Читать книгу One Unforgettable Night: Wild at Heart / From This Moment On / Her Last Best Fling - Candace Havens, Debbi Rawlins - Страница 14

FROM THE MOMENT Jack arrived on the platform, Luke knew that he’d come to check out the situation brewing with Naomi. Jack was easing into the role of reigning monarch of the Last Chance, despite the fact he wasn’t yet forty. But he considered everyone on the ranch, and most of the people in town, too, as his people—people who required his guidance.

Luke had found it kind of amusing until today. Yes, Jack was his boss, and technically what happened on his property was under his control, but…Okay, maybe Jack had some authority here. Luke didn’t have to like it.

Archie, though, was another story. Luke couldn’t resist that rosy-cheeked little boy. He dragged the stool over to a spot that would give Archie the best view of the eagles and sat with the kid on his lap and helped him look through the binoculars. It was tricky because Archie didn’t quite get the concept of the binoculars.

Luke had a little trouble managing both child and binoculars. He didn’t want to drop either one, with the kid being the more important of the two.

Naomi came to his rescue. “You hold Archie, and I’ll hold the binoculars.”

“Wanna hold nockles!” Archie stubbornly refused to give up his right to have a hand on them, even if he didn’t quite understand how they worked.

“Okay,” Naomi said. “We’ll all hold them. You, me and Luke.”

“’Kay.” Archie settled down.

Naomi crouched down next to them. “Archie, can you make your fingers do this?” She created two circles with her thumbs and forefingers and held them up to her eyes.

Archie imitated her, which meant he had to let go of the binoculars, but Luke made sure they didn’t drop.

“That’s how the binoculars work,” Naomi said. “Like your fingers, only better.”

Jack observed from the sidelines. “Brilliant.”

“We’ll see.” Naomi had Archie practice with his fingers some more, and then she tried the binoculars again. Eventually Archie caught on.

Once he did, he was very excited. “Birds! I see birds!”

Luke held him as he bounced, but Archie kept his eyes pressed against the twin lenses. Glancing over at Naomi, Luke discovered her looking back at him. They exchanged a smile.

He had a brief flash of what it would be like to be a dad teaching his kid how to use binoculars for the first time. He’d always assumed that whenever he wanted a kid fix, he’d borrow one, like now. But being able to share this kind of moment on a regular basis had its appeal, especially if the other person in the equation happened to be a woman like Naomi.

Then he corrected himself. Not someone like Naomi, because he’d already determined that she was one of a kind. It would have to be Naomi herself. He was thinking crazy. He’d been over this ground and knew what he wanted out of life. Absolute and complete freedom.

Being a father came at a stiff price. His own father had made no secret of that. At a young age, Luke had asked for a baby sister or brother. Luke’s dad had rolled his eyes and proclaimed that one kid was more than enough to take care of. Luke had never forgotten his father’s martyred expression.

Luke could have fun on a temporary basis with other people’s kids, like Archie. The little boy had a fairly long attention span for his age, but when the thrill was gone, it was totally gone. Luke handed the binoculars to Naomi and stood up, hoisting Archie into his arms.

Archie wiggled in protest. “Wanna get down!”

“That’s my cue,” Jack said. “Time to get this guy home. Can’t have him running around on a platform twenty feet in the air.”

“Great job on the platform,” Luke said. “It’s plenty sturdy.”

“Glad to hear it.” Jack continued to eye Luke with suspicion. “How about helping me get Archie down the ladder? Climbing up is much easier. I’d appreciate it if you’d go down and hold it steady at the bottom.”

“Will do.” It was a reasonable request, but Luke couldn’t help thinking there was an ulterior motive involved.

Sure enough, when Jack reached the bottom safely with Archie on his hip, he turned to Luke and lowered his voice. “What’s going on with you and Naomi?”

Luke glanced up toward the platform. He wasn’t sure how well sound carried. “We’re attracted to each other, and we’re both consenting adults.”

“I figured something like that.”

“Did Emmett say anything?”

“No, he didn’t.” Jack speared Luke with a glance. “Is he aware of this?”

