Faith Hope and Love (A Homespun Romance) (7 page)

A frown creased her forehead.  Ra
e.  The way he'd shortened her name so casually had tied her up in knots.  She couldn't explain the way she felt.  Keyed up, excited, alive. 

She doubted if she had asserted anything in the study.  There was a certain aura around Luke that overpowered her senses, invited her to take off her suit of armor and forget the battles she had fought.  Rachel shook her head as a red light began blinking in her brain.  This visit was just a punctuation mark in her life, a temporary pause before she went back to her work.  She would have to be more careful than ever not to make a fool of herself in the days that followed.

It wasn't till much later Rachel remembered she hadn't paid Luke.  She would write out a blank check and ask Marie to place it on his table in the study.  Going back herself would be hazardous to her health.

Woken by the sunbeams flinging themselves on her Rachel recollected she hadn't drawn the curtains last night.  She had wanted to look out at the stars as she lay in bed.  The two large windows opposite her bed framed the sky beautifully.

Turning on her back, Rachel linked her fingers under her head and allowed her sleepy thoughts to wander.

It was forty eight hours since the trip to Santa Barbara with Luke.  Yesterday Hannah had insisted she take it easy for one more day and stay in bed.  Surprisingly a strange feeling of weakness had made her give in to the advice and rest all morning.  In the afternoon, horrified by how long she had slept, Rachel had showered and got
ten as far as the family room before everyone had started fussing.  She'd been put into a soft armchair, her legs wrapped in a blanket, the T.V. guide and remote control, a pile of magazines, and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice placed by her.  Theresa sat and talked to her so she wouldn't get bored.

"There's nothing wrong with me," she had protested to Hannah when the latter had mentioned another early night would do her good.

"Nothing that a little rest and good food won't cure," the housekeeper had agreed blandly.

This morning,
Rachel had to agree all that rest had done her good.  She felt more like her old self today.  Snuggling under her comforter she closed her eyes and let her thoughts roam.

Angela had shown her around the house yesterday when she had come over after school.  Luke's home seemed to have been designed by a master architect.  It was obvious no expense had been spared in the construction of the sprawling ranch house.  Yet it wasn't just a showplace.  It was a home.  Warm, lived in, insulated with love and laughter.  Generations of Summers women had seen to that.

Rachel could see Chris here clearly, talking, laughing, loving.  Personalities she found were best described by matching them to colors.  When she thought of her cousin Rachel thought of yellow, the pale creamy yellow of a rose that spread joy just by being there.  Hannah was green.  Earth mother and friend.  Gordie was baby blue.  Innocent and lovable.  Luke.  Rachel's breath tangled in her throat.  What color was Luke?  Unbidden, purple came to mind.  The rich hue of grace and royalty.  A man who tempered victory with compassion. 

Rachel blinked.  She should have checked with Dr. Kenton about the lingering effects of jet lag.  It was getting worse instead of better.

Rachel wondered what it would be like to live in one place all one's life, feel secure and loved, have a family around, watch one's babies grow into men and women and repeat the cycle of life.  She could see Luke in the role of patriarch clearly.  He would marry soon, have a large family.  She could imagine him with greying hair, a few more lines around his eyes, looking as virile as he did now.  Time wouldn't dare change the power and strength that was essentially Luke.

The tiny creak as Hannah shut her door impinged on Rachel's thoughts.  Getting up she went into the bathroom for a quick shower.  Towel drying her hair she brushed it and caught it back with an elastic band.  It always dried that way.  She slipped into a pair of jeans and deliberated over which sweater to wear.  Her hand hovered over the red remembering the look in Luke's eyes when he'd first seen her in it, but then she picked up the other.  Emerald green and thick, it would keep her warm.  Luke had chosen her clothes well.  Winter mornings were cold here though the temperature sometimes went up into the seventies in the afternoons. 

"You should be taking it easy," Hannah reproved as Rachel slipped into the kitchen.

