Single (Stockton Beavers #1)

by Collette West

  "Hers," she cries, shoving her finger in my face.

  "Mrs. S.—" I start.

  "Oh, why did you go and marry someone, Luke, and not even tell me?" she moans, clutching her stomach.

  Luke shoots me a plaintive glance before kneeling down beside her. "Ma, we're not married. Roberta's here to help you. She's your personal care aide, remember?"

  "I don't care who she is." She rests her head on the table. "She has her eye on you. I know it. All the girls in school like my little Lukey."

  Luke bursts out laughing. "That's because I'd always listen to them when they sobbed their hearts out about the boys they really liked."

  "No, no, no…" She shakes her head. "They were all in love with you. They were all in love with you. They were all in love—"

  Luke talks over her when she keeps repeating herself. "How did her appointment go? What did the doctor say?"

  But I don't want to get into that now—not in the middle of one of her episodes.

  "She's just overtired—long day. It's my fault for not putting her to bed sooner." I place my hands under her arms and urge her to sit up. "C'mon, Mrs. S. It's time to go to sleep."

  "No, I'll sleep right here," she moans, scrunching up her eyes.

  But I don't want Luke to think that I'm incapable of managing her when she gets like this. The last thing I want is for him to harbor any doubts about what goes on around here when he's not home.

  "Mrs. S.," I try again. "When you wake up tomorrow and come downstairs, all your pretty flowers will be waiting for you."

  She lifts her head. "No, they won't. They won't!"

  Luke puts his hand on my arm. "Why don't you let me take this one?"

  "But I—"

  He rises to his feet. "When she gets to this point, trust me, it'll be easier on everybody if I just step in before she works herself into a frenzy."

  Before I can respond, Luke bends down and scoops her into his arms. She flails at him and starts screaming, "Put me down! Put me down!"

  "It's okay, Ma," he whispers by her ear. "I've got ya. Everything's gonna be all right."

  She pounds on his back, yanks at his hair, and I can't bring myself to watch as he carries her, struggling against him, out the door and up the stairs.

  I push my hair away from my face and stare at the mess I made out of the kitchen. There's wallpaper everywhere. Half of it's up, half of it's down. Bottom line, I'm going to be up all night trying to get this done.

  But with no other choice, I get to work, and a half hour later, Luke returns with his jacket off and his tie undone. He sighs, heading toward the refrigerator and pulling out the orange juice. Raising it to his lips, he groans, "That was rough."

  "Hey, not from the carton," I call out, my two hands firmly pressed against the wall.

  He lowers it sheepishly. "Oh yeah, I forgot." But when he sees what I'm doing, he puts it down and hurries over. "Here, let me help you with that."

  "No, I got it," I insist.

  But he doesn't listen. Instead, he stands directly behind me, the heat from his body rolling off him and hitting me square in the back. He splays his hands beside mine, careful not to touch me.

  "What do you want me to do?" he asks, his breath inadvertently fanning my hair across my face.

  I let go of the wall. "Smooth it out so there are no bumps or ridges underneath."

  I shake my head. But he's so close, my hair winds up hitting him in the face. He trembles before taking a deep breath. He doesn't move, and I don't know what to do as his whole body tenses around me. Flustered, I back right into him, and he lets out a low groan. Realizing my mistake, I duck to the side and slip under his arm while still managing to step on his foot.

  "What, are you trying to kill me here?" he moans, resting his forehead against the wall.

  Frazzled, I lash back at him. "Well, you didn't have to go frisking me like that. Save it for your date with Heidi."

  He looks back at me over his shoulder. "What…? How do you even know that she…?"

  "That she won you?" I retort. "Maybe because Landry texted me the photo of 'the hot babe' who spent nearly a thousand dollars for the pleasure of your company."

  He narrows his eyes at me. "Now why would he do that?"

  "I don't know, maybe because every penny from the auction is going to the cancer foundation he set up in honor of his late wife, and let me tell you, that Heidi of yours certainly got his attention. She placed the highest bid of the night. $999.99 to be exact. C'mon, number ninety-nine. How cute is that?"

