Bride On the Run

by Leann Harris

“That’s plain embarrassment, McGill. Nothing more. I’m fine. Now, why don’t we get this trunk downstairs?”

  It was clear she didn’t want any sympathy. But more than that, it was as if she were going to show him that if he could do this, she could. She wouldn’t quit.

  After wiping her hands on the seat of her shorts, she grasped the trunk handle again. He put his hands on her shoulders and moved her aside. Her eyes flared with fire, but before she could spit out any of the flames, he said, “I’ll take this end.”

  Immediately, the fire in her died down. She nodded and walked to the other end of the trunk.

  “On the count of three we’ll lift.”

  J.D. felt like an idiot for missing that step. She knew she was touchy about what happened, but she didn’t want to fail in front of McGill. He was like her father. Hard, driving, expecting the best from himself and those around him. And, of course, when those mere humans around him failed, he didn’t understand. Instead he would interpret it as a sign of weakness. Well, she refused to let McGill think her weak.

  As they moved down the stairs, J.D. felt her hands begin to cramp. If she could just hold on a few more minutes, she’d have it made.

  “Are you okay?” Luke asked. “Do we need to stop and rest?”

  She shook her head. “No. Let’s just get this over.”

  He hesitated, shrugged and moved down another step. J.D. looked over his shoulder. Five more steps, a small landing, then the stairs made a ninety-degree turn, then there were four more treads.

  Her hands were beginning to lose their grip. Luke went down another step and the leather handle slipped out of her fingers.

  Luke yelled and tumbled backwards. The momentum of the trunk sent him crashing into the railing on the landing. He staggered sideways and fell down the rest of the stairs.

  J.D. stared in horror for a moment, then rushed down after him. As she skirted the trunk, her toe caught the corner and she pitched forward, tumbling down the last few stairs and landing on Luke. He grunted.

  With the wind knocked out of her, it took a moment for her to catch her breath. Slowly, she raised her head and met his gaze. Luke looked like a landed fish, eyes dazed, mouth open.

  The humor of the situation hit her. The corners of her mouth twitched, but the harder she tried to suppress the urge to laugh, the harder it became.

  A half-choked giggle escaped, and she held her breath, afraid Luke wouldn’t appreciate her sense of humor. Instead, he broke out into laughter, joining her.

  “We’re a pair,” he gasped, his hands settling around her waist.

  “I haven’t seen anything that funny since the Pink Panther,” J.D. said, resting her hands on his shoulders.

  Luke rolled and pinned J.D. under him. “Are you saying I remind you of Peter Sellers?”

  J.D. arched her brow. “If the shoe fits...”

  “You’re going to take that back, Counselor.”

  “Make me.”

  The challenge hung in the air between them.

  “You shouldn’t have said that.” His tone was light, full of humor, his eyes dancing with mischief.

  “I’m shaking in my boots, McGill.”

  Immediately Luke’s hands were at her waist and he began to tickle her.

  “Unfair,” she gasped between laughs. She tried to bat his hands away. He caught her wrists and pinned them by her head.

  Their laughter died slowly. In its place came an awareness of the intimate way their bodies touched. With each deep breath, J.D. felt Luke’s body, every manly inch of him, pressed against hers.

  Her eyes locked with his. The dark fire burning in his gaze pulled her toward him. As insane as it was, she wanted his kiss.

  Luke’s mouth covered hers with a sweet violence that shook her to her core. Instead of retreating from his aggressive lips, she returned his kiss with equal fervor.

  The feelings rocketing through her felt right. She moaned, allowing Luke to deepen their kiss.

  Fire enveloped J.D. and she buried her hands in his hair, wanting an anchor in her swiftly changing world.

  “Am I interrupting?”

  The words smashed their private universe. Before J.D. could pull her scattered thoughts together, Luke rolled to his side and stood.

  “And just who are you to come barging in here?” Luke demanded, confronting the older man.

  “I’m this little lady’s daddy. Who the hell are you?”

  CHAPTER 5

  Luke glanced down at J.D. “Is this man your father?”

