Good Girls Do (35 page)
They’d buy a bigger house. He’d teach their son to throw a football. She’d read to their children. So would he. Their home would be filled with love and laughter and books and happiness.
Julia’s earlier dissatisfaction with today’s first meeting with her father was replaced with the warm glow of her love for Luke. It didn’t matter who her father was. That was her past. Her future was with Luke.
As they roared into Serenity Falls, Julia felt such a sense of homecoming. This was where she belonged. Here, in this peaceful town with Luke.
Which was why she blinked at the brand-new For Sale sign clearly displayed in front of Maguire’s when they pulled up.
“Look, someone put up a sign by mistake,” Julia said.
That’s when Luke said the words that shattered her dreams. “It’s not a mistake.”
Chapter Eighteen
Julia
reached out for something stable to hold onto. The only thing handy was one of the city’s quaint iron lamp-posts with a cheerful
Welcome Spring
banner fluttering from the top.
reached out for something stable to hold onto. The only thing handy was one of the city’s quaint iron lamp-posts with a cheerful
Welcome Spring
banner fluttering from the top.
Her legs had been trembling since she’d gotten off the Harley—not because of the ride, but because of Luke’s words. Maybe she hadn’t heard him correctly. “What do you mean?”
“I want to dump this place. You knew I never liked it here. I’ve been in limbo waiting it out. I had to stay or lose the money . . .”
“So this is all about the money?”
“Yeah, it’s about the money,” he drawled. “Not all of us discover out of the blue that we’re related to billionaires.”
Luke saw the hurt take hold in her eyes and it killed him. But it was time he faced facts here. He was a broke, burnt-out former FBI agent. He was no great catch by any stretch of the imagination. And not a white-picket-fence, putting-down-roots, buying-a-Berkalounger kinda guy.
He wasn’t doing her any favors by letting her build a dream world around him. He was not hero material. She could do so much better. He had to make her see that, for her own good. And so he continued on in the same vein. “I never said I’d stay here. You knew that. The terms of my father’s will were simple. To inherit this place, I had to stay six months. Well, honey, it’s been six months to the day.” He was deliberately blunt.
Seeing the tears she blinked away tore him up inside. So did the pain and confusion in her voice.
“Why did you come get me in Philadelphia? Why not just let me come back and find the sign on my own? Or were you deliberately trying to rub my nose in it?”
Going to get her had been a mistake. He’d been worried about her. And the truth was that Luke had told his lawyer when he’d first heard about the will and its terms to put the place on the market the minute the six months was over with. The For Sale sign hadn’t been there when he’d left earlier that day.
But it was a “sign” indicating it was time he moved on. Luke had gotten in much too deep here, much deeper than he’d expected. Maybe if her dad had been a laid-off plumber or something, maybe then he’d think differently. Maybe not. He’d never been good at commitment. Had never learned to trust the concept of long-term plans.
Until now. Until Julia.
But that didn’t change the fact that his life was still a mess while hers was taking off. Adam Kemp could give her things Luke couldn’t. And Serenity Falls could give her the stability she’d always wanted.
How could he compete with a billionaire and a contender for Best Small Town in America?
What could he offer her? A life on the road? She had grown roots here, loved it here, had family here.
He’d never answered her last question, but she didn’t seem to notice. Instead she said, “I thought you’d changed.”
Her words hit him the wrong way. “Big mistake.”
“I see that now. Why didn’t you say anything to me before this? You never told me you were going to sell. Didn’t you think I deserved to know?”
“I’m really not good at this relationship stuff.”
It was nice, and then it was over
. Julia remembered her father saying that about him and Angel. And now here she was, hearing Luke basically tell her the same thing.
. Julia remembered her father saying that about him and Angel. And now here she was, hearing Luke basically tell her the same thing.
“So you’re ready to move on, is that it?” Her voice was choked with emotion and the strain of refusing to cry in front of him.
“Affirmative.”
“Alone.”
Luke nodded. “It’s what I do best.”
No, what he did best was break her heart into a million pieces.
“Come back later,” Luke growled at the man who walked through Maguire’s front entrance.
