Just a Little Surprise

by Tracie Puckett

  “I don’t know,” he said. “They’re family; we know that. But not father and daughter. It’s just a matter of figuring out how Rebecca fits in to the equation. That’s the hard part. No one had heard of her until she blew into town a few weeks ago—”

  “Luke knows,” I said, dropping my head. I was sure of it. The only way he’d keep hanging around them—spending every waking moment with them—was if he knew exactly what connection he had with them. “That’s what kills me, Bruno. He knows the truth, and here we are running around like a bunch of crazy people trying to figure out what’s going on, and he could just tell us.”

  “If he wanted us to know, we would know,” he said, patting my hand. “Everything will get sorted out in due time, sweetheart. I promise.” I shook my head and read the results again, still trying to figure out how Rebecca and Molly could possibly fit into Luke’s life without Lonnie never having heard of her. Maybe she was one of his mother’s distant relatives?

  Bruno adjusted his belt. “Sorry to run, but I’ve gotta get to the airport by seven.”

  “Airport?” I asked. “You’re fleeing town right in the middle of an investigation?”

  “Heading out West for a few days.”

  “On business?”

  “Something like that.”

  “But you’ll be home for my surprise party on Friday, right?” I asked, hoping he wasn’t planning on staying away too long. Detective Bruno had somehow become one of the few people I felt I could truly count on. If there was anyone I wanted to celebrate my birthday with, it was him.

  A simple grin curved on his lips, and he shook his head to ward off a laugh. “You know about the party?”

  “Don’t forget who’s throwing it,” I said, almost laughing. “I know he thinks he’s throwing me off the trail by waiting a few days after my actual birthday, but I’ve known for a while. Secrets aren’t exactly Charlie’s forte—”

  “Agreed,” he said, winking. “And yes. I’ll be back in plenty of time. In the meantime, keep a low profile. Don’t let on that you know anything, okay?”

  “Know anything about what?”

  “Good girl,” he said, giving me one swift pat on the back. “Have a good birthday tomorrow, and I’ll see you Friday.”

  I walked him to the front door and watched as he made his way to the car.

  “Hey Bruno,” I said, leaning against the doorframe. “Thanks... for everything.”

  “Sure.” He zipped his jacket and opened the car door. “Anytime, Julie.”

  Chapter Two

  Tuesday, March 05

  Charlie passed out on the couch around nine. Sometime between old sitcom reruns and stuffing his face with day-old pizza, he somehow managed to drift into a deep sleep. And I mean deep. He hadn’t so much as moved a muscle since he closed his eyes. Surprisingly, even Matt’s return from his shift at the flower shop hadn’t disturbed Charlie’s slumber.

  After my cousin had trekked upstairs and into his bedroom to settle in for the night, I gave the living room a quick once-over. I tossed the pizza box in the garbage, collected a few empty soda cans, and laid a blanket over my sleeping uncle. With a quick kiss to the forehead, I pried the remote from his hand and turned off the TV.

  It wasn’t until an hour later that the silence in the house became immensely unbearable. Both of the guys were fast asleep, not at all in keeping with their normal schedules. Which, yes, I understood. They were overworked—Charlie, with the shifts at the station and party planning; Matt, with school and his (secret) double work schedule. So, with them in bed and the house without the usual buzz of the television or Matt’s late night phone conversation with Kara, there wasn’t much to distract me from the constant replay of my earlier meeting with Detective Bruno. The deafening silence had only opened up endless opportunities for me to overthink every minute detail of what I’d learned.

  I found myself heading upstairs sometime before eleven. After a quick change into some pajamas—a pair of Luke’s old sweatpants and a tee-shirt—I slipped into bed. I prayed for sleep to find me as quickly as it’d found the rest of my family, but I had no such luck. My brain wasn’t nearly as tired as the rest of my body. So, after a bout of sheep counting (I managed to count at least seven hundred before giving up), I pushed back the covers and slid out of bed. I left my room and headed down the dark hallway, managing to avoid most of the creaky floorboards. When I finally reached the shared bathroom and closed the door, I turned on the shower and quickly stripped my pajamas to the floor.

