By the time they reached her house, twilight had turned into night. He jumped out of his car and walked around to hers. She’d just turned off the engine. Luckey wanted to pull her out of the car into his arms and take her home with him, but of course he couldn’t do that. In fact, he didn’t dare touch her yet, fearing he wouldn’t be able to stop.
Fighting his desire, he opened the door so she could climb out. It was impossible not to notice her shapely legs in the tight, knee-length skirt she wore.
“Thank you for dinner, Luckey.”
Their bodies were close enough that he could feel the heat between them. “I enjoyed our evening. Please tell your mother I’m in her debt and yours for the binder you’ve given me. I’ll be poring over it all night. I’ll get it back to you soon.”
“No, no. It’s yours to keep.”
He still didn’t want to let her go. “What’s your schedule like tomorrow?”
“I’ll be home reading over my graduate students’ theses.”
“Sounds like heavy work, but you like it, right?”
“I do.”
Get away from her, Davis.
“I want to see you again. Friday some of my friends are getting together for a family birthday party. You met Cy. He’ll be there with his wife and daughter. Would you like to go with me?”
After a pause Ally said, “If you’re asking me to a Ranger party, how could I possibly refuse?”
“Good. I’ll call you sometime tomorrow and let you know the details. We’ll go riding and probably roast hot dogs around a campfire.”
“I haven’t done that in forever. It’s the reason I wanted to come home. I can’t wait.”
“We’ll take our horses in my trailer.”
“What’s your horse’s name?”
“Persey, after the Perseus constellation. I guess I don’t need to ask the name of your horse.”
“I’m embarrassed to tell you.”
Luckey grinned. “Silver’s a great name. Bring one of your masks, too.”
“Don’t you dare tell your friends about that.”
“Why? It’s a charming story told by a loving parent. What did you do with your pony when you left for China?”
“We stabled Silver with some neighbours.”
“My friend Vic will be there with his wife and son. Jeremy’s the one having the birthday. He has a pony and a miniature horse.”
“Oh...a toy horse? I’d love to see it.”
“I’ll give Vic a call and see if he’ll bring both.”
“That’ll be so fun. Thank you, Luckey. Now I’d better not keep you. Good night.” She hurried up the steps to her front porch and disappeared in the house.
He got back in his car, but sat there for a minute in a daze. For the first time in years he was going to go to a party with a most incredible woman.
Chapter Four
Early Friday evening, Ally watched for Luckey from the front porch of the ranch house,
wearing her black cowboy hat and cowboy boots. She’d dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved black Western shirt with silver fringe. Ally was so excited to be going with him she couldn’t stand still.