The Texan's Little Secret

They went through one batch of paper after another. Carly jotted memos to be typed up by his secretary and directions to be passed along to various members of his staff, including her oldest sister, Lizzie, who had temporarily taken over as acting president of Baron Energies.

With the flood of papers finally corralled and roped into neat piles, Brock sat back and eyed her as if seeing her for the first time that day. “What are you doing around here, anyhow? Aren’t you planning to do some traveling soon?”

“Home to Houston, you mean?” she said, deliberately misunderstanding. “Are you already tired of me hanging around?”

“That’s ridiculous. I’m talking about competing. You’re keeping up with your skills, aren’t you?”

“Of course. But you know what they say about all work and no play. I’m not competing this weekend.”

“Why not?”

“I didn’t want to sign up anywhere. Not for barrel racing, anyhow. I’m ready to give it up.”

“Don’t be absurd. You’ve barely gotten your saddle broken in.”

“You can hardly say that when I’ve been competing since the age of four.”

“Yes, and you haven’t done badly,” he said grudgingly. “You’ve got what it takes to go all the way to the top, if you’ll just settle down and focus. But you won’t get far competing only part-time.” His eyes narrowed. “And backing off isn’t going to help. You need to put everything into it if you want to be the best.”

She shrugged. “Maybe I don’t care about being the best. Maybe I’m bored.”

“Bored, hell. You can’t walk away from this—rodeo’s in your blood. In your genes.”

“I know. I didn’t say I’d give up rodeo, just barrel racing. My heart’s not in it anymore.” She made a mental bet on how long it would take him to go ballistic once he heard her next statement—probably about half a second. But it would be guaranteed to get him off her back about not competing lately. “I’m going to try bull riding.”

He barely allowed her to finish her sentence. “And do what?” he demanded, gesturing at his elevated leg. “Crack yourself up, like I did? Don’t be foolish. You leave that event to the boys and stick to your barrels.” Raising his chin, he glared at her.

She lowered her chin, so like his, and stared back.

Only the sudden rapid click of high heels on the foyer floor made her break eye contact with him.

Brock’s wife, Julieta, entered the living room. “Hello, you two. How’s the patient?”

Brock made a derisive sound.

She smiled. “Carly, I’ll take over now, if you have things you want to do before supper.” She slid the plum-colored suit jacket from her shoulders. “I’ll go up and change as soon as I run a few items of business past your father.”

Carly nodded. Julieta must have picked up on the tension in the room. She gave the woman credit for providing her with a graceful escape.

She gave Julieta credit for a lot of things. As well as being Brock’s third wife, she managed the public relations department at Baron Energies. She was good at her job, good at handling folks—and her husband. Knowing his wife went into the office every morning while he sat confined to the ranch had to help keep Brock’s crankiness level...well...cranked up. But it didn’t keep Julieta from taking care of business.

“See you in a bit.” Carly smiled at Brock in farewell. He nodded.

As she took the stairs to her room, she held back a laugh. Who knew how long that stalemate between them would have lasted if Julieta hadn’t walked in.

She didn’t care. No matter what, she wouldn’t have backed down on the statement she’d made about bull riding.

Once, she had thought she would never get enough of barrel racing, of the thrill of commanding her mount, honing her skill, increasing her speed. But since she’d left the ranch, with each year that had gone by, her interest and enthusiasm had waned by ever-increasing degrees. Though her eyes stayed on the prize, the motivating spark was gone.

And she needed a spark. A lure. A challenge. She needed something to make her feel whole again.

Like Brock, she needed a reason to get up in the morning.

* * *

“IF THIS DAMNED contraption doesn’t turn out to be the death of me, that girl will,” Brock Baron said, slapping his hand on the arm of the wheelchair.

His wife placed her briefcase next to the piles of paperwork on the couch. “And why is that?”

“She’s a worry to me in general. Always has been. You’re well aware of the reasons, including the fact she hasn’t spent more than a handful of weeks on this ranch since she finished high school.”

“A slight exaggeration.”

He shrugged. “Fair enough. But there’s no denying she’s the least settled of any of the kids.”

“She is settled, Brock. Just out of the area.”

