Tonight she wanted to run, not from gloom and depression, but from Luke, sitting across from her as cool and distant as if they’d never planned to marry one another, as if she were some stranger his sister had just introduced.
But there was no place to run tonight. With the roads adrift in snow, even walking was treacherous, and Jennifer knew she couldn’t walk fast enough to escape the flood of memories and emotions that inundated her.
Watching Luke with his nieces and nephews, and observing his tenderness when he tucked each of them in bed to await their parents’ good-night kisses, had torn at Jennifer’s heart, reviving long-lost memories she’d thought she’d buried for good.
One memory in particular haunted her. It had been a night as different from tonight as possible. The warm breezes of that long-ago summer had carried the fragrance of wildflowers and prairie grasses, and the trickling music of the creek that meandered through the valley. Luke had picked up Jennifer at her grandparents’ in the late afternoon, and they had driven to the empty rolling prairie west of town.
Luke had taken the basket filled with the picnic supper Jennifer had packed, she grabbed a tartan blanket and they had hiked to a large sandstone outcropping that rose hundreds of feet into the sky, like a sentinel in the middle of the prairie. Laughing like children, they had scaled the minimountain and spread the tartan at the top. From their vantage point, they could spot the glint of the Yellowstone River, cutting through a distant line of trees, and the forlorn beauty of the gumbo badlands of the Sheep Mountains.
The strong breeze alleviated the summer heat as they ate their supper, battered Stetsons shielding their heads from the descending sun, and Luke regaled her with stories of his job as a deputy, so enthusiastic over his new career and the telling that he almost forgot to eat.
Jennifer’s worries over Luke’s safety had temporarily marred the enjoyment of the evening.
“Aren’t you in danger?” she’d asked, recalling too many televised scenes of law officers’ funerals, with flag-draped coffins, bagpipe dirges and mourning families.
Luke had thrown back his head with a sharp laugh. “Not unless someone turns homicidal over a stray pig, a parking ticket or a zoning violation. I’m more likely to die of boredom.”
But Jennifer knew he wasn’t bored. As long as Luke was interacting with people, he would always find life interesting.
“But if trouble does come, I’m well trained for it. You mustn’t worry about me. Besides—” he drew her closer and cupped her face in his hands, and his eyes danced like blue flames “—if I truly thought this job would shorten my life expectancy, we wouldn’t be making the plans we’ve made.”
“What plans?” she asked, pretending innocence to have the pleasure of hearing him recite them again.
“Next summer, we’re going to have the biggest wedding Jester has ever seen, with everybody in town and half of Pine Run invited.”
“And you’ll wear a tuxedo?” She stifled a grin, knowing he’d balked at the idea from the start.
“Only if you hog-tie me first.”
“I know a few of your friends who might be willing to lend a hand.”
“Not if they want to live long and happy lives.”
“And after the wedding?” Jennifer asked.
His arms tightened around her. “We’re going to live to be a hundred. Together, and loving each other every day of our lives.”
“You skipped a part,” she teased.
“What part is that?” He nuzzled her neck with his lips, sending shivers of delight cascading through her until she almost forgot his question.
“The children,” she said, when she finally managed to draw breath.
“Ah, yes. Clan McNeil. How could I forget?”
“Clan?” She pretended alarm, enjoying the game. “How many in a clan?”
His strong, capable hands skimmed from her shoulders to her wrists. He clasped her fingers in his and drew them to his lips. “As many as we want. As many as we can afford to care for properly.”
An unexpected uneasiness stirred within her. “I’m not sure….”
He snapped his head up and drilled her with a worried glance. “About marrying me?”
She shook her head. “Oh, Luke, you know how much I love you. I just worry about what kind of a mother I’ll be.”
His face lightened. “You’ll be fine.”
“But I have so little experience with children. I don’t have younger brothers or sisters. And at boarding school, as I grew older, we were always separated from the younger girls.”
He pulled her close again. “I’m not worried.”
