A Family for the Rugged Rancher / Soldier on Her Doorstep: A Family for the Rugged Rancher / Soldier on Her Doorstep. DONNA ALWARD
be safe with me, Emily. I promise. You have to let go some time.”
Her gaze snapped to his and her lips thinned but he held his ground. Sam was a boy. He needed freedom to play and see and do things. Luke understood Emily being protective, but an afternoon in the sun would be good for him. Luke was not her ex. If he made a promise he’d keep it. “It’s only a tractor ride,” he repeated.
Emily paused, taken aback by Luke’s words. Was she over-protective? She didn’t think so. She was only focused on Sam feeling loved and secure. His expressive eyes had looked so hurt, so broken since his father left and she’d do anything to keep that from happening again. She didn’t want Sam to get any hopes up.
But perhaps Luke was right. It was just a tractor ride, after all. Didn’t Sam deserve some fun? “I’ll think about it over lunch.” She put off a firm decision, needing him to see that she wasn’t going to accept being nudged or coerced. He should have done the courtesy of asking her in private. Heavens, he’d barely said two words to Sam the first few days and now here they were, seemingly thick as thieves.
“Lunch is ready, by the way. I made chicken salad this morning and a cobbler out of that rhubarb your sister sent.”
He sent her a cheeky smile from beneath his hat. “You might have to stop treating me so well. I’ll get round and fat.” He stuck out his stomach and Sam giggled.
Emily pressed her lips together. The man was exasperating! It was almost as if he and Sam were in cahoots together. Which was probably preferable to his taciturn moodiness the first few days, but she didn’t want Sam to get too attached. He could get a good case of hero worship without much trouble. And this job wasn’t permanent.
Sam bounded on ahead to wash up and Emily took off her cap and shook out her hair. She looked straight ahead as she asked, “You might have asked me first, rather than putting me on the spot.”
“What? Oh, I didn’t think you’d mind. He did mention something about the tractor the other day, didn’t he?”
“That’s not the point.”
His steps halted, churning up a puff of dust. “Look, I know you’re worried about him and it’s something he might find fun. I don’t get your problem.”
She angled him a look that said Get real. “My problem is, he’s had too many promises made to him that have been broken. Have you seen how he looks at you? Like you hung the moon and the stars. He’s been missing a father figure and suddenly here you are.”
Luke laughed. “I doubt it. He snuck out of bed the other night and told me off for not complimenting you on your veal.”
Emily’s mouth dropped open. “He what?”
“Came to the shop and told me you were a nice lady and that his dad doesn’t like him and he doesn’t care whether I do either. Now, normally a five-year-old boy’s opinion wouldn’t bother me, but it occurred to me that perhaps I hadn’t been as welcoming as I might have been. Don’t read too much into it. Like I said, it’s just a tractor ride.”
Emily folded her hands together. “I guess I can’t blame him for being protective. His trust has been shaken.”
“Just his?” he asked quietly, walking along beside her again. “Are you really planning never to trust anyone again?”
How could he blame her for being a little gun-shy? “Let’s just say trust is a valuable commodity and it has to be earned.”
“Yes, and your ex is a prime example of earning it and then abusing it. There’s more to building trust than time.”
His words cut her deeply. She had trusted Rob and he’d ground her faith in him beneath his heel when he left. She’d made a lot of progress since then. She’d stopped blaming herself for everything. She’d stopped feeling so desperate. She’d started focusing on the good—as much as that was possible. But trust … that was something she wasn’t sure she’d ever quite accomplish again.
“If you’re so smart, what else is there?” She didn’t bother to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Sometimes Luke was far too sure of himself. Like he had her all figured out.
“Actions. Hell, instincts, if it comes to that.”
His observations made her uncomfortable, because her instincts had told her from the beginning that Luke was a man she could trust. And he’d kept his word about everything since her arrival.
“Right now I don’t put a lot of credence in my instincts.”
He stopped, his boots halting in the dusty drive and she kept on a few steps until she realized he wasn’t with her anymore. She looked over her shoulder at him. His eyes flashed at her. “And I’ve done something to … not earn your trust? Is that it?”
He had her there. And yesterday’s kiss … she couldn’t blame him for that either. She’d wanted it as much as he had. Not that they’d talk about it. No way.
“I’m cautious, then,” she responded, as they reached the steps. “Very, very cautious.”
“So can Sam come with me or not?”
She left him in the doorway taking off his boots. “I’m still thinking,” she said. She’d already made up her mind that Sam could go, but she wasn’t going to let Luke think he’d won so easily.
Just as they were finishing the meal, a cloud of dust announced an approaching car. They both looked out the window and Emily heard Luke’s heavy sigh. “Who is it?”
“My sister, Liz.”
“The rhubarb sister.”
He smiled at her summary. “Yes, that’s the one.” Emily watched as he checked his watch and tapped his foot. “Dammit, she’s got perfect timing,” he muttered.
Liz parked the car in the shade of a tree and Emily felt the strange, nervous feeling she’d had yesterday meeting Joe. As though she was an imposter, a tag-along.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I think the family is curious about you, and you’ve been put under the microscope.”
“Why would they do that?”
Luke plopped his hat on his head. “Because you’re not the matronly housekeeper they expected. Because you’re staying here. Because you’re young and pretty.” He sighed. “Because people who are married think that everyone else in the world should be married, and they feel free to stick their noses in.”
Emily opened her mouth and then closed it again, unsure of how she was supposed to react to that little tidbit. It wasn’t the meddling that shook her—she half expected that. It was the young and pretty part. She was only twenty-eight but there were days she felt ancient. And pretty … she’d been living in T-shirts and yoga pants for so long that she forgot what it was like to feel pretty.
She wouldn’t dream of admitting such a thing to Luke, though. Surely his family wasn’t putting the cart this much before the horse. “Married?” The thought was preposterous, and she laughed. Even if she did want to get married—which she didn’t—she’d only known Luke for a few days.
He raised his right eyebrow until it nearly disappeared beneath his hat. “Ridiculous, isn’t it? But I’ll bet my boots Liz is here to check you out. She’ll have some good excuse. But don’t worry, she means well. This should be the end of it. You can thank the Lord that I don’t have more sisters to interfere.”
With that he went outside to greet Liz.
Liz came towards the house, carrying a blond-headed baby on her hip and with two more youngsters trailing behind. Emily bit down on her lip. She was an object of curiosity now. Yesterday’s longing for siblings and a close-knit family dissipated as she realized that intimacy also meant interference. The last thing she wanted was to be scrutinized. Judged. And to come up short.
“What