Back to Luke (13 page)

Corky set her cup down, her expression puzzled. “He never talks to anybody about Timmy. Not even us.”

That surprised Jayne.

She decided to clear the air. “Okay, look, I care about Luke. Very much. And I think he cares about me. I know he’s a good man, and I want to see where this goes between us. But I’m not making any promises. For what it’s worth, neither is he.”

As if everyone needed time to digest that, Rosa stood, went to the cupboard and brought back a tin of cookies. When she opened it, the sweet smell of chocolate—from the round little balls covered with frosting—wafted over to Jayne. Everyone took one and nibbled.

Belle began the conversation again. “Fair enough, Jayne.”

“So you’re going to give me a chance?”

Teresa snorted. “It wouldn’t matter if we didn’t. He has a mind of his own.”

“Oh, no, you’re wrong. It would matter a great deal. One thing I know about Luke is how much he loves all of you and counts on you.”

Maria cocked her head. “You buttering us up?”

“No, but I would if it would help you accept me.”

Again, they laughed, the feminine chorus filling the air.

“Consider us buttered,” Corky told her.

Then Maria leaned over and squeezed her arm. “Be careful with him, Jayne. He’s been hurt too much already.”

By her, too, which was apparently something his family didn’t know, so she didn’t tell them.

“And don’t coddle him.” Corky again.

“But spoil him a bit.” Teresa shrugged a shoulder. “He’s used to that.”

“I want you to love my boy like we do.” When Jayne showed surprise at his mother’s use of the word
love,
Rosa held up her hand. “We know him. We know how he feels just seeing you two together.”

“For what it’s worth,” Belle added, “we can tell how you feel about him, too. By the way you are with him.”

Jayne was at a loss for words. Wisely, she again kept quiet. She’d save her comments for Luke himself. One thing was for sure. She was going to follow Teresa’s advice. After him leaving her alone to deal with the Corelli women en masse, she wasn’t going to coddle him tonight.

F
ROWNING
, Luke pulled up to the site next to Jayne’s Lexus five minutes after she’d arrived. As he got out of his truck, clouds drifted overhead. That wasn’t what was bothering him, though. This was so stupid, her refusing to drive to work with him after staying the night at his house—the past ten nights, to be exact. For some stupid reason, she was hoping to keep their relationship a secret from his crew. He’d even resorted to sending her sexy e-mails and text messages when they weren’t together, which had been fun but still secretive. She’d finally told Miss Ellie about the two of them because Jayne had been away most nights and didn’t want the older woman to worry.

He
wanted to shout their new bond from the rooftop of the house. Yet he’d succumbed to Jayne’s demand. How could he not? She held far too much sway over him, and he was powerless to stop his headlong vault into their relationship.

He caught sight of her over by the tree on the side of the lot with Cal, examining the blueprints spread out before them on a couple of sawhorses. A variety of things had to be recalculated because of the changes Jayne had made in the floor plan. She’d agreed to work with Cal on any needed revisions in the wiring to accommodate the new laundry room. Because Harmony Housing was building twenty-five units in all, the changes had meant they’d had to reorder materials. For some reason, his brother-in-law hadn’t been happy to get Jayne’s input, but Luke never could figure out Cal. He looked okay now, though, and was smiling at her.

“If you’re going to keep this thing between you two a secret, you’d better stop watching her like you’re a football player who has the hots for the head cheerleader.” Jess spoke from beside him, his tone teasing.

“I know.” Luke ran a hand through his hair. “Hell, I wish she didn’t want to hide what’s between us.”

“She’s a private person in a lot of ways.”

That concept was foreign to Luke, given the family he came from. He turned to Jess. A week ago his friend had accepted Ben Scarborough’s apology
and
Luke and Jayne’s relationship with quiet equanimity and wished them well. Though Jess had been pissed off that they’d kept their past relationship from him, he’d eventually forgiven them that deceit, too. Then he’d gone home to work on his marriage.

“How’s it going with Naomi?” Luke asked as they headed for the trailer.

“It’s better now that I’ve moved back into the house. I hate that we’re walking on eggshells around each other, but it is what it is.” He sighed. “At least last night we finally…” He trailed off as if he realized he was thinking aloud.

“Slept together?”

“I didn’t say that.” Jess was private in some ways, too, which Luke used to tease him about mercilessly.

