Their Unfinished Business

by Braun, Jackie

  “I wonder where Luke could have slept?” she mused aloud, eyebrows arching.

  “At his grandmother’s cottage,” Ali replied primly. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

  Ali sat at her desk and booted up her computer to check her e-mail, hoping her sister would take the hint and go away. No such luck, of course. Audra settled one hip on the corner of the desk—no easy task in her snug little skirt—and picked up a paperweight.

  “Interesting,” Audra said, idly rolling the weight from one palm to the other. “Luke chose to sleep in a dusty, musty cottage that has no running water or electricity, food or coffee, rather than return to his nice, comfortable suite of rooms at the resort. I wonder what could have compelled him to stay there?”

  “Maybe it was the view of Lake Michigan. Maybe he was feeling sentimental. I didn’t ask,” Ali snapped, jabbing at the keyboard to enter her password.

  “I could hazard a guess.”

  Ali stopped typing. “Don’t, Audra.”

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t make this into more than it is.”

  “Define ‘this,’” Audra said, not put off in the least by Ali’s cool tone. “Did something happen between the two of you last night?”

  “No. Of course not.” But she was pretty sure she was blushing. “I mean, we kissed. It was nothing.”

  “Nothing? Okay, Al. If you say so.”

  “I say so!” she shouted, slapping her palms onto the desk top. “I’m no longer the girl who worshipped the ground he walked on.”

  Audra frowned then. “I don’t seem to remember it ever being that one-sided, sweetie. He worshipped you plenty right back.”

  “But…” He still left. She shook off the bitter memories. “Look, it doesn’t matter. That’s ancient history. Luke is here on business. Neither one of us is interested in taking a stroll down memory lane.”

  “I don’t know about that.” Audra pursed her lips thoughtfully before continuing. “He looked plenty interested just now when he was helping you get that helmet off.”

  “Were you spying on us?”

  “Please, I don’t spy. Much. I was in the lobby. I heard the motorcycle and I was curious if it was Luke’s since I didn’t see his bike in the lot this morning when I arrived for work. So, I did what any normal curious person would do. I looked out the window that faces the lot.”

  Audra grinned now. “And I’ve got to tell you, Al. I was a little surprised to see you on the back of his Harley with your arms wrapped around him like you never planned to let go.”

  “I was merely trying to keep from falling off. He still drives like he’s racing against the devil.”

  Audra made a little humming sound that set Ali’s teeth on edge.

  “Whatever you say.”

  “Don’t you have work to do?”

  “Actually I’m on my way to meet Seth for lunch.” A smile bloomed on Audra’s face as she stood. “At home. It’s going to be a long lunch. A very long lunch.”

  Ali rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to hear about it,” she muttered. “I don’t want to hear about it.”

  At Ali’s insistence, they left Luke’s motorcycle in the lot at Saybrook’s and walked out past the cottages to the adjoining land. Much of the acreage was dense forest, populated with hardwoods and cedars that left the air fragrant. Dried leaves and decaying wood crunched under their feet, and as he and Ali picked their way through the newly sprouted ferns, they surprised a couple of whitetail deer.

  The sights, the sounds, even the smell had Luke feeling nostalgic. In New York he’d told himself he hadn’t missed this kind of nature. He’d told himself Central Park was enough green space and wildlife for him. But now he was inhaling deeply, glad to be back. Maybe he should consider holding on to his grandmother’s place. After all, he would be returning to Trillium occasionally now that he had business here.

  His gaze strayed to Ali. Soft light sprinkled down through the newly budded leaves to play over her face. What would her reaction be if he told her he was thinking of coming back a few times a year?

  “Why are you looking at me that way?” she asked sharply and he realized he’d been staring.

  “There’s a spiderweb caught in your hair,” he replied.

  The socialites he knew back in New York would have screamed with unholy abandon at such a statement. Ali merely ran a hand over her head and then pointed toward a thick growth of trees.

  “There’s a little stream just beyond those trees, I think. It runs nearly dry by late summer, but it might make a decent hazard.”

