Hooked by Cat Johnson

Author:Cat Johnson
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9781609287061
Publisher: Samhain
Published: 2011-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

“Mom. You needed me?”

In the crowded kitchen his mother and her sweet smile, somehow as bright as ever in spite of the day they’d both been through, greeted Luke. “Your friends are about to leave and I thought you’d want to say goodbye.”

Luke couldn’t help but smile himself at the sight of three of the younger riders happily shoving cookies in their mouths. They looked more like boys than men, though at their ages, Skeeter not even legal to drink yet, the exact terminology was debatable.

While Luke’s mother got pulled off to talk to one of the female guests, Skeeter swallowed a big mouthful of whatever he’d been chewing. “Hey, Luke. Your mom packed us a bag for the road. Chocolate chip cookies.”

Chase held up a bag with a grin. “And brownies too.”

“Well, we sure do have plenty so I’m glad you like ’em.” Luke glanced at the counter, still pretty packed since a few people had arrived bearing more food.

“We’re about to take off. We figure with the three of us sharing the driving, we can drive straight through and check into the room tomorrow. It’ll save us the cost of another night in the hotel,” Skeeter told him happily.

“We’re hitting the road now, but we didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.” Garret held up a paper coffee cup with a grin. “I’ve got first shift behind the wheel so I’m filling up on caffeine.”

Only the young guys would actually look excited about driving all night long. Luke remembered those early days. When cramming four guys to a room was the norm. When spending the night in the truck rather than spend the money on a hotel didn’t seem odd at all. It all seemed a lifetime ago. Hell, last weekend seemed a lifetime ago. It might as well be considering all that had changed.

“Thanks for coming, guys. I appreciate it.” Luke had been saying that a lot today, but it was no less true. The support of his fellow riders truly touched him.

“We wanted to be here. So we’ll see you soon, right?” Chase’s youthful exuberance reminded Luke of how old he felt at the moment.

“Yup. Drive safe, guys.”

“Will do.” Garret topped off his coffee cup and then the group was moving for the door, making the kitchen seem a lot less full now that three energy-filled bull riders were gone from it.

“Luke. Can we discuss something important for a minute?” Mr. Collins touched his arm.

He looked serious. Having a heavy conversation was the absolute last thing Luke felt like doing. Luke had actually started to feel a little lighter after his time with Annie and then with the guys. Now Mr. Collins was going to bring him down again. “I should help Mom.”

Luke glanced hopefully at his mother for a way out but she was clear on the other side of the room rearranging platters with two of her friends.

“She’s fine. There are more than enough women here. They won’t know what to do with themselves if she doesn’t put them to work helping out.

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