Revenge on the Ranch, page 3
“Hi, Lucas.” She offered him a warm smile.
He stepped out on the porch with her. “You look really nice.”
“Thanks, so do you,” she replied.
“Thanks right back. I thought maybe I’d show you around the place, maybe introduce you to my brothers if we run into them.”
“That sounds great,” she said agreeably.
They left the porch and began walking side by side up the lane that led to most all the other buildings on the property. “Did you have a good day?” she asked.
“It was all right,” he replied. “I’ve definitely learned over the last few days that I’m not a man who likes to sit around and do nothing.”
She flashed him another bright smile. “Luke, you weren’t sitting around and doing nothing. You were healing, and that takes a lot of work.”
He laughed. “It sure didn’t feel like a lot of work.” An awkward silence ensued as they continued up the lane. “Uh...nice evening,” he finally said. The air still retained the warmth of the day and smelled of green grass and the various wildflowers that grew along the side of the lane.
“It’s a beautiful evening,” she agreed. “Early summer is absolutely my favorite time of year. I love seeing everything come alive after winter. I love the warm days and cool nights. What about you? What season do you like most?”
He frowned thoughtfully. “Definitely fall for me. I love the leaves all turning different colors. I like cool nights when I can burn a fire in my fireplace.” He laughed. “I don’t think anyone has ever asked me what season I like before.”
“Then you must be hanging out with the wrong crowd,” she said with a teasing grin.
“Maybe so,” he replied. “This is my brother Johnny’s place,” he said as they approached the next house. “I’d introduce you to him, but he and his fiancée, Chelsea Black, are at the big house eating dinner. I’ll take you to the barn and we might find Caleb there. He’s living in one of the rooms set up for our ranch hands, and he rarely goes to dinner with the family.”
“I’ve seen him around town before, but I’ve never been introduced to him. I know you want me to try to make friends with him, so meeting him is an important first step in the process.”
“He can be...uh...strange sometimes,” Luke replied. Luke knew his brother was drinking too much and was smoking weed. However, he didn’t know what else his brother might be doing or taking, and that worried him.
“That’s okay. Everyone can be a bit strange at times,” she replied.
So far, he was finding Carrie remarkably easy to get along with, which was good, since he was planning on spending a lot of time with her.
“Wasn’t today your first day of vacation?” he asked, remembering something she’d said the evening before.
“It was,” she replied as they headed toward the large barn in the distance.
“What did you do to celebrate?”
“The first thing I did was slept in sinfully late, and then I cooked myself a good breakfast. I then beelined for the sofa and watched television for most of the afternoon. I’ll admit it was a lazy, completely unproductive day.”
Luke laughed. “So, we both had relatively unproductive days today.”
They reached the barn and walked inside. To the left were hay bales stacked almost to the ceiling. To the right was a wooden staircase leading up to the second floor, where the other rooms for the ranch hands were located, and immediately in front of them was a wooden door.
“Caleb is living here right now,” he said and then knocked on the door.
To his surprise, Caleb answered almost immediately. “Hey, Luke. What’s up?” He was clad in jeans and a white T-shirt that was spattered with paint in a variety of colors, and his long black hair, tied back at the nape of his neck, looked like it could use a good washing.
Luke was grateful that although Caleb smelled like beer, he didn’t appear to be drunk or high...yet. “I thought I’d stop by to introduce you to my new friend Carrie Carlson.”
“Hi, Caleb. It’s very nice to meet you,” she said.
“Yeah, nice to meet you, too,” Caleb replied.
“I hear you’re an artist. Do you paint in oils?” she asked.
Caleb’s pale blue eyes lit up a bit, and he looked at her with more interest. “Yeah, definitely in oils.”
“What about watercolors? Do you ever paint with them?” she asked.
“Nah, watercolors are for artists who want to paint in vague, nebulous colors and figures. I like the boldness of oil much better.” He looked at her curiously. “Are you an artist, too?”
“Oh no, nothing like that,” she said with a laugh. “But I do like art. I’d love to see some of your work sometime.”
Caleb frowned. “I don’t know about that. I’m not ready for him or Johnny to see my work yet.” He pointed a finger at Luke.
Carrie laughed again. “Caleb, I don’t have to share with them what you share with me. Anyway, I’m just putting it out there that I would love to see your work.”
Caleb stared at her for a long moment. “I’ll think about it,” he finally said.
“Well, it was nice to meet you,” Carrie said.
“You’ll be seeing a lot of her around here,” Luke said, and he reached out to hold Carrie’s hand. Her fingers were warm, her skin surprisingly soft, and even as they walked away from the barn, he found himself oddly reluctant to let go.
“How did I do?” she asked softly once they had walked onward from the barn.
“You did excellent,” he replied. “You didn’t push him too hard, and that bit about not sharing with me whatever he shares with you was perfect.”
They turned around and headed back toward his place. “So, I threw out some bait—let’s just hope he takes it,” Carrie said. “Hopefully not only will he show me his paintings, but with time he’ll confide in me about his feelings and dealings with your father.”