  Business. That’s what her mind was on. Luke decided it should be on his as well.

  “It isn’t going to be cheap to clear this,” he said, glancing up at the towering trees.

  “No, I don’t suppose it will. But I like the idea of keeping it as natural as possible. I’d like to see the fairways just wide enough to make play enjoyable without turning this into a meadow.” She smiled then and his breath caught at the joy and excitement crowding her expression. “It’s going to be incredible.”

  “Incredible,” he repeated softly, and then flushed when she turned to look at him. “Which reminds me, we need to come up with a name for the course.”

  “Actually I’ve given that some thought.” She plucked a leaf off a nearby bush, looking somewhat uncertain now.

  “And?”

  “I was thinking we could call it The Rebel.”

  “Named for anyone you know?” he asked wryly.

  Half of her mouth crooked up into a grin. “A couple of people, actually.”

  “Oh? And what does Audra think of it?”

  “I haven’t asked her yet. I figured I’d run it by you first.”

  He snorted out a laugh. “It suits.”

  Rebel. He certainly had been one. So had Audra. Odd that they were both back now when they had once been equally eager to go. Of course, he wouldn’t be staying for long.

  They walked until they came to a gravel road that led back to the resort. It was a private road, but a car was pulled onto the shoulder, its front end half buried in the ferns.

  “Nice car,” Luke commented. “I didn’t think many islanders went for foreign numbers.”

  “They don’t.”

  “A guest then?”

  “Maybe.” But Ali was frowning.

  As they made their way back to the resort she wondered what Bradley Townsend’s Mercedes had been doing parked there.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  BEFORE noon the next day, Ali had managed to wash half of the cottage’s windows. Normally she would have flipped on her stereo to perform such a boring chore, but there’d been no need. From just over the rise came the steady thump of bass and the wail of electric guitar.

  Luke had arrived early that morning. She’d heard his motorcycle revving up the lane as she’d waited for the coffeemaker to finish its task. Not long after that she’d spotted Tom Whitey’s pickup truck idling past as well. Apparently Luke was making good on his plan to see to some repairs before putting the place up for sale.

  As she washed the window, Bruce Springsteen belted out “Born in the U.S.A.” and Ali mentally shook her head. Luke always had enjoyed his music loud and a little gritty. The Boss was his favorite singer, but another performer came in a close second. She figured she was probably the only person on the planet who knew Luke had a thing for Frank Sinatra.

  She’d teased him mercilessly when she’d stopped over at his grandmother’s one afternoon back when they were teenagers and discovered his fondness. Badboy Luke Banning crooning tunes from the 1950s. What would his friends say? He’d been nineteen at the time, all cocky attitude and lean muscle. She’d been sixteen and, as she recalled, incredibly curious about the odd sizzle that had shimmied up her spine when he’d plucked her off her feet and carried her down to the lake.

  He’d tossed her in from the end of the same dock that had disintegrated beneath his feet the previous morning. But back then, he had stood at the end of i
t, laughing uproariously when her head had bobbed out of the water. His laughter had stopped abruptly, however, when she’d slogged toward shore, white T-shirt and shorts plastered to her skin. By fourteen, Audra had been filling out a C-cup bra and had already had high school boys drooling. At sixteen, Ali’s proportions had remained much less conspicuous. But she still remembered the way Luke’s eyes had widened and then his gaze had cut away. A flush had crept up his neck to his cheeks before he’d made excuses and stormed back up to the house. Ali had known with all the certainty of a girl falling in love for the first time, that there would never be anyone for her but Luke.

  “Thinking of me?”

  She snapped out of the past, so startled to hear his voice that she nearly fell off her perch on the stepladder she’d positioned against the side of the cottage.

  “God! Don’t sneak up on a person that way,” she snarled, more irritated by the memory than by his present intrusion. She set aside the wad of paper towels and the spray bottle of cleaner, and climbed down. Her tone was only marginally more civil when she asked, “What do you want?”

