To Wed and Protect

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Luke laughed in genuine amusement. “Ah, Stephanie, you always did have a flair for the dramatic. I’m twenty-nine years old and I’m not cut out for marriage or family life. I play fair and make sure all the women I date know that ahead of time.”

Stephanie waved her hands to dismiss his statement. “If anyone in this town wasn’t cut out for marriage, it was your sister, Johnna. And look at her now, the picture of happily married bliss.” Stephanie finished her coffee and stood. “All you need Luke, is one good woman to tame you and you’re finished.”

Luke laughed, certain that no woman was ever going to tame and domesticate him. “Trust me, Stephanie. Growing up in my family gave me all the family experience I ever want in my life.”

Stephanie frowned. “You can’t judge marriage and family by what your daddy did to you kids. Every man needs a good woman, Luke. And that’s exactly what you need in your life.” With these final words, Stephanie turned and left his booth.

Luke sipped his coffee, thinking of Stephanie’s words. It had always amazed him that everyone in town seemed to know what a mean, hateful son of a bitch Adam Delaney had been as a father, but nobody had ever stepped in to help the four children who suffered at his hands.

He shoved away thoughts of his father. Thinking of Adam Delaney always caused a knot of fire to form in the pit of his stomach, a knot that only a good stiff drink could unkink. Instead, he focused on a vision of the lovely Abigail Graham.

Not only did she interest him on a physical level, but she intrigued him, as well. Along with the loneliness he’d thought he’d seen in her eyes, he’d sensed secrets. She certainly hadn’t been forthcoming about where they had come from.

Back east, she’d said, then had finally said they were from Chicago. But, when he had gone past the bedrooms, he’d noticed that Jason’s room was decorated in a Kansas City Chiefs motif. Why would a kid from Chicago want items from the Kansas City football team in his room? Why not the Chicago Bears?

Luke sipped the last of his coffee and wondered if perhaps he was making too much of nothing. Maybe the kid’s father had been a Chiefs fan, or perhaps he’d had a friend from the Kansas City area who had gotten him to follow the team. In any case, it didn’t much matter. He didn’t really care where she’d come from.

“More coffee?” Stephanie pulled him from his thoughts.

“No, thanks,” he replied, and reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “I’ve got to get out of here. I need to get out to the ranch for a couple of hours before I head over to the Honky Tonk.”

“Tomorrow is my night off, and I already told Tom that I want to go to the Honky Tonk and have a drink and listen to you croon a few tunes.”

Luke grinned at the older woman. “You and Tom come in, and your first round of drinks is on me.” He tossed enough money on the table to pay for his meal and a generous tip.

“Then for sure we’ll be in,” she agreed.

Luke left the diner, climbed into his pickup and within minutes was headed to the family ranch. He’d surprised himself by telling Abby of his plans to head to Nashville. That was something he hadn’t shared with anyone, not even his siblings, who he knew probably didn’t give a damn what he did or where he went. To say the Delaney heirs weren’t tightly knit was an understatement.

Still, he had a feeling he’d told Abby his plans for a reason. He was interested in her, but he certainly wasn’t interested in anything long-term. By telling her that in seven months his plans were to leave Inferno and never look back, he’d subtly told her that he wasn’t a man to pin a future on.

Chapter 4

“How about a glass of iced tea?” Abby asked Luke.

“Sounds great,” he agreed. “I’m ready to take a break.”

It was late afternoon, and Luke had been working on knocking down the old porch since early morning.

The first thing he had done when he arrived that morning was follow through on his promise to hang a tire swing from one of the thick branches of the tree in the backyard. While the kids had played on the swing, Abby had picked weeds and promised herself to buy a lawnmower in the near future.

She had consciously stayed away from the front of the house where Luke was working.

The heat of the afternoon had finally driven them inside. The kids were playing in their rooms, and Abby had guessed Luke would be ready for a tall drink of something cold.

As Luke put down the sledgehammer, Abby tried to keep her gaze focused everywhere but on his broad, naked chest. She handed him the glass of tea, then stepped back from him and watched as he downed half a glass in long, thirsty gulps.

