“I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when the meeting started,” Katie said, urging everyone back to their places. “I was a little late in hearing about it.”
“Actually, Luke said—” Mrs. Jeffers began.
Luke jumped in. “I thought I could handle it.”
“If you’d handled it much better, everyone would have moved out by nightfall, according to my source,” Katie replied sweetly.
Luke vowed to gag his son in the future. Maybe he ought to blindfold him and make him wear earplugs while he was at it.
“So, what’s the topic?” Katie inquired. “The impending foreclosure on my bank loan?”
She said it with an edge of sarcasm that sent a dull red flush creeping up Luke’s neck. He could feel his skin burning.
“So it’s true,” Mr. O’Reilly said, his expression grim.
“It might have been a few weeks ago,” Katie conceded. She beamed at them, but saved her most saccharine smile for Luke. “But I had a windfall that saved the day and I’m fairly certain that it was just the beginning. Everything’s under control.”
“For the moment,” Luke said ominously.
Katie glared at him. “The situation is under control,” she repeated. “You all are not to worry. You know how these uptight financial types are.” She directed a pointed look at Luke. “They panic at the slightest little blip in the cash-flow pattern.”
“Somebody has to,” Luke muttered.
“Perhaps you and I should discuss this in private,” Katie suggested.
“Perhaps we should,” Luke agreed, his blood already racing at the prospect of another heated exchange with his wife. If this was the only sort of passion she intended to permit the two of them, then he intended to take full advantage of it. The evening that stretched out before them seemed open to all sorts of fascinating possibilities.
* * *
Katie couldn’t understand why Luke appeared so pleased by the prospect of fighting with her. He had to know that she wasn’t going to let this little incident pass without comment. Calling a meeting without telling her about it had been a sneaky, underhanded thing to do. Thank heavens for Robby! Even though he hadn’t understood exactly what the discussion was all about, he’d reacted to everyone else’s panic. He’d had no trouble convincing the hotel desk clerk to call Katie for him.
The walk back to the boarding house was made in silence. Katie could hardly wait to get her indignation at Luke’s latest high-handness off her chest, but Main Street was no place to do it. On that much at least, Luke apparently agreed. He hadn’t even wanted Robby as a witness. He’d sent his son off to Peg’s for the night.
Obviously, though, he was spoiling for a fight. He had to have known that calling that meeting would infuriate her and yet he’d deliberately gone ahead with it. Clearly, he hadn’t learned a blasted thing from their conversation in the diner that morning. He intended to control her life, take over her boarding house and leave her with nothing to do.
As they neared the house, Katie’s steps began to falter. Her temper cooled a fraction. She compared what Luke had done to what she had plotted behind his back that very afternoon. He didn’t know it yet, but they were probably just about even. He might even have a slight edge when it came to justifiable outrage.
The timing was lousy for her to make her announcement, but a glance at her watch told her there was no way around it. She figured she’d better make it while they were still on the sidewalk in front of the boarding house, in plain view of the neighbors. This was one time when witnesses might save her hide.
“Luke?”
He scowled at her. “I don’t want to get into this out here. We’ll discuss it inside.”
“In a minute. First, there’s something you need to know.”
“Fine. Tell me inside.”
She stopped right where she was. “I’d rather tell you out here.”
He met her gaze, his expression suddenly wary. “Why? What’s this about?”
“I just thought you ought to know...” She swallowed hard as she met his glittering blue eyes. “I’ve done something.”
“What?”
She plastered a bright smile on her face. “I’ve invited Tommy for a barbecue,” she blurted out.
Luke couldn’t have looked more stunned if she’d announced that she was pregnant with triplets.
“You what?” he asked slowly, as if her words hadn’t been perfectly clear.
“Your brother’s coming over.” She glanced nervously at her watch. “In about an hour.”
“Oh, no, he’s not,” Luke countered. “Call him and cancel.”