  The one moment of her life when she had experienced complete abandon and wanted privacy had to be witnessed by her father.

  She scrambled to her feet. “Don’t you believe in knocking, Dad?”

  “I did. Nearly put my fist through the door, girl.” George Anderson turned to Luke. “Who are you?”

  “Luke McGill.”

  “You want to explain what I just saw?” George demanded like some father from a Victorian novel.

  J.D. saw red. She didn’t want her father acting as if her virtue had been compromised. Besides, he had no business preaching morality to her with his track record. Hands on her hips, she glared at him. “That’s none of your business. I’m old enough not to have to explain my actions to you.”

  “I was just trying to protect you,” George groused.

  “I don’t need your protection,” she shot back. “And I certainly don’t need you going around acting like an outraged father. You taught me how to fend for myself. Are you questioning the job you did?”

  “I wasn’t questioning your ability. I was just questioning this man’s motives.” He jabbed his forefinger in Luke’s direction.

  J.D.’s chin went up a notch. “And you don’t think I can see through the false lines men put out?”

  George said nothing, but his silence was a painful reminder of the one time she had not.

  “Hey, if anyone around here needs protecting, it’s me,” Luke said, breaking the tense scene. He pointed to the trunk. “First she tries to kill me with that thing. Then, when that doesn’t work, she tries a flying tackle. I’m lucky if I don’t have any broken ribs.” He turned to J.D. “And if I do, I think I’ll sue.”

  It took her a moment to realize that Luke was teasing. After her shock wore off, she chuckled. “Try, McGill, and I’ll slaughter you in court.”

  “It wouldn’t be the first time,” he muttered under his breath.

  George leaned forward. “What did you say?”

  Luke clamped his mouth shut.

  “He’s just complaining that I’ve beat him before in court.”

  “You’re a lawyer?” George said it with such horror and distaste that Luke and J.D. laughed.

  “No. I haven’t sunk that low.”

  George breathed a sigh of relief. “Then what do you do, McGill?”

  “I’m a detective with the Dallas Police Department.”

  George nodded his head. “Well, well, the girl’s finally showing some sense.”

  Before her father could say anything else that might embarrass her, J.D. asked, “Dad, what are you doing in Dallas?”

  “Well, I’m flying to Venezuela later tonight to negotiate an oil deal, and since I was in town, I thought I’d take you to dinner. Of course, your friend here is welcome to join us.”

  “I’m not really dressed for dinner out,” Luke said, looking down at his dusty jeans and shirt.

  “Nonsense, Luke. We’ll go somewhere informal. How about that Mexican restaurant over on Knox, Juliet Desiree? Aren’t they casual over there?”

  Luke’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He looked at J.D. and mouthed her full name.

  Her eyes burning with wrath, J.D. dared him to say her name out loud. Do it, McGill, and those will be the last words out of your mouth.

  “Yeah, Dad, that’s the one,” she absently answered, still glowering at Luke.

  “Then we’ll all go there. I’ve got a rental car out front, so we don’t have to take that piece of junk
you drive.”

  Still reeling from shock, embarrassment and the strange feelings Luke’s kiss had produced, she wanted a moment to gather herself before having to endure both her father and Luke for the balance of the evening.

  “Let me lock up and get my purse. I’ll meet you out front.” As she passed Luke, she whispered, “If anyone ever finds out what my name is, I’ll kill you.”

  * * *

  It took less than fifteen minutes to drive from J.D.’s house on Swiss to the restaurant on Knox. It wasn’t crowded this early in the evening and they were immediately escorted to a table. Luke didn’t bother with the menu, since he already knew what he wanted to order. Instead, he studied J.D. She’d been unusually quiet on the drive over. She was wearing her courtroom mask, letting no one see beyond the surface layer of her emotions.

  So much had happened this afternoon that he felt punch-drunk. First she tried to work him to death. Then she tried to kill him with that trunk.

  His eyes were drawn to her mouth and he remembered the incredible kiss they had shared. He could still taste her sweetness now and wanted to grab her hand, drag her from the restaurant and find the nearest bed.