“He is. I talked to him last night. He said I could ride Smudge over here.”

“That reminds me. You were at the Spirits and Spurs with Emmett last night. What was your take on this Clifford Mason guy?”

“Dresses like a rhinestone cowboy, but other than that, I know nothing about him. Emmett’s not happy that Pam went to dinner with him.”

“She did that because she’s the main sponsor of the town’s Fourth of July spectacular. Mason is providing the fireworks, and Pam’s paying for them.”

“Does Emmett know that?”

“He does now, because I told him. I also told him that rumor has it the guy is interested in Pam. He didn’t take that well. So FYI, he’s not in the best of moods.”

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll watch myself. He’s not totally in favor of my coming out here, so if he’s upset about something else besides…” Luke sighed. “I’ll just be careful.”

“Do that. Look, I don’t care what you do on your own time, for the most part, but Naomi is a great person, and you’ve made it clear you’re leaving.”

“She knows that. She’s fine with it.”

“Okay.” Jack didn’t sound as if he believed it.

“Wanna go home.” Archie laid his head on Jack’s shoulder.

“I know you have to head back, but I have a question.” Luke could see Archie was fading. He needed his nap. “If Emmett didn’t say anything about me coming to see Naomi, how did you figure out what was going on?”

“Mom asked me if I had any ideas about cleaning your hat. I know Naomi’s big on that green glop, and when I realized that was the liquid that had ruined your hat, I put two and two together.”

“My hat’s ruined?”

“It’s ruined, bro. You can’t treat a good hat that way and expect it to survive.” Jack looked rather cheerful delivering the news.

“Sorry to hear that.” Luke decided not to point out that Naomi had been the one to spill the energy drink on his hat. He’d had nothing to do with the accident. Oh, well. He’d resigned himself to this loss, but that didn’t make him happy to hear the hat was DOA.

“Just so you know, if you break Naomi’s heart, more than your hat is in jeopardy.”

“I’ve been completely honest with her, Jack. She knows I don’t intend to settle down.”

Jack gazed at him. “If you say so. But she’s one of ours. And you’re not.” He touched the brim of his hat. “See you back at the ranch.”

As Jack walked away and mounted up, Luke ran a hand over his face. She’s one of ours. And you’re not. That was true, and it was his choice. He’d never been part of any group, and he’d liked it that way.

So why did Jack’s words sting? He didn’t want to be tied down to this community, or to any community, for that matter. Sure, Jack had a close family, a loving wife and a cute kid, but they all came at the price of his freedom. Jack couldn’t pick up and leave whenever he wanted to. He had obligations.

Knowing that, Luke shouldn’t be affected by the dire warning Jack had thrown out. The guy’s threats were empty and meaningless to someone like Luke. They shouldn’t have any effect on him whatsoever.

And they wouldn’t. He knew who he was and what he wanted out of life. Many people didn’t, and they stumbled along without a plan, allowing circumstances to dictate their future. He wasn’t like that.

He waited until Jack and Archie rode away. Then he called up to the platform. “Still want some lunch?”

Naomi came to the top of the ladder. “More than ever. I’m famished.” She hesitated. “Did Jack give you a talking-to?”

“Oh, yeah. He and Emmett are both worried that I’m going to break your heart. But Jack was more direct. He promised if I broke your heart, he’d break my legs. Or something to that effect.”

“Good grief! Don’t these guys realize I can take care of myself?”

“Apparently not.”

“I find that rather patronizing…but sort of sweet, too.”

Luke took note of that. She might not like being considered a fragile flower in need of protection from men like him, but she didn’t mind having representatives from the community watching out for her, either. He’d be wise not to criticize either Emmett or Jack for their behavior. Naomi loved them both and was flattered that they cared enough to stick up for her, even if it wasn’t required.

But she’d welcomed Luke to her hideaway, and he’d had one hell of a time with her until Jack had shown up. Despite Jack’s obvious scrutiny of their arrangement, Naomi hadn’t told Luke to go away. She, at least, didn’t think Luke was taking unfair advantage of her. In fact, he’d be shortchanging her if he let Jack’s visit cast a pall over the celebration.