“I can’t. I don’t know where he is.”
“You found him to issue the invitation. You can find him to cancel it.”
She shook her head. “Actually, he came into the diner for lunch.”
He stared at her with an expression of complete bafflement written all over his face. “Why would you do this? How dare you meddle in something that is none of your business?”
Katie couldn’t believe her ears. “Excuse me? You self-righteous son of a hound dog. Who was it who just called a meeting of my tenants without telling me? If you want to talk about meddling, let’s talk about that!”
“Not out here,” Luke said tightly.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because half the neighborhood is hanging on every word.”
“So what? Witnesses might not be such a bad idea.”
“That’s enough, Katie.”
Luke’s voice carried a low warning that she ignored. “Enough? It’s not enough by a long shot. I have plenty to say about that stunt you just pulled at the hotel.”
Before she could even formulate the first thought, though, Luke tucked one arm under her knees, another under her bottom and scooped her into the air. She landed against his chest with a whoosh.
“You low-down, rotten...” she began, kicking futilely in an attempt to cause him to lose his balance as he strode up the walk toward the house.
She heard a distinct, low, rumbling sound coming from Luke’s chest that silenced her. She gazed into his eyes and saw sparks of pure mischief suddenly dancing in the blue depths.
“You’re laughing,” she accused.
He swallowed hard and tried for a sober expression. Unfortunately he couldn’t seem to keep his lips from quirking into a smile.
“How dare you!” she said indignantly. “This is not a laughing matter.”
Inside the boarding house he headed straight for the living room, seemingly oblivious to her protests. He settled onto the chintz-covered sofa, keeping Katie pinned firmly in place in his lap. Having his arms around her was beginning to have a neutralizing effect on her anger. It was hard to stay furious when every single part of her anatomy was tingling with awareness of the man who held her. It was absurd, really, how easily Luke was able to distract her.
Of course, she decided thoughtfully, he didn’t seem as upset, either. In fact, he seemed to have forgotten all about his brother’s impending arrival. He seemed much more interested in her bare midriff, where her blouse had ridden up. He was tracing a lazy pattern across the skin that had her insides trembling.
“Um, Luke,” she said breathlessly. “This is a bad idea.”
He ignored her and began tracing the neckline of her blouse which she’d left open about one button too far. Maybe two buttons too far. She probably should have sewn the damned thing together, given the way her pulse was kicking up.
“Luke, please,” she said, trying to swat his hand away.
Without a word, he captured her hand and planted a deliberately provocative kiss against the sensitive palm. Katie’s resistance melted. Another thirty seconds of this sweet torment and her blood would be sizzling. She wriggled in a half-hearted attempt to get free, but immediately realized that wriggling was a very bad idea. It had a prompt and unmistakable effect on Luke, that did not bode well for lowering the out-of-control heat rising between them with anything short of an icy shower
.
“Luke,” she murmured in her least effective attempt yet to get his attention.
“Ah, Katie,” he said with a sigh as he kissed a spot on her neck just below her ear.
Katie shivered, which he must have taken as an invitation. He scattered kisses from the base of her throat to her chin, from her forehead to her cheeks, from the tip of her nose to her lips. Her mouth opened, formed his name, but not a sound emerged before she was caught up in the slow, sensual feel of Luke’s velvet lips against her own. Her arms crept around his neck, her fingers tangled in his thick hair as she gave herself over to the kiss.
The touch of his mouth against hers, the beckoning heat that stole through her, set off a riot of memories. Sweet, wicked, dangerous memories. For what seemed an eternity, Katie indulged herself in sensation, accepting, provoking, hungering for more. She was swept away on the tide of tenderness. She lost herself to need, Luke’s and her own.
A gentle, insistent caress of her breast sent her pulse scrambling. The slow slide of Luke’s hand from calf to inner thigh made her heart thunder in her chest. Her entire body throbbed with a desperate yearning to know again this man who’d branded her heart as his own years ago.
