He moved to the chair in the corner, sat, and then leaned over his knees. "You know, I can see it now. Looking back? Yeah, all those times when I thought about it and assumed I was just horny. The times I stumbled against a friend and thought he smelled good, or how I knew which guys on the football team had the nicest asses. I think back to the locker room and how I'd steal a glance of the other guys, convinced I was just measuring up, but how the sight of so many dicks was pretty cool."
"Impressive how we can convince ourselves it's not like that, though, huh?"
He nodded. "Yep. Never had a problem getting a girlfriend. Always got annoyed that they were so girly, though. Not feminine. I mean, Violet's completely feminine, but she's not girly. She doesn't squeal at horse shit - just spiders."
I groaned. "Oh, she fucking hates spiders. That woman will climb on a chair and lose her shit over them."
He was grinning. "She walked into a web in the barn and lost it. Cutest thing I've ever seen."
"But she doesn't want you to kill them," I warned. "Trust me, catching one in a glass and carrying it out of the room will make you feel like the biggest caveman ever."
"Experience speaking?" he asked.
I did my best Neanderthal impersonation. "Man keep woman safe, ug!"
Luke laughed. "Yeah, I can see that." Then he paused, the silence suddenly feeling heavy. "Am I ignoring her?"
"Pretty sure you're not," I promised. "You're just getting comfortable with her. Luke, that's not a bad thing. Violet's not easy to get to know, but once you do, she's easy to love. She's the kind of person who fits into your life so seamlessly that you feel like you're not doing enough. Here's the thing, though. That woman doesn't want you to doforher. She has every intention of doing for herself. She just wants someone there to hold her hand when she needs it."
He nodded. "I just feel real fucking greedy."
"Kinda nice, though, isn't it?" I asked back.
He laughed once. "Yeah, I guess it is. Mostly, it's just that I feel like my head's spinning. Cy said he loves me. I'm not sure if he did that to make me feel better, or if he means it, but - "
"He means it," I assured him.
That got a little smile, then Luke kept going. "But I'm used to being with one girl and pretending like I don't notice anyone else. All my life, I've been told this can't work, but it's working. So I start to think that I'm ignoring you, or her, or not trying hard enough with Cy. Something!"
"You're doing fine," I promised.
He nodded slowly. "Well, I came in here to fix that. See, you said you don't know how to drive a truck. I got my old one. I got my keys. There's a wide-open pasture down there, and I'm pretty much looking for an excuse not to walk around too much. Think you got time for a lesson on how to be a farm boy?" And he lifted those pretty green eyes to mine.
The lashes framing them, the sultry little smile on his lips, and that short, freshly-trimmed beard had nothing on how he'd phrased that. My heart flipped, but I didn't show it. Luke didn't think less of me for being a bit "big city." He was just offering to show me some good country fun, alone, with him.
"Sure," I decided. "Cy told me to get out of the office today anyway. Just don't laugh at me."
"Oh, I'm gonna laugh," he promised, standing up. "The old one's also a standard. Means you're gonna learn how to grab a stick."
"Boy, I already know that part," I taunted. "All I ask is that you get that monster down to where there's nothing I can take out."
"You go through the fence and you'll be helping me wire it back up," Luke taunted.
"And if I don't?" I teased.
"Then I'll show you why I got the truck with the back seat." He flicked up a brow and walked from the room. "Coming, Ash?"
I just shook my head, and under my breath answered, "Have a feeling I will before the day's out." So I followed.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
When I heard the two men hurry out of the house, laughing a bit too much, I didn't think much of it. Hearing a truck start up in the drive, however, made me wonder what they were up to this time. Then, ten minutes later, Cy walked into my office, crooked a finger, and headed back out.
Yep, that was more than I could take. Leaving everything where it was, I slipped on some shoes and went after him, only to find Cy in the kitchen, pulling out a beer for himself and a drink for me. Without giving me the chance to catch up, he headed for the back, walking onto the porch. I finally caught him at the table, but when I moved to take the chair facing him, Cy pointed out at the field behind the pool.
"We're here for the show," he explained.
So I sat next to him, both of us facing the pool. "What's going on?"
