Hope Flames: Hope Book 1

by Jaci Burton

  Luke frowned. “He forced you to choose between him and vet school.”

  “I didn’t realize it at the time. I was so in love with him, I’d have done anything for him. But yes, that’s exactly what he did.”

  “And you chose him.”

  She looked down at the wine. “I chose him. I dropped out of vet school and I moved in with him. And then I became his research assistant, helping him with his papers and his research. I’d do his laundry and clean his house, and whatever else he wanted me to do for him, whenever he wanted me to do it. He monitored where I was every moment of the day. If I was going to the grocery store, I had to call him before I left, and call when I got back. It got to the point where I was a prisoner in his home. I had no friends. I had lost them all years before because he wanted all my focus on him. He even cut my family off. So when he was teaching, I had to either be working on his papers or staying at the house.”

  Luke’s stomach tightened. He knew where this was going, had seen it time and time again in women who were controlled and abused. “And if you didn’t?”

  She shook her head. “Then I was punished. If I really loved him, I would do it right.”

  He reached out and smoothed his hand over her hair. “I’m sorry he treated you that way, Emma.”

  “I don’t deserve your sorrow. I was an intelligent young girl with career goals, and I allowed him to manipulate me into giving it all up to become nothing more than his slave.” She lifted tear-filled eyes to his. “How could I have let that happen?”

  His heart ached for her. “You’re not the first woman that has happened to. Blame him, not yourself. Men like that have a way of making you fall in love with them, of making these promises for the future, and then once they have you hooked and seduced, they pull the rug right out from under you.”

  “I could have walked away at any time. Why didn’t I?”

  “Because you were afraid of him, of what he might do if he followed you and found you. He threatened you, didn’t he?”

  She nodded. “All the time. He threatened me; he threatened my family. He even said he monitored my sister’s movements, knew where Molly was, and if I left him he’d hurt her.”

  Sonofabitch. This guy was evil. “How did you get away?”

  “I was so lonely. He was at school all the time, or at evening functions. I was always alone at the house. He never let me go anywhere. I finally had had enough of living that way. I used to be fun and outgoing. I had once had so many friends, a plan for my future, and he’d stripped it all away from me. I decided I couldn’t do it anymore, so when he had a business trip, I decided to seize my opportunity to leave. He hated travel because it took him away from me, where he couldn’t monitor me. But after a few years, he was confident he had me so under control that he could go out of town and I’d meekly stay there. But this time, he had a three-day trip. I packed up everything, took money I had stockpiled, took the car, and hightailed it out of there. Then I went home to my parents and told them everything. They helped me get a restraining order against him.”

  “Did he get fired?”

  Her lips curved slightly. “Yes. After I recovered enough of my backbone, I went to the university and told them what had happened between us during the entire four years I was an undergraduate, and after, including the restraining order. I saved all the e-mails we had written to each other when I was an undergraduate, up to and including the notes he wrote ordering me to do this or that, and I used those against him.

  “He lost his job. He was furious with me, but with the restraining order, he couldn’t come near me, or he’d be arrested. The last time I heard, he was living in Texas.”

  He took her hand. “Why didn’t you tell me about him—about all this—sooner?”

  She gave him a look. “Come on, Luke. Would you have wanted anyone you care about to know about such an epic failure in your life like this?”

  “Emma. I care about you. I don’t expect you to be perfect, or for your past to have been perfect. But if we’re going to have a . . . relationship, we have to be up front with each other about everything, including the ugly parts.”

  “Yeah, well, this is really ugly and doesn’t paint me in a positive light.”

  “Hey, I told you about my past.”

  She gave him a look. “Luke, it’s not the same thing at all. You had a marriage that didn’t work out, that wasn’t your fault.”

  “It wasn’t all Rebecca’s fault. I didn’t do my part, either.”

  “But you weren’t a manipulating douchebag like Vaughn. And you weren’t a coward like me.”

  He set down his wineglass and pulled her onto his lap.

  “Stop. You realize this Vaughn guy is to blame for what happened to you, right?”

  “I do now. I didn’t at first. I put all the blame on myself. It took a while and some counseling to realize what he’d done to me. It’s still hard to let go of the shame, though.”

  “Look at where you are now, what you’ve accomplished. Do you know how many women never get away from men like him? You got out. You should be proud of yourself.”

  He saw the tears shimmer in her eyes and realized how hard she was working not to let them fall.

  She took a deep breath. “Well, thanks for that. I worked hard to fight my way back. And that’s why my career is having a late start.”

  “But you have a career. And you got your education. So I guess Vaughn can just suck it.”

  She laughed. “I guess he can.”

  She took his hand. “Thank you. For understanding.”

  Chapter 15

  AFTER HIS CONVERSATION with Emma, Luke decided she needed some time and distance to think about what they talked about. Hell, even he needed some time to think, because he knew if they got together again, he’d have to make a commitment to do more than just take her to bed.

  Because what she was all twisted up about wasn’t just sex. She had a past to get over, and it had been an ugly, painful one that had hurt her and had turned her off relationships and men. Hell, that she could even be around guys after what she’d been through was a testament to her strength and courage.

