Back to Luke (16 page)

Nick shook his head. “He’s disoriented, which is common after head trauma. He keeps mumbling ‘I’m sorry, I should have told you.’ When he saw me, he said, “‘Luke, I should have told you.’”

“He thought you were me?”

“Brother-in-law thing, probably. Do you know what he was talking about?”

“Yeah, something at work that he should have reported to me but didn’t. Can I go in?”

“Later today. Just his wife and kids for a while.”

Luke blew out a heavy breath. “I should check in at work. Maybe I’ll head over there now.”

After bidding goodbye to his family, Luke left the hospital. The drive to the site made him realize how exhausted he was. He couldn’t even think straight and decided to touch base with his guys and then go home and crash. Sooner or later, he’d have to face his own place and the memories of Jayne that lived there.

He found Jess in the trailer. “Your mother called me. I’m glad about Cal.”

“Yeah, me too. How are things here?”

Jess shook his head. “We redid the wiring and the insulation’s in.”

“I saw the drywall going up.” Reaching into his back
pocket, he drew out his wallet. “I got the check for the wiring stuff.”

“That makes two of you.”

Dropping into a chair across from Jess, Luke scrubbed a hand across his face. “What do you mean?”

“Jayne left ten thousand dollars to cover ripping out old wiring and installing new.”

That surprised him. And hurt, for some stupid reason. “So, she admitted she made a mistake?”

“No, she left these, too.” Jess held up what Luke recognized as plans for the units. “With a letter for my mother.”

Luke wouldn’t feel bad she didn’t leave word for him. Damn her, how could she just abandon him? “What are the plans for?”

“Since college, Jayne has been religious about duplicating her work. She apparently made copies of the changes she and Cal made.”

“What does that matter now, Jess?”

“These show the recommended ten-gauge wiring for the laundry area and twelve for the rest. It’s all right here.”

“We saw fourteen gauge on the original set.”

“Which means someone’s lying. I’m not so sure who, now.”

Remembering Nick’s comments about Cal’s muttering, Luke shook his head. “It’s Jayne.”

“Are you sure?”

“When he woke up, Cal kept mumbling, ‘I should have told you.’ Men coming around after a coma don’t lie, Jess. He felt bad for not telling me about the wiring.”

“Cal could have meant something else.” Jess rapped
his knuckles on the set of plans Jayne had left. “How do you explain these?”

“I don’t have to.”

Jess shook his head. “When we confronted her, she said she knew about the problem because of Mick. Not because she made the mistake.”

“So what if she talked to Mick? That doesn’t mean she didn’t make the error in the first place.” Abruptly, Luke stood. “I’m not even going to consider that she wasn’t lying.” He pointed to Jayne’s check. “That’s blood money if I ever saw it. And you know what, keep it for the wiring. She can pay for her own goddamned mistake.”

“Isn’t that a bit cruel?”

Luke recalled Jess saying that to him when Jayne first came to town and he’d tried to run her off. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

Furious, he rounded on his friend and felt his control slip. “Cruel? I’ll tell you what cruel is. She abandoned me when the news came about Cal. Damn her, she knows how I feel about my family and she just left me alone to deal with it.”

“Because you believed Cal and not her.”

“Whom you doubt now and I don’t. I was wrong about Jayne. Very, very wrong.” He started out.

“Luke?”

“What?”

“If Cal was in such bad shape about Corky and other things, maybe he lied to us.”

“He didn’t. My family wouldn’t lie to me about anything. We’re not that way, and apparently Jayne didn’t understand that.”

“You’re a mess, buddy. Almost as bad as when
Timmy died.” At Luke’s angry look, Jess held up his hand. “No, let me finish. You couldn’t do anything about losing Timmy, but you can fix this with Jayne.”

Luke pounded his fist on the doorjamb hard enough to send sharp pain up his arm. “No! And listen to this, Jess. Listen good. If you and I are gonna stay friends, we won’t ever talk about Jayne Logan again.”

