Luke (7 Brides for 7 Brothers Book 1)

by Barbara Freethy

  "Tom said you did a good job with the horses this morning." She moved closer to the bed. "Thanks for that."

  "I didn't have a choice, did I?"

  "You know, things don't have to be this hard, Kaitlyn." She thought for a moment, trying to choose her words carefully. "It's not wrong for you to have fun, to be happy."

  "Then why are you always telling me not to have fun?" Kaitlyn challenged, giving her a stubborn look. "Every time I do something I want to do, you get pissed."

  "That's because some of your choices are dangerous, honey. Going off with two boys who are older and bigger than you is not smart. Drinking alcohol leads to bad decisions. You're too young to know the kind of trouble you can get into. I'm trying to protect you."

  "Why do you even bother? I'm supposed to be dead."

  Her jaw dropped at her niece's words. "Why would you say that?"

  "Because it's true. I was in the car. I should have died with them."

  She licked her lips, her heart pounding, as she wrestled with the right response. Kaitlyn had said so very, very little about the crash that she didn't want to get this wrong. If her niece was opening up even a bit, it could be a breakthrough.

  "Your mom would not want you to be dead, Kaitlyn. She would want you to lead a long and happy life."

  "She was mad at me," Kaitlyn murmured, her voice so soft Lizzie could barely hear her.

  "Even if she was mad about something, she still loved you."

  "You don't know that. You weren't there. You weren't ever there. You act like you were so close to my mom, but you weren't. So stop trying to pretend you know anything."

  She frowned at another reminder of some estrangement she hadn't even been aware of. "If your mom was angry because we didn't spend enough time together, I'm sorry. I didn't know that. She didn't say anything to me. I loved her."

  Kaitlyn gave her a disbelieving look.

  She sat down on the bed. "That's the truth, Kaitlyn. After our dad left, Kelly took care of me. My mom worked all the time, and she had other issues with depression and drinking, so sometimes she forgot to make dinner or buy groceries. Kelly was the one who helped me with my homework and made sure I had something to eat. She was only six years older than me, but she was like a mother to me." She drew in a shaky breath. "I miss her, Kaitlyn. I know you do, too. We have that in common. I wish you could see that."

  Kaitlyn's eyes glittered with unshed tears, but she didn't let them fall. She wiped her eyes, then got up from the bed and walked to the door.

  "Wait," Lizzie said, feeling like she'd blown it again by talking about Kelly, but maybe she should just be happy that she'd gotten some response out of Kaitlyn, even if it was negative. She rose to her feet. "I really wish you'd come with us on the hike."

  "I hate hiking. I'll be at the pool."

  She sighed as Kaitlyn left the room. Since her niece hated pretty much everything, it wasn't surprising hiking was on the list.

  As she went downstairs, she replayed their conversation in her head, realizing that she had learned one important piece of information, and she probably should have focused on that. Kaitlyn had said her mother was angry with her before she died. It was probably over nothing, just teenage girl stuff, but maybe she needed to find out exactly what it was.

  Later, she told herself. She'd go hiking and give Kaitlyn a chance to calm down, and then she would try again.

  * * *

  "When did you start hiking?" Brad asked Luke as they waited for the others to gather outside the lodge.

  "When I was seven," he replied. "It was here in this valley. My parents used to bring me and my brothers to the resort for family vacation."

  "So you've been to Wolmer Falls?"

  "No. We went to a waterfall, but that wasn't the name, and it was not very far from here."

  "Sweetheart Falls," Brad said with a nod. "It's a half mile behind the lodge. It's not very big, but the little kids love it."

  "It seemed big to me at the time," he said with a grin. "Anyway, years later, in my late teens, I climbed Half Dome and about seven years ago, I did El Capitan. I included some of that footage in my first film."

  "I remember. You captured the experience perfectly. I've had the pleasure of doing both twice. It never gets old."

  "No, it doesn't."