He gazed up at her. “I’ll be back in a flash with some food.”

“Sounds great.”

“If you feel like taking off your hiking boots, don’t let me stop you.”

She laughed, as he’d hoped she would. Then she blew him a kiss and moved away from the edge of the platform. Yeah, they would get their groove back. Jack Chance wasn’t going to rain on their parade.

Within fifteen minutes, he had a feast spread out on the platform. He’d even brought a tablecloth, which impressed Naomi to no end.

“Pretty fancy for camping, Griffin.” She sat on the far side of the checkered cloth he’d spread out on the platform. And she was, happy day, barefoot.

“You’re camping, but I rode in on a horse, so I can provide more luxuries.” He was proud of the cheese, cold cuts and sliced bakery bread he’d brought for making sandwiches. Shoshone’s little grocery store wasn’t huge, but it carried quality stuff. He’d included only mustard because mayonnaise didn’t keep as well.

“This is wonderful.” Naomi took one of the paper plates he’d provided and made a sandwich.

Luke waited until she was finished before putting his together. “I considered bringing wine, but I didn’t want to sabotage your eagle research, so I brought sparkling water instead. Which reminds me, do you need to check on the birds?”

“After we finish lunch. The webcam does the bulk of the work, but someone should be monitoring the nest on a regular basis and taking some digital still shots. The professor gets the constant webcam feed, but he makes good use of my personal notes and the stills, too.”

“How did you hook up with him?”

“He put an ad in the paper, and out of all the people who answered it, he picked me.”

“Of course he would.” Luke was quickly becoming her biggest fan. “You have the credentials and you’re extremely personable. I’m surprised you haven’t landed a job with one of the national parks yet.”

“Everyone has budget issues, and I’m relatively new to the profession. The parks are struggling to keep their veterans employed, and that’s what they should do. I can wait it out. I don’t have lots of bills, and I can stay with my folks and pay a small amount of rent. I also have some savings.”

He nodded. “You’re like me. I don’t worry if I don’t have a job right this minute, because I know I’ll find something eventually. Whereas my dad got a job with an electronics company right out of college and never left. He thinks if he did, no one else would hire him.”

“And you don’t want to live in fear like that,” she said.

“God, no. Fear makes you afraid to take risks.” He bit into his sandwich. It was about a thousand times better than her energy drink.

“Have you ever been engaged?”

Now, there was a question right out of left field. She should know that he wouldn’t do that. “I’m not into marriage.” He glanced at her. “How about you?”

“A guy asked me once, but I couldn’t see him as the father of my children. So I said no, but I did my best to be gentle about it.”

“So that’s your criteria? A guy has to pass muster as the future father of your children?”

“Well, I need to love him passionately, and we need a good sex life, but yeah, I’d want to be able to picture him as my future children’s dad. Animals in the wild use that yardstick all the time and it’s not a bad one.”

She sure wouldn’t consider a wanderer like him as a viable father of her kids, which was a good thing, really. “I take it you are planning to have kids, then.”

She laughed. “I’m planning and my parents are praying. I’m an only child, so if they’re going to have grandchildren to spoil, I’m their only hope.”

He was also an only child. His mother had made some noises about grandkids, but his dad had cautioned him to live his life for himself and not worry about providing grandchildren. Luke had heard the unspoken message—don’t make my mistakes.

Naomi gazed at him. “Did you think I wouldn’t want kids?”

“I don’t see how you’d manage a family and still be so involved with wild-animal research.”

“People do manage it. There’s a woman who took her little boy out on the boat while she studied whales. If I could get a job at Yellowstone, then being married and having a family would be no problem at all because it’s so close to Shoshone. My folks would help when they could, and I know a bunch of people around here. Child care would be a breeze because I’d have a support system.”

He stared at her as a million contradictory thoughts battled in his head. “That kind of thinking is so foreign to me. I’ve never thought in terms of having a support system.” He was both attracted and repelled by the concept.

