“Oh no. She deserved that.”
“So Trent really does have a thing for her?”
Brooke nodded. “I’ve kinda sensed something for the past year or so, but it’s become more apparent in the past six or seven months.”
“Why hasn’t she agreed to go out with him? Is it because he’s not a little person?”
Brooke crossed her legs and swung her free foot. “I’m not sure, actually. I don’t think it’s that. He might be a little too care-free for her. He doesn’t tend to take things too seriously, and I think that’s a drawback for her.”
Lucas watched as Victoria and Trent posed for yet another picture together. These McKinley women were a prickly bunch, and he felt a new sympathy for Trent.
The wedding festivities gradually wound down though there were some couples who hung out on the dance floor after Eric and Staci had had their first dance. Danny had joined them at their table looking like he was winding down as well.
“Ready to go, sweetie?” Brooke asked him as she reached out to touch his hair. “You did a great job today. Not just as ring bearer but helping Sarah, too.”
A quick grin came and went from Danny’s face. “They wouldn’t let me try to catch that thing Trent caught.”
Brooke chuckled. “You’re a little too young to be thinking along those lines.”
“What does it mean?”
“Tradition says that whoever catches the garter and the brides’s bouquet will be the next to get married,” Brooke explained.
Danny’s eyes widened. “So Trent and Aunt Victoria are going to get married?”
“Eh, I kinda doubt that. It’s just a tradition. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. And whoever catches them doesn’t have to marry each other. Just marry someone.”
“Did Auntie Victoria know that before she caught the bouquet?” Danny asked, his brow furrowed.
“Oh, she most definitely did,” Brooke said, humor in her tone. “Maybe don’t say anything to her about it though.”
Danny nodded and then yawned.
“Why don’t we go say our goodnights,” Brooke suggested.
Lucas nodded and got to his feet. They made their way through the crowd to where Eric and Staci stood talking with some guests. It took a few minutes, but finally their goodbyes were said and they made their way around the side of the house to where he’d parked earlier.
It was a quiet ride back to Brooke’s house. Lucas was mulling over his next step. They needed to meet about the will and all that entailed, but he found himself wanting to ask her out for more than that. Did he dare take a chance? Would it damage their somewhat precarious relationship if she said no?
As he pulled up in front of her place, Lucas said, “Can I come in for a minute? To talk to you after Danny’s in bed?”
She’d already opened her door so the interior light allowed him to see the wariness on her face when she glanced back at him, but still she said, “Okay.”
Danny was practically falling asleep on his feet so the bedtime ritual went fairly quickly. Lucas waited on the stool at the counter, reading through emails and notifications on his phone.
Brooke reappeared a short time later. She was barefoot since she’d kicked off her shoes almost immediately after walking through the front door. As she joined him at the counter, she started to pull pins from her hair.
“They’re driving me nuts.”
Lucas could only stare as each pin released a shiny strand. When the last pin hit the counter, she sank her hands into her hair and shook it out. When she was done, her hair was a magnificent halo of silky curls.
Pulling his gaze from the beauty that stood in front of him, Lucas swallowed.
“Did you want something to drink?”
Since his mouth had gone dry, a drink sounded like a very good thing. “Water, please.”
After he’d taken a deep swallow of the cold water she poured into a glass for him, he said, “Would you be interested in going out to dinner with me some day this week?”
Brooke’s eyes widened briefly. She took a sip of her water and then set the glass on the counter. “Dinner? The three of us?”
“Actually, no. I thought maybe Danny could spend some time with Mom and Lindsay and the two of us could go out.” Seeing her reaction, Lucas took it in a safer direction. “I thought it might be good for us to discuss a few things with regards to Lincoln’s will and the inheritance.”
He wasn’t sure what expression it was that crossed her face, but if he had to guess, Lucas would say relief. He was a bit disappointed, but not surprised. She’d made her opinion on men and dating pretty clear. Why he’d thought he’d have a shot, Lucas wasn’t entirely sure.
“Okay. I think Danny would enjoy that.”
“Yeah, he can go swimming. Lindsay’s even wilder in the pool than I am.”
Brooke smiled. “What day were you thinking?”
“Whatever works for you.”
“And we need to talk about going to the cabin, too,” Brooke said. “Danny’s been asking me about it.”
Lucas nodded. “Yes, we can firm up dates for that as well. If anyone in your family would like to join us, they’re welcome. We’ve got plenty of room.”
As the conversation lapsed, Lucas swallowed the last of his water. “I’d better head for home.”
When he got up, Brooke came around and walked to the door with him. As they stood on the porch, Lucas turned to look at her. “Thanks for the lovely time.”
“Well, now you're just being polite,” Brooke said with a laugh.
“Actually, I really did enjoy myself. Our families had more connections than I realized.”
Brooke nodded. “I’m glad you knew people there tonight. Thanks for coming along.”
Lucas moved toward the stairs then turned back and retraced the steps he’d just taken. He reached out and touched Brooke’s cheek. “And in case I didn’t say it earlier. You look beautiful.”
With one last smile at her, Lucas turned and walked down the steps to his waiting vehicle.