  "But you've been all over the world. You've climbed Everest. That's amazing." Brad gave him a sheepish smile. "As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan. You're a rock star to the guys I hang out with."

  He laughed. "Trust me, I have met a lot of people far more bad ass than me," he said, genuinely meaning it. "I push the boundaries, but I've filmed people who have never heard of boundaries."

  "When is the next film coming out?"

  "Hopefully in six weeks to two months. We just shot the last segment. Now it's onto editing."

  "And then what?"

  He grinned at Brad's enthusiasm. "I have some ideas; we'll see how they develop."

  "What ideas are those?" Lizzie asked, joining their conversation.

  "For my next film," he said.

  "And…" she asked, curiosity in her eyes.

  "I can't say yet."

  "Sounds mysterious."

  "More like I just don't plan that far ahead," he said dryly.

  "True. I forgot."

  "But I have gotten better," he said, seeing the gleam in her eyes. "I've had to. I have several corporate sponsorships and contracts to fulfill, which means I need to know where I'm going, what I'm going to be wearing, and who I'm going to be shooting, so there's definitely more advance prep than when I first started out."

  "I didn't realize you have sponsors," she said. "I thought only athletes and celebrities have those."

  "Apparently, some companies think I qualify."

  "He more than qualifies," Brad put in. "Luke is a super athlete, Liz. He does things most people wouldn't dream of doing. Didn't you see the commercial World Sports did with him bungee jumping off the Widow Maker Bridge in New Zealand?"

  "No, I didn't see that. And I don’t think jumping off a bridge called the Widow Maker sounds like a good idea."

  "I survived. Not that I would have made anyone a widow."

  "Was it easier to risk your life knowing there wasn't a woman waiting for you to come home?" she asked, her tone more serious than it had been before.

  "I think it was," he said slowly. "Although, there were a few women along the way who asked me to live so I could take them to dinner."

  "More than a few, I bet. You probably have groupies in addition to sponsors."

  He shrugged, happy when the Harrison family joined the group. He didn't really want to talk about other women with Lizzie.

  The Harrison family included dad Roger, mom Joanne, daughter Julie, and sons Rex and Will. The boys avoided making eye contact with Luke, which he found amusing. He liked that they were worried about him. Hopefully, that would keep them in line for the rest of their vacation at the resort.

  Also joining the group hike was a young newlywed couple, Palmer and Janet, who couldn't seem to stop touching each other, and an older, long-married couple Richard and Madeline, who were visiting Yosemite from the UK, and told the group they were avid hikers. They also appeared to be avid conversationalists, keeping up a steady stream of comments and questions as Brad gave them some initial instructions and then they all made their way to the trail.

  He brought up the rear with Lizzie, who'd changed from tennis shoes into hiking boots that looked new enough to still have the price tag on them.

  "I can't believe you've been here for six months and haven't broken those in," he told her.

  "I've been busy, and hiking isn't at the top of my list."

  "What is Kaitlyn doing?"

  "Hanging at the pool. I'm actually happy we have the Harrison boys with us."

  He smiled. "You talk about those kids the way people used to talk about me and my siblings. We were known in the neighborhood as the Brannigan boys or the Brannigan brothers, sometimes
with the word wild added in front of the tag."

  "You were wild, and those boys are, too."

  "Or they're just being boys."

  "I wonder if I should tell their parents about the drinking."

  "You could, but I'm sure the boys will deny it, and you don't have any proof."

  "I guess I'll play it by ear. I wish there was a parenting handbook, somewhere I could go to look up the answers to the millions of questions that I have."

  "That would make it too easy."

  "Nothing easy about it." She paused. "When we were together, I did envy you your big family. You always had brothers texting you or dropping in for a weekend. It seemed fun. I just had Kelly, who was great, but she was six years older and definitely played the serious big sister card more than a few times."

  "James used to do that to me."

  "He's the oldest, right?"

