Fitting The Pieces (The Riverdale Series Book 3) (18 page)

           
He licked his lips, trying to figure how to explain his
actions.

           
“Answer me!” She demanded.

           
“I’m not going to stand by and watch that little punk
proposition you Cara. If you think that, you’ve got the wrong guy.” He said
angrily and reached around her to open the passenger door for her. She grabbed
his arm and forced him to look at her.

           
“He didn’t say anything that wasn’t true!” She spat.

           
“I’m done talking about this with you!” He said firmly
and pried her fingers off of his arm to open her door.

           
“That’s too bad, because I’m not done talking to you!”
She looked up at him. “You need to trust me that I am not going to go down that
path again. Because there are days when I don’t trust myself and the only thing
that makes me, choose me instead of the pills is
you
! I choose me because of the trust you have in me, because of
the faith you have in me to turn my life around. I’m only going to explain this
once to you Luke, I don’t need you to come to my rescue. I need you to believe
that I can rescue myself.” She blinked back her tears and stared up at him. “I
don’t want our friendship to be based on me depending on you fighting my
battles. I had that already and I’m not looking for someone to replace it.”

           
Luke bit the inside of his cheek and turned his head,
breaking their eye contact and instead stared aimlessly into the parking lot.
She reached up and cupped his chin and turned his face to hers.

           
“Look at me.” She pleaded. He stared into her eyes that
were a fierce shade of green. “That guy in there? Wasn’t the Luke I know…
please don’t let me ever be the reason he rears his head.”

           
“Okay.” He said sighing heavily, wishing he could rewind
the night. It started off so good for them, and had the potential to end on so
many different levels. Instead, he stood in a parking lot watching Cara shiver
and plead for her to trust him. Little did he know, it wasn’t about not
trusting her, but rather he didn’t trust himself. She was right about one thing
though, he wasn’t himself, and he bet a lot of it had to do with the fact that
he was falling in love with the woman his brother loved more than anything. The
woman whose arms his brother died in.

           
Luke walked into Rudy’s the following night, with no
desire to actually be there. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember the last
time he was there.
 
He slowly made his
way towards the bar, the booming juke box and the boisterous noises of the
crowded bar hurting his ears.
 
Nick was
seated at the bar, already nursing a drink when Luke pulled up a stool beside
him.

           
Nick glanced up and nodded to Luke, acknowledging him. “I
was beginning to think you stood me up.”

           
Luke signaled for the bartender raising his hand silently
before turning around and looking at Nick. “Nope, here I am.” He muttered and
noticed that Nick was holding an envelope. He nodded towards the manila
envelope in Nick’s hand. “What’s that?”

           
Nick looked down at the yellow envelope he held in his
hand and then back at Luke, assessing that he didn’t look to be in a good mood.
“Maybe you should have a drink first.”

           
Luke sighed and sat down on the stool. “Sounds
promising,” he bit back sarcastically.

           
“You want to talk about it?” Nick asked as the bartender
found her way over to Luke.

           
“What can I get you?”

           
“Scotch straight, make it a double.” He looked at Nick’s
half empty glass. “And another of whatever that is.”

           
“You got it.” She said and was off to make their drinks
with a flirtatious smile on her face.

           
“So why are you running late?” Nick asked as he polished
off what was left of his drink.

           
“I waited for Cara to bring Benny over.”

           
“They left hours ago.” Nick said, glancing at his watch.
“Sam said their fittings were at five.”

           
“She never came.” Luke said flatly.

           
“I’m taking that that’s out of the ordinary.”

           
“I fucked up.” Luke said as the bartender placed his
drink in front of him. “Keep them coming, Sweetheart.” He said with a wink and
slid a few bills her way to insure he was never with an empty glass. He pulled
the little cocktail napkin off the bottom of the tumbler glass and knocked back
the scotch, taking his first burning swig.

           
“Oh boy…” Nick muttered while he cranked his neck from
side to side. He took a sip of his drink and then braced his hands on the edge
of the bar, preparing for whatever disaster was about to fly out of his friends
mouth. “Ok, go… lay it on me.”

           
“I’m falling in love with her.” Luke said sadly.

           
“Fuck.” Nick said, thinking it was worse than he thought.

