It always amazed Luke how quickly women made friends. Within sixty seconds, they were deep in conversation, headed toward the main cabin for a cup of tea. Of course, Sally had been reluctant to leave Jen, but he’d latched onto her hand and smiled his assurance, hoping Sally would get the message he could handle one nine-year-old girl. An instant later, the small blond-haired child, the spitting image of Daniel, stepped closer and fastened one spindly arm around her father’s leg. He introduced Luke and Jen to five-year-old Bridgett, whose first words were, “Do you want to see my pony?” After a brief reminder from Daniel about safety, they ran off toward the corrals, visible behind the cabins.
Abruptly, a shrill whistle shattered the serenity of the valley, and everyone, including Sally and Ellen, stopped to stare in the direction of the river as a loud shout reached them. “Hey! Guys! He’s here.”
Luke recognized the voice at the exact moment he noticed the terror in Sally’s eyes. Quickly, he jogged across the grass to her side, vaguely aware of Daniel following him.
“Where’s Jen?” Panic strained her voice.
“She’s okay. Listen to me.” He placed both hands on her shoulders and turned her to face him. “It’s not Brennan. Remember my friends—the ones you saw at the hospital? The one doing the yelling is Travis. I assume the guys he’s referring to are MacGyver and Coop.” He glanced sideways at Daniel, pacing nearby. “And this must be what you didn’t want me to go apeshit over?”
Daniel nodded.
“Shit, man. You gotta do something about your cell service.” Luke swallowed the groan building up within him. It wasn’t that he minded his friends showing up at the same time he did, but fuck, given what Sally had been through, it would have been nice to have a little advance notice.
Daniel spoke up as though he’d read Luke’s thoughts. “I tried to warn you.”
Luke sighed. Yes, he had. Too bad it hadn’t worked. Seeing his friends approaching from the corner of the cabin, he turned back to Sally.
“Ready to meet them?”
She stood a little straighter, and a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
Luke took that as a good sign. “They’re a little rough around the edges, but they’re good people. You’ll like them—just don’t believe everything you hear.”
Chapter Eleven
Sally’s gaze darted to the three tall, wide-shouldered men quickly approaching. Each had big biceps and broad chests, as though they spent their free time working out. Dressed similarly in faded, worn jeans and T-shirts stretched to fit, a seven- or eight-inch knife, matching the one Luke carried, hung off each man’s hip. She could easily have mistaken them for a team of mercenaries on the set of some movie…except for their easy smiles, just like at the hospital. They wore their humor like pranksters. That must be why Luke warned her not to take them too seriously. Her face relaxed into a smile. Luke would no doubt be the brunt of their ragging and joking. Men being what they were, they’d probably say anything to get a rise from him. Her presence would most certainly be the fodder for their teasing.
Luke strode forward to greet them in typical male fashion. Lots of laughter, swearing, feigned shoulder punches and grunts preceded a round of handshakes and high fives. When the ritual was over, all three strangers turned as one and stared at her, a look in each set of eyes that seemed slightly suspicious.
The handsome black man who stood in the center of the group flicked his gaze over her. “You’ve been holding out on us, Harding. Who’s this?”
Feeling much like a side of beef that these scoundrels hadn’t found worthy of speaking to, even though she stood right in front of them, anger sparked to life, effectively trumping the embarrassment she’d been fighting. Sally stood straighter, lifted her head and returned their appraising stares.
“Hey, Travis.” Luke’s hand shot out, connecting with the man’s abs. “Be nice or we’re going to have a problem.” His tone was friendly enough, but Sally detected an underlying thread of warning.
Obviously caught by surprise, Travis grunted and dropped back a step.
The last thing Sally wanted was to be the cause of an argument between Luke and the men he called friends. She forced a parade-waving smile and stepped forward, grateful for the arm Luke slipped around her shoulders. She was aware of Ellen beside her until Daniel grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let her go any farther, even when she stepped on his foot.
That made it easier for Sally to keep her smile, and she turned it on Luke. “Are you going to introduce me to your friends?”