“But I’ve never even changed a diaper.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“You know how?”
“Sure. Mom taught me to change Vickie’s.”
“But you couldn’t have been more than five.” Luke’s confidence in her was melting her reservations.
“Mom needed the help, and I was a quick study.” His face was brighter than the sun lunging toward the horizon. “And you’ve had more experience with children than you give yourself credit for.”
Jennifer frowned. “Like what?”
“Like for the last four or five years, you’ve taken over the preschool Sunday school class—”
“But that was just when the preacher’s wife went on vacation with her husband,” Jennifer argued.
Luke continued, undeterred. “And the rest of the time, you’ve been her assistant. You’re great with those little kids, Jen. I’ve watched you. They adore you. You’ll make a terrific mother.”
The tangle of anxiety unraveled within her, loosened by his confidence in her. “In that case, I want a boy who looks just like you.”
“I wouldn’t be unhappy if all our children look exactly like their mother.”
He’d kissed her then, atop the outcropping, with the wind swirling around them, the sun setting behind the mountains and the evening star shining down like a blessing.
She opened her body and her soul to him with that kiss, feeling the length of his muscular form cleaving to hers, fiery with the heat of desire. His lips devoured hers, and his hands caressed her until she was dizzy with longing and anticipation.
“We’re engaged now, Luke. We don’t have to wait.” She yearned to make love with him like dry ground craves water.
“Dear God, Jenny, don’t tempt me.”
“I’m not being coy, Luke. I want us to be together tonight.”
He pulled away gently, then took her hands again and gazed into her eyes, his own filled with pain. “I can’t.”
Confusion struck her. He couldn’t? A flurry of possible explanations filled her mind. Impotence? Not likely. Luke McNeil was the most virile man she’d ever met and he’d just voiced his expectations for children. Lack of desire? That contradicted what she read in his eyes, felt in his touch, observed in the telltale bulge of his jeans. Then her mind cleared. “If you’re afraid I’ll get pregnant—”
“It’s not that.” He cupped her face in his hands, then grazed her cheeks with his knuckles, a simple touch that stoked the already raging fire in her and turned her knees to water. “I made a promise.”
“Promise?” Her confusion returned tenfold. “Like a religious vow?”
“In a way. I promised your grandfather that I wouldn’t take advantage of you.”
“Take advantage of me?” Her anger flared. “What am I, some incompetent who can’t think for her self? I want you, Luke. Don’t I have some say-so in this? After all, it’s me, not Grandpa Henry, you’d be making love to.”
His groan expressed more frustration than any words could relate. “I want you, too, Jennifer, in the worst—” a seductive smile creased his face “—and the best way. But I’m a man of my word. I can’t break my promise to your grandfather. We’ll have to wait until we’re married.”
A man of his word, he’d said, all those years ago….
Jennifer stole a glance at Luke across the table, carefully
cutting his pot roast as if to avoid looking at her. He had kept his word to Henry, but he’d broken his promise to marry her. What kind of man did that?
And why?
“Don’t you think that’s a good idea?” Vickie was asking.
Jennifer shook off her memories. Across the table, Luke had assumed the uncomfortable demeanor of a nocturnal animal frozen in a sudden bright light.
“Sorry, Vickie,” Jennifer admitted. “What were you saying?”
“You mentioned you’re having car trouble, right?”
Jennifer relaxed, happy for a neutral subject, but wondering why her car problem had spooked Luke. “I called Tex’s Garage and explained what it’s doing.”
“Tex probably wasn’t much help,” Nathan said. “He works mostly on farm equipment and older cars.”
“That’s what he told me,” Jennifer replied. “He suggested I take my car into the dealership in Pine Run. Something about computerized diagnostics. But with the snowstorm, the road’s impassable.”
“But the weather will clear tomorrow, won’t it?” Vickie asked Luke.
He broke open a biscuit and slathered it with butter. “The storm’s moving out. The crews will work all night and have the road open by morning.”