  "Would you quit saying that? She's not my Heidi." Luke releases his hold on the wallpaper, and the top corner droops over. "Roberta, it's not what you think."

  I drag the chair over and push him aside. "Oh, don't get me wrong, Luke. I think it's wonderful how you pimped yourself out to raise money for charity. How very noble of you."

  "I did?" he whispers heatedly. "You're the one who dressed me up and sent me out there." He holds the chair steady as I climb onto it to press the wallpaper back into place. "So sue me, but I just don't understand why you're getting so upset over this. God, now I know what the other guys were talking about when they said…"

  I glower down at him. "Oh, don't stop there. Go on. Tell me what they said about me."

  He raises his hand to his neck, something he always does when he's nervous. "Nothing. Forget I even said anything."

  Angrily, I clomp down to the floor. "Wow, it must've been pretty bad if you can't even repeat it."

  "Kind of like how you won't tell me what Mom's doctor had to say today."

  My eyes meet his. He didn't forget. Of course not. No matter what, his mom is always the first thing on his mind. And I don't want to argue with him anymore, not about something as important as this. It's time to give him the abbreviated version, at least for now.

  "He doesn't think having me here is going to be enough, especially with you being gone all the time," I admit. "He feels you should add a security system to the doors so that she'll trigger an alarm if I'm upstairs and she tries to go outside."

  "Did you tell him about…" He swallows before continuing, "About how you found her in the woods outside Beaver Field?"

  "No," I reply, and he sighs in relief. "But he did find the burn marks on her hands and I had to tell him how she got them, Luke. I couldn't lie to him."

  "And I bet he handed you brochures from every nursing facility in a ten-mile radius, didn't he?" Luke mutters. "That's his usual solution whenever something goes wrong."

  "He did mention it."

  "And do you agree with him?"

  "I don't have a wall full of medical degrees to back me up," I state plainly. "My opinion doesn't matter. His is the one you should trust."

  He starts collecting all the scraps of singed wallpaper off the floor and crumples them into a ball.

  "Don't." I reach for his arm. "You're gonna get your suit all dirty."

  "Like I even care anymore." He shoves the wad into the trash before turning to leave the room. "I know you're trying to help, Roberta. But right now, you're just not."

  I let him walk away from me. He's left me alone again, but unlike last night, I don't feel frustrated. Instead, I feel so very, very incomplete.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Luke

  I wish I were going out with Roberta tonight instead of Heidi.

  I take one last glance at myself in the mirror. I guess I look all right. I need to come across as strong and in control, so I took a page right out of Roberta's playbook. Black jeans. Black tee. Black boots. I even tied my hair back, which is something I never do. I just have to get through this one date with her—that's all. That's what she paid for.

  It's just that all Heidi ever seems to do is talk about herself. Should she reschedule a hair appointment to squeeze in an extra Pilates class? Should she accept her friend's destination wedding invite or invest in getting her teeth whitened? And on and on and on…her only problem being what to spend money on next.

  In the
beginning, I had no choice but to listen to her since I couldn't really speak after my injury. Then after she worked with me for a while, and I started getting my voice back, she began throwing hints, wanting me to ask her out. At first, I was flattered. The hot girl from high school was actually interested in me. But still, it's not like we had anything in common. I couldn't relate to her carefree lifestyle, and she had no clue what I was dealing with at home. If she did, I'm sure I'd be the last guy she'd ever want to get involved with. Let's just say, she's the type of girl whose day is ruined if she breaks a nail.

  Then when the Beavers started to lose interest in me, so did she. At first, there was a lot less chitchat between us during my appointments, and then she started passing me off to the other therapist in her office, claiming she was swamped with new clients. I hadn't seen her in weeks until she showed up at the auction.

  And what makes things even worse is that Roberta's really mad at me over the whole thing. I just got back from a weeklong road trip, and I'd promised to give her the night off. However, my good intentions were thwarted when Landry called me at the last minute and asked if I'd be willing to take Heidi out tonight. Apparently, she's been pestering the staff at Beaver Field to no end, wanting to know when her date with me was taking place. So what could I say…no? He's my boss.

