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“Oh, there was someone on the line,” Luke said, glaring at the instrument as if he could see through the phone to the face of the person on the other end. “But he was put off when he heard my voice.”
“Or she.”
“Or she,” he agreed, rubbing the side of his face thoughtfully.
Katie lifted a shoulder. “They’ll call back if they really want me. Probably thought they got the wrong number when you answered.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t seem convinced, and his demeanor made her edgy. “You get many hang-ups?”
“My share. Along with solicitations and wrong numbers. Come on, eat. We don’t have a lot of time if we’re gonna pick up my car.” She handed him a cup of coffee, then settled back into her chair.
“I guess you’re right.” He reached for half a sandwich, and they ate in relative silence. It was odd, she thought, to have a man other than one of her brothers sitting across the table in her tiny kitchen. She’d grown up with three half brothers and more than a handful of stepfathers, but she’d never settled down with a man, never felt comfortable with one in her house. There had been other boys and men in her life, of course, before and after Dave. She’d dated on and off over the past ten years, but she’d never allowed herself to fall in love, had always found an excuse to break off a relationship before it deepened into something emotionally dangerous.
She’d been accused of being “too picky” by her oft-married mother, or “too flighty” by the twins, and “too bullheaded about that damned job,” by Jarrod, but the real reason she hadn’t settled down was that she hadn’t wanted to. She believed a woman should stand on her own two feet before she started leaning on a man. Any man.
Besides, she had Josh to consider and a career to promote. Just because Luke Gates was interesting didn’t mean anything.
He checked his watch and finished a gulp of coffee. “I think we’d better get rollin’ if we want to meet the tow truck.”
“You don’t have to do this,” she said, giving him another out. “I have dozens of relatives who would help me.”
Luke nodded as he carried his plate to the sink. “I know, but let’s just say I like to finish what I start.”
She thought about arguing with him, but changed her mind. For whatever reason, he was willing to help her, and she decided to accept his aid. She dumped the dishes into the sink, told Josh what was going on, then locked the door behind her on the way to Luke’s pickup.
As they drove away from town, the night seemed to close in around them. Stars twinkled seductively in the blackened heavens, and a slice of moon cast a shimmering silver glow over the countryside. The dark shapes of cattle and horses moved against the bleached grass of the surrounding fields and hillsides, and only a few headlights from oncoming cars illuminated the truck’s cab as they passed.
Katie hugged the passenger door. Even with the window rolled down, the pickup seemed too small; too intimate. She told herself she was overreacting, but she noticed the position of Luke’s hand on the gearshift lever, the way his fingers clutched the knob and how his sleeve was pushed up to his elbow, allowing her a glimpse of tanned skin dusted with gold hair.
So male.
So close.
Don’t be ridiculous. He’s just doing you a favor, for goodness’ sake. There’s nothing more to it than that. All her life her silly imagination had run away with her, and she’d been forever reining it in. Tonight, it seemed, her fantasy was that Luke Gates, sexy and mysterious, was trying to think of ways to be alone with her. What a joke. Yet she felt her heart pounding in the pulse at her neck, and couldn’t ignore the sensual, all-male scents of hay, dust and leather that clung to him.
Get over it, Kinkaid. The last complication you need in your life right now is a man—especially a quiet, mysterious stranger you don’t have one scrap of solid information about. Think about Josh. Think about the Isaac Wells story. Think about your career. And for God’s sake, forget any silly romantic fantasies you have about this man!
She bit her lip, and, drumming her fingers on the edge of the window, she stared into the night until they crested a small rise. Her car, looking abandoned and lo
nely, was parked just where she’d left it.
Luke pulled on to the shoulder on the opposite side of the road. “Let’s try it one more time,” he suggested as he helped her out of the cab. His fingers as he grabbed her hand were warm.
“And what if it starts?” She hopped lithely to the ground.
“We pay the tow-truck driver and send him on his way.”
“Just my luck—having to pay for service I don’t need.” She let go of his hand.
“It hasn’t happened yet.”
“It’s not going to.” Crossing her fingers, she unlocked the car and climbed into the dark interior. “Here goes nothing,” she said under her breath and discovered as she turned the ignition that she was right. The engine didn’t so much as spark. “Satisfied?” she asked Luke.
“I guess I have to be.” He leaned one hip against the fender and tried not to notice the shape of her leg as she climbed out of her beater. She slammed the door shut with a quick movement of her hip, and his crotch tightened. A million questions about her pricked at his mind, but he ignored most of them. He wasn’t interested in her. Just as he wasn’t interested in any woman.
He caught the scent of her perfume on the breeze and wondered what it would be like to kiss her. She was different from the kind of woman who usually attracted him—small and compact rather than tall and slim. He’d convinced himself that he liked a woman who was as quiet as he, thoughtful and soft-spoken, but this redheaded dynamo had changed his mind.
Not that he’d do anything about it.
