A Cowgirl's Pride (2 page)
Authors: Lorraine Nelson
“Wooeee! Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.”
She didn’t have time to say a word before Cal
scooped her up and swung her in a circle to a round of applause, shrill
whistles, and several loud greetings of “Welcome home, Leah” from the other
cowpokes.
“What brings you back this way? Vacation?” he
asked. He set her on her feet, grinning from ear to ear.
“Not exactly. I’m home to stay,” she said as she
smiled and waved to the wranglers, most of whom she knew.
“Did your family know you were coming?” he asked,
guiding her away from the onlookers who were eagerly hanging on every word.
“No, I thought I’d surprise them.”
“Guaranteed, your turning up unannounced after
all these years is bound to do that.” He stopped and held her at arm’s length,
giving her a good once over. “You’re sure looking good.”
“Thanks,
You’ve gained some muscle while I was gone,” she said, doing her own furtive
appraisal. “Lookin’ mighty fine, Calhoun.”
“I’ve missed you, Leah,” he said in a low voice.
“And I you, but let’s not go there right now.
Okay?”
He seemed to search for something in her face,
her expression, before replying. “Sure, we have plenty of time to catch up now
that you’re home.”
“Where’s Luke?”
“In the barn. I’m surprised he didn’t come out
to greet you. Come on. I want to see the look on his face when he sees you.”
They rounded the corner of the building, and she
saw two little boys running toward the house. At sight of her, they ran back to
the barn and came out dragging Luke behind them.
“Leah! Welcome home, baby girl.”
For the second time that day, she found herself
lifted in strong arms and swung around in a circle. Laughter came to the
surface as he set her down. “Howdy, big brother. Thanks for the enthusiastic welcome.”
“Well, I’m sure glad to see you, but I guess
you’re not much of a baby anymore.” Luke grinned. “Boys, come meet your Aunt
Leah. Lee, these little rascals are Casey and Cammy, my sons.”
“I didn’t know you had a family, but they sure
are cute. Hi, boys!”
“Hi,” said Casey and Cammy in unison, then ran
to the house, slipping and sliding on the snowy path.
Luke laughed. “Neither did I until a few months
ago. Long story. How long can you stay?”
She looked at
that he’d understand. “I’m back to stay, if it’s all right?”
“Of course it’s all right. You do still own a
portion of the ranch.”
She let out a breath that she’d hadn’t been
aware of holding. “There’s more to it than that, Luke. Wait until you hear it
all, then if you still want me here, I’ll stay.”
“Nothing can be that bad, Lee.” He swung an arm
casually across her shoulders. “Come on in the house. We’ll get your bags
later.”
“Actually, I didn’t bring much. Can we take my
stuff in now and put the car in the garage or somewhere out of sight?”
Luke sent her a curious, concerned look but
acceded to her wishes without asking awkward questions. He nodded. “Sure. Give
me your keys.”
“
he said.
“Yeah,
boss?”
“Once we get Leah’s stuff unloaded, would you
put her car in the garage out of the weather?”
“Sure, boss.”
keys, casting a concerned glance her way.
Needing something to do at that precise moment, she
reached inside to grab her purse and popped the trunk. Luke grabbed the two
heavier cases, and she lifted the smaller carry-on, packed with her personal
toiletries and stuff. They carried everything in through the back door leading
to the kitchen, but Leah couldn’t help one last, longing look at the man she’d loved
years ago. He was already behind the wheel of her car and driving away.
Her heart filled with regret for the way she’d tossed his declaration of
teenage love aside to head for the city years before. She straightened her
shoulders and put on a brave front, then followed Luke into the house, and
there at the counter stood Zakia. Her father told her Luke and Zakia had gotten
back together. She hoped it worked out for them this time.
“Leah, you remember Zakia?” he asked as his wife
turned to greet them.
“Yeah, sure, but it’s been a while. When are you
due?” she asked, noticing the prominent baby bump.
“April twenty-first. Welcome home, Leah.”
“Thanks. A new baby come spring. How sweet.”
“I need
to finish up what I was doing in the barn. I’ll be right back,” said Luke as he
went out and closed the door.
“Have a seat and I’ll put coffee on,” said
Zakia.
“None for me, thanks, but I’d love a cup of tea
if it’s not too much trouble.”
“No trouble at all, but I remember you being
quite the coffee addict in your teens.”
“Yeah, I still love coffee,” Leah admitted, “but
I drink mostly decaf these days.”
“I have decaf,” said Zakia.
“Oh, good! I didn’t like to ask.”
“Luke doesn’t always appreciate it, but if I
intend to drink any, that’s what I brew. You’ve given me an excuse to treat
myself to a cup.” She smiled then set about making coffee and arranging a few
homemade snacks on a plate.
“Mmmm, this looks delicious!”
“Have you had lunch? I could make you a
sandwich.”
“No, thanks. I stopped at a drive-thru on the
way here.”
Luke came back in, stomping the snow off his
boots as he removed his jacket. “Zia, where are the boys?”
“They said they were going upstairs to build a
barn out of Lego. Why? Did you need them?”
“No, just wanted to know where they were.” He poured
himself a cup of coffee, leaned against the cupboard, and cast a questioning
glance at his sister. “You mentioned you had a story to tell. Fill us in
whenever you’re ready.”
“Okay.” She wondered where to start. Zakia
passed her a mug of coffee, and she stalled for a few minutes, adding cream and
sugar, stirring thoughtfully. She picked up a date square and took a bite. “Oh!
These are fantastic!”
“Thanks. Help yourself,” said Zakia.
