Lost and Found Family

by Jennifer Ryan

  “Didn’t Sean have a sweet name for you?”

  She stared at him, taking a moment to consider whether or not to confide in him. “Sean was only sweet when he wanted something, which means he was sweet all the time. I found out too late that the charm was insincere and manipulative. After a while, I didn’t respond to it because it turned my stomach, so he just demanded.”

  If Sean were here, he’d deck him for treating Sarah so callously. “I’m sorry he treated you that way and disappointed you. But I’m not him.”

  “I know you mean what you say and how you say it. I know you care about me.”

  Hearing the way she said those words, that she meant them, relieved him. “I care more than you know.” He wanted her to see that and believe it. “I can’t promise that I won’t disappoint you. I’m sure I will at some point. But I can promise that I won’t deceive you because I want something from you. And all I want is you and a life with you. It’s that simple.”

  Tears and weariness filled her eyes and she began to pace back and forth in front of him. “I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do about you.”

  “Keep me,” he suggested.

  She hesitated for a split second, then smiled softly. “I have a lot going on right now.”

  “I know. I’m trying to be patient. Which isn’t easy for a man like me, because I’m used to getting everything I want. But you’re worth the wait, sweetheart. And the torture.” Because he wanted her in his bed, too, desperately.

  She sighed and paced away and then back to him again. “I’m trying to work out how to schedule everything I need to do, and how I can be with you here at the same time. I just don’t know how it’s possible. I’ve finished programming the Knox Project but I still have to travel all over the world to finish the installation.” She stopped midstep and pressed the back of her hand to her forehead. She dropped her hand and stared at him. “I have a dozen other projects, a company to run, people who depend on me, and I’m in love with you.” She paced again and threw her hands up and let them fall. “I don’t know what to do about that either. I have to take the boys home soon and they’re going to miss you terribly. I don’t know if I can take missing you. I have a charity benefit to go to and I don’t even have a dress.” She rolled her eyes and kept going. “The press will be there, wanting me to answer a multitude of questions about my businesses and how I did it all.” Her hands flew up and fell down once more, slapping her thighs. “Quite frankly, I don’t want to tell them anything.”

  “Sarah, stop.” Worry quickly overshadowed the soaring elation he felt when she said she loved him. Everything about her was in action. Her body, mind, emotions. Seeing her spin out and spill her thoughts and worries in a tumble of words concerned him. This wasn’t her.

  She spun to face him and wobbled but caught herself. “Luke.”

  “Sarah?”

  Her eyes narrowed in concentration that seemed to be difficult for her to hold. Then her eyes rolled back and she mumbled, “Catch me.”

  With the words barely out of her mouth, her knees buckled. He lurched forward, fell to his knees, and caught her before her head hit the cement floor. He hugged her to his chest and held her on his lap and called out, “Jerry!”

  He came running from the office. “What happened?”

  “She collapsed.” He ran a shaking hand over her face and hair.

  “I’m not surprised. That girl needs a vacation from this vacation. Should we call an ambulance?”

  “I don’t think so. The exhaustion finally caught up to her. I’ll take her up to the house and put her to bed.”

  “The crew and I have things covered.”

  “Thanks. Today I need to take care of her and the boys.”

  “No problem.”

  Luke stood with Sarah in his arms and stared down at her pale but beautiful face. “She said she’s in love with me.”

  “That’s great. Now you two can really be together.”

  “I wish it was that simple. She was ranting about work and having to leave and not knowing how to schedule everything and still be here with me. I don’t even know if she realizes she told me she loves me.”

  “At least you know she does.” Jerry congratulated him with a tap on the shoulder. “Now you can tell her you love her and the two of you can figure out the rest as you go.”

  Easier said than done, but he wanted a life with Sarah more than he’d ever wanted anything.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Luke took Sarah up to the house and straight to his room. He laid her on his bed and stared down at her, so tired that she didn’t even stir. All he wanted to do was make her feel better. So he gently took her shoes and socks off, slipped off her jeans, unhooked the bra at her back and pulled the straps down each of her arms, and tugged it out of her shirt like he’d seen other women do themselves. He tucked her under the covers and stared down at her, his heart aching for her.