Brooke lifted a hand and touched her cheek. What was this man doing to her? Due to the circumstances that had brought him into her life, she’d had no choice but to let him in. But how close was he wanting to get to her? And how close did she feel comfortable letting him get?
He had said that the dinner later in the week wasn’t a date…hadn’t he? But his last comment and gesture had her wondering. She would have brushed aside a gesture like that from someone like Than, but Lucas didn’t strike her as the sort of person who said or did things lightly when it came to the opposite sex.
But really, what did she know?
She watched him drive away before going back into the house. After locking up, she went to the bedroom to get ready for bed. As she lay there, her thoughts went back over the day. For the first time in a long time—ever?—Brooke let herself think about loving and being loved. Opening herself up for more hurt than she could possibly imagine. But the flip side, as she’d seen with Eric and Staci earlier that day, was finding joy and happiness in that love.
Not every relationship faced the betrayal and hurt her parents’ had. Not every man would abdicate their responsibility the way Lincoln had. And not every guy’s head was turned when a prettier girl showed interested in him like her high school boyfriend’s had.
What was it about Lucas that made her think maybe he could be that man who was different from the others? Rather ironic considering his own twin brother had been one of the ones who’d contributed to her outlook on men. But it seemed he took the opposite approach to life than his brother did. Not a thrill seeker like Lincoln, he also seemed to take his responsibilities seriously—particularly when it came to his family. Just spending one evening with him and his mom and sister, Brooke had seen that.
And she knew that Lucas would be more of a father figure to Danny than Lincoln had been, even if nothing developed between them. Which just left her with one question.
If Lucas did seem i
nterested in a relationship with her, was she going to take the risk or not?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
I DIDN’T think I’d be seeing you again quite so soon after the wedding,” Alex Thorpe said. He motioned to the chair across his desk. “Have a seat.”
Lucas sat down, hoping this conversation would be the first step to putting an end to the niggling in his gut. “Well, seeing you all there kind of cemented something in my mind. Thanks for seeing me so quickly.”
“When Lucas Hamilton requests an audience, I’d be foolish to turn it down,” Alex said with a grin. “Having a security issue of some sort?”
Lucas shook his head. “I know this might be a little out of the range of what BlackThorpe does, but I figured maybe you could point me in the right direction, if need be.”
Alex sat forward, his expression serious. “What’s going on?”
“I’m wondering if Lincoln staged his death.” There. He’d said it aloud for the first time. There was no going back now.
Alex’s eyes widened. “That’s…an interesting theory. What makes you think that?”
“Well, I was going through his paperwork and files looking for some information and started seeing things—transactions—that didn’t make any sense. At least not to me.” Lucas rested his elbows on the arms of the chair and intertwined his fingers. “We might not have been very alike personality-wise, but when it comes right down to it, no one else knows Lincoln like I do. There are things that just seem…odd.”
“You’re right, that’s not something we usually take on. However, I’m assuming that you want this handled with a fair amount of discretion.”
Lucas nodded. “I really don’t want any of this getting out if it’s nothing. Obviously, if there is substance to this, we’ll have to deal with those ramifications later, but right now, I just want someone to do a little nosing around. See if they can dig anything up.”
“That’s understandable. “ Alex sat back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. “We could have Trent look through his computer and online activities. You know he’d be as discreet as they come. And I think Than might be up for a little trip.”
“Than?” Lucas didn’t bother to hide the skepticism in his voice.
Alex laughed. “Yeah, I wouldn’t trust the guy within a hundred miles of one of my sisters, but honestly? He’s good at what he does. And because he speaks a couple of different languages, he would fit in good with the tourists and locals down there.”
“If you think he’s the best one for the job…”
“He is. Believe me, I wouldn’t put anyone on a job for you that I wasn’t one hundred percent confident in their abilities.” Alex leaned forward and snatched the phone from its cradle on his desk. “Beth, can you get hold of Trent and Than and have them come to my office pronto? And Marcus, too, if you can get hold of him.”
Alex listened and then shook his head. “Again? That makes how many he’s gone through now? I thought that this one might make it.” He paused again then said, “Well, get someone to track him down and ask him if he’s available for a meeting.”
As he hung up, Alex said, “Marcus has trouble keeping assistants. I’ve had Beth now for three years. I think Marcus has had seven different ones in that same time. He tried to steal Beth from me, but she begged me to hide her.”
Lucas smiled. From his own experience with assistants, he knew it could be a demanding job that required someone special. His own assistant, Deb, had been with him for coming up on ten years. Before that, she’d worked with his dad, so in reality, she probably knew more about the business than he did.
They continued to chat for a bit while they waited for the other guys to show up. Trent was the first to arrive, surprise on his face when he saw Lucas sitting with Alex.
“Hey, long time no see!” He held out his hand to Lucas.
“What’s up, boss?” Than said as he walked into the room. His expression when he saw who was there was similar to Trent’s. “Lucas.”
Lucas shook his hand then said, “Oh, just for the record, I’m not dating Brooke…yet. But I have it on good authority that while my chances might not be great, yours with her are nil.”
Than grinned. “Ah well. Can’t win ’em all.”
