That was how Luke found her when he walked into the game room two minutes later. She was just staring into space, with images floating through her mind. Images of Luke when they were growing up together. All the way up to yesterday when he found her sitting on the side of the road.
When she finally snapped out of it and realized someone was in the room with her, she looked up to find Luke just staring at her. He looked like he was holding his breath. Like he had been trying to decide what to do. She just grinned at him. She couldn’t seem to help herself. Any woman in the world would have understood how she felt. He was a very sexy man. And absolutely beautiful.
But she knew more. She knew the kind of person he was. How good and honest he was. How gentle he could be. But how scary he could be when he was angry and protective. She had been on the receiving end of his anger many times. But if it was possible, she had been the one he was protecting even more.
Her mom and dad, and her older brothers and sisters had been telling her he was in love with her for two years now. It had always been so hard for her to believe. But what if they were all right. It would explain a lot of the fights they’d had. And the way he was always trying to take care of her, and protect her. A lot of the times he had to protect her from herself.
She had been in love with him for so long now. It was almost scary to think it could be that easy. That she’d been fighting against the one thing she wanted most for the last five years of her life, and making herself miserable for nothing.
When he finally spoke, his voice sound rough with emotion. “What were you just thinking about?” He looked as nervous as she felt.
Unable to speak, she just shook her head. There is no way I can tell him I have done almost a one eight in my mind. I need more time. It still feels like too much to hope for. If it turns out they’re all wrong, it will kill me when he rejects me.
He looked like he wanted to press the issue. He stood there for a few seconds with a guarded expression. In the end, he seemed to think better of it. “Okay, maybe later. I was actually wondering if you wanted to ride to church with me in the morning, since your car’s out of commission. Your parent’s SUV would hold you, but it would save it being a little more crowded that way.”
“Yeah, sure. That would be great.” Then she thought for a second, “You’re not going to bring the tow truck, are you? I’d really like to ride in the Stingray.”
“Okay, I’ll bring the Stingray. If you’re good, I might even let you drive it.” On that note, he turned and walked out the door. She couldn’t resist throwing a pillow at his head. She missed. It just bounced off the door as it closed behind him. She could hear him laughing on his way down the hall.
Chapter 3 – Sunday, April 29
True to his word, when he got there the next morning he was in the shiny, blue sixty-three Stingray he had rebuilt himself. It was already late enough when he got there, her parents had already left for church. So, when she heard the rumbling sound of the motor pull up to the house, she picked up her stuff and ran out to meet him. She jumped in the passenger seat without thinking about what he had said about letting her drive.
“Well, hello, Doll. How are you this morning?” Luke asked, giving her a devilish grin.
“Why do you always have to sound like an old black and white movie? It’s like Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart have all taken up residents in your head. Every once in a while, you throw in John Wayne or Dean Martin for fun.
“I like old movies. They’re more respectful.”
“Yes, I know why you watch old movies. Besides, you know I love old Cary Grant movies. And John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart’s are they only westerns I’ll watch. However, I don’t end up sounding like the Duke after watching a couple of his more famous flicks.
“Maybe it’s just the romantic in me,” he said, grinning at their good-natured banter. “We should watch some old Cary Grant movies together after church. What do you say?”
“Sure, sounds great. I’ll fix us lunch.” She wasn’t sure how long it would last, but it felt good getting along with Luke. I’m going to enjoy it while I can.
For the rest of the ride to the church, they rode in a companionable silence. When they walked into church though, she wondered if maybe she should have ridden with her parents in the overcrowded SUV. The moment she and Luke stepped in the building, it felt like everyone was staring at them. As they walked up the aisle to where her parents sat, she could hear people starting to talk. It wasn’t that she really minded that they might think she and Luke were together, she just didn’t want it to bother him. If it did, it might put an end to their getting along before she had a chance to really see where it could go. It’s probably just wishful thinking on my part, but I’m starting to think we might have a chance the way things are going today.
When the services were over, and they were shaking hands and talking to everyone, she could tell everyone was wanting to ask if they were dating, or at the very least why they had ridden to church together. She found herself, once again, hoping it wasn’t bothering him. She didn’t want it to ruin this good mood.
When they did finally make it outside, it didn’t help that he automatically handed her the keys to his favorite car without any hesitation. She didn’t even have to ask if she was still going to get to drive. This just gave everybody that much more to talk about, and she could feel them staring at her once again as she went around the nose of the car to crawl in the driver’s seat this time.
She had always wanted to drive the car, but she had never had the nerve to ask. Luke usually never let anyone touch his baby. Zane had asked to drive it once, and had gotten such a stony look, he had never bothered to try again.
If she had bothered to think about it beyond the moment, she would have realized there was a great significance to him giving her the keys. Luke had rebuilt the car from the ground up. Her brother Phillip was the one who had done the body work for him. She knew how much the car meant to him. It was the first pure luxury he had allowed himself after the garage started really making money again. He had taken over Old Man Peterson’s garage once he had graduated out of high school. Peterson hadn’t left the garage in a lot of debt, but he hadn’t been really making good money for a long while when Luke bought the place. The man had been nearly ninety at the time and just wasn’t doing a whole lot of business by then.
