Texas Forever (The Tylers of Texas 6)

He ended the kiss and pushed her away, not angrily but firmly. He was breathing hard, his lips still moist from their kiss, but his expression had frozen over like winter ice.

“This never happened, Erin.” His voice was a low rasp. “And it mustn’t ever happen again. Do you understand?”

She willed herself to ignore the sting of his words. Luke’s reaction was exactly what she should have expected—and probably what she deserved. But she wasn’t sorry.

Her own voice emerged as a whisper. “I understand. It won’t happen again. But if you’re waiting for an apology, you’re going to have to wait for a long time.”

With that, she lifted her head, squared her shoulders, and strode out of the barn.

* * *

Compared to the noisy, crowded bunkhouse, the duplex was a four-star hotel. There was a kitchenette with stove and fridge, a coffeemaker, and a small microwave. An old but working TV faced a worn, overstuffed chair with a side table. There was even an efficiency-sized washer-dryer combo off the bathroom.

At the end of the day, Luke had moved his things into the new quarters, taken a quick shower, put on clean clothes, and gone back to the bunkhouse dining room for meat loaf and fried potatoes. He’d finished supper in time to return to the duplex, take a cold beer out of the fridge, and settle himself in the lawn chair on the front porch to watch the sun set over the Caprock Escarpment.

The weight of the key in his pocket reminded him of the extra effort that Erin had put into making the place comfortable—the fresh towels, the beer, the well-made bed, and the supplies for the coffeemaker.

He would have thanked her, but after storming out of the barn, with that soul-searing kiss still burning on his lips, she’d kept her distance. Given the way they’d parted, he wouldn’t be surprised if she never spoke to him again. But that was just as well. He wanted her. And if she showed up again, he would have a struggle keeping his hands off her.

Erin’s kiss had caught him by surprise. But when those soft young lips had pressed his, no amount of self-control could have kept him from responding. Even then, he’d held himself back. He’d known that if he let his hands roam free, he’d be in danger of going too far.

He would never have asked Erin if she was a virgin. But he’d sensed her innocence in the tender way she’d kissed him. This girl had grown up on a ranch. She would have seen countless animals perform the act of mating. But she was still exploring her own sensuality. To spoil that slow-flowering discovery would be the cruelest thing he could do to her.

Now twilight was falling over the Rimrock. With the sun gone and the heat fading, the growing darkness came alive with the chirps, flutters, and scurrying sounds of small creatures.

The lights were on in the big house. The pickup that had taken the old man’s casket to the Hill Country had returned a couple of hours ago. Sky Fletcher had taken his blue truck and gone home to his family. Will would probably be with Erin. Luke couldn’t help wondering how much she’d told her father about the day’s events.

“May I join you?” Rose, the petite, silver-haired woman Luke had met earlier, stepped out onto the porch that spanned both sides of the duplex. She was wearing a navy blue track suit, her hair braided in pigtails like a little girl’s.

Luke lowered his boots from the porch rail, meaning to stand up and get her a chair, but she stopped him with the brush of a hand on his shoulder. “No, don’t get up. There’s a chair by my door. I’ll just pull it over, next to you.”

“I can get you a beer,” Luke offered as she took her seat beside him.

“No need.” She gazed across the ranch yard to where the dark outline of the escarpment jutted against the sky. “Forgive the intrusion. It’s such a beautiful evening. I’d hoped it might be a good time to get acquainted with my neighbor.”

“You’re not intruding at all,” Luke said. “As my grandmother used to say, there’s no bad time for good company.”

Rose chuckled. “I’ll have to remember that one. So how are you finding the Rimrock so far?”

“Fine. Everybody’s been friendly and easy to work with. When you see Erin, could you thank her for me? She did a great job of cleaning out this place and getting it ready.”

Rose studied him a moment. “Why not thank her yourself?”

Had he revealed too much to this perceptive woman? Luke shrugged. “Let’s just say that she might not be too happy with me now.”

“I see.” Rose’s dark eyes narrowed. “I’ve only known Erin a short time, but if she’s anything like the rest of the Tylers, I’m guessing she’s extremely strong-willed.”

“That sounds about right,” Luke said.

“You should know a few things about her,” Rose said. “Erin is Will’s only child. If he can hold on to the Rimrock in these hard times, it’ll be all hers someday. To do that, she’ll need to be extremely tough. A few months ago, she lost her mother. Now she’s lost a man she depended on for wisdom and support. To add to that, her father is so grief-stricken that she’s had to shoulder extra burdens for him. So if she’s a little short-tempered with you—”

“I understand. It’s making more sense now,” Luke said. Rose hadn’t quite hit the target but she’d come close enough. He was about to say more when the head

lights of a familiar black SUV swung into the yard. The duplex was set back from the main house but it was angled enough that it was possible from where Luke sat to get a side view of the front porch. The long-legged figure climbing out of the vehicle and mounting the porch was unmistakably Erin’s boyfriend, Kyle Cardwell.

Luke tried to ignore the gnawing in his gut. He had no right to be jealous. Erin wasn’t his and never would be. But when Cardwell came out a minute later, holding her hand and leading her to his vehicle, the gnawing chewed deeper. If Rose hadn’t been with him, he would have cursed and gone inside to drink another beer and watch some mind-numbing show on TV until he felt sleepy enough to go to bed.

As the SUV’s red taillights disappeared down the lane, Luke turned to find Rose watching him, a knowing expression on her face. Those sharp eyes of hers didn’t seem to miss a thing.