Glad he had taken it upon himself to help her, even when she had preferred he leave her to handle everything on her own, Lulu drew a breath. It would be so easy to lean on him again. Too easy, maybe, given how acrimoniously they had once parted. “So what now?” she asked quietly.
Sam sobered, the corners of his lips slanting down. “I’ve already notified the sheriff’s department with all the information I was able to compile, and they in turn have put out an APB and will be checking with truck stops and weighing stations for any vehicles fitting the description.”
Feeling her first concrete ray of hope, Lulu asked, “You really think we might find them?”
He nodded. “Trucks like that can’t stick to country roads without drawing a lot of attention. On the highway, they’ll be a lot easier to find. Hopefully, we’ll know something soon.”
He shut the lid on his laptop and stood.
Feeling surprisingly reluctant to see him go, Lulu rose, too. “Sam...” She touched his arm, delaying him. He turned to gaze down at her and her heart rate kicked up another notch.
“I really... I don’t know how to thank you,” she continued sincerely. “A few hours ago, I had very little hope I’d ever see my beehives again. Now, well.” She struggled to put her gratitude into words. As she gazed up at him, she pushed through the wealth of conflicting emotions suddenly racing through her and tried again. “I never would have expected you to...help.”
Something dark and turbulent flashed in his eyes. “Well, you should have,” he said, as if fighting his own inner demons.
The next thing Lulu knew, she was all the way in his arms. His head was lowering, his lips capturing hers. His kiss was everything she remembered, everything she had ever dreamed of receiving, everything the wildly impulsive and romantic part of her still wanted.
From him...
Because the truth was, no one had ever affected her like Sam did. No one had ever made her want, wish, need... And as his lips ravished hers, she moaned at the sweet, enervating heat. The touch of his tongue against hers sent her even further over the edge. Wreathing her arms about his neck, she shifted closer. Nestling the softness of her breasts against the solid, unyielding warmth of his broad chest. His hand swept lower, bringing her even nearer. And, just like that, the walls she’d erected around her began to crumble and her heart expanded, tenfold.
One kiss melded into another. And then another...and another. Until he had her surrendering to the firm, insistent pressure of his mouth as never before. She clung to him, soaking up everything about him. His strength, his scent. His warmth and tenderness. Years of pent-up emotion poured out of her as she rose on tiptoe and pressed her body even closer against the hardness of his.
And still he kissed her. Slowly and thoroughly. Softly and sweetly. With building need. Until a low, helpless moan escaped her throat. And she recalled everything that had once brought them together...and had ultimately torn them apart...
* * *
Sam hadn’t meant to kiss her. Hadn’t thought he would even come close. But when Lulu had looked up at him with such sweet surprise in her expression, well, it triggered something in him. Something primitive and hot and wild.
It had made him want to claim her again.
As his woman.
As his...
He cut off the thought before it could fully form. Knowing there was no way either of them could go back to that tumultuous period of time, even if the hot, intense connection that had always been between them was definitely still there. And she knew it, too, as he felt her begin to tense the way she always did when she began to have second thoughts.
With a sigh, he drew back. Sure of what he was going to see.
She gazed up at him, eyes awash with the kind of turbulent emotion that had always signaled trouble for them. Lower lip trembling, she flattened her hands over his chest and pushed him away. “We can’t do this again.”
And once again, the need to possess her got the better of his common sense.
“Why not?” he demanded gruffly.
“Because we already proved it will never work between us,” she whispered, the shimmering hurt back in her pretty eyes, “and I really don’t want to go there again.”
* * *
To Lulu’s relief, after a moment’s consideration, Sam seemed to concede it wouldn’t be wise to complicate their situation any further.
And when he greeted her at the door of his sprawling ranch house the following afternoon, his manner was appropriately circumspect.
Which left her free to forget about the heady aftermath of their passionate embrace and concentrate on the changes made to the Hidden Creek cattle ranch since she had last been there.
The thousand-acre spread was as tidy and filled with good-looking cattle as ever, the barns, stables, bunkhouse and other buildings meticulously well kept. He had updated the main house with dark gray paint on the brick, white trim and black shutters. She admired the beautifully landscaped front lawn and the circular drive directing guests to the covered porch and inviting front door. A quartet of dormer windows adorned the steeply pitched roof.
Most arresting of all, though, was the ruggedly handsome rancher who ushered her inside. The corners of his sensual lips lifted in an appraising smile. He came close enough she could smell the soap and sun and man scent of his skin. “A little early, aren’t you?”
Her heart panged in her chest. “I wanted to make sure I was here when they arrived, but if you’d like me to wait in my SUV...” Aware she was fast becoming a bundle of nerves, she gestured at the Lexus in the driveway.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” He ushered her inside.
Aware the atmosphere between them was quickly becoming highly charged and way too intimate, Lulu turned her attention elsewhere. There’d been a lot of changes since she’d been here last, she noted as she followed him. The ecru walls and dark wide-plank wood floors were the same, but the fancy upholstered pieces and heavy custom draperies favored by his late mother had been exchanged for large leather couches, mahogany furniture and modern plantation shutters. A lot of the knickknacks and elegant paintings were gone, replaced by a handsomely redone white brick fireplace and mantel, a complete wall of built-in bookshelves and a state-of-the-art entertainment center.
His gaze dropped to the hamper in her hand “Planning a picnic?” he drawled.
Lulu’s hands curled around the wicker handle. “I’m open to whatever the kids need, although I don’t really know what to expect when they do arrive.” Which was one of the reasons she was so uncharacteristically on edge.
Evidently that was something they had in common. Sam sighed. “Me, either.” He led the way down the hall to the back of the ranch house, where changes also abounded. The kitchen’s flowered wallpaper and frilly curtains were gone, replaced by stainless steel appliances and concrete countertops and sleek white walls washed in sunlight. The breakfast room table and eight captain chairs were the same, although all had been refinished with a glowing golden-oak stain. The family room had become a work space, with file cabinets, a U-shaped computer desk, scanner/copier phone and printer.
He squinted at her. “Meet your approval?”
With effort, she met his probing gaze. She set the hamper on the island—also new—in the center of the large square kitchen. “It’s very nice. You’ve outdone yourself,” she said.
He shrugged, all affable male again. “Can’t take all the credit. My sister Lainey is an interior designer now, so she helped. Tara, the computer expert, set up all my business systems for me. Liza, the chef, taught me how to cook. Betsy, the innkeeper, showed me how to properly stock a pantry and freezer.”
Like the McCabes, the Kirklands always had each other’s backs. “Your