She finished the square, wiped her fingers on a
napkin, and took another sip of coffee. “I’m pregnant!” she blurted out.
“Congratulations!” said Zakia, jumping up to
give her a hug. “When are you due?”
“I just found out a few weeks ago, so probably
sometime in June. I’m not sure.”
Luke bristled, his protective streak emerging.
“Who’s the father?”
“Someone I hope to never see again.”
“Did he desert you?” he asked, an angry scowl
distorting his good looks.
“No, nothing like that, although it would have
been easier if he did. He doesn’t know.”
Luke blew out a frustrated breath. “I think
you’d better start at the beginning.”
She nodded, taking another sip of coffee to wet
her dry throat. “When I left after graduation, I had dreams, big dreams, of
becoming a professional dancer, as you know. I soon found out it wasn’t that
easy.”
“Nothing ever is,” said Zakia. “What happened?”
“I joined a small theatrical group in
actress. I only wanted to dance. Eventually, the troupe performed a musical,
with me cast in the starring role because of my ability to dance and sing. It
was a hit,” she said proudly. “I was so happy.”
“Good for you. Did you go on to do other shows?”
Zakia asked.
“Not for them. At the last show, this man came
to my dressing room and offered me a contract to dance full-time. He was so
charming and handsome. I half fell for him at that first meeting, but I was so
naive. He took me to dinner the following night, and I signed the contract
right there and then. He wanted me to start work that weekend, and I was on
cloud nine, both from the man’s attention and the contract to dance at Le Club Rouge
Sang.”
“What went wrong?” Zakia asked in a soft, low
voice.
“I’m ashamed to admit that I didn’t read the
contract. The place was an exclusive ‘members only’ club…for men. I’d signed a
contract to dance topless.” Tears welled up in her eyes, and she angrily
brushed them away.
“What?” thundered Luke.
“I screwed up, Luke, but I
had
signed the contract, so I saw it through. The tips were great
and even better, or so I thought; the owner took a personal interest in me. He
was gorgeous, tender, caring, well-respected, and rich.”
“Is this the same guy who presented you with the
contract?” asked Luke.
“No, he wasn’t the man I signed with, and when I
told him the story of how I came to be dancing in his club, he fired the guy.”
“Well, that was big of him. Did he release you
from the contract?”
“No, he said he enjoyed watching me dance and
hoped I’d stay on. What else could I do at that point?”
“You could have come home,” Luke stated angrily.
“I loved him, Luke, or thought I did. He made me
feel loved, cherished, special; singling me out when he had so many beautiful
women to choose from. A few weeks later, he moved me to his estate on the
outskirts of
Very posh, upscale. I quickly got used to the lifestyle, being catered to and
pampered like a princess.”
“You had that here,” he said.
“Not the same thing at all, big brother. You
guys loved me, because I was family. He loved me for
me
.”
“I can see the attraction,” said Zakia. “A
country girl alone in the city for the first time. It was probably all quite
fascinating to you.”
“Yes, exactly!”
“You said you thought you loved him. What
happened to change your mind?” she asked.
“A few months after I’d moved in with him, I
woke during the night and got up to close the window. I heard him arguing with
someone. Roddy, my boyfriend, mentioned my name, so I stood there, listening.”
She paused to swallow, her throat suddenly dry again, took a drink of her
lukewarm coffee and looked at her brother to gauge his reaction. “He was
arguing with his best friend…about me. Luke, Roddy stabbed that man, knifed him
in cold blood because he’d ogled me on the stage and reached up to touch me
when he, uh, stuck some money in my thong.”
“Thong?” he choked out, sputtering coffee down
the front of his shirt.
Leah nodded.
“The bastards—both of them! What did you do
then?” he asked, grabbing a cloth to wipe up his mess.
“I went back to bed, hoping he hadn’t seen me at
the window.”
“You witnessed a murder and calmly crawled back
into bed?” Luke ran his hands through his hair in a gesture of agitation. “I
can’t believe you’d do that! Why didn’t you run, call for help, anything?”
“I couldn’t, Luke! At first, I barely believed
what I’d seen with my own eyes, and then he came storming into the bedroom and
dragged me to the window, made me watch.”
“Watch what?” Zakia asked, her voice comforting,
her touch light as it covered her hand on the table, providing the
encouragement, the strength she needed to finish her tale.
“Roddy owns several wolfhounds, attack dogs. I
heard him whistle for them as I moved away from the window. They tore that poor
man’s body apart.”
Zakia gasped. “Oh. My. God!”
“How could you stay with him after that?”
“Believe me, Luke, I wanted to be anywhere else,
but he made it plain that it was all my fault, and that I was an accessory
after the fact. He said if I ever breathed a word of it, I’d suffer the same
fate as Alex.”
“Oh, Leah! You must have been so terrified.”
“Terrified, Zakia? Yeah, that about sums it up.
I was also determined to leave, but he suspected as much and assigned a
bodyguard. George went everywhere with me when I wasn’t with Roddy. He also
changed the code at the gate, and the entire property was surrounded by a twelve-foot
wrought iron fence. Eventually, I resigned myself to staying. Besides, I wasn’t
looking forward to the lecture I’d get from Dad on returning home, so I guess
pride had a say in my staying, too.”
“This happened when?” asked Luke.
“Four years ago.”
“You lived as his hostage all this time?” he
asked, his tone skeptical, yet concerned.
“Pretty much.”
“So, how
did
you get away?” Luke asked.
“One of the girls at the club helped me. It was Delores’s
phone I used whenever I could call home.”
“How did you know you could trust her?”