My Lucky Catch (University Park #6) (23 page)

“That’s right.” Veronica smiled, trying to make light of the comment. “How are
Lexi and Raven?”

“We talked to them last week,” Dad spoke up. “They had a great honeymoon, and they are glad to be back home with the twins.”

“I talked to Lexi yesterday, I had to tell her the news,” Delaney squealed. “She’s really happy for Luke and me.”

“Oh, well, there you go.” Mom held out a hand. “Everyone’s doing well.” Apparently everyone but my mom was handling our engagement well.

“Lexi’s preparing for summer training.” Mom smoothed her skirt. “You know, Raven’s the quarterback for New Orleans,” she waited for Veronica and Martin to acknowledge the fact. When they did, she continued, “So that means he’ll be at practice daily once August comes and will be away at games. She’ll be taking care of those twins,
alone
.”

“She has Mimi and Trish to help her with the twins,” Delaney reminded her.

“Yes, true.” Mom glared at Delaney. “And with Luke traveling with the team, you might not want to have any babies anytime soon, otherwise, you’ll be alone just like Lexi.” A huge smile formed on my mom’s face, and I had to refrain from slapping it off.

“Don’t worry,
we’re
in no rush.” Delaney looked at me for confirmation.

“That’s right, Mom. We’re good with it being just us right now.”

“That’s great about Raven.” Martin quickly changed the subject. “Glad he made the team.”

“We
all
are.” Mom released a condescending laugh.

I was ready to leave, and we hadn’t even eaten yet. Mom was just too much, and Dad was too chicken shit to put her in her place.

“Excuse me,” the servant appeared, “dinner is served.”

“Oh, perfect timing.” Dad stood up.

“Everyone.” Mom held out her arm, showing us the way to the dining room.

Mom and Dad led the way for Veronica and Martin. Delaney pulled me back and whispered in my ear, “I swear if your mother keeps this up, I’m walking out the door.”

I turned around and pulled her close. “I’m sorry. What she said was out of line. I hate to say it, but you know my mom.”

“I know.” She nodded and looked away. “I just don’t want to tell her off.”

“Let’s just get through this dinner and leave.” I rubbed her arms, trying to ease her frustration.

“Okay.” A stiff smile formed across her lips, and I knew she was trying hard to be nice to my nagging mom.

Mom directed us where to sit, and everyone took their seats as the hired servant brought us whatever we needed. Dad immediately took control of the conversation, asking me how PHU’s baseball team was doing in the playoffs. He already knew, but I sensed he wanted to keep my mom’s mouth shut as much as possible, so I went along with it. Martin jumped in the conversation, asking questions about my job and how I liked it. Unfortunately, our baseball conversation didn’t stop Mom from a sideline conversation with Veronica. By an act of God, the dinner conversation was tolerable, and Mom hadn’t pissed anyone off.

“Does anyone want dessert?” Mom eyed the chocolate pie, her nose turning up.

Everyone said yes.

“Fernando, will you please?” She motioned for the hired help to take the pie.

“Yes, of course.” He took the pie and served everyone a slice, but my Mom pushed the plate he offered her away.

“So, Delaney, I’ve never asked you, what happened to your real parents?” Mom asked. “Luke said they died in a car wreck.”

I could’ve stuffed the napkin under her hand in her throat. I’d told her that was a sensitive subject for Delaney, and she had purposely asked her. Delaney dropped her fork on her plate, and her body stiffened. No way in hell was she telling my mom, not when she struggled to tell me the story.

“Mom,” I stressed her name, “Delaney doesn’t like talking about what happened to them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Mom folded her napkin and set it next to her plate. “I figured you were okay talking about it since it was so long ago.”

A rush of anger zipped through my veins. I shot her an evil eye, and she looked at me with innocent eyes. But her fake plea wouldn’t get her out of this one. I’d let her have it once I was alone with her.

“Delaney took the deaths of her parents really hard,” Martin chimed in.

“I think anyone would.” Mom softened her voice. “I was just curious, and since I’m going to be your mother-in-law, I wanted to know.”

Veronica glanced at Martin and then at Delaney.

Delaney had huge tears in her eyes, but she managed to hold them back. Grabbing my hand under the table, she said, “It’s been very difficult, Mrs. Thompson.”

