A Cowgirl's Secret - By Laura Marie Altom Page 0,49
put aside our differences in order to stay together until Kolt leaves for college, then what? Would we still want to be with each other?” When he didn’t answer, she noted, “Now you’re the quiet one.”
“Guess I have a lot on my mind.”
“I’m sorry Kolt mentioned what his friends at school have been saying. While I hate his being given a hard time about anything, let alone an issue that’s in our power to fix, that’s not a good enough reason to marry. Agreed?”
Though Luke nodded, stress knotted the base of his neck. He didn’t want to marry Daisy, but he resented like hell having first Dallas, then her tell him it would be a bad idea. He hadn’t thought of it before, but aside from taking Daisy to court, marriage would be the most certain and relatively painless way to ensure Luke got to spend as much time as possible with his son. It was the perfect solution for all concerned parties.
Too bad from the sounds of it Daisy would never agree.
Chapter Thirteen
“You are so welcome,” Daisy said to her client Jane Richmond, who’d just received her first child-support payment in over two years. After returning Jane’s hug, Daisy walked her out of the office, closing the door behind her.
Moments like these made her glad she’d chosen this path.
As opposed to Sunday night’s awkward conversation, during which she’d wished she could hide beneath her chair. Yes, she would like nothing more than for Luke and her to become an official family, but she wouldn’t beg.
Back at her desk, she lost herself in a file Barb had sent. The case was a meaty corporate cover-up that took her mind off Luke.
At least until he walked in the door.
Dressed in jeans, a dirt-smudged white T-shirt, boots and what she knew to be his favorite cowboy hat, he looked good enough to kiss until she was too weak-kneed to stand. “Hey,” he said with a tip of his stupid, sexy hat, “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Nope.” Yes. She had at least another three hours before she should even think about taking a break. Too bad for her, Luke looked so damned gorgeous.
“In that case, how about taking a stroll? It’s the kind of day Weed Gulch only sees a few times a year. Not too hot. Not too cold. No wind. No ragweed. I’m pretty sure it’s a criminal offense not to be out there enjoying it.”
His argument was ludicrous, but at the same time, sadly true. Laughing, she pushed back her chair. “Yes, Luke, I will stroll with you, but only if we head toward ice cream.”
“Done.” He crooked his arm, and she slipped hers through it.
Outside, Daisy tipped her face to the sun. “Wow. I’d forgotten how good it feels not to run from place to place in the eternal search for air conditioning.”
“You really are something,” Luke said.
She glanced his way to find him staring. “What did I do?”
“You’re beautiful. After all this time, I still feel like a geeky freshman checking out the hottest cheerleader.”
“Luke Montgomery,” she chastised, “you were never a geek. More like a god.”
“Your history’s a bit skewed,” he said with a devilish grin, “but you won’t hear me complaining.”
When Luke shockingly held out his hand for her to hold, Daisy eased her fingers between his. The simple touch hit her with an erotic jolt. Pulse racing, it was all she could do to keep from skipping like a giddy little girl.
They got ice cream—Luke chocolate and Daisy had a vanilla twist—and chose a picnic table well away from the others on the grassy lawn. Again Daisy was struck with the pleasant and rare sensation that nothing needed to be said. They’d known each other for so long that they knew each other’s highlights. All they were missing were the gaps from the past ten years. Those could be filled in easily enough. Assuming Luke wanted them to be.
Finished with his cone, he wadded his napkin and tossed it basketball-style into a rusty trash barrel.
“Nice,” she said when his shot made it in. “That was well within the three-point range.”
“Thanks.” He grinned at her before sharply looking away. “Look, I feel rotten about buying you ice cream under false pretenses.”
“Oh?” Just when her heart had resumed its normal sedate pace, his new, pensive expression set her on edge.
“I need to apologize for Sunday, as I wasn’t entirely honest with you.”
“In what regard?” Daisy managed to ask even though she wasn’t sure she wanted to