Lucky put her hands on his arms, reveling in the solid feel of him behind her, the comfort of his solace. “She wasn’t all bad, you know.”
She’d spoken the words so softly she wasn’t sure he’d heard until he responded. “Tell me some of the good things.”
That he was even willing to listen surprised Lucky. She leaned her head on his chest and closed her eyes, searching for happy memories. Somehow the bad ones were so much easier to remember. “She kept me and my brothers together, for one.”
His lips moved at her temple. “That’s definitely a good thing.”
“Occasionally, she’d buy me a small present, some little treat she’d bring home.”
“I like that, too.”
“She always made a fuss over my birthday. She let me dress up using all her costume jewelry and high heels, and play with her makeup. She didn’t care if I ate cake batter instead of baking the cake. And she never made me feel bad that I couldn’t stay on a diet—” A lump suddenly swelled in Lucky’s throat, making it difficult to continue. But the fact that she could continue, that there were more positive things she could say about her mother, made a real impact on her. “She thought I was beautiful. She was proud of me even when I was fat and ugly—”
“Whoa!” He squeezed her reprovingly. “I don’t like hearing you say that about yourself. Maybe she saw what I can finally see.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
He turned her in his arms. “The beauty of your heart.”
The lump in her throat grew larger. She attempted a watery smile as he brought her face up with one finger. “Your mother might not have been perfect,” he murmured, “but she loved you. And I can forgive her because of that.”
He’d said something profound, something that spoke to Lucky on a very deep level. Caressing his whisker-roughened cheek with the palm of one hand, she gazed into his eyes. “Can you really, Mike?”
He nodded.
“If you can forgive her, maybe I can, too.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Lucky ran her fingers through his hair as he kissed her. She felt his body respond, felt her own pulse quicken, but the telephone interrupted them.
Reluctantly, she pulled away, wiping her eyes, and reached for the cordless phone on the counter. “Hello?”
“Lucky, it’s Josh. Is Mike there?”
Lucky didn’t know whether to lie or not. When they’d returned from Holbrook’s earlier, she’d insisted they leave Mike’s truck at the ranch and walk over to her place. As far as she knew, there were no telltale signs that they were still together. But they’d been seen in town by both the Smalls and the Holbrooks, and if Mike’s truck was at home and he wasn’t, where else could he be? Josh would know he wasn’t out with the horses. “Just a minute,” she said, opting for the truth.
Mike looked at her curiously as she handed him the phone. “It’s your brother.”
He gave a persecuted sigh before bringing the receiver to his ear. But his expression soon changed. “What?…You’re kidding. Are you sure?…When?…Where does he think she is?…Okay, I’m leaving now.”
Lucky held her breath, waiting for the bad news. “What is it?” she asked the instant Mike hung up.
“The fact that we’ve been seeing each other is all over town. Someone at the beauty shop told my mother while she was getting her hair done. She was pretty upset when she left, so Rebecca called to tell my dad she was on her way, but she never arrived.”
“Where do you think she is?”
“I have no idea, but everyone’s searching, and I’m going to go help, okay?”
“Of course.” Lucky grabbed his hat from the counter and put it on his head. “Be careful.”
He kissed her, promising he’d call her as soon as he found his mother, and hurried out. She thought she might have a long wait before she knew what was going on.
Fifteen minutes later someone rang the bell.
CHAPTER TWENTY
LUCKY OPENED THE DOOR to see Barbara Hill on her porch.
“Oh…hi,” she said, her ulcer voicing a sharp complaint at the sudden tension that gripped her.
Barbara stood ramrod straight, her hands clenching her purse in a death grip. Lifting her chin, she cleared her throat, obviously finding it difficult to speak. “Is it true?” she said.
Lucky knew Barbara was asking about the nature of her relationship with Mike, but she didn’t know how to answer. Was it true that Lucky had fallen in love with him? Yes. Years ago. Was it true they’d been seeing each other since she’d returned? Yes. Often and not casually. Was it true that Lucky expected something permanent to come of it? No. She couldn’t ask Mike to stand against his family, against all of Dundee. And she knew he’d never leave this place. His business was here. His brother was here. The land was part of him.
“No,” she said simply. If they had no future together, the rest didn’t matter.
“You’re not sleeping with my son?”
Lucky drew a deep breath. She wanted the pain to stop—for everyone. But she couldn’t say her relationship with Mike wasn’t of a sexual nature when Mike had already admitted to Officer Orton that it was. “We’ve been together a few times.”
Barbara winced and closed her eyes, so obviously and deeply betrayed that Lucky couldn’t help feeling sorry for her. “Does he care about you?”
He did care. Lucky felt quite certain of that. But she knew it would only hurt his mother to hear it. “No.” She shook her head. “It was all me. I—I’ve loved him since I was little. But you don’t have to worry. I’m leaving town today, and I won’t be coming back.”
Her complete surrender left Barbara with nothing to fight about. “Thank you,” she said quietly, stiffly. Then she left.
Watching her go, Lucky managed a sad smile. Barbara had believed that her relationship with Mike was one-sided because she’d wanted to believe it. Mike had always been such an ideal son, she couldn’t not believe it. Which was good. If Lucky took the blame, Mike and his family would be able to patch things up and withstand the gossip.
She just had to keep her promise to leave. The sooner the better. Before she had to tell Mike goodbye.
THE NUMBNESS THAT SEEMED to take over the moment Barbara Hill’s car disappeared from view made it easier for Lucky. She refused to think while she packed, refused to look at the ranch next door as she loaded her Mustang. She simply left the key to the house above the door so Mr. Sharp could finish up, and drove away. Once the improvements were complete and the rental company had reclaimed their furniture, she could contact Mike about selling. She knew she wouldn’t be able to speak to him anytime soon, not without breaking down. She could only hope the ensuing weeks would give her a chance to pull herself together before she had to deal with the past again.