And out of his range of influence. That didn’t sit well with him at all. Not for any of his offspring, and especially not for Carly.

Now that his being laid up had caused her to spend some time at the Roughneck again, he’d had the chance to confirm his fears. “She’s as wild as she ever was, and I don’t see her wanting to change.”

“In view of all the time you two have spent together, coming home probably hasn’t helped that.”

“Meaning what?”

“As you always tell me, she’s the child who most takes after you in temperament.”

He couldn’t deny that. To borrow a phrase, she was a chip off the old Baron block. But he’d never tell his wife—or anyone—that Carly’s ways made him hold a soft spot in his heart for her. “What are you saying?”

“I’d guess neither one of you realizes, but spending so much time together has only reinforced how alike you are.”

“And you’re insinuating that’s a bad thing?”

She laughed. “No, of course not. But considering she’s young and female, she doesn’t need to come across quite so strong on some of your traits.”

“She needs her head set on straight, that’s what she needs,” he grumbled. “Bad enough she won’t live on the ranch or work at the family business. And now there’s this damned-fool idea she’s come up with.”

“Ah. I thought I saw daggers drawn when I came in here. What is it?”

“She’s got it into her mind she wants to give up barrel racing.”

Her eyebrows rose. “You mean quit the rodeo? Now, that does surprise me.”

“No, not quit.” He could barely bring himself to share what his youngest daughter had said. “She tells me she wants to go in for bull riding.”

Julieta looked at him thoughtfully. “Why does that bother you? It’s all part of the tradition, isn’t it?”

“Not for the women of this family.”

“Maybe not originally. But times change. And it’s more common now for women to ride bulls.”

“It’s damned dangerous, that’s what it is.” He exhaled heavily. “At any rate, what’s the point of my having it out with the girl? As headstrong as she is, she’s sure to want to ride despite my arguments.”

“Or because of them.”

“That, too.” Again, he slapped the arm of the wheelchair. “And I’m going to have to do something about it.”

* * *

“YOU THINK LUKE will show up before the barbecue’s over?” Kim Healy leaned against the counter in the ranch house kitchen. Her brown eyes, opened wide, counteracted her offhand tone.

Carly shrugged. They had returned to the house for reinforcements, including another batch of the homemade biscuits that Anna, their cook and housekeeper since long before Carly had been born, had left in the still-warm oven. She looked at Kim and pointed toward the stove. “I haven’t got the first clue about Luke Nobel’s plans.”

“You would have, if you’d been back here the past couple of years.”

Carly gnawed her lower lip. Kim wouldn’t let this ride.

Every Fourth of July, Brock laid on a barbecue for his family and any of the hands who were around to attend. Once she’d heard Luke had started working on the ranch, she had deliberately begun missing the event, using her job in Houston as an excuse, even though it meant passing up Anna’s barbecued beef.

Fortunately, Anna knew her well. The casual meal always showed up on the menu during her infrequent visits.

“In all this time taking care of your dad, you must have seen Luke by now,” Kim persisted. “Have you talked to him yet?”

“Briefly.” Two days ago, and she still felt unsettled by the memory. Not that she’d need to confess that to Kim, who would already know. And she couldn’t blame Kim for her question.

They had been fast friends since second grade, when Kim had tried to take over in a kickball game. Carly had punched her lights out and, to her delight, Kim had punched back. Someone squealed about the tussle to their teacher, which resulted in Mrs. Blake’s frog-marching them to the principal. She and Kim had sat waiting in the hallway outside his office, both of them covered in dust from the unpaved playground, sporting a rapidly swelling eye and a bloodied nose, respectively, and grinning at each other.

“Briefly,” Kim repeated in a low tone, though they were alone in the room. “That one word is speaking volumes to me. And what did you speak to him about? What did he say to you?”

“Not much.” Sad, really, when she and Luke once had so much to talk about.

“He’s still single, Carly, and since there’s never any gossip floating around about his love life, that means he doesn’t have one. Which means he’s unattached. He works for your dad, he takes care of his daughter—you know Rosie’s two already, right? He helps out his mom. Once in a while he stops at the Longhorn for a couple of beers. And that’s about it.”

“Enough already, Kim.”