  What would have happened if she’d been somewhere else when she collapsed? What if she’d been alone with the boys and they didn’t know what to do for her?

  Those thoughts and a thousand others disturbed him.

  “Luke?” Jack stood in the bedroom doorway, Nick right behind him. “Is Mama okay?”

  Luke didn’t want to worry the boys. He was glad he got Sarah settled before they saw her.

  He went to Jack and Nick and kneeled in front of them. “She worked a lot last night. The ride made her tired, so she went to sleep. Let’s go have breakfast.”

  He took their hands and led the boys down to the kitchen, leaving Sarah sleeping soundly in his bed.

  “So, pancakes?”

  Jack looked at Nick. Nick stared back at Jack. Some silent communication going on.

  “So . . .” Jack said, eyeing him. “Can we have the chocolate cereal in the cupboard?”

  Luke hid a smile and held back the laugh bubbling up his gut. The boys had snooped in the cupboards while he’d been carrying in their mom.

  Before he said yes, Nick confessed, “Mama doesn’t let us eat that.”

  Luke leaned down and gave in to the boys because he didn’t think Sarah would mind a treat for them under the circumstances. “I won’t tell her you ate it if you don’t.”

  The boys gave him huge toothy grins.

  He’d confess to Sarah later and let her know it was his idea. It was his favorite cereal.

  Okay, sometimes he ate like a kid.

  “Take a seat at the bar. I’ll get the bowls.”

  Luke set a bowl in front of each of them, poured the cereal and milk, handed both boys a spoon, and they all dug in. While he fed the boys, his mind was on the woman upstairs in his bed. Sarah deserved a nice long nap.

  “Will Mama be up soon?” Jack asked. “Cuz we don’t have to do school today. We could just play.”

  Luke hid his smirk. “We could, but then you’d have double the work to do tomorrow and you wouldn’t get to play as much. So maybe we’ll go to your grandma’s and make sure you get today’s work done so you can play today and tomorrow.”

  Jack scrunched up one side of his face. “If we have to.”

  Nick tipped up his bowl and drank all the chocolate milk. “Done.” He let out a big burp.

  Jack laughed.

  Luke couldn’t help but join in. He’d had his fair share of burping contests with his brother, Jason, over the years. Being with the boys always took him back to those happy times and made him want them to be his family.

  “Let’s head over to your grandma’s now.” He took all the bowls to the sink. He heard a phone ringing upstairs. “Hey, give me two minutes to grab your mom’s phone. I don’t want it to wake her.”

  Luke left the boys in the kitchen and ran up the stairs just as the phone stopped ringing. He found it in Sarah’s jeans pocket and stuffed it in his own. He stared down at her sleeping soundly, her breath slow and even, the dark circles under her eyes still very prominent. But damn, she looked good in his bed.

  He kissed her foreh
ead then headed back downstairs. The boys were sitting on the leather sofa staring up at the wood beams on the tall ceiling.

  “Let’s go, boys.”

  They bounced off the couch and ran for the front door and his truck. He wished he had that much energy.

  Jack managed to open the door and climb in. Nick needed a boost.

  Sarah’s phone rang again as he settled behind the wheel. He started the truck, checked the caller ID, accepted the call, then turned the truck toward Margaret’s.

  “Hey, Abby, this is Luke. Sarah’s asleep right now.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Luke. Can you wake her? I’ve got a few items that can’t wait.”

  “They’ll have to, because she literally collapsed from exhaustion and I’m not waking her for at least eight hours.”

  “Luke, seriously, we’ve got a lot going on right now.”

  “I get that. But there can’t be anything that can’t wait a day. If there is, I’m sure someone else, or you, can handle it.”

  “But Sarah—”

  “Deserves a few hours of uninterrupted sleep after working her butt off for months,” he interrupted. “You’re the gatekeeper at work. I’m doing it today because she needs someone to take care of her physical and mental health.” He wanted to make that his job permanently.