Something that looked dangerously like pity flickered in her blue eyes. Then it was gone. “If you’re a really strong person, I guess you don’t need one. When I was in Florida, I had friends, and I cobbled together a loose kind of support system. But it wasn’t anything like I have here.”

“So does that mean you feel tied to this place?” He was still sorting it out.

“Not at all. In fact, it’s the opposite. Let’s say I did get a job around here, found the right guy, had a couple of kids. And then I had some fabulous research opportunity for a few weeks. Being here would mean I could consider it, because I’d have backup. Backup in addition to my husband, of course, whoever he might be. I’d have other people I could count on, too.”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “It seems a little too cozy for me.”

“I’m sure it does. You’re a lone wolf. I shouldn’t describe this as a one-way street, either. If I expect to count on others to help me, then when they need backup, I have to make myself available.”

“Aha.” He knew there had to be a catch. “So you could end up being tied down by them.”

“For a little while. It’s supposed to even out. If I ask my parents to babysit, then I have to be willing to watch their house and feed their dog if they go on vacation. It’s a trade-off.”

Luke shuddered. “I couldn’t deal with that.”

“Then it’s a good thing you’ve created the life that you have, isn’t it?”

He met her gaze across the tablecloth, littered with the remains of their lunch. “Yes. I like it.” He allowed himself a slow perusal of Naomi Perkins, from her bare toes to her golden ponytail. He and Naomi might be headed down different paths, but right now, they occupied the same place and time. “I’ll tell you what else I like.”

Her skin had turned a sweet shade of pink as he’d studied her. “What’s that?”

“The idea of you naked on this tablecloth.”

Her breath hitched. “That’s quite a change of subject.”

“We needed one.” He started moving the food off the red checkered cloth. “All this talk about family ties and obligations was playing hell with my sex drive.”

“Is that why you’re such a sexy guy? You don’t get involved in all that cozy family stuff?”

“You tell me.” He pulled off his boots.

“Could be. You’re a wild guy, Luke.” Rising to her knees, she stripped off her T-shirt for the second time today.

And for the second time today, he drank in the sight of her undressing for him. “That must be why you like me.” He unsnapped his shirt and took it off. “You’re attracted to wild things.”

“That’s part of it.” She gave him the same sort of once-over he’d given her and smiled. “Mostly I just want your body.”

Lust shot straight to his groin. “Likewise.” He lost track of his own undressing when she arched her back and reached for the clasp of her bra.

Snap, it came undone, and she pulled it off by the straps before tossing it aside. The motion made her breasts quiver. He became completely absorbed in watching them as she moved. When she unfastened her shorts and slid them, along with her panties, down to her knees, he had a visual feast.

He couldn’t imagine ever growing tired of this view—her pale, full breasts tipped with wine-dark nipples, her slender waist and the gentle curve of her hips. She would put an hourglass to shame. His glance traveled lower, to those blond curls covering what was currently his favorite place in the world.

“Now who’s falling behind?” She rid herself of her shorts and panties, and her breasts jiggled again, capturing both his attention and his fevered imagination.

“I can’t concentrate when you’re doing that.”

She gave him a saucy look. “I’m only following instructions.”

“Then here’s another one.” He stood and unfastened his jeans. “Take your hair down.”

“Okay.” She lifted her hands to her ponytail.

“Stop.”

“But you said—”

“I know, but I just want to look at you for a minute like that, kneeling on the tablecloth, your hands in your hair. You look like a wood nymph.”

“Don’t they usually wear clothes?” She pulled the elastic out of her hair and laid it on her pile of clothes.

“Not in my fantasy.” He shucked his jeans and briefs while she combed out her shining hair with her fingers. He’d never thought he had a preference for a woman’s coloring. But surely nothing was more beautiful than blond hair filled with sunlight.

“And there’s my fantasy.” She focused on his jutting cock. “Come closer.” She ran her tongue over her lips. “I have a taste for something wild.”

The blood roared in his ears as he walked toward her. Oh, yes, this was going to be good. Very good.