If someone plunged a dagger in her heart, the pain couldn’t have been any greater.
“What do you say, honey?” The timbre of his deep voice broke through her anguish.
“Want to spend what’s left of the summer with me on Sunset Ranch?”
* * *
“They’re just formalities, Audrey, but we’ve got to do them,” Luke said as he handed her an application for the job on Sunset Ranch.
She sat in the Slade family office located at one end of the sprawling one-story ranch house. Luke had taken a seat at his desk across from her. She felt his eyes on her as she began filling out the personal information on the form. Robotically, she went about accepting the job as wrangler on the Slades’ very lucrative horse farm, her mind on automatic pilot as she tied herself to working with Lucas Slade for the next two months.
Audrey wasn’t into science fiction, but she could surely relate to anyone who believed in alternate universes. This sci-fi version of her life had her living under Luke’s roof and working beside him every day, filling her summer days with something more than meaningless temp jobs back home until she could restart her veterinary education. This universe wasn’t ideal, but it was a far cry better than anything reality had had to offer.
Audrey completed the application. As she leaned forward to hand Luke the form, the fresh lime scent of his cologne brought memories of kissing his throat and shoulders and chest. It was the same scent that had lingered on her long after she’d fled her brother’s cabin.
Luke glanced at the application for less than five seconds, before smiling and standing. “You’re hired. Let me show you to your room.”
And within minutes, Audrey stood alone in her new bedroom, slightly dazed by what had occurred during the past thirty minutes.
She’d discovered she’d made love to a man who didn’t remember doing the deed.
He’d offered her a dream job.
And insisted she live in a guest bedroom less than twenty feet from his own room.
Audrey glanced at Jewel, who was stretched out lengthwise on the bedspread, a tiger-striped bundle of fur against black-and-bright-yellow flowers. The beautiful space was bigger than any room she’d ever called her own. And yet, as she glanced around the opulent surroundings, she questioned her decision to take the job, muttering, “What have I done?”
Audrey didn’t have to wonder for very long. Immediate clarity punched her in the gut. She’d done what she had to do. No way could she have walked out the door, never to see Luke again. The second she’d laid eyes on him today that possibility wasn’t an option. She finally came out of her thirty-minute fog and realized she was where she needed to be. She had been given another chance with Luke.
Yes, her heart was broken that Luke had forgotten their night together because her memories of him were profound, unforgettable. Her responses to his heady kisses severed all ties she had to good-girl status. She’d moved on him, mindful of his encumbered arm, in wild, wicked ways that had astonished her afterward. But while in the moment, she’d let go and ridden his tight, hard, muscled body until he was ready to guide her home.
I’ll never forget.
A satisfied purr escaped her throat. The cat’s head came up.
She stifled a chuckle and walked over to the bed. “Go back to sleep, Jewel,” she whispered, taking a seat and stroking the cat’s soft underbelly until her eyes drifted closed again.
Oh, to trade places with the cat right now. To have no worries and no heartache and sleep away the day...what could be better?
Audrey allowed herself a few minutes of self-pity and then tried to look on the bright side of things. At least Luke had faith in her. That was a plus. He’d hired her for a job that wasn’t easily won on the highly respected ranch, not because of his friendship with Casey, but because she had a way with animals. He trusted her abilities and needed her help with the dang horse that had trampled him and sent him to the hospital.
She would look upon Trib as a challenge that she could conquer.
Getting Luke to see her as anything other than his buddy’s baby sister would involve a heck of a lot more work.
“I know we’ll be good together,” Luke had said, right before he’d walked out of the guest room.
Audrey sighed.
If he only knew how true that statement was.
* * *
As soon as Luke showed Audrey to her room, he went back into the office to give her application another glance. Audrey Faith Thomas, half sister to Casey—though nobody much mentioned the half part anymore—had had a rough upbringing. She’d lost her parents early on, and Casey had raised her. She’d been the tagalong little sis on the rodeo circuit. Luke thought that Audrey had gotten a raw deal in life. Casey had been overly strict with her. Luke figured her brother was overcompensating, being mother and father to her. Casey had tried hard, but a lot of the time, he didn’t know what the hell he was doing when it came to his little sister.
Audrey compensated, too. She took to the animals and the animals loved her in return. They were a good match. Audrey had a special fondness for the rodeo horses. There wasn’t a one that didn’t temper its wild mood when Audrey walked up.
According to her application, after college, she’d worked for a veterinarian clinic in Reno for a couple of years before deciding to apply to equine vet school. Luke also noted all the charity and volunteer work Audrey had done through the years. She had listed animal shelters and horse rescues, and was part of the Freedom for Wild Horses organization.
Luke picked up the phone and punched in Casey’s number. “Hey,” he said when his friend answered.
“Hey.”
Luke owed his friend a favor for letting him crash at his Tahoe cabin last month. Being with his buddy helped his recuperation move along more quickly. Well, at least it’d been less mentally painful. Luke thought he’d go stir-crazy, not being able to do a dang thing with his arm in a cast and three cracked ribs making it hard for him to breathe. Up at the cabin, it was okay to do nothing but while away the time. Casey made it easy and they’d had a few laughs.
But he would have hired Audrey even if he didn’t owe Casey a favor. She was qualified and a hard worker. Audrey was true blue and a nice kid.
“I’ve got your little sis here. She’s working for me now.”
There was silence on the other end. And finally “She didn’t tell me that.”
Uh-oh. Luke didn’t like getting in between the two of them. “Yeah, well, it just happened. You must’ve mentioned that I was shorthanded on the ranch. Anyway, she showed up looking for work, and I hired her as a wrangler for a few months.”
“Hell, Luke. I don’t recall mentioning any such thing to her. I must be getting old and forgetful.”
Luke laughed. Casey was only thirty-three. “Hell, yeah, you are. You see any problem with her working here?” Not that Luke was asking permission. Audrey was twenty-four and making her own decisions now.
