Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
L orna’s breath caught at the brush of Mack’s lips against the corner of her mouth.
It had been seven years since she’d kissed anyone other than Lyle—and she couldn’t remember ever feeling this way with him. Ever feeling this way with anyone .
Heart pounding, stomach churning, heat rushing through her body as sweat formed in the small of her back—she was terrified and excited at the same time, exhilarated while also feeling a bit like she might throw up.
And it was wonderful.
It lasted only a second—surely not long enough for those millions of emotions and sensations to run through her—and no way could it have been long enough for her to already miss the feeling…but she did.
He pulled back, but not away , the barest space between his lips and her skin. She couldn’t move, could barely breathe, anticipation coursing through her as she waited to see if he would kiss her again.
What if he does? Do I want him to kiss me again?
Will I die if he doesn’t?
Or if he does?
She could still feel the barest traces of his lips against her skin. His breath caressed her cheek as time seemed to stand still.
Was he waiting for a sign from her? Waiting for her to give him any kind of indication that she wanted more.
She’d already told him she wanted to be friends. She was a mess…he’d witnessed, and cleaned up , just a small slice of the chaos of her life. She didn’t have time—or hell, even the energy—for one more thing in her life. Max and Izzy and running a business and a house took everything from her.
So, why hadn’t she pulled away?
She wasn’t sure who moved. It could have been him...or her...or both at the same moment. All she knew—all she felt —was the brush of his lips against hers, a soft graze, this time fully against her mouth, not just the corner.
A tiny gasp escaped her, a small shuddering breath before his lips pressed to hers, capturing the rest of her exhale, taking in her breath as if it were his own.
She melted into him, her bones dissolving as his arms tightened around her, pulling her closer to him and keeping her from sinking into the floor.
“I got Izzy down and thought I’d make us a cup of tea,” Gertie’s voice came from the stairwell.
Lorna pulled back. Fast. Stepping back as if his body were on fire.
“Oops, sorry,” Gertie said, stepping into the living room, seeing them then turning to head into the kitchen. “Didn’t mean to interrupt. Pretend I’m not even here.”
Mack offered her a sheepish grin. “I guess I should go. Be sure to text me about how Izzy’s doing tomorrow. Good night, Lorna.” He retrieved his cowboy hat from the side table and gave her a nod before putting it on his head and slipping out the door.
She touched her fingers to her lips—surprised to feel the tremble in them—as she watched him amble across the grass to where his pickup was parked.
Wrapping her arms around her middle, the scent of him still surrounding her, she felt something inside her shift. An ache she’d buried a long time ago resurfacing. And she wasn’t sure if she wanted to embrace it or push it back down again.
The reception had ended, and the guests were gone by the time Mack got back to the ranch. Ford, Elizabeth, Dodge, Maisie, and a few members of the band were the only ones left when Mack walked into the large white tent.
Two golden retrievers, one russet and one yellow, came loping toward him, their furry butts wagging with excitement. Dixie, the red one, belonged to Ford, and Murphy, the English Cream, was Chevy’s dog. Mack crouched down to receive the puppy love, wanting to believe that the dogs remembered him. But the goldens seemed to love everyone.
“Hey, how’s Izzy doing?” Elizabeth asked, as the two couples, who were stacking chairs and packaging leftover food stopped what they were doing and crossed to him.
“Is Lorna okay?” Maisie asked.
“Yeah, they’re all good,” Mack told them. “The doctor gave Izzy some antibiotics for the ear infection, but they’re home now. The kids were asleep, and Miss Gertie was still there when I left.”
“That’s good,” Ford said, as Dixie circled his legs then dropped at his feet.
“Where’s Moose?” Mack asked Dodge, referring to his giant black Bernese Mountain dog.
“We left him at Maisie’s,” Dodge said.
Maisie laughed. “But we promised to bring him some brisket.” She pointed to the takeaway aluminum tubs stacked on one of the tables. “Which shouldn’t be a problem. We’ve got enough food left to stock Duke’s fridge and for each of us to take some home.”
“It was so good, I’m surprised there was any left.” Mack gestured at the remaining tables and chairs. “Can I help?”
“You bet,” Ford told him. “The girls are gonna finish packing up the centerpieces and pulling the tablecloths, what’s left of the band is dismantling the dance floor, and we’re stacking all the tables and chairs.” He pointed to an open trailer that had been backed up to the side of the tent. “The rental company is coming in the morning to pick them up and take down the tent. We figured we’d get it all torn down now since we’ve got cattle to take care of in the morning.”
“Sounds good,” Mack said, feeling glad they had asked him to help versus sending him on up to the house as he headed for the nearest table and chairs.
The sun was barely up the next morning when, freshly showered and dressed, Mack walked into the kitchen to find Duke already at the stove, scrambling chunks of leftover brisket into a skillet of fluffy yellow eggs.
The scent of strong coffee wafted toward him, and Duke nodded to the cupboard. “Mornin’ son. You’d better grab you a mug and get some of that pot of coffee before your brothers get here.”
The front door opened a few seconds later, and Ford and Dodge came in together, the cool morning air whooshing in with them as they stopped to brush off their boots and hang their cowboy hats and gray Carhartt jackets on pegs running down the wall inside the door.
Their two dogs and Chevy’s raced in behind them, tails wagging at top speed as they ran into the kitchen to greet Duke and Mack, probably hoping to get tastes of the barbequed meat filling the air with its delicious scent.
Mack held the pot up and filled his brother’s mugs as Duke pulled a pan of flaky buttermilk biscuits out of the oven. He’d tasted Duke’s biscuits when he’d been here before, and his stomach growled for one…or six.