T
HE MUSCLES
in Luke’s lower back screamed as he picked up a case of shingles from the bed of his truck and hoisted them onto a dolly. The roofers had come up short and he’d been the one to fetch more. He was pissed about it, like he was pissed about everything these days.

Not that it mattered what he did. Nothing seemed to have meaning, not even seeing the current Harmony Housing don its outer shell. Usually, he rejoiced in the finishing touches of a project—the windows, the roofing, the siding. Now, a week after Cal’s accident, he took no pleasure in his work. Even the heavens reflected his mood. Dark clouds threatened overhead, and he hoped to hell they got the roof finished before a downpour.

A vehicle pulled into the parking lot just as he’d loaded the last of the shingles. Luke was surprised to see Belle’s van. Exiting the front seat, she watched him walk toward her. “What do you want?” he asked.

“Good morning to you, too.”

He tore off his work gloves and stuffed them in his pocket. “Sorry. But all of you have been hovering. Even Dad.”

His sister plopped her hands on her hips and, despite
the fact that she looked like a wisp of a thing in a white sleeveless top and shorts, she seemed formidable. “Because
you’ve
been such a bear. You missed Sunday dinner yesterday.”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

“You look like shit.”

“Thanks, my ego needs stroking.” He turned back to the truck. “Go away.”

“Cal’s come home from the hospital and wants to see you.”

That stopped him. He pivoted to face Belle. “Cal refused visitors all week. Corky says he’s depressed.”

“They’ve been talking a lot.”

“Why me?”

Belle shrugged a shoulder. “I don’t know. Guess you’ll have to find out.”

“I’ll call him.”

“No, Corky said just to go over there as soon as you could.”

“Goodbye, Belle,” he said, giving her his back for a second time to walk away.

“Have you heard from Jayne?”

He halted and looked up at the gloomy sky. God, he couldn’t even think about Jayne, let alone talk about her. He couldn’t think about Cal because, when he did, it brought back everything that had happened with Jayne. Once he allowed any thought of her in, she plagued him, and the last thing he needed was to replay the events that had caused her to leave Riverdale. The only worse thing to think about was their time together. How she felt, how she smelled, how she came apart when he touched her. “I’m not discussing this.”

“Coward.”

“Go away,”
he repeated.

“So you had a fight? Fix it.”

You think you can fix this? Like you fix everything else?

He rounded on his sister. “I’m done fixing things. Tell the girls I’m not going to do that anymore.”

“Like hell.”

“I will
not
talk about Jayne.”

“Even Naomi feels bad.”

Again, Belle’s unexpected news got a reaction. “Why? She did everything she could to get Jayne out of town.”

“She’s had second thoughts. Even before Cal’s accident, she and Jess started some marriage counseling. I think she’s getting to a different place about Jess and Jayne.”

“Don’t tell me Jess is going to see Jayne. Or that Jayne’s coming back to town.” He heard the panic in his voice. Hell, he couldn’t face the dog he’d bought for her, who was still with the Harpers. He’d never survive contact with the woman herself.

“I don’t know if she’s coming back.” Belle opened her car door. “Go see Cal.”

He didn’t. Instead, Luke kept up backbreaking work all day long. He also continued to bark at anyone who got in his way, alienating those of his crew who were still speaking to him after a week of his rotten behavior.

And he didn’t give a rat’s ass. He came in at dawn and worked till dark all week. He was just unlocking his truck to leave that night when another vehicle pulled into the parking lot. His father’s SUV. The passenger door opened. “Get in,” his dad said.

“Dad, I—”

“Get in, boy.”

Like many grown men, Luke still couldn’t disobey his parents. He slid inside and slammed the door.

Wordlessly, his father pulled out of the lot and drove down the streets of Riverdale. Luke was only mildly surprised to see them drive up to Corky’s house.

“Dad…”

His father grasped his arm. “When you didn’t go see Cal like Corrine asked you to, she called me. I know what Cal wants to say to you. You have to hear this. Go in, son, and listen.”

What could Cal want? Resigned, Luke decided he might as well get this over with. He climbed out of the car along with his father. “I’ll wait with Corrine in the kitchen,” his father said.