  Just the things they’d done together was a big step for her. She’d been open and fun and, God, she was so sexy. But she was also reluctant.

  Yeah, so was he. But he still wanted more. And that meant moving forward with Emma—like into a relationship. And Luke wasn’t sure he was ready for that step, or if he’d ever be that ready. But it was becoming achingly clear he wasn’t going to be able to get her out of his system until he found out where this was going.

  Emma seemed as gun-shy about a relationship as he was, so maybe this could turn out to be a good thing. They could enjoy spending time together without either of them needing or wanting a serious commitment.

  She might just be perfect for him.

  The only bad thing about that was he had the potential to hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Someone had already hurt her enough. Which meant he’d have to tread lightly.

  Off duty, he approached the clinic and decided to drop by.

  Rachel and Leanne were both up front and greeted him.

  “Where’s Boomer?” Rachel asked.

  “Sacked out in the backseat of the cruiser.”

  “Awww. Rough day?”

  “He saw a little action.”

  “I heard there’ve been more drug-related break-ins. The pharmacy on Fifth got hit this week?”

  “Yeah.”

  “But you haven’t caught them yet?” Leanne asked.

  “Not yet. But we’re still investigating leads. We’ll find them.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Brutus is ready for boarding,” Rachel said, handing Leanne a chart.

  “Okay, thanks. See you, Officer Luke.”

  “Bye, Leanne.”

  Leanne took off with the only other patient who had been in the waiting room, leaving him alone.

  “Light schedule today, huh?” he as
ked Rachel.

  “Yeah. Long weekend coming up, so I think people are getting a head start. We have a lot of pets coming in to be boarded, but not so much in the way of patients.”

  One of the exam-room doors opened, and Luke heard Emma’s voice.

  “She’ll be fine once she has a full day on this medication, Mrs. Schechter. Don’t worry about a thing.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Burnett. I was so concerned.”

  “It’s not a serious illness. The antibiotics will start helping right away. Flounder will be good as new in a day or so.”

  Emma walked out with an older woman carrying a white cat.

  “Rachel will take care of you. And if Flounder isn’t showing signs of improvement in a couple days, you call and let us know.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank you again.”

  Emma smiled, then looked up and saw him. “Oh, Luke. Hi.”

  He hadn’t seen her in a few days, not since that night they’d talked at her house. He’d left her after that, since she’d seemed wrung out after her big confession. Staying with her—pressing things between them—had seemed inappropriate. So he’d kissed her good-bye so she could get some rest. He’d called her to check in the next day, and she told him she’d felt better after some sleep.

  He’d missed her, and her smile.

  “Hi, Emma. I was in the area and thought I’d stop by, see how you’re doing.”

  She shoved her hands in the pockets of her lab coat. “I’m doing . . . great. How are you?”

  “Good. Do you have a few minutes?”

  “Oh . . . Uh. I don’t know. Do I?” She looked over at Rachel.

  “You’re done for the day, Dr. Emma. No more appointments.”

  Emma frowned. “Really?”

  “Really. So you and Officer Luke can have all the time you need.” Rachel shot Luke a grin.

  “I need to check on this morning’s surgery patient.”

  “Leanne just checked on Elsworth. He’s still sleeping. BP is normal and she removed his IV. His owners are coming to pick him up within the hour. It’s in his chart if you want to take a look.”

  “Thanks, Rachel.”

  She turned her attention on Luke again.

  “If you’re busy—”

  “No. Come to my office. I need something to drink anyway.”

  He followed her back, winking at Rachel, who winked back and smiled.

  She grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator in the break room, then led him into her office. Daisy and Annie came up to him, obviously excited to see him.

  “Hey, girls. I’ve missed you.” He petted them, and they licked his hand.

  “They’re happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see them, too. Boomer misses his friends. It’s been a few days.”

  “Yes. It has. Where is Boomer?”

  “In the cruiser. Napping.”

  “Oh. Busy day?”

  “Yeah. He’s taking a break.”

  She leaned against her desk, and he tried not to notice her lab coat was open and her scrubs stretched tight against her breasts.

  He cleared his throat.

  “So, what brings you here, officer?”

  He liked when she talked to him in that slightly teasing, low-throated way. It was sexy.

  “I just wanted to check on you. And to ask what your plans were for this weekend.”

  Her eyes widened. “Uh . . . this weekend?”

  “It’s a holiday weekend. The weather is supposed to be warm. I thought we’d go to the lake. With the dogs.”

  “The lake. With the dogs.”

  “Should I write this down?”

  “Why would you write it down?”

  “Because for some reason you feel the need to repeat what I say back to me.”

  “Oh. Sorry. You want to take me to the lake with you?”

  “Yeah. I have a cabin there. And a boat.”

  “You have a boat?”

  “You don’t like boats? Or maybe water?”

  “I love boats. And water.”

  “Good. Let’s just go to the cabin over the weekend with the dogs and have some fun.”

  “Okay. Let’s do that.”

  He’d expected more reluctance, that he’d have to cajole her into it. “Great. I’ll pick you up at your house after you get off work tomorrow. Be packed and ready to go.”

