Picture Perfect Wedding (23 page)

As she listened to Luke’s deep voice and was composing a message in her head ready to deliver as soon as the beep sounded, she heard her name being called. She spun around and her phone slipped from her instantly numb fingers.

“Dad?” The word came out faint as she rescued her phone from the sidewalk. A jagged crack spread diagonally across the screen.

“I’m sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Her father’s brow creased in concern under an expensive haircut. “Of course I’ll pay for your phone to be repaired.”

She swallowed against a tight throat, remembering all the promises he’d ever made her and how less than half had come to fruition. “Wh...why are you in Whitetail?”

If he was taken aback by her direct question he didn’t show it. Instead his face creased in a smile and his apple-green tailored shirt made his eyes a keener and deeper color. “I’m here to find you. We’ve been estranged too long and I want to apologize and start over. It’s time, don’t you think?”

A throbbing pain pulsed in her temple. Was it ever time after that sort of betrayal?

Yes.
No.
Maybe.
“To apologize for what, exactly?”

His head dropped for a moment and then he raised it, giving her a long look, regret clear in his gaze. “Sadly I lost the chance to make it up to your mother but if you allow me, I can make it up to you and your brother.”

He’s changed
,
Erin.
Jesse’s words from a few weeks ago echoed in her head, begging to be believed. The stable part of her childhood called out to her, urging her to accept the olive branch but the memories of the bad times burned strong. “I don’t know, Dad, I—”

“I’ve stayed away because I thought that was what you wanted but you not being in my life’s left a huge hole in my heart. I want to try and fix us. Please let me try.” His hand hovered between them and the charming, charismatic man who’d always stormed through her life looked oddly out of his depth. She couldn’t ever remember a time he’d hadn’t been confident.

Something inside her softened slightly. “I guess I should let you try.”

“Thank you, Poppet,” he said, invoking his childhood name for her and then he unexpectedly pulled her into a bear hug.

She stiffened as his arms held her firmly. She didn’t know what to say or what to feel with so many unspoken issues lying between them.

He let her go. “You look lovely as ever. How’s the photography business?”

“It’s going well.”

“Have you bought yourself that studio you always said you wanted?”

“Not yet.” She thought about the injections of funds into her account from the Whitetail weddings. “I’m getting close to a lease though.”

He smiled. “That’s wonderful. Come have coffee with your dear old dad and fill me in on your life. Are you in love?”

“Erin!” Luke crossed the street, his smile wide for her but his face filled with questions. His gaze kept moving between herself and her father as if saying,
Who’s this guy?
He waited expectantly to be introduced.

She swallowed a groan. She wasn’t ready to introduce her father to Luke but unlucky timing gave her no choice. Plastering on a smile, she said, “Luke Anderson, I’d like you to meet my father, Tom Davis.”

Luke’s eyes widened a fraction but only someone who knew him well would have noticed. He extended his hand. “Welcome to Whitetail, Tom.”

Her father returned the steady handshake. “Thank you. It looks like a pretty place to spend some time.”

Erin really didn’t want the two men to be deepening their conversation beyond the basic pleasantries. “Sorry, Luke, but Dad and I have an appointment to fix my phone screen.”

If he was surprised at that, he didn’t show it. “No problem. I just wanted to check that you’re coming to the farmhouse for supper tonight.” He turned to Tom. “You’re most welcome to come too. My mother’s cooking is legendary in the county.”

Panic scuttled through her veins. Why couldn’t Luke be channeling the aberration of the horrible man she’d met on her first day in Whitetail instead of Mr. Exceptional Manners and Hospitality? The idea of sitting down at the Andersons’ table with Martha clearly match-making was bad enough without adding her father into the mix. “I don’t think—”

“I’d love to come,” Tom said smoothly. “What a lovely invitation, Erin. Aren’t we fortunate?”

Her mouth dried like water in a hot wind and her throat was so tight that no words could pass. She sent a pleading look to Luke but his attention was absolutely focused on Tom as he gave him directions to Lakeview Farm.

It was a done deal. Her summer fling had suddenly become mired by family, which was wrong on so many levels she couldn’t even begin to count.

