Stay With Me, Julia

by Elle Linder

  “When’s what?”

  “Seriously, Julia! The wedding? Did you guys talk about when?”

  “Oh, sorry. Duh. No, we haven’t talked about it. My mom and Aunt Becky arrive tonight, so I figured we’d wait to discuss the details until after they know. Plus, after he proposed, we spent two hours under the sheets and then took a shower together. My man is a sexual beast.” She fanned herself thinking of Luke’s sexual prowess.

  “Yeah? I didn’t need to know that.” Julia heard Lauren sigh. “So where is the sexual beast?”

  “There was an issue with a heater at the resort, so he went to talk with the repairman.”

  “Ah, no wonder you had time to call me and rub your gorgeous ring in my face,” she teased Julia as only she could. “Surely you have to have some idea of when you want to take vows committing yourself to your lumberjack?”

  “No idea, but there’s this spot on the resort property with a view of the falls. It’s breathtaking. When Luke showed it to me back in January—wow, January. It wasn’t that long ago, and yet I feel like I’ve known him my whole life.”

  “That’s how it should be. Now, go on about this perfect spot.”

  “Are you in a rush or something?”

  “Yeah, I have a wedding in three hours!”

  “Oh shit! I completely forgot it was Saturday! Of course you have a wedding! I’ll speed it up. Anyway, I imagined my dream wedding while we were there together. Luke thinks it’s a perfect spot for a wedding, but because of its location and being outdoors, the wedding would have to take place sometime between June and October. Do you think the lake gods brought us together?”

  “Lake gods? No idea, but I know you two belong together. So, are you thinking this year?”

  “Um, that I don’t know. Doesn’t that seem kind of fast?”

  “Not if you’re in love with him. Why wait? We aren’t getting any younger, and what is he, almost forty?”

  “He turns thirty-nine in November. I guess I’ll have to talk about it with my…wait for it…fiancé.” She giggled.

  “Okay, now you’re seriously rubbing it in my face. I’m so happy for you, babe. Now I need to go!”

  “Wait! Will you be my maid of honor?”

  “Hell yes!”

  “I just wanted to be sure. I’ll talk to ya later!”

  Julia gazed at her ring. Mrs. Luke Hamill.

  THIRTY-ONE

  Within Twenty-Four Hours

  Why hadn’t she told her mom about Luke? About falling in love with him?

  I’m a horrible daughter.

  Julia sat next to Luke on the leather sofa near the hearth. Her leg vibrated full-force waiting for her mom and Aunt Becky to arrive. It was after seven now, and they would walk through the resort doors at any moment.

  The answer was easy—a divorced dad with two kids and an insufferable ex-wife wouldn’t go over well with her mom. Then again, maybe she knew more than Julia realized with Becky’s play-by-play retellings from the Gossip Queen, Louise.

  If that were the case, why hadn’t her mom asked about Luke?

  Her leg shook with a stronger intensity than before, and Luke cupped her knee, halting its frenzied shake.

  “What’s wrong? You’re going to break this lovely leg.” He ran his pinky along her thigh. She didn’t react to his playful touch. “Julia, answer me. What’s wrong?”

  She sighed. “I didn’t talk about you or us.” She grimaced, looking into his dark eyes. “I think our engagement might give my mom a coronary.”

  “Hmm. Okay.”

  She watched him think. “What? What are you thinking?”

  “Well, I’m kind of surprised you didn’t gush about me.” He winked. “Does she know anything about me?”

  “If she does, it’s not because I told her. But Becky might have talked about you. You know she’s a blabbermouth. She and Louise are perfect for each other. And I know for a fact that Louise talks about us to her.” She was rambling and knew it. She grabbed his hand, and her engagement ring caught their eyes. “I’m sorry, Luke. There’s just been a lot going on with us. I didn’t know if we’d get through it. But look, we did.” They both looked at her ring again.

  “Don’t worry about it. I understand.”

  The entry door rang. Luke stole a quick kiss just before she jumped off the sofa, pulling him with her. As the women entered, Julia froze and squeezed Luke’s hand with cobra strength. “Zoey,” she breathed. She looked up at Luke, then back at her mom, Aunt Becky, and Zoey.