Luke studied her warily for a second with a cute little smirk on his face, then leaned toward her. “Only if you promise not to hurt them,” he whispered.
She raised an eyebrow. “We’ll see.”
Luke coughed, no doubt to cover his amusement as he faced his friends again. “This is Sally Duncan. Sally, these are friends of mine—at least for now.”
The guys laughed uncertainly, as though they weren’t entirely sure he was joking.
“The blond on your left is James Cooper. Coop is an explosives expert. He saved our butts more than once.”
“Nice to meet you, Coop.” Sally extended her hand, and the muscles in his forearm flexed as he gripped it firmly.
“The loud mouth there is Travis Monroe, aka the Shadow. He earned his nickname by getting in and out of places no one else could, quick and silent, just like a friggin’ ghost.”
Travis doffed his ball cap as he shook her hand. “Just one of my many talents.” His bedroom eyes narrowed and a suggestive smile played around his mouth, giving her a pretty good idea what he counted as a talent.
Luke groaned. “As you can tell, he’s modest too.”
Everyone chuckled, including Travis. If he could laugh at himself, surely he couldn’t be as degenerate as his words and actions implied.
“The big guy is Matt Iverson. We call him MacGyver because he can fix things.”
Matt appeared only slightly larger than Luke or the other men. His dark brown hair had been cropped close in a buzz cut. Her quick perusal brought a slight flush to his neck and face, yet he nodded politely, and his warm handshake restored some of her quickly diminishing confidence.
A natural smile fell into place as she swept her gaze across the line of curious faces. “Luke’s told me a little—”
“It’s her. The lady in the picture. Right?” Matt’s gaze left her face and darted to Luke’s. “She’s the woman in that picture—the one you showed us—the one you had with you in that shithole.” He focused on her again. “You’re his angel. Aren’t you?”
Luke’s arm had tightened around her, and one look revealed the force of the emotions and memories he was dealing with. Sally instinctively pressed closer as he reached in his back pocket and drew out the folded, faded picture. He handed it to Matt, who studied it for a moment, handed it off to Travis, then dragged her from the safety of Luke’s side and gave her a huge hug.
“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear before he released her and stepped aside. The scene was repeated twice more, with Travis giving her an uncertain peck on the cheek and Coop squeezing her shoulders in a sideways hug while handing the picture back to Luke.
All three of them wore their affection for their friend as a badge of honor, and because of their loyalty to him, she’d been accepted and apparently thrust into the role of angel—one who’d helped to bring their wounded brother home. She was humbled and awed by the bond between these warriors, and another chink in her determination not to reach immediately for the love and security Luke offered fell away.
“Hey, where’s the midget?” Matt turned to search the lawn near Daniel’s cabin.
Luke flinched. “Uh-oh. Yeah, MacGyver, we don’t call her that anymore. Apparently, it’s not politically correct.” He reclaimed his place beside Sally. “MacGyver has a soft spot for kids. I told him about Jen.”
Sally
weighed the nickname Luke and the others had tagged Matt with, rejecting it as she met his inquisitive gaze. “She and Bridgett went to see the pony.” Sally glanced toward Ellen and caught her wiping her eyes. Obviously, Sally hadn’t been the only one moved by the show of solidarity. Standing beside his wife, Daniel grinned and nodded toward the corral.
Sally warmed to the clearly softhearted Matt Iverson. “I’ll introduce you, if you like.”
He rubbed his hands together. “Let’s go.” He offered her his arm, then abruptly stopped and turned to face Luke. “Okay with you, man?”
In reply, Luke gripped his arm for a moment. “I have a favor to ask…all of you, but especially Daniel.” His gaze swept around the gathering. “Keep your eyes open. If you see anything that doesn’t belong, let me know ASAP. We may have a little trouble following us.”
“I assume you’ll tell us what we’re supposed to be watching for, right, Bro?” Travis stood completely relaxed, as if Luke hadn’t just dropped a bomb on their reunion.