“Grab a plate and dig in,” Duke commanded. “These biscuits are best hot with butter melting into them.”
Mack didn’t have to be told twice. He grabbed a couple of plates and passed them to Ford and Dodge, hanging back as the youngest and newest Lassiter brother before filling his plate and taking a place at the large kitchen table.
Duke said grace before passing around the pitcher of orange juice and large bowls filled with chunked cantaloupe and wedges of watermelon.
The first bite of fluffy eggs mixed with the smokey brisket and sharp cheddar cheese was like a flavor explosion in his mouth. “So good,” he told Duke in between bites. “Anyone hear if Chevy and Leni got off okay?”
Dodge smirked. “It was their wedding night. I think we can be fairly certain they got off…multiple times.”
Ford threw a chunk of biscuit at his brother. It fell to the floor and the three dogs raced to grab it. “Not while I’m eating.”
“Chevy texted me earlier and said they were headed to DIA,” Duke told them, ignoring Ford and Dodge’s comments as he tossed more biscuit to the two dogs who’d missed the first chunk. “Their plane leaves in about an hour.”
“I’m still having a hard time imagining Chevy sitting on the beach in Hawaii,” Dodge said, reaching for another wedge of melon.
Ford grinned. “I’m having a hard time imagining him in a pair of flip flops. I can just see him walking out onto the sand in his swim trunks, cowboy hat and boots.”
The men laughed together, but Mack knew they were all happy that Chevy and Leni had found their way back to each other after years apart.
“I appreciate you all lending me his room,” Mack said as he buttered his third biscuit.
“It’s your room now, son,” Duke told him. “He cleaned it out last week for you and either moved his stuff to the cabin or stored it in the bunkhouse.”
“Still hard to believe Chevy and Leni are going to spend the whole summer in that tiny hunting cabin,” Dodge said.
Ford huffed. “Sounds like paradise to me. They’ve got the lake and nobody around to bother them.” He was the most introverted of the bunch.
“They’re newlyweds,” Duke said as if that explained everything. “And it’s only for a few months until their house is built.”
The newly married couple had drawn up plans and commissioned a contractor to build their dream house in the mountains on the Lassiter property. Construction had started a few weeks ago, and they hoped to have it finished and ready to move into by the fall.
“Don’t sweat it,” Dodge said. “The room is yours now. For as long as you want it.”
Ford dumped the last of the eggs onto his plate. “But so are the bulk of Chevy’s chores while he’s gone.”
Mack nodded. “I’m happy to do them. I still feel a little guilty that I didn’t get back here sooner. I swear I didn’t know I’d be gone that long when I agreed to go back to Texas to help my old foreman.”
Duke shook his head. “Don’t give it another thought. That wasn’t your fault. You were where you needed to be at the time, and I know they appreciated the extra help.”
“I appreciate you saying so, but I’ve already told them I’m done with Texas.” Colorado and this ranch were where he wanted his home to be now. The first real home he’d ever had. “I’m back for good this time, and the only place I’m planning to work is for this ranch.”
Ford stuffed the last of a biscuit into his mouth and spoke around it as he chewed. “Then cowboy up, boys. Daylight’s burning, and we’ve got plenty of work to do.”
The late spring sun had already heated the day up by midmorning, and the barn was warm as Mack mucked out the stalls and laid fresh straw for the horses. He’d taken his shirt off earlier, tossing it over the gate of the nearest corral, and he rolled his shoulders as he stopped to take a sip of water from a bottle he’d brought out to the barn.
The cool water felt good on his dry throat, and he took off his hat and splashed a little on his head before pushing his hair back and cramming his straw cowboy hat back on. He’d just picked up the pitchfork to start the next stall when he heard one side of the barn door swing open.
“Gertie’s gonna be mad she missed out on seeing you working without your shirt on,” a voice called from behind him.
A grin was already creasing his face as he turned to face Lorna. She looked different from the night before, more like the way he was used to seeing her in a pair of black yoga pants, sneakers, and a hot pink V-neck T-shirt, but still gorgeous with her thick curly blond hair gathered and pulled into a messy knot on top of her head. “Hey there. You’re the best thing I’ve seen all day.”
Lorna glanced into the wheelbarrow of muck he’d been cleaning from the stall. “That would be more of a compliment if I couldn’t see my competition. Doesn’t seem like I’ve got too much in the way of opposition.”
He laughed. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad to see you.”
“Maisie was coming out to see Dodge, so I grabbed a ride with her to get the rest of my stuff and pick up my van.” Her eyes roamed over his chest as he leaned on the pitchfork. “Dang. Did you have to pay for all those muscles or were you just born that way?”
He grinned as he reached for his shirt, giving her a quick flex of his bicep in the process. “I earned every one of them.”
“You don’t have to wear your shirt on my account. Especially since it is pretty warm in here.”
“Is that why your cheeks are so flushed?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She pressed her fingers to her face, her cheeks going even more pink. “Anyway, Duke told me you were out here, so I wanted to pop in to tell you Max is dying to get started on that Lego set, but he’s under the impression that you are planning to build it with him, so he doesn’t want to do any of it without you.”
Mack chuckled, touched that the boy would want to wait for him. “Yeah, I would love to help him build it. Just let me know when’s a good time.”
“How about later this afternoon? I’m making spaghetti and wanted to invite you for supper anyway as a thank you for all your help last night.”
“No thanks necessary. I was happy to do it. But I have never turned down a plate of spaghetti—it’s one of my top three favorite meals—so I’ll be there.”
“Four o’clock?”
“Works for me. Can I bring anything?”
“Just your LEGO building skills, your appetite…” Her lips curved into a coy grin. “And those muscles.”