“You didn’t have to. I can tell.”

Jess nodded to Jayne. “She okay?”

“Couldn’t be better.”

Luke’s gaze rested on Jayne as she stood and stretched. The graceful bend of her back made him think about the steamy night they’d spent together.

But he scowled as Mick O’Malley approached her. And, shit, what was he doing? He said something to her. She nodded and he circled around to put his hands on her shoulders. Began to massage them. It was a way-too-intimate thing to do, and Luke started toward them.

Jess held him back. “Leave it. Interfering will only make things worse. He always went after the girls you liked.”

“Think he knows?”

“Yeah. He always did. Come on inside, I want to schedule the first inspections.”

“Okay. She’s moved away from him, anyway.”

They juggled things for an hour, then Luke left the trailer to check on the progress inside the house. He loved this part of the building process, when the innards of the structure were installed. In a way, the wiring and the plumbing were like the systems of the body, giving
life to the building itself. He caught a glimpse of Jayne hauling plywood with the reverend and walked over.

“Jess needs you in the trailer, Jayne,” he lied. “I’ll finish this with Pastor Wilkins.”

“Oh, okay, thanks.” She gave him a cute smile and left.

But she wasn’t smiling when she stormed back a few minutes later. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Helping with the plywood,” he said innocently.

“Jess didn’t want to see me.” God, he loved it when she was full of fire like this.

“Sure he did.”

“No, he didn’t.” Her eyes narrowed. Reaching out, she grabbed his arm, said, “Excuse us, Reverend,” and dragged Luke out of the house and around the corner, where they could be alone.

“You did that on purpose,” she hissed softly, so no one would hear them. “You didn’t want me lifting that wood.”

He threw back his head, tipped his hard hat and hitched his hip cockily. “So, sue me.”

Jayne fumed and laughter bubbled out of him. He couldn’t help it. She was such an easy mark sometimes, and it didn’t take much to rile her.

“Don’t you dare laugh at this, Luke Corelli. I still haven’t forgiven you for leaving me alone with your sisters yesterday.”

“Why? You passed the test.”

She was so mad she sputtered. He glanced around and when he saw that no one was watching them, he grabbed her waist and kissed her hard on the mouth. She tasted of anger and her own personal sweetness. “Gotta go. We’ll settle this later at home. In bed.”

As he walked away, she regained her powers of
speech and swore at him until he got to the trailer and could no longer hear her curses.

“W
HAT DO YOU DO
, cast a spell on me?” Jayne was lying with her head on Luke’s bare chest, drowsy from their vigorous lovemaking.

“If I do, you cast one on me, too.” He kissed her hair. “That was mind numbing.”

“Hmm.”

They cuddled close for a minute. Then Luke added, “I wanted to ask you something.”

She tensed. “Is it bad?”

She always expected the worst, a habit he hoped to cure her of by proving he wasn’t like the other men in her life, including her father.

“No. It’s not bad.” He ran a hand down her bare back as he spoke. “On Sunday, Maria asked if we’d watch Analise this weekend. Then she’d return the favor and let us have her cottage on Keuka Lake for a long weekend. Jess owes me a few days off.”

Jayne stilled. “We?”

“Yes. Stay here for the weekend. Help me take care of the kid. Then we can have a whole four days at the lake with no interruptions.”

That sounded heavenly. “Okay. It shouldn’t be too hard to babysit one little girl, especially with that kind of motivation.”

“Ha! You don’t know her. She’s a demon child.”

“Who’s totally enamored of her Uncle Luke.”

“What can I say?” Laughter rumbled in his chest.

“Now that’s settled, want to go another round?”

He flipped her on her back. “You just want me for the sex, sweetheart?”

He looked so handsome with his hair tousled, his face relaxed and teasing. This Luke was devastating.

“Must be because I was mad as hell at you at the site today.”

“I got that.” He lowered his head and kissed her chest.

“I’d prefer no one at work find out about us.”

“I know.” He pulled the sheet down.

“But you don’t care?” she asked, a trace of concern in her voice.

That stopped him. He looked up and straight into her eyes. “Of course I care what you think. It’s just that I want everybody to know we’re together. I can’t understand why you don’t.”

“I…what if it doesn’t work out between us?”

His whole body stiffened. “Oh, that’s just what I wanted to hear.”

