Fire and Rain & Outlaw

What in hell am i doing here? Luke looked in the mirror, swiped a last bit of axle grease off his chin and had no fast answers for his silent question. In fact, he had no answer at all as to why he had stayed on at Cash McQueen's apartment knowing that Carla McQueen was coming to dinner. It wasn't unusual for Luke to drive the long miles between his ranch in Four Corners country and the city of Boulder in order to visit his friend Cash. It wasn't unusual for the two of them to take on some kind of repair work on Cash's balky Jeep. It wasn't unusual for the two of them to split a pizza and a six-pack afterward and catch up on mutual news. It was damned unusual that Carla would appear in the same room with Luke MacKenzie. Is that why Cash dodged my question about who Carla is dating?Luke asked his reflection in the mirror.Did shefinally get over me and say yes to some nice city boy? And what business is it of mine if she did? Even as he tried to tell himself that it was only natural that he have a big-brotherly concern for the little sister of his best friend, Luke knew that was only part of the truth. The rest of the truth was a steel spur digging into his self-esteem: three years ago he had wanted Carla so badly that he had sent her running for her life from the Rocking M. And him. With an effort, Luke forced aside the image of Carla's wide blue-green eyes and trembling lips and the soft heatmany of his dreams, waking or sleeping. But that wasn't what he wanted from her. It sure as hell wasn't what he would take from her. What he wanted, all he would accept, was a return to the days when they had shared the kind of companionship Luke hadn't known was possible with a woman. It's been three years. Surely Carla's forgotten the whole thing by now. Surely she and Cash and I can be an almost family again, the way we used to be. God, I've missed the sound of her laughter and the way her smile used to light up the whole house. "Hey, Luke, are you taking root in there?" "I'm still trying to get your Jeep out from under my fingernails," Luke retorted to Cash. "You ought to trade that damn thing for a dog and shoot the dog."frame with little left over. "Give me your shirt," Cash said. "Why?" "The Jeep drooled all down your spine." Luke made a sound of disgust that Cash didn't take seriously. But then, neither did Luke. "The things I do for you," Luke muttered. With quick, deft movements he rinsed his hands, stripped off the black shirt and fired it at Cash's head. Another shirt came flying back at the same speed. Luke pulled it on with a small smile; the shirt fit as well as one of his own. Cash was the only man Luke knew whose clothes he could wear without feeling as though he were in a straitjacket. "Much better," Cash said. "Can't have you looking like something the cat dragged in and didn't eat. What would Carla think?" "She's seen me looking worse." "Not on her twenty-first birthday. Hurry up. I can't decorate a cake worth a damn." "What makes you think I can?" "Desperation." Grinning, Luke tucked in the shirt and followed Cash to the kitchen, feeling very much at home. In many ways Carla and Cash were as close to a real family as Luke had ever come. His mother, like his grandmother and greatgrandmother before her, had hated the Rocking M. Even worse, his mother had feared the land and the wind as though they were alive and hunting her. Finally she had had a nervous breakdown. Her parents had swept in from the East Coast, picked up the pieces of their daughter and removed her from the Rocking M. They had also taken Luke's seven-year-old sister, whom he loved as he hadn't permitted himself to love anything since. Neither mother nor sister had ever been heard from since that day. At thirteen, Luke had been left alone with a silent, harddrinking father and a ranch whoLowell, Elizabeth is the author of 'Fire and Rain & Outlaw ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780373772537 and ISBN 037377253X.