanced in her rearview at the Buick idling behind her. “Between that and missing all but one percent of Sunday service, I’m in need of serious penance.”

  “I’ll say. And before you ask, there’s not an afternoon service you can catch.”

  “How did you know I was going to ask?” She flipped on her right blinker when his started to blink.

  “I know you don’t like to miss church.”

  “That’s right.” How many Sunday mornings had she ended a chat session because she needed to dash off to church? “It’s weird because you and I know each other, but at the same time we don’t. We’re strangers who are, well, strangers.”

  “True. We just technically met.” His trunk made a neat turn onto the street.

  She pulled up, took advantage of the clear road and turned after him. “So, tell me about where we’re going. You mentioned volleyball.”

  “Shh. That’s top secret, remember? If anyone asks—”

  “—I’ll deny any knowledge—”

  “—or you’ll be disavowed.”

  “Why do I suddenly want to hum the Mission: Impossible theme?”

  “I don’t know, but I have the same urge.”

  This was why she’d liked typing at Luke. He was fun. She scooted through a yellow light keeping on his tail, breezing through the intersection before the red. Perfect timing. “So, how does the volleyball team selection work in your family?”

  “Don’t worry. When we choose sides, I’ll call you first.”

  “You’re just going on my word that I can play. What if I’m exaggerating or have an overinflated opinion of my own skills?”

  “That’s a risk I’m ready to take.”

  “Aren’t those fateful words? Like pride goeth before a fall? Doom happens when you least expect it?”

  “And here I thought you were an optimist. A glass-half-full kind of girl.”

  “It depends on the day,” she quipped, following him through a housing development. “I’m always more positive on a full stomach. We were running late, so I missed breakfast.”

  “The truth comes out. The concrete irrigation pipe being transported wasn’t the only reason you were late.”

  “I was hoping you wouldn’t bring it up, but yes. I couldn’t decide what to wear. It’s been so long since I really got to dress up.” She scooted into a spot at the curb behind his truck. A slope of lush lawn led the way to a lovely brick Tudor, shaded by maples. Must be their destination. She hated turning off the engine, now that the a/c was finally blowing glacial cold.

  “You’re one of those fashionista types, aren’t you? Always shopping?”

  “Could be, but I’ve known worse.” She gave Jerrod a nod, who opened his door and spilled out into the heat. “I’m nothing like my mom and sisters. They are serious fashion divas.”

  “And you are—”

  “—a mild clothes fanatic. Nothing compared to if you put me in a bookstore, then look out.” She opened the door to sunshine.

  “Same here.” Luke, towering over her, flipped his phone shut and held out his hand. “I can’t walk outta there without doing some damage.”

  “Don’t expect me to find anything wrong with that.” She placed her hand in his, palm to palm and—zap! There went that zing of emotion charging through her again.

  See, it has to be low blood sugar—again, she thought as she rose from her seat. The candy was out of her system, which was crashing. Proof she needed lunch and needed it fast. Because it definitely, absolutely, under no circumstances could be related to the fact that handsome, impressive, drop-dead gorgeous Luke McKaslin was holding her hand.

  Probably best to ignore the fact that the sensation stopped when she released his hand.

  “This is the groom’s grandfather’s home.” Luke led the way up a few steps. A curving walkway ribboned through grass to the shady sanctuary of the charming house. “He was generous enough to host the reception. I don’t think he truly understood what he was getting into, the poor man.”

  “Yes, since I’ve met some of your family. Shockingly scary.”

  “Tell me about it.” Luke rolled his eyes. On the front porch, a swing squeaked. A couple sat hand in hand watching over the little kids playing soccer on the large side yard. “Hey, Danielle. Jonas.”

  “Hey, yourself,” the handsome, dark-haired man answered. “Didn’t know you were bringing a date.”

  “I’m not,” Luke answered easily, opening the screen door for her. “This is my friend, Honor.”

  “Hi, Honor,” Danielle smiled warmly. “A friend, huh?”

  “Inside quick,” Luke whispered in her ear, steering her and they tumbled inside the gracious foyer, chuckling together. “I thought they would be better behaved about this, but I’m afraid this is only the beginning. It’s sort of embarrassing.”

  “Don’t worry about it. They mean well.” She remembered the caring way his sisters and Lil had talked about him in the dressing room. Clearly his family loved him.

  “That’s the problem. You know what they say about good intentions? That’s one road that can lead to no place good.” He took her by the elbow and steered her past a crowded living room, which opened to the right. Several “Hi, Luke”s rang out and a bold, “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your girl?” They kept going, bypassing the kitchen, too. Caterers bustled around marble counters and sunshine sparkled on a wall of windows, leading the way to the deck.

  “Maybe you want to escape while you can or disavow all knowledge of me.” Luke released her elbow.

  “It’s tempting.” She took a step back, surveying the man and the French door he held open for her. Maybe the zinging sensation she kept feeling had nothing to do with low blood sugar.

  Wasn’t that a frightening thought?

