by Cat Schield
Unsure what she should contribute to the conversation, Lark kept her back to her guests and focused on getting her side dishes into the oven. She still had a green salad to pull together. After agonizing over which recipe would be best received, she decided to go with a simple collection of lettuce, carrots, grape tomatoes and cucumber. Along with that, she’d offer four different types of salad dressing.
When she’d told Julie about her limited entertaining experience and tools, the research assistant reached out to the surgical nurses for help. They’d plied her with serving dishes and favorite recipes. Lark had come home with more than enough to satisfy Keaton’s parents.
“Relatively,” Keaton said. “We were three years apart in school and never had a chance to get to know each other. If not for Grace’s arrival, our paths might never have crossed.”
With everything as ready as it could be for the moment, Lark had no more excuses to avoid her guests. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked Gloria. “Water? Soda? Tea? Coffee? Wine?” She ran out of offerings and snapped her mouth shut.
“I have a bottle of your favorite Shiraz,” Keaton suggested.
“Maybe with dinner. For now I’ll take a glass of water.”
“Flat or sparkling?”
“Sparkling.”
“Plain? Lemon? Raspberry?”
Gloria shot her son an amused look. “No wonder you like her. She’s prepared for everything.”
Lark’s cheeks burned, but the remark hadn’t been unkind. “I wanted to make sure I had a variety of things on hand.”
“Lemon.” Gloria stepped into the kitchen and shooed her tall son out. “What can I do to help?”
Lark hovered near the refrigerator, a glass in one hand, a bottle of water in the other. “With ice or without?”
“Without is fine.” Keaton’s mother relieved her of the items with a gracious smile. “What can I do to help?” she repeated.
Knowing she would be all thumbs with Gloria in the kitchen, Lark gave her head a vigorous shake. “You came here to see your granddaughter, not to help me. Dinner’s in great shape. Most everything is ready to go.”
“Good. Then you can come sit with me and tell us everything about you.”
Although Lark wanted to protest, Keaton’s mother had her neatly trapped.
“There’s not much to tell.” She glanced at Keaton’s father, noting his stern expression, and wished she was anywhere but here.
“I’m sure that’s not the case,” Gloria replied, drawing Lark onto the couch and motioning for her husband to hand over Grace. “David, why don’t you go help Keaton with the steaks? You know how I like mine cooked.”
Lark was able to relax a little when the Holt men headed out back to the enormous grill Keaton had recently purchased. David Holt so obviously disapproved of her and Keaton being together. She wasn’t yet sure where Gloria’s opinion lay, but she suspected she was about to find out.
“My son is obviously taken with you.”
“I care for Keaton a great deal. I’m not going to hurt him. I hope you know that.” The three rapid-fire sentences left Lark breathless. She stared at Grace, longing for an ounce of the baby’s current tranquility.
“We’ve upset you. I’m sorry about that. It’s just that learning about your relationship with our son like this has come as a little bit of a shock.”
As much as Lark wanted to let her guard down with Gloria, she’d been fooled by someone’s appearance of niceness before. Not that she thought Keaton’s mother was manipulative. With her thoughts spinning in confused circles, Lark kept her lips pressed together.
The silence didn’t seem to bother Gloria. “I don’t want you to think that we’re prejudiced against your relationship with Keaton because you’re a Taylor.” She paused. “Well, perhaps my husband is a little distressed... But some of what’s caught us off guard is that Keaton has always been a private person. We know he dates, but he hasn’t brought a single girl around since high school. He must be pretty serious about you to share with us what’s going on between you.” She paused again to let her words sink in. “And so soon. How long have you been...seeing each other?”
Lark had a strong desire to shift uncomfortably, and held still with effort. “A couple weeks. Since he moved in here. I know things seem like they’re happening fast, but I’m not sure Keaton is as serious as you think. We’ve been thrown together by circumstances.”