"I can't possibly stay in bed any longer.  Could I help you in here?"  Rachel's voice trailed away.  Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.  From what she had seen the kitchen was very much Hannah's domain and she might just be in the way.

"Have a cup of tea first," Hannah's smile didn't hold any resentment, "and then you can help me set the table."

Rachel sat at the table in the eating nook sipping her tea, her back toasted by the sunshine streaming in through the picture window that framed the eating nook on one side.  The large country kitchen with
its blue curtains and light oak cabinets, the eating nook at one side, was becoming her favorite room in the house. 

Sipping her tea Rachel tried to analyze the strange feeling that she had always been here.  That she belonged.  She shook her head and frowned.  Maybe she wasn't as well as she thought she was.

"Something wrong?'  Hannah was looking anxiously at her.

"No," said Rachel quickly.  "I was just thinking about how much trouble I've put you all to."

"You're family," Hannah said simply.  "If Chris were here would you have felt uncomfortable about staying here?"

"No," said Rachel hesitantly, "that would have been different."

"This is still Chris' home," said Hannah with irrefutable logic.  "She would have wanted you to stay with us, not in some hostel in L. A.  Don't worry about it so, child."

Luke came in for Gordie's morning bottle, his nephew over his shoulder.  "Good morning.  Gordie and I both seemed to have overslept."

The rumpled hair and the slight stubble on Luke's chin made him look strangely vulnerable.  He was wearing a maroon sweat suit.  Snug in the crook of one arm, Gordie yawned and then sucked on his fist not fully awake yet.

Rachel looked away quickly.  There was something about the picture the Summers males made together that tugged at her heartstrings, made her want to be part of it.  Part of them.  Her voice didn't sound quite right as she returned the greeting, "Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?"  Luke was using his x-ray vision again on her.  "Having to get used to a strange bed didn't keep you up did it?"

"No...I slept very well."

Rachel rose and rinsed her cup, loading it into the dishwasher.  She was taking out the table mats when she sensed him leave with Gordie.  He seemed to take some of her tension with him.  Rachel let out a long breath and looked up to see Hannah watching her.

"The house is so beautiful."  It was the only thing she could think of to say.  The oddly speculative look on Hannah's face made her nervous.

"The original farmhouse was much smaller."  The housekeeper turned away to the counter and started getting breakfast.  "When Grandpa Robert gave them his blessing Miriam and Gordon knew things would be very hard at first."

"Go on," prompted Rachel watching Hannah pour flour into a bowl, measure it with a glance and add some buttermilk.  The urge to know more about the history of the Summers family was inexplicable but very strong.

"They mortgaged everything to buy a two year old colt, Jupiter's Gold, the year Rob was born.  That was when I came to work for them.  Miriam spent every waking hour with Jupiter's Gold, training him, loving him.  Buying him was a gamble.    His sire had good lines but hadn't achieved anything spectacular in the racing world, his mother had never raced.  Jupiter wasn't the best, just the best they could afford but hard work and love paid off.  He won the Triple Crown that year to everyone's amazement.  With his winnings Miriam and Gordon bought three more yearlings to train and race.  Miriam was great with horses but Gordon's business brain had a great deal to do with that success as well.  They had Luke eighteen months after Rob and hired a girl to help me in the house so I could devote all my time to the boys.  Luke was three when they decided to build here instead of renovating the old farmhouse.

Biscuits in the oven, Hannah poured oat bran into boiling water and stirred it briskly as she continued, "The Diamond Bar quickly developed a reputation for training winners.  Jupiter's Gold was our first stud stallion.  The boys were three and five when their parents decided to stop training and concentrate totally on breeding thoroughbreds.  The children were growing so quickly and the racing circuit was taking too much out of their family life.  Miriam found she couldn't have any more children and that had a great deal to do with the decision as well.  They wanted to enjoy the two they had."

