Taking Charge (Lone Star Burn #4)(33)
“Tell him I said hello.”
“I will.”
Lucy sprinted down the stairs and opened the door. This time she wasn’t afraid of the passion she saw blazing in David’s gaze as it raked over her. “Sorry, I was talking to Sarah about what I should wear.”
A slow, I-like-your-choice smile spread across his face. “And you decided to keep it simple?”
Lucy looked down and realized she was still only in her bra and panties. While turning three shades of pink, she turned and bolted up the stairs. “Oh my God, I’ll be right back.”
“No rush,” he called back with humor.
A few minutes later, dressed in jeans and a blouse, Lucy returned with a small piece of luggage. David grinned at her. She waved a finger in his direction. “We will pretend that never happened. I’m ready now.”
“I’m not,” he said, pulling her into his arms. He kissed her like a man who was returning home and couldn’t get enough of the woman he’d missed. She dropped her luggage at her feet, and her arms went up to circle his neck. His tongue plundered her mouth mercilessly, and she opened wider for the claiming. He pulled her against him, molded her to him, crushing her against his erection.
When he lifted his head and rested his chin on her forehead, his heart beat under her ear as wildly as hers. “You taste too damn good,” he growled.
You too. Lucy stood stiffly in his arms, wishing she could turn off her head and let herself simply enjoy him. I want to believe—in myself, in him, in happily ever afters. In a husky voice, she said, “We should go.”
David nuzzled her neck. “You’re right. Everyone is excited to see us. They’ve been calling all morning. That mattered to me—before you answered the door.”
Lucy pulled back from him. Even though she wanted to give in to how she was feeling, she thought about what Sarah had asked her earlier. They didn’t have a relationship. Not a normal one. He’d never asked her out on a date. She knew very little about him. All they had so far was an attraction neither one of them had proven successful at denying. “I need you to know that just because I said yes to the trip doesn’t mean that—that I am saying yes to anything else.”
He studied her face for a moment, then said quietly, “We can take this as slowly as you need to. Come on, we have a plane to catch.” He held out his hand to her.
Lucy put hers in his and felt a jolt of pleasure at how natural it felt. They walked together to David’s truck. Lucy watched his expression for a sign that he was displeased with her, but he was smiling. So many other men would have been frustrated with her. David was confident but patient. He wasn’t shy about what he wanted, but he cared about how she felt. Lucy had doubted men like him existed, but here he was. Not only was he good-looking, smart, and kind; he was also openly interested in her.
Good things can happen—if I believe they can.
Right?
It’s supposed to be that simple.
He caught her looking at him and paused before starting the ignition. “What is it?”
Focus on the positive—the part of the experience that feels like a gift. She didn’t have the words to articulate everything she was feeling, so she said, “You’re a pretty amazing man, David.”
He shot her a smile that set her heart beating double time again. “You ain’t seen nothing yet, darlin’.”
As they drove to the airport, David kept the conversation light. They talked about Wyatt, his family, and how happy her manager looked now that he was working on her ranch again. They discussed the clear weather and how it was nice to be flying out on such a beautiful day. He could see Lucy relaxing the more they spoke.
Taking Lucy back to Fort Mavis would be good for her. She had a tendency to withdraw and hide. She did it with him, but also with her friends. She hadn’t left her house once in the past week. That wasn’t healthy. He knew all about hiding and how a person’s life could get smaller and smaller until it was suffocated. And, if I am being honest with myself, I’ve done my share of hiding. I keep adding layers of good deed on top of good deed, but does a lifetime of good wash away a person’s mistakes—even if those mistakes cost someone’s life? David pushed those thoughts back.
Lucy needed to get out of her house and away from that ranch. She needed to surround herself with people who cared about her. He’d known plenty of men who pulled their women away from the people they loved. Isolating women made them easier to manipulate. David had no respect for such men. No person or creature should ever stay somewhere because they were too broken to leave.
Lucy said she wanted to save her ranch, but David was no longer sure she should. She wasn’t happy there. Anyone could see that. If she had female friends there, he hadn’t heard about them, and they weren’t rushing forward to help her.
Away from that ranch, Lucy might flourish—find the easy smile Sarah said she used to have. David considered himself a good judge of people and horses. He looked for a spark in their eyes. If it was there, he knew there was more to them than whatever they were presenting. He’d rescued many haggard horses and sold them a year later in stunning condition.
Lucy was far from haggard, but when she thought no one was watching, her expression was one of a woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders. Like a mustang kept in a tiny corral for too long, she’s forgotten how to run free.