“Or any, apparently, since you haven’t had a long-term girlfriend in what…at least three years?” Trent said.
Before Than could respond, Marcus appeared in the door of the office. Immediately, the joking atmosphere settled into something more serious. As Marcus came to a stop near Alex’s desk, he pushed back the edges of his suit coat and put his hands on his hips. “Lucas.” He gave him a nod before turning to Alex. “What’s going on?”
“Have a seat, guys.” Alex walked to the door and shut it. As he moved around the desk to his chair, he said, “I need what we discuss in this room to stay here. Lucas came to me to see if we would do some investigating for him.”
“Investigating?” Marcus looked from Alex to Lucas. “About Lincoln?”
Lucas nodded. “I have some concerns that perhaps he staged his death.”
Both Trent and Than focused in on his words and all levity was gone.
“Why would you think that, Lucas?” Marcus asked.
Over the next half hour, Lucas laid out the information that had come up as he’d gone through Lincoln’s things looking for information on Brooke’s paintings. There hadn’t been one big thing, but there had been enough little things that seemed odd and out of place. They might be nothing, but in case they weren’t….
“Trent, I want you to go to Lucas’ s place and have a look at Lincoln’s computer and see what he found there.” Alex turned to Than. “And you, my friend, are going to head south.”
That brought a smile back to Than’s face. “Road trip. What exactly do you want me to do down there?”
“I want you to poke around. See if you can talk to people who might have had contact with Lincoln.” Alex looked at him. “Lucas, can you give Than an idea of where he’d been in the weeks before the accident?”
“Yes. The authorities down there had pieced some of that together.”
“I want you to go beyond what the authorities would have done, Than,” Alex said. “Use that insufferable charm of yours and dig up more information than they would have been able to get.”
Than grinned. “Will do. You may mock my charm, but it does come in handy.”
“I’m counting on that,” Alex said with a nod. He looked at Marcus. “Any other thoughts?”
Marcus’s intense blue gaze circled the group before he shook his head. Given that the man had hardly said two words during the discussion itself, Lucas wasn’t altogether sure why Alex had called him.
When the other men stood, Lucas did as well. As he shook hands with them, he said, “Thanks so much for your help with this, guys. I’m not sure what I hope you find—either outcome will be difficult in its own way.”
“Have you planned a service for Lincoln?” Marcus asked.
“We discussed it, but honestly, his friends are spread far and wide…I’m not sure how we’d get people together for it. Plus, he would be appalled—wherever he is—if we tried to do a stuffy memorial service. I had been thinking of doing something just for the family up at our cabin. It was one place that belonged to the family where he was actually happy. But now…”
“Well, I hope the guys can get some answers for you,” Marcus said. “I know that unknowns can be difficult. Hard to move forward in those situations.”
Lucas wondered if the man had some unknowns in his own life. It sounded like maybe he did.
After making arrangements with Trent, Lucas left the BlackThorpe building and headed back to his own office. Now that he’d started that, he could focus on other things. Namely his upcoming dinner with Brooke.
He was thinking that maybe he should avoid any romantic ties with Brooke for now. If his brother was, in fact, still alive, that might complicate things between them. Waiting for some sort of resolution, in t
he meantime, would probably be the wisest thing.
Strangely enough, though doing the wisest thing had always been his normal course, when it came to Brooke that wasn’t his first consideration. And he had a funny feeling it was going to get him into trouble.
“Ready to go, buddy?” Brooke poked her head into Danny’s room. “Don’t forget your swimsuit. Lucas said Lindsay would likely go swimming with you.”
“Yep, I got it here.” Danny picked up the bag from the end of his bed.
“You still okay with hanging out with your grandmother and Lindsay while Lucas and I take care of some business stuff?”
“Sure. It’ll be fun.”
Brooke was glad Danny seemed fine with hanging out at the house. She, however, was still a little nervous about the dinner with just her and Lucas. When he’d called to check on a time, he’d been all business, leaving Brooke to wonder if she’d imagined those last few moments with him the night following the wedding.
Though she’d offered to drive her and Danny to the mansion—as she liked to call it—Lucas had insisted on picking them up once again. And according to the clock, he would be there any minute.
She picked up her phone, purse and a container of baked goods from the counter then followed Danny out of the house. After pausing to lock the door, Brooke sat down on the top step of the porch beside Danny. She smoothed the skirt of the maxi sundress she’d chosen to wear, hoping it would be appropriate for wherever he planned to take her.
In the four days since he’d asked to have dinner with her to talk, Brooke had tried to think through what they might discuss. The inheritance, obviously, but likely also the time at the cabin and maybe Danny spending more time with Lucas’s mom.
“He’s here,” Danny said, pointing to the street as he stood.
Blowing out a breath to try and calm the nerves that were becoming way too common when dealing with Lucas, Brooke stood up and followed her son.
“Hey, Danny,” Lucas said as he came around to open the doors for them.
“Hiya, Uncle Lucas.” Danny gave the man a quick hug before climbing into the back seat.
Forever My Love: A Christian Romance (The McKinleys Book 2) Page 12
