Hope Flames

Chapter 4

“I DO NOT understand women.”

Luke sat on the front porch of the family ranch house sharing a beer with his older brother, Logan.

Logan tipped up the brim of his cowboy hat and stared at him. “And you’re coming to me of all people with that statement? You know I don’t know shit about women. That’s why I live out here in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. All alone. Just the way I like it.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know. You’re the king of solitude. You’re way better at this than I could have ever been.”

“You’re still part owner of the ranch.”

“I told you I’d sell you my portion anytime you wanted it.” Logan looked out over the land. “It belongs to the family, and all that’s left of our ‘family’ is you, me, and Reid since Mom up and left.”

Logan always said that part about their mother so matter-of-factly, as if her remarrying less than a year after Dad died and leaving town—leaving them—was no big deal. It was as if he’d easily wiped her existence out of his life. Luke hadn’t been able to do that so effortlessly.

“You ever think about her?”

Logan frowned and looked at him. “Who?”

“Mom.”

“Nope. And I’m fine with you keeping your ownership of the ranch. Maybe someday one of your kids will want their share.”

Luke snorted. “I’m never getting married again.”

Logan looked over at him. “Is this about Becca? What’s she done now?”

“No, it’s not about Becca. Last I heard she was living in New York. Or maybe it was Miami. Hell if I can keep track. Some big city back east that’s bound to make her happier than life with me ever could.”

Logan tipped the bottle of beer to his lips and took a long swallow. “Wallowing in self-pity again, little brother?”

“Fuck you.”

Logan laughed, dragged his boots off the porch railing, and stood. “You need another beer.”

Logan went inside and Luke propped his feet up on the railing, looking out over the property. Boomer was lying under the shade of a giant blackjack oak, taking a nap next to Whip, one of Logan’s dogs. He spanned his gaze out over the land. They owned as far as he could see. Acre upon acre of grass, trees, and green hills where cattle grazed and wild horses ran free.

Though he couldn’t fathom spending the rest of his life working the ranch, he loved coming here. It gave him a sense of peace and perspective he couldn’t get in town. It was quiet, the only sounds the howling wind and the occasional wails from the cattle out in the pasture. This was home to him, where he’d been raised, where he used to fight with his brothers out in the dirt, where he learned to ride a horse, rope a steer, and shoot a gun.

This was the place he’d learned all about being a man—from his father.

Being out here made him miss his dad. He couldn’t stay after his father died, after his mother had decided she’d had enough of living on a ranch.

Just like Becca, his mother had been raised a city girl, and once his mom had gotten remarried to Clyde, that had been it for her. She’d been outta there faster than a sudden twister moving through.

Though had he been any better? Luke couldn’t take over the legacy of being a rancher. Their youngest brother, Reid, had gone off to college back east and had stayed there, had settled and started his career. And while Luke loved the L&M Ranch, running it, living it, wasn’t in his blood like it was in Logan’s.

Fortunately, Logan loved the ranch, loved the cattle business, and couldn’t dream of doing anything else with his life. Luke had wanted something different, and Logan had encouraged him to get out and live the life he’d dreamed of.

Logan pushed open the screen door, two bottles of beer in hand. He took a seat on one of the old wood chairs, propped his dusty booted feet up on the railing, and handed Luke a beer.

“Have you heard from Reid lately?” Logan asked.

Luke cracked a smile, thinking about their youngest brother. “Yeah. He called the other day while he was hopping a flight from Boston to New York. Said he was too busy to even get laid lately, and that he planned to call you later in the week to catch up when he got back to Boston.”

Logan screwed open the top of his beer and took a long pull. “Who knew being an architect would keep the kid running so much?”

“He’s excellent at what he does. Apparently his work is in demand.”

“Well, good for him.”

“You miss him?”

Logan let out a snort. “Hell, no. He’s a pain in the ass.”

“Yeah, I miss him, too.”

Logan cracked a rare smile and didn’t say a word.