“Don’t you even care that he’s still up for grabs?”

“What I care about are those biscuits.” Carly gestured toward the oven again. “We’ve got a herd of hungry cowboys waiting out there.” After taking a sleeve of plastic cups from the pantry, she urged Kim toward the back door.

She couldn’t blame her best friend for her curiosity. Since that day in the schoolyard, Kim had been the one whose shoulder she’d cried on at Christmas and on her birthday, the days she had most missed the mom who’d gone away and left them all. Kim had been the friend she had ranted to a few years after her mom’s departure, when Brock had remarried. Adding her first stepmother and two stepbrothers into her life, making the family even larger, had thrown Carly into the middle of the crowd that had left her feeling so lost.

Kim was still the one she told all her secrets to.

Or almost all of them.

Outside, the ranch hands milled around the yard, already lining up for seconds at the serving table Carly and Kim had loaded down with Anna’s ovenproof dishes of ribs, baked beans and potatoes in their jackets.

At another table, her sisters presided over an assembly line of pop bottles. A few feet away, her brother, Jet, had set up the beer keg.

Kim veered toward one of the tables spread with food.

Carly walked up to Jet. “Hey, little brother.” She never missed a chance to greet him with the teasing reminder he was a year younger. “Don’t drink too much of that poison. We’ve got a date for tomorrow, remember? And when I take you on at the arena, I don’t want you claiming a handicap because you’re hungover.”

“Are you kidding? This stuff doesn’t bother me. I’ll tell you what does rile me,” he added loudly enough to make sure Savannah and Lizzie heard him. “Getting stuck with the tough job today.”

“What’s so hard about filling up a beer mug?” Carly asked.

“Filling it isn’t the problem. It’s having to hand it off to somebody else.”

She laughed. “Don’t even try for a sympathy vote from me. You’ve never in your life had to give up something you didn’t want to. I’m sure you’ll get your fill.”

“Don’t waste time worrying over it,” Savannah called to her.

“That’s for sure,” Lizzie said. “He’s already had more than his share.”

“Somebody had to taste test,” Jet protested. “Savannah didn’t want any, and in your delicate condition, Lizzie, you need to stay away from it.”

For just a moment, Carly let herself glance at her sister’s rounded stomach, where the first Baron baby of the next generation waited to make an appearance. When Lizzie caught her eye, she forced a smile. She had so much she wanted to say to Lizzie, so many questions she could never ask.

Do you worry about carrying the baby to term? Did you miss not sharing the news with Mom? Do you hate knowing you can’t turn to her for advice?

After Lizzie’s health scare early on in the pregnancy, Carly had kept those concerns and questions, those reminders of the past, all to herself. Yet they were concerns she had always wondered about, too.

Attempting to swallow the lump in her throat, she forced a smile. She moved past Lizzie’s table and continued to the one filled with plates and plastic utensils set up assembly-line style. Kim now stood talking to one of the cowhands. Carly couldn’t help but glance around the yard, looking for a familiar broad-shouldered cowboy. There were plenty of cute wranglers in the vicinity, but not the one she...wanted to avoid.

Darn Kim, anyway, for bringing up Luke’s name.

As if he hadn’t already been on her mind.

A moment later, Kim hurried up to her. “Well, don’t look now, but you’re about to get your chance to make up for that brief encounter.” Her voice practically vibrated with excitement. “You-know-who’s headed this way.”

“Knock it off, Kim. We’re not kids anymore. Grown women don’t get all excited just because there’s a man around.”

“Then why are you turning as red as you used to in high school?”

“Anger. Irritation. Pique.” She grinned. “Now, there’s a vocabulary word. You make sure and tell Mrs. Blumfeld I didn’t forget her ninth-grade English classes.” Kim’s glance past her told the truth of the matter about Luke. “He’s only headed this way for more of Anna’s barbecued beef, and the table’s almost right behind us.”

“Oh, no, he’s way past that point.”

Luke couldn’t want to talk to her. And she certainly didn’t want to chat with him. Then why did her pulse jump at the thought? Maybe because no one in the family had ever seen them together. As far as the Barons knew...well, as far as she knew they knew...she and Luke had never met each other.

And it would be best to keep it that way.