“I was hoping to meet with Daniel tonight, after the kids go to sleep. If it’s okay with him, you can all sit in.” He glanced toward Sally, then focused on their host. “You may not want us to stay once you hear the details.”
Daniel nodded, strands of his black hair falling over his forehead. “If there’s trouble, we might as well all hear it at the same time and decide what’s to be done. First things first. Your cabin is on the end.” He pointed to his right, and Luke glanced quickly at the structure he indicated—closest to the river. Daniel stepped toward the parked Jeep. “I’ll help you pack your things down there while Sally and MacGyver round up the girls. Dinner’s in the main cabin.” Daniel jerked his thumb behind him toward the building both he and his wife had come from at Luke and Sally’s arrival. He shifted his gaze to Sally. “When you come for dinner, bring some nightclothes for the young one. If things go as well between her and Bridgett as I think they will, we can put them both to bed here and have our visit afterward. Agreed?” He quickly scanned the group but didn’t leave much room for argument.
Sally’s good mood dissolved at being the source of so much turmoil, and she couldn’t help feeling it was only the beginning. Matt, the girls and the pony momentarily forgotten, she peered at Luke, whose supportive gaze couldn’t rouse her from her self-imposed funk this time.
Sally’s stomach was tied in knots, even though they’d left Daniel’s place behind as they navigated the dark on the path to their cabin. Time had stood still in the Mathias family living area after the small group of men and women had gathered. Luke had related the events of the past twenty-four hours…and the reasons behind them, looking to her for confirmation when he got to the details that led to her entering the witness protection program. Having her past laid bare for all to see had been humiliating and not a little terrifying. After all the years of hiding, not letting anyone get too close and never uttering the name Clive Brennan, her mask had been ripped away, and she’d been left naked and exposed.
She’d wanted to run. The only thing that’d kept her there was Luke’s warm and reassuring hand on hers. The angry expletives from Luke’s friends and the acceptance she’d seen on Daniel and Ellen’s faces had eased her anxiety further.
“Hey, you okay, sunshine?” Walking beside her as they picked their way over the uneven ground, Luke tugged on her hand until he pulled her off-balance and she bumped into him. Immediately, his arm went around her waist and brought her against his side.
“Yeah—just…” Her words faded and she shrugged.
“They’re on our side.”
He offered that as though possibly endangering the lives of six more people somehow made the situation better—or took away her shame.
“I get that you’re uncomfortable with strangers knowing your life story, but Travis and the others are exactly the help we need. We couldn’t ask for better. I don’t know how Brennan could track us here, but if he does, we’ll see him coming, and we’ll have the experienced manpower to discourage him.” He halted and stepped in front of her, his thumb stroking the smooth skin of her cheek. “Trust me, Sally. We’re safer here than out there on our own.”
Sally forced the corners of her mouth upward and swallowed the words that had been caught in her throat all evening. Everyone at the meeting had expressed surprise that Brennan had waited ten years to seek revenge. “He had the resources and manpower to reach out from prison and not have to get his hands dirty,” Travis had said. “This feels personal.”
That had been her opportunity to come clean. She’d wanted to tell them—tell Luke—that Clive Brennan was her father. That when she chose to testify against him, she not only put a murderer away…she betrayed the one man who no doubt expected her undying loyalty. His vendetta was almost certainly personal. She expected nothing less. Sally had tried to form the words…but the conversation had taken a turn and the moment passed.
Focusing her attention on Luke’s tired eyes, she forced her guilt to a place where it was less noticeable. She’d deal with it later. “I trust you, Luke. You know that, right?”
“Talk to me, then. What’s up?”
Sally looked away from his gaze as she searched for a safer topic. Her daughter. It’d been just her and Jen for a very long time, and tonight it’d proved extremely difficult for Sally to leave her asleep in Daniel’s cabin. Ellen had assured her that Jen would be comfortable and safe in Bridgett’s room for the night. “She’s sound asleep, Sally. No sense waking her,” Ellen had said.
