Unbridled by Barbra Campbell

Author:Barbra Campbell [Campbell, Barbra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Romantic Escapes Publishing
Published: 2020-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Luke

I whipped my head toward her, wishing there was some way to undo the phone call, and she withdrew her arm when I reached for it. A heavy weight crushed my chest leaving me as desperate to explain as I was to breathe. “Don’t leave. You were the only call I was expecting, but not that kind. I don’t even know who he was talking about. My brothers like to give me grief.”

Her gaze dropped to my clenched fist. “My sisters do the same. No matter what I do, I’m always Baby Daisy, although I’ve finally gotten them to stop using the nickname in public. Guess that puts me a step ahead of you, Little Luke.”

If there was a way to slide between the deck planks and disappear, I would have done it. Having Little Luke running through her mind was totally embarrassing. “I think they’re afraid I’ll steal their spotlight.”

Daisy shifted her petite body in the oversized Adirondack chair, curling her legs up and facing me. Was she giving me a chance to salvage her trust? Could she understand I adored her? Her fingers curled over the edge of the armrest inches from mine. “I thought I would shed the Baby label when I got my M.D.”

“Ha! Sorry, if riding bareback isn’t enough, an M.D. isn’t either.”

Her hearty laugh gave me confidence, healed my worry.

I continued. “For a while I tried learning jokes so I could be more like my dad, but you can be thankful I realized it was his thing, not mine.”

She laughed again and locked eyes with me from under her lashes. I brushed a hand over hers and she jumped up. “Can we go for a walk?”

How was I supposed to take that? Rejection? Why didn’t she just leave? “There’s a path around the pond. Did you bring a jacket?”

“No. Do you have a throw blanket I could wrap up in?”

I stepped inside to grab a blanket then led her through the trees to the pond behind my house. Could I pick back up where we left off? “Everyone assumes being the baby of the family means we have it easy, but they don’t realize how hard it is. No matter what I do, they think I’m either vying for attention or copying my brothers.”

“Same. As if I don’t do anything just because I love it.”

I let her words hang in the air. Even though it wasn’t said to me, love, was the most beautiful word coming from her. Stopping, I tugged on the blanket she’d draped over her shoulders. Face to face, with the full moon reflecting on the calm surface of the pond beside us, I drank in her beauty. “You really get me.”

Her eyes flicked up to mine then she gathered the opening of the blanket and held it tighter. “Do people kid you about the Dukes of Hazzard, Luke Duke?”

“Sure do, and you must be my cousin Daisy Duke.” If I could take back my words, I would have. I’d gotten so excited about our connection, I pointed out a blood relationship, albeit fictional.

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