  The sun kissed her with its blazing warmth as she tapped her way across the spacious deck. Across the stretch of lawn, a pool glistened to the right. A volleyball net staked out a section of grass to the left and the laughing shrieks of children rang in the distance as little kids ran around clutching helium balloons. One slipped away and wafted up in the air. The beauty who’d been the flower girl tipped her head back, curls swinging, to watch it fly away. A yellow Labrador bounded up to her and kissed her cheek.

  The delicious scent of barbecue smoke drifted on the breeze from a built-in grill. An elderly man stood behind it, a long handled spatula in hand. Must be the groom’s grandfather.

  “Come and get it,” he called heartily. “Lunch is ready.”

  “Just in time. My stomach is grumbling.” As proof, it gurgled. “Embarrassing.”

  “Or perfect timing.” Luke leaned in, the smoky notes in his voice ringing low and mesmerizing. “C’mon. In this family you snooze, you lose. The McKaslins love their food.”

  “So I see.” Caterers buzzed in and out of the kitchen, migrating to two cloth-covered tables loaded with choices.

  She took the plate Luke handed her and scooped a hot dog bun out of the bag. Little kids ran by her, looking for their moms. The yellow dog bounded after them, skidded to a stop, lifted his nose into the air and breathed deep.

  “Don’t even think about it, Oscar.” Liam, the groom, grabbed the Lab by his collar. “Good behavior, remember? Or you’ll be banned to the house.
”

  Oscar’s head tilted, he gave a whine of apology and irresistible chocolate eyes blinked sadly.

  “C’mon, I’ll get an extra hot dog for you.” Liam seemed like a really nice guy, kind and strong. A very nice combination. She thought of gentle, sweet Brooke and nodded. It was a good match. A very good one, indeed. The newlyweds met in the center of the deck. Soft touches, loving smiles and rippling laughter.

  Just the way love should be. Again, she thought of Kip and the wedding he’d wanted—big, fancy, expensive, a showcase. Without love, it would have been a shell of what a real wedding ought to be. She’d definitely done the right thing in fleeing Malibu even if she wasn’t exactly happy here.

  She caught sight of Jerrod ambling into view with a taller, older teen boy carrying a soccer ball. Jerrod looked as though he was having a good time. Good, she thought. Exactly what he needed.

  “What would you like, missy?” the elderly gentleman asked, his spatula poised and ready over the grill.

  She eyed her choices.

  “A hot dog, please,” she said with a smile, laughing when Luke held out his plate for one, too.

  They were so alike, it was kind of fun. She was so, so glad she’d decided to come. Here, with Luke, she didn’t miss home. He was exactly the friend in person he’d been online. She couldn’t ask for more than that.

  Chapter Four

  Laughter dominated the conversation buzzing around her as she took a bite of her hotdog. She couldn’t help taking a moment to drink it all in. Happiness buzzed in the air, family and friends chatted, laughed, joked. Best of all, the happy newlyweds sat together, their happiness so infectious it made Honor start to think love wasn’t such a bad thing, after all.

  “This isn’t the kind of wedding reception you’re used to, is it?” Luke dragged a potato chip through a puddle of dip on his plate.

  “You have no idea.” She reached for her cup of punch, sucked it down and reached for the mustard bottle. “You have no idea what I’m used to.”

  “Enlighten me.”

  “Not sure you’re tough enough to handle it.” She eyed the man beside her at the picnic table, considered his muscled form and shook her head. “No, I don’t think you can. Most men run.”

  “I’m not most men. Give it a shot. Just see if I bolt.”

  “You do look tougher than most.” She didn’t have to ask to know Luke’s strength wasn’t honed in a gym but through hard, physical work. “I knew something was off the instant I walked into church.”

  “Off?” A dimple etched into his cheek.

  She really needed to stop noticing his dimples. “Where were the nerves, the tempers and the frantic craziness? When my oldest sister got married, we lived in a frenetic state for four months pre-wedding.”

  “Was it a fancy wedding?”

  “An exquisite one.” She squirted mustard along the length of the bun in an even stripe. “A fairy tale come true. The wedding planner had to hire extra help to pull it all.”

  “Sounds like a fancy affair.”

  “The fanciest.” She didn’t mention her father was one of the most sought after financial managers in the state. His clientele ranged from movie stars to corporate multimillionaires.

  “Something tells me you were expecting something spiffier.” The wind ruffled Luke’s thick, sandy hair. “Hope we didn’t disappoint. I did warn you.”

  “I’ve been to a lot of spiffy weddings.” All three of her sisters’ weddings, cousins, friends, her father’s clients. “Not one has been as genuine as this one. Brooke and Liam clearly love one another.”

  “They do.”

  Silence fell between them. At the next picnic table over, the bride and groom nestled together, sharing a private moment despite the family surrounding them. The groom leaned in to whisper something, and Brooke’s smile blossomed and the love that filled her eyes when she gazed upon her new husband was singular. Never had Honor seen anything as pure and true.

  “And here I’ve vowed to stop believing in the existence of true love.” She dug her fork into the remnants of potato salad on her plate.

