Luke's Would-Be Bride. Sandra Steffen

didn’t know what was going through Luke’s mind, but it couldn’t have been pleasant. He’d planted himself in front of her, his feet spread apart, his hips thrust forward, his eyes never leaving her face. His lips were set in a straight line, his stare drilling her to the floor.

      It wasn’t easy to think when he turned all that roaring intensity on her, so she let her instincts guide her. And her instincts were telling her she’d sorely misjudged him.

      “Luke, I…”

      He held up one hand, and she stopped. He reached for her wrist, pulling her fingers from the crook of her right arm. Turning her palm toward the ceiling, he pressed a key into its center and curled her fist around it.

      “I don’t take charity, Jillian. And I don’t give a rip what the people of this town think.”

      With a tug on the brim of his hat, he turned on his heel. He didn’t utter another word. He didn’t have to. The slamming of the door spoke volumes.

      She stared into space, her mind blank, her heart racing. When the room finally came back into focus, she glanced around. The local bachelors who were helping Lisa in the store quickly averted their eyes and went back to work hanging shelves and unloading boxes. Lisa’s attention wasn’t so easy to divert. She tucked her hair behind her ears and quickly made her way to the back of the store.

      In a voice barely above a whisper, she said, “What in the world was that all about?”

      Jillian became aware of an ache in her hand and slowly opened her fingers. Tracing the indentation the key had made in her soft skin, she said, “That was my new boss, Luke Carson. He dropped off this key to the office.”

      “That was the local vet?”

      Jillian nodded.

      “You didn’t tell me he was so good-looking. Or so tall.”

      Jillian glanced around the room. She didn’t catch any of the bachelors in the act of looking at her, but several of them were paying a lot of attention to the toes of their scuffed cowboy boots.

      She’d spent the first eleven years of her life in a small town, and knew how quickly gossip could spread. This little scene would no doubt be all over Jasper Gulch within the hour, which was exactly why she’d given Luke that kiss in the first place. She’d meant it to be a balm to his ego, but her plan had backfired. She’d tried to protect his reputation, to prevent the other men from knowing she’d turned him down. With very few words he’d let her know exactly how he felt about that.

      Jillian wondered why his reaction to her little performance brought out airy hopes she’d forgotten she even had. Unfortunately, with that hope came a dark sense of gloom she understood all too well.

      “So, do you have a thing for the local vet?”

      Jillian almost choked on her next breath. “Lisa, for heaven’s sake. You know I’m not going to stay in Jasper Gulch.”

      Lisa sighed, her smile a little sad. “I know, Jillian. I was just hoping you’d change your mind.”

      Biting down on her lip, Jillian felt herself going soft inside. “You’ve been one of my closest friends for fifteen years, and it sure isn’t going to be easy to go back to Madison without you. But you know my stay here is only temporary. We both do.”

      Lisa took a deep breath and heaved a great sigh. Within moments a wry grin stole across her face. Inclining her head to the left, she said, “That might be true, but we’re both here now, and on the other side of this very room are men who’ve been deprived of feminine companionship for far too long.”

      “Lisa, you’re incorrigible.”

      “I know. You’ve gotta love me for it, don’t you?”

      Jillian shook her head, wondering how she’d ever gotten lucky enough to have met Lisa Markman all those years ago. Cori Cassidy and Ivy Pennington, too, for that matter. Life hadn’t been easy for any of them back in Wisconsin, but one thing Jillian had learned from living these past thirty years was that she could face just about anything as long as she had friends at her side.

      “Now come on,” the most brazen and brassy of those friends said with a wink and a gentle nudge. “We have a captive audience, and I don’t intend to waste it.”

      “Lisa, for heaven’s sake. They’ll hear you.”

      Lisa brushed the hair from her eyes and brought her chin up at a proud angle. She was wearing faded cutoffs and a T-shirt, but Jillian doubted she’d ever seen a more regal pose. Keeping her voice low and steady, Lisa said, “If one of these bachelors turns out to be the man for me, he’s going to have to love me for who I am, what I am, the way I am.”

      Jillian nodded, wondering what there was about the air in this room that brought out so much pride and vigor in a person. It had been apparent in Luke’s expression a few minutes ago and in Lisa’s right now.