  "Yeah. And like your sister, James became a surrogate father for all of us when my dad was busy with his businesses. He was often a pain in the ass, but I appreciate his efforts more now."

  As the trail narrowed, they moved into single file. He urged Lizzie in front of him because he wanted to look at her as much as he could. The others might be caught up in the wonders of Yosemite, but he couldn't take his eyes off her. Nor could he seem to stop the stream of memories that followed her every step, the sway of her hips reminding him of more intimate moments between them…moments that he wanted again.

  She flung him a quick look over her shoulder. "How are you doing back there?"

  "Great," he said. "You don't look too unhappy."

  "It is nice to be outside." She paused as the group ahead slowed down to maneuver their way around some large boulders. "Today is not my normal kind of workday, and I must admit I'm enjoying the break. What about you?"

  "I'm enjoying you," he said, the words coming out before he could stop them.

  Surprise and something else flashed through her eyes. "You shouldn't say things like that—not here, not now."

  "So later?"

  "I didn't say that."

  "You only said here and now; that implies later is a possibility."

  "When did you get so interested in semantics?" she challenged.

  "Since about ten seconds ago," he said with a grin. "Keep moving, Lizzie. We'll talk about all this later."

  "Or not," she said, following the group around the rocks.

  The hike was an easy one by his standards, although the last mile was somewhat steeper in nature, and there were several narrow places to get through. At one point, Lizzie stumbled over a rock, and he immediately grabbed her arm.

  "Okay?" he asked.

  "Fine," she said.

  He ran his hand down her arm, his fingers latching around hers. She gave him a wary look.

  "For safety," he lied.

  She didn't look like she believed him, but she left her hand in his, and then he was the one wishing he hadn't made the move. Because he liked holding her hand; he liked walking through nature with her; he liked just being with her.

  There was a good chance they could both get burned again—but not now, not today.

  Eight

  They reached the falls thirty minutes later. There were at least a dozen people splashing or swimming in the multiple pools that were fed by the waterfall. The water looked more than a little inviting as the temperature was now in the upper seventies.

  Brad handed out his wife's homemade cookies and bottles of cold water from the pack he'd brought, while some of the group stripped down to their bathing suits and jumped in the water.

  Lizzie let go of his hand. "I'm going to get my feet wet," she said, kicking off her shoes. She made her way into the water, flinging him a surprised but happy look as she waded in up to her knees. "It's cold," she said.

  "I'm not surprised."

  "Why don't you come in?"

  "I'm okay," he said, as she splashed around in the pool. Lizzie had always liked water. They'd gone to school twenty minutes from the beach, and they'd spent many, many weekends, diving in and out of the surf in Santa Monica.

  As he watched her now, he was reminded of the story she'd told him about his parents' first meeting, the way his father had watched his mother skip from rock to rock in the creek, how he couldn't take his eyes off of her, how he knew she was the woman…

  He blew out a breath, feeling a strangely deep connection to his dad, one he'd never expected to feel. After his mother died, his father had been all about ambition, making money, buying and selling companies, networking, traveling—anything but being with his family. But before that…before that, his dad had been a husband in love, a father who spent time with his kids, a family man. He just hadn't known how to be that man without his wife.

  Kathleen Brannigan had left a big hole in all of their lives, but maybe he'd never appreciated how much his father had loved her until now. Now, in the valley where they'd fallen for each other, he could see it so much more clearly.

  Maybe that was the legacy his dad had left him. Maybe it wasn't all about Lizzie.

  But as she turned around and gave him a radiant smile that hardened his body and made his heart race, he knew it had a little to do with Lizzie, too. His dad had wanted to throw them back together to see what would happen…

  What would happen?

  A lot of ideas ran through his mind, most of which involved both of them getting naked and spending a lot of time together in bed.

  Damn. Maybe he should go into that cold water and give himself a dose of reality.

  "So, Luke," Brad began.