“And now we move on to the next phase of our operation,” he said, finally releasing her hand as they reached his place. “In about an hour or so we’ll head to the Red Barn, and hopefully Jeffries will be there, too.”
Luke’s heart clenched tight as he thought of the man he believed killed his father. Thanks to Carrie, for the first time since his father’s murder, he believed he had a real shot at overhearing Jeffries saying something incriminating.
And it didn’t hurt that Carrie was pleasing to the eyes and easy to talk to. So far this felt like a partnership made in heaven, but if there was anything Luke had learned over the past couple of months, it was that hopes and plans and dreams could be stolen away in the blink of an eye...in two shots from a gun. And heaven could quickly become a horrifying hell.
* * *
CARRIE HAD ALWAYS fantasized about spending time with Luke. Now her fantasies were coming true, but with one difference. In her fantasies he had desperately wanted to spend time with her; in her dreams he’d been totally smitten with her.
She was acutely aware right now that the only reason he was spending time with her was with the hopes of catching his father’s killer. He saw her as a partner in his quest, but he certainly didn’t see her as a desirable woman he wanted in his life...yet.
But to be honest, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted to be desired by him. Certainly, she’d entertained thoughts of lust where he was concerned in the past, but her thoughts had been based solely on a kind of schoolgirl crush.
She would have to get to know him better, although right now it was so far, so good. Her body had even tingled when he’d taken hold of her hand, even though she knew he was only playing a role of pretend boyfriend.
After being introduced to Caleb, they had returned to Luke’s place and talked about their plans for the night. Luke knew Peter Jeffries drove a dark blue pickup truck, and he also knew the plate number.
At eight o’clock they got into Luke’s truck to head to the Red Barn. “If Jeffries is already there, then we go inside and get the closest table we can to his,” Luke said. “And if he isn’t there, then we wait in the truck until he gets there.”
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” she replied. “I know he seems to be at the Red Barn almost every night. At least, he’s always been there when I’ve gone there with friends.”
“I still can’t believe you’re doing this for me, Carrie.” He cast her a quick sideways glance. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m just glad I can help you in this way.” Darkness had fallen outside, making it more difficult for her to see his features.
“I... I’ve just felt pretty alone in all this. Nobody else feels the driving need that I feel to put my father’s killer behind bars. It eats at me all the time. I can’t think of anything else. Johnny keeps telling me to let it go, to wait for Lane to do his job, but I’ve been waiting for that and nothing has happened.”
She saw his hands tighten on the steering wheel. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go off like that,” he said.
“Don’t apologize for speaking your feelings,” she replied. She reached out and touched his forearm. “I hope this works, Luke. I really hope you get what you need and can find some peace.”
“I won’t have any peace as long as the killer is out there walking free,” he replied. “He needs to pay for what he did. It’s important I do this for my dad, to prove...” He let his voice drift off, making her wonder what he needed to prove—and to whom.
The moon was bright overhead as he pulled into the parking lot of the Red Barn. The lot was lit with several lights, and even though it was a weeknight, it was half-filled with vehicles, including Peter Jeffries’s pickup truck.
The bar/dance hall was housed in a large, bright red barnlike structure. Neon signs advertising various brews flashed from all the windows. Luke threw an arm around her shoulders as they headed for the front door.
Oh, he smelled so good, and she fit so neatly against his side. The thought flittered through her head but was quickly replaced by the soberness of what they wanted to accomplish.
Luke dropped his arm from around her as they walked into the bar. Peanut shells crunched underfoot, and the air was heavy with the scents of booze, greasy bar food and a combination of different colognes and perfumes, with an underlying touch of perspiration.
The music from overhead wasn’t as loud as it usually was on the weekends. Still, several couples were on the dance floor, dancing to the country-western tune that played.
Peter and several other men sat at a round table near the dance floor. Thankfully there was an empty two-top right next to where they sat. She and Luke made their way to that table.
“Whoa, look who it is...the loser Luke King,” Peter said, and the other three men at his table laughed as if he’d said something particularly brilliant.
Peter was a thin man with short, dark hair and equally dark eyes. He had a wide forehead, a small nose and lips that were usually turned up in a sneer. Every time Carrie and her friends came here, Peter and his band of creeps sniffed around them like dogs in heat. As far as Carrie was concerned, they were all disgusting.
“Hey, I’m not looking for any trouble here. I just want to enjoy a few drinks with Carrie,” Luke replied evenly.
“Knock yourself out, lover boy,” Peter said. Luke took the chair facing their table, and Carrie took the seat with her back to the men. “Or maybe you’d prefer if we knocked you out,” Peter added. Once again, the rest of the men at his table all guffawed.
“I’d like to punch him in his smug little face,” Luke said, his voice a low burn of barely suppressed rage.
“That won’t accomplish what you want,” she replied. “Luke.” She reached out and touched his hand, hoping to reach him through his obvious anger.
