by Lynde Lakes
A knot formed in Luke’s stomach. It felt odd to hear Amber defending him to his own child. Did he need defending?
Before he could think any more about it, Amber added in a determined voice, “But maybe that’ll change soon.”
It was as though she’d read his mind. After hearing Alicia’s wistful tone, he would make it a point to spend more time with her, starting tomorrow.
Luke jumped at a sound outside the door. He stopped the video and looked. It was just his dog. “Come on in, Perro.”
Luke eased back down in his brown naugahyde recliner and flipped the video back on. When his Australian Shepherd looked up at him expectantly, he scratched his ears. “I’m glad it was only you, boy.” A stab of guilt pierced Luke’s gut. He was spying on this wonderful woman like she was a criminal, and if she caught him, there would be hell to pay.
His attention was yanked back to the video screen by Amber’s soft voice speaking to Alicia. “What are these cards?” she asked, looking through them.
“Pokemon cards,” Alicia said in her very grown up little voice. She handed the instructions to Amber and crawled onto her lap. “Wanta play?”
“Love to,” Amber said, sounding like she meant it.
Alicia twisted her tiny body and reached up to pat Amber’s cheek. “You’re nice.”
Amber’s eyes shimmered with moisture and Luke felt something inside him go all mushy at her show of emotion. “You’re nice, too, Rosebud,” she said.
Alicia laughed. “I’m not Rosebud, you’re Rosebud.”
Amber tickled Alicia, then gently tapped her lips. “With these rosebud lips, you are definitely my little Rosebud. Now, hold still a minute while I read these Pokemon directions.”
After she finished reading them out loud, they began to play, heads close together, both of them laughing as though they had known each other forever. Amber knew how to draw his daughter out and bring smiles to a sweet little face that many times was far too somber for a child.
Luke’s heart thudded hard against his chest. Amber was moving into his world fast, maybe too fast, shaking the very foundations of his old world and restoring those crumbling walls with something ethereal, invasive, frightening. The irony was, instead of learning about Amber’s shortcomings, he was learning about his own. Just as disturbing was a sneaking awareness—he could easily fall in love with his child’s nanny. Damn. He couldn’t let that happen. It was too soon after Connie Lou’s death—downright unfaithful to even think of loving another woman. Besides, getting emotionally involved would mess up his rodeo plans and complicate his life.
****
The slam of the front door jolted Amber awake. She glanced at the bright red numerals on the clock—4:00 a.m. Blast Luke. Did he have to make so darned much noise? Groggy, she turned over and went back to sleep. When the alarm sounded at 7:00 a.m., she bounded out of bed and found a note under her door from Luke. It read: Make up a picnic basket for three. Have yourself and Alicia ready by 8:00 a.m. The tyrannical tone of his note surprised her. He could have at least said please.
It took some doing, but she made the deadline. When Luke drove up, she and Alicia were dressed and waiting on the porch.
Luke’s inky hair curled unevenly at his collar. He wore his trademark hip-hugging jeans and a fresh, long-sleeved red shirt, rolled high on muscled forearms. Amber’s heart pounded wildly at the sight of him. “Where are we going?” she asked.
He lifted Alicia high in the air and swung her around. “Does it matter? I’m spending the whole day with my best girl.”
Amber watched Alicia’s face light up like sunshine and decided he was right, it didn’t matter where they went.
When they arrived at the main barn and Luke brought out three saddled quarter horses, suddenly what really mattered was not where they were going, but how they were getting there.
“Meet our transportation.” Luke’s voice deepened to a resonant bass. “Rocket, Firebrand, and Sleepy.”
Sleepy was Alicia’s horse. Dear, God, that meant she got Rocket or Firebrand. She swallowed. “Don’t you have a horse named Gentle Lady for me?”
He laughed. “You’ll love Firebrand. She knows just what to do with a new rider.”
Amber groaned. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”
“Don’t be ’fraid, Amber,” Alicia said. Then she grinned, showing mischievous dimples.
“She don’ buck much anymore.”
“Oh, you little tease,” Luke said, but he looked proud as a bull rider who’d stayed on for the count.