Hannah placed the bowl of steaming oat bran on the table, fresh fruit, biscuits and butter, stood back and looked at everything as Luke returned with his beaming nephew.  Rachel's heart twisted at the sight of the freshly bathed and powdered baby.  The fine hair brushed to one side gave him a pin neat look that wouldn't last five minutes.  With his cheeks glowing and baby teeth showing in an affable grin Chris' son looked the picture of health and contentment.

Placing Gordie on his exercise mat, Luke sat down at the table and helped himself to the hot cereal.

"Do you ride, Rachel?'

"I only rode on the farm with Chris, years ago."  Placid horses that understood nervous riders. 

"It's like riding a bike...one doesn't forget how."  Luke reached for the milk.  "We have some nice quiet horses we keep just for riding.  Pick one out at the stables today and call the farm office whenever you feel like riding and Juan will dispatch one of the grooms to the house.  There's just one rule though."

"Rule?"  Rachel had no intention of riding but the word piqued her interest.  These last few days had taught her one thing.  Luke didn't lay down the law.  He stated it and everyone else followed his example of keeping it.  For him to do so now there had to be a special reason.

"You don't ride alone, ever."

She didn't miss the quick intent look Hannah gave Luke before turning away. 

Rachel ate her cereal thoughtfully.  Was Luke afraid she would get lost and cause more trouble than she already had?  It didn't seem worthwhile; reminding them she wouldn't be here long enough to do that.  That she didn't want to hone her riding skills because where she was going she wouldn't need them. 

Rachel bit into a biscuit surprised by the anger that shook her.  It was a while since she had felt this deeply about anything.  Convincing Luke she wasn't a permanent fixture on the Diamond Bar assumed paramount importance all of a sudden, but she couldn't argue in front of Hannah.  She would talk to him later. 

Each day he found yet another thing to bind her to this place with.  True they were silken chains but nonetheless alarming.  Gordie, unlimited hospitality, a horse of her own.  If he kept this up she would never be able to leave. 

Rachel sighed.  What did it take to get through to the man?  He acted as if she had no other life.  As if she were home where she belonged.

"Are you going to show Rachel around the farm this morning?"  Hannah asked.

"Might as well."  Reaching for an apple Luke bit into it.  "Then she'll feel more at home."

More at home?  Rachel wanted to say something brilliant and explicit, but the words tangled with the emotion in her throat and stuck there. 

"If you can be ready I'd like to leave in half an hour."  There was nothing in his expression to indicate showing her around was anything more than common courtesy.  Maybe her imagination still hadn't got over the jet lag.  Rachel murmured concurrence, and rose to help Hannah clear the table.

It took ten minutes in the pickup following a road that wrapped the mountainside to get to the farm.  Surprised when he pulled up two hundred yards from the gate she turned to him.

"Look."

She followed the gesture of his head and blinked.  Slightly below them was a huge valley.  Lush and green it nestled at the foothills like a jewel in a crown.  Mountains rose like giant sentinels all around it.  Rachel stared at the scene in silence.  It was like going through a magic door into a different world.  The beehive of activity reminded her of a county fair.  There were people and horses everywhere.  Large wide buildings dominated the northeastern portion.  In the middle of all the big structures sat a small red building that looked like a house.  The rest of the land was taken up by huge paddocks with horses in them, either singly or in groups.  Scents and sounds combined to print her first look at the farm indelibly on her mind.  This was bigger than anything she had ever imagined.

"Welcome to the Diamond Bar, Rae."  She sensed Luke's watchful air and wasn't sure what kind of a reaction was expected of her. 

"It's hard to believe all this is just around the corner from the house," she said. 

The sight in front of her rendered her unable to say more.  From Chris' letter she had derived a picture of a small farm, with a few horses.  Even from this distance she could see that the Diamond Bar was a large scale business operation. 

"Mum and Dad planned it like this," Luke put the truck in gear and they moved forward.  "They wanted their private life to be just that:  private.  They loved their work but they didn't want it to dominate their living space.  This valley is perfect for the horses."