Vegas Vows, Texas Nights. Charlene Sands

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      Normally, Luke spent most of his time in the office in the main house at Rising Springs Ranch. He took a hands-on approach to running things on the property and had a good relationship with Joe Buckley, their ranch foreman. They worked well together and Luke knew Joe wouldn’t let him down.

      Today he was at the Boone Springs corporate office, sitting in a room with his name plaque on the desk, staring out the window.

      He had Katie on the brain and he’d come into town today, just because he wanted to be close to her. Her bakery was only two blocks away, nestled in between a clothing boutique and a fabric store. Because of the location, the bakery got pretty good foot traffic. Even if it didn’t, Katie would be successful, because her pastries were the best in the county and because Luke had made sure no Boone holdings would ever compete with her.

      A little fact he’d kept secret.

      While he was serving the country, he’d made his wishes known and his brothers had all been onboard. He’d put the Rodgers family through enough and they’d done what they could to make sure Shelly and her family wouldn’t unintentionally suffer any hardships of their doing.

      But for him, it had mostly been about Katie. Wanting to see her succeed, wanting her to have a good life. God, when he’d come back home, he’d wished she had married, or at the very least, been in a serious relationship. Knowing she was still single had made his return torturous, yet he’d managed to keep his distance when he saw her around town or when they volunteered at the horse rescue.

      And then Vegas happened.

      Frustrated, he forced himself to go over ranching reports he’d pulled up on his computer. He had to get some work done, had to feel productive today, instead of daydreaming about seeing Katie again.

      A little after two in the afternoon, his cell phone rang. “Hey, Wes. How’s it going?” Luke usually didn’t hear from the manager of the horse rescue, so he knew this had to be important.

      “Hey, Luke. Sorry for the call, but it’s Snow. I’m sorry to say it might be her time. The ole girl isn’t breathing real well. I’ve had Dr. Hernandez out. He gave her some painkillers, but that’s about all he can do for her. Thought you’d like to know.”

      Luke’s stomach churned. Snowball was a mustang who’d been severely abused and she’d come to the rescue at the same time he’d returned home. He and Katie both had sort of taken the mare under their wing. They had a soft spot for the old girl. She’d been recovering, but the abuse had taken its toll on her and unfortunately with some of the horses, there wasn’t much else to do but ease their pain.

      “Thanks, Wes. Sorry to hear that. I’ll, uh, I’ll come by. I want to see her.”

      “Thought you would.”

      “I’ll let Katie know, too.”

      “I just called Katie. She didn’t answer her phone. I left her a message.”

      “Okay, well, I’ll try to get word to her somehow. I’ll see you soon, Wes.”

      Luke hung up and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. Giving himself a moment to gather his thoughts, he shook his head. As much as he wanted to see Katie again, he didn’t want to give her bad news.

      Five minutes later, he was in his car, driving by the bakery. There was a Katie’s Kupcakes Is Klosed sign on the window. Still, he parked the car in a diagonal spot right in front of the bakery and got out. He tried the shop’s door handle. No luck. Then he cupped his hands to ward off the sun’s glare and peered inside the window. Not a soul was around.

      A car slowed on the street and a young girl called out, “Can I help you?”

      He recognized her as one of Katie’s employees, though СКАЧАТЬ