He nodded. “My dad is a horse trainer. I learned everything from him. He learned the trade from his dad. Granddad was a full-blood Comanche and horses have always been a big part of the tribe’s history. He was like a true horse whisperer.”
“Does your grandfather still do that kind of work?”
“No. He passed on about ten years ago. Complications from diabetes. But Dad still trains for a large ranch near Canyon. That’s a town just east of Deaf Smith County where we all used to live.”
“We. You mean you and your family?”
He glanced out toward the milling crowd, then lifted his glass and drained most of the contents.
“Yeah. Me and my younger brother and our parents. We had a little ranch with enough acreage for Dad to raise a few horses. He sold the property some years back, though. The place never was the same after we lost Mom.”
As he spoke, his features had become drawn, and though his remark had left her curious, Prudence was hesitant to ask him to explain what he meant by “lost.” They were at a joyful party. Hardly the place to bring up a sad memory. Besides, she barely knew the man. His personal life was none of her business.
She was about to change the subject completely when he suddenly spoke.
“She died in a car accident. She and Dad were on their way home one night and the pickup truck he was driving lost control. It killed Mom instantly. She was only thirty-eight at the time. Dad ended up losing a leg just below the knee.”
Prudence was not only shocked by his story; she was also stunned by how much it affected her. Luke must have gone through so much grief. Not only over losing his mother, but also with the trauma of his father losing part of a limb. “How tragic for you—for your whole family,” she murmured. Then she offered on an encouraging note, “But if your father is still training horses, it sounds like he didn’t let the loss of his leg keep him down.”
He smiled and Prudence was relieved to see his happy mood returning.
“Dad is as tough as a boot. You’d never know he wears a prosthetic. I’ve always wanted to be the man he is, but I’m far from there yet.”
Prudence wondered if he was talking about living up to his father’s skill with horses, or simply the man himself.
“What about your brother?” she asked. “Is he in the horse business, too?”
Grinning now, he said, “It’s in the Crawford blood, I guess. Colt works for the same ranch where I worked before I moved here.”
“Oh, I imagine he was sad to see you leave.”
“Not really. He was happy to see me moving up the ladder, so to speak.” He finished the last of his champagne, and with the empty glass pressed between both palms, he glanced at her. “You mentioned you have a sister. Is she anything like you?”
Prudence shot him an impish smile. “Not in the least. She’s very pretty and bubbly and far more adventurous than me. She thinks her older sister is a stuffed shirt.”
“Are you?” he asked.
Was she imagining it, or had his face dipped a tad closer to hers? It must have, she decided. A moment ago, she couldn’t see the pores in his tanned skin or the brown flecks in his amber eyes. But she could see them now. Along with the faint vertical lines in his lips and the dark shadow of whiskers on his chin and jawline.
Suddenly, her heart couldn’t make up its mind as to whether it wanted to stop completely or take off in a wild sprint. Either way, the erratic beats were drumming in her ears, sending out a warning signal to put some space between her and this mesmerizing man.
“Uh—not exactly. I’m just a careful person. It pays to be that way, you know.”
She gulped down the rest of her champagne, then practically jumped to her feet. “I should be getting back to the party. Kat is probably wondering where I’ve gotten off to.”
Rising along with her, he said, “With all the family and friends Katherine has, I doubt you’ll see her the rest of the night.”
He was probably right about Katherine being occupied with family and the multitude of other guests. Still, Prudence could see she’d be asking for trouble if she continued to hang around here in the twilight with Luke Crawford. She didn’t know what it was about him, but he was doing something to her common sense. Like making her forget she had any.
She looked in the direction of the partygoers as she tried to come up with an excuse to shake his company. But nothing reasonable came to mind, and then his hand was suddenly folding around hers and she forgot all about being sensible.
“I think it’s high time you and I go join the party and the music. Surely there’s room enough for two more on the dance floor.”
“You want to dance with me?”
He must have found the disbelief in her voice amusing, or maybe it was the shocked O that had formed on her lips. He gave a slight chuckle and asked, “Why not? You do know how, don’t you?”
Lord, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d taken anything close to a dance step. Not since Mr. Roberts, a science teacher, had tried to waltz her around the gymnasium floor during a faculty Christmas party. And that had been more than three years ago.
“Sort of. I mean, I haven’t done any dancing since college and I’m th—”
“Yes, I know—you’re thirty-nine years old,” he interrupted with a chuckle. “That means it’s high time you got back