Luke took a sip of beer, scanning the land. “How’s business?”

“We’re doing okay.”

That was always Logan’s standard answer. As part owner, Luke had the right to look over the books and question the operation of the ranch, but hell, he trusted his brother to know what he was doing in managing the place. And if they were in trouble, Logan would tell him.

“So what woman has you by the balls?”

Luke laughed. “No woman will ever have me by the balls again. I might have been a dumb sonofabitch once, but at least I learn from my mistakes.”

“Apparently not. Who is she?”

Luke grimaced and took a sip of beer. “New vet in town.”

“Emma Burnett.”

Luke turned to him. “How do you know about her?”

“Hey, we’re not exactly cut off from the world out here. I do get into town. And the hands do, too. Heard she bought out Bruce Weston’s practice. So, you dating this woman?”

“I don’t date any woman. Not anymore.”

“I’ve heard you’re man-whoring your way through the single female population of Hope.”

He glared at Logan. “You hear a lot.”

Logan shrugged. “Yeah, I do.”

“The women aren’t complaining. I’m keeping them happy.”

“And you’re so modest, too.” Logan tipped the beer to his lips and took another swallow. “So what is it about the doc that’s got your balls pulled up so tight?”

He glanced over at Boomer, still asleep.

“I had Boomer in there a few days ago. He’d hurt his leg during a pursuit, so I brought him in for her to recheck him. We started talking, and she mentioned she hadn’t been out with anyone in a few years. So I asked her out, told her it would be just a friends date.”

Logan snorted.

“What?”

“You don’t ask a woman out and say up front that you just want to be her friend. What kind of a moron are you?”

“Hey. She seemed skittish. I didn’t want to scare her off.”

“But you don’t date women. You screw their brains out and leave them the next day with a satisfied smile on their faces, right?”

“It’s not like that. And that’s not what Emma wants. I just figured she needed to get her feet wet again, so I was trying to help her out.”

“I take it she didn’t say yes.”

He picked at the label on the beer bottle. “She practically threw me out of the clinic.”

“Imagine that.”

Luke pushed off the railing and stood. “I was trying to do a good deed.”

“Is she ugly?”

He turned to face Logan. “Hell, no. She’s gorgeous. And sexy.”

Logan shook his head. “And you only want to be her friend? I worry about you, Luke. Becca messed you up bad.”

“This has nothing to do with Becca. Emma’s a nice woman. I don’t want to start something with her, so I thought I’d just be friends with her.”

“But what you really want is to get in her pants.”

“No, I don’t.”

Logan’s lips curved. He picked up his beer. “Liar. I think you need to start over with the pretty doctor, first with an apology for acting like a dumbass. Then maybe it’s time you figure out what the hell you want from women.”

“I know what I want from the women I see. And so do they.”

“Yeah, well, eventually you’re going to run out of women to have meaningless sex with. Hope isn’t that big a town. Then what are you going to do?”

“What do you do? You live out here like a goddamned monk.”

Logan laughed. “I do just fine. And we aren’t talking about me today, little brother. This is your dog-and-pony show.”

This was not helping him at all. He’d come to Logan for some clarity, and now he was more confused than ever.

But Logan was right about one thing. He’d screwed things up with Emma, and he needed to figure out how to make it right.

Maybe he wasn’t in the market for a happily-ever-after, but he wasn’t an asshole, either. He needed to fix things.

“I KNOW I’VE been out of touch, Em, and I’m so sorry. I’ve been really busy. I moved again.”

Emma rolled her eyes as she cradled the phone between her ear and shoulder and listened to her sister, Molly, recount her latest adventure. “Didn’t you move three months ago?”

“Yes. But that didn’t work out. It turns out Memphis wasn’t really where I wanted to be.”

So not surprising. “Where are you now, Molly?”

“Little Rock. It’s so charming here. I really like it. This could end up being the place I call home. I already have a job. It’s kismet.”