           
“Yeah.” Luke confirmed and took another gulp. He stared
at the amber liquid as he placed the glass back on the wooden bar. “Love’s
never come my way… why the fuck now? Why her?”

           
“Hell if I know.” Nick said and lifted his hand up to
signal the bartender that they definitely needed refills. “I mean I suppose it
could be worse.” Nick tried to remain optimistic.

           
“Worse than your brother dying and you fall helplessly in
love with the love of his life?” Luke asked.

           
“How about we dissect that question? No, it doesn’t get
worse than your brother dying.” He decided to go out on a limb. “Especially
after you thought you would be the one to save him.” He knew he struck a nerve
because Luke chose to turn his face to him at that moment and that’s when he
slid the envelope into his hand.

           
“Christ, Jake gave you a letter too?” Luke asked as he
put down his drink and took the envelope.

           
“What?” Nick asked confused.

           
“Cara found a letter Jake wrote to me before he died.” He
looked down at the envelope in his hands. “She gave it to me over two months
ago and I still haven’t read it, so if this is another message from the grave,
I’m not opening it.”

           
“You’re fucked.” Nick said seriously.

           
“Thanks, man.” Luke said with a sigh.

           
Nick shook his head. “It’s not from Jake.” He said as he
watched Luke open the envelope and pull out the papers it contained. “I found
them in the office this morning.” When he originally came across the paperwork
he thought this may be the perfect way to help Luke deal with losing Jake.

           
Luke looked down at the paperwork. “It’s the deed to the
land I bought.”

           
“The land you bought to start up the garage to build
custom bikes. The land you bought to start up Jake’s dream.” Nick offered.

           
Luke lifted his gaze from the paperwork. “A dream that we
said we’d help create because he was sick, but ultimately the plan was to give
him a chance to make his own dreams come true.”

           
“So what, you’re just going to hang onto that land for
the hell of it?
 
In all the years I’ve
known you, you’ve never started something you didn’t finish. Why start now,
man?”
  

“I
don’t know… to be honest, I had forgotten all about it.”
 
He admitted and glanced back at the deed. “It
doesn’t feel right.” He looked up at Nick. “He’s not here to enjoy it so why
the hell even bother?”

           
“Well, for starters, it’ll give you one last chance to do
something for him.” Nick said, knowing his friend well enough to know that he
felt like the transplant failed, despite the fact that it hadn’t. A lot of the
guilt that Luke harbored had to do with the fact that Luke wasn’t able to save
his little brother. Maybe Nick was wrong, maybe the idea of building a garage
that specialized in customized bikes, wouldn’t help Luke grieve.

           
“I’ve already taken from him and now you want me to build
a business that he wanted to build on his own and what? Reap the benefits of
that too?” Luke shoved the papers back in the envelope. “I can’t do it.”

           
“Donate the profits.” Nick offered. “Start a foundation
in his name. Do something that makes it okay for you to be the man that your
brother looked up to.” He grabbed his drink and took a healthy swig. “I already
ordered fifty thousand dollars in parts for motorcycles so I suggest you get
the fuck on board with the idea.”

           
“You did what?” Luke asked absurdly.

           
“You’ll come around…” Nick said, shrugging off Luke’s
anger. “As for the letter your brother left you? Read the fucking thing. I’m
not going to pretend I knew why Jake did half the things he did, but seems like
he asked you to take care of Cara for a reason. Maybe that reason is in that
letter, maybe it’s for you to figure out on your own, but for the love of God,
if Jake left me a letter I wouldn’t be able to stare at it for two months not
knowing what it said.”

           
Luke looked at Nick absorbing his words and for no good
reason other than his gut telling him too, he wrapped his arm around Nick and
patted him on the back. “Jake loved you like a brother too. He’d be really
thrilled that you were marrying our sister.”

 
* * * * *

           
Cara looked on, watching as a young couple took the dance
floor at the restaurant that she, Sam and her two friends Phillip and Mallory
were having dinner at. Smokey Sid’s Barbeque was a little hole in the wall that
showcased cover bands on the weekends while they served up Riverdale’s best
ribs. After their dress fittings the girls decided they wanted to indulge and
chose Smokey Sid’s for dinner. Phillip met them there and after dinner they
decided to stick around and listen to the band.

