This story was inspired by the song: I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen
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Pulling firmly on the reigns of his mount, Lucas lead his stallion off the dirt road he'd been travelling the half hour and headed up to long drive towards the farm house that loomed ahead. His mouth curved ever so slightly as Mae Coombs stomped down the porch steps, laundry basket fastened to her hip as she sauntered towards the clothesline her Ma had erected when Mae had been naught but two feet tall.
Kicking his heels ever so slightly into his horse's flanks, Lucas' grin grew as Mae in turn picked up her pace. "Hey little girl, is your Daddy home?" he called out to her.
Rolling her eyes, Mae ignored Lucas Maloley and his jest. 'Little girl' her petty coats, he wasn't more than three years older than her, give or take a day.
"Ah, come on Mae, don't be like that, not when I rode all the way here, I got business with your Pa. He home or not?" Lucas pestered, pulling his mount along side her as she walked.
Glancing up at his handsome face that had yet to lose its boyish charm, Mae sighed, a sucker for his dimples and sandy brown hair. "Pa went into town with the boys. Won't be back till tomorrow at the earliest."
"He went and left you all alone?" Lucas sputtered, more than a little put off by the idea of Mr Coombs leaving his daughter unattended.
Shrugging, Mae set down her laundry and tugged a linen shirt from the pile, pinning it to the line, her gaze on Lucas, his large frame towering above her, the wide brim of his cowboy hat blocking the sun from her eyes. "I told him to, Ezra needs a new set of clothes, I've mended them so many times he's crisscrossed in stitches. John has to help him carry our wears, since Adam's gone, and so who's left to tend to the house and the animals if not me?" she pointed out.
Tipping up his hat, Lucas frowned down at the beautiful young woman he'd grown up with from his saddle. "Me. He should have sent for me, Mae. It's not right, you being alone. What if..." he trailed off, not even wanting to voice the awful thought.
"The brigands?" she supplied for him.
Scowling, Lucas nodded, finally dismounting, the reigns in his hands the only thing keeping him from reaching for the young woman. "Ever since they put that damn train in, it ain't safe for women to be left all alone. Ya never know who might come wandering up the lane."
Rolling her eyes, Mae reached for another shirt, "like an uninvited neighbour? I've got a rifle above the hearth that would take good care of you or any other man that came wandering up my drive with nefarious purpose," she pointed out.
Grinning wickedly, Lucas nodded, "me? Nefarious? Come on Mae, I'll have you know I only have legitimate reasons for being here." He assured her.
"Oh? And what might those be Mr Maloley?" she inquired, hanging the last of her laundry before saddling the basket against her hip once more, stepping closer to him. Close enough to smell the slight sweat on his skin and see the mischief reflecting in his hazel eyes.
"Well, Ma sent me over here with a bushel of apples of course, and I had hoped John might lend me a hand plowing two Saturdays from now." He told her, watching as her brows rose in amusement. "I had hoped to speak to Mr Coombs as well, see if I could return the favour and help any since Adam's gone and gotten himself hitched."
"Is that all?" she asked, taking another small step towards him, much too close to maintain any kind of pretense of decorum between them.
"Yup, though, there may have been something else," he agreed, reaching out to take the basket from her.
"Such as?" she asked, strolling beside him back towards the house.
"There was something I wanted to ask Mr Coombs but I've gone done and forgotten," he teased, unsure if Mr Coombs had ever made his suit aware to her.
Reaching the front steps, Mae skipped up two of them before turning to stare Lucas in the eyes. "Mr Maloley?" she crooned, taking the basket back, her slender fingers brushing his strong ones gently.
"Yes, Mae?" he whispered; certain he'd never been this close to her lips before, quite enjoying being eye level with her for the first time.
"Get off my farm," she ordered him so sweetly he barely registered the words, too lost in the soft caramel brown of her eyes and the damp sheen on her pink lips.
Grinning from ear to ear, Lucas shook his head, "no can do, little lady. I think the only gentlemanly thing to do in this here situation is to watch after you till your Pa and brothers return."
Tugging his hat down his wide brow with a playful jerk, blocking his view of her, Mae rolled her eyes yet again before turning to head into the house. "If you're that intent on pestering me, I suppose you can stay. I'll go air John's room out for you," she offered.
Deeply pleased by his luck, Lucas removed his hat, watching her skirts swish as she disappeared inside the house. "I'm gonna make you Mrs Maloley if it's the last thing I do, Mae," he whispered, utterly captivated by the teasing woman.
Mae watched from John's window as Lucas led his stead to the barn, enjoying his movements. Despite living with only men the majority of her life, there was something about Lucas' body that drew her attentions unlike her brothers. John was just as tall as Lucas if not as brawny, but she'd never cared about his height the way she did Lucas', as if the fact he towered over her made him all the more charming.
Then there was his figure, her eldest brother Adam was heavily muscled from days in the field and the barn. Lucas was leaner, not as bulky, but just as strong. Yet Adam's strength was a mere convivence to her when faced with a heavy task. Whereas Lucas' musculature, that made her warm all over.
She sighed, remembering the day she'd chased after all three boys down to the creek. She'd lost her breath, frozen in her tracks as Lucas tossed his shirt to the side and dove headfirst into the water.