They entered Corky’s house without knocking. The ranch was big and roomy, with high ceilings and lots of windows. Corky was off to the left in the family room, sitting next to a hospital bed that had been set up. A low hum came from the TV and Luke could smell the scent of pizza in the air. His sister rose and came toward him; she looked worn-out and…defeated.

Luke’s protective instincts went on red alert. “Honey, you okay?”

She shook her head. “Just go talk to Cal.”

While his dad accompanied her to the kitchen, Luke crossed to Cal. Man, the guy looked terrible, bruises on his neck and arms, his leg in a cast, and utter weariness etching his whole face.

“Hey, buddy. How you doing?”

“Not good, Luke.”

“You’ll be feeling better soon. Once the healing starts, it’ll go fast. Remember when I broke my—”

“It’s not that. Sit.”

Why was everybody ordering him around as if he were a child? He took the chair Corky had vacated.

“I gotta say something. And don’t interrupt like you usually do. Just let me get it out.”

Luke nodded.

“I lied to you about the wiring.”

Oh, shit. He hadn’t expected this. Or at least hadn’t let himself consider it.

“I changed the gauge, then I altered the plans, to get money to pay off gambling debts.”

“I didn’t know you—” Luke stopped when Cal held up his hand.

“Nobody did.” Cal stared at him. “I knew the inspector would catch the mistake, too. I thought I could just blame Jayne and then, when the money went missing, I’d say she needed the cash and pocketed it.”

Cal would have no way of knowing Jayne had family trust funds and wouldn’t need money.

“There’s more. I’m an alcoholic. I can’t hold my liquor. Can’t even take a beer. Corky’s said it for months, but I wouldn’t listen. I was still drunk when I crashed the car that morning. I went out because I was upset about lying to you. I should have told you everything on the phone when you asked about the wiring.”

Luke remembered Cal saying over and over when he was coming out of the coma, “I should have told you.” Luke had misinterpreted what that meant.

And he almost couldn’t take it all in. The ramifications of Cal’s confession were staggering.

“Let me just say one last thing. I don’t expect this will get me off the hook, but I didn’t know you were involved with Jayne Logan. I thought you hated her because of what she did to Jess and Naomi. Nobody at work said
anything different, and Corky and me weren’t talking much, so I didn’t know you and Jayne were a couple.”

When Luke just stared at him, Cal added, “You can talk now.”

“I’m shocked I didn’t know what was going on with you.”

“Gamblers and alcoholics are very good at keeping secrets.”

“Poor Corky.”

“I—I know. And the kids, too. They’re victims of my weakness.”

“Alcoholism is a disease, Cal.”

“I guess. As soon as I can move, I’m going to A.A. with Mick.”

“Mick?”

“Mick and me, we’re both in the same boat. He’s going to meetings, too, after what happened to me.”

Luke digested that. “Can I do anything to help?”

Cal shook his head. “You’re such a nice guy, Luke, it’s hard to take sometimes. But yeah, you can watch out for Corky. She doesn’t know if she’s gonna stay with me through all the legal stuff caused by my accident.”

“Always.”

Cal laid his head against the pillow. “I’m tired now.”

Standing, Luke stared at the man he’d thought he’d known but never did. “Rest. I’ll be back.” He squeezed Cal’s arm and headed out of the room.

So many things whirled around in his head.

Luke had unfairly blamed Jayne.

He had turned on her, like Scarborough, disbelieving her innocence.

But one thing was crystal clear. None of that altered the fact that she had walked out on him at one of the
worst points in his life. Even if she forgave his actions, he wasn’t sure he could forgive hers.

J
AYNE WAS CONSULTING
with one of Ben’s drafters on a new high rise to go up in lower Manhattan, happy to be back in the thick of the architectural world, when her cell rang.

It was probably Jess again. He’d called her every day and left messages. It had been Cal who was hurt, she discovered when she listened to one, but he’d survived and was recuperating well. There were some things going on she should know about there, Jess said in another message, but he didn’t tell her what. He did say that he and Naomi were doing better. The only word on Luke came through the mention that Hattie was living with the Harpers.