* * *

Weather-wise it was a perfect evening. The blue of the lake shimmered against the lush, green of the corn and the now ripe and flowering sunflowers were turning their massive heads to the early evening sun. Luke smiled and took in a deep breath—the sweet and earthy scent of the farm filling his nostrils and mingling with the slightly tangy aroma of the citronella flares Phil had been instructed to light by Keri. She had a pathological hatred of mosquitoes, probably because for some reason they found her far tastier than anyone else in the family.

“It was a good idea to eat al fresco tonight, Mom.” He surveyed the empty plates on the long table that had been unearthed from the back of the farmhouse shed to do its duty again after a long absence.

“It’s a beautiful view, Luke, and it seems a shame not to enjoy it.”

“I do enjoy it.”

“Not that I’ve noticed,” she muttered as she returned inside.

He accepted the hit. He totally understood that his parents wanted their retirement back and as soon as he received the final set of figures from his accountant, he would call a meeting with everyone and discuss his ideas. He scanned the garden, looking for Erin. The kids, full of ice cream, were romping with Mac and Maggie-May. The fluffy, white dog was doing a fair job working with Mac to round them up and going by the shrieks of delight the kids were loving it as much as the dogs. Farther over, Erin was talking to Keri but everything about her was tense. Just as it had been all evening.

At one point during the meal, he’d swung his arm casually around her shoulders but it had been like resting on a rocky ridge. She’d quickly leaned forward, the action pushing his arm onto the back of the chair. He’d wanted to pull her onto his lap, tickle her and make her laugh like he did when they were alone but she’d dodged every one of his attempted displays of public affection. He was putting all of her unusual behavior down to the unexpected arrival of her father. Even now, as she listened to Keri, he could see her gaze shifting toward Tom, just as it had over supper.

Her father was chatting with Vern over by the post and rail fence. One booted foot rested casually on the bottom rail and along with his jeans and a button-down shirt, he could have almost passed for a farmer at a social gathering. The longneck in his hand completed the picture. From the moment he’d arrived, he’d taken a great deal of interest in the farm and he’d even put some milking cups onto cows’ udders during the evening milking. Given what Erin had told him about Tom, Luke was reserving judgment but from what he’d observed so far, the man did genuinely seem to want to reestablish his relationship with his daughter.

Luke could understand that. This summer had taught him that there was a hell of a lot more energy consumed by strained family bonds than by companionable ones.

The dogs interrupted his musings by belting up to him excitedly and demanding a scratch behind the ears. By the time he’d done that, Erin and Keri had vanished and Tom was walking over and offering him a beer.

He accepted it. “Thanks.”

The older man smiled. “It’s been a great evening. I can see why Erin’s so happy here.”

“Lakeview’s one of the prettiest farms in the county so it has a lot of photographic appeal.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it than just aesthetics of the countryside. A warm bed helps a lot too.” He winked and clinked his beer bottle against Luke’s.

An uncomfortable feeling slithered along his spine. Last time he’d checked, fathers didn’t make jokes about sex with the man their daughter was sleeping with, and he didn’t plan to let the conversation continue down that road. “She’s done an entire series of trees in the grove near the lake. You should get her to show you some of her photos.”

“I’ll do that.” He took a swig of his beer and extended his arm out toward the horizon. “I was just talking to your father about all of this. It’s a pretty big operation you’ve got going on. There’s a profit in milk, is there?” he asked casually.

“We’re doing okay. We’ve had some good years and my father was pretty financially savvy, which helps a lot, but it’s my job to build on that.”

“So I gather the bank’s not on your back?”

“Nope.”

“Good for you.” Tom smiled. “Still, diversification is the key to financial security. Must be a concern to you that all your income is dependent on milk prices.”

Luke thought about the gelling plan in his mind. “You have a point.”

Tom nodded and focused on the view. “Are you thinking of diversifying?”

“It’s crossed my mind.”

Tom slipped one hand into his pocket and rocked back on his heels as if he and Luke chewed the fat all the time. “I know a surefire investment plan with guaranteed returns of twenty percent.”

