by Taylor Hart
Luke had been holding his breath, and all he wanted to do was hunt down the guy and give him his own brand of pain. The kind of pain men give other men when they’ve hurt their family.
Nick laughed, still looking pale, and pointed to Luke’s face. “Damon had that same look on his face when he came into the ER before I had the bullet taken out.”
Luke didn’t feel camaraderie or comfort with this statement. He felt guilt he hadn’t been there. He purposefully hadn’t checked his phone during the meeting, not wanting to be interrupted. His eyes shifted to Damon’s and he could see the angry glint reflected back to him in Damon’s eyes. Another silent exchange passed between him and Damon. Damon nodded and clenched his hand into a fist. They would find whoever did this and he would pay. Man, he would pay in so many ways.
Shaking his head and clearing his throat, Luke put his lawyer face back on, the one he used anytime he didn’t have an answer for people he needed an answer to. “So where is the guy being held?” If he was in jail, Luke would sue the worthless piece of crap on behalf of his brother, the police force, the whole town of Park City—the guy would never work again, and the guy definitely would serve more jail time than the standard charge. First of all, you don’t shoot cops; but more importantly, as far as Luke was concerned, you don’t hurt someone he cared about.
Nick shook his head. “Listen, don’t look that way. Don’t.”
“What?” Luke asked innocently.
“That big brother way that both of you are looking right now. Like you’re going to run someone through.”
Damon shook his head and turned to Luke, a snarl on his lips. “He’s in jail, but he’s lawyered up.” Damon spat the word out like the insult it was meant to be. “Sam is down there, waiting to hear what the plea will be.”
This comforted Luke. Damon was engaged to Samantha Worthington, an attorney who worked for Luke. She was sharp and had killer instincts in the courtroom. It made him feel better that Sam was already getting a read on the landscape of this whole thing. He nodded. “Good.”
The sound of Nick’s bed leaning back had both big brothers turning back to Nick. “Guys, I’m tired. Can we talk more tomorrow?”
Luke cleared his throat. “I’ll just stay tonight.”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Or I could stay,” Damon said.
Luke gave him an irked expression. “I’m staying.”
Nick lifted a hand weakly. “Guys, please don’t fight, or I’ll have to put you both down like I did Damon last year.” A faint smile appeared on Nick’s face.
That did make Luke smile. Nick had rubbed in winning the boxing match between the firemen and the policemen all year.
“I let you win,” Damon growled.
“Hmm, hmm.” Nick closed his eyes.
Damon stood and Luke followed suit, not wanting to be done yet but knowing he was. “Nick, I can push the wedding back.”
Nick opened his eyes, frowning. “Sam would kill you.”
Luke nodded. “I’ll help them reschedule it all so you can be there.”
Nick looked ticked. “Oh, I’ll be there. Even if I have to sit on some dumb pillow in a wheelchair, I’ll be there.” His eyes closed. “Now get out of here so I can sleep.”
Damon sighed and looked at the door, then back to Luke.
Luke took the hint and moved to the door. “Fine, I’ll go down to the station and check on things with Sam.”
Luke noticed that Nick was already drowsing off. He adjusted more to his side.
Damon walked to the door and held it, waiting for Luke. Luke went past him and Damon shut the door quietly, then turned on him, anger in his eyes. “Do you always have to escalate a situation by being a jerk?”
“Right, well, if I’m head jerk I must have taken your place.”
Damon walked down the hallway and stopped at the elevator. He pulled out his phone, checking the texts. “Sam’s already at home. She says there’s nothing else we can do tonight.”
Luke tensed but then relaxed, trusting Sam. “Fine.”
They stepped up to the elevator, and Luke found that having Damon beside him gave him a bit of comfort in the solidarity of having his brother to face this with, even though he resented him a bit.
Damon pushed the button and turned back, then scowled, seeing some expression Luke had on his face. He sighed and leaned back on his heels. “He’ll be okay.”
Luke blinked, hating that the onslaught of something like this always went to anger, then emotion. He would not be the blubbering idiot. He shrugged and looked away.
The elevator arrived and they both stepped inside.
Without warning, Damon’s hand rested on his shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
Luke wanted to argue, but felt the effects of a long day upon him. As was normal for him, if he let emotion seep out of him, it exhausted him. “I’m fine.” He wanted to simultaneously pull away from his brother and relish that his brother was here. Here. Had been for over a year.
The elevator doors opened and they stepped out next to the gift shop.
Damon stopped, taking on an air of bossy older brother. “I know you’ve been brokering your big deal all day, but I needed you here.”
“Don’t start with me.” Luke knew how his brothers felt about the deal. They didn’t like expanding Midway that much. Luke had been part of a huge town debate. The small town was always dying, but resisted doing something that would bring in huge revenue. “For your information I didn’t get to finish the deal because I came here.”
Damon grunted then shook his head. His eyes took on a glassy tone and Luke realized he must have been scared, too. “I’ve seen cops, and firemen, go down, and it’s always hard. It’s different when it’s your brother.”
Their gazes locked and Luke shifted a bit, uncomfortable.
“You work too hard.” Damon commented. “Nick and I have been worried about you.”