Condensation from the bottom of the glass dripped onto his chest, and despite her desire to the contrary, she watched the droplet trail down his chest.

“I was hoping I’d be able to salvage some of this wood,” he said, and she was grateful for anything that took her attention away from his physique. “But I don’t think I’m going to be able to. Most of it is beyond rotten.” He took another deep drink, then continued. “I should have the last of this pulled down in the next hour or so, then first thing tomorrow morning I’ll start on the new structure.”

“It will be nice to be able to walk out the front door and not be afraid of falling through the porch.”

“You know, I’d be glad to give you an estimate on some new kitchen cabinets. If I build them from pine, they’d be relatively inexpensive.”

“New cabinets would be wonderful,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve been afraid to put too many canned goods in the ones that are there because they look so weak.”

“I’ll work up an estimate and you can decide if you want to go ahead then.”

“Okay,” she agreed, then sighed. “There’s so much work here that needs to be done.”

“And Rome wasn’t built in a day,” he replied with one of his killer smiles.

“You’re right. And hopefully we’ll be here a long time and eventually get the house done the way we want it.” She returned his smile with one of her own.

“Patience isn’t one of my strong suits.”

“I’ve never been one to want to wait for what I want, either,” he replied with a wicked grin that instantly drew heat into her cheeks.

He held out his empty glass to her. As she took it from him, their fingers touched and Abby felt a spark of electricity tingle in the air between them. She took another step back from him and clutched the glass tightly in her hand.

There was a silence, an uncomfortable one that she instantly worked to fill. “You mentioned last night at the diner that you had to stay here in Inferno for several months and work on your family dude ranch so your brothers and sisters wouldn’t default. So, you have a big family?”

“Two brothers and one sister. And we’ve recently added a sister-in-law and a brother-in-law.” He swiped a hand through his thick hair, and Abby tried not to notice how handsome he looked with the afternoon sun playing on his features.

He had strong, bold features. Midnight dark brows, a straight Roman nose, high cheekbones and a sensual mouth. He was once again clad in customary tight, worn blue jeans that rode low on his hips.

“What about you? Big family? Small family?” he asked.

“No other family. Just me and the kids.”

A frown creased his forehead. “I might as well have no family. We aren’t very close.”

“Do they all live here in town?” she asked curiously.

Luke nodded. “Yeah, Matthew lives at the family homestead. Mark and his wife, April, and son live on a house Mark built on the ranch. Johnna and her husband, Jerrod, live in a house here in town.” His frown deepened. “So, we’re all here, but we might as well live a million miles away from one another.”

“You don’t realize how lucky you are to have brothers and a sister,” Abby replied. “My sister died a year ago, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t wish I had spent more time with her, talked to her more often.”

As always, thoughts of Loretta brought with them a dark, dangerous well of grief. If only she’d known what had been going on in Loretta’s life. If only she’d known the danger. Abby had encouraged her to make the break that had ultimately resulted in her death.

Before Abby could plunge into the dark depths of despair, she mentally shook away thoughts of the sister she missed so much. “Take my advice, Luke and don’t waste time where your family is concerned. Enjoy their company while you still have them.”

He nodded, his gaze steady, thoughtful as it lingered on her. “So, you lost your sister a year ago. That means you had two tragedies about the same time?”

“Two?” She looked at him blankly.

“Your husband and your sister.”

Warmth swept over her as she realized she’d momentarily forgotten all about the husband she’d supposedly lost. “Yes, that’s right,” she agreed hurriedly, then averted her gaze. “It’s been a long, hard year.”

He took a step toward her and reached out to grab her hand. She looked at him, surprised by the warmth, the strength of his touch. “I hope Inferno will be good to you and you’ll be able to put all the sad times behind you and find happiness here.”

For a moment, as she gazed into his beautiful sooty eyes, she wondered if happiness was possible. She hoped so, not so much for her own sake, but for the sake of the two children who meant more to her than anything on the earth.

“Thank you,” she replied. She knew she should pull her hand away yet was reluctant to break the warmth and comfort of the contact. It had been so long since she’d felt any kind of masculine touch, even one as simple and uncomplicated as the touch of hands.