  “What are you going to have, Luke?” George—her father, the man who’d found him on the floor with her—asked.

  Luke wanted to knock himself in the head. What was the matter with him, lusting at J.D. like that in front of her father? Maybe that tumble down the stairs had loosened a few screws.

  “Luke?”

  “The fajitas.”

  “What about you, Juliet Desiree?”

  Luke watched her mouth tighten. He couldn’t blame her. When her father had called her that the first time, Luke had felt like he’d been hit in the back of the head with a two-by-four. Juliet Desiree? What kind of name was that, especially for J.D.?

  “I’ll have a salad.”

  “Honey, you need more than that. How about—”

  “I don’t want anything else.” She said the words quietly, with a strength and dignity that brooked no argument.

  George shrugged, then motioned for the waiter to take their order. Luke leaned back in his chair, amazed at the scene he’d just witnessed. J.D. couldn’t stand her name, but she put up no fight when her father called her by it. Yet, when George would’ve pushed her to order something else, she put her foot down, and the maverick oilman honored her decision.

  After they ordered, George turned to J.D. “When I was at the state capitol a couple of weeks ago, I saw Allen.”

  Luke couldn’t believe his eyes. J.D. turned a slight color of green.

  “That’s nice,” she murmured around a corn chip.

  George gave a short laugh. “He had the nerve to come up to me and say hello. I told him what he could do with his hello.”

  The comment brought life to J.D.’s eyes and the corners of her mouth lifted. “What did he say to that?”

  “Since we were outside the senate chamber, surrounded by dozens of people, there wasn’t much he could say without revealing what a bastard he really is.”

  “It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy,” J.D. said.

  George leaned toward Luke. “Allen Danford used to be married to Juliet Desiree, until she wised up and divorced him.”

  Why was George Anderson bothering to explain who Allen was to him? Luke began to squirm. He hoped the older man hadn’t read more into that little incident with him and J.D. on the floor in the throes of a passionate embrace than there really was.

  And what was there? he asked himself.

  “Dad, I’m sure Detective McGill doesn’t want a detailed history of my life.” She was back to her cold court voice, but he saw a touch of panic in her eyes.

  “I just want the boy prepared for what he’s getting.”

  “Dad—”

  “And why do you call him Detective McGill? After what I saw, you should at least call him Luke.”

  The waiter appeared with their food, postponing further discussion. When he left the table, George plunged on. “Did Gwen Kennedy ever get in contact with you?”

  Both J.D. and Luke froze. She glanced at him, then her father. “You talked to Gwen? When? Where?”

  “Whoa, girl,” George said, holding up his hand. “Slow down. Let’s see.” He rubbed his chin. “Why, it was on that same trip when I saw Allen. I ran into Gwen as I was leaving the capitol building. She stopped me, asked if you were still practicing law. Asked what kind of law you specialized in. I gave her your address and phone number.”

  “Did you hear that, Luke?” Excitement throbbed in her voice. “Gwen probably lived in Austin. Maybe she had a job with the state? Isn’t that great?”

  Luke didn’t look surprised. His lack of enthusiasm puzzled her.

  “I take it she called you?” George asked J.D.

  “Yes.” She tried to meet Luke’s eyes, but he refused to look at her. “She told me she was in trouble and arranged to meet me. She never made the meeting. She was murdered after she called.”

  George’s eyes widened. “What? Murdered? I can’t believe it. Who’d want to kill that lovely lady?” His bushy brows puckered into a deep frown, and he turned to Luke. “Do you think her murder was connected with her contacting J.D?”

  Luke answered. “Yes, we do.”

  George speared Luke with a steely gaze. “Well, what are the police doing about it?”

  “Investigating it,” Luke calmly replied. “And right now, you’re a good lead. What else do you know about Gwen Kennedy? Do you know what she did for a living or who her friends were?”

  George’s expression softened. Apparently, he was satisfied with Luke’s response. “No. That was the first time I’d seen her in ten years.”

