He followed her, not real happy about the situation but not certain what he wanted to do about it.
The party was in full swing when they reached the backyard. Montana clomped up the deck steps. Distracted by his irritation, he was intent on following her just as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
“Luke,” Erica said, nothing nice dripping from her words.
“Erica. Um, hi.” She didn’t look happy. Nope, matter of fact, she looked really unhappy—throw things unhappy. He hadn’t expected to see her. But he should have known Lacy wouldn’t have left her out of the party.
Montana turned back toward him and met his gaze before connecting with Erica’s.
“What are you looking at?” Erica snapped at Montana, right before throwing her soda at him!
Yup, throw things unhappy was about right. One minute he was standing there irritated and confused by Montana’s attitude. Now, he was drenched with the contents from Erica’s tall glass of Texas sweet tea!
“What?” he gasped, blinking through the tea dripping from his eyelashes.
“You two-timing jerk!” Erica huffed, then strode past him, shooting a glare over her shoulder—as if he hadn’t already gotten the message.
“Two-timing …” he stuttered. He was well aware that everyone within earshot had heard and witnessed the scene. “We just went on two dates. Just dates,” he said, looking at Montana.
A twitch of her lips told him she was fighting off laughter. “Yeah,” she managed. “Looks like all that dating is working out well for you, huh?” She winked at him, then strode into the house, leaving him dripping on the deck.
“Everybody’s a comedian,” he muttered. It was time to have a serious—and he meant serious—talk with Erica. He was not the marrying type. Never was and most likely never would be.
Chapter Four
Norma Sue Jenkins efficiently blocked Luke’s way when he headed toward Erica. A robust ranch woman, Norma Sue was hard to avoid when she wanted your attention. She handed him a dishtowel. “I tried telling Erica you and her wouldn’t match up.” She looked worried. “This isn’t good, Luke.”
He glanced past Norma Sue and saw Erica tear out in her small compact car. Wiping the sticky tea from his face he shook his head. “No, Norma Sue, it isn’t. I wasn’t trying to hurt anyone. I told her straight up that I was just dating. I wasn’t looking for forever, and she seemed okay with that. Until the second date, and then she started in on all that Mr. Right stuff.”
She patted him on the back. “I know. I know. I told her you weren’t looking for love, just companionship. I knew she had her sights set on forever, and I told her you weren’t the one to count on for that—”
“I think I’m supposed to say thanks to that.”
“It doesn’t sound good to me, either, but we both know, up till now, that’s where you stand. Erica thought she could change your mind and lied to you about her intentions.” Norma Sue frowned, her pink cheeks drooping. “All I’ve got to say is, you may be in for it. I don’t know if you noticed, but Erica is a bit high-strung. She doesn’t take rejection too kindly.”
The woman had just tossed tea on him. He was standing there drenched. “Yeah, Norma Sue, I get the picture loud and clear.”
“I figured you did. Why don’t you give her some time to cool off, then I suggest you go see her and try real hard to smooth this out. We aren’t used to this kind of trouble going on in Mule Hollow.”
“Tell me about it. I’m not used to this kind of trouble, either.”
He spent the next hour getting ribbed and teased about the incident. Cowboys loved teasing and giving each other a hard time, so, thanks to Erica, he was probably going to be the brunt of jokes for the rest of the year. The talk at the diner alone was going to drive him crazy. And if Erica thought her actions were going to help her find “Mr. Right” anytime soon in Mule Hollow, she was about to be up a creek without a paddle. Getting a date might have just gotten a whole lot harder for her.
Then he thought about Montana—getting a date might have just gotten harder for him, too. The idea didn’t sit well. As he drove home, he figured he had some digging out to do. He didn’t like having Erica so angry at him, so he was going to have to smooth that out somehow. Didn’t change his feelings though.
Norma Sue had been right on the money about them not being compatible—there were just some things that couldn’t be changed. He didn’t figure you could fall in love with someone you weren’t attracted to, but he’d seen plenty of times when people who were in love fell out of love. Or one of the two killed the love that had been shared. Luke had seen that plenty. He’d seen it up close and personal where his parents were concerned—yeah, love could be killed. But there was no way it could be forced. Erica was barking up the wrong tree if she figured he was the one for her. He’d get that straight and he’d get it soon. Surely she would understand where he was coming from.
He wasn’t going to feel bad about the situation. He had done nothing but be honest in all of this. Montana might hold it all against him, especially after witnessing the sweet tea scene, but in all honesty, he couldn’t figure out why.
Then again, maybe he was missing something… .
It was a beautiful day, the morning after the infamous barbecue.
“Come on in,” Esther Mae called out as Montana walked into Lacy’s Heavenly Inspirations hair salon carrying Tate. Instantly, she was bombarded by the spunky redhead. “Oh, there’s our baby boy!” Esther Mae cooed, reaching to take Tate.
“We’re glad you came,” Norma Sue said, moving to give Tate a hug.
Lacy had Adela in the chair and was snipping away at the dainty lady’s short, white hair. “He looks so happy!” Lacy said, smiling in his direction. “You are so good with him, Montana. Thank you so much. He’s always in such a good mood with you.”
“Ha! It’s not me. The little fella likes everyone. Although, we did have a great morning. He loves the playpen we fixed up next to the office.” The building that housed Lacy and Clint’s arena was one of the nicest she’d been in. She was blessed to have it for her own use. “He played happily all morning while I practiced.” Montana could still get her barrel racing practice in while watching Tate in the playpen.
“He’s content around you.” Adela smiled, her electric-blue eyes warm. “Babies know good people when they’re around them.”
Esther Mae looked up from where she had sat with Tate in the dryer chair. “Little darling bellows every time Hank comes around. It hurts Hank’s feelings something fierce.”
“Roy Don was the same way.” Norma Sue chuckled. “He started to get a complex about it, until one day Tate took to him—” she snapped her fingers “—like the snap of a finger.”
“Men, they get their feelings hurt too doggone easy,” Esther Mae said while rubbing noses with Tate. “You aren’t gonna do that, are you, my sweet potato pie man?”
Norma