Shaking his head, he let out a long breath. “That’s rich, if you are so worried maybe you could have come to the lake yesterday. Plus, you don’t seem to complain about me working so hard when we talk about a lot of zeroes being put into your account.”
Damon’s face flashed with anger. “Man, you are such a narcissist. I’m not even talking about that.”
He hadn’t, and neither had Nick. Still, Luke had used a portion of their father’s estate to buy in, and they were part of that estate—like it or not.
“But you’re sure getting the money, aren’t you?” Luke didn’t know why he wanted to fight, but he couldn’t stop himself.
Damon got in his face. “What do you want, Luke? A medal? A ticker tape parade? Yeah, great, you just scored a deal of a lifetime, you’re Luke the freaking billionaire—awesome. And you rub our noses in it all the time, don’t you? Newsflash: we don’t care about all your money. We don’t care about the money you make us.” Damon pushed him hard in the chest. “I know this is the way you’ve always tried to prove to the world you’re so ever-loving superior, but give it a rest. Our brother got shot today. It’s not about you!”
To say Luke was stunned would be like saying the Hiroshima bomb was a Fourth of July parade. He glared at his brother.
Damon let out a breath. “Look, it’s been a long day.”
“You think I don’t care? I do everything so I can share the good life with you two. Everything.” He swallowed back the emotion that begged to leak out his eyes, the rush of getting to the hospital and Nick being okay suddenly seeping into him.
Damon ran his hand through his hair, and said, “You need to just quit proving yourself every second. Just …”
Luke huffed, too tired to argue, and pulled away from his side. “Whatever. I’ll see you later.”
“What has you all riled up?” Damon put his hand on Luke’s shoulder and swung him back to face him.
Luke knew Damon wasn’t talking about Nick, but he didn’t want to talk about it—or, more precisely, her. Her face had been etched in his mind since he’d
seen her at the marina. He’d even driven by her parents’ house a couple of times after seeing her, wondering if she was staying with them and how long she was in town for.
Of course, those kisses were distracting him out of his mind. For so many years he thought of her in a nostalgic sort of movie-like way. It had never occurred to him he would find his lips on hers again.
The door had shut when she and Sean had eloped, but now he found himself in daydreams with Savannah. He remembered how she looked in those heels, how her body felt against his.
He’d always wondered if the openness and honesty between them had been real or just something associated with first love, young love, something out of a freaking happily ever after. He’d never felt that way with any other woman.
“Savannah,” he blurted.
Damon pulled his hand back and narrowed his eyes. “The neighbor girl?”
Luke remembered his brother would only know her that way, hadn’t been around to watch him fall in love with her. Damon probably didn’t even know about Sean eloping with her. Had they covered that part of the last ten years? He thought not. “Never mind.”
Damon’s hand clamped down on his shoulder. “Hey, I know you guys had a thing, but she married Sean, right?”
Thoughts of Sean made his gut hurt. He frowned, deciding to rip it off like a band aid. “Sean died last year. He was serving as a pilot in Afghanistan.”
Damon’s brow furrowed. “I didn’t know.”
“I loved her. Wanted to marry her. But I left for London, and they eloped two months later.” He blinked, thinking of how horribly he’d acted. He couldn’t stop his confession. “I said some things I shouldn’t have. I regret it now.” Guilt surged inside of him, and he sighed. “I saw her at the marina yesterday and I kissed her.”
Damon stared at him, gaping. It was a look very unfamiliar on his older firefighter brother, who always seemed to be poised even under the most extreme situations.
“Don’t judge me,” Luke snapped.
With a chuckle, Damon said, “You know I’d be the last person to judge anybody.” He sighed. “That’s interesting because Savannah’s sister, Beth, who is a nurse here, came in to check on Nick and mentioned she and Savannah were at the hospital holding a baby who had been abandoned yesterday.”
“What?” Luke frowned. She was here? Right now?
Damon started toward the parking lot.
But Luke didn’t follow.
Damon turned back. “Parking lot’s this way.”
Luke didn’t know what he was doing or where he was going, but he suddenly had to see her. “I’ll see you later.” He waved and looked up at the arrows pointing to different parts of the hospital. He saw the one for maternity and started moving that way.
Every part of him felt edgy and twitchy. The woman came back to Park City and was suddenly everywhere he was. What was happening?
His adrenaline was still keyed up from everything with Nick and now he felt like he was getting a second wind. He turned down another hall and saw a different elevator that had an arrow up with ‘Maternity’ beside it.
Standing at the elevator, he stared at the button. Should he go find her or not?
A lady stepped next to him, leaning over and pushing the button. She looked at him, then frowned.
He should turn around and go to his car and not even worry about seeing her.
The elevator doors opened and the lady went in.
Looking confused, she put her hand on the button. “Are you coming?”
Unable to stop himself, he got on.
When the doors opened, he got out, looking for a nurse’s station. He moved down the hallway of rooms. Little did Luke know that when he turned the corner and saw the babies in the window, he would see her and be frozen to the spot.
She looked angelic. Her red lipstick gleamed in the light, and her red hair fell gently along the sides of her face. Her eyes were closed.