She was really excited about being given the chance to drive the car, and she was wondering if he would let her take it for a drive before going back to his house.
“Hey, would you mind if we went for a ride first?” she asked him, her voice shaking a little from nerves. She was still worried about what he was thinking about everybody’s reaction to them being together this morning. “I’ve always wanted to know what this car would do.”
“Sure, take off down the highway. Turn towards Ruby Falls, and go as far as you want to. If we go far enough, we can stop and get something to eat on the way back.”
At first, she was so stunned, she just sat there with the keys in her hand. When it finally hit her what he had said, and that he wasn’t joking, she gave him a big grin and put the keys in the ignition and started the car. It had the most beautiful rumble of any car she had ever heard. I love the sound of this car.
She put the car in first gear and pulled out onto Harris Avenue, then turned north on highway sixty.
When she made it to the stop light, he looked over at her and gave her a devil may care grin. “Just don’t get pulled over, okay. That’s all I ask.”
“We should have taken the top off.”
“We will next time,” he said with the devilish grin growing bigger.
Mindi knew she was getting into dangerous territory, but she couldn’t seem to turn back. She would have to keep a level head on her shoulders, or she could get sucked into the vortex while looking into his eyes. Those eyes always made her dream of things she had always been certain she would never get. She was starting to feel like she had been wrong ab
out that certainty.
She shook her head a little, hoping he hadn’t noticed, and started speeding up. She ran through the gears until she had shifted out to fourth, and just let the car run under her. That is the most wonderful sound in the world, with only one exception. The sound of Luke’s voice.
I’m going to have to watch my thoughts. Between the feel of the car, and the close proximity to Luke, I’m going to be off in a fantasy world if I’m not careful.
She decided once they made it to Ruby Falls, it was time to head back. She didn’t believe her nerves could take anymore, and she would almost swear she could hear Luke’s stomach growling. She had been planning on making him lunch, so she really didn’t want to stop at a fast food place. They really needed to get back.
When they got back to the stop light in the middle of town, Mindi noticed a bubble gum top in her rearview mirror. As she moved to pull through the intersection, she saw the lights go on. Knowing full well she hadn’t broken any traffic laws, she knew it had to be her brother. They weren’t very far off from Luke’s garage, so rather than pulling over on the side of the road, she went on to his parking lot.
Sure enough, when they came to a stop, it was Zane who got out of the patrol car, and sauntered their way. Luke didn’t even hesitate. He opened the door and hoped out. “Hey, Man, what are you up to? Going to give your sister a ticket for driving too slow?”
Mindi crawled out after him, and shot him a dirty look. “Very funny, Luke. I was hardly going too slow. You’re the one that told me not to get pulled over.”
“You got pulled over, anyway,” he said, smirking at her.
She just gave him a dirty look, and turned and looked at Zane. “Can we help you?”
“Yeah. Since when does she get to drive the Stingray? Do I get to drive it now?” Zane asked, raising one dark eyebrow, his blue eyes shining with laughter. He was ribbing Luke. He knew why Mindi got to drive the car. Luke would give her anything just to be in the same room with her.
Luke didn’t even hesitate. “No,” he said without a trace of humor in his voice.
Mindi looked at her brother and watched that cocky grin he always had slowly cross his face. She should have realized he was about to say something that was going to cause someone embarrassment. She wasn’t paying attention, and later would probably blame it on being high on horse power and being too close to Luke. Otherwise she probably would have been more on guard.
Zane raised one dark eyebrow and looked over at Luke. “So, you let my little sister drive this beautiful piece of machinery, but not me? One of your best friends? Wow! You’ve got it worse than I thought you did,” Zane said, chuckling to himself as he walked back to the patrol car.
Luke had his back to her, and didn’t act like he had any intention of turning around. “I would understand if you needed to leave after your brother’s comment. I don’t really want you to, but I won’t try to stop you.” He didn’t even wait for an answer. He just started toward the stairs that lead to the apartment.
She followed after him, trying to catch up, wondering if out of embarrassment, he had forgotten that he was going to have to take her home. He made it in the house before she could reach him, so she just walked in behind him. He still had his back to her when she spoke. “Hey, Luke, just ignore him. That’s what I intend to do.”
He still didn’t turn and face her, but his tone of voice had improved. He sounded more like himself again. “Did you want to order pizza, or something else that can be delivered?” he asked, testing the waters.
It sounded like he was going to try to act like nothing had been said at all, so she decided to follow his lead. “Well, I was actually thinking I would just cook something. Do you have anything in there, or do we need to go to the store?”
He must have finally gotten his emotions under control, because he finally turned to face her. “I’m sure you can find something in there if you really want to cook, but you don’t have to. I don’t mind ordering out.”