  Moments later, I gladly stood beneath a scalding stream and let it pelt against the back of my neck. Masochistic as it seemed, the scorching water turned out to be the exact distraction I’d been looking for. I needed something—anything—to take my mind off of Luke, Bruno, and that dreaded surprise party.

  I needed answers.

  No, what I needed was an escape plan.

  No, seriously… what I needed was to make like Derek and get the hell out of dodge.

  But running would only get me so far. It’d take me away from the people, but it wouldn’t take me away from the problems. At the end of the day, I’d still be stuck facing my demons. Running seemed as likely the answer as eating a gallon of ice cream. Good in theory, bad in practice.

  I dropped my head against the shower wall and let the hot water fall onto my shoulders. Slowly but surely, second by second, the tension in my muscles began to melt away. But it was only minutes before I heard rustling in the hallway, bringing me to assume that I was no longer the only one awake. Assuming Charlie had finally decided to come upstairs to bed, I ignored the noise and closed my eyes. But it wasn’t until the door creaked open that I stood straight, nearly paralyzed.

  “Um, hello,” I said, offended that Matt or Charlie would think it was okay to just barge in. “Occupied… obviously.”

  When the door closed, I immediately felt I wasn’t alone. Whoever had walked into the bathroom hadn’t left. There was a heaviness settling in the pit of my stomach, a nervousness that I couldn’t explain. It was that feeling all over again—that familiar feeling of being watched. Matt wouldn’t do this to me, and neither would Charlie.

  “Hello?” I asked, almost too afraid to move, too scared to peer out to see who had followed me into the bathroom. I wondered if this was how my parents had felt on the night they were killed. I wondered if they’d felt this scared, this helpless, this… trapped.

  “Hello?” I said again, my voice nearly giving out.

  When I didn’t get a response, I summoned the courage to poke my head out.

  Luke stood on the other end of the bathroom, holding his finger up to his mouth. “Don’t scream—”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked through clenched teeth. As much as I wanted to yell at him for seriously overstepping personal boundaries, I found myself on the verge of thanking him. Thanking him for what, I didn’t know. In all honesty, I didn’t know what—or who—to expect when I looked out. But I was just happy it was Luke and not some psychotic murderer out for revenge.

  I pulled the shower curtain closer to my body as I stared at him. “Luke,” I said, shaking my head. “What are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk.”

  “Now?” I asked, wondering what had possessed him to think it was okay to waltz in unannounced. While I stood naked, wet, and vulnerable in the shower, he stood only feet away, seemingly unfazed by the awkwardness of the situation. Leave it to him to find a way to make me feel uncomfortable even in my own skin. “This is kinda a bad time—”

  “It’s never a good time with you,” he said, keeping his back against the far wall. I rolled my eyes and pulled my head back into the shower. I turned the water off and stood shivering in the tub, cold beads of water dripping from my hair.

  “I need a—”

  “Towel,” Luke said, dropping one over the railing. The towel landed on my head and covered my eyes. “Dry yourself off. I’ll be waiting in your room.” The door opened and closed yet again, and
this time I peered out to make sure he was gone. After wrapping the towel securely around my torso, I shot out of the tub and across the bathroom to lock the door. I leaned against it, dropped my head, and stared at my wet feet.

  A surprise visit from Luke in the middle of the night... I couldn’t possibly see how this was going to end well.

  “There’s the birthday girl,” he said when I reentered my bedroom a few minutes later. He sat on the corner of my unmade bed and watched as I stared at him with pursed lips. Now dressed and drying my hair, I felt a little more comfortable facing him. “Okay, I’m sorry—”

  “Mmm-hmm,” I said, throwing the wet towel in his face. He quickly pulled it away and tossed it aside.