Kim carried her plate and utensils over to the next table.

“I’ll take one of those.” The deep voice gave her the clue. She didn’t need to see the cowboy’s face to know Luke had come up to stand beside her. He reached for a cup.

Her fingers tightened automatically, crinkling the wrapping.

He eyed the package. “I can skip having something to drink if you’re that attached to the cups.”

“I’m not attached to them. I’m wondering what you’re doing here.” Darn. The truth wasn’t at all what she’d meant to say.

His eyebrows shot up. “It’s a barbecue. I’ll give you three guesses.”

One of the cowboys edged by them to get to the picnic table.

Luke stepped aside, moving closer to her. Her hands clenched. The plastic wrapper from the cups crackled again. She thought about walking away. That ought to show him how little their conversation meant to her. But he stood blocking the pathway between the tables. She couldn’t pass without brushing against him. The immediate shiver of anticipation running up her spine showed just how foolish that move would be.

There was nothing behind her to give her an excuse to go in that direction. Besides, no way would she would let him—or anyone—see her run. Instead, she stood her ground, trying to ignore how awkward she felt. Trying to forget she’d experienced that same feeling the first time she’d met him. “Never mind the three guesses. I just meant you surprised me. I didn’t see you around.”

“Keeping an eye out for me?”

“Not hardly.” What was he doing, anyhow? Flirting with her? “Let me tell you, if you’re trying to act cute, you’re missing it by a country mile. And if you’re hoping to keep up appearances in front of the boss, don’t bother. He’s not looking our way.”

The cowboy who had passed them had gotten what he wanted from the table and moved on. She needed to do the same with Luke. “Oh, and if you have any idea about trying to repeat history, forget it. This time, I’m walking away. Enjoy your barbecue.”

She slipped by him, bumping her hip on the edge of the picnic table. As she had expected, in the tight space, she couldn’t avoid brushing against his arm. The warmth of his skin left hers tingling. For a moment she froze, then she pushed past him, leaving him in the dust.

She hurried to catch up to Kim.

They filled their plates and found an empty picnic bench off to one side of the yard. To her irritation, she discovered Luke hard on her heels.

Chapter Three

Kim set her plate down but didn’t take a seat. “I forgot napkins. Be right back.”

“Get some extra,” Carly called after her. She gritted her teeth and scooted onto one of the benches. Luke settled opposite as if she’d invited him to join her. “What’s this? I told you, you don’t need to make nice with the boss’s daughter.”

“I learned that lesson already,” he said in a low tone. “I was nice to you once. You threw that in my face.”

Was he trying to imply she had been the one at fault years ago? “Then I can’t image why you want to sit here. Couldn’t you find a seat anywhere else?”

“Could have. But I’m too polite to walk off in the middle of a conversation.” He paused, as if waiting for her to pounce on the statement. But she’d already made her point about his walking away from her. When she said nothing, he went on, “To tell you the truth, it’s a surprise to me, too, seeing you here, considering you don’t make a habit of attending the barbecue.”

“I try never to do the expected.”

He nodded. “Some things never change. I guess you wouldn’t be here now, either, if not for coming home to take care of your daddy.”

He sat looking at her. She stared back into those eyes that had once fascinated her. Such a unique shade of golden brown. The same amber hue as a jar of dark honey, so warm and sweet and—

Darn. She lowered her hands beneath the edge of the table and curled her fingers into fists. She had handled seeing Luke again. She could sit here pretending to have a polite conversation in front of her family. But she sure didn’t need long-forgotten memories sneaking up on her, hitting her when she was least prepared for them.

“Since we’re on the subject of surprises,” he added, “I have to say it was strange I never ran into you at any of the rodeos.”

“So sorry to disappoint you. Did you think I’d follow your career so I could hound your heels, like the rest of your buckle bunnies?”

He grinned. “You must’ve followed something, if you knew about them.”

“How could I not know?” she asked, keeping her tone as honey-sweet as his eyes. “Even the wannabe champs on the circuit have their admirers.”

And Luke had been so much more than a wannabe. A bull-riding champion, one of the youngest on record, with one of the best records in rodeo. “I kept track of you, all right. For exactly the opposite reason—to know when and where you’d be competing so I could head off in the opposite direction.”

