by Amie Nichols
“Salads?” I announce to the room as Jacob and I enter carrying two salad plates each followed by Miss Finnegan who is balancing three.
“Good, Jacob, you’re joining us,” Jeffrey says and introduces him to his family.
Dinner is good as everyone eats while making light conversation. Carley tells us funny stories at Luke’s expense from when he was a toddler. Luke is a good sport about it since everyone is having a good time.
We finish dinner and Miss Finnegan is serving coffee when we are startled by a loud buzzing sound coming from outside. It’s loud and goes for a second and then stops, then goes again over and over. Jacob hurriedly gets up and runs out of the dining room. I turn to Luke for an explanation and see a panicked look in his eyes.
“Stay in here!” He orders me as he gets up from the table. “Dad, keep everyone in this room!” He shouts at Jeffrey before he disappears through the swinging doors.
“What’s that, an alarm?” Sarah asks turning to her dad for an explanation. He looks as confused as the rest of us. He stares at the door still swinging a little from Luke’s exit.
“I honestly don’t know,” Jeffrey says trying to look calm, but I can see he is worried.
“Maybe, I should go help?” Lee says standing up, acting like he is going to follow the guys. He is probably trying to win some points with Jeffrey and Luke.
“No, Luke said everyone stays here,” Jeffrey says sternly motioning for Lee to sit back down and he obeys looking wounded.
“So dear, Luke tells me you have been finding little clues about your birth mother,” Carley says clearing her throat forcing conversation to fill the silence. This is the last thing that I want to discuss right now. I am fighting every ounce of my being to keep from running out of the dining room to see what is going on, but I just told Luke and Jacob that I would listen to them and not put myself in harm’s way. The buzzing finally stops and it makes me feel a little better. Something about that sound was making me very tense.
“Umm yeah, a few clues,” I finally answer Carley after a long pause. I stand up and start to pace around the room. This room and the study are the only rooms that don’t have windows. I really wish we knew what was going on. Carley doesn’t ask me any more questions probably sensing that I don’t what to talk about that right now. After what seems like an hour, Jacob and Luke finally return to the dining room. Luke has blood running down his cheek and I hurry to him to see what happened. His mom and sister are right behind me when they notice the blood on him too.
“It’s okay. I just ran into a tree branch,” Luke says embarrassingly at the look of concerns on our faces. I take my napkin off the table and reach up to dab the wound and clean off the blood. “It fine baby,” he gently says as he takes my hand and pulls it away from his face with care.
“What was that noise?” I ask starting to clean the cut again after dipping the napkin in my water glass to help get the dried blood off. This time he doesn’t stop me, instead he looks down into my eyes and they are filled with love.
“So what’s going on?” Jeffrey asks frustrated that no one has said anything yet.
“It was the new perimeter alarm,” Jacob answers Jeffrey. “He was here.”
I don’t look away from Luke but continue to examine the cut. I had a hunch already that it had something to do with that crazy man. For some reason my focus on Luke is making me calm.
“Did you see him?” Jeffrey asks and I can sense everyone’s eyes on me for a reaction. I put my hand down to my side now that Luke’s cut is clean, and drop the bloody napkin. Wrapping my arms around Luke’s waist, I place my head on his hard chest. I wish everyone was gone and it was just him and me.
“No, he got away. He seems to know the woods very well,” Jacob says and I open my eyes. My head is still on Luke’s chest and I see Jacob watching me. Luke wraps his arms around my shoulders and I close my eyes again.
“I think that it’s time to call it a night,” Luke finally says reading my mind. I am so grateful. I don’t want anyone here right now and I’m embarrassed that Luke’s family is here to see this. What I really want to do is freak out and start shouting. I am so mad at this insane man who is making me a prisoner in my own home again when I’ve finally gotten free. I don’t want any of them to see me like that, so I continue to lay my head on Luke’s chest and pretend we are alone. I hear Sarah, Lee, Carley, and Jeffrey say goodbye quietly and some shuffling of footsteps as they exit the dining room.
