Husband for Keeps

by Kate Little

  His hips arched up, his body tense with excitation, seeking pleasure and relief. But just as Carey focused on bringing Luke to his own peak, he pulled her up and kissed her deeply. “I want to be inside you,” he whispered huskily against her mouth. “I want to feel your sweet heat all around me.”

  As he moved over her, she welcomed the pressure of his body on her own. She opened her legs, sliding her thighs up around his hips, her womanly center seeking to be completed by him.

  They fit so well together—perfectly, she reflected at their smooth, silken joining. She was completed by him, and only him. How could she ever do without Luke in her life now, having known this perfect merging of bodies and souls. This utter bliss.

  As she savored the sensation of their absolute unity, Luke began to move slowly inside of her, their bodies rocking in an ageless rhythm. Wave after wave of electrifying pleasure swept through her, and she felt him move deeper and deeper, throbbing inside her. Finally the sensations seemed too intense—a pleasure close to sweet pain—and she knew by the way he gripped her, the way his muscles clenched, that he felt it, too…so close to the edge, reaching for complete satisfaction for them both with every powerful stroke.

  Then she heard him cry out her name, his body shaking as he thrust one final time, then arced above her in complete, mindless satisfaction. She gripped him, feeling herself carried over the edge, exploding like a shooting star, streaking across the blue-black sky in a shimmering blast of heat and light.

  They lay together silently and Carey listened to Luke’s soft breath against her hair. Her heart felt about to burst with words of love. But she didn’t dare speak. Especially since she believed her admission would go unreciprocated.

  He stroked her hair, then shifted to lie at her side, his arm cradling her close. “Luke, I—” Her voice trailed off. She wasn’t sure what she was about to say. If not “I love you,” then what?

  “Shhh,” he said, soothing her and pulling the sheet up to cover them both. “Let me just hold you now for a while,” he softly beseeched her. “We’ll talk in the morning.”

  Carey sighed and fitted herself against him, her cheek against his chest, her arm slung around his middle. She felt his chin resting on the top of her head, his hand in her hair.

  Her breathing slowed, matching his. Her eyes closed, her thoughts drifted. It was so easy to pretend that nothing was amiss or unsettled between them, that every question and worry had vanished and that she would wake up tomorrow, her entire life as full of harmony as their lovemaking.

  Surely Luke would let her help him, Carey thought as she drifted off to sleep. Surely they could finally find a way to stay together….

  Nine

  Carey woke at dawn in Luke’s bed. She wasn’t quite sure what had roused her—the sound of the birds stirring outside or the absence of Luke’s warm body next to her. She sat up and listened for him, thinking perhaps he’d gone down the hall to use the bathroom or gone in to check on Tyler.

  The house was utterly quiet, and in the unrelenting silence she felt her apprehension rising, her pulse quicken. Her gaze swept around the room, noticing an empty drawer in the high chest that hung open, the closet door that stood ajar. She jumped out of bed and walked to the closet, her mouth dry as cotton as she swung open the door. She knew what she would find, yet wanted to believe it wasn’t true.

  But just as she’d feared, the closet that had held all of Luke’s clothes now stood empty. She didn’t even bother to check the dresser drawers. Carey left the room and went to her bedroom, where she immediately spotted the note stuck in the mirror frame above her dresser.

  She pulled it out and sat on the edge of her bed while she quickly read it.

  Dear Carey—

  I know it would make life a hell of lot easier if I accepted your help with Emily, but I can’t. You have been too generous to Tyler and me already. I need to find Emily and work this out by myself, for once and for all. The way I should have done in the first place, instead of running off with my son.

  Seems like I’ve done nothing but screw up your life since the day we met. I never meant it to be this way, honest. I only wanted to help you. But now I fear I’ve ended up hurting you, in more ways than one. If I’ve made the wrong decision by trying to set this right on my own, then I’m sorry. Maybe you can forgive me someday. To me it seemed the only decent thing to do.