“Maybe we should be taking things slower.”

“Too late for that, Jaynie.”

“Is it?”

Now he stilled completely. “It is on my part.”

When she didn’t answer right away, he started to draw back.

“No, wait. Luke…” She tugged him over her again. “I guess it is on my part, too.”

He smiled. “Now that didn’t kill you, did it?”

“No, actually, it felt good to say it aloud.”

“Then it’ll feel good to tell everybody.”

“You just don’t know when to stop, do you?”

The devil came into his eyes. “Nope,” he said and ducked his head under the covers.

Minutes later, she was begging him
not
to stop.

“‘A
ND THEN
, Nancy Drew looked at her father. He frowned and said…’”

“‘If you really want to go, I’ll take you.’” Analise finished the paragraph before Jayne could and smiled with the cocky self-confidence of her uncle. Luke’s niece had been second guessing the next lines of the story for the past half hour.

The little girl was insatiable in demanding both Jayne’s and Luke’s time this weekend, but she was so damn cute, with her light blond hair and blue eyes, that neither adult had been able to refuse her much. Poor Maria, when she came home to this spoiled child. Even Krystle, their dog, had gotten the royal treatment, and snoozed now at the end of one of Luke’s spare beds. Jayne couldn’t believe how much she enjoyed taking care of both the girl and the puppy.

“Where’s Uncle Luke?” Analise asked when the chapter ended and Jayne set the book aside.

“He’s over at your house, fixing your bathroom faucet.”

In addition to asking them to watch the child and the dog, Maria had left a list of chores for Luke to do at her house, a block away from his home. Now that Jayne had gotten to know his sisters, she took pleasure in watching them boss Luke around.

“I love Uncle Luke.”

So do I.

Oh, Lord, where had that come from? Was that how Jayne really felt? Her first impulse was to deny it. She didn’t want to be in love with Luke yet. Things were just getting back on track for them. And, in some part of her heart, Jayne was still afraid that every man she came to care about would turn on her. On the other hand, she’d vowed to be optimistic about their relationship.

“Time for bed, honey.”

Analise shook her head vehemently, sending her wispy hair flying. Her mouth formed a perfect pout. “Not till Uncle Luke gets back.”

“I suppose we could wait. What do you want to do until then?”

“A makeover.”

“You’re too young for a makeover.”

“Am not!” Now the girl scowled just like her uncle. “We got the stuff over there.” She pointed to a vanity that Luke had built in this room.

Jayne had been awed when she discovered what Luke had done to the second floor of his house. He’d remodeled his bedroom, equipping it with skylights, a warm wood ceiling and a lot of masculine accents. He’d also torn down the wall between it and the second bedroom, making a desk and computer area.

But what surprised her the most was the way he’d remodeled the rest of the upstairs. He’d created two kids’ rooms, one for the nieces who came to visit and one for the nephews, each with furniture and decor befitting their gender. Hence, the vanity.

“Don’t you think those things are for the older girls?”
Jayne asked of the makeup and hairstyling accoutrements on the vanity.

“I’m not a baby.”

Resigned, Jayne slid off the bed, pulled Analise up by the hand and crossed to the vanity. Krystle woke up, trotted behind them and sat at their feet, watching intently.

Jayne was in the process of curling the girl’s hair when Analise said, “You’re nicer than any of Uncle Luke’s other girlfriends.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“How come?”

“How come what?”

“How come you’re nicer? Do you like him better than they did?”

Jayne laughed out loud. “You know what? Maybe I do.”

L
UKE FOUND
Analise and Jayne in the girls’ bedroom. Scents of perfume and hair spray filled the air. From the doorway, he watched Jayne put something on her own eyes. He had thought Analise would run her in circles, but she seemed okay.

“You know, both of you are too pretty for that war paint.”

Analise peered over at him. Oh, man, Maria was going to kill him. The kid looked about sixteen. His eyes dropped to the floor and he saw they’d even put a pink bow in Krystle’s hair. But then Jayne turned, capturing Luke’s full attention. She never wore much makeup—just something on her lips and maybe her cheeks, so he’d never seen her
done up,
not even in New York. He couldn’t believe it. She was runway-model gorgeous.
The stuff on her eyes accented their violet color and her cheeks shone with something iridescent.

