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“I thought so.” Ella rested her cheek against him once more. “Better guess higher next time.”
“So ask me.”
She smiled, her cheek rubbing against his soft shirt. “Ask you what?”
“Your questions.”
“Allof them? I don’t think we’ll have time for that.”
“No,” he drawled. “Let’s just start with the first one.”
She contemplated what this could mean for both of them. If she asked the one that burned the most, she might push him away. It would be safer to ask one that was in the same family but not so pointed. Ella traced her finger along the stitching of his pocket. “I can’t help but wonder about your dating habits.”
“You already talked about those. I told you that I might have been drawn to certain girls, but it wasn’t about their size. It was more about their—”
“Commitment. I know. That’s what I’m curious about.” She lifted herself up again and stared into his eyes, studying him, watching for his reaction. “Why haven’t you wanted to settle down? Don’t you want to have a family of your own?”
He tilted his head, craning it so he could still maintain eye contact with her. “You do realize that I came from a family of twelve children, right? We were the joke of the town growing up—comparing my parents to breeding bunnies and religious groups.”
“But that doesn’t mean you would steer clear of starting a family. Don’t you want kids?”
He chuckled, his whole body shaking with it. “I practically helped to raise my younger siblings, and honestly, I don’t think I’m cut out for it. I know I’m not a great boyfriend. I’ve been told that plenty of times. And honestly, I think I’d make an even worse father.”
His words made her heart ache. The pain from his confession was so excruciating that she found it hard to breathe. “You can’t honestly think that.”
“Why not?” He pulled his arm away from her and placed it beneath his head as he stared up at the ceiling of the barn. “I didn’t exactly come from a warm and loving family atmosphere. Don’t forget, my father left us shortly after my baby sister was born and my mother soon after.”
“It’s that exact reason why I think you’d make an excellent father.”
He glanced at her again.
“You have a good heart, Lucas. You’re better than you think you are.”
Lucas reached out to her, tracing her jawline with the back of his curled finger. “And you… are like an angel sent from above.”
Ella shiveredand drew closer to the warmth. It was a dream—all just a bad dream. There’s no way she could have been locked in a barn overnight with Lucas Keagan and no one noticed.
A soft snore infiltrated her sleepy thoughts, and her eyes flew wide open. She shot up from where she’d been lying, only to find Lucas sound asleep beside her. She glanced toward the door of the barn, a soft light coming through the five-inch opening. Morning. They’d made it through the night.
If they were lucky, they’d be able to get the door open today. If they won the lottery, someone would show up with tools to remove it, so they’d never have to get stuck again.
Her eyes drifted toward the sleeping cowboy and her heart skipped wildly. Getting locked in a barn with Lucas hadn’t been all that bad. They’d managed to clear up a lot of things—mostly her misconceptions. Perhaps she should be grateful that the door was completely useless.
A chill swept through the air, causing her to shiver again. Ella snuggled down at Lucas’s side and closed her eyes. There was no sense rushing things. They had all the time in the world as far as she was concerned.
Several minutes passed and she was on the verge of falling asleep once more when she heard what sounded like a truck engine. But that was ridiculous. Why would there be a truck all the way out here? Once again, Ella shot upward. A delivery. She’d had to reschedule one of the supply drivers to bring a load out two days early.
Ella shoved Lucas. “Hey, wake up.”
He grunted, rolling over onto his side.
“Lucas, wake up. There’s someone here,” she hissed. Ella scrambled to her feet and nearly tripped across the floor in her hurry to get to the door. Just as she’d thought. The trailer pulled by a truck was filled with several two-by-fours. She peered through the hole in the door, waiting for the driver to get out of his truck. “Lucas!” she shouted. “Will you get up? There’s a delivery. He might be able to get us out.”
“What if I don’t want to get out?” His voice was close, low, and started a ripple of goosebumps up and down her whole body.
She gasped and spun to face him. The scruff on his jawline had thickened and his hair was tousled in the most endearing way. Bits of straw clung to his clothes and his hair. He slipped an arm around her waist and pressed an unexpected kiss to her lips.
Losing track of time and space, she responded to his touch like a wick to flame. Bursting with life, she kissed him with everything she had. The only thing to break into her thoughts was the sound of a car door slamming shut.