  He dragged his gaze away from Lizzie, both relieved and annoyed by the interruption.

  "Shari tells me you and Liz used to go out," Brad said, a curious gleam in his eyes.

  "A long time ago. It didn't end well."

  "Looks like you're getting along okay now."

  "Well, Lizzie has good reason to be nice to me since I inherited the resort."

  "I don't think it's just that."

  He shrugged, not sure what to say to that. He decided to change the subject. "How long have you worked at the resort?"

  "Six years. I used to work in the park before that, but then I met Shari. She was a sous chef here for the previous chef. It was love at first sight. We got married the next year, and she became head chef a year later. Then I took over the adventure program. It's been great. We live together and work together, but not too close," he added with a grin. "She does her thing, and I do mine. It's all good. Of course, things will be changing in a month when our daughter comes along. I do not know what I'm going to do with a girl."

  "You'll figure it out. Congratulations."

  "Thanks. We're excited—terrified."

  "Sounds about right."

  "I know I shouldn't ask. It's not my place, but if you are going to sell the resort, can you give us a heads-up? I want to make sure I can take care of the family, and both our incomes are tied up here. There aren't a lot of jobs in the valley where we can both work and live."

  He saw the concern in Brad's eyes. "Of course. I still haven't decided what I want to do."

  "I'm not trying to push you. I know your father recently died, and I'm sorry. I didn't know him beyond his name, but Lizzie always said she liked him."

  He was still surprised his father had never made a trip to the resort after he bought it. He'd obviously had a lot of complicated feelings about the place, and now he'd left Luke to deal with it all. It was strange; he'd never owned anything big except a car, and he'd bought that used. He rented his apartment, his studio time, and a lot of his equipment. He'd never had a deed with his name on it until now, and he just didn't know what to do with it.

  "Are you going in the water?" Brad asked, changing the subject.

  "I don't think so."

  "I'm going to help the Harrisons get some pictures."

  He nodded as Brad walked over to Mrs. Harrison and her daughter, who were trying to take a selfie.

  He turned his head, seeing L
izzie caught up in conversation with the couple from the UK. She might not have been trained to run a lodge or be a hotel manager, but her friendly warmth made her the perfect hostess. She'd definitely embraced her new life, and he respected that. It couldn't have been easy to give up her dreams, not to mention losing the closest person to her—Kelly. He doubted she'd even had time to really absorb that loss. Kaitlyn's needs had taken all of her focus.

  As he looked around the pool, he noticed that the Harrison boys had left the water, put on their shoes, and were moving toward the next trailhead, which would take them onto a much more advanced and treacherous climb toward Last Chance Rock. Brad had made it clear that the hike was ending at these falls, that the trail beyond was narrow, slippery and incredibly dangerous.

  He ran after them, not wanting to take a second to chase down Brad or their parents. He grabbed two skinny arms just as the boys were about to enter the trailhead. He yanked them both backward.

  "Not happening," he said firmly.

  "We were just looking," the older kid Rex said, squirming under his tight grip.

  "You can look from here, or better yet, back there with your parents."

  "It's fine," Will, the younger one, said. "We'll go back."

  "Good, but here's a warning. If I let you go, and you run, I will follow you, and I will catch you, and you will pay. Got it?"

  He was answered with two sullen nods.

  "And while we're talking," he added. "Do you know how stupid you were last night to be drinking with a thirteen-year-old girl? Use your head before you do something you can't come back from. Now, go back to your parents before I decide to tell them everything you've been up to." He let go of their arms and shoved them down the path toward the pools.

  As he followed them back to the group, Lizzie's gaze met his. She waded out of the water. "Everything all right?" she asked.

  "Perfect."

  "The boys were going to sneak onto the upper trail, weren't they?"

  "Looked that way, but I let them know that wasn't happening."

  "Thanks. I didn't realize they'd gone up there until you were sending them back. I should have paid more attention."

  "Nothing happened."