  “Tom decided to call it a day. He got a nasty splinter helping me drag the old dock out of the lake. I was wondering if you’d be interested in grabbing some lunch?” He smiled. “My treat.”

  “I’m really—”

  “Busy?” One eyebrow lifted as he glanced toward the ladder. “Won’t that keep?”

  “I want to finish this today.”

  “But you’ll stop for food at some point, right? Why not have lunch with me? Consider it a payback for breakfast yesterday.” He winked then. “Besides, I’m curious about some things Tom mentioned.”

  Ali knew she was being baited. Cursing herself, she bit anyway. “What things?”

  He shrugged. “Just some island gossip about your developer boyfriend.”

  “You asked Tom Whitey about Bradley Townsend?” Her tone was incredulous and a couple of decibels louder than it had been. “What gives you the right to go poking around in my private life?”

  “I didn’t go poking around. Tom brought it up.” His easygoing smile had her gritting her teeth. “You know how news travels on the island.”

  Didn’t she just. Now she was curious as well.

  “Give me half an hour.”

  Thirty minutes later, Ali had showered and changed into a pair of neatly pressed khaki trousers and a lightweight argyle sweater in hues of navy and green. Surveying her appearance in the bedroom mirror, she thought she looked ready either to tee one up on the first hole of a golf course or head to class at a private girls’ academy. Sometimes, she wished she could be more inspired in her clothing choices, but the truth was, she liked the clean lines of the classics. They suited her personality—most of the time. Every so often, though, she felt a little unconventional, a little eager to shake up the status quo.

  Like now, she decided as Luke pulled up on his motorcycle. She could tell from the gleam in his eye that he expected her to argue. She didn’t. She strapped on the helmet, swung a leg over the seat and, telling herself it was purely in the interest of safety, she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.

  By the time they pulled into the Sandpiper’s parking lot, though, she was regretting her spontaneity. The last thing she needed was to set more tongues wagging. It was a moot point she realized when Joel Norville walked out of the restaurant, followed by his wife, Courtney.

  Luke and the Conlans had gone to school with both of them. Courtney had been Courtney Lords back then, a varsity cheerleader known as much for her vicious gossiping as her ability to do the splits. She was still a vicious gossip.

  It was small of Ali to think it now, but she couldn’t help but feel that the other woman had “peaked” in high school. Other than her marriage to Joel just after commencement, five months after which the first of three little Norvilles had been born, she’d done precious little else that could be considered productive. As for Joel, if not for his father’s plumbing supply business on the mainland, he would have had a difficult time finding employment. Ali had never met a lazier pair. Ironically, back at Trillium High, Courtney and Joel had taken sadistic delight in tormenting Luke about his lack of parents and dearth of privileges.

  Now they were grinning as if they had been appointed to head up the welcoming committee.

  “Luke Banning!” Courtney shouted.

  “Hey, good to see you, man,” Joel enthused.

  “Hello, Courtney. Joel.”

  Luke shook their hands, nodding politely.

  “Is that a real Rolex?” Joel had the audacity to ask, turning Luke’s wrist for a better view.

  One side of Luke’s mouth quirked up. “Nah. I bought it on a street corner in New York. Twenty bucks. Looks authentic, though, huh?”

  Ali had a hard time hiding her grin as the other man frowned in confusion.

  “Hi, Ali,” Courtney said, as if just now noticing her presence.

  “Hello.” Manners dictated that she ask, “How are your kids?”

  Courtney snorted. “Oh, driving me up one wall, across the ceiling and down the other side. But I love them. I’m glad I had them so young. I’ve heard that women in their thirties often have a hard time conceiving. Speaking of that, is Audra having any luck?”

  Ali felt her mouth fall open before she managed to say, “I wouldn’t presume to ask her.”

  The subtle reprimand was lost on the other woman.

  “You know,” Courtney went on, putting her hands on her full hips and discreetly sucking in her stomach. “I’ve also heard women who give birth later in life have a harder time getting their figures back.”

  “It didn’t seem to be a problem for my mother,” Ali replied tightly. “Even after twins.”