  “No one knows better than me that she needs to get some rest—”

  “Then let her.” He pulled into Margaret’s driveway. “Listen, I’ve got the boys and we’re at their grandmother’s. I’m sure she’ll be up soon,” he said to reassure Abby and the boys, but he was still concerned about Sarah.

  “You’re right. Okay. But tell her to call me as soon as she wakes up.”

  “Will do.” He’d probably wait until Sarah ate a decent meal, then tell her.

  He said goodbye to Abby and helped the boys out of the truck. They beat him to the door. He knocked and waited.

  He wondered if Margaret had gone out, but then a couple minutes later she finally answered. “Luke. Boys.” Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “Where’s Sarah?”

  Luke didn’t think Margaret would take this well.

  Jack beat him to the punch. “Mama’s sleeping at Luke’s.”

  Margaret raised a brow and gave him a disapproving look. “Really?”

  “Yes.” He touched the boys’ backs. “Go upstairs and get your homework out.”

  Jack and Nick took off.

  Margaret stared at him, waiting for an explanation she probably wouldn’t receive well.

  “Sarah is exhausted. She collapsed at the ranch. I’m going to let her sleep as long as she wants, because she definitely needs it.”

  “Do you see? She doesn’t take care of herself. Anything could have happened if she was out with the boys.”

  “But she wasn’t. She was with me. And I don’t think she would have gone out in her condition if she hadn’t promised the boys and knew that I was right there to watch over them.” He didn’t give Margaret time to harp on it and got to his point. “The boys just had breakfast. They need to do their homework.”

  Margaret glanced at the stairs. “I suppose they could bring it down and I can help them.”

  “Okay. I expect Sarah to sleep most of the day.”

  “What?”

  “I’m pretty sure she was up all night finishing her project.” Even if she woke up before dinner, she could use a little time doing nothing.

  Margaret looked confused and irritated at the same time. “We’ll be fine.”

  “Great. Then I guess I’ll see you later when I bring Sarah back.” He wanted to check on Sarah as soon as he returned to the ranch.

  Margaret frowned. “I hoped you’d come to your senses by now.”

  He held her sharp gaze. “I hope you don’t come to regret treating her the way you have and not getting to know who she really is. Because the more I learn about her and her life with Sean, it’s clear, you don’t know either one of them.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “That Sean didn’t tell you the truth about her, their marriage, or their life together.”

  “Of course she made Sean out to be the bad guy and blamed him for everything. You can’t believe her. You knew him.” Her gaze pleaded with him to side with her.

  He couldn’t. Not when he knew and loved Sarah the way he did. “I thought I knew Sean. But we were teenagers the last time I saw him. Even then, he always took the easy way and used others to get what he wanted. He did it with a smile and charm, but that didn’t mean he didn’t leave several disgruntled people in his wake.”

  Sarah was one of them and clearly deserved her ire, because Sean had been a son of a bitch to her.

  “Back then, I liked hanging out with Sean. He was fun. The life of the party. But he could be jealous and competitive and push others out of his way to get what he wanted.”

  “Being competitive got him to MIT. It’s how he created such a successful business.” She defended Sean, but he saw the uncertainty in her eyes.

  “Yeah, well, he used Sarah. He hurt her just to get what he wanted.”

  “He ended up dead because of her.”

  “Do you actually know what happened?” He had the facts from the accident, but he’d planned to ask Sarah about the details when the time was right, because she’d taught him not everything you thought you knew was the truth.

  “I know he died unhappy.” Pain etched lines in Margaret’s forehead and filled her eyes.

  It had to be hard to know your child died before they reached their full potential and found their happiness.

  But Sean had made his choices, and most of them hurt Sarah, Jack, Nick, and others. Margaret included.

  Poor Sarah. She’d been dealing with a lot of unwarranted hostility.