But in truth, she wasn’t sure how Keaton felt. He made love to her with tenderness and passion, but that was in his nature. Lark doubted Keaton had left a string of casual one-night stands in his wake. At the same time, he was a man and not exactly ruled by his emotions. For one thing, she was pretty certain that of the two of them, she was the one falling harder.
“Is that how you feel about him?” Gloria asked. “That this is just a convenient fling?”
This wasn’t a conversation Lark wanted to be having with Keaton’s mother. Surely Gloria would understand that what happened between Lark and Keaton should remain between them.
“Neither one of us has spoken about the future. Right now we’re focused on Grace.” That said, Lark stood. “I’d better get everything ready. Those steaks are going to be done in no time, and I would hate for them to get cold while we wait for the rest of the food.”
Lark didn’t care that her retreat was graceless and desperate. She was prepared to satisfy the Holts’ culinary preferences and assure them her housekeeping skills were adequate. What she hadn’t equipped herself to do was explain what was happening between her and Keaton.
“You look a little pale,” he remarked as he came in to get the steaks.
“Your mother had questions about what’s going on with us.”
“What did you tell her?”
His frank curiosity irritated her. “That I had to get dinner ready. Can we talk about this later?”
“Did you mention that I have a hard time keeping my hands off you?” He took her backside in one large hand and gave a provocative squeeze.
The urge to laugh struck her. “Stop it this instant.” She kept her voice neutral and low so his mother wouldn’t know anything untoward was going on. “What has gotten into you?” Where was the solitary man who spoke little and kept everyone guessing?
The wicked glint in his eyes faded. “I’m sorry my mom gave you a hard time. I’ve already explained to my father that I won’t tolerate any attempts to make you uncomfortable. I’ll drop off the steaks with him and have the same chat with my mom.”
His earnest declaration made her head spin. No one had ever jumped to her defense before.
“Oh, please don’t.” The last thing Lark wanted was for Keaton’s relationship with his parents to suffer because she couldn’t handle a little admonishment. “She’s just worried about you. Besides, don’t forget I’ve been dealing with my mother, the tiger lady, all my life. By comparison your mom’s a pussy cat.”
He scrutinized her face for a long moment. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
But it was nice that he wanted to defend her. It was something she could get used to. Not that she should. She was telling the truth when she’d told his mother that they hadn’t discussed the future.
Proximity lust. She could never have used the term with Gloria, but it was an obvious explanation for what was going on with Keaton. Two people of the opposite sex thrown into everyday contact with each other. It was only a matter of time before desire exploded between them.
But while proximity lust described how the sparks had ignited between them, Lark wasn’t sure it justified why her desire for Keaton grew stronger each day or how badly it made her heart hurt when she imagined living alone in her house once more. That was more likely caused by how hard she was falling for him.
* * *
Keaton steered his truck into an empty space along the Richardsons’ driveway and cut the engine. Since the dinner with his parents, Lark had grown even more difficult to read, but not impossible. Looking at her
now, he could tell she was a nervous wreck. A classic introvert, she’d admitted she wasn’t at her best in crowds. And their very public appearance together was going to cause rampant speculation.
He lifted Lark’s hand and dusted a kiss across her knuckles. Her arm muscles jerked at the contact. She scanned the area around the truck as if searching for someone. A second later she slipped her hand free.
“Sorry,” she said, her voice husky with embarrassment. “I guess I’m a little more wound up than I thought.”
“You know it’s going to be okay, right?”
“Not if my parents are here.”
“Chances are they won’t be since neither of them has been any help in the recovery efforts and this party is to thank everyone who helped raise the Richardsons’ barn.” Keaton kept reproach from his tone as he pointed out her parents’ shortcomings, but Lark looked as if she’d been kicked in the gut. “I’m not saying anything you don’t already know.”
“You’re right.” She shot him a half smile. “I think this is the first time I’m glad my parents are so self-absorbed.”
