Daddy Lessons. Victoria Chancellor

animal, is like stealing.”

      “You didn’t steal from me,” Luke said. “I’m really concerned about the zebra, though.”

      “Why?” Eddie asked.

      Luke hunkered down in front of Eddie. “Because she’s pretty old and she has arthritis.”

      “Just like Grandpa Whitaker,” Kate explained.

      “His fingers are all knobby,” Eddie said.

      “Well, her knees are kind of like that and it hurts her to move. She likes to graze real slow beside her friend. When she has to move fast, like to run away from something that scares her, her knees hurt.”

      Eddie looked as though he was about to cry. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I thought she’d like to go for a ride.”

      “Riding is a lot more fun for the person riding than for the animal being ridden,” Luke explained. “Besides, zebras are wild animals. They want to buck whenever they feel weight on their back. That’s why people don’t ride them in Africa, where they’re from. Over there, the wild zebras buck off the lions and other predators who try to eat them.”

      “Wow. I didn’t know that,” Eddie said.

      Listening to Luke Simon was a lot like watching a very sexy host on the Discovery Channel. Except none of the hosts were as appealing as this newcomer.

      “So, even if Lola—that’s the zebra’s name—didn’t have arthritis, you still couldn’t ride her. She’s wild.”

      “But why do you have wild animals?” Eddie asked.

      “Because Lola and Lollipop, her friend, used to work in a small circus where they pulled a chariot. They went round and round the ring for many years until they got too old. They didn’t have anywhere else to go, so they came to live with me and the other animals. Now they can eat grass and have a nice retirement.”

      “Just like Grandpa Whitaker moved to Hilton Head.”

      Kate suppressed a laugh. Her father wouldn’t take kindly to his lifestyle being compared to that of two aging zebras, especially with his younger wife, his golf games and tennis matches. “Sort of, but don’t tell him that.”

      “Okay. I’m ready to go home now.”

      Kate stood and took Eddie’s hand. “Are you sure you don’t mind taking us home?” she asked Luke.

      “No, as long as your brother doesn’t come after me.”

      “Why would you say that?”

      “He doesn’t like me.”

      “He’s overprotective and he doesn’t know you.”

      Luke’s eyebrows rose as if asking, “And you do?”

      Kate shrugged at the unspoken question and led Eddie toward the door. “Whatever Travis says, I’m grateful for your help. I couldn’t have gotten Eddie here so quickly or easily without you.”

      “I’m glad I was home.”

      Kate paused as he unlocked the truck. “I hope we didn’t interrupt your visitors…again.”

      “No, they’re gone.”

      Good, she felt like saying, but she didn’t. She absolutely refused to be petty, especially about a man she barely knew.

      She helped Eddie into the seat and buckled him up. “I’m sure you’re very busy, though.” Although Luke had been much nicer and more concerned than she would have expected, he had his own life to lead.

      She knew so little about him. She’d imagined much more about him than she should have, first thinking him self-possessed to the point of arrogance. In reality, he was very nice. Perhaps even a little shy. And awfully concerned about Eddie, instead of being angry.

      Which made him even more endearing. Darn it. She didn’t need this. Her responsibility to provide for herself and Eddie, combined with her need to stand on her own two feet for the first time, made having any interest in a man a very bad idea. And when she did decide to date again, she would be smart to start with someone less exciting and tempting than Luke Simon.

      She definitely needed dating training wheels, not a wild ride on a Harley.

      Luke paused after inserting the key, his look again pensive. “It’s not so much that I’m busy. I’ve got some things on my mind.”

      “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

      “You’re not a bother. That’s not what I meant.”

      “Still—”

      “Don’t worry about it,” he said, cranking the engine. He put the truck in reverse and turned to look behind him, then paused and watched her intently. “I’m working on a solution,” he said before driving toward the ranch.