The Reluctant Rancher (12 page)

“
What’s wrong with the lady’s tires,
Carson
?
”

Mary watched as Luke pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. Before he could
flick open his
lighter, she pulled it from his han
d and tossed it in the garbage, ignoring his muttered curse.
She really wished he hadn’t asked that question. He wouldn’t like the answer.

“
Well, sir.
”
 
Eddie cleared his throat nervously and Mary smiled.
 
Everyone knew Luke Tanner and his legendary temper.
 
But to her amazement, his voice croaked only
 
a little
 
when he spoke.
 
“
They’re worn out, sir.
 
Balder than a baby’s butt.
”

Luke growled low in his throat at the other man’s words and Mary knew what was coming.
 
She shook her finger at him in warning.

“
Now don’t you look at me like that, mister.
 
You’ve already scared poor Eddie to death.
”
 
Even though she started to tremble at the look in his eyes herself, she didn’t back down.
 
“
I’ll get to it when I can.
”

“
Go put so
me tires on the lady’s car, son,
”
He
 
never
 
took
his eyes from Mary’s
face.

Eddie left as fast as he could, giving her no chance to veto Luke’s high-handed order.

M
ary rounded on the rancher
. “
And just who do you think is going to pay for those tires?
”
she demanded as she started after the mechanic.
 
“
Santa Claus?
”

He grabbed her arm, forcing her to face him.
“Y
o
u need those blasted tires and you’re going to have them.
 
Got it?
”
 
The expression on his face brooked no argument
,
but Mary’s temper had gone beyond reason.

“
I will not,
”
she declared.
 
The man
interfer
ed too damned much by putting tires on her car that she couldn’t afford.

She wanted to take him to task for his high-handed manner but he was
kissing her in the most delightful way.

“
There’s only one way to deal with a wil
l
ful woman,
”
he murmured against her mouth as he came up for air.
 
Before she could respond, his mouth once again claimed hers, deepening the kiss.

“
Luke,
”
she whispered when he stopped, for once at loss for words.
 
His kiss
floored her.

“
Say it again,
”
he demanded
, touching
his forehead to hers.

“
Say what again?
”
she asked
,
too dazed by his touch to think straight.
 
Boy
-oh-boy
, could the man kiss.

“
My name.
 
Say my name again.
”

“
Luke.
”

He groaned, a deep aching sound that seemed to come fr
om the very depths of his soul. He kissed her temple. “
What am I going to do with you?
”

Mary brought her hands to his chest and pushed until he relaxed his hold enough for her to see his face.
 
In his e
yes she saw confusion and desire
and knew the emotions mirrored the o
nes simmering deep within her own
.
 
It gave her a much needed shot of courage.

“
What would you like to do with me?
”
she asked.
 
It was almost the same dare she’d
voiced
the day she’d asked him for a loan.

Mary’s knees threatened to buckle at the look of raw hunger that blazed in his eyes and she had to lean
back
against the wall for support.

“
You don’t want me to answer that, Mary.
 
No
t here.
 
Not now.” H
is voice
was
low and
thick
.

“
Then where
Luke?
 
Where will you tell me?
”
 
She licked her lips, savoring the taste of him that still lingered there.

As if her gesture had upset him, he clutched the band of his hat in his hand, ruining the soft gray felt fabric with the strength of his grip.
 
She quivered with excitement.

“
At the dance tomorrow,
”
he said.
 
”
Come to the dance with me.
”
 
On a regular basis the little town of Fiddler Creek held dances at the local community center.
 
The populace didn’t need a reason to get together and have a good time, just a free Saturday night.

“
Okay.
”
Mary barely spoke above a whisper as she answered.

“
Fine.
”
He jammed the abused Stetson bac
k on his head. “
Tell Eddie to put the tires on my bill.
 
I’ll take Grandpa to the doctor.
 
You can go on home once your car is finished.
”

Luke’s gaze swept over her once last, lingering time.
 
“
Will you be okay?
”

“Yes.
”
 
Her voice broke
.
Her heart lurched as he swooped down to claim a hard, forceful kiss before he left.

Mary signed the ticket Eddie handed her once the
four new tires were mounted. She vowed
to repay Luke just as soon as possible.
 
She knew she should be grateful that he cared enough to worry about her, but her strong streak of independence forced her to make the promise.
 
