Page 62 of Falling for the Maverick

Michelle didn’t want to believe what she was hearing, and she couldn’t understand why Lucas was giving her double messages. He wanted to be with her, but then he’d made an excuse that it wasn’t possible because of his obligations to Big Doggo.

“Why can’t you let me in?”

A beat passed. “You’re in, Michelle, but right now—”

“You don’t have to say it,” Michelle said, cutting him off. “But I get it. We never made any promises to each other. I don’t blame you as much as I blame myself for believing things could be different.” She paused and gave him a long, penetrating stare. “I was a fool not to believe Aaron when he told me you’re not able to commit to a woman. You’re not ready, Lucas Brandt, and I know you’ll never be ready. I’ll be fine because I’m still young enough to find someone who will truly love me the way I deserve to be loved.”

Turning, she retraced her steps and found her clothes on a chair in the bedroom. Michelle dressed quickly, and walked out of the bedroom and out of the house where she’d left a piece of her heart. She would never tell him just how much she loved him.

She drove back to Circle C, relieved that she’d only told her grandmother and Shane about her and Lucas. And both had promised to keep her secret.

Michelle made it back home without encountering anyone. She went into her suite to shower again, this time using her own body wash. The kitchen was dark, and Michelle wasn’t sure whether her mother had informed everyone that she was sleeping in.

She flicked on the lights and went to the fridge to take out the ingredients for an omelet. There had been a time when she was in such a funk that she wouldn’t eat. But it was different now. Michelle was better equipped emotionally to deal with heartache. Unlike when she was in Missoula, she didn’t have to deal with words of sympathy or pitying looks. This time she was able to escape with her dignity intact.

Lucas couldn’t or didn’t want to become involved and Michelle had come to accept that. And despite her deep feelings for him she had no intention of chasing him or being available because she needed company. If he didn’t want a part-time girlfriend, then she didn’t need a part-time boyfriend.

She’d just sat down to eat when Aaron walked in. Michelle forced a smile. “Good morning.”

“Is it really, Michelle?”

“What’s up with you? You get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

“And whose bed did you wake up in this morning? Yes, sister, I know that despite my warning about Lucas, you still couldn’t stay away from him.”

Michelle slowly blinked. “We’re not seeing each other anymore.”

“Why?” Aaron spat out angrily.

“You don’t need to know that.”

He moved closer. “What did he do to you, Michelle?”

“Nothing. So let it go, Aaron! I’m not the little girl you need to look after anymore.”

Aaron muttered a curse under his breath, then stalked out of the kitchen.

Michelle hoped her brother would let it go. She had.

* * *

Lucas felt like a complete fraud. He knew he shouldn’t have gotten involved with Michelle, but something wouldn’t permit him to stay away from her. He’d walked into a situation he should’ve avoided with eyes wide open.

He slouched lower in the chair, holding the neck of a beer bottle between his fingers. Flash ambled up the porch and flopped down next to the chair.

“Don’t say you miss Michelle, buddy, because believe me, I do, too.” Lucas ran a free hand over his bearded face.

It had been nearly a week since Michelle walked out of his house, and during that time he hadn’t shaved. Penance for allowing the only woman he’d ever loved to walk out of his life when he wanted to go to her and tell her it didn’t matter that their brothers didn’t want them together—he loved her. It was true that he had obligations when it came to running Big Doggo, but that wasn’t all. He still had to resolve the contractual issues with his father’s latest franchisee. He and the man had gone back and forth over several remaining clauses until Lucas wanted to tell his father to kill the deal. But he’d never been one to walk away from a challenge and he’d planned to continue negotiating until the contract was executed.

Lucas set the bottle on a side table. He’d taken it out of the fridge intending to drink it, but that was before he remembered he had to go to the feed store and pick up some supplies he’d ordered before his ranch hands came on board.

“Sorry, buddy, I’d take you with me, but not this time,” he said to Flash as he stood.

After making sure he had his wallet, Lucas drove toward Strom and Son Feed and Farm Supply. He pulled into the parking lot behind the building, then walked in, touching the brim of his Stetson when he saw Caleb Strom at the register.

“I have some feed on back order,” he told Caleb when the man finished ringing up a customer’s purchases.

Caleb tapped a computer screen. “I’ll get them for you. How are things at Big Doggo?”