“Close your mouth, Uncle Luke,” she said, smiling.

“I…I…holy cow, I’m dazzled.”

“Don’t get used to it. I can’t be bothered with all this on a daily basis.”

“You don’t need it.”

“What about me, Uncle Luke?”

He focused on Analise. “Who are you, missy? I came looking for my niece.”

Analise giggled and blushed. “It’s me, Uncle Luke.”

“Nah.” He walked closer. “You’re a young lady. I want my little girl back.”

Grinning hugely, Analise threw herself at Luke. He held her close and over the child’s head, he saw Jayne watching them. Suddenly he was hit with the same thoughts he’d had during their picnic, the day he sat in the ants—thoughts about pregnancy and children and marriage. This time, he freely admitted his notions were linked to the beauty before him.

S
OMETHING WAS WRONG
with Luke today. They’d driven up to Maria’s cottage on Keuka Lake joking, teasing and trading sexy innuendos about having four whole days together and what they’d do with their time. Luke’s explicitness had made her warm, as had the way he’d run his hand over her bare knee. When they’d arrived, they’d moved their things into the cottage quickly so they could take the boat out.

Now they were on the water, with the June sun beaming down on them, the air warm enough for shorts and tanks, but Luke’s mood had turned dark. It had changed right after he’d gone into the kitchen to get the
keys to the cabin cruiser. Jayne found him staring at Maria’s refrigerator, the sadness on his face bone-deep. When she’d asked what was wrong, he’d said in a clipped tone, “Nothing.”

Since then, he’d only spoken to her to help her with the boat. Jayne tried not to read anything into his mood. Just because he was normally upbeat when they were together didn’t mean he’d always be happy. He was entitled to bad moods. Hadn’t she seen a lot of those before they’d become a couple again?

But why today, when he’d been looking forward to this holiday together so much? Had he brought someone else up here? Was he having second thoughts about how quickly this relationship had developed?

He has a rep with the ladies…

I never liked how he treated the women he dated…

You’re nicer than Uncle Luke’s other girlfriends…

No! Jayne was not going to do this! Luke had gone a long way toward restoring her faith in herself as a woman, and she’d be damned if she’d backtrack now. She wouldn’t let her insecurities get the better of her. Standing, she approached him where he stood at the wheel and slid her arms around his waist. He was hot and sweaty, but she laid her face against his back anyway. He started, as if he were somewhere else. As if he’d forgotten about her.

“I need to know something,” she said softly.

“What?”

“Can we stop the boat for a while so we can talk?”

“There’s this little cove I want to show you.” His tone was gruff. “We’ll stop there.”

So, she waited, reseated on the front bench, watching the sun bounce off Luke’s head and the wind ruffle his
dark hair as he steered, anchored, and finally took a seat next to her.

“I’m sorry,” he said, surprising her.

“Don’t be sorry. Tell me what’s wrong.”

He stared out at the water, softly cresting from the wake of another boat that sped by. “I saw Maria’s calendar.”

“What was on it?”

“She…they all must…she had today marked.”

“Today?”

“I…it’s the anniversary of Timmy’s death.”

Jayne reached for his hand. “Oh, Luke.”

He squeezed her fingers tightly, making them ache. “I forgot. Hell, I
forgot
this year.”

“It’s all right that you did.”

“No,” he barked. “It’s not. I can’t ever forget. If I’d remembered, I wouldn’t have come up here with you.”

Don’t take offense. Give him what he needs now. This isn’t about you.
These were murky waters for her but, damn it, she was determined to navigate them well.

“What would you have done instead?” she asked gently.

“Gone off on my own like I always do.” He shook his head. “I wonder if Maria remembered and set us up to come here on purpose. The girls hate it when I disappear.”

“I’d hate it, too.”

“Don’t do that, Jayne!” He let go of her hand. “It’s my right to grieve.”

“I thought we were both working on the mistakes we’d made.”

“I am. But to forget the day he died, not to mourn him, no way.”

Jayne was quiet for a good long while. Then she stood. “Let’s go back to the cottage. I’ll pack my things and take the car back to Riverdale. You can grieve all you need to this weekend, and I’ll come and get you Monday night.”

His eyes widened, the lines still deep around them. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course I would.” She nodded to the wheel. “Come on, let’s go.”