She could fight it. She could pretend that she didn’t want what was happening between them, but the truth of it was that she did. She wanted Luke to make love to her, wanted him to possess her as he once had. She hungered for it illogically, in a way that ignored past hurts and present problems, in a way that didn’t give a damn for the emotional consequences. Every fiber of her being was straining toward fulfillment of a dream she’d thought only weeks ago would elude her forever. Logic and reason had nothing to do with it. All that mattered was a love that had never died.
Katie gave up the battle, gave herself over to the joy of the moment...just in time to hear footsteps on the front porch, a loud knock on the screen door.
“What the hell?” Luke muttered, clearly dazed and definitely unhappy about the untimely interruption.
“Tommy,” she guessed, untangling herself from Luke and rising unsteadily to her feet. She straightened her clothes as she went to the door. There was nothing she could do about the flood of color in her cheeks.
Naturally Tommy couldn’t let her obvious state of arousal pass without comment. His blue eyes filled with insolent amusement. “I could come back later, if I’m interrupting anything,” he offered.
“Or not at all,” Luke said, coming up behind Katie.
Katie saw the flash of hurt in Tommy’s eyes, before he covered it with belligerence. “Or not at all,” he agreed. “It’s up to Katie. It’s her house. I don’t go where I’m not wanted.”
Fully aware of Luke’s disapproving scowl, she determinedly pushed open the screen door. “Of course you’re wanted. I invited you, didn’t I? We were late getting here. We’re just running a little behind.”
Tommy seemed eager to accept the explanation. Never once glancing at his brother, he asked Katie, “What can I do to help? If the grill’s out back, I can start the coal.”
“Terrific. I’m lousy at it,” she said, leading the way to the kitchen. “Luke, why don’t you help him?”
Luke looked as if he’d rather eat dirt. Shooting her a wry look, he dutifully followed his brother out the door.
The instant he’d gone, Katie’s knees seemed to give way. She sank onto a chair and released the breath she’d been holding. Sweet, heavenly days, what had she been thinking in the other room?
Of course, the point was that she hadn’t been thinking at all. She’d been giving her hormones free rein. It appeared she owed Tommy Cassidy a debt of gratitude. His arrival had just saved her from what could have been the second most costly mistake of her life.
She listened to the low, halting murmur of voices from the backyard and gave a little nod of satisfaction. Maybe she was already repaying him by giving him time to win back Luke’s love and approval.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Luke couldn’t decide whether to be more furious with his brother for showing up just when he had Katie on the brink of making love with him or with his wife for inviting Tommy in the first place. It was a toss-up.
But the bottom line was that Tommy was here and there didn’t seem much likelihood that anything short of a shotgun would persuade him to leave. Katie, with her strong notions about family loyalty, would definitely frown on his waving a gun threateningly at his brother.
At the moment, Tommy was working intently on getting the grill started. For the first time Luke took a minute to study him with at least some semblance of objectivity. He realized with a sense of shock that Tommy was far too thin, practically gaunt, in fact. His skin was a pasty color that didn’t look healthy.
“Are you okay?” he asked, drawing a surprised look.
“I’m fine.”
“You look like hell. When was the last time you had a decent meal?”
“Today at lunch,” Tommy said too quickly.
At the diner, Luke realized and wondered if Katie had paid for whatever Tommy had eaten. More than likely. “Before that,” he said.
Tommy shrugged. “Sometime yesterday, I guess.”
“Have you been drinking away your money?” Luke asked, thinking of the beer Tommy had asked for the morning before.
The question drew more emotion than Luke had anticipated. Tommy whirled away from the grill and glared at him.
“You know damn well I don’t drink, not after the way Dad was,” Tommy said heatedly. “An occasional beer is about it. That one I had yesterday was the first in weeks.”
