“I can’t hike out there in the dark.”
“I know. But I—whoops, somebody’s coming.” He released her and stepped back. With luck, whoever it was would simply call a greeting and pass on by. Then he glanced over and realized that wasn’t going to happen. Thank God for the shadows that should keep his aroused condition from being too obvious.
Emmett walked toward them. “Hi there, Naomi.” He touched the brim of his hat. “Nice to see you.”
“Hi, Emmett. It’s good to see you, too. You don’t usually come into town midweek.”
“I wanted to treat Luke. He showed up in the nick of time and put on a roping demonstration that saved what was fast becoming a disaster.”
“Ah, you would have worked it out.” Luke pulled the brim of his hat back down and hoped Emmett hadn’t noticed how he’d shoved it back, which was typical for a cowboy who’d been kissing a woman.
“I’m not so sure.” Emmett glanced at Naomi. “Take my word for it. We had a snarled-up mess, but five minutes after Luke showed up and started twirling a rope, the kids were mesmerized. They hadn’t seen the possibilities of roping until then. Pete and I aren’t that fancy. This boy has hidden talents.”
“Talent, singular,” Luke said. “Trick roping. That’s my only hidden talent.”
Naomi glanced at him. “Oh, I doubt that.”
“Anyway,” Emmett said. “I didn’t mean to break up your conversation, Luke, but your food’s getting cold. Naomi, why don’t you join us? We have an extra chair. Have you had dinner?”
“Yes, thanks. I ate at the diner before I came over. But I don’t want to keep you two from your meal. Let’s go in.”
“Excellent. You can fill me in on how the eagle project’s going.”
“I’d love to. That platform you and Jack built is working out beautifully.”
Luke followed them in. As Emmett asked more questions about the eagles, Luke quietly ground a centimeter off his back molars. He hadn’t been sure when Emmett first showed up, but he was now. The foreman was deliberately interfering in what he saw as a problem situation between Luke and Naomi.
No doubt Emmett saw Luke as the aggressor and Naomi as the sweet local girl about to be seduced by a guy who would leave her in the lurch. It wasn’t like that, of course. Luke had been ready to back off and Naomi had turned the tables on him. But he couldn’t very well explain that to Emmett. A gentleman wouldn’t put the blame on a lady.
The foreman had every reason to misunderstand what was happening. When Luke had been hired on at the Last Chance, he’d warned both Emmett and Jack that he tended to move along after a year or so. They’d both predicted he’d change his mind, that the Last Chance had a way of getting in a person’s blood.
But last month he’d turned down Nash’s offer of employment and had made no secret as to why. He believed in being up front with people, so he could see why Emmett thought Naomi needed someone to step in and keep her heart from being broken.
Luke didn’t want to get crossways with the foreman. He liked and admired the guy, and until now they’d had no real issues between them. But Luke would be damned if he’d allow Emmett to louse up a perfectly acceptable arrangement between two consenting adults.
He thought about his options as he ate the excellent dinner Emmett had bought him and listened to the foreman and Naomi talk about the eagles. Luke even participated in the conversation because he was interested in those birds, too. He was more interested in the woman watching the birds, but he found the eagle study fascinating. He hadn’t been kidding when he’d told Naomi that an eagle’s freedom of movement appealed to him.
“That nest’s not as big as some.” Naomi took a sip of the draft she’d ordered. “It’s only about seven feet across. I’ve seen reports on nests that are ten feet and weigh close to two tons.”
Emmett shook his head in disbelief. “That’s like putting my pickup in the top branches of one of those pines. I had no idea they could be that heavy. I’d—” He stopped talking and glanced at the door. “What do you know? There’s Pam. Excuse me a minute, folks. I need to go over and say hello. Maybe she can join us.” He stood and walked toward the door.
Luke grabbed his chance. He kept his voice low as he looked over at Naomi. “You do realize Emmett’s trying to save you from me, right?”
“I thought he might be.”
“He told me earlier tonight that he thought you wanted a steady guy in your life. That’s why I backed off.”
Naomi sighed. “I’m not surprised he’d say something like that. He’s friends with my parents, and he’s a dad. He probably sees me as being like his daughter, Emily.”
“Ah. Okay, I get that.” Luke thought about the blonde woman who was in training to eventually take over Emmett’s job when he retired. Emily and Naomi had several things in common besides their coloring. They were both only children who had been raised to be independent and fend for themselves without leaning on a man. They both enjoyed testing themselves with physical challenges.
But Emily was now married to Clay Whitaker, who ran the stud operation for the Last Chance. Emmett might figure that Naomi, having similarities to his daughter, also should find herself someone like Clay.
He glanced at her. “Maybe Emmett knows what he’s talking about. Maybe I should just—”
“Don’t you dare back off because Emmett thinks I’m just like his daughter. I’m not.”
The defiant sparks flashing in her blue eyes gladdened his heart. She thought for herself, and that was a quality he admired. “I’m sure you’re not just like anyone.”
“Nobody is. We’re all unique, which means we get to choose our own path. What you and I decide to do is none of Emmett’s business.”
The tension that had been tightening a spot between Luke’s shoulder blades eased. “And you won’t be upset if I tell him that?”
“No, but I think I’m the one who needs to tell him.”
“I’ll tell him.” He started to add that it should be a man-to-man talk but decided that might not sit well with Naomi. She liked being in charge of her destiny.
“No, you work for him and I don’t.”
“But he built you a research platform.”
“Well, one of us needs to say something. Uh-oh. Here he comes. And he doesn’t look happy.”
“Bet it has something to do with Pam.” Luke noticed that Pam Mulholland, the woman Emmett cared for but couldn’t bring himself to marry, was being helped into her chair by a guy Luke didn’t recognize. The barrel-chested man dressed in flashy Western clothes and what looked like an expensive hat. “Or that guy.”
Emmett returned to his seat, his expression grim. “It’s my own damned fault,” he muttered to no one in particular.
“What