Vickie nodded with satisfaction. “That will work just fine, then, won’t it, Jennifer?”
Apparently she had missed more of the conversation than she’d realized. “What will work just fine?”
“Luke has to go to Pine Run in the morning,” Vickie said, so casually Jennifer was sure her friend had plotted her response long and hard. “He can follow you in to make sure your car arrives at the dealership, then give you a ride back.”
Luke took a bite of biscuit and chewed, but said nothing.
“I can’t impose on Luke.” The thought of being closed up in a car with him for the ride back from Pine Run made Jennifer feel suddenly panicky.
As if sensing her distress, Nathan reached over and patted her hand. “You won’t be imposing if Luke’s making the trip anyway, will she, Luke?”
Luke swallowed his mouthful of biscuit, his expression unfathomable. “To serve and protect, that’s our motto. Giving you a lift back from Pine Run is part of the service.”
Jennifer’s heart sank. She could tell Luke was just being polite, that probably the last thing he wanted was being cooped up alone with her on the drive back from Pine Run, but there was no way she could turn down his suggestion without looking petulant and childish.
Feeling as if her face would crack from her forced smile, she nodded. “Thanks, Luke. I appreciate the offer.”
Offer, my foot, Jennifer thought with a twinge of annoyance at Vickie’s clever maneuvering. Her friend had backed them both into a box neither could escape from.
“Good,” Vickie said, with nothing fake about her wide grin of satisfaction. “Now that’s settled, who wants dessert?”
LUKE HAD BEEN RIGHT on the money about the weather. The next morning dawned clear, and so bright Jennifer had to dig her sunglasses out of her purse in preparation for the drive to Pine Run.
As she approached her car, her heart swelled with gratitude toward Finn Hollis. He apparently intended to take his old friend’s granddaughter under his wing, because he’d sent his grandson Seth to the boarding house long before sunrise. Not only had the lanky nineteen-year-old dug her car out of a drift; he’d also used a snowblower to clear a path to the street.
Praying that whatever was affecting her car would allow it to reach Pine Run before breaking down completely, Jennifer eased the sedan down the drive and onto Main Street. Thankful for the snow tires that gripped the icy road, she parked alongside the curb behind Luke’s dark SUV, with its prominent Sheriff markings, light bar and grillwork separating the front seat from the rear. She couldn’t help wondering how many dangerous felons, if any, he’d driven to jail confined to that back seat.
A work crew was busy clearing snow from the sidewalks as Jennifer left her car and walked to the sheriff’s office, a change from the old days when snow lay until it melted or folks wore their own paths. Maybe Mayor Bobby Larson’s intentions to put Jester on the map were behind the rapid-response cleanup efforts.
Drawing a deep breath and gathering her courage for her next encounter with Luke, Jennifer shoved open the door of the sheriff’s office and stepped inside. Warm, dry air greeted her, and she closed the door quickly behind her to prevent its escape.
The room was small and utilitarian. Beige walls, pine desk and chairs, filing cabinets and a dilapidated table that held a coffeemaker and a supply of foam cups were the room’s only furnishings. Gouges and scuff marks covered the hardwood floors, especially thick near the door that led to the jail cell, as if soon-to-be prisoners had dragged their feet. The room smelled of pine cleaner, with a hint of Luke’s citrus-scented aftershave.
Luke glanced up from the file spread open on the desk in front of him, and her heart twisted at the sight of him. The years had made him more handsome, if anything, but even at thirty-three, not a trace of gray was evident in his coal-black hair. The tiny lines at the corners of his eyes added character to his face, and his wide generous mouth made her ache with memories of his kisses.
“Ready?” he asked in a nonchalant tone.
For a moment, she feared he had read her mind. She was ready, all right. Ready to throw herself into his arms and beg him to love her again. Then reason and pride shook her out of her impossible daydream.
“No hurry,” she said. “I can fit my schedule to yours.”
“I have several errands in Pine Run.” His voice remained almost toneless. “It might be afternoon before I head back here.”