“Are you afraid I’ll poison you?” she asked with a grin slowly spreading across her face. She couldn’t help but tease him a little bit. His face was still a little flushed from her brother’s comment, and she was hoping it would help to relieve the rest of the stress.
“I’ve eaten your cooking before. I’m sure I can trust you.” He had started grinning again, Zane’s comment finally forgotten.
She walked through the kitchen, over to the refrigerator and started rummaging through it, knowing she would find something to start with. Luke was a pretty good cook himself. It probably came from the years he had been living by himself.
She found hamburger and stuff to make salad with. When she turned back around to ask him if that sounded okay to him, she discovered he had followed close behind her. She came face to face with him. She sucked in a sharp breath of surprise when she nearly banged heads with him.
“Hi.” She had forgot what she was getting ready to ask him and just stood there staring into his chocolate brown eyes. He is so beautiful. He would probably be offended I used the word beautiful. The problem is, handsome just isn’t enough for him.
His father had been a white man, and his mother was a full blood Sioux. He had gotten the best of both worlds. His coloring came from his mother, along with the sharp cheekbones. But otherwise, he looked exactly like his father. He was absolutely gorgeous.
He must have realized he had made her a little nervous, because he took a small step back and smiled at her. “Hi, yourself. Do you need any help?”
“Well, I was just going to ask you if hamburgers and salad was okay. It kind of seemed like that was what you were planning on, anyway.” She had to work really hard not to let her voice shake.
“Yeah, that sounds great. Do you want me to fix the salad?” He took an unconscious step forward, causing her to take a sharp breath once again. If he kept this up, she was going to end up passed out on him.
She could feel her face flush, and she was trying really hard to jump start her brain back to working order. She knew she had to sound like she was losing her mind, but all she could managed was a barely whispered, “Yes.”
He reached around behind her to the fridge door, and opened it to get the lettuce and tomatoes out, causing her to have to step even closer. She was starting to think he was trying to make her pass out. She half wondered if he was planning on taking advantage of her if she did. She realized she had stopped breathing, and had to consciously take a breath. She would have waited till he had stepped back from her.
When she had taken a breath, it had brought with it the scent of him. That was all it took to make her head spin. He smelled so good, she wanted to lean in and breathe deeper. He smelled of sunshine and after shave. She wasn’t sure what kind he used, but it went really nice with his own personal male scent. She felt like her brain was completely scrambled.
If she doesn’t stop reacting like that, I’m going to end up grabbing her and giving her a big kiss. I may just not let her leave my apartment.
She looked up into his face and seen him smiling at her again. This time was a little different. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Like he knew what he was doing to her. She wasn’t sure how to take that.
When he stepped back, he had the salad stuff in his hand and he let the fridge door swing closed on its own. He turned and walked over to the counter without saying a word, but she could see the smile he was still wearing. She wasn’t going to let it chase her from the house. She was going to spend the afternoon with him. She really wanted to be here, and she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think he was really laughing at her. Maybe just surprised by her reaction.
She turned back to the fridge and got the hamburger out to make patties. Once she got them going in the skillet, she started looking for buns in the cabinets. By the time she had finished doing all that, he had finished getting the salad ready. She finished frying the burgers while he got salad dressing and ketchup and other stuff out, and he went ahead, and sat the table.
> “Do you want cheese on yours?” When she turned around he was standing way too close again. He didn’t even bother to answer. He already had the cheese in his hand, and he just handed it to her.
“Are you trying to render me unconscious?” The question tumbled from her lips before she had thought about what she was going to say. She could feel her cheeks heat up.
Did that mean what I think it meant? he thought to himself, trying not to grin too big.
She stood there with the cheese in her hand, unable to move. She wasn’t even breathing. How was she going to explain that rash question if he decided to ask what she meant? It seemed like he had gotten even closer. He was just looking down at her like he had something on his mind. She found herself trapped in his gaze.
When she was finally able to shake herself free from his eyes, she spun around, intending to put the cheese on the burgers, and slammed her hand into the side of the hot skillet.
She sucked in a harsh breath from the pain. He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the sink. He turned the cold tap on and shoved her hand under the water.
“Stay there.” He turned back to finish what she had been doing.
Okay. I’m an idiot. I knew I was making her nervous. I should have given her some space, instead of letting myself be sucked in like that, he thought, chiding himself.
Once the cheese had started to melt, he took the skillet off the burner and turned the stove off.
He turned back to the sink. “How’s your hand? I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have gotten so close.” He pulled her hand out from under the water to look at it. It was a little red, but that seemed to be the worst of it. He stuck it back under the water, and stood there holding her hand.
“It’s okay. It’s better now.”
“No. Really, I’m an idiot. I wasn’t thinking. I was sort of being drawn in your direction,” he said with an answering flush to his cheeks. “It doesn’t seem to be too bad. I don’t think you’ll need to go to the ER, or anything,” he said with a chuckle. His thumb had started tracing circles in the palm of her hand. Her pulse was starting to race. And she felt in danger of fainting again.
Summer Obsession (The Townsends Book 1) Page 5