Lucas and Theron came in after doing the feeding chores that Tuesday evening. The aromas of fresh bread baking and savory soup filled the bunkhouse. Theron followed Lucas’s lead and hung his coat on the rack inside the door, then kicked off his shoes and set them beside Lucas’s boots.
Vada gave the pot of soup bubbling on the stovetop a stir, then turned to face them. Her brown hair hung over her shoulders in two thick braids. She wore a pair of faded skinny jeans and an oatmeal-colored, thermal knit shirt that hugged her curves.
Lucas’s mouth went dry, and his pulse went into overtime—again. The light from the kitchen window created a halo around her head, and had she sprouted big, fluffy wings in that instant, he would not have been surprised.
“Something smells good,” Theron said as he headed toward the bathroom. “Is it all right if I take a bath before supper?”
“Of course. The bread won’t be done for about twenty minutes,” Vada replied. “Did you have a good time?”
“I learned that cattle need feed in the winter as well as hay.” Theron closed the door behind him and then opened it back up. “And I’m going to research and learn more about cattle. I’m going to study agriculture in my spare time this semester.” The door eased shut, and then Lucas heard the water running.
He crossed the room in a few long strides, wrapped his arms around Vada, and hugged her tightly. “You are so beautiful.” He buried his face in her hair.
“Good grief,” she said with a laugh, “what brought all this on?”
“I’m just happy that you and Theron are staying on the ranch for a while.” Lucas took half a step back, tipped up her chin with his knuckles, looked deep into her aqua colored eyes, and kissed her.
The kiss started off slow and sweet, but then her arms snaked up around his neck, and she pressed her body close to his. He deepened the kiss, and a jolt of pure, fiery desire shot through his body. He’d kissed women, dated women, slept with women, and even had a couple of fairly serious relationships, but nothing had ever prepared him for the way he felt right then.
“Oh! My!” Vada gasped when the kiss ended.
“Sparks?” Lucas’s voice sounded hoarse even in his own ears.
“No,” Vada said breathlessly, “white hot fire like I’ve never felt before.”
“Me, too,” Lucas said. “I’ve wanted to kiss you for days now, but…”
“But we’ve got a little boy underfoot,” Vada said with a smile.
“I love that kid,” Lucas said, “and I really like his mama.”
“His mama thinks a lot of you, too,” Vada said.
Lucas drew her back into his arms and brushed a soft kiss across her lips. “Is it too soon to say that I could so easily fall in love with you?”
“Probably, but the feeling is mutual,” Vada told him. “And as much as I hate to ruin this romantic moment, if I don’t take that bread out of the oven, it’s going to be burned.” She raised up on her tiptoes and kissed Lucas on the chin. “And if that happens, I’m going to let you explain why it’s ruined to Theron.”
“Go, good woman, go!” Lucas teased.
Vada crossed over to the stove, grabbed an oven mitt, and removed a pan of hot rolls from the oven. She set them on the cabinet and buttered the tops. Lucas slipped his arms around her waist from the back and kissed her on the neck.
“This is a cowboy’s dream,” he said.
“What’s that?” Vada asked.
“Coming home after a day on the ranch, to a hot meal, and even hotter kisses from a beautiful woman,” Lucas said.
Vada turned around and slipped her arms around his neck. “I always thought you were the shy Ryan brother.”
“I am, but you bring out the romantic in me,” he told her. “Never even thought I had that side, but I’m kind of liking it.”
“Mama!” Theron called out. “I forgot to bring in my pajama bottoms.”
“And the romance ends,” Vada said with a chuckle.
“No, honey, the romance is just beginning,” Lucas told her.
* * *
Vada had thought she would need to buy a Flirting for Dummies book if she ever had the opportunity to date again, but it was coming naturally with Lucas. For the past couple of days, she could see the same longing in his eyes that she felt in her heart. The kisses and brief romantic time had proved she wasn’t wrong.
Now what do I do? she asked herself. I’ve got to think of Theron, not just myself. How would he react to sharing me with someone else?
Don’t rush, but don’t slam the door to the opportunity, either, her grandmother’s voice answered. He’s already said that he wishes Lucas was his daddy, so that’s a good start.
“Good advice,” she muttered as she found Theron’s pajama bottoms in his perfectly organized suitcase and carried them to the bathroom.
When she knocked on the door, he opened it just a crack, stuck out a hand and took them from her. “Thank you. Is supper ready?”
“It will be on the table when you get there,” she answered.
When Theron came out of the bathroom, he was dressed in his superhero pajamas and a pair of socks. His blond hair, usually parted on the side, had been combed straight back like Lucas’s. “I’m hungry,” he said. “I will have to talk to Buttercup about it, but I think the ranch is giving me a big appetite.”
Vada led the way to the kitchen area where Lucas was busy making supper. “I bet all that fresh air and walking Buttercup around in the corral has made you need more food for fuel,” she said as she headed to the kitchen area.
Lucas had just finished setting the table and dipping up three bowls of soup. Vada’s ex-husband had never helped her get food on the table, not even after Theron was born and things got hectic. That simple gesture was almost as romantic as his kisses had been.
Oh, really. Her grandmother’s giggles were so real that she stopped and glanced over her shoulder to see if she was there.
“Well, almost,” Vada muttered.
“Almost what?” Theron asked as he pulled out his chair and sat down.
Vada noticed that his pajamas were tight on him, and his face had filled out some. His eyes didn’t have black circles around them, and he wasn’t pale anymore. If he had changed this much in less than two weeks, then she couldn’t imagine what six months or a year on the ranch would do for him.
“Did I do something wrong?” he asked.
“Of course not,” Vada said. “I like your hair fixed that way, and I was just thinking that you have more color in your face than usual.”
“That would be vitamin D from the sunshine,” Theron told her. “A person needs time in the sun every single day. I knew that, but I used to not like going outside. I like it here because Buttercup and Dixie and Tex are here. And Cody and Stevie and Granny and Poppa. Today I met Mia out in the field. She can drive a tractor, and she said when my legs get long enough to reach the pedals that she will teach me how to operate one.”
Lucas seated Vada before he took his place. “You’ll have to eat good, run and play with the alpacas, and sleep good at night to grow tall enough to drive a tractor. Mia started off driving a hay truck when she was just a kid. She’s really good help on the ranch, plus she is learning to be a vet tech from Stevie.”
“I don’t want to be a vet anything,” Theron said. “It would make me sad to see an animal die. Please pass the rolls and butter. This soup is wonderful, Mama. I don’t remember you making it at our town home.”
Vada handed the basket of rolls across to her son. “If you will remember, you were on a grilled cheese kick before we came out here.”
Theron looked up and sighed. “That’s before I did the horse research. I’m glad I did.”
Lucas took a bite of the soup. “You are right. This is very good.”
“Thank you both. My grandmother taught me to make it, and it’s always good on a cold day like this.” Vada couldn’t remember a time when Theron had complimented her on her cooking. He ate. He thanked her politely for the meal—sometimes. He went back to his room. She might just go out to the barn after supper and kiss Buttercup right between her pretty brown eyes for the change she had brought about in him.
And then kiss Lucas right on his sexy lips? the pesky voice in her head asked.
“Yep,” she said under her breath.