Something about his indignant tone rang true. It was hardly surprising that Tommy rarely touched alcohol. Neither did Luke. Watching their father’s bouts with the stuff, seeing his dissolution before he’d finally taken off and abandoned them all would make anyone with sense wary.
Luke still wasn’t sure what the explanation was for Tommy’s appearance, but it instinctively worried him. Apparently old habits died harder than he thought. “You’re sure you’re not sick?”
“I am not sick,” Tommy repeated emphatically, then shot him a wry look. “Though it would probably serve your purposes better if I were.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“Just that you could use it in court as further evidence of my unsuitability to be a parent to my boy.”
“How can you even say such a thing? I wasn’t looking for ammunition,” Luke protested. “You look lousy. I wanted to know why.” Suddenly an explanation came to him, one that would answer a lot of the questions he had about Tommy’s motivations of late. “You said you left your job in Birmingham?”
Tommy regarded him resentfully. “Yeah, so what? I told you I’m heading to Alaska just as soon as this stuff with Robby is settled.”
“How long have you been out of work?”
“Hey, man, it’s none of your business. I’ve been getting by, okay? Now drop it.”
Certain now that he was on the right track, Luke shook his head. “I don’t think so. You see, it seems to me a man who’s been out of work for a while might get desperate. He might do something that would never otherwise occur to him.”
Tommy’s shoulders stiffened. “Such as?”
“Maybe filing a custody suit he had no intention of winning, hoping to get a little cash so he could start over somewhere new.” He reached for Tommy’s shoulder, clasped it with a firm grip and forced him to turn around. “Is that what the suit was about?”
Suddenly Tommy looked about seventeen again, young and scared and proud. His chin lifted belligerently. “I don’t want your money,” he declared.
Luke sighed. “Oh, I can believe that. I worked damned hard to instill that streak of stubborn pride in you. That doesn’t mean you don’t need money, though.”
“I’ll do just fine once I get to Alaska,” Tommy insisted.
Luke carefully weighed the pros and cons before he said anything more. He didn’t want to make a mistake that could cost them all. Bu
t this was his brother and, as Katie had known, despite everything he loved him unconditionally. Even as angry and as threatened as he’d felt these past months, a part of him had struggled to find an explanation that would make Tommy’s betrayal less painful. He still wanted to believe there was something worth salvaging.
Tommy was barely twenty-five. His whole life stretched out in front of him. Maybe all he needed was a solid push in the right direction.
Finally he said, “You could work for me.” When Tommy immediately started to object, Luke added, “Just to get the stake you need, if that’s the way you want it.”
“Bad idea,” Tommy said without giving the proposal any thought at all.
“Don’t reject it just because of your stupid pride,” Luke warned. “At least think about it.”
“There’s nothing to think about. You don’t want me around my kid, and I don’t want to be anyplace I’m not wanted. As soon as the judge makes his ruling, I’ll take my kid and go.” He glared at Luke. “I don’t need handouts from you. I don’t need anything from you.”
Luke didn’t believe him. He realized he had started to see him through Katie’s eyes, and what he saw was a young man desperate for a sense of belonging. “So why are you here now?”
“You mean tonight? Because Katie invited me.” He grinned faintly. “Twisted my arm was more like it.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling,” Luke commiserated. “But I meant why did you come back to Clover in the first place? The custody suit is being handled in Atlanta. You didn’t need to come all the way to South Carolina.”
“I wanted to see my son,” he insisted.
“You knew I wouldn’t let that happen, not under the circumstances.”
Tommy shrugged. “I figured you might change your mind.”
If he hadn’t been so frustrated, he might have laughed at Tommy’s stubborn refusal to admit what had been obvious even to Katie. Tommy had come home to be with family. Luke could see that as plainly now as if his brother had scrawled it in a note and posted it in the town square.
But until Tommy could admit he needed help, until he could accept what Luke was willing to offer, there didn’t seem to be much Luke could do for him. He’d opened a door tonight, but Tommy had to walk through it.
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