“Because you haven’t let yourself?”she asked.
“Love is a messy thing.”
“What makes you say that?”
He thought about changing the subject.It wasn’t a particularly easy one for him.Yet it was best if she understood him.“What do you know about my dad and Cade’s mother?”
“Not much.I mean, obviously I know you have a stepbrother and his mom’s name is Stormy.I know Erin adores him, but she doesn’t get to see him a lot.”
“My father was supposed to marry my mother.Not exactly an arranged marriage, but certainly one that made sense.Their parents were friends.As such, they’d spent a lot of time together as they grew up.They dated, seemed very suited.Everyone expected him to propose right after college.But he actually never finished school.”
Their food arrived, delaying conversation for a few minutes.
Lara took a bite out of a crab-stuffed shrimp and closed her eyes in rapture.He wasn’t sure he’d ever been with a woman who enjoyed experiences so fully.
“How’s your steak?”
“I don’t know,” he responded.“I’m too busy watching you eat.”
She paused, a forkful halfway to her mouth.
“Please.For the love of God, don’t stop.”
She blushed, but she finished the bite.“If I move in with you, can we eat every meal here?”
“I might starve,” he said.“But that’s a small price to pay.”
After one more shrimp, she put down her fork.
“I notice you didn’t touch the asparagus.”
“No way am I filling up on green stuff.”
A while later, the waiter returned to collect the plates.She skipped dessert, but asked for coffee.“Back to you,” she said.Showing that she’d been listening to every word, she prompted him by saying, “Your dad never finished college…”
“I’m going to back up a little.My grandfather believes all of us should have real, working knowledge of the business.”
“Makes sense.”
“We have some ranching interests.”
“I think that’s another one of your understatements,” she said.
He shrugged.“My great-great-grandfather acquired a number of acres.We’re fortunate to enjoy some success.”But they all knew it took hard work to keep it successful and profitable.No one took the responsibility lightly.“As part of my grandfather’s desire for us to know about that part of the business, he sent Dad to the ranch one summer.That’s where he fell in love with Stormy.”
“She worked on the ranch?”
The waiter put the coffee on the table, but Lara never took her gaze from Connor.Talking to her was a pleasure.She didn’t interrupt, didn’t make any soothing sounds.She just gave him her complete attention.
He thanked the waiter, told him to wait a few minutes before bringing the bill then tried to pick up where he’d left of.“She was a wrangler.By the end of the summer, she was pregnant.My dad proposed to her, but she refused.She said she didn’t want to be part of the Donovan family.Too many obligations and responsibilities went with it.I’d be willing to bet my grandfather had something to do with that, though no one discusses it.”
When he paused, she took a drink of coffee then moved the cup aside.
“Cade was born.Dad eventually married my mother, though no one is sure why.Probably out of a sense of obligation or some sort of coercion.”
She winced sympathetically but said nothing.
“The truth is, Dad never stopped loving Stormy.I’m sure he attempted to be a good husband, and I know he was the best damn father he could be, to all four of us.”