The crusty old attorney who’d worked for his father wasn’t intimidated. Instead, he was all business. “I can’t do that. Your father was very specific in his instructions that I was to give this letter to you the moment the six-month period was over. And that you were to read it before the terms of the will would be considered fulfilled.”
Eager to get this mess over with, Luke ripped open the envelope.
Luke, if you’re reading this it means that I’ve kicked the bucket and you’ve completed the six-month requirement of my will. I wanted you to come home again and knew this was the only chance of that happening. Some people say you can’t go home again. I’m not one of them. I know you blamed me for your mother’s death, and you know that I blamed you. We were both wrong. I’m not the kind of guy to get all mushy, so I’ll just say that life is shorter than you think, and the years go by without you even realizing it.
What, you were expecting some brilliant words of wisdom from me? I don’t have ’em. I could tell you to keep Maguire’s, but that would probably just make you sell it. So all I’ll say is good-bye.
Tommy Maguire
Luke crumpled the letter into a ball. Even at the end, the old man couldn’t sign off as “Dad.”
At least he’d gotten one thing right. Luke
had
blamed him for his mother’s death. His father had never insisted she see a doctor. One of them might have found her heart condition and saved her. That’s what the childhood Luke had always thought. Now the adult Luke wasn’t so sure.
had
blamed him for his mother’s death. His father had never insisted she see a doctor. One of them might have found her heart condition and saved her. That’s what the childhood Luke had always thought. Now the adult Luke wasn’t so sure.
Either way, it was time to let go of the past and lay those old ghosts to rest. There was no changing things now.
Having fulfilled his responsibilities, the lawyer made a hasty exit but was soon replaced by an infuriated Adele. “I come into work and find a For Sale sign out front.” Her hands were clenched into fists, as if she wanted to take a swing at him. “You couldn’t tell me beforehand?”
“I couldn’t tell anyone. My father’s idea, not mine. Blame him.”
“You’ve spent enough time blaming him.”
Luke didn’t even wince at the blow. It was a truthful statement. He realized that now. “You’re right.”
“If you knew all this time that you’d be leaving, why did you hook up with Julia? I thought things were serious with you two.”
“Because I’m a no-good bastard.”
“I’m not letting you off that easily. You want to know what I think?”
“Not at all.”
“I’m going to tell you anyway.”
“I had a feeling you would.”
“I think you’re afraid. I think you’re scared spitless.”
“Of what?”
“Of what you’ve got with Julia. Of the fact that you’ve fallen for her. Fallen hard.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Am I?”
“And even if you were right, it wouldn’t make any difference.”
Adele fixed him with a stare. “And why’s that?”
“She could do better.”
“Than a former FBI agent?”
Now he was the one who fixed her with a stare, one of his narrow-eyed ones that got people to talk. “How did you know?”
“Your dad told me.”
This came as a total shock to Luke. “He knew?”
“He paid a private investigator to check up on you. Make sure you were still alive.”
“He didn’t say anything about that in the letter he left for me.”
Adele shrugged. “Your dad was a hard man to figure out. A hard man, period. But he was proud of you in the end.”
“Proud that I had a gambling problem?” Luke scoffed. “Glad that I burnt out and left?”
“You’re a good man, Luke. I don’t know why you have such trouble believing that. Julia knows you’re a good man.”
Luke stared down at his nearly empty glass of Jack Daniel’s with brooding intensity. “She doesn’t know the real me.”
“On the contrary. She saw through all the walls you put up around you. She might not know what life experiences
made
you the way you are, but she got to know the real you, all right. And don’t you think otherwise.”
made
you the way you are, but she got to know the real you, all right. And don’t you think otherwise.”
“Well,
she
thinks otherwise now.”
she
thinks otherwise now.”
“Broke her heart, did you?”
Luke didn’t answer.
“That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? Make her hate you instead of love you. Because that’s something you’re more comfortable with. Being hated. Not being loved.”
“What are you?” he growled, “A Dr. Phil clone?”
“Fine, you don’t want to talk about it right now, we won’t. Instead, let’s talk business. Tyler and I want to be your business partners. We’d each buy one-third of Maguire’s from you. What do you say?”