“Then it must’ve made things easier for you when I quit rodeoing.”

“I couldn’t have cared less.” Liar. His decision might have sent a shockwave through the rodeo community, but it had sure made her life less...stressed. Until she’d found out he had taken a job at the Roughneck. “But I’ll bet it made my daddy happy to know he could have you working for him.”

To her annoyance, he grinned. “I reckon it did. I’ll tell you what’s making him happy right now. Having you around again. The rest of the family likes it, too.”

And you, Luke? Her throat tightened as she held back the question. She had no desire to think about anything happening between them. She had already spent too much time thinking about what might have been, about what she once could have had but had lost.

Her throat tightening even more at the thought, she looked over her shoulder. Her so-called best friend stood near the drinks table, hanging out with Lizzie and Savannah. Great. Kim was keeping her distance. Giving her time alone with Luke. Just what she didn’t want.

Reluctantly, almost feeling his gaze on her, she turned back. “I told you the other day, I’m only here temporarily. Just while my family needs me.”

He nodded. “Guess you’re eager to get back home. I hear you’re still living down in Houston.”

Was he keeping tabs on her? She swallowed her irritation and fought to keep her tone polite. There were too many people around for her to respond the way she really wanted to. “After college, I wanted to stay on. I like it there.” Double liar.

“What’s the attraction that’s got you keeping yourself way down there?”

“It’s only a couple of hours away. I’ve got a job. I’m in sales for a company that manufactures Western wear. It’s small, family-owned, like the Peach Pit.”

“You couldn’t get me to live in the big city. Besides, you don’t miss your folks?”

“Of course I do.”

“You don’t visit often.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t love my family. When Lizzie had...a health scare a few months back, I was here on the double. But I’m happy to have a life of my own, away from the ranch.”

How many more lies could she tell in one conversation? She wasn’t happy in Houston. Far from it. But she had fought for the choice to go to school there...just as she had fought to stay. It was easier than coming home and facing everything. Her childhood. Her history. Luke.

He would never know any of that. She would tell him one truth, though. “It’s a nice feeling, knowing I can take care of myself.”

He paused with the last bite of barbecued beef sandwich halfway to his mouth, then nodded. “I can understand that. I want my daughter to feel the same way—once she grows up, that is.”

Another topic she had no desire to deal with. “I’m happy to be independent.”

His eyebrows rose. “Is that what you call cutting yourself off from family?”

“What do you know about my relationship with my family? It’s been a long time since the days I used to share my troubles with you.” All too aware of the crowd around them, she forced a smile. “And I didn’t cut myself off. I learned how to live on my own. That’s something no one can take away from me.”

“Don’t be so sure,” he said softly.

Though he smiled, too, her heart skipped a beat at his suddenly bleak expression.

Unable to meet his eyes, she pushed a stray olive around on her plate with a fork and inhaled an uneven breath. She couldn’t handle seeing that unexpected touch of vulnerability in Luke’s face. She didn’t want to dwell on what had happened in his life once he’d walked away from her. Most of all, she couldn’t bear even to think about his grief over the wife he had lost or his love for the little girl he shared with that other woman.

To her relief, Kim finally returned to the table, bringing the napkins she’d supposedly needed. To her even greater relief, Luke grabbed his plate and cup.

“Take my seat,” he said. “I’ve got to be getting home.”

He nodded at them both.

Watching him walk away set off a familiar ache in the pit of her stomach.

Kim slid into the seat Luke had left. Carly welcomed the distraction, though Kim’s eyes already held questions. She would want to know what she’d missed. Carly couldn’t fault her for that. When it came to Luke, Kim had been in on the ground floor of Carly’s grand plan.

In senior year, she and Kim had both considered it a real coup for her to have snagged an “older” man, just on the verge of twenty-one compared to their eighteen. Obviously, despite knowing how hurt she had been over the breakup, her best friend believed she still had a thing for Luke.

“And, so...?” Kim prompted.

Carly shrugged. Under cover of the talk all around them, she lowered her voice and reported, “He sat. He ate. He departed. That was the extent of our big reunion, and that’s all it’s ever going to be.”