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“Maybe you
should listen to him.”

Lauren didn’t
want to hear that. She wanted her mother to tell her that she
should follow her heart and find out where this thing with Tucker
might lead her. “Have you ever wanted someone enough to take a
risk, even though the odds weren’t in your favor?”

“Only once.”
Nikki smiled as she set her hand on Lauren’s knee. “With your
daddy. He had a wild streak a mile wide when we met. He was older
than I was, and he’d been on the professional bull-riding circuit a
long time.” She chuckled. “Hell, he had buckle bunnies chasing him
cross country.”

It wasn’t hard
to imagine. Lauren often saw much younger women flirting with her
father, but he always sent them on their way with a wink and smile.
“How did you decide he was the one you wanted to be with?”

“I went on
tour, and I was miserable without him. When I came back home, I
knew he was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and
whatever it took to convince him of that, I was willing.”

“I can’t
imagine you having to coax a man to fall in love with you,” Lauren
said with a wry smile. Nikki was talented, beautiful, and outgoing.
She still received thousands of letters from male admirers every
month. “Daddy probably wanted you from the first time he saw
you.”

Nikki laughed
as she leaned against the sofa and stared up at the ceiling, lacing
her hands over her stomach. “There was definitely chemistry. But
you know that’s not enough. You have to have the same goals and
values. There has to be mutual respect and genuine affection. At
the end of the day, he has to be the first person you want to call
when you need to celebrate or commiserate.”

It was too soon
to know whether her feelings for Tucker could evolve into the kind
of love her mother described, but Lauren knew enough to know she
wanted to know more about him. “You know I don’t put my heart out
there without thinking it through, Mama.”

“I know.” Nikki
reached for Lauren’s hand. “That’s what scares me. It sounds like
you’ve already decided you want to be with him.”

“Why does that
scare you?”

“J.T. is a good
judge of character, honey. If he tells me he doesn’t like someone,
there’s usually a good reason.”

“He’s not even
giving Tucker a chance.” Her father could be as stubborn as a mule,
and when he made up his mind about someone, he rarely changed it.
“If this is the man I want to be with, I will, no matter what Daddy
says.”

“Like hell you
will!”

Lauren closed
her eyes when the front door’s slamming rattled the paintings. The
last thing she wanted was to go toe-to-toe with her father, but he
needed to understand she wasn’t backing down where Tucker was
concerned.

Nikki turned to
face her husband. “J.T., please don’t-”

“Nikki, I’d
like a word with our daughter.”

Nikki looked as
though she wanted to object, but when Lauren squeezed her hand, she
stood. “Fine, I’ll be in the study if anyone needs me.”

J.T. walked
into the family room, and Nikki reached for his hand. She reached
up to kiss him before whispering, “Please, go easy on her.”

Lauren waited
for her mother to leave the room before she said, “I don’t want to
talk about Tucker. I already know how you feel-”

“You’re gonna
listen whether you like it or not.” He started pacing before
tossing his cowboy hat on a nearby chair. “This guy is no good for
you. He’s dangerous.”

Tucker had
described himself that way, and Lauren couldn’t help but worry
those words may hold an inkling of truth. “You don’t know him like
I do.”

J.T. sneered.
“You’ve known him a few days. I’ve known him for years. I’ve seen
him out of control more times than I can count.”

She’d seen a
glimpse of that man when he lost it with Rob, but she knew that
didn’t compare to the episodes her father had witnessed. “He’s
changed.” Lauren wanted to say that with complete certainty, but
even Tucker seemed to feel every day was a struggle to control his
temper.

“I don’t give a
goddamn what he tells you. You’re not gettin’ mixed up with that
lowlife.”

Lauren moved to
the edge of her seat, barely able to suppress her irritation. She
rarely argued with her father, but when she did, it was all-out
war. Both of them were stubborn and refused to back down when they
were convinced they were right. “I’m a grown woman. You don’t make
my decisions for me.”