He smiled and increased the pressure of his hand on hers. “There’s nothing I’d like more than to see those pretty green eyes of yours light up with pleasure, with happiness and laughter.”

A dangerous, provocative heat rose inside her as their gazes remained locked, and she saw flickering flames in the depths of his eyes. “Are you trying to charm me, Mr. Delaney?” She forced a light laugh and pulled her hand from his, suddenly realizing his touching her was anything but simple. “Is this the beginning of the seduction that Stephanie warned me about?”

He laughed, a low, sexy rumble that was as disturbing as his touch. “Trust me, darlin’, when I start seducing you, you’ll know it and you won’t have to ask.”

His words sent a new flood of heat through her and made the mere act of breathing difficult. “Then trust me, all I really want from you, Luke, is a new front porch and maybe some new kitchen cabinets,” she replied quickly, appalled to hear her voice slightly breathless.

Again he laughed. “It’s been my experience that women rarely know what they really want.”

“And from what Stephanie told me, you certainly have had plenty of experience with women.” She shook her head wryly. “Three jobs and an overactive social life. I don’t know how you have the strength to get up in the mornings.”

Flirting. Someplace in the back of her brain she recognized that’s what she was doing. Flirting with Luke Delaney.

He grinned that lazy devastating smile. “My strong suit has always been my terrific stamina.”

He laughed as her cheeks grew hot and she knew a blush reddened them. “Besides, my reputation as a womanizer has been greatly exaggerated. You will discover that this town thrives on idle gossip, and I’m not sure why, but I seem to be a favorite topic of that gossip.”

Abby certainly knew why. The man was not only as handsome as a pinup model, he had a kind of animal magnetism that she had a feeling could stir the hormones of a female statue.

“So, tell me about your brothers and sister,” she said, suddenly desperate to change the topic, get away from the subject of seduction and gossip, neither of which she wanted or needed in her life.

“What do you want to know?” he asked.

“What do they do? What are they like?” She realized she was intrigued by Luke and wondered what kind of family he came from.

“Matthew is the oldest. He’s thirty-five and he runs the family dude ranch.” Again a frown etched across his forehead. “Matthew is distant and aloof, but he’s a good businessman. All that matters to him is the ranch. Mark is thirty-three and he’s more easygoing. He’s thoughtful and quiet or at least he was until he married April. She’s really brought him out of his shell.”

The frown disappeared. “Then there is Johnna. She’s twenty-eight, a year younger than me.” He grinned with obvious affection. “She’s stubborn and mule headed, impetuous and opinionated. She’s a lawyer who spends most of her time trying to right the wrongs of the world.”

“You’re close to her,” Abby commented.

“I’m closer to her than I am to my brothers, but there’s a lot of distance even between me and Johnna.”

“Why? I mean, why aren’t you and your siblings close?”

He grinned wryly. “What is this? Twenty questions? I don’t know the answer to that question.” His eyes shadowed slightly. “All I can tell you is that the four Delaney heirs share common parentage, but nothing else. It would take nothing short of a miracle to make us into a real family.”

Abby thought she heard a wistful tone in his voice, as if there was a part of him deep inside that longed for a family connection. It echoed inside her, touching a chord of commonality.

Still, as attractive as she found Luke Delaney, she knew she’d be a fool to somehow get the notion into her head that he was the man who could fulfill her dream of a complete and happy family.

Dusk was falling as Luke pulled up in front of the family homestead. He hadn’t intended on coming here this evening, but Matthew had called one of the infrequent family meetings, which meant something was amiss.

Luke’s stomach tied itself in a knot as he got out of his truck and approached the house where he’d spent the miserable hours and days of childhood.

Family meetings had never been particularly pleasant. Most of the time Matthew called a meeting when something had to be decided, and a final decision among the four very different siblings never came easily.

Each Saturday a late midday meal was served to the guests as a welcome and get-acquainted gathering. But it was late enough in the day that there was no evidence such a gathering had taken place.

The pit fire that cooked burgers and beans had been extinguished, and the tables and chairs put away. The grounds were relatively quiet.