The Bull Rider's Homecoming. Allie Pleiter

      “Not if I can help it.” She slipped the band off his knees and motioned for him to go back to the silly toe touches. “I owe Lana a great deal. I’d like to spare her your particular brand of charm if possible.”

      Luke stared at her. This new Ruby had a spine he’d never seen before. Soft as a kitten? Not Ruby Sheldon. Not anymore. As a matter of fact, he couldn’t entirely say this cat didn’t have claws. Maybe it was better if they didn’t talk about their past.

      “You like what you do? I mean, you can make a living at it, even out here?”

      “I get a lot of hours at the medical center, and I do some home health care for seniors like Grandpa to fill in the gaps. I’m not rich like some rodeo stars,” she grasped his foot and pushed it toward him, stretching out the tendon. “But I do okay. Between the two of us—Lana in Austin and me out here—we’re able make it work. I had Dad’s life insurance policy to help me get set up. Mama figured Dad would have wanted it that way. ’Course, that was before Grandpa got really sick.”

      “I’m not rolling in dough, just in case you were wondering.” He didn’t know why he said that. “Not yet, that is.”

      Ruby stopped moving his foot. “I figured. You wouldn’t be here if you had any other options.”

      Ouch. “I have options. I just wanted some quiet.”

      That made her laugh. “I have never known you to crave quiet in your entire life.”

      “Well, maybe I’ve changed since we...” He’d started a sentence that wasn’t safe to finish.

      “I certainly hope you’ve changed since you left me behind.” She gave the last three words a bitter edge.

      Double ouch. “So I guess we are gonna talk about it.”

      “No.” She pushed against his foot, harder this time, and he waited—in vain—for it to hurt. “We’re not.”

       Chapter Five

      Luke sat in his pickup in the Red Boots BBQ parking lot and watched for Ruby’s dinky little car to come up the road. They’d been through two more therapy sessions—very boring, tedious therapy session where she always seemed to know if he overdid his exercises. He was glad she gave him the Fourth of July weekend off, but even now he was itching to do something other than “push, pull, stretch, bend and balance” with her.

      When he’d left the phone message, he wasn’t quite sure she’d agree to meet him for lunch. Red Boots was a bit out of town, but the food was good and he wasn’t really ready to be seen in Martins Gap with all its peering eyes. He stood a good chance of being recognized even here, but it was the best option he could think of when Nolan called Friday and said he was coming into town today.

      So now you’re too chicken to meet your agent by yourself? Luke shifted in his seat, fidgety with the unfamiliar anxiety. The old Luke Buckton was fearless, and he hated this new, nervous side of him.

      You want her opinion, he corrected himself. You need her cooperation for your plan. If she hears it from Nolan, she’ll take to it easier.

      Luke checked his watch. 11:25 a.m. Ruby was never late for anything. Luke, on the other hand, was always late for everything. Her eyes would pop out of her head to see him here a full five minutes ahead of time. Yeah, well lots of things about me have changed, he laughed to himself. He’d told Nolan to show up at noon so he’d have a chance to give Ruby a heads-up on the whole deal.

      And to head Nolan off at the pass if Ruby threw a fit, which was a distinct possibility given what he was about to propose. Time for a bit of that fearlessness, cowboy.

      Luke got out of his truck just as the sign in the Red Boots window flickered on to Open and Ruby’s car swerved into the parking lot.

      She looked him up and down as he walked over to her. He’d dressed sharp today, wanting to look on top of his game. If he didn’t feel it, at least he could look it.

      “No cane?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

      “Flying solo today. Long as you don’t ask to hit the dance floor, I’ll be fine.” Luke gestured toward the entrance.

      “But you’re staying out of the hometown spotlight?” she replied as she began walking toward the door, a giant red wooden slab below a neon sign of a kicking boot. The establishment was about twenty minutes outside of Martins Gap.

      “I like their food here.” He kept his voice casual as he picked his way across the gravel parking lot with care.

      “You like how far out of Martins Gap that food is.” That was Ruby. It was always impossible to get anything past her.

      “I wasn’t sure you’d come,” he admitted as he grabbed the big handle and heaved the heavy door open for her. The action required more effort than he remembered. If his old weight set was still in the ranch house basement, he ought to set it up in the guesthouse. The therapy was only focusing on his legs—he shouldn’t let the rest of his body lose its training. “This isn’t exactly standard treatment protocol.”

      “Getting you up and out of the house is a good thing. And I get not wanting to do it in front of an audience.” She paused for a moment before adding, “But I did think about it before I called you back, if you want to know the truth.”

      That was Ruby—thoughtful to his impulsiveness. Dependable in all the ways he wasn’t. Mostly invisible compared to his relentless “look at me.” He told himself Nolan had been right all those years ago—she never would have been happy on the tour. “I want us to be friends,” he ventured, meaning it but understanding the surprised look it drew from her. “Think we can do that?”

      She narrowed one eye at him, that analytical look that always used to bug him so. “I don’t know.”

      “But you’re here.” That had to count for something.

      “Am I here as your therapist, your friend or the girl you used to date in high school?”

      She wasn’t the girl he used to date in high school anymore. She was older, tougher, probably wiser, but also a bit of something else he couldn’t quite put a name to just yet. He’d be lying if he said that last part didn’t make him curious. “The first two.” Luke stuffed one hand in his pocket as he took off his hat, unsure if that was the right answer. “Table for three, please,” he said to the girl who greeted them.

      “Three?” Ruby didn’t look pleased at the surprise.

      “My agent’s coming later to talk over something. I want to hear what you think—as a therapist and a friend—before I say yes.”

      She stopped following the server to glare at him. “No games, Luke.”

      “No games. I want Nolan to hear what you have to say and I want you to hear what Nolan has to say.” He pulled the chair out for her at the table. “Straight up and simple.”

      She sat down, a wary look on her face. “You don’t do straight up and simple.”

      “Let’s just say I’m trying a new tactic these days.” He sat himself down, grateful he didn’t have to maneuver his leg into a booth. Getting in wasn’t so bad, but getting out could prove a gangly hassle he wasn’t ready to attempt. “I did my exercises over the holiday weekend anyway, you know.”

      She offered him the first smile he’d seen since arriving. “Well, this is a new Luke. I hadn’t pegged you for compliance.”

      He grimaced. “I don’t take much to that word. Willing to work at it, maybe.”

      “Cooperative, then.”

      “Easygoing,” he suggested as the server brought over tall glasses of water.

      “That might be pushing it. An easygoing