“I thought you wanted to marry the town sheriff.”
“Who said anything about marrying him? Yes, I like him. A lot. But I also value my independence.”
“And here I was, thinking you were an old-fashioned girl.” Luke felt much more comfortable discussing this than his private life. Adele had been hitting far too close to the bone with her observations there.
“Sorry to disillusion you. But getting back to Maguire’s, you can see that the new menu has been a success. Not only the sweet potato fries but also the beer-battered fish and chips and the traditional fare like the pot pies, the meat loaf, and of course the chicken and waffles.”
“If you’re not from around here, I don’t know if you can get used to that last combo.”
Adele ignored his mocking comment. “Adding the local Pennsylvania microbrewery beers was also successful, despite your initial misgivings. The bottom line is that Maguire’s is doing better than it ever has. It seems a shame to stop things now. Just when they’re going so good.”
Luke was well aware that Adele’s words could also apply to himself and Julia.
Two days later, Julia curled up on her living room couch, her soft velour READ pillow crushed against her chest as tears chased down her face. She’d held it together through the remainder of the work week, but now that it was Sunday, she was coming undone.
She should have seen this coming, this train wreck break-up with Luke. She’d been kidding herself, letting their relationship slide along without preparing herself for the fact that Luke didn’t share her vision of a future in Serenity Falls.
He’d been kidding her, too. Instead of coming clean with her, he’d let her believe that they had a chance. Not that he’d said anything. But he should have. Should have warned her this was coming. Given her some hint instead of dropping the bomb on her out of the blue.
She ignored the first knock on her front door, but the second one was a demanding banging that indicated the person was not going away. Maybe it was Luke?
No, it was Adam Kemp.
“I didn’t like the way we left things after our lunch,” he began before actually looking at her. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Men!” Julia hiccuped and angrily swiped the tears from her cheeks. “You all stink!”
Having made that brilliant observation, she pivoted from the door and headed back to the comfort of her couch and pillow.
“I took a shower this morning, so I’m not going to take that comment personally,” Adam noted as he cautiously entered her living room.
“It’s always all about the money. That’s all you care about. That and sex.”
“Ah. Boyfriend trouble. Here.” He shoved an expensive handkerchief into her hand. “Take this and try to control yourself.”
Julia derived great pleasure from completing a honking blow of her nose into his fine linen handkerchief before shoving it right back at him.
“No, no,” he hurriedly said. “You keep that. Now what’s this about money?”
“That’s all he wanted. He only stayed in town for the money.”
“What money?”
“From his father’s will.”
“Who are we talking about here?”
“Luke.”
“Right. The man who refused a million dollars from me.”
“What?!”
“I offered him money to walk away from you.”
“He just did.”
“Not for the money. There must be some other reason.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You’d prefer to think he left you for money?”
“I don’t know!” she wailed.
Adam started looking alarmed. “Hold on there, now don’t go off the deep end on me. Let’s look at this logically.”
Half an hour later, Julia had calmed down some and was sipping the surprisingly good cup of coffee Adam had made for her.
“What’s that noise?” he asked.
“I don’t know. It sounds like it’s coming from outside the house.” Julia got up to pull the curtains aside and look. “Uh-oh.”
Adam joined her. “Uh-oh indeed.”
A dozen protestors had gathered on the sidewalk, holding quickly done handmade signs: YOU can’t BUY OUR Falls! WE’RE not For SALE!
Julia opened her front door to find Walt standing there. “I told you it was him,” he told the crowd as he pointed at Adam. “I recognized him from his appearance on the
Late Show
the other night hyping his new book. You’re Adam Kemp. Don’t try to deny it.”
Late Show
the other night hyping his new book. You’re Adam Kemp. Don’t try to deny it.”
“I wasn’t about to.”
“Good. Because we want you to know that we’ll move heaven and earth to protect our beautiful Serenity Falls waterfall.”
“Not for sale,”
the crowd chanted.
the crowd chanted.
“Stop that,” Adam barked, clearly aggravated now. “I’m not here because of your stupid falls. I’m here because of her.” He pointed to Julia. “She’s my daughter.”
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