  But I have the feeling I'm in for a rough night when the doorbell rings and Mom immediately begins to shriek downstairs. Thank you, Heidi, for blatantly ignoring the "Please knock" sign I have taped to the door.

  I fly down the steps, only to find Roberta at the bottom, cradling Mom and repeating over and over, "It's all right. It's all right. It's all right," as she punches the code into the brand-new security system I had installed. When the alarm stops, so does Mom, and I couldn't be more grateful.

  "Did she try to get out?" I ask, coming up behind them.

  "Yeah," Roberta mutters, her nerves fried. "You know how she always tries to bolt whenever she hears the doorbell."

  "Tell me about it," I mutter. "Thanks for stopping her."

  She shrugs. "That's what you pay me for, isn't it?"

  Another cool rebuff—probably because she's aware of who's standing on the other side of the door.

  She slings her arm around Mom's shoulders, ready to take her back to the kitchen. "C'mon, Mrs. S. Let's finish our dinner." But I take heart when she flicks the end of my hair as she guides her past me. "Nice ponytail."

  The back of my neck tingles to life at her touch. "I'm glad you like it."

  Her blue eyes sparkle up at me, until an impatient knocking interrupts the moment.

  "I have to—" I fumble.

  She nods with a sigh. "Yeah, I know."

  I'm crushed by the amount of hurt in her eyes. Life shouldn't be playing out like this, but it is.

  I reach for the doorknob, my stomach already in a full-on nosedive. And it doesn't get any better when I open the door and the first words out of Heidi's mouth are, "Luke, I just can't get used to you with that fuzz on your face. Ugh…when are you gonna shave that thing off?" as she brushes past me and steps inside.

  Never, I think, when I picture Roberta running her fingers through my goatee that night in the alcove and how much she seemed to like it.

  But daydreaming about Roberta with Heidi standing there, staring at me, throws me a little. "Ex-ex-excuse me?" I stutter, and I haven't stuttered in a long time.

  "Breathe. Take your time. Sound it out. Really open those lips," she issues her familiar string of commands, the ones I haven't heard since the last time I was in her office. "I don't know, Luke." She taps a finger to her lips. "I think I should pencil you in for an emergency session. How about tomorrow morning? Before you head over to the stadium? It'll be fun, just like old times…but not." She smiles at me while grabbing on to my shirt.

  Okay, I have to put a stop to this before things get ugly.

  I clasp her wrists and gently pry her hands away from me. "I'm fine. Really."

  "Oh, I don't mind," she says breezily. "Besides, after tonight, I'm sure we'll be seeing a whole lot more of each other."

  "Umm…y-y-yeah, about that," I stumble, hating how, in her presence, my speech keeps faltering right when I need it the most. "I'm superbusy, since I'm back playing and all. I don't think I'll really have time for any more dates after this."

  She returns her hand to my chest and gives me a playful shove. "Well, I can come to you, anywhere, anytime."

  "Heidi, I—"

  "I brought wine and everything." She slides the bottle out of her bag. "Let's just see where the night takes us, shall we?"

  I blush red-hot because it seems Heidi has no intentions of going out tonight. She came over here thinking she could seduce me into letting her spend the night.

  Backing away, my eyes dart to the clock. "Yeah, umm…we should get going."

  She suggestively bites down on her finger while continuing to smile at me. "I don't care if we eat or not."

  Something clatters to the floor behind us.

  Heidi gasps, "What was that?"

  "Uh, I'm having my kitchen remodeled." I think fast. "It's a mess back there, stuff falling all over the place. I haven't had a decent meal all day. I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Why don't we go?"

  "Not until you tell me if your refrigerator's still working," she simpers.

  I blink, perplexed. "What for?"

  "For the wine to chill." She gives me a saucy pout. "For later…"

  Dream on, Heidi, because there isn't going to be a later. I'm only committed to dinner. That's it.

  I take the bottle and force myself to smile back at her. "Why don't I meet you out by the car?"

  She sashays up to me, rubbing her hand up and down my arm. "Now, Luke, don't be silly. I can wait."