Amber eyed the horse nervously and cleared her throat. “Like her father, Alicia is a razz master.”
“Lil’ chip off the old block.” Luke dropped the tangle of reins to the ground and grabbed Sleepy by the bridle. “But we’d better quit kidding, Rosebud,” he told Alicia. “Don’t want to scare Amber away.”
Both Amber and Alicia laughed. “Rosebud?” they said in unison.
Luke’s tanned faced darkened, but he said nothing. Amber frowned. It was as though he had heard their earlier conversations. But that couldn’t be.
He drew Sleepy close and swung Alicia onto the horse as though the child were a feather.
His gaze raked over Amber, making her feel vulnerable. He stroked the mane of the sand-colored horse, Firebrand, without releasing Amber from his piercing look. “Okay, your turn,” he said, making it sound like a dare.
She forced a smile and nodded without going any closer. Her heart raced. The horse looked big. Really big. “I don’t know how to ride.” At least she didn’t think she did.
Luke brought Firebrand to her. “All you need is a few basics. If Alicia can do it—”
Oh great, he was using the old if a child could do it rationale. “Alicia was born on a ranch,” she reminded him. “Probably cut her teeth on horseshoes.”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here with you. Put your left foot in the stirrup. Here, let me help you.”
As he touched her thighs to boost her onto the horse, the heat of his fingers burned through the heavy material of her jeans, causing a hot tremor to shoot through her. Why was her body so sensitive to his touch? Fear of the horse and an embarrassing desire for her employer battled within Amber, setting her cheeks on fire.
“Grab the saddle horn,” he said, “lean forward, and throw your right leg over.”
She took a deep breath and did as he instructed. To her surprise, she slid with ease into the saddle. Her fleeting satisfaction disappeared when she looked down. It was a long way to the ground. She clenched the horn tighter.
Alicia laughed in delight. “You did it!”
Amber smiled for the child’s sake. “Yeah, piece of cake.”
Alicia wrinkled her brow. “Cake? You’re funny.”
Luke rattled on, saying something about sitting up straight and slipping the reins through two fingers—then everything faded, leaving only the hum of his voice and his earth brown eyes staring up into hers.
Luke adjusted the stirrups. “Firebrand’s a good-natured horse.” He patted the horse on its rump and handed Amber the reins. “You two should get along like two peas in a pod.”
Firebrand sidled in a shift of weight. Amber sent Luke a doubtful glance. “Of course we will,” she said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
Luke swung smoothly onto Rocket. The way he slid his lean hips into the saddle sent a ridiculous surge of desire cutting through her fear. Good, Lord. Surely her hormones were out of balance or something. She forced her gaze to Rocket. Along with a picnic basket, a rifle was lashed to the animal’s rump. Her gaze darted to back Luke. “Expecting trouble?”
He shook his head, the brim of his Stetson shading his eyes. “Naw, but preparedness is part of ranch life.”
He urged Rocket ahead, and Firebrand and Sleepy followed. “Don’t dig your heels into the horse’s flanks unless you want him to take off in a fast gallop.”
A fast start was the last thing she wanted. “Thanks for the tip,”
she said, determined not to make any rash moves.
Luke moved expertly with his horse, his tight butt riding the saddle leather in a slow, even rhythm. Amber’s heart pounded, and she lifted her gaze. He settled his Stetson high on his head, and sunlight glistened on a strand of inky hair that had fallen to his forehead. His expression was very intense, very male. He looked all cowboy and too ruggedly handsome for his own good—more honestly, for her own good. He was a little rough around the edges, but she had to admit, he was one handsome dude. Darn. She didn’t want to have these feelings about her employer—a man who had too many problems of his own. She took a deep breath, taking in smells of earth and animals. Wind whipped her hair, the static electricity rubbing her nerves raw.
Alicia waved her straw hat like a cowgirl riding a bull. “Go faster, Daddy.”
Amber wanted to scream no but remained silent.
“On the way back we’ll go a little faster,” he said, “but let’s give Amber a chance to enjoy the sights. She hasn’t seen the ranch, and we want her to get acquainted with it, right, Rosebud?”