  “Come here,” he whispered, reaching forward to take my wrist. He pulled me into his lap and wrapped his arms around my waist. His strong hand gently stroked my back, further relieving the tension that had built over the last few days. He lowered his head against mine, closed his eyes, and pressed a soft kiss to my cheekbone. A few moments of silence passed before either of us moved or said another word. Only then was it Luke who made the next move, and it nearly stopped my heart beating altogether. The warmth of his breath danced across my cheek as he whispered a quiet “happy birthday.”

  I closed my eyes and let all the familiarity sink in. His voice, his scent, his breath… everything about him that made me fall weak in the knees. No matter how much I wanted to ignore it, I couldn’t dismiss the way my body responded to him. Just a simple touch made me want to lose all self-control. My brain begged me to run, to recognize the manipulation as it was happening, but there was no reasoning with my heart. Having him so close, his warm body pressed firmly beneath mine, I almost managed to forget why I’d ever been mad at him in the first place.

  “Luke,” I said, almost whispering. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to talk.”

  “How’d you get in?” I asked. “I locked all the doors before I came upstairs.”

  He nodded at my open window. “You know the thing’s stuck, right? I couldn’t get it shut—”

  “It’s been jammed for days. Charlie’s got someone coming out to fix it.”

  “Good,” he said, nodding.

  “What are you really doing here?” I asked, shaking my head. “It’s the middle of the night.”

  He leaned back to steal a look at the alarm clock. “I wanted to be the first to wish you a happy birthday—”

  “It’s one o’clock in the morning,” I said, realizing that it was now indeed my birthday. “It couldn’t wait?”

  “I’ll go,” he said, but he only slid closer, nuzzling his nose into the nape of my neck. At that point, I could only imagine he had no intention of going anywhere. He lifted his head and watched me. “If that’s what you want.”

  I didn’t answer. Instead, I simply stared at him, watching the way his eyes reflected the moonlight. I saw something sweet and endearing. I saw a softness that I hadn’t seen in a long time, if ever before. There was something about the way he looked at me—there was something about the moment—that made me wonder why I’d been so stupid as to walk away from him.

  Maybe I’d been too caught up in my own thoughts to realize it before, but I saw it now. Luke truly loved me.

  “Jules?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I miss you,” he said, moving a few fine hairs from my face.

  We watched each other in silence, neither of us making even the slightest sound.

  “Hey,” he said, still not speaking in much more than a whisper. I didn’t know if he feared waking Charlie or Matt, or if he simply wanted to communicate something with his tone. Either way, he dropped his head and let out a slow breath. “I’m sorry.”

  But as fast as the realization of his love had hit me, it faded again. He was sorry… but for what, exactly? He’d made my last few weeks completely unbearable. He’d lied, snuck around behind my back, devoted all his time and attention to someone he probably knew very little about, and he made it obvious that he didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth. If he was truly sorry, great. But I had a hard time believing his remorse was anything close to sincere—especially considering the fact that I still didn’t know any more about his secrets than I knew this time last week.

  “Luke, I understand that you’re sorry, but we broke up—”

  “You broke up,” he said, brushing my cheek with his thumb. “I didn’t get a say—”

  “Break-ups are rarely amicable,” I said, pulling away from him. I stood up and took a few steps away from the bed, giving myself some much needed distance. I needed to put some space between us—literally and figuratively—to figure out exactly what Luke meant to me. Was he worth the heartache? Was he truly worth all the time I’d wasted?

  “Maybe you should go,” I said, hoping my tone was as polite as I’d intended. I didn’t want to force him out, I really didn’t. But I knew what was best for me—for both of us—and that was some much-needed space. “I just… I think we need some time apart—”

  “Don’t do this, Julie,” he said, now standing. He took a step closer but stopped when I turned away. “Ten seconds ago you had no problem with me being here.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to give you the wrong idea.”

  “Then let’s talk—”

  “Luke, you lied to me. You’ve probably lied to me more than I even know. I just… I don’t know what to make of all of this.”

  “All of what?”