His concern, however, did give her hope that he wasn’t
as hardhearted as he appeared.
And
that he
did care about her in some small way. She wasn’t fool enough not to realize
that
the intimacy of living together may be contributing to Luke’s sudden show of desire. Not that she was complaining. But she was realistic. Would he look at her in roomful of slender, beautiful women
and exhibit the same desire
? Probably not.

As she headed out
of the garage she had to admit the car drove much
better with the new tires.
 
S
he didn’t have to admit that to Luke
though
.
Her grin was happy and excited.

She debated what to do with her unexpected free afternoon. She expe
rienced a tinge of guilt about not
being with Joseph for his appointment but knew he wouldn’t mind. Dr. McAllister
would
email her a full report
anyway
. Besides
,
she hadn’t had any time off since going to work at the Circle T.

Exc
itement about the upcoming dance skitter
ed
along her spine
and she thought about visiting Jennifer
.
But t
his budding ‘something’ was too fragile
to share
even
with her best friend.
 
Mary had never felt so alive
and so wanted in all her life.
She actually had a date with Luke Tanner, the richest man in Fiddler Creek.
 
Not that his status had anything to do with why she had accepted his invitation.
 
No, Mary wanted to go because of the way he made her feel.
 
He could turn her insides to mush with just one look from those emerald green eyes.
 
Luke made her feel beautiful and wanton all at the same time.
 
And she had never felt that way before.

She steered
 
her little compact car onto
Main Street
and headed to the only ladies apparel store in town.
T
he proprietor carried a wide range of sizes and a variety of styles.
 
Mary decided to buy a new dress for the dance even if she had to
eat peanut butter sandwiches with no jelly for the rest of the year
to make up the difference in her bank account.
She felt like Cindere
lla getting ready for the ball.

Remembering the dark brooding look in Luke’s eyes, she just prayed her carriage wouldn’t turn into a pumpkin at
midnight
.

CHAPTER SIX

Woman, thy name is vanity, Mary thought with a wide smile the next evening as she got ready for the big Saturday night dance.
 
She wouldn’t be human though, if she didn’t admit that at moments like this she longed to look like Cindy Crawford.

Dieting, which always failed, made her miserable.
 
And for years not being that perfect size eight had eaten away at her self-esteem and self-confidence.
 
But thanks to the support and love of friends like Jennifer, she’d realized long ago that beauty was only skin deep.
 
And tonight she rid herself of even more of those self-defeating thoughts, burying some deep inside and allowing others to flow away, banishing forever their power to hurt her.

With careful hands she removed her new dress from its protective covering.
 
T
he clothing store had indeed found
something special in stock and Mary would be eating peanut butter sandwiches without the jelly
or
the peanut butter for the next year to pay for her purchase, but she didn’t care.

Almost reverently she slipped the midnight blue velvet dress over her head.
 
It had a low neckline and fit like a second skin from the top of her well-rounded breasts to the slight indentation of her waist.
 
From there its full skirt billowed out, hiding a multitude of sins for which Mary gave her eternal thanks.
 
The dress had been designed to make a woman feel wild and reckless.
 
And that’s just how she’d been feeling lately.

Ever since Luke
Tanner had kissed her senseless in the barn.

She reached for the zipper that ran up her back, her arms stretched as far as they could as she tried to close the zip
per. It didn’t work. Knowing she would have to have help, she walked down the hal
l and knocked on Joseph’s door.

“Will you come help me for a minute, Joseph?” she called through the door. When she heard a grunt she walked away
, slipping back into her room
.

As sh
e waited for Joseph
, she checked her appearance in the mirror one last time
pleased
at the resu
lt.
 
She had applied her makeup
with a bit
more daring
than usual, using eyeliner, blush and silky blue eye shadow a shade darker than her dress. She'd left her hair loose, remembering the compliments Luke had paid her.
 
It brushed the tops of her bare shoulders.
 
Normally she would try to hide her arms, but for once she didn’t care about the expanse of skin showing.
 
She wanted the whole world to see Mary Carter, big and beautiful.
 
If someone saw something t
hey didn’t like, they could look
the other way.

“What are you doing here?” Mary gasped as Luke’s reflection joined hers in the silver-backed mirror.