  “Well, Audra shouldn’t wait too long. Her eggs aren’t getting any younger.” Courtney smiled cattily. “Of course, as her twin, you know that.”

  Ali was still trying to work up a scathing reply when Courtney turned her attention back to Luke. Apparently satisfied that she had pointed out the advancing age of Ali’s reproductive tract, she said, “You’re as good-looking as ever, Luke. It seems to me that I read in a magazine a couple months back that you were all but engaged. Still heading toward the altar?”

  “You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the tabloids,” he admonished. “Most of it is fiction.”

  Her eyes lit up like a child’s at Christmas. “Good. I have a cousin who is just dying to meet you.”

  “I won’t be around long enough to socialize.”

  “That’s not what the grapevine is saying,” Courtney said. “We hear you’re looking to invest, possibly in the resort. Everybody on the island is talking about you. Your ears must be burning,” Courtney added, her grin somehow managing to be sly and lascivious at the same time.

  “It’s just like old times then,” Luke replied. The sarcasm in his tone wrung nervous laughter from the other couple.

  “If you’ll excuse us, we were just going in for lunch,” Ali said.

  “Is that just like old times, too?” Courtney asked. Before Ali could respond, the other woman added, “Oh, no. That’s right. I heard you were seeing someone these days. A mainlander, I believe.”

  “Come on, Courtney. I need to get back to work,” Joel said. Hitching up his pants, he said importantly, “I’m the co-owner in my father’s business these days. I’m helping out with a job on the north shore today. A lot of big new homes have gone in there during the past several years. It’s been very good for business.”

  “I’ll bet,” Luke replied.

  “I ran into Tom Whitey at the post office this morning and he said he was stopping at your old place to give you a quote on repairs. If you need any plumbing supplies, be sure to let me know.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  Finally they were gone, but Ali should have guessed the Norvilles wouldn’t be the only ones to sidle up to Luke. By the time they had settled into a booth at the rear of the Sandpiper, half a dozen more isl
anders had welcomed Luke home.

  Even Sheriff Curt Dolan came by to shake his hand, acting as if back when he’d been a deputy he hadn’t ticketed Luke half a dozen times for speeding and threatened to toss him in jail over a little tussle that broke out at the marina. The other kids involved had been let off with a stern warning, but Deputy Dolan had cuffed Luke, put him in the back of his squad car and driven him to the police station, making him sweat it out for a good hour before releasing him to his grandmother’s custody.

  Now, as the older man fingered the bill of his official-issue hat, he said, “I always knew you’d wind up a big shot.”

  “I thought you figured me for winding up in the big house,” Luke countered smoothly, and Ali kicked him under the table.

  The sheriff cleared his throat as heat crept up his cheeks. Before he turned to leave, he added meaningfully, “By the way, it’s still illegal to ride that bike without a helmet. Fine’s pretty stiff, too, but then I’d imagine you have the money to pay it these days.”

  “That I do.”

  After he walked away, Ali said, “Did you have to antagonize the man? He’s the sheriff now.”

  “Sheriff? That figures,” Luke scoffed. “Still, what’s he going to do?”

  “Maybe he’ll arrest you for arrogance.”

  Luke laughed outright, causing heads to turn at the neighboring tables. He lowered his voice when he replied, “Believe me, Dolan wanted to a couple of times.”

  “He never liked you,” Ali agreed.

  Luke’s lighthearted mood seemed to evaporate. He fiddled with a couple of packets of sugar from the center of the table and admitted, “I once heard him tell my grandmother that if she didn’t get me under control we would both wind up in court: Me in leg irons and him testifying for the prosecution.”

  “Does that still bother you?” Ali asked quietly.

  “Nah. I’m long over it.” But even as he said it his fingers tensed on the little white packets until they burst and sugar granules scattered across the tabletop.

  He glanced at her afterward, as if daring her to comment. She picked up a plastic-coated menu instead. After a few moments of studying it, she said, “It must feel good to have so many people eating crow.”