  J.D. studied Luke. Why had he taken the news about Gwen so coolly, almost as if he already knew she’d lived in Austin? Her eyes widened and her hand convulsed around her fork. He knew. The louse knew Gwen’s address and hadn’t told her as he’d promised.

  It was the last straw. The turmoil of the kiss, her father’s sudden appearance, the embarrassment of Luke hearing about her ex-husband. And now, his betrayal.

  Her rage spread outward from the burning center of her soul. She began to shake, and J.D. knew if she didn’t leave the table this instant, she was going to do and say things that would be talked about in Dallas for years to come.

  “Excuse me.” She stood, grabbed her purse and walked away.

  Luke watched her stop the hostess and ask a question.

  “Don’t worry about her,” George said. “She’s probably asking where the ladies’ room is.”

  Luke had an uneasy feeling but didn’t voice his doubt.

  “You’ll have to excuse Juliet’s reaction. She’s kinda touchy about her divorce.”

  “I can understand her feelings.”

  “I was amazed she stayed with that jerk as long as she did. But then again, maybe I do understand why she tried for so long.”

  George leaned forward, and Luke knew he wasn’t going to like what the older man was about to say. “I’ll let you in on a little secret. I know the reason Juliet wouldn’t give up on Allen for so long. She didn’t want to admit she could make the same mistake I did.”

  Luke silently groaned.

  “You see, when Juliet was twelve, I got a divorce from her mother. Well, in a town the size of Midland, my divorce from one of the daughters of the old guard was a big item in the media. Carol, my first wife, didn’t handle it very well and began to drink. That devastated Juliet. Carol was killed a couple of years later in a car accident. She was drunk. Juliet was in the car with her.”

  Stop! I don’t want to hear any more, Luke wanted to yell at George. Don’t tell me about J.D.’s problems. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to see her as a vulnerable woman who’s been hurt by the men in her life. I want to see her as the enemy.

  Luke didn’t want to foul up his dislike of J.D. with any intimate knowledge or understanding or sympathy. She would still tear a strip off him in court
, given the opportunity.

  He rubbed his aching head. It was hard to think straight with his hormones still running amok from the kiss they shared.

  “I’ll tell you this, Luke. Something happened between Juliet and Allen. She never told me, but when she filed for divorce, Allen quietly slipped from the picture, instead of petitioning for the big bucks he could’ve got out of me via my daughter. Makes me wonder. ‘Course, Juliet was never the same after that. It was like something died in that girl. She turned cold toward men and buried herself in that peculiar practice of hers.”

  Warning shouts sounded in Luke’s head. Daddy here was looking for husband number two for his darling daughter and apparently thought he, Luke McGill, was a good candidate. He raised his wrist to glance at his watch. “Hasn’t J.D. been gone for a long time?”

  George’s brows wrinkled. “She sure has.” He motioned for the hostess.

  “May I help you, sir?” she asked, stopping by the table.

  “The young lady who was seated with us has been gone a long time. Would you check the bathroom and make sure she’s okay?”

  “That won’t be necessary, sir. The lady had me call a cab. She left about ten minutes ago.”

  “Left?” George blurted.

  “Yes, sir. But she left a message for you gentlemen.”

  “Well, what was it?”

  “‘Bye, Dad. McGill, drop dead.’” The girl flushed. “Those were her exact words,” she hastily added.

  Throwing back his head, George roared with laughter. He patted Luke on the back. “Well, I told you she was touchy about her divorce. Serves me right for saying anything within earshot of her.” George threw down several bills. “You need a ride back to the house?”

  Luke had the suspicion that J.D. wasn’t as put out about her divorce as her father thought. It was something else that upset her. Something like him knowing Gwen’s address and not telling her. When he saw her again, there would be hell to pay.

  Through the window, Luke saw his salvation. A patrol car was stopped at the intersection and he wouldn’t be forced to hear any more of J.D.’s personal life. “I’ll catch a ride. Good luck with your trip.”

  “Well, since you’ve got a ride, I’ll just head on out to the airport. No need to bother Juliet right now. Tell her I’ll see her when I get back.”