J.T. turned to
face her, his hands on his hips, his face a mask of displeasure.
“You’re willing to risk your relationship with me for a guy you
barely know?”

The question
felt like a slap in the face. “What are you saying? I have to
choose? If I decide to pursue a relationship with Tucker, that will
change things between us?” She and her father had always been
close, and the thought of jeopardizing their relationship left a
hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach. He had always been her
rock.

He sat down on
the leather ottoman. Taking her hands, he looked her in the eye.
“Honey, I love you. I just want you to be happy.”

“I know.” She
had no doubt J.T. was trying to protect her, but he had no right to
dictate how she ran her life, and she had no intention of letting
him trample her. “But this isn’t your decision to make. It’s mine.
Whatever I decide, you have to live with it.”

He released her
hands, bracing them on either side of his thighs instead. “I don’t
have to support your decision to get involved with that-”

“Watch it,
Daddy,” Lauren said quietly. The tick in J.T.’s jaw told Lauren he
was trying hard to contain his frustration. “I like him. That’s
what matters.”

He glared at
her a long time before he said, “I’ve always supported your
decisions, but I’ll be damned if I support this one.”

Lauren was
quivering inside, but she wouldn’t allow it to show. “What does
that mean?”

“It means when
this guy hurts you, and I know he will, don’t come crying to
me.”

His words
pierced her heart, but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of
knowing how much he hurt her. “Don’t worry, you’re the last person
I’d come to.”

Tucker was just
settling in to watch TV when his doorbell rang. He wondered if
Amanda was stopping by to pick up something one of the kids left
behind, but a glimpse through the window revealed Lauren. He felt
his heartbeat accelerate almost instantly. He’d thought about her
and their conversation ever since she left last night.

He opened the
door, but his smile slipped as soon as he saw her tear-streaked
face. Pulling her into his arms, he asked, “What the hell happened,
baby?” Fear seeped into his veins. If anyone had hurt her…

“I’m sorry to
stop by like this…” She sniffled, wrapping her arms around his
waist as she tucked her head under his chin. “I just really needed
to see you. Are your kids still here?”

“No, I took
them home a while ago.” Tucker slammed the door and tried to
breathe as his mind raced. Whatever made her cry, his only goal was
to obliterate it. “Tell me what happened, sweetheart.” He stroked
her hair gently, waiting patiently for her to find her voice.

“I got into it
with my dad.”

His whole body
tensed. He didn’t have to ask what they’d argued about. He already
knew. “What did J.T. say about me?”

Lauren burrowed
deeper into his arms. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t care what he
says.”

Tucker hated
causing a rift between Lauren and her father, but every time he
tried to push her away, she kept coming back, making him want her
even more. “You should care. He loves you. He just wants to protect
you.”

“I don’t need
protection from you.”

His heart
expanded with those simple words. No one had ever trusted him as
completely as Lauren seemed to. He always felt as though he was on
guard. People expected him to screw up, and he eventually gave them
what they’d been waiting for when he lost control and flew into a
rage.

He just held
her, and she seemed to gain strength when she eventually raised her
face and offered him a watery smile. “I didn’t mean to burden you
with my problems.”

“I am your
problem,” he said with a sigh. “If not for me, you wouldn’t be
getting into it with your parents and-” She silenced him with a
kiss, making him smile when she nipped and licked his lower lip.
“If that’s your way of shutting me up, I like it.”

“Do you mind if
I come in for a bit? I don’t want to talk about my parents… I just
want to… be with you for a while.”

She was baiting
him with her sweet words and reeling him in with the promise of the
happiness he could find in her arms. Tucker kept telling himself
she would be better off without him, but maybe he could be better
because of her. “If you think I’m gonna let you drive when you’re
this upset, you’re crazy.” He steered her into the family room with
an arm around her shoulders. “In fact, I’m mad as hell you drove
all the way out here in this state.”

She sniffled,
reaching for his hand dangling over her shoulder. Linking their
hands, she said, “It’s not that far.”

