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“I thought about coming after you, about leaving it all.” Paul’s smile was full of regret. “But my mom was sick and there was the ranch, and then there was Julia who couldn’t believe you’d really left her.” He sighed. “And yet, I still wanted to follow you.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you had, Paul. I didn’t really know what I wanted then.”
“Yeah, I get that. And you didn’t ask me, did you? You asked Julia.” Paul ran a hand through his hair. “How about you go see her and I’ll see you both this evening.”
Luke nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll get Julia to call you if it doesn’t work out.”
“Hell, you don’t have a phone, do you?”
“Nope, or a laptop or an Internet connection. I am truly a free man.”
Paul held his gaze, his blue eyes serious. “Not that free, Luke. After all, you came back home.”
* * *
Luke drove back to town,his thoughts in turmoil. Paul had fucked him, really fucked him. And now he had to talk to Julia. He avoided a pothole on the bumpy ranch drive and then straightened the wheel. He liked seeing her in the bank, her air of authority, the confidence she’d always longed for so apparent in everything she did.
He remembered to park around the back of the bank in the employee spaces and separated Julia’s car keys from the tangle of his. The bank was cool inside, the neutral wood floor and beige furnishings making it feel more like someone’s house than a place to do business. He walked up to the counter and recognized the young guy who’d first helped him.
“Hey, Dave, isn’t it? Is Ms. Lowell available?”
“Wow, you got here quick. She only just put down the phone.”
Luke grinned. “Well, she couldn’t have been calling me. I don’t have a phone, cell or land.” The expression on Dave’s face was priceless, as if he couldn’t imagine a world where you weren’t connected 24/7 to everything.
“I’ll take you in to her.” Dave headed for Julia’s office and Luke followed along behind. Julia sat behind her desk, her head bent, her attention on a sheet of graph paper covered in figures.
“Ms. Lowell? It’s Mr. Warner.”
Julia’s head shot up. “Are you psychic or something? I was just about to come around and see you.”
Luke smiled at her, “Yeah. That’s it. It’s totally a mind thing.” He took the chair in front of her. “What’s up?”
She sighed. “My boss, Mr. Glynn had denied your application for an account.”
“Denied me?” Luke fought an unbearable desire to laugh. “What the hell for?”
“Because apparently he had issues with your parents.” Julia rubbed her forehead. “And, yes, that’s total shit, and I’m already onto Regional about it.”
“He won’t like you going over his head.”
“No, he won’t, but I’m sick of covering for his incompetence.” She smiled slightly. “If he won’t let me do my job properly, I’d rather get another one.”
Luke sat forward, his hands clasped loosely between his knees. He knew Julia far too well to believe that. Security was way too important to her.
“You wouldn’t really leave Gulch Town because of a disagreement over me, would you?”
“If I had to.” Her gray eyes met his unflinchingly. “I’ve realized that my desire to stay here has cost me a lot in my life.”
“Like me?”
She nodded. “I should’ve come with you when you asked me to.”
“No, you shouldn’t have, and I was a fool to ask.” Luke studied her beautiful face. “I was so fucking mixed up, I would’ve ruined everything in six months.”
“You reckon?”
“Iknow.” He got up and leaned across the desk to give her a kiss on the nose. “Perhaps we all needed to grow up a bit, right?”