Emma had heard this same song and dance from her sister several times a year. There was no “home” for Molly, because Molly was a runner. She always had been and always would be. Her sister couldn’t settle on one city, on one job, for longer than a few months before she’d get restless and take off again. She’d long ago stopped trying to figure out why.

“I hope it works out for you this time, Mol.”

“Me, too. I really love the little apartment I got. It’s so cute. I’ll text you pictures as soon as I get everything in place.”

“You do that.” Emma sighed and put her feet up on her open file drawer, taking a breather. It was Saturday night, the office was closed, and she was catching up on paperwork, enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Daisy was running around the clinic chasing after Annie.

“Tell me about the clinic, Em. How’s it going?”

Emma smiled. “It’s amazing. I love it so much. Many of Dr. Weston’s old clients are returning.”

“So business is good?”

“So far. I’d like to get more clients in. Mom wants me to do some advertising.”

“It’s not a bad idea. More business is a good thing.”

“That’s true, but you know how she gets.”

“Do I ever. But she does have really good ideas. You might want to at least hear her out.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to put up with her.”

Molly laughed. “So true. Maybe you could hire a marketing genius.”

“No can do. My budget is stretched tight as it is. I can’t hire anyone right now. Unless you want to come home and be my marketing genius.”

Molly laughed. “Yeah, sorry, sis. I love you, but there’s no coming home for me. You know how it is. Home gives me hives.”

“I had to try.”

“You always do.”

Emma heard a crash, then several loud barks.

She rolled her eyes. “Uh, oh, Mol. Sounds like the dogs have gotten into something they shouldn’t have. Gotta run.”

“Okay. I’ll call you in a few days. Love you.”

“Love you, too. Bye.”

She clicked off the phone and slid it into her pocket, then opened the door to her office. “Okay, what are you guys into?”

She froze at the sound of breaking glass. More barking, then Daisy came running toward her.

Heat and panic filled her. Daisy barked frantically. Something was wrong.

“Shh.” She grabbed Daisy by the collar, but she had no idea where the pup was. Then she heard sounds coming from one of the back rooms.

She listened carefully at the door, trying to pinpoint the location of the sound. It was quiet for a few seconds, then she heard the crunch of glass.

The pharmacy room.

Oh, God. Someone had broken in. She lifted her phone from her pocket and dialed the local police, putting the phone to her ear as she backed into her office, Daisy in tow. She quietly shut the door behind her.

“Someone’s breaking into my office,” she whispered, giving the dispatcher her name and address.

“Are they still there?”

“As far as I know, yes.”

“Stay on the line with me, ma’am. We’ll have someone on the scene shortly.”

Her hands were shaking as she took a seat, hoping Annie was okay out there with whoever was in her clinic. The pup was still so small, so sweet and innocent.

Please don’t hurt her.

Sweat ran down her back as she opened her desk drawers, wincing at the slightest sound the left drawer made. Nothing but paper clips and a stapler, hardly a handy weapon unless she threw it at someone.

The right drawer had a pair of scissors. She grabbed them and stuck them in her pocket. She was not going to be helpless.

Never again.

She walked to the door and stood at the other side. If someone opened it, she could at least surprise them instead of sitting at her desk waiting for them to rush in and attack her.

“Still there, ma’am?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice quavering.

“Our car will be there in thirty seconds.”

She hoped she’d still be standing there in thirty seconds. Her heart pounded and her throat had gone sand dry. She couldn’t muster up enough saliva to swallow, and she felt the sudden need to cough. Daisy kept growling, and she had to keep a tight hold on her to keep her from barking.

Emma shook violently, and it was all she could do to stand upright against the wall.

It had been much longer than thirty seconds. But how much longer? She was so hot.

She wanted to go find Annie. Poor Annie. She was tiny and playful, not at all a threat. Whoever was in there wouldn’t hurt a puppy, would they?

She heard footsteps, then a loud bark.

“Emma? Emma are you in here?”

Luke.

“Is the officer there now, ma’am?”

“Yes. I’m hanging up now.” She clicked off the phone and opened the door.