Thank you. Amber was so grateful to Luke for sidestepping Alicia’s request she barely noticed he’d used her special nickname for Alicia again. She shouldn’t be surprised they’d come up with the same nickname. The child’s garden bedroom and her cute little rosebud lips had inspired Amber to coin the name, and Luke could’ve been inspired the same way. At least that’s what she tried to tell herself.
Their three horses ambled side by side in an easy gait, following the fence line past grazing cattle. Grinning and looking relaxed and happy, Luke began to sing Home On The Range. Alicia began to sing, too, her soft, little girl tone barely audible under Luke’s strong, manly voice. Amber laughed and joined them on the second chorus, her heart bursting with the joy of sharing this moment with a father and daughter who obviously loved each other very much.
The arid ranch looked better and better to Amber. Now she appreciated that the land sprouted with life. Blades of thin, brown bluestem and the state grass, sideoats grama, stretched across the sandy pastures. Mesquite thickets twisted in tangled patches. The flat ranch land and distant purple mountains felt like a buffer to the world she’d left behind. If only she could remember what had happened so she could face the trouble and find her niche somewhere. Even here.
The hot wind whistled a warning refrain. Don’t get too settled here—this job is temporary. On a slight rise in the land, a cluster of windmills beat the air with cautious wings. Go slow, keep your options open, they told her.
She swallowed to moisten her dry throat. “Why all the windmills?”
She had addressed her question to Luke and was surprised when Alicia giggled and said, “Windmills pump water for cattle, silly.”
Luke beamed. “That’s my girl. She’s already knows more about ranching than new-hire tenderfoots.”
Amber couldn’t help but smile at the pride in his voice. He slowed Rocket, and Firebrand and Sleepy moved up parallel to the stallion. They rode close to a chain of rocky hills.
He pointed at an opening in a cluster of boulders. “That’s Eterno Cave.”
Amber shaded her eyes from the sun. “Endless Cave.”
“You speak Spanish?”
“A few words,” she said, instinctively knowing it was more, but not sure of her level of proficiency.
“I want Alicia to learn to speak Spanish fluently. She has a good start. Her maternal step-granddad is Mexican and speaks Spanish to her when she visits him. And the other vaqueros are teaching her, too.”
“If you let me order some language tapes and preschool flash cards,” Amber said, “Alicia and I can learn together.” She grinned. “Maybe some French, too.”
Luke laughed. “That’s what I always wanted, my lil’ Texas princess spouting French in her sweet lil’ Texas drawl.”
“Can we go to the cave today, Daddy?” Alicia asked.
“We’ll see.” He used the words daddies everywhere employed to pacify a child, hoping their offspring would forget. Amber doubted it would work with Alicia.
Amber cast sideways glances at Luke when he wasn’t looking. As much as she tried, she couldn’t deny that his daddy image fascinated her as much as his hard edge.
She had been concentrating on him so intently she wasn’t aware when the terrain changed to rougher, more desolate land. Her arms prickled. “People ever get lost out here?”
“It can happen, especially if they go into the endless cave.”
“So, what’s the story about that place?” she asked, sensing there was one.
He laughed. Then his voice took on a deep, mysterious tone. “Well, many years ago a señora with dark, flashing eyes and a handsome vaquero, not her husband, went into the cave to seek shelter from a blasting windstorm. It was all very innocent. But, when her husband came looking for his wife and found the couple’s horses outside, he assumed the worst and rolled a boulder into the mouth of the cave, sealing their fate. While the couple waited to die, they sought comfort in one another’s arms and fell deeply in love.”
Amber glanced at Alicia. The child’s eyes were wide and her gaze riveted on her daddy. Luke winked and eased his horse closer to Amber. Why did he have to ride so close? It made her acutely aware of the smooth rhythm of his body riding easily in the saddle—acutely aware of her own desire.
“Is that it?” Amber asked, trying to rein in her emotions.