Keaton detached Grace’s carrier from the car seat and met Lark by the hood. As much as he wanted to hold her hand the way he had during the drive from her house, he sensed she needed him to maintain a casual distance. Not easy, considering the way her perfume made his head spin and her soft skin begged to be caressed.
As they strolled through the guests, Keaton noticed almost the entire Texas Cattleman’s Club membership was in attendance. Often since the tornado had struck Royal, Keaton was glad he’d joined the club. His original purpose for joining hadn’t been social. Making small talk to pass the time wasn’t his idea of fun. Sure, he’d sometimes found the other members a good source of information on the market.
But in the beginning, he’d joined because he knew it would drive Tyrone Taylor crazy.
“People are staring at us,” Lark murmured, her eyes darting from one group to another.
Keaton saw curiosity and speculation in the expressions of the folks they passed. “Maybe if we stopped and spoke with someone, we could answer the questions on everyone’s mind.”
“Like who?”
He scanned the crowd and spotted a likely pair of candidates. “How about Drew and Beth?” Keaton switched direction without waiting for Lark’s response. Her discomfort worried him. He didn’t want her to feel like a fish in an aquarium.
“Keaton, we haven’t seen much of you lately,” Drew said, reaching his hand out. “How are things going at the ranch?”
“Coming along. The outbuildings will be finished the end of next week, and the interior work is beginning on the house.”
“That’s great.”
“Drew and Beth, you remember Lark Taylor. And this is our niece, Grace.”
“I heard what happened to your sister,” Beth said, peering into the carrier Keaton held. “Oh, she’s darling. But so tiny.”
“She was ten weeks premature,” Lark explained, her voice soft and hesitant. “But she’s doing really well.”
Beth paused in her cooing at the baby. “How’s Skye?”
Lark sighed. “She’s still in a coma. Dr. Wakefield, the trauma surgeon who saved her life, said with the type of brain injury Skye has, she could wake anytime.”
Or not at all.
Keaton knew what Lark feared. She’d broken down and spoken of her anxiety two nights ago after spending an hour sitting at her sister’s bedside. All the pressure of Skye’s coma and Grace’s early birth, not to mention her parents’ inflexible attitude toward their daughter and grandchild, was taking its toll.
“I hope it’s soon. This beautiful baby needs her mama.” Beth caught the attention of a redhead with long straight hair and bright green eyes. Megan McGuire, manager of Royal Safe Haven, the local animal shelter. “Megan, come meet Lark and her niece, Grace.”
“Why don’t I take Grace for a while?” Lark suggested to Keaton, her eyes brighter than they’d been a few minutes ago. She looked more confident since running into Beth. “Would you mind putting my cake on the dessert table?”
“Not at all.” Although he’d promised not to leave her side, she was obviously comfortable enough to send him away. They exchanged burdens and Keaton headed toward the heavily laden food tables with Drew strolling beside him.
“Forgive my curiosity,” Drew said, “but did you introduce Grace as your niece, as well?”
“Lark’s sister and my brother, Jake, left town together four years ago. Grace is their daughter.”
“Interesting. And now you and Lark?”
This was where things got sticky. Lark wanted to keep the truth hidden. Keaton wanted to shout his happiness from the rooftops. An unusual urge for him.
“We’re just co-caretaking Grace until Skye wakes up or my brother gets to town.”
“Oh.” Drew frowned. “Sorry. I assumed you two were together.”
Was the horse breeder unusually perceptive or were Keaton and Lark giving off a couple vibe? Knowing that wouldn’t make her happy, he frowned.
“Are we that obvious?” Keaton asked with a low laugh. “I was trying hard to behave.”
“Maybe not obvious to everyone.” Drew glanced around. “But ever since Beth and I got together, I see budding romances everywhere I turn.”
“Really?”
Keaton looked around. “I guess a few couples have fallen in love since the tornado.” Besides Drew and Beth, their acting mayor, Stella Daniels, and Aaron Nichols were such a couple. “It makes sense. Tragedy can bring out strong emotions.”
