Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(23)
“It sounds like you were close.”
“We were. I miss her every day.”
Lucy rested her chin on her hand. “My grandparents died while I was too young to remember them, but I used to imagine what they’d be like. I shouldn’t miss what I never had, but I do sometimes. I miss the idea of having someone in my life like that. Does that make sense?”
There she was, the woman David could imagine spending the rest of his life loving. Although she didn’t see it yet, she was restlessly yearning for more—just as he was. They could be that more for each other. “It does. Do you have any family besides your brother?”
“Both of my parents were only children. If I have family somewhere, I don’t know them. How about you?”
David wasn’t used to talking about his family, but he wanted Lucy to know him. “My parents retired in north Texas by Amarillo. My father was a doctor. My mother was a teacher. They both wanted me to go to college and take over my father’s practice. When they pushed hard, I left and joined the Marines. Funny how important leaving feels when you’re young.”
Lucy nodded in understanding. “I went to college in Rhode Island and never pictured myself coming back, but here I am.” She took a bite of bacon, chewed, and then asked, “Are you close to your parents?”
“Not as much now as I was before I left. I’d like to say they got over the initial disappointment, but no matter what else I achieve, it wasn’t what they wanted for me.”
Lucy nodded again. “Wouldn’t it be nice if life came with a road map? Then we wouldn’t have to waste so much time being confused.”
David reached out and took one of her hands in his. “I’m not confused.” Their eyes met and held for a long sexually charged moment. He hadn’t imagined the yearning in her face the night before, because it was back, but she was fighting it.
She snatched her hand away and moved both hands to her lap. “I don’t want either of us to get confused by what you’re doing on this ranch. So we should set some ground rules.”
David sat back in his chair and kept his expression blank. She looked so serious; it was adorable. “Shoot.”
She laid one hand flat on the table beside her plate. “First, you need to stop looking at me like I’m an item on a menu, and you’re hungry.”
It took all the control David had not to smile at that. “I will if you promise to do the same.”
“I do not—” She stopped, took a deep breath, and narrowed her eyes. “I was emotional yesterday. If my expression of gratitude seemed like more than that, I’m sorry.” She played with the fork beside her plate. “I realize this is an awkward conversation, but it needs to be said.”
David nodded. She wasn’t asking him to leave, so it was progress.
“There is nothing personal going on between us. You’re leasing my barn and outside grounds. This is a business deal. I’ll have papers drawn up today with an agreement on how I will pay off the balance. I’m heading to the bank today. I should be able to give you more than half of what I owe you.”
“Lucy, I told you, there’s no rush.”
“It’s important to me, so yes, there is. Second, don’t come in the house unannounced. I can understand today, but it can’t happen again. And at no time, no matter what you may need, do you ever go into my father’s office. If you can’t agree to that, then this won’t work.”
David arched one of his eyebrows but nodded again. What is she hiding? Instead of asking her a question he knew she wouldn’t answer, he asked, “Isn’t it your office now?”
She frowned as if that idea hadn’t occurred to her. “I guess it is. It’s hard to think of them as being gone forever, but they are.” She pressed her lips together and looked down at her plate as if gathering her resolve. “Once you settle in, there won’t be much reason for us to interact. The new business I’m starting will keep me busy, as I’m sure your horses will keep you busy once they arrive. I appreciate that you made me breakfast, but we shouldn’t do this again.” She looked up at him and then her eyes narrowed again. “What are you smiling at?”
David considered not sharing what he was thinking, but he was curious to see her reaction. “I’m imagining how we’ll laugh about this conversation when you’re waking up in my arms every morning.”
Lucy stood, nearly knocking her chair over as she did. “That’s not funny.”
David stood and leaned forward over the table, giving her what he hoped was his sexiest smile. “I’m not joking.”
Lucy stepped back. “It’s time for you to leave.”
David straightened. He remembered something an old-time trainer had told him when he’d first started working with horses. He’d said, “Son, there are two ways to get a fearful horse across a bridge. One way is to use a whip. It gets you across the bridge faster, but you end up with a horse who hates whips and bridges. Or you can take that horse to the bridge every day and invite it forward a little bit more each time, letting it decide when it’s ready to cross. When it finally does, you’ll have yourself a horse who’ll cross anything for you because you worked through it together.”
David smiled at the whip reference. Some women liked them. The old horse trainer’s logic didn’t translate literally to how a man should deal with a modern woman, but the idea of taking things slow and easy seemed to be what Lucy needed. Unless she was into whips. He was reasonably sure he wouldn’t say no to much if she asked him to do it while standing there in something as sheer as what she was wearing, with her nipples puckered in excitement as they were.