Sally cocked her head and gave another quick shrug of her shoulder. “I know Jen will be fine with Daniel and Ellen. It’s just…I’m not used to being away from her.”
She shivered as Luke trailed his fingers down the side of her throat, then tipped up her chin. His expression held a mixture of sadness and contentment. “I know how hard it was for you to walk out of there without her, and I had a hunch you might change your mind. We’ll go get her right now if that’s what you want.” The conviction in his eyes told her he meant every word.
Letting Jen stay at Daniel’s cabin meant she and Luke would be alone for the first time since he’d reappeared in her life. Without reservation, he’d offered up that time for her state of mind and Jen’s safety. Tears prickled her eyelids at the realization of how much she loved him. She’d be crazy not to snatch him up and never let him go.
Blinking the tears into submission, she shook her head. “No, but I might need a distraction.” She traced one finger down his chest.
Luke flashed his signature grin. “I can guarantee that.” He leaned in and nibbled her lips gently. An instant later, he groaned, stepped away and continued walking toward their cabin, grasping her hand in his.
She lengthened her stride to keep up.
They’d left a light on in the two-room dwelling on the banks of the river and brought in dry wood, kindling and newspaper for the fireplace before they joined the others for dinner. Daniel had said it could still drop below freezing at night this far north.
An arm around her shoulders, Luke hurried up the gravel path, jogged the four steps to the porch that lined the front of the cabin and shoved the door open. With a sweep of his hand, he stepped aside and let her go first.
An amused grin curled her lips as she stepped across the threshold. “What’s the rush, Harding?”
He caught her hand and spun her around to face him, then backed her against the wall, kicking the door shut as he moved closer, a devilish grin parting his lips. His hands circled her waist and held her tightly against him while he leaned in slowly and kissed her, his tongue stealing between her lips to claim hers in a sensuous dance.
When Luke raised his head, a slow moan escaped her, much to her chagrin.
He smiled, lifting one eyebrow inquisitively. “There’s no rush. Now that I have you to myself, we’re going to take everything nice…and slow.”
His voice was so lo
w and sexy, Sally’s breath stuttered, and again he smiled. Clearly, he knew exactly what he was doing.
He kissed her again, long and hard. This time when he released her, he stared searchingly into her eyes. Suddenly, he cleared his throat and took a step back. A trace of uncertainty crossed his face. “Daniel said he stocked the wine cupboard. Would you like some?”
“That would be nice.” Sally studied him for the cause of his mood change. Although the temperature had chilled noticeably, she couldn’t detect the reason for it.
Luke stepped toward the kitchen area, which consisted of a coffeemaker, a microwave, a small refrigerator and a sink. He searched the nearby cupboards until he found the one he was looking for, reached inside and came out with a dusty bottle of red. A drawer yielded a corkscrew, and then the hunt was on for what Sally could only suppose were wineglasses…or glasses of any kind.
The silence thundered around them. The distance she sensed settling between them confused and saddened her. Was it something she’d said? Had he suddenly realized how much trouble she was bringing to the relationship? She certainly wouldn’t blame Luke for thinking twice, but she hadn’t expected the sense of loss she experienced to be so great.
She took a couple of steps toward the small bedroom. “I think I’ll freshen up, if that’s all right?
“Ah, here we go.” Luke pulled two wineglasses from a cupboard above the sink and turned to look at her. “Of course. Take as long as you need. I’ll have this wine poured by the time you’re finished.” He smiled, but his eyes remained guarded.
Sally hesitated. She should ask him what was wrong. Easy enough to say, but her courage failed, and she walked purposefully toward the back of the cabin and the tiny room where she’d left her new belongings earlier. As soon as she was out of sight, she released the breath she’d been holding to maintain her forced smile. Perhaps it was Jen’s presence that made them fit together so well. Sally had never been alone like this with Luke before. If Jen was there, they’d be worrying about where everyone would sleep in this cabin obviously intended to house only two people. Luke would no doubt insist that she and Jen take the bed and he’d make do on the couch. Maybe they needed her daughter as a buffer between them.
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