  “There’s my girl.” Her mother walked to her quickly. She resembled Becky, with her silver hair and glasses, except Donna had longer hair and hazel-green eyes like Julia, whereas Becky had blue eyes and a short pixie-cut hairstyle. “Come here.”

  “Mom, it’s so good to see you.” Julia released Luke’s hand to walk into her mother’s open arms.

  “This is your man… Oh my,” Donna whispered into Julia’s ear.

  “Yes. I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve missed you.”

  “Me too, honey.”

  “Luke, how are you?” Becky asked, hugging him.

  “I’m good. How—”

  Before he could say any more, Becky turned to Julia and asked, “And what about my favorite niece? How are you, darlin’?”

  “I’m wonderful,” she replied as her aunt wrapped her arms around her. Julia darted her eyes from Luke to Zoey. Why did she feel on the verge of a panic attack? It was stupid really, but having her younger cousin there knocked her off balance—along with the fact that she was engaged to a man. A divorced man with two kids that none of her family knew she was dating. Or did they know?

  The mischievous glint in Becky’s eyes when she pulled back made her wonder. Julia faced her cousin. “Hey, Zoey.” She gave her a friendly hug. “I didn’t know you were coming. It’s great to see you.”

  “Good to see you too. I thought it would be fun to surprise you.” Zoey glanced at Luke.

  It was then that Julia realized she hadn’t introduced him to anyone, and she felt like an idiot. Chip hadn’t even made a peep at the front desk. If Erika and Calvin had been around, it might have helped lessen the tension so she could stay focused. No doubt they would have been a nice distraction, but now it was up to Julia to handle the awkward situation on her own.

  “Why don’t we all sit by the hearth. Luke, can you get their bags, please?”

  “You got it, baby.” She stared at him and nodded. The small curl in the corner of his mouth put a massive smile on her face. Luke darted off to get the bags. Her gaze was locked on him until Becky cleared her throat, jerking Julia back to reality.

  “So, would anyone like a drink? Coffee, water, tea, a soda?” All three sets of eyes were on Luke. Julia looked over her shoulder at her Greek god, who was walking toward her with a look she knew well—the stinker. Now wasn’t the time to get her juices flowing.

  “Why are you blushing?” Zoey asked.

  Julia whirled around to see a familiar smirk on Zoey’s face. “Because it’s warm in here. Please, have a seat.” She pointed to the club chairs. By the time the women were comfortably seated, Luke was back. “Okay. I want to introduce you all to Luke Hamill, my boy—” She stopped herself. Luke swooped in, calming her with his warm eyes, and took her hand.

  “You got this,” he assured her.

  “Let me start over.” Her mom and Becky furrowed their brows. “Luke, this lovely woman is my mom, Donna. And over here, this beauty is Zoey Warren, my cousin. Now, this handsome man is Luke Hamill…my fiancé.”

  Crushed it.

  “What?” Donna stood instantly, her hand over her mouth.

  “I knew it!” Becky cackled while Zoey stayed silent in her chair.

  “When did this happen?” Donna asked.

  “Just this morning, and since I knew you were arriving tonight, I waited to tell you in person. See?” Julia put her hand out. Donna took it, stared briefly at the ring, and then she looked at Luke.

  “I’m so happy for b
oth of you.” She embraced Julia, touching the ends of her hair, as she always did. It wasn’t until now that Julia realized she missed her mom playing with her hair.

  “Thank you, Mom.”

  Donna turned to Luke with open arms. “Welcome to the family, Luke. Take good care of my baby.”

  Seeing her mom and her lumberjack hug made it all real. She was getting married.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I will. I promise.”

  Luke and Julia returned home after an hour-long visit at the resort. Right away he’d seen where Julia had gotten her warm, friendly demeanor from. Donna had welcomed him into the family immediately. He should have expected as much from a woman with Julia for a daughter and Becky for a sister.

  But what about Zoey? Luke sensed a definite tension between Julia and her but would wait until they left to ask about her. He wanted to revel in his new engagement and not get Julia worked up.