  Luke

  P.S. You looked so peaceful (and beautiful) sleeping, I didn’t have the heart to wake you. Besides, I didn’t want to leave arguing. I’d much rather remember the way it was between us last night.

  Carey’s head dropped to her chest. She covered her face with her hands as the note drifted soundlessly to the floor.

  Luke and Tyler were gone. Gone forever? Probably. No, she couldn’t face that possibility now. She couldn’t stand to think about it. For a moment she considered pulling on clothes and jumping into her own truck to follow them.

  But which way would she go? How would she even begin? Luke had never even mentioned where he’d found Emily and Tyler living. She turned and flopped facedown on her bed. Hot tears began to flow, and she muffled her sobs in a pillow.

  Why hadn’t she told him last night that she loved him? Maybe he would have changed his mind and stayed, even if he didn’t feel the same way.

  Did he believe that, after everything they’d been through, getting the ranch still meant more to her than being with him and Tyler?

  Carey mulled over the words of his note and realized that even if knowing Luke had cost her everything, she had no regrets. Knowing him, loving him, even for such a short time, had been worth it. More than worth it. If she could have had the magical chance to go back and do it all over again differently, she’d never choose to miss out on knowing Luke.

  Her inheritance meant nothing to her now. Even if she succeeded in beating back her greedy cousin, all she would gain held no allure or value.

  The great sum of money seemed useless. It wouldn’t bring Luke back into her life. What kind of new life would she start on the West Coast—start anywhere, for the matter? It could never be a happy life, or truly satisfying to her, without him.

  He was her center now, her “ground zero”—the point from which every other place was measured. She should have told him last night—told him everything. She let her foolish pride get in the way, and now she’d lost him for good.

  Her sobs finally subsided and, exhausted, Carey fell into a deep sleep. When she woke again the room was flooded with sunlight. She smelled coffee and could hear Ophelia moving around downstairs. The clock read half past seven. Ophelia must be wondering if she was sick, as she never came down this late.

  And everyone would be wondering what had happened to Luke and Tyler, Carey realized. She dreaded having to explain their absence to them. And she needed to call her attorney and tell her, too. Perhaps Katherine would advise her to just raise the white flag and sign the place over to Roger Burkett. Why drag it out? Carey thought.

  She walked down the hall to the bathroom and stepped under the stinging hot spray of the shower. Today was shaping up to be the worst day of her life, that was for sure. And she’d only just gotten out of bed.

  Ophelia and Willie seemed surprised to learn that Luke had left, but as was their way, they didn’t ask any prying questions. Carey only explained that he was called away suddenly on urgent family business and didn’t know when he’d be back. It wasn’t a lie, she felt, since confronting his ex-wife about Tyler was indeed family business.

  Ophelia could obviously sense that Carey was in the dumps and repeatedly assured her that Luke would be back. Carey was grateful for her sympathy and support, though she did not agree with the older woman’s theory.

  The first morning after Luke left, Carey called Katherine Cutler and disclosed the entire story. Katherine’s reaction was not nearly as negative as Carey had expected.

  “Well, let’s see if we can buy a little time here. I’ll do some checking on this end to see if, in
fact, the ex-wife has brought charges against him. If she has not, we still have an excellent chance of winning in court against Burkett, if it should come to that.”

  Of course it would come to that. Carey had no doubt. How did Katherine manage to remain so calm and upbeat, even when the damn wheels were falling off? The woman either had nerves of steel—or was a compulsive optimist.

  “How do you do it?” Carey asked her finally.

  “Do what, dear?” Katherine asked.

  “Stay so calm…so optimistic.”

  Katherine laughed lightly. “That’s what you’re paying me for, isn’t it?” she quipped. “Well, at least in part. And furthermore,” she added in a more serious tone, a courtroom tone, Carey imagined, “I sincerely believe you can hang on to your inheritance. That is no act,” she assured Carey. “You just need to have a little faith in general. And a little faith in that husband of yours,” she added.

  Long after they’d concluded their conversation, Katherine’s words of advice echoed in Carey’s thoughts. She wished she could feel that things would work out fine, but she couldn’t see how it could.