I feel Luke kiss the top of my head then let loose of me and gently lifts my head with his hands so I am looking up at him.
“Everyone’s gone baby,” he says looking intensely into my eyes trying to read my emotions. I’m distracted by the cut on his cheek as fresh bright red blood oozes from the cut.
“Son of bitch!” I shout grabbing Luke’s hand from my face and drag him with me through the swinging doors into the kitchen. Jacob and Max are sitting at the kitchen table going over what looks like a map of the property. I motion for Luke to sit in a chair at the table, and he obeys not knowing what’s going on, when I see Jacob give Luke a what’s up look about me.
“Lilly?” Luke calls after me when I disappear into the laundry room. I look through the cupboards for the first aid kit, slamming doors as I go, when I finally find it. I grab it and walk back into the kitchen to find them all staring apprehensively at me. I grab a dishcloth from the drawer and dampen it at the faucet before I return to Luke. I am sitting astride him and I begin to gently clean the cut again. It is deeper than I thought now that I am getting a better look at it. Luke places his hands on my hips trying to get me to look at him. I search the first aid kit for some iodine avoiding his eyes.
“Lilly, stop! It's fine!” He says trying to control my hands as I frantically lean over and search for the supplies that I need. “Lilly, look at me,” he orders finally getting control of my hands. He holds them together and turns me toward him. I sit back on his knees now that I can’t move my hands. Not able to hold them back any longer, hot tears fill my eyes as I finally look at him.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” I blubber as the tears stream down my face like a waterfall. Luke lets loose of my hands and grabs my face.
“Oh baby. Baby, it’s okay,” Luke says almost laughing at my emotions. “What are you sorry about?” He asks me reaching up to sweep away my tears from my cheeks with his thumbs.
“About all of this,” I say. “I can’t imagine what your family thinks of me now,” I cry resting my forehead on his shoulder sobbing.
“They love you. This isn’t your fault, you know,” Luke consoles me, his lips by my ear.
“Any second, you are going to realize that I’m not worth all of this and you’re going to be gone,” I mumble still bawling like a baby. Sitting up, I rub my fingers under my eyes to wipe the tears, but more take their place. I can’t seem to stop crying now that I’ve started.
“Never!” He shouts angrily. “I love you so much. Didn’t you listen to the stories my mother told you? I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you. Don’t you ever say anything like that again!” He scolds me. My face is in his hands so I am forced to look into his eyes. “Damn it, Lilly, how can you think that?” He asks with such a hurt look in his eyes that it breaks my heart.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper leaning forward so I can take his face in my hands and place tiny kisses on his lips. Between each kiss I whispering more sorrys, when I hear Jacob clear his throat behind me. I soon forgot that we weren’t alone. I sit up and wipe the tears from my eyes again now that the crying has stopped.
“May I please bandage that up now?” I ask Luke, sniffling. Luke nods and rests his hands on my thighs so I can doctor his cut. I turn to the first aid kit again giving a quick look up to Jacob and Max. I am embarrassed of the show that I just put on in front of them. My eyes still have tears, but I’m not really crying anymore. Jacob winks at me to let me know that it's okay, and I turn my attention back to Luke.
“So, tell m
e what I need to know,” I say as I dab Luke’s cut with iodine making him wince. I lightly blow on it to take the sting away.
“Well, it was him. The alarm must have scared him, because by the time we made it to where the alarm went off, he was gone,” Jacob explains to me as I fumble with a Band-Aid to get it out of the package. “Sam and the dogs followed his scent, but they lost it about a half of a mile into the timber,” he continued, but stops as he watches me struggling with the paper wrapper that covers the bandage. Luke finally helps me get the paper off and I gently place it on his cheek giving it a light kiss on top of the Band-Aid.
“A kiss to make it better,” I whisper and he gives me a little smile. I turn around to face Jacob and Max where they are still sitting. Luke wraps his arms around my waist and clasps his hands together at my belly. “So we have dogs now?” I ask trying to get a grip on the situation.