  Instead of talking about anyone or anything, he made sweet love to his bride-to-be. He’d never imagined his life would be so perfect and complete.

  The sound of Luke’s phone vibrating on the nightstand woke him. He blinked his eyes open just as Julia stirred in his arms. He cringed, hoping she wouldn’t wake as he reached for the cell phone. Rick Torres was the caller.

  By the time it registered that his ex-friend was calling, he’d missed the call. That’s when he noticed there were two calls before that—another one from Rick and one from Renee.

  In a stealthy move, he slid his arm out from under Julia and rolled off the bed without waking her. He walked out to the kitchen to return the call. It was 2:32 a.m. He knew this wasn’t going to be good.

  Luke pushed the call button. It rang once.

  “Damn, I was afraid I wouldn’t get ahold of you,” Rick feebly said.

  At that moment, Luke flashed back to Iraq as he stood in his pitch house. To a time when they were up all night, sweating like pigs, and resolved that each day was a gift. No matter how tired they’d been fighting against the enemy, the adrenaline coursing through their veins had kept them alert and alive. But it had never masked how tired they were when it came to their voice, and right now Rick sounded tired. Long-forgotten feelings of friendship—of a brotherhood—clutched Luke’s chest.

  “Luke?”

  Those emotions vanished hearing Rick’s voice again. Why in the hell was he on the phone with Rick in the middle of the night?

  “What happened?” The question jolted his heart rate as he waited for an answer.

  “Renee’s been arrested.”

  “Shit!” Luke gripped the top of his head. “Where are my kids?”

  “They’re with me.”

  “With you?”

  “Yeah, and they’re fine. Renee caused some trouble in a bar tonight. They found a vial of coke on her. Dude, she was high as a kite.”

  Luke paced in his kitchen. The rage unleashed inside him was made worse when he saw the antique plate on the counter.

  “Are you there?” Rick asked.

  “Yeah, I’m thinking.”

  “What’s to think about? You need to get up here now. I can’t keep your kids. They don’t like me. The only reason I have them is that I knew the arresting officer. Otherwise, they’d be in foster care.”

  “Fuck!” He walked out the front door.

  The shock of cold to his naked body wasn’t enough to temper the explosive storm building inside him. Renee had done it again, grabbing him by the balls with a death grip. The madness had to stop, but he couldn’t think about that now. His kids needed him.

  “Look, I wouldn’t have called you if it wasn’t important or if I could handle it. But, man, I have a hard enough time with just Izzy. And to tell you the truth, Heather hates me. I can’t say that I blame her, but I wouldn’t want to force her to stay with me. You need to get out here, asap.”

  Luke scratched his head. The pitch-black sky swallowed him as he blinked back emotions. The clear night made Ursa Major visible—the Great Bear. It seemed a fitting constellation to behold with his fierce, protective instincts on high alert, ready to pounce on the first threat. Not only for his kids but Julia as well.

  The decision to go to Juneau wasn’t up for discussion—he would be on the first flight—but telling Julia wasn’t going to be easy. With his back up against the wall, a tug-of-war pulled him in different directions—his kids and the love of his life. Two separate worlds he had tried like hell to keep divided.

  Why? His kids weren’t going anywhere. But the woman who loved him so completely could leave. His gut twisted his innards; his two worlds were about to collide.

  “I’ll be on the first flight out. Thank you for taking my kids. I’ll text you when I have my travel arrangements.”

  “Sure, buddy. And don’t worry, I’d never let anything happen to your kids.” The awkward silence filled the space for a few beats.

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  The call ended, and the frigid night air made Luke shiver from his toes up to his head. The clarity of the situation blared like sirens in his head. He walked back into his house.

  First, he checked flights out of Spokane. There was a flight at six that would put him in Juneau by nine thirty. That was the flight he would take, and time wasn’t on his side. He needed to be on the road in thirty minutes.

  The sight of Julia sleeping sucked the air out of his lungs as he entered their bedroom. How he wished he could wake up from this nightmare. All he wanted was to crawl in bed and feel her roll toward him and entwine her leg with his. He wanted her head on his chest with her hair fanned out like silk thread. But none of that was his reality. In less than thirty minutes he would leave her in the dead of night.