  Margaret was beyond listening to anything that didn’t fit into her perception of who she thought Sarah was and Luke refused to waste time trying to convince her Sarah was nothing like Margaret thought. He needed to get back to Sarah and make sure she was all right.

  “Call me if you need help with the boys.” He turned and walked down the porch steps.

  “She’ll ruin you,” Margaret called after him.

  He turned and faced her. “Be careful you don’t ruin your chance to keep the boys in your life.” He may have known Margaret longer, but he was on Sarah’s side and she didn’t deserve to be subjected to this kind of hostility and hate when she’d done nothing wrong.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Sarah opened her eyes and found Luke staring at her. She was surprised to see him, and disoriented, but his warm smile and the feel of his hand brushing over her hair grounded her and made her heart trip.

  “Good morning, darlin’.”

  She loved the sound of his deep voice and the warmth in his words. “Hi. Am I sleeping on your kitchen table?”

  The charming grin made her belly flutter. “Yes, you are.”

  “Great.” Embarrassment warmed her cheeks. “How long have I been here?”

  Luke leaned in. “That’s a complex question. You’ve been asleep for nearly a whole day. You got out of bed about an hour ago and sleepwalked down here to the kitchen. But if you want the bigger question answered, according to Jack, you’re really old, thirty-two. So that’s how long you’ve been here.”

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  “A little bit. You sure are pretty when you’re rested and lying on my table.”

  Not inclined to move from her spot in front of him—and Luke looked content to have her there, offered up like Thanksgiving dinner—she rolled to her side and laid her head on her arm to look at him. Luke sat back and she drank in the sight of his sexy bare chest, beard-scruffy jaw, and tousled golden hair.

  “Is Margaret really mad?”

  “She’s definitely riled. Since you didn’t wake up by dinner, she called and asked if I’d take the boys because she was afraid to put them to bed upstairs. If they woke up in the night, she wouldn’t be able to hear them. And I think gett
ing up those stairs is simply too difficult for her with her arthritis. I think she was afraid she might fall.”

  “I’ve noticed she never goes upstairs. I’m glad she called you. Are the boys okay? They must be worried.”

  “They’re asleep upstairs. They worried about you for about five minutes.”

  She raised a brow.

  “They got a good look at you sleeping while the doctor checked you out.”

  She pressed her hand to her head. “I vaguely remember someone poking at me.”

  “You did not want to wake up. The doctor gave you a once-over, including a vitamin shot, and said to go ahead and let you sleep. It was the best medicine.”

  “You didn’t need to call a doctor to come out here.”

  “You collapsed and then you wouldn’t wake up,” he snapped, letting his deep concern show. “Sorry.”

  Her heart ached. She hated that she’d scared him. “You were really worried.”

  “More than I can say.” He raked his fingers through his tousled hair. “Once the boys knew you were okay, we played ball, video games, and roasted hot dogs over the firepit. Once they were sufficiently dirty and tired, I gave them a bath in the big tub, full of bubbles, read them a couple stories, and put them to bed.” Luke grinned. “We had a great time. I love those boys.”

  “You do?” She believed him. She just didn’t expect him to express it so easily.

  “What’s not to love? Their mother has done a great job raising them. They kicked my ass at some of the video games. They know a bunch of secret codes to make themselves invincible. I couldn’t get them to reveal the codes. Anyway, we have a lot to talk about. Are you fully awake now?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Because I want to tell you that you scared the hell out of me!” His voice started out soft, but by the time he got to the end of the sentence the anger spilled out with his words. “When I think of what could have happened if you weren’t here with me . . .”

  Sarah raised up and faced him, leaning on one arm. “Luke, I’m sorry I frightened you. Don’t you think it scares the hell out of me to wake up on your kitchen table not knowing how long I’ve been asleep, or what might have happened to my boys? They’re everything to me. Don’t you think I’m sitting here thanking God that you were here to take care of us? Don’t you think I have a thousand different scenarios going through my mind about what might have happened to them if I’d hurt them, or myself? This is killing me and I’m so sorry that you’ve had to put your life on hold to take care of us.”