Texas Forever (The Tylers of Texas 6)

“Let’s go,” he said, guiding her toward the door. “We can talk on the way.”

“Fine. I’ll drive.” She let him open the car door for her and waited while he went around to the other side. He could tell her on the way home that he was leaving, and explain the reasons why if she’d let him. Then there’d be nothing to do at the ranch except maybe clean up, collect his things, and go. Erin would be angry and hurt, but someday she’d be grateful that he’d left.

As he settled into the passenger seat, she handed him a sealed envelope. “This arrived for you yesterday,” she said. “I brought it because I thought it might be important.”

Luke turned the envelope over. It bore the name and return address of the care facility where his grandmother was staying. Had he forgotten to send them the monthly check? He could’ve sworn he’d mailed it on the first of the month, before all the craziness at the Rimrock.

While Erin drove, he ran his thumb under the sealed flap of the envelope and drew out the single-page letter, unfolded it, and read the terse, typewritten message.

Dear Mr. Maddox:

We regret to inform you that your grandmother, Mrs. Edith Webster, passed away peacefully on August 13 of this year. An attempt was made to notify you by phone, but since we were unable to reach you, in accordance with her wishes, her earthly remains were cremated two days later. . . .

There was more, including a statement of how much he owed them for the remainder of her care and the cremation service. He would read it in more detail later, send a check, and ask them to save the ashes for him.

“Bad news?” Erin asked as he slipped the letter back into the envelope.

“My grandmother. She died last week.” Surprisingly, he choked on the words. “She meant a lot to me. I’d planned to go back to Oklahoma and see her after I finished the work at the Rimrock. Now it’s too late. . . .” His eyes blurred with tears. “Damn,” he muttered.

“I’m so sorry.” She reached over the console and squeezed his hand. “I know how it feels. I’ll always regret that the last words I said to my father were angry ones. Now I can never take them back and tell him how much I loved him.”

Luke didn’t answer. His throat felt as if a fist had closed around it.

Her fingers tightened around his hand. “I never want to have that regret again. That’s why I’ll never let you go without telling you I love you—even if I can’t hold on to you, even if you’re planning to leave me for good. Your last memory of me will be telling you that I love you.”

She was ripping him apart inside. “Erin—”

“No, listen.” Her eyes were on the road, her expression a sad smile. “I’m a big girl, Luke. I know you’re a man who has to be free. You never promised me you would stay, not even when we were making love. If I wake up some morning and find you gone, I’ll understand, and the memories I keep will be the good ones. There’s only one thing I’ll ever ask of you—and I’m asking now.”

Luke waited in silence, sensing that what she said would be the key to everything.

“Just this,” she said. “If you go—or when you go—I want you to promise me that you’ll never come back.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

DINNER THAT EVENING WAS A SMALL CELEBRATION. CARMEN HAD made her specialty—chicken enchiladas and chiles rellenos with refried black beans. Erin had invited Sky, his wife, Lauren, and Luke to join her and Rose for the meal. There was also a place set for Carmen, who would eat with them once the food was served and take some leftovers home to her husband.

Luke couldn’t remember the last time, if ever, that he’d eaten a meal with cloth napkins and matching china. Sitting quietly while the conversation buzzed around him, he let his gaze linger on each person at the table—Sky, lean, dark, and chiseled, smiling at his stunning, auburn-haired wife; Rose, a wise, graying elf; and Erin, at the head of the table where her father would have sat, sadness lingering in her soft blue eyes. This was the Rimrock family now. And for tonight, at least, he was part of it. For how long? he wondered. Would he go back to being hired help tomorrow? Would he settle into place as Erin’s lover, or would he simply load his gear and leave?

Erin’s words in the car had thrown him. He’d expected her to make womanly demands on his freedom and pout if he resisted. Instead, with surprising strength, she had left the door wide open. He could stay or he could go. But his decision would be final.

The longer he waited, the more painful that decision became. He loved Erin and wanted to do what was best for her. His better judgment was telling him to leave before he got in any deeper. But his heart was whispering a very different message. He wanted her, in his arms and in his bed. But was he willing to settle for being her nighttime man? If not, he had some hard choices to make.

The conversation at the table had turned to the subject of finding Will’s killer. Now that

Luke had been cleared, the sheriff’s investigation would be back to square one.

“My father would want me to put the past aside and move on,” Erin said. “But how can I? I can’t sleep at night, knowing the person who committed that awful crime is still out there.”

“What about that woman, Marie?” Rose asked. “She’s already wanted for the murder of that poor young deputy. Isn’t it possible that she shot Will, too?”

“I’ve thought about that,” Sky said. “But Marie had nothing against Will and nothing to gain by shooting him. And the way he was killed, in broad daylight, that isn’t her style.”

“That’s pretty much what Abner told Beau,” Erin said. “Roy was killed in a break-in, most likely a robbery. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But my father’s murder was planned. It had to be personal.”

“Another thing that argues against Marie,” Sky said. “That tractor tire was big and heavy. She couldn’t have moved it without help, or at least access to a truck. Whoever set up that ambush would’ve had a way to get the tire onto the road.”

“And they’d have known that my father would be coming back that way,” Erin added.