The Best Man

by Carol Hutchens

  “My clients aren’t crazy.”

  Joel snorted. “Well, their spouses are. It’s the same difference.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Look, Kate, all I’m saying is—”

  “Careful, Joel, you almost sound like you’re worried about me.” Kate nodded thanks as Laurel handed her a cup of steaming coffee, and took a second to enjoy the grim look the secretary sent Joel.

  Joel gave Laurel a shamefaced glance, then turned to Kate and snarled. “I care about what finding you dead would do to this firm.” He swirled to face Luke. “Can’t you do something with her?”

  Luke lowered his long frame in a chair next to the corner of the desk. “What would you have me do?” He leaned one elbow on the chair arm and propped his chin on his palm as he watched Joel.

  Oh, he knew what he wanted to do with Kate. But he didn’t think locking her behind closed doors and throwing away the key would earn her respect.

  He tried to look relaxed as three pairs of eyes focused on him. Laurel stood uncertainly in the doorway, her concern for Kate battling with her need to have confidence in Joel’s claims of affection. Luke had known Laurel long enough to read her expression as she hovered behind Joel.

  Joel, on the other hand, had him confused. His demands for Luke to keep Kate in control spoke of his concern. But the fact that he was concerned made Luke question his emotional attachment to Kate.

  And there was another factor he had to consider. He didn’t want to alienate Kate as Joel was doing. He wanted to show confidence in her, but know she was safe, too. “I’m not the boss and Kate can take care of herself.”

  Joel flung himself in the opposite visitor’s chair. “Does letting herself be taken hostage sound like she’s taking control of herself?”

  “Hello, I’m here. I can speak for myself, Joel.” Kate sent him a dagger loaded glare. “I got my client and her kids out of that house without anyone getting hurt.” Anger shimmered through her words. “What is that, if not taking care of myself?”

  Luke’s heart hammered as he remembered the tense scene at that house.

  The terror of waiting to hear of Kate’s whereabouts still chilled his blood. When the police finally confirmed that she was in the house, he’d almost given up hope. He’d thought he’d lost Kate again. This time for good.

  Watching now, seeing tension tighten her lips, he wouldn’t allow her to see how worried he’d been. He had learned how strong she was over the past few weeks. He knew how much she wanted to take charge of her life. If he reacted as Joel wanted, he would destroy her confidence in her ability.

  He would lose her for sure.

  Five long hours of negotiations with an abusive spouse had shown him the danger of Kate working at the Crisis Center was real. But the danger of losing her respect was just as real. If he tried to prevent her from doing what she thought was right, he would lose her just as surely as if she had drowned in that tsunami.

  Standing back and letting her prove herself was the hardest thing he had ever done.

  Or maybe it was the second hardest…allowing her to walk away after their lovemaking had ripped his heart out. He had held her in his arms. Had made love to her. And she had turned away.

  He stared at her, forcing her to meet his gaze.

  “I was proud of you today.” He ignored Joel’s snort and Laurel’s gasp. “It took guts to pull off what you did.”

  Had Joel and Laurel expected him to reprimand Kate as if she were a naughty teen? Okay, he didn’t want her in danger, but he couldn’t keep her from proving her worth, not if he loved her.

  Loving someone wasn’t easy.

  Luke was learning a hard lesson. Loving Kate was making it difficult to hold his emotions in check. Was that was why so many relationships didn’t last. Letting Kate make her own decisions, no matter how difficult, was forcing him to stand back and let her call the shots.

  His nature steered him to protect. Sitting back and watching Kate risk danger went against all he believed in. But he wanted to prove his confidence in her, not strangle her with emotions.

  “Thanks,” Kate kept her voice calm, despite the shivers shaking her insides. She valued Luke’s good opinion. Joel’s show of concern didn’t fool her for an instant.

  Maybe he didn’t want to see her hurt, but she knew all Joel was interested in was getting ahead. That’s all he had ever cared about.