The number slugged Luke in the chest. “That seems too good to be true.”

Tom’s eyes filled with a shared understanding. “That’s what I thought but I’ve been benefiting from the generous dividends for the last few months. Not that I’m sharing it around, mind you, but I want Erin to get the advantage from this too. Seeing as the two of you are keeping company, I’m prepared to extend the offer and share it with you and your family.”

Every cell in Luke’s body went on alert and it took everything he had to hide it.
My father calls himself an entrepreneur.
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions too early, given the guy had gone to the effort of finding his daughter after a few years apart. “Have you talked to Erin about this?”

“Not yet. Unlike you, she lacks the big picture business sense. She’s squirrelly with money rather than letting it work for her.” He gave Luke a conspiratorial smile. “I thought perhaps together we can make her see that this investment is her future. As her dad, all I want for her is to get her long-awaited studio and the returns would pay her lease. After all, you and I are on the same page, aren’t we? We just want to make her happy.”

Luke gripped the beer bottle hard as a cold rage took seat in his gut. Tom was a chameleon—the clothes, the interest in the farm, getting his hands dirty milking—all of it had been to warm Luke up for this. Using him to scam his daughter out of her savings.

You might be wrong.
Go slowly.
“How much are we talking, Tom?”

“To make it really worthwhile?”

“Yeah. Would a hundred thousand do it?”

Lights of excitement glittered in the depths of Tom’s eyes. “That will certainly get Erin her studio.”

Luke’s finger wanted to close around Tom’s throat. “If I had a spare hundred thousand, Tom, I’d be buying the studio for her.” He leaned forward, using his height to intimidate, and he dropped his voice low so there was no chance of anyone overhearing. “So this is why you’re here? To rip us off? To fleece your daughter of her savings?”

For the briefest moment, a flare of fear pierced Tom’s sanguine demeanor. “Luke...” He shook his head as if Luke was a child who needed reassuring. “I’m her father and like all fathers, I just want the best for her.”

“The hell you do.” The urge to protect Erin from this man, from the world, from everything bad, took hold of him with such ferocity of feeling that it almost knocked him off his feet. “She’s told me how you love the thrill of a fast buck and I don’t know what this too-good-to-be-true investment is all about but there are two things I’m certain of—the company will have your name on it somewhere and I won’t allow you to destroy everything Erin’s working so hard for.”

Tom’s eyes narrowed as if sizing him up and then he shrugged as if they’d only been discussing the poor performance of the local baseball team. “You’re her latest boyfriend, Luke, but you know she’s planning on returning to Minneapolis, right? Going on her track record, you won’t be around much longer whereas I’m her father. Who do you think she’s going to take advice from?”

The man who loves her.

Me.

The thought exploded in his brain, shattering years of belief that he didn’t want love, marriage and the whole damn thing of children, dogs and a pet alpaca. He hadn’t wanted it with other women, but with every fiber of his being he wanted all of it with Erin. Erin who’d exposed what was lacking in his life and had opened his eyes to what his life could be. Made him see what he really wanted.

He loved her. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, loving her, protecting her and making her happy.

And it started right now. “Tom,” he said with the steel of a man protecting his family, “I’m going to walk you up to Erin where you will make your apologies, tell her you’re sorry but you’ve been called back to whatever swamp you came out of and then you are going to drive back down my driveway, leave my property and never come back.”

As if realizing he’d explored an avenue of revenue to its cul-de-sac, Tom did exactly that with all the charm and grace he was known for.

* * *

Erin watched the dust settle on the farm road as her father’s car disappeared from view and she realized that Luke was clutching her hand so tightly that he was crushing her fingers. “Hey, ease up.”

He glanced down at her, his jaw tight, and then he smiled. “Sorry. Are you okay?”

She really didn’t know. Her father had left almost as quickly as he’d arrived, appearing from nowhere and now apparently returning there. The time they’d spent together today had been enjoyable but she’d been on edge the whole time. Now relief tangoed with disappointment, sending unsettling feelings whizzing along her veins. She didn’t know what to think.