When they reached the shore, she helped him dock the boat, preceded him into the cottage and went upstairs to pack. When she finished, she found him on the porch, beer in hand, staring out at the crystalline lake. Feeling so sad she could barely breathe, she approached him from the side.

“I’m sorry this anniversary is hard for you, Luke. I wish you’d let me help, but I respect your right to handle today the way you want.” Kissing his head, she turned and started away.

He grabbed her arm. “Don’t go.”

Oh, thank God.

Before he could change his mind, she circled around the chair and knelt down in front of him. She wasn’t shocked to see his face wet, because she’d seen him cry over Timmy once before. Jayne felt like crying herself.

“I don’t want to do this the old way.” His voice was so gravelly she could hardly bear it.

“That’s good, Luke.”

He searched her face. “I don’t know what to do, though.”

“What would Timmy want you to do?”

Tears fell down his rugged, masculine cheeks. He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his
eyes. Then the corners of his mouth turned up. “He’d tell me to quit being such a pussy. That he was dead, it wasn’t my fault, and I needed to go on with my life. He’d bitch me out and tell me not to lick my wounds anymore.” Luke opened his eyes. A soft smile. “If he saw you there, on your knees, he’d tell me to take advantage of you.”

She arched a brow. And reached for his belt. He stayed her hands. “No, come here first.” He dragged her up so she straddled him. He cradled her head against his shoulder. “Stay here, like this, for a minute.”

“Whatever you want.”

Luke held her close and stroked her back as waves lapped on the shore and the sun began to set. Jayne was content to stay there with him. Finally, he roused himself.

She drew back. “Ready?” she asked, smiling.

“For what?”

“To take advantage of me? Like Timmy would want.”

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

Jayne rejoiced in the fact that Luke was willing to let her comfort him today. It felt better than any gift she’d ever been given.

L
UKE AND
J
AYNE STROLLED
along the streets of Penn Yan, heading for the outdoor market that set up every Saturday at the town park. The day was glorious, with birds singing and the sun shining so hot that Jayne had put on a sundress and straw hat. Luke couldn’t believe how good he felt today, given the memories that always plagued him this time of year. And it was because of the woman who walked beside him, her arm linked with his.

He was falling in love with her. It didn’t scare him, though. He felt truly happy for the first time since he’d left New York.

“What are we buying?” Jayne asked as they reached the market. Dozens of vendors lined the perimeter of the park, canopies overhead, tables spilling out tomatoes, strawberries and whatever else the townspeople fancied.

“Picnic food. I’m taking you to the cove for a summer supper.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Hmm.” Everything sounded good to him today.

They wandered through the stalls, picked out fresh Wisconsin cheese, crusty bread from a local bakery and succulent strawberries. Luke made a mental note to stop at the liquor store to get wine, maybe even champagne. When Jayne veered off down a smaller aisle, Luke paid for the food and followed her.

She was kneeling in front of a makeshift stand where a little boy and his father were selling…what? Puppies? Luke grinned at the four tiny pups nipping at Jayne, letting out cute little squeaks and soft barks.

“My dad says we can’t keep them,” the towheaded boy was telling Jayne. “So I gotta find a home for them.”

Luke joined Jayne on his knees and knuckled one of the dogs. “Are they purebreds?”

“Uh-huh. Full Yorkies.” Just like Krystle.

“You could get more money than what you’re asking for them.”

The father smiled. “I know, but we’re going to live overseas for a year and can’t bring dogs. We just want a good home for them and were hoping for some takers today.”

Luke hadn’t noticed the puppy nearest the boy.
Jayne saw her at the same time. “Oh, look, Luke, she’s got a hat on.”

“Yeah, it’s from one of my sister’s dolls.” The boy rolled his eyes. “She calls her Hattie.”

The father frowned. “We need someone to take them before the kids get too attached.”

“Aren’t you a sweetheart?” Jayne whispered as she picked up Hattie and cuddled her close.

“Like her?” the boy asked hopefully.

Jayne gave the puppy one last nuzzle, then put her down. “I do.” Standing, she added, “But I’m in no position to have a dog.”

“Aw…” This from the boy when the pup arched toward Jayne. “She already likes you.”

Luke took Jayne’s hand. “Sorry.”

Jayne sighed. “Me, too.”

They walked away. When Jayne was silent, he asked, “You want the dog?”