Luke didn’t even want their dog.

To hell with him.

The phone stopped, and she heard the chime indicating a message had been left. A half hour later, when she was done with the consult, she pulled her phone out of her skirt pocket and checked the caller.

It was her lawyer in California. Her hands shaking, she walked out to the hall and clicked into the message, which said only, “Call me, now.”

She’d been in constant touch with Michael and he expected a decision from the architectural board imminently. Was this it? Jayne hurried down the corridor, her heart beating double time. She entered her office, which was bigger and fancier than her position as a consultant warranted, went to the huge window and pressed in the number.

Michael himself answered.

“Michael, it’s Jayne.”

“You got your license reinstated.”

For a moment, she didn’t react. She simply froze at the good news she’d wanted badly but didn’t dare hope for. Then, for a split second, she wished she could call Luke to share this with him. Chiding herself for the thought, she said, “Th-this is wonderful.”

“It is. The board decided you made an understandable mistake. That the bolts could have gone either way—one rod or two. Unfortunately, you picked the wrong one for this particular building.”

Actually, the structural engineer had done that, but in the end Jayne had agreed. And she’d been in charge. Her hands were still shaking when she asked, “What does this mean, Michael?”

“As long as your insurance pays the damages to the Coulter Gallery, which it will, you can come back to California and reopen your practice.”

“If anyone will hire us.”

“There is that.” He waited a beat. “You could always stay in New York. You got your original certification there. It might be easier to build up your name away from L.A.”

“Well, I don’t have to make a decision now. Michael, thanks so much for all you did. I appreciate it.”

“Go bask in the good news. I’m sure you needed some.”

You have no idea.
“I did.” Jayne clicked off and rested her forehead against the window. “Thank you, God,” she whispered aloud.

“Good news?”

Turning, she saw Ben had come to the doorway. He’d been such a support these past weeks, and she was
very grateful. “The best.” She told him about her license.

Crossing to her, he picked her up and twirled her in a circle. It was something he’d done when they were young and in love. His big arms banded around her and his scent filled her nostrils.

And neither did anything for her.

“J.J., this is terrific.” When he set her down, he hugged her tight. “You can join our firm as an architect now. Do what you love.”

“That’s a great offer.” She drew away and stared into his blue eyes, shining with hope and possibilities. “But it’s public knowledge what happened. I’m sure my mistake on the Coulter Gallery is all over the Internet. I may not be an asset to you.”

He squeezed her shoulders. “That will take time. But I’ll be there every step of the way for you.”

Those were the same words Luke had said to her. And, when push came to shove, he’d abandoned her.

“Thanks, Ben. It’s an offer I can’t refuse.”

Not his promise, but the job. Jayne would take the latter, but she doubted she’d ever believe in the loyalty of a man again.

A
T EIGHT ONE NIGHT
—which promised to be another hellish one—Luke was sitting on the couch in his living room, slugging back a beer and contemplating whether to eat dinner, when the doorbell rang. Damn it, why wouldn’t people leave him alone? He didn’t want to talk to
anybody.
He wanted to wallow in self-pity, in the permanent lump in his stomach. He heard the key in the lock and looked over to see who was coming to the entrance of the living room. “Miss Ellie?”

She held up the key. “Jess gave me this. I’d like to speak to you, but I understand you’re being a hermit these days, or an ogre, depending on who’s giving the opinion.”

That drew a small smile from him. Clicking the off button on the remote, he stood. “Come on in.”

“I knew you wouldn’t send me away.”

Smart woman. She was about the only person he couldn’t kick out, excepting his parents, who’d gone on a short vacation with their closest friends, once they knew Corky was all right.

Taking a seat on the couch, Miss Ellie folded her hands in her lap and smiled up at him.

“Can I get you something?”

She patted the cushion. “Sit.” When he dropped down next to her, he noticed the resolve in her blue eyes. “You can go get me Jayne.”

He felt himself close down. Every time someone brought Jayne up, he had to force away the memories. Nights were the worst, when his guard was down, or when he dreamed of her, but in his waking hours he did pretty well if people just didn’t talk about her.