  "But I have to make sure the alarm's working." I enter the code that Roberta set, 9999, and hold the door open for her. "It's been acting up all day, and I don't want it going off the whole time we're gone."

  "Ah, the joys of living alone, right? No one to depend on but yourself. I know the feeling. But I don't think either one of us will have to worry about that for too much longer." She winks at me before stepping onto the porch, her pink skirt flouncing behind her in the breeze.

  I shut the door and bash my head against it. That was close.

  Gathering myself, I head toward the kitchen, and Roberta snatches the bottle of wine away from me the minute I enter the room. "What the heck are you doing?" she asks, smacking my shoulder.

  "I have no idea," I reply. "But that doesn't explain why you're standing here, listening to our conversation."

  "Your mom dropped her fork, and I was on the lookout. I didn't want her coming back here, nosing around."

  Mom is at the table, eating the chicken and rice dish Roberta prepared, the one I can't get enough of. I ruffle the top of Mom's head as I stroll around to the other side and steal Roberta's fork to scoop a mouthful off her plate. "Hmmm, this is so good. Save me some, would ya?"

  Roberta looks up from putting the wine in the fridge. "Hey, that's mine."

  "And just what were you gonna tell Heidi if she wandered back here?" I inquire, sliding another delicious bite into my mouth.

  She takes an empty plate out of the cupboard and begins dishing out a portion to set aside for me. "I'm the hired help, so I guess I'm whomever you need me to be. Your interior decorator, your tailor, your bodyguard—"

  I start to chuckle. "Bodyguard?"

  "The only way I was letting her barge in here and frighten your mom was over my dead body," she declares, forcefully tearing a piece of plastic wrap out of the dispenser.

  I give her a slight shake of my head. "Trust me. I wasn't even going to invite her in, but she got here fifteen minutes early, and I was unable to cut her off at the pass."

  "Just like you tried to do with me," she scoffs, covering the plate.

  I bow my head. "Until you became the keeper of all my secrets."

  We stare at each other for a beat too long, an
d she's the first to look away.

  "Well, don't let me keep you from your date." She gives me a sarcastic little curtsy, extending her hand with a flourish. "It's time for the hired help to get back to work."

  I close my eyes and breathe. "Roberta, I don't want to go out with her, but I don't have a choice."

  "Like it's such a hardship for you to have to spend a night with a beautiful woman." She rolls her eyes. "Luke, you don't have to explain yourself to me. It's not like we're in a relationship or anything. I just work for you, remember?"

  Yeah, I think, except that I wanna kiss you so bad—I can't breathe, I can't sleep, I can't think about anyone else except for you.

  I get up from the table and let out a dissatisfied breath. "I guess we all have our duties. You have yours, and I have mine."

  She looks at me, tucking her chin into her shoulder. "But why does it have to be so hard?"

  Backing into the hallway, I stop, intrigued. "What does?"

  She sways back and forth, sticking her hands in her pockets. "I don't know. Life, love…you name it."

  And I can't look at her because what she may be implying is almost too much to hope for. I turn and guide my hand down the cheery new wallpaper, gathering the courage to say what my heart is urging me to say.

  I tap my knuckles against the wall and whisper, "Because anything worth having usually is."

  When she inhales sharply behind me, I step into the hall and just keep going, too afraid to stop and find out what it could all mean.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Luke

  "A double date… Really?" Heidi wrinkles her nose at me.

  "Why? Aren't you having a good time?" I ask brightly, swirling some extra syrup onto my fork from the side of my brownie à la mode. "You're at a table with not one, but two, Stockton Beavers."

  Right as we got into the car, Danny texted me that he'd decided to cross his date off his to-do list too and asked if I wanted to meet up with him at Russo's. I couldn't type yes fast enough. But as it turns out, the woman who won him—Chrissy—is a happily married mother of three, a huge baseball fan, and a Beaver Field season ticket holder to boot. In fact, her husband was the one who placed the winning bid on Danny for her as a surprise anniversary present. So Danny didn't need me to be a buffer for him after all, but boy, I sure needed him. I think his initial interest in Heidi has long since worn off, her good looks not enough to sweeten her bitter tongue.