Confusion pulsed through him. Over the years, Nick would hear something about Savannah and Sean and casually tell him.
He’d always wondered why they hadn’t had kids. He thought she wanted them. They all went to the Catholic Church together and had taken catechism when they were younger. They’d always joked about how they would have a dozen kids each and would live by each other so the kids could have the childhood they’d had—in and out of each other’s backyards.
It never mattered, because he knew he’d never see either one of them again. Or, if he did, it would be over a holiday when they ran into each other with their families on the ski slopes. They would act all friendly like nothing had happened between them, and they would trade kid stories and then wave goodbye. He would tell his wife that they were old friends and leave it at that.
There was just one little part missing—Luke didn’t have a wife. His hand clenched into a fist as he thought about Sean dying in service to his country. She didn’t have a husband, either.
All of the thoughts confused him, brought up a past he didn’t like to think of. He remembered a more insecure version of himself who had been filleted and laid out to bake in the sun, made into jerky; toughened and hardened by the scorching of the feelings that had burned him. It wasn’t a version of himself he liked. That’s why he’d locked it away and moved on with the business of making something of himself.
After Damon’s little attack, he was left feeling vulnerable. The kiss the other day only proved it. Maybe Nick was right—he was lost. Or Damon was right—he was a complete narcissist.
One thing was for sure: Luke was completely unsteady about the man he thought he was.
She was sitting there, holding the baby, with tears on her face. Then her eyes opened, and her expression dissolved into shock.
His heart raced and he couldn’t move. They just stared at each other.
The way her eyes measured him, like some opponent on the battlefield, made him want to rush out of the hospital and forget the last two days completely. All he could do was stand there.
She stood, and he saw her call out to the nurse, then hand the baby over and pick up her purse.
The door out of the baby room was on the other side of the hallway, and he watched her rush out and move the opposite direction from him. Purposefully, he knew, because the front of the hospital and access to parking would lead her to him.
He watched her disappear down the hall, and his heart hammered hard and fast into his chest. Blinded by curiosity and this need to know, he ran after her down the other hallway, seeing a door that said exit. He took it, hoping it wasn’t one of those fire doors where the bell would go off.
It wasn’t. He ran down the stairs to the main floor, then went out the door, finding himself in the back parking lot.
It was getting dark. The sky still had the hue that accompanied the longer days of summer. He could hear footsteps on the almost empty hospital parking lot pavement. Rushing through down the path, he got to the parking lot and saw her, her red hair bouncing as she ran.
“Wait!” he called out, feeling crazy as he sped after her.
She jumped into a red Camaro, already backing up when he got to the car.
He waited until she’d backed up entirely before he stepped in front of the car, knowing how this would look—like he was a stalker. He pretty much felt like a stalker at the moment. He put his hand out. “Wait!”
She glared at him over the steering wheel before rolling the window down. “Luke.”
He was shocked she’d said his name and not yelled for him to get out of the way, so he moved to the side of her car. “Yeah.”
Their eyes met, and hers were shimmering. “What do you want?”
He didn’t know what to say. “Why were you crying?”
Neither of them spoke for several seconds. Then she said, “The baby has cancer.”
“What?”
“The baby is dying.”
He didn’t know what to say again.
Still not looking at him, she pushed the gas and revved t
he engine. “What do you want Luke?”
He stared at her, then stepped back so she could pass. “Nothing. I don’t want anything.”
Until this moment he hadn’t been sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing Savannah showed up at the lake two days ago. Now he knew it was a bad thing. A very bad thing. For years he’d been messed up over losing her.
Guilty. Angry. Enraged. Vulnerable.
Weak. And he didn’t like to feel weak.
As she peeled out of the parking lot, he decided he would have to make sure he didn’t run into her again.
4
The next day Savannah was up earlier than her normal six-thirty. Tying her laces, she noted she needed to be extra quiet to not wake her early-rising parents. It was only five-thirty, but she’d been restless all night. She hadn’t slept well, tossing and turning, thinking of seeing Luke at the hospital. It was ridiculous why she’d run away from him.
But wasn’t it even more ridiculous that he’d chased her down to begin with? What had he wanted? Truthfully, when he stood in front of her car, he’d looked possessed. A crazy man.
Taking care not to step on the parts of the wood floor that would creak—she’d memorized those parts of the floor way back in middle school—she hurried to the back sliding door and gently unlocked it, then slid it open. The air was cool, but not cold. She’d worn her sweatshirt, knowing she would take it off at some point during the run.
Quietly crossing the deck—which, she noted, clearly needed a new paint and seal job—she padded down the steps, then took off through her yard, ending up on a bike path that ran along the side of her house. Her parents’ house, she corrected in her mind.
Soon she would live on the beach. Even if it was a dump on the beach. She didn’t care. California felt like the place she’d always belonged.
Although, honestly, it had been nice to have the company the past two weeks. Between being back home, helping her father with the garden, her mother trying to figure out remodeling, and dealing with her sister, she’d almost forgotten that being here wasn’t permanent. Almost forgotten about the past here, which had the power to pull her under again. Back to the shell of guilt. Regret. Depression.