  “You coming over, sneaking in… kissing me—”

  “Hey,” he said, his tone suddenly light. “You’ve never had a problem with me kissing you—”

  “Of course I haven’t! Have you seen you?”

  He raised his brow as if I’d just paid him the highest compliment of his life.

  “Luke!” I said, shoving him. “Please be serious—”

  “Come on. I’m just teasing. I’m… I’m trying to lighten the mood, kid. You’re being hostile; and, in case you haven’t noticed, that’s nothing new with you lately. Take a look in the mirror, Julie. You’re falling apart. You’re mean, you’re distant. You’re completely unapproachable.”

  “But—”

  “Listen, I’m just trying to get through to you,” he said, reaching up to brush a hair away from my eyes. “Your family is worried about you. I’m worried. And I don’t know how to help you. You’re not answering my calls—”

  “For a good reason—”

  “Julie,” he said, softening his gaze. “You know damn well how much I love you. You know I can help you. You’re hurting. And I can’t save you from the pain, but I can cushion the fall. You just have to let me in—”

  “You know,” I said, rolling my eyes. I couldn’t buy into all of this any longer. It was about time that Luke was held responsible for his actions, starting with the immediate actions that led up to this very conversation. “For being an officer of the law, I’d think you’d know a thing or two about the crimes you’ve committed here tonight. You’re familiar with breaking and entering, right?”

  Luke stopped his train of thought. His eyes widened as he stared at me, seemingly baffled by what I’d said.

  “Wow,” he said, his lip twitching. “There you go, right on schedule.”

  “What?”

  “Changing the subject, diverting the direction of the conversation as soon as things get serious,” he said, dropping his shoulders. “The moment things get too real, as soon as it gets too close for comfort… you shut down. You’ll say or do anything if it means avoiding the real issue.”

  “The real issue?” I asked, almost appalled that he thought that my real issue didn’t directly involve him. “You’re the issue—”

  “Except I’m not,” he said, and he looked as though he truly believed that. “I’ll let it slide that Matt and Charlie think your behavior lately has everything to do with you missing your parents. I’ll let them go about their lives trying to find a way to fill that void. He
ll, I’ll even let them think I’m the bad guy for breaking your heart when you were at your most vulnerable. But just between the two of us, Julie… I won’t stand here and pretend that we don’t both know what’s truly going on. I know why you’re pissed at me, and deep down… so do you. But you have to let it go. I only wanted to protect you.”

  I watched as he shook his head, looking at me in complete disbelief. He looked as though he had a million things he wanted to say, but he only bit his lip and stared intently.

  “Okay, Luke. You wanna talk about what’s really bothering me?” I asked, taking a deep breath. I tried my best to brace myself for his answer to the following question, but I knew that no amount of preparation would ever be enough. I was scared, but I had to know. “Who’s Rebecca?”

  “Oh, come on, Julie—”

  “And don’t feed me any of this she’s just some girl Dad hired crap. I want the truth. Now. Who is she?

  “You’re gonna go with that, then?” he asked. “You’re gonna stand there and pretend that that’s really what’s bothering you?” He dropped his head and groaned. “Is this about sparing my feelings, or are you truly that stupid? You’re not mad about Rebecca—”

  “Who is she?”

  “I’m not telling you—”

  “Right,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  “I can’t tell you,” he said, clenching his teeth. “Because I don’t trust you. And if the truth gets out—if anyone else learns what I know—the people I love the most stand to get hurt. That’s not a risk I’m willing to take, Julie.”

  “I know you’re related to Molly,” I said, hoping my revelation would get a rise out of him. “I don’t know how, but I know she’s blood.”

  He watched me from the corner of his eye, almost as if he didn’t believe I actually knew something. “Fishing for answers?”

  “Bruno’s been watching you.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Even your uncle has been suspicious about your behavior, Luke. He collected DNA from both you and Molly. He brought the lab results over yesterday. Your genes match.”

  “Unbelievable,” he muttered