Page 17 of Heart of Stone

“There’s somethin’ in the stable I need you to take a look at. Can you come with me?” he asked, trying to sound casual, but his heart was aching over the newfound strain between them. He missed the comfortable ease they’d once shared.

“Is somethin’ wrong?” Luke’s expression turned concerned. “Ferdy didn’t kick a hole in the stall again, did he?”

“No, nothin’ like that. Just somethin’ I want your opinion on. If you don’t mind.”

“No, sir, I don’t mind.” Luke got his coat from the peg and shrugged into it, and then he grabbed his hat. “Ready when you are.”

Stone bundled up as well and headed out the door, his heart thudding so hard in his chest that he wondered if Luke could hear it. He led the way across to the stable in silence, glad that the wind was still for once, so they wouldn’t be half frozen once they got there. He opened the door for Luke and followed him inside, glad to see that Shorty had left a lantern on as Stone had asked. He’d told Shorty he would be coming out to check on Daisy, the pregnant mare, before he went to bed, but in truth, he had a different purpose in mind.

He beckoned Luke to the side of Mist’s stall. A blanket was draped over the top rail, covering something underneath. He looked at Luke, feeling almost shy. “It’s after midnight, so it’s Christmas. I had somethin’ I wanted to give you.”

Luke’s eyes widened slightly, and he shook his head. “You didn’t have to. I didn’t expect nothin’.”

“I wanted to.” He looked at Luke, silently begging him to understand. “I couldn’t run this place without you. You’ve taught me everything I know, and I want to show you how much y—that means to me.” He pulled the blanket off, revealing a brand new saddle, its rich leather gleaming in the low light. It was a working saddle, but there was fancy embossing on it with the initials “LR” worked into it.

Luke stared at the saddle, his jaw dropping in shock. “I can’t take that! It’s too much. It’s….” He pressed his lips together and shook his head.

“Please.” Stone rested his hand on the saddle, stroking the leather. “I want you to have it. If it helps, think of it from bein’ from me and Priss. We both owe you more than we could repay.”

Luke seemed to waver at that, and then he nodded slowly. He reached out and touched the fine leather, the barest brush of his fingertips, and Stone thought he saw a flash of sadness in Luke’s eyes. “For Priss’ sake and the ranch. I didn’t do none of it expectin’ repayment, though.”

“I know that.” Stone was relieved Luke had accepted the saddle; he just hoped the next part would go as smoothly. “But you’ve given a good chunk of your life to this ranch, and that means you’re entitled to somethin’ for it. I mean more’n just pay. Sure, the steady hands work hard, too, but they don’t have the connection to the place that you do. You didn’t have to stay on after Priss died, and you didn’t have to help me, but you did. A man has to have somethin’ in his life that’s his and his alone, more’n just the clothes on his back. I don’t know how many times I’d have given up if it hadn’t been for Raider keepin’ me goin’. That’s why I’m givin’ you Mist free and clear. She’s already yours in your heart and hers. I just want to make it official.”

It was probably the longest speech he’d ever made in his life, but Stone meant every word of it, and he watched Luke anxiously to see how he’d react.

Luke opened Mist’s stall and went inside, gently stroking the mare’s neck as he gazed at her in silence for a long minute or two. “I reckon you’re right,” he said at last. “A man does need somethin’ of his own to care about. Somethin’ that needs him too. It’s right generous of you, sir. I’m mighty grateful.”

Luke’s words sent a shaft of pain through Stone. He wished Luke could feel that way abouthim, that things weren’t such a mess between them, and that the world was a different place where they didn’t care what two men or two women wanted to do together. It had been so hard to tell Luke that they couldn’t be together, and now Stone found himself wishing he could take that risk and damn the consequences.

“You don’t have to be grateful.” Stone kept his hands clenched at his sides so he didn’t reach out and touch Luke the way he wanted to. “You deserve a hell of a lot more. I just—” He clamped his mouth shut, horrified that he’d nearly blurted out that he wished he could give himself to Luke.

“You just what?” Luke turned to face Stone at last, his expression somber. “You feel so badly about what happened that you’ve got to make it up to me somehow? Well, you don’t. I’m a grown man, and I can take my lumps like a man.” A stubborn frown creased his brow, which was an unusual sight for someone as easy-going as Luke. “I ain’t plannin’ to leave neither, if that’s what you’re worried about. I thought about it at first,” he admitted, “but this ranch is my responsibility too, and I can’t just up and leave no more than you can unless you decide to make me go.”

Stone wanted to blurt out that Luke had it wrong and he wasn’t trying to make up for anything, but he bit back the words. “I’d never make you go. I can count on one hand the number of folks I could count on and have a couple of fingers left over, but I know I can count on you. Maybe I don’t know how to say things sometimes, but I thought I could show you.”

Luke released a long, slow sigh, and the stubborn frown faded into wistfulness. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but then he shut it again with a snap, seeming to think better of it, and he gazed steadily at Stone for a long time before saying anything.

“You can still count on me,” he said. “I’ll do what’s best for the ranch. not just out of respect for Priss’ memory but for you, too. You got somethin’ to prove to the world, and I’ll help you prove it.”

There was a sudden knot in his throat, and Stone lowered his gaze. “Thank you.” His voice was hoarse, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He’d known Luke meant too much to him, but now he realized he’d gone and fallen in love with Luke, which was probably the most foolish thing he’d ever done in his life. Especially since he couldn’t let Luke find out how he felt.

Moving into the stall, Stone ran his hand along Mist’s flank, wishing he could touch Luke instead. “I got the papers all signed sayin’ she’s yours. Not that she didn’t already know that. Didn’t you,asaakira?” Mist turned to look at him, and he smiled. “Acikskaawiraah, Kicpii´ru’.”Take care of him, Mist. Since I can’t.

Luke shot him a puzzled look. “What’d you say?”

“I told her to take care of you and called her by her name in Pawnee.Kicpii´ru’means light rain or mist.”

“That makes it sound real pretty,” Luke said, his expression shifting from puzzled to curious. “Who taught you?”

Normally Stone didn’t talk about his family, but he wanted to tell Luke. “My ma. She was half Pawnee. People called her Tara, but her name wasAwataaru–brightness.”

Luke simply nodded, not seeming either surprised or repulsed by the revelation. “I figured you had some Indian blood. It don’t matter to me,” he added quickly. “I ain’t the type to hate anyone for the color of their skin. Far as I’m concerned, ain’t no man my enemy unless he’s tryin’ to kill me for no good reason. Then I’m goin’ to feel a little less kindly toward him.”

“That’s sensible.” Stone was pleased that Luke didn’t care about his origin, but he really hadn’t expected Luke to be put off, as easygoing and accepting as Luke was. But he was even more pleased that they were having a normal conversation, one in which Luke wasn’t calling him “sir” every five minutes. In some ways, he was coming to truly hate that word. “Well, I should get back to the house, I guess.” He smiled hesitantly. “Merry Christmas, Luke.”

“Thanks.” Luke offered a half-smile in return, but it was a far cry from the open, easy smiles that had been noticeably missing for the past couple of weeks. “Oh, I got you somethin’ too. It’s back at the house. It’s nothin’ much. Not like this.” He glanced over at Mist’s stall.

“You did?” Stone felt his eyebrows climbing to his hairline, but the thought that Luke had thought enough of him to get him a present made him unreasonably happy. “Thank you. That was mighty kind of you.”

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