  Even if Luke found Emily and tried to talk things out, why would he succeed now, when she’d failed to compromise with him so many times before? He didn’t even have the leverage of money on his side this time.

  No, it seemed that nothing short of a miracle could bring Luke and Tyler back to her now. That was all Carey cared about. Luke and Tyler. The chance to make a life with them. On this ranch or just…anywhere. She didn’t care a whit about gaining her inheritance. Although, it was strange how the ranch didn’t hold any bad memories for her now. All that had been changed. If she’d had the chance to stay here, if that was the way she and Luke had decided they wished to start a new life together, she would have been pleased to build this place back up to its former glory—or even better—working side by side with him.

  But Carey knew she was better off not torturing herself with such daydreams. Those golden chances were lost to her now.

  She spent the following days moving through her duties on the ranch as if sleepwalking. Katherine called once to tell Carey that she had good news and bad. For the good, her office had completed a thorough check and for now, at least, Luke was not wanted by the police for kidnapping Tyler. And for the bad, Carey’s cousin could not be dissuaded from starting proceedings to overturn the will.

  “Right now all he has is Luke’s single black mark. But eventually they may find out the whole story,” Katherine warned her.

  Over the next few days Carey considered her options. Although Katherine urged her to stand and fight, Carey looked within and honestly felt that there was no more fighting spirit left in her. Not without Luke by her side, not without their future to fight for.

  She called her attorney and explained her decision. She felt it best now to make a clean break. She couldn’t last through a long drawn-out court battle with Roger, and she was willing to just sign it all over to him.

  Katherine was appalled, as Carey knew she would be. “You can’t do this, Carey. You’re depressed. You’re not thinking clearly,” the attorney insisted.

  But when Carey would not be dissuaded, Katherine began to give in. “I want you to just sleep on it. If you still feel this way in the morning, I won’t try to change your mind.”

  Carey faced the rest of the day and evening resigned to her decision. As Ophelia and Willie prepared to leave that night, Carey almost told them what was happening, then decided to spare the couple at least one night of distress. She would make sure that part of her agreement with her cousin included a generous pension for the Jacksons. That was the least she could do for her dear friends.

  The house felt empty and lonely to Carey as she ate a sandwich for dinner. It was funny how much Luke and Tyler filled the place up, and thinking about them, recalling those happy weeks, was only like rubbing salt in the wound.

  She suddenly saw no reason to stay on the ranch. She could iron out her agreement with Roger from anywhere. Carey decided that she would pack up tonight and leave tomorrow and went up to her room to start. She would take mostly clothes now, she decided, and come back later for the rest. There was the painting of her mother in the great room, some china and a few valuable pieces of furniture that she didn’t want to give Roger. She felt sad and even defeated as she considered these details, but also somewhat relieved to at last be taking some action.

  All week long she had secretly waited for Luke to return, or at least call. She had tried her best to have some faith in him, as Katherine had advised, but the exercise had only succeeded in doing further damage to her battered heart.

  Tonight she had to face the truth—she would never see him again.

  After packing, Carey showered and pulled on a baggy blue T-shirt as nightwear. When she finally shut off the light, the house felt very empty and the night sounds outdoors disturbed her. Images of Luke, never far from her thoughts, rose up in her mind, and she allowed herself to indulge in a sweet, comforting fantasy of feeling his arms surround her as she slept.

  When Carey opened her eyes, she heard a cock crowing in the barnyard and saw dawn’s first rays filtering through the lace curtain of her bedroom window.

  Then she saw her two large black duffle bags and, with a sudden clench in her heart, remembered her plans to leave today.

  But…something wasn’t right. She didn’t have two bags. She had only one.

  She opened her eyes wider and tried to sit up, suddenly aware of a heavy, solid weight next to her hip. She twisted sideways to see a hand. A man’s hand. She twisted farther and found Luke, heavily asleep beside her on top of the sheet, his head buried in the pillow as he softly snored.