  She understood him now. She could almost find it in her to feel sorry for Laurel. Almost. But not yet. Not with the memory of being left stranded on that island after that tsunami still fresh in her mind. Maybe, with time.

  But, if she were honest, she wanted more than Luke’s good opinion. The danger she experienced today convinced her of that. She wanted Luke’s respect. And his love. But his manner confused her. She knew he’d come searching for her after Joel returned from Thailand alone. Joel had made sure she knew. But today Luke acted as if her latest brush with death was all in a day’s work.

  Hadn’t he been concerned that she wouldn’t survive? Had he cared about her being a hostage of an enraged spouse? Had making love to her meant so little to him?

  Their lovemaking mattered to her. She couldn’t get their hours together out of her head. Remembering Luke’s kisses, and the feel of his body inside hers, kept her hoping she could escape the danger of today’s events.

  But this wasn’t about her growing feelings for Luke. Or his personal interest in her. This was about accomplishing her goal. About making her life count, and helping others. Giving a mental shake, she sat straighter in the chair and held Luke’s gaze.

  What did his reaction matter? She was safe, wasn’t she? She was alive. Memory of her mother’s teachings stiffened her spine, even as her insides almost crumbled under Luke’s steady gaze.

  But some things had changed.

  She was tired of pretending everything was okay. She wanted…she wanted to throw herself on Luke’s broad chest and feel his arms hold her. She wanted him to tell her everything was okay, that she was safe.

  She shivered and quickly lowered her gaze to her cup. She would have spilled coffee all over her father’s broad mahogany desk if the cup had been full and that would never do. She couldn’t let her doubts show.

  “Just so we’re all on the same page,” she stared at each of them in turn, “I’m not giving up my work at the Center.”

  “You’re crazy!” Joel snarled. “Tell her Luke.”

  “Kate, are you sure?” Laurel whispered.

  Luke’s steady gaze bored into her for long moments. His lack of response gave Kate time to wonder if he even cared. Then he spoke and the emotion in his deep voice soothed her raw emotions. “We need to help the Crisis Center form a better safety plan.”

  Kate wanted to yell whoopee and pump her arms in the air.

  She wanted to rush around her desk and give Luke a bear hug. She wanted to make a face at Joel and say, take that. But she did nothing.

  Because, suddenly it occurred to her that Luke’s reaction gave her vindication that she was doing the right thing. She wouldn’t belittle his vote of confidence by immature actions.

  “Thanks, Luke,” she said as she smiled. Luke trusted her. He wanted her project to work. That was two things Joel had never done in their marriage, trust her and believe in her. Already, she felt closer to Luke than she had to Joel in the six years they were married.

  ***

  A week later, Kate met with her newest client in the dining area of the Center. She had worked late at the office, and was tired and hungry. This latest abused spouse victim to ask for help was sitting with her at a table in the corner when the door opened.

  Luke walked in, his briefcase in his hand. His tall good looks in the dark suit he had worn to court today, forced the air from her lungs. She recalled how good he looked without a suit and her mouth watered. Her blood heated to boiling.

  Luke’s glance skittered past her, pausing only for a slight nod, before he took a seat at the far corner of the room with his back to her.
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  Blood zipped through her veins. Despite her effort to keep her face clear of any reaction, her client noticed. The bleary-eyed woman looked over her shoulder and stared at Luke.

  Kate waited for the woman to recoil, to complain about having a strange man enter the room, but to her surprise, her client’s only reaction was a question. “Someone you know?”

  Kate’s heart hammered in her chest. “A partner in the law firm I work for.”

  The woman’s shrewd eyes examined Kate. Her stare was even more potent because of the colorful bruising around one blue eye. “If you say so.”

  Kate’s breath shuddered. Were her feelings for Luke so apparent this stranger could see? Was she ignoring her goals in the midst of her newfound feelings for Luke? Kate angled her chin high.

  She would not allow emotions that made her weak. She had done that once…nom make that, twice. Longing for her father’s respect made her curb her instincts and bend to his will. And the results? Joel was made partner, not her.