Her hand trembled in mine, and I held onto it tightly. “It’s okay, Delaney. You don’t have to tell her.”

“It’s okay, Luke.” She inhaled and continued. “A car nearly hit us on a highway. My dad swerved to miss them, and when he did, the car flipped. We rolled down an embankment. I survived, but they didn’t.”

“Oh, my God, that’s terrible.” Mom pressed a hand to her chest. “You were in the car?”

“Yes.” Delaney’s voice shook, but she stayed strong. “I was only eight at the time.”

“Oh.” Mom released a heavy breath. “Wh-ere did this happen?”

“In Waco, where I’m from.”

Mom blinked several times. “Y-ou’re from Waco?”

“What a coincidence, right, Mom?” Turning to Veronica and Martin, I said, “We’re from Waco, too. We moved to Dallas about the same time Delaney did.”

“Small world.” Veronica commented. “Did you two go to the same elementary school?”

“No, we went to different ones,” I informed her.

Dad cleared his throat. “Once we moved to Dallas, Olivia decided to homeschool the kids.”

“Oh, that’s must have been tough,” Veronica commented.

“Yes, it was.” A worried expression formed across Mom’s face. “What were your parent’s names?”

Delaney took a deep breath and relaxed, as if a big weight had been removed from her shoulders. “Alicia and Lorenzo Acardi.”

“Acardi?” Mom whimpered, and her face turned three sheets white.

“Yes, they were Italian.” Veronica looked at Delaney with heartfelt, saddened eyes. “Delaney wanted to take our last name, so we agreed as long as she took Acardi as her middle name.”

“So, I did.” Delaney released a teary smile. “I figured it would be easier, and people wouldn’t ask why we had different last names.”

“Excuse me.” Mom popped up from her chair, knocking it down. The startling noise caused us to turn in her direction. Leaning over the table, she said, “I think I ate something bad.”

Dad stood up. “Olivia, are you okay?” He reached for her, but she kept her hands over her mouth, running out of the room. “I’m sorry. I’ll go check on her.”

“I hope she’s okay.” Veronica glanced at her plate and then at my mom’s. I think everyone was thinking the same thing.

Was the stuffed chicken breast bad?

Dad started to walk out of the dining room, but stopped. “You know, I recall seeing that wreck on the news.” He shook his head. “Did they ever catch the person who caused it?”

“No.” Delaney released my hand as her head dropped.

“Sorry that was your folks, Delaney.”

Delaney glanced at him. “Thanks, Mrs. Thompson. Like your wife said, it was a long time ago, and I’m trying hard to move past it.”

“Sometimes you can’t move on until justice is served.”

“True.” Delaney nodded. That remark struck a chord with me, and I found myself agreeing with my Dad. But the chances of them finding out who did it was slim to none.

***

Delaney

I sat at my desk, staring at a photo of me with my parents. It was the last one we took together as a family at the Fort Worth Zoo. Last night’s dinner wasn’t easy, but it felt good to share my story with Luke’s parents, even though Luke’s mom was a pain in the ass and made me feel like crap at times. There was no way to get rid of her, and I’d have to learn how to deal with her, just like Lexi warned me that I would.

I thought about what Luke’s dad said about not being able to move forward until justice was served. I’d never considered that as the reason for my problems, but the more I reflected on it, the more I realized that I needed closure. Knowing who caused my parents’ wreck would help close the gaping hole in my life. The one that had swallowed me and refused to release me. And once that hole was closed, I could work on forgiving myself, and all the wrongs I’d done.

I needed that.

Luke needed that from me.

And so did Martin and Veronica.

I jumped when my phone rang. Glancing at the screen, I saw that it was Veronica. I hesitated to answer it, but decided I needed to hear her voice.

I slid my finger across the screen. “Hello?”

“Hey, sweetie, how are you?” Veronica always knew how to release that heavy sigh I held inside.

“Okay.” I took a few deep breaths, trying to shake the negative energy. “Well to be honest, I feel sad, hurt, confused. I don’t know.” I rested my forehead against the palm of my hand. “I’m kind of mess right now.”

“I figured that talk last night might have resurfaced some old memories.”

“Oh, yeah, Luke’s mom really knows how to pitch the balls at me.”

Veronica muttered an agreeing confirmation. “Why is she like that?”

