Rocky Mountain Dreams & Family on the Range by Danica Favorite (summer beach reads txt) 📕

by. She glanced at Lou. He looked completely relaxed, the planes of his face smooth. He’d gotten a shave somewhere, and the shadowed line of his jaw was strong beneath the street lamps. He walked as though he knew this place well.

Which, of course, he must, having the bureau’s field office here.

“It’s odd being alone together, don’t you think?” she asked.

He gave her a funny look. “Not odd to me. It’s...nice,” he finished. “Do you miss Harney County?”

“This place is so different, so many people. But what I miss more is my kitchen. My hands itch to bake.”

“Really? A literal itching?”

She smiled at him, lifting her hands. “Do you not see the rash?”

He peered at them.

She giggled and dropped her hands. “I’m teasing you, Lou.”

“Oh.” Then he cracked a smile that split through her defenses. “Mary the jokester. I like it. And what did you think of your meal tonight? You know, your cooking is tastier.” At her doubtful look, he held up a hand. “No, really. I’ve been around the world, Mary O’Roarke, and your meals rival any fine-dining experience.”

What did a girl say to that? They kept walking, and then Lou cleared his throat. Never a good sign. “I don’t know how else to say this, but tonight I was brought a telegram. We’ve got an offer on the ranch.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Did you hear me?” Lou paused beneath a streetlamp.

Mary nodded, though her heart felt as though it had lodged painfully in her sternum.

“Well, say something,” he said, his tone strained.

But she couldn’t speak. The words remained bottled inside, not yet fully formed. What could she say? It was his ranch. She’d been blessed to stay there. She blinked to ward off any unwelcome tears.

“I wish you’d say something. Tell me how you feel.” He swiped a hand through his hair. It hung in lopsided angles, tangled by his regret. “This wasn’t how I planned things to happen. The sale was expected to take months. Then, if you didn’t want to stay on with the new owners, you’d have time to get a new job and place. Independence is within your grasp.”

She swallowed hard. “I should want such a thing.”

“What?”

“Independence. I am thirty years old. Unmarried. I should want to have my own home, shouldn’t I?” What was wrong with her that she didn’t? No, she wanted things to continue as they had. Peaceful. Secure.

Lou looked away. “Everyone wants different things, Mary. I’m sorry for uprooting you, but it needs to be done.”

She exhaled a shaky breath. “Why? For what reasons must you sell?”

He looked at her then and his eyes pierced her. “It’s never been my home. Ever. It’s been a place to sleep and a place to eat. That’s it.”

His answer cut her to the core. “Never? All those times we ate and laughed?” There’d been many times she sewed by the fire while he shared an adventure he’d just been on. It had been cozy. Familial, even. “You never felt...home?”

He sighed heavily. “Home is not something I expect to ever feel again. That’s just the way of it, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Perhaps I do not own the ranch and am nothing more than an employee, one you’ve conveniently cast aside for new employment, but I have feelings. You don’t want to talk about it, but the longer I stand here, the angrier I get.” There, she’d told him. There had been a knot of anger growing in her belly, maybe ever since she’d found that letter after his kiss. “And furthermore, how dare you kiss me knowing you have no intention of returning?”

Yes, anger was coursing through her now, heating her blood and pouring rash words into her mouth.

“Now, Mary, hold on a minute. That kiss was completely unexpected.”

“Was it?” she challenged, and was surprised to see a furrow appear at the ridge of his brow.

“I just needed to...”

“To what?” The wind picked up, whipping hair around his face. The lamplight surrounded him and she felt as though she must be standing in darkness. Could he see her anger? How he’d hurt her with his indifference?

Shivering, she glared at him.

He nudged his coat from his shoulders and draped it over her before sighing deeply, heavily. “I don’t know, Mary, and I’m sorry for that. I got carried away with emotion and it wasn’t the right thing to do.”

His apology irked her, though wasn’t it what she wanted? The scent of his jacket surrounded her, filled her senses and warmed her.

“Someday,” he continued, “a fine man in town will take to courting you. All this will be in the past.”

“Do you mean forgettable? The way you’ve conveniently forgotten Josie? You handed her off like a package to be delivered.” Her voice broke.

“Don’t bring her into this. She doesn’t belong to you or me.” Lou’s voice lifted, causing passersby to glance their way. “And our kiss wasn’t forgettable. If you don’t understand my meaning, I can show you right now.”

To her surprise he moved nearer, out of the circle of light and into the shadows between them. Energy sizzled through the air, tension emanated from his body, and a quiver unrelated to cold shuddered through her.

“I think not,” she said coolly, and moved opposite him so that she now stood closer to the lamppost. Her pulse hammered. “I have had enough of your kisses to last a lifetime.”

“You didn’t complain about them before,” he said tightly.

Confident, carefree Lou was gone. Where he went, she didn’t know, but before her stood the real man. Edgy. Determined. And for some odd reason, angry. All because she’d brought up Josie. Again she thought of secrets. He possessed them, and in abundance.

She nodded at him slowly. “You are a practiced kisser. It was a fine experience.”

“A fine experience,” he mimicked, then let out a bark of laughter empty of joy.

“It was also disruptive,” she said gently. She must tread softly, for mentioning God in the past had often upset him. “Kissing did nothing but stir up