  It took him fifteen minutes to put together an overnight bag. Numbly, he brushed his teeth, splashed water on his face, combed his hair, and put clothes on. All the while Julia slept. Fear overpowered his logic.

  I’m a fucking idiot. He realized he should have woken her up first thing so she wouldn’t be shocked by his quick departure.

  He walked over to the bed.

  “Julia…baby, wake up,” he whispered, brushing her hair back. The light from the bathroom reflected softly on her face. Her eyes fluttered open. At first, they smiled at him, but that didn’t last long before her expression changed from one of happiness to confusion. Stabbing himself in the eye with a dull pencil would have been less painful than what he was about to do.

  “What’s wrong?” She popped up in bed so fast the covers fell to her waist. Her bare body trembled as it hit the cool air. Luke grabbed her robe from the bench at the end of the bed and wrapped it around her. “Luke, what’s going on? Why are you dressed?” She rolled out of bed, slipped the robe on, and tied the belt around her waist in a knot.

  “I have to go to Juneau. Renee’s been arrested for possession of cocaine.”

  Groggy with sleep, she blinked her eyes, and her silence tortured him.

  “Rick called thirty minutes ago. She was high and caused some trouble in a bar.”

  “And you’re just waking me up now?” She turned the light on in the bedroom. He saw her look at his overnight bag by the door, and she whipped around to face him. “Why you? Why do you have to go? Doesn’t she have a friend or family to help her? Why does it have to be you?”

  Luke sat on the edge of the bed with his arms open to her. “Come here.”

  Reluctantly she let him hug her. “Why you?” She pressed her body into his embrace. Against his neck, he felt her mouth tremble. He hated hurting her. “Why?”

  “My kids need me. They’re with Rick right now. He took them so that they wouldn’t go into foster care.”

  “So, you’re going for the kids? Not Renee?” Julia pulled back with uncertainty in her eyes as she searched his for the truth. “Then what? What do you plan to do once you get there? Just be with the kids? Hang out? For how long?”

  He inhaled deeply. Now she was wide awake, clear of mind, and he had to leave in less than ten minutes. “I don’t
have answers for you.”

  She pulled away from him, crossing her arms over her chest protectively.

  “Once I get there I’ll know more. Then we’ll figure this out.”

  “You have no answers? So this is how it’s going to be every time Renee needs you? The call comes at any time of day, and it’s, Well Julia, I have no answers for you. My ex needs me, and I have to go!”

  “No! That’s not how it’s going to be!” He took a calming breath. “What do you expect me to do? My kids need me. I won’t leave them over there alone with their mother in jail. They need me, Julia.”

  She laughed mockingly at him, shaking her head.

  “Can’t you understand?” His voice boomed, and she froze, but that wouldn’t silence her.

  “Yeah, I understand. I’m not heartless! But God, Luke, every time something good happens with us, Renee spoils it! It hasn’t been one day since we got engaged, and already you’re leaving me to be with her. I noticed you didn’t deny going for her along with the kids!”

  “Son of a bitch! She’s the mother of my kids, and they need her. I have to help her!”

  “Then go help her!” She stormed out of the bedroom, and Luke went after her. “Maybe instead of building a bigger house for our growing family, you move her down into your lake house, and we’ll buy the little house next door that’s for sale. Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. You can run back and forth between the two of us. Doesn’t that sound perfect? Heaven on earth! We’ll be an all-American family with you tending to both of our needs!”

  “Julia, stop!”

  “No, I will not! What happens when I have a baby and she needs you? Huh? You’ll scratch your beard, shrug your shoulders, and hop on the first fucking flight to Juneau because Renee needs you? Because she’s found another way to tear you away from me? I could be in fucking labor with your baby, and you’d drop us in a heartbeat for that bitch! Where are your fucking boundaries?!” She covered her mouth in surprise. Julia took a deep breath and waved him off. “Go, Luke, Renee needs you.” She plopped down onto the sofa and covered her face, trying to hide her tears.