  And that happened after Joel charmed her into thinking he loved her. He loved power. And out-witting opponents. But he’d never loved her.

  Two rejections that still stung.

  But even then, had she learned her lesson? Hadn’t she nearly died because Joel listed her as dead instead of missing? Yet, here she was, courting more rejections, because she couldn’t forget the night spent in Luke’s arms.

  Truth was, she didn’t want to forget. Luke’s touch had been magic. Her response had been amazing. Luke touched a part of her that no man had ever reached. He had the power to break her heart if she wasn’t careful. But she had a plan. She would achieve her goal, prove to herself and Luke that she was his equal. And then…she would tell him she loved him.

  She sent the woman a stern look. “Forget him.” Even this woman who had been abused by a man, could appreciate Luke. What chance did Kate have of protecting her own heart? “Let’s get back to your case.”

  Five minutes later, the director ushered another resident of the Center into the room. Kate tried not to stare as Luke stood and shook hands with a frail woman. Their exchange was a repeat of her first contact with the woman sitting across from her now.

  The director left. Luke sat with the woman across the table from him. Their actions gave every indication of client and attorney. Kate shook her head to clear away confusion, and forced her attention to her client. But questions raced around her head. Was Luke volunteering at the Crisis Center, now?

  Why?

  Did he agree with her suggestion that the firm should offer to help those less fortunate? Did he think he could keep an eye on her if he volunteered here? Was she losing her mind, even considering that he cared enough to give up his Monday night to offer legal services to battered women?

  An hour and a half later, Kate said good night to her client. As she sorted through the piles of forms on the table, she caught sight of Luke’s client leaving the room as well. He was efficient. She would hand that to him. She had been here thirty minutes before he arrived, and they had finished at the same time. Interesting.

  But not amazing. If she deducted the minutes she spent speculating about Luke and staring at his back, she could have finished earlier. Considering the distraction, it was amazing that she finished at all. And her client hadn’t made any more comments about Luke.

  It was all her, Kate sighed.

  “Tired?” Luke had crossed the room while she stacked papers.

  Kate looked up. Luke was over six feet four. That’s one of the first things she had noticed about him. With his height and the width of his shoulders, Luke made clothes look good.

  Now, a half grin played across his amazing lips as his intense gaze fastened on her face. She had to answer him, but all she wanted to do was jump into his arms. “Yes, aren’t you?”

  “Feel like going for a cup of coffee?” Luke held up a hand when her mouth opened.

  Kate shook her head in amazement, wondering how he always knew when she was going to disagree with him. The need to spend time with him, and prove he didn’t know her as well as he thought he did, changed her answer. “Sure, sounds good.”

  “The way you were shaking your head, I though you were going to say no.”

  Kate made a face. “I’m amazed that you think you can read my mind.”

  “I can,” Luke’s soft words accompanied his half grin. “I’m sure you intended to say no.”

  Kate picked up her briefcase and grinned. “Then maybe you can’t read my mind as well as you thought.”

  Thank goodness.

  Luke mumbled as he followed her to the door.

  Kate turned, pushing the door handle with her backside. “Did you say something?”

  Luke lifted a questioning brow. “You choose the place.”

  Kate stepped out into the black night. Only the dim light over the door kept the darkness at bay. One of her first questions, after meeting the director, had been why they didn’t have more safety lighting.

  The director pointed out the need to keep a low profile in the community. Her answer hadn’t convinced Kate that it was the safest choice, but she understood the words.

  Looking at Luke in the dark shadows, she felt a moment of relief, realizing he couldn’t see her face, either. “Um...I thought you said, “I wish”. Feeling brave in the poor lighting, she sent him a teasing glance. “Do you want to read my mind, Luke?”

  Luke chuckled. “Would I understand you any better, if I could?”

  “Oh, I don’t know.” Kate laughed. “I think women like to feel mysterious. Don’t you?” This was a side of Luke she wanted to know better, the Luke that relaxed enough to show his real feelings. The side of him she missed since she moved out of his apartment.