“It’s only the beginning,” Luke said. “Many moons later, when ranch hands removed the boulder, they found the lovers’ skeletons in such a tight embrace that they had calcified into one. The men removed the bones, but the couple’s spirits stayed behind, and to this day, they wander the winding tunnels, hand in hand. Sometimes their ghostly figures float about the entrance, trying to seduce visitors inside, but if anyone dares to venture into the bowels of the cave, they are never heard of again.”
“Remind me to stay away from that place,” Amber said. And to keep my distance from you.
“It’ll be okay, Amber. Daddy will protect you.”
Amber smiled at Alicia’s faith in her daddy. She hoped he never disappointed his daughter. Amber closed her eyes, trying to block the frightening and overwhelming urge to finish her thought—or disappoint me either.
Chapter Four
Luke reined Rocket to a stop at Lustre plateau. Purple rocky hills reached high into the clouds against a sky of azure blue. Below stood a grove of trees. Luke crossed himself. His mother had raised him a Catholic, but he had strayed from the church when he hit his teens. Still, he always felt close to God here.
Amber bowed her head as though saying a prayer of her own. When she looked up, she murmured, “This place takes my breath away.”
Luke nodded, unable to find the words to express the fullness in his own heart. Besides, humor and arrogance had always worked as a shield, and why mess with success? He lowered his voice so Alicia wouldn’t hear. “Thought it might take a hot kiss to do that.”
Amber darted a sharp sideways glance at him, but her voice came out even when she asked, “Aren’t those mesquite trees?” Pods dripped from the branches and fallen husks encircled the base like prickly brown grass.
“Yep. Also called honey locust.” Being from San Antonio she shouldn’t have to ask—another distracting tactic. Luke grinned and raised a suggestive eyebrow. “They’re as fertile as a vaquero after a month on the range.” The minute the words left his mouth, he wanted to jerk them back. He’d spoken too loud and—
“Daddy, what’s fur’l’?”
Luke groaned. “When big trees have lots of seeds to make baby trees.”
“Did I come from a seed?” Alicia’s sly little grin told him that, although she was too young and innocent to understand what she’d said to make him squirm, she knew something had.
He cleared his throat. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
Alicia giggled. “Was it a big, big, strong seed, or an itty bitty seed?”
“Strong an
d beautiful, just like you, Rosebud.”
Amber didn’t cover her mouth quickly enough to hide her smile. He met her gaze. Sexual electricity shot through him. The stillness of the moment thundered at his senses, the quiet broken only by the stomping hooves of their restless horses. He couldn’t stop looking at Amber. Her hair, a tumble of amber waves, caught glints of sunlight and cascaded about her shoulders.
“What are we waitin’ for?” Alicia asked in an impatient tone.
“Just admiring the scenery, Rosebud,” Luke said.
Forcing his gaze from Amber, he took a deep, fortifying breath and took the lead as he reined his stallion to the path that led down a slope. His tension eased as the distance grew wider between himself and this woman he found dangerously attractive. Her sigh suggested she, too, was relieved to have a little distance between them.
He rode toward a shady cluster of old pecans and oaks. Their deeply furrowed layers of bark captured the shadows of the leafy branches. Luke reined Rocket to a stop by the green waters that spilled over boulders in mini-waterfalls.
When Amber and Alicia caught up, he pointed to a grassy clearing next to Verde Creek. “Anyone hungry? This’s the best spot for lunch.”
Getting no argument, he dismounted. His saddle groaned with his shift of weight. Luke swept Alicia from Sleepy, and then turned to assist Amber. He steeled himself against desire as he grasped her waist and swung her to the ground.
As though unaware of his hands on her, Amber said, “Listen to the mockingbird, Alicia. I’ll bet it doesn’t have a birdhouse as nice as the one in your room.”
Amber was doing what he should be doing—ignoring the attraction between them.
“Daddy, will you build a birdhouse for the mockingbird?”
“I’ll give it some thought.” Luke darted another look at Amber. “See what you got me into?”
“It might be fun. We can all help.”
“With two expert carpenters like you ladies, how could I refuse?” He didn’t try to hide his sarcasm.
Amber smiled sweetly at Alicia. “Looks like we roped your daddy in.”
