A Country Affair(95)

Kate concentrated on munching her carrot, astonished at the way Luke so often seemed to know what she was thinking. But then, sometimes he didn’t.... “That night was when I knew I was losing Clay to Rorie. My whole world was about to fall apart and I felt powerless to do anything about it. It didn’t mean I stopped trying, of course—it hurt too much to accept without putting up a fight.” She paused and helped herself to a zucchini strip. “Enough about me. It seems I’m the only one we ever discuss. How was your trip to New Mexico?” she asked brightly, determined to change the subject.

“Good.” He didn’t elaborate. His eyes held hers, the mood warm and comfortable. “There are going to be a few changes around the Circle L in the coming months. I don’t want you to be surprised when you find out I’m adding a couple of outbuildings and doing some remodelling on the house.”

Although he spoke in a conversational tone, Kate wasn’t fooled. “The Circle L belongs to you now. I expect there’ll be plenty of changes, but don’t worry about offending me or Dad.”

He nodded and his eyes brightened with his dreams for the future. “I intend to turn it into one of the top cattle ranches on the West Coast.”

“I’m sure you’ll do it, Luke.” And she was.

He seemed pleased by her confidence in him. Kate couldn’t help believing in Luke. In the ten years he’d worked for her father, he’d initiated several successful breeding programs. With each passing year, Devin had turned more and more of the ranch business over to Luke. Her father had become a figurehead. Kate had often heard Devin say that he couldn’t understand why Luke would continue working for him when he was completely capable of maintaining his own spread. At one time, Kate had thought money was the issue, but that obviously wasn’t the case.

“Why’d you delay buying your own ranch for so long?” Kate asked, just as their pizza arrived. Their waitress remained standing at their table and studied them so blatantly that Luke turned to her.

“Is something wrong?” he asked sharply.

“No...not at all. Enjoy your dinner.” She backed away from their table and hurried over to the counter, where two other employees were waiting. Almost immediately the three of them huddled together and started whispering.

Luke chose to ignore their waitress’s strange behavior and lifted a steaming piece, thick with melted cheese and spicy sausage, onto her plate. Then he served himself.

“Now, where were we?” Luke murmured.

“I asked why you didn’t buy your own ranch before now.”

“You don’t want to know the answer to that, Princess.”

“Of course I do. I wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise,” she insisted.

“Fine.” Luke settled back in his chair. He looked at her, eyes thoughtful. “I had a minor problem. I was in love with the boss’s daughter and she was crazy about me, only she didn’t know it. In fact, she’d gotten herself engaged to someone else. I was afraid that if I moved away she’d never realize how I felt—or how she did—and frankly, I didn’t think I could ever love anyone the way I do her.”

Kate focused her attention on her meal. The lump in her throat was almost choking her. “You’re right about...me not loving Clay,” she told him softly. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t raise her eyes high enough to meet his.

“What did you say?”

“I... You were right about me and Clay. I could never feel for him the things a wife should feel for her husband. I’d adored him for years, but that love was just a teenage fantasy.”

She was well aware of the seriousness of her admission. The room seemed to go still; the music from the juke box faded, the clatter from the kitchen dimmed and the voices from the people around them seemed to disappear altogether.

“I didn’t think I’d ever hear you admit that,” Luke said, and his face filled with tenderness.

“I tried to tell you the night after I had dinner with Clay and Rorie, but you were so angry with me...because I was moving.” She laughed, hoping to break the unexpected tension that had leaped between them.

“Does this also mean you’re admitting you love me?”

“I’ve never had a problem with that—”

Kate was interrupted by an elderly man who strolled up to their table. With considerable ceremony, he lifted a violin to his chin and played a bittersweet love song.

“I didn’t know they had strolling violinists here,” Kate said when the man had finished. Everyone in the restaurant stopped to applaud.

“This next song is dedicated to the two of you,” the man announced, “that the love in your hearts will blossom into a bouquet of May flowers.”

It wasn’t until he’d finished the third song that Kate noticed he didn’t go to any of the other tables. He seemed to be playing only for them. Some of the customers had apparently noticed this, too, and gathered behind Luke and Kate in order to get a better view of the musician.

“Thank you,” Kate said as the last notes faded.

The man lowered his instrument to his side. “You two have become quite a sensation in Nightingale and beyond. We at Pizza Mania are honored that you’ve chosen our restaurant for a romantic evening. We want to do our part to bring you together in wedded bliss.”