“I’m here.”

Daisy took off like her tail was on fire. So did Emma, flying through the door. Luke was there, his gun in hand, looking fierce and alert, and oh, God, she’d never been happier to see anyone in her life. Boomer was circling the room, tail up, his neck fur standing on end. She threw herself against Luke, and when he wrapped his arm around her and tugged her close, she felt safe.

“It’s okay, Emma. Whoever was in here is gone now.” Even better, he didn’t let go. She was still shaking. He holstered his weapon and put both arms around her, sliding his hands over her hair and her back. “It’s all right. He’s gone.”

“Someone was in here,” she said against his neck.

“I know. Your drug cabinet was broken into.”

She finally pulled back, though every part of her was still shaking. “What?”

“Boomer and I did a search of the whole place before I came to find you. Looks like they were after drugs.”

Her fear was quickly replaced by shock. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. Come on, I’ll show you, but be careful not to touch anything. Crime scene unit will want to dust for prints.”

“Okay.”

Just then Annie raced toward her. Tears pricked her eyes. She picked up the puppy. “Oh, Annie, I’m so glad you’re okay.” She inspected the puppy for any signs of injury, found none, and snuggled her close to her chest.

As they walked through the clinic, Emma put both Annie and Daisy in one of the nearby kennels so neither of them would cut their paws on the glass, or mess up the crime scene.

She heard sirens outside but ignored them, sticking close to Luke as he led her to the room where they kept all the pharmaceuticals. Boomer followed.

The room was a train wreck. One of the cabinets had been busted open, some of the drugs were clearly missing. Everything was out of order. They’d have to do a full inventory.

“Damn.”

“It was a dash-and-run, obviously,” Luke said. “I don’t know what kind of drugs you keep on hand, but they didn’t take everything.”

“I was on the phone with my sister when I heard the crash and barking. I thought Daisy and Annie had been playing rough and had toppled something over.”

“Whoever broke in likely didn’t expect to find a dog in here. They made a grab for whatever they could and ran out. Otherwise they’d have cleaned you out.”

Two more officers came in. Luke nodded and introduced them to her. She gave them her best effort at a smile, while Luke filled them in on what happened and told them they’d need to sweep for fingerprints and other evidence. They left the room, and so did Luke and Emma.

“Come on. You look like you need to sit down.”

“I have to clean this up. And replace the door and the lock. And call my insurance company.” She looked up at Luke. “How did he get in?”

“Picked the lock on the back door. The crash you heard was after he smashed through the locked door on the drug cabinet.”

She inhaled and let out a shaky sigh.

“Do you have an alarm?”

“Yes. I deactivated it when I came in to work tonight.”

“I’m surprised they broke in, knowing someone was here. Normally they wouldn’t hit a business if someone was inside.”

“I parked across the street because of the road-repaving project they’re doing this weekend. The parking lot is blocked.”

“That’s right. I didn’t even notice your car wasn’t out front. So he wouldn’t have known someone was in here.”

Now that the adrenaline rush was over, her head had started to pound.

“You want something to drink?”

She nodded. “Water. My throat is dry.” She looked in her small refrigerator in her office, but it was empty. She made a mental note to restock it, if she could even remember. Her thoughts were scattered.

“I’ll go get you something. Boomer, stay.”

Boomer sat with her. She took a minute to call her insurance company to report the break-in. She told them the police were there right now. They said they’d send someone out in the morning to look things over and file a report.

Luke came back a few minutes later with a bottle of water. He unscrewed the cap and handed it to her. “Raided your main fridge.”

“Thanks.” She grabbed a couple of acetaminophens from the drawer in her desk and popped those with the water.

“I’ve got the guys taking photos, and the crime-scene van just arrived to dust for prints. Chances are it was someone looking for a quick drug score.”

“We keep painkillers here and anesthesia drugs.”

He nodded. “I know. We see that a lot. Some of the medical and dental clinics have reported break-ins over the past couple of months.”