  “Should I shop for food or something?”

  “We’ll do that when we get up there. There’s a store nearby.”

  “All right.”

  “I should go so you can finish up your workday.” He pushed off the wall, then reached for the door handle in her office.

  “Luke?”

  He paused, turned his head to look at her. “Yeah?”

  “Thanks for inviting me. I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

  Her voice was soft, like a caress over his skin.

  He came toward her and grabbed her lab coat, tugging her toward him for a kiss. It was long, lingering, and made him want to stay for more. But he had work to do, and so did she.

  “Me, too, Emma.”

  Chapter 16

  EMMA DWELLED ON her weekend with Luke all during the workday. After she’d spilled her guts about her past with Vaughn, she figured he’d run like hell and not look back.

  Most men would.

  She should have known Luke wasn’t most men.

  Most of her issues with the past were in her own head. It was high time she shoved the past into the closet, into the dark remnants of history where it belonged. She deserved to live again, to have some fun. And who better to have fun with than Luke, someone she trusted, someone she knew wouldn’t hurt her?

  Luke wasn’t looking for anything long term, wouldn’t put shackles of ownership on her and make demands of her. He was a fun guy, certainly hot, and more important, he wasn’t out for a relationship. He was a fling kind of man. And when it was over, she could breathe a sigh of relief, put a checkmark on her “things to do to start living her life again,” and move on.

  With that in mind, Emma was thrilled at the prospect of having a weekend alone with Luke. She’d been working nonstop since she started up the practice, and it was exhilarating to think she had three whole days off. She’d worked out a deal with the veterinary clinic north of town. They were taking emergency calls for this holiday weekend. She’d be on call for the next holiday.

  She finished packing, put dog food in a container for both Daisy and Annie, packed up their bowls and toys, and laid it all by the front door, which gave her just enough time to dash into the bathroom to look in the mirror one last time.

  Hair in a high ponytail. Capris, tennis shoes, and a T-shirt. All very casual. It wasn’t like she was trying to impress Luke.

  Much.

  Daisy barked, so that meant Luke was in her driveway. She opened the front door and saw Luke’s truck, with one really cool ski boat trailered behind it.

  The dogs ran to him, already so familiar with him that they sat and stayed when he gave them the command.

  “Nice boat,” she said.

  “Thanks. I’m looking forward to taking it out in the water.”

  “I’m looking forward to being out on the water.”

  He grinned. “Annie’s coming along with her training.” He looked over his shoulder to watch her sitting next to Daisy.

  “We’ve been working diligently on it. I didn’t want her running amok at the lake, and I really didn’t like the idea of boarding her this weekend. We practiced ‘stay’ a lot last night.”

  He smiled. “We’ll keep watch over her. I think she’ll stick close to Boomer and Daisy.”

  “She trails after Daisy like she’s her big sister. I don’t anticipate any problems.”

  He reached down for her bags. “Is this everything?”

  “Yes.” She grabbed the bag she’d loaded with the dogs’ stuff and locked the door behind her. Daisy hopped up into the backseat of Luke’s truck, and Emma scooped up Annie and deposited her ne
xt to Daisy.

  “Hi, Boomer,” Emma said, giving Boomer a scratch behind the ears. “Ready for a big weekend at the lake?”

  Boomer licked her hand.

  “Boomer loves the lake. Surprisingly, he actually likes the water.”

  “That’s good. Not a lot of dogs take to water. It reminds them too much of having a bath.”

  “He also likes baths.”

  “Clearly an exceptional animal.”

  Luke gave Boomer a rub. “He thinks so.”

  The ride up to Grand Lake took less than an hour. Boomer and Daisy spent their time looking out the window, while Annie curled up on the seat and went to sleep. Emma had gotten to work before the sun came up, so she found herself drifting on and off, her head resting against the passenger-side window.

  She startled at Luke’s nudge on her shoulder and the sound of his voice.

  “Hey, we’re here.”

  She shot up. “Oh, God. I slept.”

  “Yeah, you did.”

  She took off her seat belt. “I’m so sorry. I got up really early today, but geez, I was terrible company for you on the ride.”

  “It’s okay, Emma. I don’t need conversation. And you obviously needed a nap.”

  She slid out of the truck and grabbed her bags. She and the dogs followed Luke the short walk to the cabin.

  “Wow,” she said, trailing behind him.

  He stopped, his boots kicking up dirt as he swiveled to face her. “You like the place?”

  What wasn’t there to like? A two-story log-cabin style, it had pristine windows and a back deck upstairs she already knew would provide a stunning view of the lake. Trees so tall they shaded the hot afternoon sun surrounded them. It was isolated, which only added to its allure.

  “The location is prime. Right on the lake. And one spectacular view.”

  “Yeah, my dad owned it. Now it belongs to my brothers and me. Logan’s always busy on the ranch, though, so he rarely comes up here since he says there’s plenty of fish in the lake on the ranch, and of course, Reid lives out of state, so he’s never here.”

  He unlocked and opened the front door, holding it open for her. As she brushed by, she inhaled the fresh, outdoor scent of him, making her want to lean in closer.