He visibly drew in a deep breath. “What can I get you to drink?” he finally asked, his voice more even and measured.
“A beer is fine.”
He raised one of his dark brows. “Are you sure? I would have pegged you as a froufrou kind of drinker.”
She laughed. “You must have me confused with somebody else. I’m just a down-home kind of girl who enjoys a cold beer now and then.”
“Then the woman shall have a beer. I’ll be right back.” He got up from the table and headed for the bar located against the back wall.
The minute he left, Carrie leaned back to see if she could catch any of the conversation at Peter’s table. It was fairly easy to hear them. She knew from other nights that the drunker Peter got, the louder he became.
Right now, they were talking about women. They disgusted her with their sexist, filthy words about various women and their body parts. They were boasting about their conquests and whom they wanted to “nail” next. They were definitely all repulsive.
She watched Luke coming back to the table through the small crowd. Even if they weren’t romantic partners, she hoped he got what he needed to get to a place of peace.
As a nurse, Carrie knew just how bad it was to stress and harbor the kind of anger, the kind of rage that radiated out from Luke. She’d seen firsthand how negatively those kinds of emotions could affect the entire body, and that’s the last thing she would wish on anybody.
Still, she couldn’t help but notice how utterly hunky he looked tonight. The royal blue polo did amazing things to his eyes. With his rich black hair and those beautiful eyes, he was definitely a piece of eye candy.
He sat back at the table, placed a beer in front of her and then leaned closer to her. “Anything interesting?” he asked.
“Not a thing,” she replied.
“I didn’t even ask you if you wanted something from the kitchen. Would you like something?”
“No, thanks.” She took a sip of her beer and smiled at him. “I’m good for now.”
He moved his chair so he was no longer sitting across from her but rather next to her. It would allow him to better hear the conversations going on at the other table.
“So, how did you get into nursing?” he asked.
“When I was thirteen, my mother was diagnosed with stage-four liver cancer. My father and I spent a lot of time in the hospital with her before she finally passed away. I saw how caring the nurses were toward my mother, how patient and kind they were to me and my dad. I knew immediately that I wanted to be one of those caring nurses for other people.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know about your mother,” he said.
She shrugged. “There’s no reason you should have known. Anyway, that’s why I became a nurse. I have a genuine desire to help people who are ill.”
“You were so young to lose your mother,” he said.
She nodded. “For the first year after she was gone, I felt utterly lost without her.” For just a moment she remembered the grief, the despair she had gone through when her mother passed away. “Thankfully I had a warm, loving father to help me through my grief.”
“Is your father still alive?” Luke asked.
“He is.” She smiled at thoughts of her father, who was her biggest cheerleader and advocate in life. “He works as a medical equipment salesman and travels the four-state area.”
“Do you live at home with him?” he asked.
“No, I rent a house in town with Emily Timmons. Do you know her?” she asked.
“She’s a nurse, too, right?”
“Right,” Carrie replied.
“Yeah, I’ve seen her around town, but I don’t really know her,” he replied.
“She works in Dr. Morris’s office and I work in Dr. Holloway’s office, and we both work at the hospital whenever we get called in. We get along great, and she’s an awesome roommate.”
“That’s nice,” he replied.
They sipped their beers in silence for several moments, both of them listening to the conversation at the table behind them. The men were now talking about their work on the Bridges ranch.
“What do you like to do in your spare time?” Luke asked. She understood other women’s attraction to Luke. Aside from his obvious physical attributes, when he gazed at her so intently, he made her feel as if she was the single most important person in the entire world. It was a heady quality for a man to possess.
There was no question he had a reputation as a heartbreaker. Carrie wasn’t looking to get her heart broken by him. True, she’d entertained a crush on him for a while, but really, she just wanted to get to know him better.
“Carrie?”
Her face warmed as she realized she’d been staring at him and deep in her own thoughts. “I like riding horseback and having picnics. I enjoy reading and watching mysteries on television.” She smiled. “And I also enjoy checking up with former patients to see how they’re getting along.”
He grinned at her. “Thank goodness for that last part. So, do you own a horse?”
“Sadly, no. When I want to ride, I go to Dickerson’s ranch and rent one of his horses for an hour or two,” she replied.
“Dickerson only owns a bunch of poor old nags. You’ll have to come out one day and ride one of our horses. We’ve got a couple of good, sweet-natured ones.”
“I’d love that,” she replied.
“Then we’ll definitely plan a day for that,” he replied.
To her dismay, Peter and his friends got up from their table and headed for the exit. Luke watched them go with darkened eyes. “Well, this was a bust,” he said.
“Luke, I have a feeling this is going to be more of a marathon than a sprint,” she replied.
He sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was just hoping...” His voice trailed off.
“We’ll catch him on another night,” she said. “If he really fired the gun that killed your father, then eventually I believe he will get drunk enough, stupid enough to say something about it, and we’ll be here to hear him.”
“You’re right. At least now we can relax and enjoy the last of our beers.” She felt some of his tension ebb away.