  She gently turned to get a better look at him. He snored a little louder, and she’d never thought she’d heard a sweeter sound. She leaned her head on her arm and looked down at him. As if sensing her gaze, his eyes flickered open and he slowly smiled. A smile that went straight to her heart.

  He pulled her head down to his, and she met his mouth in a deep, thirsty kiss, a kiss that seemed to go on endlessly. Without separating her lips from his, Carey managed to kick off the sheet that separated them and fitted her body next to his.

  “You feel so good,” he sighed against her mouth. His hands glided lovingly up and down her body, then he swiftly smoothed her T-shirt up over her head and tossed it aside. Carey’s eager fingers glided over his bare chest, then went to work on his belt and jeans. In a flash, they lay naked together, arms and legs intimately entwined.

  “I missed you. I can’t tell you how much.” His voice was husky with emotion and longing.

  “I missed you, too,” she whispered. “I thought you weren’t coming back.” She clung to him as his hot mouth covered her throat and breasts with wet, hungry kisses, sending her to rapturous heights.

  “I could never leave you. Don’t you know that by now?” he asked, speaking the words as his mouth moved to cover the tight, sensitive bud of one breast.

  “I do know—” she managed, suddenly gasping for a breath as shocks of heat traveled on a direct line from her breast to the tingling bud of her womanhood. Her hips rose to meet his hand, and she heard his excited, approving murmur as he discovered her moist silky heat.

  Then, as if by unspoken mutual consent, all talking ceased. Their lovemaking grew intense and wild, a passionate meltdown of two bodies compelled to merge, fueled by emotions too deep to put into words. A need to possess and be possessed that could never be satisfied, Carey realized.

  This was love. Pure and simple. But unlike any feeling she’d ever known.

  Rocking in Luke’s fierce embrace, she quickly spiraled up to ecstasy. Her powerful climax left her shuddering, her face pressed to his shoulder, her fingers digging into the thick muscles on his back. Moments later she felt him reach his thrilling peak. In ecstatic abandon, he cried out her name.

  Carey held Luke close—waiting for him to open his eyes again—for what seemed to her a very long
time, though it was probably only a few moments.

  His body felt heavy on top of her, satiated and spent. She cherished the feeling of holding him that way and the knowledge that she had the power to bring him to this place.

  She sensed he wasn’t asleep, only resting. Perhaps gathering himself for a second round of lovemaking, which she eagerly anticipated. She wasn’t usually so insatiable. She hadn’t been so with any man before. But a week apart from Luke had felt like an eternity. It might take forever to make up for it, too, she thought.

  But first she had to tell him something. She’d sworn to herself that if she ever saw him again, she wouldn’t waste an instant. Finally she could wait no longer.

  “Luke?” she began in a clear voice. He mumbled sleepily, but did not open his eyes. “Luke— I love you,” she burst out finally.

  He opened his eyes, lifted his head and stared down at her. He started to speak, but she covered his mouth with her fingertips.

  “No, wait…let me finish. You don’t have to say anything. Really. I just want you to know how I feel and that I was an idiot not to tell you before…when you told me about Emily. I was so afraid after you left that I’d never get to tell you.”

  “Oh, Carey…” he leaned down and kissed her solidly. “I love you, too, sweetheart. So much…I feel like my heart’s going to burst right out of my chest sometimes, if I let myself think too much about it.” He gazed down at her and tenderly stroked her hair. “I was afraid you’d never understand why I had to take off and do things my own way. I thought if you had any feelings for me at all, you’d probably wind up hating me.”

  “Hate you? How could I?”

  “For thinking I caused you to lose your inheritance,” he replied.

  “I don’t give a damn about my inheritance,” she assured him. She reached up and stroked his beard-roughened face with her hand. “I told my attorney that my cousin can have it, lock, stock and barrel. I only care about you. You and Tyler. I don’t care about going back to California. I’ll go anywhere you want to, Luke. I’ll happily live in the back of your truck. I just want to be where you are.”