  “I know what you mean,” Luke agreed.

  “Those two had to prove me wrong.” She sighed a little, watching the couple. “What am I going to do now? Start believing again?”

  “Brooke and Liam have that effect,” he agreed lightly. “Where did your disillusionment come from, your former fiancé?”

  “Partly. Marriage is a big business in my family. Not that there isn’t love.” She looked quick to clarify. “But money trumps love if it ever comes down to it. You should have seen my parents’ divorce.”

  “Mine was pretty ugly, too.” He blocked out those old memories. Not worth thinking about. It was why he’d always thought long and hard before getting serious in a relationship. Not that it was a fail-safe plan. Sonya had broken his heart. Love could turn out better, like it had for Brooke and for his other sister, Bree, but there was a pattern in his family. One of romantic disaster. He was afraid of repeating it.

  Picking the right woman seemed to be the key, he’d decided. The trick was in finding her.

  “That’s why I’m single.” She took a small bite of hot dog. “I worried that Kip and I didn’t have what it took to make it last. There were too many problems.”

  “Like what?”

  “Just about everything.” She swiped a dab of mustard from her lip.

  Pretty lip. He leaned in a little closer, wanting to hear her better. The rest of the party faded away, the din of cheerful conversations silenced until there was only Honor with the breeze tousling her hair and the golden sunshine adoring her. Zip, there she was. The center of his attention.

  “Kip went to college with my sister and one day she bumped into him, found out he was all alone on the West Coast without family and invited him to Thanksgiving dinner.” She set down her hot dog and picked up her fork. “He was charming and his interest in me was flattering. When he called me up a week later to ask me out, I accepted.”

  “Was he a nice guy?”

  “He was. He was also really ambitious.” She shrugged her shoulders in a what-can-you-do gesture. “He was polite, he worked hard to ingratiate himself with my family and he seemed happy to be with me. It seemed like the sort of relationship I’d been hoping for.”

  “You’re using ‘seemed’ a lot. I get the sense that was the problem.”

  “Exactly. He did everything right and he said everything right, but something felt off. Something felt missing. I didn’t know what. I just chalked it up to him being so busy with his work. My father liked him and had offered him a job. Which was his goal all along, apparently.”

  “Oh, I get it. He’d set his sights on the boss’s daughter.”

  “And not really me.” A dash of pain flashed in her eyes, but she shrugged it away. She’d been hurt.

  He hated that. He knew what it was like to find out the one you were falling in love with wasn’t as devoted as you thought. “How did you find out?”

  “It was the first time we met with our wedding planner. He kept texting, answering his phone, leaving to sort out some problem at work. He had a high-pressure job, I got it, but when he came back and was sitting near me, he wasn’t there. He was bored, not with the plans but with me. It wasn’t me he loved.”

  “It was the successful life he was trying to build?”

  “That’s it.” Her hand landed on his arm, reaching out to him.

  As he looked down at her slender fingers against the white cuff of his shirtsleeve, his heart tripped.

  “Kip never actually loved me. It wasn’t that he didn’t care, it was more that I was a necessary step to what he wanted his life to be,” she explained. “As my husband, his future at the company would be secure.”

  “Ouch.” He winced, u
nderstanding. She’d loved the man and wanted his love in return. He’d been in a similar situation.

  “After the wedding planner, we had a heart-to-heart. Kip didn’t have time to talk, so we argued and in his anger the truth spilled out. I was stunned.”

  “Did you break off the engagement right away?”

  “Yes, but my family pressured me to reconsider. Everyone loved him. He fit in so well. My sisters and mom kept saying it was just wedding jitters, that what I was feeling was perfectly normal. After the wedding I would be a happy bride. Not to worry.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t give in.”

  “Me, too. I didn’t want to marry a man who loved success more than he would love me. My family was devastated with my decision.”

  “They love you. They must want what’s best for you.”

  “They were convinced Kip was it. That’s the hard part.” She stirred her fork around in the remains of her potato salad, and he could feel how hard it had been for her.

  “It must have taken a lot of courage to stand up for what you wanted with all that well-meaning pressure.”

  “I don’t know about courage, but it wasn’t easy. That’s why I took the job tutoring Jerrod. It got me away from the situation. I could regroup, figure out what I wanted and get my head together.”

  And the pieces of her heart, he figured. He knew how that felt, too. “Is it working?”

  “I’ll let you know.” She smiled, nothing could be prettier. His pulse fluttered, because he’d never seen a more beautiful woman. Her expressive blue eyes just blew him away.

  “Hey, you two!” Colbie trotted over, changed into a T-shirt, athletic shorts and tennis shoes. “Let the game begin. Girls against guys.”

  “No way.” He dropped his fork on his plate. “We talked about this, remember? Honor’s on my team.”

  “Not anymore. As the entertainment director of this reception, I have unilaterally changed my mind. Sorry, buddy.” Colbie winked at him. “This is for Honor’s own good.”

  “My own good?” Honor sounded surprised as she took a last sip of punch. “Is Luke a terrible player?”