“Great. Just great.”

He took a notepad and pen out of his pocket. “You want to tell me everything that happened again? Anything you saw or heard.”

Emma dragged her fingers through her hair and recounted everything that had happened from the time she came to work to the time she saw Luke.

“Thanks, Emma. That’s helpful.”

“I don’t see how anything I just told you could help. I didn’t see him. I could have gone out there when I heard the crash. Maybe I would have seen him and could have given you a description.”

He frowned. “That would have been stupid. What would you have done? Yelled at him? You don’t know what kind of person that was. High or desperate, and he could have had a weapon. Criminals are unpredictable. You did the right thing staying in here and calling it in. Now we’ll do our job and try to catch him.”

“I just hate being a victim.” Again.

“You’re not a victim. You did everything right.” He came over and crouched down in front of her, his warm eyes sincere. “You took care of your own life. Some people are stupid. You aren’t. You were very brave tonight.”

He was trying to make her feel better. And he was taking care of her. In her past, someone would have called her stupid, would have blamed her for the break-in and the loss of inventory. Illogical, but that’s the way it would have been. Luke didn’t think she was stupid.

“Thank you.”

“Let me go check on the crew, see how things are going.”

“Okay.”

She should call her parents. And Rachel and Leanne.

Not right now. She’d do that tomorrow, after she passed out and slept off this nightmare. If she called her mother right now, she’d rush right over and want to baby or pamper her, and she wouldn’t be able to handle that smothering kind of love. She felt inept enough as it was.

“We’re clear here. And I fixed your back door,” Luke said when he came back into her office.

Her brows lifted. “You did?”

“Yeah. One of the guys ran to the all-night hardware store and bought a replacement lock.” He handed her the keys.

“Here are your keys.”

“Thank you for doing that. I need to clean up in here.”

He swept his thumb over her cheekbone. “You look about ready to fall on your face.”

“Okay, you’re right about that.”

“Besides, your insurance company will want to come in and assess the damage before you clean up.”

“You’re right about that, too. I called them and they’re coming out in the morning.”

“Then you can clean up after they finish taking photos. Right now you need to go home and get some sleep.”

She squinted at him. “Did my mother call you?”

He laughed. “Definitely not. Come on, I’ll walk you out.”

Everyone had cleared out, so it was just her and Luke. She grabbed her dogs, set the alarm, herded Daisy out the door, and grabbed Annie’s carrier, making sure the door was set to lock when she closed it. Part of her wanted to stay there all night and guard her dream.

“It’s going to be all right, Emma. He won’t be back.”

“The logical part of me knows this. But everything I have is tied up in this business.”

“We’ll make sure to drive by several times tonight.”

She turned to him. “I’d appreciate that a lot. Thank you.”

“Put your menagerie in the backseat of the cruiser and I’ll drive you across the street to your car.”

“Okay.”

She climbed in the front. “I’ve never been in a police car before.”

“Good to know,” he said with a wry grin.

She laughed, and it felt good to let out a little of the tension she’d held inside. He pulled across the street, bypassing the cones that had been set there by the road crews. When he stopped next to her car, she turned to him.

“Thank you, Luke. I feel like I’ve said it a hundred times already tonight. But thank you for getting here so fast.”

He smiled at her, that quirky, off-kilter grin that made her stomach do flip-flops. “It’s my job.”

“You’re very good at it.”

“I’ll follow you home.”

“Oh, no, don’t do that. I’m fine, really.”

“When I got to the clinic, you were terrified. So don’t tell me you’re fine.”

“I might have been a little freaked out to think someone had broken in. But I’m better now.”

“Okay. Have a good rest of the night, Emma.”

She got out and transferred the dogs to her car, started toward the driver’s door, then realized Luke was still there. She walked over to the police car. He rolled down the window and she leaned over.

“You’re following me home anyway, aren’t you?”

“Yup.”

She smiled and pushed off his car. For some reason, she didn’t mind that as much as she thought she would.