“I don’t know, she has some serious issues.” I rubbed my temples, wishing my head would stop pounding.

“Obviously. Is she okay? Have you called to check on her?”

“No, but Luke called his dad last night after we got home, and he said she was still in bed.” I got up and went to the bathroom to get something for my headache.

“Poor thing. We’ve not had any symptoms. What about you and Luke?”

Popping two pills in mouth, I quickly swallowed them with a glass of water. “No, we’ve been fine. Luke’s dad said he’s not felt sick at all either.”

“Weird,” Veronica commented. “Martin said he got a bad vibe from her, but couldn’t put his finger on it. Usually he’s good with assessing people and being right.”

“Yeah, he is.” Instead of returning to my office, I went to our bedroom and lay on the bed. “I think she’s just a bad seed. She never has anything positive to say. When I used to go over to hang out with Lexi, she drove us nuts. I don’t know how Luke and Lexi put up with her shit.”

“You’d better get used to it, because she’s going to be your mother-in-law.”

“Don’t remind me.” I moaned and pulled the covers over my body.

“Last night you said you and Luke were thinking about a winter wedding.”

“Yeah, it would be less hectic for us. Everyone wants to get married in the spring or fall, which interferes with Luke’s job. We decided that an early December wedding would work best for us.”

“Olivia didn’t think so.”

“Oh, don’t remind me.” I cringed, hearing her whining voice reverberate inside of my head.
Christmas time is so busy for me. I have the toy drive, the meetings at the country club, yada yada.
It made me sick just recalling the conversation.

“Sorry, sweetie. Let’s talk about something fun.” Her voice picked up. “When do you want to go look at dresses?”

I smiled, recalling when I went with Lexi to look for wedding dresses. She might not have had fun with her mother dictating what to try on, but it was magical looking at all the beautiful dresses. “Do you think it’s rude if I don’t invite Olivia, but invite Lexi?”

“Do you think Lexi would be offended?”

“Are you kidding?” I laughed. “Lexi’s not that close to her mom.”

“That’s what I thought. Can she come to town soon?”

I smiled, knowing Veronica was excited about the wedding planning. “I’ll call her. It’s harder now that she has the twins.”

“I can only image.”

The front door to the apartment opened, and I sat up in bed, listening. “Laney?” I heard Luke’s voice echo from down the hall.

Holding the phone away from my mouth, I hollered, “In the bedroom.” I lowered the phone back down. “Hey, Luke just got here, so I’ll call you back later.”

“Okay. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing.”

“Thanks for calling.” My throat thickened, as tears threatened. “I really appreciate it.”

“What kind of mom would I be if I didn’t check on her daughter?”

That comment struck the center of my chest. Through the good and the bad, Veronica was always there for me, but for some reason, I still couldn’t call her
Mom
.

I took a hard swallow and warded away the tears. “You’re the best.”

“Thank you, sweetie. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.” I hung up the phone and quickly wiped away a stray tear.

“You okay?” Luke dropped his duffle bag on the floor and sat next to me on the bed.

I nodded, unable to form words without entering into a crying spell.

“Are you sure?” With the edge of his pointer finger, he lifted my chain. “Do you feel okay? You’re not catching what my mother has, are you?”

“No, I have a headache, that’s all.” I pushed the hair hanging in front of my face behind my ear. “Veronica called to check on me.”

Luke released an audible sigh. “I’m sorry my mother was acting like a bitch last night. She deserves to be sick.”

I shook my head. “It’s not your fault. That’s how she is.”

“That doesn’t make it acceptable.”

“True.” I couldn’t disagree. “I guess I have to learn how to ignore her and not let her insensitive and demeaning remarks get to me.”

“You didn’t have to tell her a damn thing.” He kicked off his shoes and raised his feet to the bed, sitting next to me.

“I know, but something was pushing me to tell them what happened.” I shuddered, recalling the feeling that passed through me last night. “It was a voice urging me. It was weird.” I rested my head against his shoulder.

“She pisses me off at times, and last night, I swear I was ready to punch her in the throat.”

“You can’t hit her,” I glared at him, “she’s your mom.”

“I know, and I would never do that, but the woman knows how to pull my strings.”

There was no disagreeing with him. In fact, I wanted to throat punch her a few times, too. “I don’t know how your dad puts up with her.”