“And with so many people thrown together who wouldn’t normally be.” Drew paused. “Like you and Lark. Don’t the Holts and Taylors have some dispute between you?”
“A long-standing feud over land. It’s kept our families fighting for years.”
“That must have been hard on your brother and Lark’s sister.”
“They left town because of it.”
Keaton understood Lark’s worry. Unlike his sibling, Keaton let his responsibilities keep him tied to the Holt Ranch and by extension the town. Nor did he think Lark had any desire to live elsewhere. They were committed here. Sacrifices would be necessary if they intended to be together. At this point he was pretty sure whom she’d choose between her family and him.
“That’s tough,” Drew said.
“I could use a beer.” Keaton checked to see how Lark was doing and found her surrounded by women. “How about you?”
“Sounds great.”
It took Keaton another forty-five minutes to make his way back to Lark’s side. By the time he reached her, he expected she’d be furious that he’d left her, but she simply took his arm and smiled up at him.
“You two doing okay?” he asked, peering at a sleeping Grace.
“Just fine.”
“Sorry I was gone so long.”
“It’s okay. You’d have been bored standing around while all the women oohed and aahed over Grace and asked dozens of questions about preemies.”
“I’m sure you had answers for each and every one of their questions.”
“Of course.” A smile flitted across her lips, catching his attention. “We’re experts now, aren’t we?”
“We’re getting there.” He’d known that inviting her to accompany him today had been a risk, but so far it seemed to be paying off.
“And Grace wasn’t the only thing they wanted to know about,” she said, a hint of slyness in her tone. “A few asked if you and I were together.”
“What did you tell them?”
“What we agreed on.” Basically the same thing he’d told Drew.
“And that satisfied them?”
“Of course not. Each and every one believes you and I are together.”
Her matter-of-factness confused him. Wasn’t this what she’d been most afraid of?
“Are you worried it will get back to your parents?”
“I knew it would when I agreed to come.”
“So
why did you?”
“I’ve been really happy these last couple weeks, and that’s because of you.”
He didn’t push her for more. “You and I are good for each other.”
“And we’re not the only ones who think so.”
He doubted that would be enough to sustain her when her parents began pummeling her with their negative opinions. “Drew asked me if we were together too. He said since he and Beth have fallen in love he’s paying more attention to the relationships around him.”
“It’s funny that he would say that,” Lark said. “I’ve noticed myself being more interested in other people’s love lives. There’s a few people here who’ve started dating recently. And I can’t help wondering if something is going on between Paige Richardson and her brother-in-law.”
Keaton glanced over at their hosts. “Like what?”
“Not like they’re together,” Lark assured him, but frowned thoughtfully. “They’re really in sync. I suppose it could be shared grief over losing someone they both love. Except I think Paige is less sad than she used to be. Is that weird?”
Now that Lark had pointed it out, Keaton noticed the way Colby stayed close beside his brother’s widow but never touched her. Not even a casual brush of arms or hands. It was as if he took care to maintain space between them.
“Not weird. But maybe we’ve fallen prey to the same affliction that Drew has?”
“But Drew and Beth are in love,” Lark began, her voice trailing off as she caught Keaton’s gaze.
“Why don’t we say our goodbyes and get out of here?” Keaton suggested, letting her glimpse the flash of sexual intent in his eyes. Suddenly he was very impatient to get her home. “I think Grace has had enough excitement for one day, don’t you?”
“Sure.” But she sounded a little nervous as she agreed. She sucked her lower lip between her teeth as her color began to rise.
“I think everyone will understand that preemies are more delicate than the average newborn.”
“They are.” Her gaze clung to his. “It was good to bring her out, but I don’t want to push it.”
“Absolutely.” To anyone listening nearby, their conversation would seem mundane enough, but heat flared between them at their unspoken accord. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