  “Trust me, Kate, you have perfected mysterious.”

  ***

  “Luke’s volunteering at the Crisis Center, too?”

  Joel’s bellow sounded through Kate’s office door the next morning as she sat at her desk. Laurel’s must be passing on the news, after typing up notes on Luke’s client from the previous night. From the sound of it, Joel was ready to split a gasket.

  Two seconds later, her door banged against the wall as Joel bolted through. “Am I the only one in this firm concerned with making a profit?”

  “Money isn’t everything, Joel.” Kate propped her chin on her palm as she studied him. His suit had cost more than some used cars. It wasn’t a guess. While they were married, she had seen the credit card bills. Funny, on Joel the suit held no distinction. Now, on Luke’s tall frame that suit would look like a million…

  “That’s been your attitude ever since you came back from vacation.”

  “Vacation?” Kate slammed her hand on the desk with a resounding slap against the solid wood. “Is that what you call what I went through? A VACATION?”

  Color raced to his cheeks. “We called it a vacation at the time.” Joel’s face settled in the stubborn look of a spoiled child that she had come to know well during their marriage.

  “Being washed away by a gigantic wave, with no food, no clothing and,” Kate stalled to take a deep breath. If she used her head she wouldn’t let him needle her. But this time, he had gone too far. “And left stranded by the husband I thought I could trust with my life…does not sound like a vacation to me.”

  “Awe, Kate, we need to put that behind us.” Joel’s tone wheedled. His face turned deeper red.

  Kate crossed her hands on the desk to control their trembling. She knew better than to fall into Joel’s traps, but he had hit a tender nerve. Still, she was determined to let go the past and start over. Her goal rested in her hands, she saw that now. Funny, the years she wasted on Joel, and she had never learned that lesson.

  It had taken a major disaster and his desertion, to show her that she was in charge of her own destiny. Not Joel, not her mother, or even the father she tried hard to impress, just Kate.

  It was a scary proposition. Look at all the mistakes she’d made.

  Sh
e’d clung to the need to put on the perfect face since childhood. Her father was dead. It was too late to connect with him. But she wondered if things might have been different if she had been brave enough to tell him how she felt.

  She certainly couldn’t judge her life by her involvement with Joel. He had usurped every opportunity to insert himself between her and her father, while declaring his undying love and promising children he never intended to have.

  Kate took a shuddering breath. But Joel had a good point. If she wanted to change things in the future, she needed to take a stand, now. She inhaled a deep breath.

  “You’re right, Joel.” If she hadn’t been so intent on her goal, Kate would have laughed at the surprised look on his face. “It’s time I apologized to you…and to Laurel.” Kate looked past Joel at the woman hovering in the doorway. “I never intended to mess up your lives.” She cleared emotion from her voice and stared her former husband in the eye. “I didn’t know it was your wedding day when I arrived back in the states. Then I arrived home and couldn’t find anyone, the neighbor told me you were getting married. I felt I had to act. I just wanted you to know I was alive…to save legal complications. I never meant you any harm.”

  “Oh, Kate!” Laurel pushed past Joel to lean on the desk. “We knew that. It’s just…it was such a shock, you know?” Blinking, she turned a swift glance on Joel. “We were thrilled to see that you were alive…the timing was off…that’s all.”

  “I hope you’ll forgive my interruption, Laurel.”

  “Yes, of course we will. As a matter of fact—”

  “What she trying to say,” Joel interrupted as he stepped to Laurel’s side and put his arm around her shoulders. “Is the divorce papers arrived last week. We went back to the church and had the minister marry us.”

  Kate’s mouth dropped open. “You’re married?”

  Laurel nodded. A big smile covered her face. “Yes, it was so romantic. The church was quiet. The sun sparkled through the stained glass windows. The flowers from the Sunday service were so beautiful. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect ceremony. It was just us…the two people that mattered most.” Laurel leaned against Joel’s side. “And our witnesses, of course.”