           
Sam tore her eyes from Mallory and Phillip, who were at
the bar refilling their margarita’s and focused on Cara. She watched as her
friend watched the couple on the dance floor with a faint smile on her face.

           
“I miss that.” Cara whispered and then looked back at
Sam. “Sorry, I lost myself for a minute.”

           
Sam looked at the couple that laughed as they twirled
around and around, not giving a damn who watched. She diverted her eyes back to
Cara. “I miss watching it.” She said softly, meaning every word. Back in the
day she loved going out with Jake and Cara. Jake was a dancer, loved to dance,
and he would always drag Cara out on the dance floor. Even if there wasn’t a
dance floor, if Jake heard a song he liked, he’d grab Cara and they’d dance.

           
“I used to hate to dance.” Cara said remembering. “The
first time Jake and I went to a club, I stayed in the corner hiding from him
the whole night. There were a bunch of us that night and Jake made it his goal
to dance with everyone. I thought I’d just look ridiculous until he pulled me
out of the corner and led me around the dance floor. I took his lead and
followed his steps… and before I knew it, I was the one looking for him to
dance with.” She laughed at the happy memory. “I miss that.”

           
“So dance.” Sam said.

           
“I have no one to dance with.” Cara said chuckling. “And
I’m not that desperate to go dancing by myself missy.” She took a sip of her
diet soda and looked up when Phillip and Mallory made their way back to the
table with their glasses full.

           
“I’m a genius!” Phillip announced.

           
Sam laughed and eyed Cara, insinuating that this should
be good, coming from a drunken Phillip. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why are you a
genius?”

           
“Samantha, darling, I’ve come up with the perfect mate
for our dear friend Mallory.” He said as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

           
“Don’t pay any attention to him. He’s wasted.”

           
Cara laughed. “Well, come on, let’s hear it.” She
encouraged Phillip.

           
“Luke!”

           
“My brother Luke?” Sam asked taken back.

           
“Do we know another?” Phillip asked as he scratched his
head trying to rack his brain.

           
Mallory rolled her eyes and plopped herself down in a
seat, taking a long sip of her slushy margarita. “I may have admitted that I
thought he was drop dead gorgeous.”

           
“Actually, you said you wouldn’t mind getting on top of
that.” Phillip said in a matter of fact tone and took a seat beside Cara. He
looked at her, nudging her with his elbow. “What do you think Cara? Since
apparently Samantha needs a minute to take in my genius idea.”

           
Cara swallowed and looked at Mallory, who lifted an
eyebrow, anticipating her answer. She was beautiful, Cara thought, and she
seemed nice enough, but… she wasn’t good enough. She knew that sounded
horrible, even inside her own head, but it’s what she felt. She looked at
Mallory and she couldn’t see her being the woman that made Luke smile and he
deserved to smile. He had a great smile. Mallory still had oats to sew, that
was apparent in the way she carried herself, and again she wasn’t trying to
demean her in any way.

           
Sam stared at Cara for a moment before turning to look at
Phillip. “It’s a bad idea.” She looked at Mallory. ‘No offense, you know I love
you. But Luke, well, he’s kind of taken.” She lied. Cara glanced up at Sam, her
eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

           
“Lucky lady.” Mallory mumbled and then turned to Phillip.
“Onto the next one?”

           
“Sorry sweets, really thought that was a solid one.”
Phillip said reluctant to go on the prowl again finding Mallory a mate.

           
“Cara, come with me to the ladies room, these two are on
a mission.”
 
Sam said as she rose to her
feet and nodded towards Mallory and Phillip who were perusing the restaurant
for their next conquest.

           
Sam pulled her to her feet and tucked her arm around
Cara’s and dragged her to the ladies room. “I love the both of them dearly, but
they are a lot to handle when they’re drunk. And when you’re sober and they’re
drunk? Well, they’re just crazy.”

           
“Why’d you tell them Luke was taken?” Cara asked once
they were inside the bathroom.

           
“For starters, Mallory is all wrong for Luke. No use in
setting them up only to end in disaster. Besides, he is kind of taken. You know
how hectic his life is, he’s taken by everything he’s got on his plate. When
does he have time for a woman?”