Ranch.
Audrey lowered the brim of her bright pink ball cap, shading her eyes from the glaring sun, and reached back to straighten out her ponytail. Coming through the mountain pass, she made the turn off the interstate and drove a little farther. As her gaze roamed the road, she recognized wisps of tall grass, purple wildflowers and white fences signifying the manicured property surrounding Sunset Lodge. The upscale dudelike resort adjacent to the ranch was another of the Slades’ prosperous enterprises. Once she passed the lodge, the ranch would be half a mile down the road.
“We’re almost there,” she told her sleepy cat.
Audrey couldn’t relax like the mellow feline beside her. Her fingers curled tightly around the steering wheel and as her doubt and fear doubled, her heart pounded hard in her chest.
She should’ve stayed with Luke that night. She should’ve been brave enough to face him in the morning. But every time those thoughts popped into her head, she had images of Casey waking up and finding her in bed with his good buddy. There was no doubt in her mind that Casey would’ve gone ballistic, asking no questions and taking no prisoners. She’d come to the conclusion that leaving Luke and the cabin had been the only way.
And it was a good thing her brother slept like the dead and hadn’t had a clue she’d had a booty call with his best friend.
Two days later, once she’d gotten the nerve to call her brother, she’d learned the reason for Luke’s visit. He’d been trampled by a horse in an awful accident. His arm had been broken along with three ribs. He’d come to Casey’s Lake Tahoe cabin to recuperate.
Now, she would finally come face-to-face with Luke. She’d confront him about the night they’d shared and confess her love for him, if it came down to that. She wondered if he thought her easy, a one-night stand and a woman who didn’t know her own mind. What had he thought about her abandoning him that night?
She would soon find out. She drove deeper onto Slade land and the gates came into view. Overhead, a wrought-iron emblem depicting the sun setting on the horizon marked the east entrance to Sunset Ranch. She slowed the truck to a near crawl, losing some of her nerve.
She could make a U-turn, head home and no one would be the wiser.
Behind her, a driver in a feed truck packed with hay bales laid his hand on the horn startling her out of her reverie. She took it as an omen. Drive on. Head toward your destiny, whatever it may be.
She did just that, and a few minutes later, holding her breath and feigning bravado, Audrey parked her truck, grabbed the cat carrier and knocked on Luke’s door.
When the door opened, she faced Lucas Slade. A gasp caught in her throat and she swallowed it down with one gulp. She drank in the sight of him, and her heart stirred restlessly, like all the other times she’d been in Luke’s company. She was hopeless.
Sunlight played in his dark blond hair and touched his face on a day when he hadn’t shaved. Rugged, appealing and so handsome she could cry. He stood a full head taller than she did. As a young girl, she’d thought if she could catch up to his height it would put her on even footing with him on other levels. It had been a silly whim that had never materialized. Luke was tall; she stood at average height. Five years separated their ages, which had seemed like an aeon to a teenager with a crush.
A little dumbfounded, she stared at him, not wanting to blow it by blurting out the wrong thing. She held her tongue and waited for him to say something.
His brows drew together. “That you under that hat, Audrey Faith?”
Heavens, she’d forgotten about the darn hat. She nodded and lifted the brim a little.
A big smile lit his face and sparkled in his eyes. “Well, come here.”
He didn’t wait for her to move. He stepped forward with his arms outstretched. At that moment, all of her fears were put to rest. He was glad to see her. Lord, have mercy.
But when she expected to be swept into an embrace and kissed the way he’d kissed her in the cabin, he bypassed her lips completely. Instead, her face was smothered by his shoulder as he gave her a big welcoming bear hug. There was no doubt about the affection there, or in the two brotherly pats to her shoulders, either, before he took a step back to look at her.
“What brings you out to Sunset Ranch?” His gaze whipped over her shoulder. “Did Casey drive out with you, too?”
“Oh, uh...no. Casey isn’t with me.”
“Okay,” he said with a nod. “Well then, come inside, out of the heat. And bring whatever pet you’ve rescued with you.”
She’d forgotten about the tabby in the carrier she’d set down on the porch. “H-her name is Jewel. She was hit by a car two months ago and was in shock for a while. Now she gets separation anxiety if I leave her for too long.”
Luke gave the cat a better look through the carrrier’s mesh window. “She made the trip from Reno with you?”
Her pulse quickened as his blue-eyed gaze returned to hers. She nodded.
“Lucky cat. I bet you’re giving her the royal treatment. You always were great with animals.”
She stood there, bewildered by Luke’s reaction. He didn’t make any acknowledgment about seeing her again. Or about that night that had rocked her world. He didn’t seem angry, hurt, relieved or much of anything. She hadn’t known exactly what to expect when she got here, but his civility clearly wasn’t it.
Her feet wouldn’t move, and her hesitation didn’t faze him. He simply lifted the handle of the cat carrier and swung it along as he walked toward the parlor.
Audrey grabbed hold of her mind, and followed behind.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes, Audrey Faith,” he said over his shoulder.
So was he. Her throat constricted as she recalled the dreams she’d had of him for the past four weeks. Now she was here with him in the flesh. “I like to be called Audrey now. I dropped the Faith a few years ago.”
Luke chuckled, and it was deep and rich and full of raw sensuality, just like she’d remembered. Of course, back when she was a teen, she didn’t know much about sensuality. She only knew that she loved the sound of his laughter. “All right, Audrey,” he said, softlike.
Mercy. Her belly warmed from the delicious way he said her name.
Audrey gave herself a mental shake as she walked behind him into the house. She managed to keep her eyes trained off his perfect butt fitted into Wranglers. Instead, she concentrated on Luke’s dark blond hair that reached past his collar to curl at his shoulders. The strands were much longer now. She remembered threading her fingers through those thick, healthy locks. How she yearned to do it again.
That entire night seemed like a surreal dream.
Luke set the cat carrier down on the sofa and turned to face her. “It’s really good to see you, Audrey. It’s been a long time.”
How long was a long time? She’d seen him one month ago.
“Same here,” she said. This wasn’t how she’d expected this conversation to go. In her wildest imaginings, Luke would have been thrilled to see her. He would have whisked her off to his bedroom, claiming undying love and demanding that she never leave his side again. In the worst-case scenario, Luke would’ve scolded her for having unprotected sex with him and then running off in the middle of the night.
But this conversation was just plain strange.
“I’m glad you came for a visit,” Luke said, gesturing for her to take a seat.
She sat down next to the cat carrier. Luke took a seat across from her in a buttercup-colored wing chair trimmed with round bronzed studs. “You look great.”
She didn’t think so. When she’d dressed this morning, she’d picked the best her neglected wardrobe had to offer, plaid blouse, baggy jeans and her too-long