“Yes, two canines, but they are good. He must have doubled back because the trail went cold,” Jacob explains to me. “The timber is thick and vast. He would have to know it to be able to do that and not get lost,” he says shaking his head. “I think he’s been in there a lot.”
“So what now?” I ask them sniffing my nose that is now running from the crying. I’m sure my eyes are red and puffy since they feel like they are burning.
“I honestly don’t know, Lilly. I’m sorry, but he’s smarter and better than I have ever dealt with before,” Jacob says frustrated as he taps his pen on the table looking at me apologetically. “Sam is going to be patrolling with the dogs tonight and the alarms will be on. I think you should get some rest,” Jacob suggests and I can tell he is waiting for some kind of argument.
“Can we still go to New Orleans tomorrow?” I ask as I scoot off of Luke’s lap and look from him to Jacob.
“Yes, as long as you promise that you do everything you are told,” Jacob says and Luke nods.
“Okay, I can live with that,” I agree to him just happy that I’m going to be out of the house for a while.
“I’m going to bed.”
“I’ll be up in a minute babe,” Luke says when I turn to him to see if he is ready for bed. I nod and walk over to Jacob standing behind him. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his cheek.
“Thank you for all that you are doing,” I whisper to him and give him a squeeze.
He pats my forearm and whispers, “You’re welcome,” back to me.
As I move past him, I give Max’s shoulder a squeeze and thank him also. I walk out of the kitchen and up the stairs to my bedroom. I pull off my clothes and put on an oversized t-shirt then climb into bed and wait for Luke.
Chapter 32
I wake up realizing that I had dozed off waiting for Luke and it’s after one a.m. I turn and see Luke is still not in bed. I notice something out of the corner of my eye. There in the corner of the room in the shadows is a black mass. It’s the same figure that I saw at the window and in the woods. It sways back and forth staring at me. I try to scream, but no sound comes out. I scramble to get out of bed and run for the door. Fumbling with the knob to try and get it open, I look behind me to see the black mass walking toward me. Banging on the door it finally opens and I run through. This isn’t right. I’m in the timber. My feet are bare and I step on a stick causing pain to shoot through my foot. I try to run, but my legs won’t move. I hear him just behind me and turn around to start swinging. I am finally able to scream, instead I cry out for Luke. He answers me, but I don’t understand him. He is saying, “Wake up, Lilly, wake up.”
I am lying in bed swinging at Luke when I finally wake up. He’s on his knees next to me dodging my swings as he is shaking my shoulders trying to wake me up.
“Lilly, baby it’s me,” he says as I start to regain consciousness and he pins my arms to my side. My heart is racing and I’m drenched with sweat. I hear a light knock on the door before it opens and see Jacob standing in the doorway with concern.
“She’s fine, a doozey of a nightmare though,” Luke says not leaving my side as he talks to Jacob. I hear the door close as Jacob exits. Luke lets go of my arms and I instantly sit up. I wrap my arms around his neck, my heart still beating a mile a minute.
“Sshhh, it’s okay baby. Try to relax,” Luke consoles as he sits back on his butt and pulls me up in his lap. With a slight rocking motion, he tries to soothe me.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” He asks after a minute when my breathing returns to normal. I explain what I can remember of the horrible dream to him while he continues to gently rock me. I start to get a chill from my sweat dampened shirt and Luke slowly pulls it over my head. He wraps a warm dry blanket around me. My naked body is now resting against his warm bare chest. I feel so safe in his arms.
“You are safe. It was just a dream. I will never let him near you baby,” Luke says kissing my forehead. I close my eyes as he tightens his grip on me.
The next thing I know I am waking up still pressed against Luke’s chest with his arms around me except we are laying down. He has the blanket wrapped around both of us and I can’t imagine moving, but I really need to use the bathroom. It’s daylight now but I can tell it is still early. I slowly roll away from him trying not to wake him. As soon as I move he awakes with a jerk tightening his grip on me.
“I just need to go to the bathroom,” I tell him as he starts to comprehend everything is okay. He lets loose of his grip and I roll off the bed. I notice that I’m still naked except for my panties. My back to Luke, I turn my head toward him. He is now on his side with his head propped up on his hand.
