Lucas by Kelli Ann Morgan

turned around and looked at
Lucas.
    He set his plate down
on the table and reached out to her. “Yes, sir.” He didn’t need any more
encouragement. Being a gentleman didn’t require any kind of commitment.
    “May I?” he asked.
    Lucy looked around at
the table, color flooding her cheeks, but she allowed him to remove the
covering.
    “Thank you,” she said
as he handed it back to her. “I’ve had Jake pull two of your stuffed chairs out
onto the porch where you will have a wonderful view of the outdoor events, Liam,”
she told his grandfather.
    Lucas appreciated the
warm pink glow that now highlighted her face.
    “…and then we’ll move
them into the barn where you can be close enough to watch the indoor events and
feel like you’re a part of it all.
    “I would feel like I
was a part of it if I was participating,” he grumbled. “You know I’m not one
for sitting on my hind end watchin’ like a...”
    “Like a what?” Her
hands were on her hips and one eyebrow cocked.
    Lucas noticed that all
the men seated at the table had suddenly become very interested in the food in
front of them, their heads bent low and staring into their dishes.
    “Like a woman?” She
opened her mouth as if to say more, but closed it again and smiled.
    “Ah,” Granddad waved
his hand flippantly in the air, “you know what I mean.”
    Lucy smiled and kissed
the top of his head. “Good luck, gentlemen. The festivities will begin in half
an hour,” she said before retreating to the other room.
    Granddad looked up at
Lucas, raised a brow, and then turned to everyone at the table. “Which one of
you boys is going to marry that girl?” he asked.
    Lucas laughed.
    Every hand at that
table went into the air and another twinge of jealousy curdled in Lucas’s stomach
at the thought of anyone else gaining her favor. His granddad turned and looked
at him again. Waiting. Apparently, he had not been joking. After a few moments
of awkward silence, Lucas raised his hand.
    “It’s settled.” Liam
tapped the table with a satisfied grunt. “The unmarried man with the highest
points in the tournament will take her hand.”
    Marriage? Lucas swallowed. What
have I done? Court her? Yes. Get to know her? Absolutely. But, marry her?
With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and accepted what his heart had known
all along. He couldn’t let her marry somebody else when he was already in love
with her.
    Sorry, Noah. It looks
like I may be cutting in line.

Chapter Fifteen

     
    Lucy stood pressed up
against the outside wall of the kitchen, listening to Liam offer her up as a
prize to all of his grandsons over the age of sixteen. She was mortified. After
forging her way west with a promise that she would be given a home and
companion, Gilroy Hearn had left her standing alone in the middle of the road in
Thistleberry, Montana. It was an experience she didn’t care to repeat. Liam
Deardon saved her that day, and she owed him everything. However, she didn’t
want to marry just any Deardon man, she wanted to marry Lucas. But he’d made it
perfectly clear that he had no desire to marry anyone.
    Liam’s question still
lingered in the air and she couldn’t help but to peek around the wall. Her
breath caught in her chest and her heart leapt when she saw six Deardon men
with their hands in the air. Then, the seventh. Lucas raised his hand. She
pulled back against the wall, her hand against her chest, willing her heart to
calm.
    He raised his hand? Why
did he raise his hand?
    Each of the Deardon men
was handsome in his own right and all had wealth enough to provide for her and
any children that might come along—her cheeks heated at that thought—but until
yesterday, she hadn’t considered any of them as a potential spouse. They were
all very young and felt like siblings more than suitors.
    She darted a glance
around the corner and caught another glimpse of Lucas, still leaning against
the wall, staring down at the floor, and a smile worked its way