Kimberly Van Meter - The Hottest Ticket in Town

“So the Bradfords aren’t here and you’re taking care of the ranch for them,” she surmised.

“That’s about the long and short of it, but I fail to see how that creates a situation for the two of us when it seems pretty clear to me what the solution is.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Is that so? Enlighten me.”

“You leave. I stay.”

“And why should I have to leave? The Bradfords have extended a standing invitation to me. I have every right to be here with their blessing.”

“Why would you want to?” he asked point-blank. “It’s not like we’re the best of friends. I have a purpose for being here...you don’t.” She bit her lip, her gaze acknowledging that fact, but there was something else there, something she wasn’t saying, that she held back. Kane didn’t want to care, but he couldn’t seem to help himself, saying roughly, “Listen, you’ve got your reasons for coming and it’s none of my business. All I’m saying is that I can’t leave because I made a commitment to the Bradfords. You can stay or go, your choice, but if you choose to stay, it could be awkward.”

“So you wouldn’t care if I stayed?”

Hell yes, he would care. “No,” he lied, because there was no sense in adding more fuel to the fire. The fact was, there was some truth to her accusation that he’d left her behind, but she didn’t know the whole story, nor would he tell her, either—that was his gift to her, even if she never knew the whole of it. But he supposed if his arm were twisted, he’d have to admit there was no harm in letting her hang out if she needed to. The ranch was plenty big enough. Hell, he could take the pump house and let her stay in her old bedroom. He exhaled a long breath, prepared to do the one thing he never saw himself doing. “We got off on the wrong foot...you can stay. I’ll move out to the pump house and give you the room. If we stay out of each other’s hair, everything should be fine. We’re adults, right?”

“Yeah,” she agreed and damn, if that wasn’t the right thing to remind each other at the moment because he was fairly certain she was remembering what they’d almost done this morning as adults . She cleared her throat and smiled, gesturing to the coffeepot. “So, how about we share a pot of coffee and start over? Can we do that?”

Sure. And maybe she could stop being so damn easy on the eyes? He cut his gaze away, needing a minute to school his thoughts before they gave him away. “How long you thinking of staying?” he asked, needing to know how long he’d have to suffer the constant barrage of the past in the form of the present.

“Just a few days, I suspect. That okay?”

He grunted in answer. “Sure. I can handle a few days.” He reached for the pot and poured himself a mug, then, because he was practically raised by Cora to do the right thing, he poured Laci a mug as well before moving to the oven where he pulled out the pie. “Grab some plates, will you?” he asked and Laci smiled with delight as she did so.

“Cora made peach pie before she left? That dear old thing is the living embodiment of Betty Crocker and I love her for it,” Laci said, accepting a slice from him.

“Yeah, and Warren gave her hell for it, too. She’s real sick, Laci. I don’t know if that treatment is going to do a bit of good at this point.”

“Really?” Laci’s expression dimmed as she took a bite, but a smile lifted her mouth as she appreciated Cora’s talent for the culinary arts. “I never could match her recipe, no matter how hard I tried. That woman has magic in her fingers when it comes to the kitchen.”

“You come pretty damn close,” he grudgingly admitted between bites, trying not to think too hard on how natural it felt to sit here with Laci, talking about pie, because it wasn’t natural at all. Not in the least. He’d left for a reason and he could tell by the way things had panned out for Laci that his choice had been the smart one. So don’t start romanticizing sharing a slice of pie , he warned himself. He finished up and brought his plate to the sink where he started to wash up, when Laci joined him and took the plate from him.

“I got this,” she said. “You’ve got chores to do. The least I can do is clean up.”

“Thanks,” he said, hating how the morning light glinted off the honey strands of her hair, giving her a halo. In all the years and miles he’d put between himself and Laci, he’d never found a woman who came halfway close to the way he’d felt about Laci. There was a reason she was a superstar—she had something special—and he’d known it from the start. Back away , he told himself when the urge to touch her cheek became too hard to fight. “I’ll be feeding the cattle,” he told her, stepping away, needing to put some space between them right this second before he scooped her into his arms and finished what they’d started this morning. Boy, wouldn’t that be the most epically bad decision of his life? Yeah, but if he were going to screw up his life and everything he’d built to this point, he might as well go big, right? Not really , the voice answered drily. Keep it in your pants, big boy, and remember what her daddy told you all those years ago...she ain’t for you, son. Ain’t that the truth. Kane started for the door but Laci’s voice at his back stopped him.

“I’m heading to town to pick up a few things. You need anything?”

He half turned, regarding her with a slow, deliberate gaze. You naked beneath me and all the time in the world to make up for what I lost a long time ago. But he couldn’t say that. Not in a million years would he, either. So he uttered the one thing he could, “Nope,” and then exited the house as if it were on fire.

* * *

MAYBE SHE SHOULDN’T STAY. Laci rolled the idea around in her head, weighing the pros and cons of staying a few days in the same house as Kane when stacked up against the very real problem of their long-buried, but obviously very much alive, attraction to one another. Allowing her gaze to roam the familiar kitchen with its worn hardwood floors, she noted the disrepair creeping up and taking over. Rusted hinges on the cupboards, chipped countertops...everywhere she looked she found something that needed a little TLC. It was just Cora and Warren in this old ranch house and Cora, bless her heart, was sick and Warren had his hands full trying to care for her and the ranch without any help. Why hadn’t they called her? She would’ve flown in the best of care for Cora if need be. Round-the-clock care, even.

Laci worried her lip, concerned and feeling out of sorts for being unaware that all this had been happening to two of the nicest people she knew and loved. She could blame Trent for keeping her going 24/7, but the fact was, she’d stayed away because of Kane. The Bradford ranch was so much a part of her memories with Kane that for a while it’d been too painful to go there knowing that Kane was gone.

Of course, in hindsight, that’d been just selfish. Warren and Cora were good folk and they’d been there for her when she’d had no one except her daddy, God rest his soul, and she’d repaid that kindness by relegating them to a few hurried phone calls in between shows. Laci rubbed at the sudden tickle in her nose. She ought to have the kitchen remodeled for Cora. But even as the thought took root, she remembered how particular Cora was about her kitchen and realized she couldn’t go and make a big change like that without the old gal’s permission. The shock of it alone might send Cora into a tailspin.

Laci leaned against the counter, her gaze finding Kane through the kitchen-sink window. He crossed the yard to the barn where she could hear the cows making their usual morning racket. A smile found her. She’d forgotten how loud those milkers could be.