“Suits me. I have several stops to make. If I’m lucky, my car might even be ready by then.”
The impersonal level of their exchange depressed her. She recalled conversations from the past where the atmosphere had zinged with electricity and witty repartee, sparked by the attraction that had hovered between them.
Before he could rise from his desk, his phone rang. “Sheriff’s office.”
From the scowl on his face, Jennifer could tell Luke wasn’t happy about the call.
“Okay, Bobby, I’ll be down in a minute.” Luke grimaced at the caller’s reply, then answered, “Sure, Robert, if that’s what you want.”
He slammed the phone into its cradle, pushed back from his desk and reached for his coat.
“Trouble?” Jennifer asked.
“Pain in the neck,” Luke muttered. “I have to run down to the town hall for a few minutes. I’ve been summoned by His Honor.”
“The mayor?”
“None other.” Luke shrugged into his coat and slammed on his Stetson. “I swear the man’s developed delusions of grandeur ever since the lottery win.”
“And he really makes you call him Robert?”
The tightness in Luke’s face relaxed and he almost smiled. “He tries. Look, why don’t you have a cup of coffee at the Brimming Cup, and I’ll meet you there when the mayor’s through with me.”
“Sure.” Relief cascaded through her. Anything to avoid the tension between them a few minutes longer.
Luke opened the door for her, and she preceded him out into the sunshine. He walked alongside her, shortening his long-legged stride to match hers. When she stepped off the curb to cross Big Draw Drive, her foot slipped on the ice, and only Luke’s firm grip kept her from crashing to the ground. He’d clasped his arms around her to stop her fall, and she found herself pressed against the soft suede of his jacket. His familiar male scent filled her nostrils, rocking her with nostalgia.
She’d forgotten how good his arms around her felt, how much she loved the smell of him, and she had to force herself to push away, when all she wanted was to bury herself deeper in his embrace.
What was the matter with her?
The man was an old flame, nothing more, and now practically engaged to someone else. With her cheeks burning with embarrassment as well as cold, she avoided his ga
ze. “Thanks for the save.”
“Serve and protect, remember.” His words were casual, but the slight catch in his voice made her wonder if their contact had affected him as much as it had her.
“Good thing there’s not much traffic in Jester,” he said lightly.
“What?”
“We’d both have been run over by now.”
She almost slipped again in her haste to get off the street, and Luke gripped her elbow until she was safely on the sidewalk in front of the barbershop.
“Can you make it across Main Street all right?” he asked.
Her face flamed again. “Sure. I’m not as old and feeble as I look.”
He started to say something, then closed his mouth and nodded toward the diner. “Then I’ll meet you there as soon as I can get away from the mayor.”
Without a backward glance, he turned and trudged up the street toward the town hall.
Before Jennifer headed for the diner, she caught sight of Finn Hollis through the barbershop window. Will Devlin was sprawled in the barber’s chair, and Dean Kenning was giving him a trim. Finn sat in one of the waiting chairs, a battered copy of Time magazine in his hands.
Jennifer rapped on the glass and beckoned to Finn when he glanced her way. She knew better than to enter that bastion of maleness, considered off-limits to the females of Jester. Meeting his cronies had been one of her grandfather’s favorite pastimes, but he had always admonished her never to enter, but to knock on the window if she needed him. Dean waved a greeting with the hand that held the scissors, then went back to his barbering. Finn pushed himself to his feet and headed for the door.
Outside on the sidewalk, he enveloped her in a hug. “You haven’t changed a bit, Jenny, even though I haven’t seen you for several months of Sundays.”
She returned his embrace, savoring the warmth and inhaling the scent of English Leather, old books and pipe tobacco that had clung to the man as long as she’d known him. Finn had always been like a member of the family. “It’s good to see you, Uncle Finn. Thank you for sending Seth over this morning. I’d still be digging out my car without his help.”
“I’d have done it myself,” Finn said, “but I’m not as young as I used to be.”
Surprise Inheritance Page 7