It was too far
when he considered what could have happened if her vision had
blurred with the tears he’d caused. “If J.T. wants you to keep your
distance from me, maybe you should think about it. You don’t have
to be at the house when I’m there.” Though he wanted her to be.

Lauren released
his hand and put some distance between them before crossing her
arms. “I’m a grown woman. My father can’t tell me what to do or who
to see.”

Tucker knew
that was true, but as a parent, he was sure he would never outgrow
the need to look out for his kids. “You need to understand where
your dad is coming from, sweetheart.”

“How can you
defend him when he’s trying to keep us apart?” A tear slid down her
cheek, and she brushed it away with the back of her hand. “Is that
what you want, for me to just leave you alone?”

If he said yes,
he had no doubt she would. The one word that would send her away
was on the tip of his tongue, on the verge of falling from his
lips. When he thought about what was best for her, he was tempted
to say it, but he couldn’t. He was a selfish excuse for a human
being, but he wanted to know if their attraction could evolve into
something more.

“No, baby,” he
said, pulling her back into the circle of his arms. “That’s not
what I want.”

“Are you sure?”
She looked up at him with wide blue eyes that did him in every
time.

“Positive.” He
tugged her by the hand into the living room, coaxing her down on
the sofa beside him. “You want to tell me what he said?”

He put his arm
around her while she laid her head on his shoulder and rested her
hand on his thigh. “He said you’re dangerous.”

Tucker couldn’t
deny that claim, but he would die before he hurt Lauren or let
anyone else hurt her. “Go on.”

“I don’t want
to talk-”

“I said go on.”
He needed to know what J.T. said if he intended to defend himself
and the relationship he hoped to build with the man’s daughter.

“He said you
would hurt me.”

“Never.” That
he could promise her. Tucker couldn’t trust himself not to hurt men
who crossed him, but when it came to his kids or the select few
women he’d cared about over the years, he was forgiving to the
point of being indulgent.

“Are you sure
about that?” she asked, easing out of his arms so she could face
him.

“Yes.” It was
the easiest promise he’d ever had to make. If anyone was going to
get hurt emotionally, he was the one at risk. Lauren could have any
man she wanted, and he had little doubt she would let him go when
she tired of her blue-collar dalliance.

“Can I ask you
a question?” She bit her lip. “Where do you see yourself in five
years?”

He knew where
that was going. The truth may set him free, but he hoped it
wouldn’t. He didn’t want to be free of her. But he wouldn’t lie to
her. “I like my life exactly the way it is. I’m doing work I enjoy.
I get to spend time with my kids and my buddies. I like my house…”
He smiled at her frown. “I’m a simple guy, Lauren. What you see is
what you get. I don’t have big dreams.” If she knew the way he’d
grown up, she’d understand he was living the dream already.

“What about a
relationship?”

“What about
it?”

She looked down
at her hands, primping her cuticles instead of looking him in the
eye. “Do you ever think about getting married or having more
kids?”

“No,” he said
gently, covering her hand with his to prevent her from fidgeting.
“I don’t, sweetheart.”

“Oh, okay.”

Tucker didn’t
expect defining the perimeters of their relationship to be so hard.
It never had been before. “I’m not looking for forever here,
Lauren.” His heart felt heavy when he saw the disappointment in her
eyes. “It’s really not worth risking your relationship with your
daddy for a guy who can’t give you a family.”

She pulled her
hands from beneath his and inched back. “You don’t know that I want
a family.”

“I can tell how
important your family is to you. I saw how great you were with my
kids. It’s hard for me to believe you don’t want a guy who can
promise to love you forever.” Just saying those words hurt. Tucker
knew how easy it would be for her to find that. Women like Lauren
came along once in a man’s lifetime, if he was lucky. If he was
stupid, he let her go. If he was smart, he put a ring on her
finger. But Tucker knew too well what happened when that ring
locked into place. The nightmare began.

“I do want
that,” she said softly.

“Then you
should go out there and find it, baby, ‘cause it sure as hell isn’t
here with me.” He knew he sounded callous, but he couldn’t give her
false hope.