“Hurry back,” he says with his sexy wicked grin.
I crawl back into bed next to him after I’ve taken care of business. He engulfs me in his embrace and his hands press firmly on my back smashing my bare breasts into his chest.
“You are so beautiful,” he moans as he takes my face in his hands. His lips take mine and we are lost in each other as we make love.
Chapter 33
We doze off again after making love. Waking up about an hour later we notice it is close to eight am.
“Good morning again,” Luke coos, stroking my hair as my head lies on his chest. I lie there silent thinking about how the past twenty-four hours has been filled with so much fear and pleasure at the same time. It was just last night that I met Luke’s family and it seems like an eternity ago. They are so close to him and I barely know them. How can I have such a connection with a man and not know so much about him.
“Hey you, what are you thinking about? You seem a million miles away,” Luke asks as I stare out the window at the sky.
“Your family,” I answer now resting my chin on my arm so I can look him in the eyes.
“My family loved you,” he claims with confidence.
“Oh yeah, you sound awfully sure about that.” I give a look of doubt. I can’t imagine after last night that any of them except for Jeffrey thought much of me at all. A bunch of trouble is all I’m worth.
“I am sure missy. My dad adores you, you know that,” he exclaims and I just nod giving him that. “My sister called me last night after you went to bed. They were so worried about you,” he says and I give him a look of disbelief. “It’s true,” he adds laughing at my dismayed look. “I don’t know what to say to convince you, so you will just have to see it in your own time.” He gives my hair a little tug in frustration.
After I’ve showered and dressed to get ready to go to New Orleans, I meet Luke downstairs who is already sitting at the island having breakfast with Jacob. They don’t notice me walk in the room because they are deep in conversation about the plans for the day. Miss Finnegan pours me a cup of coffee and offers me some eggs.
It’s been really hot the past few days so Luke is wearing some khaki green shorts and a black tank top. I really like him in it because I can see his amazing, tan muscular arms. I am dressed in short white shorts and a purple blouse that is off the shoulders. It is loose and flowy and very comfortable.
I step behind the
island next to Miss Finnegan to tell her how much I appreciate everything she did last night for the dinner. I forgot to thank her in all of the craziness at the nights end.
“It’s my pleasure dear,” she says to me when Jacob looks up at me and almost chokes on a bite of eggs. He makes certain that Luke takes notice of what I am wearing when Jacob shakes his head in disapproval.
“Hell no, you are not wearing that!” Luke shouts when he sees what I’m wearing. “You are not giving that maniac anymore ammunition!” He shakes his head.
“What? It isn’t that bad, and it’s hot. What do you want me to wear a turtleneck?” I say almost whinny at their objections.
“That would be fine,” Luke says with a smile. I know he’s joking, but I don’t find it funny.
“So you are saying if I cover myself up more he’s not going to stalk me anymore?” I rebut with one hand on my hip.
“Lilly, you are so sexy. I don’t even think you know how sexy you are,” Luke argues back with frustration. “I don’t think you need to be showing that much skin,” he says looking to Jacob for support who nods in agreement.
“It’s this or a tank top, which actually shows more skin and is tighter so you choose.” Now with both hands on my hips, his look of frustration becomes worse. “This is no different than any other shirt that I wear. Why are you freaking out now?” I ask and regret it as soon as I say it.
“I am freaking out because he is getting more aggressive, haven’t you been listening?” His jaw tenses with anger. Even though Luke is shouting, I know he isn’t angry with me. I walk out of the kitchen without saying a word and head to my room to change.
It’s not worth the arguing so I change into some jean capris and a tight fitting button up shirt that has sleeves that go down to my elbows. I leave the top two buttons undone because I don’t want to look like a nun. I slip on some sandals and head back downstairs. Emma has arrived and is in the kitchen with the boys. I notice that she is wearing something very similar to what I just had on. Everyone’s attention returns to me as Miss Finnegan hands me a plate of eggs. I stand at the counter across from everyone and push the plate away.
